Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-12-22
WHOLE NO 1908


Fnsli Be honest, by which We
do not mean, simply, not to steal.
That goes without saying, The
young man who, before bis beard 10
grown, thinks It clever to cheat his
tailor, or to sneak out oi his little
debt at college, has already laid a sure
foundation Of VI fortune, Nothing 10
known SO quickly or sticks to q man
10 long as tho reput alton Of dishonss-
~, II Is the Aeck Of mlldew which
eats and grows blacker and spreads
from year - year. Boys arc fatuit-
ously blind TO the lcngthening shapow
which these faults Of sharp dealing
aud lying In their earliest years throw
down their whole future, In a year
or two they will be asking for patron
age from tho public or chaucc in the
business world, and they will 6ad
that in damaging their character they
have already squandered their only
capital, No merchant would take o
boy even aS porter into his employ
who was hot known 10 be honest.
We take 1t granted our boys are
honest, In the coarser meaning Of the
term. But there Is q finer honesty
that enters into mans nature and
lifts him above his fellows. He Is
no sneak nor sham, neither to his
companions, his God, nor even to
himself. lie docs not sham virtuo
which he has not he does not imi-
tate any other mans character; but hs
tries TO 90 to the bottom Of his own
to clear it and lift it up.
As the boy begins, so the man will
end. The lad who speaks with affec.
tion, and minces foreign tongues that
he doesn't understand at school. will
be a weak chrome in character all his
life; the boy who cheats his teachers
into thinking him devout at chape
will be the man who will make relig.
ion trade and bring Christianity in.
to contempt; and the boy who wins
the highest average by stealing his
examination papers VIII figure some
day as tricky politician. The lad
who, whether rich or poor, dull Or :
clever, looks you straight in
the cyo and keeps his answer inside Of
the truth. already counts friends who
will last all his lite aud holds a capital
which will bring him in surer inter.
est than money.
Then get to tho bottom of things
You see how it is already as to that.
1t was the student who was grounded
in the grammer that took the Latin
prize: it was that slow steady drudge
who practiced fling every day last
winter that bagged the most game in
the mountsins it is the clerk who
studies the speciality of the house in
of-hours who is to be promoted.
Your brilliant, happy-go-lucky, hit-or
miss fellow usually turns out the dead
weight of the family by forty.fve.
Don't take anything for granted ; get
to the bottom OF things. Neither be
a sham YOURSELF nor be- fooled by
shams, Ready for you in your early
manhood there are plenty Of pleas
ures waiting for you to conquer-
applause, money. society, this and
that kind of philosophy or faith.
Take nothing on trust; weigh it, see
what it IS worth. You will have
rough disappointments, but you will
come to the granite underneath at
last.
We have said nothing about your
religion. Your creed matters lttle,-
Baptist, Presbyterian, Churchman;
for if you are the sincere, earnest man
we mean, you will come at last, down
all profession, all experiences,
to the Almighty Good aud Order
which underlies them all. Yon will
discover for your self that every sin
cere and earnest man must build on
that, or on the shifting sand. There
is no other choice in life.-[New
York Sunday Tribune.