Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1870-10-13
John Ploughman's Talk.
ON KEEPING ONES EYES OPEN.

ON KEEPING ONES EYES OPEN.
To get through this world a mar
must look about him, and even sleeI
with one eye open; for there are
many bats for fishes, many nets fol
birds, and many traps for men
While foxes are so common we mus
not be geese. There is very great
difference in this matter among
people of my acquaintance; many
see more with one eye than Others
with two, and many have fine eyes
and cannot see jot. All heads are
not sense-boxes. Some are so Gun.
ming that they suspect everybody,
and so live all their lives in miser-
able fear of their neighbors; others
are so simple that every knave takes
them in, and makes his penny OF
them. One man tries to see through
a brick wall, and hurts his eyes
while another finds out hole in it,
and sees as far as he pleases. Some
work at the mouth of a furnace, and
are never scorched; and others burn
their hands at the fire when they
only mean to warm them. Now, it
is true that no one can give another
experience, and we must all pick up
wit for ourselves; yet 1 shall ven
ture to give some of the homely
cautions which have served my turn,
and perhaps they may be of use to
Others as they have been to me.
Nobody is more like an honest
man than thorough rogue. When
you see a man with a great deal of
religion displayed in his shop win
dow, You may depend upon it he
keeps very small stock of it with
in. Do not choose your friend by
his looks; handsome shoes often
pinch the feet. Don't be fond of
compliments; remember, "Thank
you, pussy, and thank you, pussy"
killed the cat. Don't believe in the
man who talks most; for mewing
cats are very seldom good mousers.
By no means put yourself in another
persons power; if you put your
thumb between two grinders, they
are very apt to bite. Drink nothing
without seeing it; sign nothing
without reading it, and make sure
that it means no more than it says.
Don't go to law unless you have
nothing to lose; lawyers houses are
built on fools heads. In any bust
ness, never wade into water where
you cannot see the bottom. Put on
dependence upon the label Of a bag;
and count money after your own
kin. See the sack opened before
you buy what is in it; for he who
trades in the dark asks to be cheated.
Keep clear of the man who does not
value his own character. Beware of
every one who swears; he who would
blaspheme his Maker would make
no bones of lying or stealing. Be
ware of no man more than of your
self; we carry our worst enemies
within us. When new opinion or
doctrine comes before you, do not
bite till you know whether it is
bread or a stone; and do not be sure
that the gingerbread is good because
of the gilt on it. Never shout
holloa! till you are quite out of the
wood; and don't cry fried fish till
they are caught in the net. There's
always time enough to boast-wait a
little longer. Don't throw away
dirty water till you have got clean;
keep on at scraping the roads till you
can get better work; for the poorest
pay is better than none, and the
humblest Office is better than being
out of employment. Always give
up the road to bulls and madmen;
and never fight with coalheaver or
contend with base character; for
they will be sure to blacken you.
"Neither trust nor contend,
Nor lay wagers, nor lend,
And you may depend
You'll have peace to your end.''
l cannot say quite SO much as that
old rhyme does, for there's more
than that wanted to give peace, but
certainly it will help to it. Never
ride broken-kneed horse; the ira
der who has once been a fraudulent
bankrupt is not the man for you to
deal with. A rickety chair is a
dangerous seat. Be shy of people
who are over polite, and don't be
too fast with those who are forward
and rough. When you suspect a de-
sign in anything, be on your guard !;
set the trap as soon as you smell a
rat, but mind you don't catch your
own fingers in it. Have very little
to do with boaster, for his beer is
all froth, and though he brags that
all his goods, and even his cop
per kettles, are gold and silver, you
will soon find out that boaster and
liar are first cousins. Commit all
your secrets to no man; trust in
God with all your heart, but let your
confidence in friends be weighed in
the balances of prudence, seeing
that men are but men, and all men
are frail. Trust not great weights
to slender threads. Yet be not ever
more suspicious, for suspicion is a
cowardly virtue at best. Men are
not angels, remember that; but they
are not devils, and it is too bad tc
think them so. One thing be sure