St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-01-10
every day something to show for their

every day something to show for their
time:
Something accomplished, something done,
Hath earned nights repose
These possess purpose and energy,
strong will, a clear perception, and often
an active imagination, all OF which COM
bined render them motors in society.
Though great deal depends on orlgl-
nal endowment, a great deal also de-
ponds on training. Children who are
brought up to do nothing, generally do
nothing. Those who are trained from
infancy in all ways of self-help and
helpfulness to others, make the most
useful citizens. "To him that hath
shall be given" Lord Bacon says:
s'There is no stand or impeachment in
the wit but may be wrought out by fit
studies. If a mans wit be wandering,
let him study mathematics for IN de-
monstratiOns, if his wit be called away
never so little, he must begin again, SO
every defect of mind may have a special
receipt" This last assertion is as true IN
matters pertaining to character as In
those intellectual. The purpOseless IN
dividual may, if he will, change himself
in this particular, by setting himself
tasks to perform and steadily performing
them. This may be found at first labo-
rious, and even painful; but habit rem
deTs all things easy.
This setting ones self tasks, however,
does not so surely develop ones powers
as having these tasks set by some one
else: and of all taskmasters, stern ne
cessity has the most to show for his pu-
pills on examination day. Let no one
of you repine at the commands OF
this severe task-master; his mission IS
most beneficent. From what crude and
rough material does he often fashion no
bic, accomplished, beneticent men and
women! This he does by laying heavy
burdens on them, by subjecting them to
hard and cruel blows fIom the hand OF
fortune, by compelling them to make
bricks out of straw, by forcing them to
develop every resource in their power,
and often every capability they possess
for doing and suffering.
1t is useless for one without definite
purpose or plan to dream of accomplish
ing much. Few, indeed, are they upon
whom this greatness is thrust. The
doors in this life are those who intend
to do; all others are cumberers of the
ground-thistles, weeds, unfruitful fig
trees destined to perish. 1t is a very easy
matter to spend day after day and week
after week in merely going through the
forms of doing, and at the end of this
time have actually nothing accomplish
many flowers as the bee, the grasshop-
per goes over as much ground as the
ant, but how different the shOwings in
the two cOntrasted cases. A purpose AM
mates the bee and ant one moves in Il
''bee-line" to the accomplishment of her
purpose, the other works with such per-
sistent industry that for 1000 years at
least the ant has been an example known
and read of by all who have studied its
ways.
A great deal of the time of even pur-
poseful men and women is wasted fOT
want of well digested plan of action.
The 'e'Xecutive' individual has a
pretty clear idea, first of exactly what
he wishes to accomplish, and secondly,
of the manner in which he intends to
work. He doesn't blunder into IL thing
and blunder on all the way through it.
He may not see what his last step will
be, but he sees quite clearly what the
first one must be, and then the second,
md us he progresses, the end becomes
clear. He does not allow himself to be
diverted or detained from his work by
slight causes, petty hindrances or trivial
one stops to follow all
the little side-paths that lead off from
the main thoroughfare from Joppa to
Jerusalem, he will he a long time in
that ancient capital. The way
to secure main issues is to neglect all
smaller ones that have not direct
bearing on the success aimed at.-N y.
TjjbuDP