[With Plate] 



§he i) 011111} jdafuraltst : 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



No. 62. JANUARY 1st, 1881. Vol. 2. 



SUCCESS. 



A YEAR ago \w wished our readers 

 a Happy New Year, and that 

 their undertakings might be prosperous, 

 md crowned with the success they deserve 

 To-day, we repeat the wish, and as the 

 beginning of a year seems an 

 appropriate time for it, we will make a 

 few remarks on some of the causes of 

 success or failure. Possibly some of 

 our leaders notice that our good wishes 

 fere qualified by the condition of the 

 success being deserved. Success 

 certainly comes to some who can 

 Scarcely be said to deserve it from any 

 Special efforts of their own, and on the 

 other hand, some who do their very best, 

 reap little but continued failure But 

 remember while it is not "in mortal to 

 command success " we may all of us j 

 deserve it, and then have no feelings of 

 self-reproach that our failure is our own 

 fault. One of our correspondents says 

 " my motto is try. and I am sure it will 

 succeed," and we have generally j 

 found, that though 



'• The best laid schemes o' mice and men 

 ( lang aft aglee." 



there is generally some fault in 



ourselves when we d«> not succeed. Mr. 

 Gregson Eiays "Work Wins,'" which is 

 only another way of '! Try always 

 succeeds.'' A child's rhyme says 

 " If at tir-a you don't succeed. 



Try. try, try again " 



and this we would urge upon all. Do 

 not be discouraged by one, nor half a 

 dozen failures. " Try. try, try again," 

 "Try always succeeds" in the end, 

 and " work always wins." l>ut it is 

 important to direct our energies 

 aright. Failure often results from the 

 best exertions if wrongly directed, and 

 very little labour will ensure success 

 when directed rightly. You will not 

 catch many fish in a duck pond, but 

 may soon till your creel where they 

 are carefully preserved. When you 

 find your first efforts are not 

 successful, endeavour to find out 

 why they have failed, and if you learn 

 the cause of your failure, you will 

 probably learn how to succeed. "Men 

 do not gather grapes of thorns, or figs 

 of thistles," and when you learn the 

 reason why you cannot gather "grapes 

 of thorns" you will cease to seek them 

 there, but look where they may be 

 found. Want of energy then, and 

 misdirected energy are two great 



