Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1891-12-31
FEAR LITTLE THINGS.
TRIVIAL MATTERS WHICH OVER.
COME GREAT COURAGE.

"a NoteWOrtnJ bravery In
Times OF Great Danger Are Found
wanting ON Unimportant Occasions
Face Cannon but Fear Dark.
1t is considered remarkable that per.
sons who will, In times Of great dan
ger, exhibit a degree Of physical cour-
age that will bring to them honor and
glory, when a matter of small moment
presents itself, often shrink from fac.
ing the issue. History is full Of strik-
ing instances In which persons of &C.
knowledged mental superiority have
bowed, In abiect terror before some
trihing or unreasonable object, not al
ways intrinsically unpleasant-as the
famous Queen. who tainted upon
touching velvet. and the violets which
SO invariably disconnected Talleyrand.
Of president Lincoln it is said that ma
boy he actually feared to lift a tiny.
wriggling. new Matched chicken in his
hands. There are brainy and courage
GUS men and women in plenty who
would faint or SILVER II left alone with
harmless fireside cat.
GrasshOppers, to some people, are
big with an indefinable terror. Water
Is a natural element and natural in
fants swim without difficulty, but
swimming instructors tell countless
true stories Of human beings SO terribly
afraid of water that it Is impossible to
teach them to master it. Heat, cold,
dull days, fire. thunder, strong winds,
and even rain have power to hold GER
tain members of the human family in
the bondage of fear. The dread Of
thunder and lightning is SO common
and widespread as to be almost
universal. Foar Of human crowds or
even Of small gatherings renders the
mildest public occasion time Of real
suffering to many people.
Men who have faced cannon, who
have fought wild beasts, endured
the solitude of the great forests and
mountains, known the peril Of the
great deep and Of mighty tempests,
unfiinching, will shrink with terror
from the thought of spending a night
alone in large house. There are other
brave men-and women-who tremble
at the thought of locked door or of
the dark. The sight or smell Of blood
terrorizes many otherwise courageous
individuals some Of them physicians,
surgeons, hospital nurses, missionaries,
and the like. Adventurous and daring
hunters who quail before the ordinary
house dog are by no means uncom-
mon.
The fear Of poverty, disaster, DESC
tation, loneliness, physical prOstration,
stalks, specter-like, before many indi-
viduals until life holds but little of
cheer or sweetness. There are human
beings who are afraid of music; others
who shrink from certain colors, combi-
nations Of them, or a particular play
or harmony Of light and shade. The
fear of sweet sounds is now explained
by certain psychologists upon the
ground that 1t is instructive, that it ex-
lists In answer to the newly-established |
theory that certain musical tones will |
disintegrate human bodies II produced
at certain times and under certain con-
ditions; but for the fear Of colors and |
color tones no such shadow Of scientific |
reasoning has yet been announced or |
discovered. The extremes of all the
ldiOsyncrasies are found in the insane |
asylums. The beginnings, according |
to students of human nature and med |
ical authorities, have root within m |
all.
The sight Of gun or pistol, even II |
known to be really unloaded, will af- |
fright some people almost beyond the |
verge Of sanity. Any position of height
exerts a similar effect over others. A
harmless, impotent, creeping worm or
garter snake will do the same for
other temperaments. To demonstrate
the foolishness and lack of reason of
and for such fears is quite unavailing.
Even IL the one terror Is by some
means removed or lessened another Is |
substituted and dreaded |
in its place.
Holdup men, burglars, cable and |
trolley cars, automobiles, negroes, Chi |
nese. Indian and Japanese brethren.
snakes, spiders, ghosts, wrinkles, un-
dertakers, policemen, dogs, cats,
horses, monkeys, parrots, wild beasts.
dressmakers, doctors, falling
trees, lightning, wind storms, fire,
water, insanity, Opals, amber, flowers,
ice wagons, skeletons, elevated rail
ways. certain sciences and studies,
premature burial and an unhappy fu-
ture existence, fainting or induced I'M
consciousness, falling houses and a
mania for speculation, these are few
among the almost innumerable fears
by reasonable and intelligent
people. Every human being in exist |
ence. 1t Is safe to say. is afraid Of |
Even the bravest, most |
most persistent fear-fght-
err among thu courage-exalting and |
fearless opponents of mental science
and mind mastery is afraid of-fear.