The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-09-08

Arrived at middle age FcIF pa
sible that most 81 SIS wit bssn
called upon q rsnounee a good 7esl;
we started probably, With the cons
victiou that cur heads would Sui
the stars, and We have becone Strange
IT, reconeiled I'd the fact that they do
not reach the ceiling But itWas, 80
doubt, better 10 start With tie loftier
idea; a man should allow q good mar
gin for shrinkage in bis visions Of the
future. And it is curious, ii is pa
tbetic, to see with what ease we may
accomplish the gradual descent To the
lowerleVel, on which Ne find ourselves
at last going along, i in somewhatl less
heroic fashion than we anticipated,
yet on the whole comfortably and
happily. We have accepted a good
deal, we have learnt how to carry our
burdens in the way that is easiest. We
are no longer storm-tossed; We know
pretty much, arrived at this stage,
what we are going to do, those Of ne
who thought they we're going to do
anything. The fact Of taking life on
a lower level Of expectations makes it
all the more likely that those expecta-
tons will be fulfilled. We have, with
some easing Of conscience, accepted
certain characteristics and manifesta-
tions on our own part as inevitable,
secretly and involuntarily cherisbing
a hope that where these do not TT In
with those Of our surroundings It may
yet be possible that other people
should alter theirs. We are, some Of
US, arrived at this stage, still in there.
lation of being younger, with refer
ence to persons surviving of the gem
erations which preceded US, and are
beginning to understand a little, now
that we have a grown-up generation
following us, what the difficulties and
trials Of the older people may have
been in their relation to ourselves.
We have a certain number offriends, a.
still larger number of acquaintance,
of our own standing, Of whom we OBJ
serve with interest and note with some
surprise that in many respects they do
not remain as they were whenwe we're
all younger. Is this time, then, under
these conditions, as happy as that
which preceded it? Is it even, as
some Of the conteuted would have it,
likely to Be happier? If it is, then
one drawback, / fear, it must have
that Of approaching more nearly to
its happiness. AT any rate, the ques-
ton, however often debated, has not
much Of a practical bearing; we are
not called upon fortunately to choose
at which stage of life we would prefer
to be. We may, therefore, enjoy the
peace that comes from the inevitable.
But one thing is probably certain:
that, on the whole, this stage Of ex-
istence is preeminently important asa
factor in our intercourse with our fell
low creatures. The government Of
the family Life in the large majority
of cases is mainly in the hands Of the
middle-aged; it is they who determine
its general tone, spirit and at
m~osphere. This is a heavy response
bilify to bear, and those upon whom
it is laid can claim indulgence neither
on the score Of youth nor on that of
age; they are old enough to perceive
their mistakes, but not too old to cor
rect them. 1t is they who create the
atmosphere which surrounds their
little community. And the at
mosphere-fgurative as well as ac-
tual-breathed by human beings DUR
ing their passage from infancy to ma
turity is Of incalculable importance;
it can save, or it may destroy. The
young, it is true, carry an atmosphere
Of their own with them through these
early years, full Of brightness and
color, precious, indeed, to their sur
r~oundings. But, as time goes on, a
gradual individual differentiation
takes place; the bright, dancing glow,
which shed a general radiance over
everything, fades away; and we are
seen, each Of us, as we are, as We have
made ourselves during the passage Of
the years, surrounded by our own spe-
cial atmosphere, ~unsoftened by the
golden haze ofyouth, on the one hand,
or by the silvery mists Of age on the
other.-Nineteenth Century.
A Famous Clock.