The Washington herald., 1908-02-15
THE OPTIMIST.

/ What strange things all Of us have in
herited! There is much pother and to-dc
/ IN certain American families, the heads OF
which have suddenly grown rich. TO tack
onto the present fortune which means SO
much, some dim respectability OF the
past, and the motive, though 1t Is gener-
/ ally a cheap one. is not all unworthy
/ though It is a sign 0ss vanity. The search
! for our ancestors. conducted in any other
spirit than that Of the nouveau richie is a
most interesting and perhaps profitable
one. We may at least. by refashioning
some Of the links Of the past. indulge in
idle but pleasant speculation as TO the
future.
One does not care to speak Of himself
as an individual, and yet It is only out Of
our individual experiences that, some
times. we are able to find the word that
will help others. I do not mean mate
rally. here; the help I mean is &c come
from roots which we may trace in the
past and which may. perchance. give Us
some strength for what is to come.
The Optimist is a middle-aged chap.
humdrum in life. a beggar in experience.
though his feet have carried him abroad
among strange peoples, and though few
would imagine il, his heart has lusted for
adventure. From the time when as a
Iraw-boned boy he read Of Charles O'Mal-
! ley at Waterloo and Midshipman Easy at
cruise in the Mediterranean, his heart
/ longed- perhaps the sword in the hall
| helped nim-to emulate these heroes. The
sword in the hall was his fathers and
/ had been drawn In the Crimea, but the
/ wielder thereof was at this time a quiet.
elderly gentleman who wore glasses and
/ list slippers, and drank, conteutedly his
whisky and water over the Times and af-
fected 10 despise romance. Back Of him
I there was grandfather who was a doc
/ tor, and hack Of him an architect, and
/ then sailor or two and some soldiers,
and then-mere tradesmeni
+ But It must be that farther back than
( these there were some sort OF heroes. for
sometimes when the day is right and
/ there IS silence-silence Of the mind
there come visions Of the time when
maybe hundreds Of years ago-The Opti-
mist dragged an oar in a Grecian galley;
sailed the Spanish Main with "a black
/ bearded adventurer. and was cast away
at another period this was-among a
strange red people who wore ornaments
heavy with gold.
There has been so much talk and so
many alleged discoveries recently about
mental science. and telepathy, and rein
canation that one can hardly dare 10 say
where truth ends and speculation begins.
But | think that most Of us have felt at
times q strange knowledge that places
which We are visiting for surely the first
time, we have seen before. and sometimes
a fash comes over us that we knOW-nOt
think simply HnOW-just what is going 10
happen in the next few seconds.
This. ] think. IS the spirit Of romance
which is eternal in the human soul. and
which In this materialistic age, wiseacres
tell rs We should not cultivate. but decry.
as tending 10 take our minds OF things
that may he Of instant benefit 20 US in a
worldly way
Go 20, Nothing that goes to make UP
life is 70 De discarded unless II offends
our conscience or violates the moral law
which our souls have set for ourselves.
There is not one Of as IN whose soul the
blood Of our ancestors does not cry aloud
for recognition. BY all means heed the
call Romance is a warm companion in
this cold world, good 10 hug tight 20 the
breast and make much Of, for life in its
workaday aspect IS often dull affair.
and those of us who are enabled to cult
vate a frame Of heart and mind IN which
we may catch glimpses of the gods are
much % be- eHvied
This is but idle speculation. but is # not
hopeful, likewise? Such thoughts is these
carry rs back n our youth and help us
TO remember that even in the battle Of
Ife there is much that IS pleasant # we
VIII stop awhile in the midst Of our per-
plexities and allow the finer parts. the
flmier parts, TO float abroad into the
realms where hope eternal lies.