The Lamar register., 1889-07-20
FAOD THE MUSIC.
Bob Burdette's Advice to
HIS Son.


the pen of Bob Burnette is good
My son, your brow is cloudedd:
something has happened that didn't
and doesn't agree with you. Were
you neglected In the invitations? !?
Didn't you get on any of the CON-
mittees? Were you overlooked In
the convention? Hasn't the secreta.
ry written you private letter asking
your advice on the campaign2 Have
you been coldly passed over for men
of less ability Can you see clearly
that everything is gong wrong be-
cause you have not been consulted? !?
Have you been directly snubbed by
inferior people? / thought as much.
At your time of life such things are
very liable TO occur. They use to
happen with me now and then. You
Will grow wiser as you grow older,
unless you take the other chute; then
you will grow more foolish; and
there is only one cure for an old
fool, my boy-that is death. Ordi-
nary death won't cure him, either.
Though thou shouldest bray him in
mortar among wheat with 4 pestle,
yet will not his foolishness depart
from him." See how awfully dead
he has to be killed! Smashing him
only makes him worse.
But, now, it any or all of these
sights have been put upon You, lis
ten to me, my tender TaleInachus.
Don't show your sores. Oh, don't
shsw your sores. They are not
pleasant things to look at. nobody
wants to see them, and they will heal
much more rapidly and naturally and
BEAUTIFULLY if you don't expose them.
Keep them covered. Don't show
them to anybody but your surgeon,
and don't show them to him unless
you have to. And, don't look at
them yourself. Leave them alone
under the healing plasters of time
and the cool congresses of forgetful-
ness, and you'll be surprised some
day when you do happen 10 think of
them, to find that they have healed
by the first intention without a scar.
Don't tell people when you are hurt;
don't tell everybody how keenly you
feel slight when, perhaps, there
was no slight intended. Don't get
yourself snubbed by people who new
er see you, and who don't know you
and never think OF you. And, if you
really are hit, and hit hard, it belit-
ties your manhood and 1t drives
away human sympathy when you lift
up your voice and howl on the streets.
Keep quiet about it. Don't whine;
don't yell.
One day, at the investment of
Vicksburg-it was on the memorable
22nd of May-during lull in the
desultory skirmishing that preceded
the assault, while l was lying close
to the surface of the great, round
globe which we inhabit. and wishing
l could get little closer to it, we
heard tremendous bowling and
shrieking, and down the dusty road
from the front came blue jscketed
skirmisher on the trot, holding one
hand up in the other, and the hand
he was holding up had no thumb on
it. 1t hurt like the mischief, 1 have
no doubt, but 1t was only thumb
after all, and how the fellow was
howing about it. He was a brave
man or he wouldn't have been where
he could have lost that thumb. But
you would think it was the only
thumb in the United States army and
that no one else on the skirmish line
had been hit that morning.
So the soldiers saw only the funny
side of the picture, and perfect
chorus of howls, in vocifereus imita.
ton of the mans own walls, went
shrieking up from the sarcastic line
of men who were waiting their turn
to face death. In minute another
soldier came walking back from the
skirmish line. He was walking
slowly and steadily, never moan