Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1873-01-01
4 NEW YEARS COLLOQUY WITH
TINE.

Tie va
swallows all'things.
"Thou art a jolly old fellow, Father
Time? Give us thy hand, and ere
the bright sun of the first morning Of
the new year shines cheerfully over
the grave of its departed brother, lei
us be a little soeiable, and talk of the
past, Do not be erusty you need not
stop in your onward march. L my
sely am somewhat of a traveller, and
will walk an hour with you; only
keep that confounded old scythe out
of the way, which, since first saw il
pictured upon the cover Of the Far
mer's Almanac, along with the mat
ter-of-iact eouplet,-
saTime cuts down all,
Both great and SMALL
I never could look at without shud-
dering.
'rThou hast visited all countries and
all cIimes; thou hast been in strange
lands. and beheld strange and won
dtous things; thou hast kept on thy
way untiring-hast past over the
great city, and left messages of joy OF
sorrow to millions of the sons of men.
Thou hast frosted the heads of the
aged, cut down beauty in its bloom,
and blighted earth's fairest flowers
Thou hast brought poverty into the
dwellings of affiuence thou hast by
thy movements brought distrust into
friendly bOsoms, and thou hast sepa-
rated families. Thou hast brought
about the utterance of the first unkind
word between those who had prom
ised to love each other ever; thou
hast led the youth onward to his first
act of wiekedness and sin, and the
maiden rashly to forsake the dwelling
of her childhood-the merchant tC
the verge of bankruptcy. and from
thence to ruin and to death; thou
hast plunged the man of crime still
deeper into the abyss of iniquity-
caused children to weep over the
death of their parents, and parents
for the departure of their children
Thou hast done all these things, old
Time; and now, what canst thou say
for thyself? Hast done any good, old
fellow? anything for which we shall
commend thee, or which should make
us hail thy presence with gladness ~
mortal, listen !" said Time. "GOd
is good, and to perform his will am ]
sent to the earth. 'Tis to work oui
the designs of his good providence
that I wend my way hither and
thither over this little globe of yours.
True, have frosted the heads of The
aged, but the aged good man fears moi
Time. He who has spent his whole
life in active deeds of benevolenct
and kindness, benefiting his fellow
men, knows that his gray hairs are 6
crown of honor, and that it becomes
him, even as the crown which be
shall wear in paradise as a reward fol
q life of Righteousness here. True, ]
have cut down beauty in its bloom
but for what, think you? to crafty 9
malignant spirit? D, no! there are
mortals here who seem all too good tC
be the inhabitants of such dwelling
place as this earth, and 1 have but
translated them to a brighter land
where the spirits Of the pure and the
good-the just made perfect-will for
over dwell.
"I have blasted the loveliest flow
ers, say you? Not so. In the garden
of paradise they bloom again witt
more than their earthly freshness anC
beauty. Purity and goodness should
not be scattered upon the cold winds
of ingratitude and wrong, without &
shelter, and without q fitting home
of such is composed the kingdom o.
heaven; and nurtured by its dews
and warmed by the smiles which
beam from the throne of mercy, they
grow and expand until they become
like the angelic beings they so much
resemble.
al have brought poverty into the
dwellings of affiuence, but to serve 9
good end. To the rich man who loved
his gold better than his God, l have
taught lesson; 1 have shown him
the frailty of human hopes, and the
instability of human things. In the
low-roofed cottage has the poor man
found that happiness and peace oi
mind which passeth all understand
ing, which he sought in vain to find
amid the glitter of wealth and the
pride of station. Hast thou not read
that it is easier for camel to enter q
needles eye than for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of heaven ? and
blamest thou me that l have stripped
him of the vile clogs that weigh down
his immortal spirit to the earth.
"Thou sayest that l have brought
distrust into friendly bosoms that
have separated families, and caused
unkind words to be spoken. Look at
the bright side of the picture alas
for your human nature! which, since
the days of your good mother Eve,
has delighted to place the burden upon
the wrong shoulders. Think how my
softening touch has quieted old feuds,
and silenced old animosities, forever.
Think how my old fingers have rub
bed away long scores of hate and in
gratitude; how 1 have warmed hearts
caIlous to all feelings of affection, and
caused them glow again with the fires
of friendship and love. l have led
the youth onward to wickedness and
crime, and the maiden rashly to for.
sake the home of her childhood; ; but
think how many / have brought tC
see the evil of their ways, and turned
from the path which leads to perdi
ton. Think how many youthful
hearts are made wise unto salvation
by bitter experience, and how many
repentant erring ones are seeking al
the only place for forgiveness, and
atoning for the past by a life of recti-
tude and virtue.
"Think, too, while ye would seek
cause to complain of me, how little
We know: think of all the gladnesS
and Joy which / bring to mems hearts
Children are born into the world, and
{ what an inexpressible flood OF de-
light rushes through the parents
heart, as he traces in imagination the
dim, distant future and how are his
days and nights filled with blissful
hopes of seeing them live and grow
up around him, to cheer and bless his
later years. If l draw wrinkles up
on the brow of age, cause the roses
to bloom brighter upon beauty's
cheek. If 1 destroy, / also make alive
If brush into Oblivion some records
of the past, L go with the man VIII
searcheth after knowledge, and from
my experience, his own soul is ex'
panded, and he becomes q blessing tc
his race"
Just so far had Time spoken when
the C ock struck twelve; and with
the determination to profit by his
teachings, 1 wished him a HAPPY
New YEAR, and fell asleep.-FroH
Life Among the FLo1Cers," By Lduro