LESSON LVIII INCENTIVES TO CULTURE. R. F. TROWBRIDGE. THERE is no talent, like method; and no accomplishment that man can possess, like perseverance. They will overcome every obstacle; and there is no position which a young man may not hope to win or secure, when, guided by these principles, he sets out upon the great highway of life. In after years, the manners and habits of the man are not so readily adapted to any prescribed course to which they have been unaccustomed. But in youth the habit of system, method, and industry, is as easily formed as others; and the benefits and enjoyments which result from it, are more than the wealth and honors which they always secure. 2. Industry or idleness are habits, each as easily acquired as the other, but infinitely different in their results. The steady action of the one is a continuous source of gratification and enjoyment; the painful solicitudes and uncertainties of the other dwarf the intellect, and vitiate the heart. Either becomes habitual without effort, and the habit becomes fixed ere we are aware of its presence. 3. A man does not know in what path his ambition may lead him, until he has enlightened his mind by reading, by thought, and observation. In our country, he is taught by custom and by example to look about him while yet a youth, and study the chances for success as they may arise around him. He is too liable to fall into a listless habit of waiting for some fortuitous circumstance to occur, by which he may make sudden wealth, or spring to an enviable position, without the ordinary labors to secure them, 4. Men of genuine ambition never wait for uncertain events. They commence, as all men have to commence, with the very first steps of the foundation; and while others, of perhaps better abilities and more fortunate condition, are nursing their morbid hopes and fading expectations, they build up the basis of a fortune and reputation, to which the less energetic and useful may aspire in vain. True men create circumstances, which, in turn, aid them. 5. Frankness, candor, and sincerity, will always win respect and friendship, and will always retain them; and the consciousness of having such a treasure, and of being worthy of it, is more than wealth and honors. A man quickly finds when he is unworthy of public respect or private friendship; and the leaden weight he carries ever in his callous heart, can not be lightened by any success or any gratification he can secure. But the man of upright character, and proper self-respect, can never meet with adversities which can deprive him of that higher happiness which rests in his own breast, and which no disasters of business, or calamities of occupation, or loss of wealth, can ever reach or disturb. 6. Education is not confined to books alone. The world with its thousand interests and occupations is a great school. But the recorded experience and wisdom of others may be of the greatest aid and benefit to us. We can look about us to-day, and see many who have brought the light of that intelligence which has been the guiding-star of others to bear upon their own paths, and by its aid have achieved an enviable position among men. Honor lies in doing well whatever we find to do; and the world estimates a man's abilities in accordance with his success in whatever business or profession he may engage. 7. In this great land of ours, what opportunities invite the attention and stimulate the ambition of the American citizen! Spreading out her area of civilization and of commerce over the imperial dominions of this vast continent, what fields of enterprise are constantly opening, and what opportunities for wealth, or honor, or fame, are continually developing before him! What cities and ports and avenues are to be built, what new Lowells and Saratogas are to arise, what Bostons and New Yorks are to spring from the commerce of that western shore! Who are to be the architects of this imperial undertaking? Whose minds are to conceive, and whose hands are to construct, these magnificent fabrics of national and individual prosperity and power? 8. Surely the generation which is now coming upon the theater of action, has this great mission to perform. To them is held out a prize such as the world has never before offered, to stimulate the pride, patriotism, and ambition of any people. And they will profit by the opportunity. To those who have prepared themselves for the duties and the labors of this eminent undertaking, will fall the honors and rewards of the enterprise. And to their charge will be intrusted the honor and integrity of that flag, which first waved along a narrow strip of the wild Atlantic coast, but which, if we are true to our own interests, will be hailed in every land and upon every sea as the emblem of earth's noblest nation. LESSON LIX. "AND THEN?” An excellent effect will be produced by having one member of the class ask the question, "AND THEN?" at the close of each stanza, and the same member read the closing stanza in a very emphatic manner. read by the whole class in concert. Or it may be 1. A YOUTH told proudly his hopes and plans, With his own strong hand all his future drew, To the calm old man, earth-tired, Heaven-bound, Who answered, from all that his great heart knew, Only these words, "And Then'?"— 2. With a steady foot and a willing hand, And claim my share of the wealth she hoards 3. And then, with this wand in my happy hand, I'll summon each draught of her pleasure-fount 4. Oh! then I'll try Fame, and I'll coax till I win This I'll cherish and keep, 'tis Earth's choicest gift, "And Then'?" 5. I'll be kindly, and share of my wealth and my joy; So I'll bind many souls to my own: For I'd sooner be prince of a dozen warm hearts 6. Why, then I'll be getting to staid middle age, But I'll choose me an Eve, and build me a home, "And Then'?" 7. Then' then I'll grow old of a quaint old age, In the midst of my pleasure and peace; So muffled in treasure, and comfort, and love, 8. I'll grow older and older; and then, I suppose, "And Then'?" DIE! 9. Oh! then will the vail of Death's portal be rent, The awards of this life, howe'er it was spent, 1. A N Eagle flew up in his heavenward flight, "And this is Life!" he exultingly screams, "To soar without fear where the lightning gleams, And look unblenched on the sun's dazzling beams, As they blaze through the upper sphere." |