Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-01-14
LEWSBURG UNION COUNTY, PENN friday JANUARY H. 1853

y iueas Will De conveyed, and the mcasur
: by which judgments will be formed
, Sometimes pride is the singularly contra
faculty, and every other ability is obedieu
, to this.
This is the helmsman, and directs tn
. character as does the pilot the ship Thos
prominent faculties are very numerous, bu
our purpose will be better answered if "
select two and give them dclineation.-
: We shall select, therefore, for obvious rea
sons in such metropolis as this, the Low
of applause and gain. First, the love o
applause is the dominant faculty with hun
dreds and thousands of persons in all com
munities, and l think, perhaps in Alneric.
more than in any other lanl, if We excep
France. The name of this class should be
legion. The peculiar style of our civil po
lity, the organic necessity Of referring all
questions to the popular willard SO Of
counting public favor-causcs this faculty
to be the american .frculy Now We arc
very Independent people in regard to i'm.
material things, and in respect to the as.
sertion of our rights, but as to questions
that lie out Of the range of public senti-
ment, we are a cowardly people, and there
are very few who dare be peculiar, and
think against their interest aud the current
of popular favor.
There is an intense leaning towards what
is called public sentiment.
There is healthy public sentiment
with deep moral tone, which may be cal
led the right Of free popular legislation ;
but there is an artificial sentiment compel
ling them to 20 contrary to the dictates of
right, for fear Of the lash of the public will
In the man Of the World, this dominance
of approbativeness will be seen, in his ex-
traordinary elasticity Of taste and opinion,
and it will be his deepest impulse to make
himself agreeable to all to get the praise
of all.
He is bland, complaccnt, observant of
your wishes and pretcnds to think as you
think he is as dough in your hands, which
you may kncad as you please, and which
you may handle and twist in ten thousand
ways, and it is dough still. Laughtcr.)
Such a one is like a cloak, which has no
shape of its own, but take. one from the
shoulders over which it is thrown.
Such persons are like the navigator's $
dress which changes in every degree be-
tween the equator and the poles. This
is proper, and if it had no existancc men
without the least instinct to the agreeable,
would be huddled together in circles and
would perpetually, injure and damage each
other, but carried to excess there are very
few things that so deterioraie and emascu-
late the character as this continual ham
kering after the praise Of men. The same
faculty Oftentimcs turns out the opposite
and this may be seen by the contrast.
He is afraid of new ideas, because they
are not popular in the circle iu which he
moves. One loves nothing more than
startling ideas, because they are pleasing
among those with whom he associates ;
while on the contrary, the other adhercs
to that which has no tendency to innovatc.
This contrast reminds me Of an alterca-
tion on one of our steamships, between the
engine and the anchor, one declaring that
the ship was made to lie safe by its con-
troll, and the other asserting that she was
to be propelled by its power 1must con-
fess, if were to choose between them, l
would be rather the engine that speeds the
noble vessel, than the anchor that plunges
beneath the waves to stick fast in the mud.
Anchors are good for those who wish to be
anchors. (Laughter.) The first thought
Of the one is what will people say; the last
thought of the other is, what have people
said. The love of applause is to be found
in the halls of the legislature, if the man
in whom this love of applause predominates
be politician. Such an one is not actua-
ted by the same principles as govern true
statesman, for could his supreme request
be granted, it would be to know before
hand on which side the popular vote would
be. This love Of applause leads men in
turn to serve all masters, and by this We
can fathom the motives which prompt in
dividuals, first to stand ON the free soil
platform, and then to advocate the provi-
sions Of the fugitive slave law. 1t is also
to be seen in the pulpit, aud although my
impression, from long intercourse with
ministers of our day is, that as a body Of
men they are honest in their intent and
purpose to an unusual degree, yet there
never was sawed out Of any mill a piece Of
timber so perfect that would not warp and
crack if exposed too long to the sun, 50 it
is bad thing for any body to be put out
in the popular favor without being turned.
But the lover Of APPLAUSE can never grow
wise in heart or morals. If it is our de-