The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1877-05-31
LegenGs of TIE Great.

John Howard, dubbed "the phlian
throphist," may secm,to a skeptical gen
Grafton, a far less atniable person thai
the thoughtless and unfortunate Surrey
No doubt he did excellent work II
reforming prison discipline; but charity
says shrewd proverb, should begin a
home, and there is too much reason &
believe that Howard was a severe, no
to say harsh, parent. Lie managed t.
make his son afraid of him, and the re
suit was dismal enough. The young maj
fell into dissolute habits, which were care
fully concealed from the father, and con
sequen;ly unchecked, till they haC
brought on disease which terminated
in inLurahio madness. 1t is fair to ado
that Mr.. uepworth Dixon considers tht
charge of harshncss brought agains
Howard as unfair, but some painful fact:
are not easily explained away. The
best story ever told Of Howard is, per
haps, the answer be made TO Joseph IL
when the latter observed that the law in
his own dominions was more clement
than in England. There, said the en-.
reror, men were hanged for many often.
SEES for which they would only DO i'm,
prisoned in Austria. "That is true, re-
joined Howard, "but give me leave to
tell your majesty that had much rather
be hanged than stay in one ofyour pris-
ons" 1t should be added that some of
Howard's prison reforms were of more
than questionable utility; and he has the
bad reputation of having introduced the
system of solitary confinement tho
application of which he recommended
TO refractory boys-"for which," said
the mild and generous Charles Lamb,w
could spit on his statue" Had Howard
hivcd ia another age and cline he might
have developed into a Torquemada or
st. Dominic, and hayc been distinguish
ed as the founder Of an iuquisition.
AS a rule, to be puzzle headed is not
80 great Il hindrancc to success in life as
want of fixed opinions and principles.
4 strange story is told Of Berger which
illustrates both the utility and the pos
sibility Of early making up ones mind
on some of the great questions of relig-
ion and politics. When a very young
man, with fame and fortune yet to win,
Berryer is said to have considered the
arguments for atheism and republican
ism (too often mixed up together in
Franco as being Oh the whole quite as
good rs those for religion and legitim-
ism. He felt, moreover, that for worldly
success it was requisite that he should
not continue all his life a doubter, but
have some sort of creed. Should he
range himself on The side of church and
king, or for tho Immortal principles of
1879 2" After trying in vain to balance
the considerations for and against either
belief be gave up the task in disgust, and
decided the course of has life in singu-
lar, one is terlptcd TO say impious, fash
ion. lie took a iOuiS-d'or from his peck
ct, tossed it up, and said, "Heads, king
tail, republic" Heads it was, and from
that moment Berger became the sworn
champion Of legitimism, and ultimately,
no doubt, grew TO believe himself the
advocate Of a true cause. But what if,
to use Plato's expression, he did,on that
memorable day, take lie into his
soul? There are bettcr rewards than
those of worldly success, "the inquiry
of truth" as Lord Bacon finely observes,
(Which is the love-making, or wooiDg Of
it-and the belief of truth, which is the
enjoying ofit-being the sovereign good /
OF human nature" Those words have
tho ring of a mortality at once healthy, /
honest, and sublime. They arc separat-
ed tote cello from the strange advice Civ
en- by Keblc to Arnold, when the latter
was troubled with doubts as to the doc
trine of the Trinity. Keble counseled
his friend TO take a living and preach in
ccssantly to his Pensioners the doctrine
in which he only half believed, by way
of strengthening his own faith. The ad-
vice would seem positively immortal did
one not remember that Kcblo scarcely
conceived that doubt could ever be hon
est, much less well-founded. lie was
once urged by an admircr to write on
the subject of the Inspiration of the scrip
lures, tho limits of the inspiration being
n subject that was causing difficulties to
many thoughtful persons. keble re-
Piled that he feared those who found any
difficulties were too wicked to be open .
10 conviction. SO unamiable and unjust
could be tho thoughts of the man ,
mho was considered by many 1
Of bis friends as saint, and
who really was conspicuous |
example of human virtue and goodness. {
1t has been objected to DR.. Lingard ,
hat his fundamental rule of Judging ,
seems to be that the popular opinion on
/ historical question cannot possibly be
correct, and such tendency the study
If the gossip or merely anecdotical part
IF history is sure to generate. For IT is
If the essence of gossip that 1t should |
'epresent its subject in different light c
o that in which he usually appears. '
Perhaps the truth about il would be that
yessip is n good leveler and reduces 9
Kings very much to the level of common I
men. No man is a hero to the chroni- {
Ter OF scandal. When Lord Thurlow {
vas told that Pitt, was doad, "A-good {
land at turning period" was the only q
omment he made. So the inveterate {
dconteur smiles whom he hears the prais- I
S of any one too enthusiastically sung '
&c cannot help recalling some funny lit II
10 story about him. Few have the no. v
10 magnanmity of Bolingbroke, before i,
rhom the character of his political enc n
ny Marlborough was once discussed. z
ome one appealed to Boil; gbroke as