The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-01-04

twenty-five years Of ape. Now I PROPOSE
TO tell you some things which, II you Will
seriously and prayerfully observe, Will
make you master OF the situation IN WINCH
you are now placed and master eof every
situation In which you ever will be placed.
And in order that my subject may pc cn.
macteric, begin on the outside edge OF that !
advice, which will be more and more I'm.
portant as the subject unfold }a
Now, II you would be master OF the situac
tion, do not expend money before yon get
II. How many young men Firretrieya
mortgage their future because OF resources
that are quite sure to be theirs. Have the
money either in your hand, or In safety
deposit, or IN q bank, or In q; United States
bond before you make purchases. or got into
expensive enterprises or hitch Q spanking;
team to 9glitterlng turnout, or contract
for the building Of 8 mansion on the Poo.
mac or the Hudson. d o not depend en- an
inheritance from your her or uncle. Fhe-
old man may live on a good deal longer;
than You expect, and the day OF your sn-s
forced payment may come eeiore the day
OF his decease. You cannot depend upon
rheumatism or heart failure or seniiity TO,
do its work. Longevity Is 80 wonde derfuily
improved that you cannot depend upon3
people diving when you, think they ought,
to. They live to be septuag agenariaDs, or
octogenarians, or nonagenariaps, or even,
centenarians, and meanwhile their heirs
20 into bankruptcy, OF, tempted to-
forgery, or misappropratton OF trust
funds, or watering of railroad Or mining
stock, go into the penite tentiary. Neither
had you better spread yourself out because
of the fifteen or twenty per cent. YOU ex-i xi
Teen or twenty per cent. investments are.
apt to pay nothing save the privilege OF be.
ing assessed tot meet the obligations OF the;
company in the affairs Of which you Ra
Involved. Better get 3115 per cent. from q
government bond than be, promised fifteen
per cent. from q dividend which will never
be declared, or paid only once ortwice, 50
as to tempt you deeper, in before the grand
smash mp, and you receive, instead OF q
payment OF dividends, letter from the
president and secretary OF the company
saying that they are very sorry. y
DO not say. you have no chance, but re.
astronomer OF his day, once pedd ding cab
ibages in the street, and Martin Luther
singing on the public square Tor any
pennies that he might pick up, and John
Bunyan .mending Kettles, and the late;
Judge Bradley. OF the United States
Supreme Court, who was the son OF q
charcoal burner, and Turner. the painter.
who was the son Of q barber, and Lord
Olive, who saved Indiato England, shipped
by his father to Madras as o useless boy
whom he wanted to get rid OF, and
Prideau1, the world renowned scholar and
theologian, securing pots and pans TO work
his way through college, and the mother Oh
the late William E. Dodge, the philanthro-
pist and magnificent man, Keeping a
thread and needle store, and Peter
Cooper, who worked on small wages In q
glue factory, living to give $500, 600 Tor the
founding Of an institute that has already
educated thousands OF the poor sons and
daughters OF America, and Sowdftch, the
scientist, beginning his useful learning and
affluent career by reading the books that
had been driven ashore from shipWreck
at Salem. There is, young man, great
success awaiting you II you only know how
to 60 up and takeit. Then take It or get
ready to take It. The mishtier the oppo-
sition the grander The :iumph when you
have conquered. ..g n. L
Again, II you would master the situation,
when angry do not utter word or write a
letter, but before you speak word OF
write a word sinl q verse of somel hymn
in tune arranged in minor key
and having no staccato passages.
II very angry, sing two verses. II In posi-
tive rage, sing three verses. First OF all,
the nhealthiest thing on earth Is to get
mad. It jangles the nerves, enlarges the
spleen and sets the heart into q wild thump-
ing. Many man and many q woman has
in time OF such mental and physical ,agita-
tion dropped dead. Not only that, but It
makes enemies out OF friends, and makes
enemies more virulent, and anger ts partial
or consummate suicide. Great attorneys,
understanding this, have often won their
cause by willfully throwing. the opposing
counsel into rage. There Is one man you
must manage or one woman you must con-
troll In order to please God and make LIE
success, and that Is yourself. y
The hardest realm that you will ever
have to govern Is the realm between your
scalp and heel. The most dangerous cargo
a ship can carry is dynamite, and the most
perilous thing In ones nature Is an ex-
plosiye temper. II your.nature Is hope
fessIy irascIble and tempesruous, then
dramatize placidity. II the ship Is on fire
and you cannot extipguish the flames, at
any rate keep down the matches. When at
some injustice inflicted upon you or some
insult offered or some wrong done, the best
thing for you to say ~ to say nothing, and
the best thing for you to write Is to write
nothing. II the'meanness done YOU fs un-
bearable or you must express yourself or
die, then commend plan that have
once or twice successfully adopted. Take
a sheet, OF paper. Date 1t at your
home OF ONCE Then put the wrong
doer's name at the head OF the letter
page, without any prefix OF "Colonel"
or sufix of "D. d." and begin with no
term Of courtesy, but q bold and abrupt
"Sir." Then follow 1t with statement OF
the wrong he has done you and OF the IN.
dignation you have felt. Put into 1t the
strongest terms OF execration You can en-
ploy Without being profane. Sign your
name to the red hot epistle. Fold 1t. En-.
velop It. Direct 1t plainly to the man who
has done you wrong. Garry the letter
week, or two weeks IL. need be, and then
destroy It. In Gods name destroy It. I
like what Abraham Lincoln said to one OF
bis cabinet officers. That cabinet officer
had been belied and misrepresented until
IN q fury he wrote letter Of arraignment
to his enemy, and in tersest possible phrase
ology told him what he thought Of him.
The cabinet officer read 1t to Mr.. Lincoln
and asked him how he liked it., Mr.. Lin
coin replied: ut is splendid tor sarcasm
and scorD. never heard anything moro
complete In that direction. But do you
think you can afford to send it," That
calm and wise and Christian Interrogation
of the president stopped the letter, and 1t
was never sent. Young mai, before You
get FIR on in life unless you are an e1cep-
tion among men, you will be wronged, you
will be misinterpreted, you will be out
ragged. All your sense Of justice will be In
conhagration. Let me know how you
meet that first great offense, and will tell
you whether your life is to be triumph or
r failure. You see, equipoise at such Il
time means so many things. 1t means
self control. Itmeans capacity to fore
see results. 1t means confidence in your
own integrity. 1t means faith in the
Lord God that He will see you through.
Again, II you would be master Of the sit
alton put the best Interpretation on the
character and behavior Of others. Do not