The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-04-08
THE HAPPY MAN.

We ncip thinking tWas ynH- /
THE HAPPY NAN.
Many centuries ago there lived in
western Asia king named Crasus, who
was very rich, very vain, and who
thought himself very happy. On one
occasion he was visited by Scion, an en-
-inent iawgiver from Greece; and instead
ofconversing upon such subjects as would
benefit himself, and at the same time in
terest so wise a man, he seemed to make
it an occasion for displaying his wealth.
After exhibiting the splendor of his court,
his Gorgeous trappings HIS gold and his
jewels, he asked Scion, I" if he had ever
bsheld . happier. man than he" The
sage, not at all disconnected, referred him
to two or three persons whom he thought
much hsplef; and finally remarked, that
s"A Wild hsasenlblsusses III successto
the last, is in eur estimation the happy
tha1n Croesus At the time looked with
contempt upon Scion and paid no heed
to his Arenarlu But afteFwards, when
- bfmtude (erook him, Nhe1 he was
"a ID tsdia tth instisation Of Cyrus,
king Of Persia, he recalled them to mind,
AMI in his agony cried aloud, I" Scion
SoIonl SolonH' Cyrus, surprised. in
quired Of him. What sod or man il was
whom alone he thus invoked under so
great n calamity" sOn being informed,
he was so impressed with the truth of
Solon's maxim that he Immediately re-
stored Crnsus to liberty and gave him
protection the rest of his life. All the
persons who figured in that event have
long since passed away. Their bodies
have mingled with the dust, and not
even their resting place is known. The
nations, too, that existed ct that time,
have passed away; but those memorable
words Of Solon's have been handed down
through the centuries and are as true to-
day as when they were first uttered.
Now, I think that the man-whom
heaven blesses with success to the last is
he who, when in youth, cultivates good
habits and good principles, and thus lays
the foundation for good character. He
is the man. too, who by diligence and
industry fits himself for life of. useful
ness. To illustrate this, / will tell you
the story Of two men, who are not imag-
mary characters by any means, but who
are real persons, men now living. but as
| no names will be mentioned think they
can take no offense at what am about to
say.
p Some twenty-five years ago a young
lad attended school at Oberlin. His
father was q Clergyman, tso- poor 10 pay
the price of his board in full, and to
maip ituPths boy took cale q . horse
ard Nv He also harmed to- closchet
wril )lef hnd eleves.a In TIL WY he DC
caaidpahy picked up a littlsmoaex; I'D
on one occasion, in particular, earned a
Greek reader BY crptcheting pair OF
gloves for young lady student. Now
this boy was not ON. whom we often
have spoken of az being SO very smart
| and quick 70 learn that they NEED spend
but little time studying, and then de-
vote the rest to all sorts of amusements
but ne had to study hard for what he
learned. He had no time, and indeed no
inclination to attend balls, parties or the
theater; n9 din lB3Arerfor' on makssuse
of, in any way,eithsr liquor or tobacco.
The year, rolled on. ana this sam& Nd,
now young man, graduated with honor
from the college. He then entered upon
the study of law, paying his way by
teaching an occasional term of school.
After completing his course as law stu
dent and being duly adnitteato the bat
of c., be entered upon the practice
of his profession. Some young men
placed in similar circumstances would
have reasoned: Il have now reached
the height of my ambition; am duly
installed in my profession. To at
tain to this have worked hard and have
deprived myself of almost every pleas
ure and amusement. will not neglect
my business; of course not; but then /
shah not be- slave to it, but will go
about and have good time" But our
hero reasoned in. no such way; he felt
that he had just reached the starting
point in lille, and that it was just as nee
essary to be diligent in business and at
his studies as it ever had been. Every
leisure moment wasspen in storing his
mind with useful knowledge. Nor did
he think himself too wise or too great to
attend church q Sahbath school, but
proved hinnselGson active and efficient
helper in both those places. This man
now stands at the head of his profession,
and not only is he honored and respected
as a lawyer of ability and eminence, but
he is also respected as gentleman and a
| Christian. if ~ IL 81
Of the youth of the opposite charac-
ter, I can tell you nothing but during
all his manhood years, until recently, he
has been noted as "society man." AL
ways well-dressed, fine-looking, genteel
in appearance, he was what might be
called c0nnoisseur in all arts and accom-
plishments of fashionable social life. He
could sip glass-of wine with perfect
grace but then he was no drunkard,
not at all-no one ever thought of call
ing him that. Being good singer he
was fequently invited out to private
parties to entertain the company. 1
once heard him sing fer an hour. A
crowd was present, and a crowd was
charmed, but during all that hour he
uttered not a single sensible word. At
church he was seldom, if ever, seen; but
balls parties and the theater were his
frequent place Of resort. He leng held
position of honor and trust, and one
sufficiently lucrative to meet the wants
of an honest man.. / doubt not but what