San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-06-30
SUNDAY, JUNE so, 1896
SCHOOLS ANp soHooLs.


who are found in every circle Of
life, like the legs TO pair OF COM
passes, remarked to a poor discon-
ISOLATE fellow just leaving court in
London, Never mind, my son, adj
versity only tries us and show
our better qualities" "But it
wasn't adversely that tried me-"
rejoined the unfortunate, ait was an
Old Bailey judge, and he showed
my worst qualities" What was
true of that Old Bailey judge is
not unfrequently true of adversely,
it only shows our worst qualities.
Whether it shows our best or our
worst depends upon the character
of the individual.
1t may not be amiss to take q
peep into the school room Of "ad-
versity" and see What is to be
learned there. AS to the master
in this school, and the term "mas-
ter" and not "teacher" is used ad.
visedly, there is no doubt that he
is hard one. Whatever else ad-
versity does, whatever other effects
It produces, it invariably hardens
the character. Not necessarily in
the sense in which we use the
term "a hard character" but in the
actual meaning Of the term, hard,
adversely hardens. This is its first
and legitimate and necessary re-
suit. You cannot more certainly
put iron through THE fire and sub
ject it to the proces} of conversion
into steel without hardening it,
than you can put p man through
the furnace OF adverse circum-
stances ,ss sss, without hardening him in
By adverse circumstance is
meant cirecnmstanee that runs ad-
verse, contrary, against the grain,
in an opposite direction to that
which is desired. 1t is that con-
dition that sets itself against the
success of whatever we have
planned or purposed or actually
undertaken, thwarting us and mega
tiving our efforts at every turn Of
the road. There is but one course
open to the individual thus opposed
land that is to meet the opposition,
oppose the forces that he can COM
mand to those which are arrayed
gainst him and fight the battle
BIT on those lines IL it takes all
miner. The demand upon ones
PER forces, and his outer allies
yell, calls out certain traits Of
Eracter, develops peculiar char
eteristics, individualizes the ma
ure, stamps a distinctive mark
upon the mind and moral being Of
Athe person who is engineering this
(ght against adversely, and in it
all hardens him, renders him less
nIsceptibls to impressions and in
Ances, tohghens the fibre OF his
is the effect upon a man.
an excuse fer one it only
Id turns the milk OF human
in him to curd. Such a
forever whining over the
s1ties of fate, the unfairness OF
tune, the unkindness of earth,
me selfishness of the world, and
bemoans his hard lot on every pos
sible and impossible occasion. He
soon grows discouraged with the
struggle and giving it up loafs
|around the doorstone of regret, un-
til kindly oblivion claims him for
her own and he drops from the
bough of a useless life into the well
come sepulchre Of death. These
are the men who impress you with
the idea that they were born tired
land never were well rested after
ward. They seem to feel that cir
fumstances have fatally handi-
capped them in the race for life
and it is not worth while to saddle
up and try for the stakes. They
have their uses in the world, no
doubt, the principa, one being to
lead others TO thankfulness because
they were born under a different
star.
One is led to wonder why there