Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-12-28
Overlooking the ActuaIitIes Or To-Day
for the Air.CastIes OF Tomorrow.

Overlooking the ActuaIgleS OF TODAY
for the Air.Castles OF To.Morrow.
au@a fi1HAAs sI--l Naslf
T. There lis, perhapss nothing which
/ more plainly shows the progress OF CIV
| ilization than the incfeasfng power Aof
forethought exhibitedsir all the affairs
Of life. q The SAVAGE thinks hin * but little sof
any thing beyond the supply of his I'M
fmsdfate wafits. ,NTIung& urges b. m to
lAahar, and s7han sasisiad4he resigns
hi@seH + t2 raR9Sa Hltha hass sssfaFssiy 5Sas1er
he emerges remnaastatea of barbarism
! the future, BECOMES more and more vital
I to him. It opens up q longer and longer
vista; Tomorrow, next WEEK, next year,
ten, twenty years. henesj nova dclains
from him, thought and, preparation,
His plans and arrangements are
4upon oan GexteHdedy seAe, sprovis-
J ionis made fenthe coming ,eilanges,for
mature life, for old age, for the next
generation; the pressing desires Of to-
'baay ARE foreedt0 giYe1place toithose of
ito o-morrow, and life is largely made up
of anticipation. -" - "'H
sThisshabit of forethought is undoubt-
edly, one. Of the most important eler
ments of human elevation and happi-
ness, and yet we are in these days not
entirely free from daager0f carrying it
to excess, Some ofus live SO exclusively
for the future that we:allow the present
TO slip from us usunnoticed.o In clifnbingaI
mountain it is well to Lift our eyes aften
to, the eminence we hope TO REACH, but
we must also look to our feet, and see
that they stainble not ever the rough
places. So in life it is the path of Wis
dom not only to look ahead to the fu-
ture, but also beware that every step
in the present is well secured.
The danger of neglecting present
time is especially manifest, in the
schemes that are laid for acquiring a
fortune, or even a modest competence.
The ultimate ends may be most worthy
and esirable-comfort, culture, liber-
ality, power to ditfuse ~ happiness.
Meantime, to obtain means for these
ends, what frequently becomes of the
ends themselves? Too often they only
exist in dreams of the future. Present
comfort is sacrificed; there is. no time
to rest, to recreate, to enjoy the family
and the home-all that is postponed to
by-and-by, when certain sum sshall
| have been amassed. Now, turmoil and
| anxiety, and strain of nerve and mus
| Gle, absorb and exhaust the powers.
| So with culture. How Can the
eager, driven man of business pause to
read or study? how can he command
| the calmness and quiet necessary to
form habits Of thought? how can he ac-
quire a love for literary pursuits when
engrOsSed constantly in far different
matters? Here, again, ne admits he is
not living now, but only getting ready
to live in future. In the same way he
postpOnes liberality. He can not afford
10 be generous now; every dollar is
needed to support and extend his busi-
ness; after awhile, when he is rich
enough, he will devote his well earned
gains to the good of his fellow-men and
the promotion of benefcent enterprises.
So he drifts on from year to year, let
ting slip hundreds of present opportun,,
tiles of doing good lin the mistaken idea
that thus he can better embrace those
of the future. rs T.
This habit of postponing the benefits
and happiness of life is not, however,
coafined to the business man. We are
allliable to the same excess. Perhaps
there is not one of US who can sincerely
declare that he is now living in a salts
factory manner, though most of us in
tend TO do SO presently. The scholar
| is waiting till his school-days are over,
The youth till he is of age, the artist till
he becomes more skillful, and the clerk
till he can claim q large salary, the
| sailor till he can command vessel, the
physician till he can obtain d practice.
Some are looking forward ITO q,
change Of place Or occupation; some
to assuming new responsibilities; some
to enjoying more leisure. Then they
will begin TO live in earnest, but now
| life is a kind of makeshift--a time to be
passed through as an avenue TO the
future, to be valued not for It's own
sake, but only for that TO WHICH it leads.
Meantime life is fast fitting away,
habits are being formed, character for
good or evil is being built, Whoscan
tell which part of life is most Important,
which is the flu lest and richest, which
will offer the best opportunities? Or
| rather, who can declare any part unim-
portant, insignificant or meaningless /?
Each day is life in itself, full Of vital
import to him who seeks it, If it Is
despised, ignored or wasted, so much
oH iuC ID IoSL9@HosdzlAg Can lll6he up AOF
it; no future, howeyer brilliant, can ever
compensate. Letus. then while planriirg
for the future beware how we, slight the
present. p The aaoU is all we can be sure
| of. We. may not live to see the future
of which We dream, Or the plans we. hay
for it may be frustrated, but the good
we do to-day can never be obliterated.
| PHILADELPHIA Ledger.
Some New Optical Experiments. 49,
| Mr.. + r Ninhar uauds tbo f,llaxx,;,,<,