The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-06-13
Luck.


OF all the words in our language, we
most detest this. Itmeans that some men
are, as it were, pet children in the world,
to whom its sweetmeats are given ire
spective of their merits and labor When
we are too indolent to work for thing,
we trust to luck when we, are selfcom-
placent to see our own blunders and
follies, we deplore our "bad luck" Thus
it is the base-metal coin of ignorance and
laziness. Micawber waiting for some
thing to "turn up" the countryman
standing by his imbogged cart with folded
arms, and calling upon Hercules for help
these are the types of the believers in
luck. We sometimes hear his friends
saying toa youth just entering upon his
career, We wish you good luck" They
mean nothing unfriendly by it but it is
a good thing that we have Universe Of
Laws far wiser than our wishes,-Laws
which, when we shall know more of them,
will teach us to say to the youth, Gre
member that God helps those who help
themselves Remember that there are
no such things as luck, wind-fall, god
send; your destiny rests on your own
heart, and your own right arm. There
is path leading to each thing; travelling
on that path you reach that whereto it
leads,--and that which you seem to grasp,
without patiently fulfilling its conditions,
is an illusion, and a lie, by no means the
real thingl" ....
There is an impression abroad, still,
that4rea ond Nature can be cheated. and
theLaws Of the Universe evaded by blind
ways, short cuts, royal roads, and what
not A man tolls fifty years and amasses
q fortune; his son does not toll day, and
gets all that his father earned people
say "he is in luck" born with a silver
spoon in his mouth" and so on. But,
first, let US be sure that he really has or
can have that money which he did not
earn. To his father that wealth means
something; industry, patience, prudence,
diligence, good habits, have shaped
themselves into gold and silver forms;
they are the money Of the money The
young heir knows nothing of the habits
and virtues underlying the wealth,-he
gets the mere glittering form. 1t be-
comes, to him, simply the temptation of
his Uniformed character; it means not
probity and industry, but fast horses and
wine-so his riches 60 faster than his
horses. This makes the spendthrift: a
man can alone truly value that which he
has earned. If he is of too selfish q
nature to become spendthrift, he be-
comes sensualist and an idler. Not
unfrequently do we hear of his exclaim-
ing, am an Irishman or Dutchman
that l should work. kT-soon followed by
the crime of beating some vile woman to
death, and passing on to the Penitentiary,
even if, by his wealth and position, he
can escape the gallows. And thisis luck
Very wise was that ancient poet who
WROTE
Bee that thou from him nothing take"
He knew the danger of climbing up
by another door" than honest toll into
any benefit, and that it could not really
enrich man but must make him beggar.
A beggar is he who gets for nothing that
which another has earned; and whether
he asked for it or not, whether it be a
dime or million, makes only the differ
ence of degree or form. We have often
seen your lucky man, and never knew
him fail to bear out this statement Gen
orally he is q conceited, superficial, indo-
lent fop, whom, if be were not wealthy,
men would easily recognize as an "idle
puppy" He has learned nothing, be-
cause he has done nothing and endured
nothing. Everything about him is skin
deep. Alas if we could bring ourselves
to use the phrase at all, it would be to
exclaim for him, "unlucky man p
We met the other day with a gentle
man who lived in the neighborhood of
Ex-President Tyler, of Virginia. We all
know that Tyler has been often spoken of
as His Accidency." This gentleman
said, in alluding to this, People think
that John Tyler's becoming President of
the United States, was simply the result
of the Presidents death. But those who
know the man at home, as. he has lived
and worked for forty years, believe that
there was no luck about it, but that he
would have been President at length, in
any case. He is an honest man, work
ing and an able man, whatever may be
thought Of his politics. There was no