The Monitor-register., 1896-02-21
THE POWER OF habit.

OF habit that makes or mars all that we
would be. What q serious thing 1t is,
| when we think that this life can be lived
but once, and how it behooves us to
guard we'll every word and every act that
we may so shape and fashion our future
! by the present that vain regrets and vain
wishes for misspent hours will not, when
manhood and womanhood come, fit to
and fro, as evil phantoms, reminding us
of the never-to be. forgotten past.
To-day many of you are in the school,
room receiving the education which is to
fit You for life's work, and it should be
your most earnest endeavor to form such
habits as you can safely retain through 1
life and sHoh as you will never be
ashamed of in whatever company you
may be thrown. If the careless word is
allowed to pass your lips at all times and
is never checked, there will be times
when you may utter it unconsciously
from the force of habit in the company
strangers, or some of your friends, who
will be surprised to hear them, thereby
giving them an impression that may
remain with them during the rest of your
acquaintance.
You should be careful that you do not
become fckle in your ways. It may
begin in things which appear to be OF but
little consequence to you, and yet it has
been the cause Of failure through the
entire life of so many people. When q
thing is once begun, never give up, unless
you have been convinced that it is wrong
Too many people fall into the very bad
habit of Sinking instead of surmounting
Whatever presents barrier First one
piece OF work and then another is begun
ana nothing is finished. They know but
little Of many things, and soon have no
definite aim in life and are classed with
tne great mass of human failures.
Another habit to be avoided is that Of
polioy. People will not scruple to do
anything for the sake of policy. Con.
science is left out altogether, and soon
tneir friends come to recognize them as
the people without mind of their own,
those who are blown hither and thither
oy every wave of opinion. On the other
hand, do not fall into the habit of tattIinR.
Hundreds of homes have been broken M
0y simply repeating that in which was
no malice when first told, but like the
! schoolboy's SNOWFALL, it gathered and
gsss-~.~ss = -~rt
| II has haau aaid UAc o,,Sun
our environments, and as our env,so-
ments SO is our soul nature" The bow
VINO smokes and sips his wine makes
Oiooers. The smokers and wine bibbern
are not found in the home, the cburch or
the school, and SO that bov seeka az M.
associates those who are like unto him
self, on the street corner or in the saloon.
Soon, very soon, these habits dwarf bia
better nature; he gradually feels no
longer the influence of loving mother
or sister. and the coarse JEST profane
language that at first grated so harshly
upon his sensitive nature, no longer
sounds rude and uncouth to him, for he
is fast becoming like unto his associates.
Habits, either good or bad, will become
as fixed and immutable as the laws of
nature. The little child, either boy or
girl, who takes delight in torturing some
poor insect or lower order of animal life,
simply because it is in his or her power,
will, unless checked, grow up into q
heartless, cruel, unsympathetic man or
woman. The boys and girls who fall
into the very bad habit of enlarging upon
what they see or hear will not make men
and women of reliance.
The young woman who thinks alone Of
dress and personal appearance is weaving
a delusive web around about her that, in
after years, will bear its fruitage of vain
regret. The adult man or woman who
has fallen into the unmaply or UNIV ON.
anly habit of criticising or passing judg-
ment upon every one else is making him.
self or herself unloved and unlovabls.
and, as years pass away and friend after
friend desert them and leave them alone
with their morbid natures, they count
life failure. But let us look at the
Aoouibo Vi SoOu hnUitos uo people WHO
are known to be kind, thoughtful, gener-
GUS, honest, truthful and industrious.
never lack friends and never fail to make
their life success. The boy who says
"No," when tempted to drink or smoke,
has gained for himself an enviable repu-
tation.
The girl who studies her heart more
than her glass makes the sweet womanly
woman whom all admire, although the
face is plain and the manner unassuming.
The man and woman, who, by fixed
habits of Kindness and courtesy, have
enshrined themselves in the hearts OF
their friends and neiRhbors, will see the
fruits of their labors on every hand.
In short, let us remember the old adaRe.
"As the twig is bent so the tree inclines,n
and let rs who are In the morning OF our
lives form such habits as 80 prune our
lives that at MONDAY they may reject the
fullness of noontide life, and. as the
evening shadows gather and oDs by one
our companions pass away, may the sun
set and the cleaning usher us into that
sweet rest that well-spent life brings.