Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-10-05

scores and hundreds of his brayest Of.
ficers and men, fell mortaily wounded
or were instantly killed. They were
ruthlessly slain because their COM
mander. with egotistic folly. deliberate
~ shut his eyes to the strength OF his
foes.
Chief Cause of the War.
what was the chief cause of the
civil warp l asked an aged southern
gentleman some time ago without
any doubt" said he, 1T was due to the
ignorance OF the two sections in re-
spect to the strength of each other.
This fact was never better demonstrate
ed than in the life OF Senator William
Yancey. He used to be neighbor OF
mine, and / knew him well. He was
born and brought up in the south. He
knew practically no other region than
the south. He was one Of the most
eloquent men I have known. He was
a bitter partisan and went up and
down the southern states delivering his
infiammatory speeches until the whole
south was In a turmoil. But after he
had ignited the fires OF rebellion ana
famed those living embers into a con-
ia grafton, about year before the war
hroke out. he took a journey north. He
travelled through New York and the
middle states and on toward the west.
He saw then with his own eyes the IN
limited resources Of the northern peo-
pie. and he knew that the effort to- gain
southern independence wRs sloaa1el TO
failure. He came back home, from that
rr-frN tell -
never opened his mouth as public
speaker again. Like an incendiary who
had ignited the fuse Of a powder mag
azine and could not put it out, all that
he could do was to sit and watch the
awful carnage approach as the civil
war came nearer and nearer. conscious
that the appalling sacrifices of human
life and property that the south was
making would be useless" This court
ly southern gentleman said to me with
n quaint smile, mo matter how strong
a man may be, 1t is always well for
him to find out beforehand if his enc
my is not as strong or even little
stronger before he takes of his coat
and begins to fight" There is infinite
wisdom in that remark. 1t is always
well fer every man to realize the diff
culties which are ahead OF him before
he enters the struggle Of life.
Don't DE EEotfstfe.
"Oh," says the egotistic lawyer, there
Is no need Of my making much prepare
ton for my case. 1 am one Of the most
brilliant and ready speakers at the
bar" All that he says may be true, but
a Goliath may be slain by little David
VI he leaves even the fraction of an
inch exposed between the joints of his
armor. Many an ordinary lawyer has
won his case from n BRILLIANT attorney
because he had carefully aud thorough
ly prepared his case and the other had
not. e-'Oh," says the brilliant preacher,
what Is the use OF my working so
hard upon my. sermon? have the gift
Of speech. and can always talk Yes,
some ministers can always talk, but 1t
Is only the minister who realizes the
enormous difficulties which confront
the pulpit In the preparation OF his SER
mons who is the man able to deliver
each Lords day true message for
God. Young man, you may be smart,
people may say you are very brilliant,
but i want to tell you there are hosts
of people just AS smart as you. Fur
thermore, 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. realizes
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 unless IL Is REINFORCED by the
severest kind OF work
The blinded egotist rarely measures
the altitude.sof the mountains OF diff.
ficulty he has TO climb. He commits a
worse folly than that He deliberately
shuts his eyes to the mental and phys
ical and spiritual infirmities with which
he Is handicapped. He seems to say,
because 4 ann strong In one character
istic Of my nature therefore i am
strong In all characteristics" He Is
like Frederick the Great OF Prussia.
he was : n great warrior and, single
handed, contended with and defeated
the greatest military powers OF Europe,
but he Thought he was q great poet and
a, great philosopher. He. Invited the
greatest literary genius OF ara Europe,
Voltairs. to ,eesne. and be AS member Of
his royal court and praise his silly
verses. He may be a great actor like
Edwin Booth. but he will be foolish II
he says: Because I am a great tragedi-
an and cam interpret aright Hamlet's
soliloquy therefore I, must be a great
comedian and a great singer ana q
great playwright and a great musiclan
ana great business manager. 1 shall
Asssafter write my plays ana oratorios
and act all my parts and sing the mas
terpieces Of 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
naws. some of them perhaps serious,
Ia our natures. 1t Is the wise man who
is ready to recognize these flaws and
or who never engages In
any enterprise In which they would be
disastrous and never undertakes any
work for which he has not the neces-
sary talent.
Testing the Compass,
And. furthermore. my friend. remem-
Der thas-it does not take much of q
tawsor2weakness to absolutely destroy
me whole fabric Of maa's kfe work.
Did you ever see q sailor test his COM
passf~ The ship will be sailing on day
lfter day until 1t gets away from land.
Ihsn the rudder will be jammed to the
eft. When you hear those rudder
mains rattiing you may be frightened
md rush. upon the dack Thero vo,