Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1854-03-15
" Make him a Mechanic

lC AltA0s 4hN A0SbAN4 OSA4o W r.
lis duty, if he can by any dint of effort and hu
to give his son an education-a to
good education = mayhap, a classic, college col
education. This is all commendable in the be
highest degree, but almost without exception DIR
such young gentleme an return home with such no
" stuck up notions, that they would consid- ca
err themselves eternally disgraced, if they to
were placed on the shoe-maker's bench, in at
the carriage shop, or at the blacksmith's gi
forge, where their fathers have delved and pi
striven to furnish means for storing their tie
minds with intellectual lore. Too often they I
return home, wild, idle, reckless, dissipated, n
and loiter about home doing nothing, and Il
scarce ever deigning to visit the shop where a
a grey headed father is wearing out his life Il
for their support. t
Finally, the old gentlemen gives his boy" n
a hint that it is time he was beginning to do
something for himself, and an occupation is 1
spoken of. Nothing short of one Of the '
" learned professions" can be thought ola
lawyer or a doctor, or at least q merchant {
He selects the former, and after Flooding for
months over Coke, Littleton, Chitty, &C., the
Supreme Court grants him a license; he
sticks out his shingle, inscribed in glittering
capitals" Charles Chatterbox, Attorney at
Law"-and he is tickled amazingly. He
takes his seat in his Office and his fired am
bition causes the shades of Pitt, Sheridan,
Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Marshall, CASTOR
and a host of distinguished worthless to loom
= = -. ] |
and waits for clients-they come not, and he
is astonished that people cannot discern and
appreciate his superior abilities and transcen-
dant eloquence, and do not secure his servi-
ces in every case on the docket. Still they
come not-John Doe and Richard Roe, with
plethoric purses, of whom he had read so
much in the books" pass him by and pro-
cure other counsel his "briefs" are so brief
that they are invisible, and court after court
passes and he has not received a single fee
Idleness and dissipation have grown upon
him and at the age of so he finds himself
hopelessly in debt, with no name or fame,
but a bad one, acquired, except that he is
known as . old Ca. Sa." a soubriquet earned
by torturing those against whom claims have
been placed in his hands for collection.
So of the young disciple of Esculapius
few make more than a respectable living, the
large majority not that-fewer still arrive a
distinction-but still our Medical Colleges
are crowded, and Doctors by the hundred ART
commissioned to WELD the scalpel and tn,
: mortar-one half Of whom have to desert i
for som other business by which they cal
> get their daily bread-but it is a notoriou
fact that not one in q hundred of either lay
or medical practitioners, ever acquire an cas-
b independence by their profession.
n But there was once a young man who ha
an education equal to the lawyer or DOCTOR
;. When he returned from college his father
e estate was insolvent, and he had to look on
n for something to do that would support him
e He could not live on the wind while he wa
IS studying law or medicine, SO the next "Lou
e est step IN responsibility" was to be a cler
in a store. He set out in search of a plac,
but he found all flled-no vacancies. Wor
out with fatigue in the vain search, with h
spirit humbled, he unconsciously strolled il
% to the shop Of a shoemaker, before whom |
,o laid his complaints. "Why don't you 60
% work." asked the old man. 1 can't get an
20 thing to do, was the response. Come al
learn my trade" said the old man. 1t W
a bargain. The pampered son of fortune b
came the apprentice of honest father -
rs His good habits endeared him sensibly to t
10 generous shoemaker, and the progress whic
rg he made in his new avocation, surprised ev
re- ry one who had formerly been a~cquaint,
with his idle habits. The old man died. D
ring his illness he carried on the business
IF the shop, and received for his services son
"a old tools which had been the property of
u employer. He commenced business for hi1
self, but soon went to a aourishing villa
al and entered a large establishment as a lou
ey neyman. His love for study and refneme
lie increased. The best society was thrown OBJ
ke before him, the confidence of the employ
- was unbounded in his integrity, his she
mates were pleased with his native talen
and address-he became the sun of their |
", tie circle and when he left his employer
re the hope of obtaining q better situation. |
loss was severely lamented.
IRE This gentleman mechanic once conversi
with a young man upon the false pride viii
rk had ruined SO many boys, remarked: 81
ne had obtained a clerkship when 1 sought it
lp- should have been an outcast in society n
an a beggar. This is the effect of shoe-maki,
,ss of industry and enterprise-a good reputati,
me a clear conscience and a happy life."
He The laboring mantle Farmer and \
pie chanic-they are the most important persC
ages upon the earth-the world can get alo
without all the rest; but these removed a
me the world falls into chaos. Let them und
stand and appreciate their high position
No let them scout with scorn the base charaet
ice that would dishonor them, and take the re
ian IN their own hands and govern and cont,
lid for which they have both the intellect a
wv. the power.
1t ->~0o--
the INFLUENCE OF A TEMPERANCE Paper