Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-01-22
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- A Preacher
:. Among the People. ).
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LENGTH OF DAYS.

NJ
day School children hear about him
and the extremely vlvacious en-
Wy him. There is not a single thing
set down 10 his credit. Jesus, eonse-
Grated to the service of humanity, ac-
complished more in thirty-three years
than Methuselah did in nine hundred
sixty and nine. know a man who
has been waiting for thirty years for
events to carry him into aplaceof pros
Terity and ease. Thus far he has moth
ing but the fact that he has waited to
set down to his credit, and the chances
are that one of these days he will die
and when 1t is written that he was
born, waited and died the record will
be complete. ] do not know but that
something like this may have been the
secret of Methuselah's colossal failure.
However that may be, it is evident
to the close student Of human achieYe-
ment that one cannot be taught too
early that there are no places in life
where victories worth the winning can
be won without conscientious and con-
44-ff4nued endeavur. Many nan has
fost the opportunity Of his life because
Re''was so absorbed in looking for an
easy place that it escaped his notice.
There is a story to the effect that Hen
ry Ward Beecher once received a letter
requesting him to designate an easy
place for an honest young man. In
reply Mr.. Beecher warned the young
man against every trade and profess
ion known, assuring him that he could
succeed in none Of them without doing
a great deal of hard and possibly much
disagreeable work. In conclusion he
said the only easy place of which he
knew for an honest young man was
the grave.
Whether this story is fact or fiction
it indicates q great truth.
was talking with a vender of pea
nuts not long ago about his business,
which simple as it seems, requires no
small degree of commercial tact and
enterprise to make it success. Hum
bic beginnings are too often looked up
on with contempt. Young men and
women are too likely to overlook the
fact that those who have served the
woad-most faithfully and successfully
were once boys and girls learning their
first lessons, and having great Difficult,
u with them at times, too. They had
to begin at the beginning and learn to
walk and talk by degrees. There was
a time when Daniel Webster did not
know The alphabet Of the language in
which he afterward delivered hispower-
-ul speech in defense of the ConStitu-
ton of the United States. His success
on that historic occasion was due to
the fact that the tainted not nor falt-
cred during the days of preparation
Ana now great many are discuorag-
eI because they cannot begin where he
left off. They want to secure a profess
sion and position without the disagree
able work incident to an apprentice
ship and when failure overtakes them
as it is sure to do, they whine that
fate is against them.
OF course fate is against them, and
justly so too. She has no favorites
and makes no exceptions. | am not
speaking now of worldly ease or eph-
emeral pleasures. One may have them
thrust upon him, but real personal
worth and power are ever the fruit of
patient endeavor. l have read that |
for a great many years Herbert Spen-
GER made it practice to get up and be- |
gin work on his books at five o'clock |
in the morning, devoting the whole |
day to his self-appointed and arduous
ash And yet / once heard a young
nan complaining because after few
lours study he could not grasp and
comprehend the great principles to the
mastery of which Spencer has given
his life. 1t is said that in writing his
essays, Emerson used to spend a whole
lay on half dozen sentences
But | have known some to write a
ongcRaper in few hours and then de-
,,l2rf9 their deficiency in literary work
because it did not read as well as
The Over Soul, Compensatory or
Self Reliance"
This is true not only of many who
'ould be great writer's, If ceaseless tbiljl
yer not the condition upon which
'riters become great, but in other
pheres as we'll. The boy in the boot
hop despises the days he has to de-
ote to learing his trade He wants 1
do the work of an experienced hand I
nd get as much per week as he, but
e cannot do it, and because he car
OF he often gives away to discourag- I
tent, goes out ind tries something /
se, simply to get discouraged and I
i've up again. '
Thus many a one who has worn his
fe away trying everything and sue
'edlng in nothing because he q
'uld not begin where success !.
Il men quit. have met some I
no have been faithful and pa
ent in some field all thler lives
1t who feel tina tlthey have
iled' That. however. is due to their {
lse notions OF what success really is. 8
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