The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-09-25
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Rm. Lennor IN Home Journal.

LIuy Hm. Lennon tn LIOHec JOtuHuS'
Spurs are of many kinds, multitudinous
as are the men and women upon whom they
act; but there are some which hold chief
rank, so to speak, and impei the great mass
of human beings to exertion. OF these no
doubt the two strongest are love of money
and ambition in some shape or form. As
to the first, it has always been such tre-
mendous factor in human effort that 1T
seems almost unnecessary to speak of it,
and yet as every day the effort in that
direction is intensified, and the need of
money more urgent, it can hardly, in list
of spurs, mental and moral, be unnoticed.
The race after gold does not afford the
highest motive for "early rising and late
taking rest" but the zest for adding to the
golden store is not to be wondered at, con-
sidering that nothing can be done without
it. Nothing on large scale at least,
whether good or bad, can be achieved with
out it. Persons of every class and every
disposition feel the power of this spur.
Rich people like to add to their riches be
cause of the halo which the reputation of
enormous wealth sheds around them. Poor
people want money for their absolute ne
cessities. People between those two ex-
tremes want it because in the present day
the axiom guid pro quo is held in great
honor, and woe betide the unlucky beings
who can do, or rather give, nothing for lack
of the wherewithal They are of no use,
and are, metaphorically speaking, carted
away with other rubbish. The process is
not agreeable, and many person neither
miserly by nature nor a spendthrift, tries
to get rich in order to avoid the cold shoul-
dering which, in more cases than one, is
the accompaniment of poverty. The spur
of gold therefore may fairly be placed first
as being the most universal.
Next comes the spur of ambition, and
very sharp and keen one it is, and it often
involves the struggle for money as means
to an end But not always. There are
ambitions fair and laudable, which can be
realized without the aid of gold. Such are
the desires of born orator to gain hear
ing, or, either of man or woman, to have
their work brought before the public, and
to be recognized as the possessor of such
gifts as they do possess. This ambition
does not of necessity depend upon gold for
its realization fortunately. Often the first
rate work brings its own reward, not only
in the honor paid to the worker, but in the
more practical result of riches sooner or
later.
Ambition may also mean, and perhaps
in its strictest sense does mean, love OF
power rather than desire of fame; and it is
as keen a spur in this form as in the other.
Who has not met people whose one aim
seems to be to get influence over any one
and every one? They constantly get it,
too. The firm, strong character which goes
with that sort of ambition is nearly sure to
achieve its end; and as in all probability the
desire is notso much to have the reputation
of possessing this influence as to possess it
in reality, the persons acted upon hear no
warnings and find themselves under the
spell before they have realized that any
charm was being worked upon them. 'Its
more the pity, but pity It's It's true, that
those in whom the desire of power is very
keen are, as a rule, somewhat inclined to
double dealing. They will say one thing
and mean another, acting upon Talleyrand's
axiom that Language is given US to con-
ceal our thoughts" perhaps it Is the vein
of diplomacy which is part Of their nature
that causes this, or that they consider that
the exigencies of the case-i e., their own
fxedpurpose to succeed-demand a certain
crookedness; at all events, it is to be OBJ
served that the special spur of love of
power is apt to drive people into devious
paths instead of letting them "run straight" "
Besides these two great incentives to
human effort there are a host Of others,
each and all sharp and powerful, but not of
quite such universal application, and more
liable to be Inexperienced, or even over
looked, by those who have not felt their
edge. One of these is duty, and many a
man and woman lives noble life of self
denial and selfabnegation, wearing all the
while cheerful face, SO that no one dreams
of the hardness and stoniness af his or her
path, nor of the struggles by day over
Hhills of difficulty" and by night through
asloughs of despondenoy," nor thinks, in
deed, about them and their lives at all. So
far from it in truth that often, perhaps
generally, such people are looked upon as
matter of fact, plodding creatures, with no
imagination, and very few, if any, tempta=
tions; and SO it is supposed to be perfectly
easy for them to keep in the way they
should go. But they themselves know
well what that easiness means, and how, on
the contrary, the sharp spur of duty alone
prevents them lying down on the grass
among the flowers, instead of toiling along
the hot and dusty road, unrewarded, per-
haps, except by the peace in their own con-
science. A man works hard for ffetful
and exaetipg wife; woman slaves for a
selfish and Indifferent husband; girl lets
her best years slip by keeping in her heart
the hope of marrying the man she loves
some time, because abe will not leave an
aged mother OF invalid sister entirely alone
in the world Such things are of constant
occurrence, though unnoticed and un-
known. The spur of duty is very powerful
when it is really felt.
Then there is terrible weapon called
fear, which, as its name implies, acts chiefly
upon those who are at least able to bear its
sharpness A miserable child covering
before her unnatural father or mother, and
doing its best to sell matches in the street
so as to avoid the hideous abuse and blows
which await it otherwise or wretched
maid Of, all work, taxed above her strength
and treated brutally by her employers be-
cause she cannot do everything at once; in
fact, any one in subordinate position who
is unfortunately either physically or morally
weak, and so at the mercy of an unscrupu-
lous and cruel tyrant of either sex, is driven
by the ignoble and severe spur; and, to the
shame of humanity be it said, it is oftener
called into exercise than is ever suspected
or dreampt of.
In contra-distinctiou to the last-mention-
ed spur, there is the sharp-edged one called
love, which has the popularity, like the
shirt of Nessus, of being pressed the closer
by its victim the more it wounds. What
miracles, so to speak, have been performed
under the influence of this magic weapon
and how many are being performed every
day if we did but know it. Men have