Plymouth advertiser. [volume] (Plymouth, Ohio) 1853-1988, 1855-08-18
The Old Mans Birthday
IN GRANT THoRBURS.

Here hope to sleep sweetIy through snort
night, and in the morning when | awake /
10 be ever with God. | now stand on the
top Of Prospect hill ; my sun is sinking be-
yond the rocky mountains for this day l
enter nv eighty first year.
Looking back on tn; road latel " trOd .
it is black with hats, caps, and bonnets of
men, women, aud children, advancing in !
my tracks, many Of them stop at cross
roads, or where three roads meet, not know
ing whether to turn to the right hand or the
left many have no guide books ;and many
who hold one in their hand never open its
leaves to look for directions.
Twill narate in eighty minutes, my jour.
neying of twice forty years through the
wilderness of this world. Many, and full
o. good, have been the days of my pilgri-
mage. The Spelling Book, the Bible, and
the Assembly's Shorter Catechism-to
write my own name and cypher up addition
was tae Si,nna.ns 6VRum OF my education,
when left Scotland. Subtraction, l even
thought was worse than good for nothing
in all mercantile transactions. When
twenty one years and three months old, |
left my fathers house. Prior to this, l
had never been twenty miles from his fire.
side; and with regard to the world and its
fashions, or men and manners, was as
ignorant as a babe.
After passing a sleepless night, my first
in America, rose at A. NJ, to amuse two
listless hours, l opened my case Of books !;
on the top lay small pocket bible. |
opened the look My son. met my e!e ;
| read to the end Of the chapter; it was
the third of Proverbs. 1t is sixty years
since that morning, but at every cross road
when l turned to this chapter, | found
written. This is the way, walk ye in it.
One morning as the sun rose upon Goth
am, espied lovely sister advancing in
my path. l begged her to walk with me
on the way. She had many scruplcs. My
life was bound up with hers. referred to
my chapter aforesaid ; l did as | was told
by the sixth verse. The answer was I'M
mediate Psalm exlv, 10, first clause -
From that hour the fever left her. After
a short process, our hearts were knit to-
gether in a bond of love, by DR.. Mason,
according to the Canons of the Kirk OF
: Scotland, in like case made an provided
Have you read in the Book of the Chroni.
cles of Laurie Todd, full and particular
account of the courtship of Grant and Re-
, bekah. You can now read, in the twenty
, fourth chapter of Genesis, a beautiful love
story, about the courtship of Isaac anc
Rebecca, (verse 5S) Says her mother
; 'Rcbecca, wilt thou 60 with this man .
and he said, i will go Here now was 1
, bonnie lass no tusslng and blushing
4 simpering, whimpcring, make believe, Oh
: mock modcsty no flying through the win
: dows on wings hysterical but like an hon
est maiden, what her heart indited her lip
: spokc-I wUgo.
i Now, my dear young ladies, { wa
once as young as any Of you, an !, b.
. . Gods keeping, [ am as young still, } suite
= the word of exhortation from your grand
father, who has seen eighty summers AM
Il eighty winters. When the man you pre-
+ fer says. wilt thou 60 with me . de
u fer not to say, 4 will 60 But beware c
) a goddess man or free thinker one VIII
SCOTS at everything which society hold
u sacred: | have ever found these men ty
rant over their households.
! We had been twelve months marrie
when desolation came in like flood til
~ ~ fever swept the streets, and the strong me
IL fell like grass beneath the scythe of tn
,e e. mower. Our friends fled we had no IT
= fuge. l referred to nly third chapter.
y read to Rcbekah the twcnty-fth and twer
I'll sixth verses. Peace, such as the tev'
10 could not take away, possessed our heart
> In the midst of this dance Of death, Rebel
all became a mother. Death, lamentatiol
. and woe wele howling around our dive
~ ling, but within was JOY and peace for
~ was we'll with the mother, it was we
II with the child it was we'll all under m
roof. We read the l03d, 1OSth, l2lst an
"' 91st Psalms. Seventeen summers sa
u, the visitation, yet the plague neoer entere
- my dwelling.
ia "It's all delusion,'' says the ghost
lie Tom Paine, the Pope and the devil.
ey so, it is very cheap delusion, (you ca
nc nc buy Bible for trihe, } very pleasan
"S and very comfortable delusion; it hi
al carried me over the storms of eighty VII
'te t' ters. 1t will carry me over the swelling
~ Jordan, the noise of whose waters IS no
IL sounding in my ears. ] therefore recon
o' mend this sure guideto every traveller WI
}" is marching in my sear.
Next to the doctrine Of life and immo
he tality through Christ, I don't think Il
ES Bible contains another so cheering, so CO.
to soling and so supporting as the doctrine Of
be Particular Providence. have held Il
af. bowl while my friends vomited their heart
rv blood. l had no fear; was at my pos
ot the hairs on my head were all numbered
"a. | knew death dare not to remove one
,or them, till once he received an order cou
~ tersigred in heaven. Often he passed
" front of my door, but the covenant HI
- marked the post and lintels. Seeing TIL
~ he spoke to his guards, GO forward!-
IL God is able to save or distroy. as he w
!. on the night when he slew the first Dor
',o a0 of Egypt.
No Now, Mrs. Printer, have some XII
III neighbors amongmy Frce-thinking friene
w 'eo and some of them, I do believe, are ho
ID" est inquirers after truth. They arc attic
H.. in frail bark-no compass, no chart
iay pilot. They are bound to no port
where Lethe flows, and the dark wate
ove of oblivion stagnate in one eterl