The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1854-10-31
BE of Good Heart.

= That there are such things as good and bad
"luck" in this world every one believes, but it
cannot be denied that people have the ma
king of their luck far more in their own hands
than they are usually disposed to admit.
When an enterprise is rashly undertaken and
failure is the result, it is much pleasanter to
ascribe the failure to bad luck than to want
of reflection and prudence. When man
wastes the best of his days. TAXI ;g no thought
of the future and spending all his earnings as
fast AS thev are received, it is the easiest way
to,quiet conscience when htd age approachesand
poverty stares him in the face, to cast all the
blame npon an evil fortune which never gave
him opportunities to improve his worldly cir
cumstances. When he sees others who com
menced life active duties at the same time he
did prosperous, and perhaps wealthy, he at
tributes it|all to their good fortune, overlook.
ing the diligence, economy and prudent spirit
Of enterprise which always distinguished them.
1t is true that all have not the same talents,
the same clearness of Judgment to seize upon
favorable moments to better their prospects,
the same energetic will to press on hopefully
under discouragements and difficulties; put the
Industrious man who observes temperance,
practices economy, and maintains consistent
character for truth and probny, rarel y nr never
fails in winning some measure Of snccrss, and
securing competency f;n his declining years.
Even the hunblest laborer may hope t., het-
ter his worldly condition, and lay up Il store in
the prime Of life for future wants, hy observing
these simple virtues. And what is the mere
material gain compared with the peace OF mind
and enduring pleasures of Il ~"ll.emlloyed
fife Men do not know how much they can
accomplish until they Try. The great cause "f
their failures, mstotLunes and miseries is that
they do not earrstlytry to succeed. They form
u good resolution, but break it as so"n as form
ed. Ii they do observe it little while, they
yield to the first strong temptation, or limid'y
halt when an obstacle comes in their way. 1t
is their bad luck again. they say, in excuSing
their weakness or cowardice. 'There is no
use in on try ing; every thing is against Us" and
thus complaining against fate-when the ianlt
is th,;r ,own-lhey sink down into spiritess
and degrading Indifference. When they ought
to be battling against what they call their fate,
and gaining new strength in every stag" of the
conflict, they retire, perhaps, to some run shop,
and there, with adu1eiated, poisonous p"tons.
destroy their moral sense and physical ener-
gies. To succeed in life, men must net only
try earnestly to succeed but they must avoid
doing any thing which they know will hin-
der their success. There are many very in.
dustrnus meu, who toll hard all the week, and
every week in the year, who neverless are not
one dollar richer at tie end of the year than
they were at the beginning oft. They earn
ed, perhaps, good wages, or made large profits
in trade, they did not practice economy. The
mouey has Slipped away" from them, and
the -aue hopeless round of t'l is performed
year after year unit sickness or bad times come
and then the consequences OF their improvl.
dence flow in upon them in an overwhelming
food of miseries. How much misery, want
and wretchedness might be avoided if men and
women would remember that it is their duty
and remembering it, observe ito gather, in
the sunshine ofprosperty, a little store to serve
them in their pussible need, in some winter
season;of adversely. Whole World.