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flow on, birthdays com© quicker and quicker. Then we look back at the 
paradise of youth, and cherish recollections of it. 
Happy, then, is the man who can look back with pleasure upon the 
memory of good deeds and words. 
The evening hours of a good man’s life may even be the most beauti¬ 
ful , as the finest leaves of the flower are the last to disclose themselves. 
While the flowers and leaves wither, the fruit grows. 
While the body appears to decay, the mind ripens ; while the body 
grows older, the spirit increases in perfection. 
“Age is opportunity no less 
Than Youth itself, tho’ in another dress; 
And as the evening twilight fades away, 
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.” 
— Longfellow. 
The just man, therefore, need not say as if discouraged: “I am get¬ 
ting old and nobody cares for me.” On the contrary, people shall rise up 
before his hoary head, as the Scripture says, and honor his person, because 
with him is ivisdom and strength. He has counsel and understanding, and 
his age is a crown of dignity he has found in the ways of justice. 
The fruits of a well-spent life 
Bring contentment and peace in old age— 
Faithful to thy trust, duties well performed 
Keep away the rust and drive back the storm. 
— Anon. 
