The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-12-25
BEHIND TIME.
A Few Wise Words About the Perniclous
Habit of REPRESENTATION.

Habit of REORGANIZATION.
There is a class of persons known of
all men everywhere, whose popularity
is that they are always behind time. II
not always, so generally that the ex-
Oeption proves the rule. They are late
to meals or late in having them ready
for others, and so make others late;
they are late to bed at night and late in
the morning in getting up; they arelate
for the train, and come painting and
blowing just in time to catch it, or to
see it rolling away. They seem some
how to have lost an hour, more or less,
out of their lives in infancy or early life,
and are therefore compelled eVermOre
to chase that lost period in vain.
When one hears these late people
give an account of themselves he is inn
pressed with the conviction that they
think they have plenty of time to COM
pass their plans and enterprises. They
are in no hurry about any thing; so they
take their ease and daWdle or get every
thing done there is to do except few
''last little things that "take only
minute" to do, and then are uncOncern-
ed a.d confident. The late housewife,
having planned her dinner all out, and
thinking that she can crush" it if she
gets in a corner, sits at her sewing
longer than she ought to, and finds
when she tries to make up for the lost
time, that the fire won't burn, or
some dish turns out badly, and
she hasn't time to prepare another,
or somebody comes in and detains her,
and so the dinner is late. The tardy
ehurch-goer, enjoying the luxury OF
Sunday rest, reads little too long, or
occupies himself in something else than
getting all ready for church, and when
the last bel rings he is not in his place
in the pew. Or, if it is the house
mother, she thinks she can do few
more chores before she goes, and so she
is late, and dsturbs the worshipers by
coming in out of time. The unpunct-
ual traveller puts off to the last day or
hour before he starts what should have
been done the day before or the week
before, and finds it impossible or next to
impossible to crowd the last prepara-
tons into the fragment of time left him,
and so he is late. All these people for
get that the hands of the clock keep
moving on "without haste, without
rest, and that, however it may seem to
them, there is only just so much time,
Just so much and no more, for them to
use.
1t is not to be supposed that persons
who have the habit of representation,
of being behind time, or any other mis-
chievous habit, are going to drift out OF
it and become, without effort fore
handed and punctual, correct and ex-
emplary. 1t takes mighty and persist
ent force to break any bad habit, but
bad habits are broken and good ones
formed as we may observe almost every
day. The thing for the person who is
always behind time to do is to put all
his hurry in at the beginning of any en-
terprise, to do whatever he can do at
once, not to leave any thing until to-
morrow that can be done to-day, or I'M
til this afternoon that can be done this
morning, and to begin in season. He
must not allow himself to be diverted
from the main issue, to waste his time
on side issues, or to forget just how the
hands of the clock are moving on, NOV
ing on, and bringing the hour he is
working toward. He must omit many
things, perhaps, that seem desirs
BILE, but are not Of vital Importance to
the end he is aiming At
The routinist finds it indispensable tC
drive certain stakes, so to speak, along
his course, and require himself to be a
these stakes at q certain hour. Said {
business man the other day: IF l cal
have my breakfast exactly at quarter
before eight every morning, every thinS
goes smoothly all day. | have time tt
eat my breakfast, time to get to my of
flee in season, and time to look over IN,
newspaper. The lady to whom h,
was talking replied: eff | can ge
breakfast in time to have it eaten
cleared away and the dishes all WASHED
and put away before nine o clock, thel
my day goes smoothly. There's tim
for all other domestic enterprises, but i
breakfast is late and the dishes hans
round till ten or eleven o'clock, the bes
part of the day is gone and every thin9
drags." An early breakfast mean
early going to bed and early gettin!
up. We must begin at the right en-,
if we would come out right in the end
The peace of mind that natural
follows punctual and complete prepa
ration for and accomplishments state,
tasks is beyond the comprehension q
the man or woman who is always be
hind time. He has no breathing spells
he is always pursued by phantoms tina
moan TOO late, too late. IN 7. IT.
6une.