Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-01-20
B OF THE YOUNG.


to avoid bad habits. II 4 young man
be idle he will make others idle. If he
be dishonorable in business, or extrava-
CANT, or does not pay his debts, he sap'
that credit, confidence and honor which
is the life of business prosperity. Where
these or other vicious principles prevail
among the youth Of a nation, it may
sink into degradation and eventually be
destroyed. On the other hand, where
an industrious, orderly, just and honor
able character pertains to the youth OF
a people, it insures the welfare and
progress Of the nation at large. In
youth comes the crisis Of life. Those
who choose well rise like the morning
sun higher and higher, but those who
fail at this crisis, sink among the perils
that surround them, often to rise no
more. At no time are passion I'M en-
ergy so strong, and experience so weak,
as at the point where parents and
guardians relinquish authority, aad tho
young man assumes the responsibility
of directing himself. 1t is then that
mind and the body are strong, courage,
hope and enterprise ardent, and the ap-
petites and inclinstions powerful.
Passions, when latent in the breast,
need but a spark Of temptation to in
flame them. If they were all pure, and
properly ~harmonized, the young man
would perhaps find in them that which
would give strength to his virtue, and
an instinct which, supplying the place
of experience, would guide him Alright.
But it is not so. He may have inherit
ed the moral d%elinqueuces Of the parent
as much as his physical disorders. The
currents and fashions Of prevailing
wickedness make it difficult for n young
man to keep clear Of them. What
avails the skill Of the mariner in tho
mids, of the whirlpool? He may steer
by his compass, and set his sails, and
seem to be moving Alright, while he is
really drifting into the fatal current.
The young man, led by his youthful
associates into the haunts Of dissipation
and vice, ia being insensibly drawn into
the fatal current. He may be amiable,
and even innocent at first, but after a
time his face is flushed, and his brow
contracted with anxiety, for he feels
that he is rushing into the whirlpool OF
guilt that may end in his destruction.
Good habits firmly fixed are the best
thing to guide the young through the
journey Of life in a wise aud honorable
manner. Money cannot do it; nor tai
ents and education, nor powerful con-
nsctions and fashionable manners.
Neither can philosophy, or even inno-
ceuce and amiability do it. All these
may fade before temptation. like snow
before the sun. Earnest and active de-
votion to duty, to virtuous principles,
and the practice of honor, honesty, mo-
rality and justice, are necessary to com
bat the dangers by which the young are
surrounded. Some habits should be
checked others stimulated ; some need
pruning, and others wedding out, root
aud branch. II taken IN time it will be
a pleasant duty to keep the garden OF
the mind in order, but if the weeds get
the upper hand, the task will be n OF
increasing difficulty. Prince T~alleyrand
took part in thirteen revolutions, and
was always the acknowledged leader.
His plan was to wa:ch the tendencies OF
public opinion, and always to take his
stand q little way before the foremost,
so that they would seem to be coming
up to him. He once said that the secret
of his success in life was to set his
watch ten minutes ahead Of the rest OF
mankind. Idlensss is a common weed,
but is easily kept under if Industrious
habits are formed in time, aud he whose
day begins ten minutes sooner than that
of those around him, will find the beue-
fit of Talleyrand's maxim. So, if a
young man in his business keeps q little
in advance of what his employer could
reasonably expect Of him, his reputation
will be assured.