St. Landry democrat., 1881-03-26
StOMacIlS and Legs.

Az q huC, pHJ SiSc'A @PPot
Six feet high and we'll proportional "
is condition which has advantages.
Even protuberant stomach, bay
window in the abdominal department.,
with an area of waistcoat and self
asserting watch chain, or dazzling
bunch OF seals adjoining the large APP
paratus Of digestion, have a certain
appearance of grandeur and dignity
which is hard for common minds to
resist.
Whence comes this influence of mere
statue and muscle, even OF mere abdo-
men, upon the judgments Of men? For
say what we will the protuberant man
and the six feet and well proportiOned
man are apt to impress people as wise
men or powerful men even III regions
where wisdom and power certainly do
not depend on bones or stomach.
1t comes from the latent sayagery in
the blood of us all. The savage has no
rule Of judging of a man except the
physical. His great man is the strong
man, the big man, the broad-sh0uldered
and the muscular man. When the great
man becomes old and is rich, and has
nothing to do except eat and sleep, he
naturally becomes abdominal, and so
his mass of flesh is evidence of Il heroic
and successful life. 1t is his patent Of
nobility. Even among a people as CIV
lliZed as the Chinese, the latest man is
the greatest gentleman. For what has
a gentleman to do but to cat and grow
fat-expand his stomach and cultivate
his tinger-nails?
Now since the best civilization is yet
a half barbarism, it is no wonder that
the reverence for altitude and girth still
holds place among so-called civilized
people. No wonder although all the
facts are against any reason for it's eX-
istence.
For it is surprising how little your
man OF imposing presence generally
amounts to, and how much of an impO-
sition he generally is.
Among the worlds great men we be-
lieve there is but one who was six feet
high. Generally they have been physi-
cally insignificant. Napoleon was five
feet six and erode like butcher"
Wellington was an inch taller than his
rival at Waterloo, and had no "pres-
ence" at ALL Frederic the Great looked
like snuffy little old schoolmaster.
Turning to the philosophers and literary
people, Newton was a withered little
dwarf, Samuel Johnson short, stumpy
pur blind waddler, Noltaire looked like
an ape, Pope was hump backed, Byron
had club foot, Tommy Moore was a
mannikin, though a very neat one.
Indeed the only handsome poet was
Southey, who was not much OF poet.
The contrast with Byron was so marked
that the noble poet said lie would be
willing to have written Southey's poetry
if he could have Southey's shoulders.
| Thomas de Quincy was almost dwarf
and Thomas Carlyle a homely, sham
| bling Scotsman.
In the face OF these, and an almost
uniformity of such facts in ancient times
and modern, from the ridiculous lOOking
Socrates to the dwartish Newton, from
the small Alexander to the small
Napoleon, there nevertheless re-
mains, especially among the uncultiva-
ted, a reverence for physical presence"
The psalter tells us that the Lord de-
lighteth not in any mans legs" but a
great many good people do, and in his
"high stomach" also. They have a
notion that a guardsman must be a great
man, and that when a man weighs three
hundred and carries great part of it in
front of him, he m ust be very grand
! man indeed.
One meets this in the remark about
would have picked him out in a crowd.
in his presence"
Now we venture to say, this is pure
twaddle. We have seen our share OF
distinguished men, one or two great
men. In nearly every case, from Daniel
Webster to Thomas Carlyle, they were
not men whose physical presence would
create any remark except for its COM
monness or its insignticance.
The great generals, the great states
men, the great authors, the great philos.
! ophers, have not in any case been great
by reason of bones or stomach. They
have had other claims to the worlds
notice than the length OF their legs, tht
breadth of their shoulders or the girtt
of their wristbands.
1t may be set down as the measure Of
ones culture and his distance from bar
barism-his liability to be imposed upol
by beef and bones. If he talks abou
"the fine physical development" eth.
imposing personal presence" OF sucl
an one he is talking the dialect of hi
barbarian grandfather. iii
Ali talk of that sort, as bearing OF
brains or brain power, has passed ava.
among civilized people. Your magniti
cent looking man is, nowadays, apt t.
be an ass. Your gentlemen with tn
"grand head' is apt to have it empty
There is but one place where the tall
about q fine personal presence has an.
releveracy-an ecclesiastical council 0
church session. An imposing presenc
has still weight in the pulpit, and man.
a preacher has had quite a success be
cause he was 8" six feet high and wei
proportioned," and looked $50 hand
, some " in the eyes of the ladies. Sew
/ eral bishops have had successful ca
7 reers as such, because they were good
!, looking and courtly gentlemen" Til
witty Sydney Smith wrote long ago
, indeed, that the main requisites for a
. English bishop were "good birth, 81
feet of height, well made legs and small
t hands," St. Paul had none of thes
3 qualifications except, like all Jews, til
' first But then no modern diocese woul
I think of st. Paul-"just fawncy, til
bishop stitching tents for his dinnah-
it's llaw wable!"
Among men the legs and stomach, til
5 general spread of the waistcoat an
i waistband are not now SO greatly cor
Q sidered. For while longer these an
such like things which constitute
S magnificent presence" may be of i'm
r portance in sewing societies and churc
f sociables. -
f. Donnln vUlSn Nnxynrs VU4rRx