The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-03-14
The Shadow OF Death.

If divine decree were published
that mortals would bo allowed hence
forth to choose tho time Of their own
death we wonder if any but the most
reckless or the most despairing would
choose to die mo,o. Much as people
descantupon the worthlessness Of life,
the greater part Of them are most un-
willing to part with it either because
they are not sincere when they say
life is not worth living, or because
"thcy dread something after death" "
which makes them cling to the pres
ent rather than risk future Of which
they know so little. Even the reli-
gious enthusiast, who feels assured of
the happiness awaiting him hereafter,
and who paints the joys Of Heaven in
the most glowing colors, is usually in
no haste to leave this vale Of tears for
that better land. OF course, this love
of life is but q natural instinct, d.
vinely implanted in us for our preser-
vation. If we were anxious, or even
willing, to die, there would be no great
deeds accomplished, no perseverance
no courage, for why should we take
the trouble to defend life for which
We cared nothing, or what would be
the use to achieve splendid victories,
and to conquer difficulties to gain ends
which we considered worthless COM
pared to the glories of the future life?
People in middle life look with won
der at the way very old persons shrink
from death, and frequently think that
when they arrive at an age that they
have outlived their contemporaries,
when the pleasures Of this world cease
to charm and the feebleness Of age
weighs them down, they will surely
be anxious to die; but they are very
much mistaken. When the evil day
comes they will feel like nearly all the
rest Of the human race feels, that tits
not yet quite time for them to 60, and
there is no reason why they should
not live five or ten years longer. One
of our exchanges recently gave an &C;
count of an old lady in Bonham, Tex
as, who has reached the 117sh year Of
her age and is still in good health and
in possession of all her faculties, go
| that she talks intelligently and clear
ly of the events Of her life, her mem
| ory even reaching back to revolution
ary days. If the interview which is
published is genuine, there is no rea-
son to think that this centenarian is
at all tired of this life or anxious to
exchange it for a better. Indeed,
from the memories she recalls Of the
early years of her life, and the gradual
but steady improvement that has been
taking place in her condition, she
must feel that if she but lived long
enough she would find a heaven here
upon earth, and so be saved the trouble
of dying to attain it.
Sometimes when very young people
are crossed in love, beaten in their
college games, or are out Of pocket
money, they may be heard to say that
they wished they were dead but that
is only because they feel very secure
in their youth and health, and think
in their hearts that the hour of their
death is still years upon years away.
No doubt, if the grim King Of Terrors
were to appear suddenly before them
they would do as the woodsman in
Esop's fable, and deny having called
for him. 1t is true that, once in
while, one Of them does seem to prove
the sincerity of his or her wish by
putting an end to the life that has
turned out to be SO miserable, but we
do not believe that anyone is quite
sane when he takes his own life, so
entirely is such an action opposed to
the real impulses of nature.
There are numbers of people living
happy and useful lives who shrink
from the thought Of death with a
dread that is quite beyond their con-
troll, the idea of the inevitable hour
being the one shadow upon their 9th
erwise bright lives. This is a fear
that human reason and Christian faith
are alike powerless to conquer, and
not infrequently it is the most pious
people who suffer most from it, and
yet how seldom do we hear Of their
showing this terror Of death when
their call comes. Either they are
happily unconscious of impending
death, or the sufferings they are en-
during render them Indifferent to the
thought Of it, or else they find that
"grace to help in the time Of need
that has been promised to them.
But if human creatures are incapa-
BILE or fixing a time for their own
death, they are ten times less able to
choose time at which they would be
willing to give up those they love.
Conceal the feeling as We may, and we
generally have the grace to be asham-
ed of it and to veil it under hypocrit-
ical expressions of regret, We feel very
often kind of impatience for the
death of very old or very useless peo-
pie whom we know, but who are not