The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-02-19
FROM A NOTE BOOK.

Happily it will be another generation
that will commemorate the five-hundredth
anniversary of Americas discovery. Life
wisely limited TO three score and ten.
There is difficulty in evolving the proper
degree of enthusiasm for one such celeDra-
tion. With second one in anticipation
existence might be burden.
Query: Is one better off who has lived his
life with no special object In view. or he
who. having had q worthy object. gives il
up as unattainablei
il
One of George NJ cDonalds characters is
made to say: II do not feel one atom older
than 1 did at three-snd-twenty. Nay, to
tell the truth. feel good deal youn GER
For then only felt that q man had to take
up his cross; whereas now | feel that man
has TO follow Him and that makes an nm
speakable difference" When he said this
the end of his journey was near, and be
does not tell how many years he had telt
the cross q burden nor how long before he
learned philosophy and the wisdom Of
resignation to fate.
j
Children are the only ones who have
original ideas. Little Nellie. who has fits
of bashfulness In the presence of strangers,
thinks lit would be so nice when you have
callers if you could only waggle your ears
and make the callers laugh. It would
break the ice you know"
"When my hair is gray
Then shall be wise
Then shall not care
For brOnZebro ey es."
When the poet is gray he will know that
he was mistaken. he will care for brown
eyes or blue. as the case may be, as much
as ever-onIy they will not be the same
eyes. Il
/ went to church, or. rather, to meet
ing" to-day, for a WONDER and, equally
for a wonder heard something worth re-
membering: Religion is the sugar of
heaven sent down TO sweeten the sour
things of life" 1t may have been original
with the preacher, or not but probably
was, as be is gifted with originality as
well as powerful lungs. His early educa-
the hodds AS long as you're 'sppy' And ne
seems to be that He was converted
''thirty-four ears and SIX months ago, at II
o'clock at night. just &C the northeast
Of wnas now NTH .Sa frH and
prayer" j
There are always funerals! A procession
has just gone by. The mourners in the first
carriages are looking ont Of the windows
with fearless eyes But grief Is not meas
ured by tears, and it is not likely that the
father and mother know what they see.
Some other day the curious, unsympathetic
faces of the passers-by of this will rise up
clearly before them, and tho blank, star
ing houses. the dreary street. Now, they
only realize dumbly that every turn of the
wheels Is taking them nearer to the ''city
on the hill" where their only son is to be
laid to rest forever.
i
Somebody says that if the true history Of
any life, no matter how commonplace or
unsuccessful. could be written. it would be
more entertaining than any work OF fiction.
It might be so. but fear we shall never
have the chance to prove il. No one can
write his own history truly. No autobi-
ography ever written was q fair and i'm
partial transcript. ALI the important
events may be given-the outward and
visible signs" of in w ardSand spiritual
life but W no will dare to lay bare the life
itself the motives. the selhshness. the
another it is only novel. after all. How
ever. if the idea could be carried into effect
the result in many cases might be discour-
aging 20 the theorists. and they would aft
EDWARDS prefer touch of imagination Co
give zest to their reading. Suppose. for IN
stance. that that teamster over yonder, or,
say the average man who loafs about lit.
tie country railroad stations to see the
trains come In, could write himself
down. he Is born and grows up-often q
good ways mp. On the way he wrestles
with the chills. and when he gets there he
has learned several things. He has learned
that dollar is good deal of money. aud
he knows how to make it when he sells his
corn, and pork. his butter and eggs. He
kin beat a Teller ont of has eye-teeth swap
pin horses aud mewels." He marries
girl with bad teeth and SUM-
bonnet; and they have seventeen children.
he takes weekly paper. perhaps.
and reads the most of it, and he
can write. though with an effort
that brings his tongue out. He thinks
he Is overworked. and goes to the
village grocery and the railroad station to
swing his heels and talk about It and
about how he is oppressed by "plutocrats."
When he grows old he Is q tobacco steeped.
unpleasant object. without an idea beyond
the prices of corn and quinine. so far az OBJ
servers can judge. At laet, because the
Lord loves him. he dies and goes To heaven.
Now, can 10 DO that the true inwardness of
such q person can be inspiring OF even In
terestingf Can he possibly have been q
mute inglorious Milton" with music, so
to speak. seething IN himf Instead of his