Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-08-09

forever runs gauntlet of ingenious pul
lie torture lie is enducd with sixt
sense of suffering. Arrows OF sarcaSl
never aimed at him find every joint in hi
| harness. Blows of criticism meant fo
some antipodean fall on his dcicnceleS
head. Fires of condemnation lighted fo
iar-away offenders scorch him to til
quick.
For it is true, As the witty .'autocrat
| declares, that bashfulness is vanity turnc,
wrong side out 1t is not lack of sulii
cient selt-conceit. but of due self-estecm
1t is not an differentiation of one
quality. but an uneasy fear of other
under-valuation. The baShiul man who
in the horSe-car, stumbles over his neigh
bor's feet, upsets the adjacent children
knocks down all the umbrellas within hi
radius. and hides his confusion behind hi
morning paper, is so large figure in BIZ
own horizon that he is persuaded the
world is looking on at him with disap
proving eyes; whereas his existence i.
forgotten by preoccupied public the in
slant order is restored.
The woman whose uneasy color deepen.
if a stray glance rests perceptbie instant
on her pui1S, or her toilette, or her pack.
ages, falls instantly TO an anxious review
ing of her possible eccentriciiies of dress,
or manner. orstyle. Her vanity is alarm
ed, not flattered, but none the less is the
keen sentinel on her watch-towers vanity
and not modesty She so fills her own
consciousness that she cannot conceive OF
herself as absent from the consciousness
of her fellows. And so weary compan-
ionship is this constant presence of sell
that the victim becomes morbid, sees
neglect where none is shown. detests
Sights where only consideration exists,
or even falls into moods OF Sclfdisirust
that are apt to kill all effort
Often. indeed, shyness does not thus
deiorm the whole character. and very
worthy persons are TO he found in the
list of the bashful. But these mfortunates
are usally those whose special sensitive
ness to the observation OF ,heirkind is due
to the knowledge ofa special defect, or to
doubt oi some one gift for whose eXer-
else the world calls. Thus. Socrates.
pronounced by the oracle the wiSest OF
mortalS. walked among his pupils and
taught them in the calm OF conscious
power. unmindful Of his plain face, his
gracclosS figure. his awkward presence.
But when he attempted some public per-
iormance before the people. he ialtered in
the first onset. and was so dismaycd at the
conscious presence OF Socrates that he
could not recover himself, but was hissed
and hooted home. Plato the Broad, mas
ter of all knowledge. became so aware OF
Plato when outside of his mcdtative
groves, that he was dashed ont OF coun-
tcnance by an illiteratc rabblc. haw kcd.
demurred. and hesitated, before he could
get to the end OF one short sentence. The
golden tongued Cicero began those ora
tons which Swaved Rome. in wca,
hesitating voice, like u schoolDoy fearlnl
of being whipped Tor not being perfect in
his lesson. 1t was only when he had tor
gotten Cicero in Cicero'S cause that his
speech Numbered and lightened, and the
orator seemed TO bring messages from the
gods.
The great Hooker, most majestic OF
English writer's, was SO bashiul that he
never willingly looked any man in the
face, and where he fixed his eyes nj the
beginning of his sermon, there they CON
tinued till it was ended But then. like
the great elder saint, he lelt his bodily
presence to he weak. and his speech con
tcmptiblc. Pope, vain. as all little men
are, and always pugnacious. admitted that
he could never hold argument. or even
make clear statement OF length, in the
presence ofhalfa dozen people. So bashlul
did his perception of his delormity make
him. Poor Gray so dreaded the obscr-
walton OF His kind that he stunned all
companionship, and hid away with his
books and his pen, being duly punished
tor this isolation hv the roisterers OF the
university, who hunted the owl-like schol-
ar from his dim haunts in college
after college. Yet even these
great names ought not to reconcile the
nifty Of suffering, since the cure de-
pends upon themselves. A child whose
life is made wholly objective. whose in.
tcrests are all external, does not grow up
to be embarrassed by his members, dis
tressed by the fashion OF his clothes,
or frightened of his opinions
Let the bashful person, then, seek 4
like ''peace OF liberty" First, let the
garb be so simple and so fitting that it
can not engage curious attention. Then
all further thought OF the garb may be
dismissed. Second. let. the manner be
so quiet, the voices lowtoned, the speech
so moderate, that criticism is iorestalled.
Then all doubt OF ones style may be set
at rest. And. first, last, and always. let
the bashlul person refuse to talk ot self
This abstinence will presently invite
such an interest in external affairs and
people as shall crowd out the thought OF
self, and then the bashiul person is re-
deemed.
In a word. manners rest upon morals.
And perhaps the most comprehensive. as
well as the most exact prescription for
the cure of bashrulness is found in the
noble motto of the Harry Wadsworth
clubs: Look up, and not down look
forward, and not back look out. and not
in, and lend hand "-Huper'S Ba.ar.