There is something about ill-fitting, unbecoming, or shabby apparel
which not only robs one of self-respect, but also of comfort and power.
Good clothes give ease of manner, and make one talk well. The
consciousness of being well dressed gives a grace and ease of manner
that even religion will not bestow, while inferiority of garb often
induces restraint.

One can not but feel that God is a lover of appropriate dress. He has
put robes of beauty and glory upon all His works. Every flower is
dressed in richness; every field blushes beneath a mantle of beauty;
every star is veiled in brightness; every bird is clothed in the
habiliments of the most exquisite taste. And surely He is pleased when
we provide a beautiful setting for the greatest of His handiworks.

CHAPTER XVI

PERSONALITY AS A SUCCESS ASSET

There is something about one's personality which eludes the
photographer, which the painter can not reproduce, which the sculptor
can not chisel. This subtle something which every one feels, but which
no one can describe, which no biographer ever put down in a book, has a
great deal to do with one's success in life.

It is this indescribable quality, which some persons have in a
remarkable degree, which sets an audience wild at the mention of the
name of a Blaine or a Lincoln,--which makes people applaud beyond the
bounds of enthusiasm. It was this peculiar atmosphere which made Clay
the idol of his constituents. Although, perhaps, Calhoun was a greater
man, he never aroused any such enthusiasm as "the mill-boy of the
slashes." Webster and Sumner were great men, but they did not arouse a
tithe of the spontaneous enthusiasm evoked by men like Blaine and Clay.

A historian says that, in measuring Kossuth's influence over the
masses, "we must first reckon with the orator's physical bulk, and then
carry the measuring line above his atmosphere." If we had discernment
fine enough and tests delicate enough, we could not only measure the
personal atmosphere of individuals, but could also make more accurate
estimates concerning the future possibilities of schoolmates and young
friends. We are often misled as to the position they are going to
occupy from the fact that we are apt to take account merely of their
ability, and do not reckon this personal atmosphere or magnetic power
as a part of their success-capital. Yet this individual atmosphere has
quite as much to do with one's advancement as brain-power or