Year: 1871

in one level plain, SO that all its events
were as visible at the outset as at the
close, few, if any, would find courage
sufficient to begin the task, and none
perhaps would deem the result worth
the trouble required to attain it. As it
is, every game must be played in order
to get the true result; life must be gone
through with, in order to know how it
will end. It does the smitten suitor no
good to be told that the object Of his
passion 10 coquette; nay, he is doubts
less displeased at the suggestion. He
can only know the fact by being Tilted.
The idea that he may win, eventually,
is an illusion that allures him to the
result, as certainly as the scent of a
woodcock leads a pointer to point his
game.


1t matters not how many failures
there are in life, no one will ever be-
lieve life to be unreal, no one ever will,
no one ever can, believe life to be
delusion, for that were to pronounce it
a lie, which it is not. The real truth
of the whole matter is this: human
beings are only pupils all their days.
Life is a school, and illusion is the
prize offered to all who strive in the
school of experience. Man In business
aud in professional life, must have
illusion, must have some reward held
up, that he seeks to win, or he will at
once pronounce life aimless. Yet, it is
true, that the ostensible aim of life, the
illusion that keeps the man awake and
earnest, is seldom, if ever, the highest
aim. The merchant seeks wealth, gets
it, but that is not the reward of his
twenty years of toll and care. To seek
riches is not the highest aim if he be a
true man BY getting the riches, he
has developed character. The wealth
is reward, but one which he may at
any time lose; the reward which he
has attained, by and through the illu-
sion of wealth, is habits of perseverance,.
Of honesty, of consecutive thought and
concentrated action. He has formed
and developed certain stamp OF man.
hood, that will go with him beyond the
pearly gates, when he lays off material
things, and sets out to live Ms pure
spirit. 1t is these things that consti-
tute real treasure, lasting reward, iu-
vestment that will pay the owner divi-
dends regularly in quantities OF satisfac-
ton throughout eternity.


It ia vain, therefore, that the patriot,
the statesman or the philanthropist
should complain that his fellow men
nave not rewarded him sufficiently with
wealth, with titles, or with honor. Such
things, mere illusions to act we'll ones =
part, arc not rewards for right action.
There would be no such thing as no.
bic action, if these were the rewards.
To be an upright man, to have the
power of doing noble deeds, and to do
them, is far more than all objective
rewards.


Common honesty, that just fulfills an
agreement, says honesty is the best
policy. But honesty is not, it cannot
be policy at ALL The moment honesty
becomes policy, it ceases to be honesty,
and degenerates from an aim to an illu-
sion. Put it thus: honesty is the best
policy, is just equal to, dishonesty is
the best policy, so far as merit is con-
cerned and for this reason, that hon.
esty is put on par with money. 1t is
the same as to say honesty is worth to
me to day, one thousand dollars; and
that is the same as to say, dishonesty is
worth to me to-day one thousand dol
lars. It is mere business transaction
mere equation in either case. The reaI
point is to aim at the highest star OF the
armament, and that 10 to be honest fol
the sake of honesty. Let the illusion
be something between, let il be materia
reward, but principles Of action must
never be prostituted so as to be only
illusions. illusion says, act in order t.
have, but aim says, act in order to be
Illusion makes man act, but illusion
and action make character, make man


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