The Persistence of Bad Habits
A YOUNG man who thinks he can lead a reckless and profligate life until he becomes a middle aged man, and then repent and make a good, steady citizen, is deluded. He thinks that people are fools, destitute of memory. He concludes that if he repent everybody will forget that he was a dissipated fellow. This is not the case; people remember your bad deeds and forget your good ones. Besides, it is no easy thing to break off in middle life bad habits that have been formed in youth. When a horse contracts the habit of balking, he generally retains it through life. He will often perform well enough till the wheels get into a deep hole, and then he stops and holds back. Just so it is with the boys who contract bad habits. They will sometimes leave off their bad tricks and do well enough till they get into a tight place, and then return to the old habit.