Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-06-13

sbeir aga. Tor T-59a. fars heibr4ihe reverse Of
genius, I suppose ) Thick must have oeme into the
world too late at least b. lifetime miss the
social Life whish vel remember even in the days Of
my boyhooi People sre getting too grand, or 100
refined. or too sgirsec they like French Word) 70
epioy themselves. Some allowance an willing 70
make for natural reaction Sick aud disgnsted, and
very reasonably, as the coarse animal bent OF cur
forefathers pleasures and The excuses into which
their social tempers and love Of hospitality 100 often
carried them, their descendants have made rush
into The opposite extreme have no desire TO bring
back the days when men staggered inio drawing
rooms under their two bottles OF vine. no Tationai
being calls that enjoyment Whist s not the serious
business Of life, as some Of our gTsndfathers and
grand mothers seem 70 have supposed it, and there
was mixture Of what was evil as we'll as what was
good in the s'glasses roand, which even fair lips
we're not ashamed 70 taste alles late supper.
But is there no possible form Of sosisl lie for
Englishmen intermediate between the registering
boon-companionsbip Of a Squire Western, and the
miserable unhealihy, stuck up form Of intercourse
Zone has to invent epthes for It out Of indignation
or borrow them fvm sang, SO naturally uu-t ngiish
is i) which has OF late years sprnng up amongstour
middle classesl-Big gArdly a. once and expo nsiEe,
encouraging, inslead Of kindly feeling aRd good
neighborship, petty PRIDE and rivalry and affecs
tion catching at the shadow Of s cold dignity aud
refinement, which they imagine 10 be the character
isies Of Superior station Instead Of eIjoyiDg, hear
lily and thankfully, the wealth Of eeeie blessings
which lie around them ia their 0En. The ate Of
isolation in which q man Of moderate m ans most
country neighbaThools hives and Moves from year 70
year is notorious; it would be liable ii 4 were net
50 often bis own fault By ue7 Of m rferaie means
] mean chiefly the village re tor and The small Ian
ded proprietor. Ills latter c,assl iLdeed, fer tie
same ss'lal resigns, has for some TINE beeg fast
diminishing
As to the professional man As We c all him, who
has every rigat 10 take his PLACE among them. il
is enc ymt4om Of an unhealthy toae 10 Elhiish so
ciety hsE his pqsiiian OF ie years has RolQ ioIsJ
sunk. With some few exceptions made in favor Of
The man. and not o. lie protessi0a he IS no lgrgef
met Of tks kind Of table al which he vas Eelc med
fifty years ago The lawyer who knows all cur
family secrets, in whose hOuOr, though We have The
bad taste to call him rascal, place confidence
which ne seldom find abused the surgeon to whose
care aud skin we trust our lives, health, eur
family hopes, aud, may almost say, The honor Of
our wigs and 9apgbieFs-thsse mea We do I'll sc
can 10 force dOWn into class Of society, whose
habits whose tastes-aHd therefore, We have a
right 10 suppose, whose prinoiples-are lower than
our own. We complain Of these men not being gen
ilemen, and we do sll in power 10 prevent them
having ene s. The most essential qualifications, the
believing themselves TO e %. 50 Ae rector dWells
10 his little world, aod finds his excitement and
am9seEaent flor excitement and amusement, l lay
it doW1 IS rule, every healthy mind must have)
in war With his 9ssepterg, eF still better With his
neighbcr and reFered brother or in church poll
tics, narrowing his miDd by the constant reading
pOliLieO religious church newspapers, high or low
instead Of charging it by the study of the WIDE
open book Of human kind; and running up coca
sionally, if the railway station be handy, TO his
university er te tOEp, ike miner for breath Of
upper air And the squire Of limited sores aud ex-
psadinR family dWells in his little world also, or
most Probsnlg does NOT dwell there but unable to
afford his house in town for the season, like his
neighbur NJ. P , or 10 surround himself EheR n
home in the country like him, with houseful of
pleasant people-unless be be mad enough 10 ruin
himself ia the attempt-he betakes himself with
his pretty daughters TO the Continent in search Of
cheap living, cheap edGcetiOn, and perhsps, above
all cheap society. Aud the lawyer, and the doctor,
being Of q eompaaioaable disposition, try perhaps,
TO form a little world Of their own, sort Of double
hemisphere and meet and chat over their bottle of
port or their brandy aud water, and discuss the
tightness Of the sqUres exehequer, the pattern
Of humility and Christian sympathy which is set
before them By their reotorg LADY, net mHoh to the
improvement Of heiEmnds or progress in their duty
towards their neghbor; the lawyer, perhaps, with
mental anticipation Of the TING to come, when a
few years hence, il my lords agency turns oct as
we'll as be hopes, he too, shall become an indepen-
dent gentleman, possibly take lease Of the squires
place. or buy it adVSntageOusly-fo it is very like
ly TO be in the market by that time-doubtiBg
whether he sha End it in his heart to do the right
thing anu cut BIS Irlenu 0luSi out determining az
all events to show the rector hGt he's as good as he
is, and fancying that he is to be happier when
be has a high wall ana q pair Of double gates TO
shut him out from the sight of his neghbors al one
o. two gentlemen in plush to stand and vi eh him
eat his dinner.
In Short the hearty, genial old Engl life is fast
disappearing the kindly Intercourse byIWeen house
and house, which sEeeleHed life fOF he young, and
smoothed FOR a while the careful rows Of the old
is dying away; and what We now call society is too
often a mere sacrifice 10 appearances, an unreal
puppet ike performance, which gives pleasure to
very few, aud imposes upon nobody. Unless
revenues will allow US 10 keep a pleasant set Of
guests at bed and board in the country or we throw
ourselves upon our club in town, we had best make
ourselves as independent Of cur kind may be-
One plea is, every one is so busy ia these days,
in spite Of SOlomon's saying that there is "a time
for oil things" our modern wise men, By their own
account, can hardly find time for anything Il is
not only the unfortunate mechanics that Is driven
into state Of slavery by his fourteen huns Of daily
toll and has holiday so rarely that he does not
know how to use it when it Genes, bat even whai
they, in their ignorance, would call The uEprodu3
tive classes, have not, if yon would beieVs ihei
own pitiabe story, moment TO themselves They
are so busy always In the name CT the great
Busybody, busy about Whaty
Seven hours to sleep, to healthfuI labor seven.
Ten 70 the world allow-and all to HeAvenn
Now, the man TO whom this diseh is attributed
is generally allowed TO have brought something TO
pass in his generation. But suppose the days have
grown shorter since then One remembers an old !
form Of expression dropping in to see friend"
barbarous idiom, adapted 10 the savage state Of
may we call 1t society ?-among our forefatbers /
protest, with the exception of my friends Smith and
Jones-Bbo areooRfessedly behind the age-I should |
shrink from trying that experiment at any house of
my acquaintance.
should expect to be dropped out again pretty
quickly, and thankful if it we're out of atWo pair
Of-stairs' window. did that kind Of thing once,
in the dsysof myeOmpsrativs youth and