Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1841-05-27

There are not many pleasures supe rior
TO that one feels when looking on the
face of an old acquaintance from whom
one has been separated for some time.
When you see one of thess sold familiar
faces" how the Past flares up before'
you. As you gaze admrngly at the
honest iron''spiece Of your friend, event
alter event comes up, uu,il much which
Is dear and lmperlshable on the records
oi memory Is present to you. Back
ward flies your thoughts Oh swallow wing
to the scenes you loved "long time ago. I"
Up rises star after star in your hearts
firmaInent, which, in days a-gone, you
worshipped with oriental devotion, until
II is thick studded with brilllants. The
Present gllccs imperceptibly from youl
view, and you are again with the Past,
surrounded by a world Of interesting re-
collections. You forget what you are
and become what you have been. Old
loves and hopes and enterprises, which
have long lain sepulchred in your heart,
start up III joyous resurrection from their
tombs, and re-enaci their histories before
you. In one moment the nists IN your
eye condense, and IN the next they are
ralnbowed by the smiles that flash from,
your lips. Delightful "reminiscences fiat
around you like night birds and shy spi-
rlls among tho rocks and caverns on II
hillside by moonlight. You gather flow
er after flower from among the sweets
oi the Past, until quite overcome by the
combined fragrance Of the whole, you
stand, not knowing whether you should
weep that such pleasures are gone, or
rejoice that such had oeen your delight
iul experience.
Many OF ones new acquantances are
most excellent companions. We take
them to our bosoms gladly but we do
not yield them confidence as we do those
OF ancient standing. A new acQuainl-
aEce may have ways superlatively enter
talnIng. lie may possess most admira-
BILE pats. lle may be proprietor OF a
brllllan; wit aud extensive requirements.
lie may have an engaging look, aud
even may ha,ler your lolbles. lie may
be- a well built up man, having an "Im-
aginalioD all compact, winning manners,
obligi0g dlsposit,on, noble spirit aud an
inexhaus,less fund Of mind. But pos
sessed OF this catalogue of rich endow-
ments, he still lacks one thing necdiul-
he is not an old acquaintance. Like
wine, he will grow better with age, but
as yet he needs neIlowing. Around him
cluster but few ASSOCIATIONS, and they
have no reference TO the golden oge of
your existence. lie has not been with
you in your frequent trials and joys
lie has not trodden y our mountain paths,
and is unfamiliar with scenes you most
love 10 dwell on. lie has not seen many
beautiful objects on which } our retros-
pectlve eye Is often fixed. lie knows
but little of the world in which the most
delightful portions OF your life have been
passed. lie was not your confldant
when you loved Laura, or courled Kate,
1t was not his purse which relieved your
shoulder on certain occasion from the
unpleasant weight Of balllii's hand.
He did not read Hamlet, the Arcadia,
or the Anatomy Of Melancholy with you,
by Iamp-lght, IN your old sanctum. In
fine, your whole past life fitted away,
without his notice and Notwithstanding
you love him for the elevation OF his
thoughts and the manliness of his chsrac-
ter, you are always willing to turn away
from him when an old acquaintance is
at hand with whom you have spent
many social hour and slipped many an
inspiring glass IN the dim and long re-
ceded past
Far foreign from my faith forever be
that false philosophy which some OF our
seeming wise but shallow writer's teach
now II. days according to which we be-
come hardened at heart sick oi The world,
and full of wasting susplclsn, as we bid
adeu TO the freshness and dswy ntiuen-
ces of lIle's morning. Such philosophy,
however sklllully It's texture may be
woven, is but a cobweb which catch aud
hold silly flies, but does not win the be-
lief of those on whose minds Is the light
of a far heavenlier wisdom. The best
IN the world IL that which
teaches generous and expansive alice
ton Tor all men, with large allotment
Of charity for their Weaknesses, and an
hatred for their vices
and meannesscs. Such philosophy had
nothing TO do with Dean Swli's black
ni,anlhropy, which taught hun TO love
the masses of mankind, aud hate each OF
the individuals composing those masses.
Ii tevcrscs this system, and causes us TO
love every specimen oi humanity on
" HON is not that most horrible ol deiorm-
tiles, delornity OF the heart. Ii Is not,
therefore, because we are believers oi "a
rotten philosophy, which inculcates
suspicion and doubt OF the tru,hIulness OF
all appearances, that We do not take to
our bosons new acquaintance with ull
the hearliness that we do an old one, but
because he lacks familiarity with what
is particularly dear To us III the past, and
which renders all old friend To us the
model Of all that Is noble and worthy TO
be loved ~ man.
love the face Of an old acquaintance,
and think It beautiful, even II 1t be wholly
uf symmetry, because II IS
hallowed by a thousand refreshing re-
No one, for example, ever
looked on DIS face, with all It's singular
slnuusilies and ohlqunics, for the first