Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-06-18

dormant moments, be 10 continually
how very iinpotent he %,
ansi how he cannot, Of course, sxpees
To do as you aud u q rest ofshe world
can. iic knows that no ls am utterly
Insignificant being, aud thRt, thouGh
lie may have bralns and o flue natafe,
hc must be taught 10 appreciate tbts
fact. Hut he tlinnks gbodnoss sthst
teaching u necessary. and he, has
learned tho lcsson suClcieiitly wsll.
IL 10, perhaps, only natural that 4
man should appear st his worst when
tie sun OF prospcrity ccascd 10 shine
upon him. nut this fact, " laht n be,
in no way mliigatcs tho unpleasant
ncss caused by the hfokcn.knesd
friend. When he IL % extremsly
sensitive, when no il ever on tho look.
out for Sights, aud ready for dis
plays of,irriiability, 10 Is not at all
strange that many who have known
him in his better days should avoid
him2 IL 10 not, perhaps. tie fault Of
the brokcn-knced friend that " hen
he has come down "coppcr" he
should appear very woc-hrgone. but
Il is not compulsory upon him to-
rave about his troubles 10 everybody
whom he fueets. Apart from al hias
other impcrfections, he is too sx-
pccting. lie seems TO think that ell
his friends are morally bound to
render him such assistance a. shall
restore him to Ills original position!
lie Is not content with being helped
in small way, because he labors un-
der the impression, which II evident.
though not expressed, that so long a.
a quondam associate has guinea In
his purse, he has o claim of ten shill.
ings of 1t. Now, the fact is, that fire.
quently there fSho ground whatever
for such pretensions. Friendship II
moro often than not matter OF con-
vcnience. A invites u 10 his house
because lie wishes to be asked to BE
place, and to mix with B's friends.
B is actuatcd by precisely the same
feelings in reference to a. II is part
of their programme that they shall
be polite and friendly. towards each
other; but this does not necessarily
imply true affection either upon one.
side or tho other. Politeness and
heartiness of dcmeanor is pleasant,
aud imparts an element to life with
out which it would be infinitely moro
dreary than is now the case. There
fore a and II cultivated It, but It
should not be understood that their
expressions arc moro than the ebul-
litions of the feelings Of q moment.
If A comes 10 grief he is at once un-
able to give Ii AN equivalent FOR that
which u is In position to offer. The
fact of AS breaking down involves
n mass OF all that Which has attract-
cd them to each other, aud made
them mutually extend the hand of
intercourse. When such an intimacy
is cultivated it is never calculated on
either sidc that at some future date
one will be required to deal out to
the other something more than con-
ventional hospitality; it ia brought
to fruiiion with an eve only TO pre-
sent circumstances. Ofcourse il may
be said that this is o very hollow
kind of friendship, to which it may
be replied that there are very few.
fricnships of the Damon and Pythiaa
kind, and that such, rarely, IL ever,
breaking down, do not afford food
for comment on the part Of the phi
lanthropic philosopher. 1t is hard
to see how either a or d can bo
charged with ingratitude and base
ness in acting in the matter indicated.
The folly is that people will invest
the concerns of everyday life with .
halo of sentimentality which, NJ q
matter of fact, is false and Fictitious.
I-[Liberal Review.