Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-11-08
GRACEFUL IDLING.

GRACEFUL lDLING. =.
The Art That Is Not Always Understood.
The Charms of Variety.
Some people never understand dolce far
niente. There are souls SO restless that, when
their longed for holiday at length arrives,
they fly off, in utter disregard of all the tire
some trials of travelling, to climb mountains
in Switzerland, or to explore miles of picture
galleries in Italy. Others, rashly giving
themselves to the keeping of hospitable ac-
quaintances, find themselves, jaded and worn
out, involved in all the doings of friends,
fresh enough to crave exercise and excite
ment, which torture their exhausted guest
How can people who never put pen to paper
save to write some hurried note realize the
brain WEAKNESS Of those to whom pens are
bread winnerss It is to them thing incred-
ible that long eventless days, utterly en-
crossed in lounging on turf and gazing on
trees, can have charms for any one. Shoot
ing, fishing, cricket are sweet enough, but
that utter unoccupation can be sweeter they
will never believe Yet it is complete quies-
cence which makes the happiness of tired hui
mainly. Not to read, not to write, not to
uuluh, ulGlGly W Gdu, SlCtp duu 1OuIS0 dS
much as possible, is the ne plus ultra of ex-
hausted systems.
No one who has not been utterly wearied
can realize the delicious feeling of repose
when body and mind grow gradually rested,
until slowly, slowly, wish to do something
once again springs up. The energetic beings
who devote themselves to travels tolls miss
this delight; they may, perhaps, return in
vigorated if they have not worn themselves
to thread papers by violent climbings, for
which a stroll down Piccadilly or st. James
street has been their only training; but the
repose won by those who understand the dolce
far niente is an unknown quantity. To tray
elers keen remembrance of lakes and noun
tains makes the commences of London
streets intolerable, the atmosphere seems obi
Gus and the whole thing horrible. The disci-
pies of dolce far niente, on the other hand,
have garnered in such store of reposeful mem
cries that they have but to close their eyes to
find themselves again dreaming where the
waves break close to their feet, where heather
scents the air, or in some sheltered nook
where stately trees shut out all sight of ev
erything, save patchwork dome of blue sky
softened by white feecy clouds. Even to
those whose business is but pleasure, this do
ing nothing is most sweet-only for time
of course, and probably a very short time;
but for that brief period the joy of having no
dinner to be late for and nowhere to ego on"
to is very great
In Corney Grains magnificent sketch of
the different periods of the London season he
makes every one wind up somewhat despair
ingly with thoughts of the Hbills to come in
by and by" but butterflies do not, as rule,
allow themselves to be much disturbed by
bugbears of this description. Butterfly bust
ness seems an absurd anomaly to the bees,
but to the butterflies themselves it is most
real; and an escape to regions where there is
no necessity to be agreeable, no one to be
amused, or, more arduous task, to be amused
by, is peace indeed. Such peace will proba-
bly, pail with great rapidity, but it is real
enough while it lasts. The butterfly seekers
after dolce far niente number many more fe-
males among their tribe than do the bees,
although it is hard, well nigh impossible, to
persuade people that any London lady can
exist without some dissipation. Probably
she could not for any length of time, but for
the nonce she revels in eventless existence,
which would be utterly intolerable to any
country cousin. If the town rat visits the
country rat her life will be probably wearied
out and vexed by endless tennis parties, to
which the country rat will drag her, DEEM
ing them the one thing that makes rural life
endurable No arguments will convince her
that on the weary Londoner they exercise
the contrary effect. She cannot be made to
see the boredom caused by strange billiards,
whose efforts to amuse London beauty, diff
ficult to interest at any time, goad her, in
desperate WEAKNESS, to call for the carriage
and insist ON being taken home.
No one ever seems to take that most excel
lent maxim, Variety is charming" to heart.
Every one tries to give his or her friends
what they are used to, when it Is just for
what they are not used to that they are pin
ing 1t always seems strangely difficult for
any one to understand tastes diverse from his
own; aud the person who likes to be taken
somewhere every day, to have people to din
ner every night, and to be perpetually enter
tanned, cannot be expected to sympathize with
the man whose ideal household is one where
they let you do nothing, and where "there are
never any ruins to see after luncheon In
one such elysium for exhausted humanity the
hostess is won't to remark, when apologize
guests appear desperately late for $50
breakfast, ''What does it matter2 there is
nothing to do.n She fully comprehends the
dolce far niente, and makes her house heaven
to all who, saying with Calverley,
| Under the trees, who but agrees,
That there il music in woods such as these?
are fain to stretch themselves on yielding
turf, and spend long days reveling in all the
sweetness of hlissful niente.-London World