Politeness a Good Investment.

Southland Times, Issue 19036, 2 May 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

Politeness a Good Investment.

When a business man hears of a sure investment which will yield him five per cent, he does not hesitate long about putting his money into it. Even a three per cent, profit ho does not scorn.

I can suggest an investment which will yield always three per cent, and usually five, if you will go into it thoroughly.

The stock is known as politeness. Others call it considerateness. Suppose you invest in it for one week, to begin with. If at the end of that time you have received no dividend, yon can tell me I have advertised a worthless slock.

Begin to-morrow morning at home. Think of somo agreeable thing to say and do before you leave the house. Compliment your wife on her appearance, or her goodness, and praise the cook. Say some word to cheer the children or to make them startr the day with a laugh. It will be remarkable if you do not receive your first dividend immediately. Then continue your investment at tho office. Pay a littlo notice to the elevator man. Eeuiember his work is not tho most inspiring in the world, and he must often think life is monotonous. Try and gi.ve him an idea that he is a man among men, and not a mere machine. Then, try a smiling " good morning," in place of a surly growl, on your office boy. If he has done his work well tell him $o, and thank him.

Keep up this attitude all day ; whoever you come in contact with practice upon.

All may not appreciate your effort, bnt never mind ; you do not expect to got all your returns at once.

But you are pretty sure to find the day seeming less wearisome than many which have preceded it, and you are quite certain to feel the homo a much happier place than usual when you enter it that evening.

If you do, that should be counted as full ton per cent, interest on your investment. Anything which adds one extra hour of oheer to the home life is of vital importance in this world. Anything which casts unhappincss or gloom upon the home is a calamity too great to be lightly brought about.

If you keep on with your investments, something more than pleasure and happiness will be offered yon as dividends. In the long ran the returns will assume the form of material profits- Your employees will like to remain with you. Not all, but enough to save you the necessity of continual changes. Your business associates will like you, and an endless chain of good fellowship will be established.

People will derive a sense of pleasure and benefit from merely meeting you in business. They will not reason it out, but they will enjoy an interview with you. A current of good will set in motion will create new friends for you. Many of tho worries and vexations which surround your life now will disappear.

And when they do make themselves apparent, you will find it much easier to dismiss them. Begin your new investment eight away.

When birds cease to sing, rain and thunder will probably occur, so it is said. If birds in general pick their feathers, wash themselves, and fly to tiioir nests, expect rain. Parrots ami canaries dress their feathers and ate >v:ikcful the evening before a storm. If tho peacock cries when he goes to roost, and, indeed, much at any time, it is a sign of rain. Long and loud sinking of robins in the mornin« denotes rain. Robins will perch on the topmost brunches of trees and whistle when a storm is approaching. The restlessness of domestic animals and barnyard fowls before an approaching storm is well known, arid many of their peculiarities havo been noted, but the actions of song birds do not appear to have previously received particular attention. * « * The l'ilons are two mountains, shaped like sngar-loavusj, which rise abruptly out of the s<ja at the south end of the island of St. Lucia, in the Wcofc Indies. One hill is 3000 feet hijjh, the other is almost, but not quite, as tall. They ar« both so steep that they could be climbed, if at all, only by skilled mountaineers. According to a local legend, four English sailors once tried to climb the loftier peak. Their ascent was watched from the ileet to which they belonged through telescopes. About halfway up one of them waa seen to drop, but the others went on. A few hundred feet farther a second vanished, then a third, and the last of the company had almost got to the top, when he too disappeared. What became of these four sea- ' men was never known, but it was supposed that they had been bitten by tbe fer de lojuh. Tv je&vHr viper mat is ?«y aggressive ana fearless, vaiyikm $fe (5 Kr&ia &3&<