Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-04-05
THE MAD ENDEAVOR.

climb;
By a burst of strength. or a Thought
most clever,
We plan to forestall and outwit Time.
We scorn to wait for the thing worth
having;
We want high noon at the days dim
dawn;
We find no pleasure in toiling and saving
AS our forefathers did in the old times
gone.
'sAe force our roses, before their season,
10 bloom and blossom for US to wear;
And then we wonder and ask the reason
Why perfect buds are so few and rare.
We crave the gain, but despise the
getting;
We want wealth-not as reward, but
dover;
And the strength that is wasted in use
less fretting
Would fell forest or build tower
One of the best resolutions you can
make is to utilize the DAYS, or, rather,
the moments comprising the days, in
"a wise manner. 1t is wonderful
what can be accomplished if we do
notfritter away time--that most prec-
ious possession which belongs to all
men equally, and upon which no
trust or syndicate can obtain a
''corner."
No matter what regular occupa-
tion may employ you daily, there are
moments which can be used for
recreation or mental improvement if
you are in health. A half hour
given each day to reading will as
tonish you at the end of six months
with the number of volumes COM
pleted.
Fifteen minutes before break fast,
fifteen minutes after dinner, will not
be missed by you If you make your
resolution to take them every day.
You will find you have just as
much time as you had before you
began this system, for you have been
frittering away more than those
fifteen minutes mornings and nights
without being conscious of it.
Then, if you are musical, arrange
to give twenty minutes every day to
sight reading. You can manage it
if you are determined to do so.
knew busy, young, self-sup-
porting woman who had only Il rndi-
mentary knowledge of music to make
this resolution, and it was amazing
to see the progress she made in one
years time. With only twenty min
utes each day devoted to this one
purpose, she surpassed many pro-
fessional musicians in her ability to
read difficult music at glance.
If your life is an indoor one, on
account of your occupation, snatch
five minutes after rising and ten
before retiring for physical exercise.
Any book on physical culture will
illustrate few movements for the
development of the chest and the re-
duction of superfiuous flesh, and for
the general benefit of the whole
system.
If, on the contrary, your work is
of an exhausting nature, take half
hour or even fifteen minutes some
time during the day and sit or lie
down and relax your whole system
Do this as regularly as you eat your
dinner or comb your hair. Immense
benefit to your whole being, mental
and physical, will result. Think of
nothing-the most difficult thing to
do, but do it; or merely imagine your
self plant growing in the soil and
a sweet summer rain is dropp ng upon
you, washing and refreshing every
leaf.
You will rise Indeed refreshed for
your occupation. With the excep-
ton of time set apart for thinking
of nothing, teach yourself to always
think of something worth while the
remainder of the day. Many people
going to and from their daily occu-
patton, and indeed scores of people
who have no occupation, fall into a
habit of shiftless thinking on the
street, or in public conveyances, or
in idle moments elsewhere. The
mind roams about like lost leaf in
the wind, resting nowhere.
Study the faces you see and try
and form some idea of the characters
of their owners. Notice ears, noses,
mouths, eyes, chins. Observe how
few beautiful mouths and ears you
will find compared with other fea-
lures. 1t is an interesting use of
your mental powers, this study of
faces, aud will teach you sympathy if
nothing more.
If you find yourself without faces
to study, then memorize verses,
phrases or numbers, to retain your
memory. Learn to recall the num-
bers of a dozen or score of your
acquaintance homes, instead of al
ways referring to an address book.
Commit the words of songs 60