Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-03-20
Children's department.
(OrigiIlal.]
ONE OBJECT.

Of all trades is always master of none. Life
is too short to accomplish everything that is
within the range of possibility. In some
respects it would be very pleasant to know
we'll everything that can be known, and be
able to do we'll everything that can be &C.
complished by human skill or human wisdom !;
but such thing is impossible. The great
brevity of human life forbids the undertaking
of such task. The father of the celebrated
Carthagenian General, Hannibal, took him,
when lad of nine years old, to the altar and
made him swear perpetual hatred to the Ro-
mans. The idea of conquering the Romans
was thus, at this early period Of his life, deep
ly engraved upon the mind Of the boy All
his thoughts we're directed to the accomplish
ing of this object, and this alone. For mo-
ment he never lost sight of it. When he ar
rived at the years of early manhood, he set
out with the cherished hope Of accomplishing
the dreams of his boyhood. Year after year
he annoyed the Romans, often vanquishing
their most skillful generals and bravest SOL
diers.
When in college, and when preparing for
college, John G. Calhoun had but one object
in view. All his reading and all his hard
studying was done with direct reference to the
accomplishing of this object of his youthful
aspirations. This object was to become a
member of the American Congress.
Julius Caesar, one of the greatest generals
the world ever produced, worked all his life
to secure the position which he finally OBJ
tanned. Napoleon Bonaparte, when boy at
school, contemplated being a general when
he became a man. His first Notifications
were constructed from snow, and his first SOL
diers his schoolmates.
These historical examples, which could be
multiplied almost indefinitely, have been
cited, not that the persons referred to may
be selected by the young as patterns, but SIM
ply to show that those who accomplish most
in this world, are what is called one-ideaed
men, and that this one idea entered their
minds at very early period Of their lives.
Sometimes it has happened that boys, whose
minds we're always floating like a leaf on
swollen stream have, when grown to be men,
anchored and done we'll afterwards. Such
examples are few and difficult to find. So
few are they that no boy has any encourage
ment to pass Through his boyhood with no
future object in view.
No boy can safely, to his own interest,
neglect to choose, whilst boy, the calling
or avocation in life which he designs to
follow when man. Youth and spring are
often used to mean the same thing. 1t is
very appropriate, as we'll as beautiful and
impressive, to speak of youth as the spring
time of our existence. There are many and
striking resemblances between the spring of
the year and the youthful part of our lives.
There is an exuberance of joy about both
which causes us to forget and call the one by
the name of the other. There is healthy
freshness about both which increases the SIM
ilarity. The resemblance in another respect
is even greater than in those mentioned. In
the spring of the year, not only the buds and
flowers are developed, but the fruit is formed.
The luscious fruit of summer and autumn is
formed in early spring-in many instances
before the leaf:buds are fully developed. It
is not long after the departure Of the cold and
icy winter until we know what trees will bend
with mellow fruit in the fall. Generally, if
the first germ is destroyed, there is no hope
for that years crop. Just so with youth.
With considerable certainty, we can tell what
our old age will be by our youth. A COM
plete failure in youth is very likely to be at
tended with a similar result in old age 1t is
not long after we pass out of the helplessness
of infancy into youth until we give clear and
immistakeable signs of what will be the char
acter of our middle age and old age. Youth
and spring resemble each other in another
important respect.
In spring we prepare the soil and plant the
seeds which are to beautify the summer and
enrich the autumn. In youth, the heart is in
a suitable condition to receive impressions.
The seeds of virtue can then be sown in the
heart with brighter prospects of a rich and
plentiful harvest than at any other period of
our existence The tiller of the soil who
would have, in autumn, his granaries filled
with the products of the earth, must COM
mence his labors early in the spring. He
dare not, with impunity, wait until the fields
are covered with grass and the forests dark
with green foliage. Then it will be too late.
In spring, the farmer must determine, so far
as possible, all his plans for the year. In
youth, we should, as far rs we can, settle in
our minds not only what we will do, but how
we will do in manhood: Our minds should
be turned to some particular avocation and
all our eanrts be directed to the performance
of its duties, and meeting its responsibilities
usefully to others and honorably to ourselves.
Such course has great and numberless ad-
vantages over any other. 1t is pleasant to
see the dreams of our youth become visible
and tangible realities.
The CONSCIOUSNESS OF DoGs.-A dog feels
anger precisely as we do, and after provoca-
ton is sometimes vindictive and sometimes
placable, according to his individual charac-
ter. He is susceptible of hatred ofthe bitter.
est kind. He is so excruciatingly jealous,
that his life becomes burden in the presence