Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-03-21

FROM DR.. Bartletts "Anglo Saxon"
PEOPLE.

Wv ''upuos ~ ltutth bnb NV run hucJ
lutte atrocity, and the other from complete p%erfec-
ton. There is, happily n1nedium between all ex-
tremes, and human beings are not half Of them
guileless lambs, and the othey half exultant wolves
ready to pounce upon them, as romancists would
have us believe. Moreover, even the modified he
roes and Williams Of real life form but n very small
portion of the worlds drdmdtS jnerSOR9. The vast
body of mankind consist Of those who are neither
detestably bad nor admirably good uverwbelm-
ingly clever, or pitiahly stupid-of the common
place. in q word. 1t is they who leaven society.
as it were, and render it Of a due consistency it
is they who act as the chorus to the drama, the
background to the picture, and who. though not
heroic themselves, are necessary adjuncts to the
heroism of others.
1t is wisely ordered thus, and the more 30 that
all these supernumerdriei IN the great drama OF life
have little dramatic episodes Of their own, where.
OF they individually are the heroes and hnIoines.
NO one is insignificant to himself and the most
commonplace being in the world would assuredly
be the last person to suspect the small degree of
his own value in the social scale. On the contrary
your ordinary sort of man generally believes him
self to be a Napoleon, a Shakespeare, or a Newton
according rs his tastes and pursuits are military,
lterarary, or scientific. Often, too, the world is
partially deluded into the same belief; for it is a
credulous world in some respects, and when it sees
a man holding implicit faith in himself. it is very
apt to ,appraise him by his own standard. 1t is
astonish ing to think Of the number of people who
are held to be wonderfully clever, not 20 say gent
uses, simply on the strength Of their personal
''NN Nbht hitl dIC w IutN HIVE never
done anything to prove it--never will, probably ::
but they have the benefit of the prestige now, and
will carry 1t with them even to the grave. Did
any one ever know a doctor who was not termed
"a remarkably skilful man ?"-or a lawyer, who
was not accounted a shrewd, talented fellow p
or a clergyman, who was not pronounced to be
either most eloquent or most excellent by n suHi-
cient number OF individuals to constitute n public?
In fact, if we might believe in all the opinions we
hear, talent is the rule, and want of it the excep-
ton, in this present age. Men and women of in
teect are the commonplace the only moderately
INTEL gent aud the stupid are the iew-the rare
aces.
Blu we you and l., r~oader-don't believe all
we hear, and we know better OF what calibre Of
humanity the various classes of the common place
are actually composed. We know, too, how often
"the wUrld"-principally ~made.up Of those very
classes. we remFniber-is mistaken in its judge
ments, as to who are, and who are not, common.
place people. We have marked numerous instan-
ces when it has done honor to the daw in peacocks
feathers, and when-to carry out the ornithulngi-
cal com parlson- it has neglected or despised the
nightinga e. because.it was so brown and homely al
bird to look at. Was it not only the other evening
at Lady Ofmulu's dinner party, that Mr.. Jones.
Sfter conversing through one course and a half
with his left-hand ~neighbor. pronounced him, in
an aside TO the lady on his right, one Of the dull
est, most inane, and most commonplace individ.
uals ? And was not the said Jones put to blush
when he was informed that his dull and inane ac-
quaintance was the wurld-renowned artist, whose
pictures are known, admired, and priced, 10y all
Europe? Be more cautious another time Mr..
Jones, in forming an opinion of strangers. and,
for your reputation sake. lie less precipitate in ex-
pressing it when formed. Do not again Judge a
mans intellect. after half an hours conversation
with him, particularly at Il dn.ner-rarty. Per
haps 1t requires not n large intellect. bot q little
one, to constitute the stuck ia trade Of The sayer
OF smart things and agreeable uothings, wba is 81
valuable an adj unct To assemblies, and " hu is pro-
nounced "a most clever. pleasant person" by Mr..
Jones and others.
appearances are deccitful," say the school
copies. 1t is to be feared that the round.text mo.
ralities of the writing master make but a small
Impression on the minds of youth, or that it soon
wears OH for when boys grow 10 mans estate,
they are opt to run exactly counter to the excel
lent advice contained in those pithy little senten.
ces. How many people of our acquaintance do not
Judge from appearances? Let a man quote from
one or two abstruse hooks. interlard his ccnversa.
tloA with Latin and Greek, comb his hair but sci.
dom, and shave still less frequently, and he will
find IA sufficient number Vt persons quite ready to
admire him as the wisest, most erudite of men,
In the same way, a man WHO dresses well, speaks
with respectful regard for Lindley Murray, and
does not outrage the bienSeaDces, is considered and
denomlnated Il gentleman. Well, perhaps after
NIL, 1t is a wise world to be so credulous If the
outside is fair, let us be content with that, with.
out seeking to look deeper. Let us believe in the
talent OF one person. he amiabilitv of another,
just as we do in the solidity of our rosewood ia
bles. Let us hanish the consciousness that tLey
are only veneered, and that if we cut into the
wood, We shall find that the polish does not extend
beyond the surface. At any rate. l, who I'M an
unapreciated, and therefore II cynical being, have
resolved to do So for the future.
But rerenonS a nos moutOnS-that is to say, tC
our commonplace people. AS have indicated,
hope, by the foregoing anecdo,e of Jones. the bal
lance Is kept ~tolerably even. If one set Of people
are overrated. the really talented, the unquestion.
ably Superior, are often treated very STABILITY by
that great autocrat. public opinion. ! myself am
thought title of by ordinary minds. As / have
said, the world is principally made up of common.
place people, and it naturally seeks its heroes from
among its peers. Pdrmi les areu9ies les 6orgnes
sont rios. People with two eyes have no chance
However, | will add-fur | like to be impartial
that my wife, who is Of a more genial tempera-
ment than / am. takes altogether another view of
the subject. She thinks-I put it into elegant
language FOR her, as she is not literary-that com
monplaceism per Sc does not exist. Everybody is
interesting to sonie one OF two others in the world;
for instance, every man who has sumo one to ad-
mire and love him-to think him q hero OF a sage
most handsome, most clever, or most excellent
in SINE way. lie is never commonplace to her.
Moreover. my wife declares her belief, confirmed
bv observation. that if we could thoroughly un.
derstand the idiosyncrasy. or he made intim ttely
acquainted with the lives of even those people we
ourselves are apt to decry as commonplace, We
should be sure to find special individualities, both
of thought, and feeling, and action, to redeem
them from the character. Therefore, she triumph
dHhy c"hCIuues, since tHe Whfiu \ common place
people are my heroes, and my commonplace peopl,
are very often Gods heruines-where are we t
find the absolute commonplace?
i am to remember, she says. my old bachelor
cousin Harte, whom | always used to wonder at a.
the most perfect specimen Of human clock work
wound up to go TO the bank daily, write there
for six hours, and return to his lodgings-and VIII,
couldn't do anything else, | verify believed, excep'
potter about the back garden Of his lodgings, read
the newspaper and cut out a man WITH a cooked
nat. IN paste-hoard, TO amuse the children, wher
he came TO us TO tea. Well how was / 10 know
that all that time he might have been put into 4
book as an example Of constancy, courage, and al
that sort OF thing? | hardly knew that such q
person as Anna Lyle existed, much less that they
mao ioVed ea;h other ever since they were boti
poor. and Ann had a helpless father dependent or
her for support; 50 they both worked on, loved
one another, and had patience. They we're mid