Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-07-17
GOING FORTt, IN LIFE.
sage counsel to Young Man About to
Start in the Race

sage Counsel to a Young Man About to
Start in the Race.
"Alexander Philologus," said the
parent, in a voice sad yet stern, 'you
are about to go forth into the wide
world to carve out your fortune. No
doubt you have beautiful dreams of
what you will achieve. In your minds
eye you see yourself coming homo
years from now clad in velvet and fine
linen. trust that you may come home
that way, but I fear that youN gar
ments may be composed of burlap.
You confidently expect to drive
homeward down the sunlit road
in gorgeous equipage with serv-
ants and retainers; / trust that you
will not be obliged to walk homeward
on the ties and get turnips from hired
men to keep soul and body together.
You scott at the idea. and you may
scott until the clangor of brazen bel Is
announces that the COWS are coming
home. | have heard young mon scott
before at words that were spiced with
wisdom, and I have seen them in after
years driving street cars and saving
wood. The fact of the matter is, AL
eSander, that you have a rashy exag-
gerated idea Of your own Importance
in this dreary world. You fool
ishly entertain the idea that if you
We're to die tonight the earth would
shudder and wheel backward. But it
wouldn't The sun would rise just tho
same; the stars would CLEAN as bright
ly as ever; the creek would gurgle
merrily on its way; there would still
be marriage and giving in marriage
You would be laid carefully away in
your nicely-ftting grave, my boy, and
the grass would grow over you, and
the brunette cow would eat the grass
and there wouldn't be a single
jolt in the whole work because
of your death. It is unfortunate
that you have made up your
mind that you know it ALL
When you have been jostled about a
little while you will want to go to
some secluded graveyard and weep.
You will be convinced that instead of
knowing it all you don't suspect any
thing. Man is like a grounding in the
path of a landslide, Alexander; if the
grounding has sense enough to get
out of the way it is all right; but if it
socks itself up on its hind legs and
looks wise, it will be everlastingly
squelched. Man is also like bowlder
oy the sea-shore; the bowlder may be
great deal bigger than the pebbles
about it, but when all idle stranger
ires it into the water, it doesn't take
any longer to cover it forever than it
would one of the pebbles. knew man
who could converse auently in more
languages than you could shake cord
Of wood at; what he didn't know about
astronomy wasn't worth knowing;
there wasn't a science or al art on
which he was not an authority; his
knowledge was simply sublime. He
forgot more every day than you can
ever hope to know. Yet this remark
able man persisted miserably in a creek
ten feet wide because he had never
learned to swim. 60 forth into the
world, Alexander, but not with tn {
idea that you know it all. Try to con.
vince yourself that other people may
have heard thing Or two themselves
and don't expect that they will herald
you at once as the Coming
Man. The prodigal son was
rather fly when he left home, and
you have heard how he returned He
went back on his uppers, without
enough wealth to buy a bowl of soup
at fourth-rate chop-house, and hun
dreds have had a similar experience.
Go forth unostentatiously and without
any drum-major business. If you arc
not Immediately offered a situation as
president of a bank, go to work hoe
ing corn, digging wells or feeding
threshing machines. The world is
full of good opportunities, but the
young man who is so mashed on his
dignity that he will not grasp them is
liable to be left in most deplorable
and emphatic manner. - Nebraska
State Journal.