The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-07-25

II lister politician. speaking at ward
c.:ses AMI TALKING reform on the
sti..ct cor;:e.s. Without owe he might
~ t:c.c liiSe been e.ectei an alderman
or a walking delegate. but he would
Lave aspired no higher. One evening.
cs lie was on his way to a caucus In
the Fourth ward. where he was billed
to make a speech. he met a young lady
who had LOST her way and fell in love
with her on the spot She was a girl
who vas looking higher up, and to win
her lie lad to take off his boots and go
r1-.,r to tie top of the tree. 1t took him
dr.- %al-s TO win a name n a wife.
81 g.. Won them at last and left a
Ea,.,r never to be forgotten. Nothin.
IA. i,ve did il. He might have been
OF! red the best farm in Greece to get
up and hump himself. but be would
have turned it down.
We think Of the immortal George
Washington as ii hero and a states
man. and we leave the love ont of his
life. We shouldn't do it. He was full
of pluck and perseverance and ambi-
ton, but red never hav reached the
top notch y-f1n1ut love to boost him.
And let me tell you that he loved just
the same way that you and l love to-
day. When he met the widow who aft
erward became his wife he sized her
up out of the corner Of his eye. Then
he hitched his chair a little nearer.
There was talk about poetry, the noon.
angels and all that, and he ate popcorn
and drank cider and went away with
a tic.iled feeling III his heart. There
came a time when he called her Martha
and she called him George, when she
pillowed her head on his shoulder,
when he said that if she happened to
get kicked to death by a cow he would
go out and break his neck by falling off
q barn. Yes they loved and loved,
and they married, and love spurred
our idol on until there were no more
honors for him to reap. Had he re-
NAMED an old bachelor be might nave
invented a double ended rat trap or a
double barreled cockroach extermina-
tor. but that would have beer the end
of it.
We now come down to the case Of Q.
Hope Jones, the man who stands be-
fore you. It is without egOtism that
1 bring myself forward, as l use my
case simply to illustrate. Five years
ago l was a lazy, shiftless, unaspiring
young man. About the only aim l had
was to be elected constable of my viii
lage. Even my own father became so
discouraged over my case that he
would no longer buy my beer and to-
bacco.
20 Then a sudden change came. I fell
in love. 1t. is not necessary to give
the name of the girl, but love acted
like magic in my case. In a week 1
was at work in a cornfield. In a month
1 was a leader in politics. In a year
I was preparing to set out OF a lee
ture tour and reached my highest
notch, and here I am. I didn't marry
the girl I loved, as she was unfortu-
nately bitten by a rattlesnake, but I
fell in owe with another, and still a
third, and today I am in love with the
fourth. It's an original idea of my
own and n I can recommend. IF you
want to climb up, o can't love too
often nor too many.
And now in drawing to a close let
me recaptulate. Ambition is good for
30 cents on the dollar, out love is worth
an even 100. Perseverance is a fur
mace to. get up steam, but love is the
fuel to supply it. Integrity is a good
thing to brag about as long as you
don't get caught at it, but there are no
weak spots in the armor of love. If
not in love. go out and take a tumble.
Love we'll. Love as hard as you n
When once started, keep it on the jump,
like a scared rabbit. And incidentally
I would observe that the fare to the
next town in which | lecture is So
cents, and unless there is a liberal con-
tribution on the part of this audience I
don't see how I an to get there. Some
of you may not think l have given you
95 cents worth. but any one who viii
follow my advice and go and fall head
over heels in love will feel conscience
stricken that he didn't empty his wallet
into my hat. NJ. QUAD.