The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-05-25

other road is ruin. Having adjusted your
compass, go ahead. Set your teeth together.
Small difficulties do not notice. Great diff
fcultieS by Gods grace strike them down.
Onward Let towards skulk.
Act you like sons OF God. II you want to
sail to the land of gold you must double the
Cape. To usefulness and strong character
there is no overland route. Over the great
desps you must fly. Most Of the way it is
either head wind or tempest. Character,
like the gold6nch OF Tonquin, Is magnificent
when standing firm, but loses all its splendor
in flight. There is no such thing as failure
to those who trust in God. Paul got to be
an apostle by falling of his horse. Stephen
was stoned into heaven.
When young man resolves on religious
life. he does not always find it smooth sail.
sarcastic tone, 'He has got to be pious."
They 60 on excursions, but do not ask him.
They prophesy that his religion will not hold
out. They call him "long-fscsd." They
wonder If he is not getting wings. They say
sharp things about him for themselves to
laug gh at. When be passes they grimace and
wink and chuckle, and say loud enough to be
heard, There goeS q saint" II you have
never seen life as it Is, you know not what
strength of resolution it often requires for q
young man to be Christian.
Again, let this story Of Daniel teach Us
that the way to future success is through
present self denial Not only did Daniel show
his willingness for self restraint by refusing
the luxuries Of the kings table, but must
have denied himself much social enjoyment
and Sightseeing In order to have attained
most wonderful proficiency in study. The
rush of the chariots under his window and
the sound of mirth that rang out on the air
of Babylon would have attracted most
young men into the streets and to expensive
places Of amusement But Daniel knew, that
it was only through severity Of application
he could attain the honorable position for
which he was intended. Indeed, you may
carry this truth into universal application.
The most of those who have succeeded In
any profession or occupation have come up
from the very bottom Of the ladder. The
brightest day began with the twilight. The
admirals who commanded the navies OF the
world started as cabin boys. The merchant
princes whose messengers are ships and
whose servants the nations custom houses,
once swept the stors and kindled the fires.
The orator who Lifts up the gate OF the soul,
as Samson carried of the gates OF GAIA,
once stammered and blu5he1 on the stage OF
a country school house. The young painter,
under whose pencil skies blossom and waters
CLEAN, understands his subject SO we'll be-
cause he has but little to shelter him from
the one and is obliged to find his only bev-
arage in the other.
Out Of the dark, deep mines Of want and
suffering has bsen dug the marble for the
worlds greatest temDles OF wisdom and
palaces Of power. Vanderlyn, the artist,
must first content himself with charcoal
sketch. Franklin, before becoming the re.
nowned philosopher, must bs journeyman
printer. Columbus must weave carpets be-
fore he can weave hemispheras. David must
take care OF his fathers sheep before hs rules
Israel. Amos must be q herdsman before
he becomes prophet. Daniel must be the
humble student before he rises 10 be the
prime minister Of Babylon.
If q young man starts in life with large
notions of what he must Immediately have,
willing to consider no economy, but expect
ing with q small ship to unfurl as much sail
as an ocean frigate, he will find himself cap.
sized by the first northeaster. It is the small
sprig that you can carry in one hand which
will thrive best when planted. But II by
levers and huge lumber wagons, you bring
from the mountain q century oak. though
you may plant it, you cannot make IL 1--we.
So he who begins life on such grand scale
and with such exorbitant notions, will never
succeed, while some young man who went
to town without means, but having q right
spirit, through his sell. denial, planted tree
which has reached above Wall street and
flung its shadow in one direction over the
granite palaces on the avenues and in the
other far out over merchant vessels an
chored in the bay.
Men say success in life is all a matter of
good luck, but industry and economy and
self denial put together always make good
luck. There are young men who failed twice
and are getting notes shaved the third time
before they are as old as their father when
he first began business for himself. They
started with the idea that their wit would
do as we'll as capital. For awhile it did, but
when creditors SAINT their duns and banks
their protests they found that mere shrewd-
ness was greatly below par. You cannot
cross the ocsan in yawl.
A young eaglet, far up in the mountain
eyrie says t. its winged mother, u" will fly
no longer from tree to tree as You tell ma
Chimborazo peak to yonder Chimborazo
peak" Like an arrow it shot into the heav-
ems. but when over the awful chasm its head
was dizzy and its wing weak, and 1t began
to whirl downward and with wild scream
until it struck on the rocks. A traveller
passing through the gorge saw the mangled
remains of the eaglet "How came you to
have this fallg' said the traveller. "Ah,
me-" said the eaglet ut was because
would not fly from tree to tree until was
old enough, but headstrong I started from
Oh mborazo peak to Chimborazo peak"
nyoung men would seizs the advantage
of time and the refusing OF many forms Of
qualification. Show me man who. refusing
many Of the frivolities Of gossiping youths,
can see more to attract his attention in the
pages Of treatise or history than in the
fash Of bright eyes, or tho airy step Of those
who find more skill in their heels than their
heads. and will show you man who will
yet master languages and sway a very
scepter over his fellows. Many an education
which is now considered complete is made Up
Of smattering Of newspapers and the last
page Of fashion magazine.
The parlor and the drawing room cannot
educate us. They may give us outward
adornments of man-but getting valuable
knowledge is like sweltering at forge, bell
lows in ono hand and hammer in the other
like digging in mines with crowbars, pry.
ing under the ledge and the constant bang OF
blasted rocks. Especially Is it true that no
growth in grace is possible unless like
Daniel, we are willing TO take up the cross,
however heavy it NAV be and rough with
nails. Moses chose aff1iction with the people
Of God rather than the pleasures Of sin, and
is we would be anything like him we must
be willing sometimes to choose the hard
bread of self denial rather than the imperial
clusters from royal vineyards.
To get strength and depth enough in
rivers for turning mill wheels and mauufac.
tories, dams are built across them, and then
through the mill racs the quick floods leap
on the water wheel to turn it with tremend.
GUS power. So natures thai would other.
wise have been powerless and insufficient by
selt-restraint have been damned back and
deepened, until with consecrated power they
rush into the world, tIrning itf ponderous
machinery of important inters ). Unre.
strained men may have much good in them,