Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-02
BACCALAUREATE, AS 1T WE'RE.
A Fond Parents Advice TO His Hopeful
Son.

From the Lincoln CNebJ Journal.
Alexander Philologus," said the parent IN Q
voice sad yet stern, "you are about 70 20 forth
into the wide world 10 carve out your fortune.
No doubt you have beautiful dreams of what
You VIII achieve. In your minds eve you see
yourself coming home years from now clad I'm
velvet and fine linen. 1 trust that Won NAV
come that way, but I fear that your garments
may be composed Of burlap. You confidently
expect 20 drive homeward down the sunlis
road IN a gorgeous equipage with servants and
retainers. / trust that you win not be Obliged
TO walk homeward on the ties and get turnips
from hired men 90 keep soul and body together
40. lou soon at the idea and you may scon until
the clsngor of brazen bells announces that the
cows are coming home. I have heard young
men scon before at words that were spiced with
wisdom, and L have seen them in after years
urNilg street cars and saving wood. The face
OF the matter is, Alexander, that You have q
rashls exaggerated idea of your own
Importance IN this dreary world. You foolishly
entertain the idea that IL Won were 20 die to-
nlght the earth would shudder and wheel back
ward But II wouldn't The sun would rise
Just the same. the stars would CLEAN az
brightly as ever; the creek would gurcle
merrlly on its way; there would still be mar
rage ana giving IN marriage. You would be
Iau carefully away In your nicely fitting grave,
my ooy' and the grass would grow over you,
there wouldn't be a single jolt in the whole
world because of your death. II is unfortunate
that you have made up your mind that YOU
know 1t all When you have been jostled about
a utue while You vii want 20 go 10 some
secluded graveyard and weep. You will be
convinced that instead of knowing it all YOU
don suspect anything. Man is like a ground
hog IN ths path of landslide. Alexander IL
The ground-hog has sense enough TO get out
OF the way, il is all right; but il 10
- nj h. -
It VIII be everlastingly squelched. Man is also
IKE boulder by the seashore; the boulder
may be great deal bigger than the pebbles
about II, but when an idle stranger fires il into
the water 1t doesn't take any longer 10 cover it
forever than it would one of the pebbles i
knew man once who could converse fluently
IN more languages than YOU could shake a cord
OF wood at: what he didn't know about astron-
omy wasn't worth knowing: there wasn't a
science or an art on which he was not an an
He forgot more every day that YOU can ever
hope to know. Yet this remarkable man per-
ished miserably in creek ten feet wide be-
cause he had never learned 20 swim Go forth
into the world, Alexander, but not with the idea
that you know it ALL Try TO convince
yourself that other people may have heard a
thing or two themselves, and don't expect that
they VIII herald you as the Coming Man The
prodlgal son was rather fy when he left home,
and you have heard how he returned. He went
BACK on has uppers, without enough wealth to
buy a Dowl of soup at a fourth-rate chop-house
and hundreds have had a similar experience
Go forth unostentatiously and without any
drum-major business. Iii You are not imme-
dlately offered a situation as president of a
bank go to work hoeing corn, digging wells or
feeding threshing machines. The world is full
OF golden opportunities, but the young man
who Is so mashed on his dignity that he will NOT
grasp them is liable TO be left in a most de-
plorable and emphatic manner"