Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1855-02-13
"MYr LIFE HAS BEEN A FAILURE.nf

These affecting words were uttered, a few days
ago in York city, by William North, a poet and
author,' who has since died by his own hand.
The net of suicide was committed with such evil
dent deliberation. that the coroner's jury, for
once, made no attempt to pallate the dead mans
crime by q verdict of insanity. "AIy life has
been failures" !" said poor North, day or two
before he swallowed poison; 6" and have no de-
sire to liye." Unhappy, mistaken man He had
not yet reached his thirty-frst year There was
time yet for him to live another and a successful
life. gr' as a.5 "r '3t :rare gr .n
RI Why was this mans life failure Pile had
received, it appears, liberal education in English
and German universities. He spoke several lam
guages, we are told. He was man of talent
and industry, strictly temperate, of engaging
manners, honorable principles, and acute sympa-
thes. Yet we read of his self-inhicted death in
his thirtieth year, leaving behind him messages
of despair, and an unsealed envelope containing
twelve cents, endorsed, &c The remains of my for
tune and labors for ten years." Ten years strug-
gle with the world and the sum-total of result ::
twelve copper cents and coroner's verdict of
wilful suicide! There is something in this tragic
story to make us pause and think. And again
we ask, Why was the life of William North a
failure? -..a1 -.-.r
Wewi not attempt to answer that question !;
let the memory of the unhappy dead be held sa-
cred. But there are those among the living, sim
liar to him in position and character, who 90
about the world with the sentiment touching in
their hearts, ''My life is failure and have no
desire to live" Of them we would speak. We
have known and observed them long. We think
we understand their case.
The original error Of all this unhappy class
that we happen to know was this; they were
brought up either to definite calling, or to one
unsuited to their powers. The priceless years of
their youth, which should be spent in acquiring
skill and knowledge saleable in the market, was
squanderedin acquiring kind of knowledge which
is not available for the purposes of subsistence.
They went to college when they ought to have
gone to trade.-They reached maturity unac-
quainted with the world, and ignorant of any sim
gle craft, profession, or occupation by which
Then their resources failed, and they awoke from
dreaming over books, to the grim realities of life.
SAID one of this class to us not ten days ago,
The first time | had difficulty in paying my
board, it struck me as an entirely new idea, and
wondered nobody had told me any thing about
such things"
Oh parents, if you could but know the last
ing misery, the anguish, the shame, the despair,
the crime, which the unthinking vanity of the
parents of the present generation cause in train
ing children to no definite and reliable occupa-
tion, you would not repeat their fatal error! Af-
ter caring for the healthy Development and the
good principles of child, parents next duty,
we think, is to see that he or she acquires the
means of independence in the knowledge of a
profitable vocation. We care not what the wealth
of the parents, nor what the sex of the child, the
duty to which we allude seems to us quite uni
yersally binding.