The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-04-15
THE TIDE AT THE TURN.

There Is q tide In the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to for
tune"
"Why, this is like bit out of Gran
ford" said to a friend, as we came
out into the clear winter twilight, from
house where she had taken me to pay
a call. t-
Yes; Mrs. Gaskell would have made
charming picture out of that coy little
par1or, with Miss Sarah sitting alone
there, so round and fat and comfortable
looking" (''Pretty, too" interposed
Is "she must have been pretty when
she was young.") "That parrot, too,
It is as good to her almost as a child,
and as Troublesome" my friend does
not believe in the delightfulness of
children.) And Miss Phillis makes as
muchof the parrot as her sister. / wish
You had seen Miss Phillis; but she is al
ways out of afternoons"
And then learned how, at the other
end of the town, lived an old gentleman,
very helpless and infirm, whom Miss
Phillis for years had gone to see every
day, for an hour or two, reading or
talking to him.
I'm summer / often used to meet her
walking beside his Bath-chair. She is
not at all like Miss Sarah, but very tall
and thin, and decidedly active for her
years This winter hear, poor Mr..
White cannot go out at all, but Miss
Phillis never misses day in going to see
him"
"Is he relationP''
"Oh no; only o very old friend. An
old bachelor, too-quite solitary. Peo-
pie do say-have said it any time these
thirty years-that he had better have
married Miss Phillis, and that she would
not have objected; but one never knows
the truth of these things. They have
been most steady friends, anyhow"
Here, truly, was chapter out of
Crawford, or out of human life generally.
Once had myself chanced to see Mr..
Whites funny little old man in a
brown Brutus wig; it was difficult to
make a sentimental hero of him. Still
81 have always been rather fond of
Miss Phillis," continued my friend.
'.She would have made a good man IS
fireside very. bright. Perhaps Mr..
White was one of those who are always
missing their chances, who cannot
take the tide at the turn If so, it
was pity. So many let happiness
slip by them, and regret it when too
late. Not that 1 am aware of Miss
Phillis' regretting anything. She is a
very cheerfulminded woman, and is
invaluable now to old Mr.. White"
We were neither of us in a moraliz-
ing mood, being also cheerful-minded
women, and bent on enjoying as much
as possible our brief winter holiday
"frosty but kindly" like our own ad-
vancing age-sO the conversation
dropped.
Since, however, it has often required
to me; noticing how very common is
this fatal popularity of not being able
to " take the tide at the turn" espe-
cially in love affairs. That of Miss
Phillis and Mr.. White may never have
existed at all, except in the imagina-
ton of their friends; but have known
several other cases in which a little
honest rashness would have been the
| best wisdom.
One case especially: young couple,
playfellows from childhood; all their
friends agreeable 20 and expecting
their engagement-nay, waiting some
what anxi0nsly for the gentleman to
"make up his mind' and say the final
word, which from pure shyness he de-
layed doing. At last, one Sunday
the young lady was going away on Mon.
day-he- determined to speak, in theil
usual evening walk home from church.
But .rll go to church with you to
night" said an unconscious, well-in-
tentioned friend. Alas! "two is com.
pany, three is none." The proposal
was not made-never made. Three
days afterward the lady accepted 6
long-persistent suitor, who years before
had made up his mind-and declared
it. Well, no hearts were broken ap
parently. She married, but her ole
playfellow is bachelor still. He
comes now and then to see her, romps
with her children, plays chess with hel
husband, and does not look at all mis-
cradle. Yet, perhaps, when he goes
back to his handsome empty house, hi
wishes things had been-a little differ
ent.
However, love, if it be the heart O
life, constitutes only small portion Of
it externally-to q man at least. Or
many Other matters besides love mat
ters this inability to take the tide at the
turn is most fatal. How many q MAJ
owes his whole success in life to the
faculty of being able to see the colder
moment, and catch it ere it flies! "Al
things come alike to all. That is
/ (with very rare exceptions), every MAJ
has q certain number of chances-th,
/
grasps them and the one who lets then
slip. An unanswered letter, an ap
pointment broken, train missed, may
for all we know, change the color o
our whole existence; all the more be
cause we do not know; until, lookin,
back, we see upon what trivial thing
mere accidents, apparently-hingee
the most important events of our lives
A situation applied for at once, an,
gained '.just at the nick of time;"
first invitation accepted, not neglected
business letter answered without de
lay; an appointment kept, with troubl
and pains, yet still kept; these smal
things have many time proved tn
keystone of the arch on which a youn;
man has built his fortunes. .Only
quarter of an hourr' said an old ma
to young one who was apologizin,
.carelessly for having kept him waitin,
thus long. "My friend, to that quar-