The Goodhue volunteer., 1862-12-17
Growing Old.
BY HENRY WARD BEEcuER.

| NJ, ,
There IS period at which men come to be
strangely Impressed with the thought, lam
grow ing old" 1islppose / therc1i is a year or
two in which al! have the feeling, (it'may not
be painful one, but it is a sad one; it is a
tender, minor fte|ing,) II have passed my
youth; lam never to be a boy againt; am
never TO- yonns any more; not only, AM I
a man, hut; asa ,nan have signs and tokens
os the faiIureof some parts 6f my organiza-
tion.' 4. S'o !.
1t is sail 6 athletes, boxers and wrcstlcrs
that they havca second BREATH: After they
have gone through what may Be said to be
!t',cir first strength, there is r,Aying Of the
system, and then they are said to have come
to their sccona breath. When they arc on
their second brcat', they hold ont a great
while. So it is with our thoughts in respect
to growing old. We have sad feeling to get
|ovcr which arises from tho Consciousness
that we arc becoming agtd; but after men
have got over that feeling, they never feel old,
though they are eighty years Of age. They
come TO their second breath in that regard {!
Nuv, do y5u begin to have consciousness
that you arc falling? do you find that your
feet grow heavier than they used to Lv =: Are
there not persons here that have some diff
Guilty about the car? Haycyou never thought
that persons talked less clearly than they used
| t,>S ,j,
not pronounce their words as plainly as you
were taught to pronounce yours in the school
that you attended? Does it not seem to you
that the spectacle makers aie growing s!sc.i; :? :?
Are there not times when you feel that the
shadow is turned? All day long the sun
covS up, and up, and up, till at last it stands
, At li,ss;, noonday; and then, vheA it slants
even degree you see thar tAv, shadow crccps
: down the other SIDE, and grows longer and
longer as it goes down. There are many Of
you that have seen tao shade" run on the
wrong side, and it is growing longer and
longer. Your sun is gowiny down toward
the western hrriZon
If a man has been accustomed to think of
his iife mainly as cvntcr 4 or Gxed here, 1t is
not possible that he should not feel sadness
at the Indications Ct dccay;ns powers, OF
limited accomplishments, Of being compelled
to l,:y down his part OF the d~l;vs Of active
life. Bat if ne feels that these things arc
work Ing ont for him "a far more exceeding
eternal weight of glory in thc life that is to
come, he can look upon hem with compo
sure, il not VII, e,lccri iulnyss.
We DO not invy what mountains, rich
with gold, are worth unti we begin to dig
and the more We Gis, the more We become
Impressed with it. great value. So long as
the yo!d IS ccvcrct! Up, and locked in the hard
1:ar'z. it is worthless. It is By blasting, D;
rcndinG, b: destroying, that the precious orr
is brought out and made svrvicabie tow
We carry in US that witch is more precious
t::lan the o:c. to obtain which We blast and
;, md aud destroy the rock. 1t is just this
that the apostle thinks of when he says
y "Wc have this treasure in cartElen vcsSels. -
We are like a caskct made Of earth, inside oi
which is rrcciousncss, it may be Of ointment
&: j>wcI>, o: sonet:,ing else The resl value
| consists in that which the caskct co1tains-
'!:!i> i.oly may be shattered, the caskct me-:
be destroyed, and yet all that is valuable may
' remain.
Who cares then, whether the hair be whit,
or black? Who cares whether the eye be
far-si=h'cs! or nea:-sig..;cd: Who cares
whether the hearing be poor or good? Who
cares what becomes Of the senses? Tii, i,
cot 'ay whole life, This body is rot my onl,
heritage. i 20 to that bright lard where ths
immortal part shines Up and on for ever an,
ever. And this consideration takes away al
sadness occasioncd bv2 the consciousness O
the failure Of tic earthly faculties.