Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-12-04
NOT APATHY.

Content which rises into a
Yet not unfrequently We meet
With instances of precisely this char
acter. We find men who submit to
poverty and its incouvsnisnces, rather
than strive to avoid the difficulty by
industry, or to escape it by enterprise.
Instead Of laboriug to better their con-
they narrow their desires. And
the worst development Of this supine
is found in those who are
perfectly aware Of the habits or the cir
cums,snees which keep them down, and
yet will not make any effort to break
their bonds or to remove uupropitious
circumstances.
Content is very excellent iu its way.
It is good that when one has done the
best be can, aud satisfied his conscience,
that he should not repine because he
eau do no more. But to be satisfied
with whatever falls, without a single
effort to shake the tree or beat the bush,
is precisely that kind of content which
Dickens satirizes in his account Of some
of tue sable aborigines of Africa. Har-
ing melons of prodigious size and
spontaneous growth, they split one in
halves, take out the edible portion, put
one half the vacant shell on their heads
for shelter, and sit on the other while
they eat the pulp. Thus are they shell
tered and fed, and 6nd in q melon board
and lodging. The spur Of civilization
is found in artificial wants, The guide
Of civilization is found in the laws
which compel and the education
which teaches the legal pursuit
Of the means which will sup
ply those wants. No matter how
great are a mans proper desires. If be
takes honest measures to crafty them,
or, in very plain English, earns his
money before he spends it. The warliko
sayage makes a raid, and boldly steals
whs, he wants. The rogue in u civil
lied community helps himself to what
belongs to his neigbb0r in a more covert
way and If he is al accomplished
rogue keeps himself under the protec-
ton Of tho law all the while. Actual
thieves are plainly outlaws-savsges
with the vices Of civilization, but with
clearly savage instincts. The hungry
man either earns what ho needs, or bega
or steals it. Hunger must DO satisfied,
and causes him who suffers it to be
either a knave, a beggar, or an indus
| trious citizen. All desire for material
things, whether a simple crust, q ven
isou dinner, a hoysl or a palace, a pail
Of somebody's csst.off shoes or a coach
and six, is an incentive either to honest
eIertion or to dishonest appropriation
AS men with civilized surrounding.
cannot we'll fall back to the uusophisti'
Gated condition Of savages, those thrive
best who honestly work for most, and
those are least successful whose I" con-
tent rises into a vice"
The enervatiug influence OF luxury
and the mischief, Of the love Of dis
| play" are difficulties incident to civil
~ization Z; and to condemn all civilized
arts, elegance and beauty, because they
lead sometimes to e1,ravagauce, is &c
denounce water because it is wet; tc
say that because there is discomfort II
q rain storm, there should be no watel
in the tea kettle. A shower without at
umbrella is awkward. A freshet is de-
struetiye but without showers there
would be no water in the springs, N
Palissy the Potter was tho first modern
to demonstrate. And We must, there.
fore, welcome the rain, even If it do
cause tho river sometimes to overflow
it, banks. The difficulties and disasters
must De accepted with the benefits.
So must we take the drawbacks and
dangers of high civilization with its
advantages. "Effemiuacy" is o word
which was invented when it was sup
posed that the chief end Of man was TO
be a fighting animal. If the present race
cannot endure the fatigues and the pri-
v~aiions Of the savage, it il because
mind is master over matter. Our
efeminate moderns 1.-Two longer, fare
better, and are no more vicious than
their savage and warliks ancestors,
though the vices of civilization do not
sound 50 we'll in q ballad as the wars OF
the ancien. f]reebooters.
The hope Of youth is in ambition.
And no where has the desire for distine-
ton or wealth a better field for grati6'
cation than in this country. There arc
no ixsd bounds over which classes can.
not pass ; aud there are really no limits
10 the progress Of most people, sickness,
w.stsful folly, bad habits and idlsnesa
excepted, ave the limits which are Sc.
to their advance by "conteut which
rises into a vice" Let 10 young man
be satisfied with himself while he 10
conscious that he is ncglecting the hon
est opportunity to put himself to-day in
q better condition than he was yester.
day. Everybody should be constantly
acquiring something, either mental or
physical. The successful men among
US are those who make progress and
improvement their rule. There need be
no noise or challenge of the attention Of
others. The simple maxim for every
ones success is whatever is worth do
ing at all 10 worth doing WE'LL" and
content is q vice when it stops short Of
this.
Personal APPEARANCE OF Mrs. VAN
Corr.-Zion's Herald talks glowingly
Q. Mrs. Van Colt, the lady preacher,
who has been laboring in Boston; her
manner is prsposiessing, her costume is
- La .l.s, hAr tAInA nj