The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-07

that he could do was to sit and watci the awful carnage approach as the eiVi war came nearer and nearer, conscious that the appalling sacrifices of human lifl and property that the south was makinl would be useless.
 This eourtly southern gentleman said tt me with quaint smile, NO matter how strong a man may be. it is always wei for hin 10 find out beforehand if his enc my is not as strong or even a littli stronger before he takes off his coat anC begins to fight There is infinite wisdom in that remark It is always well for ev cry man 10 realize the difficulties whcl are ahead of him before he enters the struggle of life.
 Don't be Egotistic.
 oh says the egotistic lawyer, .'ther, is no need of my making much prepara. tion for my case I am one of the most brilliant and ready speakers at the bar All that he says may be true. but a Coli. ath may be slain by little David if hC leaves even the fraction of an inch ex. posed between the joints of his armor Many an ordinary lawyer has won his case from a brilliant attorney because he had carefully and thoroughly prepar ed his case and the other had not "Oh. 1. says the brilliant preacher, what is the use of my working SO hard upon my ser mon? l have the gift of speech and can always talk" Yes some ministers can always talk, but it is only the min ister who realizes the enormous difficul. ties which confront the pulpit in the prep aration of his sermons who is the man able to deliver each Lords day a true message for God. Young man. you may be smart; people may say you are very brilliant, but l want to tell you there are hosts of people just as smart as you are Furthermore I care not how smart you may be- remember this-it is only the plodder the hard worker, the man who day by day and week by week, realize the difficulties which are ahead and the struggles which must be made, who in the end will triumph. Natural ability will never accomplish much in this world un- less II Is reinforced by the severest kind of work.
 The blinded egotist rarely measures the altitude of the mountains of difficulty he has to climb He commits worse folly than that. He deliberately shuts his eyes to the mental and physical and spiritual infirmities with which he is handicapped. He seems to say, Because l am strong in one characteristic of my nature. there- fore I am strong in all characteristics " He is like Frederick the Great of Prus- sia He was q great warrior, and, single handed. contended with and defeated the greatest military powers of Europe but he thought he was great poet and a great philosopher He invited the great est literary genius of all Europe, Voltaire, to come and be member of his royal court and praise his silly verses He may be a great actor like Edwin Booth, but he will be foolish if he says Because I am great tragedian, and can interpret alright Hamlets solilocuy, therefore must be a great comedian and a great singer and a great playwright and a great musician and great business manager l shall hereafter write my plays and ora- torios and act all my parts and sing the masterpieces of a Handel, a Mozart or a Wagner"
 Now, God never made a man with all the talents. Just as certain diamonds have flaws in their makeup, we all have flaws, some of them perhaps serious. In our natures It is the wise man who is ready to recognize these flaws and limita- tions, or who never engages in any enter- prise in which they would be disastrous and never undertakes any work for which he has not the necessary talent
 Testing the Compass.
 And. furthermore, my friend. remember this-it does not take much of a flaw oi weakness to absolutely destroy the whole fabric of a mans life work Did yot eyer see q sailor test his compass? The ship will be sailing on day after day un. til if gets away from land. Then tho rudder will be damned to the left Wher you hear those rudder chains rattling yol may be frightened and rush upon the deck. There you will see the ship swing around in a circle What is the mat ter?'' you will cry. ''ls anything wrong?' No answers the sea captain; i've art merely testing our compasses." "Buf why did you not do this in the harbor2' Oh answers the sea captain. i've can. not do that near the shore. The rocks and the land may exercise a magnetic influence. When we test our eompasses we must he far out at sea, away iron their influence. The propinquity of sin gle nail may make the compass needl, point Tn a false direction. If our compass is unreliable, it may send us upon tht rocks or lead us away from our true des tination." What the sea captain says about a faulty compass the great navi gators of life teach about our weaknesses or failings. If a man does not recognize his weaknesses and guard against hi: weaknesses, in the end these weaknesses will surely destroy him. Marie Antoinettt wins our admiration by the heroism witt which she went to imprisonment ant death, but that does not require us tC admire the frivolity and selfshness which led her to ruin George B. Mcclellan may have been the greatest organizer tho American army ever had, but that does not prove that he was fit to command al Shiloh or in the Wilderness. Cicero hao the most eloquent of tongues but thai did not prove he could do the work of a Caesar or a Cromwell. Every man has his limitations, and thte sooner we recog. nize our limitations the sooner we Shal arrive at just estimate of our powers
 But there is another fatal error to which I want to call your attention. Blind ego tism may become insancly conservative It is runous when if refuses to mark the progress of new methods and discoveries It is often found that an egotist who has made a success in his younger days is apt to mark time and to think that the world, like an army, has also been mark ing time instead of going ahead. Egotism seems to he incapable of readiusting itself to new conditions of life. Because the world once traVelod in canal boats or in stage coaches. there are some egotists who pretend that it is never dignined to travel faster than snail's pace. Because our fathers and forefathers once read hy candle light therefore these modern ego lists seem to think that there is no house properly lighted without candles, and that the chandelier. with it's wires and globes Is a detestable abomination
 Behind the Times.
 One of the most famous physicians oi his day became shelved because he would not accept the new Investigations whicf had been made in tho medical world. He not only positively refused to accept the theory of bacteria, but he refused to eC into consultation with any practitioner who accepted that theory. His practice left him almost as quickly as the waves of the sea leave the shores on the ebf