of progress in this age has opened up the way for
non-conformists. It is not a matter of heresy, nowadays, to think for
yourself, dress for yourself, and be yourself. I confess that I have
no heart pinings for such nonconformists as Dr. Mary Walker or any
other individual who believes that eccentricity, serving no purpose but
to make one conspicuous, is interesting. There are certain general
rules of conduct that must be observed or the world would go to wreck
like a wild freight train. It would be embarrassing to all concerned
were I to decline to conform to the conventional custom of wearing
shoes and bonnets, but when fashion ordains French heels and dead
birds, if I decline to walk in file with the conformist, I am something
of a hero, perhaps, and certainly preserve my own self-respect better
than if I yielded to either a harmful or a cruel custom. When
etiquette rules that I go through the world armed with a haughty
reserve, like a picket soldier with a shotgun, if I conform to that
rule, I act upon the warm impulses of natural living as the
refrigerator acts upon meat; I may preserve the proprieties, but I
chill the juices.

XXXV.

IF GOD MADE YOU A WILLOW DON'T TRY TO BE A PINE

I wish I could spend a fortnight in a world where folks dared to be
true to themselves; where the conformist was shelved with last year's
calendars, and a man studied out his own route to heaven and had the
courage to walk in it. I would like to dwell with individuals and not
with packs of human cards shuffled together in sets. I would like to
feel my soul kindle into respect for distinct personalities, each one
making his garment after his own measurement, and not trying to fit his
coat after the cut of his neighbor's jacket. I would like to live for
a while with men and women, rather than with human sheep blindly
following a leader. Life is something better than a sheep-path
aimlessly skirting the hills. It is a growth upward through the
infinite blue into heaven. It is the spreading of many and various
branches. If you are a willow, don't attempt to be a pine, and if the
Lord made you to grow like an elm don't pattern yourself after a scrub
oak. The rebuke "what will people say?" should never be applied to the
waywardness of a child. Teach it rather to ask: "How will my own
self-respect stand this test?" Such training will evolve something
rarer in the way of development than a candle-mold or a yard-stick.