New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-04-06
GREEN OLD AGE.

GhEEN OLD AYE. l-s
II hundred years, hundred years
How much of human power and pride,
OF towering hopes, of trembling fears
Have sunk beneath its whelming tiden
1t is a common instance of the inconsistency
Of human desires, that although almost every
person would wish for long life, yet no one likes
to become old 1t is true, that men sometimes |
are proud Of gray hairs, because they think |
these will give the reputation of experience and
wisdom, and thus, they shall be more likely to |
obtain some Office or object of their ambition, |
which depends on the respect and confidence of |
their fellow men. III
But women, even the best and most discreet,
seldom learn to grow old gracefully. There
seems so few compensations for the loss of the
bloom and attractveness of mature womanhood
and joyous youth that the female heart is in
clined to believe the old age Of one of her own
sex must be indeed days of darkness And
ing elderly, unless the affections can be exer-
cised. The warm affections Of the heart make
the sunshine of her lot. Give her but
"Sweet waters from affections spring.
and her strength will be renewed, and her
youth come back, like the flowers that bloom on
the cheek of alpine SHOWS, in her warm hopes
for those she loves. But as she goes down far
ther and farther into the vale of tears, and her
sight becomes dim to the beauties of nature and
life, as from an insupportable burden, what shall
then be her support: and where shall her hopes
be directed for enjoyment
Could you, my fair girl, look forward hum
dred years, and fancy yourself then living, and
so happy that You did not regret that youth
| had passed away, and would not, were it posi-.
| ole, 60 back and live over again your days Of
health and gayety'
| There have been instances Of this spiritual
triumph over physical decay, and its loveliness
is OF such heavenly grace that We feel sure our
readers will thank us for giving them a living
example.
Mrs. Elizabeth Chase, of Boston, will on thu
9th Of this month be one hundred and tuo
years of age. In 1889, on her hundredth birth.
day, she told FRIEND pious lady who called
to see her, that she was far happier than in her
days of youth and strength, and that she would
not, for anything the world could offer, be will
| ling to live over again, even her happiest years
| of life. And yet she must, when young, have
been very pretty; and even now, her eyes re-
| tain lustre and expression which is pleasant
to look upon. She was, for all the earlier pe-
riod of her life, surrounded by relations and
dear friends, was loved and married, and lived
happily in her domestic relations. She has also
enjoyed auence, or at least, asufficiency of all
things-now all these worldly blessings are
gone, vanished like a mirage in the desert, and
where the green groves and bright waters ap-
| pcdEeu, I'LL rs, 10 lnc eye Oh sense, n ueSOlate
| barren waste, which stretches TO the utmost
boundary of the horizon of life. She is old and
poor, and without relations or family connec-
tons. She has outlived all her generation She
is alone in the world Where can she find a
source of happiness
She finds it--where it is always to be found
in true piety, in love to God, and good will tC
all mankind She has the same cheerful trust
| in the protection of divine Providence, which an
| infant bos in its mathar's 1nva mud cbo
as happy in the thought that each day brings
her nearer to her Saviour, as tired child would
be, when he saw his mother stretching her kind
arms to receive him, The natural buoyancy O.
her disposition has, no doubt, had much infirr,
ence in predisposing her to this happy state OF
faith and hope, And probably this cheerful
| spirit has had considerable affect in proonging
her life, for the wisest Of men has said, that "a
| merry heart doeth good like medicine" Yes,
cheerfulness is the true elixir of life, and Mrs
Chase appears always to have found its we'll
| spring in her heart. To this cause also, we
must attribute the wonderful preservation of
her faculties. She looks fragile, and says that
her constitution was always delicate; but now,
| at the age OF one hundred and ttc0 gears, her
memory is better than that of many who have
not lived half her days, her hearing tolerably
| good, and her sight-but that has come second
time-so strong that she reads fine print and
hens fine muslin without the aid of glasses
She has taste and the love Of order in active
exercise-keeps her apartment in order, making
her own bed, and very nicely it looks-also she
makes her own caps and capes, and ruffles these
with as much care as though she were a young
lady. She usually rises about six in the morn
ing, and retires before ten in the evening; and
what shows her wonderful energy Of character
mental as well as physical, she very rarely take
any repose during the interval. Many women
not very aged ladies either. impair their facul
ties, in truth become sadly imbecile in mind Al
we'll as invalid in health, merely from their in
active habits. If you wish to live long, engag,
in some pursuits that call forth the energies o
the mind, while properly employing the hands
and above all, develop and strengthen the bes
and warmest affections of the heart.
But how can Mrs. Chase, at her great age
improve her time Surely she may be excused
from employment She does not desire this. A
state of rest, or inaction makes no part of her
theory OF happiness. Every moment of hel
waking hours is strictly employed. She nov
cuts and makes all her own clothing, and, til
within the last two years, performed sewing fo]
others. And she reads many hours Of each day
Not long since she read one hundred and sixt
pages in g Baxter's Saints Rest" aloud, durin
one afternoon But her Bible is her chief treas
ure. She studies it daily, comparing passage
and illustrating texts with the promptness an
readiness of scholar and a divine. Religion
her theme of power and eloquence. Her lar
guage, when engaged on this, her favorite sui
ject, is clear, and even elegant, and her word
pour forth with an energy and earnestness whic
, impress the hearer almost like a voice from tn
spirit land. And - her dark eyes kindle wit
the light of perfect faith and holy joy, and he
! pale, withered features are so expressive Of th
. gladness Of her hope, the rapture Of her soul il
its near approach to the Saviour, that we hay
: looked on her, at such times with an admiration
! whichthe most beautiful young face (and w
? love to look on youth and beauty never IN
! spired.