Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1904-10-15

Where did the great Adams family,
or the Beechers. or the Van Cortlands,
or the Van Rensselaers, or the Hamil-
tons. or the Goulds, or the Armours,
or the Swifts, or the Letters, or the
Otises spring from? Either In the last
or few generations back
you can find their ancestors keeping
butcher shop or working as clerks or
digging as farmers or 80 poor that they
had to borrow money to get their start
in life in their, chosen career Now,
my aristocratic friends, II the most
honored names in all history are Tor
the greater part names first heard OF
In the annals of the poor and the first
bearers Of which were born In poverty
and obscurity, why should you hold
your heads so high? Because your "a
ther or grandfather happened to do
something that made his name fa-
nous is that any reason why you
should consider yourself above your
fellow men when you have accomplish
ed absolutely nothing for mankindF
The pride Of birth is among the silliest
and the most baseless OF all kinds OF
pride, for, though some OF us may
have the blood Of great man flowing
In our veins, all of us without excep-
tion have the blood Of hundreds OF OBJ
scure ancestors mingling In our ar
teries. from whom we are just as much
descended as we are from him VINO
was king among the kings. would
Infinitely prefer to be the founder OF
race than the degenerate offspring
Of a noble sire who bravely worked
his way from nothing to the pinnacle
OF fame. This practical world of every
day life does not ask who was your IA
ther, who was your grandmother, but
who are your
But. though we would denounce the
pretentious pride Of birth, we would
go further than this, We would de-
nounce the arrogant pride OF many
men and women who seem to have ac-
complished something In life. III we
are honest we must admit that such
successes as we have achieved have
been due In no small degree to tortui-
tous combinations Of circumstances OF
which we have taken advantage and
not exclusively to our own merits. we
have no right to take all the credit 10
ourselves or to despise others VINO
have not had the opportunities which
have helped us in the race, Many OF
them have been hindered by poverty
or lack of educational facilities or III
health. and we show disgraceful In
gratitude to Providence II we give our
selves airs of superiority,
Circumstanees Make Men.
Circumstances make men just tnt
same as men make circumstances
When | was lately thinking upon this
theme NY eye involuntarily wandered
down q country road to a big white
barn where a livery is kept and horses
are rented for the day. About one o.
these horses a young man was work
ing. Who is he1 He - q young maj
who for years has wanted to be law
yer. But he Is the oldest son Of larg'
family of children. His father was
farmer in the east. There that father
heath broke down, and he had to com
to California climate or he must die
| He bought some land here. Ate
awhile two years Of drought came on
and he was ruined. Then that fathe
was confined three years In on inva
nd's bed. Then that oldest son had t
spring into the breach. He is there ye
IN the breach. The bread Of his motf
or. his father and the children was 70
years dependent upon that Oldest DO
and his work. The horses Of the farr
were merely changed during tn
drought into the horses Of a public li'
ery. II you and ! had been In that ole
est boys place would we not have don
lust the same as he did, Would we c
where we are todayS
James A. Garfield once seemed
preach the doctrine that there are 4
= difficulties In life too great for ma
to overcome. In one Of bis address'
he said: mo man who Is worth savir
can aver be drowned in the trouble
sea OF life. No matter how far 1t
from shore, pitch him overheard an
he will at least be able to swim ashore
I I am not sure that statement OF Ga
fields is always true. / believe tn
there may come q time when a your
D man. Ike a young colt, can be beat'
o too much and his spirit will be gon
I believe that young man may ha'
too many obstacles to overcome un
Q at last he will lose hts energy and
will cease to struggle any more.
any case, It becomes us all to consid
q how much of our success Is due to t
n advantages we have enjoyed and ne
s er to assume superiority over tho
J. who might have succeeded as well as
9 better than we have done II their
!, portunities and equipment had be
IL equal to ours,
Men Sometimes Mako Ctrcumstanc'
Men make circumstancesF NOT
ways. Some time ago when seated
=! railroad train l read a newspaI
= article In reference to one OF the no
y, rious pugilists Of the country. II
article went something like this: y
So-and-so will never amount 20 al
g, thing again in the roped arena. WI
- " Because he has been twice whipped.
," man is like a dogi when he has bf
beaten enough to find that some
, else IL his master his nerve Is fore
-, gone" How true in life Is that?
said to myself. Then I pictured u
;, noble dog of Jack London's In
:. Call Of the Wild" He was big,
g., able. brave dog, but no sooner was
i sent north than he was clubbed VI
"a his spirit was broken. What the
a he whined and whimpered like
!, - frightened puppy. So some men, no
:, ~ men, brave men in their youth, beco
~ failures as middle aged men. WI