Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1875-11-27
[Chambers Jo,.rnal.1


The young rough knows no re-
straint. Beer and tobacco he has
at all cost to him and his. Subor-
dination he scorns. Regular work
he hates. Bodily indulgence he
procures, by proper means if he
can; if not, he falls back often
enough upon his brute force. From
want of self-restraint, quite as
much as from he various other
reasons assigned by other people
to him, he deserts from the army.
The universal complaint against
the army discipline made by his
class that there are too manv mas
tiers, proves the correctness Of this
view. There is no chivalry, no
love of distinction or hope Of ac-
quiring honor to be met with
among the roughs. They only en-
list TO get a meal in hard times, to
get out OF q scrape in their neigh
borhood, or 10 get rid of a scolding
and slovenly wife, married in the
haste of boyhood, but repented of
in the leisure which comes all too
soon. It was owing to this cause,
working out in the direction of
restlessness, that several boys on
one of her Majesty's training ships
Topped off joint from the finger
of the right hand in the hope Of
being thus disabled they would be
discharged. We knew one, at least.
OF The culprits, and were rejoiced
10 find that this modification of
the flesh was SO far from succeed
ing that the ascetics who practiced
it were sent for a long service on
the Eas: India and China stations.
This wan Of self-restraint is seen
in every situation and under every
variety OF pressure. The violent
assaults, accompanied by the lava
streams of blasphemy and abuse,
that are the ISSUES of the anger of
the rough, testify 10 it in the prov
ince of the emotions. The reckless
qualification of the passion for
drink, the plunging into marriage
in boyhood without provision of
money or furniture, show there is
an utter want of it in the dominion
of prudence. In danger, none are
so prone 10 panic, attended by the
abandonment or ihrusting aside of
the weak women and children, is
a gang of roughs-as The list of
survivors from the Northfleet re-
Gently showed.
And as there is no self-eommand
in times OF physical danger, SO
there is no seif-respect in presence
of a promise. On more occasions
than we care 10 recall we have re-
ceiven a promise, with shaking of
hands upon il, from young men OF
this class, who have not emily de-
liberately broken il, but have
shown no 81 n of awk wardness on
meeting us afterward. Envy of
the rich, arising from q complete
ignorance of political economy, is
another unhealthy characteristic
of the rough. He believes-for the
public house oracle reads it out of
paper-that all the increasing
wealth of the country is gathered
out of his work. His own wages
he souanCers as soon as they are
received. Thrift, and the science
Of spending so as to obtain the lar
gest return, are beyond him quite
as much as laying by against raj
ny day; nor can he comprehend
their practice Or their natural and
legitimate consequences in others.
Penny banks 10 vain WOO him
while beer and skittle offer their
charms. A hercules in one res
pect, he makes, he makes very
different choice between the COM
peting goddesses. All that he
knows of such matters is that he
gets no better of, while the people
around him improve their dwell
Jugs, their clothes, their social po-
sition; that he labors for these 9TH
ers, and apparently is excluded
from all their prosperity. So he
concludes that he is down-trod-
den slave, and enjoys the sensation
Of envy since he cannot enjoy that
of wealth.