Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-07-28
JOTTINGS BY THE WAY.
BY Charles Scanlon.

HoHunS after the conclusion OF the
world War, met soldiers from many
nations, practically all of whom were
young men, and the German prisoners
were especially youthful in appear
ance, mere boys. Our own soldiers
looked very Young when gathered in
groups, even the officers for the most
part IN all of the armies were young.
| found myself often thinking of the
vast responsibility Of these Young
men. Not only the life of multitudes
OF individuals had been in their care
ana dependent upon their Judgment,
OUT the destinies of great nations and
UNBORN generations would be large.
~ influenced by what they did. With
what courage and confidence and an.
parent ease they assumed responsible.
lily and discharged their duties. No
wonder that many of them who went
out with the spirit of lishthearted hnys
returned with the air and attitude
OF men. How rapidly they matured,
Many Of the leaders on borh sides
in the Civil War, young men-Grant
sheridan, Sherman, Stonew,rr' lack
SIN end others. There were, of
course, older men, too, but the body Of
both armies as we'll as most ofthc ger
erals were young. Ii is usually true in
war. Perhaps that is why soldiers are
so often affectionately referred to as
"our boys"
How much of the history of the
world has been made by young men I,
Some of the more familiar examples
readily come TO mind: Alexander the
Great conquered Persia and changed
the destinies of the world at 81 and
died at 81, having conquered the then
known world. Napoleon was master
Of Europe at 81. Julius Caesar was
powerful at . and military tribune of
Rome at 81. Hannibal had subjugated
Spain and Cortez Mexico before they
were 80. Lafayette was made Major
Frederick the Great had conquered
SILICA and was the most conspicuous
| figure in Europe at 33.
In craftsmanship youth has been
equally prominent. Jefferson wrote
the Declaration of Independence at
3d. Hamilton was Secretary Of the
U. S. Treasury at g. Madison was
father of the Constitution at &c. Claw
was elected u. S. Senator before he
was old enough to serve. Pitt was
Prime Minister of England at "a and
Fox was head of the British Parlia-
ment before he was 80.
Science, art, music, literature, re-
ligion and reform have all had their
notable examples Of youthful leader
ship. Newton had made his great
discoveries at Is. Franklin had laid
the foundation Of his fame before he
was 80. Bell invented the telephone
at 20, Edison the electric light at 81,
Stephenson the steam engine at p
Whitney the cotton gin at 20, Fulton
the steamboat at %, Morse the tele-
graph at little past 40, Mccormick
the reaper at "a, Howe the sewing ma.
chine at 26, Marconi the wireless tel
egraph at 20.
Virgil was the leading Latin poet in
his 20's. Herodotus was famous at
%. Grotius was Attorney General at
a. Milton, Shakespeare, Bacon, Spen-
GER, Pope, Samuel and Ben Johnson
and Burns did much of their work in
early life. Byron died at 81, Shelley
at 20, Keats at 81. Bryant wrote his
Thanatopsis at 10, Michael Angelo had
carved his famous statue Of David at
% and done much OF the other work
upon which his fame rests. Raphael
had painted some Of his masterpieces
at Is.
Among musicians who attained en-
inence may be mentioned Beethoven,
Mozart, Handel, Mendelssohn, Hayden,
Wagner and some Of the present day
all Of whom were noted before they
were 20 years Of age.
David was only lad when he slew
Goliath and was crowned king OF
Israel at 80. After the disruption un-
der Rehoboam there were eighteen
kings over Judah, all OF them young
men. John the Baptist was forerun-
ner at 80. Most OF the Apostles were
probably young men. Calvin wrote
his Institutes at 26 and Luther was
professor OF philosophy at 2land had
nailed his Theses on the door at Wit
tenburg at "a. Wesley and Whitfield
were boys at Oxford when they began
Il A. A:a<. AL L