Year: 1875




Age, doubtless, brings many states Of body


and of mind which are unexpectedly unpleas-


ant. Among the unfortunate experience of old


age, popular writer has mentioned the con-
victcE that your middle aged children are an
irreclaimably stupid set of people. This is
probably worse than similar conviction with
relation to your progeniors, for the sense of re-
sponsibility is greater in the former case. We
think that there must be dsappointments
which are nearly as harassing as this, but of
which it is almost impossible to complain, ow-
ing to their apparently trivial character, and
owing, too, to the fatality of their having a ri
dculous suggestion for others. We all know
that the troubles of this life are not always of
the heroic order. There was man who was
haunted by a suspicion that he had an unbeau-
tiful profile. We positively know that he went
through large part of his earthly existence
trying to hide his side face from his fellow
mortals. New, imagine a person who has al
ways cherished an aversion to a certain kind
of badness, for instance, and then imagine
this person gradually awakening to the fact
that this very fate is in slow but unrelenting
pursuit of him.


We have no inclination to dwell upon the
misfortunes which accommodating years bring
upon mankind; but rather upon the other side
of the picture. Something goes with youth
with age that youth could not bring US.


We speak of the disllusions of advancing
years, as if such experiences were always un-
fortunate, But certainly there are dsillusions
which are most fortunate and comforting To
childhood Of a reverential sort there is q gla-
mour, an air of superiority about every grown
up person, good or bad. Of course, drunken
men, thieves, murderers, and the like are un-
derstood to be "bad." Although there is still
an indefnable reverence on the part of the
child for even these-yet, on the whole, they
do not greatly trouble him. 1t is from another
source that thousand vague perplexities and
alarms invade the young ami sensitive soul
it is his natural and nculcated reverence for
grown-up persons who are intensely disagree
able to him that gives such warning emotions
such terrible mental distress. You cannot
easily tell little child that his instincts are
correct,--that young neighbor, his godfather
perhaps, to all outward appearance pious and
praseworthy member of the community, has,
in fact, warped and bitter, sordid and sell
fish, a vulgar and deceptive moral nature
Perhaps, you yourself, have only lately come
into this knowledge-wise and willy aul fall of
years though you are, yet still with tn"> ark
ing fetichism of childhood. Perhapsony now,
after many bitter and remorseful and melan-
choly experiences, THAT tyranny is past" for
you.


So, in this sense, it is true that among the
satisfactions of age ere certain of its disillu-
sons. 1t may be said that it is poor outcome
of the law of compensation, namely, the dis
covery of more evil in the world than we had
imagined. But, if evil exists, and If itmust be
discovered in unexpected places, how much
better that we should find it where we have all
along vaguely felt its presence Tile Old Cab
met Scribner for December.