The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-03-25
From tic Ncw Amerieam Cyctopaeiia.
ADVENTURES.

Adventures are persons who lack the |
necessary discipline and balance of minE to
submit themselves to the laws of society,
while at the same time they are devoured
by the ambition of distinguishing themselves,
OF making fortune or Il sensation. They
stand Ill the Same relation to the chcrulier
Pinin$trie rs the pirate to the pickpockct
while to men of genuine ambition, they
compare rs Il coxcomb to IL man of the
world, or II preacher to Il sportsman.
Adventure Is are rarely without a rclecm-
ing love Of glory, and if they arc successful
they become heroes, like Napoleon. On
the other hand they seldom listen to the
appeals OF conscience, and if they are un-
successful they become scamps, like CagI-
ostro. In the historical records of men of
brilliant fanc VIC find as many adventures
rs persons Of Infamous rcpu,c in the police
returns. They are to be found daily in the
walks Of private life, as well as in the
realms Of fiction. Micawbcr, in David Con-
pcrcld, would have been Il great a,lvcn,ur-
CT if he had not been destined to become
the great M;cawbcr He was always wait
ing for something ''to turn up" This pc
cullar State Of expectation is, in fact, the
normal state Of mind oc IN a,lvcnturcr. As
long ;s this state of suspense lasts he keeps
quietly Ill the background, ranS;,ckiny earth
and heaven, his brain aching with thought,
his heart swelling with hope, his very soul
bursting with ambition; but as all the
while his pocket is empty, and as he does
not perform amy honest labor for the pur-
pose OF filling it, his life is that Of an out
law. Ills name, nay, his very existence, is
utterly unknown, except to his unfortunate
family and lis miserable creditors.
l'ut Of Il sudden his corro,linr ambition
is GratIii:d; the dreams of his life are real
iScd. Something ll,, turned up. lie Jumps
into some conspicuous or notorious ,oSi,iun.
The fact Of lis existence is like a new rcvc.
lation to mani;ind. Ills name falls like a
bomb upon the public ear. .'Who in tho
world is 2" ask IL thousand voices, and
echo answers: can advcnlurer."
If he is person of military turn, he je-
comes iiibuster, like Lopez or Walker
II OF an energetic, semi-inlriguing nature,
lie becomes Il rail-. IL :"
of Sa 90. .''n' ''Nc 'o'f james brooke
r.;,wak. If his predictions arc of the
financial order, he becomes railway king,
like Hudson, or a colossal swin!lrr, like Law
If Of Il religious disposition. he becomes Il
prophet, like John OF Lcyden or Joe
Smith.
The word advcnlrcr is derived from the |
Latin odrcnire. The kni yht-errauts were
called adventures, IN! the poets of the
middle ages cxaIt the 'Damc Adventure" as |
she WAS called, to the dignity of goddess,
and represent her as :: woman of angelic
beauty, possessed, like Gvgrs, of the power
of making herself invisible by putting on II
mysterious ring, which enables her to tray
cl incoy, all over the world, and to observe
without being observed, the doings Of man
kind. In order to make her divine Paul |
l:y mission more comfortable, she carries
a staff in her hand. which has the magic
power Of helping her over land and sea-.
Female adventures arc also pretty nu-
mcrous. Nell Gwynnc, Lady Hamilton,
Madame dc Pompadour, Lola Montcz. all
come more Or less under the category Of
adventures. In Italy, female adventures
abound among the princcsscs and highest
mobility. In Europe and America they oc-
casionaIly make their appearance as gov
erncss and teachers Of foreign languag,