People's voice., 1900-05-03
UNLUCKY MEN.
Many Are Unfortunate from Natural
Reasons, But Some without
Apparent Cause.

A man CdH CeI ItdILly De unlucky IN
the proper sense of the word-that is,
frequently visited by misfortune for
which he is entirely irresponsible, OF
course, in the majority of cases the
ia luck is only apparent, the true ex-
PLANTATION being some deficiency in the
man himself of which he is totally un-
conscious. He knows his powers and
he is aware Of his weaknesses, but he
Is not aware of his causes of failure,
He may, for example, be really able
man, with every capacity for success,
except a certain inability to under
stand the character of other men or
women. That has been often the de-
fciency which has ruined kings; it
spoiled the career of Louis XIV,
whose latest adviser, Nine. de Mainte-
non, was a good woman of the dev-
otee type, with a decidedly inferior
brain; and it was one cause Of the
fall of Napoleon, whose sub-kings and
marshals were, with the possible ex-
ception of Eugene Beauharnais, never
men of trst-rate powers. That is
usually attributed to- his jealousy Of
rivals; but he chose inferior men in
civil life, and never through his whole
career had a private. secretary or a
controller Of his household who was
worth his salt; while of his two wives,
one was a vain and extravagant per-
son without a brain, and the other
an arch-duchess who had not an idea
beyond her claim to be considered on
account of her birth, and who married
her chamberlain. In private life the
same defect is probably of all others
the commonest cause of ruin-very
able men, and still oftener able wom-
en-, being led away in peclniary at-
fairs by persons of imperfect intelli-
gence and positively untrustwortby
character. Or the able man has a
habit of procrastination, of which he
is wholly unaware, which leads him
always to miss the moment of op-
portunity, the commonest of defects
in able yet unsuccessful generals; or
he is liable to what the French call
Entertainments" and the English
''rushes," which lead him into blum
ders that all his intlmates declare to
be positively inexplicable."
The ablest human being we ever
knew had way of dressing himself,
always in INCONSISTENCIES, which
twice cost him a great career; while
another singularly competent man
spoiled every chance by a temper
which was in reality nothing but
whimsical, but which caused all en-
ployers to pronounce him hopelessly
unreliable. We should say, indeed,
that the really able were specially Ia
BILE to one of the most ruinous Of all
vices or foibles, incurable Incidence,
while everyone knows a few quite
competent men who never succeed be-
cause they lost opportunities through
An indifference of which they were
totally unaware. Still, though we
recognize all these, and many more
causes of failure, we cannot but ad-
init that there are men who are gen.
timely ''unlucky," with whom the cur
rent of events for some inexplicable
reason always collides, who are al
ways injured in an accident from
which others escape, whose cabs
break down when driving to impor-
tant appointments, whose invest
ments which seem most reasonable
are always swept away whose rela.
tives are blisters, and whose friends
causes of expense, The writer had
once an intimate friend, who firmly
believed of himself that the offchsnce
Of misfortune always happened 10
him, and always would happen, and
It was exceedingly difficult for anyone
who knew his history TO doubt that
he had reason for his superstition.
And the writer knew well another
man-indeed, he published an account
OF his sdventures-who passed soDs
eight times in life through accidents
which would infallibly have killed
anyone else, without q scratch, and
who had, therefore, Gives belief
that he was destined 70 something
which turned out an illusion We
know that there are laws which regu-