Wabash express. [volume] (Terre-Haute, Vigo Co[unty], Ind.) 1841-186?, 1858-11-10


The greatest rainds are those. which often
est stoop TO simplicity. nay, even childish
ness, in their sports. None but . ponpous
bloekhead. or solemn hypoeriie. Will ever pre-
bend to be built Of such stern stuff, q not to
require relaxation. Who does not remember
that wholesome rulef .'Ali work aud no play
makes Jack a dull boy"
LET Us DC wise. for I zee fool coming
said Plato. v hen he vas once joking with his
disciples. The most grave aud studious.'
say Plutareh. use feasts, and jests. aud toys,
a. We do sauce to our meat" These are au
thor.ties enough. to induce "a grave Ameri
cans To consent 10 be amused occasionally
We. who are the grasest people upon the face
Of the earla, need strong arguments IN order
10 shake " from our proprieiy. Though We
know that laughter brushes the eobwebs
from the brain" We. as a nation. seldom
laugh. But to our list OF authorities.
Age.ilaus amused himself. and his children.
by riding on a stick, The great SciPio found
an inJ,,leat pleasure. in picking shells on The
sea shore. Socrates sang and danced, by way
Of relaxation. The facetious Lucian, aud The
grave Scalieer have both confessed the pleas
ure they found in music. dancing. aud sing
ing. Mscenas. with his friends Virgil and
Horace. delighted in sperts and games :
Shakespeare played on the bass vioi. which hs
accompanied with his voice. Dean Swift OF
ten amused himself with hunting. and ehas
- sl.r... tFh al
the rooms Of the Deanery. Napoleon used e
get down upon all fours and rua alter th'
children. making a most unreyal noise like
bear. Now really, as man is the only ANNA
that laughs nobody bat Montague ever hav
ing seen an animal laugh. who says he detect
ell n smile upon the face Of an elephant once
upon an occasion when even an elephsn
would be constrained to laugh,) does II no
seem to be the intention of Providence tina
he should indulge in this high privilege
believe laughter saves Doctors bills. From
the bottom Of my heart, PITY the man or wo
man who cannot enjoy good joke. hav
seen men, Who were too grand 10 laugh-w b.
thought il beneath their dignity 10 put on
even a gracious smile Solemn hypocrisy ha
been ridiculed. and exposed. from time lmme
mortal. Once, at the Dublin theatre, Their
WAS a pompous conceited fellow who refuses
to sit down when all the others were seated :
Upon which voice from the gallery cried on
'.Oh leave the poor creature alone, he is
tailor. and is only resting bimselfr'
1.-The more trivial our amusements." say
Horatio Smith, 'the more accurately will the,
often reveal the qualities Of the mind, as tn
ightest feather we can toss up will best de
lerr,ine the direction Of the wind. If this b
true u an individual. it will be equl lily sppli
cable TO a nation, whose familiar and domesfi
character we may much better ascertain fror
thsir sports. pastimes and amusements, tina
from those more prominent and important tea
lures to which historians have usually restrict
ed themselves ia their delineations. Laws
empires, institutions pass away and are forgot
ten: but the diversions Of people, benz
commonly interviewer with some immutaoi
element Of the general feeling, or perpetuate'
by circumstances of climate aud locality, vii
frequently survive when every other nationa
popularity has worn itself out aud fallen int
oblivion. Many Of our school games ar
known to have existed from the earliest an
tiquity The diversions Of the wild Arab
have remained inimitable for many ages. No
thing can be more dissimilar than an ancien
and modern Roman; We; we see the porter
and the market people Of the Eternal Cit
seated on the ruins Of her forgotten grandeur
and playing at the game oil the Morra,s exact
iy a. they are recorded TO have done IN tn
days of the republic aud Of the Emperors-. .
Over the Pythian, Nemean, Isihmian an
Olympian Games. antiquity sheds kind 9
halo: and from thi, distant point Of view ther
is something of grandeur in the fests of tn
athlete aud hesgladiator. Coniemporaneou
Jews, however. abhorred gladiatoral games
and the brutaii xing scenes OF the arena. Hu
nasty towards animals forms prorniner
feature in the Mosaic law. Gods pecuis
people looked down With contempt upon til
games and am isements of their Roman cor
querors. The soul Of the sensitive and piou
Jew, sought pleasure in splendid feats an
magnificent festivals. The exquisite fascini
tions Of musicians and singers delighted tb
inhabitants OF the Holy City. They had th
,y-hve feast days In the year. during whic
they ate. drank. sang. danced, and made me
~ before the Lord" And says the author
Eselesiastieus. Take thy pastime. aud d
what thou wilt. but sin not by proud speech
And again, "A concert Of music in Bauqu
Of Wine. is as signet of cabuncle set in gold
THIS life were hut treary scene
wi,houi soane little spots Of green,
And every honest joy We taste
impsrts new strength 90 tread the waste:
Pleasures which leave no Stag behind.
but s~eetly elevate the mind.
TIL every heart With generous glow,
Delights 10 sse iis neighbor 80.
s6ucs.ins the number OF fingers suddenly held up
IL The following are from the mazims
la Rochefoucauld:
"Our virtues are generally vices in d.
guise.
s.N.~s.. ~c.fl rof f.r a xsnsfx "A,