Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-02-20

how any one can conquer the eitect
@ Of years and groN younger in spirit;
text Psalms ciii.. ). so that thy youth
is renewed like the eagles"
There flies out from my text the most
majestic of all the feathered creation-an
eagle Other birds have more beauty OF
plume and more sweetness of voice, but
none OF them has such power of beak,
such clutch of claw, such expansion OF
wing. such height of soaring, such wide
ness Of dominion. Its appetite rejects the
carrion that invites the vulture, and III
most cases its food is fresh and clean
Leveing its neck for flight, in spiral
curve it swings itself toward the MONDAY
sun. II has been known 10 live 100 years.
What concentration of all that Is sublime
in the golden eagle, the crested eagle. the
imperial eagle, the martini eagle, the
booted eagle, the Jean lie Blanc eagle. But
after awhile in its life comes the Noting
process, and ii looks ragged and Won ana
unattractive, and feels like moping IN It's
nest OF the high crags. But weeks go by,
and the old feathers are gone, and new
ornithological attire is put on, and its
beak. which was oyergrown, has the sur
plus of bone beaten off against the rocks,
and it gets back lis old capacity for food,
and again it mounts the heavens IN I'M
challenged and boundless Kingdoms of air
aud light. David, the author of the text,
had watched these monarchs of the sky,
and knew their habits, and one day, eX'
ulting in his own physical and spiritual
rejuvenescence, he says to his own soul:
You are getting younger all the time.
You make me think of an eagle which
saw yesterday, just after its melting sea
son, swinging through the valley of Je-
hoShaphat, and then circling around the
head of Mount Olivet. Oh, my soul. thy
youth is renewed like the eagles.
The fact is that people get old too fast.
They allow the years to run away with
them. The almanac and the family rec
ord discourage them. Some of you are
older than you have any business to be.
You ought to realize that as the body gets
older the soul ought to get younger. Com
ing on toward old age you are only in the
molting season, aud after that you Will
have better wings, take higher fight and
reign in clearer atmosphere. Our religion
bids us to look after the welfare of the
body as well as of the soul and the 1irst
part as well as the latter part of my sub
ject is appropriate for the pulpit.
Simple Habits and Longevity.
Many might turn the years backward
and get younger by changing their ply
steal habits The simpler life one leads
the longer he lives. Thomas Parr of
Shropshire, England, was a plain man
and worked ON farm for a livelihood.
At 120 years of age he WIS ut his daily
toll. He had lived under nine kings of
England. When 152 years of age, he
was heard of in London. The King de-
sired to see him and ordered him to the
palace where he was so richly aid roy IL
ly treated that it DESTROYED his health.
and he died at 152 years and months of
age. When DIR. Harvey. the discoyerer
of the circulation of the blood, made post
mortem examination of Thomas Parr. he
declared there Were no signs of seniie
decay in the body. The man must have
renewed his youth, like the eagle, again
and again.
All occupations and professions have
afforded illustrations of rejuvenescence.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, lived
100 years, and among those eminent in
the medical profession who became sep
tuagenarians and octogenarians and non
agenarians were Darwin, Gall, Boer-
have, Jenner and Ruysch, observing
themselves the laws of health that they
lHuEUl lHplT IutltHlS- III art anu iiNtAh
ture and science among those who lived
into the eighties were Plate and Franklin
and Carlyle and Goethe and Button and
HALEY Sophocles reached the nineties.
You cannot tell how old a man is from
the number of years he has lived. | have
known people actually boyish in their dis
position at so years of age, while Louis
H., King of Hungary, died of old age at
H., .sft'ba -
was composed Mt 20 years of age. Hum
boldt wrote his Immortal work. The Cos
mos" at 10 William Cullen Bryant. at
50 years of age, in my house read without
spectacles "Thunatopss." which he had
composed when IL years of age Isocrates
did illus-rious work at 81. Liontnus Cor
gias was busy when death came to him
at 10T years of age. Hersche at 50 years
of age was hard at work in stellar explo-
ration. Masinissa. King of Numidia, at
90 years of age led victorious cavalry
charge against the Carthaginians Titan
was engaged on his greatest painting
when he died ia his one hundretith year
How often they must have renewed their
youth.
Biblical Span of Life.
Some one writes me. rs not threescore
and ten the bound of human life. accord
ing TO the Bible?' My reply is that
Moses. not David. who wrote that psalm.
was giving a statistic of his own day
Through better understanding of the laws
of health and advancement of medical
science the statistics of longevity have
nightly changed since the time of Moses.
and the day is coming when nonagena-
riun will no longer be a wonder. Pile
botOmy shortened the life of whole gener-
atoms. and the lancet that bIed for every
thing is now rarely taken from the doe
tors pocket. Dentistry has given power
of healthy mastication to the human race
and thus added greatly to the prolonga-
ton of life. Electric lights have improv-
ed human sight. which used to be strain
ed by the dim tallow candle. The dire
diseases which under other names did
their fatal work and were considered al
most incurable. now in majority of cases
are conquered. Vaccination. which has
saved millions Of lives and baked the
greatest scuurge of nations. aud surgery.
which has advanced more than any other
science. have done more than can be told
for the prolongation of human life. The
N-ray has tnrned the human body. which
was OPAQUE. into IA lighted castle. II Is
easier in this age to renew ones youth
than in any other age. When Paul stop
ped the jailer from suicide by command
ing. DO myself no harm" he showed
himself interested in the physical as well
L. l. H