se who weep."

While we should not judge one by a single trait in character we must
not overlook the importance of little traits. In this age of great
movements, great schemes and great combinations, our young people are
disposed to ignore little things. A little thing in this great big age
is too insignificant. Yet, we are told it was the cackling of a goose
that saved Rome; the cry of a babe in the bull-rushes gave a law-giver
to the Jews; the kick of a cow caused the great Chicago fire; the
omission of a comma in preparing a bill that passed Congress cost this
republic a half million dollars; while the ignoring of a comma in
reading a church notice cost a minister quite a bit of embarrassment.
Among his announcements was one which ran thus: "A husband going to
_sea_, his wife desires the prayers of this church." The preacher
read: "A husband going to see his wife, desires the prayers of this
church."

Little things are suggestive of great things. We read that a
ship-worm, working its way through a dry stick of wood, suggested to
Brunell a plan by which the Thames river could be tunneled. The
twitching of a frog's flesh as it touched a certain kind of metal led
Galvani to invent the electric battery. The swinging of a spider's web
across a garden walk led to the invention of the suspension bridge.
The oscillation of a lamp in the temple of Pisa led Galileo to invent
the measurement of time by a pendulum. A butterfly's wing suggested
the combination of colors. So little things are suggestive of great
things in character.

"Boy wanted" was the sign at the entrance to a store. A boy took the
sign down and with it in his hand entered the store.

"What are you doing with that sign?" asked the proprietor.

The boy replied: "Well, I'm here, so I brought in the sign."

That boy was given the place. Attention to small things has made many
a successful man, while a little temper, a little indifference, a
little cigarette, a little drink or some other little thing has been
the undoing of many a young man.

What are these little traits in human character? They are matches
struck in the dark. Do you know what that means, a match struck in the
dark? If not, get up some night when it's pitch dark in the room, run
your face up against a half open door, knock the pitcher off the table
and spill the cold water on your bare feet, sit down on a chair that's
not there, and you'll realize what it means to strike a match. If I
were