i.
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
1
3
W
pruning tVom thi'lr huge tushes. Hut Plu
to and Shukspuaro thoy cannot overleap.
The greatest ol tlitn gorge at those res.
tam-uuts ol' Hie m'nd. A sentence from
tho lultor is the text lor a now philosophy.
They cannot ho too deep lor it. Ami the
current is swift too. Like Uasslus'
"Tlilo in tlu1 Mtltilrc of niuii.
Which. InkiMi nt I lii' tluod. IoiiuV on to fortune;"
Hut thoy must lv careful of tho undertows.
Tlioy can analyze, but thoy must he euro,
fill to guide the analysis, not bo guided by
it Else they will be led into a discussion
upon merits similar to those of the com
mon one, "Is art or nature superior V"
Wo like his analysis of tho character of
the Prince, in Hamlet. And then his pic
ture of Ophelia is beyond our ideas of
beauty and decorum. I could wish to
transplant in this article his conversation
concerning Hamlet: but when we read his
talk with Aurclia concerning Ophelia,
there is a sweetness that breathes like a
Min. timed day in Indian summer, sudden.
ly flavored by the gentleness, of a mellow,
southern breeze, rippling the nut-brown
haves listlessly. " Decorum, like tho thin
crape upon her bosom, cannot conceal the
motions of her heart, but, on thocontrary,
it betrays them." " Decorum, like tho
crape upon her bosom," conveys a delica
cy of manner that the mildness of the
moon could not soften. And it is in one
of these confidential chats that she tells
him what he really is.
" A hen we hear you expounding Shaks- e ,1US Ume t()() f(jr rel,ect
pearo you appear to nave come amongst
Us from the council chamber of the gods,
whole you have attended their delibera
tions about the formation of mankind.
Hut when we see your conduct with your
arch of his nobility. Gives no ollenco
when censuring. Ami it is this mildness
of manner that puts upon him the court,
donee of all the women. They all dote on
him. Ho doubtless possessed a lino llguro;
and that with his goodness of heart, loads
tho sex captive so far as friendship is con
corned. When sick in tho clergyman's house, to
return to tho robbing accident, tho fair
amazon kept intruding herself upon him.
During his inactivity in tho sick chamber,
his fancies found free play. Fantasy
would mount above pain, were it not so
frail; and oven as it was, at intervals it
grapples with and knuckles over it. It
was in those intervals that Wilholm's im-
agination lloated llag-free into tho other of
the to-morrow. And wo think a shadow
of a plot can here be discerned, in his sen
timental allusions to the fair amazon.
"In youth and in sleep, may not the image
of (-nning destiny hover round us, and
become mysteriously visible to our unim
peded sight? may it not bo possi
ble for us to enjoy a foretaste of the fruits
which we one day hope to gather?" This
sentence contains more grandeur of appli
cation, and a broader significance than
that of a mere sentiment of a love-sick
youth; but we must nevertheless allow
that it bears on his future with more pres
sure than the first reading of it will allow.
It is only in the finis of tho book that wo
can see an immediate application of it.
n i..... .:..... ..... ... ...!...: i ,
i ut uiis nun- urn iui lunuuiiim uiiuu ms ac
tions in regard to tho company. He now
impatiently perceives that he had done
wrong in bearing the whole burden of tho
company. But he could not yet see that
nature of our success in life then is, that
all have a work to Perform. The result of
this work always depends upon the skill
of tho author and the character of his sur
roundings. The beauty of a statue requires that
there shall be good material, suitable in
struments and correct application. The
tools must vary from the heavy sledge
used in tho quarry, to tho delicate chisel
employed in giving expression to the Up.
Each must bo wrought to Its purpose.
The artist must know how to round every
curve precisely to its required fullness,
and he must bo careful lest he bedim the
intelligence of the eye. The task of ev
ery man is similar, only men are his in
struments ami his reputation in his statue.
Ho who would make it most beautiful
must educate, to a certain extent, all
around him. He must grade and temper
his impL-montj until they are adapted to
his designs. The grounding thought,
then, for every one who rises in tho esti
mation of the populace, is that he must
return some suitable reward to those
whose good opinion he enjoys. May no
one bo so deceived as to suppose that ho
can acquire a reputation without return
ing an equivalent. For this is truly a bar
tering age. Reputations are bought and
sold as well as every thing else; yet thoy
are not always to be obtained for money.
Wo may be obliged to part with some
thing far more valuable. Each one may
choose such a leputatiou as he desires, for
they are as common and as various even
as the articles at the shop of the pawn
broker. The article sought may be a
penknife, a finger ring, or it may be a
princely diamond. The choice is with
the purchaser alone. It may cost him a
trifle, it may cost him a life of bondage.
tilt' P.illlSI- lllv III "SiillM-ivi. ,,ir..i,.i,.r ..ill-
('..Hint r.l'.ltll I iiw T f.jmljl imtftli.iiiui ... t... I J
-"" ..".: ll. J . I v,r"s " vicus ' exaggerated forms;"
the very earliest child ol creation irazuijr .,., ,,,, . ,, ,,... ., r .
... ; ... , f. ,.b land that in the height ol our youthful.
w ... ,.ge as,,,,, si. men, unit unifying i c,ltic.lik(, uiuhusia!,ln ,mu pm1(wllV wu Is it necessary then to indicate tho impor.
:, 1 !"'"" '1' lu lions and tho asses. asMIIIK. lomls ,, Wl. (lo ol ah ' U1 Jtance uttomling the duo consideration ol
no-snrcp aim me cicpunuis arou it you, i iw i .i . .i c -i i .i ,
, ,, . .. ' ,. .. , ' 'bear, and that the failure of anything do
and addressing then, confidingly a- your ; , f, hi.
equals, merely because they were present puars a OUr ()wn fni,L J
-inn rr moving iikc yourseii.
This was a true likeness (if him up to j
that time. He was conscious of it, thorn: h: ' . .,
i ..II , . i A Reputation.
as In- says, I have been accustomed irom .
my youth to direct the eyes of my soul In youth our imagination is more
rather to interior than to extoriorobjocts." j active and our fancy pictures nioro bri"ht-
(tll 1)0 COlltilltU-cl.)
This is simply the universal experience of
all true culture. We must stand aside, as
f
this choice? We need only to ask, not
now much are we able to pay, but how
much will wo pay? How many there arc
of good ability who have been willing to
pro Her only a paltry sum! How many
there are, though they have yielded to the
vile and contemptible necessity of pawn
ing all their jewels for an insignificant
amount, they are ever unable to redeem
them! From those t vo classes of mis
fortunes we have the field from which the
jly than in middle or old age, because wo
have not yet experienced the uiiL'oncrous
;. ...I. :t.. .i... ,i... ...i .i... i i i I...H .... .i ii ..... ,. . . I
.. i.v, ,, mu ui-u .iiiiim.-iiuimiiMiiiii jit-nun me com snocr irom (iisappoint- iritv ambitious can select. Hut with the
horsemen in chase pass us by, leaving usjinent. For this reason the ideal of our ! idea of selection is also connected the
oblivious as before to the enchantment and future is more imperfect in youth than in i idea of approval from others Coiiso
excitement that spurs them on. We Irav- .aHer life. A worthy reputation, to the Iqncntlv in tho very adoption of 'a certain
el through ii landscape of mortality, fill young man, is as a changing mirage. It course we solicit the masses to sanction
mine against custom, try at odds with lit-, ever flees before him yet also pursues , preference. The policy, then, is man
nature, and at ihe end find our hands, him. He looks back and sees what he ifest that we should pursue such a line of
empty; but with a great commissary at might have enjoyed, he looks forward and conduct as will command the support of
..ur beck, that sharpens its own ollicere, . sees what he may enjoy, and what embar- J the multitude. But in order to -ain that
ami replenishes its own cupboard. Fads rasses him more than anything else is that J encouragement our work must fully merit
ifll lliwl lllt'Mf lllllilll Mw till! Il'lllllilll Itllt 1.1 1 1 I ll.'lltll.. .... ,.!.. .1 .1 .1 . i .
".'. '""' mh ins ..M.a.w,,:.,,, i.uuiy vermeil ami uiai n HccilUso men arc nalui-nllv (.llUli
ill ill. 1 .-...?.. .'j. illlil .j. t.il-..l j.l.l ... ..it ir.w.jl l'.... ....... ..1.1 ... ! '
"""J iniouin.3, iiiiiiiuu i. iixiiii win ii-. iu- jiiwu nil iiiui-n ill i' lis SCKIIIII1 1110. Willi as.
casion calls on them; only we do it in a oases upon the desert.
less conscious milliner. Oblivious to the In consideration of these ihiiiirs wu urn
C2 '-- -
iiciossily, or at least only able to see the
future use indistinctly, we gather, and
gather, and seem useless, but are actually
gathering ourselves up, strengthening our.
selves. His last conversation with Jarno,
and subsequent anger and contempt at his
worldliness, show plainly that ho was
bound in and in by the sentiments. Af
fection was to him more than fame. "An
agreeable, mild and natural manner does
wonders, and such a person possesses a
thousand resources for retaining the at
tachmouts which he has once formed," is
the key to all of his present conduct. He
would make and keep friendship for his
own ; would make it the keystone to the
too apt to think that it would be better if
man coiild form a correct ideal of his fu
lure. Rut such has wisely been placed
beyond his reach, since if it were other
wise, he would lose all pleasures in the
imagination which is the mainstay of
the mind. Although his horizon is unde
fined, still he does not act as one com
pletely blinded; for his dim vision can
gather enough light to make him restive.
His restlessness in connection with his
selfishness causes him to load a life of
ease and pleasure and if possible to rise
above his fellowb, while his love and respect
for mankind compels him, in a manner,
to study their happiness and welfare. The
and a result of this sellishnoss is preju
ice. This prejudice warps, their rea
son ami prevents their adopting
that which is equitable and just.
Men despise to see one whom they have
been wont to consider an inferior, or at
most an equal, take a sudden start and
rise above them. It burns them to the
quick. And ho who strives for promotion
must, in the very act, tighten the cords of
bias and discontent by which ho is bound
to every heart in the throng. From this
very cause, many a pen lies idle, while
the hand that should guide it is tied hard
and lifeless to the plow. Many a mind,
like a cool fountaiii.shaded with delightful
foliage which should gladden the heart and
moisten the tongue of many a traveler, is
trampled and polluted by tho common
herd. From this very cause also, in our
later day of boasted advancement, a man
llnds it exceedingly dilllcull, not only to
be elected to certain positions, hut even
to receive the nomination upon some w.
ty ticket, unless ho Is preeminently pi!.
llled for tho position, unless ho is va
superior to the charge, or unless lie js
willing to take upon himself a multitude
of brands, which, like ancient sores upon
tho back of a dog, Irritated and bleeding
by fond expression of his own restlessness,
feed upon Ills very vitals till ho dies. Thi
prejudice against many things worthy t,,
guide men is a characteristic of a low mnl
enfeebled mind that scarcvly over rise
above the circle of its own prepossession.
In order thai our minds may have the
greatest growth, they must be unbiased
towards others, others must be unpreju
diced towards us. A foot that is pressed
into a wooden shoo for a considerable
length of time, can never acquire that
symmetry of form or that strength it otli.
crwise would. A man who is alllicted with
some contagious disease would best not
attempt to heal the sick, lest ho spread the
contagion wider ami wider. Rut let him
first cure himself, then he may more easi
ly grapple with the distressing plague.
So if a man wishes to receive the prai.-
of others, lot him first learn to perceive
tho praiseworthy deeds of others, and by
this he will learn to do those things which
will also bo worthy of praise.
Rut from the trilling jealousies and the
contumelious bickerings, so much tou
nectcd with the progress of every one,
there are still happier means of escape
During the great siege of Paris the in
vested citizens found communication with
the army for some lime entirely cut olV.
The telegraph was stripped of its current
by the sword of the iiucoinproinisiiii;.
Prussian. The ingenuity of the French
man was thoroughly tried, yet found
equal to the work. He quietly constnuis
his balloon, at mid day rises far above the
sulloring city and sails away with impu-nit-.
Tho Gorman batteries were mil cal
culated nor were they accustomed to shoot
so high. So may every one ascend who
has the skill to plan or the intrepidity to
arise. Such, however, is the Might of ge
nius only. He who must be content to
take slower means of advancement ami
less hazardous ascent, must til himself lor
warding well directed blows.
Although he 11113 WH he prepared for
receiving an attack, yet he must not expect
to light his way through the world. A
man is not liable to engage with banditti,
unless he passes through the places they
inhabit. Mon, it is true, are naturall sel
fish, and it is well that it is so, but tiny
are also moved by worthier motives. A
there is something of evil in every man.
so there are noble feelings in every breast
Many a man has been forced to surrender
his purse. It has often been returned be
cause of the small sum it contained or at
least divided with the pitiful traveler. He
who cannot appreciate the good in others
is not worthy, nor can he obtain, their ap
plause. And he who is continually belntr
stirred by some implon-dug circumstance
which he attributes to the cursednes-. of
his race, is not entitled to a place in Ha
ndlist of his kind. On the contrary he
wno gains an iiilliionce must be magnani
mous in every sense of the term. He
must not only be liberal with his moans,
but also with his opinions. He must ex
pect to attract the good wilJ of those
around him He must be the confer ol
attraction in the circle in which ho moves
, fp.:
pj "-------iiiMitiryw8MMMWffl.WtttittillBi
t
