Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-12-29
THE OLD AND THE NEW.

EDITOR SPECTATOR The following lin
which were not intended for publication
were handed me several years ago;while I'll
author has never made any claim as a poe
think those of US who can look back I
thirty five or forty years ago will say tt
sentiments expressed are true. hope yu
will find space for them in your valuab
paper. HI
THE world amt what 1t used to be- thi
| truth no one denies.
The change that's come is wonderful an
| fills us with surprise;
I ct we turn with many lOngings to tn
good old days of yOre,''
| 10 the customs and the virtues which shall
shine forever more.
For III those days our mothers in their home
were shining lights,
They meddled not with mems affairs no
asked for wOmen'S rights;
IheY took no part in politics nor sought fO
public places.
And where they stood the atmosphere wa.
filled with virtues graceS.
Then friendship meant kind feeling and de
celt was not an art
10 be priced above the promptings of q
warm and generous heart;
The laws were plain and simple and were
Just in their decree,
And favored not rich mans wealth above
plain honesty.
But change that follows closely in the track
of fieeting time
Has come and renovated all the customs OF
this Clima.
Instead of honest living, we have envy, ha.
tired, strife,
Worldly gain is the ambition that controls
the modern life.
The march of "star-eyed science" and the
wonders she displays
Command our rapt attention ard attracts
from by gone days:
Hand in hand with peerless Progress she
has moved and worked and thought,
I'LL from chaos and disorder many strange
things have been wrought.
The lightnings fierce and mighty as they
rend the clouds apart
Have been caught and held submissive by
her subtle, mystic art;
They obey her voice unerring as a slave his
masters will,
At her instance draw great burdens, at her
wish stand mute and still.
The telephone, the telegraph, the steamboat
and the cars,
The air-ships that will shortly come to sail
among the stars,
Have bridged the space of distance and We
talk with friends today
And hear their answers whispered many,
many leagues away.
The happenings of the Old World are known
unto the New
As quickly as the lightnlngs flash or I can
speak to you;
The nights once dark and gloomy have been
furnished and made bright
With great electric lanterns that outshine
the moons pale light.
stand amidst these wonders and look back
ward to the day
When the packet boat, the sickle and the
lightwOOd knot held sway;
And yearn for all their joys, which these
new days know not Of
Cor wild with their excitement we've for
gotten how to love.
n dreams we see the happy homes, gone,
gone, gone forever by,
The memory of their pleasures STIR our hearts
with many sigh;
They've drifted through the sunshine to the
shadows of the past,
And in recoIlections only cling the joys that
would not last.
scarce land. mark now is left us of the old
plantation days,
new people and new customs have declined
their home-like ways;
instead OF cordial greetings, business meth
DDS hold the door
If the hospitable hearthstones of the "good
old days of yore.'
No more Is heard the happy songs of dark
les hOeing corn,
md silenced now forever is the packets
signal horn;
'OrgOtten is the stage coach that once filled
us with delight,
While the tallow dip and candle have with
drawn their Pickering light.
he bell teams merry jingle wake the |
echoes never more,
hey We all been superseded by the freight |
trains noisy roar;
he moving scythe, the sickle and the fiat
boat and bateau
lave passed into forgetfulness many a day
ago.
deserted stands the horse rack, if indeed
there one at all,
friends and neighbOrS are expected Just to
make formal call,
lot to spend the day in pleasure, then ex-
tend to week,
n the interchange of friendships which we
now so vainly seek.
he happy, Joyous singing. long the high
ways once ayear,
) sound no longer greeted by smile or
welcoming tear;
s returning home from service at the JOY
GUS Christmas time,
he darkies happy voices with their spirits
sweetly chime.
old miss and masters, howdy,
howdy, howdy-dO,
cd knows rs glad to see you and desc
blessed children, too;''
hese greetings once so common and as cor
dial as they're old.
re scarcely now made use of save in stories
that are told.
he cutting Of the back log and its place up
he holiday that lasted till in smoke it did
expire,
re customs that have vanished with these
days long since gone by,
nd ali that's left familiar is the land
scape and the sky.
h, happy, joyous Christmas why, oh,
why could We not stay?
Why leave us to the ethics of this boastful,
modern day?
wrings our hearts with anguish it fills
our eyes with tears
o look where YOU lie buried deep beneath
the silent years.
tut peace be thine forever, let no ruthless
hand e'er dare
o wake thee from thy slumber, or in any
way compare
( our great heart-throbs of good feeling
your welcome and good cheer,
o our cold and formal greetings which
grow colder every year.
God bye, old days. forever, you have gone
beyond our reach.
nd lost upon this epoch are the lessons you
would teach;
Goodbye, old days, forever, let the new days
boast and shine,
'ut virtue and good morals will still wOr-
ship at your shrine.