Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-07-19
A H0MILY ON HASTE
Thoughts Worthy the Consideration
of Every One.
Rushing and Its Tendency to Shorten
Human Life.

DON'T hurry. Barring accident, the per
son who takes life as easily as he may
will outliye his rapid and restless yoke
fellow of equal strength Of body and
mind. IF ones own common sense and
pers onaI observation do not convince
him that fast pace kills, let him consult
the necrologist who keeps a list of deaths
and dates. Excessive work is the great
man killer. Greed of fame, thirst for
knowledge, rash pursuit of pleasure and
reckless disregard of necessary precau
ton, all carry to early graves, host OF
victims.
Excessive drinking is one of the worst
forms of hurry. To say that rapid
drinker leads a fastsIife.is such expressive
slang that it has been adopted as one OF
the polite phrases of the vernacular
A person who is ineons1derate of the
quality of his beverages can drink him,
self under a tombstone with great celeri-
ty- There is perhaps, no form of in
dulgence in which it is more prudent TO
go slow, nor any in which the dictate
of prudence is more generally disregard
ed.
Probably no other people in the world
are so given to promiscuous pushing and
rushing as are the Americans. 1t is of
little use to reason with them. Like the
good old Presbyterian lady who, when
told that through the endearing mercy of
God everybody would finally get into
Heaven, exclaimed: "Thank goodness,
hope for better things than that! the
true American heeds no comforting dis
suasion. He hopes for better things If
he run than If he walk, and so he keeps
on running. In the same spirit lady
friend of the writer, when in haste to get
to any point, always walks In preference
to taking a street car because, as she ex-
presses it, she feels that she is getting
on faster" In other words she expert
ences the sensation of hurrying with
who knows what wear and tear to her
nerves. We all know the man who jumps
off the ferry boat and runs to the gate
as though his life depended on getting
there at the earliest possible second, not
because he is really in haste, but because
1t is his habit to hurry at certain times
and places, and the ferry boat is one of
those places. Women are as rule
chronic hurriers; they hurry for street
cars and railroad trains only to stand
waiting on the corner or at the station;
they harry through whatever household
duties they may have to perform, and
dawdle after they are finished; the women
who have something to do hurry; in
season and out of season they hustle, and
buzz, and fly about with as much haste as
the busiest bumble-bee, and to what pUr-
pose? The few wise ones who make
haste slowly, who have some method
about whatever they strive to do gather
the most honey, and live longer and bet
ter than do the busting hustling ones.
To be able TO do anything quickly is a
very good thing-even speeding oneself,
when anything is to be gained by it IS
commendable-but habitual scurrying
about without reason is to live uncom-
fortabIy, and wear out prematurely. I'm
due haste and the best and longest life
are not compatible.
It is singular thing that the slower
races of other countries landing on these
shores soon catch the infection. 1t is,
perhaps, in the air. At any rate, the
Irishman, the Englishman, the Gaul, the
Scandinavian, even the philosophic and
phlegmatic Germans and Dutchmen, put
off their deliberations and put on the
recklessness of Yankeedom as they be-
come assimiIated to our population. The
Irishman may be little quicker about it,
and the German a little slower than
others, but they all fall into the current,
and soon manage to keep up with the
crowd.
This hurry has put US ahead of the
people of other nations in accom- plish-
ment, but we do not live so long. There
is, perhaps, some danger to our republi-
can institutions as we'll as to ourselves in
the sudden and adventurous growth.
Swiftly built empires swiftly topple to
the ground. Alexander the Great will
probably always remain the most remark
able example of fast living among men.
He scaled the topmost height of human
renown, built up vast empire and died
at the age of SO years. His empire fell
to pieces in less time than it took him to
put it together. He furnished to the
world a splendid illustration of the vani-
ty of hurry.
1t is quite possible that there may be
an industrial haste less splendid, less
cruel. but quite as unsatisfactory and I'M
enduring as the martial splendor of the
Alexandrian empire. The nations that
have become suddenly rich have invari-
ably become corrupt. Uncle Sam is get
ting rich with marvellous rapidity.
Would it not be we'll to now and then
slacken the pace? The summer heats
particularly invite the minds Ito leisure
ly delights and sauntering thoughts"
In June It's good to lie beneath a tree
While the blithe season comforts every sense
Sleeps all the brain in rest and meals the heart,
Brimming it DER with sweetness unaware.