Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-12-31

Fear of Water-This is almost uni
versal at some stage of childhood 1t
is not the dread of being washed so
much as padding on the beach, hear
ing the noise of the driving near it,
and especially sailing that awakens
these fears. Some think that every
rain will drown the world, cannot
look down upon the water without
an uncomfortable impulse to jump in,
or are prone to imagine themselves
drowning. Strong as this fear is, it is
generally overcome by the opposite,
love of water. The latter is an al
most irresistible passion with children,
and there is much to suggest that it
is an echo in the soul of the earlier
and far longer life in the sea, from
which all amphibian and later land
animals gradually developed. When
life on the land was we'll established,
those most fearing water had the ad-
vantage at a certain stage over those
less timid; but both elements in nor
NAL souls struggle up to harmon
ious balance, SO that We can have all
the pleasures of water with all the
safety of the land.
Wind is a powerful schoolmaster of
the emotions. Some are always ex-
cited or depressed, or fancy moaning
animals; or cannot sleep if it blows
hard, imagine themselves at sea, and
in extreme cases watch every move
ment Of the boughs hundred times a
day to see if it is increasing. Its
noise most often suggests animals, but
sometimes machinery, battles, the sea
or universal dissolution. The wind is
exceedingly real, bringing rain, des-
tructiOn, change of mood, etc.; though
no eye ever saw it. Hence it has
been great school of the invisible.
Celestial objects are sources of very
common. morbid fears. Clouds sug-
gest dragons, the end of the world,
faces of dead relatives, God, angels,
Bible pictures, signs, &c. Many fear
the sun, meteors will fall on them !;
that the sun will 60 away, burn up, go
out, burst; or dread snow, rain, north.
ern lights, with an intensity that is
pathological. The heavens are the
chief fields of projection of human
fancies.
Fears of fire are very liable to be-
come excessive, especially in boys, for
whom it has a strange fascination.
Some have spells of lying awake and
dreading it; Others always make peri
odic tours of the house, fear their hair
will burn, are nervous about draughts
in the stove or furnace, or the word
fire" sends a chill through the sys-
tenn. Some are always seeing signs of
universal combustion, have horror of
smoke, or associate fire with the great
judgment day.
The darkness fears are perhaps the
most universal of all, and perhaps too
familiar to dwell upon. Children of.
ten sleep habitually with the clothes
over their heads at night, and some
imagine absurd spectral or animal
forms that take on great definiteness,
while others have dream fears so in
tense that they fear to go to sleep.
Most fears are diminishing, but the
fear of disease is greatly increasing in
the world to-day. The universe of
fear fits ancient tradition and super
stition rather than the world of SCI
ence. Darkness is now the safest
time in the world and the most pro-
tected, while animals are no longer
dangerous in civilized lands. The
weather fears suggest life in caves and
tents. But the fears of disease seem
ever on the increase; and if the mind
can cure diseases which it has made,
then there is a good deal of practical
truth in faith cures of all kinds.
Infants in many OF our returns have
a peculiar horror of big eyes and big
teeth, and often fur, suggesting how
ancient these emotional reverberations
are in the soul, recalling the time
when animals with big eyes and teeth
were objects of supreme dread. Many
curious fears, like those of solitude
even for moment, and those of blush
ing, are very common. Imaginary
persons and animals, noises are some
times dreaded by the Imagination.
while Others fear that the wood, coal
or fuel in the world will be exhausted.
Others have a cranky aversion to
dust, sweeping, wheels, points, ice, poi
son, fighting and conflict, raw meat,
etc.
The physical symptoms of fear most
common are weakness, paralysis, tre-
NOR, painting, palpitation, chills, sweat
ing, etc. Dangerous and stunting as
it is, it is not hard to cure in most
cases. Interest in natural objects,
familiarity with them, some knowl-
edge of nature and science, sympa-
thetic treatment generally, substitu-
ton of interest and love at every point
where fear has been, are problems
which have hitherto attracted far too
little attention. To fear Alright is still
a good definition of education, as the
soul builds itself larger mansions.
THE value of ton of pure gold is
l$6O2, 1921.