The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-08-07
FRENCH CHARACTER.
Causes of the national Cheerfuln,

Causes of the National CheerfuIness.
At each repeated visit to this coun-
try, am newly struck by the irrepres-
sible gayety of the French. HAPPY, ii
is more visible in Paris, and in the
Latin Quarter than anywhere else. 1t
has been often said that their habitual
gayety is rather external than internal
that they spontaneously assume it in
order to hide a temperamental melan-
choly though how the opposition be-
tween spontaneitY and temperament can
be reconciIed, it would be hard to de-
termine. It is mad rubbish to talk of
the sadness of modern Gauls, whether
manifest, or secrets. Sadness does not
enter into their composition. Sadness,
IN any true import, is something that
belongs to the constitution, something
which by indulgence grows habitual !;
and this is alien to their nature. Moody
they are; frequently cast down but
they are extremely energetic in Kidding
themselves of such feeling. If it
won't leave them, they leave It by self
destruction, which if not philosophic,
IS assuredly in consonance with their
character.
Why they should be on so much better
are, it is not easy at first to perceive.
The cause, as I infer, is that, princi-
pally, they have sound digestion dys-
pepsia having more to do with discon.
tent than is generally thought. The
worst dyspepsia is that which is not ap-
parent to the sufferer, who believes him
self entirely we'll, because he is not per-
ceptibly i'll. The French, as a rule, are
completely eupeptic, thanks to their
cooking their usual simplicity of diet,
and their freedom from excess of every
kind.
Secondly, their vanity is SO great, SO
pervading, SO ineradicable that it keeps
them in perfect favor with their own
minds. They are vain on account of
their nationality +; they are vain on ac-
count of their individuality they are
vain on account of their personality.
Others may be more fortunate; but no.
body can be better than they or they
might be under propitious circumstan-
ces. Each one of them is a potential
hero to himself spanning the present,
however narrow, with the rainbow of
hope.
Thirdly, they perpetually look on the
bright side of things-nOt from philos-
ophy or self-discipline, but from an in
herent incapacity to sc the dark side.
In the worst condition they hope for
the best, and by their very hope, the
best is apt to come to them. Any en-
terprise they may engage in shows them
only its fairest result; its darkest result
is, in their appreciation, reserved for
somebody else.
FCurthIy, their innate and uncon-
II
as they relish life, they
have no craven fear of death life hav-
ing once ceased to be attractive. Death
is something which they feel they can
seek with Indifference, if not with sat.
isfaction, when the purpose of their
creation enjoyment of some kind
their duty to stay in world that has |
ingly, they go out of it logically and |
They have a tremendous advantage |
over other nations in this. As they |
were placed here without their consent, |
they hold nationally enough, that they
have a right to take themselves off, !
without other permission than their |
own. Roman Catholic as France is. |
men believe any more of the Roman
creed than harmonizes with their reason,
Severely as the church condemns sui
eide, they feel privileged to commit it,
if their existence be out of tune. Even
the ignorant and superstitious French
forget theological dogma and denun-
citation, when their small portion of the
planet is in eclipse, and they seek the
ight-or the eternal darkness-beyond
5he grave, without waiting for nature to
alleviate them. Secularly, they are ad-
nirably constituted for terrestrial exis-
jence-and who knows what there is be.
3ide? Good digestion, entire self-love,
emperamental capacity to see only the
bright side, and the consideration of
ieath as entirely desirable, should for
une play false, seem SO beneficial, in
he case of the French, that we may
eel tempted to initiate them.