Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-01-19
CHAPTER <.


THE WORLD AND THE LIFE OF THE HOME.
v \ the time Of the second empire. in
one of our pieasantest subprefee-
lures Of the provinces, 4 little way
4 from some baths frequented by
the emperor. there was a mayor. Il very
worthy man and intelligent, too. whose
head was suddenly turned by the
thought that his sovereign might one
day descend upon his home Up to this
time he had lived III the house of his
fathers. a son respectful of the slight
est family traditions. But when once
the all absorbing idea of receiving the
emperor had taken possession of his
brain he became another man. In this
new light what had before seemed sJf-
ficient for his needs. even enjoyable,
all this simplicity that his ancestors
had loved appeared poor. ugly, ridicu-
lous Out of the question to ask an en-
peror to climb this wooden staircase,
sit in these old armchairs, walk over
such superannuated carpets. So the
mayor called architect and masons;
pickaxes attacked walls and demolish-
ed partitions, and q drawing room was
made out of all proportion to the rest
of the house in size and splendor He
and his family retired into close quar-
tiers. where people and furniture in
commoded each other generally. Then,
having emptied his purse and upset his
household by this stroke of genius, he
awaited the royal guest. Alas. he soon
saw the end Of the empire arrive, but
the emperor never.
The folly of this poor man is not so
rare. As mad rs he are all those who
sacrifice their home life to the de-
mands of the world. And the danger
in such a sacrifice is most menacing in
times of unrest. Our contemporaries
are constantly exposed to it and con-
stantly succumbing. How many fami-
~ treasures have they literally thrown
away to satisfy worldly ambitions and
conventions, but the happiness upon
which they thought to come through
these impious immolations always
eludes them
To give up the ancestral hearth, to
let the family traditions fall into des-
uetude, to abandon the simple domes-
tic customs. for whatever return is to
make Il fools bargain, and such is the
place in society of family life that if
this be impoverished the trouble is felt
throughout the whole social organism
TO enjoy normal development this
organism has need of we'll tried indi-
viduals. each having his own value, his
own hall mark. Otherwise society be-
comes q flock. and sometimes a flock
without shepherd. But whence does
the individual draw his originality,
this unique something which, joined to-
the distinctive qualities of others, con-
stitutes the wealth and strength of a
community? He can draw it only
from his own family. Destroy the as
semblage of memories and practices
whence emanates for each home an
atmosphere in miniature. and you dry
up the sources of character. sap the
strength Of public spirit
1t concerns the country that each
home be world profound respected,
communicating to it's members an in
effaceable moral imprint. But before
pursuing the subject further let US rid
ourselves of Il misunderstanding Fam
ily feeling. like all beautiful things, has
its caricatHre, which is family egoism
Some families are like barred and bolt
ed citaGels. their members organized
for the exploitation of the whole world.
Everything that does not directly CON
Germ them is Indifferent to them. They
live like colonists-I had almost said
intruders-in the society around them.
Their particularism is pushed to such
an excess that they make enemies of
the whole human race In their small
way they resemble those powerful So
cieties formed from time to time
through the ages which possess them
selves of universal rule and for which
no one outside their own community
counts. This is the spirit that has
sometimes made the family seem a re-
treat of egoism which it was neces-
saIy to destroy for the public safety
But as patriotism and iingoism are as
i1A t4itftl ttS bAtC NelHl llOiii lllt AGSl, 81
are family feeling and clannishness.
Here we are talking of right family
feeling. and nothing else in the world
can take its place, for in it lie in germ
all those fine and simple virtues which
assure the strength and duration Of
social institutions. And the very base
of family feeling is respect for the
past, for the best possessions of a
family are its common memories. An
Intangible. indivisible and inalienabie
capital. these souvenirs constitute Il
sacred fund that each member of d
family ought to consider more pre-
cious than anything else he possesses.
They exist i'll dual form, in idea and
in fact. They show themselves in Ian
guage, habits of thought. sentiments.
even instincts, and one sees them ma
terialized in portraits, furniture, build
ings, dress, songs. To profane eyes
they are nothing; to the eyes of those