St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-12-04
short Talks with the Boys.
The human being is a cnrious study
my boy.

my boy.
When YOU come To consider him by
piece neal, nothing is more curious
about him than this thing we call
habit. 1t has more to do with his sue
cess or failure in life than you have
reflected on While we make our bab
its, they make or unmake us. A habit
is something which is at first unde
fined, Init which in time may become
a positive monster. The tie is at first
IA weak thread which an infant could
suap in twain, but as the Years go by
the thread becomes cord-a rope
chain which no human effort can
break. Lecture Il man on his vicious
habits, and, while he will admit the
Justice of your assertions, he cannot
break his bonds without putting forth
such efforts as discourage fortynine
out of fifty at the start. Let me talk
to You II little while as "A 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
habit than birth right. You can let
little things vex and annoy you, or you
can throw them off. You may have
heard child snarl and cry by the half
hour because refused something. The
mother will make Il 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 'cm names. fthose
boys grow to be men they will have
no friends. Their whining is simply
habit.
On the other hand you can name
boys who never appear to have any
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 pOpula-
tiOn OF this country use profane Ian
guage. Why7 Ask any man and his
reply will be: "Oh, | got into the habit
of it and don't think"
He doesn't swear because he wants
to lie classed as wicked, but habit has
him on the hip. and men dressed as
gentlemen 90 about hurting out Oaths
that shock you. You can become just
such man. or you can carry clean
mouth and win respect where they Sc
cure disgust.
Onc-t 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
1,. lnx fl,..
he will answer: "Bless you, no! It's
filthy, unhealthy, abominable thing,
but Eve got into the habit of it and
can't stop And 50 from the day he
begins chewing. say l6, until he dies,
say at the age of 90, his tobacco not
only costs him % cents per week at
the lowest estimate. but for Al long
years he soils his clothes, dirties his
house, disgusts his best friends and
weakens his physical and mentat sys-'
ten. Habit, my hoy all habit. The
first few chews make him terribly
sick and he could easily stop. He per
severes, 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.
II YOU live in town or Village there
is an "ovcr town." or ''up town." or
'down town." or "across the river"
which has its charms for Il boy of your
age, or you can imagine such to be the
case. There is II drug store or grocery
or barber shop where certain men
gather in the evening to hrag and lie
and swear and discuss all subjects. At
| Ii | looked upon those men as heroes
and siSes. AT 20 | was ready to kick
myself for ever having given them
| fifteen minutes of my time. Ask them
why they idle away two or three hours
which conld he so pleasantly spent at
home with books, and any one of them
will answer: "Oh, I've kind a. got in
| the habit of it ! suppose There may
be nothing 81 very wicked about 1t,
! but yOu can see for yourself how silly
| it is to waste time i'll that manner. 1t
is the first starting point in the careers
| of lazy men and lnaicrs. Look around
among your business acqnaintances
and you will find that nine tenths of
the successful ones, and entirely all of
the representatives of good society
have no ''down-town" loafing places.
When boy argued with the rest
>
melons, grapes, peaches, were free
pluudcr 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 curmu,lgeOn. While an occa-
sinnal thief may be born to steal, the
majority are made by just such prac-
tees. After n few raids after melons
it did not seem so very bad to steal the
wheel off ii wagon, OF hide some ones
horse in the woods, or wheel away &
bunch of shingles where they conlt
not be found. Let boy begin to-day
to ''cOon" fruit and have his swing fol
year and he will commit some offenst
for which the law can send him tt
Jail. Convince yourself once that you
neighbOr's fruit belongs to y"u withou
his consent, and you have given brit
to habit which will surely make !
robber of You if hot straugled at once
The leading traits of every man.
character come from this or that habit
Give Il boy.a problem in mathematici
to work ont in his head while walking
hall mile and in Il year he will have
acquired a slow gait and perhaps carr,
il through life. On the other hand
take boy with a naturally slow gai
! and give him speedy erramds TO do ant
g his pace will soon be naturally in
: creased. once heard a mother ash
! her boy some questions which she sus
I pected he might not readily answe
E correctly, and she added ''Now TAX
| good loug time to think it over" Sh
: told me this WAS u common habit q
o hers, but she forgot that the boy nigh
: be forming Il habit H. we'll. Lon
d years after, when | met him again,
you had asked him the name of til
president, his own age, or the day c