Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1874-05-15
The Leisure Hour.
TILE MN WHO DIDN'T.

W
1t seems hard that mans mother, by
the conformation she gives his head, uevel-
opiug this bump, suppressing that, may
shape his course TO happiness or misery be-
| fore he has a voice in the matter. Yet ever
do great efforts hang on little hooks Of
causes. Mr.. Spurzhelm tells US If that lit
tie bony place is nattcned wheteunto Hope
is supposed TO tabernacle, the man is pre-
disposed to melancholy, TO the black blues,
to seli-destruction, in fact.
My Tom had brave, olive face, but his
fleece must have own over the bump de-
pressed, as grass grows over a sunken
grave. You see l want TO handle Toms
case impartially to find excuses for him If
can. You have no right to judge man
before looking at all the motives under
which he moved.
When Tom was young, finding himself
| in the mud, he determined TO stand high
and dry as soon as an endeavor could put
| him So. lie took hold Of life with his
might. Now every son of Adam must ex-
pect to be turned out of the garden once or
twice in his life time. The trouble with
people is that they expect too much Of the
|
near" like Barkis, hard tisled in dealing
out rewards TO beginners.
Toms natural bent was towards journal
ism. So he began in the chrysalis stage of
carrier aud wriggled through the interme-
| diate stages ofprinter, reporter, correspond
ent, hoping in time TO sport in the sun of
prosperity, full-spread, green backed ed
itor-who should reach all over the nation
and mold the masses. That was Toms
ideal Tom. And do say, and shall main
tain till my latest breath, it is nUbler TO
point your arrow at the sun and miss it,
than TO spend your life growing vain over
your ability to bring down game flying on
a level with your hose.
Toms peculiar genius was not appreciat
cd by the public. lie was progressive,
independent fellow, but failed 10 make
himself 1.-The style" He was faithful re-
porter, ran up and down the whole Babels
of stairs, played Nero over fires ill he
could scent flames for miles, outrun the
coroner to every murder, and knew every
thing befUre it happened. But there were
things my spirited Tom did not do. He
never borrowed jenkins quill and went Ia
Mrs. Grundy's ball with Websters Una
bridged under his arm 10 squeeze dry o
adjeclives on the dry goods there whrled
before him. He never whispered to the
public how lovely the refined and elegant
Mrs. A looked in sand-papered flounc
es how Miss Florence Nj ON this occa
sion found something TO wear in the shape
of transcendent robe dc sole, finished by
an elaborate dress-coat with tails en- train
and the stately Misses r disporteC
B. themselves in superb and overpowerin:
point lace shawls.
But he WAS father to many of those start
ling paragraphs, now so common to the re
norier that they cease to shock you. In
stead of telling you that Patrick Murph.
fell off the train and was killed, he woul'
dash you up a spicy item about Mr.. Muir
phys diving from the top of the car ale
his hat when running al thirty miles al
hour, and his son finally wearing that ha
at the funeral next day.
Unfortunately, just as Tom was comm
out a nervous correspondent he fell in love
Now, generally Speaking it is good to fa
in love. The best mental exercise you ar
capable of is loving. 1t isn't "the saddles
of all the sad things oflie," as Mr.. Millar
sings Nor life, nor death, nor principal
ties, nor powers, can separate our soul
T. from tho crowns which rest on them whe
we learn this selfrenunciation. You ha
better even love human grindstone, an
have il wear you 10 intense keenness an
sensbilty, than tumble about rusty an
blunt all your days. But no two poop
= look at thing in the same light My a
dent, impassiOned Tom expected as large
return from his investment in matrimoA
as he did from his investment in busines
He hadn't learned large charity for his kin
He was young. And truly few have learl
et ed il when they are old.
He tore his hair and neglected his wor
ST. ill the angel was in his arms. Then, All
a brief revel, no stared TO discover that a
st. gels take a deal of pluming, are caprcioI
in their desires, aud fret TO fly higher thi
a single poor newspaper mans quill W
carry them. If Tom had married b
= grandmother, or the strong minded wom'
of the present day, with her straight Skin
and umbrella, or if he had met the que
,r sI' OF women, that joyous, true, passiona
strong, mobile creature, who takes hold
ur- the world and blesses her whole paSsa
de, through it, how different Toms reco
might have beenl But he married Ad
2 Ada had bright hair, and it shone like t
sun-above frequent storms. She "
small, but her wants were large. S
wasn't an intellectual womani no blue "
ter Ada, but she made Tom blue. You wa
your wife to adapt herself to your needs
to be your child, friend, sister and moth
What would you do with woman foreV
~ pulling back your leading hand with abe
l. as much insight of you and your love as