Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-12-01
DIE Aairp annrpaG.
FRIDAY................rlD DECEMBER !
Grandfafhers.

often wish that Shakespeare had not
nut that speech picture OF life into the
mouth of Jacques jacques was a
melancholy man, and took melancholy
view of things. If he had not of been
a misanthrope, q baby might have pre-
scented itself to his mind as chuckling
and Growing in the nurses arms, and
!. not as muling ard puking In like
enanner he might have drawn a pleass
ans ii cture of green and happy old age,
instead of insisting so much on leanness
and slippers and shrunken shanks. The
seven ages, as jacques depicts them,
may be in accordance with certain
rule of life; but, for my part, l have met
with very many beautiful exceptions,
and love to dwell upon them. 1t has
been my good fortune to know many old
; men, who, after the toll and strife of life,
retained ell the original innocence and
simplicityA of9their childhood. i have
seen thenLand can see them now-sit- I
ting in their easy chairs, their gums as
innocent of teeth and their heads as in
nocent of hair as when they Jay in their
mothers laps-sitting there hiding the 1
Lords good time patiently and cheerful
ly, while sons and daughters and grand |
sons and granddaughter lowered about
them, and patted them and snoothed
their pillows, and spoke to them in those
simple words which seems as well adapt.
ed to the old man as well as the child.
There is purifying influence in old age
which we all recognize. We may know
that the old man. has led wicked life, /
but when old age comes upon him,
wrinkling his brow, hlanching his hair
and bowling him to the earth, it seems as
if he had been redeemed and purified by
them. a can understand why the patFi- i
archs prayed SO frequently and so earn
estly for length of days, prayed for life
until the passions and vanities of human |
nature should have passed over like
cloud, leaving the heart to beat its last I
throb on the peaceful shore of eternity. I
1t always seems to me that at tours ore |
a man is neither in this world nor the |
next, but that he is in a position between |
he twS and can look calmly upon both.
think II must be pleasant to look upon I
he last shore thus, and wait for the 4
oat, not impatient for, nor dreadiug its
oming, pleasant to hear the plash of the
ars and the distant song of the rowers
they come to bear you away to that
oden land where youth is eternal I /
loud End it difficult 70 talk Of old grand
.thers othtrwise Than III this strain, /
Or have never known an old GRANDPA
Ter who, whatever his previous fife, did
ot wear an aspect of innocence. Age
not altogether unkind While it with
srs the beauty it also expunges the
races Of evil "a sions The film that
,omes over The eye is O veil to hide the
,lare of anger; the wrinkles that score
he brow are strokes of times pen, de-
igned to erase the frown and scowl that
,assion has written there so boldly. l
en recall many grandfsthers whoiwere
practical testimony to thu soundness
the theory have just preached with
,gard to the purifying influence of age
remember one. little, feeble, cherry,
erry.hssrtsdl old fellow, who bad beens
terriblelT urks in his days. He had
cen passionate, i'm erious, iviolenty-
onstant source Of trouble to his wife,
nd terror to his children. When he
scame an old grandfather, he was
-ansformed u ntoo the most 'docile. creaE
are imaginable His own. little grand i
hildren could rule him and make him 7
o just as they liked. A"aDo you remem-
er grandfather" one of them would say,
chen you used to give it to your boys
Il round with the horsewhip2" No,
90, my dear, be world answer al hope
/ never did that" Oh, fe, fe, no, my
DEAR" says the old man, ait couldn't
have been me; It must have been some-
body else" And granny strikes in and
affirms that he did the deed, completely /
smashing two china shepherdesses that
had been in the family for century.
Which relation sends the old man into a
fit of laughter so hearty and good hu-
rlored that you cannot conceive he could
ever have been capable of the violent
conduct imputed to him. / dare say he
can scarcely believe it himself now, when
age has cast the devil out Of him.-AH
the Year Round t4t q h5 k48 ~