Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-11-14
from the baltimore Sun.


"Take the Best of Everyshing.7
We once knew asrnan whom neither care
nor sorrow seemed to effect; who at sixty had
the digestion and flow of spirits of twenty-one,,
who had acquired a. large fortune apparently
without an effort; who, in short, was the hap
piest Of men, and the envy of all who knew
him. How is il, !" we said to him, THAT you
are SO fortunate? What tslisman secures to
you all these advantages9 lie smiled as he
answered, Il have no talismsn, unless it is TO
make the best of sreyything-"
To make the best of everythiDgl Like
Key to a problem, the answer unlocked for US,
at once, the whole of the great mystery. Life
is too short and happiness too precious to con
sumo the one or throw away the other, in idle,
unavailing regrets. Even if ilI-fortune swels
into flood, threatening to undermine the very
ground on which we stand, is it not wiser to
strive to bridge the torrent than to wait, be-
wailiDg our fate, till the waters swallow uS2-
The weak and unstable succumb to destiny,
and are washed into oblivion. The wise and
brave, accepting circumstances as they present
themselves, plunge, boldly, like Horatio of old,
into the stream and win the further shore in
safety, and earn immortal guerdon and re-
nOwn.
Few men, If any, ever succeed in life who
have not learned to make the best Of every
thing; and generally, their success is in exact
proportion to their adherence to the rule
Does debtor fall Every merchant knows
that it is the best course, if the debtor is hon
est, to accept his first offer of compromise, and
not squander money in useless litigation. Have
you become insolvent yourself2 The worst
thing you can do is to give up to despair, and
say it is folly trying to redeem yourself Has a
friend misjudged you or an enemy done you
secret harm9 Don't lose precious moments in
sentimental grief over ingratitude, or passion
ate threats at your wrOng-doer, but go to work
on the instant, to shame your friend or disarm
your foe. Had Astor, when he was poor
German emigrant, made up his mind that the
attempt to be millionaire was absurd, lie
might have died beggar 10 the almshOuse-
Had Washington, when CORVALLIS pursued
him across New Jersey with their thirty thou
sand troops, SAID 1t was hopeless to save Anne
RIGA with bis fragment of an army, his three
thousand battered continentals, we might this
| day have been in slavery to Great Britain; but
he said, 'If the British cross the Delaware ]
will retire to the Alleghauies, and if they are
victorious there will fly to the wilderness be-
| yond," and this resolution never to give up
but always to make the best of everything, lee
to the victory of Trenton and the freedom Of
the Republic.
We are familiar with people who whine con
tinually at fate. To believe them, never wal
lot so hard as theirs; yet those who know
their history will generally tell you that thei
| life has been one long tale of opportunities
disregarded, or misfortunes otherwise deserv
ed. Perhaps they were born poor. In thi
case they hate the rich, and have always hateC
them, but without ever having emulated the
prudence or energy. Perhaps they have sect
their rivals more favored by accident. In thi
event they forgot how many have been les
| lucky than themselves; so they squander the
little, because, as they say, they cannot saw
as much as Others. Irritated at life, they grow
old prematurely. Dissatisfied with every
thing, they never permit themselves to b
happy. Because they are not born at the to-
of the wheel of fortune, they refuse to TAX
hold of the spokes as the latter come around
but lie stubborn in the dirt crying like spoe,
children, neither doing anything themselves
nor permitting others to do it for them.
Make the best of everything! At home, i
wife or husband is cross, if servants are care
less, if children are irritating don't fly into
passion, for that will do no good, but max
the best of the circumstances, fulfill your duty
and wait for happier times. Abroad, if thing
look unpromising, preserve stout heart, keel
cool, and play your hand to the best of you
ability. Even ii fate has the first move, whicl
is not always the case, you have the second; an
the game may still be yours, if you play skllful
ly and hopefully.