The New Orleans crescent., 1868-11-06

sls
Lrro. the Old Gaard.l

lFr0u the Old Guard
"And what d her history ~ aftt iAHtA
Not long since / was bn ct neighbor Smiths;
while waiting for him 70 come IN from the Held
for he was an honest farmer-T turued to the lam.
lily record n the old Bible lying On the stscd, and
read: John Smith, born January Sd. 1885 n then
turned over the blank leaves and read; "John
Smith. died Hay lst, 1906" And what was his
history, A blank-a mathematical line between
two points, s.d de death s;,,p g; from too much s air.
Smith in spite of his name and parentage hs was
q dandy-a walking advertisement for his tailor.
he could dance divinely, could firt lady's fan
almost like lady and won the heart OF many
boarding school miss BY the grace with which he
lifted his hat. Yet this faultless suit Of clothes,
calling itsef q man-this was born and died. He
was born, had that sublime destiny-life, for more
than quarter Of century-life In this world Of
6ces, in place to weep and pray, and work and
love. 9hs John Smith had the chance OF . Mar
tin Lsther, of John Wesley, Of George WASH
irgten; yes, Of . patriot, battling against over.
was his history, A blank. Bah! I'D rather be
80 chronicler Of small beer" than this same John
Smith.
As for the mere fashionable woman, who spends
her days in slipshod novel reading. and her nights
In Q round of misnamed pleasure; the condensed
record of her life would not match that one SEN
tence commendatory of Don Quixotte's lady love:
"Tbis Ducipea del Toboso was said to have been
the best hand at sailing pork in ell Lamancha."
blank: he toiled early and lste-he made money
why, If his history is blank. What do you call .
record, He was born and he died born to cheat
monument as pale as the face Of the widow whom
he made homeless hard as the orphans stony
pillow out under the stars. almost as hard as his
own heart. on which no record of good could be
craven. Better for him would II be were history
. blank. But he lived his life he made money.
The professed politicians history: The results Of
his life had best be given In the old picture wri
ting. "The entering Wedges fragmentaty
union "a paradox impossible to int)-dercely
contendng srmies-s black mass moving In solid
phalanx to the polls--stop 1.-THE wicked shall not
live half his days. and that record shall not be
completed. Enough has been written to make
him wish TO all eternity that his history had been
q blank. T1
The inebriate's history: He was born Q man
be died brute. II was q happy thought of the
Assyrians, the forming Of their drinking vessels
in the shape of lions or bulls head 1t vas fit
that the epirit that made men beasts should come
MuoA has been written by apter pens than mine
Of the blank that many woman's Life must be :.
/ think must is too strong . word. Were q
woman, would hoe potatoes, pick stones, take in
sewing, teach school, turn book-keeper or clerk,
do anything but teach under the freedmen's bu-
reau-rather than stagnate IN country or town, In
q" green and yellew melancholy" till II is
pleasure TO have ones soul stirred by the stone
that women have too little room for the exercise
of their energies. There is my Southern friend,
Miss -. Set her to teaching school; as soon
tie Q streak Of lightning to Q dog churn why she
has the "sprit OF '76 " men, and would signs de-
caration or independence without q tremor,
were hundred muskets pointing at her. An!
had we few men Of her stamp, there would be
no whining over " lost cause" But her life has
not been q blank-heroines and heroes mustleave
their record and depend upon il, now she is PEN
niless, she will not rest In dependence or whine
over her sacrifices, but will find something TO do.
Many seemingly blank histories are crowded
records in sympathetic ink, that nsed but the eye
of the Eternal to rest upon them to make them
glow in beauty, like old illuminated manuscripts.
Some are palimpsests, with record upon record
Could that pslImpsest, your mind, dear reader be
read a. il will one day be, the heather, the iin-
DEL the Christian record, all restored, hope that
the last record would be the Christian; the others
but the erased writings OF your dead self.
Your history need not be blank. There is
place somewhere In some graveyard. or down in
oceans depths, awaiting your lfeless body there
is place somewhere on the other side Of The
River awaiting your immortal soul; but now noble
deeds are to be wrought. pure thoughts are to be
thought, brave, true, Kind words are to be spoken.
and you are to perform tho deeds, think tho
thoughts and speak the words.