Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1905-03-02

your road But with n bit OF crayon
q great artist makes an immortal
sketch. It needs talent or genius to
paint; and to amuse oneself, the facul.
~ Of being happy whoever possesses
1t is amused at slight cost This facul-
ty is destroyed by skepticlsm, artificial
living, Overabuse: IL is fostered by con-
hdence, moderation and normal habits
OF thought and action.
An excellent proof Of my proposition
and one very easily encountered, lies
in the fact that wherever life is sim.
pie and sane true pleasure accumpa.
MICS it ~ fragrance does uncultivated
flowers. BE this life hard. hampcrcd.
devoid ~ all things ordinarily COnsid-
cred as the very conditions Of pleasure.
the rare and delicate plant joy. flour
ishcs there. II springs mp between the
flags Of the pavement. on an arid wall,
I'm the assure Of rock. We ask orr
selves how It comes and whence. hut 1t
lives. while in the soft warmth Of con
servatorics or I'm fields richly fortified
you cultivate It at golden cost to see
1t fade and die In your hand.
Ask acrors what audience Is happiest
at the play. They will tell you the pop
ular one. The reason Is not hard TO
grasp. TO these people the play IS IN
exception They are not bored by ii
from overlndulgeuce. And, too. to
them tits a rest from rude toll Til
pleasure they enjoy they have honestly
earned. and they know Its cost as
they know that Of CaCl sou earned by
the sweat of their labor. More, they
have not frcuucntCd the wings, they
have no intrigucS with the actresses.
they do not sec The wires pdllCd. 10
them it is al real. And so they feel
pleasure unHlloyCd. | think | sec the
stated skcptic. whose mOnoclc glistens
in that box, east 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 Il man.
nikin, incapable Of experiencing this
fine and salutary intOXication of an
hour Of frank pleasure.
Unhappily. ingcnuousncss j. disap-
pCaring even i'm 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 Icy alcohol. 10y the passion for
gambling and by unhealthy literature,
contracts little lay little perverted
tastes. Artificial life makes Eruption
into communities once simple in their
pleasures. and it is like phylloXcra to
the vine. The robust tree of rustic joy
finds its sap drained, it's leaves turn
ing yellow.
Compare fctc chanpeur of the
good old style with the village fcsti
walls, SO called, Of today. In the one
case. i'm the honUrcd setting Of antique
costumes. genuine cOuntrymcn sing the
folk songs. dance rustic dances, rc-
gale themselves with native drinks and
seem entirely in their element. They
take their pleasure as the blacksmith
FORCES, as the cascade tumbles over
the rocks, as the colts frisk ir the
meadows. II is contagious: ii stirs
your heart. In spite of yourself you
arc ready To cry: Bravo. my children.
That is fine" You want TO join in.
In the other case you see villagers dis.
guiScd rs city folk, COumtrywOmcn
made hidcOus By the MODESTO and. us
the chief ornament of the festival.
lot of degcnerates who bawl the songs
Of music halls. and sometimes in the
place of honor group Of tenth rate
barn StOrmcrs, imported for the occa-
sion. u civili2c these ruStics and give
them q taste of refined pleasures. For
drinks liquors mixed with brandy or
absiutu in the whole thing neither
originality nor plcturcSqucncSs. liz
ccnSc. indeed. and clOwnshness, but
not that abandon which ingenious joy
brings i'm IFS train.
This question Of pleasure is capital
Staid people generally neglect it as
n frivolity; uiilitarlans. as costly su.
pcrhuity Those whom we designate
as pleasure seekers forage in this deli.
cate domain like wild bOars i'm a gar
den. No one seems to doubt the inn
mensc human interest attached to joy.
1t is a sacred flame that must he fed
and that throws a splendid radiance
over life. lie who takes pains to foS-
ter it accomplishes a work as profit
able for humanity as he who builds
bridges. pierces tunnels or cultiyatcs
the ground. SO to order ones life as
to keep. amid tolls and suffering, the
faculty of happiness and he able to
propagate it in sort of Salutary con-
tagiOn among ones fellow men is to
do n work of fraternity in the nObleSt
sense 10 give n trlfling pleasure,
smooth an anxious brow. bring a little
light into dark paths-what 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 50. We lack
the singlCncss of heart and the self
fOrgetfumcss. 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 i'm 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 feel nothing" AS the
only human means of soothing grief is
TO share 1t In the heart, how must Il
sufferer feel cOnsOled In this fashion?
To 1iynrt nttT. npighhnp mako him