American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-06-21
Don't Depend on .Fa,her.,

Stand up here, young man, and let us
talk to yOu-you have trusted alone to the
contents of "father's purse" on his fair
fame for your influence, or success in bu-
siness. Think you that "father has at.
tanned to eminence in his profession, bul
by unwearied industry? or that he has a.
massed fortune honestly, without energy
and activity? You should know that the
faculty requisite for the acquiring of fame
or fortune, is essential to, nay inseparable
from the retaining of either of thesel-
Suppose 'father" has the "rocks" in a.
bundance; ifyou never earned anything for
him, you have no more business with
these "rocks" than a gosling has with a
tortoise! and if he allows you to meddle
with them till you own industry, he per-
petraes untold mischief And if the old
gentleman is lavish of his cash towards you,
while he allows you to while away your
time, you'd better leave him; yes, run a.
way. sooner than be an imbecile or
something worse through so corrupting
an influence. Sooner or later you must
learn TO rely on your own resources, or
you will not be anybody. If you have be-
come idle, if you have eaten fathers bread
and butter, and smoked fathers cigars, cut
a swell in fathers buggy, and tried to put
on fathers influence and reputation, You
might far better have been poor canal
boy, the son ofa chimney sweep, or boot
black--and indeed We would not swap
with you the situation of a poor, half
starved motherless calf! Miserable OBJ
jects you are, that depend entirely on your
parents, playing gentlemen, (dandy loaf
ers) } What in the name of common sense
are you thinking of? Wake up therel-
Go to work with either your hands or
your brains, or both, and be something!-
Don't merely have it to boast of that you
have grown in Gathers house--that you
have vegetated as other green horns but
let folks know that you count one! Come,
off with your coat, clinch the saw, the plow
handles, the scythe, the axe. the pickaxe,
the spade-anything that will enable you
TO stir your blood! Fly around and tear
your jacket, rather than be the passive re-
cipicnt of the oldgentleman's bounty!-Soon-
er than play the dandy at dads expense,
hire yourself out to some potatoe patch, let
yourself to stop hog holes, or watch the
bars, and when you think yourself entitled
to resting spell, do it on your own hook.
Ifyou have no other means of having fun
of your own, buy with your earnings an
empty barrel, and put your head into it
and holler, or get into it and roll down hill;
don't 70. PHYS sake make the old gentle
man furnish everything, and you live at
your ease.
Look about you, you well-dressed,
smoothfaced, do-nothing drones: Who
are they that have worth and influence in
society? Are they those thathave depend
ed alone on the old gentlemaD's purse? or
are they those that have clmed their way
to their position by their own industry and
energy? True, the old gentleman's funds.
or personal influence, may secure you the
forms of respect, but let him lose his prop
erty, or die, and what are you? A miser-
able hedgling-a bunch of flesh and bones
that needs to be taken care of
Again we say, wake up-get up in the
morning-turn round at least twice before
breakfast-help the old man-give him
now and then generous lift in business
learn how TO take the lead, and not depend
forever on being led, and you have no idea
how the discipline will benefit you. Do
this, and our word for it, you will seem to
breathe new atmosphere, possess new
frame, tread new earth, wake to new
destiny-and then you may begin to aspire
to manhood. Take of, then, that ring
from your lily finger, brake your cane,
shave your upper lip, wine your nose, hold
up your head, and, by all means, never
again eat the bread of idleness, NOR DE-
PEND ON FATHER.