A Noble Bohemianism.

White Ribbon, Volume 2, Issue 20, 1 February 1897, Page 7

A Noble Bohemianism.

In that series of charming essays—- “ Human Intercourse ” —Philip Hamerton advocates, what he terms, the noble Bohemianism. He says, “ Bohemianism and Philistinism are the terms by which, for want of a better, we designate two opposite ways of estimating wealth and culture. There are two categories of advantages in wealth, the intellectual and material. The intellectual advantages are leisure to think and read, travel, and intelligent conversation. The material advantages are large and comfortable houses, tables well served and abundant, good coats, clean linen, fine dresses and diamonds, horses, carriages, servants,” and so on. “ Evidently the most perfect condition of wealth would unite both classes of advantages, but this is not always, or often, possible, and it so happens that in most situations a choice has to be made between them. The Bohemian is the man who, with small means, desires and contrives to obtain the intellectual advantages of wealth .... The Philistine is the man who, whether his means are small or large, devotes himself wholly to the attainment of the other set of advantages.” Although Hamerton is here describing men, yet the spirit of his remarks applies with equal force to women. How frequently do we find women so absorbed in the duties and pleasures of housekeeping and the care of their children’s clothes, that they can find no time for intellectual pursuits. How often have we seen husbands and wives

who, at marriage, were much on a level intellectually, but who, at middle life, find no companionship in each other. When we seek for the causes of this divergence we find that the man, during his working hours, has been in continual contact with other minds. When his working hours are over he has leisure to read his magazine or library book, or to go out to meetings and lectures. Thus his mental horizon widens year by year. On the other hand his wife, who, during her girlhood, received much the same schooling as her husband, finds her work within the narrow circle of home. She feels a pride in being the mistress of a well-ordered household. The delicious anxieties of motherhood begin to have an absorbing interest for her. As the years roll on, the difficulty in making a limited income suffice for an increasing family grows greater. Furniture will wear out, and children will grow out of the clothes. Soon she becomes a willing slave to her household. Her working day ‘begins before breakfast and only ends after supper While her husband is reading or attending meetings she is busy with the ever-filled work-basket and stocking-bag. A hurried glance through the daily paper is all the reading she can find time for. As for thinking, the innumerable petty cares of the home make an increasing demand on her thoughts. When we compare the two modes of life, can we wonder that, while the husband becomes a well-read, wellinformed, and thoughtful man, his wife, save for her knowlege of family matters, has little more mental calibre than a school-girl. Now this is wrong. For a wife and mother to be an intellectual dwarf is an injustice to her husband, to her children, and, most of all, to the woman herself. Every individual has a right to a broad, breezy, intel-1 lectual life. How it is to be attained is the problem . The income cannot j

be increased, the needs of the family cannot be decreased. Clearly the re must be sacrifice of some sort, and, in considering what may best be sacrificed, we must cultivate the sense of proportion. The intellectual life is of as great importance as the physical. If we are willing to make sacrifices to prevent a miserably stunted physical growth, we should have an equal teadiness to sacrifice something to possess a vigorous mental development. A Noble Bohemianism must be cultivated. In other words we must see which of the material advantages we can best spare. 44 The life is more than meat,” let us, therefore, dispense with elaborate cooking and be content with very simple fare. The adornment of the mind is worth more than nice dresses. A well-furnished, orderly brain is a better possession than a well furnished, orderly house. Thoreau dispensed with ornaments, because the time occupied in dusting them deprived him of spare time for intellectual occupations. So we too must be content with simplicity of life rather than be “ cumbered with much serving ” to the detriment of our higher nature. It is, of course, impossible for us to lay down any hard and fast rule as to what sacrifices must be made. Each must think the matter out and decide for herself. In one busy home that we know, the husband and some of the children do not come home to lunen. The mother and her daughter assistant find the hour after their own lunch the best time for reading. It is freer than the evening, and has the advantage of finding them fresher and less tired than a later hour But in different homes there will be differing circumstances. If there is but the determination to live a fuller, wider life, a way can be found.