The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1854-05-23
Sunlight and LampIight,
OR, WE ALL ATTEMPT TO RULE.
BY MARY J. SMITH.

OR, WE ALL ATTEMPT TO RULE.
BY MARY J. SMITH.
"I would darken my parlors and light them
with lamps during the day, if were wealthy:
remarked one lady to another. .,,
"I," replied the other, "value more highly
the immediate gift Of the Creator, and there,
fore l would food my mansion with the glao
sunlight; even the timid moonbeam should h"d
quiet entrance there. 1t seems sinful to per-
vert the appointed use of gifts so gracious.
"Nay, do not misunderstood me" was the
response. 81 do not disregard those faVors
coming from benifcent source, neither would
thanklessly seclude them from the drawing
rooms of my home, but my preference for the
soft, shaded light of lamps amounts to pas
sion. Nothing is more inspiring to me than
tastefulIy furnished rooms illumined with a
subdued radiance, through which moving forms
puss with waving motion, as if bnrne through
molten brilliance. Nor do consider devotion
to this species of beauty at all Inconsistent
with the requirements of the Divine Ruler. Is
not love for the beautiful, wherever it is found,
an inherent principle of our natures"
at is; but our knowledge Of what constl'
tutes the true beautiful may be very much at
fault; it may be influenced by misguided
fancy, by early habit and indulgence, by error
of the Judgment, &c. think your partiality
The result Of morbid taste induced by fire.
quenty reading Of splendid entertainments
where natural lights were superseded by artl1.
cial, so that the extravaganza of personal
adornnent, and the giided show around might
be blended in dazzling indistinctness, thus con-
fusing the senses and producing dreamy state
of mind any thing but consistent with that
clear perception which accompanies an unclou.
ded intellect. Such indulgeuces are exerting
baleful influence upon the general society OF
our day, and unless mighty re action is ac
cumpl>hed, see no rescue for the youthful
mind from the effects Of luxury and indoIent
ease. Many ruined nations date their decline
from periods in which wealth flooded their
limits, and its Circean draughts, Syren songs
and wild revelry so bewildered the senses, that
mind was Frustrated before its pswer, and the
shadows of desolaton soon gathered over those
lands whose mental suns were extinguished.-
Will you not be warned ny these precedents,
and avoid the rock on which nations as well
as individuals have been wrecked?"
81 do not advocate ungoverned indulgence, y
was the reply. "You have altogether mistaken
the spirit of my words. | am equally aware,
with yourself, of the injury, both physical and
mental, arising from abandonment TO selfish
qualifications of any kind. Very possibly, in
deed, my substitution of luminous matter for
the purer radiance flowing from distant orbs,
might bear too much Of the earth earthly to
insure me against the mishaps incident to this
lower sphere, but many explanatory reasons
might he brought forward in the formation Of
dcteuce which would shield me from your
imputation of error, and also show that the
path Of safety is a narrow one, lying just be-
tween the two great oceans of truth and error.
shall, however, persist in my determination to
reject the gIarish light Of day tor those softer
aud more subdued rays which are so grateful
to happy imagination. And let me assure
You that am not alone in my preference
many of our friends cherish the same prefer
ence"
"Quite probable, but that does not weaken
my conviction OF its error, and | shall continue
to oppose it until some of them are disabused." ."
Such were some Of the remarks we heard
lately, originating between two ladies', who
were each absorbed in the attempt to bring
the other over to her side; and it aroused a
train of reflections perhaps little compliments.
ry TO the general tendency of human efforts in
themselves, however laudable an exterior they
may wear. Let them come in whatever form
they may, careful analy sis will detect many
Of their motives to spring from secret desire
10 rule; to sway the actions and opinions OF
the multitude, and to gather host in whose
numbers there may be fancied assurance of
security. 1t is to be feared that the unanswer.
ed question, coming from one Of old, "What is
truth?" is not the lever arousing our powers
into action; if it were, there would be- less rush
ing over to the popular side, and little dread
of being fund with the minority. The impet.
uosity and thoughtlessness Of the present age
render it extremely difficult for careful obser.
yer to to receive that as truth which comes
with the accIamations of the crowd. because
impulse and the fever Of popular favor are the
motive principles impelling it, and what is ex.
allied tu-day, may, tomorrow, fall into implied
disgrace. Rather than be classed with the
few, who, in their adherence to right, maintain
a firm silence when exciting topics are intro
duced, many, unsustaned by moral courage,
forsake their position and unite with the swell
ing throng. which, in its headlong career, will
ultimately be split into numberless factions,
and end in final ruin.
Selfish argument and contention cannot re-.
suit in good, as they issue from an evil source,
and like the fruit of an evil tree they retain
the parent nature. Neither is it wise to unite
tacitly with the multitude for the sake of peace
and with the hope of future rescue from its
tolls. Will aud judgment will thus be sacri'
ced, and the unfortunate beings will become