100  GooD HABITS AND MANNERS

If he goes to college, he there continues the
same habit ; when he comes out, he still car-
ries it with him; when he enters upon busi-
ness, it still hangs about him. He does
nothing well, or thoroughly ; he is careless
and slovenly in all he does ; there is imper-
fection and weakness in his career, and
finally he turns out an unsuccessful man.
If he is a-merchant, he usually fails in busi-
ness; if a lawyer, a physician, or minister,
he is generally at the tail-end of his pro-
fession, poor, useless, and despised. Such is
the mighty influence of our habits! and re-
member that they are formed in early life:
remember that every day feeds and fosters
our habits.

It is interesting to trace the way that
Washington’s youthful habits operated upon
his life. Some of his copy-books are extant,
which show how careful he was in learning
to write. He took the pains to write out, in
a fine hand, the forms in which notes of
hand, bills of exchange, receipts, bonds,
deeds, wills, should be drawn. Thus he cul-
tivated the habit of writing neatly, of being
patient in copying papers, and of being accu-