Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-12-31
OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE CITY.
FRIDAY EVENING, DEC. 81, Is
THE OLD YEARS LESSON.

upon inc DOSCul VI uuo past. Al mtu-
night the last leaf OF 1897 will have
been turned and the reco d ( angel
will have jotted down thu 'r vac of
its history. With its ,ys 'ud sor-
rows, its crowns and crosses, it will
soon be numbered with the by gone
centuries. We shall be one year fur
Their on in our march along the rugged
highway OF life. II IS indeed q mo-
ment Of solemn grandeur when the
old year lies down to die, taking with
him all his dead hopes and blighted
prospects, and a new face upon
the scene and q new hand beckons us
ON to the shadowy and uncertain tu-
ture. The year that is now on it's
death bed has been one Of stirring
events in the history of the country.
We cannot review in detail, within the
limits Of a newspaper article, the many
happenings ven in New Mexico
which have TRANSFERRED since 1896
#AE AEmF&.
threw its cloak over US. Our popula-
ton has increased, churches and
schools have fiourished, new and inn
portant enterprises have been pushed
forward to completion, and our peo-
pie everywhere have displayed an en-
ergy and pluck in every branch Of
business not exceeded in any previous
year. provided that il they have not
In all cases met with success, they
have certainly deserved it.
With silent footsteps year after year
wends its onward way into the fathom-
less depths Of a mysterious eternity,
mingling there like the thousand rills
and rivers mingle in the vast ocean
after hurrying from mountain side and
sunny glade. What story the de-
parted year might tell! What volumes
Of sorrow and bitter disappointment
seen on its journey! What tales OF
blighted hopes, broken promises, un-
requited love, injured innocence and
cruel wrongsl What a record OF
mingled joys and tears, innocence and
crime. virtue and sin! As the years,
dead to us, but living somewhere still,
are ~marshalled in solemn silence
around the royal throne OF Him who
sent them on their silent yet eventful
mission, what burdens OF information
they must bring! And how these
silently visible, yet stern and relentless
witnesses will arise in judgment
against the world! These quiet, un-
obtruding years, seemingly harmless
OF powerful for good or for evil, pass
ing us without q whispered word OF
welcome or recognition, may carry
with them TO their mysterious gather
ing place the seal Of our eternal
destiny. How solemn the thought!
The birth, the progress and the close
of the year are subjects of serious con-
sideration. They are symbols Of our
own destiny. They point out to us our
inevitable fate. We are born, we live
to maturity, we decline physically, and
then die. Our names. our characters
and our acts are recorded in he book
of time and then we pas y { o be
seen no more in this woria for ever.
We come and go Ikea shadow. Oar
infancy, youth, manhood and old age
are events which pass hurriedly along,
and whatever may be the Impressions
we leave upon the world in our event.
full journey, all finally terminates in the
grave. "Dust 10 dust and ashes to
ashes. " is the end Of everything human.
The Immortal spirit cannot reach its
final destination except through the
darkness and mould of the narrow
house. The close Of the year should