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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Nature and Culture, by Harvey Rice
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
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+
+Title: Nature and Culture
+
+Author: Harvey Rice
+
+Release Date: November 15, 2011 [EBook #38022]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURE AND CULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roberta Staehlin, David Garcia, Martin Pettit
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
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+
+
+NATURE AND CULTURE
+
+BY
+
+HARVEY RICE
+
+SECOND EDITION
+
+BOSTON 1890
+
+LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
+10 MILK ST. NEXT "THE OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE"
+
+CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM
+NEW YORK 718 AND 720 BROADWAY
+
+
+_Copyright, 1889_,
+BY HARVEY RICE.
+
+University Press:
+JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+The first edition of "Nature and Culture" was published in 1875. The
+degree of favor with which the book was received has induced the author
+to publish a second edition, in which he has made a few changes and
+additions of such a character as to render the work, he trusts, still
+worthier of acceptance.
+
+CLEVELAND, OHIO,
+August 20, 1889.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                  PAGE
+NATURE AND HER LESSONS              11
+
+EDUCATION OF THE MASSES             53
+
+WOMAN AND HER SPHERE                93
+
+AIM HIGH                           139
+
+AMERICA AND HER FUTURE             163
+
+CAREER OF REV. JOSEPH BADGER       197
+
+MISSION MONUMENT                   225
+
+
+
+
+NATURE AND HER LESSONS.
+
+NATURE AND CULTURE.
+
+
+
+
+NATURE AND HER LESSONS.
+
+
+Nature declares herself in her works. What exists beyond her domain, if
+anything, becomes necessarily a matter of faith or imagination; and yet
+the origin of the material universe presents a problem which neither the
+vagaries of the ancients nor the speculations of the moderns have been
+able to solve in a satisfactory manner.
+
+In modern methods of logic, we reason from cause to effect, from the
+known to the unknown; but in attempting to penetrate the region of the
+unknown, we are often left without a reliable guide. Analogy may aid,
+but cannot assure us. The powers of the human mind, if not infinite, may
+admit of infinite culture. What is supposed to be "unknowable" may
+therefore become known. However this may be, there is no divine
+injunction which prescribes a limit to human possibilities.
+
+Whatever we may think or believe, the volume of Nature contains nothing
+but truth; it is a divine record which is as inexhaustible in its wealth
+of knowledge as it is conclusive in its logic. Men of science, in
+attempting to read this unerring record, have advanced many plausible
+theories in relation to the processes by which the earth acquired its
+embodiment, and took its place among the golden orbs of heaven.
+
+There are reasons for believing that matter has always existed in some
+form or other, and that it is infinite in extent as well as in duration.
+Nor need we hesitate to infer, from the knowledge we have of the various
+forms in which matter exists, that what is true of the earth in its
+processes of development is equally true of every other planet.
+
+Whether the earth in its origin was a fragment thrown off from some
+exploded planet which had filled the measure of its destiny, or whether
+it arose from the gradual accretion of elementary substances diffused in
+infinite space, are questions which cannot be satisfactorily answered.
+Either method is not only plausible, but consistent with the known laws
+and operations of Nature.
+
+It seems quite probable that those erratic bodies known as comets are
+but incipient planets, which continue, as they revolve in their
+mystical flight, to accumulate gaseous matter until they have acquired
+and condensed a sufficient amount to become orbs, or worlds; when, by
+the influence of physical forces, they take their places in some one or
+other of the existing planetary systems. It is thus perhaps that the law
+of development constructs a world with as much ease as it constructs a
+grain of sand; nor can we doubt that the processes of aggregation and
+dissolution are made reciprocal in their relations, and perpetual in
+their action.
+
+In a philosophical sense, "life" and "death" are but conventional terms,
+meaning nothing more than a change of matter from one form of existence
+to another. Whatever changes may take place, matter can neither be
+increased nor diminished. Infinite space, being an immateriality, could
+never have been created and cannot therefore be limited or annihilated.
+In all probability it still is, and always has been, filled with the
+elements of matter,--too subtile, perhaps, to be perceived, yet destined
+in the course of eternal ages to be wrought and re-wrought into infinite
+varieties of corporeal existences, mineral, vegetal, and animal, ever
+progressing from the imperfect to the perfect. Thus Nature teaches us
+the lesson that in perfection dwells the central Life, the quickening
+power of the universe.
+
+In accordance with this view, we may regard every particle of matter in
+the universe as the germ of a world. And yet what are called original
+elements may be such, or may not. Supposed monads, or simple unities, if
+they exist at all, may be capable of analysis by the application of
+physical agencies or forces as yet unknown to science. Though science
+has disclosed much that is wonderful in the mechanism of Nature, there
+still lies before us an infinite unknown. Whether ultimately the human
+mind will become so enlarged and extended in its powers as to comprehend
+the infinite, admits of no positive assurance; yet in the unrevealed
+design of the great future, such may be the result.
+
+It is only in modern times that science has taken the advanced step, and
+led philosophy into the beautiful avenues of Nature, where, amid the
+infinite, she gazes at the universe, listens to the music of the
+spheres, and beholds the golden wealth of the infinite displayed on
+every side. It is thus that philosophy has become inspired with a desire
+to account for everything, and finds that Nature has written her own
+history in the hills and in the rocks, in the depths of the sea, and in
+the stars of heaven, leaving nothing for man to do except to read the
+record, and accept its truthful teachings. In fact, the material
+universe may be regarded as an outspoken revelation of the infinite.
+
+The elementary substances which compose the earth and its atmosphere are
+essentially the same, and are not numerous, so far as ascertained. The
+leading vital principle is oxygen, which constitutes at least one half
+of all known matter. The earth's crust is estimated to be about fifty
+miles thick. This estimate is based on the fact that in penetrating the
+earth, the heat uniformly increases at a rate which would fuse all
+mineral substances at that depth.
+
+Hence, the interior of the earth is believed to be a region of molten
+substances, fiery billows that roll impatient of restraint, and escape
+here and there in the form of volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes are,
+therefore, but the outposts of gigantic central forces, and earthquakes
+but the spasmodic trials of their strength. It would seem, go where we
+will, that "fiery billows" literally roll beneath our feet. What
+Nature's ultimate designs are, it is impossible to predict. But it is
+pretty certain that her internal fires are working out some mystical
+problem. A scientific German has recently ascertained that the surface
+of the earth is gradually becoming hotter, and that in five hundred
+millions of years it will attain to such a degree of heat as to destroy
+human life. And yet there are other scientists equally wise, perhaps,
+who assert that the earth's crust is gradually cooling and contracting,
+and therefore radiating less heat, the final result of which will be the
+destruction of all life and a return of the glacial period.
+
+Geological science, as well as revelation, impresses us with the belief
+that in the beginning "the earth was without form, and void,"--a chaos
+of atoms which were gathered, comet-like, from infinite space, and made
+to revolve in a globular mass by physical forces, until it became, by
+the condensation of its vapory atmosphere, submerged in a flood of dark
+and interminable waters. In consequence of the action of the waters on
+mineral substances, vast deposits of sediment accumulated, which, with
+the aid of pressure and chemical heat, gradually hardened into rocks,
+strata upon strata, like solid masonry, and varying in thickness from
+the fraction of a mile to thirty miles or more. Nature seems to have
+adopted this method of construction as a prerequisite to the severance
+of the land from the waters. In effecting this object, the explosive
+forces, long confined in the earth's interior, are supposed to have
+burst asunder the walls of their prison-house, suddenly upheaving
+continents and mountains from the depths of a dismal and shoreless
+ocean. It was then that the "dry land" made its first appearance, and
+was baptized in the pure sunlight of heaven.
+
+The virgin soil of the earth, when thus exposed to the genial influence
+of the sun, soon produced vegetal life, and vegetal life animal
+life,--the one the food of the other. Thus Nature ever provides for her
+guests in advance of their reception. Yet in her formative processes she
+"makes haste slowly," though she may sometimes leap to conclusions. Her
+work never ceases. A million of years is to her as one day, and one day
+as a million of years. Hence everything has its age, and is lost in the
+ages. Of this fact we have reliable evidence in the strata of the rocks,
+and in the limited field of our own observation. There can be no doubt
+the earth has been many times baptized in fire and water, and its crust
+broken into fragments and thrown into strange angles and relations.
+These grand upheavals have occurred at dates vastly remote from each
+other, and are recognized by science as great geological periods.
+
+The Ages of Nature, so far as relates to the earth, may be classed
+briefly as: the primary, or reign of fishes; the secondary, or reign of
+reptiles; the tertiary, or reign of mammals; and the modern, or reign of
+man. Each of these ages constitutes a grand chapter in the earth's
+history, which is easily read and understood by the masters of
+geological science. The same agencies which were employed in
+constructing the earth's crust are still employed in reconstructing it.
+In fact, the work of creation is still going on as in the beginning, if
+beginning there ever was in Nature's material processes. We see this
+illustrated in the changes which are produced on the earth's surface in
+our own time by the action of the rain, the wind, the frost, the flood,
+the glacier, the volcano, and the earthquake.
+
+It is by these agencies that the hills and the mountains are graded
+down, and the _detritus_ deposited in the valleys and in the sea; thus
+are valleys enriched and broadened, vast plains and deltas created, and
+continents enlarged. When the present hills and mountains have been
+reduced to plains, and the fertility of the soil exhausted, it is quite
+probable that another grand upheaval of the earth's foundations will
+occur,--the birth-power by which new hills and mountains are lifted up,
+and continents changed to ocean-beds, and ocean-beds to continents. It
+is these mighty changes and exchanges that prepare the way, and fit the
+earth for the production of higher orders of plants and animals, and
+perhaps a higher order of man.
+
+In the course of unknown ages, Nature has enriched and extended the
+valley of the Nile hundreds of miles into the sea, by transporting
+thither the pulverized wealth of the Abyssinian mountains. Thus
+fertilized, Egypt has for many thousands of years sustained a dense
+population. Very justly has she been called not only the cradle of
+mankind, but the granary of the world. In like manner, the Ganges
+transports from the interior of India a sufficient amount of sediment
+annually to cover a township five miles square to the depth of ten feet,
+and by this means has extended the land hundreds of miles into the
+ocean. The Hoang-Ho, a river of China, by its deposits of alluvium in
+the sea has added an entire province to that country, comprising an area
+of ninety-six thousand square miles. Indeed, all rivers are tributaries
+to the sea, and all seas tributaries to the rivers. This exchange is
+effected mainly by the rains and the snows, the exhalations and the
+waterspouts. The clouds are but common carriers; this commerce is
+therefore a matter of mutual interest, and grows out of the positive
+necessities of sea and land. Though the elements appear to move in
+conflict, they really move in perfect harmony, and bring order out of
+seeming confusion.
+
+In executing a gigantic work, no river has excelled the Mississippi.
+This "Father of Waters" has distinctly indicated in the record of his
+career the prehistorical age of the world, and the equally prehistorical
+advent of man. In his "march to the sea" he has left enduring landmarks,
+and with his battle-axe notched centuries long lost in the mighty past.
+The land which this majestic river has formed, by depositing sediment in
+the Gulf of Mexico, comprises an area of thirty thousand square miles.
+This deposit or delta has a depth exceeding one thousand feet; and the
+period required for its accumulation has been estimated by Mr. Lyell,
+the renowned geologist, at one hundred thousand years.
+
+This estimate only embraces the deposits since the river ran in its
+present channel. The bluffs along the river rise in many places two
+hundred and fifty feet, and contain shells, with the remains of the
+mastodon, elephant, tapir, megalonyx, and other huge animals. It is
+evident that these bluffs must have belonged to an ancient plain or
+valley long anterior to the present level. In several sections of the
+valley as it now exists, excavations have been made deeper than the Gulf
+of Mexico, and successive growths of cypress-timber found, to the number
+of four or five distinct growths, the lowest lying at the depth of six
+hundred feet. Some of these trees are ten feet in diameter, and have
+from five to six thousand annual rings of growth.
+
+As the valley of the river from age to age grew in elevation by
+deposits of sediment, a new growth of cypress was produced, and is now
+supervened by the live-oak plain, so called, which has had an existence,
+as estimated by the annual rings of the oaks, of fourteen thousand
+years.
+
+In excavating for gas-works at New Orleans, a human skull was found
+beneath the roots of a cypress belonging to the fourth-forest level, in
+a good state of preservation, while the other bones of the skeleton
+crumbled to dust on exposure to the air. The type of the cranium was
+that of the aboriginal American. Now, if we take the period required to
+form the live-oak level, and add it to the time required to produce the
+next three subterranean growths of cypress, which overlie the fourth
+growth, in which the cranium was found, it clearly proves that the human
+race existed in the great valley of the Mississippi more than
+fifty-seven thousand years ago.
+
+Not only in the valley of the Mississippi have fossil remains of man and
+animals been discovered at depths and in formations that prove their
+remote antiquity, but in many other parts of the world. Not many years
+ago, a human skull was found in Brazil, embedded in a sandstone rock
+overgrown with lofty trees. There is still preserved, in the museum at
+Quebec, a human skull which was excavated from the solid schist-rock on
+which the citadel now stands. Human skeletons have also been found in
+the island of Guadeloupe, embedded in a rock said to be as hard as the
+finest statuary marble. Even so recently as the year 1868, while sinking
+a well at the Antelope station, on the Union Pacific Railroad, the
+workmen penetrated a rock six feet thick, and at eighty feet below the
+rock discovered a human skeleton in such a state of preservation as to
+be readily recognized as such.
+
+In another instance it is said that a human skull was discovered in
+Calaveras County, Cal., at the bottom of a shaft which had been sunk one
+hundred and thirty feet below the surface. It was found deposited in a
+bed of gravel with other organic remains, and beneath the eighth
+distinct geological layer of earth and gravel, where it must have lain,
+according to the estimate of Professor Whitney, the geologist, for a
+period of at least one hundred thousand years. This remote antiquity of
+man is also confirmed by discoveries in every part of the world of the
+fossil remains of domestic animals as well as of man, including
+implements of human invention, such as flint arrow-heads, stone axes,
+war-weapons, cooking-utensils, in localities which preclude the idea of
+their belonging to an age that has a written history.
+
+It is not unfrequent that fossil remains of human bones and of animals
+are found embedded in the coral-reef limestone of Florida. In fact, says
+Professor Agassiz, the whole peninsula of Florida has been formed by
+successive growths of coral reefs and shells; he estimates the formation
+of the southern half of the peninsula as occupying a period of one
+hundred and thirty-five thousand years. The sea contains ingredients
+which feed innumerable animalcula, especially the polypes, or
+coral-builders, which have the power of secreting calcareous matter.
+These myriads of noiseless architects are ever busy in building for
+themselves fairy temples in the depths of the ocean, of the most
+delicate and beautiful workmanship, and in erecting pyramids and
+islands, and in extending continents.
+
+In the mean time there are other agencies of a very different character
+continually at work, modifying the earth's surface, and preparing it for
+sustaining a still higher order of vegetal and animal life. As a result
+of these agencies, especially the volcanic, it often happens that
+serious calamities befall the human family. In the course of a century,
+not less than two thousand volcanic eruptions occur on the globe, equal
+to twenty a year, or one every eighteen days. The whole number of
+volcanoes known to be active at the present time exceeds three hundred;
+and doubtless many times that number have long since become extinct.
+
+In Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, there are extensive tracts or
+belts of country which are volcanic in their character; and especially
+is this true of the entire American-Pacific coast, and the ocean-bed
+adjoining it. Often have long lines of this coast been elevated or
+depressed many feet, as if the whole continent were afloat, and tossing
+like a ship on a stormy sea. Neither in the past, nor in the present,
+has the earth seemed to rest on a sure foundation. Even in apparent
+security there is no positive safety.
+
+Nature must and will exercise her sterner as well as her milder powers.
+In achieving gigantic works, she employs gigantic powers. Her forces are
+her own; and when she directs them to execute her mandates, she is
+promptly obeyed. She models and remodels the earth's exterior and
+interior at pleasure, but never without a beneficent design. Earthquakes
+break up the earth's crust. Internal fires melt it. Exploding gases lift
+it. Gravitation moulds it. The atmosphere cools it. The sun and the rain
+clothe it with verdure; and flowers crown it with beauty. In this way
+the earth's surface seems to have been prepared for the advent of man,
+and its interior supplied with coal-fields and reservoirs of oil and gas
+for his use.
+
+Though Nature has made for man ample provision, she requires him not
+only to help himself, but to take care of himself. Nor does she give him
+formal notice to keep out of harm's way when she wishes to break up the
+earth's crust and re-cast it, but proceeds at once. She may sink or
+elevate a continent at a blow, or she may do it by slow degrees.
+
+The earliest writers give us accounts of terrific earthquakes.
+Thucydides alludes to volcanic eruptions which occurred five hundred
+years before the Christian era. In the vicinity of volcanic mountains,
+it has happened that city after city, in the course of ages, has been
+engulfed, one upon another, in molten lava, or cinders, leaving no
+record behind them of their unhappy fate. Herculaneum lies buried a
+hundred feet deep beneath the modern city of Portici; and beneath
+Herculaneum, a city still more ancient has been discovered, whose name
+and history are entirely unknown. How many other cities lie buried at
+the foot of the old fire-crowned monarch of Italy, no one can tell; but
+doubtless there are several of them. What induced people to occupy a
+locality so perilous, it is difficult to say, unless it was the
+superior fertility of a volcanic soil.
+
+No part of the world is exempt from sudden calamities of a similar
+character. The earthquake experienced by the city of Antioch in Syria,
+in the year 626, destroyed two hundred and fifty thousand people. The
+great eruption of Mount Etna, in 1669, overflowed fourteen towns,
+containing from three to four thousand inhabitants each. The stream of
+lava which issued from the mountain was half a mile wide and forty feet
+deep, and swept everything before it, until lost in the sea. The
+earthquake at Lisbon, in 1775, killed sixty thousand persons in six
+minutes; the shock was felt in Switzerland, in Scotland, in
+Massachusetts, and on the shore of Lake Ontario. In 1783, a large river
+in Iceland was sunk into the earth by volcanic action, and entirely
+obliterated. In 1792, an earthquake in the island of Java sunk a tract
+of land fifteen miles long and six miles wide, carrying down with it
+forty small villages. In our own country and in our own neighborhood, in
+1811, several islands in the Mississippi River, near New Madrid, were
+sunk by an earthquake, and the course of the river driven back eighteen
+miles, causing it to overflow the adjacent lands; about half the county
+of New Madrid, as well as the village, was submerged. Several new lakes
+were created, one of which was sixty miles long and several miles wide.
+The earth's surface rose in undulations like the billows of the sea, and
+with terrific utterances, opened yawning chasms, from which vast columns
+of sand and water, and a substance resembling coke, were thrown out. The
+whole face of the country in that region was materially changed. And,
+what is a little singular, one of the lakes thus created by the
+earthquake extended to the river at a point nearly opposite the famous
+Island No. 10, thus affording a natural canal by which the Union forces
+in the late civil war approached and took the island.
+
+It is not improbable that the entire chain of our great northwestern
+lakes, from Ontario to Superior, were created by the volcanic collapse
+of a mountain range that once occupied the same localities. Of this fact
+there are plausible, if not irresistible, evidences to be seen in the
+volcanic character of the rocks at various points along the entire
+coast. Nor can it be very well doubted that subsequent volcanic action
+has elevated much of the coast into several corresponding ridges, from
+one to two miles apart, which distinctly mark the successive boundaries
+of these inland seas.
+
+Nature removes mountains, or creates them, at pleasure. She also makes
+and unmakes lakes and rivers, to say nothing of oceans and continents.
+In California, and doubtless in other parts of the world, there are as
+many dead as living rivers. The miners of California have already
+discovered the old channels of a dozen or more dead rivers, as they call
+them, encased and sealed up in the very heart of the mountain ranges,
+and extending in some instances hundreds of miles in the general
+direction of the ranges, and leaping from mountain to mountain at a
+common level or grade. These ancient channels are filled with sand,
+gravel, and small bowlders, evidently worn and polished by long
+attrition. Some of the channels are a mile wide, or more, and from ten
+to one hundred feet deep. In the angles or eddies, the sands are found
+to be exceedingly rich in gold, sometimes yielding fifty dollars or more
+to the cubic yard. It is estimated that over five hundred millions of
+dollars have already been taken from the sands of these dead rivers, and
+that they are now yielding at least ten millions a year. It is evident
+that these dead rivers must have been living rivers long before the
+volcanic era arrived, which elevated the ancient valleys into mountain
+ranges, and depressed the ancient mountain ranges into valleys.
+
+In the South-American earthquake of August, 1868, thirty thousand lives
+were lost, several cities entirely obliterated, and three hundred
+millions of dollars' worth of property destroyed. A tidal wave, more
+than forty feet deep, swept over the land and deposited, high and dry,
+and beyond recovery, several first-class ships; the effect of this
+earthquake was felt along the coast for a distance of six to seven
+thousand miles. In October of the same year, the city of San Francisco
+was visited by an earthquake, which shattered many buildings, and
+destroyed several lives. It is supposed that this was but a prolongation
+of the South-American earthquake.
+
+In some parts of California and South America, thunder and lightning
+seldom occur, while earthquakes are frequent; in regions like these,
+earthquakes would seem to be a substitute for thunder and lightning. In
+all probability both are but electrical phenomena, differing only in the
+fact that the one is an earthquake, the other a skyquake. It is in
+plains and valleys that earthquakes prove the most destructive.
+Doubtless the solid material composing the mountain ranges affords a
+better conductor of electricity than the alluvial soil of the plains and
+the valleys; hence, while the one serves as a lightning-rod, the other
+becomes the battleground of conflicting elements. It may be that
+electrical forces are generated in the earth's interior, as well as in
+the atmosphere, and that the earthquake is but the shock produced by the
+restoration of an equilibrium. The earth and the atmosphere are
+essentially the same in their elements, and are ever contributing of
+their substance to the requisitions of each other.
+
+When physical science shall be so far advanced as to explain the true
+causes of the earthquake, if it does not make man "master of the
+situation," it will doubtless place in his hands the power of avoiding,
+to some extent at least, the calamities which now so often befall life
+and property.
+
+There can be no doubt that the earth is a physical necessity not yet
+fully developed; only about one-fourth part of its surface is land, the
+remainder water. Nearly three times more land lies north of the equator
+than south of it. Why this should be so, is not quite clear. In the
+course of the earth's future development, however, it is not improbable
+that additional continents and islands will appear, and the waters
+subside into narrower and deeper channels, thus giving to man, and to
+land-life generally, a wider domain. And yet the present seas were not
+made in vain, but have always abounded with plant-life and animal-life,
+though of an inferior order as compared with land-life. Life in itself
+is infinite, and appears in infinite varieties both on land and in the
+sea. Whether man needs more land for his use and future development, is
+difficult to say. At any rate, everything that exists has its mutual
+relations, and adapts itself to the ultimate aim of Nature,--the
+perfection of man.
+
+In the Western Hemisphere, the mountains take the general direction of
+north and south; in the Eastern, the general direction of east and west.
+In the one hemisphere, the ranges essentially accord with the lines of
+longitude; in the other, with the lines of latitude. These mountain
+ranges are but continental watersheds, from which flows the elemental
+wealth that enriches the plains and the valleys. The rivers and their
+tributaries are the commercial agents. The rain and the frost are the
+miners whose labors will never cease until the mountains are levelled.
+The mountains also attract and guide the storms and modify their force,
+condense the mists, the raindrop, and the dewdrop, and thus aid in
+refreshing the valleys in connection with the heat of the sunbeams. In
+this way the seasons, as well as the elements of the soil, are so
+modified and vitalized as to give to man seedtime and harvest, and
+needful food to every "living and creeping thing."
+
+In addition to the world of life that is visible, there is a world of
+life that is invisible,--a microscopic realm of animalcula, which "live
+and move and have their being" in every element of life, and in every
+life, and yet are so minute as to be imperceptible to the naked eye.
+These invisibles, or infusoria, abound everywhere and in everything.
+They pervade the sea, the land, the air. They swarm in every drop of
+water, and revel in every morsel of food. We can neither eat nor drink
+without infringing on their domain and consigning myriads of them,
+perhaps, to an unprovoked destruction. They are almost as various in
+grade, size, and shape, as they are numerous. Some are hideous, while
+others are comely. They feed on each other, the superior on the
+inferior, and are ever struggling for life and for the mastery. They
+engage in the "battle of life" to sustain life, and hold to the doctrine
+that "to the victors belong the spoils." It is an ascertained fact that
+a speck of potato-rot, the size of a pin-head, contains hundreds of
+these little ferocious animals, fighting and devouring each other
+without mercy and without cessation.
+
+What seems still more surprising is that they probably have a perfect
+organization,--heart, lungs, stomach, circulation of blood, and are
+endowed, perhaps, with all the five senses. Infinite numbers of them, it
+is supposed, exist in so minute a form that no microscope, however
+great its power, can detect them. Nor need we doubt that even these
+living invisibles are beset with parasites vastly minuter than
+themselves, which feed and breed on their surfaces. In the very
+blood-circulation of the minutest, it is not improbable that other
+infusoria, still more minute, swim and prey upon each other. The uses
+for which this invisible world of life were created, though doubtless
+for a wise purpose, cannot be comprehended. Yet it is evident that every
+living thing, however minute, has a destiny of some sort, ever
+progressing, it may be, from a lower to a higher sphere,--from the
+material to the spiritual, from the finite to the infinite.
+
+
+     "All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
+     Whose body Nature is, and God the soul."
+
+
+The atmosphere, supposed to extend sixty miles in height, surrounds the
+earth like an invisible ocean, and gives to it almost entirely its
+life-material. In fact, the atmosphere is the great reservoir of the
+vital elements, from which is derived the principal part, if not all,
+the material, solid or liquid, which enters into the composition of both
+plant and animal, whether it be a blade of grass, a leaf, or a tree; an
+insect, a fish, or a man. It is true, however, that animal-life is more
+directly the outgrowth of plant-life; and yet the vital forces of both
+are derived from the air, and return to the air by solar agencies. It is
+quite certain that all matter, as seen embodied in various forms,
+consists entirely of certain gases condensed or solidified by chemical
+laws. The atmosphere itself, and probably infinite space, are filled
+with matter in the gaseous form, or in some unknown form, destined to be
+condensed, dissolved, and recondensed in a series of changes as
+continuous as the infinite ages.
+
+In this sense, not only the earth, but every other planet, contains
+within itself the seeds of its own dissolution. Yet matter, whatever its
+form, is still indestructible, and will forever retain its vital forces.
+It would seem that life is the soul of matter, and that electricity is
+the soul of life,--immaterial, it may be, and if so, then immortal.
+Where the material ends, or where the spiritual begins, it is impossible
+to say. We know that we are endowed with the five senses at birth. We
+also know that they are the media through which we receive all the
+impressions and perceptions of our environment; it is from their report
+that we learn what is agreeable or disagreeable to our physical needs.
+We choose the agreeable, and reject the disagreeable. Here reason
+begins, and pronounces judgment. Memory records facts and conclusions.
+The physical and the mental grow in strength from infancy to manhood;
+they are a living unit. The one is real, and the other ideal. Of spirit
+or soul we know nothing, nor can we prove their existence, unless we
+accept the proofs as furnished by revelation. It is certain, however,
+that our moral character survives us and continues to have an influence
+in the world for good or for evil "according to the deeds done in the
+body." This fact is something which we can comprehend as constituting
+the ideal of our spiritual existence. Nor need we doubt that in
+discharging our duties to our fellow-men, we discharge our duties to
+God.
+
+Everywhere about us, and especially in atmospheric phenomena, we see an
+epitome of Nature's processes and marvellous formative power. Not a
+snowflake falls to the ground that does not bring with it a
+crystallization of the most beautiful specimens of artistic embroidery,
+far excelling the finest needle-work ever wrought by woman's hand. The
+same is true of the silver frostwork traced on the window-pane by the
+delicate touch of invisible fingers. In truth, every gem that glitters
+in the mine, every flower of the field, and every star in the sky, is
+but a crystallized expression of the beautiful, blended with a silent
+love that is pure and heartfelt, as if akin to us. In reality they are
+our kindred, and we are their kindred.
+
+Nature seems to delight in creating the wonderful as well as the
+beautiful, and often combines both in the same exhibition. Hence she
+entertains us occasionally with a magnificent display of fireworks,
+known as Northern Lights; or with an apparent shower of falling stars;
+or with the sudden descent of an aërolite, all ablaze, as if dropped
+from the fiery forge of the sun; or with a brilliant comet, which with
+its long and glittering trail sweeps in ladylike style the star-dust
+from the pavement of the sky. These singular occurrences, though
+sometimes regarded as ominous, are but a part of Nature's systematic
+operations. They cannot with any foundation in truth be attributed to
+accident; for it is impossible that accidents should happen in the
+workshops of Nature, or in the administration of her government.
+
+How the various meteors are actually formed, or whence they come, is a
+mystery which has induced much speculation among scientific men. Some
+say they are volcanic fragments thrown from the moon, or from some
+distant planet, or perhaps from a crater of the sun; while others, with
+more reason, suppose that they are generated in space, or in the earth's
+atmosphere, and are nothing more than condensed gases which constitute
+the elements of solid matter, and which become in some instances so
+hardened by chemical action as to assume the solidity of stone or iron.
+
+And hence it often happens that the latter class of these erratic
+strangers fall from the sky to the earth with a terrific explosion. In
+ancient times their appearance was regarded as portentous of national or
+individual calamities. The Chinese have records of meteoric showers, and
+the fall of aërolites, which occurred more than six hundred and forty
+years before the Christian era. The Greeks and Romans observed and
+recorded similar phenomena. Between the years 903 and 1833, not less
+than nineteen periodical star-showers have been recorded. The regular
+period of their occurrence is once in every thirty-three years, or
+thereabout, and usually about the middle of November. But what are
+called sporadic meteors, or shooting-stars, are of frequent occurrence,
+and may be seen almost every evening in the year.
+
+The most brilliant meteoric shower on record is that of 1833, when
+meteors fell at the rate of two hundred and forty thousand per hour,
+creating the impression that all the stars of heaven had been unsphered,
+and were falling like a sheet of fire to the earth, and threatening a
+universal conflagration. Occurring as it did at midnight, and
+continuing for two or more hours, thousands of people, who witnessed the
+scene with fear and trembling, supposed the day of judgment had come. In
+just thirty-three years after this, Nov. 14, 1866, occurred another
+periodical shower of a similar character, which, though less brilliant,
+was seen on a more extended scale in Europe than in the United States.
+Why this apparent storm of fire should occur every thirty-three years,
+is a mystery which science has not yet been able to explain. It may be a
+part of the machinery of our planetary system, and is perhaps as regular
+in its revolutions as the planets; or it may be a method of dissipating
+an over-accumulation in the earth's atmosphere, or in infinite space, of
+inflammable gaseous matter, which thus ignites spontaneously, and
+presents to the eye the appearance of burning sparks flying off, as it
+were, from the broad anvil and ponderous sledge employed in the great
+workshop of Nature. Be this as it may, meteoric showers, so far as
+known, have always proved harmless in their results.
+
+But the aërolite assumes a more formidable character. In outline it is a
+globular mass heated to intensity, and in its approach comes with a
+hissing sound, and usually explodes in the atmosphere or when it strikes
+the earth. Its fragments show that it is a solid body, composed mostly
+of a ferruginous material. The illumination it creates in its passage
+through the atmosphere is sometimes seen at the distance of five or six
+hundred miles. Erratic masses of this kind have been known to fall in
+all ages and in all countries, and are of frequent occurrence.
+
+So recent as the year 1867, an aërolite of large dimensions fell in
+Tennessee, penetrating a hillside of rocky formation to the depth of
+twenty feet. It was seen at a great distance, and came hissing on its
+way like a planet on fire, and when it struck the earth, produced a
+shock like that of an earthquake. So intensely heated was it, that for
+three days after it fell it generated and sent up from the moist earth a
+dense column of steam, which rose and floated away like a cloud in the
+sky. When excavated, its mass was found to be composed principally of
+iron, and measured seven feet from apex to base, and ten feet in
+circumference. Fragments of it have been preserved, and may be seen at
+Washington, and in several collections of minerals belonging to
+scientific individuals. But where did it come from? Did it come from the
+sun, the moon, the earth, or from some exploded planet? or was it
+generated in the atmosphere? Though the question has not been
+satisfactorily answered, there are plausible reasons for believing that
+aërolites, and meteors generally, are the spontaneous production of
+atmospherical agencies. Physical forces are at work all over the earth,
+charging the atmosphere with the identical materials that compose the
+meteoric stone, or aërolite. Volcanoes emit their gases, and hurl with
+terrific force burning fragments of rock into the depths of the sky. The
+tornado, or land-spout, takes up in its grasp sand, with other solid
+material, and rotates it with such violence as to produce fusion of the
+mass, giving it a globular form and hurling it to an invisible height,
+and then leaving it to gravitate brilliantly and rapidly until it
+reaches the earth. This theory is confirmed by many facts, and
+especially by the occurrence of a land-spout near the village of
+Ossonval in France, where, on the 6th of July, 1822, some broken clouds,
+coming from different directions, and collecting over the sandy plain,
+formed a single cloud, which covered the heavens, when an elongated
+nether portion of it descended, presenting its vortex downward, and
+having its base in the cloud. It then became violent in its revolutions,
+and being driven by the wind, overturned buildings, uprooted trees,
+twirling them in the air with liberal quantities of sand and water,
+which it had scooped up in its course, when from its centre, amid
+sulphurous vapors, globes of fire were seen to issue, as if projected
+from an engine of terrific power, attended with a sound like that of
+heavy cannon discharged in the distance. Throughout its entire course it
+left the fearful traces of its devastation. The globes of fire which
+were projected from its centre, it may well be supposed, possessed all
+the characteristics of veritable aërolites, and were thus manufactured
+by electrical heat and fusion out of the earth-material lifted from the
+plain.
+
+Not long since, there fell near Romney, Ind., an aërolite in a liquid,
+or molten state, which flew into fragments the moment it struck the
+earth's surface. The spot where it fell was deeply indented and
+scorched; and the material of which it was composed was found scattered
+about in the vicinity, having the appearance of cinders, yet moulded
+into the form of small spherical bodies varying in size from a buckshot
+to that of a cannon-ball. It is somewhat remarkable that in subjecting
+fractured portions of the cinders to intense heat, no perceptible odor
+was emitted, neither was the color nor weight changed. The fact that
+these cinders descended in spherical bodies would seem to indicate that
+the parent mass approached the earth in a state of fusion, projecting
+from its surface, as it revolved, detached fragments, which, taking a
+rotatory impulse, became its attendant satellites in accordance with
+planetary laws.
+
+Among many other aërolites that have fallen in different parts of our
+country, one of considerable magnitude was seen to fall near Concord,
+Muskingum County, Ohio, on the 1st of May, 1860; it approached the earth
+with a brilliancy as vivid as the sun, and exploded when it struck.
+Several fragments of it were excavated while quite hot, one of which,
+weighing eleven pounds, has been deposited in the Historical Rooms at
+Cleveland. It is composed of ferruginous matter, and seems almost as
+heavy as pure iron.
+
+It is impossible for us to comprehend, from the standpoint we occupy in
+this life, our real relations either to the past or to the present, much
+less to the future. Earth has her manifold wonders, yet they are but few
+when compared with the infinite wonders of the heavens. Vast as our
+solar system truly is, it may still be regarded as but a chandelier
+suspended in the entrance-hall of Nature's great temple. When we
+consider that infinite space has neither centre nor circumference, and
+that it is filled with stars, and that every star is a world inhabited
+like our own, and that there are still infinite numbers of stars whose
+light, though travelling at the rate of one hundred and eighty-five
+thousand miles a second ever since the dawn of creation, has not yet
+reached the earth, we are lost,--lost in wonder and amazement, lost in
+thought, still wanting a thought broad enough and strong enough to grasp
+the infinite. Who is there that would not, if he could, explore the
+untrodden yet brilliant domains of infinite space,--the garden of God,
+ever blossoming with golden flowers,--and thus acquire for himself
+divine wisdom? If we would become as gods, and walk with God, we must
+learn to partake the food, and drink the beverage, of the gods.
+
+In physical science there is much that has a direct influence on the
+growth and vigor of moral science. In fact, Nature does much more for
+the welfare and education of man than he does for himself. The mountains
+elevate his thoughts, and teach him moral sublimity. The vast ocean,
+apparently shoreless, suggests to him the idea of eternity and a future
+life. The earthquake, the hurricane, and the lightning inspire him with
+a belief in the existence of a supreme Power, a divine Governor of the
+universe. Thus impressed with a sense of his own weakness and
+dependence, man naturally implores protection, and trusts in the
+beneficence and in the clemency of the great Invisible. Hence his faith,
+his hope, his aspirations. In this way was laid the primitive
+foundation of his creed and religious tendencies. And yet his weakest
+passion would seem to be his strongest,--a desire not only to perpetuate
+himself beyond this life, but to acquire superhuman power. It is for
+this that he struggles, erects altars, and solicits aid from visionary
+as well as from divine sources.
+
+Whether the perfection of mankind be the end and aim of Nature, need not
+be questioned. It is evident that she regards man as a favorite, and for
+this reason solicits him to accept the lessons of wisdom which are ever
+falling from her lips. In the plenitude of her love she attempts to lead
+him upward into a broader and a holier sphere. If man was able to trace
+his descent and ascertain his origin, do you think he would find it in
+the ape, as Darwin affirms, or in the dust of the earth? Revelation
+replies, In the dust; and a sound philosophy confirms the fact.
+
+Nature never stultifies herself, nor does she develop a new species of
+animal or plant from an existing species, but doubtless encourages
+"natural selection" in the line of each distinct species, and by so
+doing promotes progress in her grand scheme of attaining perfection; nor
+can it be doubted that from new conditions a new species may appear. In
+fact, every living thing is born of its appropriate conditions, and
+will continue to propagate its kind so long as its appropriate
+conditions exist. When conditions change, results change. In this way a
+new species of plant or animal may be, and perhaps often is, generated.
+The process is simply one of change in the relation of the requisite
+life-elements,--a process which results from the unceasing operation of
+a great natural law. In Nature there is nothing constant but change.
+
+Life, in all its varieties, whether vegetal or animal, has a rudimental
+origin, traceable perhaps to a minute egg, cell, or spore, call it what
+you will, from which is evolved in due time a perfect plant or animal.
+But if asked whence is derived the egg, cell, or spore, we can only
+reply that they have their origin in certain primitive life-elements,
+which are brought into contact in a way so subtile as to elude the
+investigations of science. This life-law, whatever it may be, acts in
+reference to kind, and produces its kind. Nearly all forms of life have
+resemblances; and though we accept the doctrine of evolution, it does
+not follow that man was developed from an ape, or the bird from a
+flying-fish.
+
+Everything that lives, whether plant or animal, has its leading
+characteristics. Nearly all plants, as well as animals, evince a degree
+of intelligence in their choice of nutriment and in their methods of
+obtaining it. Some plants, like animals, shrink at the touch; while
+others have the power of locomotion. Some seek the sunlight; while
+others prefer the shade. Some imprison and appropriate insects as food;
+while others extend themselves in this or that direction in search of
+favorite companionship. It is doubtless true that plants, as well as
+animals, however low their grade, have sensation, perhaps consciousness,
+and if so, a ray of reason. It would seem that mind is but an outgrowth
+of matter, and that every living thing has a degree of intelligence.
+Indeed, every particle of matter, organic or inorganic, has motive
+power, and is therefore endowed with a living principle, however
+sluggish or inert it may appear. An intelligent vitality seems to
+pervade the entire material of the universe. Hence it has been said with
+some degree of plausibility that "matter thinks." However this may be,
+it is certain that its motive power acts in reference to adapting means
+to ends, and is therefore controlled by reason,--a reason that is
+infinitely superior to human reason. In other words, all matter is the
+subject of law. The one is manifestly the condition of the other. The
+law cannot exist without the matter, nor can the matter exist without
+the law. Both are therefore co-existent, and doubtless co-eternal.
+
+Nature is ever active in working "wonders in the heavens and in the
+earth." Her domain includes both. In the beam of every star she sends us
+a messenger revealing the fact that the stars are constructed of the
+same materials as the earth. In like manner we have assurance that the
+same is true of the nebulous masses, which seem to float, like
+continents, in infinite space, awaiting the slow processes which are
+destined to mould them into golden orbs. And thus from the depths of the
+infinite comes world after world, system after system, ever sweeping
+onward in the "eternal dances of the sky," until lost in the infinite.
+And thus it is that the work of creation has neither beginning nor
+ending, but is ever progressing in its subtile methods of combining,
+dissolving, and recombining the entire matter of the universe.
+Everything, whether orb or atom, moves in a circle, because there is a
+divinity that stirs within it.
+
+Philosophize as we may, it is certain that we are surrounded by the
+infinite, and are of the infinite. All that is terrestrial in us, all
+individualities, are evanescent, passing from one form into another.
+Nothing remains identical. Yet in her experiments, Nature never fails
+of success. In dissolving pearls, she creates others of higher value;
+in extinguishing stars, she lights up others of greater brilliancy and
+magnitude. And yet nothing becomes extinct; elements never die. Every
+plant and every animal is but the fruitage of the inherent life that
+pervades the material world.
+
+In some form or other we always have existed and always will exist. It
+has been well said that man in his nature is "half dust and half deity."
+His life does not begin with his birth, nor does it end with his death;
+he is immortal. And so is everything, whether animate or inanimate,
+immortal. Even death survives itself. Nor is there a particle of matter
+in the universe that has not lived and breathed; nor is there a drop of
+water in the ocean that has not slaked the thirst of some living thing.
+Every star that glitters in the fathomless depths of space swarms with
+life, and every life achieves its aim. In a word, everything is
+infinite, and subserves an infinite purpose. We need neither go nor come
+to reach heaven. It is here; it is everywhere,--not a place, but a
+state. It is only the moral atmosphere of our social and individual life
+that requires purification,--a work that must begin in the head and in
+the heart in order to be effective. When this purification has been
+achieved, then with our earth-life will come moral elevation, and with
+moral elevation, harmony with heaven. The God of Nature is the God in
+Nature, who not only reveals himself in her lessons, but takes us by the
+hand, and with the love and patience of a parent leads us onward and
+upward--
+
+
+     "Along the line of limitless desires."
+
+
+
+
+EDUCATION OF THE MASSES.
+
+
+It is the welfare of society, rather than that of the individual, which
+is sought to be promoted by a system of popular education. Every part of
+the social fabric should be fitted to its place, and go into place like
+the materials in Solomon's temple, without the sound of the hammer; yet
+a refined civilization cannot be attained without first securing a
+liberal mental culture of the masses.
+
+Nature, as if inspired by a divine instinct, is ever engaged in refining
+her materials. The laws by which she works are as applicable to mind as
+to matter. In man we see both mind and matter combined,--two natures,
+the intellectual and the physical. But in order to learn what we are and
+what we should be, we must first understand the relations in which we
+are placed. In attempting to do this, we must study man as well as
+Nature, and advance step by step, if we would achieve the highest
+attainments of which we are capable.
+
+He only is a man in the true sense whose mental, moral, and physical
+capacities have been fully developed. To be "twenty-one years of age
+and six feet high" does not of itself constitute a man. He must attain
+to something more than this,--he must have the head and the heart and
+the soul of a man. He must appreciate the true character of his
+position, and have the moral courage to discharge his duties,--in short,
+he must live for others as well as for himself, act from generous
+impulses, and in all he does, yield to "the divinity that stirs within
+him," if he would comprehend the import of his godlike destiny.
+
+The highway to knowledge, though rugged, is equally free and open to
+all. Whoever will, may enter the temple of Nature, interrogate her face
+to face, unlock her treasures, appropriate her wealth, and subject her
+subtle agencies to human service. This the nineteenth century has
+already done to a considerable extent. Thus far it has been a bold
+century, and has taken many bold steps. It has "knocked holes through
+the blind walls" of the last ten centuries, and exposed to daylight the
+"moles and the bats" of antiquity; and still it demands more light. Such
+is the spirit of the age,--a demand for naked truth in all its beautiful
+proportions. Never, until this nineteenth century, have the masses
+really discovered their mission,--the great fact that they were created
+to think as well as work, and to govern as well as be governed. And yet
+the world may be regarded as still in its infancy; nor has the human
+mind, as compared with its possibilities, emerged from its cradle, or
+even thrown off its swaddling garments.
+
+Though capable of sublime achievements, man at birth is not only one of
+the most helpless, but one of the most ignorant, specimens of animal
+existence. It is said by physiologists that an infant can neither smile
+nor shed a tear until forty days old. In his infancy the world to him is
+but a panorama of strange objects. In due time, however, he discovers
+that he has everything to learn, and needs to learn everything before he
+can comprehend himself or wield the power which Heaven has assigned him.
+
+The degree of culture required to render man what he should be--godlike
+in his character--admits of no compromise with ignorance, superstition,
+or sectarianism, but on the contrary, involves the necessity of
+establishing and sustaining such an educational system as will be
+adapted to the needs of the masses, and work in accordance with the laws
+of matter and of mind.
+
+It is to the masses that our country must look for her best material,
+and for her future intellectual giants. In every age of the world more
+or less great men have been produced. At a time when most needed, our
+own country produced a Washington, a Jefferson, and a Franklin, who
+distinguished themselves and the age in which they lived,--the age which
+gave birth to human rights. At a later period appeared a Jackson, a
+Clay, and a Webster,--the defenders of the Constitution and of the
+Union,--who have left behind them a brilliant record; but
+notwithstanding their conservative efforts, there came a spirit of
+reform, sowing dragon-teeth, which soon sprang to life and filled the
+land with armed heroes, who bravely met in deadly conflict and decided
+forever the great question of human freedom; and consequently we now
+have, instead of a few, a great many men of world-wide renown, who have
+made for themselves and for their country a proud history.
+
+In order to preserve our liberties we must have men of large hearts and
+wise heads,--men who can wear the armor of giants because they are
+giants. In short, we must recognize the great fact that every child in
+the land has a God-given right to an education,--a right which no parent
+should be allowed to sell for "a mess of pottage." Our national
+watchword should be "Education;" and the system should be so
+constructed as to reach all classes of youth by methods not only
+efficient but attractive.
+
+It will be said by some, perhaps, that it is quite impossible to educate
+the masses in the higher branches of learning, unless they be withdrawn
+from the indispensable labors of the field and the workshop, and thus be
+compelled to neglect the industrial pursuits on which they must depend
+for their physical comforts,--bread, raiment, and shelter. However
+plausible this objection may seem, it certainly does not afford a
+sufficient reason why the facilities of acquiring a good education
+should not be equally extended to all classes.
+
+Manual labor and a high degree of intelligence are by no means
+incompatible, but on the contrary, must be associated, in order to
+achieve great or brilliant results. It is true, however, that the
+physical wants of man must first be supplied before you can proceed
+successfully with the cultivation of his intellectual powers. The fact
+is every day exemplified that bread is much easier gained by an
+intelligent than by an ignorant laborer. Whatever faith may do, it is
+certain that science and labor must be combined if we would either
+tunnel or "remove mountains;" and though native talent may have been
+distributed with more liberality to some than to others, all are under
+the highest obligations to improve such as they have, whether it be one
+talent or twenty talents.
+
+The farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, and even the busy housewife,
+have more or less leisure hours,--long winter evenings, holidays, and
+sabbath days, amounting to nearly half a lifetime,--which might with
+great profit be employed in the acquisition of useful knowledge through
+the medium of choice books and interchange of thought. Indeed, almost
+every one who has received a common-school education may so improve the
+fragments of time which fall in his way as to acquire in the course of
+an ordinary lifetime a pretty thorough acquaintance with the sciences,
+and with general literature.
+
+Though our leisure hours may seem too few to be worth improving, yet it
+is by saving pennies that we accumulate wealth. Surprising as it may
+seem, there are within the allotted age of man ten years of sabbaths
+when taken in the aggregate,--ample time, one would suppose, for
+perfecting, in a good degree at least, his intellectual and moral
+culture. If mankind were as orthodox in their actions as they profess to
+be in their creeds, the moral regeneration of the world would soon be
+accomplished. One of the most formidable barriers in the way of human
+advancement is the faith we have derived, not from revelation, but from
+the blind interpretation of it. A true theology and a sound philosophy
+can never come in conflict. In this enlightened age, it is absurd to
+expect that Science will confine her inquiries within the circumference
+of a circle, or so modify her annunciations of truth as to coincide with
+the mystical traditions which have been handed down to us from a remote
+antiquity.
+
+As an encouragement to the friends of popular education, the fact should
+not be overlooked that the masses have been to a great extent relieved
+from the necessity of constant toil by the introduction of modern
+machinery. In fact, genius has conquered time, and given time to the
+masses. It has broken the fetters that bound them, and thus afforded
+them leisure for self-culture, social intercourse, and the investigation
+of truth.
+
+It is the magic power of genius which has given life and brain to
+machinery, and which compels it to perform the hard work of the factory,
+of the workshop, of the farm, and of the household. In almost every
+department of industry, machinery does the hard work. It spins and
+weaves and knits. It saws and planes and wields the hammer. It reaps and
+mows and thrashes. It churns and washes and plies the needle. In fact,
+it does nearly everything else for us, except to breathe, eat, and
+digest our food. It was the inventive genius of our Northern people--the
+legitimate outgrowth of our common-school system--that produced, at the
+moment when wanted, iron-clads, monster cannon, and Greek fire, and in
+the sequel, saved the Union, and overawed the powers of Europe. It was
+these warlike inventions which secured us the elements of a lasting
+peace, and the respect of the civilized world.
+
+It may be truly said that we now live longer in ten years than our
+ancestors did in twenty, and accomplish twenty times as much. Still it
+is not possible for any one man to know and do everything. Men of genius
+are specialties, seldom or never universalities. Hence, a diversity of
+talent naturally dictates a division of labor. And yet American genius,
+if not universal, must be acknowledged eminently inventive and
+practical. The Americans have made, we may venture to assert, more
+valuable discoveries in the last half century than all the world
+besides. The reason why this is so may be attributed to the operation of
+a physical law, in connection with the effect of a liberal system of
+popular education. The Americans are a mixed race, made up of all
+nations, and have been improved and elevated as a race by transfusion of
+blood, which has resulted in producing increased activity of brain,
+with new modes of thought and new exhibitions of intellectual power.
+
+But notwithstanding this peculiarity of character, there still remains,
+as it seems to me, one great and glaring error in the prevailing system
+of American education. This error consists in our neglecting to develop
+more fully the physical man, through the instrumentalities of systematic
+labor combined with systematic study. In many of the German States, if
+not in all, the plan of educating youth is much more sensible and
+philosophical than in this country. There they combine daily labor with
+daily study; and the result is that the youth of Germany acquire vigor
+of body and vigor of mind at the same time. From youth to manhood they
+are taught to regard labor as honorable, and they feel that it is so.
+Hence the Germans are characterized as a race by the possession of an
+iron constitution, and by a mental energy which enables them to meet the
+stern realities of life not only with fortitude, but with a spirit that
+never yields to adversity. No country has ever produced a more athletic
+or a more enduring race than Germany; nor has any country produced finer
+scholars in every branch of human learning, especially in philosophy and
+in classical literature.
+
+But in this country it may be difficult, perhaps impracticable, to
+establish an educational system of this character, to any considerable
+extent, for the reason that we are for the most part an agricultural
+people, who do not concentrate in hamlets, like the peasantry of Europe,
+but prefer to occupy many acres and to distribute ourselves over a vast
+expanse of territory,--and what is more, have a way of our own in all we
+do. The truth is, Young America does not like work. He prefers fine
+clothes and fast horses, and apes the man before he is a man. And yet he
+assumes to know everything, and to do everything,--except work. These
+peculiarities in the character of Young America seem to have been
+generated by the spirit of our free institutions. Whether too much
+freedom or too little freedom is the greater evil, presents a grave
+question. Whatever may be the cause, it is evident that we as a people
+are degenerating into a nation of speculators.
+
+Almost every man nowadays seeks to acquire wealth by some grand
+speculation,--by some other means than by the honest "sweat of his
+brow." Even mental acquisitions are often sought as a means of
+speculation,--as a means of living without work; and hence we see the
+learned professions crowded to overflowing. Go into the main streets of
+our cities and villages, and you will see the fronts of nearly all the
+buildings on either side of the way shingled over with the signs of
+lawyers and doctors, who in the estimation of the populace lead lives of
+little work and great dignity. Doubtless a foreigner, with such an
+exhibition before his eyes, would think us a nation of lawyers and
+doctors, living on the misfortunes of each other; nor would his
+conclusion be very wide of the mark.
+
+Nor can it be doubted that there are thousands in the clerical
+profession who, if they do not subsist on each other, subsist in a
+"mysterious way" on salaries entirely inadequate to their support. It
+would seem that the supply of professional men in this country exceeds
+the demand. For this there may be no remedy. Yet a step in the right
+direction should be taken by advancing the standard of professional
+attainments so as to exclude mediocrity and shallow pretence from
+registration on the "roll of honor." Wide as the world is, it has no
+room for idlers or pretenders.
+
+This over-supply of professional men not only indicates a false estimate
+of what really constitutes a true manhood, but clearly proves that in
+American education and in American public sentiment there are prevalent
+errors which are inconsistent with the welfare of man and the democratic
+character of our institutions. These errors can be corrected only
+through the influence of a well-directed course of popular education;
+but nothing is more difficult than the correction of popular errors. It
+is a task the reformer often attempts, but seldom accomplishes. In most
+cases it must be a work of time, perhaps of ages. In every school there
+should be a regular system of physical as well as mental exercises
+established. Health and strength of body are pre-requisites to health
+and strength of mind.
+
+In most of our colleges and boarding-schools the physical development of
+the pupil receives but little attention; and consequently he is
+enfeebled in body if not in mind, and is then sent out into the world to
+endure its hardships without the physical ability to take care of
+himself. All this is radically wrong, and calls loudly for reform. An
+exclusive culture of the mental powers can never produce a strong man or
+woman. This fact is painfully illustrated in all our large towns and
+cities. The kind of education, therefore, which attempts to refine our
+young men and young ladies by giving them an artificial nature too
+delicate to endure soiled hands will never do. The coarse as well as the
+fine work of practical life must be done by somebody. Though some may be
+too proud, none are too good to work, however elevated may be their
+social position. There is really nothing in our daily routine of
+duty--in the coarse work of the world--from which an enlightened mind
+should shrink.
+
+It is to be hoped the time will soon come when all our public schools,
+colleges, and universities will have their workshops and gardens,
+affording the necessary facilities for instructing our youth, male and
+female, in some industrial art or trade, as well as in books, and thus
+give them a relish for labor, and the physical ability to endure it.
+
+If such a method were adopted, the women of our country would soon
+become practically fitted to compete with the men in many, if not all,
+the channels of a business life. If it be true that the women have been
+deprived of their rights, it is certainly not the fault of the men, but
+a fault of education,--a radical error which should be remedied. If
+parents will not apply the remedy in the early education of their
+daughters, then there is no relief. Let a course of education make it as
+fashionable for a woman to pursue some industrial art or trade as it is
+to be a lily that neither "toils nor spins," and you would soon see
+American women not only capable of taking care of themselves, but more
+generally solicited than they now are to assume the endearing cares of
+their appropriate sphere.
+
+The true mission of woman is divine. To her belongs the post of
+honor,--that of a wife and mother,--a position which she prefers to
+occupy when yielding to the impulses of her nature. In educating her,
+therefore, this great fact should be kept in view. There is no knowledge
+she needs more than a correct knowledge of human character. This she can
+only acquire by coming in contact with the world as it is, in childhood
+as well as in womanhood; in the public school as well as in the social
+circle. The old puritanic idea that the sexes must be schooled
+separately in order to secure them from exposure to moral dangers, seems
+to me not only erroneous, but absurd. The public school, when made up of
+both sexes, is in fact an epitome of the world, where its good and its
+evil are seen, and where the child should be taught to accept the good
+and reject the evil under the guidance of correct moral principles. It
+is in a pure home influence, however, that a primary education should
+begin. Indeed, mothers must take the initiatory step in giving to
+youthful impulse the right direction.
+
+
+     "Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."
+
+
+But in order to appreciate the full import of their duties and
+responsibilities, mothers themselves must first be properly educated.
+Where, then, is this all-important work to be commenced? Where can it
+be commenced, except in our common schools? It is in the common schools
+only that the masses can be educated. It is to the common schools only
+that we can look for the proper education of the future fathers and
+mothers of the land, and for the correction of popular errors. It is to
+this class of schools, more than to any other, that we must look for our
+future patriots and scholars, statesmen and philosophers, and last, not
+least, for our future school-teachers.
+
+The mission of a school-teacher is truly a mission of divine import. It
+is the school-teacher who moulds the youthful mind, and converts it into
+a casket of gems; it is the school-teacher who gives direction to
+budding thought, and awakens in the soul of youth the slumbering fires
+of genius,--in short, it is the school-teacher who lays the broad
+foundations of the Republic, and hews the pillars that sustain our civil
+and religious institutions. The school-teacher should therefore possess
+the qualifications of a master-builder, be able to plan his work, and
+execute it with tact, taste, and judgment. He should not only govern
+himself, but should be able to govern his pupils without seeming to
+govern. In a word, he should be a model character, and regard his
+profession as one of honor, and honor his profession by elevating it to
+the dignity of a learned profession. He should remember that he is
+placed in a position which gives him a vast influence,--an influence
+broad as the ocean of time; an influence which should be pure in its
+character, and as refreshing to the growth of the inner life as the dews
+of heaven to the unfolding flowers.
+
+There is no means, perhaps, more efficient in promoting the success of a
+professional teacher than the instruction to be derived from institutes,
+or normal schools, in which the art of teaching is made a specialty.
+This class of schools should be made a part of our school system. At
+least every Congressional district, if not every county, should have its
+normal school. It is only in this way that our public schools can be
+supplied with accomplished teachers, and be made worthy of being called
+the "people's colleges."
+
+But the truth is, the masses are not as yet more than half awake to
+their real interests. In the cause of popular education the wonder is
+that educators have done so much, and legislators so little. The true
+educator is a philanthropist. He sees and feels that public sentiment
+needs to be enlightened and liberalized before it will yield its
+sanction to such a system of public schools as ought to be established.
+
+In perfecting our present system, we need a National Bureau of
+Education, authorized to act as a central power in directing, if not in
+controlling, the general educational interests of the entire country. A
+department of this kind, it is believed, would give efficiency and
+equality to all public schools, and thus greatly elevate their general
+character. And with this view Congress should be required by the
+Constitution, not only to establish, but support in each of the States
+at least one national college; and these colleges should constitute a
+national university, in which the crowning studies should be natural
+science, military science, and the science of government.
+
+It is doubtless true that educators have already become a power in the
+land. Of this fact they seem to be aware, and the danger is that their
+influence may be subordinated to the uses of political aspirants. Every
+educator has a right, of course, to express his own individual opinions;
+but he certainly has not the right to employ educational
+instrumentalities to promote the interests of a selfish partisanship,
+either in State or Church. Whenever it is attempted to sow "tares" of
+this kind among the wheat, it is to be hoped that an indignant public
+sentiment will eradicate them with an unsparing hand.
+
+It is always pleasant to recall our early schooldays, with their many
+delightful and refreshing memories, which still linger about the old
+school-house where we received our elementary education,--the dear old
+school-house by the wayside, with its noisy group, its sunny spots, and
+its hours of fun and frolic, and especially its birchen sceptre, which
+so often taught us the "doctrine of passive obedience." It is
+unquestionably true that every school-house, to some extent at least,
+reflects its character in the character of its pupils. Hence we should
+not only look to the character of our schools, but should build our
+school-houses in a neat, if not imposing style; for they, though silent,
+are eloquent teachers, whose influence should create such impressions as
+will tend to refine the tastes and elevate the aspirations of the
+youthful mind.
+
+But no system of education which is contracted, or revolves in a circle,
+can fully meet the exigencies of the mind, or satisfy the demands of the
+age. In most American colleges, as well as in the universities of
+Europe, a definite course of study is prescribed and made a fixed
+fact,--a kind of Procrustean bed on which every lad is either stretched
+or abridged to fit; and this is done, as scholastics tell us, for the
+purpose of disciplining the mind. No two persons were ever created to
+think, act, or look alike in every respect; nor can an educational
+system be prescribed by square and compass which will be alike adapted
+to all minds. In my humble judgment, those studies best discipline the
+mind which tend most to enlarge and liberalize it, and which are
+essentially concordant with its native powers and capacities. The course
+of education, therefore, which will best develop the peculiar genius,
+talent, or marked preference of the pupil, should be adopted so far as
+practicable. If a young man, for instance, exhibits a native talent or
+taste for music, painting, mechanics, law, medicine, theology,
+agriculture, or commerce, his education should take the direction
+indicated. If this plan were pursued in all our colleges and other
+schools of a high order, we should soon see, instead of here and there a
+star, a galaxy of brilliant men and women in the sky of our national
+renown, whose excellence in their several specialties would challenge
+the admiration of mankind.
+
+The truth is, our modern colleges are not modern enough. They look to
+the ancients for wisdom, instead of seeking it from Nature and the
+revelations of modern science. In a word, the dead languages are studied
+too much; the living, too little. Next to mathematics, the natural
+sciences should take the preference. No man is thoroughly educated who
+is not thoroughly instructed in these sciences, especially in chemistry
+and geology. Every farmer should be familiar with agricultural
+chemistry, and be able to apply its principles. It is the utility, the
+practical good to be derived from an education, that gives to it value
+and solidity.
+
+It is practical, not fanciful knowledge, which the masses need. In order
+to secure their elevation and social equality, every State in the Union
+should be required to maintain an efficient system of common schools, in
+which all instruction should be given in the English language, and the
+schools made accessible to all classes of youth, and be "good enough for
+the richest, and cheap enough for the poorest." In order to effect this,
+the system should recognize the theory as an equitable principle, that
+the property of the State is bound to educate the youth of the State.
+This principle is certainly a just one, since the man of property,
+though he have no children, is as much benefited by its application as
+the man who has children but no property, for the reason that the
+security of property, as well as the rights of persons and the stability
+of the Republic, must ever depend on the degree of intelligence
+possessed by the people.
+
+In fact, each State should be regarded as one great school-district,
+and all its resident youth as the children of the State, for whose
+common education every citizen having taxable property is bound to
+contribute his proportionate share. In this way every child can be
+educated, and elevated to the social position of a true manhood; and it
+is only in this way that a work of such magnitude can be accomplished.
+In every point of view it is much wiser to educate than to punish, much
+wiser to build school-houses than prisons, much wiser to sustain school
+libraries than billiard-tables.
+
+It is a matter of congratulation, however, that there is now much more
+confidence placed in the theory of common schools than in former years.
+In most of the States prejudice has yielded to enlightened sentiment,
+and the "people's colleges" have come to be regarded as the most useful
+and influential institutions in the land. All should be done that can be
+to render these schools pleasant and attractive. The school-house should
+be built not only in good taste, but its surroundings should be made as
+cheerful and inviting as possible by planting about it ornamental trees,
+shrubs, and flowers. Its interior walls should be enriched with
+appropriate maps and charts, historical paintings, and portraits of
+renowned men and women. In addition to this, every school should be
+supplied with an ample apparatus, embracing specimen weights and
+measures, mathematical figures in wood, together with globes and a
+planetarium,--not omitting a cabinet of the leading minerals, metals,
+and coins. Their uses and characteristics should be explained and
+illustrated by the teacher in a simple style of language, and in the
+presence of the entire school, at least once or twice a week.
+
+Familiar exercises of this kind would deeply interest the pupils, and
+impart to their minds a degree of valuable knowledge which they would
+not be likely to obtain in any other way, and which might awaken,
+perhaps, some unconscious genius, who would in after-life so develop his
+powers as to advance the interests of science, and take his place among
+her proudest masters. In nearly every instance our truly great men have
+arisen from an obscure origin.
+
+The time has already arrived, I am inclined to think, when there should
+be added to the usual course of studies pursued in our colleges,
+academies, and high schools, a systematic training in military science
+and discipline, as a means not only of physical culture, but as an easy
+method of fitting our young men to become practical soldiers and
+defenders of the Republic. We as a people, in consequence of the late
+Civil War in which we have been involved, are evidently undergoing a
+transition, which has already had the effect to change in a good degree
+our national traits of character. If we would have invincible men, we
+must, like the ancient Greeks, accustom our sons to hardships and manly
+exercises, give them muscle as well as mind, teach them to love and
+defend their country, and if need be, to die for it,--die on the
+battle-field,--
+
+
+     "Where gory sabres rise and fall
+     Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall!"
+
+
+The attempt which we are making in our public schools to educate our
+children in the shortest possible time is a grave error. We ought rather
+to "make haste slowly," if we would do the work well. A work of this
+character is one which requires patience and perseverance. There is no
+short way to knowledge, no patent right that can produce it to order. It
+can only be obtained by study, persevering study, aided by the patient
+efforts of competent teachers. It is all-important therefore that we
+should furnish our children with such elementary books as are best
+adapted to their capacities and needs, and with such teachers as are
+qualified to teach them lessons contained not only inside of books but
+outside of books,--lessons which abound everywhere, both in the natural
+and in the moral world. We should also furnish them with school
+libraries composed of standard works, and including the best current
+literature of the day. A library of this character should be established
+in every school-district, and be made accessible to every citizen. In
+this way, and only in this way, can the masses be supplied with the
+mental food which they so much need, and which is indispensable to their
+moral and intellectual elevation. No matter what the cost, public
+libraries always pay a liberal dividend in the shape of mental and moral
+power, if not in dollars and cents. No matter what dangers may threaten
+our free institutions, depend upon it, a reading people will take care
+of themselves.
+
+The ancients built temples for their gods; we build school-houses for
+our children. This one fact exhibits perhaps more clearly than any other
+the distinctive character which marks the career of ancient and modern
+civilization, and indicates the great change which has been wrought in
+the course of ages by the law of progress. We may justly regard our
+numerous school-houses and churches as the mirrors not only of moral
+character, but as the safeguards of the Republic.
+
+In the pursuit of knowledge, it is quite absurd to suppose that all
+high attainment in art, in literature, and in science, must of necessity
+be confined to the "learned professions," as they are called by way of
+pre-eminence. It does not matter what a man professes to know, but the
+question is, what does he know, compared with what he might know? There
+should never be such a monopoly allowed to exist as a monopoly of
+knowledge. The learned professions have nothing in them sacred, no
+forbidden fruit,--nothing more than what everybody may know who chooses;
+nor can there be any good reason why every employment in the various
+departments of human industry--every trade, every mechanic art--should
+not be regarded as a learned profession, and be made a learned
+profession, in which brains as well as hands should co-operate in
+achieving success and in solving new problems.
+
+There is food for thought in every human pursuit. In order to be
+successful, in order to achieve high aims, the laboring man must not
+only think, but be capable of thinking profoundly. Indeed, every man may
+live like a philosopher, and be a philosopher, if he will. But no man
+can be a true philosopher who is not both a practical worker and a
+practical thinker. There is nothing the world needs more than workers
+and thinkers to make it a paradise. The masses are workers, and if
+educated, would become thinkers. It is only once or twice in a century,
+it is said, that "God lets loose upon the earth a great thinker." Of the
+past, this may be true, but not of the present. We have scores of men
+now living who are greater thinkers than Plato, Newton, or Franklin,
+because modern science has introduced them into broader fields of
+thought. The chemists, geologists, inventors, and discoverers of the
+present day have never been excelled as profound thinkers. Ours is
+literally an age of philosophers.
+
+Truth, though eternal, is never stationary; nor will the law of progress
+ever reach a standpoint. There is always something to be done, some
+vacuum to be filled. It is said by philosophers that Nature abhors a
+vacuum. I do not doubt it, especially if it be a vacuum in the human
+head. It is pretty certain that the youthful head, if not filled with
+sense at the proper time, will soon be filled with nonsense. Neither
+errors of the head nor errors of the heart can be easily eradicated,
+when once implanted. The moral nature of the child may be moulded at
+will; but the cherished opinions of age can seldom, if ever, be either
+reversed or essentially modified. In the great battle of life our
+success as individuals must depend on the kind of armor in which we are
+clad, and the kind of weapons with which we are supplied. For effective
+service there is nothing which can be brought into the field so
+formidable or so irresistible as the artillery of logic. Intellect is
+always sure of becoming the ultimate victor. We read of giants in the
+chronicles of the early ages,--physical giants, who could overthrow the
+pillars of the proudest temples, and bear off mountains upon their
+shoulders; yet of what value to the world were their marvellous
+exploits, if really true, compared with the achievements of those
+intellectual giants who have appeared at different epochs, and taught
+mankind the most useful lessons in the arts, in the sciences, and in
+philosophy? And here let me say to the young aspirant for worldly honors
+that if he would achieve high aims, he must not only aim high, but have
+faith in himself as well as in a Divine Providence. Indeed, every man,
+however humble, may become great in his vocation, if he will; yet no man
+can become truly great who is not truly good.
+
+So far as human perfection can be defined, it consists in the purity and
+sublimity of moral action,--a perfection which may be approached, if not
+reached, by all who are so disposed. How truly has it been said that we
+are never too old or too wise to learn! Nor is any man so ignorant but
+he may teach a philosopher something.
+
+No matter how conservative we may be in our creeds and opinions, the
+world will continue to move onward; nor can it stand still if it would.
+The time is at hand when errors in creed, as well as in education, to
+which we cling, will not only be exposed, but exploded. However hopeless
+the condition of the masses may seem, they are already demanding more
+light and only await an opportunity to proclaim their emancipation from
+mental thraldom.
+
+The statistics relating to the numbers of mankind, and to the frail
+tenure of human life, convey lessons which ought not to be disregarded
+in the estimate we make of what man can do to elevate himself. Strange
+as it may seem, it is a fact pretty well ascertained that the entire
+population of the globe neither increases nor diminishes, but remains
+essentially the same. And yet the population of the earth is continually
+undergoing changes from the operation of local causes, increasing here
+and diminishing there, as the ages advance. The law involved seems based
+on the principle of a just compensation for all diminution. In other
+words, the earth has a limited capacity, and like a cup when filled, can
+hold no more, yet always remains full.
+
+When we consider the fact that one fourth of mankind die before
+reaching seven years of age; one half before reaching seventeen years;
+and that sixty persons die every minute,--we are struck with
+astonishment, and are naturally led to inquire into the reasons. The
+causes which abridge life may for the most part be attributed to popular
+ignorance, or disregard of physical law,--either in ancestor, parent, or
+child. Nothing can be truer than the fact that the "sins of the fathers
+are visited upon their children unto the third and fourth generation,"
+and even to indefinite generations. It is indeed a fearful inheritance,
+when life comes to us tainted with constitutional disease. For this
+there seems to be no remedy, except in the adoption of such a popular
+system of education as will diffuse a practical knowledge of the laws of
+health.
+
+It may be safely asserted that many people, especially in America, where
+food is abundant and the style of living luxurious, "dig their own
+graves with their teeth." Americans, as we all know, are disposed to
+live fast, and of course die prematurely. In short, we are a sanguine,
+impatient people; have morbid appetites, crave rich viands, seek wealth
+and office, and care for little else. In our successes we commit
+excesses. In the pure elixir of life we infuse drops of poison. Yet
+Nature proffers us the gift of long life, and waits our acceptance with
+a patient spirit. Though extreme longevity may not be desirable, yet
+many more than now do, might attain to the dignity of centenarians, if
+they would but live in obedience to physical law.
+
+In the elements of his physical nature, man is truly "of the earth
+earthy." Chemists say that a man of ordinary size is composed of forty
+pounds solid matter and five buckets of water, all of which may be
+converted into gas. However this may be, man is a delicate piece of
+mechanism, a combination of divine inventions. For example, his eye is a
+telescope, which penetrates the mysteries of the stars; his ear is a
+drum, which repeats every sound in nature; his heart a timepiece, which
+marks, with measured beat, the fleeting moments of his life; his vocal
+organs a harp with a thousand strings, which is capable of uttering the
+divinest music.
+
+And yet man in his moral nature, though created but "a little lower than
+the angels," is a profound puzzle. He advances many theories, questions
+even divine truth, yet believes in absurdities. Nor need we marvel at
+this, perhaps, when we recall the fact that mankind speak more than
+three thousand different languages, and profess more than one thousand
+different religions.
+
+Whether regarded as a common brotherhood, or as composed of distinct
+races, it is evident that the human family have made rapid advancement
+in the amelioration of their condition during the last century, through
+the instrumentalities of a world-wide commercial intercourse, and the
+consequent diffusion of nobler incentives to action. Yet of the one
+thousand millions that compose the great family of man, more than six
+hundred millions are still groping their way in the darkness of a moral
+midnight, awaiting the advent of the school-master and the promulgation
+of a purer and holier faith. Even in Christian countries, especially in
+the South-American States, and in many parts of Europe, the masses are
+almost universally illiterate and superstitious, and have so long been
+accustomed to oppression that they have become quite indifferent, if not
+insensible, to their natural rights; nor dare they, if they would,
+assert their manhood.
+
+In Italy, the land of art and of beauty, the proportion of those who can
+read is from twenty to thirty in a hundred, while among the inhabitants
+within a circle of thirty miles around Rome, there is not one in a
+hundred, it is said, who can read. Not only in these countries, but in
+more than half the globe, the masses submit to oppression, because it is
+the policy of their oppressors to hold them, spell-bound, in ignorance.
+If they are ever elevated to the social and political rank which the God
+of Nature designed them to occupy, it must be done by the school-master,
+armed with his text-books and sustained by the efforts of an enlightened
+Christian philanthropy. For this ultimate object God works, and man
+should work.
+
+There can be no doubt but natural scenery, as well as climate, exercises
+a decided influence in the formation of national character. Whether we
+advert to Palestine, Switzerland, or New England, it is easy to discover
+that the mountains of these countries have by their silent eloquence
+inspired the masses of the people, not only with reverence, but with a
+love of freedom. In the sublimity of the cloud-capped mountains, they
+seem to recognize a divine presence which has taught them to look
+skyward, and to feel that they are destined to ascend in the scale of
+existence; while in low and level countries, especially on the plains of
+Russia and Asia, the inhabitants take horizontal views of things, and
+consequently submit to oppression, and never dare, like mountain-bred
+men, to break their fetters or question the decrees of fate.
+
+The ancient Hebrews, as everybody knows, were not only brave in warfare,
+but were distinguished above all other nations as a reverential and
+God-fearing people. Their form of government was essentially theocratic.
+In the earthquake they recognized the footsteps of God; in the solemn
+thunder they heard his voice; in the lightning's flash they saw an
+expression of his anger; in the rainbow they beheld a token of his
+promise,--in a word, they were a peculiar people, who have, in the
+record of their experiences, transmitted to mankind a sacred
+inheritance.
+
+Switzerland is emphatically a land of mountains and of heroes. Almost
+every hill and vale within her borders has its consecrated spots and its
+sanctified memories. In the recesses of her mountains the love of
+freedom ever burns with a pure and a holy flame, because it is a love
+which was born of the mountains.
+
+In New England it is equally apparent that the silent grandeur of her
+mountains contributes to inspire her inhabitants with lofty sentiments,
+and with a love of civil and religious liberty,--a love which can never
+be subjected to the reign of oppression, nor be misdirected in its
+action, except by its own enthusiasm.
+
+It often happens that the inhabitants who occupy distinct portions of a
+common country differ as widely in their sentiments as in their manners
+and customs. Especially is this true of the United States, where it is
+easy to distinguish the Eastern, Western, and Southern people from each
+other. It may be natural causes, or it may be local interests, that have
+created these differences, and marked the people of each region with
+those peculiar personal traits which give them character.
+
+The New Englanders are generally characterized as sedate, formal, and
+puritanical, guessing at everything, yet pretty shrewd at guessing. They
+possess genius, are prolific in inventions, and scrupulous in matters of
+faith. In discussing theological questions, they split hairs; in making
+a bargain, they conclude to split the difference. In all things they are
+quick to see advantages, and apt to take advantages. In whatever they
+undertake, they look ahead and go ahead. In every sixpence which falls
+within their grasp, they recognize an element of power which "leads on
+to fortune;" and when they have acquired a fortune, they are pretty sure
+to keep it. And, as Halleck the poet says,--
+
+
+     "They love their land because it is their own,
+       And scorn to give aught other reason why;
+     Would shake hands with a king upon his throne,
+       And think it kindness to his majesty;
+     A stubborn race, fearing and nattering none.
+       Such are they nurtured, such they live and die,
+     All but a few apostates, who are meddling
+       With merchandise, pounds, shillings, pence, and peddling!"
+
+
+In the Western States, where Nature educates men on a liberal scale by
+giving them broad rivers, broad lakes, and broad prairies, we find a
+people characterized by broad and liberal views of things,
+large-heartedness, frank manners, generous sympathies; a philanthropy
+which regards all mankind as a brotherhood, and a public sentiment which
+rebukes intolerance. In truth, Western men despise "little things" and
+devise "liberal things," and would sooner sacrifice their lives than
+yield obedience to the mandates of either political or ecclesiastical
+oppression.
+
+In the Southern States Nature has not as yet effected much in the
+exercise of her educational influences. In whatever she has attempted in
+this direction she seems to have been overruled by circumstances,--by
+the difference in races, and by the prejudices of caste. Though the
+South has produced intellectual men of a high order, she has contributed
+comparatively but little either to science or to standard literature.
+Yet it must be conceded that the South has always been justly
+distinguished for her hospitality, cordiality, and chivalric spirit.
+
+Whatever human institutions may achieve, it is certain that Nature in
+the manifest wisdom of her works contributes largely to the education of
+all classes of men in all countries. In her great school, even the
+uncivilized man not unfrequently becomes a profound philosopher. The
+coinage of her mint has the true ring in it and passes current
+everywhere. Her light is the light of the world, yet the masses are too
+blind, or rather too ignorant, to see it. Without intending the least
+disrespect to the one thousand different theologies which distract
+mankind, it may be asserted that the Book of Nature is in itself a
+divine revelation, which has been divided by her own hand into chapter
+and verse, and may be read in the alphabet of the flowers, in the rocks
+of the hills, and in the stars. In its language it is not only
+beautiful, but every word is suggestive; in its doctrines it is pure and
+truthful; in its wide range of thought it treats principally of life,
+and of the conditions of life, and assures us that the silent process of
+creation--of eternal change--still goes on, now as ever; and that every
+particle of matter in the universe is constantly active, achieving
+something.
+
+In a philosophical sense, there is nothing dead that does not live.
+Matter combines, dissolves, and re-combines. New forms of life and new
+conditions of life appear and disappear. The very dust under our feet
+has lived and breathed, and will live again. Nature waits to be
+gracious, and is ever ready to reveal her mysteries as fast as man can
+comprehend them. And though she speaks with a silent lip, she invites
+all to share her bounties. Her wealth is infinite.
+
+In every star, in every flower, in every blade of grass, in every grain
+of sand, in everything visible and invisible, there is life, light, and
+beauty. In everything there is power. We cannot look at a grain of sand,
+insignificant as it may seem, without seeing in its composition the
+material which enables us to read the golden record of the heavens. In
+the falling raindrop, when converted into steam, we recognize the
+existence of a power which has revolutionized the world. In the kiss of
+the sunbeam we discover a magical influence which tints the flower,
+gives color to everything in Nature, and by its impress presents us with
+an exact and lifelike transcript of ourselves and of our friends. In the
+lightning's flash we have a language in which we can converse with our
+friends throughout the civilized world, at any moment we please.
+
+When we consider what has been achieved in the way of scientific
+discovery during the last half-century, who can tell what may not be
+achieved in the next century, in the next ten centuries,--when the great
+mysteries of Nature shall be more fully revealed, and when new
+sciences, now unknown, shall disclose new principles, new forces, and
+still subtler agencies?
+
+In her desire to advance human knowledge, Nature invokes
+interpreters--unborn interpreters--who, though far away in the distance,
+will yet come, and when they do come, will interpret in accordance with
+truth the mystical language in which her undiscovered secrets are
+written, and thus extend the empire of thought until it becomes
+infinite,--an empire in which man, still rising in the scale of
+intelligence, will acquire divine powers, and assume the dignity of a
+perfect manhood.
+
+
+
+
+WOMAN AND HER SPHERE.
+
+
+Woman, like a flower, sprang to life in a garden of flowers,--sprang
+from the side of her lord, and took her place at his side, as a meet
+companion to share his earth-life, his joys, and his sorrows.
+
+The Greeks believed that the gods collected everything that is beautiful
+in Nature, out of which they formed the first woman, and having crowned
+her brow with sunshine, intrusted her with the irresistible power of
+fascination.
+
+It is certainly not less pleasant than natural to believe that woman was
+made of a more refined material than man; and it is doubtless true that
+every sincere worshipper of the beautiful delights to regard the "angel
+of his dreams" not only as an incarnation of all that is lovable, but as
+a divine spirituality,--a vision from a brighter and holier sphere.
+
+An old writer remarks that in order to make an entirely beautiful woman,
+it would be necessary to take the head from Greece, the bust from
+Austria, the feet from Hindostan, the shoulders from Italy, the walk
+from Spain, and the complexion from England. At that rate she would be a
+mosaic in her composition; and the man who married her might well be
+said to have "taken up a collection."
+
+However mystical may be the origin of woman, it is certain that we
+should look to the moral beauty of her life, rather than to her personal
+charms, in estimating the true value of her character. In her nature
+woman is a loyalist,--loyal to man and loyal to God. In all ages of the
+world, in all countries and under all circumstances, she has ever been
+distinguished for her patience, her fortitude, and her forbearance, as
+well as for those still higher and diviner attributes, her love and her
+devotion.
+
+Endowed with charms which give her the power of conquest, woman ever
+delights in making conquests; and though she may sometimes "stoop to
+conquer," she never fails to elevate the conquered. With the smile of
+love resting on her brow, she aims to fulfil her mission by scattering
+flowers along the pathway of life, and inspiring the sterner sex with
+reverence for her virtues and for the angelhood of her nature.
+
+The true woman exhibits a true womanhood in all she does, in all she
+says,--in her heart-life and in her world-life. Her love, once bestowed
+on him who is worthy of it, increases with her years and becomes as
+enduring as her life,--
+
+
+     "In death, a deathless flame."
+
+
+Not only in the sincerity of her love, but in all her sympathies, in her
+quick sense of duty, and in her devotion to all that is good, right, and
+just, she discloses without being conscious of it the divinity of her
+character.
+
+It is in sacred history that we find the earliest record of woman's
+virtues, acquirements, and achievements. It is there that we read of
+women who were not only distinguished for their exalted piety and
+exemplary habits of life, but who often excelled even the great men of
+renown in sagacity of purpose and in the exercise of sceptred power. It
+is in sacred history that we have the earliest account of the social and
+domestic relations of the human family, the most prominent of which is
+the institution of marriage.
+
+The first marriage of which we have any account took place in a garden,
+without the usual preliminaries and ceremonies which have marked its
+solemnization in subsequent periods of the world's history; yet we must
+believe that it was the most august and sublime wedding that ever
+occurred. The witnesses of the ceremony were none other than the angels
+of God. Nature presented her choicest flowers, and the birds of
+Paradise sang the bridal hymn, while earth and sky rejoiced in the
+consummation of the "first match made in heaven."
+
+It may be presumed, perhaps, that all matches are made in heaven; yet
+somehow or other, sad mistakes occur when least expected. Even our first
+parents, though placed in a garden of innocence, encountered a serpent
+in their pathway. It need not seem very strange, therefore, that "the
+course of true love never did run smooth." Yet there are but few who
+would not concur with Tennyson in thinking--
+
+
+     "'Tis better to have loved and lost,
+     Than never to have loved at all."
+
+
+In affairs of the heart there is no such thing as accounting for the
+freaks of fancy, or the choice of dissimilar tastes. Singular as it may
+be, most people admire contrasts. In other words, like prefers unlike;
+the tall prefer the short; the beautiful the unbeautiful; and the
+perverse the reverse. In this way Nature makes up her counterparts with
+a view to assimilate her materials and bring harmony out of discord. It
+is from accords and discords that we judge of music and determine its
+degree of excellence. In wedded life even discords have their uses,
+since a family jar now and then is often attended with the happiest
+results, by bringing into timely exercise a higher degree of mutual
+forbearance, and inspiring the heart with a purer, sincerer, and diviner
+appreciation of the "silken tie."
+
+There is no topic, perhaps, of deeper interest to a woman than that of
+wedlock. It is an event, when it does occur, which brightens or blasts
+forever her fondest hopes and her purest affections. The matrimonial
+question is therefore the great question of a woman's life. In deciding
+it, she takes a risk which determines the future of her heart-life. When
+the motive is stamped with the imperial seal of Heaven, it is certain
+the heart will recognize it as genuine, and trust in it. The language of
+love speaks for itself, sometimes in mysteries, sometimes in
+revelations. It is a telegraphic language which every woman understands,
+though written in hieroglyphics. Hence the preliminaries to wedlock,
+usually called courtships, are as various in their methods as the whims
+of the parties. In many parts of the world these methods are as amusing
+as they are singular.
+
+In royal families matrimonial alliances are controlled by State policy,
+and the negotiations conducted through the agencies of ministerial
+confidants. In some Oriental countries, parents contract their sons and
+daughters in marriage while yet in their infancy, nor allow the parties
+an interview until of marriageable age, when the wedding ceremonies are
+performed, and the happy pair unveiled to behold each other for the
+first time. At such a moment "a penny for their thoughts" would be cheap
+enough. The philosophy of this absurd custom seems to be based on the
+classical idea that "love is blind." This may be true; yet blind though
+it be, the heart will always have its preference, and contrive some way
+or other to express it.
+
+In some of the Molucca Islands, when a young man is too bashful to speak
+his love, he seizes the first opportunity that offers of sitting near
+the object of his affection, and tying his garments to hers. If she
+allows him to finish the knot, and neither cuts nor loosens it, she
+truly gives her consent to the marriage. If she merely loosens it, he is
+at liberty to try his luck again at a more propitious moment; but if she
+cuts the knot, there is an end of hope.
+
+In Lapland it is death to marry a girl without the consent of her
+friends. When a young man proposes marriage, the friends of both parties
+meet to witness a race between them. The girl is allowed, at starting,
+the advantage of a third part of the race; if her lover does not
+overtake her, it is a penal offence for him ever to renew his offers of
+marriage. If the damsel favors his suit, she may run fast at first, to
+try his affection; but she will be sure to linger before she comes to
+the end of the race. In this way all marriages are made in accordance
+with inclination; and this is the probable reason of so much domestic
+contentment in that country.
+
+In ancient times marriageable women were the subjects of bargain and
+sale, and were more generally obtained by purchase than courtship. The
+prices paid in some instances seem incredible, if not extortionate. Of
+course, "pearls of great price" were not to be had for the mere asking.
+Jacob purchased his wife, Rachel, at a cost of fourteen years hard
+labor.
+
+The Babylonians, who were a practical people, gathered their
+marriageable daughters once a year from every district of their country,
+and sold them at auction to bachelors, who purchased them for wives,
+while the magistrates presided at the sales. The sums of money thus
+received for the beautiful girls were appropriated as dowries for the
+benefit of the less beautiful. Of course rich bachelors paid liberal
+prices for their choice, while poor bachelors, in accepting the less
+beautiful, generally obtained the best wives, with the addition of a
+handsome sum of money. In this way all parties were accommodated who
+aspired to matrimonial felicity.
+
+But in these modern times most of our young men, instead of purchasing
+their wives, prefer to sell themselves at the highest price the market
+affords. Fortune-hunting is therefore regarded as legitimate. In the
+mind of a fast young man wealth has a magical influence, which is sure
+to invest the possessor, if a marriageable young lady, however
+unattractive, with irresistible charms. If his preliminary inquiry--Is
+she rich?--be answered in the affirmative, the siege commences at once.
+Art is so practised as to conceal art, and create, if possible, a
+favorable impression. An introduction is sought and obtained. Interview
+follows interview in quick succession. The declaration is made; the
+diamond ring presented and graciously accepted; consent obtained, and
+the happy day set. Rumor reports an eligible match in high life, and the
+fashionable world is on tiptoe with expectation.
+
+But instead of its being an "affair of the heart," it is really a very
+different affair,--nothing but a hasty transaction in fancy stocks. And
+if the officiating clergyman were to employ an appropriate formula of
+words in celebrating the nuptials, he would address the parties thus:--
+
+"Romeo, wilt thou have this delicate constitution, this bundle of silks
+and satins, this crock of gold, for thy wedded wife?"--"I will."
+"Juliet, wilt thou have this false pretence, this profligate in
+broadcloth, this unpaid tailor's bill, for thy wedded husband?"--"I
+will."
+
+The happy pair are then pronounced man and wife. And what is the result?
+A brief career of dissipation, a splendid misery, a reduction to
+poverty, domestic dissension, separation, and finally a divorce. But how
+different is the result when an honest man, actuated by pure motives,
+marries a sincere woman, whose only wealth consists in her love and in
+her practical good sense!
+
+It is man who degrades woman, not woman who degrades man. Asiatic
+monarchs have ever regarded woman, not as a companion, but as a toy, a
+picture, a luxury of the palace; while men of common rank throughout
+Asia and in many parts of Europe treat her as a slave, a drudge, a
+"hewer of wood and a drawer of water," and make it her duty to wait,
+instead of being waited on; to attend, instead of being attended. Out of
+this sordid idea of woman's destiny has grown in all probability the
+custom of regarding her as property. Influenced by this idea, there are
+still some persons to be found among the lower classes, even in our own
+country, who do not hesitate to sell, buy, or exchange their wives for a
+material consideration. Some of our American forefathers, in the early
+settlement of Jamestown, purchased their wives from England, and paid
+in tobacco, at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds each, and
+thought it a fair transaction. Perhaps this is the reason why ladies are
+so generally disgusted with the use of the "Virginia weed."
+
+But the doctrine that woman was created the inferior of man, though
+venerable for its antiquity, is not less fallacious than venerable. It
+is simply an assertion which does not appear to be sustained by
+historical facts. It is true that woman is called in Scripture the
+"weaker vessel;" weaker in physical strength she may be, but it does not
+follow that she is weaker in mind, wit, judgment, shrewdness, tact, or
+moral power.
+
+The sterner sex need not flatter themselves, therefore, that superiority
+of muscle necessarily implies superiority of mind. History sufficiently
+discloses the fact that woman has often proved herself not only a match,
+but an over-match, for man, in wielding the sceptre, the sword, and the
+pen, to say nothing of the tongue. Illustrations of this great fact,
+like coruscations of light, sparkle along the darkened track of the
+ages, and abound in the living present.
+
+But in looking into the broad expanse of the historical past, we cannot
+attempt to do more than glance here and there at a particular star,
+whose undiminished lustre has given it a name and a fame, not only
+glorious, but immortal. As in all ages there have been representative
+men, so in all ages there have been representative women, who crowned
+the age in which they lived with honor, and gave tone to its sentiment
+and character.
+
+In the career of Semiramis, who lived about two thousand years before
+the Christian era, we have a crystallization of those subtle attributes
+of female character, which are not less remarkable for their diversity
+than extensive in their power and influence. It will be remembered that
+she was the reputed child of a goddess, a foundling exposed in a desert,
+fed for a year by doves, discovered by a shepherd, and adopted by him as
+his own daughter. When grown to womanhood, she married the governor of
+Nineveh, and assisted him in the siege and conquest of Bactria. The
+wisdom and tact which she manifested in this enterprise, and especially
+her personal beauty, attracted the attention of the King of Assyria, who
+mysteriously relieved her of her husband, obtained her hand in wedlock,
+resigned to her his crown, and declared her queen and sole empress of
+Assyria. The aspirations of Semiramis became at once unbounded; and
+fearing her royal consort might repent the hasty step he had taken, she
+abruptly extinguished his life, and soon succeeded in distinguishing her
+own. She levelled mountains, filled up valleys, built aqueducts,
+commanded armies, conquered neighboring nations, penetrated into Arabia
+and Ethiopia, amassed vast treasures, founded many cities, and wherever
+she appeared, spread terror and consternation. Under her auspices and by
+means of her wealth, Babylon, the capital of her empire, became the most
+renowned and magnificent city in the world. Her might was invincible;
+her right she regarded as co-extensive with her power. Her prompt action
+was the secret of her success.
+
+When she was informed, on one occasion, that Babylon had revolted, she
+left her toilet half made, put herself at the head of an armed force,
+and instantly quelled the revolt. She was a woman of strong passions and
+of strong mind, and, what is now very uncommon, of strong nerves. And
+yet her peerless beauty and the fascination of her manners appear to
+have been as irresistible as the sway of her sceptre. The fatality of
+her personal charms, her inordinate love of power, and the evils which
+arise from the indulgence of vain aspirations, indicate the lessons
+which are taught by her career. In the twenty-fifth year of her reign,
+her life was suddenly terminated by the violent hand of her own son.
+After death she was transformed, as it was believed, into a dove, under
+the symbol of which she received divine honors throughout Assyria.
+
+It would seem that literary women were not less known in ancient times
+than at the present day. Sappho took her place in the galaxy of literary
+fame six hundred years before Christ. So sublime, and yet so sweet, were
+her lyric strains that the Greeks pronounced her the tenth Muse.
+Longinus cites from her writings specimens of the sublime, and extols
+her genius as unrivalled. Beneficent as talented, she instituted an
+academy of music for young maidens, wrote nine books of lyric verse, and
+many other compositions of great merit. But of all her writings,
+however, only one or two of her odes have survived. Her fate was an
+unhappy one. She became violently enamoured of a young man of Mitylene,
+who was so ungallant as not to reciprocate her attachment; and being
+reduced to a state of hopeless despair, she precipitated herself into
+the sea from the steep cliff of Leucate, ever since called the "Lover's
+Leap."
+
+In this connection we ought not to omit the name of Aspasia, who, at a
+period two centuries later than Sappho, emerged like a star in a
+darkened sky and charmed the age in which she lived with the
+fascinations of her rhetoric. She was not less stately and queen-like in
+her person than accomplished in her manners. It is said of her, that
+she possessed rhetorical powers which were unequalled by the public
+orators of her time; she was as learned as eloquent. Plato says she was
+the instructress of Socrates. She also instructed Pericles in the arts
+of oratory, and afterwards married him. He was largely indebted to her
+for his finish of education and elegance of manners, for which he was so
+much distinguished.
+
+So charming were Aspasia's conversational powers that the Athenians
+sought every opportunity to introduce their wives into her presence,
+that they might learn from her the art of employing an elegant diction.
+On one occasion when the Athenian army had been disheartened, she
+appeared in the public assembly of the people and pronounced an oration,
+which so thrilled their breasts as to inspire new hopes, and induce them
+to rally and redeem their cause.
+
+Among female sovereigns but few have evinced more tact or talent in an
+emergency than Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. She was a native of Syria, a
+descendant of Ptolemy; married Odenatus, a Saracen, and after his death
+succeeded to the throne, about the year of our Lord 267. She had been
+highly educated, wrote and spoke many different languages, had studied
+the beauties of Homer and Plato under the tuition of Longinus, and was
+not less renowned for her beauty, melody of voice, and elegance of
+manners, than for her heroic deeds. In the five years of her reign she
+conducted many warlike expeditions, extended her empire, compelling
+Cappadocia, Bithynia, and Egypt to recognize her authority, and
+acknowledge her "Queen of the East,"--a favorite title which she had
+assumed. Her power had now become so extended as to alarm the Roman
+government for their own safety, who sent Aurelian with a formidable
+army to subjugate and reduce her empire to a province. Zenobia, after
+being defeated in two severe battles, retired with her forces to
+Palmyra, her capital, fortified it, and resolved never to surrender.
+Aurelian invested the city with his entire army, and in the course of
+the siege was severely wounded by an arrow, and being thus disabled, the
+progress of the siege was so far retarded as to give the citizens of
+Rome occasion to utter against him bitter invectives, and to question
+the character of the "arrow" that had pierced him. In other words, they
+accused him of complicity. In his letter of self-justification to the
+senate, he says, "The Roman people speak with contempt of the war I am
+waging against a woman. They are ignorant of the character and the power
+of Zenobia. It is impossible to enumerate her warlike preparations of
+stones and arrows, and every species of missile weapons. The walls of
+the city are strongly guarded, and artificial fires are thrown from her
+military engines. The fear of punishment has armed her with desperate
+courage. Still I trust in the gods for a favorable result."
+
+In this letter the stern and proud Roman general frankly admits the
+might of woman. Feeling humiliated and almost despairing of success, he
+now attempted to procure a surrender of the city by negotiation, and
+offered the most liberal advantages to the queen. In her reply she said
+to him, "It is not by negotiation, but by arms, that the submission you
+require of me can be obtained." This laconic reply was certainly worthy
+of a heroine and a queen. Yet after a protracted and desperate defence,
+and finding that her allies, instead of coming to her relief as they
+promised, had accepted bribes from the enemy to remain at a distance,
+she saw that all was lost, and mounting her fleetest dromedary, sought
+to escape into Persia, but was overtaken on the banks of the Euphrates
+and captured. When brought into the presence of her conqueror, and asked
+how she dared resist the power of Rome, she replied, "Because I
+recognize Aurelian alone as my sovereign."
+
+Zenobia was sent to Rome to grace the triumph of Aurelian. She entered
+the city on foot, preceded by her own chariot, with which she had
+designed, in the event of having won the victory, to make her grand
+entry into Rome as the triumphant "Queen of the East." But the fortunes
+of war subverted her ambitious scheme, and subjected her to the
+mortification of gracing a Roman triumph; yet for this indignity she
+felt that she was somewhat compensated in knowing that her appearance in
+Rome would create a sensation. In the grand procession she followed her
+chariot, so laden with jewels and chains of gold as to require the
+support of a slave to prevent her from fainting beneath the weight.
+
+After enjoying the satisfaction of a triumph, Aurelian treated his
+beautiful captive with kind consideration, and provided for her a
+delightful residence on the banks of the Tiber, where she passed the
+remainder of her days, honored by all as a matron of rare virtue and
+accomplishments. She lived to educate her daughters, and to see them
+contract noble alliances. Her descendants were ranked among the first
+citizens of Rome, and did not become extinct until after the fifth
+century.
+
+Near the commencement of the fifteenth century there appeared in France
+a brilliant meteor,--a youthful maiden, whose development of character
+was as mystical as it was heroic. Joan of Arc was born of obscure
+parents, in an obscure village on the borders of Lorraine, and was bred
+in a school of simplicity. She possessed beauty, united with an amiable
+temper and generous sympathies. In her religious faith she was sincere,
+even angelic. Her love of country was ardent and irrepressible. Finding
+her country-men distracted by a bitter partisan feeling, she identified
+herself with the patriots, and desired to secure the coronation of
+Prince Charles, as the only means, in her belief, of restoring the
+authority of the legitimate government. The reigning king had become
+hopelessly demented, and anarchy prevailed in almost every part of his
+dominions.
+
+The rival houses of Orleans and Burgundy were contending for the
+supremacy, and had entered upon a career of murder and massacre, instead
+of adopting a regular system of warfare. Both parties invoked the aid of
+the English, who interfered in behalf of Burgundy; but instead of
+affording relief, their interference only imposed still weightier
+calamities on the country. At this crisis a prophecy became current
+among the people, that a virgin would appear and rid France of her
+enemies. This prophecy reached the ear of Joan of Arc, and inspired her
+with the belief that she was the chosen one of Heaven to accomplish the
+work.
+
+In confirmation of this belief, she heard mysterious voices which came
+to her in her dreams, and which she regarded as divine communications,
+directing her to enter upon her great mission. On conferring with her
+parents in relation to the matter, they advised her to abandon her mad
+scheme, and desired her to marry and remain with them in her native
+village; but she declined, insisting that the current
+prediction--"France shall be saved by a virgin"--alluded to her. The
+English army had already besieged Orleans, and all hope of saving the
+city seemed lost. Her friends, regarding her as endowed with
+supernatural powers, provided her with a war-horse and a military
+costume, and sent her with an escort to the court of Prince Charles,
+whom she had never seen, but whose cause she had espoused.
+
+He received her with distrust, though he desired her proffered
+assistance. In order to avoid being charged with having faith in
+sorcery, he handed her over to a commission of ecclesiastics, to
+ascertain whether she was inspired of Heaven, or instigated by an evil
+spirit. Among other tests, the ecclesiastics desired her to perform
+miracles. She replied, "Bring me to Orleans, and you shall witness a
+miracle; the siege shall be raised, and Prince Charles shall be crowned
+king at Rheims." They approved her project, and she received the rank
+of a military commander.
+
+She then demanded a mysterious sword which she averred had been
+concealed by a hero of the olden time within the walls of an ancient
+church. On search being made, the sword was found and delivered to her.
+In a short time, with this mysterious sword in hand, she appeared at the
+head of an enthusiastic army, within sight of the besieged city of
+Orleans. The English army was astonished at the novel apparition. She
+advanced, and demanded a surrender of the city, but was indignantly
+refused; yet the citizens of Orleans were elate with joy at the prospect
+of relief. Joan boldly assaulted the outposts, and carried them. The
+besieged citizens, who had escaped outside the walls, now rallied under
+her banner, and swelled the ranks of her army. Fort after fort was
+captured. The English fought with desperation. Joan, cheering on her
+brave forces, and calling on them to follow, seized a scaling-ladder,
+and ascended the enemy's breastworks, when she was pierced with an arrow
+in the shoulder, and fell into the fosse. Her undaunted followers
+rescued her, when she, seeing her banner in danger, though faint and
+bleeding, rushed forward, seized and bore it off in triumph. The English
+army, amazed at this, and believing her more than human, became
+panic-stricken, and retreated in confusion. In their flight they lost
+their commander and many of their bravest men. Thus, in one week after
+her arrival at Orleans, she compelled the English to abandon the siege.
+In truth, she had performed a miracle, as her country-men believed, and
+as she had promised the ecclesiastics she would do. For this brilliant
+achievement she acquired the title, "Maid of Orleans."
+
+In addition to this, she subsequently fought several severe battles with
+the English and defeated them. Even the sight of her approaching banner
+often terrified the enemy into a surrender. In less than three months
+from the commencement of her career, she saw Prince Charles crowned king
+at Rheims. In gratitude for her pre-eminent and timely services in his
+cause, Charles issued his royal edict ennobling her and her family. Not
+long after this, the opposing faction of King Charles captured the Maid
+of Orleans, as she was now called, and imprisoned her in a strong
+fortress. She attempted to escape by leaping the walls, but was secured
+and transferred to the custody of the English. The University of Paris,
+at the instance of dominant ecclesiastics, demanded her trial on the
+charge of sorcery and the assumption of divine powers. The judges,
+intolerant as the priests, condemned her to be burned at the stake. Her
+friends were overawed, and failed to interfere in her behalf. The only
+condition in her sentence was recantation and the acknowledgment of the
+supremacy of the Church. In view of so terrific a death, she recanted;
+but hearing the mysterious voices of her former dreams upbraid her, she
+re-asserted her faith in her divine mission, was again seized at the
+instance of the priesthood, and the cruel sentence of death at the stake
+carried into execution.
+
+Never did a sadder fate overtake an innocent, patriotic, and
+noble-hearted woman. Her only crime was her love for her country, and
+her contempt for ecclesiastical assumption. Her purity of life was never
+questioned. It was said of her that she never allowed a profane word to
+be uttered in her presence. Her religion was a religion of the heart,
+too exalted for the times in which she lived. So sincere was the belief
+of the populace in her sanctity that many persons made pilgrimages from
+every part of the empire to touch her garments, believing that if they
+could be allowed the privilege, they would be especially blest, both in
+this life and in the life to come.
+
+There was no woman of the sixteenth century, perhaps, who was more
+conspicuous or more talented than Elizabeth, Queen of England. Highly
+educated in the ancient and modern languages, as well as in philosophy,
+she embraced at an early age the Protestant faith, and in consequence of
+the religious jealousies of the times, encountered great opposition in
+her advent to the throne, and while yet in her girlhood, suffered a long
+imprisonment in the Tower by order of her sister Mary, who was at that
+time the reigning queen. But events which transpired in 1558 resulted in
+the elevation of Elizabeth to the throne, at the age of twenty-five. So
+fearful were the Catholics of her influence in matters of faith that
+they sent to her a distinguished ecclesiastic, who demanded from her a
+declaration of her religious creed. To this intrusive demand she, being
+an adept at rhyming, replied, impromptu,--
+
+
+     "Christ was the Word that spake it;
+     He took the bread and brake it;
+     And what that Word did make it,
+     That I believe and take it."
+
+
+So frank and faultless was this avowal that it confounded the artful
+priest, who, feeling rebuked, went away as wise as he came, if not a
+little wiser.
+
+In her personal appearance Elizabeth was stately and majestic, but by no
+means remarkable for her beauty, or amiableness of temper. Her good
+judgment and discrimination enabled her to call to her aid wise men for
+ministers and counsellors. She patronized talent and intellect. It was
+during her reign that Spenser, Shakespeare, Raleigh, Bacon, and other
+eminent characters flourished, giving to her times and to literature the
+distinction of the "Elizabethan age." The leading events of her reign
+amply attest her capacity to grapple with emergencies in sustaining her
+prerogatives and in maintaining the defiant attitude of England. She
+loved money as well as power, and though penurious, wielded her power
+with decision, crushed domestic rebellion at a blow, removed her fears
+of Mary, Queen of Scots, by consigning her to the block, defied the
+power of Spain, and with the timely assistance of a providential
+whirlwind, sank the Spanish Armada in the depths of the sea.
+
+Though unattractive, her charms induced sundry propositions of marriage,
+particularly from the King of Sweden, from the King of Spain, and from a
+young prince of France, twenty-five years younger than herself. For this
+young prince, it is said, she entertained a sincere attachment, and went
+so far as to place publicly on his finger a costly ring, as a pledge of
+their union, but being taken soon afterwards by some strange
+whimsicality, dismissed him, and thus gave him leisure to reflect on the
+vanity of human aspirations. Yet, like most artful women, she delighted
+in flirtations, and always retained in her retinue a few special
+favorites, among whom were the Earls of Leicester and of Essex. On these
+men she bestowed official positions of high rank, and evidently desired
+to make great men of them; but Leicester proved to be deficient in
+brains, and Essex turned traitor, and was finally executed.
+
+When advised to marry by her counsellors, she replied that she could not
+indulge such a thought for a moment, for she had resolved that the
+inscription on her tombstone should be:
+
+
+     "Here lies a queen who lived and died a virgin."
+
+
+In her seventieth year she died of grief, it is said, for having signed
+the death-warrant of Essex, for whom she entertained a sincere yet
+"untold love."
+
+The events of her reign wrought great changes in the destinies of
+nations. By her firm adherence to the Protestant faith, she contributed
+much towards enlarging and strengthening the foundations of civil and
+religious liberty. She succeeded by her wisdom and diplomacy in
+circumventing the subtle machinations of rival powers. In few words, it
+may be said of her that she was a noble specimen of _manly womanhood_.
+
+Catherine I., Empress of Russia, was born of obscure parents, near the
+close of the seventeenth century. In girlhood she was known by the name
+of Martha, until she embraced the Greek religion, when her name was
+changed to Catherine. Her father died when she was but three years old,
+and left her to the care of an invalid mother in reduced circumstances.
+When old enough to be useful, Catherine devoted her services to the care
+and support of her mother, and in attaining to womanhood, grew to be
+exceedingly beautiful. Her mother had instructed her in the rudiments of
+a common education, which she afterwards perfected under the tuition of
+a neighboring clergyman. Among other accomplishments, Catherine acquired
+a knowledge of music and dancing, and soon became as attractive for her
+elegance of manners as she was celebrated for her beauty.
+
+In 1701, she married a Swedish dragoon, and immediately accompanied him
+to the military post assigned him in the war which had just broken out
+between Sweden and Russia. In a battle which soon followed, she was
+taken prisoner by the Russians. Her personal charms soon attracted the
+attention of Peter the Great. What became of her husband is not known,
+but may be imagined. At any rate, the emperor succeeded in winning her
+affections, acknowledged her as his wife, and placed the imperial
+diadem on her head and the sceptre in her hand. She soon proved herself
+to be a woman of wonderful tact, shrewdness, and judgment, and obtained
+an unbounded influence over her husband. In fact, her advice controlled
+his action; and in following it, he acquired the enviable and lasting
+title of "Peter the Great." Like her, thousands of women have made their
+husbands great men, and often out of very indifferent materials.
+
+After Peter's death, Catherine was proclaimed empress and autocrat of
+all the Russias. Her reign, though short, was brilliant. Her frailties,
+if she had any, were few, and ought to be attributed to the character of
+her favorites rather than to herself. She died at the early age of
+forty-two, after a brief reign of a little less than two years as sole
+empress. Her native endowments constituted her brightest
+jewels,--modesty, simplicity, and beauty; it was these angelic gifts
+which elevated her from the obscurity of rural life to the throne of a
+great empire.
+
+Here let us turn from the Old World to the New, and look into the
+parlor, instead of the palace, for specimens of true womanhood. It is in
+the private walks of life, in the domestic and social circles, that we
+must look if we would contemplate the character of woman in its purest
+and proudest development. It is in her daily exhibition of heart, soul,
+sympathy, generosity, and devotion that woman attains to perfection and
+crowns herself with a diadem. Everywhere in this great Republic are
+thousands of women whose excellence of character challenges our
+admiration. Among those who have passed into the better life, and whose
+names are recorded on the tablet of every American heart, is Martha
+Washington.
+
+In her character we have the character of an accomplished American lady.
+Few, if any, have ever excelled her. When the war of the Revolution
+commenced, she accompanied her husband, who had just been appointed
+commander-in-chief of the American armies, to the military lines about
+Boston, and witnessed the siege and evacuation of that city. She was
+ever the guardian spirit of the general, and aided him materially in his
+military career by her wise counsels and timely attentions. While he
+reasoned logically and deliberately, she came to logical conclusions
+instantly, without seeming to reason,--a faculty of logic which
+characterizes almost every woman.
+
+In her figure, Martha was slight; in her manners, easy and graceful; in
+her temper, mild yet cheerful; in her conversation, calm yet
+fascinating; in her looks beautiful, especially in her youthful days.
+So universally admired and respected was she, that everybody spoke of
+her as "Lady Washington."
+
+She did the honors of the presidential mansion with polished ease,
+dignity, and grace. Her connubial life with Washington was not less
+exemplary than it was happy. His regard for her was as profound as her
+devotion to him was sincere. So solicitous was she for preserving his
+good name and fame that immediately after his death, she destroyed all
+the domestic letters which he had addressed to her, for fear they might
+some day be published, and be found to contain some word or expression
+of a political nature which might be construed to his prejudice.
+
+Faithful as a wife, as a friend, and as a Christian, she proved herself
+a model woman. She survived her husband but two years, and died at the
+age of seventy. In life she occupied a position which queens might envy,
+and in death bequeathed a memory which will be cherished in a nation's
+heart, when the proud monuments of kings and queens have crumbled into
+dust and been forgotten.
+
+If it could be done without making invidious distinctions, it would be
+no less delightful than instructive to refer specifically to the names
+and deeds of many other American women who have graced the age in which
+they lived, and added lustre to the annals of our Republic. But we must
+content ourselves by alluding to them in general terms; and in doing
+this, we must admit the fact that the noble deeds and exalted virtues of
+woman occupy a much less space in the world's history than they ought.
+
+It is sufficiently evident to everybody that women, in all the relations
+of life, exhibit a keener appreciation of right and wrong than men.
+Hence they are usually the first to approve what is right, and the last
+to concur in what is wrong. It was this devotion to principle which
+induced American women in the days of the Revolution to submit to the
+severest trials and deprivations, while they encouraged their sons,
+husbands, and brothers to go forth to the battle-field in defence of
+their country. In proof of their patriotism, these noble women, with
+their own hands and with cheerful hearts, spun, wove, knit, and baked
+for the brave and suffering soldiers, and even made an offering of their
+jewels on the altar of liberty, and rather than see the enemy enriched
+by traffic and unjust revenues, complacently approved the policy which
+cast rich cargoes of their favorite beverage into the depths of the sea.
+
+It was the same spirit, the same patriotism, which inspired the women of
+our own times on a still broader scale, in the late struggle of the
+North to crush the rebellion of the South and sustain in all its purity,
+its honor, and its glory, the dear old flag of the Union. This great
+work has been done manfully and nobly, and at immense sacrifices of
+treasure and of blood; but it could not have been done without the aid
+and encouragement of woman. It was woman who held the key and unlocked
+the hearts of twenty millions of people, and induced them, by her
+pleading appeals, to pour out their noble charities, as from floodgates,
+to supply the urgent needs of the largest and bravest army the world
+ever beheld. It was woman whose delicate hand nursed the sick, the
+wounded, and the dying soldier, and whose sympathies and prayers soothed
+and cheered his departing spirit.
+
+In the sanitary commission, in the Christian commission, woman was the
+master-spirit, the angel of mercy, the music of whose hovering wings
+animated the weary march of our gallant volunteers, and inspired their
+souls with invincible courage. It is woman who weaves the only wreath of
+honor which a true-hearted hero desires to wear on his brow, and the
+only one worthy of his highest aspirations. It is an indisputable fact
+that the power, the patriotism, and the influence of woman constitute
+the great moral elements of our Republic, and of our civil and
+religious institutions.
+
+It is the educated and accomplished women of our country who have
+refined the men as well as the youth of the land, and given tone to
+public sentiment. It is this class of women who have purified our
+literature, and moulded it to harmonize with the pure principles of a
+Christian philosophy. In the fine arts, and even in the abstruse
+sciences, women have excelled as well as men. In the catalogue of
+distinguished authors there are to be found, both in this country and in
+Europe, nearly as many women as men. From the facts which we have
+already adduced, it is evident enough that woman, in the exercise of
+intellectual, if not political power, is fully the equal of man; while
+in tact and shrewdness she is generally his superior. According to the
+old but truthful saying, it is impossible for a man to outwit a shrewd
+woman; and instead of asking, What can a woman do? we should ask, What
+is there a woman cannot do?
+
+Whenever women are left to take care of themselves in the world, as
+thousands are, they should not only have the right, but it is their
+duty, to engage in any of the industrial pursuits for which they are
+fitted. The principal difference between man and woman is physical
+strength; and for this reason the lighter employments should be
+assigned to women. In whatever employment men are out of place, women
+should take their place; especially in retailing fancy goods, in
+book-keeping, in telegraphing, in type-setting, in school-teaching, and
+in many other like employments; nor need they be excluded from the
+learned professions. In fact, we already have lady clergymen and lady
+physicians; and some think the character of the Bar would be much
+elevated by the admission of lady lawyers. We cannot doubt that
+unmarried ladies, if admitted, would excel in prosecuting suits
+commenced by "attachment," but in other cases their success is not
+assured, if we may judge from the following incident: A lady lawyer of
+presidential aspirations, in conducting a suit before the late Judge
+Cartter in the district court at Washington, was opposed by an eminent
+lawyer of the other sex, who raised a vexed legal question which had not
+been "dreamed of in the philosophy" of the lady lawyer, and which so
+perplexed her that she, in the midst of her embarrassment, appealed to
+the judge for advice as to the course she had better pursue. The judge,
+who hesitated somewhat in his utterances, replied, "I think you had
+_bet-bet-better_ employ a lawyer."
+
+If women choose to compete with men in any of the learned professions,
+or in any other pursuit, and are fitted to achieve success, there is
+nothing in the way to prevent them; yet it does not follow that they can
+take the places of men in everything, especially in those employments
+which require masculine strength and great physical endurance. Nor does
+it follow that women who pay taxes should therefore have the right of
+suffrage. The fact that they hold property does not change their
+_status_, nor does it confer political rights.
+
+The right of suffrage is a political right and not a natural right. The
+exercise of this political right carries with it the law-making power,
+the duty of protecting persons and property, and consequently of
+maintaining and defending the government. They who make the government
+are therefore bound to defend it. Nature never intended that women
+should become soldiers and face the cannon's mouth in the battle-field;
+nor did she give them strength to construct railroads, tunnel mountains,
+build war-ships, or man them. Yet women, prompted by affection or
+romantic sentiment, have been known to become soldiers in disguise, and
+perhaps have fought bravely in the battle-field. But this, of itself,
+proves nothing; it is merely an exception to a general rule, or in other
+words, an eccentricity of character. In all ages of the world, as we
+have shown, the mere force of circumstances has occasionally unsphered
+woman and placed her in unnatural situations, in which she has sometimes
+achieved a brilliant success,--on the throne and off the throne, in
+peace and in war, in political life and in social life. Yet in stepping
+out of her sphere, whatever may be her success, every true woman feels
+that she "o'ersteps the modesty of nature."
+
+When woman glides into her natural position,--that of a wife,--it is
+then only that she occupies her appropriate sphere, and exhibits in its
+most attractive form the loveliness of her character. Marriage is an
+institution as essential to the stability and harmony of the social
+system as gravity is to the order and preservation of the planetary
+system. In the domestic circle the devoted wife becomes the centre of
+attraction, the "angel of the household." Her world is her home; her
+altar, the hearthstone. In her daily ministrations she makes herself
+angelic by making home a heaven, and every one happy who may come within
+the "charmed circle" of her kind cares and generous sympathies. In fact,
+there is no place like home, "sweet home," when on its sacred altar
+burns the blended incense of harmonious souls,--
+
+
+     "Two souls with but a single thought;
+     Two hearts that beat as one."
+
+
+It is certain that man and woman were never created to live independent
+of each other. They are but counterparts, and therefore incomplete until
+united in wedlock. Hence they who prefer single blessedness are justly
+chargeable with the "sin of omission," if not the "unpardonable sin." It
+is difficult to estimate the fearful responsibilities of those
+fossilized bachelors who persist in sewing on their own buttons and in
+mending their own stockings. Yet these selfish gentlemen frankly admit
+that there may have been such a thing as "true love" in the olden times,
+but now, they say, the idea has become obsolete; and if a bachelor were
+to ask a young lady to share his lot, she would immediately want to know
+how large the "lot" is and what is its value. In further justification
+they quote Socrates, who, being asked whether it were better for a man
+to marry or live single, replied, "Let him do either and he will repent
+it." But this is not argument, nor is it always true, even in a sordid
+marriage, as appears in the following instance: Not long since, in New
+York, a bachelor of twenty-two married a rich maiden of fifty-five, who
+died within a month after the nuptials and left him a half-million of
+dollars. He says he has never "repented" the marriage.
+
+The age in which we live is one of experiment and of novel theories,
+both in religion and in politics. In modern spiritualism we have
+entranced women, who give us reports from the dead. In modern crusades
+we have devout women, who visit tippling-houses and convert them into
+sanctuaries of prayer. In politics we have mismated and unmated women,
+who hold conventions, clamor for the ballot, and advocate the doctrine
+of "natural selection."
+
+It is true that every marriageable woman has a natural right to select,
+if not elect, a husband; and this she may and ought to do, not by
+ballot, but by the influence of her charms and her virtues. If all
+marriageable men and women were but crystallized into happy families,
+earth would soon become a paradise. Yet if this were done, we doubt not
+there would still remain some "strong-minded" women, who would get up a
+convention to reform paradise. The truth is, the women will do pretty
+much as they please, and the best way is to let them.
+
+Yet all must admit that a woman of refinement is not only a ruling
+spirit, but "a power behind the throne greater than the power on the
+throne." Her rights are therefore within her own grasp. Among these she
+has the right, and to her belongs the responsible duty, of educating her
+children in first principles, and in those sanctified lessons which
+have been revealed to man from heaven. It is the mother's precepts
+which constitute the permanent foundation of the child's future
+character. Hence no woman is really competent to discharge the
+responsible duties of a mother as she ought, unless she has first been
+properly educated. There can be no object more deserving of
+commiseration, perhaps, than a mother who is surrounded by a family of
+young children, and yet is so ignorant as to be unable to instruct them
+in the rudiments of a common-school education and in the fundamental
+principles of a Christian life. The character of every child, it may be
+assumed, is essentially formed at seven years of age. The mother of
+Washington knew this, and felt it, and in the education of her son,
+taught him at an early age the leading truths of Christianity. She took
+the Bible for her guide, and taught him to take the Bible for his guide.
+His subsequent career proves that he adhered to the instructions of his
+mother. When he came to pay her a visit, at the close of the war, after
+an absence of seven long years, she received him with the overflowing
+heart of a mother, as her dutiful son, and thought of him only as a
+dutiful son, never uttering a word in reference to the honors he had won
+as a military chieftain.
+
+Soon after this, General Lafayette, wishing to make the acquaintance of
+the mother of Washington before returning to France, called at her
+residence in Virginia, and introduced himself. He found her at work in
+the garden, clad in a homespun dress, and her gray head covered with a
+plain straw hat. She saluted him kindly, and calmly remarked, "Ah,
+Marquis, you see an old woman; but come, I can make you welcome in my
+poor dwelling without the parade of changing my dress." In the course of
+conversation Lafayette complimented her as the mother of a son who had
+achieved the independence of his country, and acquired lasting honors
+for himself. The old lady, without the least manifestation of gratified
+pride, simply responded, "I am not surprised at what George has done,
+for he was always a very good boy." What a noble response, in its moral
+grandeur, was this! Certain it is that such a mother was worthy of such
+a son. A monument, plain, yet expressive in its design, has been erected
+at Fredericksburg to her memory. It bears this simple, yet sublime
+inscription:
+
+
+     "Mary, the Mother of Washington."
+
+
+The extent of woman's moral power can only be limited by the extent of
+her capacities. In every circle, whether domestic, social, or political,
+the accomplished woman is a central power--_imperium in imperio_; and
+though she may not directly exercise the right of suffrage, yet her
+influence and her counsels, even an expression of her wish, enable her
+to control the political, as well as the social, destinies of men and of
+nations. It is in this way that she may "have her way." It was the
+accomplished wife of Mr. Monroe who made him President of the United
+States. She was the first to propose his name as a candidate. Her
+influence with members of Congress induced them to concur in advocating
+his election; he was elected. His administration, as we all know, was
+distinguished as "the era of good feeling."
+
+The prevalent idea that women need less education than men is a gross
+error, worthy of heathendom perhaps, but entirely unworthy of
+Christendom. Let women be as generally and as liberally educated as men,
+and, my word for it, the question of woman's rights would soon settle
+itself. The right of women to be thus educated cannot be doubted,
+because it is a divine right, and because God has made woman the
+maternal teacher of mankind, and the chief corner-stone of the social
+fabric. Yet she should be educated with reference to her proper sphere
+as woman,--a sphere which is higher than that of man in the economy of
+Nature. Her capacities for industrial pursuits, such as are consistent
+with her physical abilities, should be developed so that she may be
+qualified to provide for herself, and to sustain herself in life's
+battle, if need be, without the aid of a "companion in arms."
+
+Nevertheless, marriage is one of Heaven's irrevocable laws. It is, in
+fact, the great law of all animal-life, and even of plant-life. Nowhere
+in Nature is there a single instance in which this law is not obeyed, in
+due time, except in the case of mankind. Why is this? It certainly would
+not be so if it were not for some grand defect in our social
+system,--some false notions acquired by education, which are peculiar to
+our civilization, and which induce apostasy to truth and natural
+justice. Man was created to be the protector of woman, and woman to be
+the helpmeet of man. Each therefore has an appropriate sphere; and the
+obligations of each are mutual, growing out of their mutual interest and
+dependence. The sphere of the one is just as important as the sphere of
+the other. Neither can live, nor ought to live, without the aid, the
+love, and the sympathy of the other. Whether so disposed or not, neither
+can commit an infraction of the other's rights, without violating a law
+of Nature.
+
+Whatever may be the evils of our present social or political system, it
+is evident that the right of suffrage, if extended to woman, could not
+afford a remedy, but on the contrary, would tend to weaken, rather than
+strengthen, mutual interests, by creating unwomanly aspirations and
+domestic dissensions, thus sundering the ties of love and affection
+which naturally exist between the sexes. In a word, it would be opening
+Pandora's box, and letting escape the imps of social and political
+discord, and finally result in universal misrule, if not in positive
+anarchy.
+
+Modesty and delicacy are the crowning characteristics of a true woman.
+She naturally shrinks from the storms of political strife. Give her the
+right of suffrage,--a boon no sensible woman desires; place her in
+office, in the halls of legislation, in the Presidential chair; enrobe
+her with the judicial ermine, or make her the executive officer of a
+criminal tribunal,--and how could she assume the tender relations of a
+mother, and at the same time officiate in any of these high places of
+public trust, in which the sternest and most inflexible duties are often
+required to be performed?
+
+It is not possible, however, that the erratic comets, whose trailing
+light occasionally flashes athwart our political sky, will ever acquire
+sufficient momentum to jostle the "fixed stars" out of place, because
+there is a fixed law of Nature which preserves them in place. There is
+also a law of Nature which makes man not only the protector, but the
+worshipper, of woman,--a worship which is as instinctively paid as
+reciprocated, and which is by no means inconsistent with the worship of
+God, but in truth is a part of it. It is this kind of worship--this
+natural and holy impulse of the heart--which constitutes the basis of
+man's rights and of woman's rights, and should harmonize all their
+relations in life.
+
+We see the instinctive exhibition of man's reverence for women almost
+every day of our lives, and often in a way that proves how ridiculous
+are modern theories in regard to woman's rights, when brought to the
+test in practical life. Not long since, in one of our cities where a
+woman's rights convention was in session, a strong-minded female
+delegate entered a street railway car, when an old gentleman arose to
+give her his seat, but at that moment, suspecting her to be a delegate,
+asked, "Be you one of these women's righters?"--"I am." "You believe a
+woman should have all the rights of a man?"--"Yes, I do." "Then stand up
+and enjoy them like a man." And stand up she did,--the old gentleman
+coolly resuming his seat, to the great amusement of the other
+passengers.
+
+Whatever maybe the pretensions of agitators, it is certain that no
+woman of refined culture, or of proper self-respect, will attempt to
+step outside of her appropriate sphere. This she cannot do if she would,
+without doing violence to the sensibilities of her nature. When true to
+herself, woman, like the lily-of-the-valley, prefers the valley, where
+she can display her native loveliness in comparative retirement, secure
+from the inclemencies of a frowning sky; while man, born with a more
+rugged nature, prefers, like the sturdy oak, to climb the hills and the
+mountains, where he delights to breast the assaults of storm and
+tempest, and to fling the shadow of his stately form over the valley, as
+if to protect the ethereal beauty of the lily from the too ardent gaze
+of the sun. And, though a solitary flower may sometimes be seen climbing
+the mountain height, it is only the modest lily-of-the-valley--the true
+woman--whose cheering smile man aspires to share, and whose purity of
+character calls into exercise his reverent admiration.
+
+
+     "Honored be woman! she beams on the sight,
+     Graceful and fair as an angel of light;
+     Scatters around her, wherever she strays,
+     Hoses of bliss on our thorn-covered ways;
+     Roses of paradise, sent from above,
+     To be gathered and twined in a garland of love!"
+
+
+
+
+AIM HIGH.
+
+
+In addressing you as a graduating class, permit me to suggest for your
+consideration a few thoughts on the importance of regarding self-culture
+not only as a duty, but as the only means of elevating and ennobling
+your aspirations in life.
+
+Though you have completed your academical course with a degree of
+success which does you credit, you should remember that the great work
+of education still lies before you, and that the formation of your
+characters and the shaping of your destinies are committed to your own
+hands. And here let me assure you that it is little rather than great
+things which mark the character of a true gentleman. In fact, there is
+but one way in which a refined education can be acquired, and that is,
+"little by little."
+
+It is thus from day to day, from year to year, from everybody, and from
+everything, that you may learn, if you will, something new, something
+useful; and though you care not to do it, yet you will, in spite of
+yourselves, learn something, good or evil, just as you may choose to
+apply it.
+
+You certainly have the power to choose between good and evil,--in other
+words, to achieve the loftiest aims. Yet in directing your aspirations,
+you must adapt means to ends; collect your materials and refine them,
+and in refining them give them the brilliancy of costly jewels,--jewels
+which you can wear with becoming grace and dignity wherever you may go,
+and at all times and under all circumstances.
+
+The acquisition of a mere book-knowledge, however desirable, will avail
+you but little, unless you acquire at the same time correct habits and
+principles, united with refinement of manners. The world will be likely
+to take your personal appearance, your style of dress and address, as
+the true index of your character, and whether deceived at first view or
+not, will finally estimate you at your true value. In perfecting your
+education, it is not to be expected that you are to master every branch
+of human learning, but rather that you are to make your life a life of
+thought, of study, of observation, of strife to excel in all that is
+good, and in doing good.
+
+In attempting to achieve great things in the world, you must not
+overlook little things,--little attentions, little civilities due to
+others with whom you may come in contact; for your claims to
+consideration will be estimated by the character of your conduct in
+social life. There are certain conventionalities recognized in good
+society which you must respect, and to which you must conform, if you
+would be well received. Your manners and habits are therefore of vital
+importance as elements of character.
+
+It has been truly said that man is a "bundle of habits." It may be said
+with equal truth that our own worst enemies are "bad habits." We all
+know that bad habits fasten themselves upon us, as it were, by stealth;
+and though we may not perceive the influence which they exert over us,
+yet other persons perceive it, remark it, and judge us accordingly. The
+formation of correct habits in early life is comparatively easy, while
+the correction of bad habits, when once formed, is always difficult,
+especially in more advanced years. In a word, if you would become model
+characters, you must discard all bad habits, all odd habits, all that is
+ungracious or ungraceful in word, deed, or manner, and make it the
+leading rule of your life to observe the proprieties of life in all
+places and under all circumstances. In order to achieve all this, it is
+indispensable that you should study yourselves, watch yourselves,
+criticise yourselves, and know yourselves as others know you. The value
+of self-examination has been forcibly as well as beautifully expressed
+in a single stanza by Robert Burns,--
+
+
+     "O wad some power the giftie gie us
+     To see oursel's as ithers see us!
+     It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
+                  An' foolish notion:
+     What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
+                  An' ev'n devotion!"
+
+
+It is true that in relation to the laws of etiquette many books have
+been written, which are in fact more read than observed, and which are
+more perplexing than practical. No lady or gentleman was ever made truly
+polite, truly agreeable, truly amiable, by a strict observance of
+artificial rules. Something more is needed; something must be done. It
+is in the heart, in the exercise of all the moral and Christian virtues,
+that true politeness has its foundation. True politeness is never
+selfish, never ostentatious, but always overflowing with kindness,
+always angelic in its attributes. In word and deed, it is always
+considerate, delicate, and graceful; yet in its ministrations it always
+preserves its own self-respect, while it manifests its sincere respect
+for all that is good and for all that is meritorious.
+
+Heaven has imposed on us the duty of acquiring all the knowledge we can.
+In discharge of this heaven-born duty, we should begin at once the
+great work of self-culture,--a work never to be discontinued. He who
+would build a spacious and a lofty temple, a fit dwelling-place for
+divinity, must first lay the foundations broad and deep,--not in sand,
+but on a rock; and then, though storm and tempest beat against it, it
+cannot fall, because it is founded on a rock.
+
+But in adopting a system of self-culture, too much care cannot be
+bestowed on the cultivation of your manners, your attitudes, your style
+of conversation, and your expression of sentiment. In regard to manners,
+it is impossible to prescribe exact rules. The best models for you to
+copy are to be found in the manners of the model men and women of our
+country who give tone to society. At any rate, be governed by good sense
+and by the dictates of nature, so modified by art as to conceal art. To
+disguise art is the perfection of art. In this lies the secret power of
+angelic charms,--the charm of polished womanhood and manhood.
+
+In your social intercourse employ a pure and unambitious style of
+diction, and be careful to maintain a quiet and unobtrusive deportment;
+and above all things avoid singularities and eccentricities, nor attempt
+to attract attention for the sake of gratifying an overweening vanity.
+And while you manifest a due respect for others, be careful to maintain
+your own self-respect. Never indulge in exhibiting violence of temper;
+but on all occasions control your feelings and expressions, though
+provocations arise which justly excite your indignation.
+
+If you would attain to the highest possible standard of social
+refinement and moral virtue, you must rely on yourselves, must look into
+the mirror of your own hearts and behold your own defects, and then
+proceed at once to apply the appropriate remedies. To do this
+effectively may cost you much labor, yet the task will be found
+comparatively easy when you have resolved to execute it.
+
+It is not only your privilege, but your duty, to acquire knowledge from
+every source, as the bee gathers honey from every flower. Collect and
+compare facts; for in every fact, whether great or small, there lies hid
+a lesson of wisdom,--a logic which is not only irresistible, but divine.
+Theories are of but little value unless attested by facts. All mere
+theories are alike worthless, whether they relate to the physical or
+moral world. "Prove all things, and hold fast that which is good." No
+better rule than this, for your guidance through life, ever was or ever
+can be given. Facts, though "stubborn things," are never falsehoods. You
+may therefore regard facts as truth, as the kind of mental food you
+should acquire, digest, and convert into nutriment, and thus grow strong
+and wise, until you have realized the great fact that "man was created
+but a little lower than the angels."
+
+For the purpose of self-culture, in its highest sense, an ordinary
+lifetime seems quite too short, though prolonged to threescore years and
+ten. The value of time cannot be overestimated. If we would but consider
+how many precious moments we fritter away and lose in an unprofitable
+manner, we should see that it is the want of a due regard for the value
+of time, rather than a want of time, of which we should complain. It is
+not, therefore, the fault of a Divine Providence that we have not time
+enough to perfect ourselves in the arts of a refined civilization, and
+in the realization of the highest enjoyment of which our nature is
+capable. Whatever else you may lose, never lose a moment of time which
+can be profitably employed. A moment of time once lost can never be
+regained. Insignificant as a moment may seem, your destiny may depend on
+the improvement you may make of it, on the deed or thought it may
+prompt. Life, though long, is made up of moments, and terminates in a
+moment; and all true knowledge is founded in truth.
+
+If you would prolong your lives, and enjoy health and happiness
+accompanied with vigor of mind, study the laws of health and obey them.
+Make yourselves thoroughly acquainted with yourselves, by becoming
+acquainted with the physiology of the human system, and by living in
+compliance with the requisitions of its principles. Nature is the best
+physician you can employ, whatever may be your malady; but in order to
+be healed by her prescriptions, you must apply to her in time, and adopt
+the uniform and temperate habits of life which her laws require.
+
+It is said that Nature has her favorites. This may be true. It would
+seem that some persons are born poets, some philosophers, some fiddlers,
+some one thing, and some another. It may be said that such persons are
+specialists, born to accomplish a special purpose. They doubtless
+subserve the interests of mankind as models, or standards of merit, in
+their respective specialties; yet to be born a genius is not in itself a
+matter of merit, but it is the good one does in the world which creates
+merit and crowns life with honors.
+
+Nearly all of our truly great men are men of self-culture, who have
+acquired brains by the slow process of a lifelong industry in the
+pursuit of knowledge. This class of men are not only much more numerous
+than born geniuses, but much more useful. They have a wider range of
+intellect and wield a wider influence. They are men who read, think, and
+digest what they read. In their choice of books they select standard
+authors. They are not book-worms, devouring everything that is
+published; nor are they literary dyspeptics, who feed on sentimentalism
+and French cookery, but hale, hearty men, who prefer common-sense and
+roast beef,--caring more for the quality of their food than for the
+quantity.
+
+The world in which we live is a beautiful world. He who made it
+pronounced it good, and designed it for the residence of the good. It is
+in itself a paradise for all who choose to make it a paradise. In a
+physical sense, it is not only a beautiful world, but a great storehouse
+full of knowledge, full of wisdom, full of facts,--a record of the past
+and of the future, written by a divine hand. In short, it is the great
+Book of Life--of Revelation--in every word of which we may find an
+outspoken thought,--
+
+
+     "Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
+     Sermons in stones, and good in everything."
+
+
+In estimating your life-work, you should feel that yours is a high
+destiny, and that much is expected of you. If you would succeed in the
+world, you must have faith in yourselves as well as in a Divine
+Providence, and act upon the principle that "God helps those who help
+themselves." Wherever you go, make yourselves as acceptable and as
+agreeable to all with whom you come in contact as possible. If you would
+be preferred, prefer others; and if you would be beloved, scatter
+flowers by the wayside of life, but never plant thorns, and in all you
+do and say, unite modesty with simplicity and sincerity.
+
+There can be no true manhood or womanhood that does not rest on
+character, in the highest sense of the term. In fact, it is the
+character we bear that defines our social position. The formation of
+character is a work of our own, and requires the exercise of all the
+better and higher powers of our nature. On character depends not only
+our usefulness in life, but our individual happiness. Character is the
+engraved mark, or sign, by which every individual is known, and
+indicates the essential traits of his moral composition, the qualities
+of his head and heart, as displayed in his aspirations and in the work
+of his life. Character is more enduring than reputation. God respects
+character; man respects reputation. The one is as lasting as eternity;
+the other as evanescent as the bubble that glitters in the sunshine for
+a moment, and then disappears forever.
+
+In forming a true character, such an one as crowns the true man with an
+imperishable diadem, there are many things to be considered, especially
+the materials which enter into its moral masonry. Its foundation must be
+solid and immovable, its superstructure chaste and elegant, and its
+proportions harmonious and beautiful. Like a temple built for the gods,
+it should be worthy of the gods. It should be not only beautiful in its
+exterior, but be in its interior the life-work of a truly heroic soul.
+
+Character represents soul. As character is moulded by human
+instrumentalities, so is soul. Soul is therefore the essence of a true
+manhood, a living principle that cannot die. It is an influence in
+itself, and out of itself, felt everywhere and forever. It is the moral
+life and the eternal life. Like a pebble cast into the broad ocean, its
+impulse is sensibly felt by the entire ocean; every particle moves a
+particle, until the vast deep is moved. Such is individual influence. If
+character, then, be what it should be, truthful, noble, divine, it will
+necessarily be godlike, and exert an influence in harmony with the
+benevolent designs of Heaven.
+
+And yet there are thousands who seem to live without purpose,--live
+merely to vegetate. Of course such persons do not live in earnest, and
+hence do nothing in earnest. They have life, but no lofty aspirations.
+They may have souls; but if so, they remain undeveloped. In fact,
+persons of this character have no character, no earnest work, no
+significance. And for this reason, though living, they are literally
+dead. If we would make the world what it should be, we must first make
+ourselves what we should be. The work must begin at home in our own
+hearts, and with a view to our own moral needs.
+
+In the cultivation of a pure heart-life, we should begin by cultivating
+"a conscience void of offence." If we would unlock the gate of paradise,
+we must look for the key where it is to be found. We may rest assured
+that it cannot be found in an uncultivated field of brambles and briers,
+nor amid the rubbish of a misspent life; yet to find it, only requires
+diligent search. Though everything beautiful, everything noble,
+everything sublime, may lie in the distance, yet it is attainable; it is
+the _ultimatum_ that we should seek,--something substantial, something
+eternal. Mere fame is nothing worth. It is a thing of earth, and not of
+heaven.
+
+There may be an innate feeling or principle that constitutes what is
+called conscience; yet it must be conceded that conscience is
+practically but the product or outgrowth of education, and may
+therefore be so moulded as to become the just or unjust judge of the
+moral questions which involve both our present and future welfare. How
+important, then, that this judge should not only be a righteous, but an
+educated judge, familiar with the principles of right and wrong, and
+stern in the application of them! In a word, conscience is the central
+life of character,--the silent monitor within our own breasts, whose
+moral influence controls our destiny.
+
+The law of love may be regarded as the great law which underlies all
+law, because it is divine. In fact, love is the law that pervades the
+universe, and in itself is sufficiently indicative of our moral
+obligations. He who is governed by it, cannot err. It is not, however,
+what we do for ourselves, but rather what we do for others, that can
+afford the most substantial happiness. If you would receive, you must
+give, influenced by a kind and generous spirit. "Overcome evil with
+good." In this way, like a moral Alexander, you may conquer the world.
+
+It is doubtless true that conscience, being essentially the outgrowth of
+education, is ever in a formative state, and may therefore be
+strengthened and elevated in its moral perceptions by culture. The more
+perfect its judgment, the more perfect the man or woman. There can be
+no religion without conscience; nor can there be conscience without
+religion. The one is a counterpart of the other; and equally true is it
+that the character of the one reflects the character of the other.
+
+A true religion does not consist in a mere profession of faith, nor in
+church membership, but in that which is the leading principle of our
+lives; in that which binds us to achieve an ultimate aim; in that which
+calls into exercise all our moral powers, and harmonizes our lives with
+the requisitions of the divine law. Yet any religion is better than
+none. Even the pagan is not destitute of a religion of some sort,
+however debased it may be. It is simply the refinement of a higher
+civilization which has made the difference between the pagan and the
+Christian. Nothing can be more important, therefore, than the kind of
+education which is bestowed on us in childhood, or the kind of
+self-culture which we choose to bestow on ourselves. And though
+circumstances may be adverse to our interests, it is our duty to conquer
+circumstances, and take into our own hands the fabrication of our
+fortunes. In this life every day brings with it new lessons; and though
+some of them may be pernicious, all of them have their value. If there
+were nothing evil, there would be nothing good,--for the reason that
+there would be no contrast, no standard of comparison. And yet between
+good and evil there is no halfway house, no "happy medium."
+
+In every question of right and wrong there are but two sides. The one or
+the other we must take, either directly or indirectly. We cannot take a
+neutral stand if we would; nor can we identify ourselves with both
+sides. Sincerity and hypocrisy are not born of the same parentage, and
+cannot therefore walk hand in hand, nor take the same social position.
+They are marked by a different sign, and by their sign they are readily
+recognized. Appear where they will, the one will be respected, the other
+despised.
+
+If you would excel in anything, in any particular pursuit, you must
+first resolve to excel, and then persevere, cost what it will. If you
+encounter lions in your path, exterminate them. In ascending mountains,
+make difficulties your stepping-stones, and never look back until you
+reach the summit, and can breathe freely in a pure atmosphere. If you
+would reach the stars, construct your own ladder, and climb until you
+not only reach them, but are crowned with them. The soul never becomes
+truly heroic until it becomes truly godlike in its aspirations and
+purposes.
+
+It is only in the practice of the cardinal virtues--prudence, justice,
+temperance, fortitude--that we acquire that divine power which alone can
+make us divine. It is only in the adoption of lofty aims that we can
+expect to reach a lofty ideal. Everything is possible to him who has
+resolved to make it possible. In other words, where there is a will
+there is a way. The will is the motive-power; if this be wanting, then
+all is wanting that goes to make up the character of an heroic soul. The
+world needs moral as well as physical heroes,--heroes who know their
+duty, and dare do it. In the battle of life none but the wise and the
+valiant can be safely intrusted with the command. The hostile powers of
+darkness, of ignorance, of superstition, challenge the field, and cannot
+be overcome without a severe conflict. The crisis has come. Whether
+armed or unarmed, you must meet the foe; for results you must trust in
+yourselves. It will never do to trust in shields, in breastplates, in
+fire-arms, or in faith without works. If you would conquer, you must go
+into battle inspired with lofty aims, and with a divine enthusiasm; then
+will victory perch on your standard, and the eagle of freedom,
+fire-eyed, pierce the sun.
+
+And yet you should remember that in your attempts to achieve success,
+you must deserve success. It is only in severe moral discipline that
+you can see what you need, and acquire what you need,--eminent virtue,
+industry, and sagacity. In social life, be social, amiable, and
+accomplished; in domestic life, be something more,--be kind,
+considerate, and sympathetic. Whether you have one or more talents,
+improve them; they will grow brighter by constant use. Whatever may be
+your capacities, never indulge in vain aspirations. However seductive
+the temptations which may beset you, never compromise your integrity.
+However ambitious you may be in your ultimate aims, regard a good moral
+character as of infinite value. Always true to yourselves, be true to
+others. Place implicit confidence in no one, but confide in the strength
+of your own individuality. In adversity be hopeful, and always look on
+the bright side of things.
+
+In selecting a profession or business for life, be governed by your
+natural taste or capacity,--your peculiar talent for this or that
+pursuit. If embarrassed by circumstances, never yield to them, but
+resolve to excel in whatever you undertake. Perseverance is the secret
+of success. If born with the gift of genius, make it available; do
+something new; invent something new; and in this way bequeath something
+valuable to mankind. In other words, live for mankind, and if need be,
+die for mankind. Adopt this as the religious sentiment of your life, and
+act in accordance with it, and your works will sufficiently attest the
+purity of your faith.
+
+And yet you are not required to crucify yourselves; but on the contrary,
+it is your duty, while striving to live for others, to live for
+yourselves, and thus make yourselves and your homes as happy as
+possible. It is not in the shade, but in the sunshine, that you should
+seek to live. It is only the _now_ of life, the fleeting present, of
+which you are certain. If, then, you would be prosperous, if you would
+be happy, if you would look to the future with a pleasing hope, so live
+as to feel that you are sustained, in all you do, by an approving
+conscience, and by the divine counsels of Infinite Wisdom. It is only by
+living thus that you can make life on earth what it should be,--a
+heaven-life.
+
+He who made all things has made no distinction between heaven and earth.
+It is man that has made the distinction. The natural atmosphere which
+surrounds the earth is pure and healthful; it is only the moral
+atmosphere that has become impure and deleterious. It needs no chemical
+agencies to purify it; it must be purified, if at all, by moral
+agencies. In other words, we must recognize our obligations to our
+fellow-men, and obey the "Golden Rule," as prescribed by the law of
+love, if we would succeed in making earth a heaven.
+
+Almost every American of culture has an object in view for which he
+lives,--some ultimate aim or aspiration which stimulates him to effort.
+It may be a desire to excel in some one of the learned professions, or
+to become a millionnaire, a hero in the battle-field, a Solon in the
+halls of legislation, perhaps President of the United States. In
+attempting achievements of this character, it should be remembered that
+knowledge is the basis of success. It is knowledge that gives power, and
+wisdom that should direct us in wielding it. Yet a man may be learned,
+and still be a cipher in the world. God gave to man a divine outline,
+and then left him to perfect himself, at least in a mental sense. This
+he must do, or remain an animal, and "feed on husks."
+
+Nearly all our great men are self-made men. This is true of Washington,
+Franklin, Jefferson, and scores of others who, like them, have acquired
+an enviable renown. Thus, in all ages of the world, have men of noble
+aspirations reached eminent positions and immortalized their names.
+
+It is somewhat surprising, however, that most of our American graduates
+look to the learned professions, rather than to a practical business
+life, as affording the widest field for the acquisition of wealth and
+high social position. This, it seems to me, is a great mistake. Not more
+than one professional man in ten ever rises above mediocrity in his
+profession, though he may prove to be useful, and succeed in acquiring a
+comfortable livelihood.
+
+In fact, the learned professions have yet to learn that the supply
+exceeds the demand. And hence there is but little use in attempting to
+shine as a "star" in any of the professions, unless you have a
+sufficient brilliancy to take rank as a "star of the first magnitude."
+
+And yet we cannot have too many men of liberal education; the more the
+better. They are needed in every pursuit in life, and in every place. It
+is not the occupation that dignifies a man, but the man that dignifies
+the occupation. When you have chosen a pursuit, whatever it may be, aim
+high. Yes,--
+
+
+     "Give me a man with an aim,
+        Whatever that aim may be;
+       Whether it's wealth or whether it's fame,
+        It matters not to me.
+       Let him walk in the path of right,
+       And keep his aim in sight,
+     And work and pray in faith alway,
+       With his eye on the glittering height.
+
+     "Give me a man who says,
+        'I will do something well,
+       And make the fleeting days
+        A story of labor tell.'
+       Though aim he has be small,
+       It is better than none at all;
+     With something to do the whole year through,
+       He will not stumble or fall.
+
+     "But Satan weaves a snare
+        For the feet of those who stray
+       With never a thought or care
+        Where the path may lead away.
+       The man who has no aim
+       Not only leaves no name
+     When this life is done, but, ten to one,
+       He leaves a record of shame.
+
+     "Give me a man whose heart
+        Is filled with ambition's fire;
+       Who sets his mark in the start,
+        And keeps moving higher and higher.
+       Better to die in the strife,
+       The hands with labor rife,
+     Than to glide with the stream in an idle dream,
+       And lead a purposeless life.
+
+     "Better to strive and climb
+        And never reach the goal,
+       Than to drift along with time,
+        An aimless, worthless soul.
+       Ay, better to climb and fall,
+       Or sow, though the yield be small,
+     Than to throw away day after day,
+       And never strive at all."
+
+
+
+
+AMERICA AND HER FUTURE.
+
+
+There is something in the very name of America, when applied to the
+United States, which carries with it an inspiring influence,--an ideal
+of freedom and of true manhood. In referring to the incidents of her
+origin, in connection with the events of her subsequent career, it would
+seem that America is none other than a "child of destiny."
+
+She was born amid the storms of a revolution, and commenced at birth to
+work out the great problems of civil and religious liberty. She has an
+abiding faith in herself, and believes it to be her mission to originate
+new views and discover new principles, as well as to try new experiments
+in the science of popular government. The greatest peculiarity in her
+character is that her past cannot be safely accepted as an index of her
+future; in other words, her past is not likely to be repeated. In fact,
+she does not wish to repeat or perpetuate anything that can be improved.
+Her political creed is as simple as it is brief,--the "greatest good to
+the greatest number;" and yet it is the most complex creed, perhaps,
+that ever existed, involving questions which have not been, and cannot
+be, satisfactorily settled.
+
+America knows what she has been, but does not know what she will be. It
+is doubtful if she knows what she would be. She has several favorite
+watchwords, such as progress, freedom, and equal rights, and but few, if
+any, settled opinions. Her present position, unstable as it may be, is
+her standpoint of judgment. In attempting to achieve what she most
+desires, she relies on experiment rather than precedent. In her forecast
+consist her welfare and her political sagacity; yet she can no more
+predict than control her future. None but a divine intelligence can
+comprehend the extent or grandeur of her future.
+
+One thing is certain, the rapidity of her career approaches railway
+speed. What impediments may lie in her track, or what collisions may
+occur, it is impossible for man to foresee. It would seem, however, that
+she is an instrumentality in divine hands; a nationality, whose task it
+is to work out the great problem of a just government,--one in which all
+political power is vested in the people, and exercised by the people for
+the common purpose of securing the greatest possible good to the
+greatest possible number. The right to live under such a government is
+a natural right, and should be accorded to every human being, the world
+over.
+
+In all human governments there are, and probably ever will be, more or
+less imperfections growing out of mistaken theories, or arising from
+their practical workings. Though it may not be possible by legislation
+or otherwise to remedy every imperfection, yet there can be no political
+inequality which may not be so far modified as to extend to every
+citizen equal rights and equal justice. There is a natural love of
+freedom and of justice implanted within the human breast, which lies at
+the foundation, not only of the political, but of the social, fabric.
+This love of freedom and of justice is an instinctive feeling, if not an
+inspired sentiment, which ennobles the patriot, and converts him into a
+hero. When oppressed, the true hero smites his oppressor. This is a law
+of his nature--an attempt to redress a wrong--and therefore an element
+of human government. When a civil government has been instituted,
+positive law becomes the rule of right. But when nations differ, and
+diplomacy fails in its mission, there remains no recognized alternative
+for adjustment but a reference to the arbitrament of the sword. This
+final method of redressing national wrongs has descended to modern times
+from the primitive ages of barbarism, and when adopted, as often
+terminates in perpetuating the wrong as in redressing it. It is, to say
+the least of it, a method which is entirely inconsistent with the
+refined civilization of the present age.
+
+There seems to be no good reason why an international code of laws might
+not be adopted by all civilized nations for their common government in
+redressing their grievances. If such a code could be framed and
+accepted, it would not only secure the just rights of nations from
+infraction as against each other, but would unite them in their mutual
+interests and sympathies by the indissoluble ties of a common
+fraternity. Then all differences and dissensions could be settled, as
+they should be, by negotiation or voluntary submission to arbitration;
+and then wars would cease, and rivers of blood no longer flow.
+
+Nations, in their relations to each other, are but individuals, and
+should, as such, be subjected to wholesome restraints by some recognized
+authority. The proper authority would seem to be a representative
+Congress of Nations. This view of the matter is an American idea, and
+one which has been suggested by American experience. The assumption that
+every nation is an independent sovereignty, if not absurd in theory, is
+by no means true in fact. No civilized nation can live within itself and
+for itself, but must and will, in order to supply its wants, hold
+commercial intercourse with other nations. The productions of the earth
+belong to man, and are essential, whether of this or that clime, to his
+health and happiness, and will therefore be sought and distributed. Even
+the social relations of one nation with another are hardly less
+conducive to the general welfare than their commercial relations,
+especially since steam-power and the telegraph-wire have comparatively
+made all men next-door neighbors.
+
+In these modern times no government which is not just in its
+administration can long survive without provoking a revolution. It is
+only as a last resort that revolution becomes an elementary right, and
+then it must succeed in order to be recognized as a right. Nations
+succeed each other as naturally as individuals, sooner or later. The
+interest of all, whether national or individual, is the interest of
+each. Hence mankind the world over should be regarded as a common
+brotherhood, entitled to the enjoyment of equal rights and equal justice
+as the legitimate sequence of their fraternal relationship. And yet
+neither in ancient nor in modern times do we find a perfect government.
+It is true, however, that we sometimes speak of our own American
+Republic as a perfect system of popular government; yet it is nothing
+more, in fact, than an unsatisfactory experiment. It is a system which
+grew out of circumstances, and one which changes with circumstances.
+
+It was near the close of the eighteenth century when America began to
+lose her affectionate regard for her mother England. This change in her
+affections grew out of the fact that the mother evinced a sincerer love
+for money than for the welfare of her daughter. Remonstrance, though
+calmly uttered, proved unavailing. It was then that America for the
+first time gave indications of possessing a proud puritanic spirit that
+would not brook oppression. The imposition of the Stamp Act had incurred
+her displeasure; nor did an invitation to "take tea" restore her to
+equanimity. Instead of condescending to take so much as a "sip" of that
+favorite beverage, she had the audacity to commit whole cargoes of it to
+the voracity of the "ocean wave." This offence provoked England to take
+an avowed hostile attitude. America, still unawed, proceeded to beat her
+ploughshares and pruning-hooks into broadswords; war, with all its
+horrors, ensued. The result was that after a seven-years contest,
+liberty triumphed, and American independence became an acknowledged
+fact.
+
+America had statesmen in those days who were men of pluck. When they
+signed the Declaration of American Independence, and proclaimed it to
+the civilized world, they took their lives in their hands, and so far as
+human foresight could determine, were as likely to reach the gallows as
+to maintain the position they had assumed. But fortune "favored the
+brave," and instead of ascending the gallows, they ascended the pinnacle
+of fame, and now take rank among
+
+
+     "The few, the immortal names
+     That were not born to die."
+
+
+It will be recollected that our Pilgrim Fathers, on landing at Plymouth
+Rock, entered into a written compact which contained the germs of a
+republic,--principles which were expanded in the subsequent articles of
+colonial confederation, and finally were so developed and enlarged in
+their sweep and comprehension as to constitute not only the framework,
+but the life and spirit, of the federal Constitution, which has been
+accepted as the written will of a free and magnanimous people. In a
+republic like ours, the popular will, when clearly expressed, commands
+respect and must be obeyed. There is no alternative, nor should there
+be. As Americans, we believe in the Constitution, and in the "stars and
+stripes," and would die, if need be, in their defence. We also believe
+in ourselves, and in our capacity to take care of ourselves. This great
+fact is sufficiently illustrated in our past history as a nation.
+
+When her population was but a small fraction of what it now is, America
+not only compelled England to acknowledge her independence, but also
+compelled her, in a subsequent war, to acknowledge the doctrine of "free
+trade and sailors' rights."
+
+Ever intent on enlarging the "area of freedom," America next sent out
+her armies and took possession of the ancient palaces of the Montezumas,
+and finally settled differences by accepting the "golden land" of
+California, nor thought it at the time much of a bargain. And last, not
+least, she suppressed within her own borders, despite the adverse
+influences of England, one of the most formidable rebellions the world
+ever beheld, and succeeded in restoring fraternal harmony throughout the
+Union.
+
+In the history of the world there have been many forms of human
+government, which have arisen at successive periods, and which may be
+classed as the patriarchal, the monarchical, the aristocratic, and the
+democratic. The last was originally a direct rule of the people, but
+from necessity and convenience has now become a representative
+government, chosen by the people, and controlled by their will and
+action as expressed through the medium of the ballot-box. The doctrine
+that "the majority must rule" is evidently based on the scriptural idea
+that in a "multitude of counsellors there is safety;" and yet this is
+not always true. Minorities are often right, and majorities wrong. What
+is right and what is wrong, is a matter of opinion, ever changing with
+the advance of civilization.
+
+Take any form of government you please, and analyze it, and you will
+find that its vitality and its ability to preserve itself, are based on
+physical power,--a power to coerce; and when this power fails, the
+government fails, and either anarchy or revolution is the inevitable
+consequence. Yet the moral power of a government, though it may not save
+it, is not less important than its physical power. When both are
+exercised with no other view than a sincere desire to promote the public
+welfare, the government is pretty certain of being sustained, and simply
+for the reason that it is approved by a generous and healthful public
+sentiment. But let public sentiment become corrupted by the influences
+of aspiring demagogues, or by men who avow principles in conflict with
+the public interests, and no government, however pure and just in its
+inception, can long command respect, or preserve its authority.
+
+Every nation has its representative men. America has hers. Cotton Mather
+was a Puritan and a theocrat; Benjamin Franklin, a patriot and a
+philosopher; George Washington, a great general and a model man; Thomas
+Jefferson, a true democrat and a wise statesman; Andrew Jackson, a hero
+at New Orleans, and a Jupiter in the Presidential chair; and Abraham
+Lincoln, a man of destiny, who crushed rebellion, and proclaimed freedom
+to four millions of slaves. These were the men of power in the hands of
+Divine Power; and yet they did not comprehend the sequence of their
+mission. Their achievements marked the age in which they lived, and will
+doubtless exercise a living influence, more or less controlling,
+throughout the coming ages of the civilized world.
+
+Nations, as well as individuals, have their destiny in their own hands.
+It is the character of the individuals constituting the nation which
+gives to the nation its true character. America began her career by
+laying the foundations of her character, not in the sand, but on the
+rock of free schools, free churches, and a free public press. Without
+these institutions true freedom can neither be acquired, nor be
+preserved. They are the only legitimate nurseries of a healthful and
+vigorous public sentiment. Preserve these institutions, and the nation
+will continue to be free and prosperous and happy and powerful and
+glorious. And yet there may be corrupting influences growing out of the
+manner in which a popular government is administered, or growing out of
+the exercise and extent of the right of popular suffrage.
+
+Indeed, it has already become a grave question how far it is safe to
+extend the right of suffrage. It cannot be denied that our American
+population is but an intermixture of different nationalities, thrown
+together by a common desire to become free men in a free land. Yet
+immigrants continue to come from the Old World, differing as widely in
+their political and religious education and predilections as in their
+language, customs, and social habits. It is this foreign element that
+makes our population what it is,--an assimilating, and yet an
+unassimilated mass. A five-years residence, under our present
+naturalization laws, entitles aliens to citizenship and the right of
+suffrage. When they have acquired citizenship, demagogues assume to be
+their best friends, only to deceive them and advance their own selfish
+aspirations. In this way the original peculiarities of the different
+nationalities are wrought into political subserviency, and employed as
+an element of power in securing the balance of power. It is in this way
+that the people are first corrupted, and then the government. It is in
+this way that we, as a nation, allow demagogues to educate the masses
+into a low and degrading estimate of what constitutes a popular
+government, and of what are its true legitimate objects.
+
+The right of suffrage is clearly a political, not a natural, right. It
+should be exercised with wisdom, and only with reference to the
+"greatest good to the greatest number." The ignorant cannot exercise
+this right with safety, for the reason that they are not sufficiently
+intelligent. A certain degree of education should therefore be regarded
+as an indispensable prerequisite. A mere residence of five years in the
+country, without the ability to read and write the English language,
+should not be accepted as a presumptive qualification, though
+strengthened by an oath of allegiance.
+
+There are some statesmen, as well as other persons, both in this country
+and in Europe, who are earnestly engaged in agitating the question of
+extending the right of suffrage to women, on the ground that women are
+citizens, and often own taxable property, and consequently have the same
+interest as men in securing and maintaining a just and proper
+administration of the government under which they live. While this is
+true, it is equally true that men are endowed by nature with more
+physical, if not more mental, strength than women, and have a higher
+regard for the diviner sex than they have for themselves, and
+consequently were created to be their protectors and guardians. In fact,
+the two sexes are but counterparts of each other. In Nature's
+arithmetic, the two count but one, and should be but one in heart and in
+life. But somehow or other, many of these counterparts get strangely
+mismatched, or are never matched at all. This is not a fault of Nature,
+but a defect in our social system. If it were considered as proper for
+women as for men to be the first to propose marriage, it would doubtless
+lead to the happiest results. But taking things as they are, the thought
+has occurred to me that it would be wise for the State to limit the
+right of suffrage to married men, for the reason that such men would
+naturally feel the deepest interest in sustaining a good government. Let
+the right to vote and to hold office depend on marriage, let the honors
+of State and of society be conferred on none but those who have honored
+themselves by assuming the duties and responsibilities of wedded life,
+and I doubt not that all marriageable bachelors would aspire to the
+honors of full citizenship, while marriageable women would soon find
+their proper places in their proper sphere, and the government become
+what it should be,--pure in its principles and just in its
+administration. America is in a transition state, and will in all
+probability continue to trust in the success of untried experiment,
+rather than rely on her past experience. But still there survives within
+the American breast a popular sentiment, which, like the magnetic
+needle, ever points to an unerring polar star. It is only amid clouds
+and storms that dangers arise, or become alarming. It is therefore
+important that the ship of State should be intrusted to none but skilful
+mariners. The pilot should appreciate the dignity of his position, and
+comprehend the extent of his responsibilities. Whether the "golden age"
+of America terminated with the outbreak of her great Civil Rebellion, or
+commenced at the date of its final suppression, remains, perhaps, an
+undecided question; yet there are thousands who believe that her golden
+age has passed, never to return. This may or may not be true.
+
+It is hardly to be expected, however, that a happier age will ever
+arrive than that which existed prior to the Southern Rebellion. The
+people generally, both North and South, before an appeal to arms
+occurred, were characterized by a genial sincerity in the expression of
+their political views and in the recognition of their constitutional
+obligations, as well as in their ecclesiastical connections and social
+relations. They, in fact, felt that they were akin to each other, and
+regarded each other as a common brotherhood, having mutual interests in
+sustaining a common government,--a government which their fathers had
+framed, and bequeathed to them and to coming generations. In this genial
+relation, for nearly a century, the North and the South enjoyed
+uninterrupted peace and prosperity; and America took her position as one
+of the great and powerful nations of the earth.
+
+It is to be hoped, however, that the result of the late Civil War will
+prove a "blessing in disguise," though laden with many unpleasant
+memories.
+
+If we cannot obliterate the "dark spots" in the sunlight of our past
+history as a republic, we can at least cultivate friendly relations and
+a liberal spirit, such as will give to our future history a spotless
+character.
+
+It now becomes a grave question whether the freedom of the emancipated
+slaves will prove a boon or a curse to them. As yet they cannot
+comprehend their relative position; nor can they foresee their ultimate
+though not distant destiny. As a race, they differ widely in their
+natural characteristics from the Saxon race among whom they have been
+diffused. They belong to Africa. The two races, being distinct in the
+conditions of their origin and physical structure, as well as in their
+temperament and tastes, can never harmonize as one people, either in
+their social or political relations, on the basis of a perfect equality.
+The thing is impossible, simply for the reason that the law of
+antagonism which exists between the two races is founded in Nature, and
+is therefore a divine law, which can neither be controlled nor
+essentially modified by legislation or education. In fact, a "war of
+races" has already become imminent, and must, when it does come,
+terminate in the expulsion, if not extinction, of the African race.
+
+In the future of America there are mystic events which time only can
+disclose. "Onward" is the watchword of the living present. Every
+American believes there is "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at
+the flood, leads on to fortune." The "almighty dollar" is his leading
+star. Hoards of gold and silver glitter in the distance. In acquiring
+wealth he acquires power. He knows that wealth is power; and hence the
+acquisition of wealth has become the ruling passion of the age. In other
+words, money supersedes merit, while moral honesty is held at a
+discount. Lamentable as the fact may be, it is evident that an
+unscrupulous desire to obtain wealth and political honors pervades all
+classes of American society, from the highest to the lowest.
+
+In order to facilitate the accumulation of wealth, and achieve their
+ambitious aims, individuals consolidate their capital in corporations,
+and corporations consolidate themselves into overgrown monopolies. In
+this way almost every leading branch of trade and of manufactures, as
+well as railroad interests, shipping interests, and telegraph lines, are
+merged in corporations,--in fact, nearly all that remains of
+individuality is lost in corporationality. Of course the mere
+individual, however meritorious, becomes literally powerless unless
+recognized by a corporation. Though a trite saying, it is nevertheless
+true that corporations are "soulless," and therefore devoid of human
+feeling and of human sympathies. Among the most formidable of these
+monopolies are the railroad corporations, ever busy in weaving their
+spider-like webs over the entire continent. In discharging their duties
+to the public they seldom subordinate their own interests.
+
+Almost every man of wealth in America is a stockholder in one or more
+incorporated companies, and will of course act politically, as well as
+individually, in accordance with his interests. Both the commercial and
+financial operations of the country are essentially in the hands of
+corporations. They in fact monopolize the banking institutions; and if
+they do not control, they evidently desire to control, the legislation
+and government of the entire country. Indeed, the time has already
+come, when in quite too many instances the popular voice yields to the
+corporative voice, while personal merit and qualification for office
+become questions of secondary importance. It is easy to be seen that
+corporative interests have become not only gigantic, but are engaged,
+with pick and spade, in undermining the very foundations of the
+Republic. If the people would preserve their equal rights, and enjoy the
+blessings of a free government, they must not only remember, but act on
+the principle, that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
+
+It is owing to the tendency of capital to combine its productive
+energies that working-men, as they are pleased to designate themselves,
+conceive the idea that capital and labor are antagonistic in their
+interests. Hence working-men, especially miners and mechanics, combine
+against capitalists for the purpose of securing higher rates of wages.
+In doing this, they resort to "strikes," violate their contracts, and
+dictate their own prices. If their terms are not accepted, they refuse
+to work, and the great leading industries of the country are crippled,
+if not suspended. A train of moral and physical evils follows, which are
+more seriously felt by the "strikers" than by capitalists. If movements
+of this kind are continued, the obvious result will be to drive capital
+out of the country to seek a more reliable investment. It is labor that
+produces capital, and capital that furnishes labor. The one must depend
+on the other. Their interests are therefore mutual, and both are
+entitled to equal protection; their relations to each other must
+necessarily be regulated by the law of supply and demand. There is no
+other law or power that can do it. If force be applied, it is certain to
+react. Yet the field is alike open to all. The laborer often becomes a
+capitalist, and the capitalist a laborer. What are known as "strikes,"
+therefore, can effect no lasting good to any one. They are but elements
+of social discord, which demagogues seize and control for their own
+aggrandizement. In fact, "Trades Unions" are nothing more nor less than
+organized conspiracies against capitalists and the best interests of the
+country. If tolerated, the government itself is in danger of being
+ultimately subverted. It is clear that the tendency of these unions is
+to produce disunion. They have already become so formidable in numbers
+and in political influence as to render it doubtful whether any
+legislation could be obtained, or military power enforced, which would
+either control or restrain them in their action and ultimate aims. In
+view of this state of things, it would seem that the time has come when
+the American people, as a nation, should pause and "take the sober
+second thought."
+
+It is often said that the world is governed too much. But so far as this
+country is concerned, the reverse seems much nearer the truth. Our
+government is presumed to be the creature of public opinion. In theory
+it is so; but in practice we generally find that what is called public
+opinion is manufactured by a few scheming politicians, through the
+instrumentalities of packed conventions and a subservient public press.
+And hence candidates for office are selected with a view to their
+availability rather than for their known capacity and integrity. This
+failure to select the best men of the country to govern it, and
+administer its laws, has already resulted in degrading American
+character by the corrupt practices which it has generated, if not
+sanctioned, in every department of government, whether federal, State,
+or municipal.
+
+In fact, dangers lurk on every side. There is no safety, unless it can
+be found in the virtue and intelligence of the people. If in this
+respect the people are deficient, it is the fault of their education.
+The rights of citizenship should depend on education, and the masses, if
+need be, should be educated by compulsion. As it now is, the learned
+professions are regarded as the main pillars that sustain the social
+fabric. They in fact give tone to public sentiment, and erect the
+standard of public morals. The masses accept their opinions, and seldom
+question their accuracy; and yet the masses are often misled. The few
+corrupt the many. Hence it is that we so often see the lawyer, the
+doctor, and even the clergyman, swayed in their action by political
+incentives; and especially is this true of professed politicians and
+official dignitaries. As a matter of course, public sentiment becomes
+demoralized, and almost every species of fraud and corruption comes to
+be regarded as quite respectable. If for this state of things there be a
+remedy, it is only to be found in our public schools and in the moral
+teachings of our churches. It is here that the work of reform must
+begin, the sooner the better. It should begin by re-laying the
+foundations of the Republic deeper and broader, and with principles as
+solid and permanent as the masonry of the everlasting hills. When this
+great radical work has been accomplished, the threatening clouds which
+now cast their shadows over our national future
+
+
+     "Will fold their tents like the Arabs,
+     And as silently steal away."
+
+
+While in the tendencies of the age we see much to admire, we also see
+much to be regretted. In a word, there is too much friction in the
+complicated machinery that spins and weaves the web and woof of American
+character. In religion, morals, and politics, wide differences of
+opinion are to be expected, yet they should be honest. While a free
+public press may be regarded in theory as the "palladium of American
+liberty," it seems to proceed practically on the belief that its own
+interests are the public interests. Especially is this true of the
+political press. Money, instead of principle, is too often its guiding
+star. By its influence, men in office and out of office are made and
+unmade at pleasure. And this will ever be the case so long as editorial
+utterances are accepted as oracular. And yet there is hope, and perhaps
+safety, even in the freedom of our partisan prints, so long as they
+continue to expose the falsities of each other, whatever may be their
+motives. If, as in China, the head of every editor who knowingly
+publishes an untruth were demanded as a forfeit, it is to be feared that
+gentlemen of the "tripod" would soon become "few and far between" in
+this broad land of the free. Yet the newspaper is the controlling power
+of the government, and the mouth-piece of public sentiment. Editors
+should therefore appreciate their responsibility, as well as "take the
+responsibility."
+
+Though rotation in office may be regarded as a wholesome principle in
+the administration of a popular government, it is evident from the
+history of the past that frequent elections tend to disturb the peace
+and harmony of society. One political campaign scarcely ends before
+another begins. Especially is this true of our Presidential elections.
+The spirit of these elections extends to all our local elections, and
+often renders them equally bitter and intolerant.
+
+These are growing evils which seem to threaten the stability of the
+Republic, and which require the application of a radical remedy. In the
+first place, the right of suffrage should be made uniform in all the
+States, and extend to none except citizens who can read, write, and
+speak the English language. This must be done, if we would preserve our
+American nationality from a confusion of tongues and the contamination
+of disloyal principles. In the next place, the President should be
+elected by a direct popular vote for a term of eight or ten years, and
+be rendered ineligible thereafter.
+
+If provisions of this character were incorporated into the federal
+Constitution, the President would have no other motive in the discharge
+of his official duties than a desire to make for himself a good record;
+while professional politicians would disappear, and our county be saved
+from the demoralizing influences of a constant partisan warfare.
+
+In regard to the Presidential question, the keynote is usually sounded
+by the friends of the administration, who wish to retain its patronage,
+or by opponents, who seek to overthrow it for the sake of the "spoils."
+Though candidates for office contend loudly for principles and reform,
+it is evident that with many of them the public treasury is the centre
+of attraction. It is true, however, that there are some honorable
+exceptions,--some men who are influenced by patriotic motives, who love
+their country and desire to promote its real welfare, and who would
+rather "do right than be President of the United States."
+
+In a government like ours, which is essentially partisan in its
+character, there exists a manifest want of promptitude in the exercise
+of its central power. In other words, it takes a republic too long to
+move and execute in a crisis. It is prevented from doing this by the
+popular trammels which environ it. And yet it is often as difficult to
+ascertain what is the popular will as it is to comply with it. For this
+reason it is often a slavish fear, rather than a sense of right, that
+controls the administration of the government. Even our best men, when
+placed in power, become so sensitive to public opinion that their moral
+courage "oozes out at their fingers' ends." They see lions in their
+path, and therefore fear to do their duty. So long as a love of office,
+rather than a love of country, influences the action of the politician
+and the statesman, there can be neither strength nor stability in the
+framework of democratic institutions. For an illustration of this, we
+need only appeal to the histories of Greece and Rome. America has
+produced, however, many model men, and doubtless will produce many more
+of a like character. It is men that we want,--men of nerve and pluck, as
+well as men of wisdom, not only to enact our laws, but to administer
+them. All conspiracies of one class against the rights of another class,
+or against the rights of individuals, should by Congressional enactment
+be declared crimes, and the perpetrators promptly punished, no matter by
+what name their associations may be known. It is the prompt enforcement
+of criminal law that gives it moral force and overawes the offender.
+
+It is impossible to predict the future, except as we see it from a
+standpoint of the present. Hence it is, perhaps, that we apprehend
+dangers when there are none. Yet we know that the elements of
+dissolution are incorporated into the very material that constitutes the
+universe. And so it is with the nations of the earth. The law of change
+is universal. It affects alike both the moral and the physical world. In
+his desires, man, as an individual, is insatiable; and so are nations.
+It is a prominent trait of Americans to want territory, and to acquire
+territory. They must have elbow-room; but the misfortune is, they do not
+know when they have enough. It seems as if they aspired to grasp the
+world and to govern the world.
+
+It is doubtless true that we, as a nation, have already acquired too
+much territory. The result is, the government has become unwieldly, and
+the danger great that it will break down, sooner or later, of its own
+weight. So vast is the national domain, and so various is it in its
+climate, productions, and population, that its central power cannot so
+legislate as to do equal justice to all interests, and at the same time
+harmonize the conflict of public sentiment. This state of things had its
+influence in producing the outbreak of the late Rebellion. For
+grievances of this character there would seem to be no other remedy than
+that of revolution.
+
+We can but hope, however, that the States now known as the United States
+will continue to increase in numbers, and to harmonize as one people,
+one nation, and one government. Yet it is quite possible that the time
+will come when they will sever into groups and become independent of
+their present federal relation to each other, in accordance with their
+peculiar sectional interests, "peaceably if they can, forcibly if they
+must." Then, instead of one, we shall probably have several independent
+American confederacies, whose future boundaries are clearly indicated,
+not only by differences of climate and productions, but by Nature, as
+marked by her great intervening rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges.
+These confederacies, when organized, will doubtless consist of those
+groups of States now known as the Eastern, Western, Southern, and
+Pacific States.
+
+In addition to sectional interests and geographical differences, there
+are other considerations tending to induce a division of the Union.
+Among these are an almost unlimited number of political aspirants, and a
+rapidly increasing population. In Europe, and in many parts of Asia, an
+overgrown population, in connection with geographical differences and
+tribal distinctions, is doubtless the original cause which led to
+subdivisions of empire, and the establishment of so many petty kingdoms
+as now exist in those countries. The same causes are evidently at work
+on the American continent, and must ultimately produce similar results.
+In little more than a century our population has increased from seven to
+sixty millions. In the next century, at present rates, the increase from
+natural growth and the influx from foreign emigration will in all
+probability approximate two or three hundred millions. Europe alone,
+judging from present indications, will transfer to this continent within
+that period a large share of that number. If this be assumed as worthy
+of credence, is it not time that we, as American citizens, should look
+ahead, as well as go ahead, and if possible, preserve our national
+character?
+
+It is true that an intermixture of foreign blood with American blood may
+tend to develop a higher order of manhood; yet when we go so far as to
+permit foreign languages to be taught in our public schools at the
+public expense, as essential to an American education, and that, too, at
+the dictation of denizens whose education and predilections are in
+conflict with our own, have we not reason to fear the ultimate results?
+If this insidious influence of foreign growth be allowed to control our
+educational system, it will not be long before we shall adopt foreign
+habits and sentiments, and lose forever our American nationality.
+
+If America would be true to herself, she must preserve not only the
+purity of her principles, but the purity of her spoken language. If
+foreigners choose to become American citizens, they must expect to
+become Americanized in language and sentiment, as well as accept our
+form of government. We want no foreign element incorporated into our
+free institutions which does not harmonize with them. In a word, we want
+no union of Church and State, no "confusion of tongues" in our public
+schools, no aping of foreign manners and habits, no foreign
+dictation,--nothing but pure American freedom and pure American
+principles.
+
+It is in this country that Church and State, for the first time in the
+history of the civilized world, have been separated, and allowed to
+conduct their own affairs in their own way, and independently of each
+other. So far as experience has gone in this respect, it proves the
+wisdom of the policy. And yet there are many statesmen, who, in reading
+the "signs of the times," think there are reasons for believing that the
+priesthood have inherited their ancient love of civil power, and are
+quietly endeavoring, in various ways, to secure such a degree of moral
+power over the popular mind as will, in effect if not in fact, transfer
+to them the control of the civil government.
+
+If the priesthood are to control the government, it matters but little
+whether it be the Catholic or the Protestant. Catholicism regards the
+Church as supreme and the State as subordinate, repudiates public
+schools, and trains her youth in the Church and for the Church, thus
+preparing them to become not only adherents to the faith, but "soldiers
+of the cross;" while Protestantism asks the recognition of God in the
+Constitution, urges a fraternal union of all her various denominations,
+with a view to concentrate and direct their moral force, and even goes
+so far as to discuss politics in the pulpit,--thus attempting to control
+the results of our popular elections, especially when great moral
+questions are supposed to be involved. In all this there may be no
+insidious design; but facts carry with them a degree of significance
+which ought not to be disregarded. If a "religious war" must come, it
+will be a fearful contest, and one which must result in the subversion
+of free government, and finally extinguish the last hope of every true
+philanthropist.
+
+And yet, as a people, we need never "despair of the Republic" so long as
+we sustain free public schools and confide the government to none other
+than an enlightened and philanthropic statesmanship. If America
+continues to respect herself, she is evidently destined to wield, not
+only the moral power of the world, but to complete the civilization of
+the world. Inspired with a desire to ameliorate the condition of
+mankind the world over, she annually expends millions of money in
+advancing the cause of a true Christianity. So inviting are her free
+institutions that she is rapidly becoming a central nation in point of
+wealth, talent, and population, as well as in moral and political
+influence. It should be her pleasure, as well as aim, not only to
+perfect her own government, but to diffuse a knowledge of her liberal
+principles throughout the world.
+
+In reverting to the history of the past, we see that nations, like
+individuals, have their career, succeed each other, and finally become
+extinct. On this continent the red race has been rapidly succeeded by
+the white race. Whether a still higher order of man will succeed the
+white race, is a question which time only can determine.
+
+Nature is provident, and like Divine Providence, works in "mysterious
+ways," and with an aim to achieve ultimate results. What America now is,
+we know; what she will be, we know not. It is devoutly to be wished,
+however, that her career may continue to be characterized by great and
+noble achievements, and that her "star-spangled banner" may forever
+float in triumph
+
+
+     "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
+
+
+
+
+CAREER OF REV. JOSEPH BADGER.
+
+
+There have been but few men in the clerical profession who have made a
+worthier or more exemplary life-record for themselves than Rev. Joseph
+Badger. He fought for liberty in the Revolution, and for Christianity in
+the wilds of the Western Reserve. In the one case he fought with the
+musket, in the other with the sword of the Spirit. Whether serving as a
+soldier or as a missionary, he proved himself sincere and steadfast in
+his devotion to duty.
+
+Rev. Joseph Badger was born at Wilbraham, Mass., Feb. 28, 1757. He was a
+lineal descendant of Giles Badger, who emigrated from England and
+settled at Newburyport, not far from Boston, about the year 1635. The
+father of Joseph was Henry Badger, who married Mary Landon. They were
+both devoutly pious, and equally poor in this world's goods. They
+instructed their son Joseph, at an early age, in the catechism of the
+Puritan faith, and gave him such further elementary education as they
+were able at the domestic fireside. He grew strong in the faith as he
+grew to manhood, when he began to realize that in sharing life with his
+parents, good and kind as they were, he shared their poverty. In
+consulting his mirror he was often painfully reminded of the fact that
+his garments, patched as they were, displayed about as many colors as
+the coat of his ancient namesake. Inspired with the patriotic sentiment
+of the times, and desiring not only to provide for himself, but to
+obtain sufficient money to give himself a liberal education, he enlisted
+in 1775, when but eighteen years of age, in the Revolutionary army, as a
+common soldier, and was assigned to the regiment commanded by Colonel
+Patterson. The regiment was stationed at Fort No. 3, near Lechmere's
+Point, in the vicinity of Boston. At the battle of Bunker Hill this
+regiment was posted on Cobble Hill, in a line with the front of the
+American battery, and about half a mile distant, where every man of the
+regiment could see the fire from the whole line, and enjoy the pleasure
+of seeing the British break their ranks, run down the hill, and then
+reluctantly return to the charge. On their third return, as luck would
+have it, they carried the works at the point of the bayonet. This was
+the first time after his enlistment that young Joseph had an opportunity
+to smell the smoke of British gunpowder. It was some time in September
+of the same year he enlisted that the British landed three or four
+hundred men on Lechmere's Point to take off a herd of fat cattle.
+Colonel Patterson ordered his regiment to attack the marauders and
+prevent them from capturing the cattle. A sharp conflict ensued, in
+which Joseph tested the virtues of his musket and poured into the enemy
+nine or ten shots in rapid succession and with apparent effect. Several
+were killed and others wounded on both sides. Joseph escaped unharmed.
+But soon after this skirmish he took a violent cold, attended with a
+severe cough. His captain advised him to return home until he could
+recover. This he did, and within twenty days came back and rejoined his
+regiment quite restored to health.
+
+The British evacuated Boston on the 17th of March, 1776. On the next day
+Colonel Patterson's regiment, with several other regiments, was ordered
+to New York, where they remained for three weeks, and were then ordered
+to Canada. They were transported up the Hudson to Albany, and thence by
+way of Lakes George and Champlain to St. Johns, and thence to La Prairie
+on the banks of the St. Lawrence and in sight of Montreal. On the way
+the troops suffered severely from exposure to rain-storms and
+snow-storms, and from want of provisions. They arrived at La Prairie
+late in the day, and in a state bordering on starvation, where they
+encamped supperless. The next day each soldier received a ration of a
+few ounces of mouldy bread for breakfast, and a thin slice of stale meat
+for supper. Joseph accepted his share of the dainty feast without a
+murmur, but doubtless thought the wayfaring soldier had a pretty "hard
+road to travel." A part of Colonel Patterson's regiment was then ordered
+up the river to a small fort at Cedar Rapids, which was besieged by a
+British captain with one company of regulars and about five hundred
+Indians, led by Brant, the famous Indian chief. The Indians were
+thirsting for blood. A fierce conflict ensued, which lasted for an hour
+or more, when the enemy was compelled to retreat towards the fort. At
+this juncture a parley was called, and the firing ceased. A number were
+killed, and more wounded. It so happened that the fifth company, to
+which Joseph belonged, did not arrive in time to participate in the
+fight, though they had approached so near the scene as to hear the
+firing and see the rolling cloud of battle-smoke. Joseph expressed his
+regret that he had lost so good an opportunity to give his flint-lock a
+second trial. The detachment was now ordered to retreat to La Chine,--a
+French village about six miles above Montreal. Here they were
+reinforced by the arrival of eight hundred men, under command of General
+Arnold. The entire force advanced to the outlet of Bason Lake, at St.
+Ann's, where they embarked on board the boats and steered for a certain
+point about three miles distant. In passing, the force was fired upon by
+the enemy, armed with guns and two small cannon. A shower of shot seemed
+to come from every direction, and as the boats containing the Americans
+were about to land at the point sought, they received, amid hideous
+yells from the Indians in ambush, a hailstorm of bullets that rattled as
+they struck the boats, and slightly injured some of the men. The men in
+the boats returned the fire as best they could. It was marvellous that
+none of the Americans were killed or seriously injured. "It appeared to
+me," said Joseph, "a wonderful, providential escape." A British captain
+by the name of Foster was shot in the thigh. It was now nearly sunset,
+when General Arnold ordered a retreat. The night was spent in making
+preparations for the morrow. It was near morning when Captain Foster
+came over to General Arnold and agreed with him to a cartel by which
+certain prisoners were exchanged. The American prisoners were returned
+in a destitute and forlorn condition. The pitiful sight deeply excited
+the generous sympathies of the kind-hearted Joseph, who did what he
+could to comfort them by dividing his own supplies with them.
+
+General Arnold now returned with his troops to Montreal, exercising
+great vigilance to avoid further surprise. He then crossed the St.
+Lawrence and encamped at St. Johns. Here the small-pox appeared in camp.
+In order to avoid the severity of the disease, Joseph procured the
+necessary virus and inoculated himself with the point of a needle, which
+produced the desired effect. Two days after the disease had appeared in
+camp, the troops were ordered to Chambly. The British hove in sight and
+began to land on the opposite side of the bay. The invalids were
+numerous and continued to increase. They were directed to march back to
+St. Johns,--a distance of twelve miles. Most of them could hardly carry
+gun, cartridge-box, and blanket, and were often obliged to sit down and
+rest by the wayside, Joseph among the rest. In the course of a few days
+the sick were transported to Isle aux Noix, at which place all the
+shattered army were collected under command of General Heath. From this
+place the troops, including the sick, proceeded amid sundry
+embarrassments to Crown Point, where they encamped. Here the small-pox
+spread among the men, and in its most aggravated form, with fearful
+rapidity. The scene in camp soon became appalling. The groans and cries
+of the sick and dying were heard night and day without cessation. As it
+happened, the surgeons, for want of medicines and hospital stores, could
+render but little aid. In some instances as many as thirty patients died
+in a day, and were buried in a single vault or pit, for the reason that
+there were not well men enough to bury them in separate graves.
+
+The humane and philanthropic Joseph, who had previously inoculated
+himself with success, and thus avoided further danger from the
+contagion, now devoted himself to nursing and caring for his sick
+companions-in-arms with unwearied assiduity. As soon as the contagion
+began to abate, the sick were transferred in boats to Fort George, while
+the men fit for service were ordered to Mount Independence, opposite
+Ticonderoga, to erect works of defence. The mount was covered with
+forest trees, loose rocks, and dens infested with rattlesnakes, which
+often crept into camp and were killed.
+
+At this time Joseph suffered for want of the clothes he had lost in the
+retreat from Canada, and had, in fact, worn the only shirt he had for
+six weeks, and was so incommoded with vermin that he was compelled to
+take off his shirt, wash it without soap, wring it out, and put it on
+wet. He was also scourged with an irritating cutaneous disease, which
+induced him to retire some distance from camp, fire a log-heap, and
+roast himself, after anointing with a mixture of grease and brimstone.
+The camp was destitute of indispensable conveniences, and the hospital
+in which lay the sick had not a dish of any kind in which could be
+administered a sup of gruel, broth, or a drink of water. Resort was had
+to wooden troughs, or dishes, cut out with a hatchet or penknife. The
+colonel, in passing through the hospital, said, "I wish there was a man
+to be found here who can turn wooden dishes." Joseph, who understood the
+art, replied, "Furnish me the tools and I will do it." The tools were
+furnished, and Joseph soon turned from the aspen poplar an ample supply
+of wooden cups and trenchers. He was also often employed in making
+bread, and in fact was a sort of universal genius and could do almost
+anything. At the instance of General Washington he was also employed at
+times to aid in negotiating treaties of friendship with the Indians. But
+after being transferred several times from one military point to
+another, and suffering more or less from hardships, his health became so
+impaired that the principal surgeon gave him a discharge, and he
+returned to his home in Massachusetts. He soon afterward so far
+recovered that he re-enlisted and served as an orderly sergeant in
+defence of the seaport towns till the 1st of January, 1778, when his
+time expired, and he returned to his father's house once more, having
+been in the service a little more than three years. He received, on
+retiring from the army, about two hundred dollars in paper currency,
+which was so depreciated that he could not purchase with the whole of it
+a decent coat. He then (for the next six months) engaged in the business
+of weaving on shares, and during that time wove sixteen hundred yards of
+plain cloth. This enabled him to clothe himself decently, and to spend
+the ensuing winter in improving his education. At this time, as he said,
+he "had no Christian hope," but continued to labor and study during the
+year 1779, when a religious revival occurred, and he acquired a
+Christian hope, with a determination to fit himself for the ministry.
+Encouraged by his friend, Rev. Mr. Day, he prosecuted the requisite
+preliminary studies, and at the same time taught a family school in
+order to meet his expenses. He entered college in 1781, and graduated in
+1785. He then studied theology, and was licensed to preach in 1786. He
+soon received a call and was ordained as pastor of the church at
+Blandford, Mass. He had previously married Miss Lois Noble, who was a
+young lady of refinement and exemplary piety. In October, 1800, he
+resigned his pastorship at Blandford and received a regular dismissal.
+
+The Connecticut Missionary Society, whose central office was at
+Hartford, had formed a high estimate of the character and piety of Rev.
+Joseph Badger, and at once tendered him the appointment to go, under the
+auspices of the society, as a missionary to the Western Reserve. This
+was the kind of Christian labor in which he preferred to engage. He
+therefore accepted the appointment; and leaving his family at home until
+he could explore somewhat his new field of service, he took his
+departure on horseback, Nov. 15, 1800, bound for the Western Reserve. He
+took what was then called the southern route, crossed the Alleghany
+mountains in the midst of a snow-storm, and after a weary journey,
+arrived at Pittsburgh on the 14th of December. Here he rested for a day
+or two, and then resumed his "journey through the wilderness," and after
+a weary ride of nearly a hundred miles, reached Youngstown, one of the
+earliest settlements in the Reserve, on Saturday night at a late hour,
+and was kindly received. The next day he preached at Youngstown his
+first sermon in the Reserve. The town at that time consisted of some
+half-dozen log cabins. His audience included nearly every soul in town,
+though but a handful, who had assembled in one of the larger cabins, and
+who seemed pleased to receive from his lips "the good tidings of great
+joy." Gratified with his reception at Youngstown, and resolving to lose
+no time in expediting his missionary labors, he rode the next day to
+Vienna, where but one family had settled; thence to Hartford, where but
+three families had settled, and thence to Vernon, where he found but
+five families. In making these successive visits he did good work. While
+at Vernon he was informed that Mr. Palmer, the head of the family
+settled at Vienna, had been taken suddenly sick and was not expected to
+live. There was no doctor residing in all that region of country. Rev.
+Mr. Badger hastened at once to the relief of the sick man, and nursed
+him for eight days, when he so far recovered that his providential nurse
+could safely leave him. In this way Rev. Mr. Badger visited, in the
+course of the year 1801, every settlement and nearly every family
+throughout the Western Reserve. In doing this he often rode from five to
+twenty-five or thirty miles a day, carrying with him in saddlebags a
+scanty supply of clothing and eatables, and often traversing pathless
+woodlands amid storms and tempests, swimming unbridged rivers, and
+suffering from cold and hunger, and at the same time here and there
+visiting lone families, giving them and their children religious
+instruction and wholesome advice, and preaching at points wherever a few
+could be gathered together, sometimes in a log cabin or in a barn, and
+sometimes in the open field or in a woodland, beneath the shadows of the
+trees. At about this time he preached the first sermon ever heard in
+Cleveland. In response to all this benevolent work he had the
+satisfaction of knowing that he was almost universally received with a
+heartfelt appreciation of his services, and with a liberal hospitality.
+Though most of the early settlers were poor, they cheerfully "broke
+bread with him," and gave him the larger share of such luxuries as they
+happened to have at command. Even the Indians, who were quite numerous,
+treated him kindly and with respect. He took especial pains to enlighten
+and instruct them, and soon acquired such a knowledge of their language
+as enabled him to communicate readily with them.
+
+In September of 1801, he journeyed on horseback to Detroit, with a view
+to extend the field of his missionary labors. On reaching the banks of
+the Huron River, late in the evening, he stopped at an Indian hut,
+desiring to remain for the night. He was kindly received by the
+inmates,--an aged Indian chief and his squaw. The squaw cut fodder from
+the cornfield and fed his horse, and soon presented him with a supper of
+boiled string-beans, buttered with bear's oil, in a wooden bowl that was
+cut and carved out from the knot of a tree with a hatchet and knife.
+Hungry as he really was, he relished the feast. She then spread for him
+on the floor a bed of bearskins and clean blankets, on which he enjoyed
+a refreshing night's sleep. In the morning she gave him for breakfast a
+corn-bread cake, baked in the embers. It contained inside a sprinkling
+of black beans, and resembled plum-cake. While he was eating, he
+expressed his admiration of the bread. The squaw replied, "Eat; it is
+good. It is such bread as God gives the Indians." He then resumed his
+journey to Detroit, where he remained a few days. While there, and while
+on his way to and from there, he held religious interviews with all he
+met who were willing to converse in relation to their spiritual welfare,
+whether white men or Indians, but found no one, as he said, in all that
+region, whom he could regard as a Christian, "except a black man, who
+appeared pious." On his return he visited Hudson, where he found a few
+professors of religion. Here he organized a church, consisting of ten
+males and six females. This was the first church organized in the
+Western Reserve. The next morning, October 25, he took his departure
+from the Reserve, and returned by way of Buffalo to his family in New
+England, preaching, as he went, at such settlements as offered a
+favorable opportunity. He arrived at home Jan. 1, 1802, after an absence
+of thirteen months and fifteen days. He found his dear family all well,
+and like David of old, blessed the Lord, who had "redeemed his life from
+destruction and crowned him with loving-kindness and tender mercies."
+
+Soon after his arrival, he visited Hartford and reported to the
+missionary society what he had done, and the character of his work, and
+agreed to return with his family to the same field of missionary labor,
+and for such compensation as the society chose to allow him, which was
+but seven dollars per week. This was at that time considered a
+sufficient sum to meet the current expenses of himself and family. He
+exchanged his former homestead at Blandford for land in the Western
+Reserve. On the 23d of February, 1802, he started on his journey to the
+Western Reserve in a wagon drawn by four horses and loaded with a few
+household goods, his wife and six children, and himself driving the
+team. He took the route leading through the State of New York to
+Buffalo, and thence followed the southerly shore of Lake Erie to
+Austinburg, in the Reserve, where he and his family were received with a
+hearty welcome to the home and hospitalities of his friend, Colonel
+Eliphalet Austin. He accomplished the journey, a distance of six hundred
+miles, in sixty days. This was travelling at a pretty rapid rate, as was
+then thought. He remarked, when he had reached the hospitable home of
+his friend Austin, that he and his family seemed destined to share God's
+promise to his ancient Israel: "And they shall dwell safely in the
+wilderness, and sleep in the woods."
+
+He now purchased a small lot of land in Austinburg, and soon, with the
+aid of a few kind settlers, erected a log cabin in which to shelter his
+family. He found it difficult to procure sufficient provisions, but soon
+succeeded in obtaining a sack of coarse flour in the vicinity; and
+hearing of a barrel of pork for sale at Painesville, he sent a man with
+a team thirty miles through the woods to purchase it, and paid twenty
+silver dollars for it, and found on opening it that it contained the
+"whole hog,"--feet, head, snout and ears,--and weighed but one hundred
+and seventy pounds. This, with the milk from two cows that were pastured
+in the woods and sometimes missed for a day or two, was all the
+provision he could make for his family when it became necessary for him
+to leave them and enter upon his missionary labors in other parts of the
+Reserve. He visited Mentor, Chagrin, and other settlements. At Euclid he
+found a family by the name of Burke, who had resided in a lone situation
+in the woods for over three years, in so destitute a condition that the
+wife had been obliged to spin cattle's hair and weave it into blankets
+to cover her children's bed and save them from suffering in cold
+weather. At Newburg he visited five families, the only residents in the
+place, but discovered to his regret "no apparent piety among any of
+them. They all seemed to glory in their infidelity." He continued
+visiting families and preaching throughout the southeastern part of the
+Reserve, and establishing churches. He called on his return at "Perkins'
+Station" in Trumbull County, where an election was pending and a goodly
+number of voters present. He was invited to dine with them. All took
+their seats and began to help themselves, when he interrupted them and
+remarked: "Gentlemen, if you will attend with Christian decency, and
+hear me invoke the blessing of God, I will sit down with you; otherwise
+I cannot." Knives and forks were instantly laid down and a blessing
+invoked. The dinner was then discussed with a keen relish by the
+assemblage, who seemed to appreciate the fact that "blessings sometimes
+come in disguise." He then continued on his way home. Soon after this a
+revival commenced in most of the infant settlements, and his missionary
+labors were largely increased.
+
+In some of the settlements the revival was attended with miraculous
+power. In many instances the converts were stricken down in convulsions,
+groaned in apparent agonies, and tore their hair; and in other instances
+they fell in a trance, saw visions, awoke, and leaped for joy, shouting
+long and loud, "Glory to God!" All this surprised the itinerant
+missionary and presented him with a problem which he could not solve;
+yet being a disciple of the "Calvinistic school," and charitably
+inclined, he attributed the "spasmodic demonstrations" to the mysterious
+workings of the Holy Spirit. The people far and near partook of the
+excitement and flocked to hear him. On one occasion he preached to an
+audience of five hundred. Though some scoffed, many professed to have
+experienced religion. The general impression was in those days that
+conversion consisted in experiencing some sudden and mysterious
+shock,--a puritanic idea that is now held to be absurd; yet this wild
+excitement doubtless produced some good fruit, if not a "rich harvest."
+Be this as it may, Rev. Mr. Badger persevered in extending his labors,
+and between June 18 and July 1 of the year 1802, rode two hundred miles,
+preached eight sermons, and administered two sacraments. In riding
+through the dense woodlands, especially after nightfall, he was often
+followed by hungry wolves and bears, manifesting a desire to cultivate a
+toothsome acquaintance with him. On one occasion, when riding through a
+dark and pathless forest late at night, along the banks of Grand River,
+and drenched with rain, he discovered by the sound of distinct footsteps
+that some large animal was following him. He stopped his horse, turned
+on the saddle, and with loud vociferations and clapping of hands
+attempted to frighten the animal away, but instead of the noise having
+the desired effect, the bear, as it proved to be, sprang towards him
+with hair standing on end and with eyes flashing fire. At this critical
+juncture, as Rev. Mr. Badger states in his diary: "I had no weapon of
+defence. I thought best to leave the ground, turned to the left, and
+walked my horse partly by the bear, when the brute stepped directly on
+behind me and within a few paces. By this time it had become so dark
+that I could see nothing, not even my hand holding the bridle, and the
+bear was still snapping his teeth and approaching nearer. I had in my
+hand a large heavy horse-shoe, took aim by his nose, and threw the shoe,
+but effected no alarm of the enemy. To ride away was impossible in a
+pathless wood, thick with brush and fallen timber. I concluded to resort
+to a tree if I could find one. I reined my horse first to the right and
+then to the left, at which instant some sloping limbs brushed my hat. On
+feeling them, I found them to be long pliable beech limbs. I reined my
+horse again and came with his shoulder close to the tree. I tied the
+bridle to the limbs, raised myself on the saddle, and by aid of the
+small limbs began to climb. I soon got hold of a limb large enough to
+bear me; and at this instant the evil beast came to the tree with
+violent snuffing and snapping. I fixed my stand on the limb, took out a
+sharp knife, the only weapon I had, and prepared for battle. But I soon
+heard the bear snuffing near the horse's nose as he was crunching the
+boughs and leaves within his reach. I then ascended about forty feet, as
+near the top of the tree as I thought was safe, found a convenient place
+to sit on a limb, and then tied myself with a large bandanna to the
+tree, so as not to fall if I fell into a drowse. The bear continued
+smelling at the horse until he had passed around him to the opposite
+side of the tree; and all was still but the champing of the horse. By
+the roaring of the wind it appeared that a heavy gust was approaching.
+It soon began to rain powerfully, with wind and heavy peals of thunder.
+At this time the horse shook himself, which startled the bear to a quick
+rush for a few rods, when he stopped and violently snapped his teeth,
+and there remained until a few minutes before daylight, when he went
+off. My horse standing as he did at the foot of the tree, without moving
+a foot from the place where I left him, and in no way frightened by the
+approach and management of the bear, seemed to be peculiarly
+providential. This was the only time I was disturbed in camping out many
+times. As soon as I could see to take my course, I mounted my horse and
+arrived at my house, about six miles from my lodging-place in the tree,
+with a pretty good appetite for breakfast. Having in my saddlebags two
+volumes of the 'Ohio State Laws,' it was remarked by some of my friends
+that the old bear did not like so near a 'union of Church and State.'"
+
+Rev. Mr. Badger continued his missionary work with zeal and with highly
+encouraging prospects. He organized many churches and schools, and
+distributed many Bibles and school-books, and often assisted the
+settlers in erecting their log cabins and in securing their harvests.
+In 1804, the missionary society reduced his compensation to six dollars
+a week, being the same they allowed their missionaries nearer home. This
+he did not relish, but accepted the reduced pittance, remarking that he
+would go on with his work and trust to Him who "feeds the ravens." At
+this time he was obliged to pay at the rate of sixteen dollars a barrel
+for salt pork, though the other provisions were comparatively cheap and
+plenty. Early in the spring of 1809, his house was burned, and nothing
+saved but two beds and a few articles of clothing. He at once built a
+small cabin, with the generous aid of his neighbors, and moved his
+family into it, without bedstead, table, knife, fork, or spoon. In June
+of the same year he returned to Hartford, Connecticut, and made a final
+settlement with the Connecticut Missionary Society, and received an
+honorable discharge from further services as a missionary under its
+auspices. He then proposed to engage in missionary work among the
+Indians west of the Cuyahoga, known as the Wyandots; and having within a
+short time received cash donations from the Massachusetts Missionary
+Society to the amount of over a thousand dollars, he returned to the
+Reserve and commenced his missionary labors among the Indians at Upper
+Sandusky, which he regarded as a central point, and from which he
+extended his labors in the region round about so as to include all the
+Indian villages in the vicinity of the lake, from the west side of the
+Cuyahoga River to the city of Detroit. This mission was called the
+"Wyandot Mission." His labors in this missionary field consisted mainly
+in visiting the Indians in their lodges, instructing them and their
+children in the elementary principles of Christianity and in the
+observance of peaceful relations. He also gave them practical lessons in
+agriculture and other arts of civilized life, and tried to reform their
+intemperate habits by condemning the use of whiskey. He was a stanch
+advocate of "temperance in all things," denounced slavish habits and
+also slavery long before the latter became the subject of political
+agitation. In 1812, he took a deep and active interest in the war, and
+accepted the position of chaplain in the command of General Harrison. He
+also exercised a wide influence over the Indians in preventing them from
+making alliances with the enemy. At the close of the war he resumed his
+missionary labors. In August, 1818, his good wife died, and left to him
+the care of their children. His grief seemed inconsolable, but he soon
+so far overcame it as to marry in April, 1819, Miss Abigail Ely for a
+second wife. In the following June he took his bridal trip with her to
+his old home in New England, and after a brief but delightful visit,
+returned and devoted himself to preaching in the eastern part of the
+Reserve, where he soon settled as pastor of the church at Austinburg,--a
+church which he had organized, and which had become so large in the
+number of its communicants that it was generally known as the "mother
+church" of the Reserve. He subsequently officiated as pastor of the
+church at Ashtabula for some years, then at Kingsville, and lastly at
+Gustavus, Trumbull County, where he settled in 1825, and officiated not
+only as pastor of the parish, but as postmaster, having been appointed
+to the latter office by the postmaster-general. In 1835, he resigned his
+position as pastor at Gustavus, and preached a farewell sermon, taking
+the following words for his text: "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be
+perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God
+of love and peace shall be with you." The sermon was a masterly one, and
+the audience was affected to tears. It was long remembered, and was
+never forgotten by those who heard it. He had now become so enfeebled by
+age as to disqualify him for further service as pastor of a church. From
+Gustavus he went to reside with his married daughter in the township of
+Plain, Wood County, Ohio, where for eight or nine years, he devoted
+more or less time, as he was able, to missionary work in the vicinity.
+In 1844, he changed his residence and went to the neighboring town of
+Perrysburg, where he lived with his married granddaughter, and where he
+died in 1846, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. In six months
+afterward his wife died. But two of his six children survived him.
+
+In personal appearance Rev. Joseph Badger was tall, slim, erect, had
+blue eyes, brown hair, and a pleasing expression of face. In temperament
+and action he was quick and somewhat impulsive, yet he was considerate
+and slow of utterance, rarely, if ever, uttering an imprudent word. In
+his social intercourse he was sedate or facetious as the occasion seemed
+to require. He enjoyed hearing and telling amusing anecdotes. In his
+style of preaching he was apostolic, plain, simple, and logical. In
+creed he was an orthodox Presbyterian. He had but one grand aim in life,
+and that was to do what he could to advance the moral and spiritual
+welfare of mankind. In a word, Rev. Joseph Badger, though dead, still
+lives and will ever live in memory as the early western missionary whose
+lifelong labors were prompted by the spirit of a true Christian
+philanthropy.
+
+
+     "His youth was innocent, his riper age
+      Marked with some act of goodness every day;
+     And watched by eyes that loved him, calm and sage,
+      Faded his late declining years away.
+     Cheerful he gave his being up, and went
+     To share the holy rest that waits a life well spent."
+
+
+
+
+MISSION MONUMENT.
+
+[Dedicated at Williamstown, Mass., July 28, 1867.]
+
+
+In the accomplishment of great moral purposes, a Divine Providence
+employs human instrumentalities. Of this we have ample evidence, not
+only in the history of nations, but in the career of individuals.
+
+A little more than eighteen centuries ago, a few obscure fishermen,
+while casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee, were called to abandon
+their nets, and become "fishers of men."
+
+A little more than sixty years ago, a few obscure young men, while
+pursuing their classical studies in Williams College, were called to go
+into benighted lands beyond the sea, and proclaim the divine doctrine of
+"peace on earth and good-will to men."
+
+These students, though unknown to fame, were young men of thought and of
+high moral aspirations. Influenced by a devotional spirit, they felt
+that God had a great work for them to do, and that it was therefore
+important for them to comprehend their true relations, both to God and
+to man.
+
+What was the precise character of the great work assigned them, they
+did not seem to know; and for this reason they sought for more light,
+and for guidance from the Mighty Counsellor, whose wisdom is infinite,
+and who cannot err. In seeking for that knowledge which "cometh from
+above," they were accustomed, in the milder months of the year, to hold
+occasional prayer-meetings in the solitudes of Nature, believing that
+
+
+     "The groves were God's first temples."
+
+
+And doubtless they felt that the Divine Presence dwells more essentially
+in the silent sanctuaries of Nature than in "temples made with hands."
+
+It was here, within the quiet and cool retreat of the maple-grove in
+which we are now assembled, that they had convened at the close of a
+sultry summer day, in the year 1806, to hold the accustomed
+prayer-meeting, when they were overtaken by a sudden shower of rain, and
+compelled to seek the friendly shelter afforded them by a neighboring
+haystack.
+
+The group of young evangelists who were present at the prayer-meeting on
+this particular occasion consisted of Samuel J. Mills, James Richards,
+Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green. Protected from the
+rain by the haystack, they continued, amid the conflict of the
+elements, their devotional exercises, and also discussed religious
+topics of deep interest to themselves and to the world. It was a sublime
+moment for them and for the world. The heavens were darkened; the
+lightnings flashed; dread thunders rolled; the rain fell; yet amid this
+conflict of the elements there came "a still small voice," as if from
+the storm-cloud. It was a divine whisper, an inspired thought, which
+stirred the life-currents in the heart of Mills, and diffused upon his
+brow a celestial radiance. That inspired thought, broad as the earth in
+its comprehension, Mills announced to his devout companions. They felt
+its divinity, and regarded it as a divine communication. At the instance
+of Mills, they knelt in prayer, and besought divine aid and guidance in
+executing the great work which they now believed had been revealed to
+them. It was nothing less than a mission to some foreign heathen land,
+and the ultimate evangelization of the world. In offering up the last
+prayer at this meeting, so enthusiastic became Mills that he invoked
+"the red artillery of Heaven to strike down the arm that should be
+raised against a herald of the cross."
+
+And now, as the storm-cloud passed away, the skies became bright and
+serene; the air was pure and fragrant as balm. The raindrops, like
+jewels, glittered on the leaves in the grove, and on the grass and
+wild-flowers in the meadows. In short, the smile of Heaven was reflected
+in the face of Nature. And the sublimity of the scene, as it may be
+supposed, was heightened by the appearance of a rainbow in the
+east,--that glorious emblem of a divine love, which is so ample in its
+character as to embrace within its golden circle the great world of
+mankind, of "every nation, kindred, and tongue."
+
+As these inspired young men of the haystack wended their way back to the
+college halls, they "pondered these things in their hearts" and
+communicated their thoughts to such of their fellow-students as they
+believed would sympathize with them in the desire they felt to
+consecrate their lives to the great work of foreign missions, and
+especially a mission to India. Several of their associates became at
+once inspired with a similar missionary spirit. But as yet the interest
+felt in this new enterprise was restricted to the circle of the "Society
+of Brethren," as it was designated. This society was a secret
+organization, composed of such students as had made a profession of
+religion, and had for its object the promotion of the spiritual welfare
+of its members. In pursuance of this object, they held private
+prayer-meetings in each others' rooms, and discussed questions of
+special religious interest, and often, in the summer season, retired for
+the same purpose to the neighboring groves.
+
+In this way was sown the first grain of "mustard seed," which was
+destined soon to vegetate and grow to a tree of gigantic proportions.
+The planting of this "smallest of all seeds" constituted a nucleus for
+more extended effort. Consequently other societies were soon organized
+to promote the good work. In fact, new life was breathed into the "dry
+bones" of every valley; and Heaven repeated the command, "Go, teach all
+nations."
+
+The grand result of this day of "small things" was the organization at
+Bradford, in 1810, of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
+Missions,--an organization which under the direction and favor of a
+Divine Providence has achieved so much for the civilization and
+evangelization of the benighted races of mankind. Of this we need adduce
+no other proof than the leading facts of its history.
+
+In its inception, this Board consisted of but few members. At its first
+meeting there were but five members present, and at its second, but
+seven. Its receipts for the first year were but a thousand dollars. Now
+its annual receipts exceed a half-million of dollars, and its annual
+meetings are attended by thousands of people. In the aggregate, it has
+collected and disbursed nearly twelve millions of dollars. It has never
+lost a dollar by the fraud or embezzlement of any of its officers or
+agents. Since its first meeting of five persons, in 1810, its corporate
+members have been increased to two hundred, and its honorary members to
+seventeen thousand.
+
+It has sent into the missionary field thirteen hundred persons, in
+various capacities, including nearly five hundred ordained missionaries.
+It has established missions in almost every benighted region of the
+habitable globe, especially in the Eastern Hemisphere,--in India, in
+China, in Persia, in Syria, in Greece, in Turkey, in Africa, and also in
+several isles of the sea, including the Sandwich Islands. It has more
+than a hundred missionary stations, and nearly two hundred out-stations
+occupied by native helpers. It has in the native ministry three hundred
+Christian converts, about seventy of whom are pastors of churches. These
+native Christian churches have now increased to two hundred, in
+communion with which more than sixty thousand hopeful converts have been
+received.
+
+It has printing-presses, which have printed more than a thousand
+millions of pages of religious and educational matter, which has been
+distributed in forty-two living languages, as now spoken in pagan and
+other unevangelized lands. It has invented alphabets, and reduced
+eighteen native languages to writing. It has put in successful operation
+more than four hundred native schools, in which more than twelve
+thousand native children have been taught. All this has been done in
+less than sixty years, and still the great work progresses with
+increasing zeal and efficiency.
+
+Thus has the Board proved itself to be, in the providence of God, a
+great moral power in the nineteenth century. It is the star in the West,
+which flings its cheering light into the East. The wise men have seen
+it, and the shepherds have seen it. Like the star of Bethlehem, its
+errand is divine, for it was born of an inspired thought which has now
+become an invincible element in the moral world,--a power which must and
+will do its work; and though opposition and discouragement may come,--
+
+
+     "Truth crushed to earth shall rise again."
+
+
+Yes, millions of Christian heroes will come to the rescue, still bearing
+aloft the banner of the cross, and shouting the battle-cry of civil and
+religious freedom. And woman, first at the sepulchre, first in deeds of
+charity, first in every good work, will renew her activities in the
+great warfare with moral darkness, until the "uttermost parts of the
+earth" have been illuminated with the light of divine truth.
+
+It is expected, perhaps, that some allusion will be made to the motive
+which has induced the erection of the monument you see standing before
+you in its modest yet truthful significance. The motive was simply a
+desire felt in common with many other persons to see a spot which has
+become sacred in missionary history commemorated by some permanent
+expression of Christian gratitude. An expression of this kind seemed due
+not only to the great and good cause of American Foreign Missions, but
+to the revered memories of the five young men of prayer, who knelt here,
+under shelter of the haystack, and received from on high a divine
+commission. And permit me to add that the filial regard I entertain for
+my Alma Mater, and for my native State of Massachusetts, has had its
+influence in disposing me to make this contribution to a heaven-born
+enterprise, and in remembrance of those truly good, and therefore truly
+great, men, whose names are inscribed on the monument. The plan of the
+monument, as well as its erection here, it gives me pleasure to state,
+has received the cordial approval of the Faculty and Trustees of the
+college. The grand object for which the monument has been erected, is
+the commemoration of the "birthplace of American Foreign Missions;" and
+to this object we now dedicate it, in the name of a Christian
+philanthropy, whose "field is the world."
+
+In its character the monument is not less unique than emblematical. It
+stands on the identical spot where the haystack stood. As a specimen of
+fine material and artistic sculpture, it is strictly a Berkshire
+production, composed of Berkshire marble quarried at Alford, and wrought
+in the workshops of The Berkshire Marble Company. Its entire height is
+twelve feet; its shaft, cap, and base, square; its surface polished; its
+color a silver-blue. It is surmounted with a globe three feet in
+diameter, traced in geographical lines. On its eastern face, and
+immediately below the globe, are inscribed these words, "The Field is
+the World." Then follows a similitude of the haystack, sculptured in
+bas-relief, and encircled with these words, "The Birthplace of American
+Foreign Missions, 1806." And beneath this appear the names of the five
+young men who held the prayer-meeting under the shelter of the haystack.
+The maple-grove, amid whose cool shadows we now stand, is the same grove
+from which the five heavenly minded young men were driven by the
+impending rain-storm.
+
+This maple-grove, which has now become ever memorable, is included
+within the boundaries of Mission Park. The park contains ten acres, and
+was purchased on account of its historical interest, and made part of
+the domains of Williams College. It is the design of the friends of the
+college to embellish the park with specimens of the trees and shrubs and
+flowers of every foreign land to which missionaries have been sent by
+the American Board, so far, at least, as such specimens can be
+successfully acclimated in this country.
+
+When its embellishments have been perfected, Mission Park will become a
+place of delightful resort, full of sacred memories, which will
+accumulate and grow in interest with the lapse of time. Every year will
+bring within its inviting precincts hundreds of pilgrims, and every
+college commencement its missionary jubilee. Then will Mission Park
+possess, not only an attractive aspect, but a moral power which will
+awaken a renewed zeal in behalf of missions. And here may this
+consecrated monument, which is so expressive of a highly interesting
+fact in the history of missions, ever remain as an educator of coming
+generations, and as a landmark in the pathway of the citizen, the
+student, and the stranger! And here let the moral hero of the present,
+and of the future, stay his steps, and make still higher and holier
+resolves. Nor let us of the present generation forget that we have a
+great work still to accomplish in the moral field,--a field which is as
+broad as the earth, and in which we ought to renew our
+diligence,--feeling assured that with the final triumph of truth will
+come universal freedom, universal love, and universal brotherhood.
+
+It is due to Williams College to say that her educational and Christian
+influences have ever been directed by a benevolent and philanthropic
+spirit,--a spirit that burned on the prayerful lips of Mills at the
+haystack, and which has inspired with heroic zeal in the cause of truth
+thousands of human souls throughout our Western Hemisphere. Humble as
+the college may have been in its infancy, time and the favor of Heaven
+have made it a power in the land. In every department of literature and
+of science it has furnished mental giants who have made their mark in
+the world. In addition to this, it has sent forth its thousands of
+faithful workers, who are engaged, far and near, in pulling down the
+strongholds of error, and in building up in their stead towers of
+strength, founded on a Christian basis. In its teachings of literature
+and of science, it teaches those still higher and diviner principles
+which give to man the graces of a true manhood. In a word, its refining
+and harmonizing influences are felt, not only by its sons, but by
+thousands of others, the world over. Few indeed are the men who have
+wielded a more extensive influence for good, or contributed more to the
+permanent value of our theological literature, than the learned and
+venerated President of Williams College, Dr. Hopkins.
+
+Though the world owes much more to the efforts and vigilance of the
+Faculty and Trustees of Williams College than it has ever acknowledged,
+yet these patient, earnest, and hopeful men will continue to work on in
+silence, still inspired with the belief that in casting "an handful of
+corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains, the fruit thereof
+shall shake like Lebanon."
+
+
+THE END.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+NATURE AND CULTURE
+
+BY HARVEY RICE.
+
+SECOND EDITION      PRICE, $1.00.
+
+_NOTICES OF THE FIRST EDITION._
+
+
+"The author has been a careful reader of the science and literature of
+the day, and has formed generally intelligent opinions upon the great
+questions of modern thought. He is also scholarly in his use of
+language."--_Chicago Tribune._
+
+"Mr. Rice's ideas upon matters which he treats appear to us sound and
+practical; and the modesty with which they are put in his volume will
+not detract from their value in the minds of sensible persons."--_Boston
+Times._
+
+"The style is pure, and the thought, if not new, is fresh, and at times
+presented to the reader in a fine poetic setting. Nature is spoken of as
+by one who really loves her, and who has seen her face to face, and not
+through the eyes of another."--_Christian Leader._
+
+"The collection of miscellaneous essays embraced in this volume without
+any apparent bond of connection are worthy the attention of intelligent
+readers, from the thoughtfulness of their tone, the sobriety of their
+judgments, and the naturalness of their style."--_New York Tribune._
+
+For sale by all booksellers. Sent, postpaid, on receipt of price.
+
+LEE & SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
+
+BOSTON, 1889.
+
+
+PIONEERS OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
+
+BY HARVEY RICE.
+
+_SECOND EDITION._
+
+PRICE, $1.25.
+
+_NOTICES OF THE PRESS._
+
+
+"The name and character of Hon. Harvey Rice are sufficient guarantee
+that anything which comes from his hands is worthy of consideration, and
+it is with this assurance that in this work he has produced something of
+great historical value, as well as of interest in its style and
+incident, that we commend the work without hesitation."--_Cleveland
+Leader._
+
+"The incidents of the book have not only real historic value, but they
+are of great interest as giving the present generation some idea of the
+hardships and privations to which the early pioneers of Ohio were
+subjected."--_Sunday Gazette, Akron, Ohio._
+
+"Mr. Rice tells the story of the early struggles of the early settlers,
+their haps and mishaps, and gradual development, in a most interesting
+style."--_The American, Waterbury, Conn._
+
+"It is altogether an instructive and valuable book, and especially
+interesting to the people of our historic and noble state."--_Christian
+Secretary, Hartford, Conn._
+
+"There is much that is fresh and interesting in the narrative, and much
+that helps the making of history, though it does not itself claim to
+rank as history."--_Boston Journal._
+
+"The reader's interest is sustained by remarkable historic facts, heroic
+adventures and thrilling incidents, which the author has taken pains to
+collect from authoritative sources."--_Christian Intelligencer, New
+York._
+
+"A book on the early settlers of the Western Reserve that will keep one
+awake, like a novel by Scott or Dickens."--_North American Review._
+
+
+Sent, postpaid, on receipt of price.
+
+LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers.
+
+BOSTON, 1889.
+
+
+SELECT POEMS.
+
+BY HARVEY RICE.
+
+Illustrated edition. Price, $1.00.
+
+_NOTICES OF THE PRESS._
+
+
+"'Select Poems,' recently published by Lee & Shepard, Boston, pp. 174,
+12mo, are from the pen of Hon. Harvey Rice of Cleveland, O., and author
+of 'Nature and Culture,' published by the same firm in 1875, and which
+contained several essays on those subjects worthy of the deepest
+consideration.
+
+"In the volume now before us, the same love and admiration of all things
+good, noble, patriotic, and beautiful, are to be observed; and we wish
+that some of our magazine-writers would take pattern by the plain,
+almost severe, Saxon verbiage in which the deepest thought and most
+vivid fancy find expression."--_Journal of Commerce, Boston._
+
+"A second edition indicates the public estimate of these piquant,
+graceful, and, in many regards, beautiful creations. We still think that
+'Unwritten Music' rightfully fills the first place. It is simply
+exquisite."--_Christian Leader, Boston._
+
+"Among the best of the long poems are 'The Mystery of Life,' 'Mount
+Vernon,' 'Ancestral Portraits,' 'Home of my Youth,' and 'Freedom.' The
+short poems are all good, some of them being perfect gems."--_Eastern
+Argus, Portland, Me._
+
+"A collection of original poems, all of which are pleasing in structure,
+pure and elevated in sentiment, vigorous and refined in diction, and
+faultless in numbers. The religion is that of the natural man, the
+morality that of works, the sympathy tender, and the wit general. The
+lovers of good poetry will relish the feast."--_Epis. Recorder, Phil._
+
+"Mr. Rice writes true poetry."--_New York Methodist._
+
+_Sent, post-paid, on receipt of price._
+
+LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
+
+BOSTON, 1889.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Nature and Culture, by Harvey Rice
+
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+
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