The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-06-19
is THIS THE MATTER WITH Uss

might and main" anything seriously,
the bane OF our people
The two above paragraphs seem I,
deserve equal respect, coming as they do
one from the pen of prominent writer
the other from the columns of a LEADING
newspaper OF the day. But they seem q
contradict each other flatly-and we ar,
left with the old question, "who shall
decide?" Now when we find ourselye,
In such corner as this we are very apt
TO feel round in our minds for some
precedent" whereby to help our decision.
And we haven't forgotten the old story of
the famous knight and his shield with It's
one side gold and the other silver-and
the alteration over said shield and its
component, materials between said
knight and another parsonage of the same
noble order 1t was all detailed in verse
in our old "readers" years ago-what
would have become OF us but for the
legacy of fact and fancy left us by those
same "readers"
And as we re-read our two conflicting
paragraphs, saying to each one in turn,
ike the Dutch judge, "Mine frient, you haf
your case. " For there is a chance for n
people as numerous as ourselves to be pos
sessed of fault that, looked at on differ
ent sides, may be very variously-even
contrarily described. Regarding the mat
ter for moment in this light we easily
conclude that we are ga terribly serious
race" when 1t comes TO "getting money"
or "saving our souls" perhaps (whsn we
set out to save them)-but it is Just as
true that we are people given to Gin
difference" and a braggadocio in our
don't care" attitude toward certain
other things almost as important as
riches or even religion. So to reconcile
the apparently irreoncilable paragraphs !
ana get at the fault that they both, with |
out Knowing it, condemn, we perhaps
better venture the opinion-even IL we do
feel forced to put II negatively-that our
,hlef fault as people is the lack of an
even tenor of our ways. we-as a nation
are young; we have American nerves:
We are esily aroused. We were brought
ip, SO to speak, in a Puritanic home
where "blue -laMsn and tallow dips
lghted us to dark and dismal futurity.
There was "no room for mirth or trih ,
ng, and the seriousness of living per- I
heated our very bones. But by and by we !
rev up -partially-and we went out in
the world; and the new liberty re-
nlted in dangerous reaction. Whereas
II had seemed serious before and where
II transpired that some of the things
nat had seemed serious to us were
'oVed net so to be, we forthwith jumped
the conclusion that our Puritan fathers
new nothing about it and that the no.
on that life was serious matter was all
hoax. The individual man in his prog
IS from youth to age passes through
81 such stages of philosophizing as to
meaning of existence for himself, and q
|, as nation, are experiencing the same y y
ing on vast scale The pendulum ir
rts far out in the Puritan direction. D.
i, when released it swings as far the -
Ter way; 1t makes wild sweep and W
cribes an arc that includes almost any 10
mber of degrees. :"
New England weather we are sure vi
one thing-the changes; it is the same
In American life-it may mean n as
IN or 1t may mean a panic, and one su
ever quite certain which is likely to Gle
ke at any particular moment. We live no
excitement. We run to extremes: ex- A.,
nes in living, extremes in work. ex- "R
nes in pleasure, extremes in language
'thing keeps the even tenor of its at
pecaues there Is no even tenor set as
lndard for it to keep.
the individual, time cures all this att
ency to be erratic and there is every
to suppose that time will be N'
lily kind to nation so afflicted. For .r,
reason we are not inclined TO take
mt alarm at the thought of our ex. "st,
es-while, on the other hand. we are .s
ng to seriously ask ourselves what
each may play in bringing about the INA
" medium so devoutly to be wished "ca,
moreover, we have adjusted the
IS OF the apparently opposed texts "A, AN
which we started, and adjusted
In accordance with our own reason. II,
perhaps, we feel deserving OF credit CLAN,
1odestly admitting that we. as M. u uo'e
huNa 90