Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-01-19

The Rev. Charles Fluhrer Finishes His
Shakespearian Lectures.


q The lean and slippered pantaloon.
With spectaeles on nose. and pgueh on side;
And his big manly voice.
Turning again toward childish treble"
Rev. Chas. Fluhrer concluded his lecture
on Shakespeare's Seven Ages Of Man last
evening, announcing that on next Sabbath
evening he would deliver a discourse on
Capital Punishment" and on the following
Sabbath evening would commence a series
Of flectares on Religious Epochs," beginning
with Catholicism.
Last nights lecture rounded out most
completely the series, covering the various
stages of life from boyhood to old age,
covering vast scope of research, and con
tanning fund of information and enter
tainment such as is seldom excelled and not
often equalled. Throughout the entire series
the speaker never failed 10 instruct and hold
the attention of his large audiences to the
ead without firing.
Mr. Fluhrer said the finest descnp-
ton of old ags in the Bible was
TO be found in the twelfth chapter
Of Ecclesiastes. This chapter he read, also
Theodore Parker's sketch o" "Aunt Kindly"
and DR.. Holmess "Iron Gate" Speaking
of old age, Cicero tells US that to every part
of life, its period has been assigned. No;
only is it natural to grow old, but it is only
through a violation of SONS natural law, that
We die of anything else. The gray hair, the
trembling voice, the tottering gait. the care
ful wording OF speech. are all indicative of
the contamination OF life, old age. Shakes
peire's description of age is in two scenes,
that of the slippered pantaloon-an Italian
Il sure, feeble in mind and body. the butt of
the clown-and senility, a sleeping, digesting
animal; "Sans teeth, Sans everything, and
his manly voics turning again toward child
ish treble"
The outward appearances of life are due to
physiological changes, running from growth
u maturity. thence to age. Incipent age
u'ually begins at fifty years, old age at
seventy. confirmed age to eighty five. and
dscreptitude from that point onward. From
youth TO manhood life is the most active,
then the nutritive functions excel and growth
ensues. At maturity man reaches his full
stature and retains his vitality until fifty,
During the period from twenty five to forty
man compasses his greatest efforts. After
forty five there are but few inventions
though there are such exceptional cases as
Petrarch, Darwin and Goldsmith, where the
minds of these great ones continued 10 grow
with the apparent vigor Of youth.
The lecturer traced mans decline from
the ripenness of fifty to the sere and yellow
leaf of seventy, and the physical and mental
changes which occur during the various
stages toward the sundown OF life. OF life's
remembrances and decline, he drew
some pathetic pictures, delineat;ng
the aged grandmother and grandfather as
they appear, casting retrospective glances
over their busy lives almost passed, and
daily living anew the scenes in which they
had been living actors. The means of pre-
serving n sweet old age were described, and
the prevention of immature decrepitude,
mentally, morally and physically were point
edly referred to, thus closing the end of "our
play TO the seven ages of man."