ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

rit. He worked as hard as any private soldier in e ranks. "The great art of commanding," he said, s to take a fair share of the work.

The man who

ds an army can not succeed unless his whole mind given to his task."

7. An anecdote of his interview with a famous Inn juggler shows his cool courage as well as his aplicity and honesty of character. After a certain ttle, this juggler visited the camp, and performed = feats before the general, his family, and staff. nong other performances, the man cut in two with stroke of his sword a lime or lemon placed in the nd of his assistant.

8. Sir Charles thought there was some collusion tween this assistant and the juggler. To divide by sweep of the sword on a man's hand so small an ject without touching the flesh, he believed to be possible. To determine the point, he offered his vn hand for the experiment, and stretched out his ght arm.

9. The juggler looked attentively at the hand, and id he would not make the trial. "I thought I would id you out!" exclaimed Sir Charles. "But stop," ded the juggler; "let me see your left hand." The ft hand was submitted, and the man then said, firmly, If you will hold your arm steady, I will perform e feat."

10. "But why the left hand and not the right?" ked Sir Charles. "Because," replied the juggler, the right hand is hollow in the center, and there is a sk of cutting off the thumb; the left is high, and e danger will be less." Sir Charles was startled. I got frightened," he afterward said; "I saw it was actual feat of delicate swordsmanship.

11. "If I had not abused the man before my staff,

24

THE WILL AND THE WAY.

edge I would have retired from the encounter. How ever, I put the lime on my hand, and held out my arm steadily. The juggler balanced himself, and, with a swift stroke, cut the lime in two pieces. I felt the edge of the sword on my hand as if a cold thread had been drawn across it."

IV. THE WILL AND THE WAY.

MAX'IM, n., a saying; a proverb.

|PRIN'CI-PLE, n., a fixed belief.

MAR'SHAL, n., a chief officer.

IRK'SOME, a., tedious.

REAL-IZE, v. t., to view as real.

VIV'ID-LY, ad., with spirit.

IM'BE-CILE, a., weak; infirm.

MAG'IS-TRATE, n., a civil officer.
EN-COUNTER, n., a meeting.

DES'UL-TO-RY, a., without order.
CON-CEN-TRA'TION, n., act of driving
to a common center.

O'er is a contraction of over. Pronounce Sirach, Si'rak; details, with accent on last syllable. Do not say reel for re'al. Give the y sound to u in stu'pid.

1. NOTHING that is of real worth can be achieved without courageous working. Man owes his growth chiefly to that active striving of the will, that encounter with difficulty, which we call effort; and it is astonishing to find how often results that seemed impracticable are thus made possible.

2. It is related of a young French officer that he used to walk about his apartment, exclaiming, "I will be Marshal of Francé and a great general." This ardent desire was the presentiment of his success; for he did become a great commander, and he died a marshal of France.

3. The story is told of a working carpenter, who was observed one day repairing, with more than usual care, a magistrate's bench; and when asked the rea son, he replied, "Because I wish to make it easy against the time when I come to sit on it myself." And, singularly enough, the man actually lived to sit upon that very bench as a magistrate.

THE WILL AND THE WAY.

25

4. That which most easily becomes a habit in us is the will. Learn, then, to will strongly and decisively; thus fix your floating life, and leave it no longer to be carried hither and thither, like a withered leaf, by every wind that blows.

5. John Sterling, in a letter to his son, urges him to realize in his youth what a serious matter our life is; how unworthy and stupid it is to trifle it away without heed; what a wretched, insignificant, worthless creature any one comes to be, who does not as soon as possible bend his whole strength, as in stringing a stiff bow, to do whatever task lies before him.

6. One of Napoleon's favorite maxims was, "The truest wisdom is a resolute determination." His life, beyond most others, vividly showed what a powerful will could accomplish. He threw his whole force of . body and mind direct upon his work. Imbecile rulers and the nations they governed went down before him. in succession. He used to say that he beat the Austrians because they never knew the value of time. "Every moment lost," he said, "gives an opportunity for misfortune."

"For indecision brings its own delays,

And days are lost, lamenting o'er lost days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

7. Fowell Buxton, writing to one of his sons, remarks, "You must now give proofs of principle, determination, and strength of mind, or you must sink into idleness, and acquire the habits and character of a desultory, inefficient young man; and if you once fall to that point, you will find it no easy matter to rise again. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might.' I am sure that a young man may be very much what he pleases."

[ocr errors]

26

THE WILL AND THE WAY..

8. Energy enables a man to force his way through irksome drudgery and dry details, and carries him onward and upward in every station in life. It accomplishes more than genius, with not one half the disappointment and peril.

9. "Woe unto him that is faint-hearted!" says the son of Sirach. There is, indeed, no blessing equal to the possession of a stout heart. Even if a man fail in his efforts, it will be a great satisfaction to him to enjoy the consciousness of having done his best.

-

10. Lay it down as a maxim, that nothing can be accomplished without a fixed purpose a concentration of mind and energy. Whatever you attempt to do, whether it be the writing of an essay, or the whit tling of a stick, let it be done as well as you can do it. It was this habit that made great men of Franklin, and Newton, and hundreds whose labors have been of incalculable service to mankind.

11. Fix your mind closely and intently on what you undertake in no other way can you have a reasonable hope of success. An energy that dies in a day is good for nothing. The inventions that bless mankind. were not the result of a few moments' thought and investigation. A lifetime has often been given to a single object. It is will force of purpose - that enables a man to do or be whatever he sets his mind on being or doing.

[ocr errors]

12. A strong desire may itself transform possibility into reality. A holy man was accustomed to say, "Whatever you wish, that you are; for such is the force of the human will, joined to the Divine, that whatever we wish to be, seriously, and with a true intention, that we become. No one ardently wishes to be submissive, patient, modest, or liberal, who does not become what he wishes."

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

TWILIGHT, n., the faint light after SHAD'ow-Y, a., like a shadow.

[blocks in formation]

Do not say doos for dews, creown for crown, evenin' for eve'ning. Pronounce heavenly, heuvn-ly ; Daniel, Dăn -ě.

SWEET evening hour! Dear evening hour!
That calms the air and shuts the flower;
That brings the wild bird to its nest,
The infant to its mother's breast.

Sweet hour! that bids the laborer cease;

That gives the weary team release,

And leads them home, and crowns them there

With rest and shelter, food and care.

O! season of soft sounds and hues,
Of twilight walks among the dews,
Of tender memories, converse sweet,
And thoughts too shadowy to repeat!

Yes, lovely hour! thou art the time
When feelings flow and wishes climb,
When timid souls begin to dare,
And God receives and answers prayer.

Then, trembling, from the vaulted skies
The stars look out, like thoughtful eyes
Of angels calm reclining there,
And gazing on our world of care.

Sweet hour! for heavenly musing made,
When Isaac walked, and Daniel prayed,
When Abram's offerings God did own,
And Jesus loved to be alone!

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »