, 1890-02-23

island Of Atlantis, or Of the man in the
moon; any one Of them Il more tangible
than this myth which you call happi-
ness."
asked a good manor It any rate he
was a clergyman, and 80 / suppose a
good man-what happiness means and
where it is to be found, and he picked up
a Bible off his table and read aloud:
land whatsoever mine eyes desired /
kept not from them, l withheld not my
heart from any joy; and, be-
hold, all was vanity and vexation of
spirit, and there was no profit under the
sun. Wherefore I praised the
dead which are already lead more than
the living which are yet alive. Yea,
better is he thar both they which hath
not yet been, who hath not seen the evil
work that is done under the sum-
"That is the verdict of Solomon, the
wisest man who ever lived" said my
friend the parson as he laid down the
book. land he seems to think that happi-
ness is an unattainable condition"
And SO the man of the world and the
man of God come to the same conclusion
by different paths and without a thought
in common. Then l asked a bright and
most charming woman, one no longer
young but by no means old, one who has
lain in the lilies and fed on the roses of
life" and yet has known enough of the
other side to give her an 'all round" ex-
perience and sympathy.
SIS there such a thing as happiness in
the world?- asked 1, and she, with a
steady look out Of her lovely eyes, re-
piled:
For you and me, nc. We have the
bad habit of thinking, and thought is
fatal to what you call happiness. The
only happy people are they who do not
know that they are happy, and do not
know what happiness means"
isn't that rather a bull?"
yes, my dear, and life is a bull
A little ~disheartened in my quest, /
next applied to- person neither cynical,
nor pious. nor bright-a dear, pretty
little butterfly who has danced and fiut-
tered over the parterres of fashion for
more years than we talk about.
"HappinessI" chirruped she in reply to
my ~stereotyped inquiry, why, of course,
there's any amount Of happiness going.
and I'm sure nobody gets a bigger share
of it than you" etc., etc.
Eyes. but you," interrupted /, "tell
me. now, what is your chief form of
happiness since you have 20 much?'
well, let me see. It's when 1 have a
really good box at the Academy on a first
night, and can see that there isn't a bet
ter dressed woman in the balcony, and
have a lot of nice men c%rowding to get
a word with me; that's happiness of one
sort. Then, When l receive and have Sc
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anybody else's rooms, and that every
body is dying to see, and OIL to have
people besiege you for invitations, and to
appear at a garden party or somewhere
where there's lots of room in a gown just
that minute imported and see all the
other women looking you over. Why,
there's no end of happiness to be got out
of life If you only have simple and easily
conteuted tastes like mine"
II see," replied l thoughtfully. "But
I've done all that. and still l am not
happy"
One day a dear old lady. a friend Of my
mothers, sent for me to pay her a little
visit, and as | looked at her placid face
and peaceful eyes l said to myself:
"There is such a thing as happiness,
d she has found it," and l asked her if
my surmise was not correct. She thought
it over for a moment. and then with her
own smile said:
81 am afraid l never really found 1t,
my dear, although 1 often thought l had,
but l believe fully that there is such a
thing and / am going to find it soon. 1t
lies the other side of the river, however.
SO / cannot describe it to you"
can is there no happiness this side of
the river?' asked l wistfully.
"The happiness of this world is hope.
Man never is, but always to be, blessed"
replied my friend, and as 1 pursued my
lonely drive l thought over that last
word, and found it a true one. Every
body who is in possession of some degree
Of happiness is looking forward to a
higher degree. The money maker only
values the profits Of today because they
are the basis of larger ones tomorrow;
the girl enjoys to-night's dance because
it is the herald Of a call, of q drive, Of a
something more in the future. The art
list or the author loves his work a little
for itself, and a good deal for the fame
and the social position and the prestige
it will bring to him. The politician says:
{ When l am in congress, or when / am
in the White House, l shall reap the re-
ward of all this" and probably the pres
ident and his family in the recesses of
their private chambers murmur: When
we are quietly settled at home again we
shall have time for some real happiness"
But it is a well known bubble of the
cynic that nobody aver yet attained to
to-morrow's happiness, for tomorrow at
tanned becomes today.
One thing. however, is certain: the
simpler the conditions, the easier it is to
fulfill them; expect but little, and you
can't be disappointed of a great deal. Does
this apply to persons as well as things
and surroundings? Is a single person
more likely to be happy Than q double
one? Are bachelors and maids happier
than married folk? 1t is a big question,
and perhaps will find as many voices In
the negative as in the affirmative, but
my individual answer would be, The
single person cannot be as unhappy as
the double one, and although the bliss of
married life such as / at first described
is great, SO is also the misery Of an ill
assorted or disastrous marriage. The
loneliness Of a loving heart is hare to
bear, and the longing for protecting and
sympathetic companionship is very sor-