Old Age [pp. 743-746]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
spirit; bear him up under his afflictions, whether
of mind or body; and he is soothed with the hope
that he is not yet a cumberer of the ground-not
yet an obstacle to the happiness of those around
him. Age indeed, as poor old Ossian pathetically
says, "is dark and unlovely." The octogenarian
very naturally broods over that melancholy fancy!
He imagines-alas! often too justly-that he is not
only neglected but contemned; that he is looked
upon as a cipher;-as a "superfluous veteran lagging on the stage;" that the young are impatient
to grasp his wealth, or heartily tired of their burden; and he is ready to exclaim with the dying, old
King, "I stay too long, for thee, I do weary thee."
What kindness then, by assiduity, to chase away
these sad conceits; to beguile the aged pil,rim
with the belief that age, which has robbed him of
his strength and stolen one by one his every faculty, has yet been unable to rob him of his friends.
For my part I know notl)ing more pitiable than
a neglected old man; the avenues of the senses
shut up, the ear dull so that it cannot hear, the eye;
dim so that it cannot see, the beauties of nature
spreadi before him in vain, and the treasures of science in unregarded confusion around him. Retired, unfriended, melancholy, sad,-what has he to
wish but a release fiom an existence which has
become a burden to himself as well as to others.
What has he to value in the world who, in the
evening of his days, finds around him none upon
whose affections hie can lean, as the props of his
declining age? What hope can he have that on
his tomb will fall "the pious drops the parting soul
requires," who, even before his death, sees all the
affections withered around him, by his palsied
touch? None! none! and, of all the melancholy
thoughts which the imagination ofSwift has thrown
around the history of the Strulbrugs, there is nothing more sad, than the abandonment of those
wretched immortals, by the successive generations
through which it is their destiny to pass. Alas!
poor Swift! he probably little expected to become the thing he painted. He became a Strulbrug in all things but their immortality! Yet his
,imbecility is immortalized by the pen of his cotemporary.
'}From Marlborough,'s eyes the streams of dotage flow,
And Swift expires a driveller and a show.,
Such may be the lot of each of us,-and each of us
is interested therefore in inculcating that piety,
which rnay soothe us in our turn, and smooth the
path that leads down the hill of life. If we live
w ell, we have a right to expect it. If' we live
otherwise, our title to it is gone. It is, then, the
great incentiv e to virtue. To deny it, is t}o refuse
us our dole, and to inflict upon the just the penalties of sin. How forcibly does Macbeth depict
the sad condition brought upon him by his crinies.
I hav e lived long enough; my way of life,
I f'allen into the sear, the yellow leaf;
t2nd that which should accozpai?y old age,
~s honor, love, obidie?ce, troops of fiecds,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud, but deep!
Aye! and a fit retribution was it for the crimes of
the felon King! But what becomes of the distinction between virtue and vice, if the desertion of
which the fell murderer complained, is to be the
lot also of the best of men, when they too have
" fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf?" In charity,
let them not want those comfi)rts
Which should accompany old age, As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends!
their counsel;" and let the rising generation, grate-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
years of the weary pilgi-inia to eteinity.
cherished with liecitliar cai'e in this our 01(1 Dominion? Is your corresjiondent well founded in his
censures, or does the' letudnior temporia acti'
happiness he only envies?"
I answer by appealing to the personal observation of all. Far-very far am I firom believing
the censure to be universally merited. But he
must wink hard, who will not see that respect for
age is not the d(listinguishing virtue of this our day.
Let him lwho doubts, look back upon the scenes
thlrotugh which he has passed. Where are the
youth who seek the society of their seniors, and
drink lessons of wisdom firom their lips? Go into
the private circle, and where will vou hear the modest avowal "1 was young and ye are very old,
wherefore I was afraid and durst not show you tine
opinion?"
Does a difference of sentimnent arise in conversation? Beholdl how the bold and confident self-sufficiency of youth, bears down the mnatured yet more
diffident wisdom of the sage. Go to the public
places-the crowdled tleatre, the thronged street,
the fireside of an inn, the legislative hall, even the
house of Gotd itself, and among the many instances
of polite and respectful deference to seniors, how
many are there of a boorish contempt of the ordinary rules of politeness, towards those who are old
enough to be our fathers;-aye, and our mothers
too? For alas thel-c gentler sex share in this culpaile neglect when time has stolen away their graces and their elastic step has been succeeded by
the tottering of age. The (days of chivalry are
gone; Ifor true chiv alry recognizes equally the
claims of the fiair, whether they be sixteen or
sixty. Even now, it must be confessed, there is no
want of devotion to the former, thoi,lgh the latter
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