The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-05-19
WHATNOT
"DIes crit proeoeIida slnistra.
quum."

= 2
l>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~S ~
My dear young friends-Let us take for
a text for our Monday evening sermon
the familiar line from the daily news
papers, left at the post"
The preacher saith: THE race Is not
TO the swift. nor the battle to the strong.
But this observation is not intended TO
encourage you 10 lie back and lazily
trust 10 the time and chance that hap
peneth 10 us all. Nothing OF the sort
For the same Preacher also declared
that: Whatsoever thy hand indeth 10
do, do IL with thy might" The point
Is, OF course, not to be afraid or the
swift i'm the race or the strong In the
battle. He must not be misunderstood TO
mean that you shall make no effort. your
self--that you shall not train TO be as
swift for the race and as strong for the
battle as you can make yourself. Not
at all.
But above all. don't allow yourself to
get left at the post and, above that
don't balk at the post on purpose, be-
cause you are scared TO run. or because
YOU fancy that somehow you will be car
ried over the course while you wait.
The fellow that gets left at the post Is
far lower I'm the scale on which Judg-
ment Is passed than the fellow who also
ram" for example. You may be tempted
to deliberately allow yourself TO get left
al the post because you fear the shame
OF being counted among the also rams
Ii isn't nice to be an also ran, TO be sure
IL isn't. Folks are likely TO regard you
with sniff and even laugh at you, II
you are an also ran. The obscurity OF
being left at the post seems preferable 10
the sensitive nature. That simply means
that you are out of IL. Nobody pays any
further attention to you and so you
are spared the gibes that greet the also
rams as the race draws to a finish. You
are ignored completely by the crowd
once you are left az the post.
Perhaps over In some remote corner OF
the field somebody that had great hopes
OF you in the running is breaking heart
over the matter. But to the crowd you
are a dead one, and thus you escape the
scorn and abuse that are the lot of the
also rans-and maybe you think there
is some sort of satisfaction in escaping
SO.
But, when you stop TO think Of IT, II
is a species of cowardice my dear young
friends. TO be left at the post just TO
avoid the chance OF misfortune of being
in the also ran list. All honor TO the
also rams, / say. After all they are In
the great majority. the also rams, and but
for the fact that there are so many OF
them the distinction of the winners and
the seconds and the place would not be
so great. The also rams have nothing to
he ashamed of, when you stop to regard
the matter sanely.
Don't hesitate 10 start in the race just
because you can't really hope to finish
at the front or because you fear to
be distanced Prepare yourself just as
well as your talent and opportunity allow
and make a start, at any rate. IL won't
DO you any harm. believe me, and you
can't tell what may happen 10 break the
swifter and the stronger. or what speed
YOU yourself may develop before the
course Is covered. You may, indeed, have
observed that favorites usually win in
only n minority of the events. And, If
YOU are thin skinned. as you probably
are, II will be worth big failure to fol-
low the leaedrs In so far behind that you
will be laughed at and treated with con-
tumely. The experience may get your
mad up and that always does a fellow
lots of good, IL IL is good wholesome
mad.
For, so long as you are afraid of the
crowd you have small show TO win any
way After all, IL you look the crowd
over you will discover that they are
been so so often that they dassent go 10
he post in any sort OF a field. So run
your race for all you are worth and
don't mind 'em.
Indeed the applause OF the crowd, II you
get II, may more safely be regarded as
lightly as its scorn. Many a good fellow
that has been made by the scorn of the
crowd. has subsequently been spoiled by
its applause. on the whole / do not
know but Il is easier TO survive the jeers
than II is the fiattery. The one starts
your fighting blood circulating and that
makes for a winner. The other Is apt
to be debilitating. especially IL you en-
courage the notion that II is the chief
prize you are after.
And don't be foolish and faint enough
to fancy that just because the crowd
is not for you, IL is dead set against you.
The fact Is. OF course. the crowd simply
doesn't care either way about you until
YOU compel its consideration.
And the quickest way TO win the crowd
is TO ignore its existence and just keep
on the jump.
The crowd shies at being played TO, any
way
But II will see the real thing the mo-
ment II happens.
DAN II Low.
EAcT DSnulnENcc