The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-10-21
For the Palladium.
S0mething wrong.


Weget lonesome Our hearts yearn
for something near them. Put US
solitary and alone in a house of an
evening, and pictures, books. music,
or anything else inanimate Of itself,
fail to dispel the feeling of loneliness
that creeps DER us. We hear strange
noises that would be familiar if some
one we're only there with us. The
pictures look cold, while they would
be full of cheer were a friend near.
Anything with life serves to make us
comfortable; a dog on the hearth, a
cat playing at our feet, bird singing
above us-these are our friends and
comforters. Even the companionship
of child, whose aid would be moth
ing in case of real danger. is enough
to set us at ease.
How strange it is that we are afraid
Of dead things. Real peril is naueht
compared with that imagined by man
in an hour Of solitude or desertion
1t is not cowardice. The mother who
sits alone at night shudders at she
knows not what; and yet, we're any
thing to attack her helpless babe, she
would fight with all the bravery Of a
Spartan. We are SO used to living
surroundings that the absence of them
chills US. We approach the dead aud
shudder We enter the graveyard at
night where sleep the many remains
of life, and shiver. Why? Why do
we fear what is not and brave what is?
Is it superstition, false education, or
an innate instinct? Perhaps there are
too many boogaboo stories stuffed in
to children. or too much Of the ghost;
or may be it is attributable to the tales
of old Bible men rising from their
graves when they listed, or to other
horrible stories read from this book
to the little ones. There surely car
be no good in telling us in infancy
that We shall be ate up by she bears
as were the children who are said te
have blasphemed Elijah, if we dom,
do so and SO; nor can we feel the i'm
portance of an infantile education
that embraces nothing but dark rooms
full of everything made purposely by
God to devour little children who d.
not go to sleep, or can not stop crying
or have not done things just as full
grown man or woman could.
Early impressions are lasting. No
body understands this better than tht
Catholics, who bend the twig when il
is pliable, and SOW while the ground
is open and gaping for food; hence the
necessity of right impressions. How
pitiable is it to behold old person.
fearing the dark, dreading the grave
yard, and stunning things in life tina
could not harm us if they would
Here is the woman afraid to look un
der the bed; here one not daring {,
peep in the closet; there man dread
ing the night. anI here great mass 0
humans covering down before the
know not what. We might appropri
ately allude to other superstition
ideas. One person never eats withou
throwing salt over the shoulder; an
other never breaks mirror but
family death is predicted, anothe
hangs horse shoe up over the door t
scare away witches, another neve
tells anything funny on Sunday. (bu
descends to detestable vulgarity O
week day.; another doesn't allow reac
ing Of newspapers on the Sabbath
his family. (but permits the introdu'
tion of anything any other day.; al
other never accidentally rhymes b,
he makes wish; another never sees
star shoot but he does the same; al
other never drops anything but it is
sign; another-oh, dear, l am tire
and sick of such ignorance and supe
stition in a people claiming INTEL
gence and Christian virtues
We are lonesome: We want God
the great. true, wise, motherly God
and need to annihilate our abomi
able superstitions 6shed up fro
NEUROLOGICAL nonsense. They are b
: tween us and our benevolent Create
| InuN LII ED