The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-12-21
LITTLE BEHINDHAND:

ucI SAdHuIdtLcF, III the mluSJ OF the
family circle on Christmas evening.
They were ali merry with innocent fun
and chit-chat. Giving and guessing
riddles was one of the entertaining
pastimes of the hour. The grandfath-
er repeated the child's question slow
", and, after thinking a moment he
said: ~ give it up" The bright child
in great glee cried out: "a man has
three hands when he has right hand
and a left hand and gets little behind
hand"
All hands laughed heartily at grand
fathers failure to guess, and he looked
so grave over it they laughed the more
merrily.
But the "head of the house" did
not seem to join very heartily in the
amusement, and they rallied him by
asking if it was not fair conundrtm.
Certainly: not only fair, but excel
lent: the play on the word is very neat,
but it has set me thinking of what comes
of getting little behindhand, and some
other time, when you want to hear it, l
| will give you little sermon or lecture
on the subject"
]
they all exclaimed; but he knew chill
dren too well for that, and, saying
that his sermon would keep, he told
them to go on with their riddles and
| stories.
The next Sabbath evening, when they
were all in the parlor, the bright little
girl, who had puzzled her grandfather
with the conundrum, looked up from
the book she was reading, and said, with
a smile:
Grandpa, are you not getting a
promised us?"
"You shall have it now, if you wish "
and all sat still and attentive while the
good man began;
Tomorrow will be the first day of
new year, and good time to take q
fresh start. To begin well is half the
DOM whatever it is. The habit of
being on time, never minute behind
hand, is one of the greatest helps to sue
cess in life. While, on the other hand,
TO get into the way of delaying, keep
ing others waiting, not being prompt,
punctual and ready, is the secret cause
of which have seen in the course of
my life. We notice it in children.
What you are in the morning, you will
be at noon, and probably at night
The child is father of the man, Iust
as the twig is bent, etc. The family
meet in the morning for worship and
breakfast; one child is late. She is
usually late, the same one. She was
behndhand in getting herself ready
the rest waited for her few moments
and then went on without her, and pres
entity she came, disturbing all and
making herself disagreeahle and them
uncomfortable. The boy with such a
disposition is late at school, not pre-
pared with his lessons, always just
little behindhand in everything. Per-
haps he goes to college or into business.
trade or profession, and if he is depend
ent on his own eXertions he makes a
failure in everything.
''Forty years ago 1 knew two smart
boys, helpers in grocery store. They
were brothers. They seemed to be
made of steel springs, so quick, prompt
and decisive were they in filling every
order. They were poor boys, appren-
tees then. But they worked as if the
concern was their own, and success de-
pended on their energy, push and faith
tulness. Now they five on one of the
fashionable avenues of New York in
their own large mansions, retired from
the grocery business in which they
made their fortunes. Holding impor-
tant trusts, they are useful and respect
ed citizens and Christians. They owe
their success solely, under God. to their
own premptness in performing every
promise, in being always ahead rather
than behind time. And there are me-
chanics and tradesmen with whom /
once had dealings and now have de-
serted, because they would never
fulfill an order in season. would not senl
thing home to me whenthey promised
and Invariably kept me waiting whatever
might be my distress to be served.
This vice runs in the blood sometimes,
and whole families are distinguished by
taking it easy, time enough vet, be-
ing their motto and rule. They drop
behind in the race of life. They would
be run over if some one did not pick
them up and help them on. Half the
world has this work to do besides do
ing its own. III the absence of positive
crime, this habit of taking it easy
causes the poverty and failure of the
greater part of the human fImily. With
the same chances, with equal health
and wits, in the same field, one man
succeeds and another makes dead
failure. And why? Because one took
time by the foreiock, was ever prompt.
and therefore prosperous. The other
was always little behindhand, and by
and-by so far behind as to be counted
out as of no account.
"When you are old enough your
selves to meet and move with men and
womenin business and good works fife,
you will soon find some who are late at
the appointed time, who come bustling
in, ten or fifteen minutes after the hour,
saying: l had no idea it was so late;'
MY watch never deceived me before;'
[ am very sorry to keep you waiting
All such managers are poor timber to
make boards of. If they had the grace
of resignation, they would make room
for somebody not always little behind
hand.
"The train starts at nine in the MORN
ing, and they reach the station two
minutes late, and are left The boat
goes at five, and they arrive in time to
be laughed at by the passengers who see
them wiping the perspiration from their
heated brows. / knew a Georgia
preacher who was holding forth in an
asylum to congregation Of the insane
He described man on scaffold about
to be hung, while in the distance comes
a messenger on horseback bringing
pardon. But the hour of fate was Just
at hand; minute or two and it would
be too late. The preacher drew out the
agony, by talking and talking, till one
of his crazed hearers cried: Cant you
hurry up a littlep They'll hang that
man if you don't And when 1 see
people dilly-dallying, wasting precious
time in doing nothing. l long to tell
them to hurry up, for life, soul, saliva
ton may be lost if they are only little
behindhand. 1t is so in every relation,
calling and duty in life. 1t is the one
principle on which the prize of success
in this world depends, and immortal
glory beyond. Now is the accented