A GOOD NAME

A GOOD NAME






We should respect the good name of other people, and should safeguard

our own by a high sense of honor. At the close of the Civil War a

representative of an insurance company offered Robert E. Lee the

presidency of the firm at a salary of $50,000 a year. Lee replied that

while he wished to earn his living, he doubted whether his services

would be worth so large a sum. "We don't want your services," the man

interrupted; "we want your name." "That," said Lee, quietly, "is not for

sale." He accepted, instead, the presidency of a college at $1500 a

year.





Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,

Is the immediate jewel of their souls:

Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;

'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him,

And makes me poor indeed.

I fight a battle every day

I fight a battle every day


Against discouragement and fear;

Some foe stands always in my way,

The path ahead is never clear!

I must forever be on guard

Against the doubts that skulk along;

I get ahead by fighting hard,

But fighting keeps my spirit strong.



I hear the croakings of Despair,

The dark predictions of the weak;

I find myself pursued by Care,

No matter what the end I seek;

My victories are small and few,

It matters not how hard I strive;

Each day the fight begins anew,

But fighting keeps my hopes alive.



My dreams are spoiled by circumstance,

My plans are wrecked by Fate or Luck;

Some hour, perhaps, will bring my chance,

But that great hour has never struck;

My progress has been slow and hard,

I've had to climb and crawl and swim,

Fighting for every stubborn yard,

But I have kept in fighting trim.



I have to fight my doubts away,

And be on guard against my fears;

The feeble croaking of Dismay

Has been familiar through the years;

My dearest plans keep going wrong,

Events combine to thwart my will,

But fighting keeps my spirit strong,

And I am undefeated still!





_S.E. Kiser._



From "The New York American."

துவக்கம்

இந்த நன்னாளில் விநாயகப் பெருமானின் திருவருளுடன் இந்த வலைப்பூவைத் தொடங்குகிறேன்.

வாழ்க வையகம்! வாழ்க வளமுடன்!

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