Weekly Delaware State journal and statesman., 1861-01-11

thoughtful air. Of prose and less Of poetry more
reality aud less Of The man OF forty or ffiy
almost uuconsoiousy finds himself reading difegan
class Of books and seeking different modes diversion
scenes Of quiet retreat He grows reflective
demonstratlse. lie finds himself frequently roveaiul
he past calling up old memo ries and living Agail
tho exploit musings Of youth Old times aud things hAy
ifeshness and glow altogether above any thing of to
day with the man Of occAsonally too his physica
frame jog Old Alexander CARLYLE Of Inyeress il
writing to his friend. Sir John Macpheron says "Witl
respect myself have had many warnings these thres
years but the whole have only fits Of ineas and
disease, am sliding softly TO old age without any
hero adds With touch Of returning YOUTH ean up
On occasions, preach like aon OF thuAderl"
This process by which time down stone by stone
The temple the SOU, Is silently carried forward
was the building OF the great Hebrew Temple neither
Found Of hammer or implement upon IT, And yet ii u as
surely going on tines saads run. Good Bishop Rey
holds OF H. "As before the whole debt paid
the debt Of death be paid by the whole body old age
little and little take away, sometimes and
times another and taussth It to die daily.
AND 80 the great poet OF time and nature says;
"The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and ippered panialoon;
With spectacle on nose and pouch side
His youthful hose we'll saved, world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voles
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
And whistles In his sound Last Of ali,
Ihat ends this STANCE eyentful history,
Il second childishness and more oblivion
Sans teeth sans ey sans taste, everything"
And must not to refsr you to the innitahs picture
of advancing years and nnrtes drawn by he inspired
preacher az the Conclusion Of his grAndy solemn dis
course the i2h CHI ptsr Of Eeclssasiss How affecting
be picture and yet how faithful
The bographer Of Charles Maclin the dramaiist who
eied 81 the age Of lOl, has given most touching
picture Of old age in convesaon held wtGhis subject
Do you not says he 10 hlaclin "hnd unpleasant to
with p
Not at all sir was the reply 81 get up whom am tired
\ 10 bed sgan and 80 forth"
"Y9u are pleased 10 sea your friends l suppose,"
Always sir. aud happy hold A-l-A'
"a conversation you inean.p
-Ay, yes conversational Alas you seq the wretched
STATE Of my memory could not recoect that common
word, but cannot converse. toR 10
this where my friends assemble but eond not hear nil
did not understand what they said they very at
nyo to me. but could be one Of them; always
ieal an uneasness when don't know what people
eig @ about, indeed, ionnd ST. that was sot ny 70
everything else, is beginning fail About two days
aso let aaa pain lust above my len eye and heard
something give crack since, this eye has been
paihfu am pretty comfortable now, but hnd my
strength Is AZ gone; feel myself going gradually"
| This is sold mortality Indeed.
hut even ls period Of life is relieved Ct Its tedum by
many considerations The sged often surrounded hy
their children smile upon the aged dame The
grandfather tells to the Juvenile group, the wonderful
shows how fields are won"
There kind ofrepeet due to age which is very CRATE
iu Every one feels that the day OF aeciaton Is and
the sodty and gravity Of strength aud sincerity have
taken its place. ago. has been truly said,
ke away the power Of acting character from those
who have done the successfully during the main
part Of their lives. The real appears rst duliy
and then prsdomnenty. Time spares the chIselied
bsauty Of stone and MARBLE but makes havoc with
pasierand stuccnh At last the death bed all aecta
ton %one and stern reality forever succeeds
Now i may to you that there is something Of
melancholy In the thought Of my text that there Is
and growing DID, and from the oldest to the youngest
we are all pacing mnurnful to the grave, keeping
step to thesolsmn requem You may say that the mo-
ent the fact that one IS actually growing old rises above
the horizon OF his CONSEQUENCES he must he unhappy
and that to have posed the climax of ordinary human life
must needs be the snddasf this hiktnrv
Even 50, all this may De- often is true Dut by no
state Of heart in which the observer finds himself 10
grow old without pieyto travel through the falling
mEs o. declining years 70 the death bed and the grave
without consultations aud hopes Of religion uuqRsston
ably gloomy process. Well may such cry out Of the
depths Vol unto u.s. wo unto us for the day departeth
and the evening shadows "a engthenedln But to grow
old in blessed and Transporting hope, to rpen in all that
ornaments enriches and sustains the sou-his Is not
Why said Dr.. johnson to a friend, "a man grows
better humored, as he older. He improves by
perience. When young, he thinks himself Of great
Sequence and everything Importance As he advances
IN e he learns 70 think himself of consequence and
patient and better pleased"
This isdOubsss true Of good but precisely the
a. 1sy eTow uids VII sbsd aSa ssew Sosss
rpens and developasf in his own nature flnoV OF no
rule which this order can bs reversed Ifhe character
gets s type and mould in early lite Of sin, The natur
contrary, the tastes and habits early in sym
pathy with virtuous and religious principles such
Will increase in goodness rs he advances in years What
heaven-wde difference between pous and i'm
pous old age. As there is nothing beautiful than
the one so there nothing ugly than the other OF
all the reYong spectReles that angels look upon,
perhaps none Is worse than miserable mpious old man,
who amidst all the brilliant lights Of probation chooses to
Walk In darkness until at length
'sThs bright stars from whence
He had his light are set ioreyermore,p
and he steps forth into blaekness Of eternal nighs
"Nothng,7 says Hopkins dis so pltiable sthe advan-
cling stages Of life when the world me fesh and the
devil have secured the Victory for the grave"
"Can any thing says Robert South, 'in nature be
more odOua and deapcable then A vic ma A
who after three four years spent the
Of grace, taken in digested aud defeated, shall
continue as arrant hypoerite dsssmber aud masquer
ader in religion as ever still lodging and doubling with
God and man, and rever speaking his mind much
opening his mouth in earnest, but when he and
breathes old broken and deerep ensualis creeping
(as II were) 70 the Devil upon all lourss vsrhaired
wanton With frost In his bones and snow his head,
wretch scorned. depised and abandoned by all
that even his very vices ors4ke him. How Amentabie
is 1t aye putting the airs snd swelling with the
pride Of vain and artiu uh With no rsalza
piety virtue. Rlauntng In gay lors, ond Of show
and to present the charms Of youth amidst the
adopting the artificial Of Chesterfield rather than
the of Paul How very like passbonrd humanity
10 the grave and the other essayng the movements Of
the dance This Is not simply ptabe 1t is hideous and
appalling to rightly ordered mind"
Then how ehesress the condition and how very blank
the prospect Of rreligoua old age Look at the picture
OF the old Italian poet Carstglone lears wearing away
others take away from the blood great Of the lively
hlltlls lhdt hlefeth
feeble whereby the soul worketh its effects. There
the flowers OF delight fade away in that
Of hearts the leages fall from the after
harvest Instead Of open and clear thoughts there
anteelh cloudy and troublesome heavness accompanied
with thousand heart griefs that not only the blood
but the nil is enlt sbled The eweet spring time joy
is all gone and broken at last upon roek'
Altsl alas this is old age without piety and With
out hope All that the h IT has cherished and loved,
all that has cheeTed aud supported in this world Is
falling with senescence, the world Is also departing and
yet there is nothing in for the soul in the better
eountrythere is nothing 10 look forward tonothng in
the promises of God that be laid hold Of and thus
the sou eans upon empty nothing 1t "drven away
in its Wickednesi" All to grow old in this wayo feel
that the thus sliding from under and leaving
in the iebert places OF hopeless and unmgated
row. this Is dreadful To travel this road from youth TO
age from birth DEATH while eTery step lakes farther
and farther
AWAY from our God,
Away from yon heaven,
That blissful abode"
This is unspeakably sad aud gloomy. Let those who
thus walking pause ponder these things, Letthe
thoughtof this dekoAton Of ungody old age you
away from this state.
But this is far om truthful picture Of viruous and
godly old age uneonscousy the years creep and
they pass they scatter with their invisible fingers the
hoar rOsts ones head grey hairs growing upon
his crown and he knows It MT His heart however, is
Tha flo and raofl ID