MIDDLE AGE. (Saturday Review.)

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 121, 13 February 1873, Page 2

MIDDLE AGE. (Saturday Review.)

The impression which' a young man receives of things higeneral are grossly erroneous and partial, but they arc vivid ; those which are impressed upon the middle-aged roa-.«|ro more accurate, buk they ai»e so iaiut that he is scarcely <%nsciom that they^ exist. -And jet, though few people hato summed up their experience in any definite formula, the experience is latent in>their nature, and influences their disposition. By a sufficient effort of mind the lessons which have been tacitly absorbed 1 can be made to merge into conscious" ness ' and it is worth while occasionally to make the effort. II one asks a man what is his opimon of the world in which he iiYcs, nothing is rarer than to ret-eire an answer which in any degree expresses the result of a true reasoning process. The reply generally means one of two things. It may be a hasty generalization from two or three conspicuous facts. The other day a lad of 11 did a really lieroie action. He succeeded by an admirable display of coolness and seamanship in saving himself when exposed in an open boat to a heavy gaAe The boy deserved all praise ; but it was scarcely safe to assume, as his critics generally did,. that our naval supremacy was at once placed beyond all douht. The action really proved that there was one hero, aged fourteen, in England, or, in other words, that heroism was not absolutely "extinct amongst us ; but of course it threw no light at all upon- the extent to wlacb. it prevads, as there were no means of knowing how far the lad's excellent qualities were exceptional. In the same way the occurrence of a single murder 6r a single failure of justice is generally considered lo prove that England is on the road to ruin.. A sensitive observer who has. been jhockad at the discovery of a pauperized district in London declares forthwith that, society it rotting to its base. Yet everybody knows that there has been poverty and that there have been murders and failures of jiHtico ever since men have existed. The one question is, whether crime and pauperism are increasing or diminishng, and upon that question no single experience throws %ny light worth notice. A vast induction of extreme difficulty is required and most people aro satisfied with one hasty glance. Nothing would jfo eas-er thatv to accumulate a chain of testimonies to the fact that each generation iv a long series has been worse than its predecessor* and ycb that the last are very much better than the first. Bufc r as a rule,, people do not even trouble themselves to tesfc their impressions, by experiences at all. In that case the nsstrtion that the -world is going to the^dogr means simply that the observer's liver is going oubi of order, and the assertion that we are rapidly improving is a proof that one man has a good digestion, and is a proof of nothing more. The man of forty has seldom anything more to say that is worth bearing than tbe boy of fifteen, lie has made a guess good or bad, and the guess has become so ingrained into his system of thought that he can no longer get rid of it e*en iv liia imagination. The quadragenarian has gained knowledge of the world \n a certain sense ; but it is very rcncly knawledge which can be called scientific, or even cmlaius useful testimony for scientific purposes. It consist* of a series of empirical maxims, founded 'prrtly on observation and much more upon the ldiosyncracies of tlio individual observer. Such as it is, however, it has its value) if not for the philosoper-, at least for the possessor himself. His estimate of the value and capabilities of the planet may bo worthless, but he has worked out a tolerably fair set of practical rules by which? to steer his own course. What, then, it may bo asked is the most desirublo attitude of ramd for man who has finally reached the great tableland of life ; and for whom the " splendul vision" of youth has " faded into te light of common day ?" This is a wide question, and one to which a complete answer could not be given without making assertions as rash as -tliose of which we have been speaking. If, however, any general propositions as to the world at large must be rejected, theie are some personal letters which a man should have learnt which ofLen take the form of general propositions/ The subjective element in the sweeping, generalisations of the optimist or pessimist may be useful, though their objective truth is more than doubtful Perhaps the most comfortaWe frame of mind —we need not ask whother it is the most virtuous, or impliestho most accurate valuation of things — is a pood, steady optimism with a da<m of cynicism to give it a flavour. By. forty it is time for most people to give up kicking against the pricks. Heroes, saints, and men of genius may strike out their own paths; but for the ordinary human being it is as well that bv the time lais fraane has become rigid lie should cease from vain stragglings ag.iinot the inevitable, lie has built up the walls of tho prison-house in which he is condemned to dwell for the- term of his natural life. And therefore it w ill be convenient to acquire two settled comictions ; the first, that tho world i* on -the whole a tolerable place, with a general, thongh searceVy perceptible, teiu'etey to improvement ; and the second, that he personally can do very little to make it better or worse. It is highly desnable that a -oun? man should be under the impression that the salvation of-tnnnlind may depend upon his personal efforts. Such a theory impresses upon him a sense of responsibility, and tends to the formation of a strong sense of duty. If it leads t» frequerrt dfsnppointmentsyyoung meohaveelasticity enough to bear them. But a* we grpw older disappointments aro more serious matters, and we begin to feel the full force of the blessing sometimes pronounced upon those who expect little. The- habits are formed," and' we therefore do not require the stimulus of an extravagant belief in our own powers. We grind in (he mill contentedly, and do not insist upon believing that we are turning the a\lc of the universe. Know-in? by experience how much co operation is required to get the smallest bit of good work really effected, and how much the conspicuous leaders of society ow e to the anony raous assistants who work for pay instead of glory, we beeomreconciled to our own impotence. Sensible how much we are the slaves of the past, and how infinitesimal a part of the cosmieal machinery we are driving", it is necessary for our comforbro be persuaded that the world doea more or less get better. Pessimism becomes intolerable wlien we feel that w c [ can do nothing to arrest the downward impetus of the vast mass of which- we form aa insignificant part. The smaller we feel ourselves to be, the more desirable it is to be con- | vinccd that things will improve without our assistance. It ! is equally important that our optimism should not be of too enthusiastic a variety ; for thabwowld <wpose vi to a too violent conflict -with facts. In the world, as it is at present const itutert, it is not grudent nor decent to go through life in a state of exuberent exultation. There are too many evils about us, and too many ominous symptoms that worse things may come upon t«, Pebple who awe contemporaries with English pauperism and American corruption and French communism, who see that masses of men are drifting in one direction into utter irreligion and in another into abject superstition, who may hear Mr Odger making speeches in the parks and have Mr Ayr-ton ruling over them in office, have no right to be in what is called a " cock-a-hoop" frame of mind. If we must koep sheer disgust and misanthropy at arm's length by believing that the tide is, on the whole, tettniig-in- tho light direction brlow the surface, we must also avoid shocks to our faith bv admitting at once, and freely-, that many of tho superficial currents are- running m.very questionable directions indeed.

Rat^ivo tiie Wind. — The Gdlgong Gitardian narrates t'lo following — It appears that an enterprising resident had tried many wiivs to keep the pot boiling, from shepherding on the Star to teaching a school, even running a coffee shop, where hot pies ami a parch could be had at all hours of tho night. In the last effort to live he failed, as the landlord j seized his coflee can and fixtures for rent, and sold him off. Being determined to mako tracks for a fresh opening for kis hitherto unsuccessful abilities, a happy thought struck him. Ho would sell his wife for what she would fetch, and with the purchase money be able to clekr out 'comfortably. Tho lower end of Herbert-street is now almost wholly occupied ' bv Chinese, who deal in almost everything. Ono of these Celestials soon became an intimate acquaintance with tho - vendor of "coffee, and openly expressed his admiration for Mrs Coffeeshop, and.' as is notjuncommon with the heathen Chinese, he asked, " You seller me your wife." It was then the happy thought came, and after a protracted negotiation , a salto was effected for £30 of good and lawful British money. A sale note was written out, and duly signed and stamped, and one-half the money paid down, the remaining half to be paid tho vendor w hen on the coach for Mudgee. The wifo was told that the Celestial vendor of fruit and greengrocery was to be her future lord and master, She appeared rather clad than sorry at her change of owners, and did not resent John's clumsy attempt at showing his devotion. Everything being arranged for a departure, the seller and purchaser walked up Herbert -street to meet the coach, leaving the sold one m Hiarge of John's fahop. The seller having got into the coach he received the remainder of the purchase money ; the coach storted, and John, with hurried pace, habtcned back to his little shop to enjoy the company of his " luapean wife." Alas for the frailty of woman, and tho-vanity of Human hopes! the Celestial entered Jiis shop, searched all the promises, but no wife was to be found. A caucus of his eonntrvmen was held, but resulted in nothing practical being done, except that search and enquiry failed to find tho bought one, and' when- night fell, Johnny felt that ho was a sold one, and qnietly submitted to liis fate. No sooner had John left his purchase in charge, while he went to see her late lord safely off, than she took her departure, taking with her a package of John's green tea, and meeting the conch a milo out of fown, rejoined the partner of her bosom, and no doubt, enjoyed with him tho success that had attended their novel method of making a rise.

Imrge Samos —During October a largo number of| enlmon have been token with the rod out of the Cumberland Derwent. The bulk of the fish have been in Rood conditon, and many of them over 301b. On Monday laet, the 21st instant, a boy, aged 14, named Bacon, ■was fishing with a spoon bait, and hooked uhat proved to be the largest salmon ever caught in the river. It weighed 51ilb ; length, 4ft Ira ; girth. 2ft 6m. It was a male fish, in splendid condition. THe Earl of Lonsdale and party, who happened to be at tba river side, had the fish cent to Whitebaven Cattle. — Land and Water A Memphis psper defines athcrtiwng to be "a Witter wiiiv;h diuMt ui&tomers.'- 1