The Sussex Republican., 1906-01-06

Were you happier when you wer,
young than you aresnow? 1 doubt 1t
1 doubt If the opportunity of being or
dered around by your teachers and BY
your parents and by your older broth
ers and sisters were laid alongside Of
your present opportunities you would
say, "Give me back my youth"
think that you would say: "Let me
stay as l am. would prefer to be q
man rather than boy or wife and
mother rather than a little child be-
ing put to sleep In Il trundle bed"
Would We Chsn@e Our Friendsf
We loved and still do love our ia
Tiers and mothers and sisters and
brothers. But do we not also love and
cling to our wives and husbands and
children? We seem to grow bigger
baby about them every day. When we
go away from home now we long to get
back, just as little child cries for its
mother. How would you like to go
back to childhood and live ten, twenty
or thirty years before you had the
pleasures of. domestic life that you
have now? Are you sure that you
would find wife as well adapted TO
you as she who is now your companion
and helper? You know how faithfully
she has clung to you. She is like sap
ling. She knows how to bend before
the angry tornadoes; but, like. the sapi
ling, she never loses her anchorage,
When the storm of anger subsidies she
rights herself and compels you to do
the same. 1 do not believe there Is
more fitted to be the companion Of
your life than she has been. If were
you l would not ask to go back to
childhood and risk losing her. 1t was
hard enough in the beginning to win
her All her school friends were amaz-
worldly standpoint, so many sultors
had laid siege to her heart and hand.
Then the babiesl How could we give
them up, even for little while? r
once read of a little girl who, with her
brother, was watching knife grinder
quite nearsighted and deaf, turned to
the boy and said: my son, here is
some money. Ask the organ grinder
to play another tune" With that the
boy began to laugh. His sister turned
upon him a look of sharp rebuke as
she answered, "Yes, father, we will"
Then she turned and gave the organ
grinder another pair of scissors to
sharpen, and the nearsighted and deaf
father turned smilingly away, think
ing lie had made his children happy,
whereas, in fact, 1t was the daughter
who had made the father happy. So
when we grow older our children have
a habit of covering up our weaknesses.
We do not know why it is, but we are
growing more and more dependent up
on them every day. All, yes, those
boys and girls of ours, how much they |
are to US! The hair may be gray up |
on our heads, the hand may be fee
locks and stout limbs IL we had to be |
from them even for a year.
If we went back to childhood days, |
could we improve our lot? Could we
have any better children than are now |
our lives7
But" says some one, II did not ex-
lctly mean that. What do mean is
his: would like to live my life over
again just as it Is. would like to go |
back into the past and be born In the
same cradle and have the same broth
srs and sisters. l would like again /
70 go to the same schools and marry |
he same girl and have the same chill
iren. I'would like to have my life ex-
lctly reproduced as 1t has been In the
)ast." Then, my friend. want to tell
you that your life, IL II were to be re-
Produced Just as 1t was. would be a
great disappointment to you "a
vice told tale" is never as interesting
he second time as 1t is the first time
is told Let me illustrate:
A Twice Told Tale.
For many years my father led a very
,usy life. Pleasure had but little in his
existence. He went from engagement
o engagement, from duty to duty. But
turing these years of work he kept
me hope ever before him. He wanted
o go back and live little while close
o nature, as he did when boy. "Oh,"
aid he thousand times. ''if we could
My get big carriage and take all the
hildren along and go camping through
he mountains. Then we would picnic
q the woods by day and sleep under
he ahadOw nf tha trees nv night" |
Veil, the time did come when that Of
en- planned dream was to come true,
We were spending that summer in the
of old Virginia. Father put
u his children into wagon, and we
tarted. We Travelled through the
zaadn ha llia sI.I,oa, laa.. faa. ilaa4