The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-10-05

payne. am told that in some of the
cities there are parents who have 40
tually given up housekeeping and gone
to boarding that they may give their
time illimitably to social designations.
have known such cases, l have known
family after family blasted in that way
in one of the other cities where
preached, Father and mother turning
their backs upon all quiet culture and
all the amenities of home, leading forth
their entire family in the wrong direo-
ton. Annihilased-worse than annihi-
lated, for there are some things worse
than humiliation. l give you the his
tory of more than one family when ]
say they went ON in the designations Of
social life until the father dropped into
lower style of dissipation, aud after
awhile the son was tossed out into So
riety nonentity, ard after awhile the
daughter eloped with French dane
ing master, and after awhile the moth
VI, getting ON further and further in
years, tries to hide the wrinkles, but
fails In the attempt, trying all the arts
Of the belle--an old dirt poor miser-.
able butterfly without any wings.
If there is anything ON earth boahti-
full to me, it is an aged woman, her
white locks flowing back over the wrin-
kled brow-locks not white with frost,
rs tho poets say, but white with the
blossoms Of the tree Of life. in her yoiva
the tenderness Of gfaciops memories,
her face bcnediction. AS grandmother
passes through the room the grandcliil-
dren pull at her dress, and she almost
falls in her weakness, but she has moth
ing but candy or cake or a kind word
for the littlc darliIles. When sho gets
out Of Tie wagon in front of the house,
the whole family rush ont and cry,
"Grandma' comet" And when she
goes away from us, never to return,
there is shadow on the table and a
shadow On the hearth, and q shadow on
the heart
There is no moro touching scene on
earth than when grandmother sleeps the
last slnmber aid the little child'islift-
ed up to the casket TO give the last hiss,
and sho says, "Goodby, grandma Oh.
there is beauty in old age. God says so.
1.-THE hoary head is crown of glory"
Why should People decline to get old?
The best things, the greatest things. /
know. of are aged-old mountains, Old
seas, old stars and bid eternity. But if
there is anything distressful it is to see
All old woman ashamed of the fact that
she is old What with all the artificial
appliances she is too much for my gray
ity. laugh even in church when see
her coming The worst looking bird on
earth is peacock wheti it has lost its.
fsstRnfs, I would not give ono lock of
my old mothers gray hair for $4,000
such caricatures of humanity. And if
the life of a wording, if the life of o
disciple given to the world, is sad, the
close of such life is simply tragedy
Fate of the sybarites.
Let me tell you that the designations
Of social life are despoiling the useful
ness OF a vast multitude of people.
What do those. people care about the
fact that there are whole nations in sor-
row and suffering and agony when they
have for consideration the more impor-
tant Question about the size of a glove
or the tie of cravat? Which ohe of
them ever bound up the wounds of the
hospital? Which one of them ever went
out TO care for the poor? Which Of them
do you find in the haunts Of sin aistrib-
uting tracts? They live On themselves,
and it is very poor pasture.
Sybaris was great city, and it once
sent out 300 horsemen in battle. They
had d minstrel who had taught the
horses of the army q great trick, and
when the old minstrel played certain
tune the horses would rear and with
their front feet seem to beat time to the
music. Well, the old minstrel was Of
Tended with his country, and he went
over to the enemy, and he said to the
enemy, ''You give me the mastership
of the army, and will destroy their
troops when those horsemen come from
Sybaris. +"
So they gave the old minstrel the
management, and he taught all the
other minstrels certain tune. Then
when the cavalry troop came up the old
minstrel and all the other Ministries
played certain tune, and at the most
critical moment in the battle, when
the horsemen wanted to rush to the con-
f1ict, the horses reared and beat time to
the music with their fore feet, and in
disgrace and rout the enemy fled. All,
my friends, have seen it again and
again---the minstrels of pleasure, the
Ministries of dissipation, the MINISTRIES
Of goddess association have defeated PEG
pie in the hardest fight of life Frivol-
ity has lost the battle for 10000 folk.
Oh, what belittling process to the 'hu-
man mind this everlasting question
about dress, this discussion of fashion
able infnitesimals this group, looking
askance at the glass, wondering with
an infinity Of earnestness how that last
geranium leaf does look, this shrivel-
ing of mans moral dignity until it is
not observable to the naked eye, this
ipanish inquisition of tight shoe, this
binding up of an immortal soul in a
;uffie, this pitching off of an immortal
nature over the rocks when God intend
ed it for great and everlasting uplifting!
With many life is masquerade ball,
and as at such entertainments gentle
men and ladies put. on the garb of
kings and queens or mountebanks or
clowns, and at the close put off the dis
guise, so great many pass their whole
life in i. mask, taking off the mask at
death. While the masquerade ball of
life goes on they trip merrily over the
floor, gemmed hand is stretched to the
gcinmed hand, and cleaning brow
bends to cleaning brow. On with The
lance! Flush and rustic and laughter
of unreasonable merEmaking!
The Awful Change.
But after awhile the languor of death
comes on the limbs and blurs the eye
sight. Lights lower Floor hollow with
sepulchral echo. Music saddened into a
wall. Lights lower. Now the maskers
are only seen in the dim light. Now
the fragrance of the flowers is like the
sickening odor that comes from gar