Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1889-08-15
August 10, 1859.
THE BLASE YOUNG NAN,
HIS sOreDisappOintmemt ,cfM meWorId

HIS SoreDiSGppOinfmen Icith the World.
One Of the saddest things about the
streets of New York is the Llase young
man, writes Bill Nye in the St. Louis
Post. Hardly old enough to know how
to harness horse or milk a COW, even
for picnic party, he is already wear of
life. He knew everything when he was
little, and has gradually added to it ever
since. He cannot sit through Hamlet
because he has heard it so often before
He says Booth is failing. He doesn't
think that Jefferson speaks so distinctly
as he used to do. He is sorry for every
body, and wishes he could split up his
knowledge and give the slivers of thought
and experience to the poor.
The blase young man never had any
real fun in his life. Even his attempts
to be real bad were disappointments. He
will criticise his harp when he gets it,
and get his crown stretched before he will
wear it. He will also speak of the damp
ness of the cloud he is sitting on and
make sarcastic remarks because he can
not wear pockets stitched on the outside
of his robe, or fly about with shawlstrap
full of canes knocking the brains out OF
other celestial people, or picking their
eyes out and wearing them away on the
ferrule of his umbrella.
The blase young man never laughed
heartily even as a child. Nature disap-
pointed him. The little lambkins were
untidy and the grass took The polish off
his shoes. He criticised nearly all forms
of vegetation. Throwing dressing-gown
hastily over his shoulders, while waiting
for his clothes to be aired and put on him,
be looked at the doctor on the first evening
of his appearance with a keen searching
glance, as much as to say, "You have
ushered me into a world which can al
ready see is being frightfully misman-
aged"
He has no enthusiasm He does not
love any one, because he fears that he
might give way to a wild impulse and
crush the crystal of his watch by means
of the sunny head of his souls idol. He
knows bad things about everybody, but
heightens the effect by striving, o, so hard,
to keep them quiet. He has tasted every
joy in the whole world except the glad
thrill Of jumping off the East River bridge,
and he could get general permit for that
if he would only do it.
When he was lG he proposed to wo-
man 80 years Of age, but could not do so
without first telling her that he had tasted
Of every sweet in life, and that he had
been-oh, so tough and so naughty and
that he was really a great big horrid rake
in Disguise. "But you gre innocent" he
said you ar pare as a freshly laundered
snowflake You are just bursting into
womanhood, and / cannot-alas. | can
not fool thee or beguile thee as others
might eek TO do. am wicked man.
My soul is stepped in vice, but still | am
noble Do you not crave blase young
man with stains on his moral character
but yet noble and smart?'
She said she would think it over, and
If she decided to love him she would send
a requisition for him.
And so he is still waiting for her tC
come and claim him, but rather hoping
that she will not.
We should be sorry for the blase peo
pie wherever we meet them. They dc
not have any fun. They are afraid Il
laugh at anything Tor tear that other Peo
pie will think they never heard it before
They lead a sad life. When they ge. t
heaven and their neighbors look for then
to be surprised, the blase people Of Ne'
York and Brooklyn will say, as they lOol
around at the sapphire lamp posts and tn
1S-carat curbstones, "Yes, Mr.. Talmag
was telling me about those things eight 0
nine years ago"
"And have you always been thus !"
asked of Mr.. Ward McAllister the othe
day. as l seated myself on his escritoir
and collected carnaiion from the beat
tiful little bouquet by his side.