The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1892-04-01
Il 80
BELPHE
a WORLD OF CHANCE.

EssIaariEa on the Chaotic Nature Of Human
Esndsavor-
The old man threw back his shout
ders and let his glowing eye rove over
the faces dimly fixed on his own
through the cigar fumes. ''5entlemeut
Won remember the eastern apologize
which we used to have IN our school
books I can remem Der the very look
Of it on the dOg's-sared page OF tins
Third Reader, worn down TO the straw
boards OF the cheap binding and scrib-
bled all over with the hierOglyphics Of
the pining captive Of learning; and
have no doubt that at least the older
heads among You are familiar with the
story Of that unhappy father who re
balled gaiust the law of death because
it had bereft him OF his children, and
who louged for some world OF chance
where there was no fnezOrable Sc
quence between cause and effect Tho
God of eastern apologize answered his
prayer when he sank exhausted under
his sorrOsvs, and he woke in such
world As he turned his beWlldered
vision upon the lGWless landscape or
that world he saw the trees some grow
ing with their tops and some with
their roots Ia the airs the grass was
green, or red, or white, as IL happened;
the cattle sweltered under heeces of
wool in the rays of sun that went
and came at its own caprice, and dis
the day and night The elements were
crazed by the prevailing insanity
Sometimes the fire boiled and some
times it CONCEALED the water in the
kettle. The grOtesque Inhabitants of
that strange realm approached him
with their heads on their shoulders or
! between their ankles as the case might
| be; they had two eyes or one, as it
| CHANGED; their hands and feet convert
/ IDLY terminated their legs and arms
/ Throughout the whole natural king
dom, anarchy reigned. There was no
/ law; there was only chance. A very
| brief experience of this condition of
| things satisfied the accuser of the
| divine order; he prayed once more, but
now to be delivered from that mad
world, and again the god of eastern
/ apologize heard his prayer and re-
! stored him to his place in the beneh-
| cent world OF law; TO a natural world
] where the seasons obey and the eler
ments perform their office with no
! chance of revolt or of treason; to d
moral world where good and evil give
| increase after their kind, and the crea-
! ture rests in his sense of the final jus
tice OF his creator.
| ''But we, gentlemen, are still in our
/ dream of a world Of chance, which we
have ourselves created in the image Of
! chaos, and where we peFpetuate the
outIawry of ancestral savage and the
/ primordiaJ beast, In that world there
is no law bat the rule of selfish greed.
/ There each seeks first not the kingdom
of God and His Righteousness, in the
faith that all things ueedfut shall be
added unto him. but he seeks the king
dom OF MammOn and his unrighteOus-
ness, and trusts the devil for luck Ia
that world Of chance, wisdom and vir-
/ tue may result in prosperity and OnOr,
| or they may find their reward ia adj
| versity and derisiOu. There, homes y
may be the best policy, or il may be
/ the worst The true aud able man
may win the highest place, but the first
cunning triClzster who struggles up
ward with no better instincts than those
of the weasel or the fox may push him
from his stool. In that Upas air the
virtues sicizsn and the graces perish.
All that makes life beautiful aud noble
is alien there. A fine action, u geuer-
Gus deed is foOlhavdy risk among men
whose life is a game and whose prOvi-
dence is blind accident Out of every
hundred ninety-five make temporary OF
GHal failure ia that world where chance
guides with an ignls fatuus mOClEery OF
law. Gifts, acquisitions, principles,
virtues, count for no more than their
defects. 1t is a lottery a game, a
casualty. But high above this crazy
world Of chance there is everywhere
the world of law where every cause is
sure Of its effect; and it is in this world
that we can all of us live If we will I
would not therefore, have our young
friend place his heart wholly upol
/ what we call success. which too often
is inwaEdly miserable failure; but ]
would have him learn betimes to live
in the world Of law, which is so far
above the world of chance. He takes
/ ! with him our hope, our trust, our love
We are proud Of him for what he has
! done for us; we would faiu have kep'
him; we hope some day to welcome him
back. Shall I say welcome him bach
; famous, rich, great? No; welcome him
back true to the best in him, pure AZ
! heart unspotted by the world-ths
world OF chancei And so, vale atqus
satvef-W D Howell in Harper'i
: Magazine
Over-EsressfEr- F1T1r 5E5T5r-,