Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-08-01

the grass and nearly exploded with
laughter.-Askes Journal:
| Evils Of q False Position.
We are inclined to think that hall
tue miseries from. which most Of ps
suffer are Of our own making. Ii We
would be happy, We lave only to cut
away from our lives the superAuitiei
@achefarbmdaal them, and which
are q continual source Of anxiety te
usalk Why, for example, ahouia We
place ourselves Tin a. false position
merely for the satisfaction Of others,
or to meet some absurd requirement.
of society," Why should any mau
! assume 70 be what he is not, for the
purpose of obtaining a fictitious res.
psqtf from his fellow-citizeus2 And
twhy,,ir, short, are we not all more
| nesural and less stilted il our inter:
course with each other? The answe,
is not far 70 esesk.s The great mass
fof our countymen have 8 certain
heaven of snobbishness in their dis
positions, which they would, perhaps,
be unwilling to exhibit in its broadly
repulavs aspect
We hare all learned the lesson
which Mrs. Grundy has been 50 ss-
siduously teaching to many genera
tons Of men and women. and we fear
the ola Gosgon too S5much to venture
upon anything Like freedom of action.
Social life is, in short, a species Of re-
fined slavery, there is the lash or
the good Of opinion ready for the
man who ventures to be original, and
social outlawry for such vagabonds or
.nomads as refuse TO submit to The
rule and precedent. Mild enthusi-
asts, whose simplicity often causes
men of the world a smile, are contin-
ually eroaking over the evils of the
separation Gf class from glass, and
afe ever SnSths alart to sfface the
bEead lines of denarcation which di-
vide the various sections Of society.
One professor of the philosophy Of
Utopia would bring the lover and
upper ranks fogether,onaa OF
common brotherhood |: another would
fuse the whole middle class into one
homogeneous mass; while a third
would make intellect or talent the
sole passport to what is called good
soSiety. We hear much of the grad
ual disinteg, alton of certain class
distinctions which once kept sections
of society separate but, as far as our
experiences goes, a@e do not find that
the property qualification, if we may
so express ourselves, has less weight
in the world now than in any period
of modern history. j.
The rich snob IS always certain Of
some dsgree of consideration, from
even people of unexceptionahle posi-
tion in the world, while the poor man,
oftalent, who may be admitted among
people on sufferance, has constant
and daily humiliations to put up with
in the false position in which he finds
himself. Let us assume the latter to
be possessed of high, but not rare,
ability ). that he has acquired some
share of popularity, and that his
wide reading and accurate thinking
make him q really, valuable. aeauisi-
tioh to theSpeople @hopatrohize him.
|. Itsis the fashion to say that such a
man finds himself the social equal of
Anyone with whom. he may come ia
contact, and this, of course smay be
true if the case ofa geniusof high
order. But we are not thinking of
the highest lights Of the intellectual
world, Of the Highest section of soci-
sety, but;of that mediocre talent, Of
which there is a. plentiful crop, and
of those eIaIansly respectable classes
who thihk.mers Of the length of a
man parsathan they, ever DO Of the
Weight and texture Of bib brains.
Assume thai such a man holds a
doubtful positioIs ia the wosla, ;,that
he is poor and passes each day ip the
.wretched adrndgery of: tpechapical
work. His talents. however, bring
|him intoycoptsct with persons: far
above blnK social position, whose
habits sls }sore;ga So his and we know
Little a nothing Of. the, sphere in
which be spend as: tas greater portion
of his time. cannot wholly avoid
those people howaaer much his sound
sense laas prompt hig to % sosss; He
must either. bsFd with his seapals,
and niissan ehance of /, exchanging
ideas with minds Of his rown scope,
PofAs must pocket his pride, and 3D. con
sent to submit to the special trials
which, surround "a. false position.
nhiunsu Horcar