The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-07-23
The Verdict of Trifles.

Michael Angelo said "Trihes make
perfection, but perfection is no trife."
Few have been 80 richly furnished by
nature as this man, who was at once sculp-
tor, painter, architect and poet. Yet at
the close of long, sad life of mighty
achievements, overlooking his rare endow
ments, he wrote these simple words as if
to give the secret of his success. They
bring us, surely, into kinship with this
heroic soul, for we too often ignore the
philosophy which teaches that success,
even successful genius, goes handin-hsnd
with an infinite patience in little things.
Searching through history, or scanning
the lives within our own observation, we
find that attention to details is charac-
teristic of all who are largely successful
in any department of life. 1t implies
keenness of observation and niceness of
perception. The attitude of mind sug-
gested by this conscientious fidelity to
trifles is too elevated to be found among
the careless and untutored, and it hints
at finish and firmness in certain points
of character. The cultivated and refined
are easily recognized by their observance
of the details of kindly courtesy, and
the trifes of conduct and speech-things
to which the ignorant are oblivious, or
perhaps ridicule. l think it was Lord
Chesterfield who told his son, Your
learning will never make you an ambassa-
dor, but your manners may" He recog-
nized this same principle, for manners are
the sum total of personal trifes. Setting
aside the details of morals, conduct and
manners for the present, wish to empha-
al ha fr,f Cf
ticed by parents and instructors. The
most faultless toilet, elegance of figure,
and irreproachable manners, can never
convey the impression of such high
cultivation as beautiful articulation. A
clear. cut enunciation indicates mastery
of the muscles never found among
uneducated persons. Surely, one who
holds even the small muscles of the throat
and tongue in such control must have
formed habits that extend elsewhere, and
give assurance of superiority in certain
characteristics, for nature kindly ordains
that advance in one point helps all along
the line of education. This training
must begin with young children, for if
the little ones get pure, true pronuncia-
tion at first, slipshod one is never
possible. A boarding-school girl once
heard her teacher, who was a lady of rare
discernment, say of child visitor 81
know she comes from cultivated family
by her beautiful pronunciation" The
scholar never forgot the remark, and in
after years it served as the Ariadne clew
in estimating new acquaintance. Mr.
Emerson says, ga man cannot speak but
he judges himself. With his will, or
against his will, he draws his portrait to
the eye of his companions by every word
The trifies of speech are such tell-tales
Was it the autocrat of the breakfast.
table who said, "Let me hear man
pronounce view and will give you his
intellectual status y? Articulation is g
decisive shibboleth of cultivation and
even inheritance, for enunciation so largely
depends on early associations. Herein
lies the immense advantage of educated
parents and an environment Of refinement
for children, for the nursery habits usually
cling through life. Even educated mer
are sometimes unable to rid themselves
of the provjncialisms of childhood. Try
as we may, it cannot be put on with oul
best clothes and society smile. Thu
nature takes a mild revenge for early
neglect. A distinguished statesman, wh(
from the unsavory associations of coars,
family had risen to be power il
the cause of right, was in congress
in the days when there were giant
there. At time when great Interest,"
were pending he made powerful speech
When his confidential friend congratu
lated him, he said, bitterly: " would
give thousands of dollars if had Learned
English as that man did, in his shor
Clothes" And he pointed to Charle
Sumner, on whose intellectual face wa
the impress of generations of culture
man to whom inelegance of language wa
utterly foreign. The strong man knew
that the defective pronunciation and 10
calisms of his childhood, which he con
trolled somewhat ON ordinary occasions
in the white heat of debate would rise t,
his lips-blemishes on his mastery work
Not long ago listened for two hour
while lady of eighty years gave persona
"reminiscences of distinguished people
Her white hair and venerable aspect CON
manded respect, but her choice Englisl
and pure enunciation, despite her years
were most charming. knew the secre
of it, for she was born under the roof of
boardingschool famous in the early par
of the century. Her mother was the pre-
ceptress, and the teachers and pupils
daughters of the first families in the Ian
were her nurses and attendants. TIL
children of the ignorant usually carr
their slovenly accents to the grave. T
be sure, some persons, by dint Of years c
painstaking, acquire pure enunciatior
but too often the experiment results in
visible, almost painful, effort, which give