Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-04-27

An old gentleman, who had been
living on borrowed time for ten
years. said, the other day, i never
come downtown nowadays without
feeling lonesome, for the men that
i knew in Lancaster half century
ago are most of them gone, and
feel like a stranger In my own city. "
This statement may seem little
odd. and yet it expresses the sentl-
ment of old age, and the experience
Of the men and women who are
living close to the edge of time.
The viewpoint of life has every
thing to do with the coloring. The
panorama which stretches on
through the years, from the pinnacle
OF early man and womanhoOd, pre-
sents fascinating outlook.
The most attractive feature is the
rank and file of active humanity en-
gagged in the conflict for existence or
supremacy. An eager longing to
enter the race, possesses them, and
hope inspires confidence and stimu-
Iates endeavOr.
To the veterans at the other end
Of the vista, the panorama is no
longer prospective. They have been
players on the active stage and the
drama has contained more or less of
tragedy.
Hope Is no longer an incentive
and as memory harks back through
the years. disappointment and
blighted ambition blur the vision,
and suggest the thought so often ex-
pressed. IF l could live my life
again, how much more / would &C
cOmplish."
SEz
It has been said very truthfullY
that experience is the only teach
er." and so in spite of the appOrtuni-
ties for observation, and the chances
every day to profit by the ex-
periences of others, the most of US
insist on learning the lessons of life
for ourselves.
The young man who stands at
the threshold, full of vitality, and
feeling equal to all emergencies, so
far as a test of physical strength
and endurance is concerned, pays
but little attention to the men in
the ranks ahead of him, who are in
the midst of the fray.
1t does not concern him that they
are struggling under burdens which
he is anxious to assume, or that
many of them drop out of the ranks,
because unequal to the strain.
He does not note that some of
them bear the marks of dissipation
and are largely responsible for their
own undOing.
He has confidence in his own I'm
tried ability to meet the physical
and moral conditions Of every en-
vironment, and win the prizes
which other men have lost.
The fountain of perpetual youth
he expects to enjoy for time to
come, and his vision never pene-
trates the future far enough to take
in the ranks of veterans, who
through voluntary or enforced idle
ness. find themselves strained on
the verge of time.
w
This carefree and irresponsible
disposition is not confined to the
young men of the land, but extends
down the line TO men IN middle life.
They are near enough the border
line of mature age to catch the echo
Of enfeebled voices, and to note the
ravages of time, hut these make no
impression.
If they plan at all for the future
they plan to live forever in the full
enjoyment of all the GOd-giyen
faculties with which they are en-
dowed, and SO it happens that the
current of life bears on its surface
the drift-woOd of humanity, thought
less and irresponsible, to a week and
helpless old age.
The poorhouses of the land would
be crowded to the doors, but for
the fact that a large percentage OF
this unfortunate class, drop out of
the ranks and find premature rest
ing place in the churchyard.
The old Bible injunction, Pre-
pare to meet thy God" is always
important. and is vigorously pro-
claimed from the pulpits of the
land, but equally important is the
more modern suggestion, Prepare
to meet thy self over on the shady
side Of life, where the principal oc-
cupation is thinking, deprived of
hope or ambition, so far as the here
and now is concerned.
7, r-,,Ao - tho Homo AFRO Of TorsoCvea1-