Smyrna times., 1869-03-17
WHOLE NO. 1874

nanced night routs and fashionable parties,
contending that they sacrificed the end which
amusement sought.
The indelIcacies and extravaganccs of those
fashionable dissipatinnS which found men hap
py and left them wrttchrd. which found them
pure and left them ytiatcd, filled the mind
with downright disgust liz seeking amuse-
ment one should not tax those faculties which
have already been at work. 1t would natural
ly be asked, what were the amuScments best
calculated to promote human enjoyment. Re-
tcrrlng to the theatre, he asked, was it in any
sense an Instructor, educator Of taste or pro-
motor of good morals? He did not wish to at
tack the theatre in moral respects? Now as
Sumlng 1t not to be very bad and the profession
respectable, he would inquire whether it served
any purpose OF amusement or plcasurabie in
Structlon. In their nature they reached but
small class of society. Theatres at best were
but the OCCASIONAL amusement of classes and to
strangers rcSortlng there. They could not be
provided for the people They were too enor-
nous " expensive. 1t required an income to
sustain theatre that would support twenty
clubs or societies. Besides this they furnish
only limited amusement and were, for the
most part, OF the lowest ORDER The stage,
as 1t now was, did not serve its purl oses, for
one could t0Tma better conception of Shakes
peare plays by reading them than seeing them
represented as they now were. The moral and
mrthtul dramas or farccs were, he thought, the
theatre strong point The theory Of theatres
was all we'll enough, but facts were against
them. The drama in its pure form could not
! be supported now, and 50 the theatres were OBJ
! hgcd to resort to other attractions in order to
secure their profits. In Paris, even, the thea
terS could not be sustained unless assisted by
government II was urged by Christian men
! that II the matter We're taken in hand and good
! dramas encouraged and bad ones trOwnCd upon
the theatres might he redeemed On the
whole he considered the theatre failure
The lecturer then advertcd to outdoor amuse-
ments, which he said were more wholesome
and profitable. He said American men do not
walk enough. Few men know what exhilara-
ting exercise and recreation there is in hardy
walking; q tour to the Alleghanies on foot
would be worth ten journeys to them on a car
or stage. The horse Is a noble instrument
OF amusement. It's not cruel to put a creature
to the use for which God expressly organized
it. 1t would be cruel to race an OK, and to put
a harmless greyhound to heavy burden would
also be cruel. The saddle is the harness for
the horse, and the road is his footway A
true hOrSeman is a monarch. Although am
extremely fond Of horses, | am opposed to the
turf; not because it wasted time or tried the
speed of fast horses, but because of the gam
bling attached to it. Its life was gambling,
Tor the bet was the marrow of the race, and all
reformation in that respect was useless
Who shall provide amuSemcnts for the COM
immunity? Until there is an enlightened pub
= lie sentiment amusemenls should be provided,
and think they should be provided by the So
ber, and by the religious half of the communi-
ty. l hold that it is the right Of a Christian
man to take possession of joy in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the
Highest, and it the earth is the Lord ;, and
the fullneSs thereof | take possession Of that
tullness and consccrate it to his service.
So soon as the public themselves are instruc-
ted that amusement is an absolute necessity
there will spring up in every neighborhood
those amuScmentS which are needed.
The reverend gentleman concluded by earn
cStly commencing home amuScmentS,
-~~~~p--
FIRM DETERMINATIoN-A little four or five
years old boy was seated at the table eating his
dinner. y small cut of bceisteak was given
him, and taking it upin his hands, he resolute-
ly endeavered to get bite off the end of it. IL
being pretty tough-as beefstake sometimes
happens to be-he pulled and jerked and grun-
ted at the task little more than was consistent
with modern ideas Of polite dining After a
few earnest struggles all in vain, he turned to
his mother with look Of mingled energy and
despair, and said through his veXation and
t tears, Mama, me 5 going to have piece Of
this meat, or pull my mouth out
--~~~A
: Women have no greater weakness for dress
: than men. Any opinion to the contrary is
: founded on the fact that the dress of wOmea
is more demon>trativc and showy. This, how
ever, does not involve greater expenditure a
man sees the last of 500 bill in getting q suit
? OF clothes; a woman spends $50, and is accus-
J ed Of indefcnSibe cXtravigance. OF ten men
l and ten women taken in the street as they
+ come, it will be found that the ten men spend
two dollars to one Of the women. OF course a
: majority OF the men won't admit this but it
, is truth, nevertheless.
The poorest are not unfrequently the hap
piest. a Sultan, who, as a cure for low spirits,
was directed by his medical adviser to wear the
t shirt of the happiest man in his dominion. Sc
lected a gay and reckless fellow; but found he
: had no shirt.
A certain insurance agent says a married
man should insure his life for many reasons
But the most important of all is that it would
prove great help to his wiie's second husband,
; and might be the means of starting him in
business
One of Josh Billings maxims: "Rise ear
ly, work hard and late live on what you can t
sell; give nothing away; and if you don't die
; rich and go to the devil, you may sue me for
damages.
D II never complained of my condition but
once" said an old man, "when my feet were
4 baro, and L had no money to buy shoes; but
l met man without feet and became cOnten-
! ted.
s A man who was arrested for stealing goods