Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-01-02
THE FATHER OF THE MAN.

THE FATHER OF THE MAN.
Two Incidents Illustrating the truth of
an Old Adage.
There is q quaint old saying: 1.-THE
boys the father of the man." 1t sounds
funny, don't it? But there is a great
deal Of truth in it. 1t means that any
boy can make himself pretty much such
81 man as he wants to be, if he has grit
enough. And if he has not grit and
pluck as u boy, he won't amount to
much when he grows up. 1t is not
height or weight or a beard that makes
a man, but a manly character. Let me
tell you about two boys, II of whom
made u man, and the other didn't:
Charlie Jones was the saddest and
shabbiest little fellow that came to our
school. His folks were very poor. But
worse than that, his father was a drunk
ard and Il gambler. Nobody would
trust Charlie. They said that he had
bad blood in him, and that it would be
sure to show itself sooner or later. Peo-
pie would even quote Scripture against
him, saying: "Men do not gather grapes
of thorns OF figs OF thistles.' But a new
lawyer came to our town when Charlie
was about fourteen. He wanted an
office boy, and, contrary to the advice
of some of the folks who thought that
no good thing could come out of MAJ
| arcth, i. e., old drunken Jones hovel,
he employed Charlie. He soon saw that
the boy had good stuff in him, and he
said to him one day: "Charlie, l wish
that you had q better father. You start
in life with the odds heavy against you.
| But don't be discouraged. There is an
old saying: The boy is the father OF the
man. Determine to be your own father
in that sense. Make a man of yourself,
and 1 will help YOU"
Charles eyes flashed, showing
that he had grit. The words of Mr..
Bills, the lawyer, were like steel. They
| struck flint, and the sparks flew. From
that day there was a change in Charlie
| Jones. He went to work like a hero.
| He was the most active and pcrscvcring
fellow that [ ever knew. He was as
honest, too, as the day, MI. Bills trust
ed him and helped him. He made col
lections; he copied law papers, he read
and studied every leisure moment. His
motto seemed to be, always earning
something or learning something. He
understood that sHccess in life was like
climbing a ladder. He could not ex-
pect to Jump from the bottom to the
top. But he meant to climb as high as
he could by grasping round after round.
And he did climb so far up that years
400 he stood where the whole Nation
| could see him. And there he stands
to-day. If l should tell you his real
name you would cry out at once Il
have often heard father talk about that
man. He says that he is n OF the
greatest lawyers in the land. Is it pos
sible that he was nce a poor boy, the
despised and discouraged child OF a
drunkard?:"
l had another schoolmate whose
father was rich. The boy was smart
enough, but he wouldn't study. He
used to say: ''The old man is going to
leave me lots of money. l won't have
to work to earn my living like you boys
whose fathers are poor. My way in the
world is made for me beforehand, so l
am going to take things easy and enjoy
myself" This boys name was Johnnie.
His father, Mr.. Rich, lived in a large
house and in elegant style. They had
wine on the table ut dinner every day,
and Johnnie was permitted to drink just
one glass. His father would not drink
more than that himself or allow his
children to. But that one glass did not
satisfy Johnnie. 1t only kindled a
burning thirst. Soon he found his way
10 the saloon and spent there ali his
pocket money. Once he got so drunk
that he had to be carried home. This
was disgraceful. 1t made Mr.. Rich very
angry. He cut OFT Johnnie's pocket
money and threatened to turn him out
of doors if he ever got drunk again.
This frightened the boy and he tried
hard to reform. But that one glass of
wine at dinner would excite him so he
was crazy for more. At length one
day he slipped the desert spoons under
his napkin while at the table, transferred
them slyly to his pocket, went out into
the yard and battered the handles SO
that his fathers name engraved on them
could not be read. He sold the spoons
and spent the money at a saloon. lie
goi so drunk that he was rolled ont
into the gutter, where his friends FOUND
him in the morning and took him home.
Mr.. Rich was furious, and determined,
as he said, that the boy should reform
or die. He took him to New York and
put him on a whaling ship. He went
as a common sailor. How hard this
life wa for a young man who had
never learned to work and been in