But this power of application is not only the secret of success in the school-room. Anyone who has cultivated it has taken an important step in their life, whether it be dedicated to study, business, or profession.
We are often brought into contact with persons not otherwise gifted, who continually surprise us by the amount they accomplish. Could we but make a study of them we would see that the greatest part of their ability lies in this same power of concentration. On whatever they undertake they put their whole mind. What appears to be a wonderful versatility is merely the ability to do one thing at a time, and to do it well.
Even in athletics, where success often comes to those who are apparently not making the most of themselves otherwise, it is this same power which excels. Should many of the young folks who have become proficient in athletics at the expense of their studies, concentrate upon their lessons as closely as they do upon their exercise, they would have become intellectual leaders as well.
Now, as the new period of our school life approaches, let us meet it with a full realization of its value to us. Then only will we be able to reap its full benefit. The secret of accomplishing the most and making the best of our time is by concentrating upon our task. Whether it be our lessons, our work, or our play, we can succeed only by bringing to bear upon it our whole mind and strength. Then, too, it is only when we have made our school days days of accomplishment that we can derive the fullest enjoyment from our vacation.
Event and Comment
The Coronation
The coronation ceremonies of King Edward, postponed from June last and threatened with frustration, took place on August 9th in Westminster Abbey. Here were assembled no less than 7,000 people, including the nobility and clergy, together with foreign princes, ambassadors, and rulers from various quarters of the globe. Among them were nearly 100 Americans, all more or less prominent.
In the midst of such an assembly the climax of the event came when the venerable Archbishop of Canterbury placed the jeweled crown upon the king’s head.
Thereupon the electric lights throughout the Abbey sprang into brilliant existence, illumining the magnificent apparel and glittering jewels of both participant and spectator, and giving an effect of splendor which, according to one who beheld it, has never been equaled.