Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-12
HINTS FOR BOYS.
REMEMBER YOU HAVE BUT ONE
CHANCE IN LIFE.

Make the Most of Your opportunity-The
Need of Self neutrality-suspicious. Out
Evil Habits with Those of the Opposite
Kind-seif Control.
What boys need is few hints in the art of |
living. Mistakes made early in life go on |
with us either to be fought wiM through |
valuable years or else to wreck our chances |
You want, or need to want, first of all, to |
see clearly that you have but one chance in
life to make the most of yourself-only once
that you can go over the ground; and you !
must be sure and positive as to what you are
doing, Then it will never hurt any boy to
stop and see how very few do have a fair
sort OF life; and then consider why so large
aproportion of human beings have a petty,
low, or even brutal plane to live on.
The next thing that l am quite sure O
Young chap needs is to get good glimpse of
himself. This is not the hardest task In the
world, although some make the accomplish
menJ very difficult A good deal of self
knowledge can be obtained by quiet con-
slaeration and moderate estimate Of what we
IKE I 40 to be, and with whom we like to
associate, And one who really wishes can
advantages and powers. He can know if he
is liable 70 hasty outbreaks of temper, or to
sensuaity, or is naturally revengeful, or
tickle, or envious. Can any one tell us why
person snail not go to work upon himself
as he would at anything else; to change and
modify, and eradicate the evil and increase
the good? There is no property more directly
our own than ourselves; and it every hour
reshapsd by our wills. But the best plan
does not seem TO be to try to kill out evil in
our dispositions, but to give cultivation to
the good The evil will get srnothered out
Farmers have way of going through
Their corn once with a hoe to cut off weeds.
But when the corn is well up and strong they
only 60 throu h to stir the soil and hill up
tne stalks. They say the corn itself will kill
zoe weeds. Il depends on which gets the
oest start. Ii you give your weeds the best
chance they viii come out ahead in the char
aceef, But isyou give good willing the bet
ter start so, shortly it will overshadow evil,
rsead yoa VIII have little trouble. | have
known people, Young and old, work on the
other plan, speeding a great deal of time in
renl0rse and repentance. All which is non
sense and time wasted. They only grow
weaker wIled and punier in character No
!
he has done sou.1rhing else. So take nv ad-
vice il thl= matter and simply 80 to work
and keep tn work, cultIvating fine things. II
evil habits are formed, don't fight them, but
smother them with the opposite. To tell you
the truth, what set me to writing this article
was a very ileful letter from d reader who
is mlseraoly eating up his tirne and his force
on remorse. Plan something noble my boy!
Get st something useful, and always be cheer
full about 1t. The Greeks had name for
honorable men, that IS Inen of the right sort
they called them upward lockers The
finest thing one can be is to be an upward
locker
Unless one has self control, or control of
self, OF course so-,n one else has control of
him 1t Is quite study. and study well
worth tie while, TO find out who really is in
control OF US 1t is not impossible that, when
you think 1t well over, you Will see that it is
very contemplate lJut VINO is ruling YOU.
A boy sad 10 me not long ago: i have made
up my mind that if I cannot rule myself
shall never amount to anything To be
sure, lad, You VII not amount to anything
unless the one who rules you is a very noble
person, and If he is that, he viii only aim to
teach You 10 control yourself There is
something very grand about well man
aged body and mind There is no other
such property III the world.
think very lew boys ever have any idea
how much they are good for. The result is
they am for something quite too cheap and
small What a world this would beif all the
millions born into the world each year should
do their best. The worst of all ideas is n bad
or Insignificant notion of Iife-a cheap notion.
Ii you &c, a good ideal of life to aim at you
have at least right purpose. Does this
souud too much Ike preaching3 II it does,
some preaching is just what we all need.
Like preacher, now make another point.
1t ought to be very strongly emphasized;
that is, learn to like good company. If
were sure You had been brought up just
right, would put 1t this way, Never learn
to Ike bad company l do not at all mean
70 sell always 60 be with pious people-peo-
pie OF high string goodness-and generally
of the goody goodness sort / do not know
more damaging people than those who are
ali tie time worried about their neighbors-
Thsse is, however a law OF nature that we
become like those with whom We associate.
1t is fixed law, and sometimes seems a great
pity because weak witred persons find it SC
difficult 10 set away from strong leaders
am quite sure | have seen one boy lead
twenty Of his mates, and almost take contro
of them. So far as I can judge, about one
person in twenty is born leader; the res
are naturally followers, II you have ar
ambition to lead. and are high spirited, TAKE
care not to be selfish, but to be generous il
leading. II You are naturally led, then o
course You must be careful who leads you
Some people are made up as boys make
sno" man-each boy puts on a handful 0
snow. So I have seen a person made up o
bits Of everybody about him; notion from
Tom Jones, prejudice from another be
lief from another, habit from another
and, al! IN al, queer hodge podge.-M
Maurice, NJ D., in Globe-DeInocrat.
Time Is Worth Money.
Poet Edmund Stedman, stock broker
when not counting the MUSES. has hit upo
new idea il connection with interview.