The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-09-04
Rejoice in all your friends today
Friends gathered here, friends passed

In blessings fed and those that stay;
And more than all, in Him rejoice
Who called you with His gentle voice,
And made your soul His loving choice.
Cling with increasing trust to Him
These coming days, this interim
OF active life, while time grows dim
With dusk of night upon its shore,
And waits eternity to pour
Its dimless glories evermore.
j. +. MoNaughton, of Barnum-
vile, drawing his chair close to that
of Mr., Hicks, spoke in a friendly,
conversational way these words:
"My venerable friend, you got good
ly start of me at first but / have over
taken you at last. When was an infant
in my mothers arms you were great
school boy, and when was school boy
you were middle aged man at the head
of a family, but when | became an old
man | found myself in the same class
with you, and / apprehend | may cross
the Dark River ahead of you. You have
finished your ninth decade of years and /
am well started on my eighth-we are old
men. DR.. Young said: lis greatly wise
to talk with our past hours and ask them
what report they brought to Heaven,
and we will do well to commune with our
past years and while we ask them about
our mistakes and blunders and the oppor-
tunities which we, MaTtha-like, have lost,
by allowing ourselves to be troubled
about many things at the supreme no.
ment, we should not stop to mourn over
the penalties we have paid and still owe
on their account. But we should hasten
to ask our past years to give us the num-
Der of the rich blessings that have come
to us, day by day, all along life's path
way. And we should ask them to esti-
mate for us the value of that divine guild
ance which kept our feet from the allur-
ing and fascinating paths of intemper-
and early death, and their answer will
send our eyes Heavenward filled with
tears of deepest gratitude We have been
made acquainted with disappointments,
and sorrows and bereavements, but we
accept them as lessons to teach us that
the path that leads to an endless day of
supreme joy leads through the gloom of
Gethsemane and over the brow of a
sunless Calvary. My life-prayer has been
give me not great wealth and distinction
and worldly power, but give me the bles-
sings of the widow and the orphan and
the benediction of the poor and the
needy And your ripe age and well
known benevolent acts give me the right
to say that you heartily respond and en-
dorse my choice. Here Mr.. Hicks broke
in to say, do, do. These will remain
with us and give US shelter and support
in that day when the wealth and glory of
the world will Dissolve and vanish before
the fervent heat that melts the elements
The ardency, strength and courage of our
young manhood have passed from us for
ever and their memory has become ashes
upon our hearts. The story of our lives
is SO beautifully and truthfully told by
the gifted and unfortunate Kirk White
that cannot resist the impulse to'para-
prase it:
we had plan'd many sanguine
scheme of earthly appiness-romantic
schemes-and fraught with loveliness-
and we have watched in vain through
many waiting years to see their consuma.
tion. And now tis hard to feel the hand
of age, slowly but surely cropping each
cherished bud of hope and with resistless
power leading US down to the brink OF
that dark gulf, oblivion
Fifty years hence and who will hear OF
Joseph, or Olive, or Lois, or any of tn,
hundred and ten names that made the lis
OF old people living in Manchester on tn,
9th day of November 1890 Alas none
Another busy race of beings will hay,
sprung up to fill our places and we shal
De forgotten. Yes, we shall sink, one b,
one, as sinks stranger in the streets o
busy cities. Some small bustles made,
few inquiries, then the crowds close in
and alls forgotten. We did hope for bet
ter things, we hoped we should not leav
the world in such deep humility with on
most cherished hopes untasted; but ii
decreed it shall be otherwise and we sui
nit. Now all that remains for us is t
say, henceforth, o world, no more of tn
desires, no more of hope, the wanto
vagrant hope, abiure all, no other care
engross me, and my tired soul with emit
lative haste looks to its God, and plume
. its wings for Heaven.'
A few words in reply, broken wit
y emotion, showed Mr.. Hicks apprt
citation of this address. Master Be-
tie Hicks then closed the exercise
z. with some very lively and sweet a,
cordeon music, which echoed chez
fully through the good-byes spoke
| soon aftprwar1 e. NJ r