66 said George Herbert, and nothing can be more certain. man is known by the company he keeps." It is always true. Companionship of a high order is powerful to develop character. Character makes character in the associations of life faster than anything else. Purity begets purity; like begets like; and this fact makes the choice of companions in early life more important, even, than that of teachers and guardians. When Sir Joshua Reynolds was a boy, he had so great a reverence for the character of Pope, that he would press through a crowd to touch his coat with the end of his forefinger, as if he expected to be lifted higher by the act, and finally become more of a man. Somewhat of that feeling should rule in the choice of companions, selecting those whose nobleness challenges the touch of admiration. It is true that we cannot always choose all of our companions. Some are thrust upon us by business and the social relations of life. We do not choose them, we do not enjoy them; and yet, we have to associate with them more or less. The experience is not altogether without compensation, if there be principle enough in us to bear the strain. Still, in the main, choice of companions can be made, and must be made. It is not best nor necessary for a young person to associate with "Tom, Dick, and Harry," without forethought or purpose. Some fixed rules about the company he or she keeps should be observed. The subject should be uppermost in the thoughts, and canvassed often. Companionship is education, good or bad; it develops manhood or womanhood, high or low; it lifts the soul upward or drags it downward; it ministers to virtue or vice. There is no halfway work about its influence. If it ennobles, it does it grandly; if it demoralizes, it does it devilishly. It saves or destroys lustily. One school companion saved Henry Martyn, and made a missionary of him; one school companion ruined John Newton, and made a most profligate and profane companion of him. Newton was sent away to a boarding school. He was an obedient and virtuous lad, and his parents had no anxiety for his moral safety. But there was a bright, immoral youth in the school, who cared more for coarse fun than he did for books, and was profane, vulgar, and artful. He sought the companionship of young Newton, and the latter was captivated by his brilliancy and social qualities. He did not appear to be a bad young man. The two became intimate, their friendship strengthening from week to week. John Newton soon became as wicked as his companion, and finally ran away from home and went to sea -the worst school he could enter. On board the ship he found kindred spirits, and he waxed worse and worse. At last he was "the worst sailor on board the vessel," and many were the boon companions that he ruined. His end would have been fearful, had not a kind Providence interposed, after years of debauchery, and made him a Christian man. The late Rev. Dr. Thomson, of New York city, published the story of a youth who came under his ministry at nineteen years of age. He was the son of pious parents, neither profane, idle, nor vicious, and had established a character for industry and sobriety. At twenty he united with Dr. Thomson's church, and at twenty-one was employed by a railroad company, where wicked companions beset him. He soon fell into evil ways, and, in less than one year, became too abandoned and reckless to be harbored by the church. The end came within three years and Dr. Thomson shall describe it: "Two weeks ago to-day I knelt in that murderer's cell, in company with his parents, sister, and brother, who had come for their last interview with him on earth. That narrow cell was more solemn than the grave itself. Two weeks ago to-morrow I saw the youth, who had once been of my spiritual flock, upon the scaffold. It was an awful scene. He made a brief address. Oh, that you could have heard the warning of that young man from the scaffold: 'You know,’ he said, 'how I was brought up. I had the best instructions a Christian father could give. Oh, if I had followed them, I should have been in my dear father's home; but evil companions led me astray, and I have come to this! I hope, now, as I leave the world, my voice will warn all young men. Our desires and passions are so strong that it requires very little to lead us astray. I want to urge it upon all young men, never to take the first step in such a career as mine. When the first step is taken in the paths of sin, it is very difficult to stop."" Companionship did it. It can make or mar a man. It is powerful even to disprove the truth of the familiar maxim, "The boy is father to the man." The promising boy is transformed into the felon. All the good lessons of home are nulli fied, and the language, spirits, and habits of the saloon and other evil resorts are substituted. Nothing good, fair, and beautiful can withstand its destructive power. The picture is relieved only by the fact that good companionship has equal power to ennoble and bless forever. It can do more for a youth than wealth, home, or books. Even the blessings of schools and churches are the outcome, in a large measure, of the high and pure companionships that are found there. Beware of companions whose moral character is below your own, unless you associate with them solely to reform. them. Avoid those who depreciate true worth, and speak lightly of the best class of citizens, and sneer at reforms. They who sip wine, use profane and vulgar language, think that man cannot be successful in business and be honest, find their pleasure in the circus, theater, or ball room, instead of books, lectures, and literary society, are not suitable companions. They may not be bad young people, but their moral tone is below yours, and hence they are perilous associates for you. Rather choose those of higher, nobler aims, whose aspirations are to be true and useful, who would not, knowingly, risk a stain upon their life-work, with whom "a good name is better than great riches," and whose strong purpose is to make the best record possible. Strength of character may successfully resist the worst companionship. The princess regent of Russia planned to destroy the claim of Peter the Great to the throne by subjecting him to the company of a hundred profligate young Russians. Peter was a youth of sagacity, sobriety, and moral principle, so that his character withstood the test without a blemish. Instead of being lured into excesses of any kind, he beguiled his wayward companions into "the love of manly sports and military exercises." The evil designed by the princess was rebuked by the failure of her fiendish plot. Thomas Jefferson's life was shaped by the companionship of his early years. He was an excellent scholar, fond of books, and bent upon securing a thorough education. He commenced the study of Latin and Greek at nine years of age, and entered William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, Virginia, when he was seventeen. At this time he was a remarkable youth, whose personal appearance attracted many friends older than himself. Among them were Francis Farquier, governor of the colony, Doctor William Sewell, professor of mathematics, and George Wythe, an eminent lawyer,- all citizens of Williamsburg. These men were much with young Jefferson, whom they treated as a younger brother, and their influence over him was very decided. Governor Farquier was a skeptic, and he converted the youth into another, while the other two gentlemen inspired him with the desire to become a public man. Their companionship really decided his career. CHAPTER V. JOHN WARWICK DANIEL. PLACES EMPHASIS ON PERSEVERING EFFORT ENTRANCE INTO POLITICAL LIFE A VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN - ELECTED TO CONGRESS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE AS AN ORATOR-MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS TONE OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE LAWYER RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE HIS ANBEGINS THE PERSONALITY. THE IMPORTANCE OF Success in life, whether confined to business pursuits or to professional or public careers, is reached in many different ways. Sometimes it is largely a matter of chance, or environment; more often, however, it is dependent upon the personal equation of the individual. Opportunity, natural equipment, application, purpose, self-reliance, all have their proper place in its attainment, but primarily, in my opinion, in order to succeed as we ordinarily construe it, a man has to do two things: first, find out what he wants to get or to do; second, stick, stick, stick. Any man who has these qualifications has the qualities of knowing what to attempt, and of sustained effort. He has all the chances of success in his favor. Jou Damil. HE position of pre-eminence in the political life of Virginia occupied by John Warwick Daniel may be said to date from about twenty years ago. Previous to that he was a force in politics. He had been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the state Senate. He had attained high rank as a lawyer. His reputation as an orator had extended beyond the borders of the state. But |