The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-12-31 00:00:00

THE TWELVEMONTH STAGES OF

TIME.

:•
SHAKESPEARE has des3ribed man as" a being
of large discourse, looking before and after"
—looking forward into the future, and back
over t'le past. This twofold process, with
occasi,eial rapid changes from the one to the
other which the period of the outgoing of
the Old Year and the incoming of the New
naturally calls into full activity, gives em-
ployment to the mind, consciously or uncon-
sciously, at any hour of the day, and even
when diligence in business is displayed.
Reveries, which some have a tendency to
indulge in, are either unconscious retrospects
or fanciful attempts to anticipate the possible
experierces of coming years. The very
dreams that flit through the brain during
sleep in the silence of the night watches are
shadowy memories of scenery and circum-
stances which have left indelible impressions
behind them, reproduced in new, strange,
and fantastic combinations. The vividness
with which, in reflective moods, some of the
events of long-departed days are re-called
seems to make the past, while the mood con-
tinues, a part of the Kving- present. George
Eliot in the tenderly-beautiful poem called
" Two Lovers" depicts in scenical sequence
the various stages in the life history of the
faithful pair from the time when, on their
wedding day, they left the portals of the
church with the joy-bells earrolling in their
ears, till they found themselves after the
lapse of many years, all their offspring gone
away, sitting alone once more beside the
'hearth. The poem ends with this pathetic
stanza.--

"The red light shone upon the floor,
And made the space between them wide;
They drew their chairs up side by side;
Their ple cheeks joined, and said, 'Once
more!'

0, memories!

• 0, psi-, that is !"
Two poets of note, Samuel Rogers and
Thomas Campbell, have sung of the pleasures
of memory and the pleasures of hope. But
the themes, althongh allied in a certain
sense, are widely different, as contemplative
minds that turn the period of the meeting
and parting years to best account will
readily admit. There are pleasures to be
found in a retr)spe Aiye survey of the out-
going year, and of other years, in the course
of our lives, that have gone before, but these
pleasures are counterbalanced to a consider-
able extent by poignant regrets. In the
panorama of the past, as it presents itself to
the reverted inner eye, lights and shadows
follow each other in rapid succession, and
the shadows are often broader than the
gleams of light Side by side, with pleasant
remembrances of happy days, joyful meet-
ings after long absence, successes achieved
when they were most nrgeatly required, and
opportunities turned to good advantage in
conferring benefits on old friends, there
come bitter regrets for errors committed—
golden hours wasted that might have been
usefully employed; words unkindly spoken
that caused unmerited pain; and obligations
incurred which might have been avoided by
acting in a wiser and more circumspect way.
Some of the bitter regrets, which memory
can renew at will, create unavailing re-
morseful feelings, as the wrongs done in the
past cannot always be repaired. Remem-
brances become brighter the further we
travel from them in retrospective meditation,
and the shadows, intermingled with the
lights of our maturer years, and of the one
which is just about to join the cycles of the
past, melt away in the Runny memories of
childhood and youth. No clouds seemed to
hang in the sky until the gates of our early
Eden were closed behind us, and we went
forth to engage in the struggles of lire.
Both in a literal and a higher sense, the
pleasures of memory are left far behind by
those of hope. They are free from gloomy
accompaniments that would weaken or
deaden their influence, and they conse-
quently have an inspiring and elevating
effect on the spirits. They are derived from
the prospect of "fresh woods and pastures
new„ on explored fields and untrodden
paths, unploughed seas and unsealed skies.
Elope, in the words of the poet, " springs
eternal in the human breast," and causes
the future to look bright with the promise
of better things, whatever the experiences of
the past may have been. Theie are despond-
era hearts, it is true, that droop down under
difficulties, and sink into a state of hope-
lessness, but they are few in number as
compared with the hearts that bravely bear
the burdens of the passing days, and believe
that the darkest hour precedes the dawn.
What distance does in the way of giving
enchantment to the view, hope also accom-
plishes in regard to the possible events of
the future. °At the advent of a new year all
sorts and conditions of men, with the excep-
tion of the unhappy few who are afflicted
with despondency, look forward into the
future in a hopeful spirit, and this hopeful-
ness, when it is accompanied by energetic
action, often brings about its own fulfil-
ment. Statesmen who have a strong per-
suasion of the righteousness of their policy
are sanguine as to its success. Scientific
men who have been experimenting labori-
ously feel confident of making discoveries
that will benefit mankind, and perhaps excite
the wonder of the world. Professional men
who may not hitherto have made muoh
headway create a stimulus for themselves by
the cheering thought that they are on the
brink of better days. Authors, just nearing
the completion of important works, are
hopeful of achieving a fame which will re-
ward them for their arduous labours. In
short, the star of hopefulness is everywhere
in the aseendant when the Old Year dies
and the New Year comes into life.