be addressed to Lord Chesterfield was this: He had neglected to
write it by the time appointed. Dodsley suggested a desire to
have it addressed to Lord C. Mr. J. laid hold of this as an
excuse for delay, that it might be better done perhaps, and let
Dodsley have his desire. Mr. Johnson said to his friend, Doctor
Bathurst: "Now if any good comes of my addressing to Lord
Chesterfield it will be ascribed to deep policy and address,
when, in fact, it was only a casual excuse for laziness."

Thus we see that it was sheer laziness that led to the greatest triumph
of Doctor Johnson's life, the noble and memorable letter to Chesterfield
in 1775.

Mind your business is a good counsel; but mind your idleness also. It's
a tragic thing to make a business of your mind. Save your mind to amuse
yourself with.

The lazy man does not stand in the way of progress. When he sees
progress roaring down upon him he steps nimbly out of the way. The lazy
man doesn't (in the vulgar phrase) pass the buck. He lets the buck pass
him. We have always secretly envied our lazy friends. Now we are going
to join them. We have burned our boats or our bridges or whatever it is
that one burns on the eve of a momentous decision.

Writing on this congenial topic has roused us up to quite a pitch of
enthusiasm and energy.

TEACHING THE PRINCE TO TAKE NOTES

[Illustration]

The Prince of Wales probably suffers severely during his tours abroad,
for he is a shy youth; but he also makes many friends, for he is a
delightfully simple and agreeable person. When we used to see him he
looked a good deal like the traditional prince of the fairy tales, for
he was a slender boy with yellow hair, and blue eyes, and a quick pink
blush. And we feel toward him the friendly sense of superiority that the
college alumnus always feels toward the man who was a freshman when he
himself was a senior; for the prince and ourself stood in that relation
a few years ago at a certain haunt of letters.

There was a course of lectures on history that we were to attend. It was
a popular course, and the attendance was large. Arriving late at the
first lecture the room was packed, and we could see from the door that
there was only one empty seat. This happened to be in the very front
row, and wondering how it was that so desirable a place had not been
seized we hastened to it. The lecturer was a swift talker, and we fell
to taking note