The Washington herald., 1908-03-31
THE OPTIMIST.

Romance Thy face is far from this,
our cry sang Kipling. bewali-s me
loss Of the True Romance, and tie at
titCde OF the world to-day is getting 20
be more and more blase. as il there
were no such thing as romance left in
the world; as II il were an dry-as-dust.
matter-Of-fact, mOney-making. living
DULY, and 70 be measured solely by The
mete Of common sense It is not really
so, l am sure, Optimism does that much
for a man; at least. il teaches him that
boyish hopefulress which keeps q Ger
tain measure of fine youth in the spirit
and which lets the Imagination have some
sway after all.
Romance will never die so long as men
hold passions in their nature. and these
can never fail Us. Ofttimes. indeed. they
may work to our hurt. but much more
often to our good As Amiel says:
Not heart but has its romance not a life which
cres not iuGe Its secret which is either its thorn
OF lis spur ErcryUharC grid hope, comedy, trsge-
d. even under The pstufaction q old age. as in
The twisted f0rEs q fossils we may discover the
agitation and torures Of yCuts-.
The man who declares that there is no
romance to-day. who looks back on the
stories he read in the picture books
when he was boy. and thinks OF ro-
nance as a fairy story belonging 10 that
elder day. does not really understand
the meaning OF the word AS a matter
Of fact, there are few words 10 the Eng
lisa language that have Seen so much
abused and kicked about. As Stowe
says.
What Is romanccg Whence oones IT. let Us look
uD IN fear and reverence and say: God IS the
great maker Il romance. He frm whose hand
I came man and WCman-He who strung the great
harp q Existence aith an its Wild and wonderful
ana nanilo.d chords. and attuued them TO one an
otneI-he Is tie great Poet Of life.
A man has only to look about him with
clear eyes and q heart willing 10 accept
the facts OF lie 10 realize that ;he
present-day life IS fun Of real romance.
II IS by no means wholly -rosaic. pre-
/ else tame, or finite. To the eve OF op-
tImistic faith and hopefulness. il abounds
/ IN the poetic Now. as ever since The
world began, We may see men and
women moved. and nations. too. bv the
workings Of mighty passions which geem
I 10 arm the soul with almost superhulnan
energy We may see romance in the
bloom and energy and buoyancy Of youth.
I IN the throbb-ng 0f the hearts that
awaken at the FIRST touch Of love. in the
/ dreams of happiness that seems 200
vast Tor earth-these things which make
The sum and total OF our everyday life
are real poetry wit in red human blood
/ the very spirit and body of romancet
! George Eliot answered the objections
/ Of one who thought that romance was
dying out 5y saving,
/ Perhaps poetry and romance are as rieutiful a,
ever iu The wo-d. Cxrep- for those phlegmatic na
trcs who would iu ans are have REGARDED them al
a ouil form q erroneous thinking They exist ven
easily in tie safae rru 8itl che microscope. and
even IN railway c-r1iasesi shat tauishes tle1 Z
/ me vacuum ~ 60 ti-man and lady passengers
! That sensihuity Of The heart which al
/ lows us 20 acknowledge the power o1
/ romance is one Of the most necessary
/ traits 20 be cultivated by the man who
seeks happiness through optimism. i
/ IS through romance and a beues in ro-
nance that we may ind ourselves getting
away from the worries and petty care.
which often tend 20 make us think o
I life as tawdry and sOrdid thing. il VII
I help US TO see cur lives through tht
glamour Of poetry. which means that ",
shall see God IN them and have a higne,
incentive 70 work sturdily toward thC
goal
What is true ard just and honest
What is lorely, what is pure.
Al ol praise that hath sdmorlsht
Al ~ Firtue-shau endure.
These are Themes for poets uses,
/ Stirring rCbler thgu the MUSES.
Ere Pan was dead
| . bgava poets. keep back nothing
| Nor mix falSehood vita tie wacfel
! Lock up Godvard, speak the truth IN
! Worthy song fr1n earnest SOUL
/ Hold u EiCl u0C-ie dury
/ Trest truth the faireSt Beauty,
] !.