The Portland daily press., 1881-02-02
Boston's Surplus Genius.

| Il. o Y. III fTOVluencc journal
Nautilus had fears that population would
outstrip production, and Mr. Thomas Man, in
a conversation with Deacon Wardwell, strong
ly objected to the church taking in new men,
bers when what was needed was a good thin
ming out But neither Malthus nor Man ever
supposed that there would be such an increase
in Boston of what Sir James Macintosh calls
extraordinary men that all of their faces could
not be comfortably put into one issue of Har-
| per's Magazine.
But the time has arrived when Mr. Mans
thinning-out process could be put into force
upon the superfuous literary ability of Boston
to the great benefit of long-suffering reading
public. Coleridge says that the res son so
many men and women keep Oh writing weak
books is because it reconciles their love of
sloth with their hatred of vacancy, passing
time without mental exertion, and, he SAYS,
the same result could be attained with less
public damage by standing all day and splitting
over bridge. Any suggestions of Coleridge
are always valuable, and we think these might
be tried in Boston without serious injury to
the bridges, and with decided improvement
in the general tone of literature
scription Mr.. Lathrop gave of Bostons great
men and women, and gazed on their faces,
residences and earthly surroundings, we felt
when we got through like the charity boy after
he had learned the alphabet, whether it was
really worth while to go through so much to
learn so little. But this list, which at the
time seemed much too enlarged for personal
comfort or valuable information now turns
out to be entirely too much curtailed to meet
ctt. n1nI do Af fA.At
The face, residence and outbuildings OF Mr.
Underwood were left entirely out of the ac-
count. This fatal omission, which might not
have been noticed by anyone else, was most
+ rtunately discovered by Mr.. Underwood
himself, and his prompt and manly letter re-
questing the public to suspend their opinion
until he had time to prove himself as big a
man as the rest of them. is in the best style of
Boston man laboring nnder an oppressive
load of unappreciated ability.
We are all familiar with that sad case of
wasted life, where man had a fine hack, but
never obtained money enough to get the
horses to move it about and bring it face to
face with public patronage and how much
this reminds us of Boston merit, unable to get
its face fairly before the public in some monthly
magazine Unless you can look at the face
and residence of man, how are you going to
know that he is fine writer, but to read his
writings, and it is much safer never to do this,
if you can get the statement of some innocent
in this light we pity Mr. Underwood, and
hope the time is not far distant when his claim
as one of the moulders of modern thought
will be sustained by all the engravers and
photographers in the land And we pity
Mr.. Lathrop too. His case is like a woman
who has given large party and left out one
of her dearest friends. Apologies are but so
many more insults, and under the Mosaic dis.
pensation an eye for an eye and a tooth for
tooth, was highly recommended to restore the
social and literary equilibrium. The only way
now left is TO" Mr.. Underwood TO write an ac-
count for some other magazine aud leave out
Mr.. Lathrop's name. Then, and not till then,
will they be even in the run after fame.
How different things are here in Rhode Is
land! So far from wishing to see our faces in
magazine, number of us are not anxious to
expose our countenances, even upon our own
familiar streets, until after suing time has
passed, and we cease to attract attention and
respectful solictude.
Modesty becomes man under certain cir
cumstances as much as it does a woman, and
the surest way to get into difficulties is to seek
prominence at the expense of peace. Let our
Boston friends in future initiate the modesty
of our own DIR. Spencer, who, when he wears
ago introduced to us his celebrated pills, did
not sound the trumpet before him, as the
apothecaries do, but simply stated the fact of
their invention, and only observed "that to
eulogize their virtues would not add to their
merits" II Boston people would only prac-
tise this self-evident and modest assertion of
Spencer, they would make themselves happy
by contributing to the happiness of Others