Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-17
THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY,
A Story Told 30 a Child.
BY JEAN

Not many things have happened to me
in the cou;se of my life which can be call
ed events. But one great event, as I then
thought it, happened when l was eight
years old. How well l remember the oc-
casionl I had a holiday, and was reading
loud to my mother. The book was the
/" Life of Howard, the Philanthropist." I
was interested in it, though the style was
considerably above my comprehension at
last 1 came to the following sentence,
which / could make nothing of: ale
could not let slip such q golden opportu-
nifty for doing good
"What is a golden opportunity ?" 1
enquireds
IT means = very good opportunity
"But, mamma, why do they call it
golden p
NY smiled, and said it was a
fgurative expression; "Gold is very val
liable, and very uncommon; this opportu-
nifty was a very valuable and uncommon
one; we can express that in one word, by
calling it a golden opportunity"
l pondered upon the information for
some time, and then made a reply, to the
effect that all the golden opportuni-
kit5 sttlAtu ~ AdhDSn " very IlCn PbOllGg
or people who lived a long time ago; or
else to great men, whose lives we can read
in books-very great men, such as Will
b%erforce and Howard; but they never
happen to real people, whom we could see
every day, nor to children,
"To children like you, 0rris? said
my mother, why, what kind Of a COL
den opportunity are you wishing for just
now3"
Ny reply was childish enough.
"If | were great man l should like TO
sail after the slave ships, fight them, and
take back the poor slaves to their own
country. Or l should like to do some
thing like what Quintus Curtius did. Not
exactly like that; because you know,
mamma, if I were to jump into a gull,
that would not really make it close"
"No,n said my mother, " it would not"
Sand, besides" Ireasoned, "if it had
closed, l should never have known Of the
good l had done, because l should have
been killed"
Certainly" SAID my mother; I saw
her smile, and thinking it wss at the folly
of my last wish, FASTENED to bring forward
a wiser one.
al think 1 should like to be a great
ladv, and then if there had been a bad
harvest and all the poor people on my
lords land we're nearly starving, 1 should
like to come down TO them with a purse
full of money, and divide it among them.
But YOU see, mamma, l have no golden
opportunities"
"Mydear, we all have some op~portuni-
ties for doing good, and they are golden,
or not, according to the use we make of
Them
"But, mamma, We cannot get people re-
leased out of prison, as Howard did
"No; but sometimes by ~instructing
them in their duty, by providing them
with work, so that they shall earn bread
enough, and not be tempted and driven by
hunger to steal, we car prevent some
people from being yer put into prison
NY mother continued to explain that
those who really desired to do good, never
wanted opportunities, and that the differ
enee between Howard and other people
was more in perseverance and earnest
ness than in circumstances. But l do not
profess to remember much of what she
said l only know that very shortly she
took me into my grandfather's study, and
sitting down began busily to mend a heap
of pens which lay beside him on the table.
He was correcting proof sheets, and
knowing that 1 must not talk, 1 stood
awhile, very quietly watching him.
Presently 1 saw him mark out a letter
in the page, make a long stroke in the
margin, and write 4 letter d beside it.
Curiosity was too much for nv pru-
dencei l could not help saying
"Grandpapa, what did you write the
letter d for ~
"There was a letter too much in the
word, child" he replied: al spell pota-
toes with only n ?, and l want the
printer 10 put out the second"
"Then d stands for don't l suppose 2"
was my next observation; ut means don't
put it in"
ayes, child, yes-something like that
fit had not been my birthday I should
not have had the courage to interrupt him
again. But, grahdpapa, do begins with
d SO how is the printer to know whether
you mean do or don'tf"