The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-02-07
PrRL1sHEp BY REorEsr.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
Our text book, the works of Chas
, Dickens, contains no special illus
tration of the kind of farming
in which the farmer spends his tins
and cumbers his land with the
planting of wild oats. James Steer.
forth, q prominent character il
David Copperfield, TO whom have
, already called attention, under.
stood this kind of husb6ndry pretty
well. With plenty of money and
an abundance of leisure time, he
had the condition for successful
planting of wild oats, and he used
both time and money in this pecul-
lar kind of farming, especially at
tractive TO young men. He gam
bled, and drank, and led astray
poor giris, who were fascinated by
his easy manners, fine clothes and
princely expenditures. His mother
looked upon his life as not at all
blamewor thy. Though she does not
use the words, she evidently Thinks
lie is only sowing his Wild oats, as
most young men must do. 1t rather
evidences his high spirit than bad
heart; she is indeed rather proud OF
his dissipation. Dick SWiYeler is
another instance in rather a lower
circle of society, of wild oats. lie
spends night alter night in reyeling
and no one complaius-it shows his
knowledge of life. AS have said,
Dickens makes no special study of
this planting so common among
young men. Common, surely when
I nnhtiE haH
! week with the title OF Wild Oats.
We MAXWELL conclude that this grain
is plentifully sown. The fact that
such a paper is bought and read,
and many other papers Of like char
acter, illustrating the fast life of our
great cities, nor condemning il, but
the rather inducing young men all
over the country TO emulate the life
of the city youth. In paper which
finds its way into many families u
story has been published, entitled,
''The Fastest Boy in New York"
The hero, wealthy and handsome,
INDUCES i'll all The dissipation of
the great city; the scenes are laid
| in gambling saloons, houses of i'll
fame, and bar rooms; the hero gets
drunk, drives fast horses with fast
women by his side, CANDLES, reck-
| lessly, shoots and uses his fists Oh
| slight proVocations. "This young
man is full of noble impulses, only
! little fast" we are told. He is held
up for the emulation of other young
men. He practices every species of
| dissipation, INDUCES III every vice
which men have yet invented, but
| is only sowing wild oats. The life
chrOniclcd in this paper is iilustrat-
cd in the Weekly Wild Oats, and
many a youth has no higher
ambition than TO be known as the
fastest young man in his city or
village. Few young men reach ma
turity without being touched by
this ambition. The results of plant
ing wild oats may be seen in every
town. In these fast papers we have
wood-cuts illustrating the reaping,
but the youth spend little time in
examining these pictures, passing
them rapidly by to examine more
infinitely the sowing.
We have among literary men an
| illustration of the sowing and reap
ing, in the case of Edgar A. Poe,
writer of great power, whose poem,
''The Raven" is well nigh immortal.
From many of his essays or stories
and from contemporary history we
learn the nature of his life. He was
a dissipated rake. Night after night
was spent in the widest revelry,
and days in planning new dissipa-
lions: the wine cup began TO master
him, but at last aware of his
| danger, and influenced by his
| 20 hoo Yrti FnI hn
reformed. All went well until on
his way 10 lie married, he stopped
i'll Baltimore, at the urgent so!icita-
| ton of his friends. A champagne
supper empowered his good reso-
lations; the night was spent in
drinking. Returning to his hotel
overpowered by his potatiors, he
fell asleep in the gutter and was
found next morning frozen to death.
Thus in reapiDg the harvest
sown amidst laughter and jokes,
was put out one of the brilliant
lights among the literary stars.
Among the crowned heads we
find another instance. Louis Ma
pOleon, as young man, was eX-
tremely dissipated. In reckless
revelry he spent night after night !;
every species of vicious amusement
into which young men delight to
plunge was familiar to him. No
| friends warned him of his danger !;
he was indeed thought rather wild,
but no one concerned themselves,
never dreaming that he was to be
Emperor of France. After few
years spent in sowing wild oats he
passed the remainder of his life in
reaping the harvest. During the
last years of his reign his body aud
mind failed more rapidly than either
state cares or years would warrant.
His wild oats now reaped gave him
misery and at last cost him his
crown and brought HIM to death be-
fore the general time of men.
alluded last Sunday to the Fisk
and Stokes affair. Both of these
men spent their leisure time in SOW
ing wild oats. Fisk especially rival
ed the ancient Roman Emperors in
his wild designations. Nothing was
too costly which would CRAFTY his
pleasure; he had mistresses in great
numbers, an opera house and
corps of actresses, elegant carriages
aud horses; he gambled both with
cards and stocks; the most costly
dinners and richest wines were all
supplied him in profusion. He was
planting all his life, never stopping
to reap. in a humber way, more
as the majority OF young men.
Stokes initiated Fisk. At last.
brought into competition both in
business and pleasure, Fisk. at the
hand of Stokes reaps part of his
harvest, and Stokes in. prison for
murder ia reaping some small por-
ton OF his reward.
Sowing wild oats is not modern
invention of Satan TO lead men
astray. The wisest of men, so he
has been called, Solomon, king OF
Israel, magnificent in his palaces,
court, temple and life, was not so
/ wise but that he spent many years
in folly and dissipation. lie tried the
wine cup, he had dancing women
and singers, wives aud mistresses,
royal pomp and pageant and can
: say of it: "All is vanity and vexa-
ton of spirit" The planting OF
wild oats he finds most Improbable
end warns others against it.
do not know that there is need
of more examples to prove to you
!. the folly of this kind of farming,
! 1t is more than probable that when
q you study the matter you will agree
with king Solomon, that it is vsnity
and vexation of spirit. But the
trouble with young men and their
elders is, TINT they Go not study
and the expression wild oats, or a
we generally hear it, ''Oh, he's only
sowing his wild oats" indicates
either ignorance or carelessness il
the mind of the public. Actions
J, which, committed by an old man o.
even a middle-aged, would be con
> demned by all, when done by
young man are excused as proceed
, ing from high spirits, as youfhfn
folly, as natural to their a0p nofhip,