Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-08-30
TIMID MEMS ERRORS.
THEY SUFFER 4 GREAT DEAL FROM
A MISTAKEN NOTION.
A Typical American Said to he Marvel.
ously ResourcefuI-Timi Men DO Not
Omen Arouse the Noble Absorbing Pas
sion In Women.


omen Arouse the Noble Absorbing Pas
sion In Women.
VT are timid at all times, but some men
seem born especially timid and grow more
80 the longer they live. Unless they make
a bold stand against their inclinations In
this respect, they are not likely 20 increase
their little stock of self esteem. and they
are fortunate if they gain livelihood.
The writer has cause To remember one Of
his attacks Of timidity. He had embarked,
not too wisely, in "A stock exchange specu-
lation with an acquaintance. That same
evening he hurried 10 the lattcr's house
and said he was SO tortured by anxiety
that he would like 20 DE out Of the enter
prise. The other laughed and said that he
would take all the risks If he might have
All the profits He there and then guaran-
tccd the writer against loss, on condition
that he would be satisfied with the return
Of his original investment. The result was
that the timid man stood where he was,
and the other made 80 per cent on the pur-
chase
Unless he struggles hard against his In
'tincts. the timid man j. bound 10 have 20
suffer a deal Of despair, If only in the earn
Ing Of bread and cheese He il apt 10 get
into a groove and think that because he is
there he Is safe and snug for life. He
makes no allowance for the accidents Of
existence just because il frightens him TO
Imagine they may occur 10 him. And so
when through no fault of his own, he is
thrown out Of employment, it is as if the
world were suddenly turned upside down
Contrast him with the typical American
whose determination and resource are mar
velous 10 some Of the rest Of us This gen
tleman, having failed as a printer turns
hopefully 10 farm, and if that also works
out badly consoles himself with the
thought that he is cut out for trade and
straightway takes "a shop
We once knew "a city magnate who ten
dered Us words Of great comfort upon oc-
casion. MY boy, he said, 1.-THE best step
| ever made in my career was downward
step. | was getting fl20 "a year, but l
liked not the faint prospects Of that Office.
! therefore Joined Messrs b on t70 a
year. Thirty years afterward this gen
tleman was "Messrs B himself
with thousands year income The thing
for the tmid man to do is 70 impress upon
himself one important truth. He fancies
that ne j. quite extraordinarily timid and
humble; that hardly any one can be found
ing of the kind The majority Of men are
innately timid. Call it supremacy cautious,
if you viii. Pcrceiving however that
you are undoubtedly timid. other men i'm
mcdiatcly assume an air Of audacity,
which deceiyes you if IL does not deceive
themselves A certain brave man who
lived for years among the MaoriS before
they were anything like civilized says of
courage: Il don't believe in II at all nor
ever did, but there Is something far better
which has carried me through several seri.
Gus scrapeS with cclat and safety mean
the appearance of courage. II you have
this, You may drive the world before you.
This Is comforting and more than plaus-
ible. Experience confirms the truth of it.
So do Lord WolSeley and other men who
have had 10 do with soldiers in time Of
battle. So, too does Emerson, the quiet
thinker and unraveler Of the tangled roots
Of the mind
Always do what you are afraid 70 do, "
says Emerson, quoting some one else. And
again: Every man is actually weak and
apparently strong To himself he seems
weak 10 others formidable You are
afraid Of Grim, but Grim also is afraid OF
you
Words ike these ought to the timid
man, not yet enlightened about his neigh
borS 20 be worth much, perhaps millions,
perhaps the premiership in England.
The uncnlghtened timid man is over
whelmed with fear when he does some
thing that seems likely 10 land him in
difficulties. He would rather hide his head
in bag than face the trouble But here,
also, If we VIII only see it, he may have his
profit rs well as his momentary loss AS
Ernest Renan reminds Us, "He who can
commit blunders with IMMUNITY is always
certain 10 succeed
A roughish road to success, though, and
not the one 10 be Immediately recommend.
ed if an easier offers
As may be supposed upon a fair knowl-
edge Of feminine nature, with women the
timid man is likely TO win no great regard
They may love him of course, especially
the stronger among them, who see in him
their ordained complement and mate. But
nothing Is less likely to induce in them
the noble absorbing passion which the best
Of women oftentimes feel for the bold and
determined man.
The timid man who tries 10 be content
ed with his Unborn timidity looks. when
suitably married, like small cockerel try
ing To nestle under the wings of a some
what assuming hen. 1t may be cOmfOrta-
bic for him, but it certainly ism dignified.
If men are TO be deceived by the appear
ance of courage in other meu, it ought not
TO be difficult for man TO deceive a wom-
an also. Nor is there anything very shame
full about such deceit for it is only by
constant practice of it that we can get near
to the real virtue Of courage, of which at
first our efforts at valor are but the phan.
toms.
Its just the jumping in that l didn't
like the first time, "a man who had been
the means of saving four persons from
drowning in canals at different times said
to the writer.
He was a hero because he declined 20 be
deferred by his physical dissemination for
sudden plunge into cold, dirty water
Otherwise he would have been a coward.
Household Words.
inf