News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-01-17
eooD-BY FIGURE 8.
fGrapho. in The Advance J

what else could you do? for number
one had first place. But in hun
dred years more number one will
have to step aside for number two,
and after a while your turn at the
head of therow willcome. The world
will be an old, old world then.
You have been with US all the way
through. You were on hand when
we were born, and put the century
mark in the date. You have stood
at the head of every letter we ever
wrote or received. You watched our
trembling hand as it went scribbling
down the page of our first love letter,
and you saw the young girl blush
when she opened it and struggled
along its crooked path. You could
tell many a secret If you wanted to;
you know all about the letter which
said, "Burn me-" From the palace
to the hut there is nobody who
wants you to tell all you know. You
could set all the newspaper reporters
crazy by announcing that you were
going to hand out the recollections
vi q CeuUuINs OuCOulu SuldSu LhuhJ
a reputation, darken many a path,
and also clear up many a mystery;
but then you won't. Having kept so
much so long, you viii keep mum,
and go to your land of rest and
silence; and when your turn comes
again, six thousand years from now,
none OF your old acquaintance will
care much what you say. The earth
and the stars will then have forgot
ten where we were buried.
You have been big figure in
human affairs. For the last hundred
years nothing worth dating has been
done without you. Nobody could
give a note, or receipt, or write a
check, or buy home, or sell house,
or go to school, or graduate, or pub
fish a newspaper, or print book, or
marry, or die, or set up tombstone,
without you. The bottom dropped
out when you failed to appear.
And you have seen a great pro-
cession of events. You saw Napoleon
tumbling down the crowns of Europe,
and tumbling intoa carriage on Sun
day evening, June 18th, 1915; and
you saw him sitting under a willow
tree at the waters edge of ST. Helena.
You have never seen his like since
Perhaps you are wondering whether
he will be duplicated before you come
back to take your place at the head
of time. You saw Italy wrggling
out from under the Pope. You saw
Bismarck make an empire, and die a
disappointed man. You have se n
France Topping from empire to re-
public and back again. You saw the
slave trade wiped eff the sea, and
slavery off the land. You were in the
Cars edict which set the serfs free,
and Lincoln wrote you into his pro-
clamation.
Since the days of Washington you
have seen all the good men and all
the poor sticks in the White House.
You watched the man who put his
collar on over his head. However,
it was his own collar. You saw Dolly
Madison when she shone like a star,
and Lucy Hayes when she ruled
Rutherford, and the music of glasses
was brought low, and the hearts of
the blessed beat high. You saw the
Senate when men went there before
millions. You have seen the wistful,
hungry look on the faces of all the
vast procession who filed into the
doors of the departments for Office,
and then filed out again, sadder but
poorer men.
You have seen all the cabals and
conspiricies at the Capital, and all
the treasure and blood they cost.
You have heard all the croaking and
prophecies of evil which never came
true. You have seen "the rascals
turned out, but you have never seen
any signs of a failure in the supply.
You fund England at war, and
leave her at war. You saw Pitt
dying, and crying ooh, my poor
country" and you go away with the
cry of "The Empire is atstake" ring
ing in your ears. You saw young
Victoria on the day she was crowned
kneelng before a mighty multitude
and asking God to make her a good
queen; and you have seen her answer.
ing her own prayer You have stood
by her we'll, and she hasstood by YOU
well, but you will not stand by heI
"Obiit.' Few die and none resign. .
You have seen Spain whipped out
of her boots, as she ought to have
been before you came. And you
have really seen Mexico getting along
without revolution; but you coul1
not tell, though it is not your bust
ness to fix dates, how many revolu
tions South America has had.
That you have marked the best
century.the world ever had, none o
us doubt; for we have all belonged
to it. You have given us palace cars
to ride in, steamships to sail in
lightning to go by, read by aud send
our lett rs by; YOU have given Ii,
dynamite to blow up mountains, anc
newspapers TO bow us all up: ano
you have given us evolution, aud thf
new woman. the new theology. and
Maxims and Mausers and Lydditt
shells to Iii one another with. You
have taught us that we can have O
good time without getting drunk
and that there can be good preach.