Beside you toils a young man of your own age. He does not seem to
care to rise. He dislikes the few duties of the present, and would be
inclined to shrink from further responsibilities. It may be that he is
the happier as compared with you, but men must not consult simply their
own individual happiness. Sooner or later all men take on a broader
burden than merely their own support. Try early in life to get the start
which the experience of others furnishes you. You are lucky that you
were born in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Men before you
have, by ambition and energy, made the affair of living easier for you.
Right here in youth is the time to begin the battle. You are now a
private.
OFFICERS ARE VERY SCARCE.
Make up your mind to have shoulder-straps early in the campaign. You
cannot afford to miss a single battle. Every opportunity which opens to
you is a city to be taken, and you are to be put in command. See that it
surrenders. No city ever properly besieged evaded final capitulation.
The chances are all in your favor. Remember, when you contemplate your
unambitious comrade, that he is likely to change his tastes as he grows
older.
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