Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1859-04-20
MODERN CRoAKERs.


History is frog pond, full of croakers.
From Thucydides and Herodotus down to
Grote and Buckle-from Moses down TO Not
ley, the lugubrious plant resounds from the
marshes of all eras. Things have always been
going wrong; death has ever been in the pot.
If we are to rely upon writer's, there never
was time when the earth turned smoothly
on its axis, and there never will be. The past
is one wide field of crime and deSolation, and
the future an endless vista of woes greater
than any yet experienced by the hapless human
race. How YEARLY and soul-sick sounds the
voice of the wisest of men, Solomon, s'There
is nothing new under the sum- How the
prophets the poets, the historians of all nations
echo back the cry, sSAll is vanity and vexation
of Spirit.''
A certain mourntul comfort is TO be derived
from the sad experience of mankind as attest
ed by the chronicles of old. If things have
| always been in a bad, a very bad way, it is
something to know that people managed, after
fashion, to live on and worry through their
trials. In spite of wars, pestilences, and
famnes innumerable, the powers of nature
were kept steadily at work, the seasons came
in due order, the children of men were born,
and food and raiment adequate to their wants
we're vouchsafed unto them. Life has never
ceased to be grateful boon to the sons of
| Adam. There never was an hour when man
| kind with one consent sought release from the
|
| Nay, there was never a moment when the vast
majority of mankind did not find the sEfever
called living'' a delight, worthy of indefinite
| protraction. And yet the croakers have never
| ceased to croak. The moralsts and immoral
| lists alike have abused the very thing of all
| others which they most highly priced; the
| thing for which the most of them would have
bartered house and lands, name and fame,
family and friends, even honor itself.
Why is this The sufficient answer win be
| found in the fact that man was not born to be
satisfied. ssFool!'' exclaims Carlyle, ssdost
! thou not know that the very universe itself
would not ease thy cravings 20 The further
| answer is, that life is too often misspent, not
indeed wilfuly misspent, but, by reason of sill
| annexed opportunity and carelessly guarded
| passion. brought TO prottleSS conclusion.
| No wonder then that there should have been
and should still continue to be an abundance
| of croakers. But, if croaking still continues,
this much may be said in favor of the modern
| croaker. He cannot croak with the hearty
good will, the rim and vociferousness of his
predecessors; and this because the one all
| important essential of successful croaking
| has been taken away. The croaker, like any
| other professional artist, needs large and ap-
| preciatIve audience. Such audience is
rather hard to find now a-days owing not to
the fact that the lovers of good croaking have
ceased to exist, but because they have been
| so dispersed and intermIyed with hopeful ac-
| tive mortals, that the modern croaker though
! he croak so sweetly, can attract few admirers
in any one community
The modern croaker does not differ material
| ly from the ancient croaker, except in this
! that 1t has become a sort of new dogma in the
| croak illogical faith to predict ga good time
coming.'' This important change in the
| croaking tune produced for time some good
| effects. 1t ssdrew.' But the general diffu-
sion of knowledge and the still more general
necessity of working pretty hard for living,
with the success which for the most part at
| tends hard work in this country, has thrown
| such damper on the modern crOaking ver-
| sion that an entire change of programme is
| needed. How the croaker will set about eff
| fecting this change it is impossible to tell !;
but the experience of the past assures that
! it will be done. Perhaps a return, to the
| good old fashion of croaking, of which the
burthen is s'nothing is there to come and moth
ing past, - will be relished by a sorrowful pub
| lie, and have a run equal to hoops. Who
can say +?
| If it were worth one's while to do so insane
| a thing as argue with croaker, it might be
said that although things have always gone
wrong, and are always going to worse, that is
| no reason why we should trouble ourselves a
| bout them. On the contrary, it is good and
| cogent reason why we should not trouble our
selves. The sun will certainly set tomorrow
night, and very likely there will be a great
| HldHN aitcT IT, uul tHdt Is no TedSO0 why we
should go supperless to bed. Nay. if we are
too poor to get up anything SO brilliant as
gas, we can at least set fire to camphene
lamp, and be as jolly as it is possible to be in
view of an explosion which may consign us
| to horrible death.
But we have no quarrel with the croakers.-
Some of them mean very well and all OF them
| think themselves very wise. There is doubt
less use for frogs in the spring OF the year,
| their cacopbonetic concerts are truly musical.
We are not so supersenstive as the French
nobility. who, while residing temporarily in
their chateaux, forced the peasants to whip
the ponds all night to keep the frogs from
| croakinp No, the batrachiau croakers may
have fair play-so long as their complaints do
not affect the growth of early peas, and their
| human brethren, so long as they do no posi-
tive harm, may go scot free, so far We are
| concerned.
Oil aud truth will get uppermost at last.