The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-08-21
HE HAS a JEALOUS STREAK
Old Vines and Customs of Past
Days Are Praised Only by Those
Advanced in Years.

Days Are Praised Only by Thos,
Advanced in Years.
Atlanta Constitution.
How naturally mankind adapt them
selves to those of Their kind, their ave
sex and mental condition. Birds O
the same feather will flock together
and so these little grandchildren vii
iun away from me TO irolc with Other
little tots, and it makes me Jealous
Just 30 the next set from 10 to lE
years clan together. Then comes the
blushing school girls from II to Is.
who have heightened out their dresses
and ceased to pull up their gartcrs
every few minutes rs they walk about.
| 1t is the same with the boys, and when
they get To be baseball experts with ii
college attachment they talk of their
exploits in a language that is hcathcn
Chlncc TO everybody except themselves
and claim TO he the elect. And so il
goes on and on unll we have passed
our maturity, and then we veterans
take our comfort in communion with
veterans aud pay our tribute to the
good old times that will never return.
We are the elect.
| believe it is true that nobody but
the old men and women give praise to
the old times aud The customs of their
fathers, and so if every generation of
old people believe that the age of their
youth was the best, then the times
must have dcgcnc.dtcd awlully since
the days OF the prophets. Have they
or have they not gotten better instead
OF worse? The answer is, they arc
better in some respects and worse in
others Public morals were very loose
Il hundred years AGO. Andrew Jackson
was T"mb'C', horse racer ana duclist
scvcnty-iivc years ago. Such man
could not be elected president now.
Foreign missions and Sabbath schools
were almost unknown. The slave trade
with Atr;ca was in full blast in New
England, and New England rum was
the purchase money. Imprisonment
for debt was the law generally, and so
was logging III The navy Whisky
was unknown, but brandy and rum
were kept in almost every respectable
household. IllitcraCy prevailed almost
all over the South except among the
ariStocracy. There were but few books
TO real and fewer newspapers. There
were no railroads or tclcgraphs or sew
ing machines. But the people were
generally honest aId religious. There
were no trustG, no strikes, no mil
liOnaircs, no suicides or robbcrics, and
a murder was il rare event and done in
the heat of passion. No doubt but
that there are a hundred of these
crimes committed now TO one then ac-
cOrdmg To population. Well, then,
why arraiyn the old people Tor lament
ing that the good old timcs have gone?
Not long ago heard 4 gifted and cul-
turcd minister Of the oldcn time preach
most charming and impressive SER
mon from the text in jeremiah which
reads, /" stand in The way and ask for
the old paths, which is the good way
and walk therein, and yc shall find rest
| for your souls" One Of the best tests
Of the strength of sermon is your
remembrance of the text. When a
gifted and scholarly minister Is done
with it and with hol j.hands says, "Lct
us pray," what a solcmnity fills tho
| place, and the text fingers with you
for years to come. 1t does not seen
like the same scripture. "Thc ole
paths," walk ye in the old paths ,
has been ringing in my ears ever since
| know that Lord Bacon was grow
ing old when he wrote, Old wood t,
burn, old wine to drink, old friends /,
trust, and old authors TO read" Ant
Goldsmith said, "I love cvcrythln,
that is old" King James used to cal
for his old shoes when he was tired.
There is something almost sacrc
about the old songs, such as " Aul
Lang Sync." The Old Oake
, Bucket" The Old Arm Char" an
c even " Old Grimes is dead, that 600
old man" My friend Tom Sawyer
D of Florida, writes that he still clings I
b his old clothes; that he has worn hi
8 pants for years and years and had thcl
{ half-sOled in the seat and reinforced
s the knees and rchemmed at the bo
) tom; that he bought u home made pa
IS OF socks twcnty-scvcn years ago ana
il wearing them sill, though he has Ina
It new feet KNIT to them three times al
O new tops twice. He says that Cove
n nor Bloxham dearly loves the o
d things crlOOms, etc, and bOas
is that he has an Old barrel that has be,
v in the family cvor since Columbus d
.e covered Annexation he brought
10 over with him full of brandy, and
Of has had good liquor Of some sort in
+ ever since; that his great great gran
&c father put new slaves in il, and
le great grandfather put new heads a
ed his father put new hoops on it, /
It. the same old bung-holc still renal
and when the haid is drawn the sal
old sound goes odlc.goodlc-g good
Tom says he is going to take the bul
hole and the goodle to the Atlanta
!m position and exhibit them as the o.
relics of Christopher Columbus.
But about old friends. Ey