The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1883-04-12

naGlOn OF CQe CT1IHe IS pFOpOrGlOueu
to his loss. Two years ago bank
broke that had two thousand dol
lars Of mine and my children's
money and we never got cent of
it. The State stepped in and took
all the assets; well, we have been
two thousands dollars mad ever
since, for an officer of the bank
lost the money on cotton. We
would rather he would have plum
dered the State out million, for
this was all we had and was hard
earned money. 1t is the easiest
thing in the world to forgive a man
for defrauding some, other man,
but when he defrauds US it's the
hardest. I'm not mad at all with
Polk or Vincent, on the contrary,
they sorter have my sympathy, but
that two thousand dollars has
knocked charity cold and it's cold
! yet.
But there is one atonement that
always brings sympathy, and that is
death. There is a kind of heroism,
a desperation about suicide that
commands sympathy; and not un-
frequently admiration and respect.
We say it takes a brave man to
fight in battle or fight a duel, 'but it
takes .braver one to put the pistol
to his own head and fire. It is the
remedy Of despair and of repen-
tence and of unutterable woe.
But why should our people, our
well raised sensible people, steal or
kill themselves? Carlyle said that
England had apopulation of thirty.
ty-eight millions mostly FOOLS"
but these men, generally speaking,
are not of that class; they are
smart = devilish smart = perhaps
too smart, too brainy, too esthe-
tic; they think too much and work
too little; they want too much and
are ambitious; they are not content
with their lot, but long for the lux
uries of life and want them without
labor or toll; they want a $4,000
salary to pay $4,000 of expenses,
they work nothing but their brains
and their desires. A sound mind
in a sound body, makes a perfect
man, and no man can have sound
body without exercise; he must
labor in some way and get tired
and rest, and that gives rest to his
brain, for the brain is at rest while
the body is at work-this is the
law of our being. A man who
lives in town or city and takes but
| little or no exercise, and keeps his
brain always excited and at work
planning for more money, will get
off his balance after awhile, and if o
| sudden reverse of fortune comes
he give up and takes to drink, or
opium, or kills himself. 1t is not
the farmers who steal or commit
suicide; it is the fast young men of
the towns and the cities; they get
crossed in love or have a bad run
of luck at cards or in cotton futures,
or have stolen money from their
employers to keep up with society,
or got into some other devilment,
and so the mind gets tottering and
the misery is ended with death. 1t
is not the death of one or two in
town, that is of so much conse-
quence, but it is the misery of the
living, for where one man kills him.
self there are many who don't, but
who are just as miserable. Many
a one thinks about it but has not
the courage to do it, and it comes
from spending too much and work
ing too little. Farmer boys don't
do it; they have no occasion to
spend, and if his girl wont have
him, he makes the best of it and
tries another. His mind is well
balanced and labor does it; city
people live in too much of a hurry,
too much excitement; even Sunday
don't bring 'em rest, and while the
preacher is talking gospel, they are
thinking about to-morrow's trade;
they can't help it. never knew
but one business man who didn't
read his Sundays mail. Women
don't kill themselves often, and
when they do its for something a
man has lonesome disappointed
about love-not brain trouble,
but a heart trouble. Something
like Hood wrote about
"one more unfortunate
Gone to her DEATH"
~