The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-10-19
FOOTPRINTS"
BY
BY cihiIIsn Scott

Tell me not in mour1ful numbers
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that siunbers.
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real. Life is earnest.
And the grave Is not It's goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time Is fieeting,
And our hearts. though stout and
brave,
Still, like rnuff1ed drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave. 81
In the worlds broad field Of battle,
In the hIvouac of Life,
BE not like dumb driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future howe'er pleasant
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act-act in the living Present
Heart within, and God oerheadi
Lives of great men all remind US
We can make our lives sublime
And, departing, leave behind US
Footprints on the sands OF tTn1e.
Footprints, that perhaps another
Sailing DER lffe's solemn main.
forlorn and shfpwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
That little poem, known the world
over as Longfeliow's Psalm OF Life
contains more solid sense to the square
inch than any I've read. There's
punch in every line, concrete evidence
of a master mind.
The sick, the sad, the weak and
weary should copy it and Gritty IL
around 1 have copy today I made
twenty years ago, and I've read IL
MANY times when the hunor required
it. Always I have felt it's power ana
experienced a sense OF It's majesty and
grandeur.
You'll find that the act Of writing 1t
makes an indeIfbIe mental impression,
ana when you've finished you'll be sur
prfsed TO find how much you've MEM
orized
can see material in 1t for quite a
! number Of articles which I intend to
! write. The present article Is to deal
principally with the wonderful line
! Footprints on the Sands of Time"
Isn't that magnificent thought?
! Doesn't it set you thinking right
away about your own footprints?
And. do you know, we all HAVE to
leave footprints, whether we like it or
not.
| by their deeds We shall know them"
applies to us all; and our footprints
are the trail of good bad deeds we
leave.
| Honor bright, now. doesn't that make
you feel email? Cent you remember
all kinds of stunts you've been UP to
/ and shouldn't? I can. And I'm going
to say tl1at if there's man who can't
remember any I'll hire him right away
and put him on exhibition as The
| Perfect Man"
didn't say anything ato1It women
because OF course they're all perfect.
But let's talk of deeds. They're the
fellows that make the footprints.
First, there's the way we begin, then
the way we proceed and then the way
we finish.
Most of our wrong doings are the
results Of a wrong start.
A man ernbarks in an undertaking
he's not qualified for or without suf-
fcsent investigation. Sure enough he
finds himself amongst the rocks and
shoals before very long. His first mis-
take drives him into more mistakes
As a drowning man clutches at a straw
so he founders around, out OF his
depth; using lies, deceit, fraud in his
efforts to keep affost. That's the way
he proceetfs. He finishes by blowing
his brains out or making hole In the
water.
Ia a start,
The remedy lies at tho commence
ment.
1t would be a good plan If every man
| had to appear before a committee OF
inquiry OF board of trade and exhibit
his capital and credentials before being
| licensed to embark in business.
The right kind of advisers would
thus save many unintenttonal as well
as Intentional wrong starts ana many
ugly footprints would never be made