The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-28
FOR FEMININE READERS
TO DE ~ THE MIDDLE OF THINGS Is
MOST TO BE DESIRED.
The wom Question" of spring Il
what 20 wear-PIantS for "A shady
PIace-Bonnets to Burn.

at sometimes think" said a bright wom-
al the other day. writes Priscilla Leonard
IN the Interior. that I would like TO beg
my bread for "a day. or be east alone upon
a desert island from a terrible wreck, or
have some such deep and high experience
OF course. we would all like 10 be kings
and queens. OF geuiuses. or successful eX-
plorers. and that sort OF thing; but what 1
rean is that If 1 couldn't have a unique
experience OF joy. 1 would rather have a
unique experience OF trouble than just be
forever in the middle of things. as 1 am
I'm neither rich nor poor. neither very
happy nor very miserable; everything
about my lot is just average, ard 1 always
did hate averages
you ungrateful creaturei' said her
friend. smiling. II can quote Shakespeare
and the Bible TO prove that you have the
earthly lot most 10 be desired and prayed
for. Give me neither poverty nor riches
was what Agur prayed. and Solomon the
wise quoted approvingly. And happiness
IS situated In the mean you know, and
never in the extremes"
Yes. 1 know all that. People in the mid
die OF things escape reactions. and re-
actions are wretched things for the nerves.
] grant you. But, all the same, it is crush
ing for me TO realize that the heights and
depths Of life or not for me. Wouldn't you
like. yourself. to be the Caliph of Bagdad.
or a famous singer. or the man who finds
the north pole2 L love Henry and the chill
dren dearly. but Henry hasn't the slightest
impulse 10 find the north pole, and 1 know,
In my heart OF hearts, that not one Of the
children is ever going to be a genius"
That's extremely lucky for you. L might
like TO be a caliph, just for a few days
Though hot weather and no drainage and
musky perfumes and dirt and diamonds,
which are the usual surroundings Of a
caliph. are not my ideal of Iifs). but I GER
tainly would not want to be the wife or
mother of a genius Ior half an hour even
and you wOuldnt either, my dear"
We'll, OF course, IL is always better TO Re
the genius ones self. rather than a near
relation. But so much of life-Of the world
lis closed forever TO the average eve.
That's what L feel"
You needn't. then" said her friend. de-
cidedly. The real experience of real life
j. found in the middle. Haven't you often
noticed how a very rich man or woman is
cut on from human fellowship to a re-
markable extent? I'm not sure that all the
luxury the rich enjoy makes up for the fact
that they can't understand most of the SX-
periences OF the race. One of my acquaint-
ances-a very rich w~Oman-tOld me, with
q perfectly serious air, the other day, that
there was no such thing as gratitude in the
NOTl4- II L give anything To people, she
SAID, they expect more next time; il /
don't give. they are injured and angry.
True gratitude may exist, but i have never
seen it. Very likely she never had. A rich
man or woman is always afraid of being
married for money. They cannot be quite
sure Of their friends, on the same account.
Ennui is a characteristic disease of wealthy
people. and no wonder.
They can never know the full enjoy
ment of spending money, because they
never have to strain and economic and
save before they spend. They sit on cush-
Ions, and never know the healthy joys of
struggle and contrivances. Certainly. with
Is hopelessly cut off from the joys of hav-
ing
Sighed deep. laughed free.
Starved, Toasted, despaired, been happy
as Browning puts it. And the very poor
are just as much out of it. to use A slang
phrase. Life is reduced TO such simple
teIms Win tnem tnat only the elementary
experiences are LETT. Then, taking rich and
poor together, hey make a very small pro-
portion out OF all the world. The person in
the middle OF things knows how the other
half lives, and more, he knows how nine
tenths of the world lives. at least. with
only one-tenth, or less. Of human expert
ence closed TO il. / think the average eve
has a pretty wide range of vision, after
You seem to put it convincingly." re-
sponded the complainant, but isn't that
one-tenth OF the worlds field just the most
interesting part2 The average nine-tenths
4 stupid enough, I'm sure"
That depends. The north pole is only in
teresting because nobody has seen it. Our
OWN Atlantic coast was once just the same
NoncrouS goal for every daring explorer,
nnd now that 1t has been settled and civ
liked II ought To nave more of human in
terest than it ever had. \ desert island
viii only one caStaway upon il cannot be-
gan 10 be the field of as many hopes and
fears and joys and anguishes as an average
city block. And as for geniuses, why are
they famOus2 Why. because they express
what the majority Of the race feels. They
0JnU express il adequately, either; for. as
Holmes says somewhere. there are times
above any and all human books and lie
adds that the man who is never conscious
o. any state Of feeling or of intellectual eff
fort beyond expression by any form OF
words whatsoever. is a mere creature Of
language II isn't the middle of things
that is stupid. IL is
The person who deeries the middle
things-meaning me- was the laughing re-
ply We'll. your impassioncd remarks are
not wasted; 1 viii try 20 live up to my op-
pOrtunities hereafter. and moderate my
1ongings for desert ISLANDS. boundless
riches ard the north pole. I suppose that
a. were on a desert island. I would have
Just the same craving for a three-stOry
furnace-heated city house that 1 have now
Tor advcnture-don't you believe SOP
Most certainly said the friend. with n
twinkle I'm her eve. THAT is part of being
an average person And the discussion
ended in a laugh.