The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1846-07-18
Stick to Your Business.

A great many miIk-and-water ESSAYS
are written nowadays to show what
miracles may be achieved by unflinch.
ing never-tiring perseverance-but the
following from The pen Of John Neal.
is of Il far different character; rs much
superior, indeed, to the mass of such
productions, asa real Brizilan diamond
is superior to Scotch pebble. 1t is
tull OF sterling sense and practical wis.
dom. and we commend its suggestions
especially to those restless, fckle.mind.
ed men, in every community who are
continually flying from one avocalion
to Misunderstanding to none long enough
t" get a liking for it. and yet with char
acteristic folly are forever grumbing at
their want of success. Meals writings,
though dashed with a strong tinctnre
of eccentricity, are always original and
sparkling with good sense, and, what
ever may be his other sins, he is sell
dom guilty Of the most unpardonable
one of aIl-dullness. He has that men.
tai activity which is contagious, and
has done Il great amount of good in his
day by setting minds of more equan.
unity upon the track of progress. He
has paid the same attention To artistic
excellence as a writer which he has
given TO the merely vigorous expires.
sion of his thoughts, he might easily
have stood in the foremost rank of
American authors; as it is. he never pol
ishes or reiines, but. to use homeIy
figure, shovels out his intellectual trea.
sures like rocks from the earth, with
all their incrustations thick upon them.
But to the extract:
"There are people who, having be-
gun life, by. setting their boat agains,
wind ard tide. are always complaining
OF their bad luck, and are always Just
ready to give up,and for that every rea-
son are always hel pless and good for
nothing; and yet it they would perse-
we're, hard as it may be to work up
stream all your life long, they would
have their reward at last. Good voy-
ages are made both ways!
A certain amount of opposition is a
grea, help to man. Kites rise against.
not with the wind. Even head wind
is better than nothing. No man ever
worked his voyage any where IN a dead
calm. The best wind for every thing,
in the long run, is II side wind. II it
blows right aft, how is he to get back.
let no man wax pale therefore, be-
cause of opposition. Opposition is
wha, he wants and must have, to be
good for any thing. Ilardshipis is the ma.
tive soil OF manhood and sel!.reIiance.
He that cannot abide the storm wiihou.
flinching or qualling, strips himself in
the sunshine, and lies down by the way.
side to be overlooked and forgotten.
He who braces himself to the struggle
when the winds blow-gives up when
they have done, and falls asleep in the
stiffness that follows.
Did you ever know any body st ok to
any kind of business, no matter how
unpromising, ten years at most, who
did not prospera Not one!,-no mat
ter how bad il might be at the begin
ming Is hho stuck :sca to it earnestly and
faithfully and tried nothing else; no
matter how hard he may have found
il sometimes to keep his head above
water; still, if he persevered. he always
came out bright in the long run-didn't
|he2--whatever il might be at the be-