The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-04-17
Friends and Friends.


wopld, young man, and it behooves you
to select with care those whom you are
to make your intimates and those whom
you are to merely consider in friendly
light. 1t is no easy matter for you to
do this. You will certainly meet with
disappointment in your selections, but
it is far better to have made the en-
deavor, as by it you will gain valuable
experience. Young man. there are
people in this world who, knowing
your weakness for some pleasure or
some failing in appetite, will cater to
that failing or weakness simply to
lave your company, being, as you GER
tainly are, when such is the case, so far
above them intellectually and morally
that your company gives to them an air
of responsibility which they could not,
under other circumstances, possess; yet
while it does this for them it lowers
you. You will not perceive it at first,
but continuance in their society will
have its effect on the community at
large, and, before you are fairly aware
of it, you will find your prestige gone,
and your influential friends hesitating
to give you that support which speeds
a young man on to success in life. You
cannot expect to go into good society
or hold an honorable position in bust
ness if you are in the habit of associat-
ing with those who frequent low dance
houses, gambling-rooms, and other
places of questionable reputation. You
cannot expect to hold the confidence
and esteem of your employer if you as
sociate with those who make practice
of visiting such places as mentioned
above. You will also find, when you
have fallen, that those whose company
you used to seek and with whom you
used to join in their questionable pleas
ures, will be the very first to desert
you in your trouble. They are fair
weather friends. You can tell them
easily enough by their conversation.
They never have positive opinion,
and, while they never neglect to talk
about a person who is absent, yet when
they meet that person they are cor
dial and friendly-in fact, they are
too much so.
Young man, if you have gained the
| friendship of one who is positive in his
opinions; who will go out of his way to
give you boost; who IS ever ready to
assist you 10y word, deed, or in finan-
cial way; who despises the society of
the low, though polite to those beneath
his moral or intellectual dignity; who
makes few intimate friends and but one
confidential friend, and that you, you
lave found true friend, and one on
whom you can depend in time of trouble
even better, if that could be, than
when prosperity smiles upon you. A
! genuine, true, sincere friend is one who
"weeps when you weep. and laughs
when YOU laugh" You are part of
his very being, and an injury done to
/ you Is felt to be an injury to himself
! There is no halfway business with him.
/ II is the whole thing or nothing. He
will not hesitate to tell you your fail
ings in frank, straightforward man.
ner and will thank you for doing the
same by him. This kind of friend
is rare, and If you have such stick to
him.
Young man, just sit down and look
over the list of your so-called friends.
How many actually fill the require
ments OF true friend as described
above? Have you one on the list? III
you have, stick to him, even if it is
necessary to discard all others. They
must be satisfied with polite treat
ment, and should never he considered
more than passing acquaintance. II
may be hard to do this In some cases,
but it is for your own interest and sue
cess in life that You do it; for if by
their association you are not made the
better it would be nothing more or less
than suicide to your future. There are
friends and friends. Friends by pc.
liteness-fair-weath friends true
friends friends who are help to you
and who strive with you to final success
-PecEs Sun.