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Story
April 21, 1860
West Jersey Pioneer
Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey
What is this article about?
Carrie Crisp admonishes a young man who wishes for capital, explaining that his physical strength, muscles, and brains are true capital; he should work hard with them to earn money and success, rather than seeking easy wealth through speculation, idleness, or marriage.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
"I WISH I HAD A CAPITAL."
So I heard a great strapping young man
exclaim the other day. I did want to tell
him a piece of my mind so bad. But I'll
just write it to him. You want capital, do
you? And suppose you had what you call
capital, what would you do with it? You
want capital! Haven't you got hands and
feet, and body and muscle, and bone and
brains, and don't you call them capital?—
What more capital did God give to anybody?
Oh! but they are not money, say you. But
they are more than money. If you will use
them they will make money, and nobody can
take them from you. Don't you know how
to use them? If you don't it is time you
were learning. Take hold of the first plough
or hoe, or jack-plane or broad-axe that you
can find, and go to work. Your capital will
soon yield you a large interest. Aye, but
there's the rub; you don't want to work, you
want money or credit that you may play the
gentleman and speculate, and end by playing
the vagabond; or you want a plantation and
negroes, that you may hire an overseer to attend to them, while you run about over the
country and dissipate and get in debt; or
want to marry some rich girl who may be
foolish enough to take you for your fine
clothes and good looks, that she may support
you.
Shame upon you, young man! Go to work
with the capital you have, and you'll soon
make interest enough upon it and with it to
give you as much money as you want, and
make you feel like a man. If you can't make
money upon what capital you have, you
couldn't make it if you had a million of dollars in money. If you don't know how to
use bone and muscle and brains, you would
not know how to use gold. If you let the
capital you have lie idle and waste and rust
out, it would be the same thing with you if
you had gold; you would only know how to
waste.
Then don't stand about like a great helpless child, waiting for somebody to come in
and feed you, but go to work. Take the
first work you can find, no matter what it is,
so that you be sure to do it like Billy Gray
did his drumming—well. Yes, whatever
you undertake, do it well; always do your
best. If you manage the capital you already
have, you will soon have plenty more to
manage; but if you can't or won't manage
the capital God has given you, you will never have any other to manage. Do you hear?
Carrie Crisp.
So I heard a great strapping young man
exclaim the other day. I did want to tell
him a piece of my mind so bad. But I'll
just write it to him. You want capital, do
you? And suppose you had what you call
capital, what would you do with it? You
want capital! Haven't you got hands and
feet, and body and muscle, and bone and
brains, and don't you call them capital?—
What more capital did God give to anybody?
Oh! but they are not money, say you. But
they are more than money. If you will use
them they will make money, and nobody can
take them from you. Don't you know how
to use them? If you don't it is time you
were learning. Take hold of the first plough
or hoe, or jack-plane or broad-axe that you
can find, and go to work. Your capital will
soon yield you a large interest. Aye, but
there's the rub; you don't want to work, you
want money or credit that you may play the
gentleman and speculate, and end by playing
the vagabond; or you want a plantation and
negroes, that you may hire an overseer to attend to them, while you run about over the
country and dissipate and get in debt; or
want to marry some rich girl who may be
foolish enough to take you for your fine
clothes and good looks, that she may support
you.
Shame upon you, young man! Go to work
with the capital you have, and you'll soon
make interest enough upon it and with it to
give you as much money as you want, and
make you feel like a man. If you can't make
money upon what capital you have, you
couldn't make it if you had a million of dollars in money. If you don't know how to
use bone and muscle and brains, you would
not know how to use gold. If you let the
capital you have lie idle and waste and rust
out, it would be the same thing with you if
you had gold; you would only know how to
waste.
Then don't stand about like a great helpless child, waiting for somebody to come in
and feed you, but go to work. Take the
first work you can find, no matter what it is,
so that you be sure to do it like Billy Gray
did his drumming—well. Yes, whatever
you undertake, do it well; always do your
best. If you manage the capital you already
have, you will soon have plenty more to
manage; but if you can't or won't manage
the capital God has given you, you will never have any other to manage. Do you hear?
Carrie Crisp.
What sub-type of article is it?
Moral Advice
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Work Ethic
Capital
Self Reliance
Hard Work
Moral Lesson
What entities or persons were involved?
Young Man
Carrie Crisp
Story Details
Key Persons
Young Man
Carrie Crisp
Story Details
A writer overhears a young man wishing for capital and lectures him that his hands, feet, body, muscle, bone, and brains are the true capital from God; he should use them to work hard and earn money, rather than seeking wealth through idleness, speculation, or marriage, or he will fail even with riches.