Little Visits with Great Americans, Vol. 1 (of 2): Or Success, Ideals and How to Attain Them
History
Little Visits with Great Americans, Vol. 1 (of 2): Or Success, Ideals and How to Attain Them
Success; United States -- Biography; United States -- History -- 19th century -- Biography
“Yes, for a brief period. My brother was a student in Wabash
College,—here in Crawfordsville,—and hither I also was sent; but within
six weeks I had tired of the routine, was satiated with discipline, and
made my exit from the institution. I shall never forget what my father
did when I returned home. He called me into his office, and, reaching
into one of the pigeon-holes above his desk, withdrew therefrom a
package of papers neatly folded and tied with the conventional red
tape. He was a very systematic man, due, perhaps, to his West Point
training, and these papers proved to be the receipts for my tuition,
which he had carefully preserved. He called off the items, and asked me
to add them together. The total, I confess, staggered me.”
A FATHER’S FRUITFUL WARNING.
“‘That sum, my son,’ he said, with a tone of regret in his voice,
‘represents what I have expended in these many years past to provide
you with a good education. How successful I have been, you know
better than anyone else. After mature reflection, I have come to the
conclusion that I have done for you in that direction all that can
reasonably be expected of any parent, and I have, therefore, called
you in to tell you that you have now reached an age when you must take
up the lines yourself. If you have failed to profit by the advantages
with which I have tried so hard to surround you, the responsibility
must be yours. I shall not upbraid you for your neglect, but rather
pity you for the indifference which you have shown to the golden
opportunities you have, through my indulgence, been enabled to enjoy.’”
“What effect did this admonition have on you? Did it awaken or arouse
you?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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