You can not read a man so well during his busy hours as by what
he does after supper, or from the closing hour of business to
bedtime. You can not gage his character so well by the money
he spends for necessaries or the living of his family as by
that little overplus of money which is left after the necessary
expenses are paid. What does he do with his spare money, that
margin left over from business and from living expenses? What
he does with that margin will throw a wonderful light upon his
character.
The largest part of every active life must be devoted to getting
a living, attending to one’s affairs, and this is done by most
people in a routine sort of a way. You can not tell much about
the real man during these hours, because he has a system, his
regular daily routine, and he does very much the same thing
every day. But the moment he is free, he is quite a different
man. Then his real propensities come out. People are not natural
until they are free from restraint.
Watch the boy and the girl when they are free from their regular
duties, and see how they spend their evenings, what society they
keep, what companionships they form, what they do. This will be
a pretty good test of their character.--_Success._
(348)
=Character that Shines=--See LUMINOSITY.
=Character Unaffected by Death=--See DEATH DOES NOT CHANGE
CHARACTER.