River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-04-24
The First Glass
in Sentiments
By MAY BELLEv1LLE BROWN.

A -
him critically, "but one thing was left
out Of your college curriculum. and
that is sentiment"
Leslie Mason could say impertinent
things without being taken in earnest,
and Steele Addison might have known
better than TO accept the challenge.
but he was intensely practical, and still
young enough to take himself very
seriously.
Yes, that's the way with you WON
en- he retorted, In an aggrieved tone.
IF man isn't mawkish.y sentimental
and doesn't strike attitudes and de-
claim fervently of his devotion, you
look on him as a sort of craven image.
You count calm, logical, well~traIned
mind as nothing. Any brainless Top
can be softly sentimental, but it takes
u man to be logical"
Leslie sprang from her chair by the
library fire and crossed the room to
the dictionary stand.
'Iisten!" commanded she, striking
an attitude and reading from the pom
derous volume. 'Sentiment-from
Latin sentire-to perceive by the.sense
Of the mind, to feel. A thought
prompted by passion or feeling;
state of mind in view Of some subject;
feeling toward or respecting some per-
son or thing; disposition prompting to
action or expresson!' Stee.e Addison.
YOU stand convicted on your own tes-
timony. Sentiment is not only stran-
ger to you, but you do not know what
it is. A thought prompted by some
feeling is that necessarily mawkish?
Feeling toward or respecting some
person or thing must that be softly
sentimental"
Leslie warmed to her subject as she
confronted him and continued:
Sentiment need not be connected
with a young woman or experienced
only by brainless tops. You go on the
street and see man abusing horse
that has load too heavy for it to pull.
What Is your first thought?
The young man felt his feet touch
known ground, and answered, calmly:
THAT the driver ought to be pun
ished for overlooking his horse"
But don't you have thought for
the poor animal, feeling of pity,
desire to relieve it, wish, however
vague, that you might put it in clover
field for the rest of it's days?"
II can't say that l do" replied he,
loftily. according to Herbert Spen-
GERS Synthetic Philosophy sub
human justice is imperfect in the sense
that there exist multitudinous species,
the sustentation of which depends on
the wholesale destruction of other spe
cies, and the individual OF a species
shall receive all the consequences, good
and evil, Of its own nature
"Botb:: Herbert Spencer!" ejacula-
ted Leslie, in a disgusted tone. II am
taking about people who have emo
tions. Your case is hopeless, unless
you can prevail upon some one TO es-
tablish school of sentiment and en-
roll yourself at once in. the infant class.
There may be a chance that you can
stop living in the top story all the time,
and get down for a visit in your heart
occasionally"
There's another way that you WON
en- have" replied Steele. Fencing
isn't argument. But if you are willing
10 start a class in sentiment, Leslie en-
roll me. Call it a kindergarten class
if you want to. and you may advance
me as you see me improving. At the
same time / will endeavor to instruct
you in logic. i feel sure that / can do
YOU good, and ii will be interesting, 10
say the least, to experiment on each
other"
II don't care to become a cold-heart-
ed logician or a musty philosopher, .
answered Leslie, with a disdainful look.
but | accept the offer, for the sake of
yhe good that j may be abe to do YOU.
The class in sentiment will meet to-
morrow afternoon and accompany its
teacher to Rat alley. 1T is my after
noon at the Hermitage, and when You
see some of our proteges in that part
of town you will surely know some
thing of one branch of the subject
pity. No" as he began to speak, don't
mention Herbert Spencer again to-
day"
For three months the teacher of
sentiment and the teacher of logic
We'd with each other in furnishing
precepts and examples to further
their individual theories. Steele ac-
companied Leslie on her pilgrimages
to Rat Alley; he saw how old and
-oung loved her, he looked on at the
wcyk of the Hermitage club, he lis
tened to her enthusiastic plans, and
quoted Kant and Spencer, and dis
cussed the survival of the fttest.
Leslie, with her natural enthusi-
as,n. had thrown herself into the
work wherever she saw anything that
needed doing, so Steele, as leisure
permitted him, could see her in many
Iights-with ruffled apron over her
street gown, serving hot soup to
chilled newsboys, deftly twirling In
dian clubs for the instruction of a
circle of working girls, demonstrate
ing lower mathematics and the rudi-
ments of English to class of half
grown boys. or, perhaps, in the sew
ing class exemplifying some little
nicely of needlework.
One of Leslie's days at the Her
mitage, Steele dropped in about the
time for her to go home, and found
the place deserted, save for an ell