The number of men who go through life with their eyes closed is astonishing. These men regret their want of luck, they say they have had no chances; alas! they have had their chances but either failed to see them, or lacked the courage or capacity to take advantage of them. The world is so constituted that changes are ever taking place, and every change is fruitful of opportunities. We hear it said of some that everything they touch turns into gold. It is only another way of saying that they are ever on the look-out for opportunities, and are not laggards in turning them to good account. IMAGINATION. The want of imagination prevents many men from making use of their opportunities. Upon a dull day, when the clouds hang in the valleys, and obscure from view the tops of the mountains, imagination fills up the picture, and probably paints the crests of the mountains much higher than they really are. Too many men travel only in the valleys of life, content with what they see; and imagine nothing above or beyond. Suppose, for instance, a serious disaster overtakes the harvest. The man endowed with imagination will look beyond the disaster and note its far-reaching effects, and in them recognise his opportunities for action. General Sir Richard Baden-Powell is doing an excellent work with his "boy scouts," not only in teaching discipline, but in encouraging the habits of observation and imagination, which will be of the greatest value to them in after-life. I have touched upon three points necessary to success in life, "thoroughness and accuracy," the faculty of "observation," and the gift of "imagination," because they are but seldom prominently referred to. It is not needful to enlarge upon the value of character nor upon the necessity for "integrity." Of nothing am I more certain, than that "Honesty is the best policy." I can think of no career which has been permanently successful, in which this "golden rule" has not been observed. Speculation is the gambler's road to fortune. It has many ups and downs, and generally leads to disaster and the "slough of despond." But there is a wide gulf separating speculation from the enterprise of the genius that foresees and devises new methods of trade, or anticipates, as the result of careful observation and calculation, changes in the market value of securities and commodities.