The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-04-02
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE,
BILL ARP SAYS THERE IS NO COMFORT
IN LAMENTATIONS.

| '''e-'Nl- - wv SS"'
IN LAMENTATIONS.
Outside OF revelation, thcro is surely
e9thclent proof Of orig ginal sin and NOR
al turpltudo in human kind. Ii Il man
could be- lifted up in q balloon high
enough to see the earth roll under him
ana could keep his position until it
nad turned 4 time or two upon its axis,
inc sceno that would pass his vision
would be proof enough. What q hor-
rloie revelation OF war and bloodshcd
ana suffering would pass beneath him
IN almost every part OF the earth We
ooast OF modern civilization. but has
every auvance to be baptized in blood
suppose u man could sec at one time
al toe present misery Of tho world and
gil the crime that caused it, could he
endure the awful picture? Would it
not paralyze his soul and oblitcrato his
power OF vision and mako him mani
ac! Every day we read OF these hor-
rors and shudder, but they are afar OFF
ana we have become almost hardened
TO them by their daily repetition. u
familiarity with danger breeds con-
tempt, Tor 1t 80 docs, q daily recur-
renee OF crime and suffering and grief
breeds Indifference. Unless we see it
with our own eyes we are not greatly
affected.
Jhe weeping prophet exclaimed :
'Oh, that my head were waters and
mine eyes q fountain of tears !" but
there Is no prophet to weep nowadays.
Wo have no time to weep. The pOot
says.
MANS inhumanity to man
MAKES countless thousands mourn"
and II we could actually see every bat
tle,held and all the blood and agony,
ana into all the prisons and chain
gangs, and into every hovel and garret
ana dark alley whore the poor do con-
gregate, and into tho hearts of all the
mourners at all the funerals, we would
never smile again. The memory Of
them would haunt us, and we would be
more than willing to quit this horrible
But We will lot the preachers talk
about this. We must look on the
brighter side. There Is no comfort in
ponderlng and lamenting what is going
on in Turkey and Abyssinia and Cuba,
or over the long continued quarrels at
Washington, or the shameful broils in
hentucxy, or tho daily crimes and
murders and suicides and lynching<
that iii the newspapers. Now Is the
smiling upon us. Whom the flowers
arc blooming and the grass is spring.
Ing and the birds are singing. Even
tho beasts Of the field and the fowls in
the yard are happy, and every created
thing save man seems to rejoice in the
goodness Of the Creator. What is the
matter with man, anyhow? Woman
is not So nor are tho little children
who play and sport around us. The
poot says.
Every prospect pleascs
And only man is vile"
But after all, there ia comfort in
knowing that there are some good men.
Yes, lots of them. You can pick them
out in town and city and country, and
great traveller who has been all over
the world and mingled with Gentiles
and Jews, and Arabs and Hottentots,
and the heather Chinese, says he found
good, kind-hearted people OF every
tribe and nation and religion on the
| globe. He said that q traveller would
never be sectarian or be intollerant,
like many of our so-called Christians
are.
Last Sunday went out in the coun-
try with friend to visit an old lady
who is on her last bed. She has livod
eighty-three years and I reckon mover
had an evil thought in her life. She
was pleased to see us and the nearness
OF death gave hor no alarm. 'For the
, sake OF my grandchildren" she said,
II would like to live u little longer to
help them and guide them in the right
! way Her Bible was printed away be-
fore the war and had boon patched and
pasted and mepdcd until it would hard
, ly hold together, but sho know a good
deal by heart and told us what por-
: ti0n5 Of it wore her greatest comfort.
These old. fashioned mothers are the
, best people on earth and when they
, have passed through all the perils OF
motherhood they seem to Outlive the
' men. There are thric times as many
old women in this town as old men and
they are most all of them widows.
had rather insure the life Of q woman
OF fOrty-tivo than that Of a man OF thir-
ty. | would get The premiums longer.
The old-iashioned men lived longer
than they do now. They had simple
habits and limited desires. | mean the
woll-to-do men who lived in comfort.
The old presidents. leaving out Wash
ington, whose death was not from old
age, outlived tho more modern ones
John Adams lived to ninety-one and
!, his son to eighty-one. Jefferson was
} eighty-three, Madison eighty five, Mon
roo seventy ythree and Jackson seventy
eight. ibis makes an average Of eigh-
ty-twO years, which Is very uncommon.
The average Of all the presidents is
only sixty-eight years. In looking over
their records J. was surprised to find
that three Of thom died on tho 4th Of
July and that Adams and Jefferson ex-
pressed desire to dio on that day.
Whether Monroe did or not the biog-
raphy does not say. | have no doubt
that he did, Tor that day was worry dear
to the patriots of that timo and their
wish was father to their fate. 1t
amounted almost to will power, for the
chance for a man to die on that day
was only one in 365-and the chance
for three presidents out OF six to die on
that day is almost beyond computation.
Could it have been chance or was it
their spirited devotion to the day and
the declaration that gave birth to O
great nation?
Neither Polk nor Pierco nor Harri-
son nor Johnson nor Gram saw his
three score and ten. But ever since
King David made the declaration that
the DAYS of ou" years are three score
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