Contentment.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4516, 26 June 1883, Page 2

Contentment.

The gentleman, whoever be was, who originated this word in its general signification of " satisfaction," or denoting, a state of mind that requires no farther en* joyment to make it better, could not hare been much of a philosopher. It has been said that " a contented mind is a continual feast," and the only obstacle to the belief in sudh a proposition, is in the difficulty of what is a "contented mind "in the first place, and in finding m (delsto study, in the second. If mankind had all the same tastcjoyed'. the_ saras pleasures, and bad the same idea of enjoyment, then it would be perhaps possible to come to a conclusion on the subject. Let^ns glance over a few facts in connection with this subjecti and see if we are ieally" edintented/' The thousands of poor mechanics, working in a poisonous atmosphere, in a crowded building, and slaving almost from the cradle to the grave, in order to earn the means of repairing the waste of tissue caused by hard and laborious work, are said and often declare themselves to be contented, and yet their lot is slavery it self as compared with the hardy and > unfettered life of the savage, who unlike his white brother is not for ever hoping ; for that better position in life which, j in spite of their expressions of contentmetit, must be ever and anon uppermost in the mind of the proletarians of our great English and American manufacturing cities. Inured to hard,.work and common fare, the lot of the mechanic is not so galling to himself as it would be to anyone who, to use a common expression, " had seen Better days," and had been compelled through poverty, or other causes, to resort WV' means of Hying uncongenial to him after the easy work of former times. It has often' been said by lecturers, clergymen, and other educators of.the public,-that:there is as much happiness in the humble' cottage as in the palace replete with every modern comfort and luxury, v But, what difference of comparison is there between the inhabitant of the cottage and the palatial grandee, and between the mechanic and the savage ? There are more twjoy weati

>»nd privations in the one case than in the other, but if in the latter case the plea* sures are less numerous than in the former, when they do come they are more valued by reason of contrast; and, the privations coming on men of duller intellect and hardier physique, although severe enough to kill the refined citizen, have very little perceptible effect on the work- - man who is accustomed to discomfort. Ttie fact is, however, that there is in civilisation a source of eril for the multitude, which is unknown... to-the savage The poor man sees every day the disparities, innumerable and vexatious, that exist between men and men—the favorites or victims of fortune) -tad, observing himself, an, ill-clad.. and ill-fed member of the human race he is naturally impelled to compare himself with the gorgeously dressed and over-fed r nobles who 1011-lazily back in their carriage!, as they are driven through Rotten flow, and he concludes that there must be some cruel fate working against him, or he would not be starving white others had so much that they scarcely knew what to do with it. Reversing the parable, it is Lazarus who from the despondent ■ pic gazes upwards and beholds Dives in the lap of Paradise. In civilisation wo observe, without thought, the wonders of i the age, our literature, our science, OUT ; commerce and our glory; and these, j taken from the present point of view, appear a splendid attainment of civilisation! But in our exultation over '.be triumphs of the nineteenth century, we altogether forget the million victims crashed be* . neath the wheels of .the machines—the gaols filled—the starving thousands—the human life poured forth like water! Neither do we consider all the cruelties which have been the forerunner -of this splendid state of prosperity—prosperous prosperity to the rich but miserable heart<«rending misery to the poor! Let us look at the fearful ordeal through which our own England has passed. The internecine strife r-f the Anglo-Saxon period*—the result of the terrible measures thrust on the land by the _ Norman usurper—the plundered and unhappy people—the Win of the Roses—the Reformation fostered by^a hideous and brutal monarch, and tflfced to regard violence, rapine,, and Widsbed as its close allies—the faggots of Bloody Mary, and tbe subtler cruelties of our maiden Queen. Further on, after . the civil wars, the useless victories of Marlhorough, the organised corruption of Wa'pole and the Pel hams—the diabolical war upon our own kindred in America— and the squandered money spent in the exhausting struggle against the Corsican! A thousand years spent in the conflict between force and reason! And what have tbe mass Grained by it? Our yokels wear stockings, and our women drink tea. Poets read the works of the bard of Avon, and Bstronomera improve on Newton;. > but the masses of mankind are as discontented as ever, and although, perhaps, their condition is ameliorated to a certain extent, you cannot find a, workman who is not as anxious for a change as the serf was in olden time, and the scientific inventions of the day create us many vio» titns as tbe sword in the reign of the Protector—(Communicated.) -