THE ART OF MONEY GETTING

or

GOLDEN RULES FOR MAKING MONEY

By P. T. Barnum

In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is notat all difficult for persons in good health to make money. In thiscomparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open, somany vocations which are not crowded, that any person of either sex whois willing, at least for the time being, to engage in any respectableoccupation that offers, may find lucrative employment. 

Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only to settheir minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard toany other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easilydone. But however easy it may be found to make money, I have no doubtmany of my hearers will agree it is the most difficult thing in theworld to keep it. The road to wealth is, as Dr. Franklin truly says, "as plain as the road to the mill. " It consists simply in expending lessthan we earn; that seems to be a very simple problem. Mr. Micawber, one of those happy creations of the genial Dickens, puts the case in astrong light when he says that to have annual income of twenty poundsper annum, and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, is to be the mostmiserable of men; whereas, to have an income of only twenty pounds, andspend but nineteen pounds and sixpence is to be the happiest of mortals. Many of my readers may say, "we understand this: this is economy, and weknow economy is wealth; we know we can't eat our cake and keep it also. "Yet I beg to say that perhaps more cases of failure arise from mistakeson this point than almost any other. The fact is, many people think theyunderstand economy when they really do not. 

True economy is misapprehended, and people go through life withoutproperly comprehending what that principle is. One says, "I have anincome of so much, and here is my neighbor who has the same; yet everyyear he gets something ahead and I fall short; why is it? I know allabout economy. " He thinks he does, but he does not. There are men whothink that economy consists in saving cheese-parings and candle-ends, in cutting off two pence from the laundress' bill and doing all sorts oflittle, mean, dirty things. Economy is not meanness. The misfortune is, also, that this class of persons let their economy apply in only onedirection. They fancy they are so wonderfully economical in saving ahalf-penny where they ought to spend twopence, that they think they canafford to squander in other directions. A few years ago, before keroseneoil was discovered or thought of, one might stop overnight at almost anyfarmer's house in the agricultural districts and get a very good supper, but after supper he might attempt to read in the sitting-room, andwould find it impossible with the inefficient light of one candle. Thehostess, seeing his dilemma, would say: "It is rather difficult to readhere evenings; the proverb says 'you must have a ship at sea in orderto be able to burn two candles at once;' we never have an extra candleexcept on extra occasions. " These extra occasions occur, perhaps, twicea year. In this way the good woman saves five, six, or ten dollars inthat time: but the information which might be derived from having theextra light would, of course, far outweigh a ton of candles. 

But the trouble does not end here. Feeling that she is so economicalin tallow candies, she thinks she can afford to go frequently to thevillage and spend twenty or thirty dollars for ribbons and furbelows, many of which are not necessary. This false connote may frequentlybe seen in men of business, and in those instances it often runs towriting-paper. You find good businessmen who save all the old envelopesand scraps, and would not tear a new sheet of paper, if they could avoidit, for the world. This is all very well; they may in this way save fiveor ten dollars a year, but being so economical (only in note paper), they think they can afford to waste time; to have expensive parties, and to drive their carriages. This is an illustration of Dr. Franklin's"saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung-hole;" "penny wise andpound foolish. " Punch in speaking of this "one idea" class of peoplesays "they are like the man who bought a penny herring for his family'sdinner and then hired a coach and four to take it home. " I never knew aman to succeed by practising this kind of economy. 

True economy consists in always making the income exceed the out-go. Wear the old clothes a little longer if necessary; dispense with the newpair of gloves; mend the old dress: live on plainer food if need be; sothat, under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income. A penny here, and adollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this waythe desired result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, toaccomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find thereis more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending. Here is a recipe which I recommend: I have found it to work an excellentcure for extravagance, and especially for mistaken economy: When youfind that you have no surplus at the end of the year, and yet have agood income, I advise you to take a few sheets of paper and form theminto a book and mark down every item of expenditure. Post it every dayor week in two columns, one headed "necessaries" or even "comforts", andthe other headed "luxuries, " and you will find that the latter columnwill be double, treble, and frequently ten times greater than theformer. The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of what mostof us can earn. Dr. Franklin says "it is the eyes of others and notour own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself Ishould not care for fine clothes or furniture. " It is the fear of whatMrs. Grundy may say that keeps the noses of many worthy families to thegrindstone. In America many persons like to repeat "we are all free andequal, " but it is a great mistake in more senses than one. 

That we are born "free and equal" is a glorious truth in one sense, yetwe are not all born equally rich, and we never shall be. One may say;"there is a man who has an income of fifty thousand dollars per annum, while I have but one thousand dollars; I knew that fellow when he waspoor like myself; now he is rich and thinks he is better than I am; Iwill show him that I am as good as he is; I will go and buy a horse andbuggy; no, I cannot do that, but I will go and hire one and ride thisafternoon on the same road that he does, and thus prove to him that I amas good as he is. "

My friend, you need not take that trouble; you can easily prove that youare "as good as he is;" you have only to behave as well as he does; butyou cannot make anybody believe that you are rich as he is. Besides, ifyou put on these "airs, " add waste your time and spend your money, yourpoor wife will be obliged to scrub her fingers off at home, and buy hertea two ounces at a time, and everything else in proportion, in orderthat you may keep up "appearances, " and, after all, deceive nobody. Onthe other hand, Mrs. Smith may say that her next-door neighbormarried Johnson for his money, and "everybody says so. " She has a niceone-thousand dollar camel's hair shawl, and she will make Smith get heran imitation one, and she will sit in a pew right next to her neighborin church, in order to prove that she is her equal. 

My good woman, you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity andenvy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majorityought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and leta handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a falsestandard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, weconstantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sakeof outside appearances. How much wiser to be a "law unto ourselves" andsay, "we will regulate our out-go by our income, and lay up somethingfor a rainy day. " People ought to be as sensible on the subject ofmoney-getting as on any other subject. Like causes produces likeeffects. You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leadsto poverty. It needs no prophet to tell us that those who live fully upto their means, without any thought of a reverse in this life, can neverattain a pecuniary independence. 

Men and women accustomed to gratify every whim and caprice, will find ithard, at first, to cut down their various unnecessary expenses, and willfeel it a great self-denial to live in a smaller house than they havebeen accustomed to, with less expensive furniture, less company, lesscostly clothing, fewer servants, a less number of balls, parties, theater-goings, carriage-ridings, pleasure excursions, cigar-smokings, liquor-drinkings, and other extravagances; but, after all, if they willtry the plan of laying by a "nest-egg, " or, in other words, a smallsum of money, at interest or judiciously invested in land, they will besurprised at the pleasure to be derived from constantly adding to theirlittle "pile, " as well as from all the economical habits which areengendered by this course. 

The old suit of clothes, and the old bonnet and dress, will answer foranother season; the Croton or spring water taste better than champagne;a cold bath and a brisk walk will prove more exhilarating than a ridein the finest coach; a social chat, an evening's reading in the familycircle, or an hour's play of "hunt the slipper" and "blind man's buff"will be far more pleasant than a fifty or five hundred dollar party, when the reflection on the difference in cost is indulged in by thosewho begin to know the pleasures of saving. Thousands of men are keptpoor, and tens of thousands are made so after they have acquired quitesufficient to support them well through life, in consequence of layingtheir plans of living on too broad a platform. Some families expendtwenty thousand dollars per annum, and some much more, and wouldscarcely know how to live on less, while others secure more solidenjoyment frequently on a twentieth part of that amount. Prosperity isa more severe ordeal than adversity, especially sudden prosperity. "Easy come, easy go, " is an old and true proverb. A spirit of pride andvanity, when permitted to have full sway, is the undying canker-wormwhich gnaws the very vitals of a man's worldly possessions, let them besmall or great, hundreds, or millions. Many persons, as they beginto prosper, immediately expand their ideas and commence expending forluxuries, until in a short time their expenses swallow up theirincome, and they become ruined in their ridiculous attempts to keep upappearances, and make a "sensation. "

I know a gentleman of fortune who says, that when he first began toprosper, his wife would have a new and elegant sofa. "That sofa, " hesays, "cost me thirty thousand dollars!" When the sofa reached thehouse, it was found necessary to get chairs to match; then side-boards, carpets and tables "to correspond" with them, and so on through theentire stock of furniture; when at last it was found that the houseitself was quite too small and old-fashioned for the furniture, and anew one was built to correspond with the new purchases; "thus, " added myfriend, "summing up an outlay of thirty thousand dollars, caused by thatsingle sofa, and saddling on me, in the shape of servants, equipage, andthe necessary expenses attendant upon keeping up a fine 'establishment, 'a yearly outlay of eleven thousand dollars, and a tight pinch at that:whereas, ten years ago, we lived with much more real comfort, becausewith much less care, on as many hundreds. The truth is, " he continued, "that sofa would have brought me to inevitable bankruptcy, had not amost unexampled title to prosperity kept me above it, and had I notchecked the natural desire to 'cut a dash'. "

The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratumfortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate afortune very well when he is sick. He has no ambition; no incentive; noforce. Of course, there are those who have bad health and cannot helpit: you cannot expect that such persons can accumulate wealth, but thereare a great many in poor health who need not be so. 

If, then, sound health is the foundation of success and happiness inlife, how important it is that we should study the laws of health, whichis but another expression for the laws of nature! The nearer we keep tothe laws of nature, the nearer we are to good health, and yet how manypersons there are who pay no attention to natural laws, but absolutelytransgress them, even against their own natural inclination. We oughtto know that the "sin of ignorance" is never winked at in regard to theviolation of nature's laws; their infraction always brings the penalty. A child may thrust its finger into the flames without knowing it willburn, and so suffers, repentance, even, will not stop the smart. Many ofour ancestors knew very little about the principle of ventilation. Theydid not know much about oxygen, whatever other "gin" they might havebeen acquainted with; and consequently they built their houses withlittle seven-by-nine feet bedrooms, and these good old pious Puritanswould lock themselves up in one of these cells, say their prayers andgo to bed. In the morning they would devoutly return thanks for the"preservation of their lives, " during the night, and nobody had betterreason to be thankful. Probably some big crack in the window, or in thedoor, let in a little fresh air, and thus saved them. 

Many persons knowingly violate the laws of nature against their betterimpulses, for the sake of fashion. For instance, there is one thingthat nothing living except a vile worm ever naturally loved, and thatis tobacco; yet how many persons there are who deliberately train anunnatural appetite, and overcome this implanted aversion for tobacco, to such a degree that they get to love it. They have got hold of apoisonous, filthy weed, or rather that takes a firm hold of them. Hereare married men who run about spitting tobacco juice on the carpet andfloors, and sometimes even upon their wives besides. They do not kicktheir wives out of doors like drunken men, but their wives, I haveno doubt, often wish they were outside of the house. Another perilousfeature is that this artificial appetite, like jealousy, "grows by whatit feeds on;" when you love that which is unnatural, a stronger appetiteis created for the hurtful thing than the natural desire for what isharmless. There is an old proverb which says that "habit is secondnature, " but an artificial habit is stronger than nature. Take forinstance, an old tobacco-chewer; his love for the "quid" is strongerthan his love for any particular kind of food. He can give up roast beefeasier than give up the weed. 

Young lads regret that they are not men; they would like to go to bedboys and wake up men; and to accomplish this they copy the bad habits oftheir seniors. Little Tommy and Johnny see their fathers or uncles smokea pipe, and they say, "If I could only do that, I would be a man too;uncle John has gone out and left his pipe of tobacco, let us try it. "They take a match and light it, and then puff away. "We will learn tosmoke; do you like it Johnny?" That lad dolefully replies: "Not verymuch; it tastes bitter;" by and by he grows pale, but he persists and hesoon offers up a sacrifice on the altar of fashion; but the boys stickto it and persevere until at last they conquer their natural appetitesand become the victims of acquired tastes. 

I speak "by the book, " for I have noticed its effects on myself, havinggone so far as to smoke ten or fifteen cigars a day; although I have notused the weed during the last fourteen years, and never shall again. The more a man smokes, the more he craves smoking; the last cigar smokedsimply excites the desire for another, and so on incessantly. 

Take the tobacco-chewer. In the morning, when he gets up, he puts a quidin his mouth and keeps it there all day, never taking it out except toexchange it for a fresh one, or when he is going to eat; oh! yes, atintervals during the day and evening, many a chewer takes out the quidand holds it in his hand long enough to take a drink, and then pop itgoes back again. This simply proves that the appetite for rum is evenstronger than that for tobacco. When the tobacco-chewer goes to yourcountry seat and you show him your grapery and fruit house, and thebeauties of your garden, when you offer him some fresh, ripe fruit, andsay, "My friend, I have got here the most delicious apples, and pears, and peaches, and apricots; I have imported them from Spain, France andItaly--just see those luscious grapes; there is nothing more deliciousnor more healthy than ripe fruit, so help yourself; I want to see youdelight yourself with these things;" he will roll the dear quid underhis tongue and answer, "No, I thank you, I have got tobacco in mymouth. " His palate has become narcotized by the noxious weed, and he haslost, in a great measure, the delicate and enviable taste for fruits. This shows what expensive, useless and injurious habits men will getinto. I speak from experience. I have smoked until I trembled like anaspen leaf, the blood rushed to my head, and I had a palpitation of theheart which I thought was heart disease, till I was almost killedwith fright. When I consulted my physician, he said "break off tobaccousing. " I was not only injuring my health and spending a great deal ofmoney, but I was setting a bad example. I obeyed his counsel. No youngman in the world ever looked so beautiful, as he thought he did, behinda fifteen cent cigar or a meerschaum!

These remarks apply with tenfold force to the use of intoxicatingdrinks. To make money, requires a clear brain. A man has got to see thattwo and two make four; he must lay all his plans with reflection andforethought, and closely examine all the details and the ins and outsof business. As no man can succeed in business unless he has a brain toenable him to lay his plans, and reason to guide him in their execution, so, no matter how bountifully a man may be blessed with intelligence, ifthe brain is muddled, and his judgment warped by intoxicating drinks, itis impossible for him to carry on business successfully. How many goodopportunities have passed, never to return, while a man was sipping a"social glass, " with his friend! How many foolish bargains have beenmade under the influence of the "nervine, " which temporarily makes itsvictim think he is rich. How many important chances have been put offuntil to-morrow, and then forever, because the wine cup has thrown thesystem into a state of lassitude, neutralizing the energies soessential to success in business. Verily, "wine is a mocker. " The use ofintoxicating drinks as a beverage, is as much an infatuation, as is thesmoking of opium by the Chinese, and the former is quite as destructiveto the success of the business man as the latter. It is an unmitigatedevil, utterly indefensible in the light of philosophy; religion or goodsense. It is the parent of nearly every other evil in our country. 

DON'T MISTAKE YOUR VOCATION

The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young manstarting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenialto his tastes. Parents and guardians are often quite too negligent inregard to this. It very common for a father to say, for example: "I havefive boys. I will make Billy a clergyman; John a lawyer; Tom a doctor, and Dick a farmer. " He then goes into town and looks about to seewhat he will do with Sammy. He returns home and says "Sammy, I seewatch-making is a nice genteel business; I think I will make you agoldsmith. " He does this, regardless of Sam's natural inclinations, orgenius. 

We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose. There is as muchdiversity in our brains as in our countenances. Some are born naturalmechanics, while some have great aversion to machinery. Let a dozen boysof ten years get together, and you will soon observe two or three are"whittling" out some ingenious device; working with locks or complicatedmachinery. When they were but five years old, their father could findno toy to please them like a puzzle. They are natural mechanics; butthe other eight or nine boys have different aptitudes. I belong tothe latter class; I never had the slightest love for mechanism; on thecontrary, I have a sort of abhorrence for complicated machinery. I neverhad ingenuity enough to whittle a cider tap so it would not leak. I never could make a pen that I could write with, or understand theprinciple of a steam engine. If a man was to take such a boy as Iwas, and attempt to make a watchmaker of him, the boy might, after anapprenticeship of five or seven years, be able to take apart and puttogether a watch; but all through life he would be working up hill andseizing every excuse for leaving his work and idling away his time. Watchmaking is repulsive to him. 

Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, andbest suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed. I am glad tobelieve that the majority of persons do find their right vocation. Yetwe see many who have mistaken their calling, from the blacksmith up (ordown) to the clergyman. You will see, for instance, that extraordinarylinguist the "learned blacksmith, " who ought to have been a teacher oflanguages; and you may have seen lawyers, doctors and clergymen who werebetter fitted by nature for the anvil or the lapstone. 

SELECT THE RIGHT LOCATION

After securing the right vocation, you must be careful to select theproper location. You may have been cut out for a hotel keeper, andthey say it requires a genius to "know how to keep a hotel. " You mightconduct a hotel like clock-work, and provide satisfactorily for fivehundred guests every day; yet, if you should locate your house in asmall village where there is no railroad communication or public travel, the location would be your ruin. It is equally important that you do notcommence business where there are already enough to meet all demands inthe same occupation. I remember a case which illustrates this subject. When I was in London in 1858, I was passing down Holborn with an Englishfriend and came to the "penny shows. " They had immense cartoons outside, portraying the wonderful curiosities to be seen "all for a penny. " Beinga little in the "show line" myself, I said "let us go in here. " Wesoon found ourselves in the presence of the illustrious showman, and heproved to be the sharpest man in that line I had ever met. He toldus some extraordinary stories in reference to his bearded ladies, hisAlbinos, and his Armadillos, which we could hardly believe, but thoughtit "better to believe it than look after the proof'. " He finally beggedto call our attention to some wax statuary, and showed us a lot of thedirtiest and filthiest wax figures imaginable. They looked as if theyhad not seen water since the Deluge. 

"What is there so wonderful about your statuary?" I asked. 

"I beg you not to speak so satirically, " he replied, "Sir, these arenot Madam Tussaud's wax figures, all covered with gilt and tinsel andimitation diamonds, and copied from engravings and photographs. Mine, sir, were taken from life. Whenever you look upon one of those figures, you may consider that you are looking upon the living individual. "

Glancing casually at them, I saw one labeled "Henry VIII, " and feeling alittle curious upon seeing that it looked like Calvin Edson, the livingskeleton, I said: "Do you call that 'Henry the Eighth?'" He replied, "Certainly; sir; it was taken from life at Hampton Court, by specialorder of his majesty; on such a day. "

He would have given the hour of the day if I had resisted; I said, "Everybody knows that 'Henry VIII. ' was a great stout old king, and thatfigure is lean and lank; what do you say to that?"

"Why, " he replied, "you would be lean and lank yourself if you sat thereas long as he has. "

There was no resisting such arguments. I said to my English friend, "Letus go out; do not tell him who I am; I show the white feather; he beatsme. "

He followed us to the door, and seeing the rabble in the street, hecalled out, "ladies and gentlemen, I beg to draw your attention to therespectable character of my visitors, " pointing to us as we walked away. I called upon him a couple of days afterwards; told him who I was, andsaid:

"My friend, you are an excellent showman, but you have selected a badlocation. "

He replied, "This is true, sir; I feel that all my talents are thrownaway; but what can I do?"

"You can go to America, " I replied. "You can give full play to yourfaculties over there; you will find plenty of elbowroom in America; Iwill engage you for two years; after that you will be able to go on yourown account. "

He accepted my offer and remained two years in my New York Museum. Hethen went to New Orleans and carried on a traveling show business duringthe summer. To-day he is worth sixty thousand dollars, simply becausehe selected the right vocation and also secured the proper location. Theold proverb says, "Three removes are as bad as a fire, " but when a manis in the fire, it matters but little how soon or how often he removes. 

AVOID DEBT

Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt. There isscarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavishposition to get in, yet we find many a young man, hardly out of his"teens, " running in debt. He meets a chum and says, "Look at this: Ihave got trusted for a new suit of clothes. " He seems to look upon theclothes as so much given to him; well, it frequently is so, but, if hesucceeds in paying and then gets trusted again, he is adopting a habitwhich will keep him in poverty through life. Debt robs a man of hisself-respect, and makes him almost despise himself. Grunting andgroaning and working for what he has eaten up or worn out, and now whenhe is called upon to pay up, he has nothing to show for his money;this is properly termed "working for a dead horse. " I do not speak ofmerchants buying and selling on credit, or of those who buy on creditin order to turn the purchase to a profit. The old Quaker said to hisfarmer son, "John, never get trusted; but if thee gets trusted foranything, let it be for 'manure, ' because that will help thee pay itback again. "

Mr. Beecher advised young men to get in debt if they could to a smallamount in the purchase of land, in the country districts. "If a youngman, " he says, "will only get in debt for some land and then getmarried, these two things will keep him straight, or nothing will. " Thismay be safe to a limited extent, but getting in debt for what you eatand drink and wear is to be avoided. Some families have a foolish habitof getting credit at "the stores, " and thus frequently purchase manythings which might have been dispensed with. 

It is all very well to say; "I have got trusted for sixty days, and if Idon't have the money the creditor will think nothing about it. " Thereis no class of people in the world, who have such good memories ascreditors. When the sixty days run out, you will have to pay. If youdo not pay, you will break your promise, and probably resort to afalsehood. You may make some excuse or get in debt elsewhere to pay it, but that only involves you the deeper. 

A good-looking, lazy young fellow, was the apprentice boy, Horatio. Hisemployer said, "Horatio, did you ever see a snail?" "I--think--I--have, "he drawled out. "You must have met him then, for I am sure you neverovertook one, " said the "boss. " Your creditor will meet you or overtakeyou and say, "Now, my young friend, you agreed to pay me; you have notdone it, you must give me your note. " You give the note on interest andit commences working against you; "it is a dead horse. " The creditorgoes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning better off than when heretired to bed, because his interest has increased during the night, butyou grow poorer while you are sleeping, for the interest is accumulatingagainst you. 

Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servantbut a terrible master. When you have it mastering you; when interestis constantly piling up against you, it will keep you down in the worstkind of slavery. But let money work for you, and you have the mostdevoted servant in the world. It is no "eye-servant. " There is nothinganimate or inanimate that will work so faithfully as money when placedat interest, well secured. It works night and day, and in wet or dryweather. 

I was born in the blue-law State of Connecticut, where the old Puritanshad laws so rigid that it was said, "they fined a man for kissing hiswife on Sunday. " Yet these rich old Puritans would have thousands ofdollars at interest, and on Saturday night would be worth a certainamount; on Sunday they would go to church and perform all the duties ofa Christian. On waking up on Monday morning, they would find themselvesconsiderably richer than the Saturday night previous, simply becausetheir money placed at interest had worked faithfully for them all daySunday, according to law!

Do not let it work against you; if you do there is no chance for successin life so far as money is concerned. John Randolph, the eccentricVirginian, once exclaimed in Congress, "Mr. Speaker, I have discoveredthe philosopher's stone: pay as you go. " This is, indeed, nearer to thephilosopher's stone than any alchemist has ever yet arrived. 

PERSEVERE

When a man is in the right path, he must persevere. I speak of thisbecause there are some persons who are "born tired;" naturally lazy andpossessing no self-reliance and no perseverance. But they can cultivatethese qualities, as Davy Crockett said:

"This thing remember, when I am dead: Be sure you are right, then goahead. "

It is this go-aheaditiveness, this determination not to let the"horrors" or the "blues" take possession of you, so as to make yourelax your energies in the struggle for independence, which you mustcultivate. 

How many have almost reached the goal of their ambition, but, losingfaith in themselves, have relaxed their energies, and the golden prizehas been lost forever. 

It is, no doubt, often true, as Shakespeare says:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leadson to fortune. "

If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and getthe prize. Remember the proverb of Solomon: "He becometh poor thatdealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. "

Perseverance is sometimes but another word for self-reliance. Manypersons naturally look on the dark side of life, and borrow trouble. They are born so. Then they ask for advice, and they will be governedby one wind and blown by another, and cannot rely upon themselves. Untilyou can get so that you can rely upon yourself, you need not expect tosucceed. 

I have known men, personally, who have met with pecuniary reverses, and absolutely committed suicide, because they thought they could neverovercome their misfortune. But I have known others who have met moreserious financial difficulties, and have bridged them over by simpleperseverance, aided by a firm belief that they were doing justly, andthat Providence would "overcome evil with good. " You will see thisillustrated in any sphere of life. 

Take two generals; both understand military tactics, both educated atWest Point, if you please, both equally gifted; yet one, having thisprinciple of perseverance, and the other lacking it, the former willsucceed in his profession, while the latter will fail. One may hear thecry, "the enemy are coming, and they have got cannon. "

"Got cannon?" says the hesitating general. 

"Yes. "

"Then halt every man. "

He wants time to reflect; his hesitation is his ruin; the enemy passesunmolested, or overwhelms him; while on the other hand, the general ofpluck, perseverance and self-reliance, goes into battle with a will, and, amid the clash of arms, the booming of cannon, the shrieks of thewounded, and the moans of the dying, you will see this man persevering, going on, cutting and slashing his way through with unwaveringdetermination, inspiring his soldiers to deeds of fortitude, valor, andtriumph. 

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT

Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour thatwhich can be done just as well now. The old proverb is full of truth andmeaning, "Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. " Manya man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while hisneighbor remains poor for life, because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for successin business. 

Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not helphimself. It won't do to spend your time like Mr. Micawber, in waitingfor something to "turn up. " To such men one of two things usually "turnsup:" the poorhouse or the jail; for idleness breeds bad habits, andclothes a man in rags. The poor spendthrift vagabond says to a rich man:

"I have discovered there is enough money in the world for all of us, if it was equally divided; this must be done, and we shall all be happytogether. "

"But, " was the response, "if everybody was like you, it would be spentin two months, and what would you do then?"

"Oh! divide again; keep dividing, of course!"

I was recently reading in a London paper an account of a likephilosophic pauper who was kicked out of a cheap boarding-house becausehe could not pay his bill, but he had a roll of papers sticking outof his coat pocket, which, upon examination, proved to be his plan forpaying off the national debt of England without the aid of a penny. People have got to do as Cromwell said: "not only trust in Providence, but keep the powder dry. " Do your part of the work, or you cannotsucceed. Mahomet, one night, while encamping in the desert, overheardone of his fatigued followers remark: "I will loose my camel, and trustit to God!" "No, no, not so, " said the prophet, "tie thy camel, andtrust it to God!" Do all you can for yourselves, and then trust toProvidence, or luck, or whatever you please to call it, for the rest. 

DEPEND UPON YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXERTIONS. 

The eye of the employer is often worth more than the hands of a dozenemployees. In the nature of things, an agent cannot be so faithful tohis employer as to himself. Many who are employers will call to mindinstances where the best employees have overlooked important pointswhich could not have escaped their own observation as a proprietor. Noman has a right to expect to succeed in life unless he understands hisbusiness, and nobody can understand his business thoroughly unlesshe learns it by personal application and experience. A man may be amanufacturer: he has got to learn the many details of his businesspersonally; he will learn something every day, and he will find he willmake mistakes nearly every day. And these very mistakes are helps tohim in the way of experiences if he but heeds them. He will be likethe Yankee tin-peddler, who, having been cheated as to quality inthe purchase of his merchandise, said: "All right, there's a littleinformation to be gained every day; I will never be cheated in that wayagain. " Thus a man buys his experience, and it is the best kind if notpurchased at too dear a rate. 

I hold that every man should, like Cuvier, the French naturalist, thoroughly know his business. So proficient was he in the study ofnatural history, that you might bring to him the bone, or even a sectionof a bone of an animal which he had never seen described, and, reasoningfrom analogy, he would be able to draw a picture of the object fromwhich the bone had been taken. On one occasion his students attempted todeceive him. They rolled one of their number in a cow skin and put himunder the professor's table as a new specimen. When the philosophercame into the room, some of the students asked him what animal it was. Suddenly the animal said "I am the devil and I am going to eat you. " Itwas but natural that Cuvier should desire to classify this creature, andexamining it intently, he said:

"Divided hoof; graminivorous! It cannot be done. "

He knew that an animal with a split hoof must live upon grass and grain, or other kind of vegetation, and would not be inclined to eat flesh, dead or alive, so he considered himself perfectly safe. The possessionof a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity inorder to insure success. 

Among the maxims of the elder Rothschild was one, all apparent paradox:"Be cautious and bold. " This seems to be a contradiction in terms, butit is not, and there is great wisdom in the maxim. It is, in fact, acondensed statement of what I have already said. It is to say; "you mustexercise your caution in laying your plans, but be bold in carryingthem out. " A man who is all caution, will never dare to take hold and besuccessful; and a man who is all boldness, is merely reckless, andmust eventually fail. A man may go on "'change" and make fifty, orone hundred thousand dollars in speculating in stocks, at a singleoperation. But if he has simple boldness without caution, it is merechance, and what he gains to-day he will lose to-morrow. You must haveboth the caution and the boldness, to insure success. 

The Rothschilds have another maxim: "Never have anything to do with anunlucky man or place. " That is to say, never have anything to do with aman or place which never succeeds, because, although a man may appear tobe honest and intelligent, yet if he tries this or that thing and alwaysfails, it is on account of some fault or infirmity that you may not beable to discover but nevertheless which must exist. 

There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man whocould go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the streetto-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do soonce in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liableto lose it as to find it. "Like causes produce like effects. " If a manadopts the proper methods to be successful, "luck" will not prevent him. If he does not succeed, there are reasons for it, although, perhaps, hemay not be able to see them. 

USE THE BEST TOOLS

Men in engaging employees should be careful to get the best. Understand, you cannot have too good tools to work with, and there is no tool youshould be so particular about as living tools. If you get a good one, it is better to keep him, than keep changing. He learns something everyday; and you are benefited by the experience he acquires. He is worthmore to you this year than last, and he is the last man to part with, provided his habits are good, and he continues faithful. If, as hegets more valuable, he demands an exorbitant increase of salary; on thesupposition that you can't do without him, let him go. Whenever I havesuch an employee, I always discharge him; first, to convince him thathis place may be supplied, and second, because he is good for nothing ifhe thinks he is invaluable and cannot be spared. 

But I would keep him, if possible, in order to profit from the resultof his experience. An important element in an employee is the brain. Youcan see bills up, "Hands Wanted, " but "hands" are not worth a great dealwithout "heads. " Mr. Beecher illustrates this, in this wise:

An employee offers his services by saving, "I have a pair of handsand one of my fingers thinks. " "That is very good, " says the employer. Another man comes along, and says "he has two fingers that think. " "Ah!that is better. " But a third calls in and says that "all his fingers andthumbs think. " That is better still. Finally another steps in and says, "I have a brain that thinks; I think all over; I am a thinking aswell as a working man!" "You are the man I want, " says the delightedemployer. 

Those men who have brains and experience are therefore the most valuableand not to be readily parted with; it is better for them, as well asyourself, to keep them, at reasonable advances in their salaries fromtime to time. 

DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR BUSINESS

Young men after they get through their business training, orapprenticeship, instead of pursuing their avocation and rising in theirbusiness, will often lie about doing nothing. They say; "I have learnedmy business, but I am not going to be a hireling; what is the object oflearning my trade or profession, unless I establish myself?'"

"Have you capital to start with?"

"No, but I am going to have it. "

"How are you going to get it?"

"I will tell you confidentially; I have a wealthy old aunt, and she willdie pretty soon; but if she does not, I expect to find some rich old manwho will lend me a few thousands to give me a start. If I only get themoney to start with I will do well. "

There is no greater mistake than when a young man believes he willsucceed with borrowed money. Why? Because every man's experiencecoincides with that of Mr. Astor, who said, "it was more difficult forhim to accumulate his first thousand dollars, than all the succeedingmillions that made up his colossal fortune. " Money is good for nothingunless you know the value of it by experience. Give a boy twentythousand dollars and put him in business, and the chances are that hewill lose every dollar of it before he is a year older. Like buying aticket in the lottery; and drawing a prize, it is "easy come, easy go. "He does not know the value of it; nothing is worth anything, unlessit costs effort. Without self-denial and economy; patience andperseverance, and commencing with capital which you have not earned, youare not sure to succeed in accumulating. Young men, instead of "waitingfor dead men's shoes, " should be up and doing, for there is no class ofpersons who are so unaccommodating in regard to dying as these rich oldpeople, and it is fortunate for the expectant heirs that it is so. Nineout of ten of the rich men of our country to-day, started out in lifeas poor boys, with determined wills, industry, perseverance, economy andgood habits. They went on gradually, made their own money and saved it;and this is the best way to acquire a fortune. Stephen Girard startedlife as a poor cabin boy, and died worth nine million dollars. A. T. Stewart was a poor Irish boy; and he paid taxes on a million and a halfdollars of income, per year. John Jacob Astor was a poor farmer boy, and died worth twenty millions. Cornelius Vanderbilt began life rowing aboat from Staten Island to New York; he presented our government witha steamship worth a million of dollars, and died worth fifty million. "There is no royal road to learning, " says the proverb, and I may say itis equally true, "there is no royal road to wealth. " But I think thereis a royal road to both. The road to learning is a royal one; the roadthat enables the student to expand his intellect and add every day tohis stock of knowledge, until, in the pleasant process of intellectualgrowth, he is able to solve the most profound problems, to count thestars, to analyze every atom of the globe, and to measure the firmamentthis is a regal highway, and it is the only road worth traveling. 

So in regard to wealth. Go on in confidence, study the rules, and aboveall things, study human nature; for "the proper study of mankind isman, " and you will find that while expanding the intellect andthe muscles, your enlarged experience will enable you every day toaccumulate more and more principal, which will increase itself byinterest and otherwise, until you arrive at a state of independence. Youwill find, as a general thing, that the poor boys get rich and the richboys get poor. For instance, a rich man at his decease, leaves a largeestate to his family. His eldest sons, who have helped him earn hisfortune, know by experience the value of money; and they take theirinheritance and add to it. The separate portions of the young childrenare placed at interest, and the little fellows are patted on the head, and told a dozen times a day, "you are rich; you will never have towork, you can always have whatever you wish, for you were born with agolden spoon in your mouth. " The young heir soon finds out what thatmeans; he has the finest dresses and playthings; he is crammed withsugar candies and almost "killed with kindness, " and he passes fromschool to school, petted and flattered. He becomes arrogant andself-conceited, abuses his teachers, and carries everything with a highhand. He knows nothing of the real value of money, having never earnedany; but he knows all about the "golden spoon" business. At college, heinvites his poor fellow-students to his room, where he "wines and dines"them. He is cajoled and caressed, and called a glorious good follow, because he is so lavish of his money. He gives his game suppers, driveshis fast horses, invites his chums to fetes and parties, determinedto have lots of "good times. " He spends the night in frolics anddebauchery, and leads off his companions with the familiar song, "wewon't go home till morning. " He gets them to join him in pulling downsigns, taking gates from their hinges and throwing them into back yardsand horse-ponds. If the police arrest them, he knocks them down, istaken to the lockup, and joyfully foots the bills. 

"Ah! my boys, " he cries, "what is the use of being rich, if you can'tenjoy yourself?"

He might more truly say, "if you can't make a fool of yourself;" buthe is "fast, " hates slow things, and doesn't "see it. " Young men loadeddown with other people's money are almost sure to lose all they inherit, and they acquire all sorts of bad habits which, in the majority ofcases, ruin them in health, purse and character. In this country, onegeneration follows another, and the poor of to-day are rich in thenext generation, or the third. Their experience leads them on, and theybecome rich, and they leave vast riches to their young children. Thesechildren, having been reared in luxury, are inexperienced and get poor;and after long experience another generation comes on and gathers upriches again in turn. And thus "history repeats itself, " and happy is hewho by listening to the experience of others avoids the rocks and shoalson which so many have been wrecked. 

"In England, the business makes the man. " If a man in that country isa mechanic or working-man, he is not recognized as a gentleman. Onthe occasion of my first appearance before Queen Victoria, the Duke ofWellington asked me what sphere in life General Tom Thumb's parents werein. 

"His father is a carpenter, " I replied. 

"Oh! I had heard he was a gentleman, " was the response of His Grace. 

In this Republican country, the man makes the business. No matterwhether he is a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a farmer, banker or lawyer, so long as his business is legitimate, he may be a gentleman. So any"legitimate" business is a double blessing it helps the man engaged init, and also helps others. The Farmer supports his own family, but healso benefits the merchant or mechanic who needs the products of hisfarm. The tailor not only makes a living by his trade, but he alsobenefits the farmer, the clergyman and others who cannot make their ownclothing. But all these classes often may be gentlemen. 

The great ambition should be to excel all others engaged in the sameoccupation. 

The college-student who was about graduating, said to an old lawyer:

"I have not yet decided which profession I will follow. Is yourprofession full?"

"The basement is much crowded, but there is plenty of room up-stairs, "was the witty and truthful reply. 

No profession, trade, or calling, is overcrowded in the upper story. Wherever you find the most honest and intelligent merchant or banker, or the best lawyer, the best doctor, the best clergyman, the bestshoemaker, carpenter, or anything else, that man is most sought for, and has always enough to do. As a nation, Americans are toosuperficial--they are striving to get rich quickly, and do not generallydo their business as substantially and thoroughly as they should, butwhoever excels all others in his own line, if his habits are good andhis integrity undoubted, cannot fail to secure abundant patronage, and the wealth that naturally follows. Let your motto then always be"Excelsior, " for by living up to it there is no such word as fail. 

LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL

Every man should make his son or daughter learn some useful trade orprofession, so that in these days of changing fortunes of being richto-day and poor tomorrow they may have something tangible to fall backupon. This provision might save many persons from misery, who by someunexpected turn of fortune have lost all their means. 

LET HOPE PREDOMINATE, BUT BE NOT TOO VISIONARY

Many persons are always kept poor, because they are too visionary. Everyproject looks to them like certain success, and therefore they keepchanging from one business to another, always in hot water, always"under the harrow. " The plan of "counting the chickens before they arehatched" is an error of ancient date, but it does not seem to improve byage. 

DO NOT SCATTER YOUR POWERS

Engage in one kind of business only, and stick to it faithfully untilyou succeed, or until your experience shows that you should abandon it. A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched. When a man's undivided attention is centeredon one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvementsof value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozendifferent subjects at once. Many a fortune has slipped through a man'sfingers because he was engaged in too many occupations at a time. Thereis good sense in the old caution against having too many irons in thefire at once. 

BE SYSTEMATIC

Men should be systematic in their business. A person who does businessby rule, having a time and place for everything, doing his workpromptly, will accomplish twice as much and with half the trouble of himwho does it carelessly and slipshod. By introducing system into all yourtransactions, doing one thing at a time, always meeting appointmentswith punctuality, you find leisure for pastime and recreation; whereasthe man who only half does one thing, and then turns to something else, and half does that, will have his business at loose ends, and will neverknow when his day's work is done, for it never will be done. Of course, there is a limit to all these rules. We must try to preserve the happymedium, for there is such a thing as being too systematic. There are menand women, for instance, who put away things so carefully that they cannever find them again. It is too much like the "red tape" formality atWashington, and Mr. Dickens' "Circumlocution Office, "--all theory and noresult. 

When the "Astor House" was first started in New York city, it wasundoubtedly the best hotel in the country. The proprietors had learneda good deal in Europe regarding hotels, and the landlords were proudof the rigid system which pervaded every department of their greatestablishment. When twelve o'clock at night had arrived, and there werea number of guests around, one of the proprietors would say, "Touch thatbell, John;" and in two minutes sixty servants, with a water-bucketin each hand, would present themselves in the hall. "This, " said thelandlord, addressing his guests, "is our fire-bell; it will show you weare quite safe here; we do everything systematically. " This was beforethe Croton water was introduced into the city. But they sometimescarried their system too far. On one occasion, when the hotel wasthronged with guests, one of the waiters was suddenly indisposed, andalthough there were fifty waiters in the hotel, the landlord thought hemust have his full complement, or his "system" would be interfered with. Just before dinner-time, he rushed down stairs and said, "There must beanother waiter, I am one waiter short, what can I do?" He happened tosee "Boots, " the Irishman. "Pat, " said he, "wash your hands and face;take that white apron and come into the dining-room in five minutes. "Presently Pat appeared as required, and the proprietor said: "Now Pat, you must stand behind these two chairs, and wait on the gentlemen whowill occupy them; did you ever act as a waiter?"

"I know all about it, sure, but I never did it. "

Like the Irish pilot, on one occasion when the captain, thinking he wasconsiderably out of his course, asked, "Are you certain you understandwhat you are doing?"

Pat replied, "Sure and I knows every rock in the channel. "

That moment, "bang" thumped the vessel against a rock. 

"Ah! be-jabers, and that is one of 'em, " continued the pilot. Butto return to the dining-room. "Pat, " said the landlord, "here we doeverything systematically. You must first give the gentlemen each aplate of soup, and when they finish that, ask them what they will havenext. "

Pat replied, "Ah! an' I understand parfectly the vartues of shystem. "

Very soon in came the guests. The plates of soup were placed beforethem. One of Pat's two gentlemen ate his soup; the other did not carefor it. He said: "Waiter, take this plate away and bring me somefish. " Pat looked at the untasted plate of soup, and remembering theinstructions of the landlord in regard to "system, " replied: "Not tillye have ate yer supe!"

Of course that was carrying "system" entirely too far. 

READ THE NEWSPAPERS

Always take a trustworthy newspaper, and thus keep thoroughly posted inregard to the transactions of the world. He who is without a newspaperis cut off from his species. In these days of telegraphs and steam, manyimportant inventions and improvements in every branch of trade are beingmade, and he who don't consult the newspapers will soon find himself andhis business left out in the cold. 

BEWARE OF "OUTSIDE OPERATIONS"

We sometimes see men who have obtained fortunes, suddenly become poor. In many cases, this arises from intemperance, and often from gaming, andother bad habits. Frequently it occurs because a man has been engaged in"outside operations, " of some sort. When he gets rich in his legitimatebusiness, he is told of a grand speculation where he can make a score ofthousands. He is constantly flattered by his friends, who tell him thathe is born lucky, that everything he touches turns into gold. Now ifhe forgets that his economical habits, his rectitude of conduct and apersonal attention to a business which he understood, caused his successin life, he will listen to the siren voices. He says:

"I will put in twenty thousand dollars. I have been lucky, and my goodluck will soon bring me back sixty thousand dollars. "

A few days elapse and it is discovered he must put in ten thousanddollars more: soon after he is told "it is all right, " but certainmatters not foreseen, require an advance of twenty thousand dollarsmore, which will bring him a rich harvest; but before the time comesaround to realize, the bubble bursts, he loses all he is possessedof, and then he learns what he ought to have known at the first, thathowever successful a man may be in his own business, if he turns fromthat and engages ill a business which he don't understand, he is likeSamson when shorn of his locks his strength has departed, and he becomeslike other men. 

If a man has plenty of money, he ought to invest something in everythingthat appears to promise success, and that will probably benefit mankind;but let the sums thus invested be moderate in amount, and never let aman foolishly jeopardize a fortune that he has earned in a legitimateway, by investing it in things in which he has had no experience. 

DON'T INDORSE WITHOUT SECURITY

I hold that no man ought ever to indorse a note or become security, forany man, be it his father or brother, to a greater extent than he canafford to lose and care nothing about, without taking good security. Here is a man that is worth twenty thousand dollars; he is doing athriving manufacturing or mercantile trade; you are retired and livingon your money; he comes to you and says:

"You are aware that I am worth twenty thousand dollars, and don't owea dollar; if I had five thousand dollars in cash, I could purchase aparticular lot of goods and double my money in a couple of months; willyou indorse my note for that amount?"

You reflect that he is worth twenty thousand dollars, and you incur norisk by endorsing his note; you like to accommodate him, and you lendyour name without taking the precaution of getting security. Shortlyafter, he shows you the note with your endorsement canceled, and tellsyou, probably truly, "that he made the profit that he expected bythe operation, " you reflect that you have done a good action, and thethought makes you feel happy. By and by, the same thing occurs again andyou do it again; you have already fixed the impression in your mind thatit is perfectly safe to indorse his notes without security. 

But the trouble is, this man is getting money too easily. He has only totake your note to the bank, get it discounted and take the cash. Hegets money for the time being without effort; without inconvenience tohimself. Now mark the result. He sees a chance for speculation outsideof his business. A temporary investment of only $10, 000 is required. Itis sure to come back before a note at the bank would be due. He places anote for that amount before you. You sign it almost mechanically. Beingfirmly convinced that your friend is responsible and trustworthy; youindorse his notes as a "matter of course. "

Unfortunately the speculation does not come to a head quite so soon aswas expected, and another $10, 000 note must be discounted to take up thelast one when due. Before this note matures the speculation has provedan utter failure and all the money is lost. Does the loser tell hisfriend, the endorser, that he has lost half of his fortune? Not at all. He don't even mention that he has speculated at all. But he has gotexcited; the spirit of speculation has seized him; he sees others makinglarge sums in this way (we seldom hear of the losers), and, like otherspeculators, he "looks for his money where he loses it. " He tries again. Endorsing notes has become chronic with you, and at every loss he getsyour signature for whatever amount he wants. Finally you discoveryour friend has lost all of his property and all of yours. You areoverwhelmed with astonishment and grief, and you say "it is a hardthing; my friend here has ruined me, " but, you should add, "I have alsoruined him. " If you had said in the first place, "I will accommodateyou, but I never indorse without taking ample security, " he could nothave gone beyond the length of his tether, and he would never have beentempted away from his legitimate business. It is a very dangerousthing, therefore, at any time, to let people get possession of moneytoo easily; it tempts them to hazardous speculations, if nothing more. Solomon truly said "he that hateth suretiship is sure. "

So with the young man starting in business; let him understand the valueof money by earning it. When he does understand its value, then greasethe wheels a little in helping him to start business, but remember, menwho get money with too great facility cannot usually succeed. You mustget the first dollars by hard knocks, and at some sacrifice, in order toappreciate the value of those dollars. 

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

We all depend, more or less, upon the public for our support. Weall trade with the public--lawyers, doctors, shoemakers, artists, blacksmiths, showmen, opera stagers, railroad presidents, and collegeprofessors. Those who deal with the public must be careful that theirgoods are valuable; that they are genuine, and will give satisfaction. When you get an article which you know is going to please yourcustomers, and that when they have tried it, they will feel they havegot their money's worth, then let the fact be known that you have gotit. Be careful to advertise it in some shape or other because it isevident that if a man has ever so good an article for sale, and nobodyknows it, it will bring him no return. In a country like this, wherenearly everybody reads, and where newspapers are issued and circulatedin editions of five thousand to two hundred thousand, it would be veryunwise if this channel was not taken advantage of to reach the public inadvertising. A newspaper goes into the family, and is read by wife andchildren, as well as the head of the home; hence hundreds and thousandsof people may read your advertisement, while you are attending to yourroutine business. Many, perhaps, read it while you are asleep. The wholephilosophy of life is, first "sow, " then "reap. " That is the way thefarmer does; he plants his potatoes and corn, and sows his grain, andthen goes about something else, and the time comes when he reaps. Buthe never reaps first and sows afterwards. This principle applies to allkinds of business, and to nothing more eminently than to advertising. Ifa man has a genuine article, there is no way in which he can reap moreadvantageously than by "sowing" to the public in this way. He must, of course, have a really good article, and one which will please hiscustomers; anything spurious will not succeed permanently because thepublic is wiser than many imagine. Men and women are selfish, and we allprefer purchasing where we can get the most for our money and we try tofind out where we can most surely do so. 

You may advertise a spurious article, and induce many people to call andbuy it once, but they will denounce you as an impostor and swindler, andyour business will gradually die out and leave you poor. This is right. Few people can safely depend upon chance custom. You all need to haveyour customers return and purchase again. A man said to me, "I havetried advertising and did not succeed; yet I have a good article. "

I replied, "My friend, there may be exceptions to a general rule. Buthow do you advertise?"

"I put it in a weekly newspaper three times, and paid a dollar and ahalf for it. " I replied: "Sir, advertising is like learning--'a littleis a dangerous thing!'"

A French writer says that "The reader of a newspaper does not see thefirst mention of an ordinary advertisement; the second insertion hesees, but does not read; the third insertion he reads; the fourthinsertion, he looks at the price; the fifth insertion, he speaks ofit to his wife; the sixth insertion, he is ready to purchase, and theseventh insertion, he purchases. " Your object in advertising is to makethe public understand what you have got to sell, and if you have not thepluck to keep advertising, until you have imparted that information, allthe money you have spent is lost. You are like the fellow who told thegentleman if he would give him ten cents it would save him a dollar. "How can I help you so much with so small a sum?" asked the gentlemanin surprise. "I started out this morning (hiccuped the fellow) withthe full determination to get drunk, and I have spent my only dollarto accomplish the object, and it has not quite done it. Ten cents worthmore of whiskey would just do it, and in this manner I should save thedollar already expended. "

So a man who advertises at all must keep it up until the public know whoand what he is, and what his business is, or else the money invested inadvertising is lost. 

Some men have a peculiar genius for writing a striking advertisement, one that will arrest the attention of the reader at first sight. Thisfact, of course, gives the advertiser a great advantage. Sometimes aman makes himself popular by an unique sign or a curious display in hiswindow, recently I observed a swing sign extending over the sidewalk infront of a store, on which was the inscription in plain letters, "DON'T READ THE OTHER SIDE"

Of course I did, and so did everybody else, and I learned that the manhad made all independence by first attracting the public to his businessin that way and then using his customers well afterwards. 

Genin, the hatter, bought the first Jenny Lind ticket at auction fortwo hundred and twenty-five dollars, because he knew it would be a goodadvertisement for him. "Who is the bidder?" said the auctioneer, as heknocked down that ticket at Castle Garden. "Genin, the hatter, " was theresponse. Here were thousands of people from the Fifth avenue, and fromdistant cities in the highest stations in life. "Who is 'Genin, ' thehatter?" they exclaimed. They had never heard of him before. The nextmorning the newspapers and telegraph had circulated the facts from Maineto Texas, and from five to ten millions off people had read that thetickets sold at auction For Jenny Lind's first concert amounted toabout twenty thousand dollars, and that a single ticket was sold at twohundred and twenty-five dollars, to "Genin, the hatter. " Men throughoutthe country involuntarily took off their hats to see if they had a"Genin" hat on their heads. At a town in Iowa it was found that in thecrowd around the post office, there was one man who had a "Genin" hat, and he showed it in triumph, although it was worn out and not worth twocents. "Why, " one man exclaimed, "you have a real 'Genin' hat; what alucky fellow you are. " Another man said, "Hang on to that hat, it willbe a valuable heir-loom in your family. " Still another man in the crowdwho seemed to envy the possessor of this good fortune, said, "Come, giveus all a chance; put it up at auction!" He did so, and it was sold as akeepsake for nine dollars and fifty cents! What was the consequenceto Mr. Genin? He sold ten thousand extra hats per annum, the first sixyears. Nine-tenths of the purchasers bought of him, probably, out ofcuriosity, and many of them, finding that he gave them an equivalentfor their money, became his regular customers. This novel advertisementfirst struck their attention, and then, as he made a good article, theycame again. 

Now I don't say that everybody should advertise as Mr. Genin did. But Isay if a man has got goods for sale, and he don't advertise them in someway, the chances are that some day the sheriff will do it for him. Nordo I say that everybody must advertise in a newspaper, or indeed use"printers' ink" at all. On the contrary, although that article isindispensable in the majority of cases, yet doctors and clergymen, andsometimes lawyers and some others, can more effectually reach the publicin some other manner. But it is obvious, they must be known in some way, else how could they be supported?

BE POLITE AND KIND TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming advertisements, will all proveunavailing if you or your employees treat your patrons abruptly. Thetruth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will bethe patronage bestowed upon him. "Like begets like. " The man who givesthe greatest amount of goods of a corresponding quality for the leastsum (still reserving for himself a profit) will generally succeed bestin the long run. This brings us to the golden rule, "As ye would thatmen should do to you, do ye also to them" and they will do better byyou than if you always treated them as if you wanted to get the mostyou could out of them for the least return. Men who drive sharp bargainswith their customers, acting as if they never expected to see themagain, will not be mistaken. They will never see them again ascustomers. People don't like to pay and get kicked also. 

One of the ushers in my Museum once told me he intended to whip a manwho was in the lecture-room as soon as he came out. 

"What for?" I inquired. 

"Because he said I was no gentleman, " replied the usher. 

"Never mind, " I replied, "he pays for that, and you will not convincehim you are a gentleman by whipping him. I cannot afford to lose acustomer. If you whip him, he will never visit the Museum again, and hewill induce friends to go with him to other places of amusement insteadof this, and thus you see, I should be a serious loser. "

"But he insulted me, " muttered the usher. 

"Exactly, " I replied, "and if he owned the Museum, and you had paid himfor the privilege of visiting it, and he had then insulted you, theremight be some reason in your resenting it, but in this instance he isthe man who pays, while we receive, and you must, therefore, put up withhis bad manners. "

My usher laughingly remarked, that this was undoubtedly the true policy;but he added that he should not object to an increase of salary if hewas expected to be abused in order to promote my interest. 

BE CHARITABLE

Of course men should be charitable, because it is a duty and a pleasure. But even as a matter of policy, if you possess no higher incentive, youwill find that the liberal man will command patronage, while the sordid, uncharitable miser will be avoided. 

Solomon says: "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there isthat withholdeth more than meet, but it tendeth to poverty. " Of coursethe only true charity is that which is from the heart. 

The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to helpthemselves. Promiscuous almsgiving, without inquiring into theworthiness of the applicant, is bad in every sense. But to search outand quietly assist those who are struggling for themselves, is the kindthat "scattereth and yet increaseth. " But don't fall into the idea thatsome persons practice, of giving a prayer instead of a potato, anda benediction instead of bread, to the hungry. It is easier to makeChristians with full stomachs than empty. 

DON'T BLAB

Some men have a foolish habit of telling their business secrets. If theymake money they like to tell their neighbors how it was done. Nothingis gained by this, and ofttimes much is lost. Say nothing about yourprofits, your hopes, your expectations, your intentions. And thisshould apply to letters as well as to conversation. Goethe makesMephistophilles say: "Never write a letter nor destroy one. " Businessmen must write letters, but they should be careful what they put inthem. If you are losing money, be specially cautious and not tell of it, or you will lose your reputation. 

PRESERVE YOUR INTEGRITY

It is more precious than diamonds or rubies. The old miser said tohis sons: "Get money; get it honestly if you can, but get money:" Thisadvice was not only atrociously wicked, but it was the very essence ofstupidity: It was as much as to say, "if you find it difficult to obtainmoney honestly, you can easily get it dishonestly. Get it in that way. "Poor fool! Not to know that the most difficult thing in life is to makemoney dishonestly! Not to know that our prisons are full of men whoattempted to follow this advice; not to understand that no man canbe dishonest, without soon being found out, and that when his lackof principle is discovered, nearly every avenue to success is closedagainst him forever. The public very properly shun all whose integrityis doubted. No matter how polite and pleasant and accommodating a manmay be, none of us dare to deal with him if we suspect "false weightsand measures. " Strict honesty, not only lies at the foundation ofall success in life (financially), but in every other respect. Uncompromising integrity of character is invaluable. It secures to itspossessor a peace and joy which cannot be attained without it--which noamount of money, or houses and lands can purchase. A man who is knownto be strictly honest, may be ever so poor, but he has the purses ofall the community at his disposal--for all know that if he promises toreturn what he borrows, he will never disappoint them. As a mere matterof selfishness, therefore, if a man had no higher motive for beinghonest, all will find that the maxim of Dr. Franklin can never fail tobe true, that "honesty is the best policy. "

To get rich, is not always equivalent to being successful. "There aremany rich poor men, " while there are many others, honest and devout menand women, who have never possessed so much money as some rich personssquander in a week, but who are nevertheless really richer and happierthan any man can ever be while he is a transgressor of the higher lawsof his being. 

The inordinate love of money, no doubt, may be and is "the root of allevil, " but money itself, when properly used, is not only a "handy thingto have in the house, " but affords the gratification of blessing ourrace by enabling its possessor to enlarge the scope of human happinessand human influence. The desire for wealth is nearly universal, and nonecan say it is not laudable, provided the possessor of it accepts itsresponsibilities, and uses it as a friend to humanity. 

The history of money-getting, which is commerce, is a history ofcivilization, and wherever trade has flourished most, there, too, haveart and science produced the noblest fruits. In fact, as a generalthing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To them, in agreat measure, are we indebted for our institutions of learning and ofart, our academies, colleges and churches. It is no argument against thedesire for, or the possession of wealth, to say that there are sometimesmisers who hoard money only for the sake of hoarding and who have nohigher aspiration than to grasp everything which comes within theirreach. As we have sometimes hypocrites in religion, and demagogues inpolitics, so there are occasionally misers among money-getters. These, however, are only exceptions to the general rule. But when, in thiscountry, we find such a nuisance and stumbling block as a miser, we remember with gratitude that in America we have no laws ofprimogeniture, and that in the due course of nature the time will comewhen the hoarded dust will be scattered for the benefit of mankind. To all men and women, therefore, do I conscientiously say, make moneyhonestly, and not otherwise, for Shakespeare has truly said, "He thatwants money, means, and content, is without three good friends. "