Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-09


fools, who know they are nothing else
and are glad OF II and enjoy g. Certainly
IL looks SO; for It seems hare to be what
they arc without knowing II. while It II
not easy to sec them what they sre with
out being sorry for them.
A distinguished writer says tho world
Is all full of fools from nadir TO zenith.
And burlesques abound everywhere.
There's not a good or true thing In hui
manity that has not it's caricature. "vir-
tue Itself turns vice. being misapplled."
The Legitimate sublime quickly becomes
the ridiculous.
Tho eccentric or wrong headed is nearsr
10 the monomaniac than to the burlesque.
Though the monomaniao is a burlesque,
as when he puts on Pompey. Caesar, or
Alexander the Great, assumes the god.
affects the nod. and seems to shake the
sphere. or struts like concelted actor.
and enjoys the wooden dialogue and
sound 'twixt his stretched footing and the
scaffoldage. The eccentric, however. pre-
sents many phases OF the burlesque of a
mild type. good deal short of monoma-
mia.
IL Is n familiar thing TO see people who
have their "fads." They are sometimes
called 'fortes"; sometimes weakness"
These are often made up Of fragments or
built on foundations OF something manly
or respectable For the most part they
arc appropriated and cultivated in tina.
direction. though often they are defects
4 f,,f t.lr. aetsr Of min -
or some kind Of greatness. A good whip
ping in early life, or little sensible mater
nal discipline would in many cases have
made an end of them, and left honest
manhood a normal development. The ex-
PLANTATION OF most eccentricities is the
mere desire to be remarked on. or accept
ed as something above or outside Of COM
mon mortals, unwilling 10 jump with COM
mon spirits. or be ranked with the barba-
rous multitude. This sort burlesques
great many minor vices. They have
fragmentary or indefinite conception Of IN
telligence. dignity self-respect. franlNness.
honesty, independence, and other honora-
bic virtues. they turn them to a selfish
and ambitious account. catch the nearest,
easiest way TO the credit Of them, their
shows and outsides, and their realizations
are hybrids or moral monsters-bur-
lesques.
The same causes produce the same
effects In thousand ways end forms.
The motive and ruling principle or pas
sion works itself out Times glory Is TO
unmask falsehood and bring truth TO life
Whatsoever man sows. that he reaps
And so IT is. The little politician that
knows his business only as a selfish trade.
and presses himself to the front by fair
means or foul reaches a high place and
Hfc iffffangcgac - 4 q
uous failure, and burlesques selfish ambi-
ton. He besmirches Office and warns the /
world Of the safety and comfort of an \
honest, lowly life.
The sensational divine displays himself |
before the world fills all eyes and ears. |
and offends the people with his vanity and /
The virus of self has |
burlesqued itself, and, by contrast, deep /
ened the colors OF essential Christianity.
An ambitious marriage fills the columns
Of the newspapers. and is the town talk
awakening the admiration and stirring
the envy and jealousy OF the whole town,
aud presently exhibits in very truth a
of married love. And an ambi-
tious style of living stuns the community
with its magnifcence and luxurious
shows, and is known 10 be a veritahle
of domestic happiness. The
lay Of the Lord is upon every one that
5 high and lifted UP.
The enlightenment the general know
edge, the familiar principles Of our day,
10 not admit Of permanent frauds or
Little and big vices grow
md blossom and spread themselves, and
hey show what they are in the day.
light. only the victims are deceived.
truth can never be burlesqued. 1t is only
and frauds and limitations,
heap virtues and distinctions, selfshness,
-anity. and ambition that can bs bur-
esqued Burlesques are the reductiones
d absurdum of nature and Providence.
King David in high life, pronounced (
very man at his best estate altogether
anity-a big burlesque, and his royal son
declared the whole business Of life
arce, vanity, and vexation. And so is
he makeup OF the world, the flesh, and
he devil-even now. The grand moral Is
hat the true livers are the loyal TO
Ieaven, the poor in spirit, the pure in !
cart, and the meek. {