>' *\ N* .*r. C > ; v*^. r- J VN vJk\ v V * % ^JC> -. i - % */ . \ \ " x -'-- v i Jk . v '\ % ^ ^ < '. \V READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, &c. The Publiftiers have the pleasure of laying before the public the following teftimonial of " Readings for Young Men, Merchants, Bufmess Men, &c.," from the Hon. LORENZO SABINE, author of the His- tory of the American Loyalifts, &c.,and Secretary of the Boston Board of Trade. BOSTON, Dec. n, 1858. MESSRS. JAMES MUNROE & Co. GENTLEMEN : I am delighted with the little book " Read- ings for Young Men, Merchants, Business Men, V." (placed in my hands by my friend, Hon. Alexander H. Rice,) and can- not refraim from telling you so. With all my heart, I hope gju will reprint it. The remarks which we hear every day are Ise, if the classes to whom it is addressed do not need much need the counsels and warnings which it contains. And I think the book would be read ; for the author has wisely re- membered the significant words placed over the study-dcfor of a clergyman of the olden time " Be Short." Nearly one hun- dred topics are embraced in one hundred and seventy-two i6mo. pages ; and, in the main, how well are they treated ! How lofty the tone of morality, how nice the sense of personal and mercan- tile honor, which everywhere appear ? The means of success in life, how justly stated ; how frequently and earnestly are we re- minded that wealth, desirable every way, is not, after all, the highest object of pursuit. Hpw much of the good, old fash- ioned common sense is found in the pithy article on 'energy rightly and uprightly directed ; in that on the difference between energy and activity ; and those on firmness, attention to details, integrity, industry, steadiness of purpose, sincerity and its con- verse ; on the distinction between the man of business and the business man, and on the necessity of perseverance, punctuality, and self-reliance. The page devoted to " Character better than Credit," should be read at the head of every family every day ; and so should the half page, " Maxims for Guidance through Life; " while the " Aphorisms for Business Men," deserve to be committed to memory, and to be repeated with one's prayers at night ; and what a gem is that other half page " What a Merchant should be." But enough ; I meant to drop a line merely, and will stop ere I write a letter. Very truly, Your friend and servant, LORENZO SABINE. READINGS YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, MEN OF BUSINESS. REPRINTED FROM THE LONDON EDITION. BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE: JAMES MUNROE AND COMPANY. M DCCC LIX. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by JAMES MCNBOE AND COMPANY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. RIVEBSIDX, CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BT H. 0. HOCOHTON AND COMPANY DEDICATED TO THE READERS OF "THE SUCCESSFUL MERCHANT. 1 2030030 CONTENTS. PAGE Activity is not always Energy 14 Advice to a Reckless Youth 154 Advantages of Reading 155 Advice to his Son, by William Cecil, Lord Burleigh 157 Advice to a Young Tradesman 165 Aids and Hindrances to Success in Mercantile Pursuits 24 Alpha and Omega; or, the Secret of Success 85 A Model Warehouse 67 An Application for a Clerkship 77 Anecdote for Young Men entering Commercial Life 60 A Philadelphia Merchant 48 Aphorisms for Business Men 168 A Word to Young Men 33 A Word to Merchants 95 A Wheeling Article 120 Be careful of Smalt Things 74 Business first, then Pleasure 115 Bye-and-Bye 147 Carlyle's Advice to Young Men 98 Character better than Credit 68 Character and Capital 70 Cheer up 96 Choice'of Friends 115 Competition in Trade 62 Courage 171 Delays 141 Depend on Yourself. . .". 113 Difficulty and Perseverance 66 viii CONTEXTS. PAOB Difficulties 121 Duty of Trusting to Ourselves 40 Early Rising 53 Easy Way of Gaining or Losing Five Years of Life 116 Energy versus Despair 12 Energetic Men 27 Extract from Sir Fowell Buxton's Letter to his Son 127 Firmness important to the Merchant 17 Four Good Words 172 Fowell Buxton's Motto 128 Gambling 93 Getting on in the World 112 Go ahead 145 Good Advice 143 Habits of a Man of Business 34 Hints 118 How to Prosper in Business 38 How to make Money 92 Idleness 61 Importance of Trifles 36 Industry and Integrity 31 Industry and its Blessings 119 Integrity the Foundation of Mercantile Character 21 Integrity of Character 23 It will never do to be Idle 123 Jefferson's Ten Rules 94 Keep your Promise 54 Keep your Designs to Yourself 80 Make a Beginning 117 Maxims for Guidance through Life 120 Micawber's Advice 92 Moral Agriculture 171 Much Wisdom in Little Ill Necessary Hints to those that would be Rich 163 Never do too much at a Time 76 Now ! 147 Parsimony and Economy in Trade : 88 Paste this up in your Mind 114 CONTENTS. IX PAGI Perseverance 144 Perseverance 148 Pick up that Pin ; or, Hints for Business Men 19 Polonius's Advice to his Son 126 Punctuality in all Things 72 Punctuality 172 Rules of M'Donogh, the Millionnaire of New Orleans 102 Rules for Reading 156 Save, Save, Save! 97 Self-Reliance important to the Merchant 90 Self-Reliance 129 Sincerity and Insincerity 42 Steadiness of Purpose 32 Stick to your Business 82 Success in Life depends on Perseverance 56 The Beginnings of Character 28 The Good Merchant 105 The Man of Business and the Business Man 46 The Man retired from Business , 51 The Right Aim 80 The Right Man for Business 112 The Secret of Success 64 The True Man of Business .130 The Way to Get On in the World 39 The Way to make Money plenty in Every Man's Pocket 164 To-Day and To-Morrow 85 To-Morrow 94 What a Man of Business should be 11 What a Merchant should be 13 What is Luck? 125 Wild Young Men 142 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN. WHAT A MAN OF BUSINESS SHOULD BE. A MAN of business should be able to fix his attention on details, and be ready to give every kind of argument a hearing. This will not encumber him, for he must have been practised beforehand in the exercise of his in- tellect, and be strong in principles. One man collects materials together, and there they remain a shapeless heap ; another, possessed of method, can arrange what he has collected ; but such a man as I would describe, by the aid of principles goes farther, and builds with his materials. He should be courageous. The courage, however, re- quired in civil affairs, is that which belongs rather to the able commander than the mere soldier. But any kind of courage is serviceable. Besides a stout heart, he should have a patient tem- perament, and a vigorous but disciplined imagination ; and then he will plan boldly, and with large extent of view execute calmly, and not be stretching out his hand for things not yet within his grasp. He will let oppor- 12 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, tunities grow before his eyes until they are ripe to be seized. He will think steadily over possible failure, in order to provide a remedy or a retreat. There will be the strength of repose about him. . He must have a deep sense of responsibility. He must believe in the power and vitality of truth ; and in all he does or says, should be anxious to express as much truth as possible. * His feeling of responsibility and love of truth will almost inevitably endow him with diligence, accuracy, and discreetness those commonplace requisites for a good man of business, without which all the rest may never come to be " translated into action." ENERGY versus DESPAIR. WITHOUT this distinguishing mark of true manhood, we fail in securing either the happiness of ourselves or others. Without ENERGY a man becomes a drone in society, a nonentity in the world. There are special occasions in the life of every man, when he needs to fall back upon the natural energy of his nature. Do afflic- tions, sad and grievous, weigh him down, and seem to crush him to the earth ? Let him remember that this is but the " cup " which his Divine Master has given him the '' furnace " which is to purify his soul, and fit him for the heavenly rest hereafter. Rise, then, afflicted man ! Put forth the energy you possess, and soar above your AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 13 sorrows. Perhaps your business cares are such as to cause you many anxious days and sleepless nights. The times are hard, money is almost out of the question, and you feel like folding your arms and giving up in despair. We hear of such cases every day. Don't look Upon the dark side of the picture ! Keep moving ! If you fail of success in one place, try another, and give yourself no rest till you triumph. The world is large enough for us all, and, as the song says : " Uncle Sam is rich enough To give us all a farm." Remember that the world does not contain a brier or a thorn that divine mercy could have spared. These very briers and thorns which encompass you, are the instru- ments which will try the energy of your character, and settle your capacity to fulfil the mission of life. To all then, we say, suffer no feeling of despondency to weigh you down. Rise triumphantly above all your sorrows and troubles, and you will make^ the world better and happier for having been born in it. WHAT A MERCHANT SHOULD BE. A MERCHANT should be an honourable man. Al- though a man cannot be an honourable man without being an honest man, yet a man may be strictly honest without being honourable. Honesty refers to pecuniary 14 READINGS FOB YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, affairs ; honour refers to the principles and feelings. You may pay your debts punctually, you may defraud no man, and yet you may act dishonourably. You act dishonour- ably when you give your correspondents a worse opinion of your rivals in trade than you know they deserve. You act dishonourably when you sell your commodities at less than their real value, in order to get away your neighbour's customers. You act dishonourably when you purchase at higher than the market price, in order that you may raise the market upon another buyer. You act dishonourably when you draw accommodation bills, and pass them to your banker for discount, as if they arose out of real transactions. You act dishonourably in every case wherein your external conduct is at variance with your real opinions. You act dishonourably if, when carrying on a prosperous trade, you do not allow your servants and assistants, through whose exertions you ob- tain your success, to participate in your prosperity. You act dishonourably if, after you have become rich, you are unmindful of the favours you received when poor. In all these cases there may be no intentional fraud ; it may not be dishonest, but it is dishonourable conduct. ACTIVITY IS NOT ALWAYS ENERGY. THERE are some men, whose failure to succeed in life is a problem to others, as well as themselves. They are industrious, prudent, and economical; yet, after a long AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 15 life of striving, old age finds them still poor. They com- plain of ill-luck. They say fate is always against them. But the fact is, they miscarry because they have mistaken mere activity for energy. Confounding two things essen- tially different, they have supposed that, if they were always busy, they would be certain to be advancing their fortunes. They have forgotten that misdirected labour is but a waste of activity. The person who would succeed in life, is like a marksman firing at a target ; if his shots miss the mark, they are a waste of powder ; to be of any service at all, they must tell hi the bull's-eye, or near. So, in the great game of life, what a man does must be made to count, or it had almost as well been left undone. The idle warrior, cut from a shingle, who fights the air on the top of a weathercock, instead of being made to turn some machine commensurate with his strength, is not more worthless than the merely active man, who, though busy from sunrise to sunset, dissipates his labour on trifles, when he ought skilfully to concentrate it on some great end. Everybody knows some one in his circle of acquaint- ance, who, though always active, has this want of energy. The distemper, if we may call it such, exhibits itself in various ways. In some cases, the man has merely an executive faculty when he should have a directive one ; in other language, he makes a capital clerk for himself, when he ought to do the thinking of the business. In other cases, what is done is either not done at the right time, or in the right way. Sometimes there is no dis- tinction made between objects of different magnitudes, 16 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, but as much labour is bestowed in a trivial affair as on a matter of vast moment. Energy, correctly understood, is actively proportioned to the end. Napoleon would often, when in a campaign, remain for days without taking off his clothes, now gallop- ing from point to point, now dictating despatches, now studying maps. But his periods of repose, when the crisis was over, were generally as protracted as his exer- tions had been. He has been known to sleep for eighteen hours on a stretch. Second-rate men, your slaves of tape and routine, while they would fall short of the super- human exertions of the great Emperor, would have thought themselves lost, beyond hope, if they imitated what they call his indolence. They are capital illustra- tions of activity, keeping up their monotonous jog-trot for ever ; while Napoleon, with his gigantic industry, alter- nating with such apparent idleness, is as striking an example of energy. We do not mean to imply that chronic indolence, if relieved occasionally by spasmodic fits of industry, is to be recommended. Men who have this character run into the opposite extreme of that which we have been stigmatizing, and fail as invariably of winning success in life. To call their occasional periods of application energy, would be a sad misnomer. Such persons, in- deed, are but civilized savages, so to speak ; vagabonds at heart in their secret hatred of work, and only resort- ing to labour occasionally, like the wild Indian, who, after lying for weeks about his hut, is roused by sheer hunger, and starts off on a hunting excursion. Real energy is persevering, steady, disciplined. It never AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 17 either loses sight of the object to be accomplished, or intermits its exertions while there is a possibility of suc- cess. Napoleon, in the plains of Champagne, sometimes fighting two battles in one day, first defeating the Rus- sians, and then turning on the Austrians, is an illustra- tion of this energy. The Duke of Brunswick, dawdling away precious time when he invaded France at the outbreak of the first revolution, is an example to the contrary. Activity beats about a cover like an untrained dog, never lighting on the covey. Energy goes straight to the bird. FIRMNESS IMPORTANT TO THE MERCHANT. THERE is no truth of human character so potential for weal or woe as firmness. To the merchant it is all- important. Before its irresistible energy the most for- midable obstacles become as cobweb barriers in its path. Difficulties, the terror of which causes the pampered sons of luxury to shrink back with dismay, provoke from the man of lofty determination only a smile. The whole history of our race all nature indeed teems with ex- amples to show what wonders may be accomplished by resolute perseverance and patient toil. It is related of Tamerlane, the celebrated warrior, the terror of whose arms spread through all the eastern na- tions, and whom victory attended at almost every step, that he once learned from an insect a lesson of persever- 2 18 READINGS FOB YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, ance, which had a striking effect on his future character and success. When closely pursued by his enemies, as a contem- porary tells the anecdote, he took refuge in some old rums, where, left to his solitary musings, he espied an ant tugging and striving to carry a single grain of corn. His unavailing efforts were repeated sixty-nine times, and at each several time, as soon as he reached a certain point of projection, he fell back with his burden, unable to surmount it; but the seventieth time he bore away his spoil in triumph, and left the wondering hero reani- mated and exulting in the hope of future victory. How pregnant the lesson this incident conveys ! How many thousand instances there are in which inglorious defeat ends the career of the timid and desponding, when the same tenacity of purpose would crown it with trium- phant success ! Resolution is almost omnipotent. Sheridan was at first timid, and obliged to sit down in the middle of a speech. Convinced of, and mortified at, the cause of his failure, he said one day to a friend " It is in me, and it shah 1 come out." From that moment he rose, and shone, and triumphed in a consummate eloquence. Here was true and moral courage. And it was well observed by a heathen moralist, that it is not because things are difficult that we dare not undertake them. Be, then, bold in spirit. Indulge no doubts ; they are traitors. In the practical pursuit of our high aim, let us never* lose sight of it in the slightest instance ; for it is more by a disregard of small things, than by open and flagrant offences, that men come short of excellence. There is AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 19 always a right and a wrong ; and, if you ever doubt, be sure you take not the wrong. Observe this rule, and every experience will be to you a means of advance- ment. PICK UP THAT PIN ; OR, HINTS FOR BUSINESS MEN. PICK up that pin; let that account be correct to a farthing ; find out what that ribbon costs before you say, " You will take it ; " pay that halfpenny your friend handed you to give change ; in a word, be economical, be accurate, know what you are doing be honest, and then generous ; for all you have or acquire thus belongs to you, by every rule of right, and you may put it to any good use if you acquire it justly and honestly ; for you have a foundation, a background, which will always keep you above the waves of evil. It is not parsimo- nious to be economical. It is not selfish to be correct in your dealings. It is not small to know the price of articles you are about to purchase, or to remember the little debt you owe. "What if you do meet Bill Pride, decked out in a much better suit than yours, the price of which he has not yet learned from his tailor, and he laughs at your faded dress and old-fashioned notions of honesty and right, your day will come. Franklin, who, from a saving boy walking the street with a roll under his arm, became a companion for kings, says " Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of 20 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, themselves." La Fitte, the celebrated French banker, leaving the house to which he had applied for a clerk- ship, was not too proud or careless to pick up a pin. This simple pin laid the foundation of his immense wealth. The wise banker saw the act, called him back, and gave him employment, convicted by the seeming small circumstance of his ability and honesty. Be just, and then be generous. Yes, be just always, and then you can always be generous. Benevolence is a great duty, a heaven-given privilege, by which you not only benefit the object, but feel a sensation of joy in your own soul, which is worth more, far more, than gain. But you may not give your neighbour's goods. Your own just earnings you should always share with the needy, but generosity can never be measured by the amount you lavish on a fine dress, or that you spend with your friends to satisfy the requirements of vanity and folly. What if they do pat you on the shoulder ? They would do as much for any dog that would serve them. It is the service, not yourself, that gets the flattery, or you spend your money for nought, certainly. Well, let the girl say you are small, rather than spend that money you need for a book. Get the book if it is a good one ; it will tell you that no girl worth having ever selected a man for a husband for his long tailor and livery stable bill, more than for his long ears. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 21 ' INTEGRITY THE FOUNDATION OF MERCAN- TILE CHARACTER. FAITH and trustfulness lie at the foundation of trade and commercial intercourse, and business transactions of every kind. A community of known swindlers and knaves would try, in vain, to avail themselves of the advantages of traffic, or to gain access to those circles where honour and honesty are indispensable passports. The reason why savage hordes are suspected and shun- ned, is because they are deceitful and treacherous. We have no faith in their promises. If they manifest kind- ness and friendship, we apprehend it is for the sake of more successfully accomplishing their selfish and ma- licious purposes. So of cheats and knaves, under what- ever circumstances we may meet them. However fair may be their exterior, we know they are black at heart ; and we shrink from them as from the most deadly poison. Hence the value which is attached, by all right-minded men, to purity of purpose and integrity of character. A man may be unfortunate, he may be poor and penniless ; but if he is known to possess unbending integrity, an unwavering purpose to do what is honest and just, he will have friends and patrons whatever may be the em- barrassments and exigencies into which he is thrown. The poor man may thus possess a capital of which none of the misfortunes and calamities of life can deprive him. We have known men who have suddenly been reduced from affluence to penury by some dispensation of Provi- dence which they could neither foresee nor prevent. A 22 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, fire has swept away the accumulation of years, or mis- placed confidence, or a flood, or some of the thousand casualties to which we are exposed, has stripped them of their possessions. To-day they are prosperous ; to- morrow every prospect is blighted, and every thing in its aspect is dark and dismal. Their business is gone, their property is gone, and they feel that all is gone ; but they have a rich treasure which the fire cannot con- sume, which the flood cannot carry away. They have integrity of character, and this gives them influence, and raises up friends, and furnishes them with pecuniary aid. Young men, especially, should be deeply impressed with the vast importance of cherishing those principles, and of cultivating those habits which will secure for them the confidence and the esteem of the wise and good. Let it be borne in mind, that no brilliancy of genius, no tact or talent in business, and no amount of success, will compensate for duplicity, shuffling, and trickery. There may be apparent advantage in the art of dissimulation, and in violating those great principles which lie at the foundation of truth and duty ; but it will at length be seen, that a pound was lost where a penny was gained ; that present successes are outweighed, a thousand-fold, by the pains and penalties which result from loss of con- fidence and loss of character. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon our young men to abstain from every course, from every act, which shocks their moral sensi- bilities, wounds their conscience, and has a tendency to weaken that nice sense of honour and integrity so indis- pensable to character. The habit of concealment, of dis- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 23 simulation, of telling " white lies," as Mrs. Opie calls them, is most disastrous in all its influences and issues. How many have become confirmed liars, and been con- signed to dishonour and infamy, who began their career in this way! Language is utterly inadequate to describe the amazing, the infinite importance to our young men, of forming their characters by the right models, and in accordance with the unchanging principles of truth. Who has not read, with deep interest, the incident in the life of Washington, who, when he had injured a favourite tree of his father's, frankly confesssd his offence, because he "could not tell a lie?" Here was manifest one of these essential elements of character which made Wash- ington first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER. WHO ever possessed it, that did not derive untold ad- vantages from it ? It is better than the gold of Ophir ; it is of more value than diamonds and all precious stones. And yet every man may possess it. The poorest may have it, and no power can wrest it from them. To young jnen, we say with earnestness and emphasis, look at integrity of character with the blessings it confers, and imbibe such principles, and pursue such a course, that its benefits may be yours. It is a prize so rich that it repays every sacrifice and every trial riecessary to secure 24 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEX, MERCHANTS, it Suppose a mercantile community could be found whose every individual was known and acknowledged to possess strict and uncompromising integrity, the repre- sentations .of each one were in strict accordance with truth his word as good as his bond such a community would hav*e a monopoly of the trade, so far as they had the means of supplying the demand. The tricks of trade, whatever be their apparent advantages, impair confi- dence, and, in the end, injure those who practise them far more than they benefit them. It is a shortsighted as well as a guilty policy, to swerve, under any circum- stances, from those great principles which are of univer- sal and everlasting obligation. Let a man maintain his integrity at all times, and he will be satisfied there is a blessing in it, and a blessing flowing from it, and a bless- ing all around it. AIDS AND HINDRANCES TO SUCCESS IN MER- CANTILE PURSUITS. As in no department of life is success more earnestly desired, or more perseveringly sought, than in mercantile pursuits, it will not be out of place, in a work like the present, to exhibit all the aids and hindrances to a con- summation so devoutly wished by the thousands that crowd the marts and thoroughfares of commercial life. With this view, we quote some sensible suggestions from that very exceljent work, Companions of my Solitude, AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 25 which the reader is earnestly requested to " mark, learn, and inwardly digest : " " One of the great aids or hindrances to success in any thing, lies in the temperament of a man. I do not know yours ; but I venture to point out to you what is the best temperament, namely, a combination of the des- ponding and the resolute ; or, as I had better express it, of the apprehensive and the resolute. Such is the tem- perament of great commanders. Secretly, they rely upon nothing and upon nobody. There is such a pow- erful element of failure in all human affairs, that a shrewd man is always saying to himself, ' What shall I do, if that which I count upon does not come out as I expect ? ' This foresight dwai-fs and crushes all but men of great resolution. " Then, be not over choice in looking out for what may exactly suit you ; but rather be ready to adopt any opportunities that occur. Fortune does not stoop often to take any one up. Favourable opportunities will not happen precisely in the way that you have imagined. Nothing does. Do not be discouraged, therefore, by a present detriment in any course which may lead to some- thing good. Time is so precious here. " Get, if you can, into one or other of the main grooves of human affairs. It is all the difference of going by railway, and walking over a ploughed field, whether you adopt common sources, or set up one for yourself. You will see, if your times are any thing like ours, most in- ferior persons highly placed in the army, in the church, in office, at the bar. They have somehow got upon the line, and have moved on well, with very little original 26 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, motive-power of their own. Do not let this make you talk as if merit was utterly neglected in these or any professions : only that getting well into the groove will frequently do instead of any great excellence. ***** " Whatever happens, do not be dissatisfied with your worldly fortunes, lest that speech be justly made to you, which was once made to a repining person much given to talk of how great she and hers had been 'Yes, madam,' was the crushing reply, ' we all find our level at last.' " Eternally that fable is true, of a choice being given to men on their entrance into life. Two majestic women stand before you ; one in rich vesture, superb with what seems like a mural crown on her head, and plenty in her hand, and something of triumph, I will not say of bold- ness, in her eye, and she, the queen of this world, can give you many things. The other is beautiful, but not alluring, nor rich, nor powerful, and there are traces of care, and shame, and sorrow, in her face ; and (marvel- lous to say) her look is downcast and yet noble. She can give you nothing, but she can make you somebody. If you cannot bear to part from her sweet, sublime Countenance, which hardly veils with sorrow its infinity, follow her follow her, I say, if you are really minded so to do ; but do not, while you are on this track, look back with ill-concealed envy on the glittering things which fall in the path of those who prefer to follow the rich dame, and to pick up the riches and honours which fall from her cornucopia. " This is, in substance, what a true artist said to me AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 27 only the other day, impatient as he told me, of the com- plaints of those who would pursue art, and yet would have fortune." ENERGETIC MEN. WE love upright, energetic men. Pull them this way, and then that way, and the other, and they only bend, but never break. Trip them down, and in a trice they are on their feet. Bury them in the mud, and in an hour they will be out and bright. They are not ever yawning away existence, or walking about the world as if they had come into it with only half their soul ; you cannot keep them down ; you cannot destroy them. But for these the world would soon degenerate. They are the salt of the earth. Who but they start any noble project ? They build our cities and rear our manufac- tories ; they whiten the ocean with their sails, and they blacken the heavens with the smoke of their steam ves- sels and furnace fires ; they draw treasures from the mine ; they plough the earth. Blessings on them ! Look to them, young men, and take courage ; imitate their example ; catch the spirit of their energy and enterprise, and you will deserve, and no doubt command, success. 28 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, THE BEGINNINGS OF CHARACTER. " The wild, the reckless, and the indiscreet His word was always doubted." IT not unfrequently happens that young men damage themselves for life, or at least for many years, by what to them appear as trifling or unimportant errors. They violate the truth, form reckless associations, and neglect positive engagements. Thus, at the very beginning, they impair confidence, excite suspicion, and create distrust. Character is a jewel of priceless value, and yet it is easily impaired or tarnished. The young, generally speaking, do not appreciate its importance, because they lack experience, and know but little of the world and its severity. An individual, for example, who is in the habit of repeating all sorts of wild and improbable stories who boasts, exults, and magnifies is at first looked upon with surprise and caution by the intelligent and discerning, and then, detected in some monstrous fabri- cation, he is distrusted and avoided. Thus, in an effort to appear what he is not, and to occupy a position to which he is not entitled, he destroys his character, and loses friends who otherwise would prove useful to him. The young and indiscreet do not appreciate the reali- ties of life, but permit fancy and folly to mislead them. They do not remember that character is, to a certain ex- tent, like an edifice that is intended, not for a day or an hour, but for years, and hence its foundation should be of the best material. The advanced in life are, perhaps, too severe and too critical. They do not make sufficient AND MEN OP BUSINESS. 29 allowance for the indiscretions and the impulses of youth. Hence they are often disposed to consider as vices what are in fact merely foibles foibles, too, which might readily be modified and amended, if not wholly cured. When, however, the habit of exaggeration and falsehood becomes so fixed that it forms a feature of character ; when engagements are made, pecuniary or otherwise, without any intention of fulfilling them the reputation soon becomes damaged to so serious an extent that it can never be redeemed or established. Not a few individuals among the young indulge in the error, that by extravagance of speech, recklessness of sentiment, and insolence of manners, they make them- selves important, and excite envy and astonishment. The mistake is a fearful one. The only feelings pro- duced among the sensible and observing, are those of pity and contempt. If, in brief, a statement cannot be relied upon because of the known habit of the person who makes it to falsify and exaggerate, thereafter his career in life and society will be disreputable and down- ward, and at the most rapid rate. The beginnings of character cannot be too carefully attended to. Tempta- tions beset the young on all sides. In the first place, they have to resist their own evil passions and weak- nesses, as well as their inexperience ; and, in the second, the evil associations with which society abounds, and the many Allurements which pleasure and profligacy hold out. This is especially the case in great cities. The chief peril may be said to exist within the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. It is at that period that the character and the reputation are more fully developed 30 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, than at any other. The habits then become fixed, the tone of the mind settled, the disposition regulated. But if a false step be taken, and a false system be adopted, it will be difficult, nay, almost impossible, to recover it in after life. Only a short time since a young man paid a visit to a neighbouring city, as well for relaxation as for pleasure. Before he left the place of his abode, his standing was in every way creditable. He had grown up under the eyes of watchful parents, had received a good education, pos- sessed a fine mind, and was addicted to no vice. It so happened that, on the way, he formed an acquaintance with a dashing man of the world as he described himself, who, in fact, was nothing more than a polished sharper and gambler. The youth was led on from step to step until his funds were exhausted, and he was compelled to write home to his parents for a sufficient sum to pay his hotel bill and passage back. Meantime he had been seen in one of the streets of the city partially intoxicated. Fortunately he was recalled to a sense of propriety in time, but not before his character had received a shock, from the effects of which it took months of good conduct to recover. Naturally kind of heart and correct of de- portment, he intended nothing of the kind, but was led on gradually by an evil associate ! How many are ruined in a similar manner ? How many forget the little pro- prieties of life, commit some excess, and then discover, to their mortification and shame, that they have disgraced themselves ! The young cannot be too watchful. They cannot guard too vigilantly against bad habits and evil associations. They cannot be too careful to protect them- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 31 selves from the vice of falsehood. Character, to many of them, is all they possess ; it is the only inheritance that has been left to them by their parents, and it should be cherished accordingly. No young man, who has a just sense of his own value, will trifle with his reputation. It should be as precious to him as the breath of his nos- trils ; but, like the down of the peach, or the fragrance of the rose, when once gone it can never be replaced. According to the poet, " All's well that ends well ; " but there is seldom a good end that has not a good beginning. INDUSTRY AND INTEGRITY. THERE is nothing possible to man which industry and integrity will not accomplish. The poor boy of yester- day so poor that a shilling was a miracle in his vision ; houseless and breadless ; compelled to wander on foot from village to village, with his bundle on his back, in order to procure labour and the means of subsistence has become the talented young man to-day, by the power of his good right arm, and the potent influence of his pure principles, firmly and perpetually maintained. When poverty, and what the world calls disgrace, stared him in the face, lie shuddered not, but pressed onward, and ex- ulted in high and honourable exertions in the midst of accumulating disasters and calamities. Let the young man be cherished ; for he honours his country, and dig- nifies his race. "Wealth! what cares he for that, as 32 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, long as his heart is pure, and his walk upright ? He knows, and his country knows, and his country tells, that the little finger of an honest and upright young man is worth more than the whole body of an effeminate and dishonest rich man. These are the men who make the country who bring to it whatever of iron sinew and un- failing spirit it possesses or desires. STEADINESS OF PURPOSE. 1. IT overcomes difficulties not with a rush and a shout, but one by one. They melt away before its in- cessant pressure, as icebergs before the steady radiance of the sun. 2. It gives one the strength of a happy conscience. A weathercock of a man, whiffing about with every breeze, cannot have true quietness of mind. Self-dis- satisfaction worries and annoys him. But a cheerful vigour and energy grows out of an intelligent, unviolat- ing purpose. 3. It gives dignity and honour to character. Men cannot but admire the mind that marches steadily on through sunshine and shade, calm and storm, smiles and frowns ; glad of favour, but pressing on without it ; thankful for aid, but fixed on advancing at all events : such men establish for themselves a character which cannot but be seen and honoured. 4. It gives success. In any enterprise which is not AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 33 downright madness, such a man must succeed. He has the chief element of triumph over every difficulty, and, if he is not an idiot, he will do something in the world. He will not reach his ends at a leap, but he will reach them. Pie moves not rapidly, but surely. When you want to find him by-and-by, you will know where to look. You will look at the topmost rounds of the ladder of success, and you will find him about there somewhere. A WORD TO YOUNG MEN. WISHING and sighing, imagining and dreaming of greatness, will not make you great. But cannot a young man command his energies ? Read Foster on Decision of Character. That book will tell you what is in your power to accomplish. You must gird up your loins, and go to work with all the indomitable energy of Napoleon scaling the Alps. It is your duty to make the most of your time, talents, and opportunities. Alfred, king of England, though he performed more business than any of his subjects, always found time to study. Franklin, in the midst of his labours, had time to dive into the depths of philosophy, and explore an untrodden path of science. Frederick the Great, 'with an empire at his direction, in the midst of war, and on the eve of battle, found time to revel in the charms of philosophy, and feast on the luxuries of science. Napoleon, with Europe at his disposal, with kings in his antechamber, and at the 34 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, head of thousands of men, whose destinies were sus- pended on his arbitrary pleasure, found time to converse with books. And young men who are confined to labour or business, even twelve hours a day, may take an hour and a half of what is left for study, and which will amount to two months in the course of a year. HABITS OF A MAN OF BUSINESS. A SACRED regard to the principles of justice forms the basis of every transaction, and regulates the conduct of the upright man of business. He is strict in keeping his engagements. Does nothing carelessly, or in a hurry. Employs nobody to do what he can easily do himself. Keeps every thing in its proper place. Leaves nothing undone that ought to be done, and which circumstances permit him to do. Keeps his designs and business from the view of others. Is prompt and decisive with his customers, and does not overtrade his capital. Prefers short credits to long ones ; and cash to credit at all times, either in buying or selling ; and small profits in credit cases with little risk, to the chance of better gains with more hazard. He is clear and explicit in all his bargains. Leaves nothing of consequence to memory which he can and ought to commit to writing. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 35 Keeps copies of all his important letters which he sends away, and has every letter, invoice, &c., belonging to his business, titled, clasped, and put away. Never suffers his desk to be confused by many papers lying upon it. Is always at the head of his business, well kno\ying that, if he leaves it, it will leave him. Holds as a maxim that he whose credit is suspected is not one to be trusted. Is constantly examining his books, and sees through all his affairs as far as care and attention will enable him. Balances regularly at stated times, and then makes out and transmits all his accounts-current to his cus- tomers, both at home and abroad. Avoids as much as possible all sorts of accommodation in money matters and lawsuits where there is the least hazard. He is economical in his expenditure, always living within his income. Keeps a memorandum-book in his pocket, in which he notes every particular relative to appointments, addresses, and petty cash matters. Is cautious how he becomes security for any person ; and is generous when urged by motives of humanity. Let a man act strictly to these habits; when once begun, they will be easy to continue in, and success will attend his efforts. Take pleasure in your business, and it will become your recreation. Hope for the best, think for the worst, and bear what- ever happens. 36 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, IMPORTANCE OF TRIFLES. LOOK around the circle of your acquaintance, and do you observe that those who bear the character of care- lessness have neither acquired wealth by their exertions, fame by their industry, or a reputation by their judg- ment. Is not every man of sound sense the very reverse of a trifler ? is not he who excels in any kind of labour attentive to the minutest matter connected with that labour? and is not every architect of his own fortune found to be a careful man ? We scarcely need to ob- serve, that a disregard of trifles clearly betrays a want of frugality. Many a fortune has been lost, and many per- sons have been prevented from making a fortune, by a disregard of trifles. That " pence make pounds," and that, " if we take care of our pence our pounds will take care of themselves," are true sayings. There are some who have desired to save a portion annually from their incomes, but have delayed doing so from one year to another, in the expectation of being able at a future period to commence their savings with a larger sum. At last old age presents himself, and they discover them- selves to be destitute of means for the hour of adversity, and that the annual payments of their formerly despised sum would now amount to a considerable fortune. There are many such in the world. Now, no man will ever amass wealth who disregards the smallest item. If we had sufficient courage, we would dare to address a few remarks upon this point to those young ladies who wear AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 37 their shoes in wet or cold weather, and bring on colds and consumption ; who spoil a new dress once a month, and sacrifice twice the necessary materials in their needlework, crotchet, &c., and call all this with a toss of the head " mere trifles." We would press the foregoing remarks upon the atten- tion of young persons especially. Youth is the period when the seed of our after-life is sown. It then becomes important that no tares should be mixed with the wheat that no habits should be imbibed which will inflict us with future pain. One false step amid the precipices of life may destroy us ; one good resolution, fervently em- braced and rigidly adhered to, may rescue us from many difficulties. A friend called on Michael Angelo, who was finishing a statue ; some time afterwards he called again ; the sculptor was still at his work ; his friend, looking at the figure, exclaimed, " You have been idle since I last saw you." " By no means," replied the sculptor, " I have retouched this part, polished that ; I have softened this feature, and brought out this muscle ; I have given more expression to this lip, and more energy to this limb." "Well, well," observed his friend, "but all these are trifles." " It may be so," replied Angelo ; " but recol- lect that trifles make perfection, and that perfection itself is no trifle" 38 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, HOW TO PROSPER IN BUSINESS. IN the first place, make up your mind to accomplish whatever you undertake; decide upon some particular employment; persevere in it. All difficulties are over- come by diligence and assiduity. Be not afraid to work with your own hands, and dili- gently too. " A cat in gloves catches no mice." " He who remains in the mill grinds, not he who goes and comes." Attend to your business, and never trust it to another. "A pot that belongs to many is ill stirred and worse boiled." Be frugal. "That which will not make a pot will make a pot lid." " Save the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves." Be abstemious. " Who dainties love, shall beggars prove." Rise Early. " The sleeping fox catches no poultry." " Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell and keep." Treat every one with respect and civility. "Every thing is gained, and nothing lost, by courtesy." " Good manners insure success." Never anticipate wealth from any other course than labour ; especially never place dependence upon becom- ing the possessor of an inheritance. "He who runs after a shadow has a wearisome race." AND MEN OF BUSINESS. Above all things, never despair. " God is where he was." " Heaven helps those who help themselves." Follow implicitly these precepts, and nothing can hinder you from prospering. THE WAY TO GET ON IN THE WORLD. To get on in this world, you must be content to be always stopping where you are ; to advance, you must be stationary; to get up, you must keep down; following riches is like following wild-geese, and you must crawl after both on your belly ; the minute you pop up your head, off they go whistling before the wind, and you see no more of them. If you haven't the art of sticking by nature, you must acquire it by art ; put a couple of pounds of birdlime upon your office stool, and sit down on it ; get a chain round your leg, and tie yourself to your counter like a pair of shop scissors ; nail yourself up against the wall of your place of business, like a weasle on a barn-door, or the sign of the spread eagle ; or, what will do best of all, marry an honest, poor girl, without a penny, and my life for yours if you don't do business. Never _mind what your relations say about genius, talent, learning, pushing, enterprise, and such stuff; when they come advising you for your good, stick up to them for the loan of a sovereign, and if ever you see them on your side of the street again, skiver me and 40 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, welcome ; but, to do any good, I tell you over and over again, you must be a sticker. You may get fat upon a rock if you never quit your hold of it. DUTY OF TRUSTING TO OURSELVES. THERE is a duty of an important nature winch we have to perform towards society ; and that is, we must trust to ourselves. We have each been endowed with reason to guide us, and hands to work ; why, then, unless prostrated with bodily disease, or some other infirmity, should we think of leaning upon others for support or assistance ? It would not be desirable to see men shut up their hearts against each other, and each stand in the panoply of his own resolutions, determined against every friendly appeal whatsoever. It is possible, however, to be not altogether a churl, and yet to take care lest we be tempted into an exertion of benevolence dangerous to ourselves, while it is of little advantage to our friends. Notwithstanding the many ties which connect a man with society, he nevertheless bears largely imprinted on his forehead the original doom, that he must chiefly be dependent on his own labour for subsistence. It is found by all men of experience that, in so far as one trusts to his own exertions solely, he will be apt to flourish ; and, in so far as he leans and depends upon others, he will be the reverse. But there are many who do not recog- nize this principle. They trust only partially to them- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 41 selves, and are always poking about after large favours from friends. We find them asking loans of money, asking others to be surety for them, asking acquain- tances to interfere to get places for them. If they ask for nothing else, they intrude upon their friends to seek advice. Neither physically nor morally do they seem able to exert themselves for their own behoof. This is so contemptible a mode of living, that it cannot be too severely reprehended. Those who depend on others can never succeed in life. In whatever manner they may be assisted, they can never become front-rank men in society. We would earnestly impress upon the young the propriety of depending as little as possible upon prospects of advantages from others, all of Avhom have enough to do with themselves. It is obviously the duty of every one to think and act for himself as soon as he attains manhood, and neither be burdensome on rela- tives nor troublesome to acquaintances. The acceptance of a trifling favour from an acquaintance, always lays us under an obligation, which is sometimes difficult to remove. If the acquaintance ever need similar favours, we feel bound to grant them ; and perhaps he estimates the original favour so highly that he thinks we cannot do enough to serve him. In this way hundreds of men are ruined. We would say, as a general maxim, accept no favours unless upon a principle of common courtesy. If you employ others to execute a piece of work, take care to pay them faithfully and promptly, and lie under no obligation to them, otherwise you may be called upon, when you least expect it, to make payment a hundred- fold. Be liberal, affable, and kind ; but, knowing that 42 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, you cannot do more injury to society than by greatly injuring yourself, exercise a just caution in giving way to the solicitations of your friends. Never be too ready to convince yourself that it is right to involve yourself largely, in order to help any person into a particular station in society ; rather let him begin at the bottom, and he will be all the better fitted for his place when he reaches it, by having fought his way up through the lower stages. SINCERITY AND INSINCERITY. THESE are other names for truth and falsehood. They are not commonly applied to the most serious concerns of human life, but to what are called the " im- perfect obligations." Such obligations, it is well known, are not enforced by the law of the land, but are binding as duties arising as well from natural law (reasonably expounded) as from Divine law. Sincerity is a duty to one's self, because it is demanded by self-respect. As every one has an individual separate physical being, so every one has a separate circle within which he exists, and into which no one has a right to intrude. His thoughts, motives, opinions, and policy are his own. What he will or will not do (so that no wrong be done to others, and no act of duty be withheld from them) is for him to decide upon. "Within this circle he makes up his judgments on all persons and things. In his outward AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 43 deportment he must frequently act in a manner not con- sistent with these judgments. As an example : one has made up, from repeated observations of a certain indi- vidual, a very clear, but very unfavourable judgment of his qualities ; but there is no occasion to disclose what the judgment is. The observer is obliged, or finds it convenient, to meet this individual, and to deal with him, and perhaps to interchange courtesies with him. It is undoubtedly proper to manifest the respect, in such a case, which the decencies of life require, and to show the common proofs of good-will. There is no insincerity in this. Though no one can possibly avoid forming judg- ments of 6thers, nor avoid liking or disliking them, even including very near friends and relatives, yet there may be a positive violation of duty in publishing these judg- ments or in disclosing these feelings. The divine law, " Judge not, that ye be not judged," does not, it is be- lieved, interdict these judgments, because they cannot but be made ; but it forbids the wanton, unnecessary, and injurious publication or manifestation of them. Those who are keen observers of their fellow-men, see in their faces, in their manners, in their modes of speak- ing, in their tones of voice, in the sentiments which they express, &c., causes for respect, esteem, confidence, and approbation ; or they may see causes for disrespect, sus- picion, strong disapprobation, and disgust. But all these things belong to the individual circle. It is not insin- cere to keep them there. On the contrary, society would be intolerable if they were not kept there ; it is very hazardous to the observer to let them out unnecessarily. He may be mistaken both as to the favourable and 44 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, unfavourable judgments which he forms. Further obser- vation, new circumstances, unexpected changes, may es- sentially correct his judgment, and therefore a prudent man will keep them to himself : they are his own pecu- liar property, and were obtained for his own use. The worst form of insincerity is undoubtedly that which leads one to pretend to feel a warm friendly interest in the welfare of a person who is an object of indifference to him. This is a charge which has been frequently brought against the dispensers of patronage. There can be no doubt that public men, from their peculiar situation, are liable to be greatly annoyed by appli- cations for the exercise of their influence in behalf of individuals in whom they take little or no interest ; and in replying to these applications great caution and deli- cacy require to be employed, lest, on the one hand, they give offence by their bluntness and sincerity ; or, on the other, excite expectations which they have neither the ability nor the intention to fulfil. The petitioners may be over-sanguine, and may from the courtesy of the re- ception they meet with, be led to entertain unreasonable hopes which are destined to be disappointed ; and there- fore it is incumbent upon those to whom the applications are addressed, while they say nothing that can offend the delicacy, or hurt the feelings of the applicants, to express themselves in such a manner as not to excite any hopes which they are not only able but willing to realize. The same rule ought to be observed by individuals in every station of life ; and then fewer disappointments would take place, and more confidence would be entertained, between man and man, in the unavoidable intercourse AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 45 of society. Insincerity is often demonstrated by paying false and silly compliments, which assume the form of flattery a word which is derived from the Latin, and signifies wind, breath, puff. This is a kind of ailment which perverted self-love finds to be exceedingly pleas- ant Although it is in truth precisely what its origin indicates, there is hardly a man, woman, or child who is not disposed to partake of it, if it be artfully disguised. But, on the other hand, all sensible persons, of whatever age or sex, who see what it is, and why offered, feel for the flatterer the contempt which he deserves. This insin- cerity is, and ought to be, deemed a high offence. It implies art and deceit in the flatterer, and sufficient weakness in the flattered, to be subdued to the purpose in view. The flatterer's purpose may be to secure to him- self no more than a better esteem than he can have any pretence to, and it may be, through that, to secure to himself something which may be very costly to his victim. All extravagant commendation of any person, however estimable may be his qualities, and however highly they may be appreciated by the bestower of the praise, ought to be avoided. The praised may be per- fectly sincere, but still it is a violation of good manners, and is a direct insult to the understanding of the person to whom it is administered. Sincerity requires no such breach of the other moralities ; and, whenever it is ex- ercised in .such a manner, it degenerates into rudeness. 46 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, THE MAN OF BUSINESS AND THE BUSINESS MAN. THE distinction made between the man of business and the business man, by the Merchant, a Philadelphia news- paper, is a good one a distinction with a difference too palpable to be gainsaid or denied : It is a great mistake to confound these two characters, as is frequently done, by the thoughtless and unreflecting. The difference between them, is the difference between the man who ascends the ladder of fortune with a quick, lithe, and easy step, and he who is always attempting to climb, and never gets beyond the first round or two of the ascent. And how many of this latter class do we see ! the men of business, who are always standing at the bottom looking upward, yet never put their hands and feet to the work. They don't exercise the business talent and energies which they possess, but fold their hands and stand spell-bound; while the man of quick, lively, and venturesome parts, takes hold and mounts up, securing a firm grasp upon each round of the ladder as he fearlessly and rapidly advances in the upward way of fortune. But we will endeavour to give a more definite explanation of the difference between these two classes. The man of business and the business man both have business to do ; but the business man is the one who does it. The business man thinks, moves, acts, and makes himself felt in the world. If a thought comes into his head, it is one of breadth and compass it don't centre on AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 47 self and its narrow world. It readies away and embraces others. It has a wide range, and does not stop till it touches, and affects for good the interests of all. Nor are the thoughts of such men immobile. They become act- ing, living realities in the wide and busy world. The authors of them make of these business thoughts ac- tualities give them " local habitation and a name ; " and steamboats are built, an ocean is navigated, and distant climes and nations brought together; an electric telegraph springs into being, as by enchantment, and lightning becomes garrulous and voluble, and thought out-travels the winged winds ; and in a twinkling the bands and shackles of trade are loosened. Such are the ivorkings produced by the business man. He awakens the drowsy and helpless multitudes, puts life and thought, energy and action, into them, and makes the world leap rejoicing along the path of ages. Where its step before was but a single year, now it strides by scores and fifties. "Men of thought, men of action, Clear the way." And they do clear the way their thoughts become tangible, moving, demolishing forces, that break down and crush all opposing barriers, opening a pathway of progress, into which the more sluggish and timid portion of humanity may securely travel. But the man of business is emphatically what the name indicates.^ His business is always on his hands. He don't do it. He don't know how to go to work in the right way. His thoughts are all measured and slow. He weighs self-made doubts and supposed contingencies, and, before he moves, the business man gets up and runs 48 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, away from him, and wins the race. The man of business won't go a-head, he only eddies round and round he don't " progress," his path is a circle. He don't find himself at night many miles on his journey's way, but, like the hour-hand of a clock, just where he started. He is not clear and decided in what he does, but often stands hesitating and puzzled. He ventures and falls back; has a stout heart infancy, but none in fact. Such a man may get a living he may even help others to live ; but the throbbing heart of the great world will not be accele- rated by his presence nor his work. Thus you will per- ceive that a man of business is not necessarily a business man. " Act act in the living present, Man within, and God o'erhead." A PHILADELPHIA MERCHANT. JAMES HOLFORD has risen step by step up the ladder of fortune, until he stands securely at the summit, with fame, wealth, and honours surrounding him. Some twenty years ago this same James Holford was at the very foot of the ladder, pondering how he should rise. The ladder was very curious to contemplate, and still more curious was it to hear what the world said about it. " ft is all luck, sir," cried one, " nothing but luck ; why, sir, I have managed at times to get up a step or two, but have always fallen down ere long, and now I have given up striving, for luck is against me." AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 49 " No, sir," cried another, " it is not so much luck as scheming ; the selfish schemer gets up while more honest fblks remain at the foot." " Patronage does it all," said a third ; " you must have somebody to take you by the hand and help you up, or you have no chance." James Holford heard all these varied opinions of the world, but still persisted in looking upward, for he had faith in himself. "The cry of luck's all, what does it amount to in reality," thought he, " but that some people are sur- rounded by better circumstances than others ? They must still, however, take advantage of these circum- stances permanently to succeed ; and I, having very in- different circumstances around me, have the more need to use great exertion in order to better them ; and when reverses come I will not despair as some do, but per- severe on to fortune. I want no friend to take me by the hand, and do that for me which every healthy man can do better for himself. No ! I will rise by myself alone." The resolution was earnestly made, and faithfully carried out. From the humblest office in a store, to the post of the highest trust, James Holford rose in a few years. He placed his affections on one alike to him in sympathies and in fortune, and wedded happiness with her. He became a trader for himself, having from his income laid by sufficient to start with. His probity, his courtesy, and his application, commended him. to- all his customers, and every year saw him- advancing higher in the world's estimation. 4 50 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, Not only did he devote his energies to his business, but his leisure hours were given to the cultivation of his mental faculties ; so that his neighbours soon began to look upon him as an authority in public matters, and again and again confided offices of trust to him, in which he invariably won golden opinions. Independent in spirit, as he is now also independent in fortune, and still in the vigour of life and health, with a fine troop of children around him, James Holford looks with hope and serenity to the future, while in his every action he still offers a model to the world. His counsel is much sought by the young and aspiring, and he thus discourses to them concerning the ladder of fortune : " The steps from the foot to the summit are not many ; but each has a name which must be distinctly known by all who would seek to climb. The first step is faith, and without this none can safely rise ; the second, industry; the third, perseverance; the fourth, temper- ance ; the fifth, probity ; and the sixth, independence. Having obtained thus high a position on the ladder, the future rise is easy ; for faith will have taught the climber never to doubt or despair ; industry will have kept him from vice, either in thought or deed ; perseverance will have shown him how easy difficulties are surmounted when calmly met ; temperance will have preserved both health and temper ; probity will have ensured respect and given stability to the character ; and independence of spirit, while it will give dignity to the man, will certainly gain the admiration of the world. One step more liiis to be acquired, which is experience, the only true knowl- edge of life, and then the summit of the ladder is surely reached." AND MEN OP BUSINESS. 51 Young men, the ladder of fortune can be mounted by all of you, if you learn the moral of James Holford's life. .Say, who is the first to profit by it ? THE MAN RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. ALMOST every merchant has been rich, or at least prosperous, at some point of his life ; and, if he is poor now, he can see very well how he might have avoided the disaster which overthrew his hopes. He will prob- ably see that his misfortunes arose from neglecting some of the following rules : Be industrious ; everybody knows that industry is the fundamental virtue in the man of business. But it is not every sort of industry which tends to wealth. Many men work hard to do a great deal of business, and, after all, make less money than they would if they did less. Industry should be expended in seeing to all the details of business, in the careful finishing-up of each separate undertaking, and in the maintenance of such a system as will keep every thing under controul. Be economical; this rule, also, is familiar to every- body. Economy is a virtue, to be practised every hour hi a great city. It is to be practised in pence as much as in pounds. A shilling a day saved amounts to an estate in the course of a life. Economy is especially important in the outset of life, until the foundations of an estate are laid. Many men are poor all their days, because, 52 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, when their necessary expenses were small, they did not seize the opportunity to save a small capital, which would have changed their fortunes, for the whole of their lives. Stick to the business in which you are regularly em- ployed. Let speculators make their thousands in a year or day ; mind your own regular trade, never turning from it to the right hand or the left. If you are a merchant, a professional man, or a mechanic, never buy lots or stocks unless you have surplus money which you wish to invest. Your own business you understood as well as other men ; but other people's business you do not under- stand. Let your business be some one which is useful to the community. All such occupations possess the ele- ments of profits in themselves, while mere speculation has no such element. Never take great hazards. Such hazards are seldom well balanced by the prospects of profit ; and, if they were, the habit of mind which is induced is unfavour- able, and, generally, the result is bad. To keep what you have should be the first rule ; to get what you can, fairly, the second. Do not be in a hurry to get rich. Gradual gains are the only natural gains ; and they who are in haste to be rich, break over sound rules, fall into temptations and distress of various sorts, and generally fail of their object. There is no use in getting rich suddenly. The man who keeps his business under his control, and saves some- tiling from year to year, is always rich. At any rate, he possesses the highest enjoyment which riches are able to afford. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 53 Never do business for the sake of doing it, and being counted a great merchant. There is often more money to be made by a small business than a large one ; and that business will, in the end, be most respectable which is most successful. Do not get deeply in debt ; but so manage as always, if possible, to have your financial position easy, so that you can turn any way you please. Do not love money extravagantly. We speak here merely with reference to getting rich. In morals, the inordinate love of money is one of the most degrading vices. But the extravagant desire of accumulation in- duces an eagerness, many times, which is imprudent ; and so misses its object from too much haste to grasp it. EARLY RISING. For shame ! Get up, thou slug-a-bed, and see The dew-bespangled herb and tree ; Each flower has wept and bowed towards the east Above an hour since ; yet you are not drest Nay, not so much as out of bed When all the birds have matin said, And -sung their thankful hymns ; 'tis sin Nay, profanation to keep in. 54 READINGS FOR YOTTNG MEN, MERCHANTS, KEEP YOUR PROMISE. IN no way, perhaps, can a young man destroy his business character more effectually than by obtaining the reputation of one who breaks his promises. The mercantile world, in placing under its ban the individual who suffers his note to be protested, is less unjust than is popularly supposed. Instances of hardship, we are willing to concede, do occasionally arise under the ope- ration of this rule ; but they are less frequent than is generally believed, and not more cruel than in similar exceptional cases. Nine men out of ten who fail, owe their insolvency either to having traded beyond their means to a careless management of their affairs or to criminal speculations. That is, they have undertaken more than they could perform, and this while knowing at the time of the promise that there was great doubt whether they could meet their engagements. Perhaps, indeed, they had no deliberate intention of violating their promise ; but they either were more ignorant than they should have been of their ability to perform, or they trusted too confidentially to the chances of the future, or they took heavier risks subsequently than was consistent with their liabilities. The innocent, therefore, suffer but rarely by this species of mercantile proscrip- tion. On the other hand, the rule is absolutely necessary to the commercial world, for without it payments could scarcely ever be depended on, and financial distress would frequently be alarmingly increased. Strict business in- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 55 tegrity, in this particular, depends much on the general character. A person who pays little regard to slight promises, usually is somewhat careless of greater ones also. Defects of this kind, like flaws in machinery, never lessen, but always grow worse, until finally, under the strain of a powerful temptation, they often break down a man's career for ever. The most punctual men in keeping a trivial engagement, we have always found to be the exactest in their business transactions. Wash- ington was a memorable example of particularity in small things as well as great, and his strict probity in the latter was unquestionably the result, in a consider- able degree, of his fidelity in the former. In our experience also, the men who never kept an engagement to the moment the men who were pro- verbially always " behind time," have been, mostly, those who have failed subsequently in business. We have learned, too, to be cautious of those who are over-ready to promise. It is the individual who carefully considers before he makes a pledge, who can be most surely de- pended on to keep it. A multiplicity of promises neces- sarily prevents the promisor from observing them all ; for one conflicts with the other, and disables even the best intentioned. A disregard of promises, finally, is like a fungus, which imperceptibly spreads over the whole character, until the moral perceptions are per- verted, and the man actually comes to believe he does no wrong, even in breaking faith with his warmest friends. 56 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, SUCCESS IN LIFE DEPENDS ON PERSEVER- ANCE. SUCCESS in life mainly depends upon perseverance. When a man has determined to follow a certain line of business, he must at the same time resolve to persevere until success crowns his efforts. He must never be cast down by the difficulties which may beset his path ; for whoever conquers difficulty, conquers a weakness of his own frail nature likewise. How many men have com- menced business under the most favourable auspices, and yet, when a cloud has momentarily overshadowed their path, have lost all command over themselves, and fled before the temporary gloom, instead of persevering on until the cloud has been dispersed, and sunshine once more smiled upon their efforts! Others, more fickle, have thought their business, in some minor departments, unworthy of their perseverance and energy ; and forget- ting the golden maxim, that " whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well," have ceased to persevere in small matters, until sloth has entered deeply into their minds, and their whole business greatly neglected. We are too apt to attribute success in business to good fortune, instead of great perseverance. This is a great evil, and should be eschewed, as it leads many to sup- pose that Dame Fortune will do that for them which they are unwilling to do for themselves. The history of every great success in business is the history of great perseverance. By perseverance the AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 57 mind is strengthened and invigorated, and the difficulty that once seemed so formidable, is a second time sur- mounted with ease and confidence. Energy and great perseverance are never thrown away in a good cause, or left unrewarded ; and, to every man of business, perseverance should be his motto, and then he may look with confidence to fortune as his reward. A MODEL WAREHOUSE. WE find the following interesting account of the mode of conducting business arrangements in a dry goods store in Philadelphia, in the columns of a southern journal. Precision in such matters begets thrift and prosperity, and we hope the precepts of the annexed article may be universally carried out in business communities. " The amount of sales made at this store is about three hundred thousand dollars annually ; each department in the store is alphabetically designated. The shelves and rows of goods in each department are numbered ; and upon the tag attached to the goods is marked the letter of the department, the number of the shelf, and row on that shelf to which such piece of goods belongs. The cashier receives a certain sum extra per week, and he is responsible for all worthless money received. Books are kept, in which the sales of each clerk are entered for the day, and the salary of the clerk cast as a percentage on each day, week, and year, and at the foot of the page the 58 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, aggregate of these sales appears, and the percentage that it has cost to effect these sales is easily calculated for each day, month, or year. The counters are desig- nated by an imaginary colour, as the blue, green, brown, &c., counter. The yardsticks and counter brush belonging to it are painted to correspond with the imaginary colour of the counter ; so, by a very simple arrangement, each of these necessaries is kept where it belongs, and, should any be missing, the faulty clerks are easily known. All wrapping-paper coming into the store is imme- diately taken to a counter in the basement, where a lad attends with a pair of shears, whose duty it is to cut the paper into pieces to correspond with the size of the par- cels sold at the different departments, to which he sees that it is transferred. All pieces too small for this, even to the smallest scraps, are by him put into a sack, and what is usually thrown away by our merchants, yields to this systematic man some twenty dollars per year. In one part of the establishment is a tool-closet, with a work-bench attached ; the closet occupies but little space, yet in it we notice almost every useful tool, and this is arranged with the handsaw to form the centre, and the smaller tools radiating from it in sun form ; behind each article is painted, with black paint, the shape of the tool belonging to that place. It is, consequently, impossible that any thing should be out of place except through design ; and, if any tool is missing, the wall will show the shadow without the substance. Such is the salutary influence exerted by order, that those who enter this employ habitually careless and reck- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 59 less, are reformed entirely; and system, which before was irksome, has become to them a second nature. The proprietor's desk stands at the further end of the store, raised on a platform facing the front, from which he can see all the operations in each section of the retail depart- ment. From this desk run tubes, connecting with each department of the store, from the garret to the cellar ; so that if a person in any department, either porter, retail or wholesale clerk, wishes to communicate with the em- ployer, he can do so without leaving his station. Pages are kept in each department to take the bill of parcels, together with the money paid, and return the bill re- ceipted, and change, if any, to the customer. So that the salesman is never obliged to leave the counter ; he is at all times ready, either to introduce a new article, or watch that no goods are taken from his counter excepting those accounted for. " His peculiar method of casting the percentage of a clerk's salary on his sales, enables him at all times, coupling it with the clerk's general conduct and the style of goods he is selling, to form a just estimate of the relative value of the services of each in proportion to his salary. By the alphabetic arrangement of departments, numbering of shelves, and form of the tools, any clerk, no matter if he has not been in the store more than an hour, can arrange every article in its proper place ; and at any time, if inquired of respecting them, or referred to by any clerk, the proprietor is able to speak understand- ingly of the capabilities and business qualities of any of his employees. He has brought up some of the best merchants at present engaged in the trade, who do hon- our to the profession as well as their tutor." 60 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, ANECDOTE FOR YOUNG MEN ENTERING COMMERCIAL LIFE. A CORRESPONDENT of the London Youth's Instructor relates an anecdote which we transfer to this book for the especial benefit of young men entering mercantile life. "I once knew a young man," said an eminent preacher the other day in a sermon to young men, " that was com- mencing life as a clerk. One day his employer said to him, ' Now, to-morrow that cargo of cotton must be got out and weighed, and we must have a regular account of it.' " He was a young man of energy. This was the first time he had been intrusted to superintend the execution of this work. He made his arrangements over night, spoke to the men about their carts and horses ; and, resolved to begin very early in the morning, he in- structed the labourers to be there at half-past four o'clock. His master comes in, and, seeing him sitting in the counting-house, looks very black, supposes that his commands had not been executed. "'I thought,' said the master, 'you were requested to get out that cargo this morning.' " ' It is all done, sir,' said the young man ; ' and here is the account of it.' " He never looked behind him from that moment never ! His character was fixed, confidence was estab- lished. He was found to be the man to do the thing AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 61 with promptness. He very soon came to be one who could not be spared ; he was as necessary to the firm as any of the partners. He was a religious man, and went through a life of great benevolence, and at his death was able to leave his children an ample fortune. He was not smoke to the eye, nor vinegar to the teeth, but the contrary." IDLENESS. LEISURE may be a very pleasant garment to look at, but it is a very bad one to wear. The ruin of millions may be traced to it. Who of our readers who is out of business and poor, or troubled in some other respect, will not agree with us? How many, with too much leisure, take too much of something else, thus making gloom deeper and misfortunes more ! The truth is, that the condition of man is, at the best, but a lament- able piece of patchwork, and the less we ponder upon it the better are we. Drink will never drive the heavy thought off. If we rely on drinking solely, the sure return of mental activity brings horror back increased. Business of some kind that will employ us constantly is the better remedy. You that are sick of the rascal- ities of men, depressed by reverses, discouraged by lack of sympathy, though you go to employment like a child to an emetic, or a horse to a second quid of tobacco, persevere in labour, and you will soon be more 62 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, cheerful, life will be less of a trouble, its enjoyments keener, and thoughts of death will not so often crowd upon the brain. Shun leisure, that treacherous abyss whose brink is crowned with flowers. Shun all that may tend to alienate your inclinations from that indus- try which is, and has been, the doom and duty of all men since Cain. Shun all that tends to encrust your energies with the rust of sloth ; for sorrow and sloth are the handmaids of despair. Better toil for little profit, or die, than to drag on that miserable existence which is passed in the demoralizing hours of a de- sponding leisure. Look to it ! The rich indolent finds that the wheels of life run heavily, slowly with him ; but the sluggard who is poor, has nothing to console him. The rich drone, though he lives to no purpose, keeps wealth between him and the wrongs and con- tempt of the world ; but he who is poor and idle too, may well account himself a wretch. He hath need of the intercession of all good angels to keep him from the webs of vice, the tyranny of the heartless, and a grave of frightful associations. COMPETITION IN TRADE. COMPETITION in trade is considered the life of busi- ness. We do not pretend to set up our opinions in opposition to the established and acknowledged proverbs of our fathers ; but we do differ in some particulars with AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 63 the spirit of the adage quoted above. It might be quali- fied and amended. Honourable competition is a means of creating trade, and develops the capacity of men. But that competition that seeks every means in its power to monopolize trade by reducing prices, is far from the life of business, but is, in fact, its very death. Fair, upright, honourable dealing, will always be sure to meet its reward although the returns may not be imme- diate, and it is better to compete fairly and openly, than secretly and covertly. We live in excitement, and life is a constant battle. We are of those who hold to the sentiment, " Live, and let live," and we consider it a golden rule. It is at variance with that motive which prompts a man to un- dersell his neighbour, for the purpose of obtaining his customers, and deserves to be practised more than it is. There is no selfishness in it ; but, on the contrary, a spirit of liberality and Christianity worthy of our atten- tion and adoption. If business men were to study their true interest, there would be less competition among us than there is at present, and there would be fewer com- plaints about dull times, and not so many failures as now. The spirit of competition, when carried to excess, tends to degrade men, and make them heartless, selfish, and even cruel ; and, if not checked, leads to distrust, enmity, and uncharitableness. A disposition to fair dealing does much to destroy it, and makes our situation less irksome than if we" engage in it with full determination to advance our own interests to the injury of others. There is a living, and more, for all of us, without endeavouring to deprive each other of the means of livelihood ; and, if 64 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, we throw aside that spirit of selfishness that prompts to excessive competition, we will benefit ourselves as well as others, and " do unto others as we would they should do unto us." THE SECRET OF SUCCESS. THERE are some men who appear born to good for- tune, and others whose destiny appears to subject them to eternal failure and disaster. The ancients represented Fortune as a blind goddess, because she distributed her gifts without discrimination ; and in more modern times, the belief has been prevalent that the fortunes of a man were ruled chiefly by the influences of a planet .under which he was born. These superstitions, however ridicu- lous, show at least that the connection between merit and success is not very conspicuous, yet it is not there- fore the less perpetual. To succeed in the world is of itself a proof of merit ; of a vulgar kind indeed, it may be, but a useful kind notwithstanding. We grant, indeed, that those qualities of mind which make a man succeed in life, are to a great extent subversive of genius. Nevertheless, numerous illustrious examples might be given of men of the highest genius being as worldly- wise as duller mortals. It is the pretenders to genius, rather than the possessors of it, who claim the large ex- emption from those rules of prudence which regulate the conduct of ordinary mortals, and array themselves in the AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 65 deformities of genius, in the idea that they constitute its beauties. There are some indiscretions, we believe, to which men of a vigorous fancy and keen sensibility are naturally heir, and for which it would be as unjust to condemn them with rigour, as it would be to blame one of the cold-blooded sons of discretion for being destitute of poetic fire. Yet every deviation from prudence is a fault, and is not to be imitated, though it may sometimes be excused. The most important element of success is economy ; economy of money and economy of time. By economy we do not mean penuriousness, but merely such whole- some thrift as will disincline us to spend our time or money without an adequate return either in gain or enjoyment. An economical application of time brings leisure and method, and enables us to drive our business, instead of our business driving us. There is nothing attended with results so disastrous, as such a miscalcula- tion of our time and means as will involve us in per- petual hurry and difficulty. The brightest talents must be ineffective under such a pressure, and a life of expe- dients has no end but penury. Our recipe for succeeding in the world, then, is this : work much and spend little. If this advice be followed, success must come, unless, indeed, some unwise adventure, or some accident against which no human foresight could provide, such as sick- ness, conflagration, or other visitation of Providence, should arrest the progress onwards ; but in the ordinary course of human affairs, success will ever wait upon economy, which is the condition by which prosperity must be earned. "Worldly success, however, though 66 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, universally coveted, can be only desirable in so far as it contributes to happiness, and it will contribute to happi- ness very little unless there be cultivated a lively benev- olence towards every animated being. " Happiness," it has been finely observed, " is in the proportion of the number of things we love, and the number of things that love iis." To this sentiment we most cordially subscribe, and we should wish to see it written on the tablet of every heart, and producing its fruits of charity. The man, whatever be his fame, or fortune, or intelligence, who can treat lightly another's woe who is not bound to his fellow-men by the magic tie of sympathy de- serves, aye, and will obtain, the contempt of human kind. Upon him all the gifts of fortune are thrown away. Happiness he has none ; his life is a dream, a mere lethargy, without a throb of human emotion, and he will descend to the grave " unwept, unhonoured, and unsung." Such a fate is not to be envied, and let those who are intent upon success remember, that success is nothing without happiness. DIFFICULTY AND PERSEVERANCE. To the young who have to make their way in their studies and professions, nothing can be more useful than frequent counsel on the duty and necessity of regarding all obstacles' on the road as things to be grappled with a bold determination to conquer them manfully. One may AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 67 not succeed ; but, if one does, it is sweet to look back upon the heap of briers and hurdles that one has forced a passage by. Hence it is, that the greater the difficulty the more glory there is in surmounting it. So skilful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Burke says, " Difficulty is a severe instructor, set over us by the supreme ordinance of a parental guardian and legislator, who knows us better than we know ourselves, as he loves us better too. He that wrestles with us, strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill : our an- tagonist is our helper. This amicable contest with diffi- culty obliges us to an intimate acquaintance with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations ; it will not suffer us to be superficial." Those who are too apt to quake and quail before every difficulty, would do well to learn the song of " Try Again." : 'Tis a lesson you should heed, Try again ; If at first you don't succeed, Try again; Then your courage should appear, For if you will persevere, You will conquer, never fear, Try again. ' Once or twice, though you should fail, Try again; If you would at last prevail, Try again; If we strive 'tis no disgrace Though we do not win the race ; What should we do in that case? Try again. 68 READINGS FOR TOUXG HEX, MERCHANTS, " If you find your task is hard, Try again ; Time will bring you your reward, Try again; All that other folks can do, Why, with patience, may not you ? Only keep this rule in view, Try again." CHARACTER BETTER THAN CREDIT. WE often hear young men who have credit-means dolefully contrasting their lot with that of rich men's sons. Yet, the longer we live, the more we are con- vinced that the old merchant was right who said to us when we began to live " Industry, my lad, is hetter than ingots of gold, and character more valuable than credit." We could furnish, if need were, from our own expe- rience, a score of illustrations to prove the truth of his remarks. In all branches of business, in all avocations, character, in the long run, is the best capital. Says Poor Richard " The sound of your hammer at five in the morning, or nine at night, heard by a creditor, makes him easy for six months longer ; but if he sees you at a gambling-table, or hears your voice in a tavern when you should be at work, he sends for his money the next day." What is true of the young mechanic, is true also of the young merchant or young lawyer. Old and saga- cious firms will not long continue to give credit for thou- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 69 sands of dollars when they see the purchaser, if a young man, driving fast horses, or lounging in drinking saloons. Clients will not intrust their cases to advocates, however brilliant, who frequent the card-table, the wine-party, or the race-course. It is better, in beginning life, to secure a reputation for industry and probity, than to own houses and lands, if with them you have no character. A facility of obtaining credit at the outset is often an injury instead of a benefit. It makes the young beginner too venture- some fills him with dreams of too early fortune tempts him too much to neglect hard work, forethought, caution, and economy. Excessive capital is as frequently a snare to a young man. It has passed almost into a proverb in consequence, that the sons of rich men never make good business men. To succeed in life, we must learn the value of money. But a superfluity of means at the out- set is nearly a certain method of rendering us insensible to its value. No man ever grew rich who had not learned and practised the adage " If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves." Knowledge of men, self-discipline, a thorough mastery of our pursuit, and other qualifications, which all persons of experience look for, are necessary to give the world security that a young man is of the right metal. Capital may be lost, but character never. Credit once gone, the man without character fails. But he who has earned a reputation _for capacity, integrity, and economy, even if he loses his capital, retains his credit, and rises trium- phant over bankruptcy itself. A man with character can never be ruined. It is the first thing a young man should seek to secure, and it may be had by every one 70 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, who desires it in earnest. A poor boy, with character, is more fortunate by far than a rich man's son without it. CHARACTER AND CAPITAL. IT is related of Girard, that, when a young tradesman, having bought and paid for a bag of coffee, proceeded to wheel it home himself, the shrewd old merchant im- mediately offered to trust his new customer to as many more bags as the latter might desire. The trait of character revealed by the young man in being his own porter, had given the millionnaire confidence in him at once. His reputation was made with Girard. He became a favoured dealer with the enterprising mer- chant, throve rapidly, and in the end amassed a for- tune. No mere capital will do so much for young men as character. Nor will always capital and connection com- bined. In our own experience, we have known many beginners who have utterly failed, though backed by ample means, and assisted by the influence of a large circle of friends. In some cases, indeed, considerable experience, as well as industry and perseverance, have been added to these advantages, yet without securing success. We have known such persons, after a failure in their first pursuit, to try a second, and even a third, yet with no better result, although still assisted by cap- ital, by friends, and even by their own activity. The AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 71 secret was that they had missed, somehow, making a character for themselves. On the other hand, it is a common occurrence to see young men begin without a penny, yet rapidly rise to fortune. They achieve this triumph by establishing, at the outset, a reputation for being competent business men. Few are so fortunate as to do this by a single characteristic act, like the purchaser who won Girard's good-will by wheeling home the bag; for, generally, neither veteran merchants are as shrewd as the fan\ous millionnaire, nor young dealers as energetic as his cus- tomer. But a consistent life of sagacity, economy, and indus- try, invariably establishes the right kind of reputation in the end. Confidence grows up in influential quarters towards the young beginner. Old merchants shake their heads approvingly, and say, " He is of the right stuff, and will get along." Credit comes, as it were, unsought. Connection follows. The reputation of the new aspi- rant widens and deepens ; his transactions begin to be quoted as authority ; trade flows in on him from every quarter ; and in a few years he retires with a compe- tence, or remains to become a millionnaire. All this is the result of establishing, at the outset, a character of the right sort. We may say to every young man about to start in life, make a character for yourself as soon as possible. Let it also be a distinctive one. It is better to have a name for excelling all others in some one thing, than to enjoy simply a notoriety for merely general merit. Are you a mechanic? outstrip your fellows in skill. 72 READINGS FOE YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, Are you a young lawyer? become superior in a par- ticular branch. Are you a clerk? be the best book- keeper your employers have. Are you hi a ware- house ? make yourself acquainted with the various buyers. In short, become known for an excellence peculiar to yourself; acquire a specialty, as it is called, and success is certain, because you will have, as it were, a monopoly, and can dictate your own terms. Money may be lost, without fault of your own, by some one or other of the accidents of life. Connec- tions may be broken up by death, by failure, by change of interests, but character remains through all ; it be- longs to the individual, and is above the chances of fate. Thousands who have lost all else have recovered themselves by having a character to start anew with ; but no man, without a business character, has ever risen from the ruin caused by the loss of capital or the destruction of connection. PUNCTUALITY IN ALL THINGS. IT is astonishing how many people there are who neglect punctuality. Thousands have failed in life from this cause alone. It is not only a serious vice in itself, but it is the fruitful parent of numerous other vices ; so that he who becomes the victim of it, gets involved in toils from which it is almost impossible to escape. It makes the merchant wasteful of time j it AND MEN OP BUSINESS. 73 saps the business reputation of the lawyer ; and it injures the prospects of mechanics who might other- wise rise to fortune ; in a word, there is not a profes- sion nor a station in life which is not liable to the canker of this destructive habit. It is a fact not always remembered, that Napoleon's great victories were won by infusing into his subordi- nates the necessity of punctuality to the minute. It was his plan to manoeuvre over large spaces of country, so as to render the enemy uncertain where he was about to strike a blow, and then suddenly to concen- trate his forces and fall with irresistible force on some weak point of the extended lines of the foe. The exe- cution of this system demanded that each division of the army should arrive at the specified spot punctually ; for, if any part failed to come up, the battle was lost. It was by imitating this plan that the allies finally succeeded in overthrowing the emperor. The whole Waterloo campaign turned on these tactics. At Mount St. Jean, Blucher was punctual, while Grouchy was not; and the result was that Napoleon fell, and Wel- lington triumphed. In mercantile affairs, punctuality is as important as in military. Many are the instances in which the neglect to renew an insurance punctually has led to a serious loss. Hundreds of city merchants are now suffering in consequence of the want of punctuality among their customers in paying up accounts. With sound policy do the banks insist, under the penalty of a protest, on the punctual payment of notes ; for, were they to do otherwise, commercial transactions would 74 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, fall into inextricable confusion. Many and many a time has the failure of one man to meet his obligations brought on the ruin of a score of others, just as the toppling down, in a line of bricks, of the master brick, causes the fall of all the rest. Perhaps there is no one class of men less punctual than mechanics. Do you want an upholsterer ? He rarely comes when he agrees ; so with carpenters, paint- ers, and nearly all others. Tailors and shoemakers often do not have their articles home in time. The conse- quence is, that thousands remain poor all their lives, who, if they were more faithful in their word, would secure a large run of custom, and so make their fortunes. What would become of the Ledger if it was not punc- tual in going to press ? or if our papermakers were not punctual in delivering paper? or if our compositors were not punctual in coming to work ? Be punctual, if you would succeed. BE CAREFUL OF SMALL THINGS. IRVING, in his Life of Washington, dwells on the particularity with which the great hero attended to the minutest affairs. The father of his country, as his cor- respondence and account-books show, was " careful of small things," as well as of great, not disdaining to scru- tinize the most petty expense of his household ; and this even while acting as the first magistrate of the first re- public of the world. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 75 The example of "Washington, in this respect, might teach an instructive lesson to those who scorn what they call "petty" details. There are thousands of such in- dividuals in every community. We all know more or less of them. Nothing is worthy of attention, in their opinion, unless it can be conducted on a grand scale. They will not condescend to the pennies, it is only the pounds to which they will attend. They spurn a small business. They talk superciliously of those who over- look the little leakages that waste so much money in every concern. To hear them, one might think they were above the ordinary affairs of life, and that nothing was worthy of their time except discovering a California, or conquering a kingdom. Yet no man ever made a fortune, or rose to greatness in any department, without " being careful of small things." As the beach is composed of grains of sand, as the ocean is made up of drops of water, so the mil- lionnaire is the aggregation of the profits of single ven- tures often inconsiderable in amount. Every eminent merchant has been noted for his attention to details. Few distinguished lawyers have ever practised in the courts, who have not been remarkable for a similar characteristic. It was one of the most striking pecu- liarities of the first Napoleon's mind. The most petty details of his household expenses, the most trivial facts relating to his troops, were, in his opinion, as worthy of his attention as the tactic of a battle, the plan of a cam- paign, or the revision of a code. Demosthenes, the world's unrivalled orator, was as anxious about gestures, or his intonation, as about the texture of his argument, 76 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, or its garniture of words. Before such great examples, and in the very highest walks of intellect, how con- temptible the conduct of the small minds who despise small things ! NEVER DO TOO MUCH AT A TIME. SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON, in a lecture in Eng- land, gave the following history of his literary habits : Many persons seeing me so much engaged in active life, and as much about the world as if I had never been a student, have said to me, " "When do you get time to write all your books ? How on earth do you contrive to do so much work ? " I shall surprise you by the answer I made. The answer is this : " I contrive to do so much by never doing too much at a time. A man to get through work well must not overwork himself; or, if he do too much to-day, the reaction of fatigue will come, and he will be obliged to do too little to-morrow. Now since I began really and earnestly to study, which was not till I had left college, and was actually in the world, I may perhaps say that I have gone through as large a course of general reading as most men of my time. I have travelled much, and I have seen much ; I have mixed much in politics, and in the various business of life ; and, in addition to all this, I have published somewhere about sixty volumes, some upon subjects re- quiring much special research. And what time do you think, as a general rule, I have devoted to study to AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 77 reading and writing ? Not more than three hours a day ; and, when Parliament is sitting, not always that. But then, during those hours, I 'have given my whole attention to what I was about." AN APPLICATION FOR A CLERKSHIP. MANY young and talented persons miss the road to fortune by the want of humility and patience. They think every thing must depend on " a good start," and unless they can make " a good engagement," they will remain out of employment for weeks and months. They miss three things support for that time, the practice that keeps talents improving, and the furnishing of the best evidence that they are willing to work. A man is far more h'kely to be called from a humble to a more advantageous position, than from idleness to the place he desires. Even in prison Joseph made himself useful by labour, and thus showed what he was fitted for, and built the ladder that led him out of obscurity. But now, there are many young men, who, if they cannot have " good situations," will not do any thing. They forget that any situation of honest toil is good when compared with idleness, and that it is better to labour where they can receive only a sufficiency for the time, than to re- main out of employment, and besides the daily expense of living thus, they are in danger of forming habits of in- dolence, and ruinous expenditure. 78 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, The trouble with many young men is a foolish pride, which seems to say that idleness is more honourable than work. They ha've very delicate feelings ; it goes " against their feelings " to do this and that, when there is nothing whatever of immorality or debasement con- nected with the employment. To give an instance, we will repeat a dialogue which took place recently. A young man, nicely brushed up and very genteel, entered an office, and with a polite air addressed the gentleman there with, " Sir, you want a young man here, I believe ! " " Yes," was the reply. " Here are my recommendations," said the young man, as he handed a paper certifying that he was worthy of confidence, &c. The gentleman read the paper, and looked up re- marking, " We should be glad to do your friends the compliment of engaging you, and therefore you will please let me say something in regard to fitness." " What shall I be expected to do ? " asked the young man. " To aid in the office as opportunity may present, and to pay notes, and collect drafts, &c.," was the answer. " I don't think collecting drafts would agree with my feelings," replied the young man. " Well ! " quietly responded the gentleman, " I would not advise you to do any thing against your feelings. Good-morning." Here it is how they miss it. A certain fastidiousness of feeling is set up where there is nothing dishonourable nothing that should be repulsive to the most conscien- tious. What can be less against all true and worthy feel,- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 79 ing than the collection of drafts ? What is there to soil glove or fingers, sensibility or conscience ? But this is only a specimen of the scores of ways in which " my feelings " are brought into collision with virtuous labour and honourable industry. What sphere of life is there where the education and discipline of the feelings is not of first importance ? Early attention to this would pre- vent a foolish fastidiousness from springing up, and it would avoid a thousand volcanic eruptions in counting- houses, where feelings in one member and another cross each other, like the sea crossing into the central fires of the earth, and bidding Vesuvius to spout up its erup- tions. Strength of feeling is good. It is not necessarily an evil. It is the source of energy, promptness, and power. It aids quickness of thought, readiness of apprehension, and concentration of abilities. But, undisciplined, it is injurious. It is constantly bringing a man into painful contact unnecessarily with his fellows, and it erects false barriers to usefulness and fortune. Strength of feeling belongs to all great men. The calmness and dignity of Washington only showed that divinity of principle that ruled the storm. How perpetually, through the struggle for independence, did things come up " not agreeable to his feelings ; " but he curbed and disciplined those feel- ings, and instead of permitting them to be a wild-horse, to bear him in seeming retreat from the battle-field of Freedom, Ihey were as the war-horse on which he rode grandly from victory to victory. 80 ' READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, KEEP YOUR DESIGNS TO YOURSELF. NEVER talk of your designs till they have been ac- complished, and even then the less you say the better. This is a very important caution for the merchant or man of business. Some persons are naturally so talkative, that they no sooner form a design of entering into a speculation, or following some particular branch of trade or commerce, than they take the earliest opportunity of acquainting all their friends with it. By giving way to this weakness, you put it in the power of others to fore- stall you, and those whose interests interfere with yours will do all they can to disappoint you, for their own ad- vantage. In this respect, the example of Girard, the Napoleon of commerce, is worthy of all imitation. No man ever heard him boast of what he would do. He remained quiet and silent till the time came for action, and then he struck the blow with an unerring aim, which insured him success. As a merchant, he was inquisitive, active, prompt, and sagacious, studious to learn all he could from others, and as careful to impart nothing in return. THE RIGHT AIM. THE aim makes the man the spirit, the energy, the greatness or bitterness of the character and life. "When AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 81 the merchant's aim is right, he will have something that shall survive defeat, and glorify even poverty ; and, when accumulating prosperity is his, it shall not undermine his principles, nor make him insensible to the uses of wealth. A short time since, two merchants in the same line of business in our city were conversing on the method to be adopted to make a fortune. The one remarked, "I have been working fifteen years to establish a quality of goods, and to fix a reputa- tion ; and I shall hold to the reputation I have gained, and shall carefully keep up the quality of my manufac- tures." " Pooh ! " answered the other, " I shall do no such thing. I'm not going to work as long as that, but am determined to make a fortune in a few years, and let the reputation go." Here are the representatives of the two classes in the mercantile community ; the one, to whom character and conscience are unspeakable wealth ; the other, to whom they are nothing. It is easy to go through the histories of our prominent merchants, and see the wisdom of the one class, and the folly of the other ; for the aim of the man is not some- thing he can always keep covered up and out of sight. It will gleam out, to shame or dignify ; and shrewd busi- ness men soon discover on what principles trade is con- ducted by those with whom they are brought in contact. They are repelled by the discernment of the low and mean aim, as they are attracted by the noble and gen- erous spirit of the true merchant. 6 82 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, Hence, though now and then to test man's regard for lofty principle, some flashy adventurer may amass a for- tune speedily, yet the greater amount of success will be found, as it is found, in the department of science and discovery, with the men of generous purposes, dignifying aims, cautious, and unpresuming, addressing themselves to what is right, as well as to what promises immediate success. A man who goes on the policy of deception and cheat- ing, begins by deceiving and cheating himself; and he is distinguished from the upright by the inward experience, which has more to do with the enjoyment of life than wealth or poverty by the regard in which he is held in the community by his influence on the young, and those connected with him in business, and by the chances of recovery from disaster, should that overtake him. " My misfortune," said a good merchant, "was made almost sweet to me by the kind expressions drawn out by it from so many of my fellow-citizens." Tliat is the reward of a Right Aim ! STICK TO YOUR BUSINESS. THERE is nothing which should be more frequently impressed upon the minds of young men, than the import- ance of steadily pursuing some one business. The fre- quent changing from one employment to another is one of the most common errors committed ; and to it may be AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 83 traced more than half the failures of men in business, and much of the discontent and disappointment that render life uncomfortable. It is a very common thing for a man to be dissatisfied with his business, and to desire to change it for some other, which seems to him will prove a more lucrative employment, but in nine cases out of ten it is a mistake. Look round you, and you will among your acquaintances find abundant verification of our as- sertion. Here is a young man who commenced life as a me- chanic, but from some cause imagined that he ought to have been a doctor ; and, after a hasty and shallow pre- paration, has taken up the saddle-bags, only to find work is still work, and that his patients are no more profitable than his work-bench, and the occupation not a whit more agreeable. Here are two young men, clerks ; one of them is con- tent, when his first term of service is over, to continue a clerk till he shall have saved enough to commence busi- ness on his own account ; the other cannot wait, but starts off without capital, and with a limited experience, and brings up, after a few years, in a court of insolvency, while his former comrade, by patient perseverance, comes out at last with a fortune. That young lawyer who became disheartened because briefs and cases did not crowd upon him while he was yet redolent of calf-bound volumes, and had small use for red tape who concluded that he had mistaken his call- ing, and so plunged into politics, finally settled down into the character of a meddling pettifogger, scrambling for his daily bread. 84 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, There is an honest farmer who has toiled a few years, got his farm paid for, but does not grow rich very rapidly, as much for lack of contentment mingled with his indus- try as any thing, though he is not aware of it. He hears the wonderful stories of Australia, and how fortunes may be had for the trouble of picking them up ; mortgages his farm to raise money ; goes away to the land of gold, and, after many months of hard toil, comes home to commence again at the bottom of the hill for a more weary and less successful climbing up again. Mark the men in every community who are notorious for ability, and equally notorious for never getting ahead, and you will usually find them to be those who never stick to any one business long, but are always forsaking their occupation just when it begins to be profitable. Young men, stick to your business. It may be you have mistaken your calling if so, find it out as quick as possible and change it ; but do not let any uneasy desire to get along fast, or a dislike of your honest calling, lead you to abandon it. Have some honest occupation, and then stick to it ; if you are sticking type, stick away at them ; if you are selling oysters, keep on selling them ; if you are at the law, hold fast to that profession ; pursue the business you have chosen persistently, industriously, and hopefully, and if there is any thing of you it will appear and turn to account in that as well, or better than in any other calling ; only, if you are a loafer, forsake that line of life as speedily as possible, for the longer you stick to it, the worse it will stick to you. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 85 TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW. Do not tell me of to-morrow, There is much to do to-day, That can never be accomplished If we throw the hours away ! Every moment has its duty, Who the future can foretell ? Then why defer till to-morrow What to-day can do -as well ? ALPHA AND OMEGA; OR, THE SECRET OF SUCCESS. THERE is a class of men who rail at fortune, and ac- cuse her of being blind in her gifts. They say that dull, plodding men succeed, while men of brilliant attainments fail ; but they never pause to ask why it is so. To the end of their days they continue to murmur at fickle for- tune, whereas they would be far wiser to complain of fickle self. There is a simple truth, too, often lost sight of by the world, which he shall now seek to demon- strate ; It is, that the lesser virtues win. Alpha and Omega begin life together as clerks in a merchant's counting-room. Alpha has more varied tal- ents than Omega, and gains more favour in the eyes of 86 READINGS FOR TOTING MEN, MERCHANTS, their employer during the first few months. There is no denying that Alpha is smart, and Omega comparatively slow. Alpha can accomplish more work in a given time; but Omega is more painstaking. It occurs to Alpha that all his duties can be performed in less time than he now gives to them, and he determines to come to business a little later, and leave a little earlier. Omega is always punctual. One evening their employer stays late in town, and, wanting the services of Alpha, finds him not at his books, and has to ask Omega to do his work. Again and again this occurs : but Alpha is always ready with his excuse, and his employer is of an indulgent nature. The dissipations of the world have strong allurements for Alpha, and he often comes to business with feverish brow and nervous hands. His thoughts are then how to dissemble his sufferings, not how to fulfil his duties. His books are carelessly kept, and he is told to imitate Omega. Then Alpha begins to murmur at life. The plodding Omega preferred to him ! why, he " could talk and write down such a fellow any day." " Very true, Alpha, but you forget that Omega does much more use- ful work in a year." Omega is persevering, and is continually surmounting difficulties over which Alpha stumbles, until at last Omega's painstaking, punctual, and persevering habits are known to insure reliability in every business transaction, and he is rewarded by being made a partner in the firm, while Alpha remains a clerk on sufferance. Shall we pursue the story further, and see Omega rising to the topmost pinnacle of fortune, and Alpha AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 87 sinking lower into the gulf of dissipation? Shall we hearken to the latter railing at fortune, while in his every action he courts misfortune ? Shall we view him wilfully perverting his talents, and yet blaming society for not seeing him as he might have been, instead of as he is ? Shall we gaze on him, when, an utterly ruined and disappointed man, he falls into a premature grave, self-deluded to the last ? We prefer to dwell for a moment on a more pleasing subject the moral to be gathered from the life of Omega. We have said that the lesser virtues win, and it ever must be so ; for they lead to the higher virtues. Painstaking perseverance lead to strict probity. Omega was engaged to do his very best for his employers, and he scrupulously did so. To dissipate is not alone to trifle with health and reputation, but to rob the employer of a portion of the time for which he pays. It is not enough for a young man to say he will be in business during the hours specified, but he should come calm and collected, so as to perform his duties well ; and to insure this he must be as regular in his habits away from busi- ness as when in business. The punctual man becomes the honourable man, for in saving moments he preserves his good faith with the world. His word rises in public estimation, for it is known to be the word of a truly honest man. Prize then the lesser virtues, young men, on the threshold of life, and then in the meridian of your days the- higher virtues will be your solace and reward. 88 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, PARSIMONY AND ECONOMY IN TRADE. ONE might suppose that parsimony and economy in trade would require but a few words of explanation to the reader. To some the bare announcement is sufficient to indicate the difference, but to others the clearest rea- soning will not avail. This may be owing to the fact, that they have been accustomed to confound the one with the other in all the affairs of life in the family and in business, in pleasure and in profit. A person of this stamp wishes to go into business ; he has some little capital, but not much experience. He chooses the profession of a grocer or a merchant, and, supposing that parsimony is economy, in order to save rent he commences business in the outskirts of the city, or in some obscure alley or unfrequented street, and fails to succeed, and wonders why it is, with all his industry and economy, he cannot make both ends meet, much less thrive ! His parsimony is the chief cause of his failure. But you cannot convince him of it, and he will live and die in the little nest which his own hands created, and grieve to think that fortune has not been more gracious in the bestowment of her favours upon him. Another person opens an establishment in Chestnut- street ; he has but recently come to the city, having been a successful merchant in one of the towns in the interior of the State, where he was known by every one, as he was born and raised in the county. Neither he, nor his father before him, had ever availed themselves of the AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 89 facilities of advertising in the county papers, and yet they got along, and in process of time amassed what, in that region, was considered to be quite a fortune. He now opens a fine stock of goods in a commodious house in Chestnut-street, and thinks that everybody knows him, and of course will trade with him. Was he not known in Buncombe ? Did he not come from Lancaster ? He has fallen into the delusion that, because he was known in the town and county that gave him birth, that certainly he must be known here. On the score of economy, as he deems it, he refuses to advertise. It costs too much; he never did it before, why do it now ? He has a good house, he has good stock, he has competent clerks ; he himself is a pleasant and accommodating merchant. Why does he not suc- ceed ? Nobody knows him, or cares to know him. The competition in the market does not permit Mr. Fogy to become a necessity. Chestnut-street can do without him, and the city would not miss him any more than she would a fly, if he was to move to parts unknown. Now, what does economy of rent require ? What of clerk's hire ? What of interest on capital ? What of time ? They all require that he should invest something in ad- vertising, and that too on a liberal scale. Not in one paper only, but in many ; not occasionally, but con- stantly ; and he will soon find the benefit of so doing. Parsimony may say No ! it will be too expensive : you can't stnnd it. But economy replies : You are mis- taken ; I must advertise to be known, to be felt, to be appreciated. If I feel interested in my own success, my neighbours will sympathize with me ; and, if they see 90 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, me helping myself, they will cheerfully and promptly come to my aid. Take the following illustration of the difference be- tween parsimony and economy. Sir Walter Scott tells of a near kinsman, who, having been informed that a family vault of his was decaying and likely to fall in, and that ten pounds would make the repairs, proffered only five pounds. It would not do. Two years after he proffered the full sum. He was assured that twenty pounds would scarce serve. He hesitated, hemmed and hawed for three years more, then offered twenty pounds. The wind and rain had not waited for his decision, and not less than fifty pounds would now suffice. A year afterwards he sent a check for fifty pounds, which was returned by post, with the intelligence that the aisle ha'd fallen the preceding week. The reader will make his own application. SELF-RELIANCE IMPORTANT TO THE MERCHANT. SELF-RELIANCE to the merchant, and indeed to all who would succeed in the accomplishment of a laudable purpose or pursuit, is indispensable. It was this trait, perhaps, more than any other, that enabled an Astor, a Girard, a Gray, in our own country, to work out for themselves vast fortunes to accumulate millions. An eminent writer has somewhere said, if our young men AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 91 miscarry in their first enterprise they lose all heart. If a young merchant fails, men say he is ruined. If the finest genius studies in one of our colleges, and is not installed in an office in one year afterwards, it seems to his friends and himself that he is right in being dis- heartened, and in complaining the rest of his life. A sturdy Yankee who in turn tries all the professions, who teams it, farms it, peddles, keeps a school, preaches, edits a newspaper, goes to Congress, buys a township, and so forth, in successive years, and always, like a cat, falls on his feet, is worth a hundred of these city dolls. He walks abreast with his days, and feels no shame in not studying a profession, for he does not postpone his life, but lives already. He has not one chance ! Let a stoic arise who shall reveal the resources of man, and tell men they are not weeping willows, but can and must detach themselves ; that, with the exercise of self-trust, new powers shall appear ; that a man is the word made flesh, born to shed healing to the nations ; that he should be ashamed of our compassion ; and that the moment he acts from himself, tossing the laws, the books' idolatries and customs out of the window, we pity him no more, but thank him and revere him and that teacher shall restore the life of man to splendour, and make his name dear to all history. It is easier to see that a greater self-reliance a new respect for the divinity in man must work a revolution in all the ofiices and relations of men ; in -their religion, in their education, in their pur- suits, their modes of living, their association, in their property, in their speculative views. 92 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, MICAWBER'S ADVICE. " My advice is, Never to do to-morrow what you can do to-day; 'procrastination is the thief of time.' My other piece of advice is : Annual income 20, annual ex- penditure 19 19. %d. result, happiness. Annual income, 20, annual expenditure, 20 Os. Qd. result, misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of days goes down upon the dreary scene, and, in short, you are for ever floored as I am now." HOW TO MAKE MONEY. LET the business of everybody else alone, and attend to your own ; do not buy what you do not want ; use every hour to advantage, and study to make even leisure hours useful, think twice before you throw away a shil- ling remember you will have another to make for it ; find recreation in looking after your business, and so your business will not be neglected in looking after re- creation ; buy low ; sell fair, and take care of the profits ; look over your books regularly, and if you find an error, trace it out; should a stroke of misfortune come upon you in trade, retrench, work harder, " but never fly the track ; " confront difficulties with unflinching persever- ance, and they will disappear at last ; though you should AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 93 even fail in the struggle, you will be honoured ; but shrink from the task, and YOU will be despised. By fol- lowing these rules, however, you never need say " fail ; " pay debts promptly, and so exact your dues ; keep your word. GAMBLING. No passion can leap to such extremities, nor involve a man in such a complicated train of crimes and vices, and ruin whole families so completely, as the baneful rage for gambling. It produces and nourishes all imaginable dis- graceful sensations ; it is the most fertile nursery of covet- ousness, envy, rage, malice, dissimulation, falsehood, and foolish reliance on blind fortune ; it frequently leads to fraud, quarrels, murder, forgery, meanness, and despair ; and robs us in the most unpardonable manner of the greatest and most irrecoverable treasure time. Those that are rich act foolishly in venturing their money in uncertain speculations ; and those that have not much to risk must play with timidity, and cannot long continue play unless the fortune of the game turn, as being obliged to quit the field at the first heavy blow ; or if they stake every thing to force the blind goddess to smile upon them at last, madly hazard their being reduced to instant beg- gary. The gambler but rarely dies a rich man ; those that have had the good fortune to realize some property in this miserable way, and continue playing, are guilty of a twofold folly. Trust no person of that description, of whatever rank or character he may be. 94 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, JEFFERSON'S TEN RULES. 1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to- day. 2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. 3. Never spend your money before you have it. 4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap. 5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold. 6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little. 7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 8. How much pain the evils have cost us that have never happened ! 9. Take things always by the smooth handle. 10. "When angry, count ten before you speak ; if very angry, a hundred. TO-MORROW. TO-MORROW you will live, you always cry ; lut what far country does this morrow lie, That 'tis so mighty long ere it arrive ? Beyond the Indies does this morrow live ? 'Tis so far-fetched, this morrow, that I fear 'Twill be both very old and very dear. To-morrow I will live, the fool doth say ; To-day itself ; too late ; the wise lived yesterday. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 95 A WORD TO MERCHANTS. IN your converse with the world avoid any thing like a juggling dexterity. The proper use of dexterity is to prevent your being circumvented by the cunning of others. It should not be aggressive. Concessions and compromises form a large and a very important part of our dealings with others. Concessions must generally be looked upon as distinct defeats ; and you must expect no gratitude for them. I am far from saying that it may not be wise to make concessions ; but this will be done more wisely when you understand the nature of them. In making compromises, do not think to gain by concealing your views and wishes. You are as likely to suffer from its not being known how to please or satisfy you, as from any attempt to overreach you, grounded on a knowledge of your wishes. Delay is, hi some instances, to be adopted advisedly. It sometimes brings a person to reason when nothing else could; when his mind is so occupied with one idea, that he completely overestimates its relative importance, he can hardly be brought to look at the subject calmly, by any force of reasoning. For this disease time is the only doctor. A good man of business is very watchful, both over himself and others, to prevent things from being carried against his sense of right in moments of lassitude. After a matter has been much discussed, whether to the purpose or not, there comes a time when all parties are anxious that it should be settled ; and there is then some danger of the handiest 96 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, way of getting rid of the matter being taken for the best. A man of business should take care to consult occasion- ally with persons of a nature quite different from his own. To very few are given all the qualities requisite to form a good man of business. Thus, a man may have the sternness and the fixedness of purpose so necessary in the conduct of affairs, yet these qualities prevent him, perhaps, from entering into the character of those about him. He is likely to want tact. He will be unprepared for the extent of versatility and vacillation in other men. But these defects and oversights might be remedied by consulting with persons whom he knows to be possessed of the qualities supplementary to his own. Men of much depth of mind can bear a great deal of counsel ; for it does not easily deface their own character, nor render their purposes indistinct. CHEER UP. NEVER go gloomily, man with a mind, Hope is a better companion than fear, Providence, ever benignant and kind, Gives with a smile what it takes with a tear. All will be right ! Look to the light ! Morning is ever the daughter of night, All that is black will be all that is bright Cheerily, cheerily, then, cheer up ! AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 97 Many a foe is a friend in disguise, Many a sorrow a blessing most true Helping the heart to be happy and wise, With love ever precious and joys ever new. Stand in the van, Strive like a man ! Trusting in God while you do what you can, This is the bravest and cleverest plan. Cheerily, cheerily, then, cheer up ! SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! WHAT is there a man cannot save and improve ? By curbing appetite and restraining passion, by observing prudence and maintaining regularity, he may save his health, husband his strength, and thus preserve the springs of life as constant fountains of energy and happiness, to sustain and cherish him under every labour and every hardship. He may save a fortune by industry and deny- ing himself needless indulgence, and he may find a pure enjoyment in devoting it to noble uses. Time the indo- lent might make wealth of it the most industrious im- prove upon their use of it. It comes to us in brief minutes, to show tfs that present application is the sole duty re- quired of us ; yet these so weave in and make up our days and years, that misimprovement of the present is always at the expense of the future. One of the hours 7 98 READINGS FOR TOUXG MEN, MERCHANTS, each day, wasted on trifles or indolence, saved, and daily devoted to improvement, is enough to make an ignorant man wise in ten years to provide the luxury of intelli- gence to a mind torpid from want of thought to brighten up and strengthen faculties perishing with rust to make life a fruitful field, and ' death a harvester of glorious deeds. CARLYLE'S ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. THE following letter, by the giant philosopher Carlyle, was cut from a small Scotch provincial newspaper, some sixteen years ago. " It was addressed," says our author- ity, " to a young man who had written to Mr. Carlyle, desiring his advice as to a proper choice of reading," and, it would appear, as to his conduct in general. We most earnestly recommend it to the attention of young men, as containing advice of the most valuable and prac- ticable description, and pregnant with truth with which they cannot be too well acquainted. The young are too much inclined to be dissatisfied with their actual condi- tion, and to neglect their immediate duties in vain aspira- tions after others beyond their lot ; and they need the monitions of such a kind, but vigorous and emphatic, adviser as Mr. Carlyle, and to have it impressed on their minds, that " To do, That which before us lies in daily life, 1& the prime wisdom." AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 99 DEAR SIR, Some time ago your letter was delivered me ; I take literally the first free half hour I have had since to write you a word of answer. It would give me true satisfaction could any advice of mine contribute to forward you in your honourable course of self-improvement ; but a long experience has taught me that advice can profit but little that there is a good reason why advice is so seldom followed ; this reason, namely, that it is so seldom, and can almost never be rightly given. No man knows the state of another ; it is always to some more or less imaginary man that the wisest and most honest adviser is speaking. As to the books which you whom I know so little of should read, there is hardly any thing definite that can be said. For one thing, you may be strenuously advised to keep reading. Any good book, any book that is wiser than yourself, will teach you something a great many things indirectly and directly, if your mind be open to learn. This old counsel of Johnson's is also good, and universally applicable " Read the book you do hon- estly feel a wish and curiosity to read." The very wish and curiosity indicates that you, then and there, are the person likely to get good of it. "Our wishes are presen- timents of our capabilities ; " that is a noble saying, of deep encouragement to all true men, applicable to our wishes and efforts in regard to reading as to other things. Among all the objects that look wonderful and beau- tiful to you, follow with fresh hope the one which looks wonderfullest, beautifullest. You will gradually find, by various trials (which trials see that you make honest, manful ones, not silly, short, fitful ones), what is for you 100 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, the wonderfullest, beautifullest what is your true ele- ment and province, and be able to profit by that. True desire, the monition of nature, is much to be attended to. But here, also, you are to discriminate carefully between true desire and false. The medical men tell us we should eat what we truly have an appetite for ; but what we only falsely have an appetite for, we should resolutely avoid. It is very true ; and flimsy desultory readers, who fly from foolish book to foolish book, and get good of none, and mischief of all are not these as foolish, unhealthy eaters, who mistake their superficial false desire after spiceries and confectioneries for their real appetite, of which even they are not destitute, though it lies far deeper, far quieter, after solid nutritive food ? With these illustrations, I will recommend Johnson's advice to you. Another thing, and only one other, I will say. All books are properly the record of the history of past men what thoughts past men had in them what actions past men did ; the summary of all books whatsoever lies there. It is on this ground that the class of books speci- fically named History can be safely recommended as the basis of all study of books, the preliminary to all right and full understanding of any thing we can expect to find in books. Past history, and especially the past history of one's own native country, everybody may be advised to begin with that. Let him study that faithfully ; innu- merable inquiries will branch out from it ; he has a broad beaten highway, from which all the country is more or less visible ; there travelling, let him choose where he will dwell. AND MEN OP BUSINESS. 101 Neither let mistakes and wrong directions of which every man, in his studies and elsewhere, falls into many discourage you. There is precious instruction to be got by finding that we are wrong. Let a man try faith- fully, manfully, to be right, he will grow daily more and more right. It is, at bottom, the condition on which all men have to cultivate themselves. Our very walking is an incessant falling a falling and a catching of ourselves before we come actually to the pavement ! it is emble- matic of all things a man does. In conclusion, I will remind you that it is not books alone, or by books chiefly, that a man becomes in all points a man. Study to do faithfully whatsoever thing in your actual situation, there and now, you find either expressly or tacitly laid to your charge ; that is your post ; stand in it like a true soldier. Silently devour the many chagrins of it, as all human situations have many; and see you aim not to quit it without doing all that it, at least, required of you. A man perfects himself by work much more than by reading. They are a growing kind of men that can wisely combine the two things wisely, valiantly, can do what is laid to their hand in their present sphere, and prepare themselves withal for doing other wider things, if such lie before them. With many good wishes and encouragements, I re- main, yours sincerely, THOMAS CARLYLE. Chelsea, 15th March, 1843. 102 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, RULES OF McDONOGH THE MILLIONNAIRE OF NEW ORLEANS. MR. JOHN McDoNOGH, the millionnaire of New Or- leans, has engraved upon his tomb a series of maxims, which he had prescribed as the rules for his guidance through life, and to which his success in business is mainly attributable. These rules would undoubtedly se- cure riches and honour ; and as a whole are worthy of being accepted. "Remember always that labour is one of the con- ditions of our existence. Time is gold ; throw not one minute away, but place each one to account. Do unto all men as you would be done by. Never put off till to- morrow what you can do to-day. Never bid another to do what you can do yourself. Never covet what is not your own. Never think any matter so trifling as not to deserve notice. Never give out that which does not first come in. Never spend but to produce. Let the greatest order regulate the transactions of your life. Study in your course of life to do the greatest amount of good. Deprive yourself of nothing necessary to your comfort, but live in an honorable simplicity and frugality. Labour, then, to the last moment of your existence. " Pursue strictly the above rules, and the Divine blessing, and riches of every kind, will flow upon you to your heart's content ; but, first of all, remember that the chief and great study of our life should be to tend, by all means in our power, to the honour and glory of AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 103 our Divine Creator. The conclusion to which I have arrived is, that, without temperance, there is no health ; without virtue, no order ; without religion, no happiness ; and that the aim of our being is to live wisely, soberly, and righteously." To the above maxims of McDonogh we would add one more, which comes to us opportunely in the columns of the Philadelphia Daily Reporter. It is a rule of rules the complement of all the rest the keystone of the arch of mercantile character. For what most men lack is not rules, but the energy to apply them at the right moment ; not moral principles, but moral presence of mind and this is Self-Possession, Self-Reliance. ""Woe unto him that is faint-hearted," says the son of Sirach. " We have just received the following letter," says the Reporter, "from one of Philadelphia's best and noblest merchants." The letter is as follows : " I send you the extract I spoke of a few days since. It contains more real truth of what my long experience has been in the great battle of life (having commenced at the first round of the ladder), than any article I have ever seen in print ; and I do hope that every newspaper in our country will republish it, for the benefit of all young men who are about commencing business, and who are now in business, for it will do much good if they will be governed by its precepts. "The extract referred to appeared originally in the Richmond Post, and is as follows : ' When a crisis be- falls you, and the emergency requires moral courage and 104 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, noble manhood to meet it, be equal to the requirements of the moment, and rise superior to the obstacles in your path. The universal testimony of men whose experi- ence exactly coincides with yours, furnishes the consoling reflection that difficulties may be ended by opposition. There is no blessing equal to the possession of a stout heart. The magnitude of the danger needs nothing more than a greater effort than ever at your hands. If you prove recreant in the hour of trial, you are the worst of recreants, and deserve no compassion. Be not dismayed or unmanned when you should be bold and daring, unflinching and resolute. The cloud, whose threatening murmurs you hear with fear and dread, is pregnant with blessings ; and the frown, whose stern- ness now makes you tremble and shudder, will erelong be succeeded by a smile of bewitching sweetness and benignity. Then be strong and manly, oppose equal forces to open difficulties, keep a stiff upper lip, and trust in Providence. Greatness can only be achieved by those who are tried. The condition of that achieve- ment is confidence in one's self.'" We certainly do not often meet with a piece of better sentiment, or sounder morality. This confidence in one's self, in a world where every man appears to be striving against his fellow, is as necessary to a successful career as is breath to physical existence. Or it may be likened to the healthful action of the heart, whose steady pulsa- tions direct and keep in harmony every movement of the animal economy. This once lost, and the consequences are as calamitous as those that follow any disorder of the great human engine. In order to maintain intact this AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 105 self-confidence, one must respect himself, which can only be done by pursuing a uniform life of honour and integrity. There are those who quail and shudder before every breath of adverse fortune. Their timidity is their stum- bling block, if not their ruin ; while they have'the addi- tional mortification of witnessing the rapid advance and ultimate success of those who, commencing life with themselves, have placed and retained self-confidence at the helm of their adventurous bark. The writer of the letter inclosing us this extract is a most admirable speci- men of the results of this sound philosophy ; and the eminent position he now occupies in the affection and respect of the community, and, indeed, of the country, must be abundant reward for the trials and difficulties he so nobly battled in his earlier career. THE GOOD MERCHANT. Drawn from Life. THE good merchant is scrupulously just and upright in all his transactions. Integrity, good faith, exact- ness in fulfilling his engagements, are prominent and distinctive features in his character. He is a high- minded and honourable man ; he would feel a stain upon his good name lik.e a wound, and regards with utter ab- horrence every thing that wears the appearance of mean- ness or duplicity. Knowing that credit is the soul of 106 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, business, he is anxious to sustain the integrity of the mercantile character. Accordingly his word is as good as his bond. He stands to his bargain, and is faithful to his contract. He is like the good man described by the Psalmist^ " Who to his plighted vows and trust Hath ever firmly stood ; And though he promise to his loss, He makes his promise good." He would rather at any time relinquish something of his lawful rights than engage in an irritating dispute. He would rather be the object than the agent in a dishonour- able or fraudulent transaction. When one told old Bishop Latimer that the cutler had cozened him in making him pay twopence for a knife not worth a penny, " No," said Latimer, " he cozened not me, but his own conscience." The good merchant is not in haste to be rich, observing that they who are so are apt to " fall into temptation and a snare," and often make shipwreck of their honour and virtue. He pursues commerce as his chosen calling, his regular employment. He expects to continue in it long, perhaps all his days, and is therefore content to make small profits, and accumulate slowly. When he first en- tered into business, he was determined not to be a drudge, nor be chained to the desk like a galley-slave, nor make his counting-room his home. He recollects that he is not merely a merchant but a man, and that he has a mind to improve, a heart to cultivate, and a character to form. He is therefore resolved to have time to develop and store his intellect, to exercise his social affections, and to enjoy, in moderation, the innocent and rational AND MEX OF BUSINESS. 107 pleasures of life. He accordingly sets apart and conse- crates a portion of his time, his evenings at least, to be spent at home in the bosom of his family. He will not, on any account, deny himself this relaxation ; he will not, for any consideration, rob himself of this source of im- provement and happiness. He is willing, if need be, to labour more years in order to obtain the desired amount of wealth, provided he can improve himself in the mean tune, and enjoy h'fe as he goes along. The good merchant, though an enterprising man, and willing to run some risks, knowing this to be essential to success in commercial adventure, yet is not willing to risk every thing, nor put all on the hazard of a single throw. He feels that he has no right to do this, that it is morally wrong thus to put in jeopardy his own peace and the comfort and prospects of his family. Of course, he engages in no wild and visionary schemes, the results of which are altogether uncertain, being based upon unreasonable expectations and improbable suppositions. He is particularly careful to embark in no speculation out of his regular line of business, and with the details of which he is not familiar. He is aware that, although he knows all about the cost of a ship, and can determine the quality and estimate the value of a bale of cotton, he is not a good judge of the worth of wild lands, having had no experience therein. Accordingly he will have nothing to do with any bargains of this sort, however promising" they may appear. He will not take a leap in the dark, nor purchase upon the representations of others who may be interested in the sale ; fearing lest what is described to him as a well-timbered township, may turn 108 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, out to be a barren waste, and what appears on paper a level and well-watered district, may be found, on inspec- tion, a steep and stony mountain, of no value whatever. He therefore deems it safest for him to keep clear of these grand speculations, and to attend quietly and regu- larly to his own business. Above all, he makes it a matter of conscience not to risk, in hazardous enterprises, the property of others intrusted to his keeping. The good merchant having thus acquired a compe- tency, and perhaps amassed a fortune, is liberal in dis- pensing his wealth. At the outset he is careful to indulge in no extrava- gance, and to live within his means, the neglect of which precaution he finds involves so many in failure and ruin. Simple in his manners and unostentatious in his habits of life, he abstains from all frivolous and foolish expendi- tures. At the same time, he is not niggardly or mean. On the contrary, he is liberal in the whole arrangement of his household, where every thing is for use and com- fort, and nothing for ostentation or display. Whatever will contribute to the improvement and welfare of his family, or whatever will gratify their innocent tastes, be it books or pictures, he obtains, if within his means, though it cost much, knowing that at^the same time he may foster the genius and reward the labours of our native authors and artists, an estimable class of men, whose works reflect honour upon their country, and who consequently merit the patronage of the community. But whatever is intended for mere parade and vain show, he will have none of, though it cost nothing. He thinks it wise and good economy to spend a great deal of money, AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 109 if he can afford it, to render home attractive, and to make his children wise, virtuous, and happy. Above all, he never grudges what is paid to the faithful schoolmaster for their intellectual and moral training ; for a good education he deems above all price. Having thus liberally provided for all the wants of his household, the good merchant remembers and cares for all who are related to him, and who may in any way stand in need of his aid. And this aid is administered in the most kind and delicate manner. He does not wait to be solicited ; he will not stop to be thanked ; he anticipates their wishes, and by a secret and silent bounty removes the painful sense of dependence and obligation ; he feels it a pleasure as well as a duty to help them ; he claims it as his privilege to do good unto his brethren ; he would feel ashamed to have his needy relatives re- lieved by public charity or private alms. But our good merchant feels that he has duties, not only to his immediate relatives and friends, but to a larger family the community in which he lives. He is deeply interested in its virtue and happiness, and feels bound to contribute his full share to the establishment and support of all good institutions, particularly the insti- tutions of learning, humanity, and religion. He is led to this by the expansive and liberalizing spirit of his calling. It is unfortunately the tendency of some occupations to narrow the mind and contract the heart. The mere division of labour, incident to, and inseparable from, many mechanical and manufacturing pursuits, though important and beneficial in other respects, yet serves to dwarf and cramp the intellect. The man who spends all 110 READINGS FOR TOUXG MEN, MERCHANTS, his days in making the heads of pins, thinks of nothing else, and is fit for nothing else. Commercial pursuits, on the other hand, being so various, extensive, and com- plicate, tend to enlarge the mind, and banish narrow and selfish feelings. The merchant looks abroad over the world, puts a girdle round the earth, has communication with all climes and nations, and is thus led to take large and liberal views of all things. The wealth which he has acquired easily and rapidly, he is consequently disposed to spend freely and munificently. It has been beautifully said of Roscoe, the distinguished Liverpool merchant, "Wherever you go, you perceive traces of his footsteps in all that is elegant and liberal. He found the tide of wealth flowing merely in the channels of traffic ; he has diverted from it invigorating rills to refresh the gardens of literature. The noble institutions for literary and scientific purposes, which reflect snch credit on that city, have mostly been originated, and have all been effectu- ally promoted, by him." In like manner, our good mer- chant encourages learning, and patronizes learned men. He is particularly liberal in endowing the higher seats of education, whence flow the streams that make glad the cities and churches of our God. Such we conceive to be the character of the good merchant. It may, perhaps, be thought by some, that the character is a visionary one ; and that, amid the competitions of trade, the temptations to unlawful gain, the eager desire of accumulating, and the natural un- willingness to part with what has been acquired \vith much labour and pains, there can be no place for the high-minded and generous virtues which we have de- AND MEN OF BUSINESS. Ill scribed. We might have thought so, too, if we had never seen them exhibited in actual life. The portrait which we have attempted to draw is not a fancy sketch, but a transcript from nature and reality. MITCH WISDOM IN LITTLE. KEEP good company or none. Never be idle. If your hands cannot be usefully employed, attend to the cultivation of 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 essentiaUy injured except by your own acts. If any one speaks ill of you, let your life be so that none will believe him. Drink no kind of intoxicating liquors. Ever live, misfortune excepted, within your income. When you retire to bed, think over what you have been doing during the day. Make no haste to be rich if you would prosper. Small and steady gains give competency with tranquillity of mind. Never play at any game of chance. Earn money before you spend it. Never run in debt uifless you see a clear way to get out of it again. Never borrow if you can possibly avoid it. Do not marry until you are able to support a wife. Never speak ill of any one. 112 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, THE RIGHT MAN FOR BUSINESS. GIVE us the straightforward, fearless, enterprising man for business. One who is worth a dozen of those who, when any thing is to be done, stop, falter, and hesitate, and are never ready to take a decided stand. One turns every thing within his reach into gold the other tar- nishes even what is bright ; the one will succeed in life, and no adventitious circumstances will hinder him the other will be a continual drawling moth, never rising above mediocrity, but rather falling below. Make up your mind to be firm, resolute, and indus- trious, if you desire prosperity. There is good in that saying of the apostle, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." GETTING ON IN THE WORLD. THERE are different ways of getting on in the world. It does not always mean making a deal of money, or being a great man for people to look up to with wonder. Leaving off a bad habit for a good one, is getting on in the world ; to be clean and tidy, instead of dirty and dis- orderly, is getting on ; to be careful and saving, instead of thoughtless and wasteful, is getting on ; to be active and industrious, instead of idle and lazy, is getting on ; AND MEN OP BUSINESS. 113 to be kind and forbearing, instead of ill-natured and quar- relsome, is getting on ; to work as diligently in the mas- ter's absence as in his presence, is getting on ; in short, when we see any one properly attentive to his duties, persevering, through difficulties, to gain such knowledge as shall be of use to himself and to others, offering a good example to his relatives and acquaintances, we may be sure that he is getting on in the world. Money is a very useful article in its way, but it is possible to get on with but small means ; for it is a mistake to suppose that we must wait for a good deal of money before we can do any thing. Perseverance is often better than a full purse. Many people lag behind, or miss the way altogether, because they do not see the simple and abun- dant means which surround them on all sides ; and it so happens that these means are aids which cannot be bought with money. Those who wish to get on in the world must have a stock of patience and perseverance, of hopeful confidence, a willingness to learn, and a disposi- tion not easily cast down by difficulties and disappoint- ments. DEPEND ON YOURSELF. BAD luck, as well as mischance and misfortune, are all the daughters of misconduct, and sometimes the mother of success, prosperity, and advancement. To be thrown on one's resources, is to be cast into the very lap of for- tune. Had Franklin entered Philadelphia with a thou- 8 114 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, sand dollars in his pocket, instead of one shilling and ninepence, as he did, in all probability he would have gone on a " spree " instead of hunting up employment, and died at thirty-five from driving tandem-teams and drinking brandy-smashers, instead of living to the green old age of eighty, and dying a philosopher, whose amuse- ment was the taming of the thunderbolts, and bottling of lightning. Had Napoleon's father been the owner of a princely estate, his son would have never got to be em- peror. A good kick out of doors is better than all the rich uncles in the world. One never tries to swim so hard as when he has to do it or drown. To be a rich man's son is the greatest misfortune that can befall a young man, mentally speaking.- Who fill our offices? Not the children of the rich, or the sons of the opulent. PASTE THIS UP IN YOUR MIND. LET you be ever so pure, you cannot associate with bad companions without falling into bad odour. Evil company is like tobacco-smoke you cannot be long in its presence without carrying away a taint of it. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 115 BUSINESS FIRST, THEN PLEASURE. A MAN who is very rich now, was very poor when h^ was a boy. When asked how he got his riches, he re- plied, " My father taught me never to play till all my work for the day was finished, and never spend my money till I had earned it. If I had but half an hour's work to do in a day, I must do that the first thing, and in half an hour. After this was done, I was then allowed to play ; and I could then play with much more pleasure than if I had the thought of an unfinished task before my mind. I early formed the habit of doing every thing in its time, and it soon became perfectly easy to do so. It is to this habit that I now owe my present prosperity." Let every young man who reads this go and do likewise, and he will meet with a similar reward. CHOICE OF FRIENDS. WE should ever have it fixed in our memories, that by the character of those whom we choose for our friends, our own is likely to be formed, and will certainly be judged of by the world. We ought, therefore, to be slow and cautious in contracting intimacy ; but, when a virtuous friendship is once established, we must ever con- sider it as a sacred engagement. 116 READINGS FOR TOUXG MEN, MERCHANTS, EASY WAY OF GAINING OR LOSING FIVE YEARS OF LIFE. EARLY rising has been often extolled, and extolled in vain ; for people think that an hour's additional sleep is very comfortable, and can make very little difference after all. But an hour gained or wasted every day, makes a great difference in the length of our lives, which we may see by a very simple calculation : First, we will say that the average of mankind spend sixteen hours of every twenty-four hours awake and employed, and eight in bed. Now, each year having three hundred and sixty-five days, if a diligent person abstract from sleep one hour daily, he lengthens his years three hundred and sixty-five hours, or twenty- three days of sixteen hours each, the length of a waking day, which is what we call a day in these calculations. "We will take a period of forty years, and see how it may be decreased or added to by sloth or energy. A person sleeping eight hours a day has his full average of three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, and may therefore be said to enjoy complete his forty years. Let him take nine hours sleep, and his year has but three hundred and forty-two days, so that he lives only thirty- seven and a half years ; with ten hours in bed, he has three hundred and nineteen days, and his life is thirty- five years ; in like manner, if the sleep is limited to seven hours, our year has three hundred and eighty- eight days, and, instead of forty, we live forty-two and a AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 117 half years ; and if six hours is our allowance of slumber, we have four hundred and eleven days in the year, and live forty-five years. By this we see that, in forty years, two hours daily occasion either a loss or gain of FIVE YEARS. How much might be done in this space ? What would we not give at the close of life for another lease of five years ? And how bitter the reflection would be at such a time, if we reflect at all, that we have wilfully given up this por- tion of our existence merely that we might lie a little longer in bed in the morning. MAKE A BEGINNING. REMEMBER in all things that, if you do not begin, you will never come to an end. The first weed pulled up in the garden, the first seed put in the ground, the first shilling put in the savings bank, and the first mile travelled on a journey, are all very important things. They make a beginning, and thereby a hope, a promise, a pledge, an assurance, that you are in earnest with what you have undertaken. How many a poor, idle, erring, hesitating outcast, is now creeping and crawling his way through the world, who might have held up his head and prospered, if, instead of putting off" his resolutions of amendment and industry, he had only made a beginning ! 118 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, HINTS. Do not be discouraged if, in the outset of life, things do not go on smoothly. It seldom happens that the hopes we cherish for the future are realized. The path of life appears smooth and level ; but when we come to travel it, we find it all uphill, and generally rough enough. The journey is a laborious one ; and whether poor or wealthy, high or low, we shall find it, to our disappoint- ment, if we have built on any other calculation. To en- dure it with as much cheerfulness as possible, and to elbow our way through the great crowd, hoping for little, yet striving for much, is perhaps the best plan. Do not be discouraged if occasionally you slip down by the way, and your neighbour treads over you a little ; or, in other words, do not let a failure or two dishearten you. Acci- dents will happen, miscalculations will sometimes be made, things turn out differently from our expectations, and we may be sufferers. It is worth while to remember, that fortune is like the skies in April, sometimes clear and favourable ; and as it would be folly to despair of again seeing the sun because to-day is stormy, so it is unwise to sink into despondency when fortune frowns, since, in the common course of things, she may surely be expected to smile and smile again. Do not be discouraged if you are deceived in the people of the world ; they are rotten at the core. From such sources as these you may be most unexpectedly deceived, and you will naturally feel sore under such deceptions; but to these you may AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 119 become used. If you fare as other people do, they will lose their novelty before you grow gray, and you will learn to trust more cautiously, and examine their char- acter closely, before you allow great opportunities to injure you. Do not be discouraged under any circum- stances. Go steadily forward. Rather consult your own conscience than the opinion of men, though the latter is not to be disregarded. Be industrious, be sober, be hon- est ; dealing in perfect kindness with all who come in your way, exercising a neighbourly and obliging spirit in all your intercourse ; and, if you do not prosper as rapidly now as some of your neighbours, depend upon it you will be at least as happy. INDUSTRY AND ITS BLESSINGS. PEOPLE may tell you of your being unfit for some peculiar occupations of life ; but heed them not. "What- ever employment you follow, with perseverance and assiduity, will be found fit for you ; it will be your sup- port in youth, and your comfort in age. In learning the useful part of any profession, very moderate abilities will suffice ; great abilities are generally injurious to the pos- sessors. Life has been compared to a race ; but the allusion still improves by observing that the most swift are ever the most apt to stray from the course. 120 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, A WHEELING ARTICLE. GOING to dinner the other day, we saw a little codger, about two years old, sitting on a wheelbarrow and trying to wheel himself. It struck us that many people in this world are often caught in the same act ; and we shall always think hereafter, when we see a business man trusting every thing to his clerks, and continually seeking his own amusement always absent from his counting- house, yet expecting to get along he's sitting in a wheelbarrow and trying to wheel himself. When we see a professional man better acquainted with eveiy thing else than his profession, always starting some new scheme, and never attending to his calling, his wardrobe and credit will soon designate him as sitting in a wheelbarrow and trying to wheel himself. When we see a farmer with an overabundance of " hired help," trusting every thing to their management, his fences down, implements out of repair, and land suf- fering from want of proper tillage too proud or too lazy to take off his coat and go to work he's sitting in a wheelbarrow, trying to wheel himself. MAXIMS FOR GUIDANCE THROUGH LIFE. NEVER affect to be other than you really are either richer or wiser. Never be ashamed to say, " I do not AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 121 know." Men will then believe you when you say, " I do know." Never be ashamed to say, whether as ap- plied to time or money, " I cannot afford it ; " " I cannot afford to waste an hour in the idleness to which you in- vite me I cannot afford the guinea you ask me to throw away." Once establish yourself and your mode of life as what they really are, and your foot is on solid ground, whether for the gradual step onward, or for the sudden spring over a precipice. From these maxims let me deduce another learn to say " No " with decision ; " Yes " with caution " No " with decision whenever it meets a temptation ; " Yes " with caution whenever it implies a promise. A promise once given is a bond in- violable. A man is already of consequence in the world when it is known that we may implicitly rely upon him. I have frequently seen in life a person preferred to a long list of applicants for some important charge, which lifts him at once into station and fortune, merely because he has this reputation, that when he says he knows a thing, he knows it ; and when he says he will do a thing, he will do it. DIFFICULTIES. IT is weak to be scared at difficulties, seeing that they generally diminish as they are approached, and oftentimes even entirely vanish. No man can tell what he can do till he tries. It is impossible to calculate the extent of 1.22 READINGS FOB YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, human powers ; it can only be ascertained by experi- ment. What has been accomplished by parties and by solitary individuals in the torrid and the frozen regions, under circumstances the most difficult and appalling, should teach us that, when we ought to attempt, we should not despair. The reason why men oftener suc- ceed in overcoming uncommon difficulties than ordinary ones, is, that in the first case they call into action the whole of their resources, and that in the last they act upon calculation, and generally undercalculate. Where there is no retreat, and the whole energy is forward, the chances are in favour of success, but a backward look is full of danger. Confidence of success, is almost success ; and obstacles often fall of themselves before a determi- nation to over comethem. There is something in resolu- tion which has an influence beyond itself, and it marches on like a mighty lordamon gst its slaves ; all is prostra- tion where it appears. When bent on good, it is almost the noblest attribute of man ; when on evil, the most dangerous. It is by habitual resolution that men succeed to any great extent ; impulses are not sufficient. What is done at one moment is undone the next ; and a step forward is nothing gained unless it is followed up. " What is difficulty ? " says a popular author.* " Only a word indicating the degree of strength requisite for ac- complishing particular objects ; a mere notice of the necessity for exertion ; a bugbear to children and fools ; only a mere stimulus to man ! " * Samuel Warren. AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 123 IT WILL NEVER DO TO BE IDLE. IT is the odds and ends of our time, its orts and offals laid up, as they usually are, in corners to rot and stink there, instead of being used out as they should be these, I say, are the occasions of our moral unsoundness and corruption. A dead fly, little thing as it is, will spoil a whole box of the most precious ointment ; and idleness, if it be once suffered, though but for a brief while, is sure, by the communication of its listless quality, to clog and cumber the clockwork of the whole day. It is the ancient enemy the old man of the Arabian tales. Once take him upon your shoulders, and he is not shaken off so easily. I had a notion of these truths, and I framed my plan after their rules. I resolved that every minute should be occupied by thought, word, or act, or, if by none of these, by intention ; vacancy was my only outcast, the scapegoat of my proscription. For this, my purpose, I required a certain energy of will, as indeed this same energy is requisite for every other good thing of every sort or kind ; without it we are as powerless as grubs, noisome as ditch water, vague, loose, and unpredestinate as the clouds above our heads. However, I had sufficient of this energy to serve me for that turn ; I felt the excel- lence of the practice ; I was penetrated with it through all my being ; I clung to it ; I cherished it ; I made a point of every thing ; I was active, brisk, and animated (oh, how true is that word !) in all things that I did, even 124 READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, to the picking up of a glove or asking the time of day. If I ever felt the approach, the first approach, of the in- sidious languor, I said once within myself in the next quarter of an hour, I will do such a thing, and, presto, it was done, and much more than that into the bargain ; my mind was set in motion, my spirits stirred and quick- ened, and, raised to their proper height. I watched the cloud and dissipated it at its first gathering, as well knowing that, if it could grow but to the largeness of a man's hand, it would spread out everywhere, and darken my whole horizon. Oh, that this example might be as profitable to others as the practice has been to myself! How rich would be the reward of this book, if its readers would but take it to heart in this one article ; if the simple truths that it here speaks could prompt them to take their happiness into their own hands, and learn the value of industry, not from what they may have heard of it, but because they have themselves tried it and felt it! In the first place, its direct and immediate value, inasmuch as it quickens and cheers and gladdens every moment that it occupies, and keeps off the evil one by repelling him at the outposts, instead of admitting him to a doubtful, perhaps a deadly, struggle in the citadel ; and again its more remote, but no less certain value, as the mother of many virtues, when it has once grown into the temper of the mind; and the nursing-mother of many more. And if we gain so much by its entertainment, how much more must we not lose by its neglect ? Our vexations are annoying to us, the disappointments of life are grievous, its calamities deplorable, its indulgences and lusts sinful ; but our idleness is worse than all these, and AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 125 more painful, and more hateful, and, in the amount of its consequences, if not in its very essence, more sinful than even sin itself just as the stock is more fruitful than any branch that springs from it. In fine, do what you will, only do something, and that actively and energeti- cally. Read, converse, sport, think, or study the whole range is open to you, only let your mind be full, and then you will want little or nothing to fulfil your happiness. WHAT IS LUCK? THERE is a great deal which passes for luck which is not such. Generally speaking, your " lucky fellows," when one searches closely into their history, turn out to be your fellows that know what they are doing, and how to do it in the right way. Their luck comes to them because they work for it ; it is luck well earned. They put themselves in the way of luck. They keep them- selves wide awake. They make the best of what oppor- tunities they possess, and always stand ready for more ; and when a mechanic does this much, depend on it, it must be hard luck, indeed, if he do not get at least em- ployers, customers, and friends. " One needs only," says an American writer, " to turn to the lives of men of mechanical genius to see how, by taking advantage of little things and facts which no one had observed, or which every one had thought unworthy of regard, they have established new and important principles in the 126 READINGS FOE YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, arts, and built up for themselves manufactories for the practice of their newly-discovered processes." And yet these are the men who are called the lucky fellows, and sometimes envied as such. Who can deny that their luck is well earned ; or that it was just as much in my power to " go ahead," as the Yankees say, as it was in theirs ? POLONIUS'S ADVICE TO HIS SON. " Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar ; The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel ; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch' d, unfledged comrade. Beware Of entrance into quarrel : but, being in, Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thee. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice ; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy ; rich, not gaudy ; For the apparel oft proclaims the man. Neither a borrower nor a lender be ; For loan oft loses both itself and friends, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This, above all to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." AND MEN OF BUSINESS. 127 EXTRACT FROM SIR FOWELL BUXTON'S LETTER TO HIS SON. " You are now at that period of life in which you must make a turn to the right or the left. 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, ineffective young man ; and, if once you fall to that point, you will find it no easy matter to rise again. " / am sure that a young man may be very much what he pleases. In my own case it was so. I left school, where I had learned little or nothing, about the age of fourteen. I spent the next year at home learning to hunt and shoot. Then it was that the prospect of going to college opened upon me, and such thoughts as I have expressed in this letter occurred to my mind. I made my resolutions, and I acted up to them : I gave up all desultory reading I never looked into a novel or a newspaper I gave up shooting. During the five years I was in Ireland, I had the liberty of going when I pleased to a capital shooting-place. I never went but twice. In short, I considered every hour as precious, and I made every thing bend to my determination not to be behind any of my companions ; and then I speedily passed fr