The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-05-31
The Good Fellow.


mistrusts his goodness, or realizes how
selfish, how weak, how unprincipled, and
how bad a fellow he truly is. He never
regards the consequences of his acts as
they relate to others, and especially those
of his family friends. Little fits of gen.
atone for all his misdeeds, while he inficts
upon them the diegraces, Inconvenience,
ald burdens which attend selfsbly disso-
lutte life. The invitation of q friend. the
taunts Of good boon companions,
the Temptations of jolly fellowship, these
are enough to overcome all his scr9ples,
if he has any scruples, and to lead him to
ignore all the possible results to those who
love him best, and who must care for him
in sickness and all the unhappy phases of
his selfish life.
The Good Fellow is notoriousiy careless
of his family. Any outside friend can lead
him whithersoever he will-into debauch-
err, idleness, vagabondage. He can ask a
favor, and it is done, He can invite him
into disgrace, and he goes. He can direct
him into job of dirty work, and he
straightway undertakes it. He can tempt
him into any indulgence which may suit
his vicious whims, and, regardless OF wire,
mother, sister, who may be shortened in
their resources so as legitimately to claim
his protecting hapd,-regardless of honor
able father and brother,-he will spend
his money, waste his time, and make him
self a subject Of constant and painful an
xiety, OF an uDmitigated nuisance to those
alone who care a straw for him. What
pay does he receive for this shameful sac
rifice The honor of being considered a
"Good Fellow" with set of men who
would not spend cent for him if they
should see him starving, and who would
laugh over his caiamities. When he dies
they breathe sigh over the swill they
drink, and say, cater all, he was Good
Fellow"
The feature of the Good Fellows case
which makes it well nigh hopeless, is,
that he thinks he is a Good Fellow. He
readiness to do other good fellows service,
and his jolly ways, atone for all his faults.
His love of praise is fed by his companions
and thus his self complaceny is nursed.
Quite unaware that his good fellowship
is the result of his weakness quite un
the honor and peace of his fami-
ly. for the sake of outside praise is the
offspring of the most heartless selishness,
anite unaware that his disregard of the
interests and feelings. of those who are
bound to him by the closest ties of blood,
is the demonstration of his utterly unprin-
cipled character he carries an unruffed,
or a jovial front, while hearts bleed or
break around him. OF all the soamps 30.
ciety knows, the traditional good fellow
Ia the most despieabie. A man Who for
the cake of his own selfish delights, or
the sake of the praise of careless or uu-
principled friends, makes his home scene
Of anxiety and torture, and degrades and
disgraces oil who are associated with him
in his home life, is, whether he knows it
or not, q brute. If q man cannot be loyal
to his home, and to those who love him,
then he cannot be loyal to auythiDg that
Is good. There is something mean beyond
description, in any man who cares more for
any thing in this world than the hnnor, the
confidence, and love of his family. There
is something radically wrong in such
man, and the quicker, and the more thoro
ughly he realizes it, in a humiliation which
bends him to the earth in shame and con-
fusion, the better for him. The traditional
good fellow is asbad fellow from the crown
of his head to the sole of his foot. He is as
weak az baby, vain as peacock, selfish
as pig, and as unprincipled as thief.
He has not one redeemiDg trait u pom which
q reasonable self-respect can be built and
braced. ......
Give us the bad fellow, who stands by
his personal and family honor. who sticks
to his own, who does not "treat" his friends
while his home is in need of the money
he wastes, and who gives himself no in
diligence of good fellowship at the expense
of duty man with whom the approving
smile of wife, or mother, or sister, does
not weigh more than q thousand crazy
braves of boon companions, is just ro man
at ALL