New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-06-01

observing among the simple country folk
the manners and characteristics Of unso'
phisticated rusticity: Cnsophissicated
rusticity-is there &c. such thing
Has the progress Of the age left a
single village in the land unvisited By new
patent improvements, single hamlet SO
small, so contented, as not to look forward
to time in the immediate future" when
its main stree. shall be intersec.ed by a
railroad. and its rank among rival town
lets be raised by the dingy dignity Q: a
depot!
It is, with few exceptions, only the very
prosaic whose minds can not follow the
race Of improvement. and the very poetic,
whose imaginations soar above and beyond
material progress, that are not carried
away by the rage for novelty, especially
that form Of novelty which promises speed
in the attainment Of ones object. Bust
ness plans are formed on gigantic scale.
The nimble penny Of the proverb is dis
dained, no. for the slow pound-even
pounds must now be nimble-but for
gains as rapid as those bestowed by the
genie of an Arabian tale. Hence the stu
pendous schemes Of public plumber in
which so many men Of high standing have
not scrup1ed to engage. It is not SO much
the power OF the luxury afforded by the
possession Of wealth as the intense excite
ment accompanying its acquisition and
obtainable by its means which leads men
to risk for its sake everything which honor
holds dear self-respect, reputation. the
society Of the good, even personal liberty.
Yes, for in the eager rush Of this haste to
be rich many who started out, intending to
use only honest means, have gone so far
as to perform deeds whose legal eonse-
quences should be a felon's cell.
But il is no. in business alone that the
prevailing thirst for excitement is seen.
1t has invaded almost every department Of
human affairs. Even the old poetical
adage, Ear. is long" seems in danger Of
being falsifed. Not art i'll the highest
sense, Of course--tbat can not be has
tened. A great painting or statue OF epic
poem takes as long to finish now as when
the genius Of Michael Angelo, Raphael O..
Leonardo da Vinci illuminated the halls
and galleries and cathedrals Of Rome and
Florence with their unfading works; when
Phidias. Myron OF Praxitiles turned stone
and bronze to life; when Dante's immortal
lines first thrilled with enthusiasm an ad-
miring world. Art, then, in the high
est accep.ation Of the term, is still
long: but there is cheap form
Of art that amply satisfies the re-
quirements Of the time for rapidity Of
execution. The sun-scratched photo
graph has, 70 great extent, supplanted
the elaborate portrait in oil or the deli.
cately finished miniature on ivory. The
gaudy chrome is substituted for the fine
engravings, by means Of which persons Of
taste ob:ained-in slower times 2 compare
lively accurate notion of the famous pic
lures Of antiquity. These bastard arts
are well enough for those whose means
will afford no better: but every one Who
is able would do well no. TO rest content
with their cheap abundance, but occasion
ally look upon works Of real excellence, if
he can not own any: works whose per-
Torrance cost time, labor and genius.
In literature, likewise, the prevailing
desire for startling effects has produced
Of public taste. which now
demands stronger lights and shades than
were approved by our more moderate
The polished periods Of
Addison, which charmed the wits Of
Queen Anne's day. and have charmed
many since. are now regarded as tame;
and even the genial humour Of our own
Irving is voted "slow." out of date. The
palate of our day--among the
demands the broad caricature of
a Dickens or the pungen: satire Of
Thackeray; while among the grosser
nothing will satisfy the appetite for
stirring emotions but that class of writing
called sensational" On the stage the
same symptoms Of morbid craving for
excitement are visible. Shakespeare, in
deed. holds his own. but all inferior
caterers for public amusement in the thea
trical line are driven from the boards
by that same demand for sensation
which rules in literature. Tableaux which
strike the eye with their artifcially posed
figures. and their blue, gold and crimson
lights. lascivious ballots in which grace is
utterly sacrificed to impure suggestion,
opera bouffe wherein impurity. faunts
unveiled. realistic melodramas whose
thief attraction consists in the introduce
ion Of "a real pump and wash-tub' these
ire the kinds Of dramatic performance
hat draw" They attract full houses:
hey keep peoples eyes open very wide,
whereas your genteel comedy.
representing fine shades of character and
Incidents resembling those of real life,
invite scant audiences and untitled cash
boxes.
This prevailing. hunger for excitement
md rapid living is telling on our physical
SO say the medical men. Its
results may be seen in the grea. increase
If apoplexy and heart disease. both pro.
luced by oyertaxing the brain and over
working the emotional nature.
How is it TO end: Are we 70 20 on
50 wearing out by over-friction this mortal