THE SECRET OF SUCCESS.

To succeed in the

THERE are some men who appear born to good fortune, 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 ridiculous, show at least that the connection between merit and success is not very conspicuous, yet it is not therefore the less perpetual. 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 exemption from those rules of prudence which regulate the conduct of ordinary mortals, and array themselves in the 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 wholesome 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 miscalculation of our time and means as will involve us in perpetual hurry and difficulty. The brightest talents must be ineffective under such a pressure, and a life of expedients 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 sickness, 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 universally coveted, can be only desirable in so far as it contributes to happiness, and it will contribute to happiness very little unless there be cultivated a lively benevolence 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 us." 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-deserves, ay, 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 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 antagonist is our helper. This amicable contest with difficulty 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."

"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 convinced that the old merchant was right who said to us when we began to live-" Industry, my lad, is better than ingots of gold, and character more valuable than credit.”

We could furnish, if need were, from our own experience, 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 sagacious firms will not long continue to give credit for thousands 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 venturesomefills 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 outset 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