The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-01-17

as uranus ana IHlsDS. +udt many q
popular actor, or popular poet, who has
come to be the fashion and has got the
world In love with him. IS no more than
a Bottom with an ass head on his
shoulders. so that Titania ooying the
ass cheeks is but the sight often
seen when the world is petting popular
statesman. or actor. OF poet, who win
presently go out of fashion and be as
much despised by succeeding ages as
Bottom will be when Titania's eyes are
uncharmed: in short. the young eye al
ready sees the twist and cross of life.
but sees it as in dream; and those OF
you who are young enough 10 look back
upon your own young dream of life will
recognize instantly that the dream is the
only term which represents that I'M
speakabIe seeing of things without in the
least realizing them which brings about
that the youth admits all We tell him
We older ones about life and the fu
ture, and admitting it fully. neverthe-
less goes on right in the face of it to
act just as if he knew nothing Of it. In
short. he sees as in a dream. 1t is the
Dream Period But here suddenly the
dream is done The real pinches the
young dreamer and he awakes. This
too is typical. Every man remembers
the time IN his own life, somewhere
from near thirty to forty. when the ac
tuaI opposition OF life came out before
him and refused to be danced over and
stared him grimIy in the face: God or
no God, faith or no faith death or no
death. honesty or policy. men good OF
men evil, the church holy or the church
fraud. life worth living or life not
worth living-this. I say, is the shock
Of the real. this is the Hamlet period in
every mans life
And finally-to finish this outline
Just as the man settled all these ques-
lions shocked upon him BY The real,
viii be his Ideal Period If he finds that
the proper management of these grim
oppositions of life is By goodness. by
humility, by love. by the fatherly care
Of a Prospero for his daughter Miranda.
BIZ the human tenderness of Prospero
finding ali his enemies in his power and
forgiving their bitter injuries and prac-
ticing his art to right the wrongs of
men and TO bring all evil beginnings TO
happy issues, then his Ideal Period is
fifty represented by this heavenly PLAY
in which. as you recall its plot. you rec
ognize all these elements. Shakespeare
has unquesticnably emerged from the
cold. paTalyzing doubts Of Hamlet into
the human tenderness and perfect love
and faith OF The Tempest. a faith which
can look clearly upon all the wretehed
crimes and foIIles Of the crew of time
and still be tender and loving and faith
full In short. he has learned 10 manage
the Hamlet antagonisms. to adjust the
moral opposition. with the same artistic
sense of proportion with which We saw
him managing and adjusting the verse
oppositions and the figure oppositions'
a little later We find this Bit of keen
observation:
Thus We see that the key to Hamlets
ehara eter is that haIf-belief which does
not know that it believes, but only be
lieves that 1t believes, and so twists it,
belief from moment TO moment TO suit
its mood. and hence a thousand inconsis
tencies. This shifting the belief to suit
the desire, this half belief which is
worse than no belief. seems wonderfully
ohara cteristic of the present age. and
well may it be called the Hamlet age I
do not know how I can better illustrate
this curious and puzzling state, which
is so characteristic OF much that We fiat
ter as belief. than by recalling an Incl
dent which occurred a short time ago. ana
which seems to me TO illustrate whole
belief the opposite of HamIet's half
belief. in most admirable manner. Four
or i've years ago I happened TO be in st.
Augustine wnen a party of Indians ar
rived. who bad been captured in the
West and sent to this far-away place
/ by the Government. for confinement as
notorious disturbers of the peace in our
Western frontier. When these Indians
( left the cars at the station, 1 observed
/ that one Of them was very i'll, and thai
another was nursing the sick man.
was greatly impressed with the tender
ness of the rude nurse. and with the
eviden- love which underlay lis minis
/ trations The sick Indian was sent %
the hospital. and his friend. whom I af-
| terward learned was his cousin, was