Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-05-25
Gbe freeman.
A Plea for Weak Bodies.

mas taken up their defense against the
Vaccinations of the great public possessing
good health and a sound constitution. One
would suppose it were pitiful enough to be
at the mercy of torpid livers, shattered nerves
and the whole list of ailments, not to be
overhauled by the world at large, and re-
quired to smile and smile under the most
aggravatiug physical conditions.
No matter how carefully concealed, the
strong have always contempt for the weak.
This is true in the matter of stomachs, as
well as in that of mental capacity. In all
the ventures of life, other things being equal,
feeling of success 0Gi 81 Pf. This comfortable
tors, but it doesn't. They take wonderful
delight in bazzing around a fallen foe. ard
assert their physical right to wrest the
worlds spoils from the hands of weaker hu-
manity. 1t would seem that the price of
success with them was the expenditure of the
greatest amount of bodily force and the un-
fortunate persons who are denied this force
might as well defer their hopes of felicity till
they arrive at that spiritual state where the
pursuit of the worlds bubbles is given over
forever.
The energetic, broad shouldered, loud
voiced Mrs. Stoutt has undoubtedly very
sublime contempt for the sensitive, nervous
little woman over the way. She concisely
sums up her character in the word '' shift
less" She is sure her neighbours affairs
could be banged through with as much exc
cution as her own, if she would only make
the effort. She parades her own domestic
virtues, in severe contradiction to her neigh
boris household. She is moreover a person
of extreme piety, and would no more neglect
a means of grace than she would neglect
house cleaning in the spring. She says she
is severely tried with her neighbours lack Of
spirituality, eVineed by an occasional absence
from church.
In the meantime, the poor little woman
over the way works on bravely through man
fold discoura gements, not the least Of which
are pain and constant yeariness. She has
daily heart-pangs because she cannot keep
pace with the inexorable Mrs. Stout. She
is cramped and hurt by her own physical in
capacity till the only things worth hoping
for are health and strength, and spirit
adapted to - smashing on Sometimes,
lacking the first essentials, she attempts gi-
gantic exploits. She is determined the body
shall not thwart her; she will transform her
spirit into a tyrant that shall marvelously
possess the shrinking, coward body, and com
pei it to obedience. No one can tell to what
possible heights she might have reached had
not an unappeasahIa- set of nerves entered a
protest just at this point, and spoiled all her
fine theories, leaving her only the same lit
tie defeated woman Now Mrs. Stout could
never be brought to understand this ,ssimply
because she has never felt the restraint of
physical bounds. She has never hoped, and
planned, and prayed for anything that was
impossible of attainment only through lack
of bodily strength.
1t is really laughable, if there wasn't
dash of cruelty in it, to see with what sweet
complacency strong, fulfilled men look down
upon their own comfortable proportions, in
the presence of their interiors in bodily
strength. Men whose greatest astonishment
would be to lose their appetite, have such
delightfully."- general principles on the subject
of health. They attribute their getting on
in the world to square meals, and hanging
about, and they are surprised any one can be
absurd enough to make a failure of life with
such aid to development. They don't intend
to make any foolish failures. They began
pushing on very early in life. No matter il
they did flch marbles from underszed boys,
and fight with a weaker enemy in their IRE
pressible boy yhoOd when they are grown up,
as a reward for their prowess, they are set to
badger the patient, slow workers,-slO be-
cause possessed of small vital force, patient
because of an inevitable life of suffering be
fore them. The world oftener crowns the
man hero who is strong -willed, strong
framed, aggressive always, than his superior,
whose will and passions have been chastened
and ethcrialized by long companionship with
pain, through defective physical organiza-
tion. No doubt the prospects of a future
life should be considered ample compensation
for all the losses and crosses in this, and il
should be wonderfully consoling to spirit
hindered by meager, self-asserting bundle
of flesh and bones, that they shall sometime
stand equal in soul stature to the heroes by
the world beloved. However, as there il
considerable plodding to be gone through
with before the body will shrink away from
the soul entirely, it would be vastly NOR
comfortable for the world at large if ther,
was less variance between its strong an
weak. OF course there are enough people
who are really shiftless, whose stay on cart
is barely tolcrable for themselves or anybod.
eIse,-who are willing to accept life's gifts
and do not complain if they are denied th'
privilege of working for them. But thes
excresenees of society have no resemblance
many vino are set apart with them in a hope
less bondage to circumstances.
The world is rushing on at SO furious
pace that it has little time and smaller Pa
tience with laggards. They must get out c
the way or be ruthlessly run over. 1t woul
be foolish to wish to stop the swift rush c
progress, but certainly not to bespeak Iii
tie consideration for those who must newt
ably be left behind; those whose souls are
captivity to the body, that must be boun
groveling with it, when they would breath
the freedom and inspiration of the mour
tain-tops.
There are many people who have an vi
limited supply of maxims at hand, all teacl
ing the sweet uses of adversely in the case
others, but they somehow lose their validii
when misfortune attacks them PERSONAL,
Did you ever see strong, burly perse
who had infinite contempt for weakness
body, and whose nose was always in the a
at the mere mention of infrmity, brought
repentance and humiliation by an irropres.