Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-06-15

~S'SioPhehs ds we'll experience is
indeed a good teacher. When we
think of how much more we could
have accomplished if we had ONLY
used every opportunity of the past
we resolve that not one Of them in
the future shall be lost.
''The opportunities we've let slip
Will ne'er to us return,
Mistakes cost dear, yet by each one
A lesson we may learn
How grateful each one of us should
be for the privilege of having been
educated at u school where moral de-
velopment is not subordinated to
other less important things, but is
given the first aad highest place.
After such training, ought we not
to be much better prepared to see in
the right light. and make the best
OF all future opportunities?
Up, up, We have climbed, gaining
strength at every step. until at last
we stand awaiting in wonder and
awe wbatthe great future will disclose
to us. Shall make the best Of all
1T gives? Why should l? Perhaps
at times this will be hard to do, and
yet each opportunity lost weakens
our power to grasp another. Then,
too, not one that we let slip, will
ever come back 10 us a.an. How
full of meaning are those words of
Herrick-
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-hying,
And the same flower that blooms todav
Tomorrow will be dying"
Surely We should lay hold upon
those things which are condition
for all success ia life. Can we do
this by merely standing still and
waiting for chance to shower upon
us glory aud honor? If Columbus
had simply thought over the idea of
an unknown land, without taking
any steps TO discover it, his name
would not have come down to us
with such honor aud renown. Take
for example any great persons in his
tory. Would their names come
sounding down the ages if they had
not made use of their opportunitiesy
Some might say-but my opportu-
mites are SO few and small. Whether
small or great, all alike should be
grasped. Can we expect to attain
unto the great if We reject the smaller
things, the stepping stones on which
we rise to nobler aud greater attain
ments?
Our opportunities are not, how
ever, simply those for getting all we
can, but for giving as we'll. Each
one has a mission to fulfill. The
good we can do is far more than
we think, for wealth and power are
not the only means of doing good.
A kind look or loving word,
though it coat so little, sometimes is
worth more than the costliest gift.
God has given us each separate
work in his great school of life, and
though, often, life may seem a
teacher stern, and wisdom's crown
crown of thorns, yet time the gentle
nurse will wipe away all tears, and
at last we will receive the jeweled
crown which He has prepared for all
who heed His voice.
Since to each one is assigned his
own task and making the best of our
opportunities is the only means of
accomplishing that work and attain
ing to success. would you not say
that to grasp opportunities is the
greatest thing in life?
Then let Us heed the call of duty
and, making the best of every oppor-
tunity, press onward and upward,
until We receive the crown, the
jeweled crown of succ IS.
How we long to lift the mystic
veil and glance into the great un-
known future, filled with rich and
glorious opportunities! We would
exclaim in the words of Lowell
80 land of promise, from what Pisgah's
height
Can | behold thy stretch of peaceful
towers?
Ambition spurs US on, and far
down the futures glittering path
way the voice of duty is calling. sad
still beyond the finger of success is
beckoning Us forward-Shall we
linger?
THERE ARE OTHERS.