, 1880-03-15
He Never Played"

Bile Thurl0w Weed. when mournlully
gazing into the open coffin of his old
compeer, Horace Greeley. 1t was one OF
the saddest sentences ever pronounced
over mortal remains 1t told of lite of
unceasing toll, constant struggle, a
daily routine of labor of mind and body
upon a perpetual treadmill of selt-im-
posed duties, with no recreation or re-
Taxation from toll until the wearied brain
forgot its functions and the wOrn>out
body succombcd to the ineyitablc and
laid down to its eternal rest, long before
the time which he mad allotted to him-
self in which TO enjoy the fruits of life
of perpetual toll from early infancy to a
ripe old age. He never played.
Horace Greeley was no cynic; a more
loving, gentle heart never beat in human
breast; no one had broader philanthropic
views, keeneI appreciation of the pleas
ures OF social intercourse, or the joys of
domestic relaxation. The shouts and
laughter of children at play always
awakened in him peasurable emotions,
the sweet sounds of music stirred him to
ecstacy, and we have seen him gazing
upon a beautiful work of art with such
wrapt abstraction as if he were commun-
ing with the gods. There was nothing
beautiful in nature or art which he did
not adore; no form of recreation or inno-
cent amusement, for old or young, in
which he did not keenly sympathize ::
and yet he never played, but always liv>
ed In the expectation of doing so at some
future time. The last time We met this
loved friend Of our boyhood was at big
meeting in Northwestern State. and
together we stole away to neIghboring
wood, and no boy ever enjoyed holiday
with greater zest than did he the few
hours of Relation from busy life. He
told us that his success in life had far
exceeded his most sanguine expectations.
and that after purchasing tract of
western lands upon which to provide
homes Tor score or more of inpecuni-
Gus relatives, he should be in condition
TO take breathing spell. and "lie
Whole day on sofa and read novels. ="
which he seemed to regard as the highest
enjoyment of life Alas. the time so
long looked forward to never came: he
died before he ever played.
We cannot but think that Greelev's
usefulness to society was greatly impair>
ed, and his enjoyment of life materially
diminished by his failure to observe the
la" of Nature which demands recreation
and amusement as among the material
functions OF healthful animal existence;
and to the higher intelligence as necessa>
ry to the mind as to the BODY. All ami
mated nature plays; it is common in
stlnct from the lowest to the highest in
the scale of being; from the wsrm that
burrows in the earth to the heavenly
hosts who play upon their golden harps
around the Throne Of God. That
man who attempts O deal with the social
and political problems of life without
having ever played, lacks one of the
most essential elements to proper un>
derstanding of his subjec.-that knowl-
edge OF human nature and the natural
tendencies of the human mind which can
only be acquired by free intercourse in
social pastimes. The lack of this kpowl-
edge often obscured aud brought into
rldlcule the best efforts of Greeley's life /;
his noblest philanthropic efforts were liz =
discriminate and often misdirected, and
his h-ories of social advancement wire
almost uniformly found to be impractica-
BILE when tested by experience; failures
which embittered his life and soured
his disposition, making him irritable and
sceptical.
The errors and failures of this good
mans life point an important lesson to
all parents and teachers. The Puritan
theory that all social amusements are
vain and sinful, only resulted In breeding
hypocrites; those who deprived of their
natural rights under tyrannical system,
followed their instincts by seeking and
practising clandestinely amrsements of
demoralizing tendency to indemnify
themselves tor the deprivation of those
innocent pleasures which might be il.
dulged in without harm. To do this
successfully, it was necessary to practice
the meanest of human vices-falsehood