Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-08-04
One of Its Lessons.

Probably it has never occurred to any
one of the idle and dissipated class, Ell
ther among the young of our great cities
or among men who are older and should
be wiser, that the sick-bed at Washing
ton had any special lesson for him. Yet
such is the fact, plain enough to those
who have eyes to see. We do not mean
necessarily moral lesson; it is sharp
enough merely as lesson of expedien-
cy. 1t may be compressed into this sim
pie question: If President Garfield had
been a man of dissipated habits, how
long would he have survived Guiteau's
shot? Is has been clearly recognized
from the first that the fact that the
President has led a temperate, regular
life, greatly increased his chances of re-
covery, and gave him that splendid
strength and endurance with which he
has fought against death. There are
many dangers in such case to which
the man of incorporate habits in any
particular would he more liable than
the man who has never been addicted to
what is called high living. but which
might more accurately be called low liv-
ing. 1t is proiISbly true. also that the
calmness and courage with which the
first great shock and all the dangers that
havefOllowed it until now were met,
were, although native to the man, in
some measure due to the wholesome
polSe of body and mind maintained by
well-Ordered living.
1t is surely something to be equipped
IN this fashion to meet the great emer-
gencies of life. Persons of more mod
est station than Presidents are fortu-
nately not in much danger of assassina-
tion. But-no man, no matter Eow in
conspicuous his place in the community
may be, can be sure that he may not at
any moment be confronted as suddenly
as President Garfield was with some Sit
uation demanding all his strength of
body and mind to meet and be equal to
it-perhaps, even in a physical sense. to
snrsire it. The unexpected happens
now and then in the life of every man.
The young fellow about town who pur-
sues the pleasant vices to pass away
time, and dulls a brain already enfeebled
by chronic idleness and dissipation; the
lawyer, perhaps of middle-age, who is
letting the habit of drinking grow upon
him day by day; even the man whose
only sin is that fatal one of habitual in
temperance in hard work none of
these men, and none of the many class
es for whom they may stand as types,
can be sure that out of the calm of any
commonplace day the crisis of their lives
will not suddenly arisu, under which
weakened body and mind unstrung may
go down in hopeless defeat. 1t is of
practical value to every man, leaving
considerations of morality aside, that he
shall at all times have all his powers
unimpaired, his body sound and healthy,
his judgment clear and cool, and all his
resources under sule command.
This tragieal epis' de will lave its
lesson also, perhaps, or anotl er class
of our people Our 4bliG NJ m. There
have been great improvems 1t in the
morals of our public men within the |
past generation Or two, although con-
trary impression sometimes prevails. 1t |
is perhaps only a single feature of the |
general change for the better that is to
be seen in all branches of socity. The
manney of life is less gross, and refine
ment has increased with the spread of
IL should be said also that
most of the Presidents have been esti-
hable and cleanly men in their private
ives. But q good example in the White