The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-05-12

longer and have good time besides.
Is that your idea OF the way Of spend
ing your years when you pass the three
score milestonel Well, my friend, II
that is your expectation Of spending
your life when your hair has become
sllvered 1 tell you you will be doomed
to bitter disappointment. In the first
place. you will not have good time If
you stop working. In the second place.
IL you stop working, instead OF prolong-
ing your life, as you expect, you Will
shorten It by many years. | have rare
ly seen II fail where a man voluntarily
gives up work so that he can pass
lazy old age that he is a miserably un-
happy being and finds a premature
grave. And / have rarely found 1t to
fail II an old man branches out in new
work that the years Of his earthly life
are increased.
As rule, the greatest thinkers and
the hardest mental workers in the
world have been among the longest
lived men Study the long list Of men
old In years, but young in heart, branch
ing out into new work when at seventy
years or beyond. Marden, in his book
Pushing to the Front" has a marvel
Gus collection OF illustrations in refer
ence to this fact. DandolO. the doge OF
Venice, was a warrior who led his sol
diers in battle at ninety-fOur and was
offered a crown at ninety-six. Titan
at ninety-nine was struck down with
the cholera In Venice when le was Mt
work on one OF his canvases. Pope
Leo KILL at ninety-three was the most
powerful personality in all Europe
both on account Of his pontihcal throne
and his own powerful mental equip
ment. When an American bishop said
TO him, your holiness. we hope God
may let you live to become a centena-
rian." the pope answered: "My friend.
do not try to limit the power Of God.
1 expect to be as hard At work after
am hundred years old rs ! am now
Dr. Samuel Johnson wrote his greatest
book when nearly eighty James Watt
learned German when he was eighty
five Isaac Newton and Benjamin
Franklin were hard at work on scien-
tifc subjects when over eighty. Lord
Palmerston and William l.. Gladstone
were both prime ministers Of England
at fourscore years. Robert Hall'
saws Marden. learned Italian when
past sixty. Noah Webster mastered
seventeen languages after he was fifty.
And some Of the best works of Long
fellow. Whittier and Tennyson were
written after they were seventy
Aged friend, the reason you are
growing old and withering mp is be
cause you have stopped branching out
You have taken in sail and are drift
ing. simply drifting, toward the rocks
OF death. and drifting fast Take a
new lease Of life by taking new inter
est I'm things. Study. study. study.
Work. work. work. Go and hear every
fine singer and every good speaker and
read every new book that you can.
The most foolish law the United States
government ever made was when II es-
tablished old soldiers homes. where
the old veterans Of the civil war could
20 and live and do nothing. II an Old
soldier Is physically helpless. then OF
course. he should be cared for But a
well soldier in Danville ILL.,. or Santa
Monica. Cal, or Milwaukee. Wis. or
the Old Soldiers home in Washington
should be encouraged to work II he is
able to. Stagnation means premature
death. mental and physical as well as
spiritual. 1T is better to wear out
than TO rust .'' is a poor maxim.
We have no to do either. But
would tell those who are coming on
toward old age there is more danger
for most Of us Of rusting out than OF
wearing out
How should we renew the strength
OF young manhOodf BY never talking
about our ailments or mlsforiunes II
we can avoid IT, II the rheumatism
| VIII pull At OUT uthNto nih o"N' WI
Joints. then as far as possible don't
mention IL. II the holidays bring ~
sad memories, then II we must cry
let us 90 to our rooms and have a good
cry alone, but not before others. II
we were once wealthy and some old
friends OF better days will now have
nothing to do with US, then do not keeI
burdenlng those who are still faithful
10 US with our never ending tales Of
woe. May the twilight Of our earthly
life, sinking behind the western hillocf
OF our grave, be colOred with the same
beauties as is the beautiful sunrise o.
heaven, which even now we can SCI
cleaning in the east over the hill o.
Calvary and over the central cross
upon which once hung the dying bodl
OF Christ. who died that We might for
ever live.