March, 1880.
74
THE WEST SHORE.
BE HAPP AS YOU CAN.
Thin life If not all Bunshine,
Nor l It yet til showers,
But Btorma end calms alternate,
Aa thorna among the flowera;
And while weaeek the roeea,
The thorna full oft wu ecau,
Htlll let ua, thouirh they wound ua,
lie happy aa we can.
1 run life haa heavy croaeee
Aa well aa Joye to ahare,
And griefe and dlaappointmenta
Which you and I timet hear;
Yea, If ntiafortune'e lava
Kutomha hoie'a doaroal plan,
Let ua, with what la left ua,
lie happy aa wo can.
The aum of our enjoimoiit
la nuulo of 1 11 m thlnira,
And oft the hroaileat riven
Are fonhed from amalltiet apringa;
Tly trcaaurlug up amall waters,
Tho rlvera reach their aiiaua,
Bo we ittcreaae our ploaeuree.
Kujnylng all we can.
There may ho burning doeerta
Through which our hearta miut go,
But there are groeu oaaea,
Where iilceaaiit lm trcea irrow.
And If we may not follow
Tho jialha our hearta would plan,
Let ua make all around ua
Aa happy aa we can.
Perchance we may not climb with
Ambition, to Ita goal,
Hi ill, let ua auawer "Preaont,"
When duty calla the roll.
And whal'er our apitolntment,
Hi nothing leea than man,
Ami cheerful in aubmiaalon,
lie happy aa we can.
THK ESTHETICS OK LABOR.
Labor ia not all drudgery. Some of its phases
are of the moat elevated character. Some of its
conceptions rile above the lower grade of sturdy
toil iuto the realma of sublimity. Some of its
production attain tho moat exiuiaite perfection,
It doea not alwaya cling to the absolute of neoes
altyi it reachea at timea to the aecompliahment
of man'a beatitude. It ia not alwaya a delver;
it aaaumea when roquiaito the embodiment of
tho highott portraiture of excellence. It viaita
the toller in dreami of marvoloua felicity and
presents to linn visions of i-iichaiitiiiu loveliness.
It beara him from the harah discipline of oarth
to the aoothiug freedom of celestial liberty.
Under ita leathetic iurliienoe he ia no longer a
being of lloah and blood; ho ia tranaformod to
an angel of light, and leaving hit toil strained
muscles and thoughta upon earth ho aoara into
the realms in ecstatic nnaa anil naruiiiiiiuua re-
poao. In momenta like thia the materiali.a
tiun of hia wildeat droaina givoa to hia follow
men tuch daasling glrama of auiernal bliaa, or
auoh proofs of beiiolioial utility, ai thoy had
never before experienced, and npunt to them a
wide expanae wherein la ever to bo fouuil i
aolaoe for the harah fatigue of atrenuoua toil
In proof of thia, tho delineationa upon tho can
vaa of the idoaliatiu actitinienta of the world'
moat renowned painters; or tho creation from
tho quarry's rough block of the entrancing
lorma of boauty by tho hamla of aoulptora o:
ronnwni or tho aoulstirnug thoughta of th
poet's moat barmonioiit enug; or the swaying in
fluenoe of the orator'a exciting and well bal
aaoed worda; or the almoet vital machinery
which the inventor haa commanded into ox-
latonoe aa the alava to perform taaka of utility
for mankind) each and all, and even more than
have been mentioned, can be cited without ap
prehoneion of rebuttal.
In the lone oabin of the solitary laborer
where only dreoiation anil privation are evinced,
than hanga upon the rough and emoke-dimmed
wall the artiat't little aketch of a aunny land-
aoaiie, in which tho thadnwa of llowera and
foliage fall lightly upon the bosom of the un
rippled atream. Aa he looka upon tho picture
hia aombsr home seems lighted by gleams from
the view balore him, ami waltetl by niemorv
baok to by -gone hours, hit soul rejoiooa awhile
ia the glad presence of loved ones never to be
forgotten.
Iu the scantily apportioned home of the daily
toiler there reats upon a little shelf a plaster
copy of tome form of loveliness, which erst the
sculptor's hand had wrought from inanimate
marble. In the contemplation of this portrayal
of beauty, he forgets his own rough life and
this delineation of attractiveness holds him
awhile entranced.
Upon the soiled table of tho over-worked man
lb.. tic. tho poot's volume with ita ennnblinif
and soothing lines of sympathetic thought. In
the rnyminic worua aim uwavwai "
ho finds repose from his weariness and a balm
for his sorrows and his griefs.
With his day s task pcrtormed ana lingering
on his homeward way, the artisan finds his very
being stirred to its inmost depths and lifted
out of this sphere of muscular exertion, as he
listens to tho eloquence of the orator whone
sentences fall upon his ear.
In the din of tho factory there ever rues a
pean to the honor of labor in the hum of the
tireless anil faithfully-working machine. Wher
ever the son of toil or even the slave of idleness
may chanoe to be, there are to be found irrefuta
ble proofa of the (esthetics of labor, for the
producers of all these harmonious results have
Man and arc diligent workers. What other of
luman efforts save those of labor could pro
duco these wondrous effects; could awaken sen
sations of such pure unalloyed delight, or arouse
the better moods of soul life, that under the
harsh pressure of the vicissitudes of existence
were suppressed and forced into apathetic
luietude?
In tho wido field of labor there are those
whoso destiny is to delve and struggle, while
others of their fellow workmen find their allot
ted taaka iu the higher piano of icsthetio produc
tions, whose harmony and elegance are intended
to soothe, elevate and adorn their seemingly
less gifted brethren. There iB a grandeur iu
labor which elevates it at timea to the higher
grade of true icsthoticism, Minintj and Scien
tific l'rcas.
Lahikh Wkaiiyinu ok Monoiikams. The
whirligig of fashion is bringing round an old-
hionod decoration, which has its merits.
.adies aro wearying of monograniB, and are
adopting emblems and mottoes. Tho 14th and
early Kith centuries were the time when mottoes
and fanciful emblems flourished most abundant
ly. Ilosiilea his hereditary bearingB, every
knight had some emblems of fantasy, and everv
any her symbol which might bo changeil at
pleasure. When theso were embroidered on
dresses the effect was quaint and variegated,
ami gave each costumo a kind of nrigiualitv
1 ariaians havo re-diHcovered this, and birds, ami
mottoes aro embroidered all over drosses. A
woll-graced (and well-puffed) actress who is the
reverso of stout in figure, appeared lately with
tho device 01 ravens on her array. Her rival,
who ia not abut, observed that " where the
skoleton is, tho ravens are gathered together."
BWMiowi are more common than the somber
bird of tho Danish hannorpcrhapa to indicate
that the wearer mtonda " living, living south'
Hold awallowa aro worn on a blue satin ground.
inougn a naturalist might prefer to reverae
colore. lAdiee ol taahion. if the fashion nro
mils, will soon look aa nuaitit aa did JacuueTino
do la( 1 range in her costumo embroidered with
pink eagles and black ducks, or Anne of Boll
una, with the crowned ostrich.
JUDGING WOMEN BY THEIR DRESS.
Mrs. Harbert has in the Inter-Ocean a stirring
protest against the modern style of " society
journalism," which measures ita heroines wholly
by the styles of their costumes. We quote :
In the name of womanhood, we protest, and
ttin onlro of Imnnoiin oirlhnnd wo hnr V -
1UI WIC pw """" a1 17 6 1 v jb "w
editors of our representative journals to put a
premium upon something in the world beside
dry goods.
Not much of a compliment to a beauty when
the " Boul-full eyes " even are surpassed by " a
faultlessly artistic toilet of black satin, embroi
dered in rosebuds and pansies and sprays of
filmy green, and a white opera hat, whose hints
of color matched the flowers, and evening gloveB
completed a toilet whose beauty attracted one
like some rare picture."
So long as women are content to be judged
only by the amount of expensive dry goods they
wear, so long will they receive such criticism as
the following, which appears in a recent popular
book : " For is it not, let me ask you to take,
for instance, a man's sublime faculty of reason
ing and lonical comprehension far more wonder
ful that a reasoning man should have the same
parents as a woman, than that they should both
have the same parents aa a monkey ?" And just
so long aa our women make no protest against
thus being described and valued as so much lace
or so many yards of velvet, will thinking men
, . ,V , i r . 1 1 I i T t
dare to address mum in uie ioiiowiug su.uu, i
quote from a recent publication : "In girl,
however pretty, wnai is mere to interest a man,
if he reads nothing in her face from night to
night but that she is getting daily more worn
aud jaded in the search for a rich husband? Or
even, to go a step higher, in the unthinking,
uncultivated flirt, so common in every class of
society what is there in her that a man will
not soon discover to be insipid and wearying 7
But give her one genuine, one disinterested
taste, and all iB changed. Try to win for your
selves one taste of a truer and deeper sort.
Study Wordsworth and some parts of Shelley;
open out your sympathies, by their aid, in just
one direction. Learn to love the sea and the
woods and the wild flowers, with all their
infinite changes of scent and color and sound,
the purple moor, the mountain stream, the roll
ing mists, the wild smell of the heather. Let
these things grow to 'haunt you like a passion,'
and then, by and by, go and look in
the looking-glass, and study your own face.
Hasn t some new look, child, come into your
eyes and given them expression, a something
thoy wanted before 7
Aye, more and moro, dear girl friends, to-day
intoxicated, enervated by the strange passion
for dreas, begin to study humanity; determine
to do some ono thing toward making life brighter
A . . , Tt II 1L! ,1
ior inner people, n it is notning more man
amusing a little, restless, disappointed child,
and get in the habit of sometimes studying the
old gold aud crimson, the lovely rose and
TllK MrrRlc Systkm. It mav not lie cener
ally known that wo have, in tho niekol fivo
cent piece of our coinage, a key to tho tables of
linear meaaurea and of weights, Tho diameter
of thia coin ia two ctntimettrn, and ita weiuht ia
live yrumriwa. rive 01 mem placed in a row
will, ol oourae, give the length of tho decimett
and two ol them will weigh a iltcayrammt. Aa
tho tihtitrr ia a culile mtter, tho key to the
measure of length ia also the key to measures of
capacity. Any person, tnereloro, who is fortu
eaewwaw i' wn a nvo-ccni nickle, may
carry in hia pocket the entire metric system of
nuigtiia nun uicajuica.
dreamy blue, or the pearl-tinted gray of God s
sunset clouds; lift your eyes just above the shop
windows, and honor the young woman whose
conversation ia filled with pearls of thought and
rubies ot wit and diamonda of sugggeation, and
then shall you have filed ono claim to a place in
tho record ot America s true women.
We have just tossed aside a recent number of
one of the most influential journals of the East,
twelve pages of which are tilled with what pur
ports to be a record of " American society, past
and preaont." Ixing lists of names are given of
women in JNew ork, Philadelphia, Washing
ton, Cincinnati and Louiaville, who are to
be handed down to posterity aa famous for
what ? For their helpfulness to the age in which
they lived ? For patriotic endeavor f For earn
eat work for the future t For an unselfish
hoapitality 7 For having developed and con
secrated to friends their beat gifts of songs or
conversation ? No I but for the quality of the
dry goods they wore.