The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-03

y
trying to impress upon him that if the
triumph of the successful resulted in
the gain Of the unsuccessful competitor
emulation was impossible, his mother
came in with rush and Rugged him.
Jessie is apt to act from impulse, as al
most all women are When / pointed
out to her, on one occasion, that unless
everybody is always trying to get as
much of everything for himself as he
can the most valuable laws of political
economy are false, she said she did not
care If they were, and that she knew
that it was better to help another than
to help ones self"
Here l could not help interrupting my
friend Septimus with the remark that
there was no better way of helping ones
self than appearing as ahelper of others,
if you know the right moment at which
to leave them, and that some h;sd grown
wonderfully rich in this manner.
Septimus seemed to think my remark
irrelevant, for he took no notice Of it,
but continued his story
you may suppose" he said, that in
choosing school for my boy should
be greatly influenced by size; for, if COM
petition be good, the wider the field of
competition the better I sent him off to
Elton with copy of Mr.. Smiles stimulat-
ing work on / Seif-IIelp' and a manual
OF political economy, to which his mother
added a large hamper and Bible His
school career was fairly successful, and
would have been brilliant but for that
moral obliquity, of which, alas there was
no longer room to doubt. There was
no limit to his generosity, which was
constantly developed by his cvcr-grow-
ing popularity. There never was sopop-
ular boy. The masters could hardly
find fault with him, and his schoolfel-
lows made hero of him, as was natural,
indeed, for he could refuse them moth
ing. His gayety, which never tagged,
grew riotous when he was comforting
favor. He was the author Of more Latin
verses than have been left to us
by the poets of Rome, and never
| dashed off his own copy until he
had wooed the muses. to the side
of Tomkins, Brabazon, Jones, Mont
gomery, and host of others. Again and
again | told him, both verbally and by
letters, that popularity is the reward of
those who are the gulls of society; that
there is no current coin of so little value;
and that the only real proof of mans
success is the jealousy which he excites.
He now not only neglected my advice,
but even respectfully contradicted me;
and ii must be confessed that his answers
had great look of brilliancy, for he was
| an unusually clever lad, and might now
be anywhere if lie chose. l ought to add
that he never, grew angry in argument.
He has his mothers sweet temper, which
is q very good thing in a woman.
Perhaps you think that have given
| undue Importance to TRIES, and indeed
| made light of them myself until my son,
a manner which could not misinterpret,
| though | am thankful to say that could
pardon it, He was now eighteen years
! old, when he and his greatest friend, a
boy of the name of Dart, entered togeth-
! CT for scholarships at one of the Oxford
colleges. / will not lingcr over the
story; indeed if you excuse me for
moment, l will fetch my sons letter,
from which you will learn the catastro-
pho ut a glance, while | shall be spared
tie pain Of recital"
| Scptimus, who had risen slowly, while
he was speaking, crossed the passage to
his study, and came back with the fol
lowing note, which he placed in my
| hands:
OXFORD. -, Is MY DEAR FATHER |
hope that You won't be awfuly sick at what
| have done: but am afraid that yon won't like
| it. thought OF you great deal before made
up my mind, but / don't know what else could
have done. There is n fellow UP here called Mills.
who is just going to take his degree, and is very
thick with the dons. He was at my tutors when
first went to Eton. and was very keen that
should get one of the scholarships here. Some
how or other he found out from one of his don
friends (Which, of course, he had no business to
dol, before the last day of the examination that
Clifton fellow was pretty safe for the first schol
afshlp, ana that the other was very near thing
between Dart and me. Now you know that old
Dart could not have up to Oxford at all if he
had not got Il scholarship, and il did not make
any difference 10 me, because you always let me
do what want. SO the fact is that did not do
quite my best in the last papers. l am as good
as sure that it did not make the least difference
IN the world, for the dear old man is a perfecI
necdcr al 4 critical paper Greek particles and
az and xyoS hon md
to lick me anyway. Only did not like to keep
il from YOU, though Of course he must never know
anything about 1t; and you never saw any fellow
- happy a. he is: and so you must not be vexed
or at least must have got over it before you see
your atectionatc son, TOMMY.
p. S.-Of course you will tell the mother and
she will make you forgive me. l know / am
awfully well and happy and the fellows here are
tremendously kind and jolly.
When had finished reading the schol-
arly composition, and had breathen
sigh for the lost slang of my early days
it occurred to me that had chance of
praising my young friend for virtue
which even parent could not deny him.
And calling to mind an old tale of our
university life, at which Sep. and | were
wont to smile when we were careless
undergraduates, / laughed and said:
" You should be thankful for so honest a
son who did not keep il dark, as he
might have done. He seems as anxious
to AVOID All misunderstanding as was
Toby OConnor when he carefully en-
gravcd his name upon the stone which
he afterward flung through the Deans
plate-glass window"
This anccdote had never before failed
to raise smile; but my friend was evil
IDENTIFY in no mood for laughter After
shipper of acknowledgment he carefully
folded up the letter and, smoothing it
with his hand, continued his story:
Can you imagine my feelings when
l read this missive? | could not
speak; SO threw it across the break
last table to Jessie and went away to nv
study. For full half-hour there was no
sound. Then | heard the door of the
diningroom open and my wife's step in
the passage. / called to her When
she came in saw that her eyes were full
Of tears. l took her in my arms and
begged her not TO fret about it, saying
that it was a terrible disappoint-
Al.