St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1859-06-30
Much Ado about, Nothing,

mi Much Ado about. Nothing
Were Shakespeare alive again, he would
find himself abundantly. supplied with ma
terial for writing another comedy, entitled
|"Much Ado about Nothing" and making
the l'' same Jam. particularly applicable to modern
times. Indeed so emotional have we be-
come Of late, especially we who compose
the American ingredient in the great con-
glomerate Of Humanity, that parade and
excitement have5ecome a national necessity.
We can no more dispense. with them,
than we can with our daily food or clothes:
This aptitude for an intense and excited
state Of feeling, circulating through the
vast and varied ramifcations Of our social
organization, plunging the mock hero of
to day into the oblivion of to morrow, and
blending undcscrvcd praise with unjust
cersure, has doue more than any thing
else to. bring American character into con-
tempt with the nations of the world. In
deed we may be said to be nation of Man
worshippers. No matter whether he who
receives our, alteration be illustrious by
reason OF great merit Or by virtue of the
supremacy Of his intellect, or whether he
was forced and out of his natural sphere
by sheer accident, we lavish upon
both indiscriminate praise and thereby i'm
pair our reputation for judicial caution
Washington, Lafayette, Kossuth, Jenny
Lind, Cyrus W.. Field, and lastly the
young and justly distinguished sportsman
Paul Morphy have each marked epochs in
the history of our heroic glorifcation.-
But however excited may become the State
Ia public feeling here in relation to such
persons, it is of but short duration. Our
forgetfulness Of extraordinary characters,
is in exact proportion to the brilliancy of
our conceptions Of them. We feast them,
aatter them, present them with costly
gifts, and finally dismiss them only to en-
gage in repetition of the same thing be-
fore the shrine of some new marvellous de-
velopment, without scarcely ever recalling
to our mind the subject Of our former
admiration. American intellect is Just
now PROSTATE before the shrine of Chess.
Philosophers, politicians, grave doctors Of
divinity, editors, lawyers, and judges are
paying their homage to the champion Of
the Chess Board. Men of sense, and men
without sense are each vieing with each
other to see how foolishly, they can act. It
is Timcthat reasonable men should stop
and consider the effect upon society, of
these Morphy celebrations. 49, - s~:,.
The homage which is paid to MoRpHY,
will have the effect no doubt Of alluring
many young men into lives Of dissipation,
Of cultivating habits and tastes of a spor-
tive character, who might otherwise have
become useful members Of society. It is
not our interest, nay it is not our duty, to
encourage those arts, however wonderful
their dramatic effect may be-, which do not
accomplish some useful purpose. The
world is full Of usefu,, trades and employ
llnents, and the question is who will choose
to I'll them. The Game Of Chess will have
its run. Much useful time will be spent
by those who have no capacity for it, and
other and better pursuits will suffer a con-
sequent diminution thereby. The Game
Of Chess may be a very pleasant rleoreaa-
ton, perhaps an, education, but tits alto
gether unsuitable to the stern and rigid
exactions of life. So goes the world. i q
si j*SfE: 3.igzfF5.: . - Ia, 81! Tai III, t:.i