The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1865-08-24
Yielding to the Inevitable.

Yielding to the Inevitable.
The following quantity told passage o
personal history, extracted from th'
"Lives Of the Lord Chancellors of Eng
land," has moral adapted to these
times:
''The Lord Keeper the Marquis of Win
chester, being in his 9th year, and about
to die, was asked 'how he did bear up in
these dangerous times, wherein great al
terations were made, both in Church and
State p he returned the noted answer
by being willow and not an oak"
| eThis pithy answer contains much
worldly wisdom, and may be turned to
advantage in these troublous times
The facile alertness with which the
crafty, time-serving courtier changes his
opinions and principles to accomplish his
selfish purposes, is greatly repugnant to
the mind impressed with strong and ear
nest convictions. This is sheer profiga-
cy, and is altogether different from that
calm wisdom which instructs us to. avoid
what we cannot encounter without inju-
~, and to sacrifice what we can no longer
retain without the loss Of other interests
of greater value. He who has seen great
oaks, the growth of centuries, snapped
like twigs and swept away before the
resistlcss tornado, while the delicate osier
remained fresh, green and uninjured, can
appreciate the significance and aptness Of
the old nobleman,s figure.
AS the oak that matches IT'S strength
against the storm will inevitably fall, so
the man who opposes his single will, how
ever strong his single courage, however
daring, to the collective force Of mighty
multitude sweeping on to its, appointed
destiny, will surely be crushed. But the
oak cannot bend, the willow cannot stiff
en- itself. Man, endowed with varied ca
pabilitics, can, if he will, accommodate
himself to the pressure of circumstances.
In this he may learn useful lessons, even
from the interior animals, who exercise
the instincts and powers with which ma
ture has endowed them. Naturalists tell
us of fish which eludes pursuit by dark
ening the water with fluid which it gen.
crates and elects. We have all heard of
that inofiensive animal the armadilla,
Which, when attacked, rolls itself into a
ball, thus presenting to its assailant sur
face ofimpenetrable armors Every child
has read of the porcupinc, which conceal
ing its vulnerable parts, darts its pointed
quills against the enemy. Our own obscr-
vation has taught US that on the approach
of storms many beasts seek places of
safety and that fowls retire to their
roosts. A universal instinct teaches these
creatures to shun dangers they cannot
resist Man not only possesses instinct
cat is gifted with lcason-and shall he act
with less discretion than BRITISH beasts?
To adapt ourselves to surrounding circum-
stances is not only q mark Of good sense,
but it is high duty.
The varying circumstances in which
men are placed are as the varying coun--
tries through which the traveller passes
He must conform himself to these chang
ing. circumstances as the traveller con-
forms his apparel and his habits and man.
ners to the climate and to the customs of
the various countries throu gh which he
passes. We read that in Greenland, one
day and one night make up the year,
each being ofthe duration. of six months.
1t is also said that the inhabitants live
chiefly upon the blubber of the whale,
and upon fish oil. Now the sojourner in
Greenland would fare badly who should
refuse to sleep in the day time and to eat
the blubbcr and drink the oil when there
was nothing else to eat and drink. In
Australia, called by Sidney Smith ."thas
land of kangaroos and convicts," the
winter months arc May, June and July:
The traveller who should refuse to put
on his winter apparel for the unsatisiac-
tory reason that he was accustomed in
his country to wear it in December, jan
uary and February, would be pretty GER
tain to contract pleurisy.
The moral of these simple Illustrations
is obvious and the application easy. In
the providence of God, the condition, cir
cumstances and relations of the Southern
people havo been entirely changed. The
situation in which they are now placed is