Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-07-22


corrected, yea, to the grandfather and
grandmother, and have their life cor
rected, for some of you are suffering
from bad hereditary influences which
started 100 years ago. Well, If your
grandfather lived his life over again,
and your father lived his life over again,
and you lived your life over again,
what cluttered up place this world
would be-a place filled with miserable
attempts at repairs. / begin TO think
that it is better for each generation to
have only one chance, and then for
them TO pass off and give another gen.
GRAFTON a chance Besides that, if we
were permitted to live life over again,
it would be a stale and stupid expert.
ence. The zest and spur and enthusiasm
of life come from the fact that we have
never been along this road before and
everything is new and we are alert for
what may appear at the next turn OF
the road. Suppose you, man OF mid
life or old age, were, with your present
feelings and large attainments, put back
into the thirties or the twenties or in
the teens, what a 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 healthfll
ambition or gave you pleasurable sur
prise or led you into happy interroga-
tion, would only call forth from you
disgusted "Oh, pshawv" You would be
blase at 30 and misanthrope at 40 and
uncomfortable at go The most inane and
stupid thing imaginable would be a Sec
ond Journey Of life. 1t is amusing to
hear people say, Il would like to live
my life over again, if / could take my
present experience and knowledge Of
things back with me and begin under
those improved auspices. Why, what
an uninteresting boy you would be with
your present attainments in a child S
mind. No one would want such boy
around the house-a philosopher at 20,
I. scientist at 10, an archeologist at 10
and a domestic nuisance ell tne time,
An oak crowded into an acorn. A Rocky
mountain eagle thrust back into the
eggshell from which it was hatched
Sorrows Twice Endured.
Besides that, if you took life over
again you would have to take its 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 l walked through a great city
with a 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-
fed and in the museum at the gates. OF
the 80. 900 people who once lived in
those homes and worshiped in those
temples and clapped in those theaters
not one left For l,SO0 years that city
of Pompeii had been buried before
modern exploration scooped out Of it
the lava of Vesuvius. Well, 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
pilgrimage. 1t 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
the temptations Of life over again!
From the fact that you are here CON
cludo that though in many respects your
life may have been unfortunate and un
consecrated you have got on so far tol
erably well. if nothing more than toler
able. As for myself, though my life has
been far from being as consecrated to
God as | 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 lock at
the multitudes who have gone com
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 COM
plete mishap. Some young man that
told YOU that he was going to be mil
lionaire and own the fastest ,rotters on
the turnpike and retire by the time he
was 30 years of age. you do not hear
from for many years and know nothing
about him until some day he comes into
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