The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-06-03


that has lost its owner, a fish out of
water, each IN turn symbolic the ex-
IRENE Of discomfort and misery Dis
content with ones environment is
wretchedness.
Nobody Who is intensely lonely can
- anything but forlOrn, although he
may put a brave face on the situation
and hide from the people he meets the
yearning he has for home companion
ship. Men often feel the pangs of
Inconsistencies and rebel against the
dullness of solitude when their neigh
bOrs suspect them of no tedium and
suppose them to be quite fee and
easy in their independence. A mar
ried man whose wife and children
have gone away for a summer hOli-
day. leaving him to hold the fort
alone, picking up meals at clubs or
restaurants. and sleeping IN a house
that echoes to the tread and has
ghosts prOwIing about in every shad-
owy corner, is much 10 be pitied.
Scores of such men so to business
every day during the heated terms in
our cities, and at night return to sleep
in houses as silent IS the tomb. They
do not complain. they write jOvial let
ters TO the absent ones, and they make
n pretense of engaging in such pas
times as are open to them, but the
summer wears on their nerves.
A boy or man away from home for
the first time. missing the familiar
chores at morning OF evening. and the
Notwithstanding that has been so con-
slant and so sweet from childhood ON,
finds d boarding house among entire
strangers as desClate as the desert.
What diversions are there for the
lonely man? What shall Adam do in
an Eden where there is no genial COM
rade to take him by the hand and
. bo SC Of
count?
Eve. left to herself. finds plenty Of
occupation for brain and fingers. She
may busy herself with delicate laUn-
dry work not TO he entrusted to the
rough handling Of servants Stocks,
lace handkerchiefs, cuffs and collars
and the various etCeteras Of 4 fem
mime toilette may be periodically
renovated in her own room, if she
have the needfuI apparatus. She has
stockings TO darn, mending to do,
shirt waists 10 make, hats to trim.
embroidery to fill her leisure. and al
ways endless letters to write, and
sometimes books to read a woman
has the advantage over a man in
multitude Of small resources, tr1fi1ng
in themselves, but essentially worth
while in their results. and excellent rs
things that pass away time that might
be empty and lonely
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. d BClltt d DpliAAJLl
TO the contrary, a man IS more de-
pendent on the society of others and
on the friendship of his equals than
is the average woman
When a man has a fad or a hobby
or some knack at cabinet making or
upholstery. he IS vastly better OF than
his neighbOT who understands only
the single round of the days work.
A fellow who plays a musical instTU-
ment, whether 1t be banjo, mandolin
OF piano, can always while away soil
tary evenings. but the man who IS
most to be envied is the one who can
take an old, 0isreputable and broken
down Dit of furniture, a desk. a table,
4 sofa and spend long and patient
hours on rubbing it down, polishing
and restoring It, so that he serves a
double purpose; not only does he save
the enormous expense charged by the
trade for renOvating antique furni-
ture, but he makes his wife or sister
the envy of all her friends by the
marvels of his workmanship.
In a plain little parsonage in the
mountains, never mind where. there
are chairs and dressing tables that
anyone in the smart set might COvet,
evolved from the rubbish heap by the
def hand and skiIlfuI labor Of a mem
Der of the family. who never finds
time hanging heavily or knows the
meaning OF solitude. except in the
sense Of privilege and benefit
A naturalist. whatever his field. is
master Of moods mad often considers
companionship sUper1uOus. If one is
devoted to the study Of birds or but
terf1ies or beetles, one reed not dread
a hermit life. Although ones home
be in a crowded town, there are su-
urbs within reach and the man who
would amuse his leisure by any de-
partment Of scientific investiga ton
however humble, viii not complain Of
loneliness.
Strange to say, although reading be
ones passion, It is apt to pail I'm a
house where one is the solitary occu-
pant. The fire on the hearth is win
ter may give cheer and take away the
sense of absolute seClusiOn, and a pipe
is a good deal Of company, but in
summer, with windows open and a
fireless hearth, even the pipe Is a dis
appointing makeshift for a familiar
household presence. One loves TO
read If there are people moving about,
IL somebody sits near with a bit OF
needleWoTk. or If in another room
there is the lOw-vOiced talk of young
people who are a world TO themselves,
or If in the nursery above there are
little rosy children fast asleep. But a
book read in the silence of a deserted
house often adds emphasis to home
sick yearning for company.
OF course, the man who is alone at
home may write letters Whether or
not he does so depends on his facility
in description and in the presence or
absence of a gift Of humOr. A man
deficient In the sense of hUmOr loses
nine-tenths Of the happiness that
might be his Few situations are
without a side that sparkIes with fun
for those who can discern il. A young
man who lost everything in the San
Francisco disaster wrote home 70 his
.DeopIe that for climatic reasons he