The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1895-02-21
THE DAYS OF YORE.

We have all heard about them-the days of
yore-the good old tmes-most old persons like
to descant upon them. Old men are reminiscent
To think little of the future and to be continually
recalling the past is an infallibe sign of old age
or premature decay. The old man has no future
He is waiting by the wayside for the last great
change to overtake him. 1t is natural that he
should love to sit in the sunshine and think of
the old days. Grandchildren may play about
him. They are only memories. They simply
revive the memories of other children that were
in the long ago. The newspapers INTERVENTION
sake of compassionate people on questions of
the day. They only get memories that have very
little connection with the present. The oldest
inhabitant' of a town is often known as its big
gest liar Not that he is so from intention, or Is
ambitious to be untruthful but he mixes few
facts with much fiction and his poor memory
does the rest He really thinks the things he
heard when he was a boy are things that he saw.
There was an old lawyer who was learned In
many ways. but could not make convincing
argument. 1t was wondered why he did not
succeed in court. A sharp member OF the par
said 1.-The old man takes his own opinions TO be
law and the Judge cannot find them in the
books Old men are often found mistaking
romance for truth and trying to write history
on the baseess fabric of dreams.
Dyspeptc relics of the days of yore are always
telling of the good things they had to eat when
they were boys. Nothing since has been so good
as the mince pies and doughnutS mother made
in the days of yore. The butter was sweet and
pure in those days. Liquor had not been adulter-
ated, they said. and for many years drinkers
could enjoy the pleasure of being drunkards
without going mad or experiencing the horrors
of the jim jams These old remembers OF
other days forget that their stomachs are worn
out. In the days of yore they could relish the
toughest morsels of jerked beef. Now they must
have poached eggs. 1t is the stomach of the Old
man that has changed. and not the stuff he once
delighted ill.,
Get on to the "Old Oaken bucket that hung in
the WE'LL" the moss covered bucket that
"iron-bound bucket" or whatever it was. sus-
pended by pole over wet hole in the ground.
The 'Old Homestead" actors sing sweetly of it;
but it does not pan as it has been pictured IN
days of yore. The rolling stone gathers no moss:
there is no reason why the hanging bucket
should have an abundance of it. 1t is well
enough to go back to that well. But you have
grown tall and the we'll curb seems lower and
the we'll shallOwer than it was in days OF yOre.
The water is not the same. The old oaken bucket
is played out and has no moss on it. The songs
are as sweet and the fragrant apple blossoms of
the orchards fall as gratefully; but the old we'll
and the red-cheeked girl with the white sun
bonnet and curls who drank its waters are only
memories now.
Our fathers. god bless them, were patriots.
They made from a bowling wilderness, i'll spite
of native foes and unspeakable priyationS and
sacrifices the grand country it is our business to
preserve. They suffered and endured. They
were obliged to suffer and they had to endure
or die. Don't run away with the idea that they
suffered and endured because they rather liked
that sort of thing. George Washington was the
father of his country because he happened to be
the best looking and sobereSt young man about
when a father was wanted. There is no know
ing what sort of a general he would have made
if responsible for the handling. moving and
feeding of such armies as Grant and Lee OPP
posed and led The great orators of the days of
yOre if living now would find difficulty i'll keep
ing themselves great in the face of electricity.
and webpresses that flash and print and publish
to the world within the hour all the speeches
great men make A speech made in one town,
printed and sent ahead by mail. becomes a
chestnut when the speaker comes TO repeat it in
the next.
Conditions have changed since the days of
yore and men have changed. Men are grow
ing wiser. and those who take proper care of
themselves are stronger. The modern John L.
Sullivan. in good shape, would give the ancient
Hercules a smart tusse if he would drop his
club and go in under Queensberry rules. The
world has progressed since the days Of yore
The original devil used the simple snake racket
to make himself master OF the situation. There
were no diamonds. nor sea-SkinS. nor opera
boxes. nor champagne slippers in those days.
But Satan now is wiser than in days of yOre"
says Pope You may be sure he is obliged to be
to lead anybody astray. The truth is. there
never was such country as this. nor ever such
an age as the present for all of us. end especially
for the young. The fruits of the thoughts of
Others are theirs All the accumulated wisdom
of all the centuries since history began. all the
triumphS of human effort to improve human
conditions. since the first man and woman made
aprons of fig leaves in response to the first awak
enng sense of mOdesty. are theirs. The eXper
fence which their fathers have paid dearly for is
theirs The institutions Of art and learning that
it has required ages to establish are theirs. at
hand. to be enjoyed now and in all the years to
coma. The days of yore were we'll enough in
that long ago; but when compared with the
present dayS-mOre pleasant and not so yOre-
they are not in Minneapolis Times.
UPPERTEN-Can you mention any thing
against my ancestors.
CYNIC-Yes. Their posterty.-Town Topics.
ON THE STRAND.