The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-01-01

l LAST tlB1It JUST % the OaN SSteA We
in morihund condition, four bachelors
sat in a eczy corner OF the McLure
House lobby exchanging condolences
nnd indnlging in some very entertain
ing retrospections. Their conversation
was so interesting, of such general In
terest and application that the listener
gives the public the benefit OF what his
receptive memory retains OF the col
ioquiai gems confident that the lines
VIII beSread by many who will md in
them many striking echoes OF their
own experience. There are bachelors
and hachelors-conflrmed bachelors.
who have passed the dead line of senti-
ment and matrimony: eligible bache-
lors, who have passed the forty year
line, and without lares and penates
through no fault OF their own. and who
are still hoping. This group was equal
~ divided. They had known OF ana
voted for some OF the presidents from
Franklin Pierce down TO Cleveland.
Their accomplishment were many, and
each mad mad his whirl in.h own way.
The two misogynlsts could boast OF
having eaten their sauer krnut without
the adventurous aid OF q German leNl-
con, and drank their pilsner and hot-
brau without the Intervention of IN In
terpreter, while their hoping. still hop
ing companions possessed an order OF
fnteIiigence and Information profound
enough to have enabled them to mark
the Tine, distinction between
mile stone and an obelisk unaided by
guide book had they been travelling DER
Egypt's hot sands. Personally. they
were what is rather nebulously defined
AL F41 In n lihRFat
negatively moral and complacently re-
iigious You know them. and the mat
ronly reader has in her day danced
with them.
when the writer broke in upon their
condolences one Of the decadcnts was
inyeIghing against the supineness of
the younger element OF society of to-
day. contrasting It with its briIliancy
and style when he was in the swim.
II tell you," said he. with a faint flash
>oE the energy OF other days, "they
don't do things as we used to- There
Is no dash and form like there was
wben-well. when was younger than
eontessedly am now. The young men
don't seem 10 associate with the girls as
they did. They appear to have lost the
NERVE and confidence we had in our
nascent days. The stag" parties that
obtain now were unknown then. Go to
the Opera House any evening and you
viii see what mean. The young men go
by themselves, or they enter in squads.
SO Il Is with the opposite sex. No par
ties and functions like we enjoyed In
years gone by. have been congenInS
over this deplorable state OF affairs I'M
! AZ = 4, tgyftk1 that
who wandered into the deserted ban
quet hall, whose lights had been SNUFF
fed out and whose mural decorations
were dropping and dead.
Where did you get it2'S interrupted
one OF his less pesslmistic companions,
sect WHAT"
why that cargo you're carrying"
Don't get gay my facetious friend. /
see through your opaque innuendo.l am
carrying a load, but II Is not q liGiid
oppression OF the stomach. but the ae-
cumulated regrets that weigh on my
mind, and you will find out sooner or
life eventually end in toyless to-mor-
rows. No apologies necessary, my dear
boy. You are most elC luent when you
are silent" !.
That is what might be described
lucidly as heated projectiie." smirked
the cynic.
After few seconds OF noisy silence,
the interrupted speaker gathering up
the trayed threads of his plant called
attention TO the decadence of the Gus
tom Of New Years calls. recountIng the
magnihcence and universally OF OBJ
seryance In other years, the time when
the youth. beauty and fashion met and
passed the compliments Of the season
"a the brilliant reception room whose
subdued lights and perfumed air turned
day dreams into material visions Of de-
light What is II to-day? AL we can
do Is 70 be satisfied with breathing the
perfume OF that Jasmine flower OF the
past. Is you don't fall in with me in
what ] have remarked, observe how
tomorrow stands in the affection Of
the fashion and society OF Wheeling.
Seeing will enforce belief where now
see some expressions Of doubt"
There was one philosophic bachelor
in the party, and he was not disposed
10 let such peSsImistlc utterances go
unrebuked. and he hurled his frat lance
with remarkable precision when he In
timatgd that the remarks OF his friend
were nothing but tacit implication OF
imagined superiority. II have heard
similar monnS before. and they all como
from exaggerated personalities and dis
appointed individualities. Age to him
has not bought Its recompenses. We
can't be perennial: none Of us are I'M
pervious to time and custom. think
that no such radical changes have ia
ken place as-Ilas been intlmnted. The
great truth is we have passed out OF
our class. We don't notice the enjoy
ments and pastlmes OF the younger peo-
pie, because We are no longer OF them.
am sure when we were younger, much
more youthful and hopeful than Wa
+ are nogg, we never thought OF engaging
the interest and attention OF our elders.
In fact. we rather re2ented any over
lures OF comradeshlp IN that direction,
II remember correctly. DO you I'M
dorBtRad what ! meant"
"Strange Us II may appear to you,
DO" was the doubtful confession Of the
cynIc.
: "AccordIng 10 your reasoning my
lSseieas bachelor friend" resumed tho
hilosophcr. "lf you were TO expire to-
borrow the world would stand still.
10. don't snake your head. It's cor
hilary 70 your proposition. The trouble
Iwlth you Is you no longer have a part
!. in the comedy youthful society is play
ing: you have stepped from the center
OF the stage and the calcium light OF
admiration flashes the aureOle around
the head Of another actor who has tn
ken your place. perhaps better one.
Astronomy Is no lauRer calculated from
your meridian. yet new stars arc being
discovered 6yery day, or night II You