Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-03-09

ur to sixty years Of age I have right
to retire from work and have n good
rcst. II live ten years more intend
to hand over the business to the boys
aud just turn myself out to grass and
do nothing but play and play und play.
| know II Gun stop work l can live
longer and have good time besides"
Is that your idea of the way of spend.
ing your years when you pass the three
score milestone? Well, my friend, II
that is your expectation Of spending
silvcrcd tell YOU you will be doomed
to bitter disappointment. In the first
place. YOU will not have II good time II
you stop working. III the second place,
If you stop working, instead of prolong-
ing your life, as you expect, you will
shorten II by many years. / have rare
~ seen 1t fail where man voluntarily
gives Up work SO that he can pass u
lazy old age that he is a mlsernbly un.
happy being and finds premature
grave. And have rarely found IL to
fail II an old man branches out in new
work that the years Of his earthly life
are increased.
Hard Work md Long Life.
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 q marvel
Gus collection Of illustrations in refer
ence to this fact DandolO. the doge Of
Venice. was warrior who led his SOL
diers in battle ut ninety-four and was
offered q crown at ninety-six. Titan
at ninety nine was struck down with
the cholera in Venice when he was ut
work on one Of his canvases. Pope
Leo XIII. at ninety-thrce was the most
powerful personality in all Europe
both on account of his ponti.ical throne
and his own powerful mental equip
ment. When IN American bishop said
tc him, "Your holiness, we hope God
may let you live to become centena-
rlan," the pope answered: MY friend.
do not try to limit the power Of God.
I expect to be MS hard at work after
am hundred years old as am now"
DR.. Samuel johnson wrote his greatest
book when nearly eighty. james Watt
learned German when he was eighty
Ave. Isaac Newton and Benjamin
Franklin were hard at work Oh scien-
tific subjects when over eighty. Lord
Palmerston and William E. Gladstone
were both prime ministers Of Eng/nd
Mt fourscore years. Robert Xali.'
says Marden. learned !taliap when
past sixty. Noah Webster Mastered
seventeen languages after lie 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 whitening up 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 q
new lease of life by taking new inter-
est In 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 1t 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 he cared for. But n
we'll 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 Ia
able to. StagnatiOn means premature
death. mental and physical as we'll as
spiritual. 1T Is better to wear out
than to rust out" Is Il poor maxim.
We have no right to do either. But
would tell those who arc coming on
toward old age there is more danger
for most Of us of rusting ont than of
wearing out.
Don't Talk of Troubles.
How should we renew the strength
of young manhood: BY never talking
about our ailments or misfOrtunes if
we can avoid it. If the rheumatism
| VIII pun Ut Jul ucEtCS anu SWciI ottl
Joints. then rs far as possible don't
mention It, IL the holidays bring up
sad memories. then IL we must cry
let lis go TO our rooms and have 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 keep
burdening those who are still faithful
to us with our never ending tales of
woe. The most common sense pre-.
scriptiOn ever saw written by a ply
stefan was not to he taken in small
pills. but in knockdown doses. The
prescription was a sign placed in the
rotunda Of a large sanitarum in the
central part Of New York state. 1t
was in a most conspicuous position.
where all the patients could see 1t. 1t
read thus: Don't talk about your pain
and your ailments"
doctor. why did you put that sigl
up:" asked. "Why." said he. tina
sign has cured more of my patient,
than any twenty prescriptions I eve
wrote Every morning my sick peopl
would come down and greet each othe
as follows Good morning! How do 20,
feel? DID you sleep we'll last night? Il
your headache better?' Then the per