The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-03-13

There Is so much about Success In
the public prints nowadays that one
naturally is led to infer that failure is
the common lot of mankind and that
the successful ones are in the small
minority. suppose this Is true after
fashion: at least many writers and
most old men say it is. Stevenson
what is. sing1larIy enough, one of the
most stimulating essays of the English
language this view of life. even
going so far as to affirm, quoting the
last words of Charles the Second, that
the majority of Us are "unconscionabiy
long a-dying" and little else. The
Preacher, also, in that marvellous book
Ecclesiastes, written thousands of years
before newspapers were dreamed of.
sings the same song when he Iaments
that sAIl is vanity" The sentiment
has been echoed with countless varia-
tions ever since men commenced to
herd together and follow leaders.
In way, suppose it is true. sup
pose no man ever reached the pima
cles of his desires and ambitions. But
l have some doubts as to whether all
who failed to achieve those giddy
heights considered themselves failures.
Not that doubt the sincerity of the
writers who have taken this view of
the world They received their cue
from men who were more than men
who were miiestones that mark the
progress of the race But to us, who
are no more than what Walt whitman
termed average men, such writings
are apt to be dispiriting. rather than
inspiring What Stevenson, for in
stance, would regard as failure, you or
|, from our lowly position, would count
success: and when great thinker is
disheartened at his inability to reach
the core of some great truth, you and
are catching hold of the minor drip
pings of his intellect and msryeIing
how one brain could have fathomed or
evolved them all. Consequently when
he points out SO vividly that as soon
as a child is born il is sentenced
to death, that it is merely permitted to
IKE out its existence under a reprieve.
we find it discouraging. We are here
and we are anxious TO do the best we
can; not to have failure always staring
US in the face
Webster defines failure as sWant of
success, Deterioration. Decay" and sew
eral other unpleasant things. / beg to
take issue with the learned gentleman
on the question. / believe failure to
be, in common with many other things
not ordinarily SO ciassed, entirely
condition of mind. / believe 1t is
easily possible for man not TO sue
eeed III an undertaking, and still not
to fail. The failure is the gutter, the
man who lies down under his burden
and, without half trying, says he can't
get up. For such person life is
pretty tough proposition; for Ho one
is going to help man who doesn't
try to help himself 1t is useless
waste of energy to do SO; it is about
as profitable as to shy pebbles into the
ocean in hopes of increasing its
breadth. But the man who honestly
tries to accomplish what he starts out
to do, who tries with all his energy and
strength, is never failure Suppose
he doesn't reach the goal he aims for;
SO long as he keeps Oh trying he is a
better man each night than he was
when he arose in the morning better
physically, mentally, morally and some
times financially, and one can't better
oneself and fail at the same time.
Supposing he does not gain; SO leng as
he has his shoulder to the wheel he is
not losing; the hope that he viii make
progress tomorrow still burns strong
within him; and if the object of his en-
deaVor is worthy one, the chances are
that he has, all unconsciously, made
some friend who viii aid him later on.
The failure in llfe is the quittef, the
one who Iies down and hoWls for help