Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-12-24
HOW TO GET ON.

| Is there, then, no general rule for "getting
| on in the world? We think there is. We
cannot tell what is coming; but we can hold
| ourselves in preparation for what may beiall.
A ship that goes forth upon the ocean is pro-
vided with appliances both for catching the
breeze and evadng the storm; and were it
| otherwise, she would have no chance of making
n prosperous voyage. If we examine the his
tory OF men who have risen in society, we find
their elevation, although apparently the result
of chance to be due, in reality, to the fact of
their being ready to take advantage of the wind
or the current. To suppose otherwise is to
! suppose human beings to be inert logs floating
upon the stream, or feathers dancing in the air.
When we hear of man plodding for life at
| thankless profession, we may in nine cases
out of ten, conclude him to he destitute of the
information or accomplishments which would
| have enabled him to take advantage OF the
| thousand circumstances which are constantly
at work in such crowded communities as ours
| We are frequently told of persons who have
n got on" by chance; but il we inquire into the
particulars of the story, we are sure to discover
that they possessed peculiar capabilities for ta-
| king advantage of the opening that may have
| occurred We knew lad who was chosen
| from his cOmpeers for q service when eventu-
| ally led to prodigious advancement And why!
Simply because this lad possessed, in higher
degree than the Others the accomplishment OF
penmanship, which happened to be specially
wanted in his new employment. The lllustra-
ton is an humble one but il we call to mlnu
the character of the age we live in, its varied
knowledge, and high toned refinement we shall
be led from it to conclude, as a general rule,
that something more than chance must rule the
destinies of the fortunate. To descend still
lower; suppose cobbler working at his stall
in yillage-industriorsy, soberly, persever-
ingly. All, perhaps, will not do. The village
is waxing into town sanguine coDDlers come
faster than shoes to mend, and the poor man
sinks into destitution. Why is this Because
he was cobbler who stuck like cobbler's wax
to the proverb, and never went beyond his last.
Because his mind was imprisoned in his stall.
Because he was unable to take advantage of
any one of the currents and counter currents
that are rushing and gushing in rising place,
and when his own stagnatcd, could only drift
like lifeless log.
The way to get on Is not to rush from en-
ployment to employment, or to worry ourselves
and others with our Impotence, but to Keep
IN. as fnr as circumstances permit, with the re-
ouirements of n refined and accomplished age,
and thus be ready to avail ourselves of any
reasonable opportunities that may offer. II no
such opportunities occnr, what them why,
then, we have enjoyed the fnerpart of success;
| we nave llNeu DtNOHu our suStHi Nohuitioh w
have held intellectual association with the
master minds of the world we have prolonged
even life itself, by multiplying the spirit of life,
which is Thought. As for the notion that we
can only EXTEND our mental acquisitions by
neglectng our social employment, that Is II
fallacy which is refnted by the very constitu-
ton Of the society in which we live. Were this
notion correct, there would be no such things
as the constant progression we have described
from the lower to the higher ranks the whole
mass would stagnate.
But while openly avowing our disbelief in
the old quack nostrums which IL has been Gus
tomary to administer, by way of ptdceoo, TO
impatient spirits, we do not go the length OF
denying to each its own special virtue Pcrse-
vcrance, energy, prudence, resolution, sobrlety,
honesty-all are necessary for success but
neither singly or in the aggregate are they ca
pable of nsuring it. five seek advancement,
our minds must expand beyond our present
position, whatever itbe ; and this they can only
| do by the acquisition of knowledge. It is q
simple secret no doubt--as simple as that OF
Columbus when he taught his audience how
to make an egg stand on end. But for all that,
it is the solution of the grand question; it is
the way, and the only way, TO GET on.