Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 April 1876 — A Defense of Society. [ARTICLE]

A Defense of Society.

Society Is an organization for entertainment. It resembles a vast picnic. Thereto each guest brings whatever he or she has to offer for the entertainment of tljji whole. The amateur singer brings vocal and artistic delight. The dancing young mnrf offers his leadership of the German. The young .girt debutantes contribute the charm of theiryouthful grace*. The wit and M rsprit devote the sparkle of their conversation, the keenness of their intellect. And wealth and hospitality contribute gay balls and sumptuous dinners, the dazzle of diamonds and ths luster of gorgeous dresses. Therefore, like all organizations, society has no place or room for individual feeling. A lady with a visiting list numbering a thousand names can scarcely expect to be loved devotedly by all that thousand. She does not herself take them all to her heart of hearts. The phrase “ dear five hundred f riends” is a misnomer. Nobody on earth has five hundred friends, unless, perchance, some great hero or some noteworthy' public benefactor. Blessed, indeed, is the Individual who possesses five. As to acquaintances, that is another matter. Their number may be indefinitely extended. And society is made up of mutual acquaintanceships. Our friends hold a dirtrent post. The sacred tew that we cheriba in our heart of hearts are not to be confounded with the crowd on whom we leave cards and whom we invite to our largest balls and most general receptions. Therefore, if we give our love, our trust, our tenderness, only to a few, we can expect return in kina only from that few. Society, so-called, is like a lady's ball-dress. It is a delicate and airy fabric, fit for festive occasions, not for daily i'se. And if any misguided dame were to brave the frosts of December or the winds of March, clad in tulle or tarlatan, she would not have much cause to blame her unsubstantial garb if she were to catch cold. She alone would be at fault for perverting the flimsy attire to a use for which it never was intended. And such is the fault of those that blame society for its heartlessness. True affection, firm friendship, warm sympathy are, indeed, to be found therein, but they are not the objects of pursuit. It is an association for mutual amusement merely. We do not expect to gather pumpkins from rosebushes, nor to dig potatoes from a hyacinth bed. Society gives us what she can—gay parties, pleasant receptions, agreeable mutual intercourse. It is not her province to teed our intellects or to fill our breasts. If we love her unwisely because too well, that is our fault, not hers. And the men and women of society are not one whit the worse or weaker than is humanity elsewhere. We know more about them, that is all. They are actors in the dazzling comedy of real life. The “fierce light” that is said to beat upon a throne shines broad and brilliant on the Kings and Queens of the gay world. Under that pitiless illumination every defect becomes cruelly apparent. Human nature is the same all the world over. There are as many weak and vain and frivolous girls on tire Bowery as there are in Fifth avenue. A point-lace berthe as often hides a true and warm and womanly heart as does a black stuff gown. Folly and emptyheadeduess are usually sald to abound in the masculine ranks of the army of society. Yet, if every fool in those ranks were led to instant execution, the race would be very far from becoming extinct. It would thrive and flourish ana wax numerically strong, even if society itself were to have the fate of those suppressed memlters. Alany a wise man is a graceful dancer and a well-bred guest. Alany a fool is an ill-mannered and unsocial boor. Many a so-called woman of the world is a true wife, a good mother, and a devoted friend. And many a home-keeping dame is lazy, slatternly, heartless and disagreeable.— Parie Register.