The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-11-21
HABITS OF YOUTH.
Some Good Advice I'm M. Quad's Short
Talks With Boys.

The human being is curious study,
my boy.
When you come to consider him by
piecemeal, nothing is more curious
about him than this thing we call habit.
1t has more to do with his success or
failure in life than you have reflected
on. While we make our habits. they
make or unmake us. A habit is a some
thing which is at first underlined, but
which in time may become positive
monster. The tie is at first weak
thread which an infant could snap in
twain, but as the years 90 by the
thread becomes a cord-a rope
chain which no human effort can
break. Lecture man on his vicious
habits and while he will admit the JUS
tice OF your assertions, he cannot break
his bonds without putting forth such
efforts as discourage forty-nine out of
fifty ut the start. Let me talk to you
a little while as boy, and warn you
how habit may spoil you as a man.
While it is true that some persons
seem born good-natured and others
peevish, the peevishness is more habit
than birth-right. You can let little
things vey and annoy you, or you can
throw them of; You may have heard
a child snarl and cry by the half hour
because refused something. The moth
er will make a peevish youth of that
child. You have met boys who were
always whining that their kites were
lost, or some one made up faces at
them, or their knives were mislaid, or
some one called 'em names. If those
boys grow to be men they will have no
friends. Their whining is simply n
habit.
On the other hand, you can name
boys who never appear to have cause
for complaint. They are good-natured,
cheerful and willing, and they never
want for friends or favors. You can
class yourself with either, just as you
will. All your little annoyances and
veXations can be trodden under foot, or
you can magnify them until you firmly
believe that you were born into the
world for first-class martyr.
Great numbers of the male population
of this country use profane language.
Whyp Ask any man and his answer
will be: "Oh, l got into the habit of it
and don't think.
He doesn't swear because he wants
to be classed as wicked, but habit has
him on the hip, and men dressed as
gentlemen go about hurting out oaths
that shock you. You can become just
such a man, or you can carry Il clean
mouth and win respect where they Sc
cure disgust.
One-third, perhaps, of the men of
America chew and smoke. Ask that
man who just discharged half gill of
tobacco-juice on the sidewalk if he
chews because he loves tho weed, and
he will answer: ''Bless you, no! It's
filthy, unhealthy, abominable thing,
but I've got into the habit of it and
can't stop" And so from the day he
begins chewing, say at 10, until he
dies, say at the age of 60, his tobacco
not only costs him twenty-five cents
per week at the lowest estimate, but
for forty-four long years he soils his
clothes, dirties his house, disgusts his
best friends and weakens his physical
and mental system. Habit, my boy
all habit. The first few chews make
him terribly sick and he could easily
stop. He perseveres, however, and the
habit begins to gain strength. Let
your first chew be your last Let your
first smoke end the matter of pipe and
cigars with you.
If you live in town or village there
is an ''over town." or ''up town." or
''down town." or '.across the river"
which has its charms for boy of your
age, or you can imagine such to be the
case. There is drug store or grocery
or barber shop where certain men gath
er in the evening to brag and lie and
swear and discuss all subjects. AT 16
l looked upon these men rs heroes and
sages. AT 20 was ready to kick my
self for ever having given them fifteen
minutes of my time. Ask them why
they thus idle away two or three hours
which could be so pleasantly spent at
home with books, and any one of them
will answer: "Oh, I've kind o. got in
the habit of it, / suppose" There
may be nothing so very wicked about
it, but you can sec for yourself how
silly it is to waste time in that manner.
1t is the first starting point in the ca
reers of lazy men and loafers. Look
dTOulu dIlOHS your DusiHcoS aCpoaih-
tances and you will find that nine
tenths of the successful ones, and en-
tirely all of the representatives of good
society, have no ''down town loaling
places.
When boy l argued with the rest
that such things as harvest apples,
melons, grapes and peaches were free
plumber for boys. 1t did not seem in
the least crime to make night raid
after those things, and the farmer who
defended his orchard was set down as
an old curmudgeon. While an occas-
ional thief may be born to steal, the
majority are made by just such prac-
tees. After few raids after melons
it did not seem so very bad to steal the
wheel off wagon, or hide some ones
horse in the woods, or wheel away
bunch of shingles where they could not
be found. Let boy begin to-day to
"cOon" fruit and have his swing for
year and he will commit some offense
for which the law can send him to Jail.
The leading traits of every mans
character comes from this or that habit.
Givo a how ,,rnb1o,,, IN ,,,othac,ot;os