The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1868-04-16
A Plea for an Afternoon.

A Plea for an Afternoon.
The April number of the Atlantic Month
Jy has an excellent article entitled, 50 Plea
for the afternoon. The sci of making
cid age happy, is treated philosophicalIy
it commends itself to the good sense Of all
We make the following extract.
''Dr LYMAN BEECHER said that he
twice saved his life by change of climate
and circumstances once by leaving the
East to reside in the West, and again by
returning to live in the East Certainly he
prolonged, not only life, but faculties, to a
good old age. 1t is known that towards
the close of his life he be gan new thesis
upon the Trinity, and thought aud wrote
with intenssst zeal till his failing powers
of body and mind constrained him to rest.
Who shall say that this recurring systole
and diastele of thought did not keep his
autumn days green and beautiful.
Utterly ruinous is it for old people to fall
into the moptony of quietude, which is
without care, and therefore without inter-
est. When | see an aged person thus net
thing himself, to sleep away the remainder
Of life, it affects mo with something Of the
horror one feels on seeing all infant upon
narcotics. There has, perhaps, never beOn
an instance among Christian nations of
greatly prolonged powers, except in some
person Of an active, energetic, and positive
character. These qualities seem absolutely
necessary to enable men to combat all the
alurements to incidence to which elderly
folk are subjected in Christian communities.
Certain heather nations formerly exposed
their old people in the wilderness, that their
wearisome lives might be sooner ended. We
beguile ours into idiocy, by Withdrawing
all social and moral pressure towards furth-
er exertion. Mistaken kindness, how much
it will yet have to atone for
"You have worked hard all your life,
father,, says the affectionate son "now
you can afford to rest"
Eyes. | can afford to rest" says the mis-.
taken, deluded father; and he sits down tt
doze in his easy chair, takes snuff and courts
paralysis.
"Now do give up care to mo, mother"
pleads the good daughter. "You have
vexed yourself long enough with these de-
tails, and you deserve few years Of COM
fort and ease"
So. the mother, grieved, and protesting at
heart, weakly acqulesces, and consoles her
self with her knitting; or, if that fail her,
she gossips, pines, and wishes she had good
eyes for reading till she is in her dotage at
sixty, though she ought to have been vigsr-
GUS i'll mind snd body at eighty.
What right has the mind to fail, while
the body is yet comparatively vigorous 2
Do we believe the Immortality, aud that
the soul, disembodied, will be again youth
full and strong7 Then let us nurture this
deathless life, that it may never become
apatbetic or weary, but ever cheerful, strong
and buoyant, Has it lost command Of the
failing body? Then we should look for
the reason Il must have suffered its fac
ulties to fall into neglect and idleness,
while it should have remained vigiIant
master in its own house.
When the body is worn cut, then let the
soul depart in peace. We recognize that as
fitting and even beautiful There is "a SOL
emn garndeur in it, which is impressive !;
but while the body is yet comparatively
strong the mind has no right TO lose con-
troll of it If it does, it is an abnormal
thing il is an evil which we should seek
to remedy it is prinsa JGcie evidence Of oul-
pable neglect or Encouragement. II tie
my hand to my shoulder, it will soon be-
come weakened and helpless if close my
eyes for week or month, it will give me
pain to open them again to the sunshine; [
can destroy my sight by methods of rnisdo-
ing; can destroy all my powers either by
excuses or by disuse but if use them
moderately, yet continuously, should re-
tain them ell while | live An aged per-
son has no right to be either quite blind or
deaf; but there is vastly greater wrong in
his becoming inbecile. He has to thank
himself or his ancestors for it,-not the
laws of nature. He may have inherited
tendencies to infirnity but the probabilities
are, that he must attribute it, either TO the
excuses of carly life, or to the indolsncs Of
old age.
They tell US that age is often queruloul
and exacting; so is sickness, so is infirn'ity
of all kinds but age has no right to the
plea of the invalid. Let it be hale and ro-
bust and, if its just demands are respect
ed, it will overflow with amiability. Tbs
busy child, who likes his play, is happy
one, and the occupied man, who is follow.
ing pursuits oongenial to him, has no time
for discomfort; the poor old gentleman who
has been nursed into the idea that he is past
the age fer exc ion, that he has little more
to do with enjo ments, interests, purposes
or hopes, is Of course hypochondriacal
His failings are natural protest against it
| unnatural estate.
1t is an unphilosophical and most bar
barous idea, that any elderly person must
cease to be merry that be must quietly
give up the recreations and enjoyments O
the past, and be soberly content with BIZ
weight of years. The grim Middle Age
decided that it was sin for Christian peo
pie to laugh. We still insist, that, if an OLE
man laughs, he is not fit for the world he i
drawing near. Young complains in hi
''Night Thoughts
''To gentle lifes descent
| We shut our eyes, and think II Is PLAIN a.,
| We take fair days in winter for the spring
as though enjoying life, and looking on tn
bright side, were a crime which "wnl turl
our blessings into bane." He tell
US:
| uAOe should fly concourse, cover in retreat
| Defects of judgement, and the Will eubdue;
! Walk thoughtful on the SILENT solemn shore
ofthat vast ocean it must sail so SOON
/ These are might thoughts indeed. The.
will draw down the black curtains Of dot
age about us while we are yet vigorous
rather than add to our fitness for the futu-
i life Shall we sit, like Minerva's owls, hoe
ling dolsfulIy through the long evening j