The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-07-25
Middlesex Varieties.
Written for TnE Fnrn LANcr)

W
The last word of our heading in one
sense means "changeableness. 50 at the
outset-taking it for granted the render
will not Objective will give some RI
Elections upon the versatile man versus
the constant man or the man of same
ness
We will consider the versatile man AZ
possessed of April variety only in his
transitory feelings Of mind and body.
and as fixed and constant in respect To
good morals and good principles. This
species oi versatile man seems tu be
God's best work in human architecture,
~ history has shown and will likely con
tinue to show. This man. while in life.
il the subject Of much unkind and unjust
criticism. hut after death becomes hero.
whose grave is kept fragrant with rare
flowers and marked, maybe. by monu-
mcnt. His labOrs are not generally
thought worthy Of compensation, but
after death wonderful merit is discovered
to be- in his life.work. and his posterity
reap the benefits thereof Many time
has his vivacious, ,forgiving and charitable
nature driven the frown from the face OF
the sulen. taught the vindictiye that It Is
cowardly to hold malice and relieved the
distressed Of burdens they were unable
To bear alone. When the actual truth.
and nothing but the truth is wanted
he being incapable Of deception the
widow and the beioggcd turn away rom
the lawyer and seek Wis counsel. il he IL n
good business man. the testatOr feels Sc
cure to leave him a. his executor with
ont requiring bond; the young lady feels
that she is in the hands Of noble and
honest man when he is her escort. lie IL
candid to a fault, and many n time his
clever and original ideas have been
snatchcd away by stilltongued tricks
tcrs.
Is this man perfect man? No, he eisnot
perfect, he has many faults. one oi which
is impulsiycness. Kings David and Solo
mon. the patriarch Jacob, tJacob being
Young and tractable, his mother made
him play that trick on his red and hairy
brother Esau) and the APOSTLE Peter
were versatile men. but name four Bible
characters God loved better than these ?
70 make the matter short, the versatile
man * the stamina of earthly truth and
sincerity, and were he eliminated, man =
"shield and buckler' would be gone, and
the world would he ripe and ready to
hand over to Satan.
Ii is the opinion o! this writer that
there il no such thing as mortal con
stancy or sameness; but il there IL, that
old Bible Joseph came nearest To
being it's embodiment. Ii was Joseph
who his brothers sold into slavery, but
in whose breast there did not live sin
Gle angry thought; who stood for virtue
against the nyeiglement of Potiphar 4
wife: who heaped Goals of fire upon ms
brothers heads after he had them in his
power. and who, though the wealth OF
the EGYPTIAN court was in his hand, did
not steal. Joseph lived upto the diction-
ary meaning OF the word constancy-
There are not many constant Josephs in
this 20th century.
4 man said: Cleveland is a great and
good man. because he has always been
the same man, and has always preached
the same doctrine" If Cleveland had
started out early in life to be a ras-
cal and had continued up to now to
practice and to preach rascality, he is
good and a great man because OF his i'm
mutability of life, according to thisman
idea.
The 2Oth century constant man seems
to be one who has his visible man under
good CONTROL who has wide-open eyes
to see where and when a personal ad-
vantage can be had; who knows when
to talk and when to keep quiet; for, like
Montague, he sometimes brings charges
against his fellows, but is struck will
dumbness when asked to explain some o
his own daily actions or some OF IN
questionable anteeedents.
1t was once insinuated that a certain
man had acted the hypocrite in certain
matter. While in conversation with
lawyer he denied having thought orsaid