The mirror., 1894-08-09
IT'S WORK THAT WINS.

self-made men of the world, and see
how they have worked their way up in
life, each step has cost them years of
unremitting toll. No doubt they were
often discouraged but they persevered
and were eventually rewarded with
success.
Charles Dickens, the eminent nov
elist, worked as reporter for years ere
he wrote any Of the books that has
made his name immortal. Robert
Burns, Scotlands poet, was born in a
rickety tumble down hOvel, and for
long time had hard fight with poverty
Our own poet, the genial Longfellow,
wrote for an obscure country news
paper for some time, before he was
recognized as a true poet, and the
same is true of Bryant, Wordsworth
and Whittier
1t is work that wins in every prOfes-
sion, be it literature, law, science or
commerce.
The men who are the capitalists of
this country today are not as a general
thing the sons Of rich men or success
full merchants, and not one of them
need look further back than to his
grandfathers time, to realize that they
are descended from poor people.
The world moves onward and up
ward, and he who has no inclination to
climb has no right to complain when
he finds himself in the rear. There
may be some drOneS in the human hive,
who, Rip Van Winkle like, think they
may sleep for years, and when they are
pleased to rouse themselves, find the
world as they left it. They deceive
themselves; it is impossible to remain
length of time, we must do one of two
things, advance or retrOgrade. The
world goes on increasing in knowledge
and wealth, and if we desire to keep
up with it we must be up and doing,
preparing ourselves to do a mans part
in the battle of life, then when an op-
portunity to advance comes to us we
shall be ready to seize it.
The world owes no man anything
that he does not earn, and he who
thinks he can deceive the world into
giving something for nothing, will
have very hard row to hoe all
through life. There is work in the
world for all; no man was ever created
for nothing; each has his allotted task,
and one which he can preform far bet
ter than any one else, for the reason
that it was designed especially for him,
and with view to his capabilities, re-
member the parable of the talents, one
had ten, another five, and third two;
let us therefore cultivate the talents
which we have received so that when
we come to look back over the jour
ney of life we may be sure we have
lost no time nor neglected any of
our opportunities, but have done the
very best we could under the circum-
stances which surround us.
Life is what we, ourselves make it, a
crown to be worn with joy, or a weight
to be borne as burden, and it is for
us to choose which we prefer; our
highest good lies in the path of duty,
and when we turn aside, we do so to
our own disadvantage. If man has
desire to make his life a success, at it's
close, when he is obliged to admit
that he has made sad mistake, very
bitter will be to him the knowledge
that he might have done better.
Our past life may not have been all
we could wish, there may be much in
it that we should like to undo, but
that is impossible; all that remains for
us to do is to profit by the experiences
which it contains; if we will do this, it
it will not have been lived in vain, and
we may say with the poet:
"This painting with bunders blots is DER
cast!
Perhaps in this thought, with its grief and its
tears,
Some lines of grace and some flashes of light,
To strengthen the soul and to gladden. the sight.
The past is no indication of the
future, unless we wish it, and it is USE
less for us to waste our time in repin-
ing for what is beyond recall. The
present is ours, and we should remem-
ber our future depends upon the use
we make of today.
The obstacles in the way of our sue
cess are numerous; at every step we
may encounter a brazen wall of dis
trust and prejudice, but if we will, we
may Danish even the possibility of de-
feat and failure, and make our lives a
grand and beautiful success.