, 1877-07-08

| evidently been annoyed with the nocturnal
concerts of neighboring spinster's cats, OF
has had his person put in jeopardy by the
next door bluff old bachelors bulldog. II
seems to us that he has sought rather to un-
! dcrrate and abuse the eccentric than to seek
| for causes Never once does he consider,
in the course Of his very long paper, thai
| originality may often lie at the bottom of
| eccentricity, and that the rccluse in his cave
orthe anchorite in society who passes through
the crowded streets Of the great city, one of
the multitude and yet apart from them, may
have derived his eccentricity from a con-
temptation of Nature, and the discovery
TINT she is never twice alike. No
two sunrises or sunsets nre alike,
no two trees in the whole world
Of trees are alike. Her functions of storm
and wind, rain, snow, and hail are always ex-
ercised diversely. No two animals are ex-
actly alike Every mans and woman's fea-
lures differ. Diversity, therefore, being M
ture's principal characteristic, why should
he. the most important of Natures products,
differing from NIL other men in his physical
build and features, act and dress like other
men? Why not follow the great law Of Ma
ture, and strike out in path for himself
ANY ono can do as others do, without
thought, imagination, or even the exercise of
ordinary sense. It may be claimed as absurd
that man should take pains to dress differ
entity from others; but is it any more absurd
than that We should all dress alike? Refer
ring the discussion to general principles,
why should JONES come out in white neck
tie and swallow-tail because BRowS does?
Why should he not dress differently if
he so pleases? And why should he
be termed eccentric on that account
Seeing that in every other department Of Ma
ture diversity is the rule, is not the man who
apes some other man the eccentric one after
all? Is he not the one who is showing ssa
stubborn will, limited logical faculty,
sense of failure in life, and very narrow
Imagination? To blindly follow a fashion,
to do exactly as others do, really docs not re-
quire any exercise of will, logic, or inagina-
ton. Certainly, if there be any symbol Of
failure in life, it is that melancholy being at
dress party who has done exactly as cut
and dried form prescribes. Again, the Satur-
day Reuie7cer seems to nave overlooked the
element Of happiness that the eccentric en-
joys. The aged splnster, bereft by variety
of sufficient causes of the love and comfort
of man, must have an outlet for her afec-
ton, however dried and withered it may be.
In investing Thomas or Tabitha with the
wealth of her love sho makes the animal
happy, aud tie feline happiness in turn
makes her happy. It is not eccentriclty. 1t
is comfort and happiness for the poor soul
sitting in human solitude, Notwithstanding
the vulgar prejudice that exists against the
object of her devotion. 4 man may dress
in an emerald coat, sky y-blue vest, and yellow
breeches and not be eccentric if he in happy.
There are various sources Of happiness in
this world. Some find happiness in old
books, old coins, collections of bugs, bottled
snakes and centipedcs, or in going to
the theatre to see tho drama of
the present, and yet are not eccentric.
The King of Dahomey, when he has achieved
great victory Or is particularly satisfied
with himself, chops off the heads Of
thousand of his faithful subjects and piles
them up in n ghastly Pyramid, not because
he is eccentric, but because he is happy, and |
must show it. The great aim of life is to bs |
happy, but no two find their happiness in |
the same direction. One woman is happy |
in petting her husband; another in petting ]
her cat. Ono finds it: in WAoSER's "Tril-
ogy"; another in ballad One goes to the
circus; the other to church. One hunts for
it in a balloon the other on terra frma-
One lies in bed until noon; the other is up
with the lark. One shuts herself up, re-
ceives no letters, and never goes out; au-
other gads all over town, and is never |
80 happy as when she is in her |
ncighbor's house. These people have no
idea of being eccentric. They are only
after happiness, and they usually
succeed in finding it, Notwithstanding the
lament Of ScHuREnTs song that 81 Happiness
is where thou art not" What this reviewer
1eems as eccentricity is only the effort to be
original and happy,-the effort to enjoy ones
;alt IN ones own way. His snarl at eccen-
,ricity is only an echo Of the snar1 of
= society," which protests in this manner at
my one who does not sacrifice his *s will,
ogic, and imagination" and move in the
common groove of fashion and FORM Even
he anchorite who coutemp1ates skull year
,fter year in his subterranean abode, and the
'aint who stood for years npon pillar, did
20 because they were happy in doing SO, not
because they wished to be eccentric, and,
rom their standpoint. they probably con-
;idcred every Que else eccentric
Prince GoRrscHA6oEF has been looking
'ver the situation, and from his summary
he chief difficulty of the Gear has been to
s.oitl Gar,,io,c nfEcio1,c rccsetanno 1orf ha,