The Tupelo journal., 1906-01-05

holding faithfully TO MS Scnedule.
There were frequent little lapses that
he found it easy to Reuse himself for,
but the first real break with his reso-
buttons came toward the close of tho
third week. He had grown less and
less prompt about responding to the
rising call of his alarm clock, and n
fateful morning the little catnap
heightened into a deep sleep, and he
knew nothing more until sister Kate
was calling him and telling him that 1t
was half-past seven. He didn't have
time to read his resolutions-in fact,
of late he had been rather neglecting
that self-imposed duty-but hurry as
fast as he could, after gulping down
his breakfast, he was unable to reach
the office until long after the schedule
time of $50. After that things went
from bad to worse, and soon every
resolution on the card had one or more
bad marks against them, and some
even were beginning to be entirely
ignored. With disappointment n
encouragement at the failures came q
reckless indifference to the fine pur-
poses of the new year, and n morn
ing after late hours the night before
and a spending of the sum pledged to
the weekly savings account, Ralph
sprang from his bed as his eye fell
upon the card-his silent accuser-
and, tearing it from its fastening, he
threw it into his waste basket.
There sister Kate found it, and as
she stood looking at it an inspiration
came to her and she took it to her
room. She had noted her brothers
lapses, but had wisely said nothing,
feeling that the time had not yet come
to speak. Now a novel plan presented
itself and she busted herself over the
card of resolutions. With her water
colors and some ribbon she, in a very
short time, had quite transformed its
appearance. She covered the lines or
the writing in such a way with some
of the deeper shades that they gave a
very pretty panel background effect
for the bright lettering she placed
across the face of the card. After it
was done she laid it away, and tho
next day, which was Sunday, afforded
her the opportunity which she sought.
sis" Ralph exclaimed, dejectedly,
in response to her appeal to him to go
with her to church, what's the use?
l might just as we'll cut that out, toe.
The resolutions are all gone to
smash"
But you seem to be all intact"
81 amt. thought" he snapped. Il
feel just like the record l have made
crooked and imperfect"
'The trouble is not so much with
you, Ralph, as with your method" his
sister responded. You undertook to
be good by rote; you tried to live with
in the compass of a set of infiexible
resolutions, and they have nagged you,
and tripped you, and spoiled all your
natural impulses and made you feel
more like a prisoner than a son of
freedom"
Now you're preaching at me-" he
half l%aughingly complained.
mo, I'm not. I'm telling you how
you have been victimized by your good
impulses and led astray by the New
Year resolution fad and fallacy. You
are only one of thousands who think
there is some peculiar virtue n
charm in the opening days OF he new
year and who arrange a programme
of life which even an angel OF light
would grow weary in following; and
then when the good resolutions are all
broken and forgotten, and discourage
ment comes, the rest of h year is
lived aimlessly and even harmfully,
while the conscience is stilled with the
promise of a fresh start when another
new year shall roll around"
"But you don't mean that it's fool
ish or wrong to make good resolutions,
even on New Years day."
mo; but I'd rather walk n path
way thai try to straddle a half dozen.
I'd rather have n purpose that
would lead me out and away from my
own little self and what it may Of
itself attain, than follow a dozen daz-
zling virtues that would have their
beginning and ending within the mar
row borders of my W human will,
and my own selfish ambl.lons. But |
must be going, or l shall be late for
church. Perhaps the moleo l hung on
your wall this morning will help you
to understand" she said, in parting.
Ralph was half tempted to put on
his hat and coat and hurry after his
sister but her words had struck deep
and set him to thinking, and he felt
he wanted to be alone. And the mot
to; what was it? and how could it help
him? he unused, as he slowly went up
stairs and entered his room. Instinct
lively he looked towards the place on
the wall at the foot of his bed where
he had hung the elaborate resolutions
drawn up on New Years day. There,
sure enough, was the motto, and had
he not beer so eager to read it's mes
sage he would have noted how really
beautiful it was, with it's handsome
red bow in one corner, and the gold
letters standing out from the rich
background as though carved in re-
lief. He read and reread the words:
"This one thing l do, forgetting
those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which
are before, / press toward the marx for
the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus"
And his sisters words REQUIRED to
him, and he repeated while the light