The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-12-14

wrote me encouragingly, as did a promi-
nent physician at Reidsville not long ago,
OF my contributions to the News and OBJ
server. My Durham friend says they are
eagerly looked for by me every Sunday
morning, and are read first, of all other
matter, and most heartily enjoyed What
you had to say in todays paper relative
to Philip James Bailey, vhas been trans
ierred and pasted securely on a blank
leaf of my copy of "Festus," which is
fifty years old. Philimore Archer first
called my attention to this book, and
| bought copy at once, and have chung
to it through the many years that have
passed. Archer thought it was the
greatest book ever written, next to the
Bible. l have a very, very high opinion
of it, and love to read it now, as we'll as
I ever did
Many thanks for his kind appreciation.
So there are old readers like my friend
and myself who have still appreciation
for the poem of the long ago that for a
dozen years or more attracted thousands
of readers among English speaking peo
pie who read good books.
While it is true. as I intimated in a
recent communication, that old age does
not necessarily bring with it's gathered
sheaves any thing of wisdom, yet it is
true that the greatest men of the teem
ing, mighty nineteenth century, with but
few exceptions, were old men-men OF
more than 65 years, and several Of them
octogenarians or even older. In Europe
the greatest mental factors and highest
endowed men of genius, whose influence
upon the century was perhaps greater
and more permanent than any others,
lived to an advanced life. Goethe, Words
worth, Lander, Tennyson, Hugo, Carlyle,
Ranke, Thiers-the most royalty endowed
possibly-some really among the greatest
of modern poets. Tennyson wrote i'm
mortal poetry after he had passed his
eightieth year, and among the poems one
is an absolute gem of purest ray
serene, the most exquisite, perfect
minor poem that ever came from so aged
a minstrel, and one of the best in all
literature-his most memorable Gross
ing the Bar" Pitt, the Younger, Ma
poleon. Byron, Shelley and Keats were
the most commanding examples of high
genius Towering in youth. l mentioned
but the other day some of my famous
examples among British statesmen of
great distinction and exalted endowments
in youth. OF men of great parts and
fame in old age, there might be cited
scores. l mention but Webster. Calhoun,
Clay, Jefferson Davis, Gladstone, Bis
marck, Brougham and Lindhurst, who
were mastery men. The fashion or
trend now. as I mentioned in a former
article. is to put old men in the garnet
of neglect and forgetfulness--to relegate
the best and noblest to the
limbo of defunct usefulness and dilape-
dated intellig ,nce and decayed minds. Be-
cause Napoleon is the marvel of the CEN
turtles, and reached the Hottest peak of
fame before he was thirty-ive. and Will
liam Pitt became Prime Minister of Great
Britain at great crisis, before he was
thrty-five, it is no reason why it should
be supposed that old men are fools, or
that wisdom now abides only with the
young, aggressive, self -assertive. Did it
over occur to you how short lived are the
great geniuses as a whole. IT l had
space ! could show that most of the
greatest poets of the Elizabethan age, the
greatest of all creative periods, died
comparatively young. I come to this
century for citation. Burns died at some
IS. Byron at &c. Shelley at 81, Keats at
%. OF the worlds very greatest men,
Shakespeare died at 80 and Napoleon at
81 Then take my favorites, after Shakes
peare. and they died before they would be
called old now. Scott died at 81, Thack-
cray at 50, Dickens at 50, Maccaulay at
50. Green under so, believe. 1t is notice
able in reading the lives of eminent au-