The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1905-01-20


IEl E5lI the til. road to success. A
ing phrases about perseverance and
courage, with very little concerning
the snags and the pitfalls, and moth
ing at all TO say of the balm to use
for stumped purposes and broken
limbs of resolution
am young, and awake early re-
peating to myself again and again:
Il will make this a day of great
things" And on that, II will" l stop
the trivial buttoning of my waist to
crush my hand in determination; my
chin unconsciously take on a John L..
Sullivan angle, and my mouth goes
rigid. Let him oppose who dares!
Then | go on buttoning my waist and
the button rolls off just the same. tax
ing with it large lump of my deter
mination. And all day long buttons
Keep rolling off, Qiguratively, / has
ten to add until by night, perhaps,
there is not single one left, and my
determination, detached, has slipped
off.
l go out alone at twilight for a
thoughtful walk. Success germs are
literally swarming all over me- I say
to myself, softly, II will Succeed!
Others have, so will Ir' Again the
hand clinches and something within
me swclls. 81 willv' 1 say again to
the sunset, and then to some fancied
obstacle, you shall not daunt me! in
such tone that any but the rudest
obstacle would surely scuttle scared
away.
My idea of success is rather DIM
but it puffs me up and makes me feel
airy and apart from the world. The
horizon of my dreams looks rose
colored and far away-it is a great
big, world-encompassing dream that
take with me on my twilight walk.
l read sketch after sketch of lives of
great men in the magazines, in the
papers, everywhere. On all sides
meet with these little biographies of
success. They stir me and stimulate
me- So | say, "They did; 1 will l
will work hard as they worked hard,
and /, too, will succeed / will per-
severe without ceasing; / will make
sacrifices to my work, worship always
at it's shrine; and then l will do things
that shall make the world stop in it's
course and wonder"
One thing rankles a little. Always
in the biographies there were pretty
tales of the hero's determination,
poverty bound though his youth was,
to go to college,; and just as sure as
his path was Uttered with difficulties,
so sure was he to trample them down
and pass on triumphantly to the open
doors of the college. Now, I, in my
very young days, Rugged to myself Il
dream of college life. 1t pillowed me
to sleep many night. Not that there
seemed the slightest probability of its
fulfllment indeed there was every
reason to suppose it could not possibly
come to pass, but what mattered that
to my dream? Indeed, would a dream
be dream, all pumped up with pro-
babilityO SO L cherished it none the
less and felt perfectly certain that
could not possibly be cheated of my
rightful heritage. l saw pleading
philanthropists trooping forward to
help in such a good cause. But the
day of graduation came TO hand and
the expected philanthropists had for
gotten their cue and failed to appear
: upon the stage of my we'll ordered
drea ms. The stupid problem of work
Z Xcoufad itSaIf 10 mo with tba co,,o
harshness that it would to any ordi-
nary non-heroine being. 1t was my
unmistakable part to pitch in and help
the family fnances-it might sound
well in books and biographies, but in
real life it was prosaic, deadly dull
and inevitable.
OF course, l might have chucked
duty, borrowed money of some
abundantly provided friend and gone
on to college, leaving the family to
shoe the wolf away without my help.
And 1 admit that if l had been truly
great l could have managed to get my
college education and still have kept
the family going with the proceeds of
chocolate fudge or Welsh rarebit con-
cocted at odd hours for classmates.
But my greatness was not that great,
and / gulped down with hard swal-
low my college dream and delved into
work-some small newspaper position,
in which / chose to see large posi-
bilities. My eyes are of the kind that
naturally adjust themselves to magni-
tying glasses. -l-.L .....-..a.ai..A Al.