The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-02-14
COURAGE A QUALITY TO BE Gull
TIVATED.


A gentleman remarked to another, 81
am afraid you have offended Mr.. Blank;
you had better avoid him for day or
two, for you know he is remarkable for
giving very sharp reproofs, and you know
your own temper is not the mildest in the
world" The gentleman answered: u
have done nothing that ought to give
Mr.. Blank offense; did my duty in the
matter you refer to and l shall not avoid
either his presence or his frown. When
/ get afraid to meet any man face to
face then l will retire with degraded
manhood to hide my cowardice in pri-
vacy."
This answer indicated strong man of
the right kind of character. There can
be nothing more humiliating in life than
for one man to be compelled by his own
weakness and timidity to shrink from
the presence Of another man. 1t Is an
evidence of guilt, for the great drama
fist has written: "a guilty conscience
needs no accuser," and sacred writ in
forms US that "the guilty flee when no
man pursueth." A man who is so weak
that he will commit crime is con-
scious coward at all times; he startles at
the turn of u doorknob, at the breaking
of twig or the hasty approach Of sus-
picious stranger on the street, and II
a friend approaches him gently from
the rear and slaps him on the shoulder
18th tba, fall ;,,nuloa of rordinlitv no will
almost jump out Of his skin.
But this is an extreme case where
there il actual guilt. There are degrees
shaved down into fear from even limo
cent actions, always suspicious of hav-
ing offended and always ready to dodge
around corner. There is but one thing
at all excusable in this line of conduct,
and that is when man sees coming
persistent dun and he knows he can't
fork over, but even then manly man
will face the bill collector without the
least fear or trembling. Really, there is
no excuse for an innocent man
to allow his nerves to play his nature
false and compel him to dodge or cr'nge
before any man. Courage is thing ct
cultivation and 1t Is very much like ma
thematics, il we neglect to master alge-
bra we may look out for complete
break down when we tackle calculus and
attempt to differentiate X. If in small
matters that constantly pop up between
men in all the relations of life, man
permits himself to take counsel of his
fears and takes to his heels, he will find
himself totally inadequate to the larger
and more important conflicts that in
volve his duty to himself and society and
the result will finally be that he will lose
all manliness and will go through life
miserable, cringing, evasive craven, with
poignant feelings of humanity following
him like nemesis all day long and dis
heartening and distracting healthful slumb-
er In the night time, and all of this time
he may be an innocent man of amy
fragrant wrong and only guilty of the
small things that are offensive to good
conduct. The old couplet that "a man
who fights and runs away, will live to
fight another day." may be very true,
that is to say, he will live to another day,
but it Is very doubtful whether he will
fight when another day or another OPP
portunity presents itself or is forced
upon him. A man who will run from the
smallest thing, will get SO much in the
habit of running, that he will run from
everything the least disagrceable. He
may think he is only lodging few rough
places in the road, but when a great
occasion is encountered he feels quite GER
tain he will have the grand courage"
as the French say, to meet it, but he is
deceiving himself If in these small mat
ters he permits himself to shun the re-
sponsibilty he will never have the cour
age and stability to face great cmcrgcn-
cies.
There is no soldier who in his first
skirmish with the enemy, did not have n
strong impulse to turn round and run
away, but mastering his manliness, he
boldly meets the enemy and when the
great armies join issue in the fearful
ordeal of battle he is more certain of him
self. Some of them run away in the
first fight, and they are just as certain
to be sick or run away at all subsequent
engagements, while men of not the same
natural courage, but influenced by n
sense of duty, move forward with solid
tread in the very face of the cannon.
The gentleman referred to in the open
ing Of this article was asked if he never
feared any one? He said: when l
was boy / was the veriest coward you
-. 49,, b,t ;,,sh JatarD,ina1 I would