The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-11-11
The Mistake Men Make,


We have often wondered why it is
that men so persistently engage in pur-
suits for which they have no fitness. An
inscrutable Providence seems to have
implanted in the minds of many men an
Unsuitable desire to be forever doing
precisely the thing that they cannot do.
The common-sense rule in life would
seem to be for every man to find out, if
possible, what he can do best, and then
do it with his might But how many
men seem to proceed on the rule of
finding out what they can do worst,
and then refusing to do anything but
that. We are all of us not quite salts
fed to be what we are, and more or less
| anxious to be what we are not and new
er can be.
Half the unhappiness of life, half the
failures that men make, are traceable TO
this cause. Sometimes the foible is
simply laughable. When a little man
swells about with the air of giant;
| when youth with high, saueaky
voice persists in singing bass; when
smooth-faced man will wear a full
beard-we smile at the result, and no
harm is done. Somebody has made
himself ridiculous, but he is happy in
doing it, and nobody else is made mis-
cradle. But here is man with excel
lent gifts for makinga good blacksmith,
but he will be nothing but a LAWYER;
there is another with the making of a
first-class farmer in him, and he will be
only a preacher; still third. whose
ideas never scared above the dullest of
prose. fancies he is born to be u poet.
and inf1icts his verses on a long-suffer-
ing world whenever he can lind any
body to print them.
If peversity of this kind made only
the victim himself unhappy, it might be
borne more patiently. But not only do
his family and relatives share the mis-
fortunes that inevitably pursue through
lie the man who insists on doing what
he cannot do; upon all who know him
falls part of the burden. also. The
man OF this type is always, in his own
opinion, an appreciated man of gen
Jus, an unlucky dog who has deserved
far better things of Fortune than the
tickle dame has bestowed on him: and
his friends have to hear plants of this
kind al nduSedm. Happy, indeed they
may reckon themselves if only their
ears are besieged, and their purses are
not laid under contribution by. these
ne er-do-wells.
The cure for the evil is not easy to
find. The chronic case is probably
hopeless, and beyond the reach of any
remedies known to man. When caught
young, this kind of man may be turned
into descent and respectable citizen.
The origin of his troubles is often inju-
dicious praise administered by some
well-meaning person If some candid
and wise friend would say to the bud
ding young poet: "See here, young
man; you can never rise above medioc-
rity in verse, and had best content
yourself with plain prose" it might be
the making of him. As the judicious
application of bucket of cold water at
the right moment will prevent a great
conhagration, so little ietrepression
administered at the critical time would
often prevent conceit from devouring
mans character. Is 1t objected that
this course would som times result in
the repression of real genius
"mute. inglorious Millions" of whom
the poet sings? Genius is hardy plant,
and is not so easily nipped in the bud.
What is in man will generally come
out at some time, if he can only be pre-
vented from trying to get out of him
self what is not there. And if the OBJ
lection were valid, think what wrecks
would be prevented by the process, and
say if the good would not overbal-
ance the evil. Better risk marring
genius once in century than make so
many bores every year. M y EraDa-
iner.