Nevada County picayune., 1889-01-02
1 00o.

l tSS~s
 Here it is--rhe New Year. The door is opened and we go in per- force, as if all the world were crowded at our backs and pushing us through the the open portal. Just at midnight the wondrous step was taken. We are over the threshold
 We nave another unit in our figures expressing the date, our distance from the Year of our Lord. A German poet asks: Twill men ever write thus, Ammo Domini, eleven million eighteen hundred and eighty-nine?' An! that is sobering question. A long time that, A. D. 11001SS9; a long stretch to be ticked out one second at a time. Who can say any thing of it? Who can jndge? What sybil can soothsay about the enor- nous sweep of time! When the an cient town lay proudly on the slope of Vesuyius. the people were plan hing confidently, not for million years, nay, not for million min utes, but for one day, one afternoon and evening. Lo! at midday the mountain belched and down fell the ashes like grey snow from ten thous- and congealing zones, and in few short hours the city was covered up not tower to be seen; the people all drowned in the ashes. Well, do we fear the sl ly may open and ingulf us to-day, or the sky rain destruc- tion with meteors or flames. or the sun dark out hydrogen flames 20,- 900, ,000 miles and vaporize Us in an instant! By no means. If it were so, what matter! There would not be one pulse less of happiness in the universe. Still, we may expect this good little ball of earth to trundle us safely a long journey yet. But A. D. ll001SS9; that is too much for thought. Before we venture too much on that date we will do as Rip said he would do if Gretchen fell in the water and cried to him to fish her out-we will just go home and think about that"
 And yet there are three predictions, at least, that one may make about A. D, ll0OlSS9. One is that the thing, which are the greatest things now will be the greatest things then. Wherever we may be, or whatever may betide this old earth, no matter the greatest things now will be the greatest things then. These great est things are justice, goodness, kind ness, human fellowship. Another thing we may predict confidently io many things very great now will be very small then. 1t is not 50 easy to see what these things are which will dwindle but it is fair to thin. that the power of mere individual accumu- lation, the might of wealth. the vast inequalities of distribution, the thirst for gain, the assembling of legisla- lures to enact thousands of laws es- cry year, military glory, and many such like things that are now mighty and seem grand, will cut but small figure after ,000, ,000 years. An other thing we may be pretty sure of is that things winch seem petty and trivial even nov will have perished then. Will men grumble and whine Will women oppress themselves for fashion! Will both join in petty social rivairies and mean eniIs- lations, at that far dateI Truly, we think not. We hope much for hu- manity in u thousand, yea, in a hun dred years. We move rapidly now. We have gained kind of moral and spiritual gravity conferred by our long, slow climb mp the hill of knowl- edge. Now all the powers of nature will help our swift gliding into the valley of peace and good will and plenty. It is impossible to dream the works which men may do on na- ture and on themselves.-( Detriot Free Press.
 When rejoicing over the good things which you have received, do