I shall not depict the coward. There are some in whose lives the
fear of death, injury, illness or loss is in constant operation
to prevent activity, to lower energy and effort. One finds the
coward very commonly in the clinics for nervous diseases, and in
some cases the formidable term of psychasthenia is merely
camouflage for the more direct English word. There is a type of
the timid, who will not stand up for their rights, who receive
meekly, as if it were their due, the buffets of fortune. This
type is well exemplified in F. B., who passes through life
cheated by every rogue and walked on by any strong-willed person
that comes along. As a boy he was bullied by nearly all his
playmates, did the chores, was selected for the "booh" parts in
games and never dared resent it, though he was fully conscious
that he was being put upon. When he went to work in a factory he
was the one selected for all those practical jokes in which minor
cruelty manifests itself. His parents also bullied him, so that
he was compelled to turn over most of his earnings to them and
was allowed to keep so little that he was shabby, half-starved
and without any of the luxuries for which even his timid soul
longed.
F. B. was mortally afraid of girls; they seemed to him to be
terrible and beautiful creatures, very scornful and
awe-inspiring. They made him feel inferior in a way that sent him
edging from their presence, and though he sometimes surged with
passion he avoided any contact with them.
As a good workman he received good pay, for he chanced, by the
merest luck, to fall into the hands of a kind employer, who
profited by his kindness, for F. B. gave more than a dollar of
value for each dollar he received. Timid, he gave to the employer
a great loyalty, which was in part based on his awe of any
aggressive personality.
In society this man was tongue-tied, embarrassed and overawed by
the well-dressed and prosperous-looking. His sense of inferiority
was in no way compensated for, and to avoid pain he became a sort
of recluse, doing his work and returning to his shell, so to
speak, each night.
When he was thirty-six his mother died, his father having died
earlier. This left him rather well to do, for his thrifty parents
had well utilized his earnings. At once a thoughtful woman of his
acquaintance, distantly related by marriage, set out to capture
him, and by forcing the issue led him to the altar. Needless to
say, she ruled the household, and F. B.'s only consolation lay in
the crop of children that soon appeared in the house, for
timidity is no barrier to parenthood. This consolation rather
tends to disappear as the children grow older, for they become
his masters. Such men as F. B. have a collar around their necks
to which any one may fit a chain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account