oad and liberal culture.

Emperor William I. was not a genius, but the secret of his power lay in
tireless perseverance. A friend says of him, "When I passed the palace
at Berlin night after night, however late, I always saw that grand
imperial figure standing beside the green lamp, and I used to say to
myself, 'That is how the imperial crown of Germany was won.'"

Ole Bull said, "If I practice one day, I can see the result. If I
practice two days my friends can see it; if I practice three days the
great public can see it."

The habit of seizing every bit of knowledge, no matter how
insignificant it may seem at the time, every opportunity, every
occasion, and grinding them all up into experience, cannot be
overestimated. You will find use for all of it. Webster once repeated
an anecdote with effect which he heard fourteen years before, and which
he had not thought of in the mean time. It exactly fitted the
occasion. "It is an ill mason that rejects any stone."

Webster was once urged to speak on a subject of great importance, but
refused, saying he was very busy and had no time to master the subject.
"But," replied his friend, "a very few words from you would do much to
awaken public attention to it." Webster replied, "If there be so much
weight in my words, it is because I do not allow myself to speak on any
subject until my mind is imbued with it." On one occasion Webster made
a remarkable speech before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard, when
a book was presented to him, but after he had gone, his "impromptu"
speech, carefully written out, was found in the book which he had
forgotten to take away.

Demosthenes was once urged to speak on a great and sudden emergency,
but replied, "I am not prepared." In fact, it was thought by many that
Demosthenes did not possess any genius whatever, because he never
allowed himself to speak on any subject without thorough preparation.
In any meeting or assembly, when called upon, he would never rise, even
to make remarks, it was said, without previously preparing himself.

Alexander Hamilton said, "Men give me credit for genius. All the
genius I have lies just in this: when I have a subject in hand I study
it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. I explore it in all its
bearings. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort which I
make the people are pleased to call the fruit of genius; it is the
fruit of labor and thought." The law of labor is equ