Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-10-06


AMI act all my parts and sing the mas
teTIieces Of IA Handel. Mozart or q
Wagner"
Now. God never made n man with al
the talents. Just rs certain diamonds
have laws Ia their makeup. we all have
laws. some Of them perhaps serious.
Ia our natures IL Is the wise man who
II ready To recognize these flaws and
limitations or who never engages In
any enterprise IN which they would be
disastrous aud never undertakes any
work for which he has not the neces-
sary talent.
Testing the Compass.
And. Furthermore. my friend. remem.
beer this ~ does not take much Of q
flaw or weakness 20 absolutely destroy
the whole fabric VI mans life work.
Did you ever see a sailor test his COM
pass The ship will be sailing ON day
after day until Il gets away from land.
Then the ruslder will be jammed TO the
left When you hear those rudder
chains rattling you may be frightened
and rush upon the deck There you
will see the ship swing around In a cir.
Gle What Is the matterT" you will
cry. lis anything wrongY NO" an
swers the SEA captain: we are merely
testing our compas~es." but why did
you not do this ia the harborY' oh"
answers the sea captain. I'VE cannot do
that near the shore The rocks aud the
land may exercise n magnetic influence.
When We test our compasscs we must
De- far out NJ sea. away FROM their in
fiucnce. The propinqulty Of a single
nail may make the compass needle
point la false direction. IL our com
pass Is unreliable II may send us upon
the rocks or lead rs away from our
true destination" What the sea cap
tain says about faulty compass the
great navlgators OF life teach about our
weaknesses or failings. II u man does
not recognize his weaknesses and guard
against his weaknesses. In the end these
weaknesses will surely destroy him.
Marie .AntOinettc wins our admiration
by the hcroism with which she went TO
Imprisonment and death. but that does
not require US 90 admire the frivolity
and seliishness which led To her ruin.
George Is. Mcclellan may have been
the greatest organizer the American
army ever had. but that does not prove
that he was III 10 command nj Shiloh
or In the Wilderness. Cicero had the
most eloquent OF tongues. but that did
not prove he could do the work OF n
Caesar ar Cromwell. Every man has
his limitations. and the sooner we rec
Ognize our limitations the sooner we
shall arrive at Just estimate of our
powers.
But there is another fatal error TO
which ! want 10 call your attention.
Blind egotsm may become insanely
conservative. IL Is ruinOus when II re-
fuses to mark the progress of new
methods and discoveries II IL often
found that an esotlst who has made II
success In his younger days IL apt to
mark time and To think that the world.
like nm army. has also been marking
time instead of going ahead. Egotism
seems 10 be incapable of readjusting
itself to new conditions OF life. Be
cause the world once travelled In canal
boats or In stagecOaches therefore some
cyclists pretend that II Is never digni-
fled to travel faster than Il snalfs
pace. Because our fathers and fore
fathers once read by candlellght there
fore these modern cyclists seem TO
think that there is no house properly
lighted without candles and that the
chandelier. with its wires and globes.
Is a delcstnble abomination.
behind the Times.
One OF the most famous physicians
OF his day became shelved because he
would not accept the new investiga-
tions which had been made In the
medical world. He not only positively
refused 10 accept the theory of bac-
terra. but he refused 10 20 into con
sultation with any practitioner who ac-
cepted that theory His practice left
him almost as quickly as the waves of
the sea leave the shores on the ebb
tide. Being called rs an expert med
lcal authority In Il murder trial OF New
York. the district attorney placed him
on the stand and so twisted him up In
his answers that he nearly broke down
aud cried like little child. The man
In the business world today must meet
other conditions and plan his mercan-
tile campaigns upon different lines
from those adopted by the merchants
OF nlty years ago And yet some peo-
pie after they have made little sue
cess seem To stand still. In their ego
tism they seem to be unwilling 10 rec
ognize the advance OF the human race.
and before they know II younger men
come NJ To them and then pass them
aud leave them behind.
Our lives must he continual prog
ress or else they will he continual
retrOcession. once read OF u woman
who had strange dream. In her
dream she seemed 10 lie at the bottom
81 well All was complete darkness
about her Hut suddenly she looked
up. There, through the mouth OF the
well overhead. she saw n bright star
glowing. II seemed 10 say 10 her
Ia .... lfe ...n nla. rlsa