The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-11-23
The Lucky Handicap

CBy Major Rupert Huhges. U.S.A. }
Did you ever know a race to be
won by the man who had no handi-
cap at all? The betting odds are
always on the man who starts at
scratch or thereabouts. He gradual
ly overtakes and passes the string
ahead of him and goes through to
the goal.
Success in life is only a Marathon.
People make fun of the hare who let
the tortoise beat him, but a book
maker who knew his business would
have favored the tortoise in the bet
ting every time.
The rich mans son with what peo-
pie call every advantage has really
all the disadvantages. He has next
to nothing to fight for. He has moth
ing to strengthen his muscle and his
determination and his envy on. He
gets everything but his clothes ready
made
He is like an elevator boy with no
stairs to climb; he only uses his legs
for props. A little pull on a rope
| or q shift of a lever and the car
shoots up or down; so his arms stay
! fiabby.
| Nobody ever made a success with
a cinch. The greatest helps a man
can have are his handicaps. Among
all the great orators. who would
be called the greatest? Demos
themes, of course. He suffered
as a boy and had a voice that hardly
carried past his Grecian nose; so he
! filled his mouth with pebbles and
went out on the beach to shout down
the breakers. 1t was good practice
| for conquering audiences.
Among all the great composers, who
would be called the greatest9 Bee
! thoven. undoubtedly. He was deaf
during a great part of his life.
The master poet of Greece was
| Homer and he was blind. And SO
was the epic poet of England, Mil
! ton. A man does not have to hear TO
make music, nor see to write.
Pilgrims Progress was composed
| in a Jail, and SO was the masterpiece
of Spanish literature, Don Quixote.
Speaking of Spanish literature, w.
! H. Prescott, one of Americas great
est historians, who wrote classic his
| tories of the Spanish monarchs and
conquerors, made wonderful re-
search among ancient manuscripts in
spite of the fact that he could hardly
see When he was in college a boy
threw a piece of bread at him. 1t hit
him in the eye and he became all but
I blind. Yet he managed to devise
means for reading almost endlessly
in dim old libraries
| Another famous American histo-
rian was Francis Parkman, who was
such an invalid that he tainted at
| the Jaast effort. He could hardly
Tor him to travel. Yet he filled raan.s
volumes with the results of his ex1
plorations in rough countries, seek+
ing the truth about Indian wars and
customs.
There was young Count named
Geza Zichy, who had an ambition to
his right arm. But he went right on
with his career. He rearranged the
brilliant concert pieces that were be-
yond the ability of most pianists so
that he could play them with his
left hand. He composed works of his
own and made himself famous as a
pianist. He composed two successful
operas.
One OF the greatest of all illus
traitors was the Spaniard Vierge. III
the very height of his career his
right hand failed him. He learned
to draw as well with his left. The
American cartoonist, T. S. Sullivant
who has drawn so much laughter
from the readers of Life, lost the use
of his right hand, too. He learned
to draw with his left and his follow
ers never knew the difference.
1t would be easy to go on all day
mentioning names ancient and mod
ern of those whom fate seemed to
surround with wire entanglements,
but who scrambled up out of the
ditch, and went over the top, crawl
ed through the barbs and charged
on to victory.
With some Of them, the handicaps
were poverty or parental opposition,
ill-health, poor education, hostility,