The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-27
The Fate OF Young Emperors.


per0r OF the French, now quite a lad, has the
best OF care, and, in particular, that he takes
q ride on horseback every day, still, he is so
deficient in physical vigor as to resemble a
half-starved tailor's apprentice. This fact is
dwelt upon as evidence that the present
house is not likely to be perpetuste6; and,
naturally, there are sympathetic lamentations
in great families that the Emperor and Em-
press should be so unfortunate as not to have
q son capable of being the heir of their
grandeur. 1t is not likely that Americans
will have other interest in this statement
than what may arise from satisfaction in
learning that those who are highest are as
subject to great misfortunes as are those who
are lowest and with complacency the remark
will be made that riches and power can
neither impart vigor nor prolong life. II,
however, we carefully consider the tendencies
ofcivilization, and, above all, we look upon
families in humber conditions-upon fami-
lies of our own acquaintance, and in our own
neighborhood, nay, even in our own dwell
ings-we shall not find il necessary to give
force to political maxims or moral precepts
by illustrations drawn from the families of
European mobiles and kings.
large portion Of the families in this coun-
try contain within themselves whatever has
been accumulated by the progress of the Cau-
casian race, and for this reason they possess
superior intellectual powers. During this
accumulation, the coarse and degraded, to a
degree, disappeared; but now, instead of re-
tanning firm nervous system, such as belongs
to the undeveloped races, these families have
built up system of a most excitable charao-
ter; and thus it is that conditions and events
which fail to move barbarian cause the
sensitive nerves to tremble and thrill like the
strings of an Eolian harp in the gsntlest
breeze, for they are unequal to the support of
the new and powerful mentality. There is
no doubt that the origin of modern progress
was in the families of the great, and,
in particular, upon the fertile soil and
in the healthful climate of England,
where wealth first gave leisure and then
culture; and, these having been supported by
physical exercise, each generation was able to
add something to what it received. Mean
while, there were offshoots from these great
families of daughters and younger sons; and
from these the families in our land, which
lead the advance in mentality, have de-
scended. The English game laws have deep
significance. That the physical powers of the
higher classes might be sustained, the exer
Oise received in hunting was an absolute ne
cessity, and penal laws were enacted and en-
forced with the utmost rigor that the game
might be preserved and it is to these laws
that, to-day, the English aristocracy owes its
vitality, and even its existence. But changes
come to all, and now, strange as it may seem,
the aristOcracy of England and the savages of
our Western plains are both in like condition;
for both live by the chase, both require large
bodies of unoccupied land, both punish with
out remOrse those who destroy their game;
but both, manifestly, must give way before
the uprising of millions of human beings, and
seek some new way for sustaining existence,
or die.
While mentality is always hereditary, and
MI; nh xy;n
is seldom transmitted beyond a common
average, and, unless carefully cultivated, ii
hastens, like all other earthly qualities, to
decay. Indeed, the more powerful the intel
lect the greater is the necessity for physical
culture that the intellect may be sustained;
for it ia now demonstrated that the process OF
digestion, and all the phenomena of nutrition
and waste, are as much carried on in the brain
as in the stomach, and this in proportion to
the amount of mental activity. For want OF
a proper understanding of this fact We have
notable cases of softening of the brain, and of
early disqualification and death. Eminent
men, who lead sedentary lives, seldom are
repeated in their children, not because they
do not impart mentality, but because they do
not impart the physical power to sustain it,
and this explains why the posterity of such
fades away; and why we are called upon to
wonder that he who charmed us with his
or, alas one who passes his days in lunatic
asylum.
Not alone does the great family of Napoleon
sink into oblivion. Saying nothing of the
progeny of mobiles and of kings, now forced tc
compare themselves and to compete with the
advance of a newly-developed race, there are
thousands of wealthy families in our land il
which the children possess every advantage
and all that schools and colleges can bestoW
ha fhairas bnf tn the aXnariannad affQT
to the casual eye, it is apparent that, 30 fal
from being able to compete with those coming
fresh from the activities of life and mad,
powerful with knowledge of useful industries
and of the arts, it is doubtful whether, will
those feeble bodies, they will be able to reacl
the period of manhood. We do not mention
Incorporate nor vicious habits, nor want o
moral principle, because, in the absence o
physical development, physical and menta
ruin naturally descend. Meanwhile, other fami
lies, living remote and struggling with poverty
lament their sad fate, and that they are de
priyed OF opportunities which, if enjoyed il
the manner desired, would lead to their ruiz
also. Could the wealthy understand tha
education, position, and all that is understood
by opportunity, means as thorough discipline
of the body as Of the mind, the rulers and in
tellectual leaders of the land would not b
taken from the common people. But, becaus
they will not understand this, great reser
yeir of latents intellectual power is wisely de
posited with the humble and lOwly. What W
mean by discipline OF body is, that the stu
dent, independent, for time at least, offamil
wealth. shall be so guided as to experienc
within himself the growth, progress, and dt
velopment of m an. To neglect such elemeI
tary knowledge is as fatal as to neglect th
elements by which any science Is acquired
With our wealth and invent ons We see
nm WA oOnstautlV forget on