The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1893-10-25
MAsTRD OPPoRTuNITIES.

does not, as he passes the prime o
life, look back and regret in som,
measures his neglect of opportuni,
ties to promote his own welfare
The chief regret is usually that be
neglected when a boy to take the
advantages offered to him of acquir.
ing a through education. Men gel
along in the world and even become
distinguished without being well
/ grounded in literature or the scien.
ces, but they always feel the wan,
of knowledge systematically acquir-
ed. It is, moreover impossible for
them to correct in their mature
! years the errors and omissions Of
their youth. Even though they had
time to re-enter school they would
find that their power of acquiring
Information by school method had
diminished. Young pupils learn
more rapidly than their elders. Be
side that difficulty men in active
life who have begun to feel the need
of elementary instruction have no
time to give to such studies; they
are pressed by the necessities of
each days work and at the same
time handicapped by their lack of
training. Every father has this
tale to tell to his boy and every boy
in greater or less degree ignores the
lesson from his fathers experience
and proceeds TO gather experience
of his own, to be transmitted with
like result to his own children. 1t
is, nevertheless, desirable to repeat
the lesson from time to time in hope
that it may reduce the waste of op-
portunities by the young, of to. day.
The dangers to which the young
man who allows himself to be car
ried away by love of sport or of
idle reading is exposed during the
critical years when he should be
preparing himself for his life's
work are incalculable and they be-
set chiefly the children of well-to-
do parents. The youth, feeling no
responsibility, assured that he will
be supported for some years in idle.
ness, may become lazy without be-
ing vicious, as we'll as careless and
improvident. A few years of self.
indulgence brings him to manhood
and the necessity of going to work,
with no preparation therefor. He
has neither trade nor profession,
and his habits are such that no eni-
pioyer viii tolerate his idleness and
carelessness while he is learning to
be useful. Such boy, now grown
into manhood, though not vicious
in the ordinary sense, finds, perhaps
too late, what a great penalty be
must pay for wasted opportunities.
No matter how bright he may be or
how influential his friends, he can
not rise in the world; he has not
been trained to work steadily, pa.
tiently and skillfully SO as to earn
promotion; he is not merely unskiIl-
ful ard ignorant of business meth
ods, but his habits which are diff
ficult to reform, make him an un-
desirable epploye. The world may
judge him harshly, but there is no
appeal from its verdict; he has con-
demned himself to be ga newer of
wood and drawer of water" Under
similar circumstances vicious boy
may drift into the ranks of crimi-
nails. Finding it difficult to obtain
work, and being Indifferent thereto,
he will seek to live by his wits and
almost inevitably turn into a conf
dence man or thief. At best, if the
young man who has wasted the op-
portunities of his life sees his mis-
take in time to correct it and es-
tablishes himself in some trade or
profession, he will feel all his life
the want of the systematic training
which can be obtained only by the
young when they have no cares or
responsibilities to distract their at
tention from their studies. All ex-
perience tells the same story, and
every ambitious boy should take it
to heart. He need not neglect play
altogether in order to get the right
kind of training. Play is a part of
every rational scheme of education,
but play must not be allowed to in
terfere with serious purposes, and,
above all, idle and careless habits
must be avoided or corrected, SO
when the time to go to work shall
come the youth may be prepared to
give to his employer cheerful and
useful serEice.-Bdltimore Sun.
81 will now get into my coat of
mail, remarked the letter when it
saw the stamped envelope.