Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1883-07-20
Volume XL.---No. 6.
Owning the Earth.

How often We hear men say 4 am
glad of it, when speaking of some man
who has been at the top of the heap
politically, socially, or financially, and
has suddenly dropped. Once in a
great while man says Il am sorry,'
but that is when the man who has
fallen was the same kind of fellow
when he was on top that he was be-
fore he got there. The trouble is that
too many men, who 60 the front, get
the idea that they own the earth, and
their old friends get down on them,
and they do not make new ones to
take the place of the old ones. A
ward politician who becomes con-
gresham, can make no greater mis-
take than to get too big for his boots
when he is elected, and forget his
friends, and put on airs. The bows
who have made himwhat he is, talk with
each other about him, and laugh at
his greatness, and never tell him what
they think, but some day when he
comes up again. they slaughter him,
and he drops on the political side
walk and never knows what hurts
him, but he knows that be is hurt.
Then he tries to smile at his old
friends, and slap them on the should
ers, and explain himself, but it is ever
lastingly tco late What they want
ed as to have him remain just the
same when he was on top. A man
may 90 along, poor, and be respected
and have thousands Of friends, aud he
may suddenly have a fortune left him.
The first time he puts on silk un-
dershlrt he changes towards his
friends and seems to own the earth.
He goes around block to avoid meet
ing some friend Of the old days, and
he looks over them when he meets
them. They watch for him to
drop, and when: he does 60 through
his money, and gets down to earth
again, and finds that the other fellows
own some of it, he meets an old friend
that he has not noticed for years, and
says Hello, Bill but Bill does not
hello Bill has wanted to 'hello' for
some time but he didn't receive any
encouragement, and now his appetite
for 'hellowing, has left him. If lie
wants to hello BILL he goes off and
does it with somebody whose head has
not got too big for his hat, and the
man who has been temporarily at the
top Of the heap, sees that he has made
a Beaver Dam fool of himself. When
man has been climbing hill all
bis life, and slipped back so much
that j, has aaas A5a nA4safbe -,iarrs ri
gets to the top, he has a right to feel
glad, but he wants to be contented
where he is, and not try to fly high.
When he gets to the top of the hill he
is in more dangerous place than he
was while he was climbing, because
from where he stands 1t is down hH
in erery direction. Did you ever
think OF that, boys? Every way you
look, when you get up there, it is
down hill, and you have got to brace
yourself, and not lose your head, or
the first thing you know your foot
will slip, and you will go down head
over appetite. If you have kept your
head and your friends, while you were
at the top, and those who are still
climbing SEE that you are letting your
loot slip, they will try to brace YOU,
and keep you up, but if you have
made an ass Of yourself, and thought
because you had got there, that You
owned the Hill, and have thrown OBJ.
stacles in the way OF other climbers.
and you start to 60 down, as Josh
Billings has said, .All creation seems
creased for the occasion,' and when
you get to going nobody will reach
out to save you, 1t is a good lesson
for boys as we'll as men to learn. that
the top OF the hill is the most danger.
GUS place, and when they get there
they will be the same careful, sensi.
BILE persons that they were when they
were sticking their toe nails in and
putting. The country is full of late
politicians who would give all they
have got, and mortgage all they ex-
pect to have if they had not lost their
heads when they got to the top of the
hill.