Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-01-12

pleasure unalloyed. l think / see the
sated skeptic, whose monocle glistens
in that box. cast n disdainful glance
over the smiling crowd.
Poor stupid creatures. ignorant and gross.
And yet they are the true livers,
while he is an artificial product, a man.
nikin, incapable OF experiencing this
fine and salutary intoxication of an
hour of frank pleasure
Unhappily, ingenuousness is disap-
pearing even in the rural districts We
see the people of our cities and those
Of the country in their turn breaking
with the good traditions The mind,
warped by alcohol, by the passion for
gambling and by unhealthy literature.
contracts little by little perverted
tastes. Artificial life makes irruption
into communities once simple In their
pleasures, and it is like phyllexera to
the vine. The robust tree of rustic Joy
finds its sap drained, its leaves turn
ing yellow.
Compare fete champetre of the
good old style with the village festi
walls, SO called, of today. In the one
case, in the honored setting of antique
costumes, genuine countrymen sing the
folk songs, dance rustic dances, re-
gale themselves with native drinks and
seem entirely in their element. They
take their pleasure as the blacksmith
forges, as the cascade tumbles over
the rocks, as the colts frisk in the
meadows. 1t is contagious; it stirs
your heart. In spite of yourself you
are ready to cry: Bravo, my childreni
That Is fine.' You want to join In.
In the other case you see villagers dis
guised as city folk, countrywomen
made hideous by the modiste, and, as
the chief ornament of the festival, a
lot Of degenerates who bawl the songs
of music halls, and sometimes in the
place of honor q group Of tenth rate
barn stormers, imported for the occa-
sion, to civilize these rustics and give
them taste of refined pleasures. For
drinks, liquors mixed with brandy or
absinth = in the whole thing neither
originality nor picturesqueness. Ii
cense, indeed, and clownishness, but
not that abandon which ingenious Joy
brings in its train.
This question of pleasure is capital.
Staid people generally neglect 1t as
a frivolity; utilitarians, as costly SUI
per1uity. Those whom we designate
as pleasure seekers forage in this dell
cate domain like wild boars In a gar
den. No one seems to doubt the i'm
n,apua human fptarocf a attaohod m 1av
1t Is a sacred flame that must be fed
and that throws a splendid radiance
over life. He who takes pains to fos-
ter 1t accomplishes a work as profit
able for humanity as he who builds
bridges, pierces tunnels or cultlvates
the ground. So to order ones life as
to keep, amid tolls and suffering. the
faculty Of happiness and be able to
propagate 1t in sort Of salutary con-
tagion among ones fellow men is to
do a work of fraternity In the noblest
sense. To give a trif1ing pleasure,
smooth an anxious brow, bring-a little
light into dark paths-what a truly
divine office in the midst Of this poor
humanity! But 1t is only in great sim
plicity of heart that one succeeds in
filling 1t.
We are not simple enough to be hap
py and to render others so. We lack
the singleness of heart and the self
forgetfulness. We spread JOY, as we
do consolation, by such methods as to
obtain negative results. To console a
person what do we do? We set to
work to dispute his suffering, persuade
him that he Is mistaken In thinking
himself unhappy. In reality our Ian
guage translated into truthful speech
would amount to this: "You suffer, my
friend? That Is strange. You must be
mistaken, for I feel nothing" AS the
only human means Of soothing grief Is
to share 1t In the heart, how must
sufferer feel consoled In this fashion?
To divert our neighbor, make him
pass an agreeable hour, we set out in
the same way. We invite him to ad-
mIre our versatility, to laugh at our
wit, to frequent our house, to sit at
our table. Through It all our desire to
shine breaks forth. Sometimes, also,
with a patrons prodigality we offer
him the benencence Of public enter
tainment of our own choosing, unless
we ask him to find amusement at our
home, as we sometimes do to make up
q party at cards, with the arriere-
pensee OF exploiting him to our own
profit Do you think 1t the height OF
pleasure for others to admire us, to I'D
NIT our superiority and to act as our
tools? Is there anything In the world
30 disgusting as to feel oneself patron
lied, made capital Of, enrolled In
claque? To give pleasure to others and
take 1t ourselves we have to begin by
the ego, which is hateful,
and then keep 1t in chains as long as
the diversions last. There is no worse
kill-Joy than the ego. We must be
good children, sweet and kind. button
our coats over our medals and titles
and with our whole heart put our
selves at the disposal Of others.
Let us sometimes live-be 1t only for
Nm hour, and though we must lay all
else aside-to make others smile. The
sacrifice is only I'm appearance. No ono
finds more pleasure for himself than he
WIN huOWb nOWy WlthOut
to give himself that he may procure
for those around him n moment of for
getfulness and happiness.
When shall we be 80 simply and
truly men as not to obtrude our per
sonal business and distresses upon the
people we meet socially2 May we not
forget for an hour our pretensions, our
strife, our distributions into sets and
short, our part" be-
come as children once more. to laugh
again that good laugh which does 30
much 10 make the world. betterf
Here feel drawn to speak Of some
hing very particular, and in so doing
to offer my well disposed readers an
to go about a splendid
business. / want to call their at
tention to several classes of people
seldom thought of with reference TO
their pleasures.
1t IL understood that a broom serves |
only to sweep, watering pot to water |
plants, coffee mill TO grind coffee, |
and likewise 1t Is supposed that
nurse Is designed only to care for the |
sick, q professor to teach, a priest to |
preach, bury and confess, sentinel to |
mount guard; and the conclusion IL
drawn that the people given up to the |
more serious business OF life are dedi- |
Gated to labor, like the OK. Amuse-
ment Is Incompatible with their activ- |
ties. Pushing this view still further.
we think ourselves warranted In be-