If you have any ambition to bear yourself well, to succeed in life in all ways as well as in the financial way, which is commonly understood when "success" is mentioned, you must become aware of the fact that you cannot live any kind of life you may like for years and still have the highest character. It is the little incidents from day to day which make a man's character, and perhaps the strongest of all these little incidents are those which concern the treatment of women and girls by men and boys. The habit of being constantly with women sometimes cultivates the habit of paying little attention to them, of not recollecting that they are to be treated with never-failing courtesy. This is but a step in the direction leading to such incidents as one sees in Europe, where young brothers sit about the house in their uniforms paid for by their sisters' sewing or teaching, and let these same sisters bring their shoes, or coats, or glasses of water, and what not. When we go to Germany and see this sort of thing, we acquire a contempt for the men of that race. They do not begin to equal the vigor, the manliness, the civilization, of our American men. And yet we must not behold the mote in our brother's eye unless we consider the beam in our own. We must not criticise others unless we can at least say that our own men have a clear idea of their proper course in such a matter.
Furthermore, when you are dealing with the other sex it is wise to bear in mind that as you treat them, so are you building up character in yourself. If you do not bear in mind the courtesies of all kinds which are woman's due, you cannot retain for any length of time a pride in yourself, a satisfaction with your behavior, which is commonly called self-respect; and without self-respect you will have a hard time of it in the world.
In other words, the higher the pedestal on which you place all women, both of your acquaintance and not of your acquaintance, the higher you are putting yourself, the better your standards will be, and the better man you will make yourself.
AN UNFAIR DIVISION.
Many old residents of New York will remember Hank Miller, sometimes called the "Omnibus King." Quiet, good-natured, and full of fun, he enjoyed a patronage which eventually netted him a neat income. One evening Hank was making his rounds of the stable, as was his wont, when he overheard the chink of money and a subdued muttering. Glancing over a stall, he discovered one of his drivers counting his fares as follows:
"That's two shillun' for Hank, and two for me," laying the shillings in two piles. He kept on dividing his fares, until he came to the last piece of money, an odd shilling.
"There," said he, "that's too bad to come out uneven, 'cause I wants to be square and go halves with Hank. Let me see, shall I throw this in his pile? No, I'll toss it up; heads for me and tails for Hank," and he spun it up in the air. "Tails it is!" he cried as it fell. "Well, that's Hank's, I suppose," but he hesitated. "No, I guess I'll toss again." This time it fell down heads. "Ah, I knew that first toss wasn't fair!" and having divided the money to his satisfaction, he slipped away without knowing that Hank had been watching him.
Hank gained his office before the thieving driver arrived to leave his fares. "Good-evening, Jack," said he, as the man entered. "Luck good to-day?"
"Rather poor, Mr. Miller," and he laid the money on the desk.