Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Quote for the day: Dreams are for doing (Parents' Review Volume 2)

Hommerin' the Leather (A WORD WITH OUR BOYS), by J. J. Wainwright. The Parents' Review, Volume 2, no. 2, 1891/92, pg. 422-428.  
"All things are possible, but I shall be astonished, and more than astonished, if Jack should learn Spanish, or, indeed, if he should ever get those bookshelves put up until it is too late; for time is flying, and young Ollendorf, one of our junior clerks who came over from Deutschland only a year ago, has already learned Spanish; and moreover he talks and writes it grammatically, which is what the young Briton who "just picks it up, you know," never does. He has actually learned that language since he made his descent on this country--German, English, and French he brought with him....
"....Ollendorf's pay is only a pound a week at present, but on that he contrives to live respectably and pay for lessons in Spanish, or shorthand, or anything else that will help him to get on in the world. He never halts; his motto is always the same as old Blucher's on that memorable day of June, 'Vorwarts. Wir mussen vorwarts.'"

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