Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1888-10-24

through tnelr corn once with hoe
to cut eff weeds. But when the corn
is well up and strong they only go
through to stir the soil and hill up the
stalks. They say the corn itself will
kill the weeds. 1t depends on which
gets the best start. If you give your
weeds the best chance they will come
out ahead in the character. But If you
give gool willing the bstter start very
shortly it will overshadow evil, and
you Will have little trouble. / have
known people. young and old, work
on the other plan, spending a great
deal OF time in remorse and repent
ance. All which is nonsense and time
wasted. They only grow weaker willed
and punier in character. No one gets a
hard job done by regretting that he mas
done something else. SO take my ad
vice in this matter and simply 20 to
work and keep to work, cultivating
fiae things If 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 ar
tlcle was a very doleful letter from a
reader, who is mIserably eating up his
time and his force oD remorse. Plan
something noble, my boyl Get at
something useful, and always be
cheerful about it. The Greeks had a
name for honorable men, that is men
Of the right sort; they called them
upward lookers'' The finest thing
one can be is to be an upward locker.
Unless oae has self control, or con-
troll of self, of course some one else has
control of him. 1t Is quite a study and
a study well worth the while, to find
out who really Is In control of us. 1t
fE mot FNpnra haf l.
IL well over, you will see that it is a
very cOntemptibls lout who is ruling
you. 4 boy said to me not long ago:
81 have made up my mind that IL l
cannot rule myself shall never amount
to anything" To be sure, lad, you
will not amount to anything unless the
one who rules you is a very noble per-
son, and if he is that, he will only aim
to teach you to control yourself. There
IS something very grand about well
managed body and mind. There is no
other such property in the world.
think very few boys ever have any
idea how much they are good for. The
resalt is they aim for something quite
too cheap and small. What a world
this would be il all the millions born
INTO the world each year should do
their best. The worst of all ideas is a
bad or insignificant notion of hfe-a
cheap notion Ii you get a good
ideal of lie to aim at you have at least
a right purpose. Does this sound too
much Ike preaching? If 1t does,
some preaching is just what we all
need. Like a preacher, l now make
another point. 1t ought to be very
strongly emphasized; that is. learn to
like good company If L were sure
you had been brought up just right,
would put it this way, Never learn 20
like bad company" L do not at all
mean to seek always to be with pious
peOple-people of high strung goodness
and generally of the goody goodness
sort. L do not know more damaging
people than those who are all the time
worried about their neighbors.
There is, however, a law of nature
that we become Ike those with whom
we associate. 1t is a fixed law, and
sometimes seems great pity, because
weak witted persons find it so difficult
to get away from strong leaders. l
am quite sure have seen one boy lead
twenty of his mates, and almost take
control OF them. So far as | can Judge,
about one person IN twenty is a born
leader; the rest are naturally followers.
If you have an ambition to lead, and
are high spirited, take care not to be
selfish, but to be generous in leading.
If you are naturally led. then of course
you must be careful who leads you.
Some people are made up as boys make
a snow man-each boy puts on hand
ful of snow. So L have seen a person
made up of bits of everybody about
him; notion from Tom Jones, a pre-
iudice from another, a belief from an
other, habit from another-and, all
in all, a queer hodge DodGe.