New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-05-06
TIE BOSTON SOROV
MEETING OF THE NEw-ENGLAND WOMANo CLUB
PAPER by MIR. wAsSON-IS LUCK LAW

MEETING OF THE NEw-ENGLAND WOMAN CLUB
PAPER BY MIR. wAsSON-IS LUCK LAW
BosToN. May 3.-All transcendant things are
vailed in "a divine mystery-should the Womahs CiuD
form sole cxceptioni Heaven forbid that should
omen the doors Of its adytum. will not tell you, how
ever you enreat me- whether green tea or black
at our sympOsums what condiments we put into our
salads or how many Hounces arc on Mrs Howes gown.
Far be from me to reveal the secrets OF the
But there arc occasions on which profanest masculine
eyes may look and last evening was one OF these-ast
eveninp when David A. WATSON sat behind a shaded
lamp and basket Of Mayowcrs and discoursed to US OF
I" Fortune"
We all have 40 vital an interest in this question OF luck
or no luck and Mr. wassOns presentation OF 1t was SO
felicitous that should defraud you by silence
Recognizing profoundly the something unseen whieh
ia greater than we are" believing that the solution OF
the worlds problem to be epic rather than scientific
that rot all relations be stated by arthmetca rules
or cphered out on schoolboy blackboard Mr. WATSON
opeps his windows toward the infinite call 1t by WHAT
soever name you will He has enough or the ola creek
reverence for Fate to shock the students OF social siehe
whose bible statistics report, and VINO Ve love-
and die according to law-so much happiness ana ~
many suicides to the square acre. Indeed MI "asSoh
opened his subject by saying that from their point OF
view the ancients did well in making Fortune divinity
since according to tho polyheistc way Of thinking
personal and divine character Is assigned 10 each
irresolvabls element in the genius OF nature;
and certainly what we commonly call iuch
seems to be an rresoyable element In our day, now
ever the action Of fortune is challenged on all SIDES
factor we cannot account for hedge around by law
il offensive to arrogance Of the age. To acknowledge
belief I'm IL little compromises ones repue for sound
understanding Science comes forward to assure us
that nvarable laws govern all events and that accord
ingy nothing can be fortutOus The statement may DO
true and yet there may be laws Of fortune for when 40
far we have no professor. An iceberg breaks by law
from q Greenland glacier, and drifts southwark. BY
law steamship sets forth from NewYork and, affected
by the laws winds and currents runs into thick fog
and in the fog crashes against the iceberg and sinks
The movements Of berg and steamship have each been
according to law but there another law WHICH auc
them ntersect the meeting at that spot fortui
tousi II one calls 1t provdenal, that Is simply 10
acknowledge that we do not know why it took place
Where Providence, that Of the word, begins,
science ends.
Ethics again has its accusation to offer against the
notion OF Fortune. Every IL is said gets his exact
deserts neither less. This may be true, meas
uring by unknown cternes; but here to-day, can 1t be
pretended that outward events always follow character
submssiyely that every man has an outward success
proportoned to his merit man what but the CON
trary has religion been signalling for eighteen CEN
turtles What but the contrary makes the foundation OF
all tragedy Events do not tally nexorably with charac-
ter. Ethics must acknowledge somewhat, which II 1T he
Fortune is certainly not ethics Others say that
ability commands success and God is always on the side
the heaviest battaons. But this the tune Of the
Goliahs who do not the pebble in the brook. 1t Is
impossible to read the of able without seeing
I'm them an element unexplained il not ineXplicabe.
Why Leasing, Opuent in intellect so strong IN
will, genial in cOmpanonship, so indefatgable, so
worthy succeed, baied at every turn and hunted To
the grave by disappointment while another good man
good but surely not better-Wilhelm Won Humboldt,
oil win lnXin forh wishes made
thcma Call it superstition If you WILL thereI certainly
appears all history, in all lifc somewhat which CORE
spends TO the Fortune Of the ancens-an lrresoVabc
element, inexplicabc attachment of events to per
SONS Mr. Emerson finds the secret OF 1t In certain oc-
cult sympathy between ones nature and ones circu-
stances Is not this sympathy inexpcabe as the
good fortune which he considers its RESULT Rob Roy
was a lucky" man. Always in peril a hundred times
in situations where his life seemed not worth
penny, he died peaceaby in his bed at last
Some Of his continual and almost inevitable
escapes are be attributed in part to his daring and adj
dress certainly not ALL once when he was In hiding,
his conccalment betrayed the house suddenly sur
rounded by an overwhelming force, and it seemed that
his last hour indeed "There Is to be no es-
cape this time" called his enemies. in triumph "come
out and your fate" He caught up his sword and
plum yed through the door At the instant when he APP
peared weamcd pistol was discharged at him, WITHIN
yard of his face would have been all over with him,
but lust then some obstacle trpped his foot and he fell
sprawling the ball going his head; and the accident
that might have cost another heeaguered man his LIFE
saved Rob Roy. But that something other than his
own address or daring
We find that almost all the great actors in history have
believed In and relied upon occult concurrence with
their efforts Napoleon, who was pagan enough, had
faith in his star. Cromwell believed far nOby that
the currents OF destiny with him. and that his speed
was less due his power at the than to the tide
which bore him 1t is not to be supposed, Of course
that there any element in Nature which escapes her
method But what is her method I Does it, does it
not include the incxplicabe Are there not in Nature
gipses and Migrants in human societies. Yet doubt
less the Constable OF the universe has His eye them
and extends over them the order Of the world.
Mariners incorrigbe pagans in their faith in For
tune and occasionally this superstition II such we call
it, serves them well The essayist himself once took
passage with shpmaster who IN 80 years OF command
met with any disaster and but once with notice
able loss but who pushed on through perils with a
headong audacy, reckless faith in his unfailing luck
which challenged ones admiration. He returning
the banks or Newfoundland at "a when they
commonly covered with Ice. OF this he well enough
aware and In cooler temper might have observed due
precauons but at this time he had been vexatously
delayed head Winds and according to his CUSTOM had
dashed himself into fury OF determination. When,
therefore, just he drew the cefeds there
fierce northeastern gale, accompanied by dense fog
that one end Of the ship could scarcely be
discerned from the other, he set at nought
Il