"Full many a gem, of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
How many young men for whom nature has done so much, "blush unseen," and
waste their ability. Franklin said, "Dost thou love life? Then do not
squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." We have seen how
Franklin used his time. Born the son of a soap-boiler, lived to become
one of our most noted philosophers, died worth thousands. Advice from
such men carries conviction, for we cannot but feel that our chances
are fully equal to what theirs were.
Gladstone, England's most noted Premier, once said, "Believe me when I
tell you that thrift of time will repay you in after-life with usury,
but the waste of it will make you dwindle away until you fairly sink out
of existence, unknown, unmourned." Thurlow Weed was so poor in boyhood
that he was of necessity glad to use pieces of carpet to cover his all
but freezing feet; thus shod he walked two miles to borrow a history of
the French revolution, which he mastered stretched prone before the
sap-fire, while watching the kettles of sap transformed to maple sugar.
Thus was it that he laid the foundation of his education, which in after
years enabled him to sway such mighty power at Albany; known as the
"king maker."
Elihu Burritt, a child of poverty, the son of a poor farmer, the
youngest of ten children. He was apprenticed at eighteen to a
blacksmith. He wanted to become a scholar and bought some Greek and
Latin works, carrying them in his pocket and studying as he worked at
the anvil. From these he went to Spanish, Italian and French. He always
had his book near him and improved every spare moment. He studied seven
languages in one single year. Then he taught school one year, but his
health failing, he went into the grocery business. Soon what money he
had was swept away by losses.
Here we see him at twenty-seven, life seemingly a failure. Alas! how
many would have given up. He left New Britain, his native town, walked
to Boston, and from there to Worcester, where he once more engaged
himself at his trade. His failure in business turns his attention once
more to study. He now is convinced as to the proper course to pursue,
his aim is fixed, and he now sets himself strenuously about the
accomplishment of his purpose. At thirty years of age he is master of
every language of Europe, and is turning his attention to those of Asia,
such as Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldaic. He is offered by a wealthy gentleman a
course in Harvard University, but prefers to work with his hands while
he studies.
He now begins to lecture, and everybody is eager to hear the learned
blacksmith. After a very successful tour he returns to the anvil. After
this he visits Europe, becomes the warm friend of John Bright and other
eminent men; writes books, lectures, edits newspapers, builds a church
and holds meetings himself. He said: "It is not genius that wins, but
hard work and a pure life." He chose the best associates only, believing
that a boy's companions have much to do with his success in life. At
sixty-eight he died, honored by two hemispheres.
If our readers want further proof as to the result of improving spare
moments, let them study the lives of such men as Douglass, Lincoln,
Grant, Garfield, Blaine, Cleveland, and others too numerous to mention,
and they will find that they were reared in the lower walks of life, but
by using every available minute they have been enabled to rise to
influence and usefulness. By this means they have worked the very odds
and ends of time, into results of the greatest value. An hour every day,
for ten years, will transform any one of ordinary ability from ignorance
to learning.
Think of it. One hour could be easily improved each evening, counting
three hundred week days to a year; in ten years you have spent three
thousand golden hours. If directed toward some specific end, think what
it would accomplish. Then there are the Sundays devoted to religious
knowledge. One of the first things to be learned by him who would
succeed, is ECONOMY OF TIME. Lost wealth can be replaced by industry;
lost health by hygiene; but lost time is gone forever.
The most frequent excuse one hears is: "I have no time." They cheat
themselves with the delusion that they would like to do this or that,
but cannot as they have no leisure. Dear reader, did you ever think that
the more a person has to do, the more they feel they can do? Look at the
men in our own community who have done the most for mankind; are they
the wealthy, whose only duty seems to be to kill time? No. Almost
universally they are the over-worked class who seem already burdened
with cares. These are the men who find time to preside at public
meetings, and to serve on committees.
It is easier for an over-worked man to do a little more than for a lazy
one to get up steam. A light stroke will keep a hoop in motion, but it
takes a smart blow to start it. The busy man succeeds: While others are
yawning and stretching, getting their eyes open, he will see the
opportunity and improve it. Complain not that you have no leisure.
Rather be thankful that you are not cursed with it. Yes, curse it is
nine times out of ten. Think of the young man going to some vile place
of amusement to kill time, then think of that young man utilizing that
hour every night in the acquisition of knowledge which will fit him for
life's journey. Think also of the money he will save. Leisure is too
often like a two-edged sword; it cuts both ways.