The sun., 1900-12-14
~ i0s wrrHovr rrlC1Oys.
The Change IN spirit which Mas Come
ONeI IhIs GeneIaiIon.

"N' INV 'eheta'""s
10 tur Enron or THE srS S,r Tho de
cussion ~ the marble question ~ THt ~ y
has for mo u fascinating interest II recalls
very yivdly my hoyhood and reminds me
~ tho great change IN boyish activities and
even IN the hoyish spirit which observe IN
tho present generation ~ youngsters. The
round ~ the seasons Of games ~ We know
It In our boyhood. each game having ~.
special season IA appointed. maybe. In a
dim antiquity reaching back. perchance. to
early Egyptian dynasties. seems now to be
broken. TO be disappearing. nay. II has dis
appeared already in great part. Top time,
kite time. the time Cor marbles were once
recognized by all the boys instinctively.
Their arrival was never heralded in any
formal announcement. no outside influence
was exerted to change the pastime. the
change seemed to come Of itself
Now the boys I know and observe have
got out Of the current OF that tradition. In the
towns. at any rate. They have taken up
new amusements In place Of the old as handed
down by countless generations OF boys. and
their sports. no longer determined by sea-
sons, seem to be continuous throughout the
year or only varied as the weather impera-
lively requires. They approximate more
nearly to those Of grown folk, the athletic
ptisslpI ol tIllr = gToNih hHitl-
lea affecting all ages very much alike. just
as the dress. the costumes Of men and boys
have grown to be similar. In my younger
days the distinction in the dress OF men. young.
middle aged and old was marked. Now
the great banker and his youthful clerk are
appareiled In the same way. so far as con-
Germs the general character Of their gar
ments I also observe less OF the conventional
reverence for age than there used TO be
Young fellows put themselves on easy terms
Of equality with their elders In affairs Of
society or business. Young women are
sharp or condescendinG critics of their
parents.
Iput all these contemporary manifestations
together because II Seems to me they belong
together philosophically-are symptoms and
exhibitions Of a new spirit prevailing. And
what Is that spirit2 Whence does 1t come?
Is II not the product Of the disilluslonment
Of the time. the destruction OF the old ideals.
the dispelling Of the old fancies and faiths?
Take one SYMPTOM. When was college boy
the romantic idea Of love and OF womanhood
prevailed. as the contemporary verses in the
college papers showed. Now I find that the
tone Of such papers on those subjects is usually
cynical. Chivalry. once adOred. Is now laughed
at. The Jokes and gibes are against romance
as fresh" The girl and her lover are mer-
cenary and divorce Is a possibility in the
minds OF both. In my time the whole world
was gilded by illusion. lofty and unselfsh
ambitions stirred all the better spirits among
the youth Of the college world. Not to win
success. but to deserve 1t. was the keynote
with them. to wait to be called up to the
high seat as recognition Of intrinsic merit,
and not to elbow your way into it upon
entrance was the obligation OF the gentleman,
This Is not an accusation against this time
due to any senile theory that the former
times were better than these. but 1t Is simply
a record OF facts Of my observation which
probably have been multiplied In the ex-
perienoe Of your readers Surely, for better
or worse. great transformation has taken
place and most strikingly in the last generation.
Boys nowadays have scientific machines
for toys: formerly their imaginations had
to endow inanimate things with qualities
and abilities which clockwork and chemical
action now produce actually to their under
standing. The girls doll initiates human
movements. and she soon finds out that It is
purely an artificial contrivance. A lady told
Inc the other day that on one Of the steam
boats running in the harbor she saw plainly
dressed little girl on the outside deck on raw
day last month with doll Of the old-fashioned
rag construction tenderly cherished In her
arms. The lady said to her. Dear, T. this
not too cold a place for you9" and. actually.
her lips were getting blue. mo. ma'am.
am not too cold. but think will go In.
for am afraid 1t Is too cold for my dolly
There is a poem In that But suppose the
doll had been one Of the -up-to-date" patent
contrivances, would there have been left
anything for this childish imagination to
endow with sensbility. anything to provoke
maternal solicitude'
When. therefore. Bishop Potter. Mr.. Hewitt
and other people talk about the materialstc
spirit Of this age for 1t belongs to the age
and not to any country Of modern clviliza-
ton Specifically am moved to ask how could
IL be else with the generation newly grown
and the generation now growing losing u-
sions. becoming critical and. even in child
hood and youth. cynical and distrustful?
Santa Claus still lives. il is true. thank God!
but is II not an enfeebled life steadily oozing
away? Romantic love is not yet dead. but
how long can its delicate beauty survive
the grimy hands laid on it by vulgar news
paper art and gibe?
Is that all a sign Of present or approach
ing senility in AN OLD NEW YORKER?
New YORK. Dec ~.