It is true, boys and girls, that it is what you hit, not what you aim
at, that counts; but, nevertheless, it is a very important thing to take
the right aim. The man who aims deliberately at the center of the target
stands a better chance, a hundred to one, than the man who shoots
without taking aim. So, in life, that boy or girl who has a purpose--who
is aiming at something--will be more successful than those boys and
girls who have no plans and who aim at nothing.
[Illustration: AIMING AT SOMETHING.]
It is not sufficient, in the moral world, to aim at something, but every
boy and girl should aim at the best things. The best and highest things
in this world are the unseen things, the eternal things, the things that
will last forever. Money is a good thing, but there is something higher
than money. A high position in the business or professional or political
world is a good thing, but there is something higher and better than
office and position. Character is the grandest, the highest and best
thing in this world. We include in this one little word “character” a
world of things. Honor, uprightness, speaking the truth, dealing fairly
with people, being willing to help the lowly and unfortunate, paying
your debts promptly, these things, and many other things like them, are
included in the one word “character.” And these are the things that are
worth while in this world. These are the things that every boy and girl
should aim at. It may not be possible for every boy and girl to become a
millionaire; it may not be possible for every boy and girl to fill high
offices in this world, or succeed in large business enterprises; but
one thing is certain: every boy can be a good and true boy, every girl
can be a noble and beautiful girl. Beautiful as to conduct, as to words
and deeds, I mean. Good boys are the fathers of good men. Pure girls are
the mothers of pure women. For, what, after all, is a boy? And what is a
girl? What is a man? What is a woman? I will tell you. A boy is a little
man--that’s all; and a man is a grown-up boy. A girl is a little
woman--that’s all; and a woman is a grown-up girl.
It is important, then, that boys and girls should aim at the right
things, the good, the true and noble things early in life. What boys and
girls aim at, in nine cases out of ten, they will reach as men and
women. And to help you in taking the proper aim early in life, I am
going to give you something to aim at. Let every boy and girl make this
little motto his rule of life:
Know something--know it well;
Do something--do it well;--
And be Somebody!
“THE BLACK SHEEP” OF THE REYNOLDS FAMILY.
Will Reynolds was “the black sheep” of the Reynolds family. He knew it
and felt it, because he had been frequently slighted and treated with
contempt by his relatives. The only person who never lost faith in him
was his mother. She always felt that there was something good in her
wayward son, and often said that it would show itself some day. But
Will’s mother died in the early stages of his backslidings. Will’s
father married the second time, and the boy, finding it impossible to
get along with his stepmother, left home. He went from bad to worse.
Being arrested on the charge of drunkenness and vagrancy, he sent to his
two brothers, who were prosperous brokers in D. St., asking them to pay
his fine. Word came back that they would not interfere in his behalf.
His brothers sent word that he had brought the trouble upon himself and
he must get out of it the best way he could. Will was sent to the Work
House for six months. And nobody’s hand was raised to help him.
While he was serving his time, his only sister, a young woman not yet
grown, died. He knew nothing of it until about a month after it
occurred, and then he read the account in an old newspaper which he had
borrowed from a fellow prisoner. The news of his sister’s death deeply
affected him. His sentence was shortened by one month on account of his
good behaviour. The first thing he did, on coming to the city, was to
visit the family lot in Myrtle Hill Cemetery. He carried with him some
wild flowers and green leaves, being too poor to purchase a floral
offering from the dealers in such things. With uncovered head, he knelt
and placed these tokens of respect on the graves of his mother and
sister. This done, he stood in silence for a moment, and then wept like
a little child. While riveted to the spot, he made a solemn vow that he
would quit the old life and make a man of himself. “It’s in me,” he said
to himself, “and I’m going to prove it.”
[Illustration: HE CARRIED WITH HIM SOME NICE FLOWERS.]
Slowly he turned away from the sacred place. He went directly to the
offices of his brothers. He had been furnished with a new suit of
clothes, according to custom, upon leaving prison, and so made quite a
decent appearance. He found his oldest brother, John B. Reynolds, seated
at a desk in the front office. He entered at once and said,--
“Well, John, I suppose sister is dead?”
“How dare you,” exclaimed John, rising to his feet,--“how dare you to
speak of Annie as your sister, you jailbird, you miserable convict! Get
out of here this minute! Leave this room at once, and never set foot in
it again!”
There was fire in the man’s eye as he spoke. Will attempted to speak,
but was not permitted. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he left the
room. He had gone to tell of his new determination and ask for another
chance, and this was the reception which he met. On his way down the
steps, he came face to face with his other brother, Thomas Reynolds.
Thomas tried to pass without speaking, but Will intercepted him.
“Tom,” he said, “I’m your brother still. I’m not asking help now; I only
came to tell you that I’m going to do better. I thought you would be
glad to hear it.”
“I want to hear nothing from you,” said Thomas. “You’ve disgraced us
forever, and you can go your way; we don’t want anything to do with you;
we don’t want to see you again!”
Will went forth into the street weeping.
* * * * *
Thirty years have come and gone since Will was driven away from the
offices of his brothers. What changes have these years worked?
Soon after leaving prison Will was a constant visitor at the Railroad
Men’s Branch of the Y. M. C. A. Through the Secretary of the
Association, he soon secured a place as a day laborer in the machine
shops of the Big Bend Railroad. After securing regular employment, he
went to live in the Y. M. C. A. building. At the close of his first
year’s service with the railroad, he was promoted from a common laborer
and made an apprentice. After four or five years, he had learned the
trade and was receiving the daily wages of a machinist. After twelve
years with the company, he was made the Master Machinist. At the end of
fifteen years’ service, he was made Superintendent of Construction. Five
years later he was made a Division Superintendent. At the expiration of
more than twenty-five years of faithful service, Will Reynolds was able
to write after his name, “General Manager of the Big Bend Railroad.” He
had, also, been married for several years, and was the father of five
children.
Will’s father and brothers lost sight of him for nearly twelve years, or
until the papers announced his appointment as Master Machinist of the
Big Bend Railroad. They suddenly awoke to find that their conclusions
that he had probably long since died a drunkard’s death, or had gone off
as a tramp and had been killed, or was again serving a sentence in
prison somewhere--were wrong.
The same week that Will was made Superintendent of Construction of the
Big Bend Railroad, the newspapers spread all over the country the news
that Col. Oliver P. Reynolds had committed suicide. According to their
way, the newspapers gave all the sickening details of the tragedy,
together with the whole family history. They said that Col. Reynolds had
been driven to suicide by his wife. They said that she was much younger
than he; that she was extravagant; that she was a leader in gay society;
they told how, on her account, Col. Reynolds had driven his son away
from home fifteen years before; they declared that the old man’s life
had been a hell to him; and that his wife had brought him almost to the
verge of bankruptcy, and, in order to escape facing open disgrace, he
had murdered himself.
When Will heard of his father’s death, he hastened at once to the city,
but was denied admission to the family residence, and had to attend the
funeral in the little church around the corner not as a member of the
family but merely as an outsider.
We are not concerned in this story with the fate of Will’s stepmother.
But, as to Will’s brothers,--well, the crash came eight or ten years
after the death of Col. Reynolds, or a short while before Will became
the General Manager of the Big Bend Railroad. John B. Reynolds and
Thomas Reynolds, members of the firm of John B. Reynolds & Bro., had
been arrested and placed in the Tombs, charged with misappropriating
$175,000 of trust funds. Again the family history was rehearsed in the
newspapers. The papers did not fail to recall the suicide of Col.
Reynolds, nor did they fail to tell how these two brothers had earlier
in life turned their backs on a younger brother.
[Illustration: “WELL, JOHN, I SUPPOSE SISTER IS DEAD?”]
Will read the papers, and, saying to his wife, “Well, Mary, perhaps
they’ll be glad to see me this trip,” he went immediately to offer his
services to his brothers.
He had prophesied correctly. John and Thomas were very glad to see him.
They had no friends among those high in financial circles because they
had for many years conducted their business in such a way that business
men had no confidence in them. They had no credit and could get nobody
to go on their bonds. Will took in the situation at a glance. He had
been thoughtful enough to bring along with him the leading attorney of
the Big Bend Railroad, and he put matters straightway into his hands.
Bail was arranged, the brothers were released, and the lawyer then
turned his attention to the prosecutors. It was discovered that almost
half of the amount stolen was the property of Simon B. Nesmith,
President of the Big Bend Railroad. When Will Reynolds and the lawyer
found that their own superior officer had been so heavily hit by John B.
Reynolds & Bro., they came near fainting. Fortunately Nesmith when he
heard the whole story agreed not to prosecute, and not only said that he
would be satisfied with any settlement that the Railroad’s Attorney
might arrange but also volunteered to see the others concerned and use
his influence in having them do likewise.
In a short time matters were adjusted, and John Reynolds and Thomas
Reynolds were saved from prison. But they lost all their earthly
possessions and their brother, “the black sheep” of the family, had to
secure them for the sum of $40,000 besides.
John B. Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds came to their senses. It was their
time to cry now. Amidst great sobs they said,----
“We treated you wrongly, brother Will; we ought to have helped you many
years ago; we are so sorry we didn’t; and it was such a small matter,
too.”