SIR

A HAPPY, SUCCESSFUL LIFE

Integrity

By HENRY HARDWICKE

IR WALTER SCOTT'S last words were addressed to his son-in-law. He said, “Be a good man Lockhart, be a good man." This advice to all mankind is to be found running throughout his delightful works. It is in a young man's power, by integrity in his dealings, to establish a character that will make his fortune. If he is known to be honest, and a man is a fool who is not honest, his notes will be taken as quickly as banknotes. He thus becomes able to carry out his enterprises.

Every young man when he begins life for himself, must make his choice between a good and an evil course of life.

He must make the choice, which, according to the fable, Hercules made when a young man. It is said that, when Hercules was in that part of his youth, in which it was natural for him to consider what course of life he ought to pursue, he one day retired into a desert, where the silence and solitude of the place very much favored his meditations. As he was musing on his present condition, and very much perplexed in himself on the state of life he should choose, he saw two women, of a larger stature than ordinary, approaching toward him. One of them had a very noble air, and graceful deportment; her beauty was natural and easy, her person clean and unspotted, her eyes cast toward the ground with an agreeable reserve, her motion and behavior full of modesty, and her raiment as white as snow. The other had a great deal of health and floridness in her countenance, which she had helped with an artificial white and red, and she endeavored to appear more graceful

than ordinary in her mien, by a mixture of affectation in all her gestures. She had a wonderful confidence and assurance in her looks, and all the variety of colors in her dress that she thought were the most proper to show her complexion to advantage. She cast her eyes upon herself, then turned them on those that were present, to see how they liked her and often looked on the figure she made in her own shadow. Upon her near approach to Hercules, she stepped before the other lady, who came forward with a regular composed carriage, and running up to him, accosted him after the following manner :

"My dear Hercules," said she, "I find you are very much divided in your thoughts upon the way of life that you ought to choose: be my friend, and follow me; I will lead you into the possession of pleasure, and out of the reach of pain, and remove you from all the noise and disquietude of business. The affairs of either war or peace shall have no power to disturb you. Your whole employment shall be to make your life easy, and to entertain every sense with its proper gratifications. Sumptuous tables, beds of roses, clouds of perfumes, concerts of music, crowds of beauties, are all in readiness to receive you. Come along with me into this region of delights, this world of pleasure, and bid farewell forever to care, to pain, to business." Hercules hearing the lady talk after this manner, desired to know her name: to which she answered, "My friends and those who are well acquainted with me, call me Happiness: but my enemies, and those who would injure my reputation, have given me the name of Pleasure."

By this time the other lady was come up, and addressed herself to the young hero in a very different manner: “Hercules," says she, "I offer myself to you, because I know you are descended from the gods, and give proofs of that descent by your love to virtue, and application to the studies proper for your age. This makes me hope you will gain, both for yourself and me, an immortal reputation. But before I invite you into my society and friendship, I will be open and sincere with you, and must lay this down as an established truth, that there is nothing truly valuable, which can be purchased without pain and labor. The gods have set a price upon every real

and noble pleasure. If you would gain the favor of the Deity, you must be at the pains of worshiping Him; if the friendship of good men, you must study to oblige them; if you would be honored by your country, you must take care to serve it; in short, if you would be eminent in war or peace, you must become master of all the qualifications that can make you so. These are the only terms and conditions upon which I can propose happiness."

The goddess of Pleasure here broke in upon her discourse: "You see," said she, "Hercules, by her own confession, the way to her pleasures is long and difficult; whereas, that which I propose is short and easy." "Alas," said the other lady, whose visage glowed with passion, made up of scorn and pity, "what are the pleasures you propose?

"To eat before you are hungry, drink before you are athirst, sleep before you are tired, to gratify appetites before they are raised, and raise such appetites as nature never planted.

"You never heard the most delicious music, which is the praise of oneself; nor saw the most beautiful object, which is the work of one's own hands. Your votaries pass away their youth in a dream of mistaken pleasures, while they are hoarding up anguish, torment, and remorse, for old age.

"As for me, I am the friend of gods, and of good men; an agreeable companion to the artisan; an household god to the fathers of families; a patron and protector of servants; an associate in all true and generous friendships. The conquests of my votaries are never costly, but always delicious; for none eat or drink at them, who are not invited by hunger and thirst. Their slumbers are sound and their wakings cheerful. My young men have the pleasure of hearing themselves praised by those who are in years; and those who are in years, of being honored by those who are young. In a word, my followers are favored by the gods, beloved by their acquaintances, esteemed by their country, and, after the close of their labors, honored by posterity."

We know by the life of this memorable hero, to which of these two ladies he gave up his heart; and I believe every one who reads this, will do him the justice to approve his choice.

To live with honor in the world, the shortest and the surest way is to be in reality what we appear to be. It is a fact confirmed by the observation of the wisest men, that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.

Without integrity all other qualities are useless to the man who would succeed. How earnestly does the great Franklin speak of honesty: "Let honesty be as the breath of thy soul; then shalt thou reach the highest point of happiness, and independence shall be thy shield and buckler, thy helmet and crown; then shall thy soul walk upright, nor stoop to the silken wretch because he hath riches, nor pocket an abuse because the hand which offers it wears a ring set with diamonds.”

It may be set down as a fact about which there can be no question that he is himself a knave who says there is no such thing as an honest man, and the reader is advised, that when a man entertaining such a sentiment, leaves his house, if he should be so unfortunate as to entertain such a guest, he immediately count his spoons.

To one who declared that he did not believe there was an honest man in the world, another replied: "It is impossible that any one man should know all the world, but quite possible that one may know himself."

Carlyle's advice should in this connection be carefully noted: "Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one rascal less in the world."

Honor has ever been esteemed by the wise of all ages as being more precious than life, and Shakespeare says: "Mine honor is my life; both grow in one; take honor from me, and my life is done."

And the pure and upright Addison said: "Better to die ten thousand deaths than wound my honor."

Our own immortal Washington has left upon record his opinion of the value of character in the following words: "I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man." The honesty for which the Quakers are so justly famed is well illustrated by the following anecdotes:

"A prominent Quaker merchant, having through accumulated reverses become insolvent, and not being able to pay more than about fifty per cent on his creditors' demands, formed a resolution, if fortune favored his future endeavors, to pay the whole amount, and in case of death he ordered his sons to liquidate his debts by joint proportions. His life, however, was spared, and, after struggling with a variety of difficulties-for his livelihood chiefly depended on his own labor-he at length saved sufficient to satisfy every demand. One day, the old man went with a very considerable sum to the surviving son of one of his creditors, who had been dead thirty years, and insisted on paying him the money he owed his father, which he accordingly did with heartfelt satisfaction."

It is said that Gideon Lee spent his last moments in a dying charge to his sons, in which he enjoined them always to "fill up the measure of time." "Be," said he, "always employed profitably in doing good, in building up; aim to promote the good of yourselves and of society; no one can do much good without doing some harm, but you will do less harm by striving to do good; be industrious, be honest.”

Some of Chatham's biographers say that they who listened to him speak, felt that there was something grander in the man, than anything which he said. Kossuth said when reproached with poverty, that though his hands were empty they were clean. Colbert was once asked by Louis XIV. why he could not conquer a country as small as Holland. The minister replied that it was because the greatness of a country does not depend upon the extent of its territory, but on the character of its people. One of the chief causes of the prosperity of our people is their patriotism, and their steady observance of the principles of civil and religious liberty. Other countries are more fertile and have many more natural resources than ours, but there are none where the great majority of the people are as happy as they are here.

All men who have succeeded in life have had a just and high appreciation of the value of integrity. Canning said that his road must be through integrity to power; that he would try no other course, and that he was sanguine enough to believe