The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-05-22
Men Of One Idea In Amusement.

THE automatism of recreation is bad
in every sense, and it is especially bad
in the present day, because OF the quail
ity of it, as well as the limited guam
tity. There is no such diversity of rec
reation as is wanted to keep the body
in health by the exercise 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 persist
emit topic of discourse or argument, and
SO on for what may be called the in
door 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, in fact, there were 70 other
recreative pursuits in the world. This
speciality of recreative pleasure of
labor-for soon it becomes labOr-leads
to consequences which are often Of the
most serious character. The man
who takes it first as an enjoyment, and,
indeed, as relaxation, is SO absorbed
that he strains every nerve to be prom
inent in it, professor of the accom-
plishment, with local repute for his
excellence. The moment he enters on
this resolve, however, he loses recrea-
ton. He sets himself to new work,
be it mental or physical; his mind be-
comes an emporium for the produce
of that one particular culture, and he is
in respect to that not far removed from
a monomaniac. From the day that he
is completely enamored of the special
pursuit, it is little indeed he is good for
out of it in hours apart from the COM
mon vocation of his life. He becomes
fretful, if for day he is deprived of
his peculiar qualification; 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 actually Sleep
less in thinking and brooding over some
event or events that Rave been
connected with the previous play
or venture. If the time at my
disposal admitted the introduction of
detailed illustration of the facts here
referred to could supply from expe-
rience many instances. I have seen an
amateur chess-player so infatuated
with the game, which he originally sat
down to as relaxation, that he be-
came for months victim of insom-
MIA. He carried the whole chess-board,
set out in various difficult problems,
in his brain, if I may use such SIM
lie, studied moves on going to sleep,
dreamed of them, woke with the solu-
ton solved, was sick, and irritable, and
feeble all next day, followed his usual
occupation with languid ability and
interest, resumed his play at night
with excited but not recruited determi-
nation, got more and more sleepless, and
at last failed to sleep altogether. 1
have known more than one illustra-
ton of whist players, and in great bill
lard 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 il. IF had done this or
that-if had made that move on the
board-if had played that cardiff 1
had made that stroke, how would the
case have been?" It 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 wen; the perplexing doubt
is to annoy, and it keeps up an irrita-
tor which imperceptibly wears out the
animal power and does permanent in
jury to life. You see men, while still
they are actually young, grow rapidly
like old men under this supposed recre-
alive strain. They grow prematurely
gray, prematurely fixed in idea and OBJ
stinate in idea, angry at trifles, baffled
by trifles, and, II word, young senili-
ties.-Gentleman's MAGAZINE.