Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-06-01
BEING AND DOING.

An Open Letter We'll worth q Careful
Reading by Boys and Young Men.
Did you ever sit quietly down to con-
slider what are the possibilities for good
or evil that you possess2 Did you ever
contemplate how much evil. sadness
and misery you might cause in the
world if you should make that the con-
trolling purpose of your life? On the
other hand, did you ever try to esti-
mate the amount of good you may be
able to do in your lifetime, how much
happiness and sunshine you are capa-
BILE of adding to the world about you?
These questions have considerable inn
portance to you just now as you stand
at the threshold of manhood, and your
lifes work, and it will profit you to
weigh them carefully. II is easy for
Young person to drift with whatever
current happens to set in, but mere
drifting is never manly, and is, more
over, extremely hazardous
You have been advised many times,
of course, 10 decide upon some trade or
profession, and it may be that this mat
ter is fully settled; but that has refer
euce to what you expect TO DO, and not
what you expect to BE- You may have
been told in general way, that what
a man does is, in large measure, the
result of what he is, but, perhaps. you
have not weighed this statement as it
deserves. Many young man has
planned for the future, and his plans
seemed to be perfect, humanity speak
4 81.
RED out Now there must be reason
for this and if you will seek the
cause you will find that their
plans were larger and better
than themselves. You are young
man of much promise and your friends
predict for You successful career; but
please allow me to suggest that there
are dangers ahead of YOU. Many a
young man whose prospects were as
bright Us your own, has signally failed,
and / see nothing To prevent your fail
ing, unless your course is different from
theirs. It is not my purpose to preach
vou a sermon on the sins Of gambling,
drinking and the like, nor, rdeed, to
preach you sermon at all-but. mere
ly, in a friendly way TO suggest few
matters Tor you to consider FROM what
! know Of you, I'm inclined to think
that, in common with many young
men, your plans have entire reference
to what you hope 10 do, and the ques-
ton Of what you expect 10 be receives
very small attention.
When you are considering the aues-
ton OF your llfe-Work,y ou nave n mind
the money You are 70 make 10 your busl-
ness. But, while this Is right, and
proper enough, the question of charac-
&c" ought not 10 be ignored.
As before intlmated SOU have il in
your power % bring untold sorrow
upon those who are dear 10 Won Is
You will, you can Written your father
hair prematureIF; yau can cause your
mother to wear veil to hide her tears
and sadness from the world; You can
cause your sister to shuu society for
fear of hearing your name; you can
cause your brother to leave home and
go far away that Your career may NOT
hang as milestone upon him. or be-
come blight 70 his prospects; and You
can cause those whoare now your dear
est friends 10 shun You AS they would
p2Stileuce,
Or, you can bring honor, happiness
and comfort your family and friends,
and cause them all To rejoice in you
Neither CT these series of results viii
come as an outgrowth of what you do.
specially. but from what you are; and,
after All. that is the prime factor in life
ENGAGE. in business ar rnrsre anv otbar