The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1864-09-23
NOTHING TO DO.
by TIE COUNTRY pARsoS.

Oftentimes, through those irksOme hours, he
thought how pleasant 1t would be to be set
free from that work forever. So he said that
ir he had son, the son should be called
NorurSG TO DO; and he should do nothing.
OF course, Ella spoke only half seriously.
We know what he meant. But, in sober
earnest, we can all see that NornING TO DO
would have been miserable as we'll rs q
wicked man. He would assurcdly have
grown bad fellow. And he would just as
surely have been n wretched being. A
Every one knows tho story Of Michael
Scott and his Familiar Spirit. or late |
have begun to understand the meaning Of
that story. '''
Michael Scott, it is recorded, had Famil.
lar Spirit under his charge. We do not
know how Michael Scott first got possession
of that Spirit. Probably hc raised it, and
then could not get rid Of it; like tho man
who begged DR.. Log to propose toast. and
then DR.. Log spoke for threc-quarters of an
hour. Michael Scott had to provide EN-.
ployment for that being, on pain of being
torn in pieces. Michael gave tho Spirit very
difficult things to do. They were done with
terrible case and rapiiity. The three peaks
of the Eildon Hills were formed in single
night. A weir was built across the Tweed
in like time. Michael Scott was in ter
rible state. In these days he would probably
have desired tho Spirit to make and lay the
Atlantic Telegraph Cable. But a happy
thought struck him. He badc his Familiar
make a rope Of sea-sand. OF course this
provided unlimited occupation. The thing
could never DO finished. And the wizard
was all right. ..
These things are an allegory. Michael
Scott's Familiar Spirit is your own mind,
my friend. Your own mind demands that
you find it occupation; and If you do not 1t
will make you miserable. 1t is an awful
thing to have nothing to do. The mill with
in you demands srist to grind and If you
give it none, it still grinds on, rs Luther
said; but it is itself it grinds and wears
away. My friend Smith, having oveiworked
his eyes at College. was once forbid to read
or write for eighteen months. II was hor
rible penancs atGrrt. But he devised ways
Of giving the machine work and during
that period of enforced idlcness he acquired
the power Of connected thinking without
writing down each successive thought. Few
people have that power. One of tho rarest
of all requirements is the faculty of profta-
bic meditation. Most human beings. when
they fancy they ara neditatins, are in fact
doing nothing at all and thinking of moth.
ing.
You will remember what was once said by
lively French writer; that wc commonly
think of idlencss rs ono of the bcatitudcs Of
Heaven; while we ought rather to think Of
It as one of the miseries OF He'll. II was an
extreme way which that writer took of tes-
tifying.to the torlnenting power of Michael
Scott's Familiar Spirit.
Aud one evil in this matter is, that Il Is
Jus. tho men who lead the most active and
useful lives who nre making Michael Scott's
Spirit more Unsuitable. You give it abun-
dance to do and so when work is cut of
from il. il becomes ramparcous. You loso
the mower of sitting still and doing nothing.
You find il inexpr.ssibly irksome to travel by
r,;lwav for even b,lf,n bour with nothing
10 read Por the most handy way of pac.
fvinr the Spirit il to give il something to
read psople tell YOU how disgusting Il was
wbo, tbcv Ind 70 wa;, FIR three quarters Of
m bo,r far ,b, train at sam. li,tle country
railway station. Michael Scott's Spirit wns
wo-rvi,c and tormentiny them. beinu kent
w;tl,ou, cmplovmeut for that time. You
t,ow IN what shifts neonlc will have recourse
ro,hor ,ho, bovo tho Familiar spiri, GINNING
nd ,o,,,,,,;n, ,ho,n "a .;vo cr;s, n Tho
mill, to provide the Familiar Spirit with
something to do. on railway journey Of
twelve hours. they will read all the ndver
tisencnts in their newspaper; they will go
back second and third time over all the
news; they will even diligently peruso tho
leading article of the Little Pedlinston Ga