Somebody scoffed:  “Oh, you’ll never do that—­
    At least, no one ever has done it”;
  But he took off his coat, and he took off his hat,
    And the first thing we knew he’d begun it. 
  With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
    Without any doubting or quiddit,
  He started to sing as he tackled the thing
    That couldn’t be done—­and he did it.

  There are thousands who’ll tell you it cannot be done,
    There are thousands who prophecy failure;
  There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
    The dangers that wait to assail you. 
  But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
    Then take off your coat and go to it. 
  Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
    That “cannot be done”—­and you’ll do it.

  —­Edgar A. Guest.

A sea captain was talking about the English admiral, Lord Fisher.

“I once asked Lord Fisher,” he said, “what he attributed his rapid rise to.

“‘To power of initiative,’ Lord Fisher answered promptly.

“‘Power of initiative, my lord?’ And I scratched my head.  ’How would you define power of initiative?”

“‘Disobeying orders,’ said Lord Fisher.”

It has been well said if you are doing anything exceptionally well, “though you build your home in the heart of the forest the world will make a beaten track to your door.”

  While you are flirting with success
  And making plans to nab it,
  Some other chap, who fusses less,
  May rush right up and grab it.

The two keys to success are luck and pluck—­luck in finding some one to pluck.—­Life.

“The road to success is apt to be a long, hard one, my boy.”

“Are there no short cuts, father?”

“Yes, my son.  Our penitentiaries are full of men who took the short cuts.”

“How is your little brother, Johnny?”

“Sick abed.  He hurt himself.”

“That’s too bad.  How did he do it?”

“We were playing who could lean furthest out of the window, and he won.”

See also Determination.

SUITORS

The one who brings candy and eats most of it himself.

The nice beau with the little automobile.

The not-so-nice one with the big automobile.

The handsome suitor who talks about himself.

The man who likes theaters and tea.

The man who would make a better uncle than husband.

The one who means well.

The right man.

“My dear,” said the proud father, “I can not understand your objection to young Prudely as a suitor for your hand.  I am sure that he is a model young man.”

“There is no question about his being a model,” replied the bewitching beauty; “but, father, dear, the trouble is that he is a 1912 model.”

HER MOTHER—­“My daughter sings, plays the piano, paints, understands botany, zoology, French, Italian—­in fact is accomplished in every way.  And you, sir?”