The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-10-18
SOME FOOLISH PROVERBS.
MRS. FRANK LESLIE AS a PREACH
Err AND TEACHER.
She Shows the Falsity and stupidity
OF Some weII-EstabIfshed Maxims-
A Clever Woman Discusses the
Practical Side of Life and the Hand
of Fate.

Pracucul side OF Lie ana the manu-
of Fate.
There are a great many things which
have been said so often and so posi-
lively that they have at last taken a
sort of brevet rank as facts. but which
are nevertheless absurdly false and often
very stupid 1t is one Of the funny
fashions of this very funny world to
enunciate these maXims with the air of
having Just originated some especially
smart new maxim, the brilliant result
of our own superior wisdom. / do not
know anything more comically pro-
Voking than this air unless It is the
earsplitting cackling OF hen over
new laid egg. The egg Is no better and
no different from that which Ewes IA
vorte pullet laid in paradise and that
pullet's daughters have been laying ever
since. But TO hear the caclSle one would
imagine that special hen had invented
eggs and wished to call the attention OF
the world TO the fact.
For instance, II a young man shows a
tendency TO go away from home and
see something OF the world, become "a
globe trotter' TO n greater OF less ex-
tent. he is warned that "A rolling stone
gathers no moss"-that is to say, the
moving man will not acquire money or
position. Now, we all know that this
is a prodigious fasehood. II Is the NOV
ing man, the pusher. the hustler, the
rustler, or whatever else he may
be called, who succeeds and makes
for himself position. money and in
fiuence. The human bowlder gathers
moss indeed, but IL is them oss of de-
cay and the rust OF inaction.
But opposed 10 this Is another pro-
verb equally false, "Homely youth have
ever homely Wits" statement perhaps
true i'm Shakspeare's time. but not at all
true now. for it is I'm quiet and seclu-
sion, at home, or college. or in some
sort of retirement, that wits" if wits
mean intellect and mental processes, go
on the best. and the scientist, the chem
ist, the philosopher the lecturer or the
preacher would come to grief If he had
not some sort Of "home" to shut him
self into.
But the popular saying which just now
annoys me the most is one that your
friends always present TO you in times
of trouble and perplexity, generally offer
ing 1t with a sort OF benevolent and per-
functory air. as IL it were a piece of re-
hgious consolation or a well-proved recipe
for happiness, a sort Of panacea for
every I'll of spirit, mind or body. 1t is
sometimes expressed in one form, some
times another, but the idea is: "All
things come round to him who will but
wait"
Now, l appeal TO you, my dear reader,
to say if that promise has fulfilled itself
in your life. 1t certainly has not in
mine We all Of us, l suppose, start in
life with some far-off idea of happiness
or at least pleasure glittering like a star
In our future, either remote or close at
hand. 1t is like the golden cup which
we were told in our childhood is to be
found hanging on the end of the rain
bow. Probably most of us have once or
twice set off full Of hope to find that cup,
but ] have yet TO hear of any one who
has achieved it. And do we generally
gain these early ideals? Have you
Think a bit of what you wanted most
at fifteen. at twenty, at twenty-five, and
so on. Have you ever really and fully
obtained it? Probably you have changed
that ideal many times. you have set the
goal where you were to rest satisfied
farther and farther away, but have you
ever reached it? In one word, have you
found in your own experience that "alI
things come round to him who will but
waltz"
Doubtless we have often derived COM
fort from the phrase. for most people
are very ready to take words for things.
Some older person has said IL TO us with
that assured and benevolent manner OF
which 1 spoke but now-some parent or
friend or clergyman to whom we have
applied for counsel and comfort-and we
have received IT as a sort of prophetic
promise and gone away with the feeling
that all is now going to be set right and
we have only to wait a bit to have our
hearts desire fulfilled in the completest
manner.
And does It?
1t is about as rational belief as that
we attach TO the words OF a fortune
teller to whom we have furtively applied
in some terrible muddle of our affairs
She has "prophesied smooth things" in a
very impressive manner, and even while
Jeering at our own credulity we go away
with sort of shamefaced faith that per-
haps, after all, she is right and at any
rate we feel a little encouraged.
And how common sense insists upon
reminding us of the failure of various
other similar venturesl
The young girl fixes her affections or
perhaps only her fancy upon some man.
WIN TURN has AAeQ Ills upon SOIHe
other woman, or, as is more likely, upon
himself and his own interests. 'An
things come round to him who will but
wait" whispers the poor child to her
self, and she modestly and silently waits
until the man either marries the other
girl or drifts out of her horizon alto
gether.
Perhaps the waiting" lover is the
man-one of those men who pride them
selves upon their tenacity of purpose
and power of controlling fate. He pays
court to the woman of his choice, and
she, having like bee just lighted upon
the proffered blossom and slipped the
quality of it's honey. declines to take any
more of 1t, be she wooed never so ina
Fortunately. So he. too. fixes his faith
upon time and waits for that official to
bring round his hearts desire. And
does he?
Well, am bound to confess that here
q nd thnIn lie o rI-hn1,a the r..or.,....