New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-04
4 GREET POPUL1R W1NT

GREAT POPULAR W4NT
Now and then an ultra sensitive soul dies
with genuine and valuable piece of work I'M
done because of the neglect or abuse OF IFS con-
tempOraries. The song is unsung, the picture
| is unpainted the poem is unwrltten. But such
instances fortunately are rare. Genius AZ rule
Is bold 1t has the courage of its convictions,
and what is in it finds adequate expression.
Where one man like John Keats Is killed by a
Quarterly" one hundred men like Byron are
stung by fierce attack into doing better than
ever before, into doing their best. There is
little need therefore, OF society for the en-
couragement of geniuses. what there Is need
of, and what every place large or small ought
to have, is a society for the Encouragement OF
alleged geniuses who are really only common
place people.
That such society would meet great popu-
! lar want must be evident to everyone that
gives the matter the slightest attention. The
supply of professional critics in any one de-
partment is not equal to the demand, and even
! if critics were ten times as plenty there would
| still be room for the society. The trouble with
the critics is that they do not begin their labors
soon enough. They aim to cure the common
place writer or painter or sculptor The society
which we suggest would aim to prevent. And
prevention is better than cure any day. VINO
| does not constantly meet fellOw-citlzens who
| have crystalzed into hopeless, irreclalmaDle
| bores of one sort or another, and who If they
had only been properly discouraged at the out
set of their careers might to-day have been In
offensive if not ornamental or useful members
of society? There will be but one answer to
| IA
| argument in favor of the proposed society.
There is Martin Farquhar Tupper-let us con-
slider what such a society might have done for
him. A great many years ago when he was
Young and thoughtless Satan tempted him in
an idle moment to try his hand at writing
poetry. The result, very likely, was pretty
| platitude done into undOubted rhymes This OF
course he copied off and passed around among
friends of the family" These, looking at his
performance through fond and partial eyes, as
| sured MaItin-friends of the family always do
| it-that he had written a fine poem, and that he
| had only to persevere to become a favOrite of
| the Muse. The youth, naturally enough, be-
lieved them, and was delighted Now had
| there been Il Encouragement society III MS
| town he might have been saved If taken III
| hand lust at this point The president of the
society could have invited him to tea and at
proper stage of the rcpast might have sad :
Martin, my boy, orr society has been read
ing your verses, and with no wish to hurt your
feelings and every wish to conserve your best
interests for time and eternity, has in
structed me to inform you that what YOU have
produced is wretched stuff, about as much like
"poetry as weak Cruel is like the nectar of the i'm
mortal gods Don't do it again, Martin" few
such doses as that, and English literature might
have been saved from Upper, and to-day he
might be respected and flourishng farmer
or talow- chandler or butcher or green grocer.
| And consider how much such society could
do for private life Every community is cursed
by the presence of young men OF feeble intel
| lects who lie in wait upon conversation for no
other purpose than to seize words and mangle
| them into idOtic puns. When they begin this
/ sort OF thing friends of the family laugh and
! give the young fellows to understand that they
are irrcsistibIy witty. a Encouragement
society would find no difficulty in getting bill
| through Congress authorizing it to shoot all
punsters at sight and the strict enforcement OF
the law would probably cure full as many as
| it killed. 1t is hardly necessary to add that the
society could be made to prove equally inter-
| esting to amateur actors, amateur accordion
| PLAYERS amateur eocutonsts who give reclta-
| TONS and other popular infections who are now
| laboring under the impression that they have
| great futures before them, when in fact all they
have ahead are infinite possibilities of making
| life a burden to their feows-theiT good
natured, long suffering fellows, whose slOwnoss
to wrath is the opportunity of bOres. This Is
not saying that all amateurs need REFRESHING. by
no means. But many a yOungster this week
will be playing the accordion OF giving n
recitation or acting Romeo who stands in need
| of nothing so much as enthusiastic discourage
ment. And in The absence of this society these
cases are not properly attended to.
The Country Parson" once wrote an
essay, concerning People of whom more
might have been made" The society which
we advocate would find no difficulty in writ
| ing an essay concerning people Of whom less
might have been made. Now there is Ben
Butler as a statesman But we do not pro-
pose to put any politics into tins article.
--------
RELIGIOUS SIDE or COMMON TOPICS
The Presbyterian, Baptist and Unitarian
Mammal ConyputiOns continued their sessions