The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-04-26
NESTING ruiIesnces.

dressed q woman 5 club devoted
toa sch sme of self-lmproveme ent
advised his hearers in a half iocu.
lar way 'never TO have anything
to do with any but prosperous
people" This seems to be very
selfish and brutal advice, but the
idea which the speaker had in
mind was valuable. He meant
to say that if one would keep in q
healthful frame of mind it would
be necessary to obtain the tonic
influence of those who are filed
with hope rather than to be de-
pressed and dragged down" by
the influence of those who are
dlspirlted, fatallstic and hopeless.
81 would help others" SAID old
SIR Thomas Browne in his "Au-
atomy of Melancholy" ''out of a
fellow feeling" and that is the
humane and civilized attitude to
assume; but no pans should ne
spared in trying to prevent one
self from falling into the hope
less and detected state of mind
which means misery for oneself
and for others.
Almost every one can call to
mind an acquaintance, man of
average or of more than average
education, ability and physical
health, who nevertheless , seems
to take a dark view of his pros
poets, of life and of the world.
The country is going to the bad,
according to his view, with amaz-
ing celebrity; society has no health
in it; the future of mankind is
sombre to the last degree; honor,
truth and nobility are dead; there
is no virtue in the world, and "no
use of anything, rand the life of
man is solitary, poor, nasty,
brutlsh and short. 1t is patent
that this man S life is failure
and that his influence is vicious.
He has been started on the wrong
road, and has unfortunately per-
mltted himself to be carried along
until he has formed fatal habits
Of thought.
Fielding, the novelist, SAID that
"life may as properly be called
an art as any other, and the great
incidents in it are no more to be
considered as mere accidents
than the severest members of a
fine statue or noble poem" Per-
haps this is an extreme statement
Of the case, but it has the ele-
ments of truth in it, and, morrow
er, it is message to man which
inspires and does good by iucit
ing to endeavor.
Of all the means of attaining to
the mastery of the art there is
none more important than that Of
keeping the mind fresh, hopeful
ness strong and the outlook upon
the world bright. Certain phil
osophers teach the degrading
doctrine that mans destiny is
settled for him, and that "as he
is born so shall he live and die:
that his area of expansion is linn
tied within the very narrowest
bounds, and that except for very
slight influences of environment
the individual will be as he is
born, no more and no less.
There are, of course, tremend-
Gus differences between man and
man from the day Of birth; differ
ences in ability, temperament,
and perhaps in every mental,
moral and physical Characters
tic; but every mans life IS also
largely guided and formed and
directed by theintluences brought
to bear upon it, and each man,
whatever his station and cIrcum-
stances, has a wide range OF
choice in determining what those
influences shall be. All the glori
Gus deeds, thoughts and records
of the past are unfolded to S in
books, and mau can almost de-
termlne by his choice sof books
just What will be his cast of
thought. The temperament and
character of his acquaintances
and friends will exercise great
power over him; hls amusements.
his "hobbies" and many other
0