The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-12-17
"JUsT HIS LUCK,


Just like his luck" half the boys
said, when Charlie Foster won the
State Scholarship.
They had made the same remark
when his name had been sent in by the
Principal of the school to the Superin-
tendent as the best scholar. In all
likelihood these same old school-fellows
will keep on saying: Just like his
luckp' if Charlie ever becomes Judge,
or Senator. or if he marries happily,
or makes fortune. Every step upward
is attributed by some men and boys to
that unknown quantity called ''luck. "
And curiously enough, just as "Like his
luck' is used to account for the success
of ones friends, as "Just like my luck'
is used to explain our own failures.
cit is just my luck There was not
single question about anything /
knew. had crammed up the Capitals
of the States, square root, and the con-
jugations, and was asked about noun
tain ranges, compounded interest and
the fifth declension. always was I'M
lucky"
In all this talk about s'luck" is there
not good deal of inconsistency We
never employ the word to account for
our own successes or somebody else's
failures. When the said Charlie Foster
misses catch at baseball, or catches
a crab in q race, we do not cry; "How
unlucky he isr' but. 'EWhat muff that
Charlie Foster isr' and when we our
selves manage to get on the roll of
honor, we resent with virtuouS in
dignation any congratulations on our
luck. "Luck, indeedn' we growl;
''there was no luck at all. 1t was just
hard work, and nothing else"
Moreover, this talk about luck is, in
the first place, somewhat unmanly, not
to say cowardly. To trust to luck is a
confession that one can not do anything
by ones own labor or ones own intel
lect 1t is really, my boy, an acknowl-
edgment that you have no independence
of character, no strength of will, no pa
thence and no perseverance. 1t is a
sure confession of carelessness and idle
ness. "Pll study this thing or that
thing, and trust to luck for the rest"
you say, and the result is you are no
where in the examination.
So in everything we undertake. Ii
we neglect to take ordinary pains, if we
omit ordinary prudence, no luck ever
saves us from disaster.
Trusting in luck is very different
thing from trusting in Providence.
Providence aids those who aid them
selves, and just in proportion as they
do their work honestly and conscien-
tiously. Luck is kind of capricious
spirit which is expected to set at naught
all the laws of nature for our advantage,
or to our disadvantage, without the
slightest apparent reason why it should
intervene at all. If there is such a
thing, that can neither make or mar us,
cur duty is not to be its slave, but 10
make ourselves it's master.
We must not stand like beggars at a
street corner until luck drops a few cop
pers into our hats. We must be law
unto ourselves. and not mere play
things of chance. Let us be honest
enough to acknowledge our own mis-
takes. The grumbler who laments:
81 never had slice of bread,
Cut nice and smooth and long and wide,
But fell upon the sanded floor,
And always on the buttered side."
fancies himself unlucky. If he were
honest, he would blame himself for not
keeping good hold of his bread and
butter, and. if he thought about it, he
would see that falling on the buttered
side was natural result of the way in
which he was holding it. qr l..it
This notion of luck very often arises
from mixture of conceit and jealousy.
We do not like to allow that another
has more talent than we have, and has
used his faculties better. He has. how
ever, if we examine his career, been
more studious. more careful, more OBJ
servant. 1t would be much more noble
of us, instead of repeating like parrots
the word ''luck," meaning thereby
that he has goS reward which he does
not deserve, to eandidly say: "He has
deserved all he has won; he is the bet
ter fellow" Jt't "..
Another evil arising from this talk
about luck is that at last we actually
believe in it. Once under the influence
of this notion, we exercise no caution
or foresight. Luck" we saw, twill
pull us through" Fortunately for our
future and permanent success, luck
does nothing Of the sort. In the long
run, luck is nowhere. You may have
heard of games of chance gambling
games, as they are stvled--and of lot.
teres and the like. You have heard of
people being lucky at them. The pro-
fessional gambler and lottery Keeper
know better than that; they know that
even in throwing dice there is very lit
tie luck The man who is lucky to-day
is unlucky tomorrow; it is in reality
skill or trickery and not luck that
enables the professional gambler to
pursue his career. lH fr...I
Lucky people, in fact, are people
who have thoroughly trained them
selves Tor the battle OF life. They have
eyes Oren to pereeiye coming dan GER.