The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1903-03-20

man, is like an enchanted hl
! which he might try to ascend j
search Of Incompatible richie!
All around the hill are flowers {
the sweetest odor, birds singin
, melodious strains, and bewitchin
music-all these enticing him t
come back. At length, listening t
his fatal charmers, he turns to de
scend, but instantly becomes
| stone.
i When we once decide to descen
it is hard work indeed to eve
again ascend. Dangers, it is true
lie at every round, but with pro
per caution we may escape all ant
receive the starry crown, wbicl
will shine as light to lead Others
/ to better life.
To youth, life is as silver rip
pied stream. The young man, thu
day that he first breathed the all
of this world, discovered the
source of the stream. For many
miles along the source OF the
stream there are numerous places
from which he may escape and
mount the bladder of life," but
the present pleasures which the
voyage affords are SO bewitch-
ing that it is hard for the
voyager to awake to his duties.
As he glides down the stream, the
chance to escape gradually de-
creases; the banks become sleeper
and he himself osses hope, or, in
other words, being charmed for
the spell, ceases trying to escape.
The application of this to human
life is very readily seen. Nearly
all young men are easily carried
away with what may be called use
less sports and pleasures; not only
useless but many them immoral in
tendency. When young man is
first embraced by such infiuencies
there are a number of loopholes
through which he may escape;
however, the threads increase in
strength and multitude until there
are but very few chances indeed
for him to leave off his folly and
climb the bladder of life." At the
outset, his ambition may be to
wear q starry crown; yet he never
uses the energy required to gain
his object. When such a man
finally awakes, it in one cloudy
morning after he has passed his
sixtieth year; he looks back upon
his youthful days witha sigh when
he sees his wasted opportunities;
then he cries: "The days have
come in which l have no pleasure.
Young men, are you wasting
your leisure hours, or do you
spend them SO that you will enjoy
life when old age spreads her
mantle over your head? While
we are young, everything is fresh
and fair to us, and we are likely
to sacrifice duty to pleasure.
But when you do this ask your
self the question, ''Where will l be
On the ladder of life when old |
age settles down upon me?"
The ascension of the Bladder of
life" requires energy and courage
On the part of the ascender. Oh
ects that are worthy of being
ours cannot be had for nothing.
As the balloon cuts every tie that
binds it to the earth, so must we
tut loose from every pleasure
which retards our progress. We
must not be as birds that fly north
ward in summer and southwark in
winter, but we must abide at our
post of duty unawed and unmoved
~ all changes of conditions which
ate assigns us. The man who
hanges his views at every impulse
will seldom attain his goal. We
ometimes hear of storms of ex-
itement doing great damage, but
We never hear of man being car
led to success on'the wings of ex-
itement; our success wholly de-
lends on our travelling the road
hat has been tested by the wisest
f men-ta taking the hills and hol-