River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-09-25
Men of One idea in Amusement.

GentlsmAn's Magazine.
The automatism of reaction is bad in
every sense, and it is specially bad In the
present day, because of the quality of it
as well as the limited quantity. There
is no such diversity of action as Is want
ing to keep the body in health by the ex-
ercise of the mind. With one man the
recreation is taken out all in cards, with
another in chess, with another in billiards,
with fourth in debate or gossip on some
one persistent topic of conversation or ar
gument and SO on for what may be call
ed the indoor recreative life. Nor is it
much different with outdoor recreative
amusement Some one particular
amusement claims the attention of par
| ticular men, and to this amusement the
men adhere as if they had to live by it,
and as if, indeed, there were no other
recreative pursuits in the world. This
speciality of recreatiye pleasure of labor
for il soon becomes labor-leads to
consequences which are often of the most
serious character. The man who takes IL
| first as an enjoyment, and indeed as re-
| Taxation, is so absorbed that he strains
every nerve to be eminent in it, a profess
sor of the accomplishment, with local
repute for his excellence. The moment
he enters on this resolve, however, he loses
recreation. He sets himself to a new
work, be it mental or physical; his mind
becomes an emporium for the produce OF
that one particular culture, and he is In
respect t. that not far removed from a
monamaniac. From the day that he is
completely enamored of the special pur
sult it is little indeed he is good for out of
1t IN hours apart from the common vOda-
ton of his life. Hs becomes fretful if for
day he is deprived of his peculiar gratif
cation irritable if he joins with Others
in it who are not so skillful as himself |
envious if he meets with rival who is
better at it than himself; and often actu-
ally sleepless in thinking and brooding |
over some event or events that have been |
connected with the previous play of ven |
ture. if the time at my disposal admit |
ted the introduction of detailed illustra |
tiOn of the facts here referred to | could |
supply from experience instance upon |
instances. / have seen an amateur chess |
player so infatuated with the game, |
which he originally sat down to as re- |
Taxation, that he became for months a
victim of insomnia. He carried the whole |!
problems, in his brain, if | may use such |
smile, studied moves on going 10 sleep, |
dreamt of them, woke with the solution |
solved, was sick and feeble and |
irritable all next day, followed his
usual occupation with languid ability |
and interest, resumed his play at night |
with excited but not recruited determine |
ton, got more and more sleepless, and at |
last failed to sleep altogether. l have |
known more than one illustration OF |
whist players, and great billiard players, |
and have seen the result of these so-called |
recreatiOns end IN the most sad physical |
disaster, when the pursuit of them has |
been made a matter'of living Importance,
and when the player has ever had in his |
mind that pitiful If. IF ! had done this |
Oh that; if | had made that move on the /
board; if | had played that card; If |
had made that stroke, how would the |
case have been3" 1t matters little what
the answer to the question may be;
whether it be that by such move, card
or stroke, the game would have been lost
or won; the perplexing doubt is to an
noy, and it keeps up an irritation which
imperceptibly wears out the animal
power and does permanent injury to life.
You see men, while still they are actually |
young, grow rapidly like old men under
this supposed recreative strain They |
grow prematurely gray, prematurely
fixed in idea and obstinate in idea, angry |
at trihS, baVed by tritics, and, in a
word, young senilities.