TIMID MEN. {Liberal Review.)

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 203, 28 August 1873, Page 2

TIMID MEN. {Liberal Review.)

Englishmen are natmally excessively timid. At ifee lisk of giving offence and bringing ourselves into dire disgrace we feel bound to say this. Indeed we are compelled, in order to state what we tbink, to go a step further, and declare that they surpass the people of all the nations under the sun in this respect. For the sake of assuaging any wrathful feelings which may have been evoked by the above, we way at oace declare that nothing is fmther from onr intention than to assert that Englishmen are cowards. A very wide distinction must be drawn between the two things— timidity and cowardice ; and it may be safely asserted that the one is natural to an Englishman and the ether is not. Comparatively few of the natives of Britain have much objection t« ti»hting, provided they are persuaded of the justness of their cause, or to endure a large amount of physical pain in order to seen re an empty triumph. As a nation they are pre-eminent aa athletes 5 the people of every other country seem .ifiaid to g.> through the courses which must be gone through ia order to becomeuiuscidar heroes. If the Fiench soldier is famous for his elan, the English man-of-war is unite as remavkalple for the dogged manner in which he will rosist a furious onslaught and fight against overwhelming odds. Thus the Englishman cannot justly be dubbed a cowaitl. The pity is that he dees not always show what is in him— that he will persist in <k dining to do justice to himself. Take him under ordinary eiicumstauces, place him before a dozen, of his fellows, and ask him to address them. What is the result? In the majoiity of cases —unless he is a practised orator— he turns hot and cold by turns, he stutters and stammers, and, tinally, having blurted owt a few incoherent sentences, sits dawn, feeling fully convinced, to quote a term which he is in the habit of usiiif, that he has made an ass of himself. The fear of >nakin» theiuselyes ridiculous is the bugbear of most Englishmen, and is the cause of many of their mistakes and trifling troubles. The timid man, in particular, is continually haunted by the dread, of committing bjundos. He canno* walk the length of a room in which there is company without feeling that there is something wrong with him, and thinking that everybody has detected what that wrong is, and having a quiet snigger, at, his. expense. The consequence is that he assumes an unnatural and awkward gait and imparts to his face an expression which would suggest the idea that he was about to be called upon to deliver up his fortune, or big life, or something vitally necessary to his well-being. If he is invited out to dinner he is in misery from the time he enters the house of his host until he departs. His conversational powers forsake him, and though he mnkes an attempt to appear as if he enjojs other people's jokes, the hollownoss of his laugh, combined with its spasmodic character, at once demonstrates the absurdity of tho deception. When ho enters a drawing-room he seeks a sequestered corner and pretends to amuse himself over a book, or an album, or something of tho kind, and starts like a guilty being if suddenly spokcu to. He does not seem to exactly know what lo do with his hands. They go into his pocket, they stait up 1 o his chin, they run through his hair, they fcrille with his watch-cbain, they destroy his gloves, they are put behind his back; but wherever they are placed it is very evident that his great aim is to dispose of them in some way or other. A perceptible tremor runs through his voice, and by tho manner he enunciates he might have an impediment in his speech. Under these circiunstunccs he «eldom says a sensiblo thing. If ho retails a good anecdote he spoils it in, the telling ; If he indulges in what is really a smart bit. of repartee, lie does so in such on inane blundering fashion that the point of his speech, is almost entirely thrown awny. He envies those men and women who seem to be completely at their ease, u,nd to thoroughly enjoy themselves under circumstances when he is miserable. He wishes he had their d*sh, their high spirits, and their happy knftpk of always saying the right thing at tho right moment. Perhaps he emulates some of the proceedings of these latter folk, but it is not often that success crowns his efforts. A cold look is sufficient to daunt him ; a sneering remark makes him utterly collapso ; unless his jokes are smiled upon lie loses hear!, and gives up the attempt to. battle his way. When, ho passes a certain point, perhaps, he is less vulnerable* but the difficulty is for him to pass that point. That he should reproach himself is the most natural thing in the world ; it would be strange indeed if he did not feel derply mortified, and angry at lUs stupidity. Often he is a man who feels that lie undoubtedly possesses ability, in which belief \w h encouraged by the fact that, under congenial circumstances, hU thoughts flow freely imd his tongue runs easily, the rewlt bemg that lie appears as he ought to do— an intelligent being. It is in the society of the softer sex that the timid man appears to least ad vantage. On tke one hand ]w» is filled with a great longing to distinguish himself ; on the other he is haunted by a vague fear that ho will render himself remarknbtein a manner to him by no means pleasant. Between those two stools he subsides into a semi-idiotic state. If they look at him he blushes ; if they quietly ignore him. though naturally annoyed at being made to feel insignificant, lie is, down at the bottom of his heart, very thankful, and hopes they will continue to do so. When they make fun of him— as they will somctimos when they see thej can do so with impunity — ho cannot summon up enough resolution to pay them back in their own coin. Ho is ever a victim to the fear that he will say something which had better remain unsaid, and thereby render himself an object of ridicule. And this is tho very reverse of what lie desire*. Ho would stand high in their estimation and wilfully do nothing to imperil their favor. Probably were he hv» careful he would come off a great deal better. " It' he did not think so much of what he ought to say and nh.it ho ought not to, he might drop into his natural vein, and now and then utter something tolerably good ; at all events, ho m ould talk naturally, and that, is a great consideration Weiv he less afraid of creating a bad impression lie niijjht oivßMumiUy make a good one. CiTlainly ho would not tl.on enter a 100 m with a shuffling, hesitating step, imd in expression of conntenancc which seem? 11 combination of sljness and alurin. ,He would not ,

ramble through a d.uir -as if ho were a monument which had bren animated with the power of mm ing nnd nothing else. Why should people cure what is thought about them, co long as they do not git credited with having .committed positive vices 9 It miv be t.aid (hit many are naturally nerrous. In many instances ncrvou.'vss may be constitutional, but it is a malady which can be overcome, and winch moat certainly ought to be orei tli-own. There is no more melancholy spectacle than a sheepish-looking man.