New-York tribune., 1890-08-31
THE SCMMER FAC4TIOM

With the close Of the vacation season of
1890 to-day it is pertinent to inquire whether
Americans generally make an altogether wise
usc of their all too brief season OF ldleness.
II is undoubtedly true that moro rational views
# remuneration now obtain than were cur
rent. say, twenty years ago, in the feverlsh
epock succeeding the war. We have even
learned a thing or two about the benefits OF
vacation since Herbert Spencer preached to us
50 eloouently few years ago on the American
sin of ovcrwork The necessity of some sus-
Dension Of work. even though brief, is now a.
most universally acknowledged Tho impor-
tance of physical exercise is recognized ana
the gospel of athletics has gained vast army
Of disciples Of both sexes during the last nj
teen wears. The beneficial results OF this IN
tercst in physical exercise are apparent IN
many ways. Not only has there been marked
gain in physical health and strength but an
increased appreciation of the charms OF ooun-
try lfc and the beauties of nature.
Yet without at all undertaking the impor-
tance of bodily exercise, it may be said that 1t
is by no means the only possible benefit TO be
derived from the summer vacation. Inc NINA
needs rest and recreation as well as the Dody'
and. as a rule the mind is forgotten factor
in our vacation programmes That we are Il
restless fdgety. merchrial people, utterly un-
bonnv IL we are obliged 10 exist five minutes
,vitbout some mental stimulus or excitement.
!. nowhere more clearly proved than IN our
conduct when on vacation. We think, or
protend ~ think. that we desire solitude above
everything else, when, a matter OF iact, 1t
is the one thing we cannot endure. Rather
IN
hotel where there were no people who be-
longed To our "set," and no statement could
more strongly express our dislike of solitude
than that Americans in summer resorts might
fairly be described az people who are looking
for rest but who hope not to find 1t. The
families who rent cottages contiguous TO Il
summer hotel in order, As they say, that they
NAV have entire quietncsS% and sccluSon, III
nine cases out Of ten spend all their time in
rho hotel except when they arc sleeping. And
so also many of the people who have eStab-
lishod luxurious camps In the Adrondacks,
where they may live an ideal life OF quiet rest
funess. actually leave these abJdeS Of sylvan
peace and take rooms in some nearby noisy
hotel.
Along with this mental fever or perhaps
because of it, there is dcplorablc absence of
mental recreation. 1t will startle many pco-
ple to be told that Americans do not think
enough but it is fact 1t is indeed true that
they think intensely about their work or
their business. They do so even when they
are supposed to be resting. 1t is not, of
course, necessary, even if it were possible, to
stop thinking in order to give the mind rest,
but simply to give thought new channel.
And this Americans seem unable to do. There
are vast numbers of busy men of affairs in
this city to-day who hardly think single CON
secutve thought from one years end to an
other about themselves. their life, their des-
tiny, or the meaning of the great universe of
which they are a part. The other day young
man who had just returned from his vacation
was asked by his business associates how he
had spent it. And when he informed them
that he had done absolutely nothing but sit in
a field and watch a colony of ants and nest
of young robins. they at once put him down
AS sort Of amiable crank. Nevertheless, it
is safe to say that the young man gained more
that was worth gaining from his vacation than
do the raucous ciParette-smoking young men
in blazers. whose noisy unrest makes life SO
undesirable in the hotels where they congre-
gate.
We do not allow ourselves to think enough
about the great things of life. We give our
selves no time to take our bearings in the
voyage toward eternity and to learn what are
our real relations to our environment. Life
with most of us is a hurried sapdash affair
with no opportunity for calm reflection Even
the luxury of idle, vagrant thought is one
which we seldom grant 10 ourselves. Ii is not
business" and serves no immediate tangible
purpose. We regard no thought of value that is