St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-08-03
Face the Music.

ss.s. e.. Jack DakrympIe.
- Face the Music.
The following to the boys from the per
of Bob Burdette is good My son, your
brow is clouded 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 committees
Were you overlooked in the convention
Hasn't the secretary written you personal
letter asking your advice upon the cam
palgn? Have you been coldly passed over
for men of less ability2 Do you feel that
an intentional slight has been put upon
you? Can you see clearly that everything
is going wrong because you have not been
consulted? Have you been directly snub-
bed by inferior people,? thought as much
At your time of life such things are very
liable to occur. They used to happen to
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. Ordinary
death won't cure him either "Though
thou shouldst bray him in a morts. among
wheat with pestle, yet will not his fool
ishness depart from him." See how aw-
fully dead he has to be killed Smash
ing only makes him worse.
But now, if any or all of these sights
have been put upon you, listen to me, my
tender Telemachus. Don't show your
sores. Oh, don't show 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 any body 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 COM
presses of forgetfulness, and you'll be sur
prised, some day when you do happen to
think of them, to find that they have
healed by the first intention without scar.
Don't tell people when you are hurt don't
tell everybody how keenly you feel a
slight when, perhaps, there was no slight
intended. Don't get yourself snubbed by
people who never see you, and who don't
know you and never think of you And if
you really are hit, and hit hard, it belittles
your manhood and it 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 22d of May-during lull in
desultory skirmishing that preceded the
assault, while l was lying close to the sur
face of the great, round globe which we
inhabit and wishing | could get little
closer to it, we heard tremendous howl
ing and shrieking, and down tbs dusty
road from the front came blue iacketed
skirmisher on, the trot, holding one hand
up in the other ond the hand he was hold
ing up had no thumb on it. 1t hurt like
the mischief, l have no doubt, but it was
only thumb after all and how the fellow
howled about it. He was brave man or
he VIC idn't have been where he could have
lost that thumb. But you would think
it was the only thum b in the whole 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 a perfect chorus of
bowls, in vociferous imitation of theman's
own walls, went shrieking up from the sar-
castle line of the men who were awaiting
their turn to face death. In a minute an
other soldier came walking back from the
skirmish line. He was walking slowly
and steadily, never a moan fell from his
compressed lips, though they were whittier
tudu las UEOHZ6 ldC6, duu -u6 ucIQ his Q6n0
against his breast. The silence of the
death chamber fell upon the line in an in
slant, as the figure of the soldier moved
along the road with the air of a conqueror;
Half dozen men sprang to his side. Ten
DERBY they laid him down in the shadow Of
a great oak his lips parted to speak
message to some one thousand miles
sway, and the line was short one man for
the coming assault. He died of his hurt;
but he died like "a king. Oh, my boy
don't yell the lungs out of you over
mashed thumb, when, only three files
down the lines. soldier salutes his cap
tain before he faces about to go to the rear
,witlsa death bullet. in his breast You
can Z help getting hurt There isn't
safscplace in the whole line. There are
cruel people in the world who love to
wound us there arethoughtless, needless
people who don't think there are people
who don't care, and there are thick
skinned people, who are not easily hurt
themselves, and they think mankind is
thick hided race in fact the air is full of
darts and arrows and singing bullets all
the time, and it's dangerous to be safe
anywhere But when you do get hit-as
hit you certainly will be-don't "holler''z
any louder than you have to. Grin and
bear it the best you may. There are some
people SO badly hurt they must moan do
you forget your own hurt IN looking after
them. .-.-....-. T..