Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-12-27
A SERMON FOR THE NEW YEAR.

Grandpa. when does man have
| three hands?''
This question was put by a child to
| her grandfather, in the midst 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
| ly, and, after thinking a moment. he
said: 81 give it up" The bright child
| in great glee cried out: ga 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 conundrum.
"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, [
| will give you a little sermon or lecture
on the subject" .,...-
"Now-now-let us have it now!'
they all exclaimed; but he knew chill
| dren too well for that, and, saying
that his sermon would keep, he told
| them to 90 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: ......-.
g Grandpa, are you not getting a
little behindhand with that sermon you
| 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 a
new year, and good time to take a
fresh start To begin,well is half the
dong, whatever it is. The habit of
being on time, never a 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 failure in ten thousand cases, many
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 loon, and probably at night.
The child is father of the man. gust
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
behindhand 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 disagreeable and them
uncomfortable. The boy with such
disposition is late at school, not pre-
pared with his lessons, always just a
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 eNertions he makes
failure in everything.
"Forty years ago l 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
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 promptness in performing every
promise, in being always ahead rather
than behind time. And there are me-
chanics and tradesmen with whom l
once had dealings and now have de-
serted, because they would never
fulfill an order in season. would not send
a thing home to me when they 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 yet, 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. In the absence of positive
crime, this habit of taking it easy
causes the poverty and failure of the
greater part of the human family. With
the same chances, with equal health
> and wits, IN the same held, one man
succeeds and another makes a dead
failure. And whyp Because one took
time by the forelock. 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. s
"When you are old enough your
selves to meet and move with men and
women in business and good works of life,
you will soon find some who are late at
the appointed time, who come busting
in, ten or fifteen minutes after the hour,
saying: 1 had no idea it was SO late;'
My watch never deceived me before;'
I 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