The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-01-02
Timothy Titcomb's Letters TO Young
Men.

ll"H l' 'lINhU'h N'PAIlllAh
am one Of those retired clcrgymcn "Whosc
sands Of life have nearly run out :" but, hay-
ing been nearly Killed by taking nos,rum
advertised 10y one tiny profcssiouu, brethren
in similar circumstances, | have concluded
not to adop, medicine os a mean. Of .ubsist-
rncc, hut to resort to the humber business
Of writing letters 10 all torts Of people
through the newspapers, My gypcricucchu has
been large At ava early period of my lie
was, myself a young man, which ! suppose
sufficiently qualities mc for giving advice to
young mcni and, as | once had charge Of q
female boarding school, it is to hc presumed
that ! know something about young women.
Having said what | have 20 say to these
classes separately ii will be expected that
shall address them when matrimonally CON
joined. II !. warranted sufficient for my
ttnc" for this latter office that the Mrs Tit1
comb who now shares my bed aud board /,
Tho Ttud who has held that honorable md
responsible position. What % man who has
lived happily with three wives does not
know UtUUr uT1TTitIgr iy rI7r ut yrrtiirirr7t
Young t'rf, ,eHrs wemen and married
people, shall addrcs. Ia sueeeAa.oa For
the present my business is with Young men.
Lake it that the first great lesson a young
man has to lcurtlis that he is an ass The
earlier this lesson is learned, the better viii
II 6c TOT ms Tu-rcr m
life. Some never learn it, and descend into
the evening o[cXistcncc, their ears heightened
with the shadows, as they 20. Some learn it
early, get their cars cropped, and say nothing
about it while others scn>ibly retire into
modest employ yuiclts, where they will not be-
noticed. 4 young man bred at homc, and
growing up in the light Of parental admira-
-tieR and -fraiorHal pride. cannot readily under
stand hnw any aHe plSo, can be as smart as
he ia. lie goes into town, puts ON airs, gets
snubbcd, wonders what it means, goes into
society and finds himself touguc-tcd. under
takes to speak in debating club and breaks.
down, or gets laughed at,pnys attention to
nice Young woman, and finds a very large
mittcn on his hands, and, in a state Of mind
"bordcring on Distraction" sits down to
.
his history, The rcsuit,of his reasoning de-
cdcs his fate. lfho thoroughly comprchcnds
the fact that he does not know ANYTHING. and
accepts the conviction that all the world
around him knows Il guurt rfr7i more ti,urr iit,.
does, that he is but cipher, aud that what
ever he gets must be won by hard work,
there is hope of him. lie will 20 to work,
and learn how to live On the contrary, if
huge sclfconccit still hold possession of him
if he gets cross and sour, if he turns up his
nose, or sneaks, he will be cut. The world
has no for him. A young man who is
not tractabe and pacable, and who refuses
to admit to hpself that he does not know
anything to speak of, and to do it good
naturedly, might as well retire to private life,
first as ast
After n young man has thoroughly com
pretended the fact that he is an ass, the next
thing for him to learn is that the world does
not care anything about him,-that he is the
subject ofnobodys admiration or overwhclm-
ing esteem-that he has got to look out for
himself A letter of recommendation will
procure an invitation to ten. If he wears a
good hat, the sexton will show him to n
pleasant seat in church. and expect him to
contribute literally when the plate goes
round. If he is a stranger, nobody will look
after him. Every man is busy with his own
affairs He will not be noticed until he be-
comes noticeable, and he will not become
noticeable until he does something to PROVE
that he has an absolute value in society. No
letter of recommendation will give him this,
No family connection will give him this, cx-
cept among those who think more of blood
than btSinsr Society demands that he shall
be somebody and has right to demand it.
Society will NOT take this matter on trust, at
least, not for long time. Society is not so
particular what man does, but he must do
something to prove that he iss man.