side of happiness," above which the words of warning are flying!

Webster said of such an undecided man that "he is like the irresolution
of the sea at the turn of tide. This man neither advances nor recedes;
he simply hovers." Such a man is at the mercy of any chance occurrence
that may overtake him. His "days are lost lamenting o'er lost days."
He has no power to seize the facts which confront him and compel them
to serve him.

To indolent, shiftless, listless people life becomes a mere shuffle of
expedients. They do not realize that the habit of putting everything
off puts off their manhood, their capacity, their success; their
contagion infects their whole neighborhood. Scott used to caution
youth against the habit of dawdling, which creeps in at every crevice
of unoccupied time and often ruins a bright life. "Your motto must
be," he said, "_Hoc age_,"--do instantly. This is the only way to
check the propensity to dawdling. How many hours have been wasted
dawdling in bed, turning over and dreading to get up! Many a career
has been crippled by it. Burton could not overcome this habit, and,
convinced that it would ruin his success, made his servant promise
before he went to bed to get him up at just such a time; the servant
called, and called, and coaxed; but Burton would beg him to be left a
little longer. The servant, knowing that he would lose his shilling if
he did not get him up, then dashed cold water into the bed between the
sheets, and Burton came out with a bound. When one asked a lazy young
fellow what made him lie in bed so long, "I am employed," said he, "in
hearing counsel every morning. _Industry_ advises me to get up;
_Sloth_ to lie still; and they give me twenty reasons for and against.
It is my part, as an impartial judge, to hear all that can be said on
both sides, and by the time the cause is over dinner is ready."

There is no doubt that, as a rule, great decision of character is
usually accompanied by great constitutional firmness. Men who have
been noted for great firmness of character have usually been strong and
robust. There is no quality of the mind which does not sympathize with
bodily weakness, and especially is this true with the power of
decision, which is usually impaired or weakened from physical suffering
or any great physical debility. As a rule, it is the strong physical
man who carries weight and conviction. Any bodily weakness, or
lassitude, or lack of tone and v