The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-06-24
Getting Used to II.

WHICH 6OmlC OF only ONO ouSwOis ou1
that is: I" He has got used to it."
could fill this entire column with such
questions, but it would not be very i've
II reading. A few specimens WI! SUI
Zee, taken from the conversation OF my
friend over the way, who is In the haolt
of dropping in of an evening, and never
fails to have some forty or fifty things
to ask about: "H How do you account
for II that Mr.. A is willing to have Mr..
b live with him in his house? With his
peculiarly offensive ways it must be
terrible infection to have the man al
ways hanging round and prying into
everything that is going on. l should
think he would rather pay his board at
a hotel or send him to the almshouse.
Again: "How do you suppose that Mr.:
C. can bear to live where he does, and
in such an old rattle-trap of house,
away from everybody, without even a
tree near him, and with that dreadful
bog right in the rear of his house? L
should think they would all die in six
months, and that, at any rate, life would
not be worth living in such hole as
that" Again: "How do you imagine
Mr.. D can manage to support his family
on such a small income? And how can
he endure to earn his living in such
disagreeable business?" To all which,
and sundry other questions, all that l
could say was that he had got used to 1t.
There is an astonishing power in hui
man nature to conform itself to circum-
stances. We can become habituated to
almost any sort of diet, and after
while begin to thrive on the strangest
kind of food. A man who has lost one
of his limbs, or his sight, or his hearing,
soon gets accustomed to it, and man
ages in some way to supply the deficlen-
CIV. Chronic invalids get used to lying
in bed and doing nothing, and even
come to be more or less unconscious of
pain, if it is of steady, persistent ma
ture and does not rack the body.
People get used to doing the most ex-
-traordinary things, and to exposures,
which seem to give them no concern.
They will scale precipices, traverse lofty
eridge-poles and steep roofs, climb church
spires, swing out on the yard-arm in a
midnight storm when everything is
,cased in ice, shoot rapids and cataracts,
ride tip-toe on the back of a galloping
horse, walk on their heads, leap about
among flying trapezes, thrust naked
swords down their throats, breathe fire
and smoke out of their mouths, and per-
form a hundred other inscrutable tricks
before our eyes, simply because they are
used to it. A tired workman will lie
down and 90 to sleep in the inside of a
copper boiler while forty brawny arms
are riveting bolts on the surface, be-
cause he is used to it. If the noise
should stop he would wake up. A car
conductor will tell who has paid, and
who has not, let the hustle and crowd be
ever so great, because he is used to it.
A porter will swing trunk upon his
shoulder which others could not possibly
lift, because he is used to it. A blind
man will tread his way through the
streets, turning the corners and allow
ing for the curbstones with marvellous
facility, because he is used to it. A deaf
man will find out what is said by watch
ing the lips of the speaker and studying
his expression, because he is used to it.
Other creatures besides man have the
same gift of adapting themselves to cir.
cumstances, in a limited degree. How
is it that the dog, who is second cousin
to the wolf, can be willing to become
the servitor of man, and run and fetch
for him. take his food from him, follow
his footsteps, and, if need be, even die
for his master? How is it that the de
scendant of the wild steed of the deser
:. could ever be reduced to the mental pc
sition of a poor omnibus horse. STUN
bling over rough cobblestones and gut
tiers, with whip over his head, and
heavy load of human beings dragging
behind? How is it that the Taught.
, elephant does not break his heart whel
he finds himself marched about as ;
show, subject to the tyranny of a keeper
whom he could wipe out of existence a
a blow-forced to bow and snort ant
wave his trunk about, and make foo
of himself in general, and all for tn
amusement of such a pigmy race as ours
How is it that the bird, whose home
among the clouds, can be content to sin
in little cage of wire, and even La
aside his wildwood notes, to copy tn
linking melody of piano OF wire
They get used to it, that is all you ca
Even the vegetable creation, to som
extent bends to the power OF clrcum
stances. A tree, transplanted from tn
close protection of the wood to the ope
lawn, where the sun beats upon it ur
checked and the winds toss it about
their pleasure, gradually conforms to il
Changed condition and strikes its root
farther and deeper into the soil, an
braces itself to bear the new strain
which it is subjected as best it may, In
willow, that Graves the water course
if it is taken away from the stream an
placed in some other region search'
about under ground for the springs an
the rivulets, and SO manages in son
way to thrive. It is true that the Ga
cannot accommodate itself to fowe
pot, neither could very great ma
adapt himself to the condition OF boo
black. There is limit to both veget
BILE and animal endurance, and there a
some things to which neither tree.
a beast, or man can get used. Not
ing can get used to being abused.
not believe that any one, unless he b
the skin of rhinocerOs, can ever b
come so habituated to caiumny as not