The Oskaloosa herald., 1907-04-18
Random Thoughts
of a
Busy Outsider

of Harper this week. 1t is volume
of 1873, twenty-eight years ago, over
a quarter of a century. Some OF us
were young IN those days, and exist
ence was a joy and life a promise.
many and many others of the Herald's
READERS were yet uncalled from the
bosom of Nothingness.
AS compared with the magazines of
today, Harper of that date is but
passably printed and poorly illustrat-
ed. 1t was before the days Of half
tones and colored Autographs, and
the pictures are all wood cuts. Good
ones some of them, with great atten-
tio1 to line and shade, but lacking the
finish of the modern illustration.
The general tone of the magazine
differs from the magazine of today IN
that 1t is meant to amuse and instruct,
while our modern magazine Is meant
to expose. Grafters there probably
were eight and twenty years ago, but
the limelight was not turned on them
with present intensity.
The old magazine was full of tray
els. "A Summer Cruise Among the
Azores and Canary Islands," 'Along
the Elbe," Life in the Diamond
Fields" the Dome of the Continent, D."
these are some of the travels which
fill the pages. He who Travelled then
had an eye only for the curious on his
trip. Now the curious must have a
bearing on modern conditions or the
magazines reject it. Perhaps the
most interesting article on a foreign
country is that entitled the Present
and Future of Japan, written just at
the time that nation was emerging
from barbarism. The article is of
particular value as comparing its pro-
phecy of the future of that great coun-
try with its since realized promise.
The fiction of those old magazines
is interesting by way of comparison
Through these special numbers of
Harper's run three serial stories,
Wilkie Collins New Magdalen,
Charles Reade's "a Simpleton," ami
Miss Thackeray's odd Kensington."
The peculiar style of each writer is
we'll illustrated in this work which
has the charm and swing of the prac-
teal story teller. All three stories
are character studies, the usual trying
of the good in the furnace of affection,
etc. What pleases you is that there
is none of the galloping historical
novel, nor of the problem novel, nor
even of the muck rake variety. They
are simple tales of men and women
who act very much as men and women
now do and who are consequently in
terestine.
1t is pleasant to compare the views
Of these aforetime writer's on the
question of the relative places of the
sexes. heade's women are tiresome
ninnies,-always that, If the Outsider
remembers right. Collins women are
also creatures of ardent affections, but
small intellects. Collins women can
: always be led, however, by the great
and good men who fortunately sur.
round them.
On the other hand Miss Thackeray' )
best characters are women, while the
men are weaklings in moral and men-
tai endowmentS. AS we have so Of
ten said before, it all depends on the
glasses you are looking through.
1
One needs to put on his very best
rose-tinted glasses to look at this
March weather in April, and feel glad
that at any rate the grass is green,
and though the maple leaves are Inard
ly as big as squirrels ears, they are
coming on. This little taste of early
March temperature is not pleasant
and we don't like it. We hate to
think of the heavy frost that killed
our early fruit, and the lettuce beds
of the neighborhood look small and
yellow.
i What the Outsider hates most, how.
ever, is the bowling of the winds
around the house "all in the wild
March morning" 1t is not much en-.
couragement to face days work and
such blow at tne same time. 1t is
much nicer to waken to the merry
drumming OF the woodpecker, the
morning song of the robins, or even
the chatteri1g of the omnipresent
sparrows. But these have been still,
ed for nearly week, and in their
place we have the nowling wind and
the scraping of the rough branches OF
trees over the porch roof One must
rise to the days work in the Novem
Der spirit of steady cheerfulness
which is after all the only philosophy
Iof life. BE always cheerful, your
end is joy writes the old religious
and there was never a rule OF life
more fitted to carry the weary wan
derers Of the world through its wind
ing mazes. A smile wins where n
frown will not do so. The cheerful
countenance succeeds with man. the
spirit Of joyful hope and resignation
gives us a strong hold on the great
future,