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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1879)
NO. 0. IIIHTOKU'AIi U1CADIKU. 127 any careful reader, but the poisons arc few who can so fasten facts in the mind as to bo ablo to bring tlioin forth in happy illustration during conversation; am', truly, nothing is more ombarassing than to make a historical blunder. As books of reference, histories, per haps, take the highest rank. Tlioy aid the writer in furnishing both facts and illustrations. History repeats itself, and it is by the close observation of tills rope tition that the interest is portrayed to us by the writer. Hard and dry as it is to so many, histo. ry is one of the most important features in English, or any other lileraUire, and one that is impossible to be dispensed with. Wc have the pro-historic period, but, for the ordinary mind, history is a subject having neither beginning nor end. Some points in this great subject must be learned by every intelligent person, but in conning these over, the wish to have lived a hundred years ago, involuntarily arises. What a relief to the over-burdened mind, historically speaking, would life, or rather death, at such a time, have fur nished! No facts to learn concerning this "Great and glorious Union!" And yet, there must have been beings then who uttered this same wish, to be relieved of the history of the last hundred years, lint since this wish cannot be realized, such persons can, at least, coincide with the man who "would not live always." Historical readers at the nrescnt day have ample opportunity for gratifying their tastes. At no time since the begin ning of history, have books been so at tainable. If you doubt this, open your door to the next book-agent who asks ad mission. Further proof of the point is lelt to him. Looking down the past ages wo feel a sympathy for the persons who were subjected to the rude manners and customs of that day. Sleeping on rudely made beds of straw, eating with the ling ers, having no means for illuminating their abodes, except the moans provided by nature, and a number of other so-called disadvantages. Perhaps the thought oc curs to us, that the sympathy should have been from those of that day for us. There certainly was no time spent, then, in making beds, sweeping, dusting, ar ranging, etc., which now occupies so much of the housewife's time. No bright eningof silver and tabic cutlery, no pol isl.ing of glass, stole away the precious moments of the morning; and, certainly, no gentleman had occasion forblushingly acknowledging his ignorance of carving! We are more enlightened and refined, but, whether wc have realy gained any thing over the past, is an oft-argued, but still unsolved, problom. History presents a prototype for nearly every phase of live, but it is doubtful whether those can be successfully imita ted, or not. We may try, but there has been but one Ueethovon, one Napoleon Bonaparte, one Micluul Angelo, one Joan d'Arc; and, if history is to bo repeated in the character of theso the work is yet to be done. "Experience is the only school for fools," and we would bo a very foolish general ion, indeed, if, from the expert once of hundreds, yes, thousands of his torical characters, we did not derive some foundation foi oui solves, physically, men tally and morally. M. w'?sMfQiJfeit ' Hit B
