The Washington herald., 1909-01-06
THE SICILIAN TRAGEDY.
By THE OPTBIIST.


who could. from the frightful disaster that
has occurred IN italy and Sicily. involv-
ing the loss Of hundreds of lives and the
destruction of historic cities. extract q
crumb OF comfort. How could one, they
might ask, find In optimism any answer
70 such d catastrophe?
There is no answer, perhaps, save that
the catastrophe has happened-;he lives
are lost and all the weeping and wailing
viii not serve 10 put back in place one
crgmbled piece OF earth For the rest
life has 10 be lived; and the living are not
SO dense but they may give a serious
thought or two 20 living rightly when
they notice the hired undertaken parading
before the door
Robert Louis Stevenson, who has a
word for most occasions. has a word
also for such as this. Il was his prov
ince 10 point out that under healthy cir
cumstances few things have less influence
on conduct than fearful whisperings on
the prospect Of death Says he:
We have al heard q oisies IN South America
built upo1 the SIDE q de-y uTuutat-s. and how,
even n this tremendous nsigabu-hood. the IN
hsbi-1urs are not q l0I u.-7e impressed b TIE
soss-nrity of mortal c1r1iti1rs than Z they were
delTilg IN the gTesnCSt gardens q E-g.and- There
arr serpra5es and slpEey and IgCt TalantTJ
anolg mvTtles overhead: and ueaDEhile the foua-
dstion shuddgrs UudlrfCCt the h0Eeis Of tlc
mountain gT0El. and az any moment living min
Ezy leap ssy high lu-o the fIoCDlE-t. and tumble
nan AMI his uerrrrrakir- jn the dust II the
eyes . very youuE people. and vcry dul Old ones.
there is slnethus irdesc-bably reckless and des-
pirate In Slch . plclre- I SENS not credible
taat respectable married pco7le. vi-h umbrellas.
sluUd find appetite for hst g supper within
quite loug distance 4 a fe-y mountain; ordinary
life begins % smell q Eisa-handei debarc3l when
Il Is carried ou 50 cl0Ss 20 A CataStEOphe. and
even cheese and salad. Z sens. could hardly b
rslished n such Circumstances without something
Ike q defiance q the Creator. r should h q
place f-r nobody but hcrnlits dwelling IN PRAYER
and rracera-i1G. or nc-e born devils drowning
care il a perpetual czrUIse.
And yet to think further Of the matter
and such a frightful disaster might wei
cause Us all TO think-we shall come pres
emily 70 see that these people living so
daily IN the danger OF earthquake and
shock are not, save in degree. vastly DIFF
ferent IN case from ourselves.
There is such an instrument as the
seismograph whose purpose IS 10 measure
the extent q an earthquake. but mark
you. after It has happened, They have
not yet invented a scientific appliance
that shall tell us where the next up
heavaI is 10 be. II So We might well run
hither and thither on the face OF the earth
searching for the stable places. but To-
even as the people OF Sicily hoped on. so
do we. ard though the next disaster may
be preparing under Our very feet, we are
so little concerned about it that we 20
about our little daily business and. meet
ing one another. casually talk about the
grim harvest of heath in Sicily as il il
were something as remote from we our
selves as the extinction Of a comet
This spirit that is in human kind is the
natural optimistic instinct which, whether
we acknowledge il or not, is somewhat
remotely kin 70 fataIlsm- Why. we do
not need to 20 to an earthquake for our
terrors. for. If We are 70 regard life ne
ticUlOusIy. We shall remember that within
the complicated organisms Of our own
bodies there lie strange forces, Of which
We know nothing. latent dangers as pow
erful for our undOing as is the powder
magazine in a battle ship
But. thank God. We are so constituted
that it is not the remote dangers tha
occupy our thoughts, but the daily duties
and the petty cares Of life: for if il were
otherwise. think who there is that would
venture forth in the storm. who would
test unknown foods. who would not shud-
der at each dawning day that brings US
by that much nearer 10 the last act of
life's tragedy.
The poet whose province Il is to ex-
press in words the unspOken thoughts
that rise but ind no utterance in common
minds can best express this fine indif-
ference Of the human soul TO peril. As
Shakespeare says:
Ccrar,is die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste Of death but Cace.
III all the wonders that 7 yet have heard
II seems 20 b. most strange thar men should fear
Seeing that death. NECESSARY end.
VIII cun-c when Il VIII come.
And IN the meantime optimism reminds
US that life is with us-hlled with high
duties. bounding hopes; Favored with love
and sweet with much kindness. Lived
BEAUTIFULLY and to fine purpose. there is
no time for thoughts Of death-there is
50 much 10 be done