This is not about a Cartmill/Cartmell/Cartmille but
it is veery true and worthwhile reading.
Earliene
Clinton Public (DeWitt County Illinois Newspaper)
Nov. 27, 1885
PRIDE OF BIRTH
'Tis a pleasure to know that our fathers were good,
'Tis a pleasure to know they were great
As warriors, as judges, in science, in art,
Or as counsel in matters of state.
But men should remember their ancestor's fame
Is not for descendants to wear;
To the honored man's fame the family name
Is the only legitimate heir.
The fame that is yours is the fame that you've won,
If it is not yet won, look ahead;
But claim not an honor because you're the son
Of an ancestor centuries dead.
Of proud ones who live on the fame of their sires
Many samples around us are found;
Like the turnip and carrot, they seem not to know
That the best of them lies under ground.
Look ahead to the future. The past is not yours.
Make the yield of the present your own.
The fame of the past is another's reward,
For your prize trust the future alone.
Inherited titles of honor are vain;
In the heat of fame's handicap chase
The plain man looks forward, the titled looks back,
And oft times thus loses the race.
Look forward, toil onward; and when, in the end,
Well-merited honor you've won,
Be proud that your title to worth did not lie
In being Lord Somebody's son.
---Gath Brittle in Demorest's Monthly