Then there is the other type who refuses to follow in his leisure moments the dictum of the many. He goes off on his own, a solitary business as he would confess if did not have a principle to' uphold. And a yell-remembered image comes to mind of the nice old gentlemen who, after years of definite accummulating of a fortune, found that he had heaps of money and leisure, Did he spend his time dispensing some of the heaps to charitable purposes? No. He is remembered out of the clutter of childhood reminiscences of people because he wore a Tryolean-like costume Sit the days when plus fours in his native lund were a Btrenuous rarity attempted by only the very wealthy the very queer. He had made up his mind to do just as he liked since he had the time on his hands of do it with, sufficient leisure most of us think we could do anything. Just as|* given the winning number in the "A Sweeps" we declare that things to do would be limited only, by our ability to choose. Some fof us, that is say. There are others' who would probably put straight away in the bank, but then they probably would Hot know what to do with their leisure, either.
It is easy enough to philosophize when the philosopher's stone is reposing in the palm of some one else and only needs our expert rubbing to make it function. But one cannot help wondering whether, given sufficient leisure we would really be able to follow the admonition of that [charming old philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, whose contribution lies mainly in the making of the pest startlingly like the present. "Not frequently" he advises, "nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that T have no ire; nor continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by cur relation to those with whom we live by alleging urgent occupation."
It seems one of the simplest rules for conduct in case of leisure; in ease of urgent occupation, it appears not quite so simple. In fact it is generally this urgent occupation which is so distressing to human nature's idea of what really ought to be done with one's life. Why should seventh-eights of the whole be devoted to some kind of urgent occupation when we might better be! enjoying our time out of harness. Ayebut that brings us back to the original premise—through the aimless roundaboutness of the somnambulator, it is true, Practically nobody knows how to apply leisure correctly without the same kind of studious devotion to _leisure that is given to occupation. And through a little more sleep-walking, it might not be amiss to add the dictum of an old School-mistress whose zest in life was ap equally to work or play, etter to do nothing with to waste it." One cannot always be sure just what she meant. But it sounds rather bright to say it, and there are moments when one almost grasps her underlying idea—By Jill O'Lantern.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.