The Portland daily press., 1870-11-04
Exit the "sfupid Dutchman. T"

Only a few short months ago there existed
in this country and elsewhere a parsonage
known as "the stupid Dutchman." He was
slow and dreamy. The smoke of his meer-
scbaum asccended day and night unto heaven.
His brain was much beclouded by the fumes
of lager beer, in the consumption OF which no
Boston clergyman-no, not the most ascetc
Puritan of them al-was his peer. He be-
loneed to the eleventh corps at Chancelors-
vile and ran away in spite of all that poor
Howard could do; SO it is plain he was no sol
dier. Moreover, when Lee invaded PennsyE
vania the stupid Dutch farmers" STOOD mol Oh
the order of their going but went at once, ana
not in the direction of the enemy. Hans
Breitmann would do very well to laugh at, but
not at all to admire. He was a Emphatic
fellow anyhow metaphysician, to be sure,
abut what avails it eternally to spin cobwebs
out of ones own bowels?" What usefel pur-
pose was subserved by Fichte aud Hagel-
either enforcing the "dirt philosophy" or up
setting our ideas of the reality of things, and
telling us that we are not sure even OF our
own existence but are shadows OF shadows
ani dreams of dreams? He was student, it
Is true, but what an absurd fellow withal!-
aud then came the good story of the professor
who devoted the whole of his long lite to the
study of the Greek article and died disap.
pointed man because he had accomplished
n ahing on account Of undertaking too much,
regretting with his last breath that he had not
confined himself to the dative case! Yes, he
vas curious, useless compound of Rip Van
W.nkle and the renowned Wouter of Man.
haitian, with good deal OF speculative philos-
ophy sprinkled in to complete the singularity
ard grotesqueness of the resultant Dutch
man. The German lost bis identity entirely
in his brother. or perhaps more accura tely his
cousin, the Dutchman, and was involved in
his disgrace. He fought toerably well under
the second Frederick, but the first Napoleon
stole all his laurels; after Sadowa and the
campaign of 1866 be was considered to have
redeemed himself somewhat, but after all it
was not much OF an exploit to thrash the
Austrians, almost every European nation hav-
ing done that at some period of its existence.
I But somewhere about the second day of
September OF the current year the Stupid
Duichman" finally disappeared, has not been
seen or heard of since-and never will be
a.ain in this world. From about the 4th of
August preceding he had been rapidly grow
ing DINNER and az length he vanished at Sc
dan-or rather his metamorphosis was COM
plete.
The Dutchman of the newspapers, and Pc
riodicals OF today is prodigy of valor, learn
ing and sagaclty-':just hunk of brains," tc
use the energetic expression of celebrated
humorist. Are his tobacco and lager beer
blemishes? Not at all. Both these stimu-
lants together with the sour-krout and Ouch
cheese are instantly converted by that won
derul organism into intellectual power and
nervous energ!. Do not mistake the appar-
ent stolidity of the man for what was former
ly denominated 81 eutonic phlegm." 1t is
only the repose that is the untailng charac-
teristic of great souls-indeed the distinguish
ing characteristic. The ancients depicted all
the inhabitants of Olympus but one with an
mated countenances;- that one was Jupiter,
whose features indicated the eternal Tranquil
lily of the King of gods and men whom none
can move Or disturb. Such superhuman
being is the Plussian-the representative
Dalchman of to d.ly-with his needle gun in
his hand and his spiked helmet on his head.
He has suddenly become the foremost man Of
the human race, and all other men do him
reverence.
A correspondence has recently been pub
lished between Strauss, the. German theist,
and Renan, the equally celebrated French
thest, that makes this sudden transition OF
the Dutchman from a low place in the worlds
estimato.. to that of demigod exceedingly
instructive. Neither of these eminent men
Is democrat. Both believe that constitu-
tional monarchy is the best form OF govern
mept for European nations, so that their po-
litical notions would ordinarily find as little
sympathy on this side of the Atlantic as their
religious notions have done. But from one
portion of Strauss letter all nations may de-
rive great benefit. The French need the les
son most OF all, certainly, but other people
need It in less degree. In effect Strauss
says this: We Germans have profiled by ad.
versify and have learned to recognize our ma
tional defects. While you have become intcx
icated with success in the school of Louis
XIV and the two Napoleons, and have come
to regard yourselves as susceptible of no fur
ther improvement, we in the midst of our
misfortunes have been studying to overcome
our inherited faults of slowness and dreami-
ness. and especially our discussions. On the
other hand you have cherished your faults
and constantly added intensity to the national
passion tor glory, nQtoriety and robbery.
"Gtoire," says Strauss, (which one of your
statesmen has declared to be the first word
in the French language, is, instead, the worst
and most ruinous word-one which you would
do well to Danish for while from your die
tionary."
p The Stupid Dutchman" will have sue
cessor-some one to occupy the Place he has
left vacant. Perhaps it will be the very
Frenehman who has been his taskmaster, but
it is TO be hoped that the Republic will bring
sobriety, selEexamination and a new and
more creditabIe career aJ