Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-15

| The remarkable iact discussed IN the fol-
lowing article from the Richmond Times
must have attracted the attention of every
intelligent reader. The strange mortality
among the old men has not been confined to
Virginia, but is noticeable in nearly all the
border and Southern States since the close
of the war, and the remark Is upon almost
every tongue How fast our old men die.'
There is a singular fact connected with
the war which, palpable and prominent as il
is, We have never seen commented upon by
any of the public Journals of the country
fact which is still transporting and recurring
under the influence of causes the direct cor
sequence ofthose which marked its initiation.
We allude 10 The extraordinary number Of
old men who, in ever county and every
neighborhood, died either during the war
or have died since its conclusion,
and are dying daily II is not strange
that old men should die; they are
expected to do sc. But il is a little re- .
markable that they should all die of at once !
all over the country, in the absence Of any
epidemic specially directed against old men,
to account for such proceeding. We speak :
Of that good old stock Of Virginia gentlemen
who wore blue coats and brass buttons who
shaved clean every day, and wore unexcep- ;
tionable shirt-bOsOms and collars who rode
bloOded horses, and carried gold-headed
canes which they inherited from their fore {
fathers; who took julep before breakfast,
n toddy before dinner, and a night-capbetore :
bedtime to say nothing of the intermediate I
drinks high livers and honest drinkers, !
who were princes in hospitality, Christians
in charity, and friends in need who were
the pride and honor Of their land, the Orna-
ments Of society and the representative types
of glorious race and time, now rapidly de
parting Why should they all die-at least
50 soon. and in such numbers? We shall
endeavOr TO explain.
The loss, during the war, of lifelong and ,
accustomed luxuries and comforts, which
had become a necessity Of their existence,
NAV be assigned rs one of the causes Of NOR
tality among our old men. They could not
eat and drink as they had been accustomed,
and the deprivation injured their health.
Good, generous liquor was as scarce "A hens
teeth in the Coniederacy, and the old men
could not do without it. They took 20 drink
ing new apple brandy, fresh from the dis
tillcrv and il did not agree with them.
But more potent causes, by far, which
affected the health and lives of the old men,
were mental and moral in their character. 4.
Anxiety for the safety of loved and cherish r
ed sons, whose lives were daily perilled, sus- a
pense as 10 their fate after numerous great
battles which seemed to have no end, grief
ut the death of the pet and pride Of the fam
ily-all these, with their cOrroding cares, :
told fearfnlly upon old mon, and hast
ened their gray hairs in sorrow to the
grave. Then came the loss of property, in
the accumulation Of which their lives
had been spent, and upon the security
md preservation of which their lives
depended; trusted and valued slaves whom
hey had treated and INDUCED "A children,
,tung them by the ingratitnde CT flight and
lesertion harrassing anxiety and apprchen-
lions a to the future worried and perpleIed
hem Then came the close Of q disastrous
war, and the total abolition of slavery. The
Did men had none Of the buoyancy and elias
licity Of youth to meet and combat all this.
They could not commence life again, under
The new order of things. They became a
prey to grief and dependency, and the storm
which swept away all the landmarks Of their
Did habits and associations, was too much for
hem. Is il any longer strange that they
should have died, and be still dying2
But we hope that those noble virtues
which dignifed and adorned these reIresen-
alive men are not perishing with them. God
yrant the time may never come when the
rood old-fashioned Virginia gentleman shall
Ne no more recognized amongst us. Let those
Who envy ard despise goodness and merit,
all them aristOcrats and sneer at them f.
!. VS., but all the wealth Of Shoddy and
'etrolia cannot endow its DOssessOrs with
carts and hands like those which God gave
, these bright and shining exemPlars OF an
lent worth and virtue.
If our new social system shall prove I'M
to the growth and perpetuasion Of
lis good old stOck-if they are doomed TO
asa away-may their memories ever live
nd their excellence ever be emulated among Z
people capable Of approaching the value
nd beauty Of true gentility.