Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-09
THE RIGHT KIND OF INDEPENDENCE
A Mighty Force Capable of Much Good to
individuals as Well as to the
World at Large.
COLONEL HIGGINSON ON HISTORY.
His Lecture Less Of an Attraction to the Multitude
Than the TableauL
ESPECIAL rrIronAM TO THE DIsPAroH.i

not have been wilder than the mass OF
humanity which tried to crowd into the
Amphitheater this evening. to see the ''Ben
Hur" tableaux. Pious ministers, d;gniied
professors and modest girls made a scramble
for their seats that could not have
been exceeded by the most enthusiastic
college "cane rush." The management
have decided that at the close Of the first
half of the entertainment all those seated
shall vacate in favor of those who are trying
to balance themselves on boxes or chair
backs or to swing after the manner of a cir
Gus athlete from the branches OF the trees
But the old-time Chautauquans do not like
this idea, for they think that when they
come at o'clock, bring their suppers and
wait until s, their rights to place through
out the full tableaux should remain in
violate.
HIGGINsoN ON HISTORY.
1t is rather of q severe reflection on those
who claim Chautauqua as having the finest
literary appreciation that so splendid a man
as Thomas Wentworth HiggInson should
have 1000 hearers, while five times that
nany are present at the per ormance of
spectacular tableaux. His lectures, how
ever, have drawn the very cream of the
people, and their only wish is that the genial
Colonel and able literary seer of Cambridge
will again return to delight them. His last
talk was on How to Study History:" sit
has always seemed to me, he said, "credita-
bic on the whole to the brains we have
transmitted to our children that they dis
like the study OF history, as it is commonly
presented to them. 1 think the dislike does
them credit, and we certainly cannot COM
plain, because in most cases the dislike has
been hereditary, whether the brains have
been or not. The father and mother are
generally very faithful in urging the study
of history upon their children.
1.-THE father brings home from the town
library the first volume of the history of the
United States and says to his son: Here,
my son, is the first volume OF the history Of
your country. wish you would read it,
and when you are through with this there
are nine more volumes Just like it, Then
the father turns to his newspaper and the
mother takes up her volume of Ben Hur'
for her thirsy-fith perusal, with feeling of
entire satisfaction that they have done their
duty to their son and heir and to historical
science.
MISTAKES IN TEACHING.
''There is too much Of a tendency to cram
into the head of the child lot of facts
which you cannot easily learn and remem-
Der, and much less can he. We know of
school teachers who make dozen columns
on a sheet of foolseap ana thereon place i'm
portant dates to be learned in rotation by
the student One object should be to make
it interesting, in the same way that we make
fiction interesting. Build up stories and
facts about certain events"
Mr.. Rigginson closed his talk by a very
beautiful allusion to his thoughts as he
stood upon the battlefield of Gettysburg.
How be imagined that gallant charge of
Pickett's splendid soldiery into the very
Jaws of death. Too often in our celebra-
tions OF the valorous deeds of our heroes we
forget the bravery of those who opposed them
in stubborn contest. If such bravery as
this is manifested in the cause of error when
right shall be at stake we do not fear for the
welfare of our republic.
DR.. Buckley, editor of the New York
Christian 4drocute, spoke on "The Pre-
ventable Causes and Unpreventable Causes
of Failure" His principal talk was on the
frst-named adjective. The doctor is very
bright and argumentative and has a gener-
Gus vocabulary. he seemed of the opinion,
however, that every one could succeed.
America is truly great country, but,
for all OF that, there are. great many fail
ures in our land. 1t would be hardly DOS
sible to 60 into an analytical classification
of the preventable and unpreventable causes
of failure. Failures are found in almost
every family.
PRACTICE AND THEORY.
"There are a great many lectures upon
How to Succeed, and the best one ever
heard was from a man who had failed in
everything else but that lecture. What is it
to fail in life? If man went to one town
and was harassed by the officers of the law
to another and was mobbed and to still an
other, was thrown into prison, and finally
capitally executed, you would say that that
man was failure. But st. Paul did this,
and he was a great character. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes went TO England and was re-
ceived with high favor, but John L. Sulli- |
van created a much greater sensation.
when I was in Europe had hard work |
to fnd the grave of George Eliot but |
the crowd easily led the way to /
the grave Of the English pugilist, Tom |
Sayers. am not going to be grandiloquent, |
but shall get down to hard-pan, commoh |
sense. When is a man a failure? When he |
cannot take care of himself; when eyerv- |
thing he takes hold OF fails; when he is |
weary OF life. Some people are naturally /
too weak 10 live. They are neither self-reli- |
ant nor self-supportIng. The men is self |
supporting who can take care of himself |
when he is directed, and the self-reliant man |
is be who both directs and supports himself. |
There are more OF the unenergetlc class of /
people, as civilization advances, and thew |
marry young, and one of the same kind as |
themselves They have not enough energy |
TO live. In the savage race they usually |
die before maturity.
ANOTHER CLASS OF LAZINEss
is that of no mental energy. They are the |
peripatetlc critics of every congregation. |
We tnd men with great memories, but no |
recollections. There is another preventahle |
cause OF failure, and that is poor health, |
which so many assume. Nine-tenths of the |
cases of sickness are preventable. There is |
great deal in regularity Some men get |
regularity by continual practice of irregu- |
Iarity. loo many people give up at any |
little allment and then die, and such people |
ought to die. The average man, who is |
breaking down, breaks down voluntarily.
Two women beam on me every time they
see me. They sent for me once to pray with |
them, but told them they were practically
fools, and they got up their energy and got |
well. There are great many young men
who do not get an underpinniug. When
Daniel Webster first entered the law man
gave him $50 to take hold of a Complicated
case He took all of the money 10 buy
books. and worked many days upon the suit
and won 1t. Thirty years alter he received
81 500 from large corporation for writing
an opinion based upon the same facts. which
took him only four hours. he made an un-
6erpinning. Presumption kills men some
times, but despair oftener The ceutripetaI
and centrifugal forces should be united.
The impulsive man should cool himself
and the sluggish man should develop more
energy. Be not too Independent, be not too
and thereby abuse your friends.
is a vapor. The multitude that
annlande to-daY will boot to-morrnu