The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-08-14
F0OtfSBn.
From the London Saturday Review.

Euotism, though IL j. III ugly "oiu, IL
ann]ied to great many varieties OF cnaIac'
,ers some of which. so far from being o1en-
siye. are amusing, and, it may be, am'aole.
The brutal egotist is the man who THINKS IL
better that bis peighbor should starve than
that he should have glass OF VINE tDe less
for his dinner. We cannot deny that this Is
an immortal doctrine, and one when can
scarcely be held by lover of his species
But it is familiar fact that man may noid
opinions which should logically lead to this
conclusion, and yet be thoroughly good
natured person. We take, for example, the
typical case of Goldsmith. We assume the
truth of the stories which well-meaDing BIZ
ographers have endeavored to dlsproYe !;
being willing, rs it seems, to save their nero
from the ilpputaion of harmless folbles at the
expense of making him commonplace. The
ideal Goldsmith, at any rate, was the mah
who was jealous because pretty girl re-
ceiyed more attention than himself, or be-
cause people stared at puppet sho" When
he was passing, and who expected people TO
admire his immortal bloom-colored coat ID.
stead of listening to Johnson's best CONVEX
sation, Goldsmith, if such stories are TO be
taken literally, must have bad a ludicrous
notion of bis own importance, and, II mems
conduct were regulated by So llogismS, ne must
have thought his own reputation the most
valuable thing in the world. Cnlucklly Tor
us, few persons were more careless OF their
glory; and there is evidently no real para
doy if we admit that what was called his
vanity merely meant his constant craving Tor
sympathy. He was always trying TO "get
in and shine" not because be thought serl.
ousIy that he was tirst-rate talker, but De-
cause the applause of his fe'low-crtalures
was infinitely refreshing to bis sympathetic
nature. There ale innun1erable other varle-
ties of egotism which may vary from the
most delightful to the most hateiui quality.
Sometimes we abuse man as egotIstlcal SIM
DIV because he is incapable OF conceallng
what others are wise enough 10 hlde, or De-
cause he is so amiahle that he Is glad OF any
body's good opinion. 1t is always d'fhcult TO
pardon any one who asks US, however uDcon'
sciously, for the aims OF 4 compliment. Few
people are capable OF praislng lIan 10 us
face with any degree of gracelulness, ana
they revenge themselves upon the person
who begs for it. Humility of this Kind Is
pprbaps even more offensive than vanity.
When a. man is obviously on good terms
with himself we rather like him tor not want
ing our praises and allowing us 10 think
badly of him. But however genuine his de-
sire for our goodwill, we can hardiy forgive
him for allowing his wishes to appear 100
plainly. He is an awkward companion,
and the spice of ill.nature IN our compo'
sitiou prompts Us to give MN stone
when he seeks for bread. The ego
tism which finds mercy Nth rousher
COMPANIONS is that when IS oD'
yfousIy self.sutticing. That when IS
popular with the mere discriminating
is the egotiSm which conceals itself unoer
mask of humor. II man delights 10 dis-
playing his idiosyncrasles, ana YET os'ens'oiy
isnchs at them. we may be iattered by being
taken into his confidence. We are amused
hv the charming erotism Of Montague, be.
cause he appears to anticipate our amuse'
mems. A iudicious tone OF self.bauter is se-
cessarv 10 propitiate the conceit of our neigh
bors and, having made the concession, we
NAV talk about ourselves as much as we
nlease. Goldsmith was just little too simple.
| If he had laughed at bis own absurdtles they
| would have turned into wttlcism. The dill
ference between a bunder and smart say
ing very often consists simply in the fact
that the blunder is conscious in one case ana
not in the other. It requires, indeed, some
good taste to guard against slipping into bul'
foopery. and any attempt at hnmor presup-
noses a certain amount of intelligence IN the
audience. Though few qualities are more
praised than a sense of bumor, or more often
claimed, there are few which are in realty
rarer. The lady who was seriously shocked
by Sidney Smiths proposal to take OH bis
| flesh and set in his bones had about the or
duary intelligence in such matters. TIL
| man has established the reputation for hu
NOR be should be careful to give plain notice
of his Jokes as when be has once established
the reputation he will probably find that bis
simplest remarks are supposed to carry some
| profound meaning.