The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-04-01


I'M So" he but expressed in the
imagery of the poet the fact
- u that all life presents TWO
great aspects, the grave anu
gay Whether in animal life or III the
sphere of human activity these TWO
phases OF existence are sure 10 pe
found. The grave and the gay compile
ment each other in the order OF lie es-
tablished by the hand of kind ana
gracious Providence. There are sun
shine and shadow, laughter and tears
comedy and tragedy, and both phaseS
of existence are necessary In order that
the scheme of u wise Creator may De
fulfilled.
But II Is a good plan to emphasize
and encourage the gay and more cheet-
full aspects of life, for. do what we hay'
the serious and grave will have oppor'
tunity enough to impress the character
and make a mark upon human affairs
Even religion can with advantage
give expression to merriment and good
cheer In the medieval ages this wasrec'
Ognzed even more than now, of which
we find traces in the sculptured forms
in ancient cathedrals, where grinning
faces look down at the visitor from
arches and columns through the dim
religious light" In the religion OF
primitive peoples. notably the North
American Indians, Laughter holding
both his sides" as Milton expressed It
in "L'Allegro," takes conspicuous
part in religious ceremonies. The In
dian as he goes through the evolutions
of his semi-relgious dance, intended in
part 10 express thankfuiness to the
good Creator for his Kindness to man,
grins and laughs and otherwise gives
vent TO his sense of humor and gayety,
q performance which he deems in no
wise inconsistent with the religious
character of the ceremony
No great enterprise can be undertake
en- to represent the broad field of hu-
man activity and emotions without
making conspicuous the light and gay,
and in an enterprise like an Exposition
1t is fitting that this should have Pc
Culially conspicuous attention.
IAN work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy" The principle expressed in
this famous adage is more and more
recognized in an up to date schemes Of
educational work The kindergarten Is
an expression of this fact, and the uni
ycreal tendency OF educators of today
is to make all branches of public in.
struction as attractive to the youthful
mind as possible rather than to rcpel
the student and create in him dis
taste for learning by making the task
n RI isult and l1IIIlpO1nt one.
When F.Xpositions, which in the last
analysis are but universities upon
magnificent scale We're first instituted,
comparatively little attention was paid
to the light and gay aspects of life 10
sports and amusementS, as that word
Is usually understood, or to illustra,
tons of the quaint and curious Gus
toms OF the various peoples of the
earth. But as Exposition followed Ex-
position and their managers proiited
by eXperience 1t became evident that
they could be made to pay much better
when the amusement features and the
Joyous and gay side of their character
were made prominent and that in
bringing these to the front there was
no dctraction from the educational in.
6uenCe exercised by the Exposition as
q whole Thus the Midway became
recognized feature of the great Exposi-
tons, and from mere side show it
grew into a splendid aggregation of the
quaint and curious, the novel and ex-
citing, the weird and mysterious, the
fantastic and picturesque, the strange
and marvellous things brought from all
quarters of the globe.
While it should not be supposed that
the Midway of an Exposition comprises
all in such an enterprise that is gay and
lisht hearted, novel and entertaining, 1t
Is natural that within that charmed
portion of great fair all this should
be found in pre-emnent degree.
When 9he Midway at The Pan-Ameri-
can was proposed, it was determined
that It should be the very best of its
kind and the greatest thing that ever
happened" if in treating of so light
theme one may be permitted to fall in
10 the language of the streets From
the beginning an effort was made to
Gull from the vast number of novel and
attractive features offered those which
would combine the elements of excite
ment and entertainment and at the
same time impart the kind of educa-
tional influence which travel in foreign
chimes and among strange and un-
known peoples is wont TO confer.
Thus with the 900 being eX.