VOL. XXXXI.
rmsßSr-:?? ~a■)
Holiday Goods Now on Display j
The Largest Assortment we Have Ever Shown
"Bonny Blossom" the Shetland Pony, on Exhibition Daily
THE MODERN STORE-
This store offers the largest and best assortment of fancy and staple
Holiday goods at lowest p-igsible prices. We have eifts suitable for e\erj
member of the family. aDd joo will be snre to find here what yon war
Come in early and look anund.
See Our 001 l Display in the Basement Wa have a Layout
That Will Interest You
All TRIMMED HATS AT GREAT REDUCTIONS in prices dor
ins: this month. Now ?s the time to bny your Christmas Millinery.
"Bonny Blossom," the Shetland Pony and Children's Pet-
Every one who has wen the little midget pronounce* it the finest pony
in the land. There is not a child in Butler that would not welcome such
EISLEK-MARDORF COHPANY,
SOUTH HAD! STKIKT I f\f\4
wromCT*S&" D I Send in Your Mail orders -
OPrOSITE HOTEL ARLINGTON. BUTLER. PA.
Bargains
In Boots, Shoes
and Rubber Goods
At Bickel's. aMf)
If you want the biggest values for the fj \ ®|»/
money ever offered come to this sale. n \ ®| tir
A grand opportunity to get good solid
footwear at a big saving.
Ladies' fine Dongola patent tip shoes sl-00 I
Misses' fine Dongola pateDt tip shoes 85 % gj\
Ladies' warm lined shoes 85 vk
Infants' fine soft sole shoes 18 M\ \\
Boys' every day shoes 90 wX i \
Hen's good working shoes 1.00
Men's fine Patent Leather shoes 175 1
Ladies' fine Patent Leather shoes • ■ ■ 1.75 /I
Children's fine Dongola shoes 35c, 50c, 75
Ladies' warm lined slippers 45
Extremely large stock of Rubber & Felt Goods of all kinds.
Ladies', Gents', Boys', Misses' and Children's felt Boots and
Stockings with good heavy overs. High cut arctics in all sizes.
Large assortment of Ladies', Gents', Misses and Children s
Leggins and Overgaiters at prices sure to interest you.
At all times a full stock of Gokey's hand-made box-toe and
plain toe shoes. Gokey's high-cut copper-tipped shoes for
boys and heavy school shoes for girls.
See our line of Men's high-cut shoes. Just the kind for
winter wear.
JOHN BICKEL,
BUTLER. PA.
jl Fall and Winter Millinery. ||
|i » i
31 Arrival of a large line of Street Hats, Tailor-made
and ready-to-wear Hats. All the new ideas and
II designs in Millinery Novelties. Trimmed and Un
••»' trimmed Hats for Ladies, Misses and Children. All | £
the new things in Wings, Pom-pons; Feathers, *£
11 Ostrich Goods, etc, etc. g *
<! Rockensteln's
j; •«
8 Millii\ery Emporium,^
jfc M 8 South Main Street, Bntlar, Pa. jji
a?iH ip gl tgas iP'-PiggiO'-lHli ilitli »I» »Ii >li ili
I $75 to $l5O I
lFor Fifteen Minutes Timel
I Pretty high wages, Eh? That's what people are I
■ making who take abvantage of ■
I INEWTOIN'S I
I Price Sacrifice Piano Salel
I On account of cleaning out my store in order ■
H to get it finished for Christmas trade. It will sell B
I Pianos at factory prices, and many less. I will I
I quote you a few of the bargains I have for you: I
■ Upright Piano, fully warranted, retail price, $275.00. H
■ Sale Price $lB5 00- H
■ Upright Piano, fully warranted, retail price, $375.00. S
■ Sale Price $225.00' Ej
I Upright Piano, fully warranted, retail price. $575,90. H
H This piano has been used, but is a bargain, $250 fi
■ Squre pianos from $25.00 to "$125. Organs from- H
■ SIO.OO up. 10 per cent, for cash. M
I There are 24 of these Pianos to select from—new g|
■ and used—so you certainly ought to make a selec- n
■ tion. Bring this advertisement with you. fl
I NEWTON'S I
I 317 South Main. Open Evenings. I
B • M
jj Jewelry, Silverware. g
$ j Now is the Time to select Holiday Goods. Ip
\ 1 CALL AT |
j*Cleeland's Jewelry Store g
| ; and look over a very fine stock of Watches, Solid !p
r ? Silverware, Hand Painted and Imported China, Gold
jj * Jewelry, finest plated ware and many other new and 4?
]; up to date goods suitable for a nice wedding or tit
Christmas gift. *£
| D. L. CLEELAND, |
i i 125 South Main street, - . - Butler, Pa.
THE BUTLER CITIZEN.
jfsay,XmasisNeail§
YOU WILL BUY SOMETHING \
\| Useful f(ir the Home
f This store has the kind of Useful Presents
| that lasts for years. Why not buy Furniture? A
v Our stock is large and assortment fine. Better
k" take a look at us before buying. J
? How About A Rocking Chair j
h .One of the most useful and pieasing articles of the «
M home. Never canjiave too many comfortable Rock-
ing Chairs. We are showing at least 100 di!;erent *
M patterns —all kinds —inexpensive —at $2.00, 2.50,
" h 3.00, 3.so—comfortable—durable. Parior Chairs— m
Fi( polished —odd patterns at $5.00, 6.00 up to 10 00. >1
l %> Fine Leather Rockers for sl2 to 20.00. v
'\\ PARLOR TABLES S
f { We are showing a large assortment. Neat polish- kj
ed patterns in small sizes at $1.50, 2.00 and up to
FA 5.00. The better ones—in mahogany and oak from fcl
kJ SB.OO to 20.00. 14
J ODD PARLOR PIECES N
M In gilt, oak, mahogany—artistic pieces to tone up
—make home look beautiful —inexpensive, it you k*
wish, or more elaborate, as you please. W
Music Cabinets here from SB.OO to $25.00. k
WRITING DESKS for the Ladies—in oak or ma- k^
Ihogany —bird's eye maple—from $5.00 to 15.00.
How about a fine Bug or Carpet for your best k
room? We have them. M
COME IN AND COMPARE. M
BROWN &• CO. |
No. 136 North Main St.; Butler.
9 Kelsey, Crown, Boomer |$
I FURNACES. I
H Coal and Slack Heaters, Gas and Coal
I Ranges and Gas Stoves. 1904 Washers,
■ Sowing Machines, Needles for all mal<es of
B Sewing Machines. repaired.
I Roofing and Spouting, and House Furnishing Goods.
I Henry Biehl,
R 122 N. Main St. Pen. '4'hoije 404.
The Great Sacrifice Sale
of Clothing, Men's and Boys' Furnishing Goods, Hats and
Caps is still going on.
Owing to the dissolution of the firm of Schaul & Nast, prices
on all goods in the store have been slashed regardless of cost.
The following are a few of the many bargains we have to offer you:
Men's fine all wool, black and blue, Kersey QQ
Overcoats, regular price sls, sale price s)\/'v/0
Men's Oxford, black, very dressy, Overcoats, _ ylO
regular price $lO and sl2, sale price i. iO
Men's very fine English Rain Coats, £1(1 QR
regular price S2O, sale price *KIU.£U
Men's fine Hodgmans Alexombrice Rain and Q QQ
Storm Overcoats, regular price $lB, sale price «P\/'vJO
Men's heavy Rain and Storm Overcoats, <fl»C QC
regular price $9 and $lO, sale price <P\J.£v)
118 pair of Men's and Boys' heavy Cassimere Qftp
Pants, regular price $2, sale price vOL
389 pair Boys' Knee Pants (all wool) sizes 3 QQp
to 16. regular price 75c, sale price o\/u
All we ask is for the reader of this advertisement to stop
_ in the store and be convinced that we make good all we ad
vertise. No trouble to show goods.
F»HILIR SCHAUL,
SUCCESSOR TO SCHAUL & NAST,
137 South Main Street. Bntler, Pa.
KECK
Merchant Tailor.
Fall and Winter Suitings
f! JUST ARRIVED. H
w 142 North Main St.
fKE C K
BUTLER, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER s. 1904.
Drying preparations simply devel
op dry catarrh: they dry up the secretions,
which adhere to the membrane and decom
pose, causing a far more serious trouble than
the ordinary form of catarrh. Avoid all dry
ing inhalant*, fume#, smokes and snufTn
and use that which cleat see, soot lien and
heals. Ely's Cream Bal® is such a remedy
and will cure catarrh or eoTd in the head
easily and pleasantly. A trial size will be
mailed for 10 cents. All druggists sell the
| 50c. size. Ely Brothers 56 Warren St., N.Y.
The Balm cures without pain, does not
\ irritate or cause sneezing. It spreads itself
over an irritated and angry surface, reliev
ing immediately the painful inflammation.
With Ely's Cream Balm you are armed
against Nasal Catarrh and Hay Fever.
PROFESSIONAL CARUS.
PHYSICIANS,
T C. BOYLE, M. D.
TJ • JSYK, EAR, NOSK and THROAT,
SPECIALIST.
121 East Cunningham Street.
Office Hours 11 to 12 a. in.. 3 to 5 and
7 t<> 9 p. m.
BOTH TELEPHONES.
[kit. JULIA EL FOSTER.
1 ' OSTEOPATH.
Consultation and examination free.
Office hours —9 to 12 A M 2to
M.. daily except Sunday Evenir.g
appointii.ent-
Office—Stein Block. Rootne 9-10, But
ler, Pa. People's Phoutr 478.
DR H. J NEEL\,
Rooms 6 and 7. Hughes Build'ng,
South Main St.
Chronic diseases of genito urinary
organs and rectum treated by tie u OS
approved methods.
PLARA. K MORROW. D 0.,
v GRADUATE BOSTON COLLEGE OF
OSTEOPATHY.
Women's diseases a specialty. Con
sultatian and examination free.
Office Hours, 9to 12 ni., 2 to 3 p. m
People's Phone 573.
1/6 S. Main streit, jji.t Ta
GM. ZIMMERMAN
J • PHYBICIA.* A WD SUKCKON
At S»7 K Ma ».
I R IIAZLETT, ST. D.,
ljt 106 West Diamond,
Dr. Graham's former office.
Special attention give»- to Eye, '-c e
and Throat I'eoole's Phone 274.
O AMUEL M. BIPPUG,
U PHVSICIAK AND SORGKON
200 West C"aningham St.
DENTISTS.
DR FORD H HAYES..
Graduate of Dental Department,
University of Pennsylvania
Office—2ls S. Main Street, Butler, Pa.
DR. S A. JOHNSTON,
SURGEON DENTIST
Foriperly of But ley,
Has located opp«>slte Lowry House,
Main St , Butler, Pa. The finest work
a specialty. Expert painless extractor
of teeth by his new method, no medi
cine used or jabbing a needle into the
gums; also gas and ether used. Coin
mnnications by mail receive prompt at
tention.
DR j. WILBERT McKEE,
SURGEON DENTIST.
Office over Leighner'a Jewelry store,
Bntler, Pa
Peoples Telephone 505.
A specialty made of jjold fillings, gold
crown and bridge work,
YV J HIND MAN,
\T • DENTIST.
12 South Main street, (ov Metzer's
shoe store.)
DR. H. A. MCCANDLRSS,
DKNTIaT.
Oftiovin Butler County National Bank
Building, 2nd floor.
DR. M. D. KOTTRABA,
Successor to Dr. Johnston,
DENTIST *
Office at No 114 K. Jeflerson St., over
G. W. Miller's grocery
ATTORNEYS.
Rr. ScoTT,
• AWORNEY-AT-LAW,
Office in Bniler County National
Bank building.
AT. SCOTT,
T A'RT'OHNKV A* LAW.
Office at No. 8. Weat Diamond St. But
ler, Ps.
COULTER & BAKER,
ATTORNEYS AI L4\Y.
Offife in Butler County National
Bank building.
JOHN W. COULTER,
ATTORNKV-AT-LAW.
Oflftce on Diamond, Butler. Pa.
Special attention given to collections
and business matters.
JD McJUNKIN,
• ATTORM**-AT-LAW.
Ofiii.% \a Reiber building, cornel Main
and E. Cunningham Sts, Entrance on
Main street.
T B. BREDIN,
T) • ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Office on Main St. near Court Hotu<
HH. GOUCHER,
• ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Office in Wise building
I? H. NEGLEY,
J • ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Office In the Negley B'tilding, West
Diamond
TIT C. FINDLE\,
TT . ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, AND
PENSION ATTORNEY.
Office on South side of Diamond,
Butler. Pa.
MISCELLANEOUS.
F. L. McQUISTION,
V. CIVIL ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR
Office tiear Court House
LP. WALKER,
• NOTARY PUBLIC,
BUTLER,
Office with Berkmer, ne»J d<>or to P. O
T> F. HILLIARD!
D. GENERAL SURVEYING.
Mines and Land. County Surveyor.
R. F. D. 49, West Sunbury, Pa.
jC. F. T. Papej
\ pJEWELERI \
/ 121 E. Jefferson Street. /
i r
The Simple Life
I Ifli i / By CHARLES WAGNER
Translated From the French by Mary Louise Hendee
I Copyright. 1001. by McCiure. Phillips ts Co.
■»♦❖♦»»»♦»»»» J
CHAPTER I.
OUR COM rLEX LIFE.
Jl T the home of the Blanchards
/\ everything is topsyturvy, and
/ 1 with reason. Think of it!
A Mile. Yvonne is to be married
Tuesday, and today Is Friday!
Callers loaded with gifts and trades
men bending under packages come and
go In endless procession. The servants
are at the end of their endurance. As
for the family and the betrothed, they
po longer have a life or a fixed abode.
Their mornings are spent with dress
makers. milliners, upholsterers. Jewel
ers, decorator* and caterers. After
that couies a rush through ollieeu,
wnere one waits in line, gazing vague
ly at busy clerks engulfed In papers.
A fortunate thing If there be time
when this is over to run home and
dress for the series of ceremonial din
ners betrothal dinners, dinners of
presentation, the settlement dinner—re
ceptions, balls. About midnight, home
again, harassed and weary, to find the
latest accumulation of parcels and a
deluge of letters congratulations, fe
licitations, acceptances and regreta
from bridesmaids and ushers, excuses
of tardy tradesmen. And tho contre
temps of the last minute—a sudden
death that disarranges tho bridal par
ty, a wretched cold that prevents a
favorite cantatrlce from singing, and
so forth, and so forth. Those poor
Blanchards! They will never be ready
—and they thought they had foreseen
everything!
Such has been their existence for a
piontb. No longer possible to breathe,
to rest a half hour, to tranqulllze one's
thoughts. No, this Is not living!
Mercifully, there is grandmother's
room. Grandmother is verging on
eighty. Through many toils and much
suffering she has come to meet things
with the calm assurance which life
brings to men and women of high
thinking and large hearts. She sits
there In her armchair, enjoying the
silence of long meditative hours. So
the flood of affairs surging through the
house ebbs at her door, At the thresh
old of this retreat voices are hushed
and footfalls softened, and when the
young fiances want to hide away for
a moment they flee to grandmother.
"Poor children!" is her greeting.
"You are worn out! Rest a little and
belong to each other. All theso things
count for nothing. Dou't let th\m ab
sorb y oui it isn't worth while."
They know It well, these two young
people. How many times In the last
weeks has their love had to make way
for all sorts of conventions and futili
ties! Fate at this decisive moment of
their lives neema bent upon drawing
thfctr minds away from the one thing
essential, to linrry them with a host
of trivialities, and heartily do they ap
prove the opinion of grandmamma
whtn she snys, between a smile and «
caress, "Decidedly, my dear, the world
is growing too complex, and it docs not
make people happier—quite the con
trary!"
I also am of grandmamma's opinion.
From the cradle to the grave, In his
needs as In his pleasures, In his con
ception of the world and of himself,
the inau of modern times struggles
through n maze of endless complica
tion. Nothing Is simple any louger -
neither thought nor nctlqp: not pleas
ure; not even dy\n<* With our own
hands we have added to existence a
tmtn of hardships and lopped off many
u gratification. I believe that thou
sands of our fellow men, suffering thfc
consequences of a too artificial Ufo,
will be grateful if we try to give ex
pression to their discontent and to jus
tify tho regret for naturalness which
vaguely oppresses them.
Let us first speak of a series Qf facts
that put Into relief the truth we wish
to show.
eemplexlty of our life appears In
the number of our material needs. It
Is a fact universally conceded that our
needs have grown with our resources.
This is not an evil In Itself, for the
birth of certain needs Is often the mark
of progress. To feel the necessity of
bathing, of wearing fresh linen, Inhab
iting wholesome houses, eating health
ful food and culttTftttag our minds Is
a sign of superiority. But If certain
ueeil* exist by right and are desirable,
there are others whose effects are fa'
tal which, like parasites, live at our ex
fense. Numerous and Imperious, they
engross us completely.
Could our fathers have foreseen that
we should some day have at our dis
posal the means and forces wo now
use lu sustaining and defending our
material life, they would have predict
ed for us an Increase or Independence,
and therefore of happiness, and a de
crease lu competition for worldly goods.
They might even have thought that
through tUo simplification of life thus
tnado possible a higher degree of mo
rality would be attained. None of
these things has come to pass; neither
happiness uor brotherly lovo nor power
for good has been increased. In the
first place, do you think your fellow
citizens, taken as a whoio, aro more
contented than their forefathers and
less anxious about the future? I do
not nsk if they should find reason to be
•o, but If they really are 80. TO see
them live it seeins to me that a majori
ty of them nre discontented with their
lot and. above all, absorbed In materia)
needs and beset with cares for the mor
row. Never has the question of food
and shelter been sharper or more ab
sorbing than since we are better nour
ished, better clothed and better housed
than ever. He errs greatly who thinks
that the query, "What shall we ent
and what shall we drink and where
withal shall we be clothed?" presents
Itself to the poor alone, exposed as they
aro to the augulsli of morrows without
bread or a roof. With them the ques
tion is natural, and yet It Is with them
that It presents Itself most simply.
You must go among those who are be
ginning to enjoy a little ease to learn
how greatly satisfaction In what one
has may be disturbed by regret for
what one lacks, and If you would see
anxious care for future material good,
material good In all Its luxurious de
velopment, observe people of small for
tune and, above all, the rich. It Is not
the woman with one dress who asks
most Insistently how she shall be
clothed, nor Is It those reduced to the
strictly necessary who make most
question of what they shall eat tomor
row. As an Inevitable consequence of
the law that needs ore increased by
their satisfaction, the more goods a man
has the more he wants. The inmrtj ii»
sured he la of the morrow, according to
the common acceptation, the more ex
clusively does lie concern himself with
how he shall lire und provide for his
children and his children's children.
Impossible to conceive of the fears of
a man established in life —their num
ber. their reach and their shades of re
finement.
From all this there has arisen
| throughout the different social orders,
modified by conditions and varying in
Intensity, a common agitation—a very
complex mental state, best compared
to the petulance of a spoiled child, at
once satisfied and discontented.
If we have not become happier,
neither have we grown more peaceful
nnd fraternal. The more desires and
needs a man has the more occasion he
finds for conflict with his fellow men,
and these conflicts are more bitter In
proportion as their causes are less Just.
It is the law of nature to fight for
bread, for the necessities. This law
may seem brutal, but there is an ex
cuse in its very harshness, and it is
generally limited to elemental cruel
ties. Quite different is the battle for
the superfluous—for ambition, priv
ilege, inclination, luxury. Never has
hunger driven man to such baseness
as have envy, avarice and thirst for
pleasure. Egotism grows more malef
icent as it becomes more refined.
Do not the very sinews of virtue
He in man's capacity to care for some-
I thing outside himself? And what
place remains for one's neighbor in a
life given over to material cares, to ar
tificial needs, to the satisfaction of am
bitions, grudges and whims? The man
who gives-himself up entirely to tho
service of his appetites makes them
grow and multiply r > well that they
become stronger than he, and once
their slave, he losea his moral sense,
loses his energy and becomes Incapable
of discerning and practicing the good,
lie has surrendered himself to the In
ner anarchy of desire, which In the
end gives birth to outer anarchy. In
tho moral life we govern ourselves; In
the Immoral life we are governed by
our needs and passion; thus, little by
little, the bases of the moral life shift,
1 and the law of Judgment deviates,
i For the man enslaved to numerous
and exacting needs possession Is the
i supreme good and the source of all
other good things. It Is true that In the
fierce struggle for possession we come
to hate those who possess and to deny
the right of property when this right
' Is in the hands of others and not In
: our own. But the bitterness of at-
I tack against others' possessions Is only
i a new proof of the extraordinary Im
portance we attach to possession Itself.
In the end people and things come to
be estimated at their selling price or
according to the profit to be drawn
from them. What brings nothing la
worth nothing; he who has nothing Is
nothing. Honest poverty risks pass
ing for shame, and lucre, however
filthy, Is not greatly pat to It to be
accounted for merit.
Some on© oblects, "Then you make
wholesale condemnation of progress
Und would lead us back to the good old
times—to asceticism perhaps."
Not at all. Tho desire to resuscitate
the past Is the most unfruitful and
dangerous of Utopian dreams, and the
art of good living does not consist in
retiring from life. But we are trying
to throw light upon ono of the errors
that drag most heavily upon human
progress la order to find a remedy for
it-namely, the belief that man be
comes happier and better by the In
crease of outward well being. Nothing
fs falser than this pretended social
axiom; on tho contrary, that material
prosperity without an offset diminishes
the capacity for happiness and de
bases character is a fact which a
thousand examples are at hand to
prove. Tho worth of a civilization Is
the worth of the man at Its center.
When this man lacks moral rectitude
progress only makes bad worse and
further embroils social problems.
This principle may be verified In
other domains than that of material
well being. We shall speak only of
Ullucatlon and liberty. We remember
When prophets In good repute an
nounced that to transform this wicked
world Into an abode fit for the gods
tU that was needed was the overthrow
of tyranny, Ignorance and want—those
three dread powers so long In league.
Today other preachers proclaim the
same gospel. Wo have seen that the
unquestionable diminution of want
has made man neither better nor hap
pier. Has this desirable result been
more nearly attained through the great
care bestowed upon Instruction? It does
not yet appear so, and this failure is
the despair of our national educators.
Then shall wo stop the people's ears,
suppress public Instruction, close the
schools? By no means. But educa
tion, like the mass of our age's Inven
tions, is after all only a tool; every
thing depends upon the workman who
uses it. So It is with liberty. It Is
fatal or life giving according to the
use made of It. Is it liberty still when
It is the prerogative of criminals or
heedless blunderers? Liberty is an
atmosphere of the higher life, and it is
only by a slow and patient Inward
transformation that one becomes capa
ble of breathing It.
All life must have its law, the life of
man so much the more than that of in
ferior beings, In that it Is more pre
cious and of nicer adjustment. This
law for man is in the first place an
external law, but It niuy become an
Internal law. When man has once rec
ognized the inner law and bowed be
fore It, through this reverence and vol
untary submission he Is ripe for liber
ty. So long as there Is 110 vigorous
and sovereign Inner law he Is Incapa
ble of breathing Its air, for he will be
drunken with It, maddened, morally
slain. The man who guides Ills life
by Inner law can no more live servile
to outward authority than can the full
grown bird live Imprisoned In the egg
shell. But the man who has not yet at
tained to governing himself can no
more live under the law of liberty than
can the unfledged bird live without ltn
protective covering. These things are
terribly simple, and the series of dem
onstrations old and new that proves
them Increases dally under our eyes.
And yet we are as far as ever rfrotn
understanding even the elements of
this most Important law. In our de
mocracy how many ur© there, great
and small, who know from having per
sonally verified It, lived It and obeyed
It. this truth without which a people is
Incapable of governing Itself? Liberty?
It Is respect Liberty? It Is obedience
' to the inner law, und tlila law is nei
ther the good pleasure of the mighty
nor the caprice of the crowd, but the
hiKh and Impersonal rule before which
those who govern are the first to bow
tl.e head. Shall liberty, then. l>e pro
scril*ed? No; but uicu must be made
capable and worthy of it; otherwise
public life becomes Impossible, and the
nation, undisciplined and unrestrained,
goes on through license into the inex
tricable tangles of demagog}-.
When one passes la review the in
dividual causes that disturb and com
plicate our social life, by whatever
names they are designated, and their
list would be long, they all lead back
to one general cause, which is this—
the confusion of the secondary with
the essential. Material comfort, edu
cation, liberty, the whole of civilisa
tion—these things constitute the frame
of the picture, but the frame no more
makes the picture than the frock the
monk or the uniform the soldier. Here
| the picture is man, and man with
his most intimate possessions—namely,
his conscience, his character and his
will. And while we have been elab
orating and garnishing the frame, we
have forgotten, neglected, disfigured,
the picture. Thus are we loaded with
external good, and miserable in splrit
, ual life. We have In abundance that
which. If must be, we can go without,
and are Infinitely poor in the one thing
needful. And when the depth of our
being is stirred, with tts need of lov
ing, aspiring, fulfilling Its destiny, it
feels the anguish of one buried alive—
Is smothered under the mass of sec
ondary things that weigh it down and
deprive it of light and air.
We must search out, set free, re
store to honor the true life, assign
things to their proper places and re
member that the center of human prog
ress is moral growth. What is a good
lamp? It Is not the most elaborate,
the fines* wrought, that of the most
precious metal. A good lamp is a
lamp that gives good light. And so
also we are men and citizens, not by
reason of the number of our goods and
the pleasures we procure for ourselves,
not through our Intellectual and artis
tic culture, nor because of the honors
and independence we enjoy, but by
virtue of the strength of our moral
liber. And this is not a truth of today,
but a truth of all times.
At no epoch have the exterior condi
tions which man has made for himself
by his industry or his knowledge been
able to exempt him from care for the
state of his inner life. The face of the
world alters around us, its intellectual
and material factors vary, and no one
can arrest these changes, whose sud
denness Is sometimes nof short of per
llous. But the Important thing is that
at the center of shifting circumstance
man should remain man, live his life,
trnke toward his goal; and, whatever
be his road, to make toward his goal
the traveler must not lose himself In
crossways nor hamper his movements
with useless burdens. Let him heed
well his direction and forces and keep
good faith, and that he may the better
devote himself to the essential—which
is to progress—at whatever sacrifice,
let him simplify his baggage.
CHAPTER 11.
Tin ESSENCE OF BIMPLICITT.
BEFORE considering the question
of a practical return to the slm-
I pllclty of which we dream, it
will be necessary' to define sim
plicity In its very essence, for in regard
to it people commit the same error that
ve have Just denounced, confounding
the secondary with the essential, sub
stance with form. They are tempted
to believe that simplicity presents cer
tain external characteristics by which
it may be recognised and in which it
really consists. Simplicity and lowly
station, plain dress, a modest dwelling,
slender means, poverty—these things
seem to go together. Nevertheless this
is not the case. Just now I passed
three men on the street, the first in his
carriage, the others on foot antl one of
them shoeless. The shoeless man does
not necessarily lead the least complex
life of the three. It may be. Indeed,
that he who rides in his carriage is sin
cere and unaffected, In spite of his po
sition, and la not at all the slave of his
wealth. It may be also that the pedes
trian In shoes neither envies him who
rides nor despises him who goes un
shod; and lastly It Is possible that un
der lils rags, his feet In the dust, the
third man has a hatred of simplicity,
of labor, of sobriety, and dreams only
of Idleness and pleasure, for among the
least simple and straightforward of
men must be reckoned professional
beggars, knights of tbo road, parasites
and the whole tribe of the obsequious
and envious, whose aspirations are
summed up In this —to arrive at seizing
a morsel, the blggoet T).>«slble, of that
prey which the fort-.m."' f con
sume.
And to this - •• ♦te""'"" BW*
matter what tt.v VJon • :«?. be
long the profligai , t!"" * .aju, tbo
miserly, the weak, 1w ' I ■ r
counts for nothing; v rocxt - tt;e
heart. No class has thu > -■ >
of simplicity; no dress, boww c lv
ble In nppearance, is its
badge. Its dwelling need not bi •
garret, a hut, the cell of the e'
nor the lowliest fisherman's bark,
der all the forms in which life ve.
Itself, In all social positions, at tla
top as at the bottom of the ladder,
there are people who live simply and
others who do not. We do not mean
by tills that simplicity betrays Itself
in no visible signs, has not its own
1 habits, its distinguishing tastes und
1 ways; but this outward show, which
may now and then be counterfeited,
1 must not be confounded with Its es
sence nnd its deep and wholly inward
1 source. Simplicity is a state of mind.
1 It dwells in the main Intention of our
1 lives. A man Is simple when his
chief care is the wish to be what ho
ought to be—that Is, honestly and nat
urally human. And this is neither so
easy nor BO Impossible as one might
think. At bottom It consists in put
-1 ting our acts and aspirations In ac
cordance with the law of bur being,
and consequently with the eternal in
tention which willed that we should
be at all. I-et a flower be a flower, a
swallow a swallow, a rock a rock, and
let a man be a man, and not u fox, a
hare, a hog or a bird of prey. This Is
the sum of the whole matter.
Here we are led to formulate the
practical Ideal of man. Everywhere
In life we see certain quantities of
matter and energy associated for cer
tain ends. Substances more or less
crude are thus transformed and car
ried to a higher degree of organisation.
It Is not otherwise with the life of
man. The human Ideal Is to trans
form life Into nomethlng more excel
lent than Itself. We may compare ex
istence to raw material. What It Is
matters less than what Is made of it,
as the value of a work of art lies
In the flowerlug of the workman's
skill. Wo bring Into the world with us
different gifts. One hns received gold,
another grunlte, a third most
i of us wood or clay. Our task Is to
I fashion these substances. Every one
i knows that the most precious material
I may be spoiled, und he knows, too,
tk»t out of the. lout sogily viUßSWt-
No. 47
tul work may be shaped. Art is the
realisation of a permanent idea In an
ephemeral form. True life Is the
realisation of the higher virtues—Jus
tice, love, truth, liberty, moral power-
In our dally activities, whatever they
may be. And this life Is possible in
social conditions the most diverse and
with natural gifts the most unequal.
It Is not fortune or personal advan
tage, but oar turning them to ac
count, that constitutes the value of
life. Fame adds no fnore than does
length of days. Quality is the thing.
Need we say that one does not rise
to this point of view without a strug
gle? The spirit of simplicity Is not an
inherited gift, but the result of a labo
rious conquest Flaln living, like high
thinking, is simplification. We know
that science is the handful of ultimate
principles gathered out of the tufted
mass of facts, but what groplngs to
discover them! Centuries of research
are often condensed into a principle
that a line may state. Here the moral
life presents strong analogy with the
scientific. It, too, begins In a certain
confusion, makes trlhl of Itself, seeks
to understand Itself, and often mis
takes. But by dint of action and ex
acting from himself strict account of
(lis deeds man arrives at a better
knowledge of life. Its law appears to
him, and the law Is this: Work out
your mission. He who applies himself
to aught else than the realization of
this end loses in lh-ing the ralson d'etre
of life. The egotist does so, the pleas
ure seeker, the ambitious; he con
sumes existence as one eating the full
corn in the blade; he prevents It from
bearing Its fruit; his life Is lost. Who
ever, on the contrary, makes his life
serve a good higher than itself, saves it
In giving It Moral precepts which to
a superficial view appear arbitrary and
seem made to spoil our zest for life
have really but one object—to preserve
us from the evil of having lived in
vain. That is why they are constantly
leading us back into the same paths;
that Is why they all have the same
meaning: Do not waste your life; make
it bear fruit; learn how to give It In
order that It may not consume Itself!
Herein Is summed up the experience of
humanity, and this experienca, which
tuch man must remake for himself, Is
iiore precious in proportion as It costs
more dear. Illumined by its light ho
makes a moral advance more and more
sure. Now he has his means of orien
tation, his Internal norm to which he
may lead everything bock, and from
the vacillating, confused and complex
being that he was he becomes simple.
By the ceaseless Influence of this same
law, which expands within him and is
day by day verified In fact his opin
ions and habits become transformed.
Once captivated by the beauty and
sublimity of the true life, by what is
sacred and pathetic in this strife of
humanity for truth, Justice and broth
erly love, his heart hohls the fascina
tion of it Gradually everything sub
ordinates itself to this powerful and
persistent charm. The necessary hier
archy of powers is organised within
him; the essential commands, the sec
ondary obeys, and order Is born of sim
plicity. We may compare this organ
isation of the Interior life to that of
an army. An army Is strong by its dis
cipline, and Its discipline consists In re
spect of the Inferior for the superior
and the concentration of all Its ener
gies toward a single ond. Discipline
once relaxed, the army suffers. It will
not do to let the corporal command tho
general. Examine carefully your life
and the lives of others. Whenever
something halts or Jars and complica
tions and disorder follow It is because
the corporal has Issued orders to the
general. Where the natural law rules
In the heart disorder vanishes.
I despair of ever describing simplici
ty In any worthy fashion. All the
strength of the world and all Its beau
ty, all true Joy, everything that con
soles, that feeds hope or throws a ray
of light along our dark paths, every
thing that makes us sec across our
poor lives a splendid goal and a bound
less future, comes to us from people of
simplicity, those who have made an
other object of their desires than the
passing satisfaction of selfishness and
vanity and have understood that the
art of living Is to know how "to give
one's life.
tTO BK COinunjXD.l * '
Kulnl Taste.
"Bay, pa!"
"Well, what?"
"Why does that man in the band
run the trombone down liis throat?"
"I suppose it Is because he has a
taste for music."—Town Topics.
Interpreted.
"She told me," said the young man
who had consulted a fortune teller,
"that I was born to command."
"Well, well," exclaimed Henpeck,
"she means, then, that you will never
married."
The man who idles away today puts
■ mortgage on tomorrow that Is hard
to lift.
T'nbldden guests are often welcom
ed when they are gone.—Shakespeare.
THE THREE ANGELS.
i Hit of Hungarian Folklore Illua
tratlnsr Uerman Flrmaesa.
Here Is a bit of Hungarian folklore:
After the Lord had decided to expel
Adam nnd Eve from paradise he sept
Gubrlel, the Hungarian angel, to carry
out his order. Now, from the eating of
the fruit of the forbidden tree Adam
and Evo had become quite shrewd, and
they were endeavoring to get out of
the flx as best they could, so they pre
pared a big feast, received Gabriel
with the utmost kindness and sought
to win his heart by a lot of affection
ate words. They succeeded. It grieved
Gabriel to expel these kind hosts from
their home. He therefore returned to
the Lord with the request that some
body else be charged with this un
pleasant mission.
Thereupon the Lord sent Florlan, the
Roumanian angel, because the liOrd
knew Florlan to be more obedient aud
less magnanimous. Adam and Eve
were Just dining when Florlan, hat and
large cane in hand, stepped in. He sa
luted in a most bumble manner and
then told why he had come. "Have
you it in writing?" Inquired Adam se
verely. "No," stammered the visitor,
and, frightened, he returned to lils
heavenly abode.
Then the Lord sent Michael, the Ger
man angel. Adam and Eve at once set
to work preparing even a richer meal
than had been servtd Gabriel, think
ing they might Induce Michael to bo
lenient So the very best things were
served, and there was no scarcity of
beer and good sausages. Michael ate
until he could hardly even wheeze.
Then he arose and, drawing his sword,
said, "Now you get out of this!" Ad
am nnd Eve tried all their little tricks
to stay. They appealed to his mercy
and, implored him to consider how
nicely they had treated him. But all in
vain. Michael remained firm, merely
saying, "It must be." And he drove
them out—Chicago News.