Smyrna times., 1870-03-09
Fame VS.. Scandal.

S>candalouS essays, which in old times used
TO D." confined to illiterate ncighborhoods, now.
III III ih'N a-e ot newspapers, stretch their I'm
Ano"ll INES over the world. All is fish that
comes 10 their net. The higher the position a
man or woman attainS by lorce of genius on
. virtue, me keencr Is the Zc>t with which their
personal history Is seized aud dragged to the
uSht. 80 universal is this prurcnt taste that
me natula, consequence has rn>ucd every man
%Ho mas gained local notorctv ru>hr> before.
me Puhhr with his personal alTlils; his sillv
'''o> >yhrracy t. display his little grievanc. to
I'd IAN Over. 10 measure the time devoted by
CONGRESS |" personal explanations aud to the
display OF purely personal spleen or iuliyidu3I
rrlatlohS one Is forced to conclude that the
machinery oi government. instead of being de
vIsed Tor the tran,acrion OF national bu,inn,,
was simply meant to give opportunity to third
rate men To- !'erE and parade themselves into
puhIlc notice. II Is time that this matter wa,
adjusted by the slmple RUE of common spn>e
| he share which the public owns i'm a man J.,
the highest work which he can give them.
The contract honestly filled, the batrle gained
the poem, the picture. the book, which en,-
bodies the insight into beauty or truth which
his individual NE has taught bim. The world
owns royalty IN these g"n"ral truths, and il
must be paid. But when the man oltrud.>
ms own coat or his breakfast or hi, wife INFO
notice, he simply commits an imprrrinrucc
winch natural vanity explains but does not cx-
cuSc
The record has been kept Of DIR. .Jobnson',
cups tea, aud Swift dressing gown Thnrn
were giants in the world in those DAYS. and
they were but few in number. But is history
to carry the wei-h; of all the iniige>tions and
oId clothes OF the mob Of gentlemen who write
win ease, once week, noW-a-dayS? The
N""ner thc chatt i >ittcd out of those old re-
cords as We'll as tn" new the better Byron
gave Us pictures o! Italy, and glimpses of pas
>loh, Which never have been SURPASSED Lut
there We ought to be done with him Absolutely
W by! Because of these long ago nooms
Should the world sit with aching head today.
puZZilhg over the fact whether his sister :
daughter had a marra-e certificate to show or
hoE W ny should We peep and whisper and nod
together over Mcdora Leigh disgrace, more
than sally Jonc 5, next door? Is il asyrbit
less vulgar? If Mr. \. writes an cs,av' and
Nr. B. prints 1t for him, the public have =
right to demand that the ESSAY ne trench,nt
and that the type be clear. So far is their
bu IN, : then they have done with the mat
ter. II Mrs>rs. \. and I5. happen to have a
petty Squabhle about their 10 per cent. whv
should the whole American people be sum
| ihontd as jury IN the case any more than IN
decide why John Smith ; COW should not invade
johnson lot?
W hen the lines are drawn between the
work and the person, between the contribution
to truth and the scandalouS gossip about thr
contributors, the world will nave faster.
hen | learned that nobody was looking At
me. says sydney Smith, = ceased to be
dlfhlcnt. When our public men in and on,
OF Congress earn how exceedingly small por
tlon OF the worlds eye they fill, after they have
done The work required Of 'hcm, they will
probably be les pr"SumptuouS. \ man may
comfortably enjoy his qparrel> his opinions 81
him>cli and his colleagues may rate himself
with pIea>uraple complaccnry above ncw>pa
Per> or pubIIc opinion. His vanity or ill-tem
per- however amusing, concern only himself
but when he mounts his petty pedestal shout
ing " |, Tor the benefit of idle goS>ip-mon
gers, he only shows how little he has vet learn
ed ct the grave purposes Of life, and how lik,
a school boy he >tI!l i in his estimate of him
sell or his code Of good breeding.-N T. Tri
Jtute