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"Boy Wanted"


Nixon Waterman

[Illustration]

    Do not loiter or shirk,
      Do not falter or shrink;
    But just think out your work
      And then work out your "think".




OTHER BOOKS BY NIXON WATERMAN


 A BOOK OF VERSES

 IN MERRY MOOD
    A Book of Cheerful Rhymes.

    Cloth, 12mo, each, $1.25.

 FORBES & COMPANY, CHICAGO


[Illustration: CABIN IN WHICH LINCOLN WAS BORN]




                             "BOY WANTED"

                      A BOOK OF CHEERFUL COUNSEL

                                  BY
                            NIXON WATERMAN

                     AUTHOR OF "THE GIRL WANTED,"
                       "A BOOK OF VERSES," ETC.

                                TORONTO
                        McCLELLAND & GOODCHILD
                                Limited




                            COPYRIGHT, 1906
                                  BY
                            NIXON WATERMAN

                         _All Rights Reserved_




    TO

    --THE BOY WHO DISCERNS
      HE CAN NEVER BE "IT"
    UNTIL HE DEVELOPS
      SOME "GIT-UP-AND-GIT."




Acknowledgments are hereby made to the publishers of Life, Success,
Saturday Evening Post, Woman's Home Companion, St. Nicholas, Christian
Endeavor World, Young People's Weekly, Youth's Companion, and other
periodicals, for their courteous permission to reprint the author's
copyrighted poems which originally appeared in their publications.




PREFACE


In presenting this book of cheerful counsel to his youthful friends,
and such of the seniors as are not too old to accept a bit of friendly
admonition, the author desires to offer a word of explanation regarding
the history of the making of this volume.

So many letters have been received from people of all classes and ages
requesting copies of some of the author's lines best suited for the
purpose of engendering a sense of self-help in the mind of youth, that
he deems it expedient to offer a number of his verses in the present
collected form. While he is indebted to a great array of bright minds
for the prose incidents and inspiration which constitute a large
portion of this volume, he desires to be held personally responsible
for all of the rhymed lines to be found within these covers.

It may be especially true of advice that "it is more blessed to
give than to receive," but it is hoped that in this present form of
tendering friendly counsel the precepts will be accepted in the same
cheerful spirit in which they are offered.

The author realizes that no one is more urgently in need of good advice
and the intelligence to follow it than is the writer of these lines,
and none cries more earnestly the well-known truth--

    Oh, fellow men and brothers,
      Could we but use the free
    Advice we give to others,
      How happy we should be!

While the title of this book and the character of its contents make
it obvious that it is a volume designed primarily for the guidance
of youth, no one should pass it by merely because he has reached the
years of maturity, and presumably of discretion. As a matter of fact
Time cannot remove any of us very far from the fancies and foibles, the
dreams and dangers of life's morning hours.

    Age bringeth wisdom, so they say,
      But lots of times we've seen
    A man long after he was gray
      Keep right on being "green."

                                                                  N. W.




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                                            PAGE

 I THE AWAKENING                                                      11

 The life partnership. When to begin. Foresight. "Boy Wanted."
 The power of mind. "Couldn't and Could." Selfmade men. "Deliver
 the Goods."


 II "AM I A GENIUS?"                                                  23

 Genius defined. Inspiration and perspiration. "Stick to It."
 Genius and patience. "Keep Pegging Away." Examples of patience.
 "The Secret of Success."


 III OPPORTUNITY                                                      35

 What is a fair chance? Abraham Lincoln. Depending on self.
 "Myself and I." The importance of the present moment. "Right
 Here and Just Now." Poverty and success. "Keep A-Trying."


 IV OVER AND UNDERDOING                                               49

 Precocity. Starting too soon as bad as starting too late. The
 value of health. "Making a man." The worth of toil. "How to Win
 Success." Sharpened wits. "The Steady Worker."


 V THE VALUE OF SPARE MOMENTS                                         61

 Wasting time. "The 'Going-to-Bees!'" The possibilities of one
 hour a day. "Just This Minute." The vital importance of
 properly employing leisure moments. "Do It Now."


 VI CHEERFULNESS