How Poor Boys Become Successful Men.
You want some good advice. Rise early. Be abstemious. Be frugal. Attend to your own business and never trust it to another. Be not afraid to work, and diligently, too, with your own hands. Treat every one with civility and respect. Good manners insure success. Accomplish what you undertake. Decide, then persevere. Diligence and industry overcome all difficulties. Never be mean—rather give than take the odd shilling. Never postpone till to-morrow what can be done to-day. Never anticipate wealth from any source but labor. Honesty is not only the best policy, but the only policy. Commence at the first round and keep climbing. Make your word as good as your bond. Seek knowledge to plan, enterprise to execute, honesty to govern all. Never overtrade. Never give too large credit. Time is money. Reckon the hours of the day as so many dollars, the minutes as so many cents. Make few promises. Keep your secrets. Live within your income. Sobriety above all things. Luck is a word that does not apply to a successful man. Not too much caution—slow but sure is the thing. The highest monuments are built piece by piece. Step by step we mount the pyramids. Be bold—be resolute when the clouds gather, difficulties are surmounted by opposition. Self-confidence, self-reliance is your capital. Your conscience the best monitor. Never be over-sanguine, but do not underrate your own abilities. Don't be discouraged. Ninety-nine may say no, the hundredth, yes: take off your coat: roll up your sleeves, don't be afraid of manual labor! America is large enough for all—strike out for the west. The best letter of introduction is your own energy. Lean on yourself when you walk. Keep good company. Keep out of politics unless you are sure to win—you are never sure to win, so look out.
The
Art of Penmanship
How to Become a Handsome Writer.
The subject of the importance of good writing is as broad as its use. Reaching out in every direction, and pervading every corner of civilized society, from the humblest up to the highest employments, it is a servant of man, second only in importance to that of speech itself. In the world of business its value is seen, from the simplest record or memorandum, up to the parchment which conveys a kingdom. Without it, the wheels of commerce could not move a single hour. At night it has recorded the transactions of the Bank of England during the day; of London; of the whole world.
Through the art of writing, the deeds of men live after them, and we may surround ourselves with the companionship of philosophers, scientists, historians, discoverers and poets; and their discoveries, and reasonings and imaginings become ours. In the amenities of social life, through the medium of the pen, heart speaks to heart, though ocean rolls between. Thoughts of tenderness and affection live when we are gone, and words and deeds of kindness are not preserved by monuments alone. What fountains of grief or joy have been opened in the hearts of those who have read the records of the pen! The pen has recorded the rapturous emotions of love reciprocated. The pen has written the message of sadness which has covered life's pilgrimage with gloom. The pen has traced the record of noble and useful lives, spent in humanity's cause. The songs of the poet, the beautiful tints of his imagination, the flights of the orator in the realms of fancy, and the facts of history, would all perish as the dew of morning, without this noble art of writing.
As a means of livelihood, there is perhaps no other department of education which affords such universal and profitable employment, as writing. From the mere copyist, up to the practical accountant, and onward into that department of penmanship designated as a fine art, the remuneration is always very ample, considering the time and effort required in its acquisition.
Teachers, editors, farmers, doctors and all persons should possess a practical and substantial knowledge of writing, and should be ready with the pen. Business men must of course be ready writers, and hence, in a treatise on business, designed for the education and advancement of the youth of the country, it seems eminently fitting to first make the way clear to a plain, practical handwriting. Neatness and accuracy should characterize the handwriting of every one. Botch-work and bungling are inexcusable, as well in writing as in the transaction of business. No person has a right to cause a tinge of shame to their correspondent, by sending a letter addressed in a stupid and awkward manner, nor to consume the time of another in deciphering the illegible hooks and scrawls of a message. Every one should have the ambition to write respectably as well as to appear respectable on any occasion.
MATERIALS USED IN WRITING.
Having a suitable desk or table, arranged with reference to light, in order to learn to write, it is necessary to be provided with proper materials. Writing materials are so abundant and so cheap in these times that no excuse is afforded for using an inferior or worthless quality. The materials consist of Pens, Ink and Paper.
PENS.
Steel pens are considered the best. Gold pens have the advantage of always producing the same quality of writing, while steel pens, new or old, produce finer or courser lines. Notwithstanding this advantage in favor of the gold pen, steel pens adhere to the paper, and produce a better line. The pen should be adapted to the hand of the writer. Some persons require a coarse pen, and some fine. Elastic pens in the hand of one writer may produce the best results, while a less flexible pen may suit the hand of others best. Pens are manufactured of almost an infinite grade and quality, in order to suit the requirements of all. About the only rule that can be given in selecting pens, is to write a few lines, or a page, with each of the pens on trial, and then compare the writing. If it be shaded too heavily, select a less flexible pen, if the hair lines are too delicate, select a coarser pen.
INK.
Black ink is always preferable. That which is free from sediment and flows well, should be selected. Use an inkstand with broad base as being less liable to upset. With persons in learning to write it is perhaps best to have a quality of ink which is perfectly black when put on the paper, in order that they may see the results of their labor at once. Business men and accountants prefer a fluid ink, however, which, although not black at first, continues to grow black, and becomes a very bright and durable black, notwithstanding the action of light and heat. Avoid the use of fancy colored inks, especially the more gaudy, such as blue, red or green, in writing all documents which you desire to command attention and respect.
PAPER.
There are almost as many grades of paper to be found in the stationery stores, as there are of pens. For practicing penmanship, nothing is more suitable than foolscap, which may be easily sewed into book-form, with cover of some different color, and thus serves every requirement. The paper should have a medium surface, neither rough and coarse, or too fine and glazed. Have a few extra sheets beside the writing book, for the purpose of practicing the movement exercises and testing the pens. Be provided at all times with a large-sized blotter, and when writing, keep this under the hand. Do not attempt to write with a single sheet of paper on a bare table or desk; there should be many sheets of paper underneath, in order to make an elastic surface.
STUDY WITH PRACTICE.
Aimless, indifferent, or careless practice, never made a good writer, and never will. In order to succeed in this, as in other things, there must be will and determination to succeed, and then persevering and studious effort. Study the models until their forms are fixed in the mind.
No one can execute that which he does not clearly conceive. The artist must first see the picture on the white canvas, before he can paint it, and the sculptor must be able to see in the rough and uninviting stone, the outlines of the beautiful image which he is to carve. In writing, a clear idea of the formation of the different letters, and their various proportions, must become familiar by proper study, examination and analysis. Study precedes practice. It is, of course, not necessary, nor even well, to undertake the mastery of all the forms in writing, by study, until some have been executed. It is best that each form should, as it is taken up, be first measured and analyzed and then practiced at once.
It is the act which crowns the thought. After study, careful and earnest practice can hardly fail to make a good writer of any one. Some persons secure a good style of penmanship with less labor than others, and attain to the elegant, and beautiful formation. But it is only fair to presume that no greater diversity of talent exists in this direction than in the study of other things. All do not learn arithmetic or history with like ease, but no one will assert that all who will, may not learn arithmetic or history. And so, all who will put forth the proper exertion in study and practice may learn to write a good business style, while many of the number will attain to the elegant. The conditions of practice in writing are, Positions of the Body, Position of the Hand an Pen, and Movement.
