The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-03-26

a man in mid life or old age, were, with
your present feelings and large attain
ments, put back into the thirties, or the
twenties. or the teens, what a nuisance
you would be 20 others and what an I'M
happiness to yourself. Your contempt
raries would not want you and you
would not want them. Things that in
your previous journey of life stirred
your healthful ambition, or gave you
pleasurable surprise, or led you into
happy interrogation, would only call
forth from You disguised "Oh.
pshaw" You would be blase at 80 and
misanthrope at 40 and uncomfortable
at SO.
The most inane and stupid thing i'm
aginable would be second journey OF
life. 1t is amusing to hear people say:
II would like to live my life over again,
II l could take my present experience
and knowledge of things back with me
and begin under those improved aa-
spices" Why, what an uninteresting
boy you would be with your present at
tainments in child's mind. No one
would want such boy around the house
"a philosopher at twenty, scientist at
fifteen, an archeologist at ten and do
mestic nuisance all the time. An oak
crowded into an acorn. A Rocky Mount
ain eagle thrust back into the egg-shell
from which it was Matched.
Besides that, if you took life over
again, you would have to take its deep
sadness over again. Would you want to
try again the griefs and the heart breaks
and the bereavements through which
you have gone? What mercy that we
shall never be called to suffer them
again! We may have others bad
enough, but those old ones never again.
Would you want to 60 through the
process Of losing your father again or
your mother again or your companion in
life again or your child again? II you
were permitted to stop at the sixtieth
milestone or the fiftieth milestone OF
the fortieth milestone and retrace your
steps to the twentieth, your experience
would be something like mine one day
last November in Italy. I walked
through a great city with friend and
two guides, and there were in all the
city only four persons, and they were
those of our own group. We went ur
and down the streets, we entered the
houses, the museums, the temples, the
theaters. We examined the wonderful
pictures on the walls and the most ex.
quisite mosaic on the floor. In the
streets were the deep worn ruts of wag'
ons, but not wagon In the city. On
the front steps of mansions the
word Welcome" in Latin, but
no human being to greet us
The only bodies of any Of the citizens
that we saw were petrified and in the
museum at the gates. OF the $4,000
people who once lived in those homes
and worshiped in those temples and
clapped in those theaters, not one left
For 1900 years that city of POmpeii had
been buried before modern exploration
scooped out of it the lava of Vesuvius
Well, he who should be permitted to re
turn on the pathway Of his earthly Ait
and live it over again would find as lone
ly and sad pilgrimage. 1t would be al
exploration of the dead past. The oil
school house, the old church, the oil
home, the old playground either gon'
or occupied by others, and for you NOR,
depressing than was our Pompeian visi
in November.
Beside that, would you want to risl
the temptations of life over again
From the fact that you are here con
clude that, though in many respect
your life may have been unfortunate
and unconsecrated, you have got on s.
far tolerably we'll, if nothing more thai
toierable. As for myself, though m,
life has been far from being as conse
Grated as would like to have had it,
would not want to try it over again, les
next time would do worse. Why, jus
look at the temptations we have al
passed through, and just look at tn
multitudes who have gone completed
under. just call over the roll Of you
school-mates and college-mates, tn
clerks who were with you in the sam
store or bank, or the operatives in tn
same factory with just as good prospect
as you, who have come to complete mis-
hap. Some young man that told you tina
he was going to be millionaire and ow
the fastest trotters on the Westcheste
turnpike, and retire by tho time he wa
35 years of age, you do not hear fror
him for many years, and know nothin
about him until some day he comes int
your store and asks for five cents to &c
mug Of beer. You, The good mothe
of household and all your childre
rising up to call you blessed, can re
member when you were quite jealous q
the belle of the village who was s
transcendently fair and popular. Blu
while you have these two honorable an
queenly names of wife and mother, sh
became a poor waif Of the street, an
went into the blackness of darkness
forever. Live life over againp Why,
many of those who are now respectful
were permitted to experiment, the mex
journey would be demolition. You &c
through, as Job says, by the skin of th
teeth. Next time you might not &c
through at all. Satan would say: "
know him now better than l di
before, and have for fifty year
been studying his weaknesses, and
will weave stronger web of circun
stances to catch him next time" An
Satan would concenter his forces on thi
one man, and the last state Of that ma
would be worse than the first. M
friends, our faces are in the right dire,
ton. Better 60 forward than backward
even If we had the choice. The grea
est disaster can think of would be ft
non a., raAnru 10 horhnol l. 1con q,