The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-05
BURNT FINGERS.
From the Saturday Review.l

ceptionally wise among us learn to correct the
excesses Temperament by the lessons OF expe-
rience To the mass of mankind these lessons
are for the time only, ana prop1esy hoearn Sn ol
takes ofmethod, not of principle. and they think
that the same lines more carefully laid will lead
to better Superstructure IN the future, not see
ing that the fault was organic, and IN tnose
very initial lines themselves No impulslye or
wildly hopeful person, for instance, ever learns
by experience, SO long as his physical condi-
ton remains the same; no one with q large
faculty of faith-that is, credulous anu easily
Imposed on-becomes suspicious or critical by
mere experience. How much soeveT people OF
this kind have been taken in, in times past;
they are Just as ready to become the prey o1
the spoiler in times to come; and it would be
sac, If it were not so silly, to watch how lncvi-
tabfy one half of the world gives itself up as
food whereon the roSuery of the other may
wax fat. The person of facile confidence,
whose secrets have been blazed abroad more
than once BY trusted friends, makes yet Snotn-
er and another safe confldant- quite safe this
time, one OF whose fidelity there Is no doubt
and learns when too late that VAe pan,er
Derc3 ia very like another pdnier perce. Inc
speculating man, without business faculty OF
knowledge, who has burnt his fingers bare 10
the bone with handling scrip and stock, thruss
them into the fire again as soon as ne mas ,.in tne
chance The gambler blows his fingers just
cool enough to shuttle the cards for this once
oniv snre that this time hone will tell no flat
tering tale, that rayelled ends will knit tnem-
selves up into q close and scemly garment,
and heaven itself work miracle IN ms laV0r
against the law of mathematical certainty. In
fSct We are all gamblers in this way, and play
our hazards for the stakes of faith and nope;
we all burn our fingers again and again at
some fire or another; but experience teacucs
us nothing, save perhaps more hopeless, neip-
less resignation towards that conlounaed VI
ln1in n
known it all before when things fall out amlss
and We are blistcred in the old fire.
In great matters this perSistency OF endeaVor
is sublime, and gets wealth Of laurel crowns
and blue ribbons; but In little things IL Is oo-
stinacy, want Of ability to profit by experience;
what cannot be done; and the apologize Of
Bruce's spider gets tiresome II too often re.
peated. The most hopeessly inapt people at
learning why they burnt their fingers last
time, and how they will burn them again, are
> those who, whatever their profession, are
blessed or cursed with what is called the arts-
tic Temperament. A man will ruin himself tor
love of a particular plan, for dislike OF GER
tain kind of necessary work, for the prosecu-
ton of a certain hobby. Is he not artlStlc,
and must he not have all the conditions OF MS
life exactly square with his desires, else how
can he do good work? So he goes on burning
his fingers through selfindulgence, and per
sists in his unwisdom to the end OF his life.
he will paint his unsaleable pictures, or write
his unreadable books; his groove Is one IN
but though his very existence depends on the
following of that paying public, he will not sur
an inch to meet it, but keeps where he Is be-
cause he likes the particular run OF MS 1urroW,
sa1l spends his days in thrusting his hand INTO
the fire Of what he chooses to call the
ideal, and his nights in, IN a0aSnSg SinSg 1ats taS
him be burnt. And what does any amount
of experience do for us in the matter of friend
ship or love? As the world goes round, and
our credulous morning darkens into more
sceptical twilight, we believes Fl general aaa
friends are Just so much gilt gingerbread, and
that o very little close holding and hard rubbing
brings off all the gilt, and leaves nothing but
slimy, sticky mess of little worth as iood, ana
of none as ornament And yet, if OF the Kind
to whom friendship is necessary Tor happiness,
we rush as eagerly into the new affection as
if we had never philosophical on the emptiness
Of the old, and believe as firmly in the solid
gold of our latest cake Us If we had never
smeared our hands with one OF the same pat
tern before. So with love. A man sees nls
comrades fluttering like enchanted moths
shining light set like q false beacon on dan
gerous cliff to lure men to their destruction;
he sees how they singe and burn In the flame
of her beauty, but he Is not warned. II ones
own experience teaches one little or nothing,
the experience OF others goes for even less,
and no man yet was ever warned oil the
destructive fire oflove because his companions
had burnt their fingers there before him, and
his own are sure TO follow. 1t is the same
with women; and in greater degree. They
know all about Don Juan well enough; they
are perfectly aware how he treated A. and b.
and g, and b.: but when it comes to their own
turn, they think that this time surely, and to
them. things will be different and he In earn
lest; and 30 they slide down into the aluring
flame, and burn their fingers for life by play
ing with forbidden fire. But have we not all
the secret belief that we shall escape the snares
and pitfalls into whicn others have dropped,
and among which we choose to walk That
fire will not burn our fingers, at least so very
badly, when we thrust them into it ? and that,
by some legerdemain Of Providence we shall
be delivered from the consequences OF our
own folly, and that two and two may be made
to count five in our behalf? Who is taught by
the experience OF an unhappy marriage, say?
No sooner has he got himself free from the
pressure of one chain and bullet than he
hastens to faSten on another, quite sure that
this chain will be no heavier than the daintest
little thread Of gold, and this bullet Us light
and sweet as a cOwslip ball. Everything will
come right this time that had gone wrong be-
fore; and the hot bars of close association with
an ungovernablc temper and unacc0mmodat-
ing habits will be only like Juggling trick,
People, too, who burn their fingers in giving
good advice unasked, seldom learn to hold
them back With au honest intention, and a
strong desire to see right done, it Is difficult to
avoid putting our hands into fires with which
we have no business. While we arc young
and ardent, it seems to us as five have dis
tinct business with all fraud, injustice, folly,
wilflness, which we believe few honest
words OF ours will control and annul; but nine
times out of ten We only burn our own hands,
while we do not in the least strengthen those
of the right or weaken those OF the wrong. We
may say the same of good-natnred people
There was never a row of cnestnuts roasting
at the fire for which your good-nat,lrcd oaf will
stretch out his hand at the bidding and for the
advantage of q friend. Experience teaches
the poor oaf nothing; not even thai fire burns.
To put his name at the back ola bill, just as
mere fern; to lend his money, just for a few
days; Oh 10 10 any otter sort of self-lmlnolat!ng
folly, on the faithful promise that the fire will
not burn nor the knife cut-!t all comes as