mathematics is essential to a
successful career; none the less it is true that the type of mind which
takes readily to mathematics is the kind which succeeds in the realm of
industry and finance.

One of the things I regret is that my business career was shaped on a
continent which speaks one single language for commercial purposes from
the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico. Foreign languages are,
therefore, a sealed book to me. But if a man can properly appraise the
value of something he does not possess, I would place a knowledge of
languages high in the list of acquirements making for success.

But when all is said and done, the real education is the market-place of
the street. There the study of character enables the boy of judgment to
develop an unholy proficiency in estimating the value of the currency of
the realm.

Experiences teaches that no man ought to be downcast in setting out on
the adventure of life by a lack of formal knowledge. The Lord
Chancellor asked me the other day where I was going to educate one of my
sons. When I replied that I had not thought about the matter, and did
not care, he was unable to repress his horror.

And yet the real reasons for such indifference are deep rooted in my
mind. A boy is master, and the only master, of his fortune. If he wants
to succeed in literature, he will read the classics until he obtains by
what he draws into himself that kind of instinct which enables him to
distinguish between good work and bad, just as the expert with his eyes
shut knows the difference between a good and a bad cigar. Neither may be
able to give any reason, for the verdict bases on subconscious
knowledge, but each will be right when he says, "Here I have written
well," or "Here I have smoked badly."

The message, therefore, is one of encouragement to the young men of
England who are determined to succeed in the affairs of the world, and
yet have not been through the mill. The public schools turn out a
type--the individual turns out himself. In the hour of action it is
probable that the individual will defeat the type. Nothing is of
advantage in style except reading for oneself. Nothing is of advantage
in the art of learning to know a good cigar but the actual practice of
smoking. Nothing is of advantage in business except going in young,
liking the game, and buying one's experience.

In a word, man is the creator and not the sport of his fate. He can
triumph over his upbringing and,