The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Issue 178, 24 September 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1879.

The doctriii" taught by some anatomists that the human body undergoes a complete change every seven years may be considered by many a mere theory which cannot be substantiated by fact*. In the days o r the Jewish p .triarchs the number seven seems to have possessed somi form of fiisoT'n'ation' that was irresistibjj. All class s' of men, and women tcraf doted upon this number, as a standard rule to guide them in their daily dealings with one another. It is more than possible the knowledge that such was the case may 1 ave prompted the theorist upon the structure of the human body to come to the conclusion that a change was looked for at the end of every seven, or a new start made after completing every seven. Be this as it may, one thing is patent to all, that if the body does change the mind, or affections, or tastes, change too. In the child of a few years trifles please, or the smallest disappointments displease and irritate. As time wears on bolder demands are mide upon the pur veyor who catets for their entertainment, and stern resentment is made manifest when compliance is not made immediately, w'th demands, however unreasonable. As another step is reached in the ladder of life another change takes place. The young m ; 'ii, newly out of his teens, begins to put on an air of. consequence, and .struts about the | latform of life as if he were as high as the heavens, and could orrasp creation with a span. Life to him seems almost an eternity. Looking back he sees on'y childhood's years passing o'er him,; looking forward he sees in the far distant the various mile posts which mark the different stages of life's journey, and at the climax of three score years and ton, man's allotted time upon earth, it looks to him like a road without an end, and he launches out into the wide wide world full of pleasing anticipations and building for ever castles in the air. Joyous md mirthful, no cruel or revengeful thought has possession of his young heart. Pleasure is his highest ambition, araiic", coyetonsness, envy, r-v.-ngo, are strangers to his nature, ..ud he cannot understand how aged sears ca-i take pleasure in cruel craftiness and vil? deceit. The cold hand of indifference or disregar J for the Mill'iM-ings of others is a marvel to him. In the ;u " ! w "Kut!i.»r ytmili he is ready to give u;> a'l he po--.se.sscs if it would only save a fellow >-reaturo a single pa' g of sorrow. By-:wid-bye this amiable young man undergoes another change of mind, mure than a change of body, and if this should come about by a baptism of tire, or tierce trial of sallerm:;, he emerges from the conflict a change! man, sometimes improved and purified by passing through the tire, sometimes an with the dregs of a dire disease, it is to and himself with his temper soured, hi* ippetite vitiated, his desires ambitious, md his needs or wants increased. At his stage his destiny is settled by some nscrutable law in .his natuie, which im>cls him, whether to weal or woe. Here Rupert's picture of innocence and crime eceives its deciding tint. At times a ond mother feasts her eyes upon an lolised son, who is her stay and her t:»ff, her crown of glory and honor, her hield and .protector, against tho unharitableness of a cold world. At times :iia son on whom she doted, henceforth iads his name with infamy and shame, ringing down his aged parent's grey airs with sorrow to the grave. He has now itered upon a downward career, every irning in which makes it more dillieult *r him to retrace his steps. His mind irrupted, his actions crimes, crimes, is life, which began so promising, ieedily ends in misery and disgrace, mid the fond mother, who in her blind ve worshipped him as her very idol, but j ,ve seen this final stage which he has iw reached, a wreck repudiated by even ose who for long trusted him and felt oud of his company, she would, as my have done, exclaimed, "Would at he had never seen the sun." Our aught s have been drawn to this subject reading an affecting account of the ,gic end of the young Prince Imperial. iubtless that fond mother's heart was ting upon her only child, as all she ed for in this world. Every night and ;ry morning she had watched his every vement, and ran to comply with his :ry wish. He on his part seems to have iprocated this feeling, for no account his youthful years disclose anything t would lead us to think that carclesss or indifference to the admonitions or lies of the warm-hearted Empress, was tit of his nature. If he had not begun mild castles in the air it is more than ly she did. • riven from a home where she was ost adored, flattered bj- everyone, her f footsteps were watched, and her high exalted position tho envy of pleasure ters in that pleaswre-loving country, so fashionable metropolis gave a pat- ! . for the world to follow, glorious in apparel, the joy of the whole earth be said to be her attribute. Yet this y, this splendour, this magnificence, t» give place to wretchedness, misery woe. The fortune of war once more lied to the truth of the saying <of the King Solomon, that all is vanity and tion df spirit. The proud, ambitious >ser, not satisfied with the victories dy achieved, like another Alexander, mst conquer all or none, went to the for an idea, and became an exile from ieople and kingdom. The beautiful ress. the looked-up-to by all, a deso.djspirited, heart-broken woman, led to pass the remainder of her life litude and sadness, the only sunshine e cheering rays lighted up her lonely being the hope that her beloved son d one day restore h?r to her former

grandeur. One can fancy to one's se'f with what interestth.il mother would pa«-k away the little necessaries calculated to lead his thoughts buck to the stranger's country, where that widowed mother psidsi-d her weary anxious hours in deep solicitude for the young prince'* welfare.

And as ho left the ha'l door, a fond mother's blessing followed him, und a fond prayer for his safe return, loaded with honor and glory. As that gallant youth, as yet untainted with crime, sallied forth under the British banner, his proud young heart must have beat high, with the hope of glad tidings to waft across the water through the mystic wire. Anxiety was at its height, every footstep sending a thrill through that fond mother's heart, lest some mishap should damp the ardour or mar the pleasure of that sprightly young man, as he pranced along on his spirited charger, foremost in the fight, like a gallant knight of old. bent upon a display of prowess before his 1.-dylove. C-tlmly composing herself in her quiet boudoir, sajb that mother, indulging in these fond musings, when an unexpected visitor approaches her with crave and solemn inier., fencing with every word to avoid surprise or suspicion, but alarm takes possession of that mother's breast, when, like another personage in high life in ancient times, she exo.laims. " Oh. Louis., my son ! Would to GJ>d I hid died for thee, my son, my dearjy beloved, my only son ! " The trial anclf 'shock' to the devoted mother, and the depth of anguish that she experienced at that moment, none but a fond patent can comprehend. Sore and sad, bereft of her stay and hope, her heart sinks within her, and perhaps at that moment her soul breathed a prayer that she might, join him in the World of spirits. Man's destiny is a great mystery so far as this world is concerned. None know what the end is to be from the beginning in life. The e.x-Empress of the French, we may be well assured, fixed tier thoughts upon the hope of a speedy return to her beloved country there to act over again the part in life which brought h<>r such homage from an admiring crowd ; or it mav bo to take that revenge which is sweet to the. natural heart. But this was not to be, bv a cruel fate, say some; a fixed dbstinv. say others; born under an evil star, savs the materialits ; the decrees of Providence, says the ecclesiastic. By whichever form or order it presented itself thecruelenemy of mankind pounced upon its victim, and laid th-> hope of his mother (yea, of vast multitudes) a cold and lifeless corpse. To the sceptic there is nothing in this ; to the Christian there is a mystery, a puzzle, a something to marvel at. The same old story would again be told :—We thought thi* wis ho who was to deliver our Israel, and reign over us as a mighty king, but now onr best hopes ars blighted, and we are senttered. Su~h may be the language of the lovers of power, but there is another view to take of it. Who can tell but that he may be removed from the evil to come 1 Who can tell but that it may have given the death-blow to Monarchialism, the finishing stroke to despotism, in ord'-r .th-it the scream of Liberty may glide on it-; way without or hind era nee. The wojdd is advancing, crown-d be»d.v*r-» .tottering, tyranny is on it- last legs, oppression must he rra-e 1 ffom earth, -.at'uL- tho .. oepv ssi.wl £?" a|jßgK>. M>n .must acknowledge his ohligatiropsto lii-t fellowman, and the words of the hard <-»mo to pass that " man to man will brother-. - be, the world wide for a' that." If such a t- ac^ : - fice even of a young life is required f r the further pr»«rress of the world, wo mav sympathise, but not regret.