The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-08-22
HUMAN PERSPECTIVE.

All of us have relatives, friends, acquaintances
in reference to whom the laws Of perspective OBJ.
| viously hold. The right point from which to
observe these people is certain distance away,
usually further off from them than you can get.
Owing to too great nearness you always see them
at Observation-Disclosures at this angle or
that At every inch of withdrawal they would
improve. There are husbands and wives who
would make irreproachable, admirable couples if
they only lived in different quarters of the same
town. 1t is living under the same roof that RUNS
everything between them.
Some of these highly quarrelsome pairs would
grow positively dear to one another with no more
than mile betwixt them. Not a few people can
land and the other in England, or they even can
get on well If they are residents in different
shires. All that is needed for the maintenance
of long and perfect friendships in such cases is
sufficiently distant perspective parties must
transact their Intercourse by letter and by ap-
preciative messages periodically exchanged
through third persons, themselves very rarely or
yer meeting.
prudent man does not at all object to few
friends OF this Sort The relation il not without
pleasures and advantages Of Its own. He can
cultivate it into an ideal. Charming letters can
be sent and received, written under none of the
limitations which have to be observed when the
parties are forever meeting, and forever getting
a little awry. You may, In such circumstances,
fully give way to mutual praise, and believe the
very rest of one another Now and then you
have welcome surprises, hearing OF the kindest
things being both done and said in your interest
by the friends with whom you never come near
enough to differ. What the prudent man does
do is to try and distinguish which friendships
must be kept upon this footing, never being
drawn any tighter. Geography, topography, To-
cality, play great unsupported part in our rela-
tionships, softening some with the mere haze Of
distance, embellishing others with kind Of be-
witching mirage, arising from place.
Some people are really little over-przad from
living in London. To came to live together in
the same villa e town, or city. is the ruin of some
excellent friendships, which would have gone on
happily during lf, with o short railway Journey
for each visit. Woe betide rtaln acquaintance
whose aspect is mutually pleasant seen from op-
posie corners of the same street, If they become
next-do r neighbors. A very short perspective
will serve in some cases, but f-w yards Of it
there must te: In fact, no greater mistake can
be made than tor persons to suppose that, be-
cause they are friendly with one another at this
or that distance of removal they will become in
creasingly friendly in proportion as they draw
higher.
In every case certain focal point of intimacy
exists where an acquaintance is at it's best. 1t
varies indefinitely according to the persons, but
it holds good of everybody. You lose something
of the man or woman if that right degree of
nearness is not reached but take great care of
passing it, for that may be much worse than not
reaching it. There are stucco human beings as
there are stucco houses At the right distance
away you will never find it out II you never
test their offers, if you can always do without
their help, no persons make better friends. 1t
is only when you imprudently go right up 10
them, throwing away all thoughts Of perspective,
that the windows turn into blanks and you dis
cover that the grand inviting doorway is make
believe, in fact, that the man was all front, only
to be looked at from q distance.
The question Of space, again, partly merges
into that of time. Few Of us, who are not under
legal obligations to that effect, can bear coming
into contact with one another intimately beyond
q certain deg'ee of frequency. Numbers of
family quarrels have arisen merely because the
members came toget her too often; and many q
has ended forever owing to the parties
having met every evening for week instead OF
nterpospg at least two blank nights. A very nice
chronology obtains in the matter. Aunt Mary
may be a charming visitor at intervals Of about
three years. if she came each summer she would
be intolerable. You rather like your brother
Johns children if you don't 60 there oftener than
once in three months. 1t is all very well to hear
talk about eternal friendships.
Some people can only be intimate and remain
friendly with some other people for half an hour
ut q time. Eternity with them means thirty
minutes. They then get awry naturally neither OF
hem being particularly 10 blame; their points OF
affinity all exhaust themselves in that time. Every
thing would be retrievable, if they could separate
1t the twenty ninth moment. Who does not
know the part played by time in visits Of some
ength to friends at distance? How agreeable
some persons are on the second day. but they be-
gin to change before the next has fully run out.
Some are never quite 80 nice on the evening OF
the first day; although these same persons gen. |
orally make partial amends by frightening up |
brilliantly during the last few hours or minutes
Of your stay and are wholly perfect at the mo- |
nent OF your departure.
Good palatable tea, 60 cents per pound, at the |