The Wilmingtonian., 1886-07-10

He kept up this ref an business for nearly
ten centuries, While Methuselah continued
to stand out amid the general wreck of men
and nations.
Even as the young, strong mower going
forth with his mower for to NOV spareth
the tall and dignified drab hornets nest and
passeth by on the outer side, so Time, with
his Waterbury hour glass and his over
worked hay knife over his shoulder, and
his long Mormon whiskers and his high
sleek dome of thought, with its gray lam
brequin of hair around the base of it,
moved all around Methuselah and then
passed on.
Methuselah decorated the graves of those
who perished in dozen different wars. He
did not enlist himself, for over 900 years of
his life he was exempt. He would go to the
enlisting place and offer his services, and
the officer would tell him to go home and
encourage his grandchildren to go. Then
Methuselah would sit around Noah's front
steps, and smoke and criticise the conduct
of the war, also the conduct Of the enemy.
1t it said of Methuselah that he never was
the same man after his son Lamech died,
He was greatly attached TO Lamech, and
when he woke up one night to find his son
purple in the face with membraneous Group,
lie could hardly realize that he might lose
him. The idea of losing boy who had just
rounded the glorious morn of his 777th year,
had never occurred to him. But death
loses a shining mark, and he garnered little
Lammie and left Methuselah to moan and
mourn on for a couple more centuries with.
out him
Methuselah finally got so that lie couldn't
sleep any after o'clock in the morning,
and he didn't see how any one else could.
The older he got, and the less valuable his
time became, the earlier he would rise, so
that lie could get an early start. AS the
centuries filed slowly by, and Methuselah
got where all he had to do was to shuttle
into his loose-fltting clothes, and rest his
gums on the top of large sleek headed cane
and mutter up the chimney, and then groan
and extricate himself from his clothes again
and retire He rose earlier and earlier in
the morning, and muttered more and more
about the young folks sleeping away the
best part of the day, and said he had no
doubt but that sleeping and snoring till
breakfast time helped to carry off Lam.
But one day old Father Time came along
with new seythe, and he drew the whet-
stone across it n few times, and rolled the
sleeves Of his red flannel undergarment up
over his warty elbows, and Mr. Methuse-
lah passed on to that undiscovered country
~
record.
We can almost fancy how the physicians.
who had disagreed about his case ali the yay
through, came and insisted on post mortem
examination to prove which was right and
what was really the matter with him. We
can imagine how people went by shaking
their heads and regretting that Methuselah
should have tampered with tobacco when he
knew that it affected his heart
But he is gone. He lived to see his own
promissory notes rise, flourish, acquire inter-
est, pine away at last, and finally outlaw.
He acquired large farm in the very heart
of the county seat, and refused to move it or
plot it and call it Methuselah's addition He
came out in spring regularly for 900 years
after he got too old to work out his pol tax
ON the road and put in his time telling the
rising generation how to make a good road
Meantime other old people, who were almost
100 years of age, moved away and went west.
where they would attract attention and
command respect. There was actually no
pleasure in getting old around where Methu-
selah was and being ordered about and
scolded and kept in the background by him.
So when at last he died, people sighed and
said; "Well, it was better for him to die be-
fore he got childish. 1t was best that he
should die at time when he knew it all.
We can't help thinking what an acquisition
Methusclah will be on the ever green shore
when he gets there, with all his ripe ex-
experience and his habits of early rising"
And the next morning after the funeral
Methusean's family did not get out Of bed
till nearly O'Clock. Bill Nye, in Boston
Globe.