Year: 1871

|


| Thou'st stripped my heart OF many a
friend,


Taken half my joys and all my glee,
But just for once to make amends;
And since thy handmust leave its trace
Turn locks to gray, turn blood to cold
| But spare my heart from growing old"


Oh! let this be the earnest plea of ev-
cry one of us, and let US ever strive to
keep fresh in our thoughts, the determi-
nation, that our hearts shall always return
the warm, pure impulses of youth-and
to this we must keep our minds ever and
constantly growing growing! growing (!
SO that we shall always be new, and our
hearts be consequently young. cheerful
and happy. My Good Old Grandmoth-
er please don't sit there in the chimney
corner and smoke and fret and whine a.
way the few remaining years of your life,
louging for the youth, strength and activ-
ity that are forever gone, but make the
most of, and the best of what you now have J
Don't let your honorable gray hairs hang
in tangled locks about your wrinkled face,
but give them redoubled care and atten-
tion, and thus make up as far as may be,
in neatness, for what has been lost by age.
And do tidy up that old dress. Now that
you can no longer appropriately wear the
pretty, gay and snowy fabrics of youth.
do not give yourself up to the idea that 1t
don't matter what you wear or how it
looks-for it does matter too, and more
than ever it did. The plump, fat baby is
full of beauty, though it be rolling in dirt
with nothing but tattered old slip on,
and 81 too with the gay and joyous boy
and girl, and the light and happy youth
and maiden. They are full of the charms
of youth, health, strength and life, and
may in a measure disdain the added
charms of dress, though am not exactly
sure, that "beauty unadorned'' is always
the most charming. But am positively
certain, that an old, wrinkled. worn-out
woman is completely disgusting if she be
slouchey and careless in her dress and per-
sonal appearance. Let such ones there
fore be especially careful to be clean, neat
and tidy. Wear some dark, sober colored
apparel and above all have it made loose
and comfortable. Indeed comfort is the
first consideration, or should be-in re-
gard to all dress of both old and young.)
Then after all due care is taken concern
ing the outward appearance. look to 1t
that your thoughts, your words, and your
actions, are kind, good, and generous
Try to be genial, useful, and pleasant, and
then you will never feel that yo1 are too
old to be happy, or to bestow happiness
upon those around you.


Whenever see dirty, slatternly,
slovenly old woman, then my heart in
stinctively turns longing back to the old
Grandmother who used to bless our fire.
side circle at home; and whom we chill
dren used to think the incest, dearest and
best old woman in the whole world. L
can see her now as she used to sit on the
''high seat in the meeting house., with
her white silk poke bonnet, her plain bor-
dered cap, and with her swiz muslin
handkerchief folded across her breast
Oh! Is it not beautiful to be able to
leave such lovely picture of old age as
bequest to our children? To feel that
the last impressions we make upon those
around us, are of such a nature that they
will feel pleasure in looking back upon
them. A word too have for you old
man, sitting there in the corner grocery.
Throw down that old stump of pipe, and
throw away that glass of brandy; then
wipe off those two yellow and disgusting
streaks of tobacco juice dropping down
from the corners of your mouth /; and 60
nome and do some kindly turn for your
wife, landlady, or granddaughter. or who
ever is responsible (?) for the care of
your wearing apparel, and get her to rem
ovate and clean it up, and then you may
once more become decent and respecta-
BILE member of society, and donbtless add
many a year to your life-for cleanliness
and Temperance are two of the very best
helps towards prolonging our days. One
year usefully. industriously, and cheer
fully lived. is worth score spent in that
old grocery and the society, that frequents



it. Just try it my friend and see if it is
emit. Mark how your eye will grow
brighter, and your step frmer, and your
heart youngerl Be ever on the watch
for the good, the tru e and the beautiful
and you will be sure to find them, and
find too beautiful old age which shall be
full of rest, JOY, love. and peace! Never
stop building up the mind and heart and
they will keep young even when the body
grows old.


Oh, neatly comb the soft gray hair,
/ And keep the raiment pure and fair,
And i'm thy heart and soul and mind
Oh cherish all that's good and kind
ELMIRA ID, SLENKER.
| FACTORYvIELE, Sept. 1871.


Haprv Ward Reecher has written this