The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-28
SOME RAMBLING THOUGHTS.
BY NRNo.

The surest way 10 be miserable is to
yearn for what we cannot have; the sur
est way 20 some degree Of satisfaction
in life. Is TO DO the duty nearest at hand
and do il vel. Many Of Us are too much
Ike the naughty child who cried for the
moons reflection in the bath-tub; We set
our affections on things above our reach
and then drop back peevishly 10 be a bur
den 10 ourselves and a nuisance TO those
who deserve our smiles rather than our
grumblings. We beat our hands TO pieces
and break our hearts against the ada
mantine walls OF the unattainable; We look
at some distant pinnacle OF ambition and
We shrek out in anxious agony noun
tain. be thou brought nigh" and it moves
not; We neglect the glorious oppOrtuni-
ties of the present and dream of some
golden future that is 10 come to US some
how 1--WE dc not stop to think how and we
awake 10 md the present gone and the
future good as much in the clouds as
ever. Then turns the milk Of human
kindness to a curd within us and we
amount 10 nothing. the salt has lost its
SAVIOR, the fires OF purpose dies out; we
are henceforth fit for naught but to as
SoCiate with bats and blind men; for we
are bind, and, worse yet. we know it
not
You with discontinued heart. for there
needs must be such among the thousands
who read these lines, bear with the words
of one who has suffered and has learned.
Look to the traveller and. be wise. After
long Journeyings, the peak Of his search
is outlined against the sky and he re-
JOices, but he does not sit down and say
10 his heart Il am there. I am there"
He knows better; ii is yet fifty miles
away and between these two, the man
and the mountain, there stretch woods
and valleys and toilsome paths. His way
Mnrnanf nv n nr
ne takes the next step, and the next and
the next. Sometimes in depressions he
even loses sight of that sky-piercing sum-
init, but he knows that il is still tower
ing above, and he plods till he gets there.
By all means hold on to noble ambi-
ions; set them so high, If you will, that
the base of them is at your feet, and the
apex Is in the zenith, but do not unnec-
essarily discourage yourself by attempt
ing a sudden assault upon name, and fame
and success. To reach Lake Erie from
Lake Ontario, only a fool would attempt
10 row up the Fails of Niagara: the wise
| man with similar intent would 20 through
| the Welland Canal and reap the reward
OF his wisdom. There are certain Sc
| quences of nature which you cannot alb
DreVlate. The egg antedates the hen On
our day at leasD, the acorn grows into the
! oak by unnouced transitions. a good
foundation is an absolute necessity to a
stately building. patient effort goes before
success. You cannot be "A great lawyer UNI
less you are WlIng 10 De thorough stu
dent, nor great musician unless you will
be patient practicer, nor good min
| lister without going through deep and hui
| initiating soul-eNperiences nor, in fact,
great anything, unless great is your
faith, and unless your works oVertop in
volume even your faith.
In short there is no laudable ambition
of any noteworthy hight that can be
reached at one leap; to wish il So is to be
lazy and out of sorts with this work-a-day
attainable by sudden assault are attaina-
bic by the strategy of patient and well-di-
rected effort, which in itself is a solace
as you go your way.