Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-04-18
ore rOrNG FOLKS



OF ali the kings Of the earth, there is
not one " ho rules so many people as King
Habit Almost every man, woman and
child obeys him both the good and the bad,
the wise and the foolish
10 is strange that each person creates
this King Habit for himself first and then
bows before him Aud this is the way in
which King Habit is created A man does
some thing or another one dav without no
ticing much about it for instance, he
PLAYS with his watch chain while he is talk
ing to a friend a few days atterward he
meets another friend and as he talks to
him again his fingers get to the same place
while he is thinking Of something to say ,
next dav he is chatting with another friend,
and again he witches and twirls his chain,
and after little while he can hardly get
word ont unless he is tdgeting with his
watch chain He has by degrees made "a
King Habit for himself, whom he may have
great trouble In driving from his throne.
There was once a member of Parliament
who had got into a habit of always putting
his hand under his coat and pulling at the
strings at the back of his waistcoat while
he was speaking. A rival who had noticed
this trick, managed. one day when the 9th
er was going to make a great speech to cut
off the strings 1t is said that the poor
man got up, began his speech, put his
hands to pull the waistcoat strings, found
they we're gone, lost the thread Of his argu
ment-began again, coughed, stammered,
stuck, and at last sat down, covered with
confusion King Habit was too strong for
him. He had got into the way Of pulling
his waistcoat strings when he spoke, and
without them he could not get on.
This was only silly habit, but habits
that are good and habits that are bad are
formed in the same way and rule over us in
like manner therefore we ought to take
care what kind Of kings we are setting on
the throne in our breasts.
Did you ever happen to see a sculptor
carving a human face on a statue If you
did YOU would see that the face was not
struck out at single blow 1t took
thousand blows before even the rough
shape was cut out Of the stone then it
took ten thousand fine touches with the
chisel point before the features were all
brought out, 1t is a slow work but at
last the full likeness stands fast in the solid
stone And 1t is in Just the same way, by
d thousand acts or a thousand thoughts,
repeated day after day, that we create our
habits Of good or evil And animals have
their habits formed in the same way. In
the Arctic regions the sailors travel over
wide fields of ice in sledges drawn by dogs.
Capt McChntock had twenty-nine dogs
with him Most of them were very glad
when their work was done to get rid Of the
collars and straps that fastened them to
the sledges hut there was one old dog that
went by the name of Harness Jack, for he
had got so used to his harness that he
would not allow it to be taken of, and
plainly threatened to use his teeth when
any one tried to remove it.
Since then. we are all forming habits of
some sort or other. we should strive TO do
two things.
First, we ought To strive to form good
habits Custom is second nature and
every time we do an act Of duty it makes
the next doing of it easier, until by de
grees it becomes a habit, and we should not
be easy if we left it undone.
Second. we ought to strive also to check
bad habits when they are forming. And
we must do this 10y keeping a very sharp
lookout on the little beginnings of evil, for
Ill habits gather 10y unseen degrees,
As brooks make rivers. rivers run tu seas.
We must not let even the "camel's nose
get in You will know what that means
when Won hear that the Arabs have this
proverb to teach the danger of trihing
with the beginning of bad habit Be
ware of the camel's nose And Mrs Sig
Quincy has explained the proverh in the
following lines
once in his shop workman Wrought,
With languid hand and liStl-Ss thought.
When. through the open window space,
Behold, camel thrust his face
MY uoSr Is cold ne me-sly cried:
ON let me warm it by thy side"
Since no denial word was said
In came the nose, in came the head
As sure as sermon follows text.
The long and scraggy neck came next;
And then, as falls the threatening storm.
In eapt the whole ungalnly form.
Aghast the owner gazed around
And on the rude invader frown'd,
Convinced. as closer still he prest.
There was no room for such guest:
Yet more astonished heard him say:
IF thou art troubled 20 thy way.
For in this place ] choose 10 stay
Q Youthful hearts, to gladness born,
Treat not this Arab lore with scorn
To evil habit earliest vile
Lend neither ear, nor glance, nor smile
Choke the dark fountain ere il flows
Nor zen admit the camel's nose,
And if we ever find that the camel's nose
has got in, that bad habit has got hold of
us, the next hing we must do is boldly to
set to work to get rid of ito pull King
Habit from his throne and TO turn him out
Oh OUT neATI anu nome, ana 70 90 so at once.
We often hear people talking of giving up
bad habits by degrees, but that is bad
sign Webb, a famous pedestrian, who was
a water drinker, was once urging friend,
who was a slave to strong drink, to give it
up. The friend promised to do so by de
grees by degrees 80 cried Webb IF
you should unluckily fail into the fire would
You tell your servants to pull you out by
degrees = So give up bad habit at once,
if you really want to get rid of it.
And remember, it is little good habits
that we have to form, and little bad habits
that We have TO check for it is these little
habits which are the seed of character
We might well plant acorns and expect
that they should not grow, as yield to little
bad habits day after day and expect them
not to increase. We might as well expect
to see the firm and noble oak where no
acorns were ever planted, as look for true
greatness and goodness in life where the
Seeding of little good habits has not been
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