Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-01-10
A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

this year fuller and brighter than
any that have gone before. But how
to do it? We will 60 about all day
calling it happy new year, but what
shall we do to make it happiers
In the first place, pay your debts.
The shower of yellow envelopes be-
gan on most households this morn.
ing before breakfast to remind us OF
this duty. AS long as one ofthem is
about, two ale miserable, the expec-
tant, uncomfortable man at one end
ofthe bill and the mean, uncomfort-
able man at the other. Kill the bill
by paying it off rs soon as you can
ut any cost of selfsacri6ce or scrimp-
ing at home.
There are other debts than those
you owe your tailor and grocer. Pay
them. The old father and mother
who worked, aud saved and stinted,
and spent all their youth aud strength
to give you a start in life, and are
now lying wrecked somewhere, like
old hulks drawn upon the beach--tlo
You owe them nothings A little love,
little Difference aud care count for
so much here; dnnot begrudge them
this year. There are so many peo-
pie, too, to whom few affectlOnate
words, hearty recognition now and
then of what they have done for
us, would be as the water of life.
We pay debts of courtesy promptly
enough to strangers. We thank the
passer-by who steps out of our way.
But the husband toillng for years,
the patient wife, the faithful servant,
how often do we remember to say
I" Wei, done" to these common place
home iolkss Remember it this year.
1t may he the last opportunity Tor us
to pay that debt. Next year this day
the snow may be lying deep on the
faithful heart, the kind eyes, the busy
hands that now serve us SO well, and
then We would give our own lives for
but an hour to tell them how We have
seen all their goodness and how dear
they are us.
In the second place il you would
be happy in the next twelve months
don't make a business and a habit
of misery. Don't grOan over he
cold aud heat; it lasts but for a day.
Nor over your poverty. 1t is the
merry heart that always draws Gus.
tom, and work and good luck in the
world as well as love. Nor over
your age and decay. Do you Cry
over an old coat when it is worn out,
Or the tools that are no longer fit for |
work. You go with all the countless
of the past to be reclOth- |
ed and set to other uses and pur- |
poses. Answer the summons and
walk to the grave like a man, not
like q fretful, uncomprehending
slave. For the rest cultivate the
habit OF happiness. Make the bet
of each day. Pick your steps through
the year as you go through the
streets to-day, choosing the clean
places for your feet and jumping
over the mud and filth.
Thirdly. Find out your work,
and then don't shirk it. Life is in
sipId and taSteless to nobody but the
loafer. lfyou have never tasted the
keen delight Of the consciousness of
a good days work well done. try it
now. But, having found out your
work, don't do more than your share
Your Maker has promised that your
strength shall be equal to your days
labor. But He meant necessary
labor. Not that which you must
give to become a millionaire, or to
push your chi dren up in society. M
extra strength is promised tor that
kind of work. If you undertake it,
you do it at the risk of suicidal ma
MIA, or decrepitude i'll middle age, or
some Of those cerebral diseases which
now make lite hideous and death
close to the American.
Lastly-Secure happiness for the
next year by keeping clear of the
mistakes which made you miserable
in the last. You are a young fellow
and you have begun to drink a lit
tie; or a young girl, and you have
carried your flirting to the verge OF
fastness and vulgarity; or you ale a
householder, and you have lived be-
yond your income; or a mother, and
have wasted on idle, vapid acquain
tanceS the time due to your children.
In every case you are making good
resolutions for 1885. One word OF
advicc-don't temporize. Have moth
ing to do with middle measures.
Change your base wholly. Rid
yourself Of the society which led you
to drink, to be extravagant, fast or
foolish. Start on fresh ground
Don't stay in the handsome house
in the fashionable quarter and TT,
to save by nipping you laundry bill
and buying cheap meat. Go to the
p0ilntrV and at ono strOka ont down