The Cecil Whig., 1886-01-02

ancestor than the new Old South
Church in Boston is like the old Old
South
Well, the average man is made by
the air abroad in his generation-by
the aeitghSf. Only rare great men
carry, like plants, their atmosphere
along with them in their orbits. Most
of us conform to prevailing tenden-
cies. Natural and original men are
becoming extinct and we have to go
with Miss Murfree to Tennessee, noun
tains to find them, to Rocky Noun
tain gulches to see them, and a gen.
Grafton of dudes, imitators, and "it' IS
English, you know" are superseding
them. If Booth and Salvini played
three consecutive months high tragedy
in New York they would play to empty
houses. We are not serious enough
now, or too serious, for melodrama
even. But "The Mikado' or "Adonis''
can run 400 nights with crowded
houses-some jingling songs, grace
full MANN tights -posturing, and
some charming girls-in stockings
dancing. Laughter. Decidedly this
is no generation for the Puritan. What
this generation admres he despised
what it covers he hated what it does
he fled from. But l give him no more
credit than his due. The age he lived
in made his ruling passion. Every
age has its own prophet-its own
SuMmum bouum. 1t once was
that personal courage was esteem
ed most; then men died care
lessly in the performance of deeds of
valor. 1t once was civic duty; then
Horatius held the bridge, Decius offer
ed himself to the Names, and Brutus
stabbed Cesar. 1t was once saintli-
ness of life then every man desired to
be an ascetic-a hermit-a Simon Sty-
lites. A saint and king held the stir
rup for Pope to mount. Now it is
well, what9 l will tell you; To have
lots of money, plenty Of things-din-
ners, wines, pictures, horses pleasures.
For in this generation the possession
of wealth is the goal of the pushing,
plotting, struggling multitude. Whereas
godliness, courage, civic duty are not
the roads We want to travel numerously
and few there be that are found therein.
But the old-fashioned man of God
was and still is a tremendous force in
the world. Applause We are now
living on his virture, such as we have
We are now directing our children to
walk in the paths he cut out for us,
though we wander away a good deal
ourselves. Sirs, strength is necessary
refinement is optional; righteousness
and justice are the only foundations,
while culture and art only stucco, fill
gree and ornamentation. To have a
supple knee and an articulated spine
makes good company and good time,
but men of unjolnted spines and pas
sionate convictions carry all before
them. Applause' In the race of life
Isaac beats Ishmael, Jacob, Esau. "a
short distance the sense is omnipo-
tent said Yankee sage; but for all
that the spiritual qualities rule the world
and the old Puritans, who feared God
and paid attention to conduct, have
never been whipped. Applause. If
the sycophants, supple spined people,
God on -the-strongest-side men, were
too many for him in England, he sailed
to Plymouth Rock, waited $50 years,
and took his revenge at Bunker Hill
and Yorktown. Matthew Arnold fan
cies Shakespeare on board the May
flowers and insinuates he would have
found the Pilgrims uncongenial COM
pany and very dull. Perhaps, for Shake
speare was as shrewd in money-making
as any Connecticut transplanted York
shireman, and we'll he knew that if the
Puritan got into power in England there
would be no more play-houses, no sale
for his "Merry Wives of Windsor" and
his occupation and livelihood would
be gone. Shakespeare had a grudge
against Puritans and dogs. Possibly in
the mad days of his youth, when he
went poachlng, he acquired his poor
opinion of dogs; and as for the Puritan
he was a standing menace to his
purse. We who live now would doubt,
less find the Puritan tiresome company.
A very good man is seldom interesting.
He is all one color. There is no con-
trast-no black and white. He is too
uniform and orderly-too monotonous.
1t needs spice of deviltry to make a
man interesting least to women.
Laughter. -Four out of five girls
would declare the Prodigal lawfully
nice" to one who would see any tasci-
nation in the elder brother, who kept
a roof over the old folks and never
asked a kid to make merry on
Laughter. But then every one knows
these magnificent lovers make the
poorest husbands, and vice versa. But
let us concede that Miles Standish did
not know how to court as women love
to be courted. Let us grant that the
Puritans did not know how to make
the best of this world, and that they
would weary and irrltate the enervated
and revived Pompeiian instinct, SC
strong in this generation, and which
revels in the music of "the Queen o.
Sheba'' and shuns a prayer-meeting
unless, as Ingersoll said, one loves soil