Connecticut western news., 1898-07-21

feelings and large attainments, put back into the thirties or the twenties or in the teens, what nuisance you would be to others and what an unhappiness to yourself! Your contemporaries would not want you, and you would not want them. Things that in your previous journey of life stirred your healthful ambition or gave you pleasurable sur prise or led you into happy interroga- tion, would only call forth from you disgusted "Oh, pshaw" You would be blase at 30 and a misanthrope at 10 and unendurable at 50. The most inane and stupid thing imaginable would be Q seo- ond journey of life. It is amusing to hear people say, "I would like to live my life over again, if l could take my present experience and knowledge of things back with mo and begin under those improved auspices Why, what an uninteresting boy you would be with your present attachments ill child's mind. No one would want such boy around the house-a philosopher at 20, scientist at 15, an archeologist at 10 and domestic nuisance all the time An oak crowded into an acorn. A Rocky mountain eagle thrust back into the eggshell from which it was matched.
 Sorrows Twice Endured.
 Besides that, if you took life over again you would have to take it's deep sadnesses over again. Would you want to try again the griefs and the heartbreaks and the bereavements through which you have gone? What mercy that we shall never be called to suffer them again! We may have others bad enough, but those old ones never again. Would you want to go through the process of losing your father again, or your mother again, or your companion in life again, or your child again? If you were per mitted to stop at the sixtieth milestone, or the fiftieth milestone, or the fortieth milestone and retrace your steps to the twentieth, your experience would be something like mine one November day in Italy. I walked through great city with friend and two guides, and there were in all the city only four persons, and they were those of our own group. We went up and down the streets, we entered the houses, the museums, the temples, the theaters. We examined the wonderful pictures on the walls and the most exquisite mosaic on the floor. In the streets were the deep worn ruts of wagons, but not wagon in the city. On the front steps of mansions the word Welcome' in Latin, but no human be- ing to greet us. The only bodies of any of the citizens that we saw were petri- fled and in the museum at the gates. Of the 35, 900 people who once lived in those homes and worshiped in those temples and clapped in those theaters not one left For 1,800 years that city of Pompeii had been buried before modern exploration scooped out of it the lava of Vesuvfus We'll, he who should be permitted to return on the pathway of his earthly life and live it over again would find as lonely and sad a pilgrimage. It would be an explora- tion of the dead past. The old school house, the old church, the old home, the old playground, either gone or oc- cupied by others, and for you more de- pressing than was our Pompeiian visit that November day.
 Besides that, would you want to risk tha temptations of life over again? From the fact that you are here con- clude that though in many respects your life may have been unfortunate and un- consecrated you have got on so far toll erably well. if nothing more than toler- able. As for myself, though my life has been far from being as consecrated to God as I would like to have it, would not want to try it over again, lest next time would do worse.
 Better Go Forward.
 Why, just look at the temptations we have all passed through and just look at pletely under Just call over the roll of your schoolmates and college mates, the clerks who were with you in the same store or bank, or the operatives in the same factory, with just as good pros poets as you, who have come to con- plete mishap. Some young man that told you that he was going to be mil lionaire and own the fastest trotters on the turnpike and retire by the time he was 35 years of age, you do not hear from for many years and know nothing
 
 your store and asks for cents to get a mug of beer.
 You, the good mother of household, and all your children rising up to call you blessed can remember when you were quite jealous of the belle of the village, who was so transcendently fair and popular. But while you have these two honorable and queenly names of wife and mother, she became a poor waif of the street and went into the blackness of darkness forever. Live life over again? Why, if many of those who are respectable were permitted to ex- pertinent, the next journey would be demolition. You get through, as Job says, by the skin of your teeth. Next time you might not get through at all. Satan would say, "I know him now better than I did before and have for 50 years been studying his weaknesses, and I will weave stronger web of circum- stances to catch him next time" And satan would concentrate his forces on this one man, and the last state of that man would be worse than the first. My friends, our faces are in the right direc- tion. Better go forward than backward, even if we had the choice. The greatest disaster can think of would be for you to return to boyhood in 1898. Oh, if life were a smooth Luzerne or Cayuga lake, I would like to get into yacht and sail over it, not once, but twice-yea, a thousand times. But life is an uncer- tain sea and some of the ships crash on the icebergs of cold indifference, and some take fire of evil passions and some lose their bearings and run into the Goodwin sands and some are never heard of. Surely on such treacherous sea as that one voyage is enough.
 Delayed Joys.
 Besides all this, do you know, if you could have your wish and live life over again it would put you so much further from reunion with your friends in heav ep? If you are in the noon of life or the evening of life, you are not very far from the golden gate at which you