The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-02-14
Kept Down by u Pedigree

Somehow or other he never got on
In life. He was u balky animal, and
although always in fret AMI lAther of
periodical eXertiOn, never could keep
up his end of the sing letree. For long
time 1t was IA mystery why man with
no vices aud certain sort of spasmod-
ic energy never got ahead of the
hounds.
The reason was simple enough after
talking with him half an hour. He
had n pedigree. That was what was
the matter with him. IL was com,
p'aint, and Slapped his energies like n
disease. He was able to count up four
or five grandiathers and some distin-
guished deceased kin aud was engaged
in the impossible feat of riding their
graves into success. Now grave il
good thing in its way, bnt AZ a means
Of transporting the living on the high
way Of life it lacks merit.
The man with pedigree staked his
all on 1t. He didn't rely on himself
but on the dead, to push him. He
claimed position and success, not on
his own merits as shown by his own
works, but upon his connection with |
u graveyard. The best part
OF Aip was under ground.
lie was human potatoe vine. What
was visible, green and living, while
perhaps pleasing to the eye, and even
when trained by another,
was useless and sure to wither and
fade Ifyou wanted to find out what
sort OF man he might be, yen had to
read tombstones instead of asking his
neighbJrs, and draw your conclusions
ot what he possibly was, by what the
epitaphs declared the dead had been.
Ii he had never had n pedigree, he
would have made his mark, but the
ieadly upas tree could not shed more
'liectual blight than did his nnfor.
good pedigree on our poor
Naif Nobody will see a man being
by an impediment without u
Iesire to help the victim, and 50 one OF
MS friends who was as matter of. fact
IS grinds'one, took an opportunity
o say to him "between the sherry
nd the champagne" as Henry Wat
erson would say, "Waif, old chap,
ou are too good fellow to
LAY second fiddle all of your
life. 1t Is doubtless nice com
ortable sort of feeling for man to
eel that his grandfathers We're
honest, loyal, God-fearing gentle
men, and held up their corner
n their day and generation.
out, my dear fellow, you must not really
spend your life contemplating that
gratifying fact, or your time revolving
1t in your mind. They having for
generations pulled up the Wait end of
the single tree, the more the necessity
Of your doing so In yours. Epitaphs
generally lie, but it would be asking too
much of any epitaph to say that you
had. Should you shuttle OIL this mortal
coil tomorrow, no epitaph, however
well disposed towards you, or DESTROYS
of adding another to the long lists of
Waits who had died in harness with
their single trees even, could in Justice
whitewash YOU"
No, my boy, discard all idea
of promotion or success in this world
except by work-hard, earnest work.
Put your heart into whatever you no
at Gnaw at the net until you let
the lion out You are making mis-
cradle little recreation of yoar profes.
'ion and business and relying OH the
richness of the soil of the mounds
inder which sleep the other Waits, to
make you flourish end bear fruit. 1t
amt be doae, my ancient pitcher.
This sort of thing would work In the
I'D States, but 1t don't amount TO n