The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-08-07
TIN Irnsocial Evil.

From the New iork CounoIeini A"'oi '.ooi'
The primary lesson Of practical life is
How, to Work. Only second to it in i'm
portancc is the much neglected lesson,
How to Play. The Christian Herald has
thoughtful article on the unsocialty of city
life. as especially manifested in church
membership. 1t draws pitiable picture
of stranger within our gatcs-that is, So
iourning in our city. He is alone every
where. His presence is ignored by every
body. At his hotel nobody looks at him.
If by accident he strays into church,
none of the worshippers notice, much less
welcome, the stranger. At the theatre he
is still more solitary, by the contrast be-
tween his mental state and that Of the
chattering, chuckling crowd. Nor is this
unsociabiiity displayed only towards stran-
gers. There is a great lack of cordially
in the relations Of acquaintance. The
amenities Of life are neglected. By not
properly mixing work and play, but by
postponing the latter to occasional periods
Of leisure, the power of enjoyment is dead
ened, and thus, as we have hitherto said,
to most men there is no harder work than
to try to play. Long abstinence from
amusement renders the one abstaining IN
capable Of being amused. Here is an
epitome Of daily life of such as these
"They take hurried breakfast, with
the morning paper in their hands, and sea-
son their bcefSteak or mutton chop with
the price current, and then hurry off to
the store or the shop, and see no more Of
their families till dinner; and perhaps they
take this down town. at a restaurant or
coffec-housc. At night they come home
exhausted, nerves all unstrung, head ach-
ing, and untitled for all social intercourse
with their families. Supper is hurried
over, and the children are sleepy, and sent
off to the nursery or to bed, and alter
glancing over the evening paper, ana per
haps reading a short chapter IN the biDic'
if a protesting Christian, and brief prayer
with his wife, he retires-to dream OF
stocks and dry goods, and notes falling
due, and notes that will never pay. ouch
is the daily round Of many man ior SIN
days."
If VIC were disposed to be officially
casuistcal, we might raise the question
whether it be worse to make the Sabbath
q day of labor than to make it one Of I'M
rest, which many church going people ha-
bitually do by crowding into it all the re-
ligious duties Of the week. Thus 1t not
unfrequently happens that the first day OF
the working week is as emphatically blue
to the church-going man as if he
lad spent it unworthily.
Unsociality, the Herald goes on to say,
is not unirequently found among families
whose residences are closely adjacent.
These should be, in the Christian sense,
q our neighbors but how seldom are
their relations ncighborly! The evil even
extends to the churches. We quote, in
paragraph in this relation:
"Even members Of the same church, if
he church be large, have scarcely a
speaking acquaintance. They will need
IN introduction when they get to Heaven
10 those with whom they have sat down at
he same communion table. Said lady
who is a member Of one of orr city
churches, and not an obscure member
either, not many weeks since to the writer
Of this article: i was sick and confined
TO my room for three months last winter,
and neither the pastor, nor one of the
elders, nor any member Of the church,
came to sec me, or to inquire if [ were
sick or dead. Nobody seemed to miss
me, although we occupy seventy dollar
pew Said another lady, and member
of the same church for years If | were
i'll and dying, or if one of my children
were sick and at the point Of death, there
is not member of that church to whom |
could say, "Comc and pray with me;
come and pray with my family" don't
know thcm.''