The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-07-19

| trell bic with delicious lear:
| The future, with its light and gloom,
Time and eternity are here.
| DoubtS-hopeS. i'll eager tuEiult rise
| Hear, oh, my God. one earnest prayer;
Room for my bird in Paradise,
And give her angel plumage there.
THE IDLER AT WATERING PLACES
a picturesque colonnade runs in sloping
perspective toward the sea. There are pyr;,-
mids of everyreens close by, and beyond
| stretch the yellow sands and the curling
blue water. There are bcvieS of graceful
girls, mostly in white and dainty ribbons,
| scattered about the shady piazZas and the
| cloSe-cut lawns. \ tinlile of ice is heard,
suggestive of pleasant refrcs hment close at
hand. Pretty yachts glide by, giving life
| and motion TO the middle distance. Far
down the horizon a faint trace of smoke
runs away to the eastward. Presently, with
soft and inSidious cadence, Il band gIideS
into waltz of Strauss, or an air from the
| newest opera. 1t seems that nothing could
add to the quiet beauty of this scene or
heghten the pleasure of those who have
come to enjoy it.
But observe very closely that knot of two
or three men who are nearest to you. They
are what is commonly called we'll dressed
that is to say, they are carefully dressed,
more carefully than they would be in town.
Perhaps their boots are thought too tight,
fbair sbirt
Portable. Their faces, however, are most
important, and TO these You address your
self. To your surprise you find not on one
face, but on all, Il certain unmiStakable ex-
preston They are all. to man, fearfully
bored. You expected Il look of calm, luNu-
rious enjoyment. What You see is II look
Of inetfable wearineSS There may be va
rieties in this, nice shades between frctful-
ness and vacuity, fine distinctions between
perfected loathing for all that is, and i'll
cipient disgust for all that is to come. But
of appreciation of the exquisite pictures be-
fore them, with all its wealth of animate
and inanlnate beauty, you see nothing.
You might as well offer a MeiSSoner to 4
Zulu and expect him to take in its delicate
charms.
What is the matter? These men have
fine, intelligent heads, and surely have no
lack of brains Possibly they may he q,!ite
as fond as is good for them of mint iuleps
and the billiard room. Yet even from these
they only snatch Il fearful melancholy joy.
They are not sots or protiigatcs. They seem
indeed to have in them more of Timon than
of Falstatf, more of the pensivc ,Iaqucs than
of registering Bardolph or vaporing Pistol.
What is the cause of their sadness, and why
is it that, where there is most to enjoy, they
seem to enjoy the least? The reason comes
to You after due reflection. These men have
been taught the Uses of activity, but they
know nothing Of the uses of leisure. They
know their business, which is, of course,
the first thing they shoul consider, hut they
do not know the pleasure that should come
after. They do not know how to idle with
grace and profit They do not know how to
divide their time, when il is from the cares
of their customary occupations, in such ::
way rs to make their holiday what it should
be; hence they are bored, instead of being
gratitied-wearied, in place of being re-
freShed.
From this one knot you may judge the
whole: ami it is the same with women as
men, the same ut springs or mountain side
as you see it by the sea. The women have
escaped for The tine from the cares of house
keeping, perhaps. They have looked for
ward to this restful sojourn with joyful
amticipa:ionS Yet they have had the same
experience before, and it will he repeated
again. If not exactly like the Dead Seas
fruit of ashes, the reality is yet far from
what was hoped for. The general feeling
wrought is one of fatigue and laSsituue.
There is desire to get home and Il morbid
self-queStioning, to which there is no reply,
as to what is the occasion of disappoint
ment The trouble with the ladies is the
same or nearly the same, rs the trouble
with their fathers and brothers. They have
learned many things, but they have not
mastered the art of passing il holiday with
out being bored. They are charmingly
dressed, they have undeniable beauty, their
manners are often captivating: but their
contracted and sometimes peevish expires
sion, their tired and dropping movements,
nay, even the infections of their voices, i'll
dictate want of the harmonious adjustment
of what is within to what is without which
makes men and women happy and keeps
them so.
al.
it should rather he said its symptoms, and
it may be expected that such Il description
should he accompanied by the suggestion Of
Il remedy Briefly, then, the tedium and
yexation Of spirit, of which so many oilers
at watering places are the victims, arise
primarily from Incidence and lethargy.
Most people, to begin with, ut such places
eat and drink too much and exercise
too little. Instead of laying out the half
dozen notable books of the season. which
hitherto they have not had time to read, -
but with which every educated person should
be familiar, and giving them careful and
Thought pcrua:tl, and thus keeping up Il
habit Of mental activity and discipline, they
either read nothing at all or spoil their lit
| e:ary stomach' with trashy novels. In
| at such places should Ito, they Swelter in
| bed until he is high in the heavens and un-
| til il has become ''too hot " to take the cX-
! ercise the system much requires. In
stead of planning and carrying out judi
| cious arrangements to fill out and break up
the time, arrangements HAT may include
walking, riding, bathing, cxcur-ions. g,m. =
in and out of doorS--:lll things, in Il word,
that may diversity The hour, keep the attri.-
ton fresh and save the mind from rushing,
they fall into Il dreamy, aim.css and half
congested state of mind and body which is
the sureSt parent of mental and physical
| dyspepsia.
Many thousands of persons have gone and
are about to go into some lovely spot such
rs we set out by attempting to describe.
| They are going to seaside or hill top for
| health and recreation, and, although men,
orv viii >pers to them Il caution about time
wasted and tnaui suffered before, they hope
that this season it may not be so. And this
season in truth it may not be SO. They can
crystalline that which ought to be into that
which is, if they only will to do so. But
will must be expressed i'll act, not words.
There must be the sedulous cultivation OF
appropriate activities, the resolute mastery
of disposition to sloth. OF course there
may be exceptions as regards the policy Of