accumulate, forms one of the most powerful instruments for the
regeneration of society. It provides the basis for individual energy and
activity. It is the beginning of maritime and commercial enterprise. It
is the foundation of industry, as well as of independence. It impels men
to labour, to invent, and to excel.

No idle nor thriftless man ever became great. It is amongst those who
never lost a moment, that we find the men who have moved and advanced
the world,--by their learning, their science, or their inventions.
Labour of some sort is one of the conditions of existence. The thought
has come down to us from pagan times, that "Labour is the price which
the gods have set upon all that is excellent." The thought is also
worthy of Christian times.

Everything depends, as we shall afterwards find, upon the uses to which
accumulations of wealth are applied. On the tombstone of John Donough,
of New Orleans, the following maxims are engraved as the merchant's
guide to young men on their way through life:--

"Remember always that labour is one of the conditions of our existence.

"Time is gold; throw not one minute away, but place each one to
account.

"Do unto all men as you would be done by.

"Never put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day.

"Never bid another do what you can do yourself.

"Never covet what is not your own.

"Never think any matter so trifling as not to deserve notice.

"Never give out what does not come in.

"Do not spend, but produce.

"Let the greatest order regulate the actions of your life.

"Study in your course of life to do the greatest amount of good.

"Deprive yourself of nothing that is necessary to your comfort, but
live in honourable simplicity and frugality.

"Labour then to the last moment of your existence."

Most men have it in their power, by prudent arrangements, to defend
themselves against adversity, and to throw up a barrier against
destitution. They can do this by their own individual efforts, or by
acting on the principle of co-operation, which is capable of an almost
indefinite extension. People of the most humble condition, by combining
their means and associating together, are enabled in many ways to defend
themselves against the pressure of poverty, to promote their physical
well-being, and even to advance the progress of the nation.

A solitary individual may be able to do very little to advance and
improve society; but when he combines with his fell