, 1861-03-08

QQ# TRmNAQE Ql LQElI LIS 10 taos0Aa my |
have not active duties nor heavy responsible
tier resting upon them; their accounts With
society are made IN, and It ia their oWn affair
what fhey are thenctfprth flt for; so, If they
are sensible md ain,able, they keep themselves
quiet and amuse themselves as vel as they
Nothing can relieve that. When they were
young, the contact between external objects
and their special organ {whicheVer 1t may be)
was 30 natural Us to be unobseryed;. so vas
the function Of the nervous fiber, and so was
the cerebral reception Of the impression; and
its effect on mind or body followed Of course.
Now. when the consolidation Of the frame has
zone too far, there is obstruction somewhere !
IN the process. or everywhere; the impression /
is faint, or it is spoiled, 1t is wholly absent
aud natural stimu1ant and guide to action or |
thought is Withdrawn. Its loss must be sup |
Piled somehow, If thought OF action are to 60 |
on; aud to supply it ia heavy and unremit- |
ting task.
How this Is to be made the best Of, depends
mainly on the moral strength and temper OF
the aged person. 4 superannuated man Or
Woman who sinks under the trouble, or hets
under the pajp. must be merely hQm0red and
borne with. No other aid is possible, because
the sufferer cannot get away FROM the evil
which no one can remedy a stronger md
wiser person has much less to suffer, and fora
shorter time. As age advances, the activity
subsidies, the actual fact Of daily existence be
becomes easiest, while proving anything but
dull. One Of the characteristics of old age ts
its susceptibilitv to old Impressions revived,
which forms q remarkable contrast to the
apathy ahout new experiences. It ie common
far aged people to say the pleasure Of the
opening Of epripg is more vivid to them than
ever. Granting that they may have forgotten
somewhat of the intensity Of the pleasure In
youth, it is evidently true that they do keenly
relish the enjoyments they have known long
est. Gothe, whose mental resources might be
supposed sufficient for all situations II any
mans erer were, was in O stnte Of manifest ex-
hIlarat!on every year, when the shortest day
was past; and he Was like very wise child,
when the first wood anemone, or violet, or
brood of chicks, or young lamb came across
him, up to the last year Of his life. It is the
same thing with old muelc Tor those who can
hear; and old flowers and sunsets Tor those
who eau see. = The delight is transient In the
extreme: after q certain point Of EupeFannua-
t;on "a raenhpd. INIT II thfs Is a sim Of second
t;i5bao5 - 10 ia 1;17;1nasa n The eninr-
~ - fao ua a1'taf sa,,aoa are 5n;1sa
os4 cxctino l4 Tho next nnestion il anut The
If the mind cannot act without the stl1nulns
Of external influences, q state Of general apa-
tiny will ensue on the decay Of sight and hear
ing. 1fthe mental constitution be Of higher
order, self sustaining and self moving, the &C. a
ed person himse1fls surprised to flnd what
N0uAEA0l1 eAStSAoSe1eAA ~ ~ <AFAotN SAs -
his interests have been Of an Intellectual order,
he lives almost as much now as ever; Lltera-
ture is as charming to him as Il he Kept INC
substance OF what he reads Tor use whereas
the impression is now very superficial fhll-
osophy exaits and chastens his mood, ana sus~
tains his habit Of composurc and patience,
though he can no longer lay it down Us the
foundation Of some work OF wisdom OF beauty:
| Such Il kind Of superannuation is too rare and
select, however, to be- dwelt upon as 2 sample
Of this experience Of human life. We must
| 1ook lower among average people, 1or alcsson
| Average people. if their minds are active
| when their senses are shut up, may, if they
| have but good tempers, take up for themselves
that exquisite song intended for different
kind Of enforced seclusion:
! Stone walls do not a prison make
M1nda innocent and quiet take
If have freedom in ny love,
| Angels a alone, on - t5at T. soar above,
~ -. -,
| to speak sometimes Of leaving it: but nobody
responds. Few have word to say on what 50
closely concerns their change{ they make
haste to talk Of something else, or 60 away
OF even, as an instance which remember, say,
HOh. nouscnse, don't talk so. You are no
not have done SO about voyage to Australia,
twenty years before and the departing one
would like sympathy now, even better than
then. The fault lies mainly, no doubt, in the
common exaggerated view Of the importance o1
death, The exaggeration still influences the
Young Younger nurses, and is detected By the elders
"a they approach their departure; but the do
nurture Is their prospect, and it ia failurc q
sympathy to shrink from speaking OF whai
tie waiting one thinks Of with freedom ant
chcerfuIness. One meditative old man whon
| knew was selfsuthcing in this respect. HI
had on his table-the table ut which he reai
and wrote daily-a pretty cast Of sleeping
child. His friends wondered ut bis constancJ
to this cheap bit Of art; hut one Of them soo1
| OWNED its meaning. When weary, a6 suc1
ycry old people are, and longing Tor rest, i
soothed him to see tile image Of rest. I sus
pect he might hare waited long for any one t
minister to his need by speech. Who eve
does TO the aged, except as comfort under be
reayement, that they have not to wait long
md that their end is perceptibly approaching
The physical symptoms are familiar enough
Old people are chilly, apt to eat what 10
others would be too little or too much, {gen
erally too little;) unapt to sleep at night, anf
therefore frequently drowsy in the day; ap
to forget the time and be unpunctual; or, o.
; The other hand, over precise and jealous Of in
reference. Tic commonest vanity Of old az
j, | il very like that Of childhood-the conceit q