The Wisdom of Our Forefathers
Waste No Time.--Time lost can never be regained. After allowing yourself
proper time to rest, don't live an hour of your life without doing exactly
what is to be done in it and going straight through with it from beginning
to end. Whatever it is take hold of it at once, and finish it up squarely,
then to the next thing without a moment dropped out between. It is wonderful
to see how many hours prompt people make out of a day; it is as if they
picked up the moments the dawdlers lost. If you ever find yourself where
you have so many things pressed on you that you hardly know where to begin,
let me tell you a secret. Take hold of the first one that comes to hand,
and you will find the rest will all fall into file, and follow after like
a company of well-drilled soldiers, and though work may be hard to meet
when it challenges you in a squad, it is easily vanquished if you can bring
it into line.
- Pacific Christian Advocate, Portland, Oregon, September 6, 1877
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He who tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes; for he
must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain one. - Pope.
- Oregon City Enterprise, Oct 23, 1874.
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Beauty of Old People - Men and women make their own beauty, or their own
ugliness. Lord Lytton speaks of a man "who was uglier than he had any
business to be," and, if he could but read it, every human being carries
his life in his face, and is good-looking, or the reverse, as that life
has been good or evil. On our features the fine chisels of thought and emotion
are eternally at work. - Beauty is not the monopoly of blooming young men
and of white and pink maids. There is a slow growing beauty, which only
comes to perfection in old age. Grace belongs to no period of life, and
goodness improves the longer it exists.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Nov 6, 1872.
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It is by attempting to reach the top at a single leap that so much misery
is caused in the world.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 5, 1888.
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WE COME AND GO.
If you or I
To-day should die,
The birds would sing as sweet to-morrow,
The vernal spring
Her flowers would bring
And few would think of us with sorrow.
Yes, he is dead
Would then be said:
The corn would floss, the grass yield hay,
The cattle low,
The Summer go,
And few would heed us pass away.
How soon we pass!
How few, alas!
Remember those who turn to mold!
Whose faces fade
With autumn's shade
Beneath the sodded church -yard cold.
Yet, it is so -
We come and go -
They hail our birth, they mourn us dead;
A day or more
The winter o'er
Another takes our place instead.
- Daily British Colonist, Victoria, B. C., Mar 29, 1876.
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The man who is constantly finding fault is the one who spends all his time
looking for faults. - Merchant Traveler.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 5, 1888.
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That farmer understood human nature who said: "If you want to keep
your boy at home, don't bear too hard on the grindstone when he turns the
crank."
- Daily Morning Oregonian, Portland, Jan 25, 1875.
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An exchange puts it this way: "It takes live men to make a live town.
Dead men only are fit to inhabit cemeteries. If they are decently dead -
dead all over - we tenderly lay them away to the sleep of the tomb; but
if they are dead to all enterprise, outside of the narrow plane of their
own interests, and yet persist in walking around, moving their dry bones
and calloused hearts and consciences where real estate is wont to throb
with vigor, they are only like the drone bees - in the way until they are
stung to death and dragged outside the hive of legitimate industry. Twenty
real live men are worth more to a town and public generally than a round
full thousand of useless material that lies around like rubbish in a rising
stream, which is aching and foaming to turn mills and factories."
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Nov 28, 1888.
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-The man who thinks he never did a foolish thing isn't wise enough to know
what folly is.
- Boston Journal of Education.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., June 15, 1887.
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"Woman," says the New York Mirror, "was made out of a rib
from the side of Adam - not out of his head to top him - not out of his
feet to be trampled upon by him - but out of his side to be equal to him;
under his arm to be protected; and near his heart to be loved."
- Boston Daily Evening Transcript, March 12, 1846.
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HAVE A HOME.
Have a home of your own somewhere. Buy a piece of land and own it. Buy it
with the determination to keep it as long as you live, and to leave it to
your heirs. If you have no money except what you earn yourself, then scrupulously
save and lay aside a part of your income, until you have enough to pay for
a piece of land. To be the owner of a homestead will have a beneficial effect
on your character. It will increase your self-respect -- your confidence
in yourself. You will feel that you have a substantial position, and something
at stake in the community. The habit of saving, which you will have formed
in saving money to purchase a piece of land, will in itself be valuable
to you. It will aid you greatly in acquiring other property, and becoming
independent. The tendency of this is to make you more self-reliant, more
ambitious, more industrious, more careful, and a better citizen. - Real
Estate Reporter.
- Russian River Flag, Healdsburg, Calif. May 21, 1874.
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An excellent quartette - A good temper, a good library, a good wife, and
a good friend, are four of the choicest blessings of human life.
- The Union Democrat, Sonora,Calif., May 4, 1878.
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The best things are accomplished when hope walks hand in hand with endeavor.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Jan 9, 1889.
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This world is not made for a tomb, but a garden. You are to be a seed, not
a death. Plant yourself and you will sprout. Bury yourself and you can only
decay. For a dead opportunity there is no resurrection. The only enjoyment,
the only use to be attained in this world, must be attained on the wing.
Each day brings its own happiness, its own benefits; but it has none to
spare. What escapes to-day escapes forever. To-morrow has no overflow to
atone for the lost yesterdays.
- Daily British Colonist, Victoria, B. C., Mar 29, 1876.
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How much does it cost us the evils that have never happened?
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 22, 1880.
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A pound of energy with an ounce of talent will achieve greater results than
a pound of talent with an ounce of energy.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., May 22, 1872.
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Stephen Allen's Maxims.---Keep good company or none.
Never be idle.
If your hands cannot be usefully employed, cultivate your mind.
Always speak the truth.
Make few promises.
Live up to your engagements.
Keep your own secrets, if you have any.
When you speak to a person, look him in the face.
Good company and good conversation are the very sinews of virtue.
Good character is above all things else.
Your character cannot be essentially injured except by your own acts.
If any one speak evil of you live so that none will believe him.
Drink no kind of intoxicating liquors.
Ever live (misfortune excepted) within your income.
When you retire think over what you have done during the day.
Make no haste to be rich, if you would prosper.
Small and steady gains give competency with tranquility of mind.
Never play at any game of chance.
Avoid temptation, through fear you may not withstand it.
Earn money before you spend it.
Never run in debt unless you see a way to get out again.
Never borrow if you can possibly avoid it.
Do not marry until you are able to support a wife.
never speak evil of any one.
Be just before you are generous.
-The Democratic Times, Jacksonville, Ore., Sept 3, 1875
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"Half the failures in life arise from the pulling of ones horse as
he is leaping." [Chapin.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., May 22, 1872.
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Be a Man. - The following good advice is clipped from an excellent little
paper, called the Working Man:
"Foolish spending is the father of poverty. Do not be ashamed of hard
work. Work for half price rather than be idle. Be your own master, and do
not let society or fashion swallow up your individuality - hat, coat and
boots. Do not eat up and wear out all that you can earn. - Compel your selfish
body to spare something for profit saved. Be stingy to your own appetite,
and be merciful to other's necessities. - Help others, and ask no help for
yourself. See that you are proud. Let your pride be of the right kind. Be
too proud to be lazy; too proud to give up without conquering every difficulty;
too proud to wear a coat you cannot afford to buy; too proud to be in company
you cannot keep up with in expenses; too proud to be stingy."
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Apr 17, 1872.
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A single bad habit will mar an otherwise faultless character, as an ink
drop soileth the pure white page.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 5, 1888.
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TRUE WOMANHOOD.
In true womanhood are combined all the best attributes of humanity - tenderness
without weakness, trust without crudulity, modesty without prudery, dignity
without haughtiness, self respect without conceit, confidence without boldness,
courage without coarseness, goodness without pietism, and reverent worship
without superstition.
- Willamette Farmer, Salem, Ore., July 27, 1877.
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The great struggle of life is first for bread, then butter on the bread
and at last sugar on the butter. This is the best any of us can do. - Uncle
Esek, in Century.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., July 14, 1886.
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Keep your promise to the letter; be prompt and exact, and it will save you
much trouble and care through life, and win for you the respect and trust
of your friends.
- Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, Oct 4, 1876.
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Next to the sweetness of having a friend whom you can trust is the convenience
of possessing a friend who will occassionally trust you.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Apr 29, 1874.
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Quarreling. - If there is anything in the world that will make a boy feel
badly, except pinching his fingers in the crack of a door, it unquestionably
is a quarrel. No boy ever fails to think less of himself after it than before.
It degrades him in the eyes of others, and increases the power of passionate
irritability on the other. The truth is, the more peaceable we get on, the
better for our neighbors. In nine cases out of ten, the best course is,
if a man cheats you, cease to deal with him; if he is abusive, quit his
company, and pay no attention to him, for it is very true "that if
a person throws salt at you, if you have no sore places it will not smart;"
and if he slanders you, take care to live so that no one will believe him.
No matter who he is, or how he misuses you, the wisest way is to let him
alone, for there is nothing better than this cool, calm, and quiet way of
dealing with the wrong we meet.
- Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, Oct 11, 1876.
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Where To Go When Short of Money - Go to work.
- Harper's Weekly, Jan 9, 1875.
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If your seat is too hard to sit on stand up. If a rock rises up before you,
roll it away, or climb over it. If you wish for confidence, prove yourself
worthy of it. It takes longer to skin an elephant than a mouse, but the
skin is worth something. Don't be content with doing what another has done-surpass
it. Deserve success, and it will come. The boy was not born a man. The sun
don't rise like a bullet fired from a gun; slowly but surely it makes its
round, and never tires. It is as easy to be a leader as a wheel horse. If
the job be long the pay will be greater; if the task is hard, the more competent
you must be to do it.
- Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, Oct 11, 1876.
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Live. - Live for something! Yes, and for something worthy of life and its
capabilities and opportunities for nobel deeds and achievements. Every man
and every woman has his or her assignment in the duties and responsibilities
of daily life. We are in the world to make the world better; to lift it
up to higher levels of enjoyment and progress, to make its hearts and homes
brighter and happier by devoting to our fellows our best thoughts, activities
and influences. It is the motto of every true heart, and the genius of every
nobel life, that "no man liveth to himself" - lives chiefly for
his own selfish good. It is a law of our intellectual and moral being that
we promote our own happiness in the exact proportion we contrubute to the
comfort and enjoyment of others. Nothing worthy of the name of happiness
is possible in the experience of those who live only for themselves, all
oblivious to the welfare of their fellows.
- The Democratic Times, Jacksonville, Ore., Jan 28, 1876.
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The man who makes an investment for the purpose of getting something for
nothing generally succeeds in getting something. In addition to getting
left he usually gets a little experience. - Oil City Blizzard.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Oct 10, 1888.
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Mother. - Around the idea of one's mother the mind of man clings with fond
affection. It is the first dear thought stamped upon our infant hearts,
when yet soft and capable of receiving the most profound impressions, and
all the after feelings are more or less light in comparison. Our passions
and our wilfulness may lead us far from the object of our final love; we
may become wild, headstrong, and angry at her counsels or oppositions: but
when death has stilled her monitory voice, and nothing but calm memory remains
to recapitulate her virtues and good deeds, affection, like a flower beaten
to the ground by a rude storm, raises her head and smiles amid her tears.
Around that idea, and we have said, the mind clings with fond affection;
and even when the earliest period of our loss forces memory to be silent,
fancy takes the place of remembrance, and twines the image of our departed
parent with a garland of graces and beauties, and virtues which we doubt
not that she possessed.
- Amador Weekly Ledger, Jackson, Calif., Aug 29, 1874.
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The Unmarried Man. - "Frazer's Magazine" has this: "Whenever
you find a man whom you know little about oddly dressed, or talking ridiculously,
or exhibiting any eccentricity of manner, you may be tolerably sure that
he is not a married man. For the little corners are rounded off, the little
shoots are pruned away, in married men. Wives generally have much more sense
than their husbands, especially when the husbands are clever men. The wife's
advices are like the ballast that keeps the ship steady. They are like the
wholesome, though painful, shears snipping off little growths of self-conceit
and folly."
- Waltham (Mass.) Free Press, Sept 20, 1864.
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-The bootblack shines while he works, but the lazy man whines while he shirks.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., July 27, 1887.
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LEARN A TRADE.
I never look at my old composing rule that I do not bless myself that while
my strength lasts I am not at the mercy of the world. If my pen is not wanted
I can go back to the type case, and be sure to find work; for I learned
the printer's trade thoroughly-newspaper work, job work, book work and press
work. I am glad I have a good trade. It is the strongest part of the self-made
man. Go from the academy to the printing office or to the artisan's bench;
or if you please, to the farm-for, to be sure, true farming is a trade,
and a grand one at that. Lay thus a sure foundation, after that branch off
into whatever you please.
You have perhaps heard of the clerk who had faithfully served Stephen Girard
from boyhood to manhood. On the 21st anniversary of his birthday he went
to his master and told him his time was up, and he certainly expected important
promotion in the merchantile service. But Stephen Girard said to him:
"Very well. Now go and learn a trade."
"What trade, sir?"
"Good barrels and butts must be in demand while you live. Go and learn
the cooper's trade; and when you have made a perfect barrel bring it to
me."
The young man went away and learned a trade, and in time brought to his
master a splendid barrel of his own make.
Gerard examined it, and gave the maker two thousand dollars for it, and
then said to him:
"Now, sir, I want you in my counting room: but henceforth you will
not be dependent upon the whim of Girard. Let what will come, you have a
good trade always in reserve."
The young man saw the wisdom and understood.
"Years ago, when the middle-aged men of to-day were boys, Horace Greeley
wrote:
"It is a great source of consolation to us that when the public shall
be tired of us as an editor, we can make a satisfactory living setting type,
or farming, so that, while our strength lasts, ten thousand blockheads,
taking offense at some article they do not understand, could not drive us
into the poor house."
And so many a man becomes truly independent.
- The Democratic Times, Jacksonville, Ore., Feb 11, 1876.
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So long as a dog continues healthy the fleas will stick to him closer than
a brother; but let him fall ill, and they have an engagement elsewhere.
The flea is not to be depended upon in adversity, it will be seen, any more
than fair-weather friends of the human variety.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., June 8, 1887.
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Yung man, az strange az it may seem to yu, yu kant learn enny thing new
or very good bi hearing yourself talk, but bi listening to others yu may.
- Josh Billings
- Santa Clara (Calif.) Journal, June 19, 1880.
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The rocking-chair is a favorite article of furniture, and always will be
so long as there are people in the world who delight in constantly being
on the move without ever getting ahead.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., June 8, 1887.
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A lie has no legs, and cannot stand; but it has wings and can fly far and
wide. - Warburton.
- Oregon City Enterprise, Oct 23, 1874.
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How often - ah, how often! - between the desire of the heart and its fulfillment
lies only the briefest space of time or distance, and yet the desire remains
forever unfulfilled! It is so near that we can touch it with the hand, and
yet so far that the eye cannot behold it.
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 22, 1880.
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Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the
object of pursuit, and it leads a wild goose chase, and is never attained.
- Oregon City Enterprise, July 9, 1875.
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Life is too short to dwell on failures - push on to a new success.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Jan 9, 1889.
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Mental gifts often hide bodily defects.
- The Union Democrat, Sonora, Calif., Apr 20, 1878.
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He needs strong arms who is to swim against the stream.
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 22, 1880.
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HONEST JOHN TOMPKINS.
Honest John Tompkins, the hedger and ditcher,
Although very poor, did'nt wish to be richer;
Wishes so vain he always prevented
By a fortunate habit of being contented.
Though cold was the weather and dear was the food,
John never was found in a murmuring mood;
He was heard very often in words to declare
What he could not prevent he'd endeavor to bear.
He said grumbling would make a calamity deeper,
But never would bring bread and cheese any cheaper,
If any one injured or treated him ill,
John was ever found in good nature still.
For, he said, revenging an injury done,
Was making two mad when there need be but one,
Much better 'twould be if folks wiser and richer
Would copy John Tompkins, the hedger and ditcher.
-Semi-Weekly Telegraph, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, Oct 18, 1866.
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He that never was acquainted with adversity, has seen the world but on one
side.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., July 1, 1871.
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The difference between a fool and a looking glass is said to be that one
speaks without reflection and the other reflects without speaking.
- Oregon City Enterprise, July 9, 1875.
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A man is already of consequence in the world when it is known that we can
implicitly depend upon him.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Jan 9, 1889.
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How To Keep a Situation.
Be ready to throw in an odd half-hour or an hour's time when it will be
an accommodation, and don't seem to make a merit of it. Do it heartily.
Though not a word be said, your employer will make a note of it. Make yourself
indispensable to him, and he will lose many of the opposite kind before
he will part with you. Those young men who watch the clock to see the very
second their working hour is up - who leave, no matter what state the work
may be in, at the precise instant - who calculate the extra amount they
can slight their work, and yet not get reproved - who are lavish of their
employer's goods - will always be the first to receive notice, when times
are dull, that they are no longer required.
- Russian River Flag, Healdsburg, Calif., May 14, 1874.
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A Word to Boys and Young Men.
There is no greater mistake a young man can commit than that of being indifferent
to the interests of his employer. Try to make your services useful, so that
your boss cannot do without you, and you will never want a place, and can
always make good wages. Be faithful in small things, as well as in great
things - be faithful in all things; be attentive to your duties, shirk no
employment that is not dishonorable, feel that your employer is entititled
to every minute of the time which you have agreed to give him for a stipulated
remuneration. The wages may be small - too small, but if you have contracted
to work for a dollar a week, when your work is worth ten, stick to your
bargain like a man until your term of service has expired. it may seem very
hard, but it will instill the great principal of being true to your word,
and in time you will become an employer yourself. - Sac Bee.
- Pacific Christian Advocate, Portland, Ore., May 24, 1877.
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False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never
communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness
is always shared.
- The Modoc Independent, Alturas, Calif., Jan 29, 1885.
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Parental Love. - No love is so true and tender as the love our parents give
us, and for none are we so ungrateful. We take it as a matter of course,
as something we deserve. Especially may our mothers toil and deny themselves,
think all night and labor all day, without receiving any thanks whatever.
From the day she walks all night with us, while we cry, to the day when
she helps to make our wedding dress and gives us those cherished pearls
which she wore in her girlhood, we do not half recognize her love for us.
Never until we are parents ourselves, do we quite comprehend. Yet is there
anything like it? The lover may desert us for some brighter beauty; the
husband grow indifferent when we have been his a little while; the friend
be only a summer friend, and fly when riches vanish, or when we are too
sad to amuse; but our parents love us better in our sorrow, and holds us
dearer for any change or disfigurement. There isn't much of heaven here
on earth, but what there is of it, is chiefly given in a parent's love.
- Oregon City Enterprise, July 30, 1875.
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Nil Desperandum.-A man who acquires a habit of giving way to depression
is on the road to ruin. When trouble comes upon him, instead of rousing
his energies to combat it, he weakens, his judgment becomes obscured and
he sinks in the slough of despair. And if anybody pulls him out by main
force and places him safe on solid ground, he stands there dejected and
discouraged, and is pretty sure to waste the means of help which have been
given him. How different it is with the man who takes a cheery view of life
even at its worst, and faces every ill with unyielding pluck! He may be
swept away with an overwhelming tide of misfortune, but he bravely struggles
for the shore, and is ever ready to make the most of the help that may be
given him. A cheerful, hopeful, courageous disposition is an invaluable
trait of character, and should be assiduously cultivated.
- Daily British Colonist, Victoria, B. C., Mar 29, 1876.
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Worry not about the possible troubles of the future; for if they come, you
are but anticipating and adding to their weight; and if they do not come,
your worry is useless.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 26, 1888.
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How To Kill a Town.
An exchange gives the following receipt, which is warranted infallible,
for killing a town: "Underrate every present and prospective enterprise;
speak ill of the churches and schools; tell everybody the hotels are bad;
enlarge the vices of the people, especially the young people; withhold the
patronage from your merchants and tradesmen, and buy your goods and groceries
somewhere else; never subscribe for the local papers, and if you are in
business refuse to advertise."
- The Silver State, Winnemucca, Nevada, Dec 21, 1877.
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A handsome woman pleases the eye; a good woman the heart. One is a jewel,
and the other a treasure.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Dec 27, 1871.
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Sensible. Hazlitt used to say, he would like well enough to spend the whole
of his life in travelling abroad, if he could anywhere borrow another life
to spend afterwards at home.
- Daily Evening Transcript, Boston, May 14, 1852.
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There is nothing like beginning with settled economical principles. Extravagance
is a habit easily contracted and goes on increasing in volume as a snow-ball
does when rolling down hill.
- Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, Nov 22, 1876.
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HE IS ODD.
He lived just a mile from the village;
Out there by the forks of the road;
His farm, by the help of good tillage,
Increased what he planted and sowed;
His dwelling was low and old fashioned,
The roof was all covered with moss,
But still by his fixing and patching,
It kept out the rain and the frost.
He lived very peaceful and quiet;
We knew him as Terry Todd;
So plain was his dress and his diet,
The neighbors all said he was odd.
The fashion he never would follow,
Nor try to put on any style,
But owing a dime or a dollar,
He paid when due with a smile,
His words were but few and well chosen,
'Twas clear that he meant what he said;
His temper - not heated nor frozen,
And calm was the life that he led.
He did not belong to the meetings,
And said very little of God;
But orphans were glad at his greating,
And every one said he was odd.
If ever he tried to sell you
A cow or an ox or a horse,
He made it his business to tell you
Each one of the animal's faults.
He hired Billy Peters, the cripple,
To husk out the corn by the day,
And heaped up the grain on the bushel
To measure his wheat for his pay.
His name was not on the subscription
To save the poor heathen abroad;
His neighbors he helped in affliction -
The people all thought he was odd.
He never made any "profesion,"
Nor said he had a "new heart,"
But something he had in possession
Of which many more need a part;
A something that made him so gentle,
So honest, so kindly and true,
If not church religion, we venture
That Jesus would say "it will do."
He might, in the church, have been better,
And rendered more service to God,
And more of the "spirit" than "letter,"
And that was what made him so odd.
The preacher might say he was Godless
Because he subscribed to no creed;
But still 'twas a part of his oddness
The wretched and hungry to feed.
If Terry failed of salvation
Because he staid out of the church,
We cannot see how in creation
Professors will shun the lee lurch,
Who wear the garb of the pious,
But not their neighbors nor God.
We choose, when our Maker shall try us,
To be like the old farmer-odd.
-The Union Democrat, Sonora, Calif., Apr 6, 1878.
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There is truth in the adage that what is well begun is already half done;
but it is also true that that which is half done will prove a failure unless
it is wholly done. The last half of a good thing is quite as important as
the first half, and it is often harder to keep on and finish a work than
it was to begin it. it takes two halves to make a whole in any sphere. -
S. S. Times.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 5, 1888.
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A young British officer in India, who was shockingly mutilated and disfigured
in battle, after reflection requested a comrade to write to his betrothed
in England, and release her from the bridal engagement. - Her reply was
worthy of a true woman: "Tell him if there is enough of his body left
to contain his soul, I shall hold him to his engagement."
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Jan 3, 1872.
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We find self-made men very often, but self - unmade ones a good deal oftener.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Jan 9, 1889.
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A Shrewd Farmer. - The other day, says the Ary Advertiser, in a not unknown
part of Carrick, an exhibition of meal took place, and two prizes were promised
to the first and second best samples. When the time for exhibition arrived,
there was only one sample of meal forwarded. But the owner of this solitary
lot did not relish it being taken away as it came without gaining any meed
of "praise or pudding." So, with canny cautiousness, what does
he do but divide his sample of meal into two portions, and getting a neighboring
farmer to exhibit the other half, he obtained from the judges the first
prize for the one portion, and the second for the other. We admire the ingenuity
of the "dodge." The owner of the bag exhibited quite a genius
for inventiveness, for which alone he merited both the first and second
prizes.
- Bristol County Republican, Taunton, Mass., Mar 15, 1861.
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He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should
never remember it.
- The Union Democrat, Sonora, Calif., May 4, 1878.
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A barking dog never bites, but the difficulty is in calculating with any
degree of exactness upon the moment when he shall stop barking and begin
to bite.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., June 8, 1887.
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I have seen plenty ov people who had more than they knu what to do with,
but never hav seen one but what wanted sumthing more. - Josh Billings
- Santa Clara (Calif.) Journal, June 19, 1880.
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A loving heart and pleasant countenance are commodities which a man should
never fail to take home with him. They will best season his food and soften
his pillow. It were a great thing for a man that his wife and children could
truly say of him: "He never brought a frown or unhappiness across his
threshold."
- Woman's Exponent, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, Nov 1, 1872.
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Childhood is like a mirror, catching and reflecting images all around it.
Remember that an impious or profane thought uttered by a parent may operate
on a young heart like a careless spray of water upon polished steel, staining
it with rust which no after scouring can efface.
- Oregon City Enterprise, June 11, 1875.
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ANSWER OF A BLIND MAN.
In the city of Bagdad, a blind man who carried a huge pitcher on his shoulders,
held a lanthorn [lantern-ed.] in his hand. "Poor man," said some
body to him, "as thou hast no eyes, what use can that lanthorn be of
to you?" "It is not for my own use," replied the blind-man,
that I carry it, "but for fear such a hair-brained fellow as yourself
should run against me, and over-turn this pitcher, which I have had so much
trouble to fill with water."
- The Weekly Museum, New York, Dec 30, 1797.
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The dog in the kennel barks at his fleas; the dog that is busy hunting does
not feel them.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Jan 10, 1872.
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A Mother's Love - A writer beautifully remarks that a man's mother is the
representative of his maker. Misfortune, and even crime, sets up no barriers
between her and her son. Whilst his mother lives, he will have one friend
on earth who will not listen when he is slandered, who will not desert him
when he suffers, who will solace him in his sorrow, and speak to him of
hope when he is ready to dispair. Her affection knows no ebbing tide. It
flows on from a pure fountain, spreading happiness through all this vale
of tears, and ceases only at the ocean of eternity.
- Connecticut Herald, New Haven, Aug 5, 1843.
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The Little Worm Peddler.
No trade is less honorable for being odd. A good many boys we know would
hardly have the courage to be angle-worm merchants, but as long as there
is nothing better to do, it is an good a way as any to turn an honest penny.
A gentleman who had been visiting the White Mountains, on his way down saw
a little boy get on the stage with a box filled with earth.
"What have you got there, my little boy?"
"Worms."
"What are you going to do with them?"
"Sell them; two for a cent. The fishermen can't get them in the lower
part of the mountains, and so I go up the valley here and dig them, and
bring them down and sell them."
"But how do you pay for such a long stage ride?"
"I don't pay; I shines his boots," pointing to the driver.
"So you have an occupation besides peddling worms?"
"Yes, this is the way I get my living. I have fifteen dollars already
laid up, and it's only the beginning of the season."
"You're a smart boy," said the man "but is this all you are
ever going to do?"
"No, indeed. I go to school over in Vermont during the Winter - pay
two dollars a week for board."
"So you have no home, then."
"No."
"No father?"
"No."
"No mother?"
"No - nobody. I make my own way, and one of these days I am going to
college."
"To college?"
"Yes, to one of the best in the country."
A boy with such a spirit can get an education. He is not ashamed of poverty,
nor is he afraid to work. Some boys would be too proud to sell worms for
a living. They would rather starve or steal.
- Russian River Flag, Healdsburg, Calif., Jan 18, 1872.
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Jefferson's Ten Rules. - Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
Never spend your money before you have it.
Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.
Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
How much pain and evils have cost us that have never happened.
Take things always by the smooth handle.
When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.
- The Union Democrat, Sonora, Calif., Apr 13, 1878.
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Nature makes some wise provisions. We might be envious of others' happiness,
if in nine cases out of ten we did not despise it.
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 23, 1880.
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Profanity never did any man the least good. No man is richer, or happier,
or wiser by it. It commends no one to society; it is disgusting to the refined,
and abominable to the good.
- Willamette Farmer, Salem, Ore., Dec 6, 1873.
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Russian proverb says: "Before going to war, pray once; before going
to sea, pray twice; before getting married, pray three times."
- Daily British Colonist, Victoria, B. C., Dec 13, 1874.
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In the old days there were angels who came and took men by the hand and
led them away from the city of destruction. We see no white winged angels
now. But yet men are led away from threatening destruction; a hand is put
in theirs which leads them forth toward a calm and bright land, so that
they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's. - [George
Eliot.
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 19, 1880.
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Students often grow old studying the results of other men's labor before
they think of doing anything for themselves.
- The Union Democrat, Sonora, Calif., May 4, 1878.
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The rocking-chair is a favorite article of furniture, and always will be
so long as there are people in the world who delight in constantly being
on the move without ever getting ahead.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., June 8, 1887.
-------------------------
Checkmate. - The writer in the Paris Temps says: "A last remark I dedicate
to chess-players. Do they know the origin of the word 'checkmate?' It is
a literal translation of the Arabic Es-cheik himaie: the sheik (king) is
dying."
- Willamette Farmer, Salem, Ore., Dec 6, 1873.
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There is no one so innocent as not to be evil spoken of; there is no one
so wicked as to merit all condemnation.
Russian River Flag, Healdsburg, Calif., Jan 11, 1872.
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A word once spoken, a four-horse carriage cannot overtake it.
- The Daily Evening Telegram, Portland, Ore., Nov 22, 1880.
-------------------------
No one is able to tell how much good he is doing when doing a right act,
or how much evil he is doing when doing a wrong act. There may, in either
case, lie beyond the act a long sequel, wholly unseen by him and not by
him intended. - N. Y. Independent.
- The Coos Bay News, Marshfield, Ore., Dec 5, 1888.
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I Have No Time Left For Study. The idea about the want of time is a mere
phantom. Franklin found time in the midst of all his labors, to dive into
the hidden recesses of philosophy, and to explore an untrodden path of science.
The great Frederick, with an empire at his direction, in the midst of war,
on the eve of battles which were to decide the fate of his kingdom, found
time to revel in all the charms of philosophy and intellectual pleasures.
Bonaparte, with all Europe at his disposal; with kings in his anti-chamber
begging for vacant thrones; with thousands of men whose destinies were suspended
on the brittle thread of his abritrary pleasure, had time to converse with
books. Caesar, when he had curbed the spirits of the Roman people, and was
thronged with visitors from the remotest kingdom, found time for intellectual
cultivation. Every man has time, if he is careful to improve it; and if
he does improve it as well as he might, he can reap a three-fold reward.
Let mechanics then make use of the hours at their disposal, if they want
to obtain a proper influence in society. They are the life blood of the
community; they can if they please, hold in their hands the destinies of
our republic; they are numerous, respectable, and powerful; and they have
only to be educated half as well as other professions, to make laws to the
nation.
- National Philanthropist and Investigator, Boston, Nov 3, 1829.
-------------------------
Don't run away with the idea that you were born a genius and that by a single
stroke of the pencil you will some time immortalize yourself. It is better
to dig away under the impression that you are a dunce than to loll on the
sofa waiting for an inspiration. It was Turner, the great painter, who said,
"I have no secret but hard work."
- The Daily People's Cause, Red Bluff, Calif., Aug 13, 1878.
-------------------------
A Word to Grumblers. - Don't be a grumbler. Some people contrive to get
hold of the pricky side of everything, to run up all the sharp corners,
and find out all the disagreeable things. Half the strength spent in growling
would often set things right. You may as well make up your mind, to begin
with, that no one ever found the world quite as he would wish it, but you
are to take your share of the trouble, and bear it bravely. You will be
very sure to have burdens laid upon you that belong to other people, unless
you are a shirk yourself; but don't grumble. If the work needs doing, and
you can do it, never mind about the boy that ought to have done it and didn't.
Those workers who fill up the gaps, and smooth away the rough spots, and
finish up the job that others left undone-they are the true peace-makers,
and worth a whole regiment of growlers.
- Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, Sept 13, 1876.
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The graves of more people are dug by their own teeth than by the sexton's
spade.
- The Daily People's Cause, Red Bluff, Calif., Aug 10, 1878.
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Better Whistle Than Whine. - As I was taking a walk early in September,
I notice two little boys on their way to school. The smaller one stumbled
and fell, and though he was not very much hurt, he began to whine in a babyish
way - not a regular roaring boy cry, as thought he were half killed, but
a little, cross whine.
The older boy took his hand in a kind and fatherly way, and said:
"Oh, never mind, Jimmy; don't whine; it is a great deal better to whistle."
And the cheerful boy began to whistle in the merriest way.
Jimmy tried to join in the whistle.
"I can't whistle as nice as you, Charlie," said he, "my lips
won't pucker up good."
"Oh, that is because you have not got all the whine out yet,"
said Charlie, "but you try a minute, and the whistle will drive the
whine away."
So he did, and the last I saw or heard of the little fellows, they were
whistling away as earnestly as though that were the chief end of life. I
learned a lesson which I hope I shall not soon forget, and it called out
these few lines, which may possibly cheer another whiner of mature years,
as this class is by no means confined to the children.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Mar 18, 1874.
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One's Friends. - Money can buy many things, good and evil. All the world
could not buy you a friend nor pay you for the loss of one. "I have
wanted only one thing to make me happy," Hazlett writes: "but
wanting that, have wanted everything." And again: "My heart, shut
up in a prison house of this rude clay, had never found, nor will it ever
find a heart to speak to." We are the weakest of spendthrifts if we
let one friend drop off through inattention, or let one push another, or
if we hold aloof from one for petty jealousy or heedless slight or roughness.
Would you throw away a diamond because it pricked you? One good friend is
not to be weighed against the jewels of all the earth.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., June 5, 1872.
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Next to the sweetness of having a friend whom you can trust is the convenience
of possessing a friend who will occassionally trust you.
- Bedrock Democrat, Baker City, Ore., Apr 29, 1874.
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Profanity never did any man the least good. No man is richer, or happier,
or wiser by it. It commends no one to society; it is disgusting to the refined,
and abominable to the good.
- Willamette Farmer, Salem, Ore., Dec 6, 1873.
-------------------------
There is a Russian proverb which says that misfortune is next door to stupidity;
and it will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their
ill-luck are only reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement,
improvidence or want of application. - [Samuel Smiles.
- The Daily People's Cause, Red Bluff, Calif., Aug 17, 1878.
-------------------------
The Hill of Life. - The roads leading over the hill of life are numerous;
some people take the road which is bright and gay-on which flowers of the
brightest hue are blooming-but they find, that before they are half way,
the flowers are faded, all is bleak, they are wearied, and are glad to lie
down and die; other strive to go over the steep bank to fortune and to fame,
but the paths on which they walk are weak and rugged; some stop at a steep
precipice over which they are unable to pass; the foothold of others give
away, and they are hurled to the bottom, while only a few reach the coveted
goal; but the wise man chooses the road which goes over the hill with a
gradual slope, on which here and there are sweet flowers which cheer him
on his way until he arrives at his journey's end, where dwells Peace, Happiness
and Contentment.
- The Daily People's Cause, Red Bluff, Calif., Aug 16, 1878.
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If you can give your word to any one how can you possibly keep it?
- The Daily People's Cause, Red Bluff, Calif., Aug 10, 1878.
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