New-York tribune., 1875-01-26

Wnnc III Is unqueSblOnaDiy o..., 90 ,ha
sometimes too much 80. 1t is On b. '0"S ,;fo
soft amiabities and gentle courtesies - r,
| and makes our speech sharp and peremptU-.
| We turn cynics in self defense, Isolate our
selves in wraps, hibernate as nearly like the
bears as we can, quarrel so with Nature that
we will not look her in her white face, ana
scoff at the amenities and dalliances. The dis
comforts are 80 many that We are forced,
mauger all our philosophy, to take notice OF
them. The CLASSY pavements forbid the brisk
| pace which might warm us. and we shuttle over
them like parrot upon polished mahogany
| table and az if the law of grayItation had be-
come too much for us. Then, there Is nothing
more definite than frozen nose or a frOst-bitten
| ear chiblans and chapped hands; the water
| frozen in the ever; cOngcation IN the gas
meter or the water-pipe; cars hall warmed Dy
nggardly corporations; sore throats, groups,
rheumatism, cough; the ineilicency untlmeiy
demonstrated of the family furnace; the hotei
| bed without q quantum suthclt OF blankets
all these are among the cOmmOnest incommo-
dations of a frosty season. man who has
sliDped and fallen down inevitably loses his
own respect and tnat of the bystaDders also.
II is IN vain that he attempts to carry II OIL
| WIN du ar iuouSh hO ' 49,
pain from the tumble, he is i'll at ease With
| himself, and limps, 80 to speak, morally. lie
takes the metaphor of the word too Literally
to heart, and feels that he has lost his stand
ing in tho world. Again, these very low tenn
peratures not normal to US, or IL they
were. we have lost adaptation. They are
for Esquimaux and walruses, and demand
diet of blubber and train-Oll. We come or a
race long accustomed to zone OF well-tem-
pcred mediums. Moreover, cold adds to our
nervous activity, already too highly stimulated
| The effect of warmth is to make us comfortable
and c0mplaisant, while cold renders us unroa-
sonable and aggressive. When the dOg-star
RACES, we lapse into minm I'm of exerion,
and postpone whatever is capable of adjourn
ment. We build, because building IN the
Winter is incommodious; but running away
to country OF the ocean shore, we shirk all work
which will admit of it. During the hard
season, while our restlessness drives us to
continuous exertiOn, the cold constantly
wastes our muscle and fat. Bat for home
and stove and clothing, We should lose more
in Winter than we should gain IN Summer,
and, in the course of q few generations. be-
come stunted and stOlid. Lebig Quoted by
Herbert Spencer says: "Our clothing is, in
reference to the temperature Of the body,
"meely an equivalent for certain amount
of food From this we can reckon accu-
rately the loss which extreme cold entails.
On the other hand, Notwithstanding the
special care and precaution which intense
frigidity makes necessary, it brings nothing
like the discomfort of a thdw. As we paddle
about. Walking as it were neck-deep i'll
cold bath, with prevalent sense of moisture,
and consciousness of perpetually catching
cold we seem to be living in the wrong ele-
ment. The ceaseless drip from the caves IS
no more cheerful than the tick of the death
watch. The sun rays are light without warmth,
nanful to the eye and eXasperatlng to the nerves.
Walking for the pleasure of it becomes i'm
possible We sigh for a real rain to wash the
face of the eartl, and make all things once
more even. This mere suggestion OF the
! Spring which will soon be blandly breaking
over the fields and woods, only tells Us, by It's
spurious amiability, how far away April still
is. We hug tiresde or register with more
pCrtinacity than ever, shGn good company,
and grow misanthropic. We seem almost to
| have been despoled of our SKINS and fear TO
| create a current of the raw air by moving a
step.
As usual in such uncomfortable estate, our
best resource is to dream of better days. The
iaded eye sees, here and there, patches of
green which the Winter has spared, and the
potted plants in the window seat, as they lean
toward the returning sun, bid us be of good
cheer and remember tho infnitude Of Sum-
mers which are yet folded within the ample
bosom of Nature. Our lives are too short to
exhaust the endless succession of the seasons.
While we live the Summers will still come to
us, cheering the weary heart and renewing
the frame worn but not worn out. In the
great presence Of the earth, we are too small
to fume at any of its economies, and he only
! is wise who remembers how infnitesmal any
day is, or any month, compared with the
| mcasureless eternities.
| A short time ago we were hearing from one and
another of the Pacific Mail directory that not
! single sOnl of them knew anything about the eX-