The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-09-15

ioAi h""S>Ht' 1A'fa iuO b'SHct you WINK
on the ladder of Fame, tho more neei
you will have of courage; for as thu
| lowering cloud let's fly its fiery wratl
soonest at the highest peak or the
ltallest tree Of the forest, so will yor
/ then be the, better target for. the malice
and envy of your tellow-men.
To become pre-eminent, either as &
great or as q good man, means to bt
slandered and abused. But why neei
you care for the worlds abuse9 Onl,
beisprc you are right, and stand the
more firmly by your principles. the
greater the opposition You encounter
Yes, always do your duty, cost what Il
may. a39lag -ias& web ,.g,5aa e
II BE independent in thought, speech
and action, relying on your own iudg-
ment and your own strong arm to bear
you safe through life. OF course; get
all tho information you can from
others, consulting sensible men rs to
what you had best do; but blindly
follow no mans advice. Prefer rather
to fail on Your own Judgment than to
succeed by that of another. What
can be more pitiablc than one without
an opinion of his own, and without a
will to carry it out! Yet how often do
we hear She old man regret not having
followed his own ideas in early life
aid how common to sec some miscra-
bio excuse for a professional man,
whose relatives or friends could not
bear to sec him good mechanic
Nature has no doubt best fitted cacli
of you for some particular pursuit.
Try and find out as early as possible
what that is. Weigh well yonr tastes,
your capacity, Your energy and your
endurance; that is, "know thysclf."
BE careful not to be undnly Influenced
by old persons, merely because they
are your seniors. Show them great
courtesy and respect, for that is their
due. Listen attentively to what they
may say; but still recolicct that tho
fool, rs well as the wise man, grows
old, and that a kind Providence silvers
the heads of both alike. Your own
Judgment alone can best decide what
you had better do; but once you have
fixed upon your line of action, vigor-
ously and zealously carry it out to its
legitimate conclusion: and yonr life,
whatever be your occupation, will be
either a brilliant success or a total
failure. Ifa failure, yop will have the
consolation of knowing that you have
failed on your own judgment; and that
! assure you is a great comfort 1t
will make you happy aud contented in
tho midst of your misfortnnes. Can
you believe that you have been given
the power to think for yourselves,
merely to know how to follow the adj
vice and do the bidding of another 2
How preposterous! Then learn early
to he mcn--to think and act for your
selves. & ova Rt ias h5f5f,lsts
Be not ashamed to work With cithor
head Or hand, rs may be necessary !;
but ON tho contrary to DO idlc.. Even
the man Of wealth, has no right to be
idle. Wealth properly understood, is
the means of doing good to our fellow
men; and God has only intrusted it to
some persons,l to be used most effec-
,tually for tho good of all. You are
poor and it is fortunate for You that
you are, for the poor boy in America is
most apt to become the great man.
Remember that Washington in his
youth was not rich, and that Franklin
and Hamilton, jackson and Clay, and
Lincoln and Johnson were all poor
boys, and had to labor for their daily
bread; and what they did from necessi-
ty will not disgrace you. An honest,
manly struggle through poverty will
make men of you. -.
Respect every man who labors.
What an ugly comment upon us, as q
people, that we pass by the honest,
manly laborer, to take by the hand the
drunken loafcr, who has had the mis-
fortune to pc born gentleman of
wealth With most of our American
youth, wealth is but another name for
idleness, dissipation and vice, that
powerful trio of evil, which is sure to
entail misfortune, ruin, shame! How
fortunate for you, then, that you are
poor You will be better men for it.
bet me tell you that the mechanic
and the merchant, the farmer and the
laborer, in these days of material pro
grcss, arc of as much use to the world,
and just us important members of So
ciety, as the lawyer, the physician and
the professor; and when you meet with
the master mechanic, or the successful
merchant or planter, consider your
selves in the presence OF superior
man, and honor him accordingly.
Rest assured that agriculture and COM
merce, and machinery and finance, re-
.quirc as high order of talent as the So
called learned professions, however
difficult they may be; and as they are