San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-28
SUNDAY, MARCH %. 1897.
MIR. AND MRS. TORTOISE.

The members of the Light cOngrega-
ton have long ago discovered that the
acquaintances that they make through
their preacher are not of the tiashy
set, but on the contrary are decidedly
old-fashioned. There are perhaps
preacher is himself an old fashioned
fellow, given to harping on the old
fashioned virtues and looking for thu
Gid fashioned paths; delightiGg if the
cid fashioned WAYS and fJwe'S ani
peopic; finding happiness in the old
way aIG in rumirating on old things
and people. Second, because there is
hea;ry in the I'd thing thai IS not
found IL the new, in t.. old woods
the old cathedfals, the oil /. 7StrrS,the
oil = ms, the OF faces, TIL oil Songs.
Tie oil. friends arc the III times of
;tc ne ago. An old IA 'n,GE"l man,
approaching old age, why not delight
In old things.
This morning, beloved! you are in
PRODUCED to another old family. Not
exactly one of the f. F. VS.. but en-
inently respectable aud decidedly old
fashioned Mr.. Tortoise is. supposed
in the old myths of the world to have
been the original animal ADD to have
carried the world on his back. Mr..
Tortoise is also the totem Of some of
the most ancient of all the Indian
tribes on this continent and of the an
Gent peoples of Asia as well, so that
his claim to rather an old fashioned
existence is pretty well established.
But it is not so much on this account.
as on account of his old fashioned
ways that he is written down as an
ancient and given the go by. All the
same he gets there in good shape on
most occasions and if he is n little
slow at the start is seldom left at the
distance post and generally crosses the
wire a winner.
In the old fable, so often cited for
the benefit of the plOdderS, in our
younger days, the nimble-fOOted hare
thought that he had a soft thing of it
with Mr. Tortoise when he made that
wager for a foot race. but n little
head work got away with the leg work
OF the hare and the old tortoise came
in a winner by whole lot. Imagine
the CONSERVATION of smarty hare, as
he turned around so cOmplaCently at
the end of his journey to look for the
tortoise to find Mr.. T. already on the
ground and concerned for the late ar
rival of the hare, fearing some acct
dent had befallen him on the road.
Here is where the Tortoise usually
gets in his work, with his head and
lets the other fellow who is so swift
with his lips and his legs pay the wa
ger.
Mr. Tortoise is old fashioned enough
to belong to the married folks class
and he is the father of Il considerable
family. Mrs. Tortoise is of the same
old fashioned notions as himself, and
their family is in their own likeness
One of the family characteristics to
which attention is directed this morn
ing is their slOwness. No member OF
the breed ever was threatened with
speed. A twO-fOrty gait even would
be an eternal disgrace 10 the family
There is something refreshing in this
quality of slOwness in this fast age
when electricity is all the 90 anC
steam is considered pOky. fast tor
toise would be a curiosity, for certain
There is not a dime museum in tn
land that would not bid high fo' one
but the tortoise family are not of
ten found in dime museums. The
90 in for slowness and not for maxim
a show
1t is this trait of slowness tina
is particularly commended to you
consideration. Nearly all the ace
dents and mishaps that occur in tn
world arise from the attempt to max
time. The get-there-eli folks are SUI
to come to grief sooner or later.
is the boat that tries to get thel
ahead of her rival and that fires a
tn bacon into the furnace that burs
her boilers. 1t is the engine thu
makes her mile a minute that rush'
around the curve to destruction.
is the firm that travels at too rapid
gait that fails. 1t is the bank cleI
with a move on him that comes
the snubbing post in the director
room and finally to a game of chez
ers with his nose at the county hol
over. There is a virtue in being slo
in this fast age. and some big co
Germs are on the look out for that ella
of employees.
But Mr.. Tortoise is no more slo
than he is sure. He never was know
TO bring up lame on account of his ia
gait. or lose a race by casting a sh
with some extra stride. As stay
he never had his equal and never W
find his superior. Those who bet
him know this and are never disa
pointed There is where they ma
their stake. The ignorant and the
gamblers see him start slow and t
other fellow making the running a
they give odds accordingly, only
find in the end that It'll at the end
the race and not in the beginning Il
the tortoise gets i'm his best wo
That is what the hare found out
that old race in the picture books
our childhood, and he found /. {