“Know when to spend and when to spare,
 And when to buy, and thou shalt ne’er be bare.”

“He that despiseth little things, shall perish by little and little.”—­Ecclesiasticus.

Neglect of small things is the rock on which the great majority of the human race have split.  Human life consists of a succession of small events, each of which is comparatively unimportant, and yet the happiness and success of every man depends upon the manner in which these small events are dealt with.  Character is built up on little things,—­little things well and honourably transacted.  The success of a man in business depends on his attention to little things.  The comfort of a household is the result of small things well arranged and duly provided for.  Good government can only be accomplished in the same way,—­by well-regulated provisions for the doing of little things.

Accumulations of knowledge and experience of the most valuable kind are the result of little bits of knowledge and experience carefully treasured up.  Those who learn nothing or accumulate nothing in life, are set down as failures,—­because they have neglected little things.  They may themselves consider that the world has gone against them; but in fact they have been their own enemies.  There has long been a popular belief in “good luck;” but, like many other popular notions, it is gradually giving way.  The conviction is extending that diligence is the mother of good luck; in other words, that a man’s success in life will be proportionate to his efforts, to his industry, to his attention to small things.  Your negligent, shiftless, loose fellows never meet with luck; because the results of industry are denied to those who will not use the proper efforts to secure them.

It is not luck, but labour, that makes men.  Luck, says an American writer, is ever waiting for something to turn up; Labour, with keen eye and strong will, always turns up something.  Luck lies in bed and wishes the postman would bring him news of a legacy; Labour turns out at six, and with busy pen or ringing hammer lays the foundation of a competence.  Luck whines; Labour whistles.  Luck relies on chance; Labour on character.  Luck slips downwards to self-indulgence; Labour strides upward, and aspires to independence.

There are many little things in the household, attention to which is indispensable to health and happiness.  Cleanliness consists in attention to a number of apparent trifles—­the scrubbing of a floor, the dusting of a chair, the cleansing of a teacup,—­but the general result of the whole is an atmosphere of moral and physical well-being,—­a condition favourable to the highest growth of human character.  The kind of air which circulates in a house may seem a small matter,—­for we cannot see the air, and few people know anything about it.  Yet if we do not provide a regular supply of pure air within our houses, we shall inevitably suffer for our neglect.  A few specks of dirt may seem neither here nor there, and a closed door or window would appear to make little difference; but it may make the difference of a life destroyed by fever; and therefore the little dirt and the little bad air are really very serious matters.  The whole of the household regulations are, taken by themselves, trifles—­but trifles tending to an important result.