Mexico weekly ledger., 1884-11-06
SHORT TALKS WITH THE BOYS.
BY N. QUAD.

ADo huEaoA oCmS 10 SA1toue
study, my boy. S
When you come to consider him by
piece-meal, 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, thew make or unmake us.
A habit is a something which is at
first underlined, but which in time may
become positive monster. The tie
is at first weak thread which an in
FAINT could snap in twain, but as the
years go by the thread becomes a
cord-a rope--a chain which no hu-
man effort can break. Lecture a man
on his vicious habits and while he
will admit the justice Of your asser-
tions, he cannot break his bonds with
out putting forth such efforts as dis
courage forty-nine out OF fifty at the
start. Let me talk to you a little
while as boy, and warn you how
habit may spoil you as man.
While it is true that some persons
seem born good-natured and others
peevish, the peevishness is more o
habit than birth-right. You can
let little things vex and annoy you,
or you can throw them off. You may
have heard of child snarl and cry
by the half hour because refused
something. The mother will make 9
pevish youth Of that child. You
have met boys who were always
whining that their kites were lost, OIL
some one made up faces at them, OF
their knives were mislaid, or some
one called 'em names. II those boys
grow to be men they will have nc
friends. Their whining is simply 6
habit.
On the other hand you can name
boys who never appear to have any
cause for complaint. They are gooe
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 an
noyances and vexations can be trod
den under foot, or you can magnify
them until you firmly believe that yot
were born into the world for first
class martyr.
Great numbers of the male popula
ton of this country ues profane Ian
guage. Why? Ask any man and hi
reply will be: 'Oh, I got into th'
habit of it and l don't think"
He doesn't swear because he want:
to be classed as wicked, but habit ha.
him on the hip, and men dressed a
gentlemen go about hurting out oath
that shock you. You can becom
just such man, or you can carry
clean mouth and win respect wher
they secure disgust.
One-third, perhaps, of the men o
America chew and smoke. Ask tina
man who just discharged half a gil
of tobacco-juice on the sidewalk if b
chews because he loves the weed
and he will answer: 'Bless you, no
It's filthy, unhealthy, abominabl
thing, but I've got into the habit o
it and can't stop" And so from th
dag he begins chewing, say at 16, un
til he dies, say at the age of so, hi
tobacco not only costs him twenty
five cents per week at the lowest esti
mate, but for forty-four long year
he soils his clothes, dirties his house
, disgusts his best friends and weaken
his physical and mental system
Habit, my boy--all habit. The frs
few chews make him terribly sick an
he could easily stop. He perseveres
however, and the habit begins to gai
strength. Let your first chew b
lyour last. Let your first smoke en-
the matter of pipe and cigars wit
you.
If you live in a town or villag
there is an "over town." or ''u
town." or "down town." or sacros
the river,' which has its charms for
boy of your age. or you can imagin
such to be the case. There is dru
store Or grocery or barber shop wher
certain men gather in the evening t
brag and lie and swear and discus
all subjects. AT 16 I looked upo
those men as heroes and sage.
At 20 I YVES ready to kick myself fe
ever having given them fifteen mi1
utes of my time. Ask them why the
thus idle away two or three houl
which could be so pleasantly spent
home with books, and any one of the
will answer: 'Oh, I've kind O g
in the habit of it, I suppose" The
may be nothing, SO very wicked abo'
lit, but you can see for yourself ho
SILLY it is to waste time in that ma
ner. 1t is the first starting point
= the careers of lazy men and loafer
Look around among your busine
acquaintance and you will find th
nine-tenths of the successful one
and entirely all of the Representative
! of good society, have no "dow
= town" loafng places.
E When boy I argued with the re
5, that such things as harvest apple
Is melons, grapes and peaches were fr
plunder for boys. 1t did not seem
10 the least crime to make a night rs
after those things, and the farm
who defended his orchard was |,