know.

--_Secular Thought_, Toronto, Canada, August 25, 1888.

SUMMER RECREATION--MR. GLADSTONE.

_Question_. What is the best philosophy of summer recreation?

_Answer_. As a matter of fact, no one should be overworked.
Recreation becomes necessary only when a man has abused himself or
has been abused. Holidays grew out of slavery. An intelligent
man ought not to work so hard to-day that he is compelled to rest
to-morrow. Each day should have its labor and its rest. But in
our civilization, if it can be called civilization, every man is
expected to devote himself entirely to business for the most of
the year and by that means to get into such a state of body and
mind that he requires, for the purpose of recreation, the
inconveniences, the poor diet, the horrible beds, the little towels,
the warm water, the stale eggs and the tough beef of the average
"resort." For the purpose of getting his mental and physical
machinery in fine working order, he should live in a room for two
or three months that is about eleven by thirteen; that is to say,
he should live in a trunk, fight mosquitoes, quarrel with strangers,
dispute bills, and generally enjoy himself; and this is supposed
to be the philosophy of summer recreation. He can do this, or he
can go to some extremely fashionable resort where his time is taken
up in making himself and family presentable.

Seriously, there are few better summer resorts than New York City.
If there were no city here it would be the greatest resort for the
summer on the continent; with its rivers, its bay, with its wonderful
scenery, with the winds from the sea, no better could be found.
But we cannot in this age of the world live in accordance with
philosophy. No particular theory can be carried out. We must live
as we must; we must earn our bread and we must earn it as others
do, and, as a rule, we must work when others work. Consequently,
if we are to take any recreation we must follow the example of
others; go when they go and come when they come. In other words,
man is a social being, and if one endeavors to carry individuality
to an extreme he must suffer the consequences. So I have made up
my mind to work as little as I can and to rest as much as I can.

_Question_. What is your opinion of Mr. Gladstone as a controversialist?

_Answer_. Undoubtedly Mr. Gladstone is a man of great talent, of
vast and varied information, and undoubtedly he is, politically
speaking, a