=~] 
Every honest effort to ear na a living ‘nd 
a competency is wor thy of equal praise, and . 
therefore in dignity of effort there is no — 
rank. ‘The ‘workman in''the ‘woods, the: 
farmer in the fields, the artisan in the: 
atelier and the mechanic in the mill have 
an equal claimi to the dignity of labor ‘with | 
the preacher, the, Jawyer and the professor. 
There is-no- form of labor. which is beneath 
the dignity: of any man. “Instead ofobemg 
a curse, labor is the gréatest blessing which 
Providence, fate’ or evolution has’ ‘con- 
ferred on humanity. Tolstoy, one of the 
greatest of living novelists, ‘earns ‘his living 
fromthe! soils « Peterothe: Great was:aicar- 
penten: and /isijsaid to chave) done: much /of 
the: ;work im) building) the, iold: palace, at 
Peterhof.:' Louis KViswasia locksmith: 
Washington was a farmer, Lincoln avail- 
splitter, Grant a:tanner; Garfield: a canal 
boy. The: naturaleand) normal desire of 
men who have) achieved! greatness is foroa 
piece, of Jand- where: they can be im/touch 
with: the great: mother of us/all,-the! soil 
To him who appreciates the true: dignity of 
labor, no: taskois menial:: The chands are 
made for toilas muchas: for fighting, and 
sweat is the most. efficacious of all deter- 
gents. In: derision on> one coceasion the 
Romans made Cato commissioner of sewers; 
but, he discharged the duties-of his menial 
office with such industry and benefit, to the 
city that thereafter to-ibe:: made) commis- 
sioner of sewensi Was considered to bea idis- 
tinguished honor. 
So) the true philosophy should teackti us 
that,our calling |inilife isa cloaewn:magnitm 
which we are to administer, not with:closed 
nostrils, but. with open eyes: and hands: that 
do, not récoilrbefore | thickened: euticle and 
stains. sifio Io adds it ditw soa 
He who is not pnoudiof li vag desta ds 
not worthy of it. This does not mean that 
his profession is any better than’ ithe 
but, when the heart. is, ‘not in- ‘the work tl t he 
head is sluggish and the hands ane; slows 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Vou. XIII. No. 332. 
= eo 
Ne or Ab i mean that : a pofession should not 
‘be regarded as a means of making a living. 
On the contrary, that is the first and chief 
end’ of any ‘occupation. “The number of 
“persons who-work alone for the love of it 
Je exceedingly) small. Perhaps there is only 
“one profession where it is “better that a man 
be rich, and. that, is, the. profession. of, poli- 
ee pel a living out-of a: public posi- 
tion is'the most preeariousiof all.professions, 
“and theré is tio collection ‘of dépendent fos- 
“sils which appeals 0) pathetically to general 
commiseration as that vast aggregation of 
exes which lingers near the cupola of the 
Capitol. The functus officio faster has fed so 
long at the public erib'that he knows not the 
taste of other food nor the means of getting 
it. The last of his life is an eternal Lenton 
which no HKaster morn of Sop ente satiety 
will ever rise... uA 
In one short walk a tow Ree ago, I met 
one ex: senator and ‘two ex: representatives, 
who. a. few, years..ago, were: farming: patron- 
age and feasting on lobster Newburgh at 
Chamberlins, who are now seeking to, be 
attorneys for the holders of claims that live - 
only in the hope that a far- off indulgent 
future will no longer know their worthless- 
ness.” “Hungry are thie’ looks of these men, 
with jaws cavernous as those of Cassius, 
and_sad warnings of the fate.of a statesman 
out of a job. A profession, therefore, Should 
offer some guaran ty of a livelihood depend- 
ent On merit and industry, and’ nof upon 
the whim of a.capricious: public. ZLOTY AAO 
It is not'my purpose to-night to discuss 
chemistry. as a living pr ovider, Often young 
men, come to me.and ask: my. advicein 
regard to‘ choosing a profession.” “They 
come often with’ a strong inclination to 
chemistry and want ‘to know what T think 
of the prospéects ‘for sticcess! “Tf they have 
oe ‘studied chemistry, “I St invariably 
x: Have you-a taste for ¢hémistry ?°" Do 
you Tare chemical studies:?., If they.donot 
know;0r if thé answers are, indefinite, or 
