As captured January 25, 2025

author: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-01-25 06:06:27 -0800
committer: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-01-25 06:06:27 -0800
commit: 9ee768a9d54c79f1f99254ec4c8058123ff3fccb (patch)
tree: 90c49b4c032a7b457b5c390bc1345fb82dcca051
parent: 966a8802931e8a6079e815e200d9a274288f60b9 (diff)
14 files changed, 22085 insertions, 11460 deletions
diff --git a/69531-0.txt b/69531-0.txt
index a75c384..1a9323a 100644
--- a/69531-0.txt
+++ b/69531-0.txt
@@ -1,4776 +1,4398 @@
-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Advice to young men and boys, by B. B.
-Comegys
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Advice to young men and boys
-       A series of addresses delivered by B. B. Comegys to the pupils of
-       Girard College
-
-Author: B. B. Comegys
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2022 [eBook #69531]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading
-             Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
-             images generously made available by The Internet
-             Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND
-BOYS ***
-
-
-
-
-
-                                ADVICE
-                                  TO
-                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
-
-
-
-
-                   [Illustration: _Stephen Girard._]
-
-
-
-
-                                ADVICE
-                                  TO
-                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
-
-                        _A SERIES OF ADDRESSES_
-
-
-                      DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS
-          MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA
-
-                  TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE
-
-
-                           ILLUSTRATED WITH
-                  Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel
-
-
-                             PHILADELPHIA
-                       GEBBIE & CO., Publishers
-                                 1890
-
-
-
-
-                        Copyright by
-                             GEBBIE & CO.,
-                                 1889.
-
-
-
-
-                               PREFACE.
-
-
-In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges of the Courts of Common
-Pleas of Philadelphia to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which
-has charge of Girard College, having for some years previously, by the
-kind partiality of President Allen, been on the staff of speakers in
-the Chapel on Sundays. My interest in the Pupils was of course at once
-increased, and ever since I have given much time and thought to the
-moral instruction of the boys.
-
-From the many Addresses made to them I have selected the following
-as fair specimens of the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
-repetitions of thought and language may be accounted for by the lapse
-of time between the giving of the Addresses, not forgetting the
-well-known Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line――precept upon precept――here
-a little――there a little.”
-
-The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr. Girard has been defined
-by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.
-
-The book is published in the hope that it may be the means of helping
-some boys and young men other than those to whom the Addresses were
-made.
-
-    4205 WALNUT ST.,
-        _November, 1889._
-
-
-
-
-                         CONTENTS.
-
-
- STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE. (Introductory)     PAGE  9
-
- HOW TO WIN SUCCESS                                   “  25
-
- LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS              “  39
-
- ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH                        “  51
-
- BAD ASSOCIATES                                       “  59
-
- ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD                   “  69
-
- THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED                  “  79
-
- WILLIAM PENN                                         “  99
-
- OUR CONSTITUTION                                     “ 113
-
- JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN                              “ 129
-
- THE LEAF TURNED OVER                                 “ 143
-
- THANKSGIVING DAY. (November 29, 1888)                “ 155
-
- ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN                      “ 169
-
- A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS                        “ 179
-
- A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER                                 “ 188
-
-
-
-
-   LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-
- STEPHEN GIRARD      _Frontispiece._
-
- B. B. COMEGYS                  PAGE 25
-
- WILLIAM WELSH                    “  51
-
- JAMES A. GARFIELD                “  69
-
- JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN          “ 129
-
- PROFESSOR W. H. ALLEN            “ 169
-
-
-
-
-                  STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.[A]
-
-                             INTRODUCTORY.
-
-[A] This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and
-Character of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”
-
-
-Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will “mariner and merchant,”
-was born near the city of Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age
-of twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his counting-house
-on Water street, above Market. He was a man of great industry and
-frugality, and lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day lived,
-in the dwelling of which his counting-house formed a part. He was
-married and had one child, but the death of his wife was followed
-soon by the death of his child, and he never married again. He lived
-to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what was considered at the
-time of his death a vast estate, more than seven millions of dollars.
-One hundred and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed to
-members of his family, sixty-five thousand as a principal sum for
-the payment of annuities to certain friends and former employés, one
-hundred and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities, five
-hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia for the improvement of
-its water front on the Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State
-of Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements, and an
-indefinite sum in various legacies to his apprentices, to sea-captains
-who should bring his vessels in their charge safely to port, and to his
-house servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in trust to the
-city of Philadelphia for the following purposes: (1) To erect, improve
-and maintain a college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish a
-better police system, and (3) to improve the city of Philadelphia and
-diminish taxation.
-
-The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart by his will for
-the construction of the college, and as soon as was practicable the
-executors appropriated certain securities for the purpose, the actual
-outlay for erection and finishing of the edifice being one million nine
-hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and twenty-one dollars
-and seventy-eight cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced May
-6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies on the Fourth
-of July following, and the completed buildings were transferred to
-the Board of Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There was thus
-occupied in construction a period of fourteen years and six months, the
-work being somewhat delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
-Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the estate. The
-design adopted was substantially that furnished by Thomas U. Walters,
-an architect elected by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
-rendered advisable by the change of site directed in the second codicil
-of Girard’s will, the original purpose having been to occupy the square
-bounded by Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in the heart
-of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard having, subsequently to the
-first draft of his will, purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the
-William Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge Road, known as
-the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed that the site of his college should
-be transferred to that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
-dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which dwellings and stores
-form part of his residuary estate.
-
-The college proper closely resembles in design a Greek temple. It is
-built of marble, which was chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery
-and Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont, Massachusetts.
-
-The building is three stories in height, the first and second being
-twenty-five feet from floor to floor, and the third thirty feet in the
-clear to the eye of the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
-and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width and thirty-two
-in height. The walls of the cella are four feet in thickness, and are
-pierced on each flank by twenty windows. At each end of the building
-is a vestibule, extending across the whole width of the cella, the
-ceilings of which are supported on each floor by eight columns, whose
-shafts are composed of a single stone. Those on the first floor are
-Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at Athens; on the second, a
-modified Corinthian, after the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at
-Athens; and on the third, a similar modification of the Corinthian,
-somewhat lighter and more ornate.
-
-The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white marble, dormitories,
-offices and laundries. A new refectory, containing improved ranges
-and steam cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
-of which will seat with ease more than one thousand persons. Two
-bathing-pools are in the western portion of the grounds, and others
-in basements of buildings. The houses are heated by steam and lighted
-by gas obtained from the city works. Thirty-five electric lights from
-seven towers one hundred and twenty-five feet high illuminate the
-grounds and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches in thickness
-and ten feet in height, strengthened by spur piers on the inside and
-capped with marble coping, surrounds the whole estate, its length
-being six thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
-more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced on the southern
-side, immediately facing the south front of the main building, for the
-chief entrance, this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
-lodges, between which stretches an ornamental wrought-iron grille, with
-wrought-iron gates, the whole forming an approach in keeping with the
-large simplicity of the college itself.
-
-The site upon which the college is erected corresponds well with
-its splendor and importance. It is elevated considerably above the
-general level of the surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous
-object, not only from the higher windows and roofs in every part of
-Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river many miles below the city and
-from eminences far out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
-view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the city and its environs
-for many miles around and the course, to their confluence, eight miles
-below, of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.
-
-The history of the institution commences shortly after the decease of
-Girard, when the Councils of Philadelphia, acting as his trustees,
-elected a Board of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
-1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A Building Committee was also
-appointed by the City Councils on the 21st of the following March, in
-whom was vested the immediate supervision of the construction of the
-college, an office in which they continued without intermission until
-the final completion of the structure.
-
-On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having previously been
-authorized by the Councils so to do, proceeded to elect Alexander
-Dallas Bache president of the college, and instructed him to visit
-various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase the necessary
-books and apparatus for the school, both of which he did, making an
-exhaustive report upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
-establish schools without awaiting the completion of the main building,
-but competent legal advice being unfavorable to the organization
-of the institution prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and
-difficulties having meanwhile arisen between the Councils and the Board
-of Directors, the ordinances creating the board and authorizing the
-election of the president were repealed.
-
-In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to whom the building was
-transferred, and on December 15, 1847, the officers of the institution
-were elected, the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
-Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being chosen as
-president. On January 1, 1848, the college was opened with a class of
-one hundred orphans, previously admitted, the occasion being signalized
-by appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same year one hundred
-more were admitted, and on April 1, 1849, an additional one hundred,
-since when others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred or to
-swell the number as facilities have increased. The college now (1889)
-contains thirteen hundred and seventy-five pupils.
-
-On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office of president of the
-college, and on the 23d of the following November William H. Allen, LL.
-D., Professor of Mental Philosophy and English Literature in Dickinson
-College, was elected to fill the vacancy. He was installed January 1,
-1850, but resigned December 1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith, of
-the United States army, was chosen to fill his place. Major Smith was
-inaugurated June 24, 1863, and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen
-being immediately re-elected and continuing in office until his death,
-on the 29th of August, 1882.
-
-The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D., LL. D., was elected
-December 27, 1882, by the Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed
-of fifteen members, three of whom――the Mayor and the Presidents of
-Councils――are _ex officio_, and twelve are appointed by the Judges
-of the Court of Common Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second
-Wednesday of each month.
-
-It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania that any child
-having lost its father is properly denominated an orphan, irrespective
-of whether the mother be living or not. This construction has been
-adopted by the college, the requirements for admission to the
-institution being prescribed by Mr. Girard’s will as follows: (1) The
-orphan must be a poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
-application for admission being received before the former age, nor
-can he be admitted into the college after passing his tenth birthday,
-even though the application has been made previously; (2) the mother
-or next friend is required to produce the marriage certificate of the
-child’s parents (or, in its absence, some other satisfactory evidence
-of such marriage), and also the certificate of the physician setting
-forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form of application looking to
-the establishment of the child’s identity, physical condition, morals,
-previous education and means of support, must be filled in, signed
-and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications are made at the
-office, No. 19 South Twelfth street, Philadelphia.
-
-A preference is given under Girard’s will to (_a_) orphans born in
-the city of Philadelphia; (_b_) those born in any other part of
-Pennsylvania; (_c_) those born in the city of New York; (_d_) those
-born in the city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans born
-in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be strictly limited to the
-old city proper, the districts subsequently consolidated into the city
-having no rights in this respect over any other portion of the State.
-
-Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly according to
-priority of application, the mother or next friend executing an
-indenture binding the orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee
-under Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided for by
-the college. The seventh item of the will reads as follows:
-
-“The orphans admitted into the college shall be there fed with
-plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent apparel (no
-distinctive dress ever to be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe
-manner. Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their
-persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable
-and rational exercise and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
-various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing,
-grammar, arithmetic, geography, navigation, surveying, practical
-mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
-the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid, but I do not
-recommend the Greek and Latin languages), and such other learning and
-science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
-I would have them taught facts and things, rather than words or signs.
-And especially, I desire, that by every proper means a pure attachment
-to our republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience,
-as guaranteed by our happy constitutions, shall be formed and fostered
-in the minds of the scholars.”
-
-Although the orphans reside permanently in the college, they are, at
-stated times, allowed to visit their friends at their houses and
-to receive visits from their friends at the college. The household
-is under the care of a matron, an assistant matron, prefects and
-governesses, who superintend the moral and social training of the
-orphans and administer the discipline of the institution when the
-scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are divided into
-sections, for the purposes of discipline, having distinct officers,
-buildings and playgrounds.
-
-The schools are taught chiefly in the main college building, five
-professors and forty eight teachers being employed in the duties of
-instruction; and the course comprises a thorough English commercial
-education, to which has been latterly added special schools of
-technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a large proportion of
-the orphans admitted into the college have had little or no preparatory
-education, the instruction commences with the alphabet.
-
-The order of daily exercises is as follows: the pupils rise at six
-o’clock; take breakfast at half-past six. Recreation until half-past
-seven; then assemble in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to
-the chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel exercises consist
-of singing a hymn, reading a chapter from the Old or New Testament, and
-prayer, after the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the various
-school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess of fifteen minutes,
-until twelve. From twelve until the dinner-hour, which is half-past
-twelve, they are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
-that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour, when they
-resume the school exercises, remaining without intermission until four
-o’clock. At four the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
-which they are on the play-ground until six, at which hour supper is
-served. The evening study hour lasts from seven to eight, or half-past
-eight, varying with the age of the pupils, the same difference being
-observed in their bedtimes, which are from half-past seven for the
-youngest until a quarter before nine for the older boys.
-
-On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section rooms at nine o’clock
-in the morning and at two in the afternoon for reading and religious
-instruction, and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at three
-in the afternoon they attend divine worship in the chapel. Here the
-exercises are similar to those held on week days, with the important
-addition of an appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
-of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether on Sundays or on
-week days, are invariably conducted by the president or other layman,
-the will of the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of any
-denomination whatsoever within the boundaries of the institution.
-
-The discipline of the college is administered through admonition,
-deprivation of recreation, and seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal
-punishment may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
-presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes an unfit companion
-for the rest, the Will says he shall not be permitted to remain in the
-college.
-
-The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing and educating each
-pupil, including current repairs to buildings and furniture and the
-maintenance of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between the
-age of fourteen and eighteen years the scholars may be indentured by
-the institution, on behalf of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some
-“art, trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
-as far as is judicious, the inclination and preference of the scholar.
-The master to whom an apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with
-sufficient meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at his own
-place of residence (unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to the
-indenture and so indorsed upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach
-and instruct the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,” and at
-the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish him with at least two
-complete suits of clothes, one of which shall be new. Should, however,
-a scholar not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave the
-college upon attaining the age of eighteen years. In case of death
-his friends have the privilege of removing his body for interment,
-otherwise his remains are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
-Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.
-
-Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are allowed to visit the
-college on the afternoon of every week day. Permits can be obtained
-from the Mayor of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at
-the office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South Twelfth street,
-Philadelphia, or at the office of the _Public Ledger_ newspaper.
-Especial courtesy is shown all foreign visitors, and particularly those
-interested in educational matters.
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by influenza, which was then
-epidemic in the city. The violence of the disease greatly prostrated
-him, and, pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent that he
-could not live. He had no fear of death. About a month before this
-attack he had said: “When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
-unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going to die to-morrow I
-should plant a tree, nevertheless, to-day.”
-
-He died in the back room of his Water street mansion on December 26th,
-aged eighty-one years (or nearly), and four days after he was buried in
-the churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and Spruce streets.
-
-For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed where they had been
-laid in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard
-College having been completed, it was resolved that the remains of the
-donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus provided in its
-vestibule. This was done with appropriate ceremonies on September 30,
-1851.
-
-Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this attained, the
-longing of mankind to leave a shining memory merged his purpose in the
-establishment of what was to him that fairest of Utopias――the simple
-tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties ended not with
-the State, and whose benefactions were not limited to the rescue or
-advancement of its interests alone, but whose charities broadened
-beyond the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual life, to
-stretch over long reaches of the future, enriching thousands of poor
-children in his beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why he
-worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed object of his labor in
-acquisition. While he was forward with an apparent disregard of self,
-to expose his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
-to aid the internal improvements of the country, and to promote its
-commercial prosperity by all the means within his power, he yet had
-more ambitious designs. He wished to hand himself down to immortality
-by the only mode that was practicable for a man in his position, and
-he accomplished precisely that which was the grand aim of his life. He
-wrote his epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks and squares
-which adorn the streets of his adopted city, in the public works and
-eleemosynary establishments of his adopted State, and erected his own
-monument and embodied his own principles in a marble-roofed palace.
-Yet, splendid as is the structure which stands above his remains, the
-most perfect model of architecture in the New World, it yields in
-beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor sleeps among the orphan
-poor whom his bounty is constantly educating.
-
-“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily stretches forth
-his invisible hands to lead some friendless child from ignorance to
-usefulness. And when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
-made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed and educated, and many
-men made useful to their country and themselves, each happy home or
-rescued child or useful citizen will be a living monument to perpetuate
-the name and embalm the memory of the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”
-
-
-
-
-                          BOARD OF DIRECTORS
-                                  OF
-                             CITY TRUSTS,
-                                 1889.
-
-
-                    W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, _President,
-            Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees_.
-
-                    LOUIS WAGNER, _Vice-President_.
-
-                         ALEXANDER BIDDLE,
-                         JAMES CAMPBELL,
-                         JOSEPH L. CAVEN,
-                         BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,
-                         JOHN H. CONVERSE,
-                         WILLIAM L. ELKINS,
-                         WILLIAM B. MANN,
-                         JOHN H. MICHENER,
-                         GEORGE H. STUART,
-                         RICHARD VAUX.
-
-
-                  MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”
-
-                       EDWIN H. FITLER, _Mayor_.
-              JAMES R. GATES, _President Select Council_.
-             WILLIAM M. SMITH, _President Common Council_.
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-    F. CARROLL BREWSTER, _Solicitor_.
-        FRANK M. HIGHLEY, _Secretary_.
-            JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., _Supt. Admission and Indentures_.
-
-
-
-
-                   [Illustration: _B. B. Comegys._]
-
-
-
-
-                          HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.
-
-                             May 27, 1888.
-
-
-I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the plainest duties of
-life――of what you must be, of what you must do, if you would be good
-men and succeed.
-
-It would be strange if one who has lived as long as I have should not
-have learned something worth knowing and worth telling to those who are
-younger and less experienced. I have had much to do with young people
-here and elsewhere, and I have seen many failures, much disappointment,
-many wrecks of character, and have learned many things; and I speak to
-you to-day in the hope that I may say such things as will help some
-boy, at least one, to determine, while he is here this morning, to do
-the best he can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
-are particularly appropriate to those just about to leave the college.
-
-It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject――
-
-    1. As to health.
-    2. As to improvement of the mind.
-    3. As to business or work of any kind.
-    4. As to your duties to other people.
-    5. As to your duty to God.
-
-As to health. You cannot be happy without good health, and
-you cannot expect to have good health unless you observe certain
-conditions. You must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that is
-within reach, or by other simple methods (such as a common brush) which
-are always within your reach. Be as much in the open air as possible.
-This is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and sedentary,
-such as that of a clerk in any shop or office. Pure, fresh air is
-Nature’s own provision for the well-being of all her creatures, and is
-the best of all tonics.
-
-Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat food that is too
-highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t be afraid of fruit in season and
-when it is ripe. But don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
-apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food provided here, accounts
-for the extraordinarily good health which almost all of you enjoy.
-
-Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating drinks. And the only
-way to be absolutely safe is not to drink even a little, or once in a
-while. Don’t drink at all.
-
-Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not later than eleven
-o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A young fellow who goes to work
-at seven o’clock in the morning can’t afford to keep late hours.
-Young people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot safely
-disregard this hint. Late hours are always more or less injurious,
-especially when you are away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
-temptations of the streets and at the theatres.
-
-As to public entertainments or recreations in the evening, go to no
-place of seeing or hearing where you would not be willing to take your
-mother or sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely to be
-hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons, and gambling houses,
-or parties. You cannot be too careful about your recreations; let them
-be simple and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.
-
-Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing, or spitting, or
-swearing, or others that are injurious to yourselves or disagreeable
-to other people. All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
-clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at work――this is not
-always possible――but when going and coming to and from work.
-
-Always give place to women in the streets, in street-cars, or in
-other places. Do not rush into street-cars first to get seats. A true
-gentleman will wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit in
-street-cars, while women are standing, unless you are very, very tired.
-Here is a temptation before you every day almost in our city. Hardly
-anything is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars while
-women are standing and holding on to straps. And yet I see this every
-day. What is a boy good for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if
-he can give a woman or an old man a seat?
-
-If you are so favored as to have a few days or two weeks holiday in
-summer, go to the country or to the sea-shore, if your means will
-allow. The country air or sea air is better for you than almost any
-other change.
-
-Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well dressed――not, however, at
-your tailor’s expense. It is the duty of all to be well dressed, but
-don’t spend all your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
-on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for clothing when it is
-nearly or quite worn out. By all means keep out of debt, for your
-personal or family expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
-you can very soon repay your dealer the money you owe. The difference
-between ease and comfort, and distress, in money matters, is whether
-you spend a little more than you make, or a little less than you make.
-Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty sure to come, and you must
-lay up something for that day.
-
-Very much of the crime that is committed every day (and you cannot open
-a paper without seeing an account of some one who has gone wrong) is
-because people will live beyond their means; will spend more than they
-earn. They hope for an increase of pay, or that they will make money in
-some way or other, and then when that good time does not come, and as
-they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something, only borrowing
-it as they say, but they take it and spend it, or pay some pressing
-debt with it, and then, and then――they are caught, and sent to court,
-and tried and sent to――well, you know without my telling you.
-
-As to the mind.
-
-You have fine opportunities for education here, but they will soon be
-over, and if you leave this college without having a good knowledge
-of the practical branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
-Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will be at a great
-disadvantage with other boys who are well educated. I had a letter in
-my pocket a few days ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the
-Moyamensing Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar; and next to
-the horror of knowing he was in prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so
-ignorant of the very commonest branches of English education should
-have ever been within the walls of this college.
-
-I think I have told you before of a man who employs a large number of
-men, whose business amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
-in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and who a few years
-ago was robbed and almost ruined by his book-keeper, and who would now
-give half of what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could
-understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent upon other people
-to keep his accounts.
-
-As to books, be careful what you read. How it grieves me to see errand
-boys in street-cars, and sometimes as they walk in the streets, reading
-such stuff as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste of time,
-though that is bad enough, but a positive injury to the mind, filling
-it with the most improbable stories, and often, also, with that which
-is positively vicious. Read something better than this. Do not confine
-yourselves to newspapers, and do not read police reports. Attractive
-as this class of reading is, it is for the most part hurtful to the
-young mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good reading, magazines
-and periodicals; and books and books, good, bad, indifferent; and you
-will hardly know which to choose unless you ask others who are older
-than you, and who know books. Most boys read little but novels; and
-there are many thoroughly good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and
-historical. Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money; for you
-can get everything you want out of the public libraries; and this was
-not so, or at least to this extent, when I was a boy.
-
-As to work or business.
-
-Set out with the determination that you will be faithful in everything.
-Only last week a Girard boy called on me to help him get employment.
-I asked him some questions, and he told me that he had been out of
-the college five or six years, and had five or six situations. Do you
-think he had been faithful in anything? If he had been, he would not
-have lost place after place. When you get a place, and I hope every
-one of you will have a place provided for you before you leave here,
-be among the first to arrive in the morning, and be among the last to
-leave at the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination of base
-ball or anything else lead you to forget that your first duty is to
-your employer. Be quick to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself,
-“It is not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s place,”
-but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and let it be seen that
-you are ready for any work. And be very prompt to answer. Do whatever
-you are told. Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and say
-“good-morning” as if you meant it. In short, do not be slovenly in
-anything you have to do; be alive, and remember all the time that no
-labor is degrading.
-
-Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect, and your
-fellow-clerks or workers, whether superiors, inferiors or equals, with
-hearty good-will.
-
-Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if your employer do
-so, he will despise you for doing so. No matter if he is untruthful,
-he will respect you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge in
-or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does this, and you can
-be a real gentleman even if you are poor, for you will be educated.
-Make yourself indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
-possible, and it will almost certainly insure success. Be ambitious in
-the highest sense. Remember, that if not now, you will hereafter have
-others dependent upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
-for a boy to go out from this college with the determination to support
-his mother; and some that I know and you know are doing this, and many
-others will do it.
-
-I pause here to say that, so far, my words have been spoken as to your
-duties to the world, to yourselves. I have supposed that you boys would
-rather be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather own teams than
-drive them for other people, that you would rather be a contractor than
-carry the pick and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer than
-carry the hod, that you would rather be a house-builder than a shoveler
-of coal into the house-builder’s cellar. Is it not so?
-
-Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell you, and avoid
-everything I have warned you against, you cannot succeed in the best
-sense, you cannot become true men, such men as the city has a right to
-expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of God; for he holds all
-things in his hands. “The silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle
-upon a thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be against us?
-
-In these closing words, then, I would speak to you as to your duty to
-God.
-
-What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell you anything that you do
-not already know, so often have you been talked to about this subject.
-But nothing is so important for you to be reminded of, though I fear
-that to some of you hardly anything is so uninteresting. Naturally the
-heart is disinclined to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
-do without him, though many people think they can, or they act as if
-they thought so. Such people are not wise; they are very foolish.
-
-He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with infinite love and
-care, he has appointed the time for our departure from this life, and
-he has prepared a better life than this for those who love him here. We
-cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all things are in
-his hands. If you will think of it, some of the best men and women you
-know are believers in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
-you can do without him?
-
-Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship of those who love
-and fear God, both men and women. You are safe with such; you are not
-quite so sure of safety in the society of those who openly say they
-can do without God. When I speak of those who fear God, I do not mean
-merely professors of religion, not merely members of meeting or members
-of church, but I mean people who live such lives as people ought to
-live, who fear God and keep his commandments. You know there are such,
-you have met with them, you will meet many more of them, and you will
-meet also those who call themselves Christians, but whose lives show
-that they have no true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists, mere
-professors.
-
-Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean, read it, a little of it at
-least, every day. You need not read much, it is well sometimes that you
-read but a little; but read it with a purpose――that is, to understand
-it. The literature of the Bible as you grow older will abundantly repay
-your careful and constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
-treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument of Horace Binney,
-Esq., in the Girard will case, I was surprised to see how familiar Mr.
-Binney was with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers that
-has ever lived in our own or any other country. Yet Mr. Binney thought
-it quite worth his while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
-it is worth your while also?
-
-Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not say what church it
-shall be. That must be left to yourselves to determine, and many
-circumstances will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
-some church, and, when you become more interested in the subject than
-you are now, join that church, whatever it may be, and so connect
-yourselves with people who believe in and love God. If there be a
-Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so learn to study
-the Scriptures systematically.
-
-Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every night and every
-morning and pray to God. You are not so likely to be ashamed if you
-have a room to yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this even if
-there are others in the room with you, as will be the case with many of
-you. This is a severe test, I know, but he who bears it faithfully will
-already have gained a victory.
-
-Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the twelfth chapter of the
-Gospel according to St. Luke: “Take heed and beware of covetousness,
-for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
-possesseth.”
-
-On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered here many men,
-a great company, who were trained in this college, and who, after
-graduation, went out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
-a most interesting time, not only for them but for the teachers and
-officers who have had charge of them.
-
-Some of them are successful men in the highest and best sense, and have
-made themselves a name and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
-clerks, mechanics, railroad men――men representing almost all kinds of
-business and occupations――came here in great numbers to celebrate the
-anniversary of the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was
-a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more. I do not know their
-names; for many of them had left before I began to come here; but
-from certain expressions that fell from the lips of some of them I am
-persuaded that they, at least, are walking in the truth.
-
-It would be very interesting if we could know their thoughts, and see
-with what feelings they look back on their school-life. I wonder if
-any of them regret that they did not make a better use of their time
-while here. I wonder if any feel that they would like to become boys
-again and go to school over again, being sure that, with their present
-experience of life, they would set a higher value on the education of
-the schools. I wonder if any feel that they would have reached higher
-positions and secured a larger influence if they had been more diligent
-at school. I wonder if there are any who can trace evil habits of
-thought to the companions they had here. I wonder if any are aware of
-evil impressions which they made on their classmates and so cast a
-stain and a dark shadow on other young lives, stains never obliterated,
-shadows never wholly lifted. I wonder if there are any among them who
-regret that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God in their
-school-days was neglected, and who have never had so favorable an
-opportunity since. “If some who come back here on these commemoration
-days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects, they would
-be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”
-
-I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger boys, to give most
-earnest attention to the duties which lie before you every day. You
-will not misunderstand me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose that
-I would interfere in the least degree with the pleasures which belong
-to your time of life. I would not lessen them in the least; on the
-contrary, I would encourage you, and help you in all proper recreation,
-in all sports and plays. The boy who does not enjoy play is not a happy
-boy, and is not very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man. But
-it is quite possible, as some of you know, to enjoy in the highest
-degree all healthful sports, and at the same time to be industrious
-and conscientious in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the boys
-in this college shall be boys of the best, the highest type; that they
-“shall walk in the truth.” There are, alas, many boys who have gone
-through this college, and fully equipped (as well as their teachers
-could equip them), have been launched out into life and come to naught.
-I do not know their names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
-the fact.
-
-Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I want to discharge my duty
-to you as faithfully as I can. I know some of the difficulties of life,
-for they have been in my path. I know some of the fierce temptations
-to which boys and young men are exposed, for I have felt these assaults
-in my own person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I am a
-sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards you, I come with these
-plain, earnest words, and I urge you to look up to God, and ask him to
-help you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.
-
-
-
-
-               LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.
-
-                            March 12, 1885.
-
-
-I propose to speak to you now of some plain and practical duties which
-await you in life; and, as there are many boys here who are anxiously
-looking for the time when they will leave the college to make their way
-in the world, some of whom will probably have left the college before
-I come again, I speak more especially to them. And my first words are
-words of congratulation, and for these reasons:
-
-1. _Because you are young._ And this means very much. You have an
-enormous advantage over people that are your seniors. Other things
-being equal, you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
-living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting by the mistakes
-committed by those who precede you, and if you are not blind, you can
-avail yourselves of the successes they have achieved.
-
-You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You are full of courage and
-endurance. You can grapple with difficult subjects and with a strong
-hand. And if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves and
-start anew. In short, life is before you, and you look forward with the
-inspiration of hope, and it may be, also, of determination.
-
-2. I congratulate you also _because you are poor_. You have your own
-way to make in the world. You know already that if you achieve success,
-it must be because you exert yourselves to the very utmost. Indeed, you
-must depend upon yourselves, and this means that you must do everything
-in your power that is right to do, to help yourselves.
-
-You must understand that there is no royal road to _success_, any more
-than there is to _learning_, and that there is no time to trifle.
-If you were rich men’s sons, these remarks would have no special
-pertinence, or importance.
-
-My congratulations are quite in order also because very many, if not
-_most_ of the high places in our country, are held by those who once
-were poor lads.
-
-Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if one is to be
-congratulated on his poverty, do fathers toil early and late, denying
-themselves needed recreation, not ceasing when they have accumulated
-a good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires――why
-do they so much dread to leave their sons to struggle for a living?”
-More than one answer might be given to these questions. Some fathers
-have so little faith in God’s providence that they forget his goodness,
-which _now_ takes care of their families through the instrumentality
-of parents; and who can continue that care through other means, just
-as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority says that “they
-who will be rich, fall into temptations and snares,” one of which is
-that the race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits and
-amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he can’t change his habits,
-he has no other mental resources――he must work or perish.
-
-Do not, then, let the fact that you are _poor_ discourage you in the
-least――it is rather an advantage.
-
-3. But again I congratulate you, because _your lot is cast in America_.
-Do not smile at this. I am not on the point of flying the American
-eagle, nor of raising the stars and stripes. It _is_, however, a good
-thing to have been born in this country. For in all important respects
-it is the most favored of all lands. It is the fashion with certain
-people to disparage our government and its institutions; and one must
-admit that in some particulars there might be improvement, and will
-be some day; but, notwithstanding these defects, it is unquestionably
-true that it is the best government on earth. Is there any country
-where a poor young man has opportunities as good as he has here, to
-get on in life? Is there any obstacle or hindrance whatever, outside
-of himself, in the way of his success? If a young man has good health
-of mind and body, and a fair English education and good manners, and
-will be honest and industrious, is he not much more certain to attain
-success, in one way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
-You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights under the law. There
-is no caste here, that curse of monarchies. There is no aristocracy in
-sentiment or in power, no House of Lords, no established church, no law
-of primogeniture. One man is as good as another under the law as long
-as he behaves himself.
-
-If you want further evidence, only look for a moment at the condition
-of the seething, surging masses of Europe, and the continual
-apprehensions of a general war. Before this year 1885 has run its
-course the United States may be almost the only country among the great
-powers that is not involved in war.
-
-And if still further illustration were needed, let me point to that
-most extraordinary scene enacted in Washington some weeks ago.
-
-A great political party, which has held control of this government
-nearly a quarter of a century, and which has exercised almost unlimited
-power, yields most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
-all honor and patronage, to the will of the people who have chosen a
-new administration. And everybody regards it as a matter of course.
-
-Was such a thing ever known before? And could such a thing occur
-anywhere else among the nations?
-
-Once more, I congratulate you _because you live in Philadelphia_. Ah,
-now we come to a most interesting point. Most of you were born here,
-and you come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all large
-cities. More to be desired as a place to live in than Washington, the
-seat of government, the most beautiful of all American cities, or New
-York, with its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston, with its
-boasted intellectual society.
-
-They may call us the “_Quaker City_,” or the “_worst paved city_,” or
-the “_slow city_,” or the “city of rows of houses exactly alike;” but
-these houses are the homes of separate families, and in a very large
-degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot say as much of any
-other city in the world. Although there are doubtless many instances
-in the oldest part of the city, and among the improvident poor, where
-more than one family will be found in the same house, yet these are
-the exceptions and not the rule; and so far as I know there is not one
-“tenement house” in this great city that was built for the purpose of
-accommodating several families at the same time. I need not point you
-to New York and Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
-twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do people
-prevail, utterly destroying that most cherished domestic life of which
-we have been so proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
-with its demoralizing associations and results; nor shall I describe
-the awful tenement houses in those two cities, where the poor are
-crowded like animals in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb
-creatures do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
-else that makes life desirable.
-
-Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia is the most
-desirable for the young man who must make his own way in the world....
-
-And having shown you how favorable are the conditions which are
-about you, the next point is, What will you do when you set out for
-yourselves?
-
-All of you are _expecting_ when you leave school to be employed by
-somebody, or engaged in some business. And I suppose you may be looking
-to me to give you some hints how to take care of yourselves, or how to
-behave in such relations.
-
-I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.
-
-I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed, it would be necessary
-first to define the word. And there are several definitions that might
-be given. One of the shortest and best would be in these words, “A life
-well spent.” That’s success. And this definition shall be my model.
-
-Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition be, not to get
-through quickly, not to go over much ground in text-books, but to
-master thoroughly everything before you. If you knew how little
-thorough instruction there is, you would thank me for this. There are
-so many half-educated people from schools and colleges that one cannot
-help believing that the terms of graduation are very easy. There have
-been, and are now, graduates of colleges who cannot add up a long
-column of figures correctly, nor do an example in simple proportion,
-nor write a letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes of
-grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say nothing of perspicuity and
-unity and general good taste.
-
-It is quite surprising to find how helpless some young men are in the
-simple matter of writing letters; an art with which, in these days of
-cheap postage and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
-to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try to-morrow to write a
-note of twenty lines on any subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it
-for criticism to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
-calling one of his young men, and directing him to write a letter to
-one of his correspondents, saying such and such things, and bring it to
-him for his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the letter
-is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let it go out of his office?
-
-It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief business of life,
-not the only thing of importance in a counting-house, but it is an
-elegant accomplishment, and most desirable of attainment.
-
-Let me say some words about shorthand writing. In this day of push and
-drive and hurry, when so many things must be done at once, there is
-an increasing demand for shorthand writers. In fact, business as now
-conducted cannot afford to do without this help. It often occurs that
-a principal in a business house cannot take the time to write long
-letters. Why should he? It does not pay to have one that is occupied in
-governing and controlling great interests, or in the receipt of a large
-salary, tied to a desk writing letters, or reports, or statements of
-any kind. He must _talk off_ these things; and he must be an educated
-man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and accurate expression
-that his dictation may almost be taken to be final. He wants a clerk
-who can take down his words with literal accuracy, and who will be
-able to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and submit the
-complete paper to his chief for his signature. The demand for this
-kind of service is increasing every day, and some of you now listening
-to me will be so employed. See that you are ready for it when your
-opportunity comes.
-
-If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in an insurance
-company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote yourself to your
-particular duties, whatever they may be. And don’t be too particular as
-to what kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be work that
-you think belongs to the porter; no matter if it is, do it, and do it
-as well as the porter can, or even better.
-
-Let none of you, therefore, think that anything you are likely to be
-called upon to do is beneath you. Do it, and do it in the best manner,
-and you may not have to do it for a long time.
-
-Make yourself indispensable to your employer. You can do that; it
-is quite within your power, and it may be that you may get to be an
-employer yourself; indeed it is more than probable; but you must work
-for it.
-
-If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house or public
-institution, remember that you are in a position of trust and
-responsibility. When you make errors do not erase the error; draw faint
-red or black lines through it and write correct characters over the
-error. Do not hide your errors of any kind. Do not misstate anything
-in language or figures. Everybody makes errors at some time or other,
-but everybody does not admit and apologize for them. The honest man is
-he who _does_ admit and apologize, and does so without waiting to be
-detected.
-
-There have been of late some deplorable instances of betrayal of trust
-in our city. I may as well call it by its right name, stealing. The
-culprits are now suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
-While I am speaking to you there are men, young and _not_ young, in our
-city who are _now_ stealing, and who are falsifying their books in the
-vain hope that it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day when
-they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a holiday; who cannot
-afford to be sick, lest absence for a single day may disclose their
-guilt. What a horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks or
-their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but it may be their last
-day in that place.
-
-And the day will come, most surely, when _you_ will be tempted as
-these wretched ones have been tempted. In what shape the temptation
-may come, or when, no human being knows. The suggestion will be made,
-that by the use of a little money you may make a good deal; that the
-venture is perfectly safe; some one tells you so, and points to this
-one or that one who has tried it and made money. It is only a little
-thing; you can’t lose much; you _may_ make enough to pay for the cost
-of your summer holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
-you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better beer, or buy a
-gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything else; _you can’t lose much_.
-You have no money of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
-be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you do it? No! Let
-nothing induce you to take the first dollar not your own. It is the
-_first_ step that counts.
-
-But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget it. Suppose the
-time comes when you find that you _have_ taken something that was not
-yours, and that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what then?
-Why, go at once to your employer; tell him the whole story; keep back
-nothing; throw yourself upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
-than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is no possibility of
-continuous concealment. Tell it now before you are detected, and, if
-you must be disgraced, the sooner the better.
-
-Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too much? Oh, boys, young
-men, if you knew the frightful danger that you may be in some day, the
-subtle temptations that will beset you, the many instances of weakness
-about you, the shipwrecks of character, the utter ruin that comes to
-sisters and to innocent wives and children by the crimes of brothers,
-husbands and fathers, as we who are older know, you would not wonder
-that I speak as I do.
-
-Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation, weakens confidence
-in human character. For every such instance of wrong-doing is a stab
-at _your_ integrity if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
-fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by their employers,
-men who are hedged about by the sacredness of domestic ties, on whom
-the happiness of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men who
-claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little by little;
-they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up their tracks, cannot do it
-long, are caught, tried, convicted, sentenced and imprisoned. Then
-the question may be asked about you or me: “How do we know that Mr.
-So-and-So is any better than those who have fallen?” Don’t you see
-that these culprits are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
-society, _your_ enemies and _mine_?
-
-If the names of those who are now serving out their sentences in
-the public prisons for stealing, not petty theft, but stealing and
-defrauding in larger sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
-papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored names and blighted
-lives and ruined homes, and how the memory would recall some whom we
-knew in early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol of fond
-wives and lovely children; and we should turn away with sickening
-horror from the record! But, if there should appear in the same papers
-the names of those who are _now engaged in stealing and defrauding_
-and _falsifying entries_, who are not yet caught, but who may, before
-this year is out, be caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
-revelation _that_ would be!
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.
-
-But do not think that it is for your future in _this_ life only that
-I am concerned. Life does not end here, though it may seem to do so.
-Our life in this world is a mere _beginning_ of existence. It is the
-_future_, the _endless_ life before us, that we should prepare for; and
-no preparation is worth the name except that of a pure, an upright and
-honorable life, that depends for its support on the love and the fear
-of God. You must accept him as your Father, you must honor him and obey
-him, and so consecrating your young lives to his service, trust him to
-care for you with his infinite love and care.
-
-
-
-
-                   [Illustration: _William Welsh._]
-
-
-
-
-                    ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,
-            _First President of the Board of City Trusts_.
-
-                          February 22, 1878.
-
-
-When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to persuade you to
-adopt the thought so aptly set forth by one of the old Hebrew kings,
-Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
-thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the most conspicuous
-examples of working with all his might, and so much of whose work was
-done for you, whom you so often saw standing where I now stand, I
-little thought that his work on earth was so nearly done. Last Sunday
-he addressed you here. One, two, three services he conducted for the
-boys of this college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory
-for the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to say from my
-knowledge of his method of doing things that these services were all
-conducted in the best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
-his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided in his acts or
-speech, but that he took hold of his subject with a firm grasp, and
-did not let go until the service was finished. It is very natural
-that we should desire to know as much as we can about a life that
-has come so close to us as the life of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if
-we may, what it was that made him the man that he was. The thousands
-of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s Church on the day of
-the funeral, as many of you saw; the very large number of citizens
-of the highest distinction who united in the solemn services; the
-profound interest manifested everywhere among all classes of society;
-the closing of places of business at the hour of these services; the
-flags at half-mast, all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
-assured us that no common man had gone from among us. What was it that
-made him no common man? What was there in his life and character that
-lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant? In other places,
-and by those most competent to speak, will the complete picture of
-his life be drawn, but what was there in his life which particularly
-interests you college boys? It will surprise you probably when I tell
-you that his early education――the education of the schools――was very
-limited. He was not a college-bred man. At a very early age (as early
-as fourteen, I believe) he left school and went into his father’s
-store. You know that he could not have had much education at that age.
-And he went into the store, not to be a gentleman clerk to sit in the
-counting-house and copy letters and invoices, and do the bank business
-and lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything that
-came to hand, rough and smooth, hard and easy, dirty and clean, for
-in those days the duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
-porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was not so heavy as
-the robust porter’s. And even when he grew older and stronger he would
-go down into the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore in
-the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the days were long then: there
-were no office hours from nine to three o’clock, but merchants and
-their clerks dined near the middle of the day, and were back at their
-stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and stayed and worked until
-the day was done. So this young clerk worked all day, and went home at
-night tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through the next
-day and the next in the same manner. But not only to rest and sleep.
-The body was tired enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
-not tired. He early knew the importance of mental discipline, of mental
-cultivation. He knew that a half-educated man is no match for one
-thoroughly equipped, and so he set himself to the task of making up,
-as far as he could, for that deficiency of systematic education which
-his early withdrawal from school made him regret so much. What definite
-means or methods he resorted to to accomplish this I cannot tell you,
-for I have not learned; but the fact that he did very largely overcome
-this most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have ever met
-him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly at ease in circles where
-men must be well informed or be very uncomfortable. As the President
-of this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen of the
-highest professional and general culture, he was quite equal to any
-exigency which ever arose. All this you must know was the result of
-education, not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but that
-which he acquired himself after his school life. He was careful about
-his associates. Then, as now, the streets were alive with boys and
-young men of more than questionable character. And the thought which
-has come up in many a boy’s mind after his day’s work was done, must
-have come up in his mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
-with companions of my own age and have a good time? Why should I be
-so strict while others have more freedom and enjoy themselves so much
-more?” I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and that he was a
-free, hearty boy in them all, but I cannot suppose, for his after life
-gave no evidence of it, his general good health, his muscular wiry
-frame forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful pleasures
-passed beyond that line which separates the good from the bad, the pure
-from the impure. Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.
-
-William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean by that he was not lazy.
-A large part of the failures in life are attributable to the love of
-ease. We choose the soft things; we turn away from those which are
-hard. We are deterred by the abstruse, the obscure; we are attracted
-by the simple, the plain. A really strong character will grapple
-with any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A character
-naturally weak may be developed by culture and discipline into one of
-real strength, but the process is very slow and very discouraging. A
-life that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on other
-lives, on society, must have these struggles, this training. I do not
-know minutely the characteristics of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this
-particular, but I infer most emphatically that his strong character was
-formed by continuous, laborious, exacting self-application.
-
-I would now speak of that quality which is so valuable (I will not say
-so rare), so conspicuously and so immeasurably important, personal
-integrity. Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest degree. He was most
-emphatically an honest man. No thought of anything other than this
-could ever have entered into the mind of any one who knew him. All
-men knew that public or private trusts committed to him were safe.
-Mistakes in judgment all are liable to, but of conscious deflection
-from the right path in this respect he was incapable. His high position
-as President of the Board of City Trusts, which includes, among other
-large properties, the great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of
-Philadelphia, proves the confidence this community had in his personal
-character. His private fortune was used as if he were a trustee. He
-recognized the hand of God in his grand success as a merchant, and he
-felt himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure. If he enjoyed
-a generous mode of living for himself and his family――a manner of life
-required by his position in the community――he more than equalized it by
-his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was conscientious and liberal
-(rare combination) in his benefactions, for he felt that he held his
-personal property in trust.
-
-Such are a few of the traits in the character of the man whose life
-on earth was so suddenly closed on Monday last. Under Providence, by
-which I mean the blessing of God, that blessing which is just as much
-within your reach as his, these are some of the conditions of his
-extraordinary success. His self-culture, the choice of his companions
-his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion, made the man what
-he was. I cannot here speak of his work in that church which he loved
-so much. I do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have reason to
-believe that, next to his own family, his affections were placed on
-you. He could never look into your faces without having his feelings
-stirred to their profoundest depths. He loved you――in the best, the
-truest sense, he loved you. He was willing to give any amount of his
-time, his thought, his care, to you. The time he spent in the chapel
-was a very small part of the time he gave to his work for you. You were
-upon his heart constantly. I do not know――no one can know――but if it be
-possible for the spirits of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes
-of earth――to come back and look upon those they loved so much when in
-the flesh――I am sure his spirit is here to-day――this, his first Sabbath
-in Heaven――looking into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
-out among you, and wishing that all of you may make such use of your
-grand opportunity here as will insure your success in the life which
-is before you when you leave these college walls, and especially as
-will insure your entering into the everlasting life. Such was his life,
-full of activity, generosity, self-denial, eminently religious, in
-the best sense successful. He was never at rest; his heart was always
-open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except to himself. He wanted
-everybody to be religious. He died in the harness; no time to take it
-off; no wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance, not in
-retreat. He never turned his back on anything that was right. His eye
-was not dim; his natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
-that it seemed only stepping from one room in his Father’s house to
-another. We are reminded of the beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray
-describes the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of the Charter
-House School, after a life spent in fighting the enemies of his country
-abroad, and the enemies of the good in society at home. “At the usual
-evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and Thomas Newcome’s hands
-outside the bed feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck,
-a peculiar sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his head a
-little and quickly said _Adsum_, and fell back. It was the word they
-used at school when names were called, and lo, he, whose heart was
-as that of a little child, had answered to his name and stood in the
-presence of ‘The Master.’”
-
-
-
-
-                            BAD ASSOCIATES.
-
-                          November 11, 1888.
-
-
-I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of evil company, a
-danger to which you will necessarily be exposed when you go out from
-this college to make your way in life.
-
-The desire for companionship sometimes leads people, and especially
-young people, into bad company. A boy finds himself associated with a
-schoolmate, a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive in
-manners, full of fun, but who is not what he ought to be in character.
-
-No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or young have some
-points that are not repulsive, and sometimes the very bad are
-attractive in some respects. A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
-into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in the conduct of his
-new friends which is particularly out of the way. The conversation is
-somewhat guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad, and, for
-a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings; but, after a while, the
-mask is thrown off and the true character is revealed. Then very soon
-the mind of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that corrupt
-and defile it. All that is polluting in talk and story and song is
-poured out. Books and papers, so vile that it is a breach of law to
-sell them, are read and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
-and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the mind and heart of
-their son are so polluted and depraved that no human power can save him.
-
-I very well remember a boy older than myself who, early in life, gave
-himself up to vile company and vile books and vile habits, and who,
-long ago――almost as soon as he reached an early manhood――sunk, under
-the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored grave, but not until
-he had defiled and depraved many a boy who came under his influence.
-Better would it have been for his companions if their daily walks and
-playgrounds had been infested with venomous serpents, to bite and sting
-their bare feet, than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
-all uncleanness.
-
-It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances may throw us
-among them; the providence of God may send us there, but we ought never
-to _seek_ such company, except for good purposes. What I mean is that
-we ought not to seek such associates, however agreeable they may be in
-other respects, and not to remain among them except for their good.
-
-There are wicked people in every community, of all ages. We cannot
-altogether avoid contact with them. We find them among our schoolmates
-and in the walks of business.
-
-Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever ruined by evil
-companions. A corrupt literature is bad enough, but evil companions are
-more numerous and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers have
-slain their thousands; bad companions have slain their ten thousands. I
-can recall the names of many who were led away, step by step, down the
-broad road that leads to destruction, by companions genial, attractive,
-but corrupt.
-
-There are some companions from whom you cannot separate yourselves.
-They are with you continually; at home and abroad, in school or at
-play, by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always with you.
-There is no solitude so deep that they cannot find you, no crowd so
-great that they will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
-they will not――cannot――be kept away. I mean _your own thoughts_, your
-bosom companions. Shall they be EVIL companions or GOOD? Ah! you know
-who, and who only, can answer this question.
-
-I once went through a monastery in the old city of Florence, in Italy.
-It was a retreat for men who were tired of the world, or who felt so
-unequal to the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
-believed peace could be found only in retirement. The house was of the
-order of St. Francis. One of the monks took me into his cell, and I
-sat down and talked with him. It was a very small room――one door, one
-window, bare walls, a small table, two wooden chairs, a few books, a
-crucifix, a washstand, and some pieces of crockery; and that was all.
-In this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to the chapel,
-just across the corridor, and to walk in the cloisters for exercise;
-here he expected to die. It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But
-I thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping from evil
-thoughts, and the only way, men may well submit to the confinement, the
-solitude, the monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But, alas!
-it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron doors, no bolts and
-bars, can shut out our thoughts, for they are a part of ourselves: they
-_are_ ourselves; for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
-
-Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek his fortune in
-the city. His mother was dead and his father broken in health and in
-fortune. The boy reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
-father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever fell to his
-lot to do. He was tall, strong and good-looking. A place was soon
-found for him, and until he was better able to support himself he
-found a home with some friends. He was a boy of good mind but with a
-very imperfect education, and he seemed inclined to make up for this
-in part by reading during his leisure hours. The situation found for
-him was in a large commercial house, where everything was conducted
-in the best manner and on the highest principles. Here he made rapid
-progress and was soon able to contribute to the support of those he had
-left at home in the country. He became interested in serious things,
-united with the Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession of
-religion. Everything went well with him for several years, until he
-fell in with some boys near his own age, who had been brought up under
-very different circumstances. Two or three of these were inclined
-towards skepticism in religious things, and their reading was quite
-unlike that to which this boy had been accustomed. Some fascination
-of manner about them attracted the lad to their society, and he grew
-less and less fond of his truest and best friends. He became irregular
-in his attendance at the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with
-by his teacher and friends had no candid and manly answer for them.
-After a while he ceased going to church entirely, spending his time
-at his lodgings reading profane and immoral books or in the society
-of his new companions. Then he found his way with these friends (so
-he called them, but they were really his greatest enemies) to taverns
-and even to worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking he
-was strengthening his mind and broadening his views. A little further
-on and his habits grew worse, and became the subject of observation
-and remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly with him and
-received his promise to turn away from his evil associates (who had
-well-nigh ruined him) and to lead a better life. He promised well,
-and for a time things with him were better. But after a while he fell
-away again into his old ways and with his old tempters, and before his
-friends were aware of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
-were received from him. He was without means; he found it hard to get
-employment; he had no references, and the people among whom he found
-himself were distrustful of strangers.
-
-One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter of recommendation
-replied something like this:
-
-“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of recommendation except
-with qualification. If you are seeking employment it is your duty to
-make a candid statement of your condition. Make a clean breast of it.
-Keep nothing back. Say that you had a good situation; that you were
-growing with the growth of your employers; that your salary had been
-advanced twice within the year; that one of the partners was your
-friend; that he had stood by you in your earlier youth; that he had
-extricated you from embarrassment and would have helped you again when
-needed, and that in an evil hour you forgot this, and your duty to him
-and to the house which sustained you; that you left your place without
-your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or quite broke his heart, and
-that all this grew out of your love of bad associates and your love of
-drink, and that while under this infatuation you went astray with bad
-women; and that in very despair of your ability to save yourself, and
-ashamed to meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the hope
-that in a new field and with new associates you could reform.
-
-“If you say this or something like this to a Christian man, little as
-you affect to think of Christianity, his heart will open to you and you
-can then look him frankly in the face, and have no concealments from
-him. Any other course than this will only prolong your agony, and in
-the end plunge you in deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
-advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no one will be more
-rejoiced than myself or more ready to help you. Read the parable of
-the prodigal son every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
-ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a humble, penitent man,
-and make your father’s last days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.
-
-“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a deep interest in you,
-else I would have thrown your letter to me into the fire.”
-
-I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely to the influence
-of his foolish, bad companions. And I know that this sad history is the
-record of many others; in fact, that the same experience awaits all
-who think it a light matter what company they keep, and who drift on
-the current with no purpose except to find pleasure, without regard to
-their duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young men standing at
-the corners of the streets, or lounging against lamp-posts, and catch a
-word as I pass, very often profane or indecent, I know very well that
-a work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked, will certainly
-lead to destruction. And I wonder whether these boys and young men
-have parents or sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to pass
-unwarned down the road that leads to death.
-
-But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions, besides those
-that appear to us in bodily form. They confront us in the printed page.
-You read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of dialogue. Such
-books are often more attractive than a plain narrative with little
-conversation. You enter fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit
-of the story. The characters are real to you. You seem to see the forms
-before you; you make a picture of each in your mind, so that if you
-were an artist you could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
-dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no sound as you
-read, you are really pronouncing each word in your mind. And every time
-you say a bad word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are in
-effect listening to bad words not spoken by other people merely, but
-spoken by yourself, and before you are aware of it you will be in the
-habit of thinking oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It is
-even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene. Now do you ever
-think that when you are reading such wretched stuff you are in effect
-associating with the characters whose talk you are listening to, and
-without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates, burglars, dissolute, the
-very worst of society, even murderers. You may not have the courage to
-rebuke those who are defiling the very air with their foul talk; you
-may be too cowardly even to turn away from such company lest they sneer
-at you; but what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after being
-warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have described? Is there any
-one here who would be guilty of such conduct?
-
-These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so most reluctantly, for
-these are not pleasant subjects――are not mere theories. They are sad
-realities. It was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys who
-were essentially corrupt. Their minds were cages of unclean birds.
-They were inexpressibly vile. And it is this fear of the evil that
-one sinner may do among young boys that leads me to say what I do on
-this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can persuade you to turn
-away from foolish company, from bad associates, I shall feel that I am
-doing indeed a blessed work. For what is the object, the purpose of
-all this that is said to you? It is to make men of you and to give
-you grace and strength to assert your manhood. It is to build you up
-on the foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare you for
-the life that is before you here and for that life which is beyond.
-But the education of text-books illustrated by the best instructors is
-not enough; it is not all you need for the great work of your lives.
-You must be ready when you are equipped not only to take care of
-yourselves, but to help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
-are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be fully equipped unless
-you have the blessing of Almighty God on your work and on your life.
-
-I want you to be successful men, and no man can be a successful man,
-in the highest and best sense, unless he is a religious man. How can
-one expect to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing of
-God? And how can one expect the blessing of God who does not ask God
-for his blessing? Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
-of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you must read the
-Scriptures for yourselves; you must pray for yourselves and each one
-for himself, as well as for others.
-
-
-
-
-                 [Illustration: _James A. Garfield._]
-
-
-
-
-                  ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.
-
-                          September 25, 1881.
-
-
-I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest things――one of
-the most difficult things to understand, which has ever occurred. On
-the second day of July last the President of the United States, when
-about to step into a railway train which was to carry him North, where
-he was to attend a college commencement, at the college where he was
-graduated, was shot down by an assassin.
-
-I say it is one of the strangest things, because the President did not
-know the assassin, and had never injured him nor any of his friends.
-There was absolutely no motive for the hideous deed.
-
-I say it is most difficult to understand, because we believe that
-Divine Providence overrules all events, holds all power, and we wonder
-why He permitted the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.
-
-President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was emphatically a man of
-the people. He was born in a log-cabin which his father had built with
-his own hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by thirty. When
-James was two years old, his father died, late in the autumn, and this
-boy with three other children were all dependent upon their mother for
-a support. How the lone widow passed that winter we do not know; but
-when the spring came there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm
-had to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing were left, and
-this little farm was worked by the mother and her oldest son. Only
-those who have lived on a farm in the country know how hard the work
-is. When James was five years old he was sent to school, a mile and a
-half away, and as this was a very long walk for so young a boy, his
-sister often carried the little boy on her back.
-
-After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s trade, and in
-this effort he spent two years or so, going to school at intervals and
-studying at spare hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic and
-geography. After that he became a sort of general help and book-keeper
-for a manufacturer in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
-and this was to him a very great advance. But not being well treated
-there, he soon left and took to chopping wood――at one time cutting
-about twenty-five cords for some $7. Then having read some tales of
-the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often read, he wanted to
-be a sailor; but when he applied for a place on the great lake, he
-looked so like a landsman from the country that no captain would engage
-him. So he went to the canal, and found employment in leading or
-driving horses or mules on the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to
-be a deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the water (once
-almost being drowned) and meeting some other mishaps, he concluded that
-“following the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it. By this
-time he had saved some money, and his brother Thomas lent him some
-more, and with another young man and a cousin he went to a neighboring
-town to the academy. These young fellows rented a room, borrowed some
-simple cooking utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and filled
-them with straw, and set up house-keeping, and went to the academy.
-
-Young Garfield spent three years at this academy, doing odd jobs of
-carpenter work when he could, and so eking out a living. Then he
-went to an eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
-the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making the fires. Here
-he prepared himself to enter the junior class in a higher college,
-and, after some delay, he entered that class in Williams College,
-Massachusetts.
-
-While pursuing his college course at Williams he filled his vacations
-by teaching in district schools in the neighborhood until his
-graduation, in 1856, at twenty-five years of age――quite advanced, you
-see, in years for a college graduate.
-
-Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute, became a
-professor of Greek and Latin, and then at twenty-eight years of age
-became a Senator in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out
-in 1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the Government
-commissioned him as colonel of a regiment, and he did good service in
-the State of Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few months he was
-promoted to be brigadier-general. So he went on distinguishing himself
-wherever he was placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
-Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at Chickamauga, his
-gallantry was so conspicuous and so successful that within a fortnight
-he was made a major-general.
-
-While in the army he was elected representative to Congress, and on
-December 5, 1863, he took his seat in the House, the youngest member of
-Congress.
-
-Some time after this, the war still going on, he wished to rejoin the
-army, but President Lincoln would not permit it, on the ground that his
-military knowledge would be invaluable to the government. After serving
-seventeen years in the House of Representatives, at times Chairman of
-most important committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before he
-took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency, and last November
-was elected by a large majority to that high office.
-
-On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and four months
-afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand of an assassin.
-
-You know how during this long, dry, hot summer he has been lying in
-Washington until the last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
-and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has been nursed; how gently
-he was removed to the sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene
-would do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed to do;
-and you know how last Monday night, while you were sleeping soundly in
-your beds, the bells of our city and all over the land were tolling the
-tidings of his death.
-
-He was a good man――in many respects as well qualified to fill the
-Presidential chair as any man who has ever sat in it. So I say it is
-most difficult to understand why he was taken away.
-
-Like all of you he lost his father by death at an early age; as is the
-case with all of you his mother was poor. He struggled hard for an
-education, and he acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
-satisfied with present attainments; he was always on the advance. At
-an early age he gave himself to the Lord, joining the church; and
-as that branch of the church does not believe in the necessity of
-ordination for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman, as the
-great Faraday preached in London and as Christian laymen preach the
-same truths to you, and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected
-in November last, to persuade him, some time when he might be passing
-through Philadelphia, to come to this chapel and address you boys.
-This, alas, now can never be.
-
-President Garfield loved his mother. No more touching incident was ever
-witnessed than that which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
-when, after taking the oath of his high office, he turned immediately
-to his dear old mother and kissed her.
-
-Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations mourn with us.
-The Queen of Great Britain with her own hand sends messages of the
-sweetest, the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow and her
-children are fatherless. She sends flowers for Mrs. Garfield and puts
-her court in mourning, a compliment never extended before except in the
-case of death in a royal family. Other European and Asiatic and African
-governments send their sympathy――they all feel it――they all deplore
-it. Emblems of mourning are displayed in every street in our city, and
-every heart is sad. The people mourn.
-
-Boys, you may not be Presidents――probably not one here will ever be at
-the head of this nation; nor is this of any moment; but remember it
-was not only as President of the United States that General Garfield
-was wise and good――it was in every place where he was put; whether
-in school, in college, in teaching, in the army, in Congress, in the
-President’s chair, in his family and on his sick and dying bed,
-languishing and suffering, wasting and burning with fever, exhausted by
-wounds cruel and undeserved, he was always the same brave, true, real
-man.
-
-Some of you know with what profound and tender interest people gathered
-in places of prayer that Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from
-Washington to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous, and how the
-hope was expressed, almost to assurance, that the Saviour would meet
-his disciple by the sea. The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
-disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of healing; nothing
-short of a miracle could do that, but by a more complete preparation
-of the people for the final issue. It came at last. And while many of
-us were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were flashing the sad
-intelligence everywhere that, at last, he was at rest.
-
-Now that we know that he is taken away, we stand in awe and amazement.
-We cannot yet understand it.
-
-Shall we gather a few lessons from his life? Some of the most apparent
-may be mentioned very briefly.
-
-The simplicity of his character is most interesting. Conscious as he
-must have been of the possession of no ordinary mental force, he was
-never obtrusive nor self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
-with purpose and completeness. And his associates often placed him in
-positions of high trust and responsibility.
-
-He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed in Congressional
-duties, to a degree which left him little or no time for recreation,
-he did not fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
-said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring to bring him
-some little present, could think of nothing more acceptable than a few
-volumes of the Latin poets.
-
-When his life comes to be written by impartial hands, it will be
-found that along with his great simplicity and his high culture there
-will be most prominent his devotion to principle. This was his great
-characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the place, to speak of
-his adherence, under strong adverse influences, to his sound views on
-the great currency question which has occupied so much the attention of
-Congress.
-
-In a not very remote sense his death is to be attributed to his
-devotion to principle. That great and most discreditable contest at
-Albany might have been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
-different manner, if the President could have yielded his convictions.
-He did not yield, and he was slain.
-
-The funeral services in the capitol are over and the men whom Mrs.
-Garfield chose as the bearers of her husband’s coffin were not members
-of the cabinet, nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any of
-whom would have been honored by such a service, but they were plain
-men, of names unknown to us, members of his own little church.
-
-They are gone. They have taken his worn and wasted and mutilated form,
-all that remains in this world of the strong, pure life that was not
-yet fifty years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and there
-within sight and almost within sound of the waves of the great inland
-sea, they will to-morrow lay him to rest until the morning of the
-resurrection.
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity? Shall our faith
-in the prevalence of prayer be weakened? God forbid that we should so
-distort his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest
-against God?”
-
-Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and almost insisted, but
-in softening the hearts of the people and drawing them as they have
-never before been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe, and
-in uniting the people, and also in promoting a better feeling between
-the different sections of our country than has been known for half a
-century. And if, in addition to this, the people would only learn to
-abate that passion for office which has been so fatal to peace, and
-would be content to allow fitness for office to be the only rule of
-appointment, then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
-securing of which even the sacrifice of a President would seem not too
-great a price.
-
-    “And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king said to his
-    servants, Have me away for I am sore wounded. His servants
-    therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the
-    second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
-    and he died and was buried. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned
-    for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv. 23, 24.
-
-
-
-
-                 THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.
-
-                            March 25, 1888.
-
-
-A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an address before one of
-the societies in the venerable University of Harvard on this subject:
-“The Case of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate knowledge
-of his subject, and with rare felicity of thought and expression,
-he set before his audience, most of whom were either in the learned
-professions or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition of
-those professions, especially that of the law, a preparation for which
-is supposed to imply a more or less thorough academic or collegiate
-education.
-
-I have a different task; for I would show the importance of education
-to the workers with the hand, whether in the mills, the shops, or
-among the various trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
-that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely, but also that
-which is acquired sometimes without the advantage of any schools. And
-I particularly desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever be
-his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one who is engaged in the
-same kind of work, and who is more or less educated.
-
-A mechanic may be well trained; may have more than his share of brains;
-may be highly successful in his business; indeed, may have acquired
-a large property, and have very high credit, and may hardly know how
-to write his name. A man may have scores or hundreds of men in his
-employment, and be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
-and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely at the mercy of
-his book-keeper, and may be so defrauded as to be on the very brink
-of ruin and not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
-of a long business life more than one such case has come under my
-observation. A man may be partially educated, able to cast up accounts,
-able to keep books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
-is worthy of the name), and yet not be able to write a simple agreement
-in good English, nor understand clearly the meaning of such a paper
-when written by another.
-
-Very many of the business failures that occur are due to the fact that
-the person or firm did not know how to keep accounts. This is not
-confined to people of small business. How often after a failure are we
-told “that the man was very much surprised at his condition; he thought
-he was all right; he could not account for his failure, and that in
-a short time he would have his books in such a shape that he would
-be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask their advice.
-It would require ten days or so, however, before he could tell how
-he stood.” Why, if the man had been an educated business man, and an
-honest man, he would have known in twenty-four hours how he stood.
-
-The great majority of people who are employed are not educated. They
-do not know how to do in the best manner, that which they have to do.
-Perhaps a good definition of education, as the word is applied to a
-working man, may be that he knows how to do that which he has to do, in
-the very best way.
-
-Education may be of three kinds, viz.:
-
-That of the _schools_.
-
-_Self-education._
-
-That of _trade_ or _business_.
-
-_That of the schools._ And this is the best of all; for the whole
-of one’s time is given to it; and if you are so inclined you may go
-through the whole course, as provided in this school. And all this with
-text-books, instruments and other appliances, absolutely free of cost.
-A boy, therefore, who passes through the entire course of study here,
-has superior opportunities of acquiring a most substantial education.
-
-Certainly the education of the schools is the best; and let me urge you
-with all seriousness to make the best use of your opportunities. You
-can never learn as easily as now. You are young. You are not burdened
-with cares. Do not relax your efforts in the least; do not yield to
-weariness; do not think you know enough already; do not be impatient
-lest others of your own age, who have already left school to go to
-work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind of business; if they
-have the start of you, they may not be able to keep it; and depend
-upon it, in the long run you will overtake and pass them, other things
-being equal, if you have a better school education than they have. When
-you are told that young men who are well educated are thereby unfitted
-or unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business, do not
-believe it. I know the contrary. The better the school education you
-have, and the more you know, the more valuable you will be to your
-employer.
-
-Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
-_self-education_. All that I mean by it is, that education which one
-acquires without teachers. As so defined, it may be divided into two
-parts, viz.: the incidental and the direct.
-
-Let me speak first of the _incidental_.
-
-I mean by this that education that comes to us from society.
-
-You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you could. You seek
-companions, or other persons will seek you. Let your associates be
-those whose friendship will be an instruction to you, rather than
-simply a means of social enjoyment. There are young people of both
-sexes who, without being vicious, are utterly weak and foolish, idle
-and listless, drifting along a current, the end of which they do not
-care to think of. They are living for this life only, with no thought
-of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies, who float in the sunshine
-when the sun is shining, but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
-and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they are pleasant enough
-to chat with for a few minutes, but to be shut up to such companionship
-as this, would be intolerable. Society has a large element of this
-description, and you are likely to see it in your daily life.
-
-But this is not the worst phase of life among the young people with
-whom you may be thrown. There are worse elements than this. There are
-those who are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who have
-given themselves up to work all uncleanness with greediness; who put
-no restraint on their inclinations; in whose eyes nothing is pure or
-sacred; who have no respect for that which is wholesome or decent;
-who are the devil’s own children, and who are not ashamed of their
-parentage. And to such baleful, deadly influences and associations will
-you be exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised of their
-true character until it is too late.
-
-But there are _direct_ means of education, so called.
-
-The first of these which I mention is the use of books. This is
-unquestionably the best means. I am supposing that you have some taste
-for reading; if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to speak,
-or for you to listen. I know some people who rarely read a book, and I
-pity them. They seem to think that all that is necessary to read is the
-daily newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily very
-ignorant, for very much may be learned from the daily paper. But the
-newspaper does not pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for
-a life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a professional
-man or a mechanic. No; you must read books, not only for entertainment
-and recreation, but for information and culture, which you can obtain
-nowhere else. If there is no public library within your reach, seek out
-some kind-hearted man or woman who has books, and who will be willing
-to lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I well remember a
-gentleman in my early life who did this kind office for me before I was
-able to buy books, and there are such now who will do the same for you.
-
-If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to ask the advice
-of some practical friend to point out such as you may most safely
-and properly read. For if left to your own judgment or taste, you
-will probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by an attempt to
-read something not immediately necessary or appropriate. But do not
-attempt to follow an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find
-detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be discouraged
-by the greatness of the task. Such lists, I fancy, are made out by
-scholars who have read almost everything, and to whom reading is no
-task whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not attempt to read
-too many books, nor too much at a time, and do not be disappointed or
-discouraged if you are not able to remember or put to good account all
-that you read. You cannot always know what particular kind of food
-has afforded you the most nourishment. You may rest assured, however,
-that as every morsel of food that you take and are able to digest does
-something to build up and develop your system, or repair its waste, so
-every book or paper that you read, that is wholesome, does something,
-you may not know how much, to strengthen or develop your mind.
-
-There are books that you read for entertainment or recreation, and
-that are written for that purpose only. You may read such; indeed, you
-ought to read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
-and amusement, and there is much of the purest and best of this that
-you can get from books. But you must not make the mistake of supposing
-that most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading can be of
-this character. You would not think of making your daily meals of the
-articles of food that you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
-not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for a regular diet.
-You might as well do so, as to read only the light and humorous matter
-that was never intended for the mental diet of a working man. No. If
-you would attain the real object of reading and study, you must read
-and study books and papers that tax the full powers of your mind to
-understand them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your mind,
-even as the exercise of your muscles in work or play will develop a
-strength of body that the idle or lazy youth knows nothing of.
-
-If you would know how to make yourself master of any book that you
-read, form the habit, if the book is your own, of making notes with
-a pencil in the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
-property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and write at the end
-of every chapter questions on the matter discussed, and the answer to
-such questions will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
-that you will have _absorbed_ the book and made it your own; for, as an
-eminent American author has said, “thought is the property of whoever
-can entertain it.”
-
-I said just now that the daily newspaper does not pretend to supply all
-that you need to fit you for a life of business, either as a dealer
-in goods, or as a mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
-important means of education――so important that no one can afford to
-ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot be well informed who does not read
-the newspaper. The whole world is brought before us every morning and
-evening, and, if we do not read the news as it comes, we shall not
-know what we ought to know. It is not necessary to read everything in
-a daily paper; there are some things that it will be better for you
-not to read. You need not read all the editorials, brilliant as some
-of them are, for sometimes they discuss subjects that are not at all
-interesting nor useful to you. The newspaper from which I make the most
-clippings is one which is the fullest of advertisements, but which
-sometimes has nothing whatever in it that I read. But when it does
-discuss a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further to be
-said.
-
-But to read with the most advantage one ought to have within easy reach
-a dictionary, an atlas and, if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can
-read with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper gives can
-be filled up by reference to books which give more or less complete
-histories.
-
-The political articles which appear in the height of a campaign are
-hardly worth reading, unless you think of entering politics as a
-money-making business, which I sincerely hope none of you think of
-doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of crime, and especially
-the details of police reports and criminal trials, you will do well to
-pass by and not read. I really believe that a familiarity with these
-details prepares the way, in many instances, for the commission of
-crime, just as the reading of accounts of suicide sometimes leads to
-the act itself.
-
-Some of the best minds in our country, and in the world, are now
-employed in writing for the periodicals and magazines. No one can be
-well informed without reading something of the vast amount of matter
-which is thus poured out before him. I have not named the newspapers
-nor the magazines which you may read with the most profit; but your
-teachers can advise you what to read. Rather is it important for you to
-know what _not_ to read. Many of the most popular and the most useful
-books that have been published within the last quarter of a century
-have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or monthly paper. The best
-thoughts of the best thinkers sometimes first see the light in such
-pages.
-
-Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine, there are scientific
-periodicals, which are of essential value to a worker who wishes
-to be well informed in any of the mechanical arts. The _Scientific
-American_ is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the beauty of
-its illustrations and in the high quality of its contributions. The
-_Popular Science Monthly_ is a periodical of a wider range and more
-diversified character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
-subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you may find in the
-public library. But let me urge you to turn away from “dime novels.”
-Not because they are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome
-and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey which so many wretched
-creatures drink until the coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and
-the brain is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
-is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and soul of him who
-reads. There is an abundance of good literature that is cheap――do not
-read the bad.
-
-Having now spoken of the education you may get in the schools, and that
-which you may acquire for yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive
-for it, either in the society which you cultivate, or more directly
-from books, whether read as an entertainment and recreation, or,
-better still, by careful study; or through the daily newspaper, or the
-periodical, whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
-that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to the education which
-you will acquire when you work day by day at your trade or business.
-
-Let me beg of you to consider the great value of truthfulness in all
-your training. Hardly anything will help you more to reach up towards
-the top. And when you are at the head of an establishment of your
-own or somebody else’s (and I take it for granted you will be at the
-head some day), whether it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or
-a store, no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word, of not
-promising unless you are certain of keeping your promise, will almost
-insure your success if you are a good workman. How many good mechanics
-have utterly failed of success because they have not cared to keep
-their promises? A firm of high reputation agrees to supply certain
-articles of furniture at a time fixed by them. The time comes but the
-articles do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new promises are
-made only to be broken. Excuses are offered and more promises given;
-then incomplete articles are sent; then more delays, until, when
-patience is nearly exhausted, the work is finished. Then comes the bill
-and there is a mistake in it. The whole transaction is a series of
-disappointments and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go to
-that place again?
-
-It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as they become ten
-or twelve years of age, at the foot of the great breakers to watch
-the coal as it comes rattling and broken down the great wire screens,
-and catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side and allow
-only the pure coal to pass down into the huge bins, from which it is
-dropped into the cars and taken to market. To an uneducated eye there
-is hardly any perceptible difference between the coal and the slate.
-But these little fellows soon become so quick in the education of the
-eye, that they can tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
-grows older he graduates to the place of a mule driver, and has his car
-and mule, which he drives day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
-breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes his little oil lamp
-in the front of his cap, and goes down into the mines with his pick
-and becomes a miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most of
-one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine and from the
-pure air. And most of these men having no education, and never having
-been urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days in this
-manner. But occasionally there is one who feels that he is capable of
-better things than this. And I know one at least, who began his work
-at the foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through all these
-stages, as I have told you, and who determined to do something better
-for himself. So he gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
-leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the difficulties in his
-way. He persevered. He rose to be a boss among the men; then having
-saved some money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought his
-teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine, and became a miner
-of his own coal, and had his men under him, and has grown to be a rich
-man, and is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his hard work.
-This is only one instance of success in rising from a low position to a
-high one.
-
-The same thing is going on all around us and we see it every day. It
-would hardly be proper to give you names, but I could tell you of many
-within my own knowledge who, from positions of extremely hard labor and
-plain living, have risen to be the head men in shops and other places
-which they entered at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
-occurring. And there is no reason whatever, except your indifference,
-to prevent many of you from becoming, if God gives you health, the
-head men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates or in
-very low positions. And I tell you what you know already, that there
-is plenty of room for advancement. It is the lowest places that are
-full to overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the _chiefs_ of
-any industry? No, indeed. They have made themselves indispensable to
-their employers and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly a
-youth who cannot by strict attention to business, and conscientious
-devotion to the interests of his employer, make himself so invaluable
-that he need not join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
-army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the great commercial
-houses, or in the public service, or in the army and navy――do these
-people ever band themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
-They know better than that; they accomplish their purposes in better
-ways. If the working classes, so called, were better educated, they
-would not suffer themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
-not themselves work, who will not touch even with their little fingers
-the burdens which are crushing the life out of the deluded ones whom
-they are leading to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a
-true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable men to do their own
-thinking, and to determine for themselves what are their best interests.
-
-I urge you all to seek that higher and better education which will make
-you true men. You have now the great advantage of the education of the
-school. I have tried very simply, but not the less earnestly, to show
-you how you can fit yourselves for high places. It is for you to say
-whether you will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
-power can force you to do that which you will not do. You may lead a
-horse to a brimming fountain of water, but if he is not thirsty, no
-coaxing nor threatening nor beating can make him drink. I may show you,
-to demonstration, the abundant fountain of learning, but I can’t make
-you drink, or even stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty.
-I can’t make you study, however great the advantage to you, or however
-much they who are interested in you desire that you should.
-
-Every year this question which I have been pressing upon you becomes
-more and more important. The great colleges of the country are
-graduating their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
-with you for the high places in the mechanic arts. So are the public
-schools of the country sending out hundreds of thousands, many of them
-having the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic arts, are
-multiplying. Great changes have been made recently in our own city in
-this respect. The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work in this
-way. Our own college is moving in the same direction, and soon it will
-be sending out its hundreds every year to compete for places in the
-shops, with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have a school
-education――the best that you are able to receive, and you must not let
-any others go ahead of you.
-
-Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who sweep our
-streets――look at the stevedores who load and unload the ships――look at
-the men who carry the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
-ladders――look at the drivers and the conductors on our street cars,
-the most hard worked people among us――and are you not sure that most
-of these people are _un_educated? No one wants to be at the bottom all
-the time. We may have been there at the first; but those who have made
-the most progress are generally those who have had the best education.
-I know that education is not a sure guarantee of success; many other
-things enter into the consideration of the question; but I am saying
-that, other things being equal, _he who knows the most will do the
-best_. There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the rich, who
-have been well educated, who have everything provided for them, who
-have no stimulus, no spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
-have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation, and their
-fine education goes for nothing. But you are not of this class. You
-will have to make your way in the world by your own exertions.
-
-I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words about such boys
-as sometimes stand at the corners of the streets in large or small
-companies and amuse themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
-bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass by. I am sure much
-of this arises from thoughtlessness; but I wish to point out the
-exceeding impropriety of this behavior. I have known ladies to cross
-the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite out of their way rather
-than pass within hearing of these boys and young men. What right has
-any one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger, to block
-up the way or make loose or rude remarks, or defile the pavement over
-which I walk?
-
-All this most serious waste of time is probably because no one has
-particularly called attention to it. The time may come when you will
-recall the words of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
-when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what was said.
-
-I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will permit, to show
-the importance of that education which will enable you to rise in
-your trade or business, whatever it may be, to the upper places; and
-I have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to strive to be
-_chief_ rather than a _subordinate_, to be a _foreman_ rather than a
-_journeyman_.
-
-But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves and upon God.
-There is no royal road to education; the very meaning of the word shows
-this; the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed, rounded,
-hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts a piece of rough iron in the
-coals, keeps it there until it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it
-upon his anvil and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
-first on this side and then on that, rounding it off; then when it
-cools thrusting it among the coals again, then hammering away again
-until he has brought the rough piece of iron to the size and shape
-he wishes, when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are willing
-to work your mind into the shape you want it, you will surely bring
-yourself to the front among active, ingenious and successful men. But
-this means hard work, and work all the time.
-
-Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the hints which I have
-given you, if you really mean to succeed, if you are not content to be
-workers low down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise rather
-than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do men, instead of
-living from hand to mouth, you must grapple with the subject with all
-your might and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out of the
-streets at night, away from the taverns and from the low theatres, and
-from gambling dens, and from other places which I will not name; and,
-in short, you must be true Americans, for there is no truer type of
-manhood in all the world than a real American; and nowhere else in all
-the world has a poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
-as in our own good city of Philadelphia.
-
-
-
-
-                             WILLIAM PENN.
-
-                           October 22, 1882.
-
-
-In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel with her bow pointing
-towards the west was making her way slowly across the Atlantic
-ocean. She was a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
-emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome voyage, the very
-small accommodations, the horror of sea-sickness, were in this vessel
-aggravated by the breaking out of that most awful of all scourges,
-the small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population of one
-hundred, thirty passengers died. No record is left of the incidents
-of that voyage except this; but it is easy to imagine that all the
-circumstances were as deplorable as they could well be.
-
-After a weary time of head winds and calms, in about seven weeks, this
-ship, the “Welcome,” came within the capes of the Delaware bay.
-
-The most distinguished person on that little ship was William Penn.
-He had left his home in England, embarking with his trusty friends in
-a vessel only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American Line,
-to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the whole province from the
-government of England for the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured
-by our money, is about $80,000, and this money was due to him for
-services rendered and money loaned to the government by his father, an
-admiral in the English navy.
-
-About the 24th of October the vessel reached the town of Newcastle,
-where Penn landed and was cordially received by the people of that
-little village. Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
-now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving the vessel here, they
-came in a barge (Penn and some of his principal men) to the mouth of
-Dock creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street, where they
-landed, near a little tavern called the Blue Anchor.
-
-There was already a settlement on the shore of the Delaware river, and
-the people, mostly Swedes, had built a little church somewhat farther
-down the stream. The entire land between the Delaware and Schuylkill
-rivers, and for a mile north and south, was owned by three brothers,
-Swedes, named Swen. Penn bought this tract from them, and at once
-proceeded to lay out his new city. When he bought the whole province
-from the crown he desired to call it New-Wales, because it was so
-hilly, but the king insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory
-of the admiral, William’s father. But when the new city came to be
-named, Penn having no one to dispute his wish, called it by that word,
-of whose meaning we think so little, Philadelphia――brotherly love. Two
-months after this he met the Indians, it is said, under a great elm
-tree in the upper part of the city, in what we now call Kensington,
-and concluded that treaty which has been said to be the only treaty
-that was ever made without an oath, and that was never broken. Shortly
-after this Penn proceeded to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
-English author has said, he must have taken the ancient Babylon for his
-model, for this was the first modern city that was laid out with the
-streets crossing each other at right angles.
-
-The charter which Penn received from Charles the Second, King of
-England (the original of which is in the capital at Harrisburg, on
-three large sheets of parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
-also holding his authority under the crown. He at once therefore set
-about making a code of laws as special statutes, which with the common
-law of England should be the laws of the province. One of these special
-laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor, was to learn a useful trade or
-occupation; the poor to live on it: the rich to resort to it if they
-should become poor.” And I do not know what better law he could have
-enacted.
-
-When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception reached England
-and the continent of Europe, the effect was to arouse a spirit of
-emigration. Although Penn’s first thought and purpose was to found
-a colony, where he and others who held the religious views of the
-Society of Friends might worship without hindrance (which liberty
-was denied them in England), the people from other countries in
-Europe came here in great numbers for other purposes. The population
-therefore multiplied rapidly, and the people were generally such as had
-determined to brave the privations of a new country, to make themselves
-a home where life could be lived under better conditions than in the
-old countries, under the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
-emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal terms which the
-governor offered to new-comers; for to actual settlers he offered the
-land at about ten dollars for a hundred acres, subject, however, to
-a quit-rent of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever; and
-this may be the origin of that ground-rent instrument which is almost
-peculiar to Pennsylvania, and which is such a favorite investment for
-our rich men.
-
-After a stay of two years Penn returned to England, where he had left
-his wife and children; the care of the government having been left with
-a council, of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept the great seal.
-
-Not long after his return to England the king, Charles the Second,
-died, and having no son he was succeeded by his brother, James Duke of
-York, as James the Second. Although Penn was on the most cordial terms
-with the new king, as he had been with Charles, this did not secure him
-from the repeated annoyances and persecutions of those who detested his
-religion. So severe was the treatment to which he was subjected, and
-such was his personal danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
-France. But not being able nor willing to bear this exile, he returned
-to England, was tried for his offence against the law of the church and
-was acquitted. After this he came to America again, intending to spend
-the rest of his life here, but he remained only two years.
-
-The rest of his life was spent in England, but it was a life broken by
-persecutions and trials at law and other annoyances, the expenses of
-which, added to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards, were
-so great as seriously to involve him in financial embarrassments; and
-he was even compelled to mortgage his great estate in Pennsylvania to
-relieve himself; but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
-was so heavy that he felt the necessity of relieving himself of the
-property entirely, and he offered to sell it to the crown. While the
-matter was under consideration, his health began to decline; however,
-the terms were agreed upon, but while the papers were in the course of
-preparation he died peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July
-30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial ground belonging
-to Jordan’s meeting house.
-
-Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder of this
-commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this city of Philadelphia.
-
-Let us see now what there was in this life which we may find it
-interesting to recall and dwell upon; what there was in it which may be
-useful for us to consider in its application to ourselves.
-
-William Penn was born in the city of London on the 14th of October,
-1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s, near the Tower. His father
-was an admiral and his grandfather was a captain in the English navy.
-Then, as now, it was the custom of English families of good condition
-to send their boys away from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
-therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead, in Essex, called
-Chigwell. Here he remained until he was thirteen years old, with no
-incident particularly worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
-of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions, which, however,
-like many other boys, he soon threw aside. He seems to have been apt to
-learn, and was fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
-two years after leaving school, he was under private instruction at
-home, until he was fifteen years old, when he entered the University
-of Oxford. Here he devoted himself most diligently to his studies
-and became a successful student. But this did not prevent him from
-entering most heartily into the sports which were common to young
-men of his quality. He was very fond of boating, fishing, shooting,
-and other pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he avoided
-dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the keenest enjoyment of
-healthful sports is quite consistent with a pure life. If the college
-students of this day would believe and act upon this principle, it
-would be better for them and better for the world.
-
-With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this diligent application to
-study, he had a very tender sympathy and love for domestic animals.
-Towards those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness that
-was almost womanly.
-
-But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to turn him aside
-from a course of duty, when he was satisfied that it was real duty.
-During his school and college life there were many seasons of religious
-interest in his experience, and he was at last brought (under the
-preaching of a member of the Society of Friends named Thomas Loe) to
-declare himself a member of that society. He therefore refused to
-attend the services of the Church of England. The custom of wearing
-surplices by Oxford students, which had been abolished in Cromwell’s
-time, had been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came out as a
-religious man, threw off his surplice and refused to wear it. This
-act was bad enough in the eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went
-further than this, and, in common with some others of the same way of
-thinking, he so far forgot himself as to attack other students and tear
-off their surplices. This very grave offence could not be overlooked,
-and, admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from the University
-of Oxford. This was a great blow to his father, who was building
-the fondest hopes on the advancement of his son at college and his
-career as a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce the son to
-reconsider his conduct, and his father at last flogged him and drove
-him from the house. Some time after this, through the intercession of
-the mother, the young man was brought back to his home; and his father,
-in the hope that a change of scene and circumstances would work a
-change in the lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
-continent.
-
-While in Paris he studied the French language, and read some books in
-theology, and went as far as Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he
-was recalled to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs. He then
-studied law for a year, which no doubt was of some help to him in the
-founding of his commonwealth. Then his father sent him to take care of
-his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty of the Duke
-of Ormond. He entered the army here, and did good service too; and was,
-apparently, so much pleased with his new life that he suffered the only
-portrait of him that was ever painted, to be taken when he was wearing
-armor and in uniform. This picture, or a copy of it, may now be seen at
-the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Spruce street, above Eighth.
-
-About this time he came again under the influence of the preacher Loe,
-and was recalled by his father, who remonstrated with him on his new
-mode of life, but with no success whatever. He would not give up his
-new religion. His father tried to compromise the matter with him, and
-he even went so far as to propose to his son, that if he would remove
-his hat in the presence of the king and the Duke of York and his
-father, as his superiors, their differences might be healed; but the
-son, believing that the removal of his hat would be dishonorable to
-God, absolutely refused.
-
-His life for some time after this was stormy enough. He came out boldly
-and in defiance of law as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was
-repeatedly imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London and sometimes
-in the loathsome prison of Newgate, from which places he was released
-by the intercession of the Duke of York and his father and other
-friends.
-
-Those were very rough times, not likely, let us hope, to be repeated.
-Society was very corrupt at the highest sources, and religion was more
-violent and aggressive in its measures then than now. The world has
-grown wiser and better――there is more toleration, more of the Spirit
-of the Master now than then, and in our favored land every soul can
-worship God as he may choose to do.
-
-William Penn was a _statesman_. He founded this great commonwealth of
-Pennsylvania. He established a code of laws that were in advance of
-his time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture, that law which
-gives the lands of the father to the _oldest_ son, with little or no
-provision for younger sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the
-crown of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth. The
-property of a parent dying without a will should be _equally divided
-among his children_. Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense of the
-term. His laws were for the greatest good of the greatest number. He
-treated the Indians as if they were human beings, and not as if they
-were brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as the Indians
-have been treated even in our day by harsh and unscrupulous agents of
-the government. Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with Lord
-Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not know. Perhaps he was not.
-We know this misunderstanding gave him great trouble, and was indeed
-the prime cause of his return to England.
-
-Penn was a _rich man_. The inheritance left him by his father was
-handsome, and he could have lived most comfortably upon it. But when
-he received from the crown the charter which made him the owner of
-Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder, except sovereigns, known
-in history. He did not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
-luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed that he held
-his property as a trustee, and that he had no right to waste it. He
-might have lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it is
-said his father was offered a peerage), but such a life had no charms
-for him.
-
-Penn was a _conscientious man_. I mean by this that he followed his
-inner convictions, without regard to consequences. What he wanted to
-know was, whether a given thing was _right_ and according to his way
-of determining what the right was; and he did it if it were a duty,
-without flinching. No personal inconvenience, no consideration for the
-views or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the way of his
-duty, as he understood it. It was the custom of that time for gentlemen
-to wear swords, as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no purpose
-except as an ornament or part of the dress. Some time after he joined
-the Society of Friends, and while still wearing his sword, he said to
-his friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles and our
-testimonies against war for me to wear my sword?” When Fox replied,
-“Wear thy sword as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
-This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword never to resume it.
-
-William Penn was a _religious man_. He was called by the Holy Spirit
-at the early age of twelve years, as I have already said. He resisted
-that call and many others, until under faithful preaching he could
-resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the divine call and became
-an open professor of the principles of the Society of Friends. This
-was a very different thing, so far as personal comfort was concerned,
-from professing religion in the ordinary forms; for this was to join
-a hated sect, and bear all the contempt and persecution that belonged
-to a profession of religion in the early days of Christianity, when
-men, women and children perilled their lives in the service of the
-great Master. But Penn cared not for the cost; he was ready to go to
-prison, and to death if necessary, for his opinions. He _did_ go to
-prison over and over again, and bore right manfully all that was put
-upon him. He was not idle, however, in the prison. He preached to
-his fellow-prisoners; he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
-power to make known to others the good tidings of salvation that had
-come to him. He wrote a great many letters, and they were all full
-of the spirit of religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth,
-that might have been written by a systematic theologian; but among
-the most practical things he wrote was the address to his children,
-that it would be well if all people would read, and which, with a few
-exceptions, is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it was for
-those who lived two hundred years ago.
-
-If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had not been worth
-recording. He would have lived the life that was lived by almost all
-men of his class at that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
-luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in store for the New
-World, to be wrought out by the instrumentality of man, could have
-chosen another man, but he chose Penn.
-
-Such is the story of the life of a man who was one of the world’s
-heroes. His name will never die. There is a large literature on the
-subject of his life, some of which you will find in your own library,
-if you choose to look further into it. This is all that I feel it
-proper to say to you to-day about it.
-
-Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in Pennsylvania, as all
-of you were. And this could hardly be said of any other congregation
-in this city to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its size, it
-is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the whole of England. As to
-great rivers and mountains and mines and metals, as to forests and
-fields, we are far in advance of anything of the kind in England. No
-valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive than the valleys
-of our own Pennsylvania.
-
-It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the city of
-Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was founded by a great and good
-man. There are, in the civilized world, but three cities that are
-larger than ours. There is no city, except London, that has so many
-dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere in all the world where the
-poor man who works for his living can live so happily and so well.
-
-In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You will soon many of
-you take your place among the citizens, and have your share in choosing
-the men who make and execute the laws. Some of you _will be_ the men
-who make and execute the laws. William Penn founded this commonwealth,
-not only to provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members of his
-own society, but to afford an asylum for the good and oppressed of
-every nation; and he founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
-principles of Christianity might be carried out in practice. When you
-come to take your part in the duties of public life, see to it that you
-forget not his wise and noble purpose.
-
-
-
-
-                           OUR CONSTITUTION.
-
-                            October, 1887.
-
-
-I am about to do what I have never done――what has probably never been
-done by any other person in this chapel. I propose to give you a
-political speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly think you
-will be able to guess, from anything I say, to which of the two great
-political parties I belong.
-
-I do not go to the Bible for a text――though there are many passages in
-the holy Scriptures which would answer my purpose very well――but I take
-for my text the following passage from the will of Mr. Girard:
-
-“AND ESPECIALLY I DESIRE THAT BY EVERY PROPER MEANS, A PURE ATTACHMENT
-TO OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS, AND TO THE SACRED RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE
-AS GUARANTEED BY OUR HAPPY CONSTITUTIONS, SHALL BE FORMED AND FOSTERED
-IN THE MINDS OF THE SCHOLARS.”
-
-A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing with strangers.
-They came from all parts of the land, and some from distant parts of
-the world. Our railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
-capacity. Our streets were thronged; our hotels and many private
-dwellings were full. It was said that there were half a million of
-strangers here. The President of the United States, the members
-of the Cabinet, many members of the national Senate and House of
-Representatives, the general of the army and many other generals, the
-highest navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the United States
-and of the State courts, the governors of most of the States――each
-with his staff――soldiers and sailors of the United States, and many
-regiments of State troops (the Girard College cadets among them)――a
-military and naval display of twenty-five thousand men――representatives
-of foreign states, an exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts,
-in a procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in all the
-world before; receptions and banquets, public and private; a general
-suspension of most kinds of business――all this occurred in the streets
-of our city, only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?
-
-It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the adoption of the
-Constitution of the United States, and it was considered to be an
-event of such importance that it was well worth while to pause in our
-daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still the busy hum
-of industry; to stop the wheels of commerce; to close our places of
-business.
-
-One hundred years ago the Constitution of the United States of America
-was adopted in this city.
-
-What had been our government before this time? Up to July, 1776, there
-had been thirteen colonies, all under the government of Great Britain.
-In the lapse of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance to
-the king of England, and subjected to certain taxes which they had no
-voice in considering and imposing, because they had no representation
-in the Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented and
-rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our own city of
-Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776, they united in a DECLARATION OF
-INDEPENDENCE of Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies as
-Free, Sovereign and Independent States.
-
-This, however, was only a DECLARATION; and it took seven long years of
-exhausting and terrible war (which would have been longer still but for
-the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that independence and
-have it acknowledged by the governments of Europe.
-
-Before the DECLARATION, each of the colonies had a State government and
-a written constitution for the regulation of its internal affairs. Now
-these colonies had become States, with the necessity upon them (not at
-first admitted by all) of a general compact or agreement, by which the
-States, while maintaining their independence in many things, should
-become a confederated or general government.
-
-More than a year passed before the Constitution, which the Convention
-agreed upon, was adopted by a sufficient number of the States to make
-it binding on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to say that
-my own little State of Delaware was the first to adopt it.
-
-Now, WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION? How does it differ from the _laws_ which
-the Congress enacts every winter in Washington?
-
-First, let me speak of other nations. There are two kinds of government
-in the world――monarchical and republican. And there are two kinds of
-monarchies――absolute and limited. An absolute monarch, whether he be
-called emperor or king, rules by his personal will――HIS WILL IS THE
-LAW. One of the most perfect illustrations of absolute or personal
-government is seen on board any ship, where the will of the chief
-officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever his rank, is, and must
-be, the law. From his orders, his decisions, there is no appeal until
-the ship reaches the shore, when he himself comes under the law. This
-is a very ancient form of government, now known in very few countries
-calling themselves civilized.
-
-The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution, _un_written,
-as in Great Britain, or _written_, as in some other nations of Europe.
-In these countries the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
-instances with hardly as much power as our President. They are not a
-law unto themselves, but are under the common law.
-
-The other kind of government is republican, democratic or representative.
-It is, as was happily said on the field of Gettysburg, long after the
-battle, by President Lincoln, “a government _of_ the people, _by_ the
-people, _for_ the people.” These few plain words are well worth
-remembering――“of,” “by,” “for” the people. These are the traits which
-distinguish our government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
-absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.
-
-After the war between Germany and France, in 1870, the German kingdoms
-of Prussia, Hanover, Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
-principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign, were consolidated
-or confederated as the German empire, and the king of Prussia, the
-present Frederick William, was crowned emperor of Germany.
-
-France, however, after that war, having had enough of kings and
-emperors, adopted the republican form of government. So that now there
-are three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland, and a little
-territory on the east coast of Italy, San Marino.
-
-So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of Africa (except
-Liberia), and the islands of Australia, and the northern part of North
-America (except Alaska), are under the government of monarchs; while
-the three countries of Europe already mentioned, and our own country,
-and Mexico, and the Central American States, and all South America
-except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of South America under
-British rule), are republics.[B]
-
-[B] One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
-believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
-Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.
-
-Now let us come back to our own government and see what is, and whether
-it is better than any form of monarchy; and if so, why.
-
-What is the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES? The first clause in it
-is the best answer I can give:
-
-“WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in order to form a more perfect
-union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
-common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings
-of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
-Constitution for the United States of America.”
-
-Then follow the articles and sections setting forth the principles
-on which it was proposed to build up a nation in this western world.
-The thirteen States each had its constitution and its laws, but _this
-instrument_ was intended to serve as the foundation of the general
-government. Until these States had formed their constitutions, there
-was no republican government in the world except Switzerland and San
-Marino, and these lived only on the sufferance of their powerful
-monarchical neighbors. All South America was under Spanish rule, and
-Mexico was a monarchy.
-
-The great principle of a republic is that people _have a right to
-choose_ their own rulers, and ought to do it. The divine right of
-hereditary monarchy we deny. It is often said that the English
-government is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
-not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote for his rulers.
-Whether so much liberty is perfectly safe for all people is well open
-to question; but it is a FACT here, and if people would only behave
-themselves properly there would be no danger whatever in it. And if
-there IS danger here, it comes not from native-born citizens trained
-under our free institutions. The sun does not shine on a broader,
-fairer land than this; and under that divine Providence, without
-whose gracious aid we could not have achieved and cannot maintain our
-Constitution, we have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
-dread in the future, but the evil men among us――the Anarchists and
-Socialists, the scum and off-scouring of Europe――who, with no fear of
-God before their eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
-and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow its very
-foundations.
-
-The highest and best types of monarchical governments are in Europe,
-and it is with such that we seek comparison when we insist that ours is
-better.
-
-Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from father to the oldest
-son and to the oldest son of the oldest son where there are sons.
-England has rejoiced in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and
-Victoria, the present sovereign; but they came to the throne because
-there was no son in either case to inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever
-his character or want of character, MUST reign when the sovereign dies,
-because, as they say, he rules by divine right. We insist on electing
-our President for a term of years, and if we like him we give him
-another term; if we do not like him, we drop him and try another. I
-wish the term of office of the President were longer, and that he could
-serve only one term. Perhaps it will come to that; and I think he would
-be a more independent, a better official under this condition.
-
-What is the difference between the Constitution and the laws?
-
-The Constitution is the great charter under which, and within which,
-the laws are made. No law that Congress may pass is worth the paper it
-is printed on if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
-been passed ignorantly, and have died.
-
-A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution of this College
-is Mr. Girard’s will. This is our charter. The laws which the Directors
-make must be within the provisions of the will or they will not stand.
-For instance, the will directs that none but _orphans_ can be admitted
-here; and the courts have decided that a child without a father is
-an orphan. The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who has
-a father living. The will says that only _boys_ can be admitted;
-therefore no law that the Directors can make will admit a girl. Nor
-can the Directors make a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
-under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born anywhere except in
-certain States of our country――Pennsylvania, New York and Louisiana. It
-would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I think now you see the difference between
-the Constitution and the laws.
-
-Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy? and why?
-
-Because the men of the present time make it, and are not bound by the
-traditions of far-off times. There are improvements in the science of
-government as in all other human inventions, as the centuries come
-and go. Man is progressive; he would not be worth caring for if he
-were not. If the present age has not produced a higher and better
-development in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is not because
-men were perfect in the past or cannot be better in the present or in
-the future. Therefore when our Constitution is believed not to meet the
-requirements of the present day there is a way to amend it, although
-that way is so hedged up that it cannot possibly be altered without
-ample time for consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution has
-been altered or amended fifteen times since its adoption; and it will
-be changed or amended as often as the needs of the people require it.
-
-We believe our form of government to be better than any monarchy
-because _the people choose their own law-makers_. The Congress is
-composed of two houses or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen
-by the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to serve for
-six years; the members of the House of Representatives (chosen by the
-citizens), who sit for two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is
-supposed to be the more conservative body, not easily moved by popular
-clamor; while the Representatives, chosen directly and recently by the
-voters, are supposed to know the immediate wants of the people. The
-thought of two houses grew probably from the two houses of the British
-parliament.
-
-We cannot have an _hereditary legislature_ like the House of Lords in
-the British parliament, whose members sit, as the sovereign rules, by
-divine right, as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
-for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head, or only the nominal ruler,
-while the cabinet is the real government, and the House of Lords long
-ago sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence. There is no
-better reason for this than the fact that the people have nothing to do
-with the House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose and scatter
-them when they choose to rise in their power and assert themselves.
-
-We can have no _orders of nobility_ under our Constitution. There can
-be no privileged class. All men are equal under the law. I do not mean
-that all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence has
-made us unequal. Some are endowed naturally with the highest mental
-and physical gifts and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
-This has always been so and always will be so. Some have inherited or
-acquired riches, while others have to labor diligently to make a bare
-living. Some have inherited their high culture and gentle manners and
-noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we sometimes call culture;
-and others have to acquire all this for themselves――and it is not very
-easy to get it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality, and
-cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment of our rights and in
-the undisturbed possession of what we have, we are all equal, as we
-could not be under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to success;
-all places are open to all.
-
-There can be no law of _primogeniture_ under our Constitution. By this
-law, which still prevails in England, the eldest son inherits the
-titles and estates of the father, while the younger sons and all the
-daughters must be provided for in other ways. Some of the sons are put
-in the church, in the army or the navy, or in the professions, such as
-law and medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of a noble
-house is willing to engage in any kind of business or trade, for they
-are not so well thought of if they become tradesmen.
-
-There can be no _state church_, no _establishment_, under our
-Constitution. In England the Episcopal Church, and in Scotland the
-Presbyterian Church, are established by law; and until within the
-last seventeen years the Church of England was by law established in
-Ireland; and it is now established in Wales; and in other countries
-of Europe the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
-Greek Church are established by law. In countries where there is a
-national church, it derives more or less of its support from taxing the
-people, many of whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is no
-established church; and there never can be, let us hope and believe.
-
-Under our form of government we need no _standing army_. We owe this
-partly to the fact that we are so isolated geographically that we do
-not need to keep an army. I heard the general of our army say, a short
-time ago, that the regular army of the United States is a fiction――only
-25,000 men. (You saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as are
-in all our army.) “The real army,” he added, “is composed of every
-able-bodied citizen; for all are ready to volunteer in the face of a
-common enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already, and it will
-probably be larger, but it will not again be enlarged as the result
-of war. When we look at the nations of Europe, and see the immense
-numbers of men in their standing armies, we can’t help thanking God
-that we are separated from them by the wide Atlantic, and that we
-have a republican government, and have no temptation to seek other
-territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any cause. In the
-armies of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are
-more than ten millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of the
-soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures. In Italy alone
-the standing army is said to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
-men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary to employ women to do
-work which in our country women are never asked to do. I have seen a
-woman drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the deck of that
-boat smoking his pipe and steering the boat. I have seen a woman with
-a huge load of fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her side
-and carrying his scythe. I have seen women yoked with dogs to carts,
-carrying the loads that here would be put in a cart and drawn by a
-horse. I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on their _heads_,
-filled with stone and mortar. I have seen women carrying huge baskets
-of manure on their backs to the field, and young girls breaking stone
-on the highway. Did you ever hear of such things here? See what a
-difference! The men in the army eat up the substance which the women
-produce from the soil.
-
-But nowhere else in the world is the _dignity of labor_ recognized as
-here. They do not know the meaning of the words. For in most other
-countries it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be engaged
-in labor of any kind. A man who is not able to live without work is
-hardly considered a gentleman. To work with the hands is degrading;
-is what ought to be done by common people only, and by people who are
-not fit to associate with gentlemen and ladies. It is not so in this
-country. Here, a man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
-and honorable in his dealings with men, who cultivates his mind by
-reading and observation, and is careful of the usages of good society,
-is fit company for any one. He may rise to any place within the gift of
-his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is not so elsewhere. And think
-of a young girl hardly out of her teens, with no special preparation
-for such a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming the
-wife of the President of the United States, and proving herself
-entirely worthy of that high position! Could any other country match
-this?
-
-Now what is the effect of all this freedom of thought and action on the
-people? Well, it is not to be denied that there are some disadvantages.
-There is danger that we may over-estimate the individual in his
-personal rights, and not give due weight to the people as a community.
-There is danger of selfishness, especially among young people. There
-is not as much respect and reverence for age, and for those above us,
-and for the other sex, as there ought to be. Young people are very
-rude at times, when they should always be polite to their superiors
-in age or position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming out
-of school one day all lifted their hats to me, a stranger! That would
-be an astounding thing in a Philadelphia street! In riding in the
-neighborhood of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by the
-roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent answer.
-
-But in spite of these defects, which we hope will never be seen
-in a Girard College boy, the true effect of training under our
-republican institutions is to make men. There is a wider, freer,
-fuller development of what is in man than is known elsewhere. Man is
-much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent, vigorous,
-skillful, here――not knowing how high he may rise, and consciously or
-unconsciously preparing himself for anything to which he may be called.
-And for woman, too, where else does she meet the respect that belongs
-to her? Where else in the world do women find occupation in government
-offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable and educational
-institutions? With few exceptions, such as Girton College, where are
-there in any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley, and
-as the Woman’s Medical College, almost under the walls of our own?
-
-I have already kept you too long. But a few words and I am done. I am
-moved by the injunction of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
-things, but by this grave consideration also. Every boy who hears me
-to-day, within fifteen years, if he lives, unless he is cut off by
-crime from the privilege, will be a voter. You will go to the polls to
-cast your votes for those who are to have the conduct of the government
-in all its parts. I want to make you feel, if I can, the high destiny
-that awaits you. You are distinctive in this respect――you are all
-American boys. This can be said of no other assembly as large as this
-in all this broad land. You have it in your power, and I want to help
-you to it, and God will if you ask him――you have it in your power to
-become American gentlemen. And I believe that an _American gentleman_
-is the very highest type of man.
-
-    God, give us men. A time like this demands
-    Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:
-    Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
-      Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
-    Men who possess opinions and a will;
-      Men who have honor, men who will not lie;
-    Men who can stand before a demagogue
-      And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
-    Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
-      In public duty and in private thinking.
-
-
-
-
-              [Illustration: _James Lawrence Claghorn._]
-
-
-
-
-                       JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.
-
-
-When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and successful life it seems
-proper that something more than the ordinary obituary notices in the
-daily papers is due to his memory. This thought moves me to speak to
-you to-day of a gentleman who died on August 25, 1884, while a Director
-of the Girard College, and of whom it seems appropriate that something
-may be said to you in this chapel.
-
-Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen of Philadelphia. He
-was born here on the 5th of July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn,
-was a merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter years of his
-life gave much time and thought to benevolent institutions. At the age
-of fourteen years James left school to go into business. You boys know
-how very incomplete an education at school must be which ends when the
-boy is fourteen years old. But you don’t know until your own experience
-proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to compete for the
-high places in life or in business with boys of equal natural ability,
-who have had the full advantage of a liberal school education. At
-fourteen, then, James Claghorn turned his back on school and went to
-work in earnest. For it was an auction store that he entered, and the
-work there was usually harder work than in other kinds of stores. The
-hours of labor were longer――earlier and later――and the holidays more
-rare than in ordinary commercial houses.
-
-There is no record of the early years of his business life; but it is
-not difficult to imagine the hardships to which a young lad of that
-time would be subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence was
-allowed him because his father was one of the partners in the firm;
-neither he nor his father would have permitted such distinction.
-
-The boy must have been _industrious_; for in such a house there was no
-place for an idle lounger. He was not afraid of work, for he was always
-at it; he did not spare himself, else some other boy would have done
-his share and got ahead of him; he must have been _faithful_, not one
-who works only when his master’s eye is on him――not shirking any hard
-work――not forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday――not thinking
-too much of his rights or his own particular work, but doing anything
-that came to hand――looking always to the interest of the firm, and
-trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.
-
-And he must have been _patient_. Many rough words, many hasty and
-passionate words are spoken to young boys, and must have been spoken to
-this boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason to believe
-from the character he built up that he knew how to hold his tongue and
-not answer back. Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
-hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent discharge of boys
-who will “answer back” when they are reproved.
-
-And I think also that he must have been of a bright and cheery
-disposition and well mannered. Some young fellows who have to make
-their way in the world seem not to know the importance of a good
-address; in other words, politeness, good breeding. Nothing impresses
-one so favorably at first meeting a stranger as good manners. A
-frank, hearty greeting, a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a
-willingness to consider others, a desire to please for the sake of
-giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the contrary, sullenness,
-sluggishness, indifference, selfishness are all repulsive, and though
-allowance will be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
-yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young person, and they
-will certainly unfit him for a successful career. I did not know Mr.
-Claghorn when he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that the
-kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later life could have been a
-morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered boy.
-
-I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while still a boy; but we
-must not infer that he supposed his education was complete with the
-end of his school life, for it is very evident that he must have
-given very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We do not know
-how his evenings were spent when not in the counting-house; but he
-must have given a good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely
-that the books which he read were such as are to be found now at any
-book-stand, and in the hands of so many boys as they go to and fro on
-their errands――books which are simply read without instruction, and
-which sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant, coarse
-and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond of fiction. All boys of fair
-education and refined taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we
-can hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to such reading,
-else he could not have become the strong business man that he was. At
-a very early age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as his
-means would permit engravings and pictures such as would cultivate his
-taste in that direction. When he could spare the money he would buy
-an engraving, if the subject or the author interested him; so that he
-became, in the latter part of his life, the owner of one of the largest
-collections of engravings in the whole country. Indeed, he became a
-noted patron of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
-_native_ art, so that at one period he had more than two hundred
-paintings, the work of American artists; for at that time he was more
-desirous of encouraging native artists, especially if they were poor,
-than he was in making collections of the great masters. Many a picture
-he bought to help the artist, rather than for his own gratification
-as a collector. Further on in life he became deeply interested in
-the Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut street
-above Tenth. Subsequently he became its President, and very largely
-through his influence and his personal means that fine building at the
-southwest corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all of you ought
-to visit as opportunity is afforded, was erected as a depository of
-art. The splendid building of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
-street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its erection.
-
-But I am anticipating, and we must now go back to Mr. Claghorn in
-his counting-house. No longer a boy――an apprentice――he has grown to
-manhood, and has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
-place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the hours of business,
-which were long before, are longer now; he begins very early in
-the morning, before sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes
-detained late in the evening, the long day being entirely devoted to
-business; and no one knows, except one who has gone through that sort
-of experience, how much labor is involved in such a life; but not only
-his labors――his responsibilities are greatly increased. He becomes the
-financial man in the firm; he is the head of the counting-house; he
-has charge of the books and the accounts. For many years no entry was
-made in the huge ledgers except in his own handwriting. The credit of
-the house of Myers & Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
-financial excitement and distress comes on. This house, while others
-are going down on the right and left like ships in a storm, stands
-erect with unimpaired credit, and with opportunities of helping other
-and weaker houses which so much needed help. The name of his firm was a
-synonym of all that is strong and admirable in business management.
-
-So he passed the best years of his whole life in earnest attention to
-business, snatching all the leisure he could for the gratification
-of his passion, it may be called, for art, until the time came when,
-having acquired what was at that time supposed to be an abundant
-competency, he determined to retire from business. Now he appears to
-contemplate a long rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
-arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment, when the
-country became involved in the Great Rebellion. None of you, except
-as you read it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
-country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at Fort Sumter.
-Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his country and unwilling to do what
-seemed to him almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
-his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself most diligently and
-earnestly to the duties of a true, loyal citizen in the support of the
-government. He was one of the earliest members of the Union League,
-and was largely interested in collecting money for the raising and
-equipping of regiments to be sent to the front. Three or four years of
-his life were spent in this laudable work, and in company with those
-of like mind he was largely instrumental in accomplishing great good.
-The war, however, came to an end――was fought out to its final and
-inevitable issue.
-
-Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned with increased
-interest. His business affairs, although they had not been as
-profitable as they would have been if he had looked closer to them
-and had given less thought to public matters during the war, were so
-satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other hands for a
-while, and in company with his wife he embarked for Europe. It was
-to be a long holiday such as he had never known before. He intended
-to make an extended tour――he was not to be hurried. He went through
-England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy,
-Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland
-and Belgium. In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most famous
-picture-galleries of the old world; and his long study of art in its
-various phases and schools gave him special advantages for the highest
-enjoyment of the great collections, public and private, of the old
-masters as well as of those of modern times.
-
-The interest of his extended tour was not, however, limited to
-galleries and collections of paintings and statuary. He was an observer
-of men and things. His practical American mind observed and digested
-everything that came within his reach. The government of the great
-cities――the condition of the masses of the people gathered in them――the
-common people outside of the cities, their customs and costumes; their
-way of living――in short, everything that was unlike what we see at
-home――he observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect of after
-years.
-
-It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn, having lived the busy
-life that he had lived before he went abroad, should have been content
-on his return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned leisure;
-and accordingly, shortly after his return, he became the President of
-the Commercial National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
-in our city. For several years previously he had been a Director in
-the Philadelphia National Bank (as his father had before him), so
-that he had had proper training for the duties of his new position.
-He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, the
-oldest and the largest saving fund in our city. With most commendable
-diligence and industry he at once set about building up the bank so as
-to make it profitable to its stockholders. Not forgetting, however,
-the attractions of art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
-beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so that even the daily
-routine of business life might be enlivened by glimpses into the
-attractive world of art.
-
-In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts was created by act of
-Legislature (to which board is committed the vast estate left by Mr.
-Girard, as well as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
-Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board of twelve, and
-from that date until his death he gave much time and thought to the
-duties thus devolved upon him. He became chairman of the finance
-committee, which place he held until the end of his life. Although he
-was not so well known to the boys of the college as some other members
-of this board, because his duties did not require very frequent visits
-to the college, he nevertheless gave himself to the duties of the
-committee of which he was chairman with great interest and fidelity;
-and the time which he gave to this great work is not to be measured by
-visits to the college, but by the time spent in the city office and in
-his own place of business, where his committee met him on their stated
-meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep personal interest in
-all the affairs of this college, and of the other trusts committed to
-our charge.
-
-Although the condition of his health in the latter part of his life
-made close attention to business very trying to him, so far as I
-know he never permitted his health to interfere with his business
-engagements.
-
-In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to set before you
-some features of the life of one of our most distinguished citizens.
-In the limits of a single discourse as brief as this must be it is
-not possible to make this more than an outline sketch. In the little
-time that remains let me refer again for the purpose of emphasis to
-some traits in the character of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear
-reconsideration.
-
-A very large proportion of the merchants of any city fail in business.
-The proportion is much larger than is generally known, and larger than
-young people are willing to believe.
-
-In an experience of more than forty years of business life, during
-which I have had much to do with merchants, I have known so many
-failures, have seen so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am
-compelled to regard a merchant who has maintained high credit for a
-long term of years and finally retired from business with a handsome
-estate as one who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
-fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners in successful
-business, the good management having been due to the ability and tact
-of their seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present case. The
-merchant whose life we are considering was an active and influential
-partner.
-
-Let me say, however, that true success in business is not to be
-measured by the amount of money one accumulates. A man may be rich
-in the riches acquired by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
-no high sense a successful business man. These things are necessary:
-He should be a just man, an upright, honorable man, a man of breadth
-and solidity of character, who gathers about him some of the ablest
-and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the good of others and
-the welfare of society. In such sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful
-business man.
-
-His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial aid and
-encouragement he gave to young students in their beginnings, his deep
-sympathy with persons who in literature and art were striving for a
-living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public spirit――all
-these had their influence in the growth and development of his
-character, and made his name to be loved and honored by many who shared
-in his generous sympathies.
-
-Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call patriotism, was signally
-disclosed at the outbreak of the war in 1861. When we remember his
-long and busy life as a merchant――broken by few or no vacations such
-as most other men enjoyed――when we remember that his self-culture had
-been of such a nature as to prepare him most admirably well for a
-tour in foreign countries, especially such countries as had produced
-the ablest, the most distinguished artists――we can have some idea of
-what it cost him to forego the much needed rest――to deny himself the
-well-earned pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of Europe,
-where are gathered the treasures of the highest art in all the world.
-Many men in like circumstances would have felt that one man, whose age
-and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service in the field,
-would hardly be missed from among the loyal citizens of the North――but
-he did not think so; and therefore he put aside all his personal plans,
-and in the city where he was born he remained and devoted himself
-as one of her true, loyal citizens in raising money and men for the
-defence of the government. There could be no truer heroism than this,
-and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose to the end.
-
-“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at his funeral, and with
-his words I close these remarks, “I am permitted to address to you
-in the presence of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
-occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know no more in life. A
-few Saturday evenings ago I was walking along by a lake at a seashore
-home when a great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my eye.
-It was one of those inimitable pictures that rarely come to one. In
-the foreground there lay a lake with no ripple on its surface. It was
-a calm and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the western sky. The
-sun had gone, but where he disappeared were indications of beauty――one
-of the most beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not one of
-the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there came many reflections.
-Here is one of them. It seems quite applicable this morning. That which
-caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused the radiation of
-beauty, had gone. Its day’s work was done. That quiet lake and streaked
-sky were the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life that
-had been accomplished. It was a complete thing. The day was done. The
-activity had passed away. It was finished just as this life. What had
-made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments of beauty
-that made the scene as beautiful as good words and noble deeds make
-the memory of man. There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
-of this community, you will do well to remember that anywhere and
-everywhere, without patience and industry, nothing great can be done.
-The life departed was a busy one――one of busy usefulness. The cry that
-came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be busy.’ Live as this man
-did, that your life may be one that can be held up as an example and a
-light to young men of the coming generations. One ray of beauty was
-his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid thing to be trusted by your
-fellows. Another ray was his prudent foresight. It was characteristic
-of him, and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray that welled out
-of him was his striking humanity. There was one continual trait in his
-character. I would call it manhoodness. There was another feature――his
-deep humility.”
-
-Such were some of the traits of character of a man who lived a long
-life in the city where he was born. If no distinctive monument has been
-erected to his memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy of
-the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of Music,” with which his name will
-always be associated; and, what is better still, there are many hearts
-that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish man, who in time
-of sore need stretched out his hand to help, and that hand was never
-empty. And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this man who did so
-much for his native city and for his fellow-citizens was not nearly so
-well educated at the age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
-are now. See what he did; see what some of you may do!
-
-
-
-
-                         THE LEAF TURNED OVER.
-
-                           January 1, 1888.
-
-
-Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning Over a New Leaf.”
-One of the directors of this college to whom I sent a printed copy said
-I ought to follow those with another on this subject: “The Leaf Turned
-Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion and shall now try to follow
-his advice.
-
-Most thoughtful people as they approach the end of a year are apt to
-ask themselves some plain questions――as to their manner of life, their
-habits of thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
-their home, their families, their companions, their plans for the
-future, their duty to their fellow-men, their duty to God; in short,
-whether the year about to close has been a happy one; whether they have
-been successful or otherwise in what they have attempted to do.
-
-The merchant, manufacturer or man of business of any kind who keeps
-books, and whose accounts are properly kept, looks with great interest
-at his account book at such a time, to see whether his business has
-been profitable or otherwise, whether he has lost or made money,
-whether his capital is larger or smaller than it was at the beginning
-of the year, whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able to
-pay his debts or is bankrupt.
-
-And to very many persons engaged in business for themselves, this is
-a time of great anxiety, for one can hardly tell exactly whether he
-is getting on favorably until his account books are posted and the
-balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and the result of the
-year’s business is a loss, that means a reduction of capital, and
-raises the question whether this can go on for some years without
-failure and bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks with great
-anxiety to the month of December, and especially to the end of it,
-to learn whether he shall be able to go on in his business, however
-humble. And, alas! there are many whose books of account are so badly
-kept, and whose balances are so rarely struck, or who keep no account
-books at all, that they never know how they stand, but are always under
-the apprehension that any day they may fail to meet their obligations
-and so fail and become bankrupt. They were insolvent long before, but
-they did not know it; and they have gone on from bad to worse until
-they are ruined. Others, again, are afraid to look closely into their
-account books――afraid to have the balances struck, lest they should
-be convinced that their affairs are in a hopeless condition. Unhappy
-cowards they are, for if insolvent the sooner they know it the better,
-that they may make the best settlement they can with their creditors,
-if the business is worth following at all, and begin again, “turning
-over a new leaf.”
-
-I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever thought much on these
-subjects; for you are not in business as principals or as clerks, you
-have no merchandise or produce or money to handle, you have no account
-books for yourselves or for other people to keep, to post, to balance,
-and you may think you have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to
-be able to show you that these things are not matters of indifference
-to you.
-
-The year 1887, which closed last night, was just as much _your_ year as
-it was that of any man, even the busiest man of affairs. When it came,
-365 days ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left all of
-you here. And the question naturally arises, what have you done with
-this time, all these days and nights? Every page in the account books
-of certain kinds of business represents a day of business, and either
-the figures on both the debit and the credit side are added up and
-carried forward, or the balance of the two sides of the page is struck
-and carried over leaf to the next page.
-
-So every day of the past year represents a page in the history of your
-lives: for every life, even the plainest and most humble, has its own
-peculiar history. Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling
-things occur to break the monotony of school life, but each day has
-its own duties and makes its own record. Three hundred and sixty-five
-pages of the book of the history of every young life here were duly
-filled by the records of all the things done or neglected, of the words
-spoken or unspoken, of the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages
-with their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were turned over,
-and are now numbered with the things that are past and gone. When an
-accountant or book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year are
-closed and the balances struck, that errors had crept in which have
-disturbed the accuracy of his work, he cannot go back with a knife and
-erase the errors and write in the correct figures; neither can he blot
-them out, nor rub them out as you do examples from a slate or from
-the blackboard; he must correct his mistakes; he must counteract his
-blunders by new entries on a new page.
-
-It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night at midnight the last
-page of the leaves of the book of the old year was filled with its
-record, whatever it was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
-What do we see? What does every one of you see? A fair, white page.
-And each one of you holds a pen in his hand and the inkstand is within
-reach; you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page, the
-thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed than any pen, even
-that of the quickest shorthand writer can put them on the page. There
-are stenographers who can take the language of the most rapid speakers,
-but no stenographer has ever yet appeared who can put his own thoughts
-on paper as rapidly as they come into his mind. But while there is but
-one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge of what is passing
-in your mind and retain it all――THE INFINITE MIND; and while no one
-page of any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers call
-elephant folio, can possibly hold the record of what any boy here says
-and thinks in a single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
-words good or bad on the page before you.
-
-Let me take one of these boys not far from the desk, a boy of sixteen
-or seventeen years of age, who is now waiting, pen in hand, to write
-the thoughts now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts? No one
-knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I think he ought to write? It
-is something like this:
-
-“I have been here many years. When I came I was young and ignorant. I
-found myself among many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I ever
-saw before, who cared no more for me than I cared for them. I felt
-very strange; the first few days and nights I was very unhappy, for I
-missed very much my mother and the others whom I had left at home. But
-very soon these feelings passed away. I was put to school at once, and
-in the school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the things and
-the people about my other home. Years passed. I was promoted from one
-school to another, from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
-my classmates were no longer little boys; we were all looking up and
-looking forward to the school promotions, and I became a big boy. The
-lessons were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand at
-last why I was sent here, and to ask myself the question, what might
-reasonably be expected of me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
-would force itself upon me, what use am I making of my fine advantages,
-or am I making the best use of them? And what manner of man shall I
-be? For I know full well that all well-educated boys do not succeed in
-life――do not become successful men in the highest and best sense. How
-do I know that I shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
-the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly manly, trustworthy
-boy? Have I succeeded while going through the course of school studies
-in building up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this great
-school? Can those who know me best place the most confidence in me? If
-I am looking forward to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or
-in a lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a place in a
-railroad office or a bank, am I really trying to fit myself for such a
-place, or am I simply drifting along from day to day, doing only what I
-am compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to rise above the
-dull average of my companions? And then, as I look at the difficulties
-in the way of every young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
-has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present and the persons
-and things that surround me now, and look to a higher and better Helper
-than is to be found in this world? Have I not at times heard words of
-good counsel in this chapel, from the lips of those who come to give me
-and my companions wholesome advice? What attention have I given to such
-advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt it, that the great God
-stoops from heaven and speaks to my soul, and offers his Divine help,
-and even holds out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take my
-hand in his, and help me over all hard places, and will never let me
-go, if I cling to him, and will assure me success in everything that is
-right and good. I have heard all this over and over again; I know it is
-true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed it; I have not acted
-accordingly; in fact, I have treated the whole matter as if it were
-unreal, or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to me.
-
-“And now I have come probably to my last year in this school. Before
-another New Year’s day some other boy will have my desk in the
-school-room, my bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
-in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they have seemed, have
-nearly all passed; I shall soon go away; if some place is not found
-for me I must find one for myself――oh! what will become of me? Since
-last New Year’s day two boys who were educated here have been sent
-convicted criminals to the Eastern Penitentiary. What are they thinking
-about on this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats, they sang
-our hymns, they heard the same good words of advice which I have heard,
-they had all the good opportunities which all of us have; what led them
-astray? Did they believe that the good God stooped from heaven to say
-good words to them, holding out his strong hand to help them? I wonder
-if they thought they were strong enough to take care of themselves?
-I wonder if they thought they could get along without his help? Do I
-think I can?”
-
-Some such thoughts as these may be passing in the mind of the boy now
-looking at me and sitting not far from the desk, the boy whom I had
-in my mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen full of ink. He
-has written nothing yet; he has been listening with some curiosity to
-hear what the speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a boy’s
-thoughts.
-
-I can tell that boy what _I_ would write if I were at his age, in this
-college, and surrounded by these circumstances, listening to these
-serious, earnest words. I would take my pen and write on the first page
-of this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New Year’s day, these
-words: “_The leaf is turned over!_ God help me to lead a better life.
-God forgive all the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all
-my forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God keep me from wicked
-thoughts which defile the soul; keep me from wicked words which defile
-the souls of others.”
-
-“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me to begin my journal by
-writing a prayer?”
-
-Yes; but this is not all. Write again.
-
-1. _I will not willingly break any of the rules which are adopted for
-the government of our school._
-
-Some of the rules may _seem_ hard to obey, and even unreasonable, but
-they were made for my good by those who are wiser than I am. I _can_
-obey them; I _will_.
-
-2. _I will work harder over my lessons than ever before, and I will
-recite them more accurately._
-
-This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall be the better for it;
-it will not be long, for I am going soon; I _can_, I _will_.
-
-3. _I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully than I have
-ever done before._
-
-If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no more. It is a common
-fault; many of us boys have fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I
-will do so no more; I _can_ stop it, I _will_.
-
-4. _I will be more careful in my daily life here, to set a good example
-in all things, than I have ever been before._
-
-The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate them closely. They
-watch us, our words, our ways, our behavior in all things. If any young
-fellows have been misled by me, it shall be so no more. I will behave
-so that no one shall be the worse for doing as I do. This is quite
-within my control; I _can_, I _will_.
-
-5. _I will look to God to help me to do these things._
-
-For I have tried to do something like this before and failed; it must
-be because I depended on my own strength. Now I will look away from
-myself and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is strong, nothing
-is holy.” He _can_ help me; he surely will, if I throw myself on his
-mercy, and by daily prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for
-a moment or two each day, I shall see light and find peace.
-
-These are the things that I would write, my boy, if I were just as you
-are.
-
-Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther and say some words to
-others here?
-
-Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all under your charge,
-and every day. The same good Providence that brought them here for
-education and support, brought you here also to teach them and care
-for them. Your work is exacting, laborious, unremitting. Some of these
-young boys are trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
-almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are discouraged by what seems
-to be the almost hopeless nature of your work, the untidiness, the
-rough manners, the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these young
-boys. But remember that all this is inevitable; that from the nature of
-the case it must be so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
-to good order, to train and educate these young lives so that they
-shall be well educated, well informed, well mannered, polite, gentle,
-considerate, so they may be fairly well assured of a successful future,
-is a great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the highest
-intelligence. This is exactly what the great founder had in his mind
-when he established this college and provided so munificently for its
-endowment. This is what his trustees most earnestly desire, and the
-hope of which rewards them for the many hours they give every week to
-the care of this great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the plan
-of instruction here, not only in the schools, but in the section rooms
-and on the play-grounds. Be to these older boys their big brothers,
-their best friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled to
-reprove them for their many faults.
-
-And to those of you who have the care of the younger boys, let me
-say: remember, they have no mothers here; they are very young to send
-from home; they are homesick at times; they hardly know how to behave
-themselves; they shock your sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you
-almost to distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage them,
-love them, for if _you_ do not, who will? And what will become of them?
-And remember what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life out
-of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and make a real man of
-it. Oh! friends, suffer these words of exhortation, for they come from
-one who has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying work.
-
-    And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it from
-    whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
-    found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
-    stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book
-    was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged
-    out of those things which were written in the books, according
-    to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it;
-    and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them;
-    and they were judged every man according to his works――Rev. xx.
-    11–13.
-
-
-
-
-                           THANKSGIVING DAY.
-
-                          November 29, 1888.
-
-
-The President of the United States, in a proclamation which you have
-just heard, has set apart this 29th day of November for a day of
-thanksgiving and prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
-given to the people of our country, and for a continuance of these
-mercies. His example has been followed by the governors of Pennsylvania
-and many, if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe that
-all over the land, from Maine to Alaska, and from the great lakes to
-the Gulf of Mexico, the people in large numbers are now gathered or
-gathering in their places of worship, in obedience to this proper
-recommendation. The directors of this college, in full sympathy with
-the thoughts of our rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released
-you from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel, and asked you
-to unite with the people generally in giving thanks to God for the
-past, and imploring his mercies for the future. For you are a part of
-the people, and although not yet able, from your minority, to take an
-active part in the government, are yet being rapidly prepared for this
-great right of citizenship. It is the high privilege of an American
-boy, to know that when he becomes a man he will have just as clear a
-right as any other man, to exercise all the functions of a freeman,
-in choosing the men who are to be intrusted with the responsibilities
-of government. What are some of the things that give us cause for
-thankfulness to Almighty God? Very briefly such as these:
-
-1. _This is a Christian country._ Although there is not, and cannot
-be, any part or branch of the church established by law, there is
-assured liberty for every citizen to worship God by himself, or with
-others in congregations, as he or they may choose, in such forms of
-worship as may be preferred, with none to molest or make afraid. Here
-is absolute freedom of worship. And even if it be that the name of God
-is not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or governor or
-public officer can be inducted or inaugurated in high office except by
-taking oath on the book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
-faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there were nothing
-else, this public acknowledgment of the being of Almighty God and our
-accountability to him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
-a Christian people.
-
-2. _This is a free government_, free in the sense that the people
-choose their own rulers, whether of towns, cities, States, or the
-nation. There is no hereditary rule here, and cannot be. We not
-only _choose_ our own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them
-for whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority accept the
-decision when it is ascertained, without doubt, without a question of
-its righteousness; they only want to know whether the majority have
-actually chosen this or that candidate, and they accept frankly, if not
-cheerfully. We have had a splendid illustration of this within this
-present month. The great party that has administered the government
-for four years past, on the verdict of the majority, are preparing to
-retire and will retire on the fourth of March next, and give up the
-government to the other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere
-else in the world can such a revolution be accomplished on so grand
-a scale, by so many people, with so little friction. This government
-then is better than _any monarchy_, no matter how carefully guarded
-by constitutional restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
-governments are in Europe: the best of all in England; but the
-governments of Europe have many and great concessions to make to the
-people, before they can stand side by side with the United States in
-strong, healthy, considerate management of the people. It has been said
-that the best machinery is that which has the least friction, and as
-the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of government will be
-so smooth that the people will hardly know that they are governed at
-all; in fact, they will be their own governors. This time is coming as
-sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand, and you boys can hasten
-it by your own upright, manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
-forget that this is a government of the majority, and you must see to
-it that the majority be true men.
-
-3. _We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of the world._ The
-Atlantic separates us from Europe on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from
-South America on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes our
-western shores. We are a continent to ourselves, with the exception of
-Mexico, a sister republic on the south, with whom we are not likely to
-quarrel again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north, which, if never
-to become a part of ourselves, will at least at some day, and probably
-not a very distant day, become independent of the mother country as we
-did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained our freedom.
-Our distance from Europe relieves us entirely from the consideration
-of subjects which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
-which very often thrill the rest of the world in the apprehension of
-a general war in Europe. We are under no necessity of annexing other
-territory. We are not afraid of what is called “the balance of power;”
-we have no army that is worthy of the name, because we don’t need one,
-and we can make one if we should need it; and we have no navy to speak
-of, though I think we ought to have for the protection of our commerce,
-when our commerce shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
-with other nations; the great father of his country in his Farewell
-Address warned the people against this danger.
-
-4. _Our country is very large._ You school-boys can tell me as well as
-I can tell you what degrees of latitude and longitude we reach, and how
-many millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we brag too much
-about the great extent of our country; but I do not refer to it now for
-boasting, but as a matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
-It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic to the tropics,
-gives us every variety of climate and almost every variety of product
-that the earth produces; and I am sure that the time will come when,
-under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have yet reached, our
-soil will produce everything that grows anywhere else in the world. The
-corn harvest now being gathered in our country will reach _two thousand
-millions of bushels_. The mind staggers under such ponderous figures
-and quantities. Our wheat fields are hardly less productive; our
-potatoes and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products of our
-cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything that our soil above ground
-yields; and the enormous yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our
-natural gas, our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent
-and binding the people together with bands of steel――all these, and
-many others, which time will not permit me even to mention, give some
-faint idea of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty God has
-given to the American people. And do we not well therefore, when we
-come together on a day like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?
-
-5. _The general education of the people_ is another reason for
-thankfulness to God. The system is not yet universal, but it will be at
-no distant day. You boys will live to see the day when every man, woman
-and child born in the United States (except those who are too young or
-feeble-minded) will be able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to
-come. Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn to do their
-own reading and thinking, we shall not fear anarchists and atheists and
-the many other fools who, under one name or another, are now trying to
-make this people discontented with their lot. There is no need for such
-people here, and no place for them; they have made a mistake in coming
-to this free land, as some of them found to their cost on the gallows
-at Chicago.
-
-6. _We have no war in our country, no famine, and with the exception of
-poor Jacksonville, Florida, no pestilence._ Famine we have never known,
-and with such an extent of country we have little need to dread such a
-scourge as that. No one need suffer for food in our country, and this
-is the only country in the world of which this can be said; for labor
-of some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap, plain kinds of
-food, that none but the utterly dissipated and worthless need starve;
-and in fact none do starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
-the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering not only, but
-actually provide them with a home, that for real comfort is not known
-elsewhere in the world.
-
-Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful proportions, but even
-then the alleviations furnished by the Christian Commission greatly
-relieved some of its most horrid features; and we are not likely to see
-war again, for there will be hereafter nothing to quarrel and fight
-about. Our political differences will never again lead to the taking up
-of arms in deadly strife.
-
-Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness which led the President
-of the United States to ask the people, by public proclamation, to turn
-aside for one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
-their counting-houses, to close the schools, and assemble in their
-places of worship and thank God, the giver of every good and perfect
-gift.
-
-But I don’t think the President of the United States knew what special
-reasons the Girard College boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
-shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some of them.
-
-1. This foundation is under the control of the Board of City
-Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the bulk of his great estate for this
-noble purpose, he gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
-Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia could act
-only through its legislative body, the select and common councils,
-bodies elected by the people, and consequently more or less under the
-influence of one or the other of the great political parties. Nearly
-twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr. William Welsh, who became
-the first President of the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of
-Pennsylvania took from the control of councils all the charitable
-trusts of the city and committed them to this board. If any political
-influences were ever unworthily exerted in the former board it ceased
-when the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges of the
-Supreme Court named the first directors of the City Trusts. These
-directors are all your friends; they give much thought, much labor,
-much anxiety to your well-being, desiring to do the best things that
-are possible to be done for your welfare, and to do them in the best
-way. Many of them have been successful in finding desirable situations
-for such of your number as were prepared to accept such places. I am
-glad to say that I have three college boys associated with me in my
-business; Mr. Stuart had two; Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner
-has two, and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other members of the
-board have also, so you see our interest in you is not limited to the
-time which we spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
-but we are ever on the lookout for things which we hope may be to your
-advantage.
-
-2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these beautiful buildings,
-which were erected for your use; these grounds, which are so well kept
-and which are so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
-that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine shall lack
-nothing that is desirable to make them what they ought to be; the
-text-books which you use in school, the best that can be found; the
-teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can be procured; the
-prefects and governesses chosen from among many applicants, and because
-they are supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who have
-to do with you here are chosen because they are supposed to be well
-qualified to discharge their duties most successfully. The arrangements
-for your lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of your
-tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick, are such as, in the
-judgment of the trustees, the great founder himself would approve if he
-could be consulted. Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
-on this Thanksgiving Day.
-
-3. _You all have a birthright._
-
-What that meant in the earliest times we do not fully know; but it
-meant at least to be the head or father of the family, a sort of
-domestic priesthood, the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great
-nation. In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son has by
-right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting the principal
-part of the property, and he is the representative of the estate. They
-call it there the _law of primogeniture_, or the law of the first-born.
-In our country there is no birthright in families, and we have no law
-to make the eldest born in any respect more favored than the other and
-younger children.
-
-But you Girard boys have a birthright which means a great deal. The
-founder of this great school left the bulk of his large estate to
-the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
-a certain class of boys, very particularly described, to which you
-belong. The provision he made for you was most liberal. Everything that
-his trustees consider necessary for your careful support and thorough
-education is to be provided. Nothing is to be wanting which money
-wisely expended can supply. _This is your birthright._ No earthly power
-can take it from you without your consent. No commercial distress, no
-financial panic, no change of political rulers, no combination of party
-politics can interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing but the
-loss of health or life, or your own misconduct, can deprive you of this
-great birthright. Do you boys fully appreciate this?
-
-Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here who is willing to
-_sell_ this birthright as Esau did?
-
-Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so profane and foul in
-speech, so vicious in character, so wicked in behavior, as to be an
-unfit companion for his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to
-remain among them? Is there a boy here who, for the gratification
-of a vicious appetite, will _sell_ that privilege of support and
-education so abundantly provided here? So guarded is this trust, so
-sacred almost, that no human being can take it away from you: will
-you deliberately _throw it away_? The wretched Esau, in the old
-Jewish history, under the pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his
-birthright with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no such
-temptation as tried him, with no temptation but the perverseness of
-your own will and your love of self-indulgence, will you _sell your
-birthright_? Bitterly did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
-to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he never did recover
-his lost birthright, though he sought it carefully and with tears. And
-he had no one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.
-
-Boys, if you pass through this college course not making the best use
-of your time, or if you allow yourselves to fall into such evil habits
-as will make it necessary to send you away from the college――and this
-after all the kind words that have been spoken to you and the faithful
-warnings that have been given you――you will lose that which can never
-be restored to you, which can never be made up to you in any other way
-elsewhere. You will prove yourselves more foolish, more wicked than
-Esau, for you will lose more than he did, and you will do it against
-kinder remonstrances than he had.
-
-4. There is another feature of the management here which gives especial
-satisfaction. When a boy leaves the college to go to a place which has
-been chosen for him, or which he has found by his own exertions, he
-is looked after until he reaches the age of twenty-one, by an officer
-especially appointed, and as we believe well adapted to that service.
-And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable circumstances and
-under hard task-masters, with people who have no sympathy with his
-youth and inexperience, many such have been visited and encouraged,
-helped and so assisted towards true success.
-
-5. But what is there to make each particular boy thankful to-day? Why
-you are all in good health; and if you would know how much that means
-go to the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are not able to
-be in the chapel to-day, not able to be in the play-grounds, who are
-looking out of the windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
-with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God bless them.
-
-You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who are less robust have
-warmer clothing, and all of you are shielded and guarded as well as the
-trustees know how to care for you, so that you may be trained to be
-strong men.
-
-You are all having a holiday; no school to-day; no shop-work to-day;
-no paying marks to-day; no punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
-Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable is put out of
-sight and ought to be put out of mind.
-
-You are all to have a good dinner. Even now, while we are here in the
-chapel and while some of you are growing impatient at my speech, think
-of the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think of the roast
-turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot potatoes, the gravy, the
-dressing, the mince pies, the apples afterwards, and all the other good
-things which make your mouths water, and make my mouth water even to
-mention the names. Then after dinner you go to your homes, and you have
-a good time there.
-
-The last thing I mention which you ought to be thankful for is having a
-short speech.
-
-
-
-
-               [Illustration: _Professor W. H. Allen._]
-
-
-
-
-                   ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.
-
-                          September 24, 1882.
-
-                  “_Remember how He spake unto you._”
-
-
-These are the words of an angel. They were spoken in the early morning
-while it was yet dark, to frightened and sorrowful women, who had
-gone to the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to embalm
-his body. These women fully expected to find the body of their Lord;
-for as they went they said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from
-the sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they found the stone was
-rolled away and the grave was empty. And one of them ran back to the
-disciples to tell them that the grave was open and the body gone. Those
-that remained went into the sepulchre and saw two men in glittering
-garments, who, seeing that the women were perplexed and afraid,
-standing with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a shade of
-reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is
-not here, he is risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
-hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember how he spake unto you when
-he was yet in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into
-the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise
-again.’”
-
-The words that are quoted as having been spoken by Jesus to his
-disciples were spoken in Galilee six months or more before this, and as
-they were not clearly understood at the time, it is not so very strange
-that they should have been forgotten.
-
-It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well as the other
-disciples of the Lord, had remembered other words, and all the words
-that the Lord spake to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all
-other places. The world would be better to-day if those gracious words
-had been more carefully laid to heart.
-
-I hope the words of my text will bear, without too much accommodation,
-the use which I shall make of them.
-
-Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was born in the family of
-a New England farmer. It was in the then territory of Maine, and near
-the little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor people, and
-the child grew up, as many other farmers’ children grew up, accustomed
-to plain living and such work as children could properly be set to
-do. In the winter he went to school, as well as at other times when
-the farm work was not pressing. It would be very interesting to know,
-if we _could_ know, whether there was anything peculiar in the early
-disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he grew up with nothing
-to distinguish him from his playmates. If we could only know what
-children would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I think, be
-very careful to observe and record any little traits and peculiarities
-of their early childhood. The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
-know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have been prepared at the
-academy for college, which he entered at the advanced age of twenty-one
-years. Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he set out to
-teach the classics in a little town in the interior of the State of New
-York. While engaged in that seminary, he was called to a professorship
-in Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of Pennsylvania.
-In Dickinson College he held successively the chairs of chemistry
-and the natural sciences, and that of English literature, until his
-resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of Girard College.
-
-From this time until his death, except during an interval of five
-years, his life was spent here. For twenty-seven years he gave himself
-to the work of organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
-college, with an interest and efficiency which, until within the last
-year, never flagged. It is not possible at this day for any of us to
-appreciate the difficulties he had to encounter in the early days of
-the college, but we do know that he did the work well.
-
-See how he was prepared for the work he did. He was a lover of study.
-When only eight years old he had learned the English grammar so well
-that his teacher said he could not teach him anything further in that
-study. There was an old family Bible that was very highly prized by all
-the family, and his father told him that if he would read that Bible
-through by the time he was ten years old, it should be his property.
-The boy did so, and claimed and received his reward. That book is now
-in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon). This early reading
-of the Bible will, perhaps, account for President Allen’s unusual
-familiarity with the Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his
-prayers in this school chapel.
-
-The school to which he went in his early youth was three miles from
-his father’s house; and in all kinds of weather, through the heats of
-summer and the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.
-
-I have said that his parents were not rich; and this young man pushed
-his way through college by teaching, thus earning the money necessary
-for his support. This may account for the fact that he entered college
-at the age when most young men are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years.
-It did not seem to him that it was a great misfortune to be poor; but
-it was an additional inducement to call forth all his powers to insure
-success. He knew that he must depend upon himself if he would succeed
-in life. And so he was not satisfied with qualifying himself for one
-chair in a college, but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three chairs.
-He could teach the classics or mathematics or general literature,
-or chemistry or natural sciences. Not many men had qualities so
-diversified, or knew so well how to put them to good account. You know
-very well that this liberal culture was not acquired without hard work.
-And this hard work he must have done in early life, before cares and
-duties crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older we grow.
-
-“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would give these words a two-fold
-meaning――remember _what_ he said and _how_ he said it.
-
-Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of any man, even if he
-has lived more than three-score years and ten. In all these years
-President Allen was going in and out before the college boys, saying
-good and kind words to them.
-
-How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was _your church_, and the
-only church that you could attend, except on holidays. His purpose was
-that this chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy of the
-day. So important did he consider it, that when his turn came to speak
-to you here, he prepared himself carefully. He always wrote his little
-discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and heart he put into
-them. He thought that nothing that he or any other speaker could bring
-was too good for you.
-
-And then the tones of his voice, the manner of his instruction; how
-gentle, kind, conciliating. He remembered the injunction of Scripture,
-“The servant of the Lord must not strive.” You will never know in this
-life how much he bore from you, how long he bore with your waywardness,
-your thoughtlessness; how much he loved you. He always called you “his
-boys.” No matter though some of you are almost men, he always called
-you “his boys,” much as the apostle John in his later years called his
-disciples his “little children.” For President Allen felt that in a
-certain sense he was a father to you all.
-
-For some time past you knew that his health was declining. You saw his
-bowed form and his feeble, hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice
-was tremulous and feeble. The boys on the back benches could not always
-understand his words distinctly. But you knew that he was in earnest in
-all that he did say. And for many months he was not able to speak at
-all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s Day he was seated in a chair,
-with some of his family about him, looking at the battalion boys as
-they were drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And as the
-summer advanced into August, and the people in his native State were
-gathering their harvests, he, too, was gathered, as a shock of corn
-fully ripe.
-
-When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old master, Arnold of Rugby,
-he was fishing in Scotland. It was read to him from a newspaper. He
-at once dropped everything and started for the old school. He was
-overwhelmed with distress. “When he reached the station he went at once
-to the school. At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a soul
-in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and sad; so with another
-effort he strode through the quadrangle, and into the school-house
-offices. He found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
-shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously about. She was
-evidently thinking of the same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin
-talking. Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting in his
-little den, as of old.
-
-“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’
-
-“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered Thomas. ‘You’d like to
-have the key, I dare say.’
-
-“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’
-
-“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go by yourself, sir?’”
-
-“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it, fancying himself the
-only mourner in all the broad land, and feeding on his own selfish
-sorrow.
-
-“He passed through the vestibule and then paused a moment to glance
-over the empty benches. His heart was still proud and high, and he
-walked up to the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form boy,
-and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The memories of eight
-years were all dancing through his brain, while his heart was throbbing
-with a dull sense of a great loss that could never be made up to him.
-The rays of the evening sun came solemnly through the painted windows
-over his head and fell in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the
-perfect stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to the pulpit and
-looked at it; and then leaning forward, with his head on his hands,
-groaned aloud. ‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
-minutes, have told him all that was in his heart, what he owed him,
-how he loved and reverenced him, and would, by God’s help, follow his
-steps in life and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
-But that he should have gone away forever, without knowing it all,
-was too much to bear.’ ‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’
-The thought made him start. ‘May he not even now be near me in this
-chapel?’”
-
-And with some such feelings as these I suppose many a boy will
-come back to the college and stand in this chapel, and recall the
-impressions he has received from President Allen here. But his voice
-will never be heard here again. Nothing remains but to “remember how he
-spake unto you.”
-
-I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in his coffin in the
-chapel, and you all looked on his face for the last time. What could
-be more impressive than the funeral? The crowded house, the waiting
-people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains of the organ, the sweet
-voices of children singing their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the
-appropriate address given by one of his own college boys, the thousand
-and more boys standing in open ranks for the procession to pass through
-to the college gates, the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many
-of his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow him in the
-coming years――all these thoughts make that funeral day one long to be
-remembered.
-
-Let us accept this as the will of Providence. There is nothing to
-regret for him; but for us, the void left by his withdrawal. He is
-leading a better life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
-and the best words I can say to you are, “remember how he spake unto
-you.”
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-    “But when the warrior dieth,
-      His comrades in the war
-    With arms reversed and muffled drums
-      Follow the funeral car.
-    They show the banners taken,
-      They tell his battles won,
-    And after him lead his masterless steed,
-      While peals the minute gun.
-
-    “Amid the noblest of the land
-      Men lay the _sage_ to rest,
-    And give the _bard_ an honored place,
-      With costly marble drest,
-    In the great Minster transept
-      Where lights like glories fall,
-    And the choir sings and the organ rings
-      Along the emblazoned wall.”
-
-
-
-
-                    A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.
-
-                           December 7, 1884.
-
-
-When I came here in April last I brought with me some friends, among
-whom was my son. And I said to him that some day I should wish _him_ to
-speak to you. He had so recently been a college boy himself, graduating
-at the University of Pennsylvania, and he was so fond of the games
-and plays of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys and
-young men, that I thought he might be able to say something that would
-interest you, and perhaps do you good.
-
-At a recent meeting of the proper committee his name was added to the
-list of persons who may be invited to speak to you. The last time I was
-at the college President Fetterolf asked me when my son could come to
-address you, and I replied that he was sick.
-
-That sickness was far more serious than any of us supposed; there was
-no favorable change, and at the end of twelve days he passed away.
-
-My suggestion that he might be invited to speak here led him to
-prepare a short address, which was found among his papers, and has,
-within a few days, been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
-apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final revision, which in
-copying for delivery he would have given it.
-
-I have thought it would be well for me to read to you this address; but
-I did not feel that I had any right to revise it, or to make any change
-in it whatever; so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding only a
-word here and there which was omitted in the hurried writing.
-
-    He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that
-    ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.――Proverbs xvi.
-    32.
-
-I want you to look with me at the latter part of each of these
-sentences, and see if we can’t understand a little better what Solomon
-meant by such words “_the mighty_” and “_he that taketh a city_.”
-
-Do you remember the wonderful dream that came to Solomon just after
-he had been made king over Israel? How God came to him while he was
-sleeping and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,” and how
-Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for wisdom. And God gave him
-wisdom, so that he became famous far and wide, and people from nations
-far off came to see him and learn of him.
-
-If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man that ever lived, you
-would say “Solomon.” Often you have heard one person say of another,
-“he is as wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of the way
-in which Solomon showed this wonderful gift. But his knowledge was
-not that of books, because there were not a great many books then for
-him to read. It was the knowledge which showed him how to do _right_,
-and how to be a _good ruler_ over his people. And because he chose
-such wisdom, the very best gift of God, God gave him besides, riches
-and everything that he could possibly desire. His horses and chariots
-were the most beautiful and the strongest; his armies were famous
-everywhere for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast numbers of
-servants to wait upon him, and to do his slightest wish. Presents, most
-magnificent, were sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
-about him. No king of Israel before or after him was so great and so
-powerful. And, greatest honor of all, God permitted him to build a
-temple for him――what his father David had so longed to do and was not
-allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s greatest desire before
-he died was to build a house for God. The ark of God had never had
-a house to rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
-palace to live in himself, and to have nothing but a _tent_ in which
-to keep God’s ark. But God would not suffer him to do that, although
-he was the king whom he loved so much. No, that must be kept for his
-son Solomon to do. David had been too great a fighter all his life; he
-had been at war; he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
-made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their foes. So David was
-a “mighty man,” and while Solomon was growing up he must have heard
-every one talking of the wonderful things his father had done from his
-youth up――the adventures he had had when he was only a poor shepherd
-lad keeping his flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
-must he have been told that splendid story, which we never grow tired
-of hearing, of his fight with the giant Goliath; and when he was shown
-the huge pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he surely knew
-what it was for a man to be “mighty” and “great.” And when his old
-father withdrew from the throne and made him king, he found himself
-surrounded on all sides with the results of his father’s wars and
-conquests, and soon knew that he also was “a mighty man.”
-
-There is not a boy here who does not want to be “great.” Every one
-of you wants to make a name for himself, or have something, or do
-something, that will be remembered long after he is dead.
-
-If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose almost all of you
-would say, “I want to be rich, so rich that I can do whatever I like;
-that I need not do any work; that I can go where I please.” Some of
-you would say, “I would travel all over the world and write about what
-I see, so that long after I am dead people will read my books and say,
-‘what a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I would build great
-houses, and fill them with all the richest and most beautiful goods. I
-would have whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
-bringing back wonderful things from strange countries; and when I would
-meet people in the street they would stand aside to let me pass, saying
-to one another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest merchant;
-how I should like to be as great as he.’”
-
-And still another would say: “I don’t care anything about books or
-beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll go into foreign countries and become a
-great fighter, and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
-shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of great armies,
-and when I come home again the people will give me a grand reception;
-will make arches across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
-and as I ride along the street the air will be filled with cheers for
-the great general.”
-
-And so each one of you would tell me of some way in which he would like
-to be great. I should think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
-one who would be entirely content to just get along somehow, and never
-care for any great success so long as he had enough to eat and drink
-and to clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead to set
-his mind on obtaining some great object. It is perfectly right and
-proper to be ambitious, to try and make as much as possible of every
-opportunity that is presented. No one can read that parable of the
-master who called his servants to account for the talents he had given
-them, and not see that God gives us all the blessings and advantages
-that we have, in order that we may have an opportunity to put them to
-such good use, that He may say to us as the master in the parable said
-to his servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
-
-So it is right for you to want to be great, and I want to try and tell
-you how to accomplish it. If you were sure that I could tell you the
-real secret of success you would listen very carefully to what I had
-to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even write down what I said.
-Then write _this_ down in your hearts; for, following this, you will
-be greater than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is better than
-the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.”
-Are some of you disappointed? do you say, “_Is that all?_ I thought he
-was about to tell us how we could make lots of money.” Ah, if you would
-only believe it, and follow such advice, such a plan were to be far
-richer than the man who can count his wealth by millions. But look at
-it in another way. What sort of a boy do you choose for the captain of
-a base-ball nine or a foot-ball team? What sort of a _man_ is chosen
-for a high position? Is he one who loses all control over himself when
-something happens to vex him, and flies into a terrible passion when
-some one happens to oppose him? No; the one you would select for any
-place of great responsibility is he who can keep his head clear, who
-will not permit himself to get angry at any little vexation, who rules
-his own spirit――and can there be anything harder to do? I tell you “no.”
-
-So, I have told you how to be successful, and at the same time I tell
-you, there is nothing harder to do; and now I go on still further, and
-say you can’t follow such advice by yourself, you must have some help.
-Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you freely; you are urged to
-ask for it, and you are assured that it is certain to come to all who
-want it. Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient, for
-He who shall help you is abundantly able to give you more than you ask
-or think. It is God who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
-you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which taketh the city;
-yes, for the greatness he shall bestow upon those who come to him is
-far above all earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you are
-ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift your hand to strike,
-when you would _kill_ if you were not afraid; but when the wish is in
-your heart, yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks upon you
-in divine mercy, and if you will only let him, will rebuke the foul
-spirit and command him to come out of you, and your whole soul shall
-be filled with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading voice, and
-let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger? And when the hot words fly
-to your lips, remember his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then
-will you have won a greater battle than any ever fought; for you will
-have conquered your own wicked spirit, and by God’s grace you are a
-conqueror. And the reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
-crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept _such_ greatness?
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-Such are the words he would have spoken to you had his life been
-spared; and he would have spoken them with the great advantage of a
-_young man_ speaking to _young men_. Now they seem like a message
-from the heavenly world. It is more than probable that in copying for
-delivery he would have expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
-little address more complete. Perhaps it would be better for me to stop
-here; ... but there are a few words which I would like to say, and it
-may be that they can be better said now than at any other time.
-
-I want to say again, what I have so often said, that a boy may be fond
-of all innocent games and plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you
-may doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion interferes with
-amusements and makes life gloomy. Here is an example of the contrary;
-for I do not see how there _could_ be a happier life than my son’s
-(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one could be more fond of
-base-ball and foot-ball and cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he
-was a simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And with all this
-love of innocent pleasure and fun he neglected no business obligations,
-nor did he fail in any of the duties of social or family life. In
-short, I can wish no better thing for you boys than that your lives may
-be as happy and as beautiful as his was.
-
-
-
-
-                         A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.
-
-                             April, 1889.
-
-
-Can anything be more important to a young life than truthfulness? Is
-character worth anything at all if it is not founded on truth? And are
-not the temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly in
-your path?
-
-It is most interesting to think that every life here is an individual
-life, having its own history, and in many respects unlike every other
-life. When I see you passing through these grounds, going in procession
-to and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and your play-grounds,
-the question often arises in my thoughts, how many of these boys are
-walking in the truth?
-
-If I were looking for a boy to fill any position within my gift, or
-within the reach of my influence, and should seek such a boy among
-you, I should ask most carefully of those who know you best, whether
-such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech merely (that is,
-does he answer questions truthfully), but is he open and frank in his
-life? Does he cheat in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any
-duty that is required of him in the shops? When he fails to recite his
-lessons accurately, is he very ready with his excuses trying to justify
-himself for his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not do
-his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better in the future?
-And is he one who may be depended upon to give a fair account of any
-incident that may come up for investigation? Sometimes there are wrong
-things done here, done from thoughtlessness often; may such a boy as
-I am looking for be depended upon to say what he knows about it, in a
-manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if necessary, expose the
-guilty? In other words, is he trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be
-depended on?
-
-It may not be easy for one at my time of life to say just what a boy
-ought to be, if he is to make much of a man. But we who think much
-of this subject have an idea of what we would like the boys to be,
-in whom we are especially interested. And if I borrow from another
-a description of what I mean, it is because this author has said it
-better than I can.
-
-“A real boy should be generous, courteous among his friends and among
-his school-fellows; respectful to his superiors, well-mannered. He
-must avoid loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue and his
-temper; must listen to advice and reproof with humility. He must be a
-gentleman. He must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither cringe
-to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak. To his teachers he must be
-obedient, for they have a right to require obedience of him; he must
-be respectful, because the true gentleman always respects those who
-are wiser, more experienced, better informed than himself. He must
-apply himself to his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge for
-its own sake, and earnestly striving to make the best possible use of
-such faculties as God has given him. He must do his best to store his
-mind with high thoughts by a careful study of all that is beautiful
-and pure. In his sports and plays he must seek to excel, if excellence
-can be obtained by a moderate amount of time and energy; but he must
-remember, that though it is a fine thing to have a healthy body and
-a healthy mind, it is neither necessary nor admirable to develop a
-muscular system like that of an athlete or a giant. Whatever falls to
-his hands to do, he must do it with his might, assured that God loves
-not the idle or dishonest worker. He must remember that life has its
-duties and responsibilities as well as its pleasures; that these begin
-in boyhood, and that they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
-mind and soul. He must train himself in all good habits, in order that
-these may accompany him easily in later life; in habits of method and
-order, of industry and perseverance and patience. He must not forget
-that every victory over himself smooths the way for future victories
-of the same kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue is to set
-us on higher and better ground for conquests of principle in all time
-to come. He must resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
-word and every improper suggestion, every profane utterance; guarding
-himself against the first approaches of sin, which are always the most
-insidiously made. He must not think it a brave or plucky thing to
-break wholesome rules, to defy authority, to ridicule age or poverty
-or feebleness, to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to throw
-away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities. He must love
-truth with a deep and passionate love, abhorring even the shadow of a
-lie, even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word, true in deed,
-he shall walk in the truth.”
-
-I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest and diligent; be
-resolute to live a pure and honorable life; speak the truth like boys
-who hope to be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good to be
-merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons, be affectionate brothers,
-be loyal-hearted friends, and when you come to be men you will look
-back to these boyish days without regret and without shame.
-
-Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I am very desirous that your
-future shall be bright and useful and successful, and I, and others who
-are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear nothing but good of
-you; but we can have no greater joy than to hear that you are walking
-in the truth. Some of you may become rich men; some may become very
-prominent in public affairs; you may reach high places; you may fill
-a large space in the public estimation; you may be able and brilliant
-men; but there is nothing in your life that will give us so much joy as
-to hear that “you are walking in the truth.”
-
-Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and without it character
-is absolutely worthless. No gentleness of disposition, no willingness
-to help other people, no habits of industry, no freedom from vicious
-practices, can make up for want of truthfulness of heart and life.
-Some persons think that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
-for the good of others, and do many generous and noble acts and have
-a good reputation, they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
-blamed. But they forget that reputation is not character; that one may
-have a very good reputation and a very bad character; they forget that
-the reputation is the outside, what we see of each other, while the
-character is what we are in the heart.
-
-
-                   *       *       *       *       *
-
-
- Transcriber’s Notes:
-
- ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
-
- ――Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
-   corrected.
-
- ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
-
- ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
-
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND
-BOYS ***
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
-be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
-United States without permission and without paying copyright
-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
-license, especially commercial redistribution.
-
-START: FULL LICENSE
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
-Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-
-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
-Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
-person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
-1.E.8.
-
-1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
-Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
-of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
-that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
-Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
-you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
-other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
-country other than the United States.
-
-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
-on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
-
-  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-  most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the
-  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
-  you are located before using this eBook.
-
-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
-beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
-other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
-Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
-full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-provided that:
-
-* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
-  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
-  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
-  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
-  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
-  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
-  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
-  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
-  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
-  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
-  Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
-  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
-  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
-  works.
-
-* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
-  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
-  receipt of the work.
-
-* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
-the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
-forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
-Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
-contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
-cannot be read by your equipment.
-
-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
-without further opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
-remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
-or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
-Defect you cause.
-
-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
-from people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
-www.gutenberg.org
-
-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
-U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
-widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
-state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
-distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
-volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
-edition.
-
-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
-facility: www.gutenberg.org
-
-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69531 ***
+
+                                ADVICE
+                                  TO
+                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _Stephen Girard._]
+
+
+
+
+                                ADVICE
+                                  TO
+                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
+
+                        _A SERIES OF ADDRESSES_
+
+
+                      DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS
+          MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA
+
+                  TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE
+
+
+                           ILLUSTRATED WITH
+                  Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel
+
+
+                             PHILADELPHIA
+                       GEBBIE & CO., Publishers
+                                 1890
+
+
+
+
+                        Copyright by
+                             GEBBIE & CO.,
+                                 1889.
+
+
+
+
+                               PREFACE.
+
+
+In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges of the Courts of Common
+Pleas of Philadelphia to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which
+has charge of Girard College, having for some years previously, by the
+kind partiality of President Allen, been on the staff of speakers in
+the Chapel on Sundays. My interest in the Pupils was of course at once
+increased, and ever since I have given much time and thought to the
+moral instruction of the boys.
+
+From the many Addresses made to them I have selected the following
+as fair specimens of the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
+repetitions of thought and language may be accounted for by the lapse
+of time between the giving of the Addresses, not forgetting the
+well-known Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line――precept upon precept――here
+a little――there a little.”
+
+The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr. Girard has been defined
+by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.
+
+The book is published in the hope that it may be the means of helping
+some boys and young men other than those to whom the Addresses were
+made.
+
+    4205 WALNUT ST.,
+        _November, 1889._
+
+
+
+
+                         CONTENTS.
+
+
+ STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE. (Introductory)     PAGE  9
+
+ HOW TO WIN SUCCESS                                   “  25
+
+ LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS              “  39
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH                        “  51
+
+ BAD ASSOCIATES                                       “  59
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD                   “  69
+
+ THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED                  “  79
+
+ WILLIAM PENN                                         “  99
+
+ OUR CONSTITUTION                                     “ 113
+
+ JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN                              “ 129
+
+ THE LEAF TURNED OVER                                 “ 143
+
+ THANKSGIVING DAY. (November 29, 1888)                “ 155
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN                      “ 169
+
+ A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS                        “ 179
+
+ A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER                                 “ 188
+
+
+
+
+   LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ STEPHEN GIRARD      _Frontispiece._
+
+ B. B. COMEGYS                  PAGE 25
+
+ WILLIAM WELSH                    “  51
+
+ JAMES A. GARFIELD                “  69
+
+ JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN          “ 129
+
+ PROFESSOR W. H. ALLEN            “ 169
+
+
+
+
+                  STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.[A]
+
+                             INTRODUCTORY.
+
+[A] This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and
+Character of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”
+
+
+Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will “mariner and merchant,”
+was born near the city of Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age
+of twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his counting-house
+on Water street, above Market. He was a man of great industry and
+frugality, and lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day lived,
+in the dwelling of which his counting-house formed a part. He was
+married and had one child, but the death of his wife was followed
+soon by the death of his child, and he never married again. He lived
+to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what was considered at the
+time of his death a vast estate, more than seven millions of dollars.
+One hundred and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed to
+members of his family, sixty-five thousand as a principal sum for
+the payment of annuities to certain friends and former employés, one
+hundred and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities, five
+hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia for the improvement of
+its water front on the Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State
+of Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements, and an
+indefinite sum in various legacies to his apprentices, to sea-captains
+who should bring his vessels in their charge safely to port, and to his
+house servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in trust to the
+city of Philadelphia for the following purposes: (1) To erect, improve
+and maintain a college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish a
+better police system, and (3) to improve the city of Philadelphia and
+diminish taxation.
+
+The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart by his will for
+the construction of the college, and as soon as was practicable the
+executors appropriated certain securities for the purpose, the actual
+outlay for erection and finishing of the edifice being one million nine
+hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and twenty-one dollars
+and seventy-eight cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced May
+6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies on the Fourth
+of July following, and the completed buildings were transferred to
+the Board of Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There was thus
+occupied in construction a period of fourteen years and six months, the
+work being somewhat delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
+Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the estate. The
+design adopted was substantially that furnished by Thomas U. Walters,
+an architect elected by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
+rendered advisable by the change of site directed in the second codicil
+of Girard’s will, the original purpose having been to occupy the square
+bounded by Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in the heart
+of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard having, subsequently to the
+first draft of his will, purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the
+William Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge Road, known as
+the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed that the site of his college should
+be transferred to that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
+dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which dwellings and stores
+form part of his residuary estate.
+
+The college proper closely resembles in design a Greek temple. It is
+built of marble, which was chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery
+and Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont, Massachusetts.
+
+The building is three stories in height, the first and second being
+twenty-five feet from floor to floor, and the third thirty feet in the
+clear to the eye of the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
+and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width and thirty-two
+in height. The walls of the cella are four feet in thickness, and are
+pierced on each flank by twenty windows. At each end of the building
+is a vestibule, extending across the whole width of the cella, the
+ceilings of which are supported on each floor by eight columns, whose
+shafts are composed of a single stone. Those on the first floor are
+Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at Athens; on the second, a
+modified Corinthian, after the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at
+Athens; and on the third, a similar modification of the Corinthian,
+somewhat lighter and more ornate.
+
+The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white marble, dormitories,
+offices and laundries. A new refectory, containing improved ranges
+and steam cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
+of which will seat with ease more than one thousand persons. Two
+bathing-pools are in the western portion of the grounds, and others
+in basements of buildings. The houses are heated by steam and lighted
+by gas obtained from the city works. Thirty-five electric lights from
+seven towers one hundred and twenty-five feet high illuminate the
+grounds and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches in thickness
+and ten feet in height, strengthened by spur piers on the inside and
+capped with marble coping, surrounds the whole estate, its length
+being six thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
+more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced on the southern
+side, immediately facing the south front of the main building, for the
+chief entrance, this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
+lodges, between which stretches an ornamental wrought-iron grille, with
+wrought-iron gates, the whole forming an approach in keeping with the
+large simplicity of the college itself.
+
+The site upon which the college is erected corresponds well with
+its splendor and importance. It is elevated considerably above the
+general level of the surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous
+object, not only from the higher windows and roofs in every part of
+Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river many miles below the city and
+from eminences far out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
+view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the city and its environs
+for many miles around and the course, to their confluence, eight miles
+below, of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.
+
+The history of the institution commences shortly after the decease of
+Girard, when the Councils of Philadelphia, acting as his trustees,
+elected a Board of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
+1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A Building Committee was also
+appointed by the City Councils on the 21st of the following March, in
+whom was vested the immediate supervision of the construction of the
+college, an office in which they continued without intermission until
+the final completion of the structure.
+
+On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having previously been
+authorized by the Councils so to do, proceeded to elect Alexander
+Dallas Bache president of the college, and instructed him to visit
+various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase the necessary
+books and apparatus for the school, both of which he did, making an
+exhaustive report upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
+establish schools without awaiting the completion of the main building,
+but competent legal advice being unfavorable to the organization
+of the institution prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and
+difficulties having meanwhile arisen between the Councils and the Board
+of Directors, the ordinances creating the board and authorizing the
+election of the president were repealed.
+
+In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to whom the building was
+transferred, and on December 15, 1847, the officers of the institution
+were elected, the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
+Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being chosen as
+president. On January 1, 1848, the college was opened with a class of
+one hundred orphans, previously admitted, the occasion being signalized
+by appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same year one hundred
+more were admitted, and on April 1, 1849, an additional one hundred,
+since when others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred or to
+swell the number as facilities have increased. The college now (1889)
+contains thirteen hundred and seventy-five pupils.
+
+On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office of president of the
+college, and on the 23d of the following November William H. Allen, LL.
+D., Professor of Mental Philosophy and English Literature in Dickinson
+College, was elected to fill the vacancy. He was installed January 1,
+1850, but resigned December 1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith, of
+the United States army, was chosen to fill his place. Major Smith was
+inaugurated June 24, 1863, and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen
+being immediately re-elected and continuing in office until his death,
+on the 29th of August, 1882.
+
+The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D., LL. D., was elected
+December 27, 1882, by the Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed
+of fifteen members, three of whom――the Mayor and the Presidents of
+Councils――are _ex officio_, and twelve are appointed by the Judges
+of the Court of Common Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second
+Wednesday of each month.
+
+It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania that any child
+having lost its father is properly denominated an orphan, irrespective
+of whether the mother be living or not. This construction has been
+adopted by the college, the requirements for admission to the
+institution being prescribed by Mr. Girard’s will as follows: (1) The
+orphan must be a poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
+application for admission being received before the former age, nor
+can he be admitted into the college after passing his tenth birthday,
+even though the application has been made previously; (2) the mother
+or next friend is required to produce the marriage certificate of the
+child’s parents (or, in its absence, some other satisfactory evidence
+of such marriage), and also the certificate of the physician setting
+forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form of application looking to
+the establishment of the child’s identity, physical condition, morals,
+previous education and means of support, must be filled in, signed
+and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications are made at the
+office, No. 19 South Twelfth street, Philadelphia.
+
+A preference is given under Girard’s will to (_a_) orphans born in
+the city of Philadelphia; (_b_) those born in any other part of
+Pennsylvania; (_c_) those born in the city of New York; (_d_) those
+born in the city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans born
+in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be strictly limited to the
+old city proper, the districts subsequently consolidated into the city
+having no rights in this respect over any other portion of the State.
+
+Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly according to
+priority of application, the mother or next friend executing an
+indenture binding the orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee
+under Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided for by
+the college. The seventh item of the will reads as follows:
+
+“The orphans admitted into the college shall be there fed with
+plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent apparel (no
+distinctive dress ever to be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe
+manner. Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their
+persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable
+and rational exercise and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
+various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing,
+grammar, arithmetic, geography, navigation, surveying, practical
+mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
+the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid, but I do not
+recommend the Greek and Latin languages), and such other learning and
+science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
+I would have them taught facts and things, rather than words or signs.
+And especially, I desire, that by every proper means a pure attachment
+to our republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience,
+as guaranteed by our happy constitutions, shall be formed and fostered
+in the minds of the scholars.”
+
+Although the orphans reside permanently in the college, they are, at
+stated times, allowed to visit their friends at their houses and
+to receive visits from their friends at the college. The household
+is under the care of a matron, an assistant matron, prefects and
+governesses, who superintend the moral and social training of the
+orphans and administer the discipline of the institution when the
+scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are divided into
+sections, for the purposes of discipline, having distinct officers,
+buildings and playgrounds.
+
+The schools are taught chiefly in the main college building, five
+professors and forty eight teachers being employed in the duties of
+instruction; and the course comprises a thorough English commercial
+education, to which has been latterly added special schools of
+technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a large proportion of
+the orphans admitted into the college have had little or no preparatory
+education, the instruction commences with the alphabet.
+
+The order of daily exercises is as follows: the pupils rise at six
+o’clock; take breakfast at half-past six. Recreation until half-past
+seven; then assemble in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to
+the chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel exercises consist
+of singing a hymn, reading a chapter from the Old or New Testament, and
+prayer, after the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the various
+school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess of fifteen minutes,
+until twelve. From twelve until the dinner-hour, which is half-past
+twelve, they are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
+that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour, when they
+resume the school exercises, remaining without intermission until four
+o’clock. At four the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
+which they are on the play-ground until six, at which hour supper is
+served. The evening study hour lasts from seven to eight, or half-past
+eight, varying with the age of the pupils, the same difference being
+observed in their bedtimes, which are from half-past seven for the
+youngest until a quarter before nine for the older boys.
+
+On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section rooms at nine o’clock
+in the morning and at two in the afternoon for reading and religious
+instruction, and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at three
+in the afternoon they attend divine worship in the chapel. Here the
+exercises are similar to those held on week days, with the important
+addition of an appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
+of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether on Sundays or on
+week days, are invariably conducted by the president or other layman,
+the will of the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of any
+denomination whatsoever within the boundaries of the institution.
+
+The discipline of the college is administered through admonition,
+deprivation of recreation, and seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal
+punishment may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
+presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes an unfit companion
+for the rest, the Will says he shall not be permitted to remain in the
+college.
+
+The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing and educating each
+pupil, including current repairs to buildings and furniture and the
+maintenance of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between the
+age of fourteen and eighteen years the scholars may be indentured by
+the institution, on behalf of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some
+“art, trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
+as far as is judicious, the inclination and preference of the scholar.
+The master to whom an apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with
+sufficient meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at his own
+place of residence (unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to the
+indenture and so indorsed upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach
+and instruct the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,” and at
+the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish him with at least two
+complete suits of clothes, one of which shall be new. Should, however,
+a scholar not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave the
+college upon attaining the age of eighteen years. In case of death
+his friends have the privilege of removing his body for interment,
+otherwise his remains are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
+Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.
+
+Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are allowed to visit the
+college on the afternoon of every week day. Permits can be obtained
+from the Mayor of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at
+the office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South Twelfth street,
+Philadelphia, or at the office of the _Public Ledger_ newspaper.
+Especial courtesy is shown all foreign visitors, and particularly those
+interested in educational matters.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by influenza, which was then
+epidemic in the city. The violence of the disease greatly prostrated
+him, and, pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent that he
+could not live. He had no fear of death. About a month before this
+attack he had said: “When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
+unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going to die to-morrow I
+should plant a tree, nevertheless, to-day.”
+
+He died in the back room of his Water street mansion on December 26th,
+aged eighty-one years (or nearly), and four days after he was buried in
+the churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and Spruce streets.
+
+For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed where they had been
+laid in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard
+College having been completed, it was resolved that the remains of the
+donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus provided in its
+vestibule. This was done with appropriate ceremonies on September 30,
+1851.
+
+Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this attained, the
+longing of mankind to leave a shining memory merged his purpose in the
+establishment of what was to him that fairest of Utopias――the simple
+tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties ended not with
+the State, and whose benefactions were not limited to the rescue or
+advancement of its interests alone, but whose charities broadened
+beyond the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual life, to
+stretch over long reaches of the future, enriching thousands of poor
+children in his beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why he
+worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed object of his labor in
+acquisition. While he was forward with an apparent disregard of self,
+to expose his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
+to aid the internal improvements of the country, and to promote its
+commercial prosperity by all the means within his power, he yet had
+more ambitious designs. He wished to hand himself down to immortality
+by the only mode that was practicable for a man in his position, and
+he accomplished precisely that which was the grand aim of his life. He
+wrote his epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks and squares
+which adorn the streets of his adopted city, in the public works and
+eleemosynary establishments of his adopted State, and erected his own
+monument and embodied his own principles in a marble-roofed palace.
+Yet, splendid as is the structure which stands above his remains, the
+most perfect model of architecture in the New World, it yields in
+beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor sleeps among the orphan
+poor whom his bounty is constantly educating.
+
+“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily stretches forth
+his invisible hands to lead some friendless child from ignorance to
+usefulness. And when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
+made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed and educated, and many
+men made useful to their country and themselves, each happy home or
+rescued child or useful citizen will be a living monument to perpetuate
+the name and embalm the memory of the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”
+
+
+
+
+                          BOARD OF DIRECTORS
+                                  OF
+                             CITY TRUSTS,
+                                 1889.
+
+
+                    W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, _President,
+            Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees_.
+
+                    LOUIS WAGNER, _Vice-President_.
+
+                         ALEXANDER BIDDLE,
+                         JAMES CAMPBELL,
+                         JOSEPH L. CAVEN,
+                         BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,
+                         JOHN H. CONVERSE,
+                         WILLIAM L. ELKINS,
+                         WILLIAM B. MANN,
+                         JOHN H. MICHENER,
+                         GEORGE H. STUART,
+                         RICHARD VAUX.
+
+
+                  MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”
+
+                       EDWIN H. FITLER, _Mayor_.
+              JAMES R. GATES, _President Select Council_.
+             WILLIAM M. SMITH, _President Common Council_.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+    F. CARROLL BREWSTER, _Solicitor_.
+        FRANK M. HIGHLEY, _Secretary_.
+            JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., _Supt. Admission and Indentures_.
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _B. B. Comegys._]
+
+
+
+
+                          HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.
+
+                             May 27, 1888.
+
+
+I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the plainest duties of
+life――of what you must be, of what you must do, if you would be good
+men and succeed.
+
+It would be strange if one who has lived as long as I have should not
+have learned something worth knowing and worth telling to those who are
+younger and less experienced. I have had much to do with young people
+here and elsewhere, and I have seen many failures, much disappointment,
+many wrecks of character, and have learned many things; and I speak to
+you to-day in the hope that I may say such things as will help some
+boy, at least one, to determine, while he is here this morning, to do
+the best he can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
+are particularly appropriate to those just about to leave the college.
+
+It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject――
+
+    1. As to health.
+    2. As to improvement of the mind.
+    3. As to business or work of any kind.
+    4. As to your duties to other people.
+    5. As to your duty to God.
+
+As to health. You cannot be happy without good health, and
+you cannot expect to have good health unless you observe certain
+conditions. You must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that is
+within reach, or by other simple methods (such as a common brush) which
+are always within your reach. Be as much in the open air as possible.
+This is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and sedentary,
+such as that of a clerk in any shop or office. Pure, fresh air is
+Nature’s own provision for the well-being of all her creatures, and is
+the best of all tonics.
+
+Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat food that is too
+highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t be afraid of fruit in season and
+when it is ripe. But don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
+apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food provided here, accounts
+for the extraordinarily good health which almost all of you enjoy.
+
+Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating drinks. And the only
+way to be absolutely safe is not to drink even a little, or once in a
+while. Don’t drink at all.
+
+Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not later than eleven
+o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A young fellow who goes to work
+at seven o’clock in the morning can’t afford to keep late hours.
+Young people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot safely
+disregard this hint. Late hours are always more or less injurious,
+especially when you are away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
+temptations of the streets and at the theatres.
+
+As to public entertainments or recreations in the evening, go to no
+place of seeing or hearing where you would not be willing to take your
+mother or sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely to be
+hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons, and gambling houses,
+or parties. You cannot be too careful about your recreations; let them
+be simple and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.
+
+Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing, or spitting, or
+swearing, or others that are injurious to yourselves or disagreeable
+to other people. All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
+clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at work――this is not
+always possible――but when going and coming to and from work.
+
+Always give place to women in the streets, in street-cars, or in
+other places. Do not rush into street-cars first to get seats. A true
+gentleman will wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit in
+street-cars, while women are standing, unless you are very, very tired.
+Here is a temptation before you every day almost in our city. Hardly
+anything is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars while
+women are standing and holding on to straps. And yet I see this every
+day. What is a boy good for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if
+he can give a woman or an old man a seat?
+
+If you are so favored as to have a few days or two weeks holiday in
+summer, go to the country or to the sea-shore, if your means will
+allow. The country air or sea air is better for you than almost any
+other change.
+
+Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well dressed――not, however, at
+your tailor’s expense. It is the duty of all to be well dressed, but
+don’t spend all your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
+on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for clothing when it is
+nearly or quite worn out. By all means keep out of debt, for your
+personal or family expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
+you can very soon repay your dealer the money you owe. The difference
+between ease and comfort, and distress, in money matters, is whether
+you spend a little more than you make, or a little less than you make.
+Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty sure to come, and you must
+lay up something for that day.
+
+Very much of the crime that is committed every day (and you cannot open
+a paper without seeing an account of some one who has gone wrong) is
+because people will live beyond their means; will spend more than they
+earn. They hope for an increase of pay, or that they will make money in
+some way or other, and then when that good time does not come, and as
+they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something, only borrowing
+it as they say, but they take it and spend it, or pay some pressing
+debt with it, and then, and then――they are caught, and sent to court,
+and tried and sent to――well, you know without my telling you.
+
+As to the mind.
+
+You have fine opportunities for education here, but they will soon be
+over, and if you leave this college without having a good knowledge
+of the practical branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
+Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will be at a great
+disadvantage with other boys who are well educated. I had a letter in
+my pocket a few days ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the
+Moyamensing Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar; and next to
+the horror of knowing he was in prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so
+ignorant of the very commonest branches of English education should
+have ever been within the walls of this college.
+
+I think I have told you before of a man who employs a large number of
+men, whose business amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
+in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and who a few years
+ago was robbed and almost ruined by his book-keeper, and who would now
+give half of what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could
+understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent upon other people
+to keep his accounts.
+
+As to books, be careful what you read. How it grieves me to see errand
+boys in street-cars, and sometimes as they walk in the streets, reading
+such stuff as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste of time,
+though that is bad enough, but a positive injury to the mind, filling
+it with the most improbable stories, and often, also, with that which
+is positively vicious. Read something better than this. Do not confine
+yourselves to newspapers, and do not read police reports. Attractive
+as this class of reading is, it is for the most part hurtful to the
+young mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good reading, magazines
+and periodicals; and books and books, good, bad, indifferent; and you
+will hardly know which to choose unless you ask others who are older
+than you, and who know books. Most boys read little but novels; and
+there are many thoroughly good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and
+historical. Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money; for you
+can get everything you want out of the public libraries; and this was
+not so, or at least to this extent, when I was a boy.
+
+As to work or business.
+
+Set out with the determination that you will be faithful in everything.
+Only last week a Girard boy called on me to help him get employment.
+I asked him some questions, and he told me that he had been out of
+the college five or six years, and had five or six situations. Do you
+think he had been faithful in anything? If he had been, he would not
+have lost place after place. When you get a place, and I hope every
+one of you will have a place provided for you before you leave here,
+be among the first to arrive in the morning, and be among the last to
+leave at the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination of base
+ball or anything else lead you to forget that your first duty is to
+your employer. Be quick to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself,
+“It is not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s place,”
+but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and let it be seen that
+you are ready for any work. And be very prompt to answer. Do whatever
+you are told. Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and say
+“good-morning” as if you meant it. In short, do not be slovenly in
+anything you have to do; be alive, and remember all the time that no
+labor is degrading.
+
+Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect, and your
+fellow-clerks or workers, whether superiors, inferiors or equals, with
+hearty good-will.
+
+Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if your employer do
+so, he will despise you for doing so. No matter if he is untruthful,
+he will respect you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge in
+or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does this, and you can
+be a real gentleman even if you are poor, for you will be educated.
+Make yourself indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
+possible, and it will almost certainly insure success. Be ambitious in
+the highest sense. Remember, that if not now, you will hereafter have
+others dependent upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
+for a boy to go out from this college with the determination to support
+his mother; and some that I know and you know are doing this, and many
+others will do it.
+
+I pause here to say that, so far, my words have been spoken as to your
+duties to the world, to yourselves. I have supposed that you boys would
+rather be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather own teams than
+drive them for other people, that you would rather be a contractor than
+carry the pick and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer than
+carry the hod, that you would rather be a house-builder than a shoveler
+of coal into the house-builder’s cellar. Is it not so?
+
+Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell you, and avoid
+everything I have warned you against, you cannot succeed in the best
+sense, you cannot become true men, such men as the city has a right to
+expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of God; for he holds all
+things in his hands. “The silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle
+upon a thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be against us?
+
+In these closing words, then, I would speak to you as to your duty to
+God.
+
+What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell you anything that you do
+not already know, so often have you been talked to about this subject.
+But nothing is so important for you to be reminded of, though I fear
+that to some of you hardly anything is so uninteresting. Naturally the
+heart is disinclined to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
+do without him, though many people think they can, or they act as if
+they thought so. Such people are not wise; they are very foolish.
+
+He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with infinite love and
+care, he has appointed the time for our departure from this life, and
+he has prepared a better life than this for those who love him here. We
+cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all things are in
+his hands. If you will think of it, some of the best men and women you
+know are believers in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
+you can do without him?
+
+Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship of those who love
+and fear God, both men and women. You are safe with such; you are not
+quite so sure of safety in the society of those who openly say they
+can do without God. When I speak of those who fear God, I do not mean
+merely professors of religion, not merely members of meeting or members
+of church, but I mean people who live such lives as people ought to
+live, who fear God and keep his commandments. You know there are such,
+you have met with them, you will meet many more of them, and you will
+meet also those who call themselves Christians, but whose lives show
+that they have no true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists, mere
+professors.
+
+Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean, read it, a little of it at
+least, every day. You need not read much, it is well sometimes that you
+read but a little; but read it with a purpose――that is, to understand
+it. The literature of the Bible as you grow older will abundantly repay
+your careful and constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
+treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument of Horace Binney,
+Esq., in the Girard will case, I was surprised to see how familiar Mr.
+Binney was with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers that
+has ever lived in our own or any other country. Yet Mr. Binney thought
+it quite worth his while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
+it is worth your while also?
+
+Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not say what church it
+shall be. That must be left to yourselves to determine, and many
+circumstances will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
+some church, and, when you become more interested in the subject than
+you are now, join that church, whatever it may be, and so connect
+yourselves with people who believe in and love God. If there be a
+Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so learn to study
+the Scriptures systematically.
+
+Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every night and every
+morning and pray to God. You are not so likely to be ashamed if you
+have a room to yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this even if
+there are others in the room with you, as will be the case with many of
+you. This is a severe test, I know, but he who bears it faithfully will
+already have gained a victory.
+
+Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the twelfth chapter of the
+Gospel according to St. Luke: “Take heed and beware of covetousness,
+for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
+possesseth.”
+
+On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered here many men,
+a great company, who were trained in this college, and who, after
+graduation, went out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
+a most interesting time, not only for them but for the teachers and
+officers who have had charge of them.
+
+Some of them are successful men in the highest and best sense, and have
+made themselves a name and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
+clerks, mechanics, railroad men――men representing almost all kinds of
+business and occupations――came here in great numbers to celebrate the
+anniversary of the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was
+a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more. I do not know their
+names; for many of them had left before I began to come here; but
+from certain expressions that fell from the lips of some of them I am
+persuaded that they, at least, are walking in the truth.
+
+It would be very interesting if we could know their thoughts, and see
+with what feelings they look back on their school-life. I wonder if
+any of them regret that they did not make a better use of their time
+while here. I wonder if any feel that they would like to become boys
+again and go to school over again, being sure that, with their present
+experience of life, they would set a higher value on the education of
+the schools. I wonder if any feel that they would have reached higher
+positions and secured a larger influence if they had been more diligent
+at school. I wonder if there are any who can trace evil habits of
+thought to the companions they had here. I wonder if any are aware of
+evil impressions which they made on their classmates and so cast a
+stain and a dark shadow on other young lives, stains never obliterated,
+shadows never wholly lifted. I wonder if there are any among them who
+regret that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God in their
+school-days was neglected, and who have never had so favorable an
+opportunity since. “If some who come back here on these commemoration
+days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects, they would
+be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”
+
+I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger boys, to give most
+earnest attention to the duties which lie before you every day. You
+will not misunderstand me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose that
+I would interfere in the least degree with the pleasures which belong
+to your time of life. I would not lessen them in the least; on the
+contrary, I would encourage you, and help you in all proper recreation,
+in all sports and plays. The boy who does not enjoy play is not a happy
+boy, and is not very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man. But
+it is quite possible, as some of you know, to enjoy in the highest
+degree all healthful sports, and at the same time to be industrious
+and conscientious in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the boys
+in this college shall be boys of the best, the highest type; that they
+“shall walk in the truth.” There are, alas, many boys who have gone
+through this college, and fully equipped (as well as their teachers
+could equip them), have been launched out into life and come to naught.
+I do not know their names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
+the fact.
+
+Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I want to discharge my duty
+to you as faithfully as I can. I know some of the difficulties of life,
+for they have been in my path. I know some of the fierce temptations
+to which boys and young men are exposed, for I have felt these assaults
+in my own person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I am a
+sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards you, I come with these
+plain, earnest words, and I urge you to look up to God, and ask him to
+help you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.
+
+
+
+
+               LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.
+
+                            March 12, 1885.
+
+
+I propose to speak to you now of some plain and practical duties which
+await you in life; and, as there are many boys here who are anxiously
+looking for the time when they will leave the college to make their way
+in the world, some of whom will probably have left the college before
+I come again, I speak more especially to them. And my first words are
+words of congratulation, and for these reasons:
+
+1. _Because you are young._ And this means very much. You have an
+enormous advantage over people that are your seniors. Other things
+being equal, you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
+living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting by the mistakes
+committed by those who precede you, and if you are not blind, you can
+avail yourselves of the successes they have achieved.
+
+You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You are full of courage and
+endurance. You can grapple with difficult subjects and with a strong
+hand. And if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves and
+start anew. In short, life is before you, and you look forward with the
+inspiration of hope, and it may be, also, of determination.
+
+2. I congratulate you also _because you are poor_. You have your own
+way to make in the world. You know already that if you achieve success,
+it must be because you exert yourselves to the very utmost. Indeed, you
+must depend upon yourselves, and this means that you must do everything
+in your power that is right to do, to help yourselves.
+
+You must understand that there is no royal road to _success_, any more
+than there is to _learning_, and that there is no time to trifle.
+If you were rich men’s sons, these remarks would have no special
+pertinence, or importance.
+
+My congratulations are quite in order also because very many, if not
+_most_ of the high places in our country, are held by those who once
+were poor lads.
+
+Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if one is to be
+congratulated on his poverty, do fathers toil early and late, denying
+themselves needed recreation, not ceasing when they have accumulated
+a good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires――why
+do they so much dread to leave their sons to struggle for a living?”
+More than one answer might be given to these questions. Some fathers
+have so little faith in God’s providence that they forget his goodness,
+which _now_ takes care of their families through the instrumentality
+of parents; and who can continue that care through other means, just
+as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority says that “they
+who will be rich, fall into temptations and snares,” one of which is
+that the race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits and
+amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he can’t change his habits,
+he has no other mental resources――he must work or perish.
+
+Do not, then, let the fact that you are _poor_ discourage you in the
+least――it is rather an advantage.
+
+3. But again I congratulate you, because _your lot is cast in America_.
+Do not smile at this. I am not on the point of flying the American
+eagle, nor of raising the stars and stripes. It _is_, however, a good
+thing to have been born in this country. For in all important respects
+it is the most favored of all lands. It is the fashion with certain
+people to disparage our government and its institutions; and one must
+admit that in some particulars there might be improvement, and will
+be some day; but, notwithstanding these defects, it is unquestionably
+true that it is the best government on earth. Is there any country
+where a poor young man has opportunities as good as he has here, to
+get on in life? Is there any obstacle or hindrance whatever, outside
+of himself, in the way of his success? If a young man has good health
+of mind and body, and a fair English education and good manners, and
+will be honest and industrious, is he not much more certain to attain
+success, in one way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
+You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights under the law. There
+is no caste here, that curse of monarchies. There is no aristocracy in
+sentiment or in power, no House of Lords, no established church, no law
+of primogeniture. One man is as good as another under the law as long
+as he behaves himself.
+
+If you want further evidence, only look for a moment at the condition
+of the seething, surging masses of Europe, and the continual
+apprehensions of a general war. Before this year 1885 has run its
+course the United States may be almost the only country among the great
+powers that is not involved in war.
+
+And if still further illustration were needed, let me point to that
+most extraordinary scene enacted in Washington some weeks ago.
+
+A great political party, which has held control of this government
+nearly a quarter of a century, and which has exercised almost unlimited
+power, yields most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
+all honor and patronage, to the will of the people who have chosen a
+new administration. And everybody regards it as a matter of course.
+
+Was such a thing ever known before? And could such a thing occur
+anywhere else among the nations?
+
+Once more, I congratulate you _because you live in Philadelphia_. Ah,
+now we come to a most interesting point. Most of you were born here,
+and you come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all large
+cities. More to be desired as a place to live in than Washington, the
+seat of government, the most beautiful of all American cities, or New
+York, with its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston, with its
+boasted intellectual society.
+
+They may call us the “_Quaker City_,” or the “_worst paved city_,” or
+the “_slow city_,” or the “city of rows of houses exactly alike;” but
+these houses are the homes of separate families, and in a very large
+degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot say as much of any
+other city in the world. Although there are doubtless many instances
+in the oldest part of the city, and among the improvident poor, where
+more than one family will be found in the same house, yet these are
+the exceptions and not the rule; and so far as I know there is not one
+“tenement house” in this great city that was built for the purpose of
+accommodating several families at the same time. I need not point you
+to New York and Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
+twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do people
+prevail, utterly destroying that most cherished domestic life of which
+we have been so proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
+with its demoralizing associations and results; nor shall I describe
+the awful tenement houses in those two cities, where the poor are
+crowded like animals in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb
+creatures do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
+else that makes life desirable.
+
+Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia is the most
+desirable for the young man who must make his own way in the world....
+
+And having shown you how favorable are the conditions which are
+about you, the next point is, What will you do when you set out for
+yourselves?
+
+All of you are _expecting_ when you leave school to be employed by
+somebody, or engaged in some business. And I suppose you may be looking
+to me to give you some hints how to take care of yourselves, or how to
+behave in such relations.
+
+I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.
+
+I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed, it would be necessary
+first to define the word. And there are several definitions that might
+be given. One of the shortest and best would be in these words, “A life
+well spent.” That’s success. And this definition shall be my model.
+
+Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition be, not to get
+through quickly, not to go over much ground in text-books, but to
+master thoroughly everything before you. If you knew how little
+thorough instruction there is, you would thank me for this. There are
+so many half-educated people from schools and colleges that one cannot
+help believing that the terms of graduation are very easy. There have
+been, and are now, graduates of colleges who cannot add up a long
+column of figures correctly, nor do an example in simple proportion,
+nor write a letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes of
+grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say nothing of perspicuity and
+unity and general good taste.
+
+It is quite surprising to find how helpless some young men are in the
+simple matter of writing letters; an art with which, in these days of
+cheap postage and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
+to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try to-morrow to write a
+note of twenty lines on any subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it
+for criticism to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
+calling one of his young men, and directing him to write a letter to
+one of his correspondents, saying such and such things, and bring it to
+him for his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the letter
+is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let it go out of his office?
+
+It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief business of life,
+not the only thing of importance in a counting-house, but it is an
+elegant accomplishment, and most desirable of attainment.
+
+Let me say some words about shorthand writing. In this day of push and
+drive and hurry, when so many things must be done at once, there is
+an increasing demand for shorthand writers. In fact, business as now
+conducted cannot afford to do without this help. It often occurs that
+a principal in a business house cannot take the time to write long
+letters. Why should he? It does not pay to have one that is occupied in
+governing and controlling great interests, or in the receipt of a large
+salary, tied to a desk writing letters, or reports, or statements of
+any kind. He must _talk off_ these things; and he must be an educated
+man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and accurate expression
+that his dictation may almost be taken to be final. He wants a clerk
+who can take down his words with literal accuracy, and who will be
+able to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and submit the
+complete paper to his chief for his signature. The demand for this
+kind of service is increasing every day, and some of you now listening
+to me will be so employed. See that you are ready for it when your
+opportunity comes.
+
+If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in an insurance
+company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote yourself to your
+particular duties, whatever they may be. And don’t be too particular as
+to what kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be work that
+you think belongs to the porter; no matter if it is, do it, and do it
+as well as the porter can, or even better.
+
+Let none of you, therefore, think that anything you are likely to be
+called upon to do is beneath you. Do it, and do it in the best manner,
+and you may not have to do it for a long time.
+
+Make yourself indispensable to your employer. You can do that; it
+is quite within your power, and it may be that you may get to be an
+employer yourself; indeed it is more than probable; but you must work
+for it.
+
+If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house or public
+institution, remember that you are in a position of trust and
+responsibility. When you make errors do not erase the error; draw faint
+red or black lines through it and write correct characters over the
+error. Do not hide your errors of any kind. Do not misstate anything
+in language or figures. Everybody makes errors at some time or other,
+but everybody does not admit and apologize for them. The honest man is
+he who _does_ admit and apologize, and does so without waiting to be
+detected.
+
+There have been of late some deplorable instances of betrayal of trust
+in our city. I may as well call it by its right name, stealing. The
+culprits are now suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
+While I am speaking to you there are men, young and _not_ young, in our
+city who are _now_ stealing, and who are falsifying their books in the
+vain hope that it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day when
+they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a holiday; who cannot
+afford to be sick, lest absence for a single day may disclose their
+guilt. What a horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks or
+their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but it may be their last
+day in that place.
+
+And the day will come, most surely, when _you_ will be tempted as
+these wretched ones have been tempted. In what shape the temptation
+may come, or when, no human being knows. The suggestion will be made,
+that by the use of a little money you may make a good deal; that the
+venture is perfectly safe; some one tells you so, and points to this
+one or that one who has tried it and made money. It is only a little
+thing; you can’t lose much; you _may_ make enough to pay for the cost
+of your summer holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
+you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better beer, or buy a
+gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything else; _you can’t lose much_.
+You have no money of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
+be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you do it? No! Let
+nothing induce you to take the first dollar not your own. It is the
+_first_ step that counts.
+
+But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget it. Suppose the
+time comes when you find that you _have_ taken something that was not
+yours, and that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what then?
+Why, go at once to your employer; tell him the whole story; keep back
+nothing; throw yourself upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
+than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is no possibility of
+continuous concealment. Tell it now before you are detected, and, if
+you must be disgraced, the sooner the better.
+
+Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too much? Oh, boys, young
+men, if you knew the frightful danger that you may be in some day, the
+subtle temptations that will beset you, the many instances of weakness
+about you, the shipwrecks of character, the utter ruin that comes to
+sisters and to innocent wives and children by the crimes of brothers,
+husbands and fathers, as we who are older know, you would not wonder
+that I speak as I do.
+
+Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation, weakens confidence
+in human character. For every such instance of wrong-doing is a stab
+at _your_ integrity if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
+fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by their employers,
+men who are hedged about by the sacredness of domestic ties, on whom
+the happiness of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men who
+claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little by little;
+they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up their tracks, cannot do it
+long, are caught, tried, convicted, sentenced and imprisoned. Then
+the question may be asked about you or me: “How do we know that Mr.
+So-and-So is any better than those who have fallen?” Don’t you see
+that these culprits are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
+society, _your_ enemies and _mine_?
+
+If the names of those who are now serving out their sentences in
+the public prisons for stealing, not petty theft, but stealing and
+defrauding in larger sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
+papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored names and blighted
+lives and ruined homes, and how the memory would recall some whom we
+knew in early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol of fond
+wives and lovely children; and we should turn away with sickening
+horror from the record! But, if there should appear in the same papers
+the names of those who are _now engaged in stealing and defrauding_
+and _falsifying entries_, who are not yet caught, but who may, before
+this year is out, be caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
+revelation _that_ would be!
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.
+
+But do not think that it is for your future in _this_ life only that
+I am concerned. Life does not end here, though it may seem to do so.
+Our life in this world is a mere _beginning_ of existence. It is the
+_future_, the _endless_ life before us, that we should prepare for; and
+no preparation is worth the name except that of a pure, an upright and
+honorable life, that depends for its support on the love and the fear
+of God. You must accept him as your Father, you must honor him and obey
+him, and so consecrating your young lives to his service, trust him to
+care for you with his infinite love and care.
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _William Welsh._]
+
+
+
+
+                    ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,
+            _First President of the Board of City Trusts_.
+
+                          February 22, 1878.
+
+
+When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to persuade you to
+adopt the thought so aptly set forth by one of the old Hebrew kings,
+Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
+thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the most conspicuous
+examples of working with all his might, and so much of whose work was
+done for you, whom you so often saw standing where I now stand, I
+little thought that his work on earth was so nearly done. Last Sunday
+he addressed you here. One, two, three services he conducted for the
+boys of this college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory
+for the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to say from my
+knowledge of his method of doing things that these services were all
+conducted in the best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
+his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided in his acts or
+speech, but that he took hold of his subject with a firm grasp, and
+did not let go until the service was finished. It is very natural
+that we should desire to know as much as we can about a life that
+has come so close to us as the life of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if
+we may, what it was that made him the man that he was. The thousands
+of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s Church on the day of
+the funeral, as many of you saw; the very large number of citizens
+of the highest distinction who united in the solemn services; the
+profound interest manifested everywhere among all classes of society;
+the closing of places of business at the hour of these services; the
+flags at half-mast, all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
+assured us that no common man had gone from among us. What was it that
+made him no common man? What was there in his life and character that
+lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant? In other places,
+and by those most competent to speak, will the complete picture of
+his life be drawn, but what was there in his life which particularly
+interests you college boys? It will surprise you probably when I tell
+you that his early education――the education of the schools――was very
+limited. He was not a college-bred man. At a very early age (as early
+as fourteen, I believe) he left school and went into his father’s
+store. You know that he could not have had much education at that age.
+And he went into the store, not to be a gentleman clerk to sit in the
+counting-house and copy letters and invoices, and do the bank business
+and lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything that
+came to hand, rough and smooth, hard and easy, dirty and clean, for
+in those days the duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
+porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was not so heavy as
+the robust porter’s. And even when he grew older and stronger he would
+go down into the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore in
+the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the days were long then: there
+were no office hours from nine to three o’clock, but merchants and
+their clerks dined near the middle of the day, and were back at their
+stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and stayed and worked until
+the day was done. So this young clerk worked all day, and went home at
+night tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through the next
+day and the next in the same manner. But not only to rest and sleep.
+The body was tired enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
+not tired. He early knew the importance of mental discipline, of mental
+cultivation. He knew that a half-educated man is no match for one
+thoroughly equipped, and so he set himself to the task of making up,
+as far as he could, for that deficiency of systematic education which
+his early withdrawal from school made him regret so much. What definite
+means or methods he resorted to to accomplish this I cannot tell you,
+for I have not learned; but the fact that he did very largely overcome
+this most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have ever met
+him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly at ease in circles where
+men must be well informed or be very uncomfortable. As the President
+of this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen of the
+highest professional and general culture, he was quite equal to any
+exigency which ever arose. All this you must know was the result of
+education, not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but that
+which he acquired himself after his school life. He was careful about
+his associates. Then, as now, the streets were alive with boys and
+young men of more than questionable character. And the thought which
+has come up in many a boy’s mind after his day’s work was done, must
+have come up in his mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
+with companions of my own age and have a good time? Why should I be
+so strict while others have more freedom and enjoy themselves so much
+more?” I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and that he was a
+free, hearty boy in them all, but I cannot suppose, for his after life
+gave no evidence of it, his general good health, his muscular wiry
+frame forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful pleasures
+passed beyond that line which separates the good from the bad, the pure
+from the impure. Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.
+
+William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean by that he was not lazy.
+A large part of the failures in life are attributable to the love of
+ease. We choose the soft things; we turn away from those which are
+hard. We are deterred by the abstruse, the obscure; we are attracted
+by the simple, the plain. A really strong character will grapple
+with any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A character
+naturally weak may be developed by culture and discipline into one of
+real strength, but the process is very slow and very discouraging. A
+life that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on other
+lives, on society, must have these struggles, this training. I do not
+know minutely the characteristics of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this
+particular, but I infer most emphatically that his strong character was
+formed by continuous, laborious, exacting self-application.
+
+I would now speak of that quality which is so valuable (I will not say
+so rare), so conspicuously and so immeasurably important, personal
+integrity. Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest degree. He was most
+emphatically an honest man. No thought of anything other than this
+could ever have entered into the mind of any one who knew him. All
+men knew that public or private trusts committed to him were safe.
+Mistakes in judgment all are liable to, but of conscious deflection
+from the right path in this respect he was incapable. His high position
+as President of the Board of City Trusts, which includes, among other
+large properties, the great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of
+Philadelphia, proves the confidence this community had in his personal
+character. His private fortune was used as if he were a trustee. He
+recognized the hand of God in his grand success as a merchant, and he
+felt himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure. If he enjoyed
+a generous mode of living for himself and his family――a manner of life
+required by his position in the community――he more than equalized it by
+his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was conscientious and liberal
+(rare combination) in his benefactions, for he felt that he held his
+personal property in trust.
+
+Such are a few of the traits in the character of the man whose life
+on earth was so suddenly closed on Monday last. Under Providence, by
+which I mean the blessing of God, that blessing which is just as much
+within your reach as his, these are some of the conditions of his
+extraordinary success. His self-culture, the choice of his companions
+his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion, made the man what
+he was. I cannot here speak of his work in that church which he loved
+so much. I do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have reason to
+believe that, next to his own family, his affections were placed on
+you. He could never look into your faces without having his feelings
+stirred to their profoundest depths. He loved you――in the best, the
+truest sense, he loved you. He was willing to give any amount of his
+time, his thought, his care, to you. The time he spent in the chapel
+was a very small part of the time he gave to his work for you. You were
+upon his heart constantly. I do not know――no one can know――but if it be
+possible for the spirits of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes
+of earth――to come back and look upon those they loved so much when in
+the flesh――I am sure his spirit is here to-day――this, his first Sabbath
+in Heaven――looking into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
+out among you, and wishing that all of you may make such use of your
+grand opportunity here as will insure your success in the life which
+is before you when you leave these college walls, and especially as
+will insure your entering into the everlasting life. Such was his life,
+full of activity, generosity, self-denial, eminently religious, in
+the best sense successful. He was never at rest; his heart was always
+open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except to himself. He wanted
+everybody to be religious. He died in the harness; no time to take it
+off; no wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance, not in
+retreat. He never turned his back on anything that was right. His eye
+was not dim; his natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
+that it seemed only stepping from one room in his Father’s house to
+another. We are reminded of the beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray
+describes the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of the Charter
+House School, after a life spent in fighting the enemies of his country
+abroad, and the enemies of the good in society at home. “At the usual
+evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and Thomas Newcome’s hands
+outside the bed feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck,
+a peculiar sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his head a
+little and quickly said _Adsum_, and fell back. It was the word they
+used at school when names were called, and lo, he, whose heart was
+as that of a little child, had answered to his name and stood in the
+presence of ‘The Master.’”
+
+
+
+
+                            BAD ASSOCIATES.
+
+                          November 11, 1888.
+
+
+I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of evil company, a
+danger to which you will necessarily be exposed when you go out from
+this college to make your way in life.
+
+The desire for companionship sometimes leads people, and especially
+young people, into bad company. A boy finds himself associated with a
+schoolmate, a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive in
+manners, full of fun, but who is not what he ought to be in character.
+
+No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or young have some
+points that are not repulsive, and sometimes the very bad are
+attractive in some respects. A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
+into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in the conduct of his
+new friends which is particularly out of the way. The conversation is
+somewhat guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad, and, for
+a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings; but, after a while, the
+mask is thrown off and the true character is revealed. Then very soon
+the mind of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that corrupt
+and defile it. All that is polluting in talk and story and song is
+poured out. Books and papers, so vile that it is a breach of law to
+sell them, are read and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
+and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the mind and heart of
+their son are so polluted and depraved that no human power can save him.
+
+I very well remember a boy older than myself who, early in life, gave
+himself up to vile company and vile books and vile habits, and who,
+long ago――almost as soon as he reached an early manhood――sunk, under
+the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored grave, but not until
+he had defiled and depraved many a boy who came under his influence.
+Better would it have been for his companions if their daily walks and
+playgrounds had been infested with venomous serpents, to bite and sting
+their bare feet, than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
+all uncleanness.
+
+It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances may throw us
+among them; the providence of God may send us there, but we ought never
+to _seek_ such company, except for good purposes. What I mean is that
+we ought not to seek such associates, however agreeable they may be in
+other respects, and not to remain among them except for their good.
+
+There are wicked people in every community, of all ages. We cannot
+altogether avoid contact with them. We find them among our schoolmates
+and in the walks of business.
+
+Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever ruined by evil
+companions. A corrupt literature is bad enough, but evil companions are
+more numerous and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers have
+slain their thousands; bad companions have slain their ten thousands. I
+can recall the names of many who were led away, step by step, down the
+broad road that leads to destruction, by companions genial, attractive,
+but corrupt.
+
+There are some companions from whom you cannot separate yourselves.
+They are with you continually; at home and abroad, in school or at
+play, by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always with you.
+There is no solitude so deep that they cannot find you, no crowd so
+great that they will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
+they will not――cannot――be kept away. I mean _your own thoughts_, your
+bosom companions. Shall they be EVIL companions or GOOD? Ah! you know
+who, and who only, can answer this question.
+
+I once went through a monastery in the old city of Florence, in Italy.
+It was a retreat for men who were tired of the world, or who felt so
+unequal to the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
+believed peace could be found only in retirement. The house was of the
+order of St. Francis. One of the monks took me into his cell, and I
+sat down and talked with him. It was a very small room――one door, one
+window, bare walls, a small table, two wooden chairs, a few books, a
+crucifix, a washstand, and some pieces of crockery; and that was all.
+In this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to the chapel,
+just across the corridor, and to walk in the cloisters for exercise;
+here he expected to die. It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But
+I thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping from evil
+thoughts, and the only way, men may well submit to the confinement, the
+solitude, the monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But, alas!
+it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron doors, no bolts and
+bars, can shut out our thoughts, for they are a part of ourselves: they
+_are_ ourselves; for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
+
+Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek his fortune in
+the city. His mother was dead and his father broken in health and in
+fortune. The boy reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
+father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever fell to his
+lot to do. He was tall, strong and good-looking. A place was soon
+found for him, and until he was better able to support himself he
+found a home with some friends. He was a boy of good mind but with a
+very imperfect education, and he seemed inclined to make up for this
+in part by reading during his leisure hours. The situation found for
+him was in a large commercial house, where everything was conducted
+in the best manner and on the highest principles. Here he made rapid
+progress and was soon able to contribute to the support of those he had
+left at home in the country. He became interested in serious things,
+united with the Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession of
+religion. Everything went well with him for several years, until he
+fell in with some boys near his own age, who had been brought up under
+very different circumstances. Two or three of these were inclined
+towards skepticism in religious things, and their reading was quite
+unlike that to which this boy had been accustomed. Some fascination
+of manner about them attracted the lad to their society, and he grew
+less and less fond of his truest and best friends. He became irregular
+in his attendance at the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with
+by his teacher and friends had no candid and manly answer for them.
+After a while he ceased going to church entirely, spending his time
+at his lodgings reading profane and immoral books or in the society
+of his new companions. Then he found his way with these friends (so
+he called them, but they were really his greatest enemies) to taverns
+and even to worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking he
+was strengthening his mind and broadening his views. A little further
+on and his habits grew worse, and became the subject of observation
+and remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly with him and
+received his promise to turn away from his evil associates (who had
+well-nigh ruined him) and to lead a better life. He promised well,
+and for a time things with him were better. But after a while he fell
+away again into his old ways and with his old tempters, and before his
+friends were aware of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
+were received from him. He was without means; he found it hard to get
+employment; he had no references, and the people among whom he found
+himself were distrustful of strangers.
+
+One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter of recommendation
+replied something like this:
+
+“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of recommendation except
+with qualification. If you are seeking employment it is your duty to
+make a candid statement of your condition. Make a clean breast of it.
+Keep nothing back. Say that you had a good situation; that you were
+growing with the growth of your employers; that your salary had been
+advanced twice within the year; that one of the partners was your
+friend; that he had stood by you in your earlier youth; that he had
+extricated you from embarrassment and would have helped you again when
+needed, and that in an evil hour you forgot this, and your duty to him
+and to the house which sustained you; that you left your place without
+your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or quite broke his heart, and
+that all this grew out of your love of bad associates and your love of
+drink, and that while under this infatuation you went astray with bad
+women; and that in very despair of your ability to save yourself, and
+ashamed to meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the hope
+that in a new field and with new associates you could reform.
+
+“If you say this or something like this to a Christian man, little as
+you affect to think of Christianity, his heart will open to you and you
+can then look him frankly in the face, and have no concealments from
+him. Any other course than this will only prolong your agony, and in
+the end plunge you in deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
+advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no one will be more
+rejoiced than myself or more ready to help you. Read the parable of
+the prodigal son every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
+ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a humble, penitent man,
+and make your father’s last days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.
+
+“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a deep interest in you,
+else I would have thrown your letter to me into the fire.”
+
+I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely to the influence
+of his foolish, bad companions. And I know that this sad history is the
+record of many others; in fact, that the same experience awaits all
+who think it a light matter what company they keep, and who drift on
+the current with no purpose except to find pleasure, without regard to
+their duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young men standing at
+the corners of the streets, or lounging against lamp-posts, and catch a
+word as I pass, very often profane or indecent, I know very well that
+a work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked, will certainly
+lead to destruction. And I wonder whether these boys and young men
+have parents or sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to pass
+unwarned down the road that leads to death.
+
+But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions, besides those
+that appear to us in bodily form. They confront us in the printed page.
+You read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of dialogue. Such
+books are often more attractive than a plain narrative with little
+conversation. You enter fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit
+of the story. The characters are real to you. You seem to see the forms
+before you; you make a picture of each in your mind, so that if you
+were an artist you could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
+dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no sound as you
+read, you are really pronouncing each word in your mind. And every time
+you say a bad word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are in
+effect listening to bad words not spoken by other people merely, but
+spoken by yourself, and before you are aware of it you will be in the
+habit of thinking oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It is
+even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene. Now do you ever
+think that when you are reading such wretched stuff you are in effect
+associating with the characters whose talk you are listening to, and
+without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates, burglars, dissolute, the
+very worst of society, even murderers. You may not have the courage to
+rebuke those who are defiling the very air with their foul talk; you
+may be too cowardly even to turn away from such company lest they sneer
+at you; but what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after being
+warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have described? Is there any
+one here who would be guilty of such conduct?
+
+These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so most reluctantly, for
+these are not pleasant subjects――are not mere theories. They are sad
+realities. It was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys who
+were essentially corrupt. Their minds were cages of unclean birds.
+They were inexpressibly vile. And it is this fear of the evil that
+one sinner may do among young boys that leads me to say what I do on
+this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can persuade you to turn
+away from foolish company, from bad associates, I shall feel that I am
+doing indeed a blessed work. For what is the object, the purpose of
+all this that is said to you? It is to make men of you and to give
+you grace and strength to assert your manhood. It is to build you up
+on the foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare you for
+the life that is before you here and for that life which is beyond.
+But the education of text-books illustrated by the best instructors is
+not enough; it is not all you need for the great work of your lives.
+You must be ready when you are equipped not only to take care of
+yourselves, but to help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
+are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be fully equipped unless
+you have the blessing of Almighty God on your work and on your life.
+
+I want you to be successful men, and no man can be a successful man,
+in the highest and best sense, unless he is a religious man. How can
+one expect to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing of
+God? And how can one expect the blessing of God who does not ask God
+for his blessing? Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
+of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you must read the
+Scriptures for yourselves; you must pray for yourselves and each one
+for himself, as well as for others.
+
+
+
+
+                 [Illustration: _James A. Garfield._]
+
+
+
+
+                  ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.
+
+                          September 25, 1881.
+
+
+I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest things――one of
+the most difficult things to understand, which has ever occurred. On
+the second day of July last the President of the United States, when
+about to step into a railway train which was to carry him North, where
+he was to attend a college commencement, at the college where he was
+graduated, was shot down by an assassin.
+
+I say it is one of the strangest things, because the President did not
+know the assassin, and had never injured him nor any of his friends.
+There was absolutely no motive for the hideous deed.
+
+I say it is most difficult to understand, because we believe that
+Divine Providence overrules all events, holds all power, and we wonder
+why He permitted the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.
+
+President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was emphatically a man of
+the people. He was born in a log-cabin which his father had built with
+his own hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by thirty. When
+James was two years old, his father died, late in the autumn, and this
+boy with three other children were all dependent upon their mother for
+a support. How the lone widow passed that winter we do not know; but
+when the spring came there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm
+had to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing were left, and
+this little farm was worked by the mother and her oldest son. Only
+those who have lived on a farm in the country know how hard the work
+is. When James was five years old he was sent to school, a mile and a
+half away, and as this was a very long walk for so young a boy, his
+sister often carried the little boy on her back.
+
+After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s trade, and in
+this effort he spent two years or so, going to school at intervals and
+studying at spare hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic and
+geography. After that he became a sort of general help and book-keeper
+for a manufacturer in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
+and this was to him a very great advance. But not being well treated
+there, he soon left and took to chopping wood――at one time cutting
+about twenty-five cords for some $7. Then having read some tales of
+the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often read, he wanted to
+be a sailor; but when he applied for a place on the great lake, he
+looked so like a landsman from the country that no captain would engage
+him. So he went to the canal, and found employment in leading or
+driving horses or mules on the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to
+be a deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the water (once
+almost being drowned) and meeting some other mishaps, he concluded that
+“following the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it. By this
+time he had saved some money, and his brother Thomas lent him some
+more, and with another young man and a cousin he went to a neighboring
+town to the academy. These young fellows rented a room, borrowed some
+simple cooking utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and filled
+them with straw, and set up house-keeping, and went to the academy.
+
+Young Garfield spent three years at this academy, doing odd jobs of
+carpenter work when he could, and so eking out a living. Then he
+went to an eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
+the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making the fires. Here
+he prepared himself to enter the junior class in a higher college,
+and, after some delay, he entered that class in Williams College,
+Massachusetts.
+
+While pursuing his college course at Williams he filled his vacations
+by teaching in district schools in the neighborhood until his
+graduation, in 1856, at twenty-five years of age――quite advanced, you
+see, in years for a college graduate.
+
+Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute, became a
+professor of Greek and Latin, and then at twenty-eight years of age
+became a Senator in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out
+in 1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the Government
+commissioned him as colonel of a regiment, and he did good service in
+the State of Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few months he was
+promoted to be brigadier-general. So he went on distinguishing himself
+wherever he was placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
+Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at Chickamauga, his
+gallantry was so conspicuous and so successful that within a fortnight
+he was made a major-general.
+
+While in the army he was elected representative to Congress, and on
+December 5, 1863, he took his seat in the House, the youngest member of
+Congress.
+
+Some time after this, the war still going on, he wished to rejoin the
+army, but President Lincoln would not permit it, on the ground that his
+military knowledge would be invaluable to the government. After serving
+seventeen years in the House of Representatives, at times Chairman of
+most important committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before he
+took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency, and last November
+was elected by a large majority to that high office.
+
+On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and four months
+afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand of an assassin.
+
+You know how during this long, dry, hot summer he has been lying in
+Washington until the last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
+and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has been nursed; how gently
+he was removed to the sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene
+would do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed to do;
+and you know how last Monday night, while you were sleeping soundly in
+your beds, the bells of our city and all over the land were tolling the
+tidings of his death.
+
+He was a good man――in many respects as well qualified to fill the
+Presidential chair as any man who has ever sat in it. So I say it is
+most difficult to understand why he was taken away.
+
+Like all of you he lost his father by death at an early age; as is the
+case with all of you his mother was poor. He struggled hard for an
+education, and he acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
+satisfied with present attainments; he was always on the advance. At
+an early age he gave himself to the Lord, joining the church; and
+as that branch of the church does not believe in the necessity of
+ordination for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman, as the
+great Faraday preached in London and as Christian laymen preach the
+same truths to you, and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected
+in November last, to persuade him, some time when he might be passing
+through Philadelphia, to come to this chapel and address you boys.
+This, alas, now can never be.
+
+President Garfield loved his mother. No more touching incident was ever
+witnessed than that which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
+when, after taking the oath of his high office, he turned immediately
+to his dear old mother and kissed her.
+
+Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations mourn with us.
+The Queen of Great Britain with her own hand sends messages of the
+sweetest, the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow and her
+children are fatherless. She sends flowers for Mrs. Garfield and puts
+her court in mourning, a compliment never extended before except in the
+case of death in a royal family. Other European and Asiatic and African
+governments send their sympathy――they all feel it――they all deplore
+it. Emblems of mourning are displayed in every street in our city, and
+every heart is sad. The people mourn.
+
+Boys, you may not be Presidents――probably not one here will ever be at
+the head of this nation; nor is this of any moment; but remember it
+was not only as President of the United States that General Garfield
+was wise and good――it was in every place where he was put; whether
+in school, in college, in teaching, in the army, in Congress, in the
+President’s chair, in his family and on his sick and dying bed,
+languishing and suffering, wasting and burning with fever, exhausted by
+wounds cruel and undeserved, he was always the same brave, true, real
+man.
+
+Some of you know with what profound and tender interest people gathered
+in places of prayer that Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from
+Washington to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous, and how the
+hope was expressed, almost to assurance, that the Saviour would meet
+his disciple by the sea. The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
+disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of healing; nothing
+short of a miracle could do that, but by a more complete preparation
+of the people for the final issue. It came at last. And while many of
+us were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were flashing the sad
+intelligence everywhere that, at last, he was at rest.
+
+Now that we know that he is taken away, we stand in awe and amazement.
+We cannot yet understand it.
+
+Shall we gather a few lessons from his life? Some of the most apparent
+may be mentioned very briefly.
+
+The simplicity of his character is most interesting. Conscious as he
+must have been of the possession of no ordinary mental force, he was
+never obtrusive nor self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
+with purpose and completeness. And his associates often placed him in
+positions of high trust and responsibility.
+
+He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed in Congressional
+duties, to a degree which left him little or no time for recreation,
+he did not fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
+said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring to bring him
+some little present, could think of nothing more acceptable than a few
+volumes of the Latin poets.
+
+When his life comes to be written by impartial hands, it will be
+found that along with his great simplicity and his high culture there
+will be most prominent his devotion to principle. This was his great
+characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the place, to speak of
+his adherence, under strong adverse influences, to his sound views on
+the great currency question which has occupied so much the attention of
+Congress.
+
+In a not very remote sense his death is to be attributed to his
+devotion to principle. That great and most discreditable contest at
+Albany might have been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
+different manner, if the President could have yielded his convictions.
+He did not yield, and he was slain.
+
+The funeral services in the capitol are over and the men whom Mrs.
+Garfield chose as the bearers of her husband’s coffin were not members
+of the cabinet, nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any of
+whom would have been honored by such a service, but they were plain
+men, of names unknown to us, members of his own little church.
+
+They are gone. They have taken his worn and wasted and mutilated form,
+all that remains in this world of the strong, pure life that was not
+yet fifty years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and there
+within sight and almost within sound of the waves of the great inland
+sea, they will to-morrow lay him to rest until the morning of the
+resurrection.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity? Shall our faith
+in the prevalence of prayer be weakened? God forbid that we should so
+distort his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest
+against God?”
+
+Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and almost insisted, but
+in softening the hearts of the people and drawing them as they have
+never before been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe, and
+in uniting the people, and also in promoting a better feeling between
+the different sections of our country than has been known for half a
+century. And if, in addition to this, the people would only learn to
+abate that passion for office which has been so fatal to peace, and
+would be content to allow fitness for office to be the only rule of
+appointment, then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
+securing of which even the sacrifice of a President would seem not too
+great a price.
+
+    “And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king said to his
+    servants, Have me away for I am sore wounded. His servants
+    therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the
+    second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
+    and he died and was buried. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned
+    for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv. 23, 24.
+
+
+
+
+                 THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.
+
+                            March 25, 1888.
+
+
+A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an address before one of
+the societies in the venerable University of Harvard on this subject:
+“The Case of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate knowledge
+of his subject, and with rare felicity of thought and expression,
+he set before his audience, most of whom were either in the learned
+professions or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition of
+those professions, especially that of the law, a preparation for which
+is supposed to imply a more or less thorough academic or collegiate
+education.
+
+I have a different task; for I would show the importance of education
+to the workers with the hand, whether in the mills, the shops, or
+among the various trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
+that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely, but also that
+which is acquired sometimes without the advantage of any schools. And
+I particularly desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever be
+his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one who is engaged in the
+same kind of work, and who is more or less educated.
+
+A mechanic may be well trained; may have more than his share of brains;
+may be highly successful in his business; indeed, may have acquired
+a large property, and have very high credit, and may hardly know how
+to write his name. A man may have scores or hundreds of men in his
+employment, and be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
+and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely at the mercy of
+his book-keeper, and may be so defrauded as to be on the very brink
+of ruin and not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
+of a long business life more than one such case has come under my
+observation. A man may be partially educated, able to cast up accounts,
+able to keep books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
+is worthy of the name), and yet not be able to write a simple agreement
+in good English, nor understand clearly the meaning of such a paper
+when written by another.
+
+Very many of the business failures that occur are due to the fact that
+the person or firm did not know how to keep accounts. This is not
+confined to people of small business. How often after a failure are we
+told “that the man was very much surprised at his condition; he thought
+he was all right; he could not account for his failure, and that in
+a short time he would have his books in such a shape that he would
+be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask their advice.
+It would require ten days or so, however, before he could tell how
+he stood.” Why, if the man had been an educated business man, and an
+honest man, he would have known in twenty-four hours how he stood.
+
+The great majority of people who are employed are not educated. They
+do not know how to do in the best manner, that which they have to do.
+Perhaps a good definition of education, as the word is applied to a
+working man, may be that he knows how to do that which he has to do, in
+the very best way.
+
+Education may be of three kinds, viz.:
+
+That of the _schools_.
+
+_Self-education._
+
+That of _trade_ or _business_.
+
+_That of the schools._ And this is the best of all; for the whole
+of one’s time is given to it; and if you are so inclined you may go
+through the whole course, as provided in this school. And all this with
+text-books, instruments and other appliances, absolutely free of cost.
+A boy, therefore, who passes through the entire course of study here,
+has superior opportunities of acquiring a most substantial education.
+
+Certainly the education of the schools is the best; and let me urge you
+with all seriousness to make the best use of your opportunities. You
+can never learn as easily as now. You are young. You are not burdened
+with cares. Do not relax your efforts in the least; do not yield to
+weariness; do not think you know enough already; do not be impatient
+lest others of your own age, who have already left school to go to
+work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind of business; if they
+have the start of you, they may not be able to keep it; and depend
+upon it, in the long run you will overtake and pass them, other things
+being equal, if you have a better school education than they have. When
+you are told that young men who are well educated are thereby unfitted
+or unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business, do not
+believe it. I know the contrary. The better the school education you
+have, and the more you know, the more valuable you will be to your
+employer.
+
+Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
+_self-education_. All that I mean by it is, that education which one
+acquires without teachers. As so defined, it may be divided into two
+parts, viz.: the incidental and the direct.
+
+Let me speak first of the _incidental_.
+
+I mean by this that education that comes to us from society.
+
+You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you could. You seek
+companions, or other persons will seek you. Let your associates be
+those whose friendship will be an instruction to you, rather than
+simply a means of social enjoyment. There are young people of both
+sexes who, without being vicious, are utterly weak and foolish, idle
+and listless, drifting along a current, the end of which they do not
+care to think of. They are living for this life only, with no thought
+of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies, who float in the sunshine
+when the sun is shining, but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
+and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they are pleasant enough
+to chat with for a few minutes, but to be shut up to such companionship
+as this, would be intolerable. Society has a large element of this
+description, and you are likely to see it in your daily life.
+
+But this is not the worst phase of life among the young people with
+whom you may be thrown. There are worse elements than this. There are
+those who are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who have
+given themselves up to work all uncleanness with greediness; who put
+no restraint on their inclinations; in whose eyes nothing is pure or
+sacred; who have no respect for that which is wholesome or decent;
+who are the devil’s own children, and who are not ashamed of their
+parentage. And to such baleful, deadly influences and associations will
+you be exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised of their
+true character until it is too late.
+
+But there are _direct_ means of education, so called.
+
+The first of these which I mention is the use of books. This is
+unquestionably the best means. I am supposing that you have some taste
+for reading; if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to speak,
+or for you to listen. I know some people who rarely read a book, and I
+pity them. They seem to think that all that is necessary to read is the
+daily newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily very
+ignorant, for very much may be learned from the daily paper. But the
+newspaper does not pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for
+a life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a professional
+man or a mechanic. No; you must read books, not only for entertainment
+and recreation, but for information and culture, which you can obtain
+nowhere else. If there is no public library within your reach, seek out
+some kind-hearted man or woman who has books, and who will be willing
+to lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I well remember a
+gentleman in my early life who did this kind office for me before I was
+able to buy books, and there are such now who will do the same for you.
+
+If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to ask the advice
+of some practical friend to point out such as you may most safely
+and properly read. For if left to your own judgment or taste, you
+will probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by an attempt to
+read something not immediately necessary or appropriate. But do not
+attempt to follow an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find
+detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be discouraged
+by the greatness of the task. Such lists, I fancy, are made out by
+scholars who have read almost everything, and to whom reading is no
+task whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not attempt to read
+too many books, nor too much at a time, and do not be disappointed or
+discouraged if you are not able to remember or put to good account all
+that you read. You cannot always know what particular kind of food
+has afforded you the most nourishment. You may rest assured, however,
+that as every morsel of food that you take and are able to digest does
+something to build up and develop your system, or repair its waste, so
+every book or paper that you read, that is wholesome, does something,
+you may not know how much, to strengthen or develop your mind.
+
+There are books that you read for entertainment or recreation, and
+that are written for that purpose only. You may read such; indeed, you
+ought to read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
+and amusement, and there is much of the purest and best of this that
+you can get from books. But you must not make the mistake of supposing
+that most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading can be of
+this character. You would not think of making your daily meals of the
+articles of food that you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
+not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for a regular diet.
+You might as well do so, as to read only the light and humorous matter
+that was never intended for the mental diet of a working man. No. If
+you would attain the real object of reading and study, you must read
+and study books and papers that tax the full powers of your mind to
+understand them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your mind,
+even as the exercise of your muscles in work or play will develop a
+strength of body that the idle or lazy youth knows nothing of.
+
+If you would know how to make yourself master of any book that you
+read, form the habit, if the book is your own, of making notes with
+a pencil in the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
+property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and write at the end
+of every chapter questions on the matter discussed, and the answer to
+such questions will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
+that you will have _absorbed_ the book and made it your own; for, as an
+eminent American author has said, “thought is the property of whoever
+can entertain it.”
+
+I said just now that the daily newspaper does not pretend to supply all
+that you need to fit you for a life of business, either as a dealer
+in goods, or as a mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
+important means of education――so important that no one can afford to
+ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot be well informed who does not read
+the newspaper. The whole world is brought before us every morning and
+evening, and, if we do not read the news as it comes, we shall not
+know what we ought to know. It is not necessary to read everything in
+a daily paper; there are some things that it will be better for you
+not to read. You need not read all the editorials, brilliant as some
+of them are, for sometimes they discuss subjects that are not at all
+interesting nor useful to you. The newspaper from which I make the most
+clippings is one which is the fullest of advertisements, but which
+sometimes has nothing whatever in it that I read. But when it does
+discuss a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further to be
+said.
+
+But to read with the most advantage one ought to have within easy reach
+a dictionary, an atlas and, if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can
+read with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper gives can
+be filled up by reference to books which give more or less complete
+histories.
+
+The political articles which appear in the height of a campaign are
+hardly worth reading, unless you think of entering politics as a
+money-making business, which I sincerely hope none of you think of
+doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of crime, and especially
+the details of police reports and criminal trials, you will do well to
+pass by and not read. I really believe that a familiarity with these
+details prepares the way, in many instances, for the commission of
+crime, just as the reading of accounts of suicide sometimes leads to
+the act itself.
+
+Some of the best minds in our country, and in the world, are now
+employed in writing for the periodicals and magazines. No one can be
+well informed without reading something of the vast amount of matter
+which is thus poured out before him. I have not named the newspapers
+nor the magazines which you may read with the most profit; but your
+teachers can advise you what to read. Rather is it important for you to
+know what _not_ to read. Many of the most popular and the most useful
+books that have been published within the last quarter of a century
+have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or monthly paper. The best
+thoughts of the best thinkers sometimes first see the light in such
+pages.
+
+Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine, there are scientific
+periodicals, which are of essential value to a worker who wishes
+to be well informed in any of the mechanical arts. The _Scientific
+American_ is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the beauty of
+its illustrations and in the high quality of its contributions. The
+_Popular Science Monthly_ is a periodical of a wider range and more
+diversified character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
+subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you may find in the
+public library. But let me urge you to turn away from “dime novels.”
+Not because they are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome
+and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey which so many wretched
+creatures drink until the coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and
+the brain is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
+is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and soul of him who
+reads. There is an abundance of good literature that is cheap――do not
+read the bad.
+
+Having now spoken of the education you may get in the schools, and that
+which you may acquire for yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive
+for it, either in the society which you cultivate, or more directly
+from books, whether read as an entertainment and recreation, or,
+better still, by careful study; or through the daily newspaper, or the
+periodical, whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
+that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to the education which
+you will acquire when you work day by day at your trade or business.
+
+Let me beg of you to consider the great value of truthfulness in all
+your training. Hardly anything will help you more to reach up towards
+the top. And when you are at the head of an establishment of your
+own or somebody else’s (and I take it for granted you will be at the
+head some day), whether it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or
+a store, no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word, of not
+promising unless you are certain of keeping your promise, will almost
+insure your success if you are a good workman. How many good mechanics
+have utterly failed of success because they have not cared to keep
+their promises? A firm of high reputation agrees to supply certain
+articles of furniture at a time fixed by them. The time comes but the
+articles do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new promises are
+made only to be broken. Excuses are offered and more promises given;
+then incomplete articles are sent; then more delays, until, when
+patience is nearly exhausted, the work is finished. Then comes the bill
+and there is a mistake in it. The whole transaction is a series of
+disappointments and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go to
+that place again?
+
+It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as they become ten
+or twelve years of age, at the foot of the great breakers to watch
+the coal as it comes rattling and broken down the great wire screens,
+and catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side and allow
+only the pure coal to pass down into the huge bins, from which it is
+dropped into the cars and taken to market. To an uneducated eye there
+is hardly any perceptible difference between the coal and the slate.
+But these little fellows soon become so quick in the education of the
+eye, that they can tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
+grows older he graduates to the place of a mule driver, and has his car
+and mule, which he drives day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
+breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes his little oil lamp
+in the front of his cap, and goes down into the mines with his pick
+and becomes a miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most of
+one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine and from the
+pure air. And most of these men having no education, and never having
+been urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days in this
+manner. But occasionally there is one who feels that he is capable of
+better things than this. And I know one at least, who began his work
+at the foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through all these
+stages, as I have told you, and who determined to do something better
+for himself. So he gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
+leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the difficulties in his
+way. He persevered. He rose to be a boss among the men; then having
+saved some money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought his
+teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine, and became a miner
+of his own coal, and had his men under him, and has grown to be a rich
+man, and is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his hard work.
+This is only one instance of success in rising from a low position to a
+high one.
+
+The same thing is going on all around us and we see it every day. It
+would hardly be proper to give you names, but I could tell you of many
+within my own knowledge who, from positions of extremely hard labor and
+plain living, have risen to be the head men in shops and other places
+which they entered at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
+occurring. And there is no reason whatever, except your indifference,
+to prevent many of you from becoming, if God gives you health, the
+head men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates or in
+very low positions. And I tell you what you know already, that there
+is plenty of room for advancement. It is the lowest places that are
+full to overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the _chiefs_ of
+any industry? No, indeed. They have made themselves indispensable to
+their employers and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly a
+youth who cannot by strict attention to business, and conscientious
+devotion to the interests of his employer, make himself so invaluable
+that he need not join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
+army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the great commercial
+houses, or in the public service, or in the army and navy――do these
+people ever band themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
+They know better than that; they accomplish their purposes in better
+ways. If the working classes, so called, were better educated, they
+would not suffer themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
+not themselves work, who will not touch even with their little fingers
+the burdens which are crushing the life out of the deluded ones whom
+they are leading to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a
+true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable men to do their own
+thinking, and to determine for themselves what are their best interests.
+
+I urge you all to seek that higher and better education which will make
+you true men. You have now the great advantage of the education of the
+school. I have tried very simply, but not the less earnestly, to show
+you how you can fit yourselves for high places. It is for you to say
+whether you will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
+power can force you to do that which you will not do. You may lead a
+horse to a brimming fountain of water, but if he is not thirsty, no
+coaxing nor threatening nor beating can make him drink. I may show you,
+to demonstration, the abundant fountain of learning, but I can’t make
+you drink, or even stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty.
+I can’t make you study, however great the advantage to you, or however
+much they who are interested in you desire that you should.
+
+Every year this question which I have been pressing upon you becomes
+more and more important. The great colleges of the country are
+graduating their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
+with you for the high places in the mechanic arts. So are the public
+schools of the country sending out hundreds of thousands, many of them
+having the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic arts, are
+multiplying. Great changes have been made recently in our own city in
+this respect. The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work in this
+way. Our own college is moving in the same direction, and soon it will
+be sending out its hundreds every year to compete for places in the
+shops, with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have a school
+education――the best that you are able to receive, and you must not let
+any others go ahead of you.
+
+Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who sweep our
+streets――look at the stevedores who load and unload the ships――look at
+the men who carry the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
+ladders――look at the drivers and the conductors on our street cars,
+the most hard worked people among us――and are you not sure that most
+of these people are _un_educated? No one wants to be at the bottom all
+the time. We may have been there at the first; but those who have made
+the most progress are generally those who have had the best education.
+I know that education is not a sure guarantee of success; many other
+things enter into the consideration of the question; but I am saying
+that, other things being equal, _he who knows the most will do the
+best_. There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the rich, who
+have been well educated, who have everything provided for them, who
+have no stimulus, no spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
+have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation, and their
+fine education goes for nothing. But you are not of this class. You
+will have to make your way in the world by your own exertions.
+
+I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words about such boys
+as sometimes stand at the corners of the streets in large or small
+companies and amuse themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
+bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass by. I am sure much
+of this arises from thoughtlessness; but I wish to point out the
+exceeding impropriety of this behavior. I have known ladies to cross
+the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite out of their way rather
+than pass within hearing of these boys and young men. What right has
+any one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger, to block
+up the way or make loose or rude remarks, or defile the pavement over
+which I walk?
+
+All this most serious waste of time is probably because no one has
+particularly called attention to it. The time may come when you will
+recall the words of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
+when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what was said.
+
+I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will permit, to show
+the importance of that education which will enable you to rise in
+your trade or business, whatever it may be, to the upper places; and
+I have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to strive to be
+_chief_ rather than a _subordinate_, to be a _foreman_ rather than a
+_journeyman_.
+
+But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves and upon God.
+There is no royal road to education; the very meaning of the word shows
+this; the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed, rounded,
+hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts a piece of rough iron in the
+coals, keeps it there until it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it
+upon his anvil and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
+first on this side and then on that, rounding it off; then when it
+cools thrusting it among the coals again, then hammering away again
+until he has brought the rough piece of iron to the size and shape
+he wishes, when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are willing
+to work your mind into the shape you want it, you will surely bring
+yourself to the front among active, ingenious and successful men. But
+this means hard work, and work all the time.
+
+Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the hints which I have
+given you, if you really mean to succeed, if you are not content to be
+workers low down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise rather
+than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do men, instead of
+living from hand to mouth, you must grapple with the subject with all
+your might and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out of the
+streets at night, away from the taverns and from the low theatres, and
+from gambling dens, and from other places which I will not name; and,
+in short, you must be true Americans, for there is no truer type of
+manhood in all the world than a real American; and nowhere else in all
+the world has a poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
+as in our own good city of Philadelphia.
+
+
+
+
+                             WILLIAM PENN.
+
+                           October 22, 1882.
+
+
+In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel with her bow pointing
+towards the west was making her way slowly across the Atlantic
+ocean. She was a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
+emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome voyage, the very
+small accommodations, the horror of sea-sickness, were in this vessel
+aggravated by the breaking out of that most awful of all scourges,
+the small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population of one
+hundred, thirty passengers died. No record is left of the incidents
+of that voyage except this; but it is easy to imagine that all the
+circumstances were as deplorable as they could well be.
+
+After a weary time of head winds and calms, in about seven weeks, this
+ship, the “Welcome,” came within the capes of the Delaware bay.
+
+The most distinguished person on that little ship was William Penn.
+He had left his home in England, embarking with his trusty friends in
+a vessel only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American Line,
+to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the whole province from the
+government of England for the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured
+by our money, is about $80,000, and this money was due to him for
+services rendered and money loaned to the government by his father, an
+admiral in the English navy.
+
+About the 24th of October the vessel reached the town of Newcastle,
+where Penn landed and was cordially received by the people of that
+little village. Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
+now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving the vessel here, they
+came in a barge (Penn and some of his principal men) to the mouth of
+Dock creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street, where they
+landed, near a little tavern called the Blue Anchor.
+
+There was already a settlement on the shore of the Delaware river, and
+the people, mostly Swedes, had built a little church somewhat farther
+down the stream. The entire land between the Delaware and Schuylkill
+rivers, and for a mile north and south, was owned by three brothers,
+Swedes, named Swen. Penn bought this tract from them, and at once
+proceeded to lay out his new city. When he bought the whole province
+from the crown he desired to call it New-Wales, because it was so
+hilly, but the king insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory
+of the admiral, William’s father. But when the new city came to be
+named, Penn having no one to dispute his wish, called it by that word,
+of whose meaning we think so little, Philadelphia――brotherly love. Two
+months after this he met the Indians, it is said, under a great elm
+tree in the upper part of the city, in what we now call Kensington,
+and concluded that treaty which has been said to be the only treaty
+that was ever made without an oath, and that was never broken. Shortly
+after this Penn proceeded to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
+English author has said, he must have taken the ancient Babylon for his
+model, for this was the first modern city that was laid out with the
+streets crossing each other at right angles.
+
+The charter which Penn received from Charles the Second, King of
+England (the original of which is in the capital at Harrisburg, on
+three large sheets of parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
+also holding his authority under the crown. He at once therefore set
+about making a code of laws as special statutes, which with the common
+law of England should be the laws of the province. One of these special
+laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor, was to learn a useful trade or
+occupation; the poor to live on it: the rich to resort to it if they
+should become poor.” And I do not know what better law he could have
+enacted.
+
+When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception reached England
+and the continent of Europe, the effect was to arouse a spirit of
+emigration. Although Penn’s first thought and purpose was to found
+a colony, where he and others who held the religious views of the
+Society of Friends might worship without hindrance (which liberty
+was denied them in England), the people from other countries in
+Europe came here in great numbers for other purposes. The population
+therefore multiplied rapidly, and the people were generally such as had
+determined to brave the privations of a new country, to make themselves
+a home where life could be lived under better conditions than in the
+old countries, under the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
+emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal terms which the
+governor offered to new-comers; for to actual settlers he offered the
+land at about ten dollars for a hundred acres, subject, however, to
+a quit-rent of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever; and
+this may be the origin of that ground-rent instrument which is almost
+peculiar to Pennsylvania, and which is such a favorite investment for
+our rich men.
+
+After a stay of two years Penn returned to England, where he had left
+his wife and children; the care of the government having been left with
+a council, of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept the great seal.
+
+Not long after his return to England the king, Charles the Second,
+died, and having no son he was succeeded by his brother, James Duke of
+York, as James the Second. Although Penn was on the most cordial terms
+with the new king, as he had been with Charles, this did not secure him
+from the repeated annoyances and persecutions of those who detested his
+religion. So severe was the treatment to which he was subjected, and
+such was his personal danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
+France. But not being able nor willing to bear this exile, he returned
+to England, was tried for his offence against the law of the church and
+was acquitted. After this he came to America again, intending to spend
+the rest of his life here, but he remained only two years.
+
+The rest of his life was spent in England, but it was a life broken by
+persecutions and trials at law and other annoyances, the expenses of
+which, added to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards, were
+so great as seriously to involve him in financial embarrassments; and
+he was even compelled to mortgage his great estate in Pennsylvania to
+relieve himself; but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
+was so heavy that he felt the necessity of relieving himself of the
+property entirely, and he offered to sell it to the crown. While the
+matter was under consideration, his health began to decline; however,
+the terms were agreed upon, but while the papers were in the course of
+preparation he died peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July
+30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial ground belonging
+to Jordan’s meeting house.
+
+Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder of this
+commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this city of Philadelphia.
+
+Let us see now what there was in this life which we may find it
+interesting to recall and dwell upon; what there was in it which may be
+useful for us to consider in its application to ourselves.
+
+William Penn was born in the city of London on the 14th of October,
+1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s, near the Tower. His father
+was an admiral and his grandfather was a captain in the English navy.
+Then, as now, it was the custom of English families of good condition
+to send their boys away from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
+therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead, in Essex, called
+Chigwell. Here he remained until he was thirteen years old, with no
+incident particularly worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
+of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions, which, however,
+like many other boys, he soon threw aside. He seems to have been apt to
+learn, and was fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
+two years after leaving school, he was under private instruction at
+home, until he was fifteen years old, when he entered the University
+of Oxford. Here he devoted himself most diligently to his studies
+and became a successful student. But this did not prevent him from
+entering most heartily into the sports which were common to young
+men of his quality. He was very fond of boating, fishing, shooting,
+and other pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he avoided
+dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the keenest enjoyment of
+healthful sports is quite consistent with a pure life. If the college
+students of this day would believe and act upon this principle, it
+would be better for them and better for the world.
+
+With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this diligent application to
+study, he had a very tender sympathy and love for domestic animals.
+Towards those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness that
+was almost womanly.
+
+But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to turn him aside
+from a course of duty, when he was satisfied that it was real duty.
+During his school and college life there were many seasons of religious
+interest in his experience, and he was at last brought (under the
+preaching of a member of the Society of Friends named Thomas Loe) to
+declare himself a member of that society. He therefore refused to
+attend the services of the Church of England. The custom of wearing
+surplices by Oxford students, which had been abolished in Cromwell’s
+time, had been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came out as a
+religious man, threw off his surplice and refused to wear it. This
+act was bad enough in the eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went
+further than this, and, in common with some others of the same way of
+thinking, he so far forgot himself as to attack other students and tear
+off their surplices. This very grave offence could not be overlooked,
+and, admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from the University
+of Oxford. This was a great blow to his father, who was building
+the fondest hopes on the advancement of his son at college and his
+career as a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce the son to
+reconsider his conduct, and his father at last flogged him and drove
+him from the house. Some time after this, through the intercession of
+the mother, the young man was brought back to his home; and his father,
+in the hope that a change of scene and circumstances would work a
+change in the lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
+continent.
+
+While in Paris he studied the French language, and read some books in
+theology, and went as far as Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he
+was recalled to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs. He then
+studied law for a year, which no doubt was of some help to him in the
+founding of his commonwealth. Then his father sent him to take care of
+his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty of the Duke
+of Ormond. He entered the army here, and did good service too; and was,
+apparently, so much pleased with his new life that he suffered the only
+portrait of him that was ever painted, to be taken when he was wearing
+armor and in uniform. This picture, or a copy of it, may now be seen at
+the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Spruce street, above Eighth.
+
+About this time he came again under the influence of the preacher Loe,
+and was recalled by his father, who remonstrated with him on his new
+mode of life, but with no success whatever. He would not give up his
+new religion. His father tried to compromise the matter with him, and
+he even went so far as to propose to his son, that if he would remove
+his hat in the presence of the king and the Duke of York and his
+father, as his superiors, their differences might be healed; but the
+son, believing that the removal of his hat would be dishonorable to
+God, absolutely refused.
+
+His life for some time after this was stormy enough. He came out boldly
+and in defiance of law as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was
+repeatedly imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London and sometimes
+in the loathsome prison of Newgate, from which places he was released
+by the intercession of the Duke of York and his father and other
+friends.
+
+Those were very rough times, not likely, let us hope, to be repeated.
+Society was very corrupt at the highest sources, and religion was more
+violent and aggressive in its measures then than now. The world has
+grown wiser and better――there is more toleration, more of the Spirit
+of the Master now than then, and in our favored land every soul can
+worship God as he may choose to do.
+
+William Penn was a _statesman_. He founded this great commonwealth of
+Pennsylvania. He established a code of laws that were in advance of
+his time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture, that law which
+gives the lands of the father to the _oldest_ son, with little or no
+provision for younger sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the
+crown of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth. The
+property of a parent dying without a will should be _equally divided
+among his children_. Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense of the
+term. His laws were for the greatest good of the greatest number. He
+treated the Indians as if they were human beings, and not as if they
+were brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as the Indians
+have been treated even in our day by harsh and unscrupulous agents of
+the government. Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with Lord
+Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not know. Perhaps he was not.
+We know this misunderstanding gave him great trouble, and was indeed
+the prime cause of his return to England.
+
+Penn was a _rich man_. The inheritance left him by his father was
+handsome, and he could have lived most comfortably upon it. But when
+he received from the crown the charter which made him the owner of
+Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder, except sovereigns, known
+in history. He did not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
+luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed that he held
+his property as a trustee, and that he had no right to waste it. He
+might have lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it is
+said his father was offered a peerage), but such a life had no charms
+for him.
+
+Penn was a _conscientious man_. I mean by this that he followed his
+inner convictions, without regard to consequences. What he wanted to
+know was, whether a given thing was _right_ and according to his way
+of determining what the right was; and he did it if it were a duty,
+without flinching. No personal inconvenience, no consideration for the
+views or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the way of his
+duty, as he understood it. It was the custom of that time for gentlemen
+to wear swords, as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no purpose
+except as an ornament or part of the dress. Some time after he joined
+the Society of Friends, and while still wearing his sword, he said to
+his friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles and our
+testimonies against war for me to wear my sword?” When Fox replied,
+“Wear thy sword as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
+This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword never to resume it.
+
+William Penn was a _religious man_. He was called by the Holy Spirit
+at the early age of twelve years, as I have already said. He resisted
+that call and many others, until under faithful preaching he could
+resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the divine call and became
+an open professor of the principles of the Society of Friends. This
+was a very different thing, so far as personal comfort was concerned,
+from professing religion in the ordinary forms; for this was to join
+a hated sect, and bear all the contempt and persecution that belonged
+to a profession of religion in the early days of Christianity, when
+men, women and children perilled their lives in the service of the
+great Master. But Penn cared not for the cost; he was ready to go to
+prison, and to death if necessary, for his opinions. He _did_ go to
+prison over and over again, and bore right manfully all that was put
+upon him. He was not idle, however, in the prison. He preached to
+his fellow-prisoners; he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
+power to make known to others the good tidings of salvation that had
+come to him. He wrote a great many letters, and they were all full
+of the spirit of religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth,
+that might have been written by a systematic theologian; but among
+the most practical things he wrote was the address to his children,
+that it would be well if all people would read, and which, with a few
+exceptions, is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it was for
+those who lived two hundred years ago.
+
+If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had not been worth
+recording. He would have lived the life that was lived by almost all
+men of his class at that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
+luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in store for the New
+World, to be wrought out by the instrumentality of man, could have
+chosen another man, but he chose Penn.
+
+Such is the story of the life of a man who was one of the world’s
+heroes. His name will never die. There is a large literature on the
+subject of his life, some of which you will find in your own library,
+if you choose to look further into it. This is all that I feel it
+proper to say to you to-day about it.
+
+Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in Pennsylvania, as all
+of you were. And this could hardly be said of any other congregation
+in this city to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its size, it
+is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the whole of England. As to
+great rivers and mountains and mines and metals, as to forests and
+fields, we are far in advance of anything of the kind in England. No
+valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive than the valleys
+of our own Pennsylvania.
+
+It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the city of
+Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was founded by a great and good
+man. There are, in the civilized world, but three cities that are
+larger than ours. There is no city, except London, that has so many
+dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere in all the world where the
+poor man who works for his living can live so happily and so well.
+
+In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You will soon many of
+you take your place among the citizens, and have your share in choosing
+the men who make and execute the laws. Some of you _will be_ the men
+who make and execute the laws. William Penn founded this commonwealth,
+not only to provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members of his
+own society, but to afford an asylum for the good and oppressed of
+every nation; and he founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
+principles of Christianity might be carried out in practice. When you
+come to take your part in the duties of public life, see to it that you
+forget not his wise and noble purpose.
+
+
+
+
+                           OUR CONSTITUTION.
+
+                            October, 1887.
+
+
+I am about to do what I have never done――what has probably never been
+done by any other person in this chapel. I propose to give you a
+political speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly think you
+will be able to guess, from anything I say, to which of the two great
+political parties I belong.
+
+I do not go to the Bible for a text――though there are many passages in
+the holy Scriptures which would answer my purpose very well――but I take
+for my text the following passage from the will of Mr. Girard:
+
+“AND ESPECIALLY I DESIRE THAT BY EVERY PROPER MEANS, A PURE ATTACHMENT
+TO OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS, AND TO THE SACRED RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE
+AS GUARANTEED BY OUR HAPPY CONSTITUTIONS, SHALL BE FORMED AND FOSTERED
+IN THE MINDS OF THE SCHOLARS.”
+
+A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing with strangers.
+They came from all parts of the land, and some from distant parts of
+the world. Our railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
+capacity. Our streets were thronged; our hotels and many private
+dwellings were full. It was said that there were half a million of
+strangers here. The President of the United States, the members
+of the Cabinet, many members of the national Senate and House of
+Representatives, the general of the army and many other generals, the
+highest navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the United States
+and of the State courts, the governors of most of the States――each
+with his staff――soldiers and sailors of the United States, and many
+regiments of State troops (the Girard College cadets among them)――a
+military and naval display of twenty-five thousand men――representatives
+of foreign states, an exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts,
+in a procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in all the
+world before; receptions and banquets, public and private; a general
+suspension of most kinds of business――all this occurred in the streets
+of our city, only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?
+
+It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the adoption of the
+Constitution of the United States, and it was considered to be an
+event of such importance that it was well worth while to pause in our
+daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still the busy hum
+of industry; to stop the wheels of commerce; to close our places of
+business.
+
+One hundred years ago the Constitution of the United States of America
+was adopted in this city.
+
+What had been our government before this time? Up to July, 1776, there
+had been thirteen colonies, all under the government of Great Britain.
+In the lapse of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance to
+the king of England, and subjected to certain taxes which they had no
+voice in considering and imposing, because they had no representation
+in the Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented and
+rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our own city of
+Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776, they united in a DECLARATION OF
+INDEPENDENCE of Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies as
+Free, Sovereign and Independent States.
+
+This, however, was only a DECLARATION; and it took seven long years of
+exhausting and terrible war (which would have been longer still but for
+the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that independence and
+have it acknowledged by the governments of Europe.
+
+Before the DECLARATION, each of the colonies had a State government and
+a written constitution for the regulation of its internal affairs. Now
+these colonies had become States, with the necessity upon them (not at
+first admitted by all) of a general compact or agreement, by which the
+States, while maintaining their independence in many things, should
+become a confederated or general government.
+
+More than a year passed before the Constitution, which the Convention
+agreed upon, was adopted by a sufficient number of the States to make
+it binding on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to say that
+my own little State of Delaware was the first to adopt it.
+
+Now, WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION? How does it differ from the _laws_ which
+the Congress enacts every winter in Washington?
+
+First, let me speak of other nations. There are two kinds of government
+in the world――monarchical and republican. And there are two kinds of
+monarchies――absolute and limited. An absolute monarch, whether he be
+called emperor or king, rules by his personal will――HIS WILL IS THE
+LAW. One of the most perfect illustrations of absolute or personal
+government is seen on board any ship, where the will of the chief
+officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever his rank, is, and must
+be, the law. From his orders, his decisions, there is no appeal until
+the ship reaches the shore, when he himself comes under the law. This
+is a very ancient form of government, now known in very few countries
+calling themselves civilized.
+
+The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution, _un_written,
+as in Great Britain, or _written_, as in some other nations of Europe.
+In these countries the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
+instances with hardly as much power as our President. They are not a
+law unto themselves, but are under the common law.
+
+The other kind of government is republican, democratic or representative.
+It is, as was happily said on the field of Gettysburg, long after the
+battle, by President Lincoln, “a government _of_ the people, _by_ the
+people, _for_ the people.” These few plain words are well worth
+remembering――“of,” “by,” “for” the people. These are the traits which
+distinguish our government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
+absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.
+
+After the war between Germany and France, in 1870, the German kingdoms
+of Prussia, Hanover, Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
+principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign, were consolidated
+or confederated as the German empire, and the king of Prussia, the
+present Frederick William, was crowned emperor of Germany.
+
+France, however, after that war, having had enough of kings and
+emperors, adopted the republican form of government. So that now there
+are three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland, and a little
+territory on the east coast of Italy, San Marino.
+
+So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of Africa (except
+Liberia), and the islands of Australia, and the northern part of North
+America (except Alaska), are under the government of monarchs; while
+the three countries of Europe already mentioned, and our own country,
+and Mexico, and the Central American States, and all South America
+except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of South America under
+British rule), are republics.[B]
+
+[B] One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
+believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
+Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.
+
+Now let us come back to our own government and see what is, and whether
+it is better than any form of monarchy; and if so, why.
+
+What is the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES? The first clause in it
+is the best answer I can give:
+
+“WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in order to form a more perfect
+union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
+common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings
+of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
+Constitution for the United States of America.”
+
+Then follow the articles and sections setting forth the principles
+on which it was proposed to build up a nation in this western world.
+The thirteen States each had its constitution and its laws, but _this
+instrument_ was intended to serve as the foundation of the general
+government. Until these States had formed their constitutions, there
+was no republican government in the world except Switzerland and San
+Marino, and these lived only on the sufferance of their powerful
+monarchical neighbors. All South America was under Spanish rule, and
+Mexico was a monarchy.
+
+The great principle of a republic is that people _have a right to
+choose_ their own rulers, and ought to do it. The divine right of
+hereditary monarchy we deny. It is often said that the English
+government is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
+not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote for his rulers.
+Whether so much liberty is perfectly safe for all people is well open
+to question; but it is a FACT here, and if people would only behave
+themselves properly there would be no danger whatever in it. And if
+there IS danger here, it comes not from native-born citizens trained
+under our free institutions. The sun does not shine on a broader,
+fairer land than this; and under that divine Providence, without
+whose gracious aid we could not have achieved and cannot maintain our
+Constitution, we have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
+dread in the future, but the evil men among us――the Anarchists and
+Socialists, the scum and off-scouring of Europe――who, with no fear of
+God before their eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
+and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow its very
+foundations.
+
+The highest and best types of monarchical governments are in Europe,
+and it is with such that we seek comparison when we insist that ours is
+better.
+
+Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from father to the oldest
+son and to the oldest son of the oldest son where there are sons.
+England has rejoiced in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and
+Victoria, the present sovereign; but they came to the throne because
+there was no son in either case to inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever
+his character or want of character, MUST reign when the sovereign dies,
+because, as they say, he rules by divine right. We insist on electing
+our President for a term of years, and if we like him we give him
+another term; if we do not like him, we drop him and try another. I
+wish the term of office of the President were longer, and that he could
+serve only one term. Perhaps it will come to that; and I think he would
+be a more independent, a better official under this condition.
+
+What is the difference between the Constitution and the laws?
+
+The Constitution is the great charter under which, and within which,
+the laws are made. No law that Congress may pass is worth the paper it
+is printed on if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
+been passed ignorantly, and have died.
+
+A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution of this College
+is Mr. Girard’s will. This is our charter. The laws which the Directors
+make must be within the provisions of the will or they will not stand.
+For instance, the will directs that none but _orphans_ can be admitted
+here; and the courts have decided that a child without a father is
+an orphan. The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who has
+a father living. The will says that only _boys_ can be admitted;
+therefore no law that the Directors can make will admit a girl. Nor
+can the Directors make a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
+under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born anywhere except in
+certain States of our country――Pennsylvania, New York and Louisiana. It
+would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I think now you see the difference between
+the Constitution and the laws.
+
+Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy? and why?
+
+Because the men of the present time make it, and are not bound by the
+traditions of far-off times. There are improvements in the science of
+government as in all other human inventions, as the centuries come
+and go. Man is progressive; he would not be worth caring for if he
+were not. If the present age has not produced a higher and better
+development in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is not because
+men were perfect in the past or cannot be better in the present or in
+the future. Therefore when our Constitution is believed not to meet the
+requirements of the present day there is a way to amend it, although
+that way is so hedged up that it cannot possibly be altered without
+ample time for consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution has
+been altered or amended fifteen times since its adoption; and it will
+be changed or amended as often as the needs of the people require it.
+
+We believe our form of government to be better than any monarchy
+because _the people choose their own law-makers_. The Congress is
+composed of two houses or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen
+by the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to serve for
+six years; the members of the House of Representatives (chosen by the
+citizens), who sit for two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is
+supposed to be the more conservative body, not easily moved by popular
+clamor; while the Representatives, chosen directly and recently by the
+voters, are supposed to know the immediate wants of the people. The
+thought of two houses grew probably from the two houses of the British
+parliament.
+
+We cannot have an _hereditary legislature_ like the House of Lords in
+the British parliament, whose members sit, as the sovereign rules, by
+divine right, as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
+for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head, or only the nominal ruler,
+while the cabinet is the real government, and the House of Lords long
+ago sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence. There is no
+better reason for this than the fact that the people have nothing to do
+with the House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose and scatter
+them when they choose to rise in their power and assert themselves.
+
+We can have no _orders of nobility_ under our Constitution. There can
+be no privileged class. All men are equal under the law. I do not mean
+that all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence has
+made us unequal. Some are endowed naturally with the highest mental
+and physical gifts and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
+This has always been so and always will be so. Some have inherited or
+acquired riches, while others have to labor diligently to make a bare
+living. Some have inherited their high culture and gentle manners and
+noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we sometimes call culture;
+and others have to acquire all this for themselves――and it is not very
+easy to get it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality, and
+cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment of our rights and in
+the undisturbed possession of what we have, we are all equal, as we
+could not be under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to success;
+all places are open to all.
+
+There can be no law of _primogeniture_ under our Constitution. By this
+law, which still prevails in England, the eldest son inherits the
+titles and estates of the father, while the younger sons and all the
+daughters must be provided for in other ways. Some of the sons are put
+in the church, in the army or the navy, or in the professions, such as
+law and medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of a noble
+house is willing to engage in any kind of business or trade, for they
+are not so well thought of if they become tradesmen.
+
+There can be no _state church_, no _establishment_, under our
+Constitution. In England the Episcopal Church, and in Scotland the
+Presbyterian Church, are established by law; and until within the
+last seventeen years the Church of England was by law established in
+Ireland; and it is now established in Wales; and in other countries
+of Europe the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
+Greek Church are established by law. In countries where there is a
+national church, it derives more or less of its support from taxing the
+people, many of whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is no
+established church; and there never can be, let us hope and believe.
+
+Under our form of government we need no _standing army_. We owe this
+partly to the fact that we are so isolated geographically that we do
+not need to keep an army. I heard the general of our army say, a short
+time ago, that the regular army of the United States is a fiction――only
+25,000 men. (You saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as are
+in all our army.) “The real army,” he added, “is composed of every
+able-bodied citizen; for all are ready to volunteer in the face of a
+common enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already, and it will
+probably be larger, but it will not again be enlarged as the result
+of war. When we look at the nations of Europe, and see the immense
+numbers of men in their standing armies, we can’t help thanking God
+that we are separated from them by the wide Atlantic, and that we
+have a republican government, and have no temptation to seek other
+territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any cause. In the
+armies of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are
+more than ten millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of the
+soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures. In Italy alone
+the standing army is said to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
+men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary to employ women to do
+work which in our country women are never asked to do. I have seen a
+woman drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the deck of that
+boat smoking his pipe and steering the boat. I have seen a woman with
+a huge load of fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her side
+and carrying his scythe. I have seen women yoked with dogs to carts,
+carrying the loads that here would be put in a cart and drawn by a
+horse. I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on their _heads_,
+filled with stone and mortar. I have seen women carrying huge baskets
+of manure on their backs to the field, and young girls breaking stone
+on the highway. Did you ever hear of such things here? See what a
+difference! The men in the army eat up the substance which the women
+produce from the soil.
+
+But nowhere else in the world is the _dignity of labor_ recognized as
+here. They do not know the meaning of the words. For in most other
+countries it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be engaged
+in labor of any kind. A man who is not able to live without work is
+hardly considered a gentleman. To work with the hands is degrading;
+is what ought to be done by common people only, and by people who are
+not fit to associate with gentlemen and ladies. It is not so in this
+country. Here, a man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
+and honorable in his dealings with men, who cultivates his mind by
+reading and observation, and is careful of the usages of good society,
+is fit company for any one. He may rise to any place within the gift of
+his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is not so elsewhere. And think
+of a young girl hardly out of her teens, with no special preparation
+for such a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming the
+wife of the President of the United States, and proving herself
+entirely worthy of that high position! Could any other country match
+this?
+
+Now what is the effect of all this freedom of thought and action on the
+people? Well, it is not to be denied that there are some disadvantages.
+There is danger that we may over-estimate the individual in his
+personal rights, and not give due weight to the people as a community.
+There is danger of selfishness, especially among young people. There
+is not as much respect and reverence for age, and for those above us,
+and for the other sex, as there ought to be. Young people are very
+rude at times, when they should always be polite to their superiors
+in age or position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming out
+of school one day all lifted their hats to me, a stranger! That would
+be an astounding thing in a Philadelphia street! In riding in the
+neighborhood of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by the
+roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent answer.
+
+But in spite of these defects, which we hope will never be seen
+in a Girard College boy, the true effect of training under our
+republican institutions is to make men. There is a wider, freer,
+fuller development of what is in man than is known elsewhere. Man is
+much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent, vigorous,
+skillful, here――not knowing how high he may rise, and consciously or
+unconsciously preparing himself for anything to which he may be called.
+And for woman, too, where else does she meet the respect that belongs
+to her? Where else in the world do women find occupation in government
+offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable and educational
+institutions? With few exceptions, such as Girton College, where are
+there in any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley, and
+as the Woman’s Medical College, almost under the walls of our own?
+
+I have already kept you too long. But a few words and I am done. I am
+moved by the injunction of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
+things, but by this grave consideration also. Every boy who hears me
+to-day, within fifteen years, if he lives, unless he is cut off by
+crime from the privilege, will be a voter. You will go to the polls to
+cast your votes for those who are to have the conduct of the government
+in all its parts. I want to make you feel, if I can, the high destiny
+that awaits you. You are distinctive in this respect――you are all
+American boys. This can be said of no other assembly as large as this
+in all this broad land. You have it in your power, and I want to help
+you to it, and God will if you ask him――you have it in your power to
+become American gentlemen. And I believe that an _American gentleman_
+is the very highest type of man.
+
+    God, give us men. A time like this demands
+    Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:
+    Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
+      Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
+    Men who possess opinions and a will;
+      Men who have honor, men who will not lie;
+    Men who can stand before a demagogue
+      And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
+    Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
+      In public duty and in private thinking.
+
+
+
+
+              [Illustration: _James Lawrence Claghorn._]
+
+
+
+
+                       JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.
+
+
+When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and successful life it seems
+proper that something more than the ordinary obituary notices in the
+daily papers is due to his memory. This thought moves me to speak to
+you to-day of a gentleman who died on August 25, 1884, while a Director
+of the Girard College, and of whom it seems appropriate that something
+may be said to you in this chapel.
+
+Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen of Philadelphia. He
+was born here on the 5th of July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn,
+was a merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter years of his
+life gave much time and thought to benevolent institutions. At the age
+of fourteen years James left school to go into business. You boys know
+how very incomplete an education at school must be which ends when the
+boy is fourteen years old. But you don’t know until your own experience
+proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to compete for the
+high places in life or in business with boys of equal natural ability,
+who have had the full advantage of a liberal school education. At
+fourteen, then, James Claghorn turned his back on school and went to
+work in earnest. For it was an auction store that he entered, and the
+work there was usually harder work than in other kinds of stores. The
+hours of labor were longer――earlier and later――and the holidays more
+rare than in ordinary commercial houses.
+
+There is no record of the early years of his business life; but it is
+not difficult to imagine the hardships to which a young lad of that
+time would be subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence was
+allowed him because his father was one of the partners in the firm;
+neither he nor his father would have permitted such distinction.
+
+The boy must have been _industrious_; for in such a house there was no
+place for an idle lounger. He was not afraid of work, for he was always
+at it; he did not spare himself, else some other boy would have done
+his share and got ahead of him; he must have been _faithful_, not one
+who works only when his master’s eye is on him――not shirking any hard
+work――not forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday――not thinking
+too much of his rights or his own particular work, but doing anything
+that came to hand――looking always to the interest of the firm, and
+trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.
+
+And he must have been _patient_. Many rough words, many hasty and
+passionate words are spoken to young boys, and must have been spoken to
+this boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason to believe
+from the character he built up that he knew how to hold his tongue and
+not answer back. Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
+hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent discharge of boys
+who will “answer back” when they are reproved.
+
+And I think also that he must have been of a bright and cheery
+disposition and well mannered. Some young fellows who have to make
+their way in the world seem not to know the importance of a good
+address; in other words, politeness, good breeding. Nothing impresses
+one so favorably at first meeting a stranger as good manners. A
+frank, hearty greeting, a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a
+willingness to consider others, a desire to please for the sake of
+giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the contrary, sullenness,
+sluggishness, indifference, selfishness are all repulsive, and though
+allowance will be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
+yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young person, and they
+will certainly unfit him for a successful career. I did not know Mr.
+Claghorn when he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that the
+kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later life could have been a
+morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered boy.
+
+I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while still a boy; but we
+must not infer that he supposed his education was complete with the
+end of his school life, for it is very evident that he must have
+given very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We do not know
+how his evenings were spent when not in the counting-house; but he
+must have given a good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely
+that the books which he read were such as are to be found now at any
+book-stand, and in the hands of so many boys as they go to and fro on
+their errands――books which are simply read without instruction, and
+which sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant, coarse
+and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond of fiction. All boys of fair
+education and refined taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we
+can hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to such reading,
+else he could not have become the strong business man that he was. At
+a very early age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as his
+means would permit engravings and pictures such as would cultivate his
+taste in that direction. When he could spare the money he would buy
+an engraving, if the subject or the author interested him; so that he
+became, in the latter part of his life, the owner of one of the largest
+collections of engravings in the whole country. Indeed, he became a
+noted patron of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
+_native_ art, so that at one period he had more than two hundred
+paintings, the work of American artists; for at that time he was more
+desirous of encouraging native artists, especially if they were poor,
+than he was in making collections of the great masters. Many a picture
+he bought to help the artist, rather than for his own gratification
+as a collector. Further on in life he became deeply interested in
+the Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut street
+above Tenth. Subsequently he became its President, and very largely
+through his influence and his personal means that fine building at the
+southwest corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all of you ought
+to visit as opportunity is afforded, was erected as a depository of
+art. The splendid building of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
+street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its erection.
+
+But I am anticipating, and we must now go back to Mr. Claghorn in
+his counting-house. No longer a boy――an apprentice――he has grown to
+manhood, and has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
+place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the hours of business,
+which were long before, are longer now; he begins very early in
+the morning, before sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes
+detained late in the evening, the long day being entirely devoted to
+business; and no one knows, except one who has gone through that sort
+of experience, how much labor is involved in such a life; but not only
+his labors――his responsibilities are greatly increased. He becomes the
+financial man in the firm; he is the head of the counting-house; he
+has charge of the books and the accounts. For many years no entry was
+made in the huge ledgers except in his own handwriting. The credit of
+the house of Myers & Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
+financial excitement and distress comes on. This house, while others
+are going down on the right and left like ships in a storm, stands
+erect with unimpaired credit, and with opportunities of helping other
+and weaker houses which so much needed help. The name of his firm was a
+synonym of all that is strong and admirable in business management.
+
+So he passed the best years of his whole life in earnest attention to
+business, snatching all the leisure he could for the gratification
+of his passion, it may be called, for art, until the time came when,
+having acquired what was at that time supposed to be an abundant
+competency, he determined to retire from business. Now he appears to
+contemplate a long rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
+arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment, when the
+country became involved in the Great Rebellion. None of you, except
+as you read it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
+country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at Fort Sumter.
+Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his country and unwilling to do what
+seemed to him almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
+his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself most diligently and
+earnestly to the duties of a true, loyal citizen in the support of the
+government. He was one of the earliest members of the Union League,
+and was largely interested in collecting money for the raising and
+equipping of regiments to be sent to the front. Three or four years of
+his life were spent in this laudable work, and in company with those
+of like mind he was largely instrumental in accomplishing great good.
+The war, however, came to an end――was fought out to its final and
+inevitable issue.
+
+Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned with increased
+interest. His business affairs, although they had not been as
+profitable as they would have been if he had looked closer to them
+and had given less thought to public matters during the war, were so
+satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other hands for a
+while, and in company with his wife he embarked for Europe. It was
+to be a long holiday such as he had never known before. He intended
+to make an extended tour――he was not to be hurried. He went through
+England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy,
+Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland
+and Belgium. In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most famous
+picture-galleries of the old world; and his long study of art in its
+various phases and schools gave him special advantages for the highest
+enjoyment of the great collections, public and private, of the old
+masters as well as of those of modern times.
+
+The interest of his extended tour was not, however, limited to
+galleries and collections of paintings and statuary. He was an observer
+of men and things. His practical American mind observed and digested
+everything that came within his reach. The government of the great
+cities――the condition of the masses of the people gathered in them――the
+common people outside of the cities, their customs and costumes; their
+way of living――in short, everything that was unlike what we see at
+home――he observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect of after
+years.
+
+It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn, having lived the busy
+life that he had lived before he went abroad, should have been content
+on his return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned leisure;
+and accordingly, shortly after his return, he became the President of
+the Commercial National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
+in our city. For several years previously he had been a Director in
+the Philadelphia National Bank (as his father had before him), so
+that he had had proper training for the duties of his new position.
+He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, the
+oldest and the largest saving fund in our city. With most commendable
+diligence and industry he at once set about building up the bank so as
+to make it profitable to its stockholders. Not forgetting, however,
+the attractions of art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
+beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so that even the daily
+routine of business life might be enlivened by glimpses into the
+attractive world of art.
+
+In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts was created by act of
+Legislature (to which board is committed the vast estate left by Mr.
+Girard, as well as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
+Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board of twelve, and
+from that date until his death he gave much time and thought to the
+duties thus devolved upon him. He became chairman of the finance
+committee, which place he held until the end of his life. Although he
+was not so well known to the boys of the college as some other members
+of this board, because his duties did not require very frequent visits
+to the college, he nevertheless gave himself to the duties of the
+committee of which he was chairman with great interest and fidelity;
+and the time which he gave to this great work is not to be measured by
+visits to the college, but by the time spent in the city office and in
+his own place of business, where his committee met him on their stated
+meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep personal interest in
+all the affairs of this college, and of the other trusts committed to
+our charge.
+
+Although the condition of his health in the latter part of his life
+made close attention to business very trying to him, so far as I
+know he never permitted his health to interfere with his business
+engagements.
+
+In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to set before you
+some features of the life of one of our most distinguished citizens.
+In the limits of a single discourse as brief as this must be it is
+not possible to make this more than an outline sketch. In the little
+time that remains let me refer again for the purpose of emphasis to
+some traits in the character of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear
+reconsideration.
+
+A very large proportion of the merchants of any city fail in business.
+The proportion is much larger than is generally known, and larger than
+young people are willing to believe.
+
+In an experience of more than forty years of business life, during
+which I have had much to do with merchants, I have known so many
+failures, have seen so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am
+compelled to regard a merchant who has maintained high credit for a
+long term of years and finally retired from business with a handsome
+estate as one who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
+fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners in successful
+business, the good management having been due to the ability and tact
+of their seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present case. The
+merchant whose life we are considering was an active and influential
+partner.
+
+Let me say, however, that true success in business is not to be
+measured by the amount of money one accumulates. A man may be rich
+in the riches acquired by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
+no high sense a successful business man. These things are necessary:
+He should be a just man, an upright, honorable man, a man of breadth
+and solidity of character, who gathers about him some of the ablest
+and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the good of others and
+the welfare of society. In such sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful
+business man.
+
+His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial aid and
+encouragement he gave to young students in their beginnings, his deep
+sympathy with persons who in literature and art were striving for a
+living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public spirit――all
+these had their influence in the growth and development of his
+character, and made his name to be loved and honored by many who shared
+in his generous sympathies.
+
+Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call patriotism, was signally
+disclosed at the outbreak of the war in 1861. When we remember his
+long and busy life as a merchant――broken by few or no vacations such
+as most other men enjoyed――when we remember that his self-culture had
+been of such a nature as to prepare him most admirably well for a
+tour in foreign countries, especially such countries as had produced
+the ablest, the most distinguished artists――we can have some idea of
+what it cost him to forego the much needed rest――to deny himself the
+well-earned pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of Europe,
+where are gathered the treasures of the highest art in all the world.
+Many men in like circumstances would have felt that one man, whose age
+and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service in the field,
+would hardly be missed from among the loyal citizens of the North――but
+he did not think so; and therefore he put aside all his personal plans,
+and in the city where he was born he remained and devoted himself
+as one of her true, loyal citizens in raising money and men for the
+defence of the government. There could be no truer heroism than this,
+and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose to the end.
+
+“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at his funeral, and with
+his words I close these remarks, “I am permitted to address to you
+in the presence of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
+occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know no more in life. A
+few Saturday evenings ago I was walking along by a lake at a seashore
+home when a great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my eye.
+It was one of those inimitable pictures that rarely come to one. In
+the foreground there lay a lake with no ripple on its surface. It was
+a calm and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the western sky. The
+sun had gone, but where he disappeared were indications of beauty――one
+of the most beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not one of
+the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there came many reflections.
+Here is one of them. It seems quite applicable this morning. That which
+caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused the radiation of
+beauty, had gone. Its day’s work was done. That quiet lake and streaked
+sky were the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life that
+had been accomplished. It was a complete thing. The day was done. The
+activity had passed away. It was finished just as this life. What had
+made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments of beauty
+that made the scene as beautiful as good words and noble deeds make
+the memory of man. There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
+of this community, you will do well to remember that anywhere and
+everywhere, without patience and industry, nothing great can be done.
+The life departed was a busy one――one of busy usefulness. The cry that
+came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be busy.’ Live as this man
+did, that your life may be one that can be held up as an example and a
+light to young men of the coming generations. One ray of beauty was
+his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid thing to be trusted by your
+fellows. Another ray was his prudent foresight. It was characteristic
+of him, and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray that welled out
+of him was his striking humanity. There was one continual trait in his
+character. I would call it manhoodness. There was another feature――his
+deep humility.”
+
+Such were some of the traits of character of a man who lived a long
+life in the city where he was born. If no distinctive monument has been
+erected to his memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy of
+the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of Music,” with which his name will
+always be associated; and, what is better still, there are many hearts
+that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish man, who in time
+of sore need stretched out his hand to help, and that hand was never
+empty. And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this man who did so
+much for his native city and for his fellow-citizens was not nearly so
+well educated at the age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
+are now. See what he did; see what some of you may do!
+
+
+
+
+                         THE LEAF TURNED OVER.
+
+                           January 1, 1888.
+
+
+Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning Over a New Leaf.”
+One of the directors of this college to whom I sent a printed copy said
+I ought to follow those with another on this subject: “The Leaf Turned
+Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion and shall now try to follow
+his advice.
+
+Most thoughtful people as they approach the end of a year are apt to
+ask themselves some plain questions――as to their manner of life, their
+habits of thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
+their home, their families, their companions, their plans for the
+future, their duty to their fellow-men, their duty to God; in short,
+whether the year about to close has been a happy one; whether they have
+been successful or otherwise in what they have attempted to do.
+
+The merchant, manufacturer or man of business of any kind who keeps
+books, and whose accounts are properly kept, looks with great interest
+at his account book at such a time, to see whether his business has
+been profitable or otherwise, whether he has lost or made money,
+whether his capital is larger or smaller than it was at the beginning
+of the year, whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able to
+pay his debts or is bankrupt.
+
+And to very many persons engaged in business for themselves, this is
+a time of great anxiety, for one can hardly tell exactly whether he
+is getting on favorably until his account books are posted and the
+balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and the result of the
+year’s business is a loss, that means a reduction of capital, and
+raises the question whether this can go on for some years without
+failure and bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks with great
+anxiety to the month of December, and especially to the end of it,
+to learn whether he shall be able to go on in his business, however
+humble. And, alas! there are many whose books of account are so badly
+kept, and whose balances are so rarely struck, or who keep no account
+books at all, that they never know how they stand, but are always under
+the apprehension that any day they may fail to meet their obligations
+and so fail and become bankrupt. They were insolvent long before, but
+they did not know it; and they have gone on from bad to worse until
+they are ruined. Others, again, are afraid to look closely into their
+account books――afraid to have the balances struck, lest they should
+be convinced that their affairs are in a hopeless condition. Unhappy
+cowards they are, for if insolvent the sooner they know it the better,
+that they may make the best settlement they can with their creditors,
+if the business is worth following at all, and begin again, “turning
+over a new leaf.”
+
+I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever thought much on these
+subjects; for you are not in business as principals or as clerks, you
+have no merchandise or produce or money to handle, you have no account
+books for yourselves or for other people to keep, to post, to balance,
+and you may think you have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to
+be able to show you that these things are not matters of indifference
+to you.
+
+The year 1887, which closed last night, was just as much _your_ year as
+it was that of any man, even the busiest man of affairs. When it came,
+365 days ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left all of
+you here. And the question naturally arises, what have you done with
+this time, all these days and nights? Every page in the account books
+of certain kinds of business represents a day of business, and either
+the figures on both the debit and the credit side are added up and
+carried forward, or the balance of the two sides of the page is struck
+and carried over leaf to the next page.
+
+So every day of the past year represents a page in the history of your
+lives: for every life, even the plainest and most humble, has its own
+peculiar history. Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling
+things occur to break the monotony of school life, but each day has
+its own duties and makes its own record. Three hundred and sixty-five
+pages of the book of the history of every young life here were duly
+filled by the records of all the things done or neglected, of the words
+spoken or unspoken, of the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages
+with their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were turned over,
+and are now numbered with the things that are past and gone. When an
+accountant or book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year are
+closed and the balances struck, that errors had crept in which have
+disturbed the accuracy of his work, he cannot go back with a knife and
+erase the errors and write in the correct figures; neither can he blot
+them out, nor rub them out as you do examples from a slate or from
+the blackboard; he must correct his mistakes; he must counteract his
+blunders by new entries on a new page.
+
+It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night at midnight the last
+page of the leaves of the book of the old year was filled with its
+record, whatever it was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
+What do we see? What does every one of you see? A fair, white page.
+And each one of you holds a pen in his hand and the inkstand is within
+reach; you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page, the
+thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed than any pen, even
+that of the quickest shorthand writer can put them on the page. There
+are stenographers who can take the language of the most rapid speakers,
+but no stenographer has ever yet appeared who can put his own thoughts
+on paper as rapidly as they come into his mind. But while there is but
+one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge of what is passing
+in your mind and retain it all――THE INFINITE MIND; and while no one
+page of any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers call
+elephant folio, can possibly hold the record of what any boy here says
+and thinks in a single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
+words good or bad on the page before you.
+
+Let me take one of these boys not far from the desk, a boy of sixteen
+or seventeen years of age, who is now waiting, pen in hand, to write
+the thoughts now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts? No one
+knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I think he ought to write? It
+is something like this:
+
+“I have been here many years. When I came I was young and ignorant. I
+found myself among many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I ever
+saw before, who cared no more for me than I cared for them. I felt
+very strange; the first few days and nights I was very unhappy, for I
+missed very much my mother and the others whom I had left at home. But
+very soon these feelings passed away. I was put to school at once, and
+in the school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the things and
+the people about my other home. Years passed. I was promoted from one
+school to another, from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
+my classmates were no longer little boys; we were all looking up and
+looking forward to the school promotions, and I became a big boy. The
+lessons were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand at
+last why I was sent here, and to ask myself the question, what might
+reasonably be expected of me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
+would force itself upon me, what use am I making of my fine advantages,
+or am I making the best use of them? And what manner of man shall I
+be? For I know full well that all well-educated boys do not succeed in
+life――do not become successful men in the highest and best sense. How
+do I know that I shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
+the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly manly, trustworthy
+boy? Have I succeeded while going through the course of school studies
+in building up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this great
+school? Can those who know me best place the most confidence in me? If
+I am looking forward to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or
+in a lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a place in a
+railroad office or a bank, am I really trying to fit myself for such a
+place, or am I simply drifting along from day to day, doing only what I
+am compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to rise above the
+dull average of my companions? And then, as I look at the difficulties
+in the way of every young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
+has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present and the persons
+and things that surround me now, and look to a higher and better Helper
+than is to be found in this world? Have I not at times heard words of
+good counsel in this chapel, from the lips of those who come to give me
+and my companions wholesome advice? What attention have I given to such
+advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt it, that the great God
+stoops from heaven and speaks to my soul, and offers his Divine help,
+and even holds out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take my
+hand in his, and help me over all hard places, and will never let me
+go, if I cling to him, and will assure me success in everything that is
+right and good. I have heard all this over and over again; I know it is
+true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed it; I have not acted
+accordingly; in fact, I have treated the whole matter as if it were
+unreal, or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to me.
+
+“And now I have come probably to my last year in this school. Before
+another New Year’s day some other boy will have my desk in the
+school-room, my bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
+in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they have seemed, have
+nearly all passed; I shall soon go away; if some place is not found
+for me I must find one for myself――oh! what will become of me? Since
+last New Year’s day two boys who were educated here have been sent
+convicted criminals to the Eastern Penitentiary. What are they thinking
+about on this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats, they sang
+our hymns, they heard the same good words of advice which I have heard,
+they had all the good opportunities which all of us have; what led them
+astray? Did they believe that the good God stooped from heaven to say
+good words to them, holding out his strong hand to help them? I wonder
+if they thought they were strong enough to take care of themselves?
+I wonder if they thought they could get along without his help? Do I
+think I can?”
+
+Some such thoughts as these may be passing in the mind of the boy now
+looking at me and sitting not far from the desk, the boy whom I had
+in my mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen full of ink. He
+has written nothing yet; he has been listening with some curiosity to
+hear what the speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a boy’s
+thoughts.
+
+I can tell that boy what _I_ would write if I were at his age, in this
+college, and surrounded by these circumstances, listening to these
+serious, earnest words. I would take my pen and write on the first page
+of this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New Year’s day, these
+words: “_The leaf is turned over!_ God help me to lead a better life.
+God forgive all the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all
+my forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God keep me from wicked
+thoughts which defile the soul; keep me from wicked words which defile
+the souls of others.”
+
+“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me to begin my journal by
+writing a prayer?”
+
+Yes; but this is not all. Write again.
+
+1. _I will not willingly break any of the rules which are adopted for
+the government of our school._
+
+Some of the rules may _seem_ hard to obey, and even unreasonable, but
+they were made for my good by those who are wiser than I am. I _can_
+obey them; I _will_.
+
+2. _I will work harder over my lessons than ever before, and I will
+recite them more accurately._
+
+This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall be the better for it;
+it will not be long, for I am going soon; I _can_, I _will_.
+
+3. _I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully than I have
+ever done before._
+
+If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no more. It is a common
+fault; many of us boys have fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I
+will do so no more; I _can_ stop it, I _will_.
+
+4. _I will be more careful in my daily life here, to set a good example
+in all things, than I have ever been before._
+
+The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate them closely. They
+watch us, our words, our ways, our behavior in all things. If any young
+fellows have been misled by me, it shall be so no more. I will behave
+so that no one shall be the worse for doing as I do. This is quite
+within my control; I _can_, I _will_.
+
+5. _I will look to God to help me to do these things._
+
+For I have tried to do something like this before and failed; it must
+be because I depended on my own strength. Now I will look away from
+myself and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is strong, nothing
+is holy.” He _can_ help me; he surely will, if I throw myself on his
+mercy, and by daily prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for
+a moment or two each day, I shall see light and find peace.
+
+These are the things that I would write, my boy, if I were just as you
+are.
+
+Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther and say some words to
+others here?
+
+Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all under your charge,
+and every day. The same good Providence that brought them here for
+education and support, brought you here also to teach them and care
+for them. Your work is exacting, laborious, unremitting. Some of these
+young boys are trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
+almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are discouraged by what seems
+to be the almost hopeless nature of your work, the untidiness, the
+rough manners, the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these young
+boys. But remember that all this is inevitable; that from the nature of
+the case it must be so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
+to good order, to train and educate these young lives so that they
+shall be well educated, well informed, well mannered, polite, gentle,
+considerate, so they may be fairly well assured of a successful future,
+is a great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the highest
+intelligence. This is exactly what the great founder had in his mind
+when he established this college and provided so munificently for its
+endowment. This is what his trustees most earnestly desire, and the
+hope of which rewards them for the many hours they give every week to
+the care of this great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the plan
+of instruction here, not only in the schools, but in the section rooms
+and on the play-grounds. Be to these older boys their big brothers,
+their best friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled to
+reprove them for their many faults.
+
+And to those of you who have the care of the younger boys, let me
+say: remember, they have no mothers here; they are very young to send
+from home; they are homesick at times; they hardly know how to behave
+themselves; they shock your sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you
+almost to distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage them,
+love them, for if _you_ do not, who will? And what will become of them?
+And remember what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life out
+of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and make a real man of
+it. Oh! friends, suffer these words of exhortation, for they come from
+one who has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying work.
+
+    And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it from
+    whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
+    found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
+    stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book
+    was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged
+    out of those things which were written in the books, according
+    to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it;
+    and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them;
+    and they were judged every man according to his works――Rev. xx.
+    11–13.
+
+
+
+
+                           THANKSGIVING DAY.
+
+                          November 29, 1888.
+
+
+The President of the United States, in a proclamation which you have
+just heard, has set apart this 29th day of November for a day of
+thanksgiving and prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
+given to the people of our country, and for a continuance of these
+mercies. His example has been followed by the governors of Pennsylvania
+and many, if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe that
+all over the land, from Maine to Alaska, and from the great lakes to
+the Gulf of Mexico, the people in large numbers are now gathered or
+gathering in their places of worship, in obedience to this proper
+recommendation. The directors of this college, in full sympathy with
+the thoughts of our rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released
+you from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel, and asked you
+to unite with the people generally in giving thanks to God for the
+past, and imploring his mercies for the future. For you are a part of
+the people, and although not yet able, from your minority, to take an
+active part in the government, are yet being rapidly prepared for this
+great right of citizenship. It is the high privilege of an American
+boy, to know that when he becomes a man he will have just as clear a
+right as any other man, to exercise all the functions of a freeman,
+in choosing the men who are to be intrusted with the responsibilities
+of government. What are some of the things that give us cause for
+thankfulness to Almighty God? Very briefly such as these:
+
+1. _This is a Christian country._ Although there is not, and cannot
+be, any part or branch of the church established by law, there is
+assured liberty for every citizen to worship God by himself, or with
+others in congregations, as he or they may choose, in such forms of
+worship as may be preferred, with none to molest or make afraid. Here
+is absolute freedom of worship. And even if it be that the name of God
+is not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or governor or
+public officer can be inducted or inaugurated in high office except by
+taking oath on the book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
+faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there were nothing
+else, this public acknowledgment of the being of Almighty God and our
+accountability to him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
+a Christian people.
+
+2. _This is a free government_, free in the sense that the people
+choose their own rulers, whether of towns, cities, States, or the
+nation. There is no hereditary rule here, and cannot be. We not
+only _choose_ our own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them
+for whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority accept the
+decision when it is ascertained, without doubt, without a question of
+its righteousness; they only want to know whether the majority have
+actually chosen this or that candidate, and they accept frankly, if not
+cheerfully. We have had a splendid illustration of this within this
+present month. The great party that has administered the government
+for four years past, on the verdict of the majority, are preparing to
+retire and will retire on the fourth of March next, and give up the
+government to the other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere
+else in the world can such a revolution be accomplished on so grand
+a scale, by so many people, with so little friction. This government
+then is better than _any monarchy_, no matter how carefully guarded
+by constitutional restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
+governments are in Europe: the best of all in England; but the
+governments of Europe have many and great concessions to make to the
+people, before they can stand side by side with the United States in
+strong, healthy, considerate management of the people. It has been said
+that the best machinery is that which has the least friction, and as
+the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of government will be
+so smooth that the people will hardly know that they are governed at
+all; in fact, they will be their own governors. This time is coming as
+sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand, and you boys can hasten
+it by your own upright, manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
+forget that this is a government of the majority, and you must see to
+it that the majority be true men.
+
+3. _We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of the world._ The
+Atlantic separates us from Europe on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from
+South America on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes our
+western shores. We are a continent to ourselves, with the exception of
+Mexico, a sister republic on the south, with whom we are not likely to
+quarrel again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north, which, if never
+to become a part of ourselves, will at least at some day, and probably
+not a very distant day, become independent of the mother country as we
+did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained our freedom.
+Our distance from Europe relieves us entirely from the consideration
+of subjects which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
+which very often thrill the rest of the world in the apprehension of
+a general war in Europe. We are under no necessity of annexing other
+territory. We are not afraid of what is called “the balance of power;”
+we have no army that is worthy of the name, because we don’t need one,
+and we can make one if we should need it; and we have no navy to speak
+of, though I think we ought to have for the protection of our commerce,
+when our commerce shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
+with other nations; the great father of his country in his Farewell
+Address warned the people against this danger.
+
+4. _Our country is very large._ You school-boys can tell me as well as
+I can tell you what degrees of latitude and longitude we reach, and how
+many millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we brag too much
+about the great extent of our country; but I do not refer to it now for
+boasting, but as a matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
+It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic to the tropics,
+gives us every variety of climate and almost every variety of product
+that the earth produces; and I am sure that the time will come when,
+under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have yet reached, our
+soil will produce everything that grows anywhere else in the world. The
+corn harvest now being gathered in our country will reach _two thousand
+millions of bushels_. The mind staggers under such ponderous figures
+and quantities. Our wheat fields are hardly less productive; our
+potatoes and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products of our
+cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything that our soil above ground
+yields; and the enormous yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our
+natural gas, our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent
+and binding the people together with bands of steel――all these, and
+many others, which time will not permit me even to mention, give some
+faint idea of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty God has
+given to the American people. And do we not well therefore, when we
+come together on a day like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?
+
+5. _The general education of the people_ is another reason for
+thankfulness to God. The system is not yet universal, but it will be at
+no distant day. You boys will live to see the day when every man, woman
+and child born in the United States (except those who are too young or
+feeble-minded) will be able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to
+come. Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn to do their
+own reading and thinking, we shall not fear anarchists and atheists and
+the many other fools who, under one name or another, are now trying to
+make this people discontented with their lot. There is no need for such
+people here, and no place for them; they have made a mistake in coming
+to this free land, as some of them found to their cost on the gallows
+at Chicago.
+
+6. _We have no war in our country, no famine, and with the exception of
+poor Jacksonville, Florida, no pestilence._ Famine we have never known,
+and with such an extent of country we have little need to dread such a
+scourge as that. No one need suffer for food in our country, and this
+is the only country in the world of which this can be said; for labor
+of some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap, plain kinds of
+food, that none but the utterly dissipated and worthless need starve;
+and in fact none do starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
+the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering not only, but
+actually provide them with a home, that for real comfort is not known
+elsewhere in the world.
+
+Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful proportions, but even
+then the alleviations furnished by the Christian Commission greatly
+relieved some of its most horrid features; and we are not likely to see
+war again, for there will be hereafter nothing to quarrel and fight
+about. Our political differences will never again lead to the taking up
+of arms in deadly strife.
+
+Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness which led the President
+of the United States to ask the people, by public proclamation, to turn
+aside for one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
+their counting-houses, to close the schools, and assemble in their
+places of worship and thank God, the giver of every good and perfect
+gift.
+
+But I don’t think the President of the United States knew what special
+reasons the Girard College boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
+shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some of them.
+
+1. This foundation is under the control of the Board of City
+Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the bulk of his great estate for this
+noble purpose, he gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
+Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia could act
+only through its legislative body, the select and common councils,
+bodies elected by the people, and consequently more or less under the
+influence of one or the other of the great political parties. Nearly
+twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr. William Welsh, who became
+the first President of the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of
+Pennsylvania took from the control of councils all the charitable
+trusts of the city and committed them to this board. If any political
+influences were ever unworthily exerted in the former board it ceased
+when the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges of the
+Supreme Court named the first directors of the City Trusts. These
+directors are all your friends; they give much thought, much labor,
+much anxiety to your well-being, desiring to do the best things that
+are possible to be done for your welfare, and to do them in the best
+way. Many of them have been successful in finding desirable situations
+for such of your number as were prepared to accept such places. I am
+glad to say that I have three college boys associated with me in my
+business; Mr. Stuart had two; Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner
+has two, and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other members of the
+board have also, so you see our interest in you is not limited to the
+time which we spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
+but we are ever on the lookout for things which we hope may be to your
+advantage.
+
+2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these beautiful buildings,
+which were erected for your use; these grounds, which are so well kept
+and which are so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
+that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine shall lack
+nothing that is desirable to make them what they ought to be; the
+text-books which you use in school, the best that can be found; the
+teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can be procured; the
+prefects and governesses chosen from among many applicants, and because
+they are supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who have
+to do with you here are chosen because they are supposed to be well
+qualified to discharge their duties most successfully. The arrangements
+for your lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of your
+tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick, are such as, in the
+judgment of the trustees, the great founder himself would approve if he
+could be consulted. Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
+on this Thanksgiving Day.
+
+3. _You all have a birthright._
+
+What that meant in the earliest times we do not fully know; but it
+meant at least to be the head or father of the family, a sort of
+domestic priesthood, the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great
+nation. In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son has by
+right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting the principal
+part of the property, and he is the representative of the estate. They
+call it there the _law of primogeniture_, or the law of the first-born.
+In our country there is no birthright in families, and we have no law
+to make the eldest born in any respect more favored than the other and
+younger children.
+
+But you Girard boys have a birthright which means a great deal. The
+founder of this great school left the bulk of his large estate to
+the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
+a certain class of boys, very particularly described, to which you
+belong. The provision he made for you was most liberal. Everything that
+his trustees consider necessary for your careful support and thorough
+education is to be provided. Nothing is to be wanting which money
+wisely expended can supply. _This is your birthright._ No earthly power
+can take it from you without your consent. No commercial distress, no
+financial panic, no change of political rulers, no combination of party
+politics can interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing but the
+loss of health or life, or your own misconduct, can deprive you of this
+great birthright. Do you boys fully appreciate this?
+
+Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here who is willing to
+_sell_ this birthright as Esau did?
+
+Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so profane and foul in
+speech, so vicious in character, so wicked in behavior, as to be an
+unfit companion for his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to
+remain among them? Is there a boy here who, for the gratification
+of a vicious appetite, will _sell_ that privilege of support and
+education so abundantly provided here? So guarded is this trust, so
+sacred almost, that no human being can take it away from you: will
+you deliberately _throw it away_? The wretched Esau, in the old
+Jewish history, under the pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his
+birthright with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no such
+temptation as tried him, with no temptation but the perverseness of
+your own will and your love of self-indulgence, will you _sell your
+birthright_? Bitterly did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
+to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he never did recover
+his lost birthright, though he sought it carefully and with tears. And
+he had no one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.
+
+Boys, if you pass through this college course not making the best use
+of your time, or if you allow yourselves to fall into such evil habits
+as will make it necessary to send you away from the college――and this
+after all the kind words that have been spoken to you and the faithful
+warnings that have been given you――you will lose that which can never
+be restored to you, which can never be made up to you in any other way
+elsewhere. You will prove yourselves more foolish, more wicked than
+Esau, for you will lose more than he did, and you will do it against
+kinder remonstrances than he had.
+
+4. There is another feature of the management here which gives especial
+satisfaction. When a boy leaves the college to go to a place which has
+been chosen for him, or which he has found by his own exertions, he
+is looked after until he reaches the age of twenty-one, by an officer
+especially appointed, and as we believe well adapted to that service.
+And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable circumstances and
+under hard task-masters, with people who have no sympathy with his
+youth and inexperience, many such have been visited and encouraged,
+helped and so assisted towards true success.
+
+5. But what is there to make each particular boy thankful to-day? Why
+you are all in good health; and if you would know how much that means
+go to the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are not able to
+be in the chapel to-day, not able to be in the play-grounds, who are
+looking out of the windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
+with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God bless them.
+
+You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who are less robust have
+warmer clothing, and all of you are shielded and guarded as well as the
+trustees know how to care for you, so that you may be trained to be
+strong men.
+
+You are all having a holiday; no school to-day; no shop-work to-day;
+no paying marks to-day; no punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
+Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable is put out of
+sight and ought to be put out of mind.
+
+You are all to have a good dinner. Even now, while we are here in the
+chapel and while some of you are growing impatient at my speech, think
+of the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think of the roast
+turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot potatoes, the gravy, the
+dressing, the mince pies, the apples afterwards, and all the other good
+things which make your mouths water, and make my mouth water even to
+mention the names. Then after dinner you go to your homes, and you have
+a good time there.
+
+The last thing I mention which you ought to be thankful for is having a
+short speech.
+
+
+
+
+               [Illustration: _Professor W. H. Allen._]
+
+
+
+
+                   ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.
+
+                          September 24, 1882.
+
+                  “_Remember how He spake unto you._”
+
+
+These are the words of an angel. They were spoken in the early morning
+while it was yet dark, to frightened and sorrowful women, who had
+gone to the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to embalm
+his body. These women fully expected to find the body of their Lord;
+for as they went they said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from
+the sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they found the stone was
+rolled away and the grave was empty. And one of them ran back to the
+disciples to tell them that the grave was open and the body gone. Those
+that remained went into the sepulchre and saw two men in glittering
+garments, who, seeing that the women were perplexed and afraid,
+standing with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a shade of
+reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is
+not here, he is risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
+hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember how he spake unto you when
+he was yet in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into
+the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise
+again.’”
+
+The words that are quoted as having been spoken by Jesus to his
+disciples were spoken in Galilee six months or more before this, and as
+they were not clearly understood at the time, it is not so very strange
+that they should have been forgotten.
+
+It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well as the other
+disciples of the Lord, had remembered other words, and all the words
+that the Lord spake to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all
+other places. The world would be better to-day if those gracious words
+had been more carefully laid to heart.
+
+I hope the words of my text will bear, without too much accommodation,
+the use which I shall make of them.
+
+Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was born in the family of
+a New England farmer. It was in the then territory of Maine, and near
+the little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor people, and
+the child grew up, as many other farmers’ children grew up, accustomed
+to plain living and such work as children could properly be set to
+do. In the winter he went to school, as well as at other times when
+the farm work was not pressing. It would be very interesting to know,
+if we _could_ know, whether there was anything peculiar in the early
+disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he grew up with nothing
+to distinguish him from his playmates. If we could only know what
+children would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I think, be
+very careful to observe and record any little traits and peculiarities
+of their early childhood. The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
+know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have been prepared at the
+academy for college, which he entered at the advanced age of twenty-one
+years. Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he set out to
+teach the classics in a little town in the interior of the State of New
+York. While engaged in that seminary, he was called to a professorship
+in Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of Pennsylvania.
+In Dickinson College he held successively the chairs of chemistry
+and the natural sciences, and that of English literature, until his
+resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of Girard College.
+
+From this time until his death, except during an interval of five
+years, his life was spent here. For twenty-seven years he gave himself
+to the work of organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
+college, with an interest and efficiency which, until within the last
+year, never flagged. It is not possible at this day for any of us to
+appreciate the difficulties he had to encounter in the early days of
+the college, but we do know that he did the work well.
+
+See how he was prepared for the work he did. He was a lover of study.
+When only eight years old he had learned the English grammar so well
+that his teacher said he could not teach him anything further in that
+study. There was an old family Bible that was very highly prized by all
+the family, and his father told him that if he would read that Bible
+through by the time he was ten years old, it should be his property.
+The boy did so, and claimed and received his reward. That book is now
+in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon). This early reading
+of the Bible will, perhaps, account for President Allen’s unusual
+familiarity with the Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his
+prayers in this school chapel.
+
+The school to which he went in his early youth was three miles from
+his father’s house; and in all kinds of weather, through the heats of
+summer and the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.
+
+I have said that his parents were not rich; and this young man pushed
+his way through college by teaching, thus earning the money necessary
+for his support. This may account for the fact that he entered college
+at the age when most young men are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years.
+It did not seem to him that it was a great misfortune to be poor; but
+it was an additional inducement to call forth all his powers to insure
+success. He knew that he must depend upon himself if he would succeed
+in life. And so he was not satisfied with qualifying himself for one
+chair in a college, but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three chairs.
+He could teach the classics or mathematics or general literature,
+or chemistry or natural sciences. Not many men had qualities so
+diversified, or knew so well how to put them to good account. You know
+very well that this liberal culture was not acquired without hard work.
+And this hard work he must have done in early life, before cares and
+duties crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older we grow.
+
+“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would give these words a two-fold
+meaning――remember _what_ he said and _how_ he said it.
+
+Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of any man, even if he
+has lived more than three-score years and ten. In all these years
+President Allen was going in and out before the college boys, saying
+good and kind words to them.
+
+How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was _your church_, and the
+only church that you could attend, except on holidays. His purpose was
+that this chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy of the
+day. So important did he consider it, that when his turn came to speak
+to you here, he prepared himself carefully. He always wrote his little
+discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and heart he put into
+them. He thought that nothing that he or any other speaker could bring
+was too good for you.
+
+And then the tones of his voice, the manner of his instruction; how
+gentle, kind, conciliating. He remembered the injunction of Scripture,
+“The servant of the Lord must not strive.” You will never know in this
+life how much he bore from you, how long he bore with your waywardness,
+your thoughtlessness; how much he loved you. He always called you “his
+boys.” No matter though some of you are almost men, he always called
+you “his boys,” much as the apostle John in his later years called his
+disciples his “little children.” For President Allen felt that in a
+certain sense he was a father to you all.
+
+For some time past you knew that his health was declining. You saw his
+bowed form and his feeble, hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice
+was tremulous and feeble. The boys on the back benches could not always
+understand his words distinctly. But you knew that he was in earnest in
+all that he did say. And for many months he was not able to speak at
+all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s Day he was seated in a chair,
+with some of his family about him, looking at the battalion boys as
+they were drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And as the
+summer advanced into August, and the people in his native State were
+gathering their harvests, he, too, was gathered, as a shock of corn
+fully ripe.
+
+When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old master, Arnold of Rugby,
+he was fishing in Scotland. It was read to him from a newspaper. He
+at once dropped everything and started for the old school. He was
+overwhelmed with distress. “When he reached the station he went at once
+to the school. At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a soul
+in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and sad; so with another
+effort he strode through the quadrangle, and into the school-house
+offices. He found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
+shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously about. She was
+evidently thinking of the same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin
+talking. Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting in his
+little den, as of old.
+
+“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’
+
+“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered Thomas. ‘You’d like to
+have the key, I dare say.’
+
+“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’
+
+“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go by yourself, sir?’”
+
+“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it, fancying himself the
+only mourner in all the broad land, and feeding on his own selfish
+sorrow.
+
+“He passed through the vestibule and then paused a moment to glance
+over the empty benches. His heart was still proud and high, and he
+walked up to the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form boy,
+and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The memories of eight
+years were all dancing through his brain, while his heart was throbbing
+with a dull sense of a great loss that could never be made up to him.
+The rays of the evening sun came solemnly through the painted windows
+over his head and fell in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the
+perfect stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to the pulpit and
+looked at it; and then leaning forward, with his head on his hands,
+groaned aloud. ‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
+minutes, have told him all that was in his heart, what he owed him,
+how he loved and reverenced him, and would, by God’s help, follow his
+steps in life and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
+But that he should have gone away forever, without knowing it all,
+was too much to bear.’ ‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’
+The thought made him start. ‘May he not even now be near me in this
+chapel?’”
+
+And with some such feelings as these I suppose many a boy will
+come back to the college and stand in this chapel, and recall the
+impressions he has received from President Allen here. But his voice
+will never be heard here again. Nothing remains but to “remember how he
+spake unto you.”
+
+I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in his coffin in the
+chapel, and you all looked on his face for the last time. What could
+be more impressive than the funeral? The crowded house, the waiting
+people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains of the organ, the sweet
+voices of children singing their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the
+appropriate address given by one of his own college boys, the thousand
+and more boys standing in open ranks for the procession to pass through
+to the college gates, the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many
+of his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow him in the
+coming years――all these thoughts make that funeral day one long to be
+remembered.
+
+Let us accept this as the will of Providence. There is nothing to
+regret for him; but for us, the void left by his withdrawal. He is
+leading a better life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
+and the best words I can say to you are, “remember how he spake unto
+you.”
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+    “But when the warrior dieth,
+      His comrades in the war
+    With arms reversed and muffled drums
+      Follow the funeral car.
+    They show the banners taken,
+      They tell his battles won,
+    And after him lead his masterless steed,
+      While peals the minute gun.
+
+    “Amid the noblest of the land
+      Men lay the _sage_ to rest,
+    And give the _bard_ an honored place,
+      With costly marble drest,
+    In the great Minster transept
+      Where lights like glories fall,
+    And the choir sings and the organ rings
+      Along the emblazoned wall.”
+
+
+
+
+                    A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.
+
+                           December 7, 1884.
+
+
+When I came here in April last I brought with me some friends, among
+whom was my son. And I said to him that some day I should wish _him_ to
+speak to you. He had so recently been a college boy himself, graduating
+at the University of Pennsylvania, and he was so fond of the games
+and plays of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys and
+young men, that I thought he might be able to say something that would
+interest you, and perhaps do you good.
+
+At a recent meeting of the proper committee his name was added to the
+list of persons who may be invited to speak to you. The last time I was
+at the college President Fetterolf asked me when my son could come to
+address you, and I replied that he was sick.
+
+That sickness was far more serious than any of us supposed; there was
+no favorable change, and at the end of twelve days he passed away.
+
+My suggestion that he might be invited to speak here led him to
+prepare a short address, which was found among his papers, and has,
+within a few days, been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
+apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final revision, which in
+copying for delivery he would have given it.
+
+I have thought it would be well for me to read to you this address; but
+I did not feel that I had any right to revise it, or to make any change
+in it whatever; so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding only a
+word here and there which was omitted in the hurried writing.
+
+    He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that
+    ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.――Proverbs xvi.
+    32.
+
+I want you to look with me at the latter part of each of these
+sentences, and see if we can’t understand a little better what Solomon
+meant by such words “_the mighty_” and “_he that taketh a city_.”
+
+Do you remember the wonderful dream that came to Solomon just after
+he had been made king over Israel? How God came to him while he was
+sleeping and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,” and how
+Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for wisdom. And God gave him
+wisdom, so that he became famous far and wide, and people from nations
+far off came to see him and learn of him.
+
+If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man that ever lived, you
+would say “Solomon.” Often you have heard one person say of another,
+“he is as wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of the way
+in which Solomon showed this wonderful gift. But his knowledge was
+not that of books, because there were not a great many books then for
+him to read. It was the knowledge which showed him how to do _right_,
+and how to be a _good ruler_ over his people. And because he chose
+such wisdom, the very best gift of God, God gave him besides, riches
+and everything that he could possibly desire. His horses and chariots
+were the most beautiful and the strongest; his armies were famous
+everywhere for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast numbers of
+servants to wait upon him, and to do his slightest wish. Presents, most
+magnificent, were sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
+about him. No king of Israel before or after him was so great and so
+powerful. And, greatest honor of all, God permitted him to build a
+temple for him――what his father David had so longed to do and was not
+allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s greatest desire before
+he died was to build a house for God. The ark of God had never had
+a house to rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
+palace to live in himself, and to have nothing but a _tent_ in which
+to keep God’s ark. But God would not suffer him to do that, although
+he was the king whom he loved so much. No, that must be kept for his
+son Solomon to do. David had been too great a fighter all his life; he
+had been at war; he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
+made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their foes. So David was
+a “mighty man,” and while Solomon was growing up he must have heard
+every one talking of the wonderful things his father had done from his
+youth up――the adventures he had had when he was only a poor shepherd
+lad keeping his flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
+must he have been told that splendid story, which we never grow tired
+of hearing, of his fight with the giant Goliath; and when he was shown
+the huge pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he surely knew
+what it was for a man to be “mighty” and “great.” And when his old
+father withdrew from the throne and made him king, he found himself
+surrounded on all sides with the results of his father’s wars and
+conquests, and soon knew that he also was “a mighty man.”
+
+There is not a boy here who does not want to be “great.” Every one
+of you wants to make a name for himself, or have something, or do
+something, that will be remembered long after he is dead.
+
+If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose almost all of you
+would say, “I want to be rich, so rich that I can do whatever I like;
+that I need not do any work; that I can go where I please.” Some of
+you would say, “I would travel all over the world and write about what
+I see, so that long after I am dead people will read my books and say,
+‘what a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I would build great
+houses, and fill them with all the richest and most beautiful goods. I
+would have whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
+bringing back wonderful things from strange countries; and when I would
+meet people in the street they would stand aside to let me pass, saying
+to one another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest merchant;
+how I should like to be as great as he.’”
+
+And still another would say: “I don’t care anything about books or
+beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll go into foreign countries and become a
+great fighter, and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
+shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of great armies,
+and when I come home again the people will give me a grand reception;
+will make arches across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
+and as I ride along the street the air will be filled with cheers for
+the great general.”
+
+And so each one of you would tell me of some way in which he would like
+to be great. I should think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
+one who would be entirely content to just get along somehow, and never
+care for any great success so long as he had enough to eat and drink
+and to clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead to set
+his mind on obtaining some great object. It is perfectly right and
+proper to be ambitious, to try and make as much as possible of every
+opportunity that is presented. No one can read that parable of the
+master who called his servants to account for the talents he had given
+them, and not see that God gives us all the blessings and advantages
+that we have, in order that we may have an opportunity to put them to
+such good use, that He may say to us as the master in the parable said
+to his servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
+
+So it is right for you to want to be great, and I want to try and tell
+you how to accomplish it. If you were sure that I could tell you the
+real secret of success you would listen very carefully to what I had
+to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even write down what I said.
+Then write _this_ down in your hearts; for, following this, you will
+be greater than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is better than
+the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.”
+Are some of you disappointed? do you say, “_Is that all?_ I thought he
+was about to tell us how we could make lots of money.” Ah, if you would
+only believe it, and follow such advice, such a plan were to be far
+richer than the man who can count his wealth by millions. But look at
+it in another way. What sort of a boy do you choose for the captain of
+a base-ball nine or a foot-ball team? What sort of a _man_ is chosen
+for a high position? Is he one who loses all control over himself when
+something happens to vex him, and flies into a terrible passion when
+some one happens to oppose him? No; the one you would select for any
+place of great responsibility is he who can keep his head clear, who
+will not permit himself to get angry at any little vexation, who rules
+his own spirit――and can there be anything harder to do? I tell you “no.”
+
+So, I have told you how to be successful, and at the same time I tell
+you, there is nothing harder to do; and now I go on still further, and
+say you can’t follow such advice by yourself, you must have some help.
+Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you freely; you are urged to
+ask for it, and you are assured that it is certain to come to all who
+want it. Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient, for
+He who shall help you is abundantly able to give you more than you ask
+or think. It is God who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
+you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which taketh the city;
+yes, for the greatness he shall bestow upon those who come to him is
+far above all earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you are
+ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift your hand to strike,
+when you would _kill_ if you were not afraid; but when the wish is in
+your heart, yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks upon you
+in divine mercy, and if you will only let him, will rebuke the foul
+spirit and command him to come out of you, and your whole soul shall
+be filled with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading voice, and
+let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger? And when the hot words fly
+to your lips, remember his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then
+will you have won a greater battle than any ever fought; for you will
+have conquered your own wicked spirit, and by God’s grace you are a
+conqueror. And the reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
+crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept _such_ greatness?
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such are the words he would have spoken to you had his life been
+spared; and he would have spoken them with the great advantage of a
+_young man_ speaking to _young men_. Now they seem like a message
+from the heavenly world. It is more than probable that in copying for
+delivery he would have expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
+little address more complete. Perhaps it would be better for me to stop
+here; ... but there are a few words which I would like to say, and it
+may be that they can be better said now than at any other time.
+
+I want to say again, what I have so often said, that a boy may be fond
+of all innocent games and plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you
+may doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion interferes with
+amusements and makes life gloomy. Here is an example of the contrary;
+for I do not see how there _could_ be a happier life than my son’s
+(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one could be more fond of
+base-ball and foot-ball and cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he
+was a simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And with all this
+love of innocent pleasure and fun he neglected no business obligations,
+nor did he fail in any of the duties of social or family life. In
+short, I can wish no better thing for you boys than that your lives may
+be as happy and as beautiful as his was.
+
+
+
+
+                         A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.
+
+                             April, 1889.
+
+
+Can anything be more important to a young life than truthfulness? Is
+character worth anything at all if it is not founded on truth? And are
+not the temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly in
+your path?
+
+It is most interesting to think that every life here is an individual
+life, having its own history, and in many respects unlike every other
+life. When I see you passing through these grounds, going in procession
+to and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and your play-grounds,
+the question often arises in my thoughts, how many of these boys are
+walking in the truth?
+
+If I were looking for a boy to fill any position within my gift, or
+within the reach of my influence, and should seek such a boy among
+you, I should ask most carefully of those who know you best, whether
+such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech merely (that is,
+does he answer questions truthfully), but is he open and frank in his
+life? Does he cheat in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any
+duty that is required of him in the shops? When he fails to recite his
+lessons accurately, is he very ready with his excuses trying to justify
+himself for his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not do
+his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better in the future?
+And is he one who may be depended upon to give a fair account of any
+incident that may come up for investigation? Sometimes there are wrong
+things done here, done from thoughtlessness often; may such a boy as
+I am looking for be depended upon to say what he knows about it, in a
+manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if necessary, expose the
+guilty? In other words, is he trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be
+depended on?
+
+It may not be easy for one at my time of life to say just what a boy
+ought to be, if he is to make much of a man. But we who think much
+of this subject have an idea of what we would like the boys to be,
+in whom we are especially interested. And if I borrow from another
+a description of what I mean, it is because this author has said it
+better than I can.
+
+“A real boy should be generous, courteous among his friends and among
+his school-fellows; respectful to his superiors, well-mannered. He
+must avoid loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue and his
+temper; must listen to advice and reproof with humility. He must be a
+gentleman. He must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither cringe
+to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak. To his teachers he must be
+obedient, for they have a right to require obedience of him; he must
+be respectful, because the true gentleman always respects those who
+are wiser, more experienced, better informed than himself. He must
+apply himself to his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge for
+its own sake, and earnestly striving to make the best possible use of
+such faculties as God has given him. He must do his best to store his
+mind with high thoughts by a careful study of all that is beautiful
+and pure. In his sports and plays he must seek to excel, if excellence
+can be obtained by a moderate amount of time and energy; but he must
+remember, that though it is a fine thing to have a healthy body and
+a healthy mind, it is neither necessary nor admirable to develop a
+muscular system like that of an athlete or a giant. Whatever falls to
+his hands to do, he must do it with his might, assured that God loves
+not the idle or dishonest worker. He must remember that life has its
+duties and responsibilities as well as its pleasures; that these begin
+in boyhood, and that they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
+mind and soul. He must train himself in all good habits, in order that
+these may accompany him easily in later life; in habits of method and
+order, of industry and perseverance and patience. He must not forget
+that every victory over himself smooths the way for future victories
+of the same kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue is to set
+us on higher and better ground for conquests of principle in all time
+to come. He must resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
+word and every improper suggestion, every profane utterance; guarding
+himself against the first approaches of sin, which are always the most
+insidiously made. He must not think it a brave or plucky thing to
+break wholesome rules, to defy authority, to ridicule age or poverty
+or feebleness, to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to throw
+away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities. He must love
+truth with a deep and passionate love, abhorring even the shadow of a
+lie, even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word, true in deed,
+he shall walk in the truth.”
+
+I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest and diligent; be
+resolute to live a pure and honorable life; speak the truth like boys
+who hope to be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good to be
+merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons, be affectionate brothers,
+be loyal-hearted friends, and when you come to be men you will look
+back to these boyish days without regret and without shame.
+
+Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I am very desirous that your
+future shall be bright and useful and successful, and I, and others who
+are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear nothing but good of
+you; but we can have no greater joy than to hear that you are walking
+in the truth. Some of you may become rich men; some may become very
+prominent in public affairs; you may reach high places; you may fill
+a large space in the public estimation; you may be able and brilliant
+men; but there is nothing in your life that will give us so much joy as
+to hear that “you are walking in the truth.”
+
+Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and without it character
+is absolutely worthless. No gentleness of disposition, no willingness
+to help other people, no habits of industry, no freedom from vicious
+practices, can make up for want of truthfulness of heart and life.
+Some persons think that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
+for the good of others, and do many generous and noble acts and have
+a good reputation, they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
+blamed. But they forget that reputation is not character; that one may
+have a very good reputation and a very bad character; they forget that
+the reputation is the outside, what we see of each other, while the
+character is what we are in the heart.
+
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+ ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
+
+ ――Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
+   corrected.
+
+ ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
+
+ ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69531 ***
diff --git a/69531-h/69531-h.htm b/69531-h/69531-h.htm
index 5d4b996..e3ac908 100644
--- a/69531-h/69531-h.htm
+++ b/69531-h/69531-h.htm
@@ -1,6684 +1,6227 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html>
-<html lang="en">
-<head>
-    <meta charset="UTF-8">
-
-    <title>
-      Advice To Young Men and Boys, by B. B. Comegys—A Project Gutenberg eBook
-    </title>
-
-    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
-
-    <style>
-
-/* DACSoft styles */
-
-body {
-    margin-left: 10%;
-    margin-right: 10%;
-}
-
-/* General headers */
-h1 {
-    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-/* Chapter headers */
-h2 {
-    text-align: center;
-    font-weight: bold;
-    margin: .75em 0;
-}
-
-div.chapter {
-    page-break-before: always;
-}
-
-.nobreak {
-    page-break-before: avoid;
-}
-
-/* Indented paragraph */
-p {
-    margin-top: .51em;
-    margin-bottom: .49em;
-    text-align: justify;
-    text-indent: 1em;
-}
-
-/* Unindented paragraph */
-.noi {text-indent: 0em;}
-
-/* Centered unindented paragraph */
-.noic {
-    text-indent: 0em;
-    text-align: center;
-}
-
-/* Drop caps */
-p.cap {text-indent: 0em;}
-
-p.cap:first-letter {
-    float: left;
-    padding-right: 3px;
-    font-size: 250%;
-    line-height: 83%;
-}
-
-/* Non-standard paragraph margins */
-.p2 {margin-top: 2em;}
-
-.padl4 {
-    padding-left: 4em;
-}
-
-.padl6 {
-    padding-left: 6em;
-}
-
-.padr6 {
-    padding-right: 6em;
-}
-
-/* Horizontal rules */
-hr {
-    width: 33%;
-    margin-top: 2em;
-    margin-bottom: 2em;
-    margin-left: 33.5%;
-    margin-right: 33.5%;
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-hr.tb {
-    width: 35%;
-    margin-top: 1em;
-    margin-bottom: 1em;
-    margin-left: 32.5%;
-    margin-right: 32.5%;
-}
-
-hr.chap {
-    width: 65%;
-    margin-left: 17.5%;
-    margin-right: 17.5%;
-}
-
-hr.r15 {
-    width: 15%;
-    margin-left: 42.5%;
-    margin-right: 42.55%;
-    margin-top: 1em;
-    margin-bottom: 1em;
-}
-
-hr.r30 {
-    width: 30%;
-    margin-left: 35%;
-    margin-right: 35%;
-    margin-top: 1em;
-    margin-bottom: 1em;
-}
-
-/* Lists */
-ol {list-style-position: inside;}
-
-li {
-    text-indent: 0em;
-    padding-left: 0em;
-}
-
-/* Tables */
-table {
-    margin-left: auto;
-    margin-right: auto;
-}
-
-td {
-    padding: 5px;
-}
-
-/* Table cell alignments */
-.tdl {
-    text-align: left;
-}
-
-.tdcb {
-    text-align: center;
-    vertical-align: bottom;
-}
-
-.tdrb {
-    text-align: right;
-    vertical-align: bottom;
-}
-
-/* Physical book page and line numbers */
-.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
-    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
-    position: absolute;
-    right: 3%;
-/*    left: 92%;  */
-    font-size: x-small;
-    font-style: normal;
-    font-weight: normal;
-    font-variant: normal;
-    text-align: right;
-    color: gray;
-} /* page numbers */
-
-/* Blockquotes */
-.blockquot {
-    font-size: 90%;
-    margin-top: 1em;
-    margin-left: 10%;
-    margin-right: 10%;
-    margin-bottom: 1em;
-}
-
-/* Text appearance */
-.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
-
-.allsmcap {
-        text-transform: lowercase;
-        font-variant: small-caps;
-}
-
-/* Small fonts and lowercase small-caps */
-.smfont {
-    font-size: .8em;
-}
-
-/* Illustration caption */
-.caption  {
-    font-size: .75em;
-    font-weight: bold;
-}
-
-/* Images */
-img {
-    max-width: 100%; /* no image to be wider than screen or containing div */
-    height:auto;     /* keep height in proportion to width */
-}
-
-.figcenter   {
-    margin: auto;
-    text-align: center;
-    page-break-inside: avoid;
-    max-width: 90%; /* div no wider than screen, even when screen is narrow */
-}
-
-/* Footnotes and sidenotes */
-.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
-
-.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
-
-.fnanchor {
-    vertical-align: super;
-    font-size: .65em;
-    text-decoration: none;
-    white-space: nowrap;
-}
-
-/* Poetry */
-.poetry {
-    display: block;
-    text-align: left;
-    margin-left: 10%;
-    margin-right: 10%;
-}
-
-.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}
-
-.poetry .verse {
-    padding-left: 3em;
-    text-indent: -3em;
-}
-
-/* Poetry indents */
-.poetry .indent0 {padding-left: 3em;}
-.poetry .indent2 {padding-left: 4em;}
-
-/* Transcriber's notes */
-.tnote {
-    background-color: #E6E6FA;
-    margin-left: 10%;
-    margin-right: 10%;
-    padding: .5em;
-}
-
-.tntitle {
-    font-size: 1.25em;
-    font-weight: bold;
-    text-align: center;
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-/* Title page borders and content. */
-.halftitle {
-    font-size: 1.5em;
-    text-align: center;
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-.author {
-    font-size: 1.25em;
-    text-align: center;
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-.works {
-    font-size: .75em;
-    clear: both;
-}
-
-/* ebookmaker classes */
-.x-ebookmaker p.cap:first-letter {
-    float: left;
-    padding-right: 3px;
-    font-size: 250%;
-    line-height: 83%;
-}
-
-    </style>
-</head>
-
-<body>
-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Advice to young men and boys, by B. B. Comegys</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Advice to young men and boys</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A series of addresses delivered by B. B. Comegys to the pupils of Girard College</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: B. B. Comegys</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 12, 2022 [eBook #69531]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
-  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND BOYS ***</div>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" id="cover_sm">
-  <img src="images/cover_sm.jpg" alt="cover" title="cover">
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="noi author">ADVICE</p>
-
-<p class="noic works">TO</p>
-
-<p class="noi halftitle">YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis">
-  <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="noic"><i>Stephen Girard.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h1 class="nobreak"><small>ADVICE</small><br>
-<span class="works">TO</span><br>
-YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</h1>
-
-<p class="p2 noic"><i>A SERIES OF ADDRESSES</i></p>
-
-<p class="p2 noic">DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS<br>
-<span class="works">MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA</span></p>
-
-<p class="p2 noi author">TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE</p>
-
-<hr class="r30">
-
-<p class="noic works">ILLUSTRATED WITH</p>
-
-<p class="noic smcap">Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel</p>
-
-<hr class="r30">
-
-<p class="noic"><span class="allsmcap">PHILADELPHIA</span><br>
-GEBBIE &amp; CO., <span class="smcap">Publishers</span><br>
-1890</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="noic"><span class="padr6">Copyright by</span><br>
-<span class="smcap">Gebbie &amp; Co.</span>,<br>
-1889.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<p class="p2 cap">In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges
-of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
-to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which has
-charge of Girard College, having for some years previously,
-by the kind partiality of President Allen,
-been on the staff of speakers in the Chapel on Sundays.
-My interest in the Pupils was of course at
-once increased, and ever since I have given much
-time and thought to the moral instruction of the
-boys.</p>
-
-<p>From the many Addresses made to them I
-have selected the following as fair specimens of
-the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
-repetitions of thought and language may be accounted
-for by the lapse of time between the giving
-of the Addresses, not forgetting the well-known
-Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line—precept upon
-precept—here a little—there a little.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p>
-
-<p>The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr.
-Girard has been defined by the Supreme Court of
-Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.</p>
-
-<p>The book is published in the hope that it may
-be the means of helping some boys and young
-men other than those to whom the Addresses
-were made.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 noi works"><span class="padl4 smcap">4205 Walnut St.</span>,<br>
-<span class="padl6"><i>November, 1889.</i></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<table>
-<colgroup>
-  <col style="width: 80%;">
-  <col style="width: 15%;">
-  <col style="width: 5%;">
-</colgroup>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#GIRARD">Stephen Girard and his College.</a></span> (Introductory)</td>
-  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">9</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#SUCCESS">How to win Success</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LIFE">Life—Its Opportunities and Temptations</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">39</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#WELSH">On the Death of William Welsh</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#BAD">Bad Associates</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">59</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#GARFIELD">On the Death of President Garfield</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CASE">The Case of the Uneducated Employed</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">79</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#PENN">William Penn</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">99</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CONSTITUTION">Our Constitution</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">113</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CLAGHORN">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LEAF">The Leaf Turned Over</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">143</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#THANKSGIVING">Thanksgiving Day.</a></span> (November 29, 1888)</td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">155</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#ALLEN">On the Death of President Allen</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#MESSAGE">A Young Man’s Message to Boys</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">179</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#TRUTHFUL">A Truthful Character</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">188</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<table>
-<colgroup>
-  <col style="width: 80%;">
-  <col style="width: 15%;">
-  <col style="width: 5%;">
-</colgroup>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_frontis">Stephen Girard</a></td>
-  <td class="tdrb" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece.</i></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp025">B. B. Comegys</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp051">William Welsh</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp069">James A. Garfield</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp129">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp169">Professor W. H. Allen</a></td>
-  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
-  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="GIRARD">STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">INTRODUCTORY.</p>
-
-<div class="p2 footnote">
-
-<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and Character
-of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”</p>
-</div>
-
-
-<p class="p2">Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will
-“mariner and merchant,” was born near the city of
-Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age of
-twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his
-counting-house on Water street, above Market.
-He was a man of great industry and frugality, and
-lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day
-lived, in the dwelling of which his counting-house
-formed a part. He was married and had one child,
-but the death of his wife was followed soon by the
-death of his child, and he never married again. He
-lived to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what
-was considered at the time of his death a vast estate,
-more than seven millions of dollars. One hundred
-and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed
-to members of his family, sixty-five thousand
-as a principal sum for the payment of annuities
-to certain friends and former employés, one hundred
-and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span>
-five hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia
-for the improvement of its water front on the
-Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State of
-Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements,
-and an indefinite sum in various legacies to his
-apprentices, to sea-captains who should bring his vessels
-in their charge safely to port, and to his house
-servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in
-trust to the city of Philadelphia for the following
-purposes: (1) To erect, improve and maintain a
-college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish
-a better police system, and (3) to improve the city
-of Philadelphia and diminish taxation.</p>
-
-<p>The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart
-by his will for the construction of the college, and
-as soon as was practicable the executors appropriated
-certain securities for the purpose, the actual outlay
-for erection and finishing of the edifice being one
-million nine hundred and thirty-three thousand eight
-hundred and twenty-one dollars and seventy-eight
-cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced
-May 6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies
-on the Fourth of July following, and the
-completed buildings were transferred to the Board of
-Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There
-was thus occupied in construction a period of fourteen
-years and six months, the work being somewhat
-delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
-Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span>
-estate. The design adopted was substantially that
-furnished by Thomas U. Walters, an architect elected
-by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
-rendered advisable by the change of site directed in
-the second codicil of Girard’s will, the original purpose
-having been to occupy the square bounded by
-Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in
-the heart of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard
-having, subsequently to the first draft of his will,
-purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the William
-Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge
-Road, known as the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed
-that the site of his college should be transferred to
-that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
-dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which
-dwellings and stores form part of his residuary
-estate.</p>
-
-<p>The college proper closely resembles in design a
-Greek temple. It is built of marble, which was
-chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery and
-Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont,
-Massachusetts.</p>
-
-<p>The building is three stories in height, the first
-and second being twenty-five feet from floor to floor,
-and the third thirty feet in the clear to the eye of
-the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
-and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width
-and thirty-two in height. The walls of the cella
-are four feet in thickness, and are pierced on each<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>
-flank by twenty windows. At each end of the
-building is a vestibule, extending across the whole
-width of the cella, the ceilings of which are supported
-on each floor by eight columns, whose shafts
-are composed of a single stone. Those on the first
-floor are Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at
-Athens; on the second, a modified Corinthian, after
-the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at Athens;
-and on the third, a similar modification of the
-Corinthian, somewhat lighter and more ornate.</p>
-
-<p>The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white
-marble, dormitories, offices and laundries. A new
-refectory, containing improved ranges and steam
-cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
-of which will seat with ease more than one
-thousand persons. Two bathing-pools are in the
-western portion of the grounds, and others in basements
-of buildings. The houses are heated by steam
-and lighted by gas obtained from the city works.
-Thirty-five electric lights from seven towers one hundred
-and twenty-five feet high illuminate the grounds
-and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches
-in thickness and ten feet in height, strengthened by
-spur piers on the inside and capped with marble coping,
-surrounds the whole estate, its length being six thousand
-eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
-more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced
-on the southern side, immediately facing the south
-front of the main building, for the chief entrance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span>
-this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
-lodges, between which stretches an ornamental
-wrought-iron grille, with wrought-iron gates, the
-whole forming an approach in keeping with the large
-simplicity of the college itself.</p>
-
-<p>The site upon which the college is erected corresponds
-well with its splendor and importance. It
-is elevated considerably above the general level of the
-surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous object,
-not only from the higher windows and roofs in every
-part of Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river
-many miles below the city and from eminences far
-out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
-view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the
-city and its environs for many miles around and the
-course, to their confluence, eight miles below, of the
-Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.</p>
-
-<p>The history of the institution commences shortly
-after the decease of Girard, when the Councils of
-Philadelphia, acting as his trustees, elected a Board
-of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
-1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A
-Building Committee was also appointed by the City
-Councils on the 21st of the following March, in whom
-was vested the immediate supervision of the construction
-of the college, an office in which they continued
-without intermission until the final completion
-of the structure.</p>
-
-<p>On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span>
-previously been authorized by the Councils so to
-do, proceeded to elect Alexander Dallas Bache president
-of the college, and instructed him to visit
-various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase
-the necessary books and apparatus for the school,
-both of which he did, making an exhaustive report
-upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
-establish schools without awaiting the completion of
-the main building, but competent legal advice being
-unfavorable to the organization of the institution
-prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and difficulties
-having meanwhile arisen between the Councils
-and the Board of Directors, the ordinances
-creating the board and authorizing the election of
-the president were repealed.</p>
-
-<p>In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to
-whom the building was transferred, and on December
-15, 1847, the officers of the institution were elected,
-the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
-Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being
-chosen as president. On January 1, 1848, the college
-was opened with a class of one hundred orphans,
-previously admitted, the occasion being signalized by
-appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same
-year one hundred more were admitted, and on April
-1, 1849, an additional one hundred, since when
-others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred
-or to swell the number as facilities have increased.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>
-The college now (1889) contains thirteen
-hundred and seventy-five pupils.</p>
-
-<p>On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office
-of president of the college, and on the 23d of the
-following November William H. Allen, LL. D., Professor
-of Mental Philosophy and English Literature
-in Dickinson College, was elected to fill the vacancy.
-He was installed January 1, 1850, but resigned December
-1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith,
-of the United States army, was chosen to fill his
-place. Major Smith was inaugurated June 24, 1863,
-and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen being
-immediately re-elected and continuing in office until
-his death, on the 29th of August, 1882.</p>
-
-<p>The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D.,
-LL. D., was elected December 27, 1882, by the
-Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed of
-fifteen members, three of whom—the Mayor and the
-Presidents of Councils—are <i lang="la">ex officio</i>, and twelve are
-appointed by the Judges of the Court of Common
-Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second Wednesday
-of each month.</p>
-
-<p>It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania
-that any child having lost its father is properly
-denominated an orphan, irrespective of whether the
-mother be living or not. This construction has been
-adopted by the college, the requirements for admission
-to the institution being prescribed by Mr.
-Girard’s will as follows: (1) The orphan must be a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>
-poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
-application for admission being received before the
-former age, nor can he be admitted into the college
-after passing his tenth birthday, even though the
-application has been made previously; (2) the
-mother or next friend is required to produce the
-marriage certificate of the child’s parents (or, in its
-absence, some other satisfactory evidence of such
-marriage), and also the certificate of the physician
-setting forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form
-of application looking to the establishment of the
-child’s identity, physical condition, morals, previous
-education and means of support, must be filled in,
-signed and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications
-are made at the office, No. 19 South
-Twelfth street, Philadelphia.</p>
-
-<p>A preference is given under Girard’s will to (<i>a</i>)
-orphans born in the city of Philadelphia; (<i>b</i>) those
-born in any other part of Pennsylvania; (<i>c</i>) those
-born in the city of New York; (<i>d</i>) those born in the
-city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans
-born in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be
-strictly limited to the old city proper, the districts
-subsequently consolidated into the city having no
-rights in this respect over any other portion of the
-State.</p>
-
-<p>Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly
-according to priority of application, the mother or
-next friend executing an indenture binding the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>
-orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee under
-Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided
-for by the college. The seventh item of the
-will reads as follows:</p>
-
-<p>“The orphans admitted into the college shall be
-there fed with plain but wholesome food, clothed with
-plain but decent apparel (no distinctive dress ever to
-be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe manner.
-Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this
-end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean,
-and they shall have suitable and rational exercise
-and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
-various branches of a sound education, comprehending
-reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography,
-navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy,
-natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
-the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid,
-but I do not recommend the Greek and Latin languages),
-and such other learning and science as the
-capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
-I would have them taught facts and things,
-rather than words or signs. And especially, I desire,
-that by every proper means a pure attachment to our
-republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of
-conscience, as guaranteed by our happy constitutions,
-shall be formed and fostered in the minds of the
-scholars.”</p>
-
-<p>Although the orphans reside permanently in the
-college, they are, at stated times, allowed to visit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>
-their friends at their houses and to receive visits
-from their friends at the college. The household
-is under the care of a matron, an assistant
-matron, prefects and governesses, who superintend
-the moral and social training of the orphans and
-administer the discipline of the institution when the
-scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are
-divided into sections, for the purposes of discipline,
-having distinct officers, buildings and playgrounds.</p>
-
-<p>The schools are taught chiefly in the main college
-building, five professors and forty eight teachers being
-employed in the duties of instruction; and the course
-comprises a thorough English commercial education,
-to which has been latterly added special schools of
-technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a
-large proportion of the orphans admitted into the college
-have had little or no preparatory education, the
-instruction commences with the alphabet.</p>
-
-<p>The order of daily exercises is as follows: the
-pupils rise at six o’clock; take breakfast at half-past
-six. Recreation until half-past seven; then assemble
-in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to the
-chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel
-exercises consist of singing a hymn, reading a chapter
-from the Old or New Testament, and prayer, after
-the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the
-various school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess
-of fifteen minutes, until twelve. From twelve
-until the dinner-hour, which is half-past twelve, they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span>
-are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
-that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour,
-when they resume the school exercises, remaining
-without intermission until four o’clock. At four
-the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
-which they are on the play-ground until six, at which
-hour supper is served. The evening study hour lasts
-from seven to eight, or half-past eight, varying with
-the age of the pupils, the same difference being observed
-in their bedtimes, which are from half-past
-seven for the youngest until a quarter before nine for
-the older boys.</p>
-
-<p>On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section
-rooms at nine o’clock in the morning and at two in
-the afternoon for reading and religious instruction,
-and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at
-three in the afternoon they attend divine worship in
-the chapel. Here the exercises are similar to those
-held on week days, with the important addition of an
-appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
-of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether
-on Sundays or on week days, are invariably conducted
-by the president or other layman, the will of
-the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of
-any denomination whatsoever within the boundaries
-of the institution.</p>
-
-<p>The discipline of the college is administered
-through admonition, deprivation of recreation, and
-seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal punishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span>
-may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
-presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes
-an unfit companion for the rest, the Will says
-he shall not be permitted to remain in the college.</p>
-
-<p>The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing
-and educating each pupil, including current repairs
-to buildings and furniture and the maintenance
-of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between
-the age of fourteen and eighteen years the
-scholars may be indentured by the institution, on behalf
-of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some “art,
-trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
-as far as is judicious, the inclination and
-preference of the scholar. The master to whom an
-apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with sufficient
-meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at
-his own place of residence (unless otherwise agreed
-to by the parties to the indenture and so indorsed
-upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach and instruct
-the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,”
-and at the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish
-him with at least two complete suits of clothes, one
-of which shall be new. Should, however, a scholar
-not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave
-the college upon attaining the age of eighteen years.
-In case of death his friends have the privilege of
-removing his body for interment, otherwise his remains
-are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
-Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p>
-
-<p>Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are
-allowed to visit the college on the afternoon of every
-week day. Permits can be obtained from the Mayor
-of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at the
-office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South
-Twelfth street, Philadelphia, or at the office of the
-<cite>Public Ledger</cite> newspaper. Especial courtesy is shown
-all foreign visitors, and particularly those interested
-in educational matters.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<p>In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by
-influenza, which was then epidemic in the city. The
-violence of the disease greatly prostrated him, and,
-pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent
-that he could not live. He had no fear of death.
-About a month before this attack he had said:
-“When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
-unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going
-to die to-morrow I should plant a tree, nevertheless,
-to-day.”</p>
-
-<p>He died in the back room of his Water street
-mansion on December 26th, aged eighty-one years (or
-nearly), and four days after he was buried in the
-churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and
-Spruce streets.</p>
-
-<p>For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed
-where they had been laid in the churchyard of the
-Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard College having
-been completed, it was resolved that the remains<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span>
-of the donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus
-provided in its vestibule. This was done
-with appropriate ceremonies on September 30, 1851.</p>
-
-<p>Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this
-attained, the longing of mankind to leave a shining
-memory merged his purpose in the establishment of
-what was to him that fairest of Utopias—the simple
-tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties
-ended not with the State, and whose benefactions
-were not limited to the rescue or advancement of its
-interests alone, but whose charities broadened beyond
-the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual
-life, to stretch over long reaches of the
-future, enriching thousands of poor children in his
-beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why
-he worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed
-object of his labor in acquisition. While he was
-forward with an apparent disregard of self, to expose
-his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
-to aid the internal improvements of the country, and
-to promote its commercial prosperity by all the means
-within his power, he yet had more ambitious designs.
-He wished to hand himself down to immortality by
-the only mode that was practicable for a man in
-his position, and he accomplished precisely that
-which was the grand aim of his life. He wrote his
-epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks
-and squares which adorn the streets of his adopted
-city, in the public works and eleemosynary establishments<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>
-of his adopted State, and erected his own
-monument and embodied his own principles in a
-marble-roofed palace. Yet, splendid as is the structure
-which stands above his remains, the most perfect
-model of architecture in the New World, it yields
-in beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor
-sleeps among the orphan poor whom his bounty is
-constantly educating.</p>
-
-<p>“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily
-stretches forth his invisible hands to lead some
-friendless child from ignorance to usefulness. And
-when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
-made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed
-and educated, and many men made useful to their
-country and themselves, each happy home or rescued
-child or useful citizen will be a living monument
-to perpetuate the name and embalm the memory of
-the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”</p>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p>
-
-<p class="noic">BOARD OF DIRECTORS</p>
-
-<p class="noic works">OF</p>
-
-<p class="noi author">CITY TRUSTS,</p>
-
-<p class="noic">1889.</p>
-
-<hr class="r15">
-
-<p class="noic">W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, <i>President,<br>
-Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees</i>.</p>
-
-<p class="noic">LOUIS WAGNER, <i>Vice-President</i>.</p>
-
-<p class="noic">ALEXANDER BIDDLE,<br>
-JAMES CAMPBELL,<br>
-JOSEPH L. CAVEN,<br>
-BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,<br>
-JOHN H. CONVERSE,<br>
-WILLIAM L. ELKINS,<br>
-WILLIAM B. MANN,<br>
-JOHN H. MICHENER,<br>
-GEORGE H. STUART,<br>
-RICHARD VAUX.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 noic works">MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”</p>
-
-<p class="noic">EDWIN H. FITLER, <i>Mayor</i>.<br>
-JAMES R. GATES, <i>President Select Council</i>.<br>
-WILLIAM M. SMITH, <i>President Common Council</i>.</p>
-
-<hr class="r15">
-
-<p>F. CARROLL BREWSTER, <i>Solicitor</i>.<br>
-<span class="padl4">FRANK M. HIGHLEY, <i>Secretary</i>.</span><br>
-<span class="padl6">JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., <i>Supt. Admission and Indentures</i>.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp025">
-  <img src="images/i_fp025.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="noic"><i>B. B. Comegys.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="SUCCESS">HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">May 27, 1888.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the
-plainest duties of life—of what you must be, of what
-you must do, if you would be good men and succeed.</p>
-
-<p>It would be strange if one who has lived as long
-as I have should not have learned something worth
-knowing and worth telling to those who are younger
-and less experienced. I have had much to do with
-young people here and elsewhere, and I have seen
-many failures, much disappointment, many wrecks
-of character, and have learned many things; and I
-speak to you to-day in the hope that I may say such
-things as will help some boy, at least one, to determine,
-while he is here this morning, to do the best he
-can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
-are particularly appropriate to those just about
-to leave the college.</p>
-
-<p>It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject—</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<ol>
-<li>As to health.</li>
-<li>As to improvement of the mind.</li>
-<li>As to business or work of any kind.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></li>
-<li>As to your duties to other people.</li>
-<li>As to your duty to God.</li>
-</ol>
-</div>
-
-<p>As to health. You cannot be happy without
-good health, and you cannot expect to have good
-health unless you observe certain conditions. You
-must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that
-is within reach, or by other simple methods (such as
-a common brush) which are always within your
-reach. Be as much in the open air as possible. This
-is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and
-sedentary, such as that of a clerk in any shop or office.
-Pure, fresh air is Nature’s own provision for
-the well-being of all her creatures, and is the best of
-all tonics.</p>
-
-<p>Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat
-food that is too highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t
-be afraid of fruit in season and when it is ripe. But
-don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
-apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food
-provided here, accounts for the extraordinarily good
-health which almost all of you enjoy.</p>
-
-<p>Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating
-drinks. And the only way to be absolutely safe is
-not to drink even a little, or once in a while. Don’t
-drink at all.</p>
-
-<p>Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not
-later than eleven o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A
-young fellow who goes to work at seven o’clock in
-the morning can’t afford to keep late hours. Young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span>
-people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot
-safely disregard this hint. Late hours are
-always more or less injurious, especially when you are
-away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
-temptations of the streets and at the theatres.</p>
-
-<p>As to public entertainments or recreations in the
-evening, go to no place of seeing or hearing where
-you would not be willing to take your mother or
-sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely
-to be hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons,
-and gambling houses, or parties. You cannot be too
-careful about your recreations; let them be simple
-and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.</p>
-
-<p>Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing,
-or spitting, or swearing, or others that are injurious
-to yourselves or disagreeable to other people.
-All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
-clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at
-work—this is not always possible—but when going
-and coming to and from work.</p>
-
-<p>Always give place to women in the streets, in
-street-cars, or in other places. Do not rush into
-street-cars first to get seats. A true gentleman will
-wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit
-in street-cars, while women are standing, unless you
-are very, very tired. Here is a temptation before
-you every day almost in our city. Hardly anything
-is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars
-while women are standing and holding on to straps.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>
-And yet I see this every day. What is a boy good
-for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if he can
-give a woman or an old man a seat?</p>
-
-<p>If you are so favored as to have a few days or
-two weeks holiday in summer, go to the country or
-to the sea-shore, if your means will allow. The
-country air or sea air is better for you than almost
-any other change.</p>
-
-<p>Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well
-dressed—not, however, at your tailor’s expense. It is
-the duty of all to be well dressed, but don’t spend all
-your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
-on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for
-clothing when it is nearly or quite worn out. By all
-means keep out of debt, for your personal or family
-expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
-you can very soon repay your dealer the money you
-owe. The difference between ease and comfort, and
-distress, in money matters, is whether you spend a
-little more than you make, or a little less than you
-make. Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty
-sure to come, and you must lay up something for
-that day.</p>
-
-<p>Very much of the crime that is committed every
-day (and you cannot open a paper without seeing an
-account of some one who has gone wrong) is because
-people will live beyond their means; will spend more
-than they earn. They hope for an increase of pay,
-or that they will make money in some way or other,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>
-and then when that good time does not come, and as
-they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something,
-only borrowing it as they say, but they take it and
-spend it, or pay some pressing debt with it, and then,
-and then—they are caught, and sent to court, and
-tried and sent to—well, you know without my telling
-you.</p>
-
-<p>As to the mind.</p>
-
-<p>You have fine opportunities for education here, but
-they will soon be over, and if you leave this college
-without having a good knowledge of the practical
-branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
-Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will
-be at a great disadvantage with other boys who are
-well educated. I had a letter in my pocket a few days
-ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the Moyamensing
-Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar;
-and next to the horror of knowing he was in
-prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so ignorant of the
-very commonest branches of English education should
-have ever been within the walls of this college.</p>
-
-<p>I think I have told you before of a man who
-employs a large number of men, whose business
-amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
-in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and
-who a few years ago was robbed and almost ruined
-by his book-keeper, and who would now give half of
-what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>
-understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent
-upon other people to keep his accounts.</p>
-
-<p>As to books, be careful what you read. How it
-grieves me to see errand boys in street-cars, and sometimes
-as they walk in the streets, reading such stuff
-as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste
-of time, though that is bad enough, but a positive
-injury to the mind, filling it with the most improbable
-stories, and often, also, with that which is
-positively vicious. Read something better than this.
-Do not confine yourselves to newspapers, and do not
-read police reports. Attractive as this class of reading
-is, it is for the most part hurtful to the young
-mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good
-reading, magazines and periodicals; and books and
-books, good, bad, indifferent; and you will hardly
-know which to choose unless you ask others who are
-older than you, and who know books. Most boys
-read little but novels; and there are many thoroughly
-good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and historical.
-Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money;
-for you can get everything you want out of the
-public libraries; and this was not so, or at least to
-this extent, when I was a boy.</p>
-
-<p>As to work or business.</p>
-
-<p>Set out with the determination that you will be
-faithful in everything. Only last week a Girard boy
-called on me to help him get employment. I asked
-him some questions, and he told me that he had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span>
-out of the college five or six years, and had five or
-six situations. Do you think he had been faithful in
-anything? If he had been, he would not have lost
-place after place. When you get a place, and I hope
-every one of you will have a place provided for you
-before you leave here, be among the first to arrive
-in the morning, and be among the last to leave at
-the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination
-of base ball or anything else lead you to forget
-that your first duty is to your employer. Be quick
-to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself, “It is
-not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s
-place,” but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and
-let it be seen that you are ready for any work. And
-be very prompt to answer. Do whatever you are told.
-Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and
-say “good-morning” as if you meant it. In short,
-do not be slovenly in anything you have to do; be
-alive, and remember all the time that no labor is
-degrading.</p>
-
-<p>Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect,
-and your fellow-clerks or workers, whether
-superiors, inferiors or equals, with hearty good-will.</p>
-
-<p>Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if
-your employer do so, he will despise you for doing
-so. No matter if he is untruthful, he will respect
-you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge
-in or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does
-this, and you can be a real gentleman even if you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>
-are poor, for you will be educated. Make yourself
-indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
-possible, and it will almost certainly insure success.
-Be ambitious in the highest sense. Remember, that
-if not now, you will hereafter have others dependent
-upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
-for a boy to go out from this college with the determination
-to support his mother; and some that I know
-and you know are doing this, and many others will
-do it.</p>
-
-<p>I pause here to say that, so far, my words have
-been spoken as to your duties to the world, to yourselves.
-I have supposed that you boys would rather
-be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather
-own teams than drive them for other people, that
-you would rather be a contractor than carry the pick
-and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer
-than carry the hod, that you would rather be a
-house-builder than a shoveler of coal into the house-builder’s
-cellar. Is it not so?</p>
-
-<p>Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell
-you, and avoid everything I have warned you against,
-you cannot succeed in the best sense, you cannot become
-true men, such men as the city has a right to
-expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of
-God; for he holds all things in his hands. “The
-silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle upon a
-thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be
-against us?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p>
-
-<p>In these closing words, then, I would speak to you
-as to your duty to God.</p>
-
-<p>What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell
-you anything that you do not already know, so often
-have you been talked to about this subject. But
-nothing is so important for you to be reminded of,
-though I fear that to some of you hardly anything is
-so uninteresting. Naturally the heart is disinclined
-to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
-do without him, though many people think they
-can, or they act as if they thought so. Such people
-are not wise; they are very foolish.</p>
-
-<p>He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with
-infinite love and care, he has appointed the time for
-our departure from this life, and he has prepared a
-better life than this for those who love him here. We
-cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all
-things are in his hands. If you will think of it, some
-of the best men and women you know are believers
-in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
-you can do without him?</p>
-
-<p>Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship
-of those who love and fear God, both men and women.
-You are safe with such; you are not quite so
-sure of safety in the society of those who openly say
-they can do without God. When I speak of those
-who fear God, I do not mean merely professors of religion,
-not merely members of meeting or members
-of church, but I mean people who live such lives as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span>
-people ought to live, who fear God and keep his commandments.
-You know there are such, you have
-met with them, you will meet many more of them,
-and you will meet also those who call themselves
-Christians, but whose lives show that they have no
-true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists,
-mere professors.</p>
-
-<p>Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean,
-read it, a little of it at least, every day. You need
-not read much, it is well sometimes that you read
-but a little; but read it with a purpose—that is, to
-understand it. The literature of the Bible as you
-grow older will abundantly repay your careful and
-constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
-treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument
-of Horace Binney, Esq., in the Girard will case,
-I was surprised to see how familiar Mr. Binney was
-with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers
-that has ever lived in our own or any other
-country. Yet Mr. Binney thought it quite worth his
-while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
-it is worth your while also?</p>
-
-<p>Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not
-say what church it shall be. That must be left to
-yourselves to determine, and many circumstances
-will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
-some church, and, when you become more interested
-in the subject than you are now, join that church,
-whatever it may be, and so connect yourselves with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>
-people who believe in and love God. If there be a
-Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so
-learn to study the Scriptures systematically.</p>
-
-<p>Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every
-night and every morning and pray to God. You are
-not so likely to be ashamed if you have a room to
-yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this
-even if there are others in the room with you, as will
-be the case with many of you. This is a severe test, I
-know, but he who bears it faithfully will already
-have gained a victory.</p>
-
-<p>Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the
-twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke:
-“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s
-life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
-possesseth.”</p>
-
-<p>On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered
-here many men, a great company, who were
-trained in this college, and who, after graduation, went
-out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
-a most interesting time, not only for them but for
-the teachers and officers who have had charge of them.</p>
-
-<p>Some of them are successful men in the highest
-and best sense, and have made themselves a name
-and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
-clerks, mechanics, railroad men—men representing
-almost all kinds of business and occupations—came
-here in great numbers to celebrate the anniversary of
-the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span>
-a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more.
-I do not know their names; for many of them had
-left before I began to come here; but from certain
-expressions that fell from the lips of some of them
-I am persuaded that they, at least, are walking in
-the truth.</p>
-
-<p>It would be very interesting if we could know
-their thoughts, and see with what feelings they look
-back on their school-life. I wonder if any of them
-regret that they did not make a better use of their
-time while here. I wonder if any feel that they
-would like to become boys again and go to school
-over again, being sure that, with their present experience
-of life, they would set a higher value on the
-education of the schools. I wonder if any feel that
-they would have reached higher positions and secured
-a larger influence if they had been more diligent at
-school. I wonder if there are any who can trace
-evil habits of thought to the companions they had
-here. I wonder if any are aware of evil impressions
-which they made on their classmates and so
-cast a stain and a dark shadow on other young lives,
-stains never obliterated, shadows never wholly lifted.
-I wonder if there are any among them who regret
-that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God
-in their school-days was neglected, and who have
-never had so favorable an opportunity since. “If
-some who come back here on these commemoration
-days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>
-they would be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”</p>
-
-<p>I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger
-boys, to give most earnest attention to the duties
-which lie before you every day. You will not misunderstand
-me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose
-that I would interfere in the least degree with the
-pleasures which belong to your time of life. I
-would not lessen them in the least; on the contrary,
-I would encourage you, and help you in all proper
-recreation, in all sports and plays. The boy who
-does not enjoy play is not a happy boy, and is not
-very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man.
-But it is quite possible, as some of you know, to
-enjoy in the highest degree all healthful sports, and
-at the same time to be industrious and conscientious
-in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the
-boys in this college shall be boys of the best, the
-highest type; that they “shall walk in the truth.”
-There are, alas, many boys who have gone through
-this college, and fully equipped (as well as their
-teachers could equip them), have been launched out
-into life and come to naught. I do not know their
-names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
-the fact.</p>
-
-<p>Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I
-want to discharge my duty to you as faithfully as I
-can. I know some of the difficulties of life, for they
-have been in my path. I know some of the fierce<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span>
-temptations to which boys and young men are exposed,
-for I have felt these assaults in my own
-person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I
-am a sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards
-you, I come with these plain, earnest words, and I
-urge you to look up to God, and ask him to help
-you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIFE">LIFE—ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">March 12, 1885.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">I propose to speak to you now of some plain and
-practical duties which await you in life; and, as
-there are many boys here who are anxiously looking
-for the time when they will leave the college to
-make their way in the world, some of whom will
-probably have left the college before I come again, I
-speak more especially to them. And my first words
-are words of congratulation, and for these reasons:</p>
-
-<p>1. <em>Because you are young.</em> And this means very
-much. You have an enormous advantage over people
-that are your seniors. Other things being equal,
-you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
-living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting
-by the mistakes committed by those who precede
-you, and if you are not blind, you can avail yourselves
-of the successes they have achieved.</p>
-
-<p>You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You
-are full of courage and endurance. You can grapple
-with difficult subjects and with a strong hand. And
-if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span>
-and start anew. In short, life is before you, and you
-look forward with the inspiration of hope, and it may
-be, also, of determination.</p>
-
-<p>2. I congratulate you also <em>because you are poor</em>.
-You have your own way to make in the world. You
-know already that if you achieve success, it must be
-because you exert yourselves to the very utmost.
-Indeed, you must depend upon yourselves, and this
-means that you must do everything in your power
-that is right to do, to help yourselves.</p>
-
-<p>You must understand that there is no royal road
-to <em>success</em>, any more than there is to <em>learning</em>, and that
-there is no time to trifle. If you were rich men’s
-sons, these remarks would have no special pertinence,
-or importance.</p>
-
-<p>My congratulations are quite in order also because
-very many, if not <em>most</em> of the high places in our
-country, are held by those who once were poor lads.</p>
-
-<p>Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if
-one is to be congratulated on his poverty, do fathers
-toil early and late, denying themselves needed recreation,
-not ceasing when they have accumulated a
-good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires—why
-do they so much dread to leave their
-sons to struggle for a living?” More than one answer
-might be given to these questions. Some
-fathers have so little faith in God’s providence that
-they forget his goodness, which <em>now</em> takes care of
-their families through the instrumentality of parents;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>
-and who can continue that care through other means,
-just as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority
-says that “they who will be rich, fall into
-temptations and snares,” one of which is that the
-race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits
-and amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he
-can’t change his habits, he has no other mental
-resources—he must work or perish.</p>
-
-<p>Do not, then, let the fact that you are <em>poor</em> discourage
-you in the least—it is rather an advantage.</p>
-
-<p>3. But again I congratulate you, because <em>your lot
-is cast in America</em>. Do not smile at this. I am not
-on the point of flying the American eagle, nor of
-raising the stars and stripes. It <em>is</em>, however, a good
-thing to have been born in this country. For in all
-important respects it is the most favored of all lands.
-It is the fashion with certain people to disparage our
-government and its institutions; and one must admit
-that in some particulars there might be improvement,
-and will be some day; but, notwithstanding these
-defects, it is unquestionably true that it is the best
-government on earth. Is there any country where a
-poor young man has opportunities as good as he has
-here, to get on in life? Is there any obstacle or
-hindrance whatever, outside of himself, in the way
-of his success? If a young man has good health of
-mind and body, and a fair English education and
-good manners, and will be honest and industrious, is
-he not much more certain to attain success, in one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span>
-way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
-You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights
-under the law. There is no caste here, that curse of
-monarchies. There is no aristocracy in sentiment or
-in power, no House of Lords, no established church,
-no law of primogeniture. One man is as good as
-another under the law as long as he behaves himself.</p>
-
-<p>If you want further evidence, only look for a moment
-at the condition of the seething, surging masses
-of Europe, and the continual apprehensions of a general
-war. Before this year 1885 has run its course
-the United States may be almost the only country
-among the great powers that is not involved in war.</p>
-
-<p>And if still further illustration were needed, let me
-point to that most extraordinary scene enacted in
-Washington some weeks ago.</p>
-
-<p>A great political party, which has held control of
-this government nearly a quarter of a century, and
-which has exercised almost unlimited power, yields
-most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
-all honor and patronage, to the will of the people
-who have chosen a new administration. And
-everybody regards it as a matter of course.</p>
-
-<p>Was such a thing ever known before? And could
-such a thing occur anywhere else among the nations?</p>
-
-<p>Once more, I congratulate you <em>because you live in
-Philadelphia</em>. Ah, now we come to a most interesting
-point. Most of you were born here, and you
-come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span>
-large cities. More to be desired as a place to live in
-than Washington, the seat of government, the most
-beautiful of all American cities, or New York, with
-its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston,
-with its boasted intellectual society.</p>
-
-<p>They may call us the “<i>Quaker City</i>,” or the “<i>worst
-paved city</i>,” or the “<i>slow city</i>,” or the “city of rows
-of houses exactly alike;” but these houses are the
-homes of separate families, and in a very large
-degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot
-say as much of any other city in the world. Although
-there are doubtless many instances in the
-oldest part of the city, and among the improvident
-poor, where more than one family will be found in
-the same house, yet these are the exceptions and not
-the rule; and so far as I know there is not one “tenement
-house” in this great city that was built for the
-purpose of accommodating several families at the
-same time. I need not point you to New York and
-Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
-twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do
-people prevail, utterly destroying that most
-cherished domestic life of which we have been so
-proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
-with its demoralizing associations and results; nor
-shall I describe the awful tenement houses in those
-two cities, where the poor are crowded like animals
-in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb creatures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span>
-do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
-else that makes life desirable.</p>
-
-<p>Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia
-is the most desirable for the young man who must
-make his own way in the world....</p>
-
-<p>And having shown you how favorable are the conditions
-which are about you, the next point is, What
-will you do when you set out for yourselves?</p>
-
-<p>All of you are <em>expecting</em> when you leave school to
-be employed by somebody, or engaged in some business.
-And I suppose you may be looking to me to
-give you some hints how to take care of yourselves,
-or how to behave in such relations.</p>
-
-<p>I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.</p>
-
-<p>I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed,
-it would be necessary first to define the word. And
-there are several definitions that might be given.
-One of the shortest and best would be in these words,
-“A life well spent.” That’s success. And this definition
-shall be my model.</p>
-
-<p>Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition
-be, not to get through quickly, not to go over
-much ground in text-books, but to master thoroughly
-everything before you. If you knew how little
-thorough instruction there is, you would thank me
-for this. There are so many half-educated people
-from schools and colleges that one cannot help believing
-that the terms of graduation are very easy.
-There have been, and are now, graduates of colleges<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>
-who cannot add up a long column of figures correctly,
-nor do an example in simple proportion, nor write a
-letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes
-of grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say
-nothing of perspicuity and unity and general good
-taste.</p>
-
-<p>It is quite surprising to find how helpless some
-young men are in the simple matter of writing letters;
-an art with which, in these days of cheap postage
-and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
-to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try
-to-morrow to write a note of twenty lines on any
-subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it for criticism
-to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
-calling one of his young men, and directing
-him to write a letter to one of his correspondents,
-saying such and such things, and bring it to him for
-his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the
-letter is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let
-it go out of his office?</p>
-
-<p>It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief
-business of life, not the only thing of importance in
-a counting-house, but it is an elegant accomplishment,
-and most desirable of attainment.</p>
-
-<p>Let me say some words about shorthand writing.
-In this day of push and drive and hurry, when so
-many things must be done at once, there is an increasing
-demand for shorthand writers. In fact,
-business as now conducted cannot afford to do without<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span>
-this help. It often occurs that a principal in a
-business house cannot take the time to write long letters.
-Why should he? It does not pay to have one
-that is occupied in governing and controlling great interests,
-or in the receipt of a large salary, tied to a desk
-writing letters, or reports, or statements of any kind.
-He must <em>talk off</em> these things; and he must be an educated
-man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and
-accurate expression that his dictation may almost be
-taken to be final. He wants a clerk who can take down
-his words with literal accuracy, and who will be able
-to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and
-submit the complete paper to his chief for his signature.
-The demand for this kind of service is increasing
-every day, and some of you now listening to me
-will be so employed. See that you are ready for it
-when your opportunity comes.</p>
-
-<p>If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in
-an insurance company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote
-yourself to your particular duties, whatever they
-may be. And don’t be too particular as to what
-kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be
-work that you think belongs to the porter; no matter
-if it is, do it, and do it as well as the porter can,
-or even better.</p>
-
-<p>Let none of you, therefore, think that anything
-you are likely to be called upon to do is beneath you.
-Do it, and do it in the best manner, and you may not
-have to do it for a long time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p>
-
-<p>Make yourself indispensable to your employer.
-You can do that; it is quite within your power, and
-it may be that you may get to be an employer yourself;
-indeed it is more than probable; but you must
-work for it.</p>
-
-<p>If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house
-or public institution, remember that you are in
-a position of trust and responsibility. When you
-make errors do not erase the error; draw faint red or
-black lines through it and write correct characters
-over the error. Do not hide your errors of any kind.
-Do not misstate anything in language or figures.
-Everybody makes errors at some time or other, but
-everybody does not admit and apologize for them.
-The honest man is he who <em>does</em> admit and apologize,
-and does so without waiting to be detected.</p>
-
-<p>There have been of late some deplorable instances
-of betrayal of trust in our city. I may as well call
-it by its right name, stealing. The culprits are now
-suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
-While I am speaking to you there are men, young
-and <em>not</em> young, in our city who are <em>now</em> stealing, and
-who are falsifying their books in the vain hope that
-it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day
-when they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a
-holiday; who cannot afford to be sick, lest absence
-for a single day may disclose their guilt. What a
-horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>
-or their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but
-it may be their last day in that place.</p>
-
-<p>And the day will come, most surely, when <em>you</em>
-will be tempted as these wretched ones have been
-tempted. In what shape the temptation may come,
-or when, no human being knows. The suggestion
-will be made, that by the use of a little money you
-may make a good deal; that the venture is perfectly
-safe; some one tells you so, and points to this one or
-that one who has tried it and made money. It is
-only a little thing; you can’t lose much; you <em>may</em>
-make enough to pay for the cost of your summer
-holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
-you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better
-beer, or buy a gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything
-else; <em>you can’t lose much</em>. You have no money
-of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
-be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you
-do it? No! Let nothing induce you to take the first
-dollar not your own. It is the <em>first</em> step that counts.</p>
-
-<p>But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget
-it. Suppose the time comes when you find that
-you <em>have</em> taken something that was not yours, and
-that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what
-then? Why, go at once to your employer; tell him
-the whole story; keep back nothing; throw yourself
-upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
-than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is
-no possibility of continuous concealment. Tell it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>
-now before you are detected, and, if you must be disgraced,
-the sooner the better.</p>
-
-<p>Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too
-much? Oh, boys, young men, if you knew the frightful
-danger that you may be in some day, the subtle
-temptations that will beset you, the many instances
-of weakness about you, the shipwrecks of character,
-the utter ruin that comes to sisters and to innocent
-wives and children by the crimes of brothers, husbands
-and fathers, as we who are older know, you
-would not wonder that I speak as I do.</p>
-
-<p>Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation,
-weakens confidence in human character. For every
-such instance of wrong-doing is a stab at <em>your</em> integrity
-if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
-fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by
-their employers, men who are hedged about by the
-sacredness of domestic ties, on whom the happiness
-of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men
-who claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little
-by little; they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up
-their tracks, cannot do it long, are caught, tried, convicted,
-sentenced and imprisoned. Then the question
-may be asked about you or me: “How do
-we know that Mr. So-and-So is any better than those
-who have fallen?” Don’t you see that these culprits
-are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
-society, <em>your</em> enemies and <em>mine</em>?</p>
-
-<p>If the names of those who are now serving out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>
-their sentences in the public prisons for stealing, not
-petty theft, but stealing and defrauding in larger
-sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
-papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored
-names and blighted lives and ruined homes, and how
-the memory would recall some whom we knew in
-early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol
-of fond wives and lovely children; and we should
-turn away with sickening horror from the record!
-But, if there should appear in the same papers the
-names of those who are <em>now engaged in stealing and
-defrauding</em> and <em>falsifying entries</em>, who are not yet
-caught, but who may, before this year is out, be
-caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
-revelation <em>that</em> would be!</p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<p>I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.</p>
-
-<p>But do not think that it is for your future in <em>this</em>
-life only that I am concerned. Life does not end
-here, though it may seem to do so. Our life in this
-world is a mere <em>beginning</em> of existence. It is the
-<em>future</em>, the <em>endless</em> life before us, that we should
-prepare for; and no preparation is worth the name
-except that of a pure, an upright and honorable life,
-that depends for its support on the love and the fear of
-God. You must accept him as your Father, you
-must honor him and obey him, and so consecrating
-your young lives to his service, trust him to care for
-you with his infinite love and care.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp051">
-  <img src="images/i_fp051.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="noic"><i>William Welsh.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="WELSH">ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,<br>
-<small><i>First President of the Board of City Trusts</i></small>.</h2>
-
-<p class="noic">February 22, 1878.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-<p class="p2">When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to
-persuade you to adopt the thought so aptly set forth
-by one of the old Hebrew kings, Whatsoever thy
-hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
-thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the
-most conspicuous examples of working with all his
-might, and so much of whose work was done for you,
-whom you so often saw standing where I now stand,
-I little thought that his work on earth was so nearly
-done. Last Sunday he addressed you here. One,
-two, three services he conducted for the boys of this
-college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory for
-the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to
-say from my knowledge of his method of doing
-things that these services were all conducted in the
-best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
-his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided
-in his acts or speech, but that he took hold
-of his subject with a firm grasp, and did not let go
-until the service was finished. It is very natural<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>
-that we should desire to know as much as we can
-about a life that has come so close to us as the life
-of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if we may, what it was
-that made him the man that he was. The thousands
-of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s
-Church on the day of the funeral, as many of you
-saw; the very large number of citizens of the highest
-distinction who united in the solemn services; the
-profound interest manifested everywhere among all
-classes of society; the closing of places of business
-at the hour of these services; the flags at half-mast,
-all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
-assured us that no common man had gone from
-among us. What was it that made him no common
-man? What was there in his life and character
-that lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant?
-In other places, and by those most competent
-to speak, will the complete picture of his
-life be drawn, but what was there in his life which
-particularly interests you college boys? It will
-surprise you probably when I tell you that his
-early education—the education of the schools—was
-very limited. He was not a college-bred man. At
-a very early age (as early as fourteen, I believe) he
-left school and went into his father’s store. You
-know that he could not have had much education at
-that age. And he went into the store, not to be a
-gentleman clerk to sit in the counting-house and copy
-letters and invoices, and do the bank business and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span>
-lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything
-that came to hand, rough and smooth, hard
-and easy, dirty and clean, for in those days the
-duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
-porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was
-not so heavy as the robust porter’s. And even when
-he grew older and stronger he would go down into
-the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore
-in the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the
-days were long then: there were no office hours from
-nine to three o’clock, but merchants and their clerks
-dined near the middle of the day, and were back at
-their stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and
-stayed and worked until the day was done. So this
-young clerk worked all day, and went home at night
-tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through
-the next day and the next in the same manner. But
-not only to rest and sleep. The body was tired
-enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
-not tired. He early knew the importance of mental
-discipline, of mental cultivation. He knew that a
-half-educated man is no match for one thoroughly
-equipped, and so he set himself to the task of
-making up, as far as he could, for that deficiency of
-systematic education which his early withdrawal
-from school made him regret so much. What
-definite means or methods he resorted to to accomplish
-this I cannot tell you, for I have not learned;
-but the fact that he did very largely overcome this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span>
-most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have
-ever met him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly
-at ease in circles where men must be well informed
-or be very uncomfortable. As the President of
-this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen
-of the highest professional and general culture,
-he was quite equal to any exigency which ever arose.
-All this you must know was the result of education,
-not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but
-that which he acquired himself after his school life.
-He was careful about his associates. Then, as now,
-the streets were alive with boys and young men of
-more than questionable character. And the thought
-which has come up in many a boy’s mind after his
-day’s work was done, must have come up in his
-mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
-with companions of my own age and have a good
-time? Why should I be so strict while others have
-more freedom and enjoy themselves so much more?”
-I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and
-that he was a free, hearty boy in them all, but I
-cannot suppose, for his after life gave no evidence of
-it, his general good health, his muscular wiry frame
-forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful
-pleasures passed beyond that line which separates
-the good from the bad, the pure from the impure.
-Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.</p>
-
-<p>William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean
-by that he was not lazy. A large part of the failures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span>
-in life are attributable to the love of ease. We
-choose the soft things; we turn away from those
-which are hard. We are deterred by the abstruse,
-the obscure; we are attracted by the simple, the
-plain. A really strong character will grapple with
-any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A
-character naturally weak may be developed by culture
-and discipline into one of real strength, but the
-process is very slow and very discouraging. A life
-that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on
-other lives, on society, must have these struggles,
-this training. I do not know minutely the characteristics
-of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this particular,
-but I infer most emphatically that his strong character
-was formed by continuous, laborious, exacting
-self-application.</p>
-
-<p>I would now speak of that quality which is so
-valuable (I will not say so rare), so conspicuously
-and so immeasurably important, personal integrity.
-Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest
-degree. He was most emphatically an honest man.
-No thought of anything other than this could ever
-have entered into the mind of any one who knew
-him. All men knew that public or private trusts
-committed to him were safe. Mistakes in judgment
-all are liable to, but of conscious deflection from the
-right path in this respect he was incapable. His
-high position as President of the Board of City Trusts,
-which includes, among other large properties, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span>
-great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of Philadelphia,
-proves the confidence this community had in
-his personal character. His private fortune was used
-as if he were a trustee. He recognized the hand of
-God in his grand success as a merchant, and he felt
-himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure.
-If he enjoyed a generous mode of living for himself
-and his family—a manner of life required by his
-position in the community—he more than equalized
-it by his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was
-conscientious and liberal (rare combination) in his
-benefactions, for he felt that he held his personal
-property in trust.</p>
-
-<p>Such are a few of the traits in the character of
-the man whose life on earth was so suddenly closed
-on Monday last. Under Providence, by which I
-mean the blessing of God, that blessing which
-is just as much within your reach as his, these are
-some of the conditions of his extraordinary success.
-His self-culture, the choice of his companions
-his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion,
-made the man what he was. I cannot here speak of
-his work in that church which he loved so much. I
-do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have
-reason to believe that, next to his own family, his
-affections were placed on you. He could never look
-into your faces without having his feelings stirred to
-their profoundest depths. He loved you—in the
-best, the truest sense, he loved you. He was willing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span>
-to give any amount of his time, his thought, his care,
-to you. The time he spent in the chapel was a very
-small part of the time he gave to his work for you.
-You were upon his heart constantly. I do not know—no
-one can know—but if it be possible for the spirits
-of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes of earth—to
-come back and look upon those they loved so
-much when in the flesh—I am sure his spirit is here
-to-day—this, his first Sabbath in Heaven—looking
-into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
-out among you, and wishing that all of you may
-make such use of your grand opportunity here as will
-insure your success in the life which is before you
-when you leave these college walls, and especially as
-will insure your entering into the everlasting life.
-Such was his life, full of activity, generosity, self-denial,
-eminently religious, in the best sense successful.
-He was never at rest; his heart was always
-open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except
-to himself. He wanted everybody to be religious.
-He died in the harness; no time to take it off; no
-wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance,
-not in retreat. He never turned his back on anything
-that was right. His eye was not dim; his
-natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
-that it seemed only stepping from one room in his
-Father’s house to another. We are reminded of the
-beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray describes
-the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>
-the Charter House School, after a life spent in fighting
-the enemies of his country abroad, and the enemies
-of the good in society at home. “At the usual
-evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and
-Thomas Newcome’s hands outside the bed feebly beat
-time. And just as the last bell struck, a peculiar
-sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his
-head a little and quickly said <em>Adsum</em>, and fell back.
-It was the word they used at school when names
-were called, and lo, he, whose heart was as that of a
-little child, had answered to his name and stood in
-the presence of ‘The Master.’”</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="BAD">BAD ASSOCIATES.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">November 11, 1888.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of
-evil company, a danger to which you will necessarily
-be exposed when you go out from this college to make
-your way in life.</p>
-
-<p>The desire for companionship sometimes leads
-people, and especially young people, into bad company.
-A boy finds himself associated with a schoolmate,
-a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive
-in manners, full of fun, but who is not what
-he ought to be in character.</p>
-
-<p>No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or
-young have some points that are not repulsive, and
-sometimes the very bad are attractive in some respects.
-A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
-into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in
-the conduct of his new friends which is particularly
-out of the way. The conversation is somewhat
-guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad,
-and, for a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings;
-but, after a while, the mask is thrown off and the
-true character is revealed. Then very soon the mind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>
-of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that
-corrupt and defile it. All that is polluting in talk
-and story and song is poured out. Books and papers,
-so vile that it is a breach of law to sell them, are read
-and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
-and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the
-mind and heart of their son are so polluted and depraved
-that no human power can save him.</p>
-
-<p>I very well remember a boy older than myself who,
-early in life, gave himself up to vile company and
-vile books and vile habits, and who, long ago—almost
-as soon as he reached an early manhood—sunk, under
-the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored
-grave, but not until he had defiled and depraved
-many a boy who came under his influence. Better
-would it have been for his companions if their daily
-walks and playgrounds had been infested with venomous
-serpents, to bite and sting their bare feet,
-than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
-all uncleanness.</p>
-
-<p>It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances
-may throw us among them; the providence
-of God may send us there, but we ought never to <em>seek</em>
-such company, except for good purposes. What I
-mean is that we ought not to seek such associates,
-however agreeable they may be in other respects,
-and not to remain among them except for their
-good.</p>
-
-<p>There are wicked people in every community, of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span>
-all ages. We cannot altogether avoid contact with
-them. We find them among our schoolmates and in
-the walks of business.</p>
-
-<p>Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever
-ruined by evil companions. A corrupt literature is
-bad enough, but evil companions are more numerous
-and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers
-have slain their thousands; bad companions have
-slain their ten thousands. I can recall the names of
-many who were led away, step by step, down the
-broad road that leads to destruction, by companions
-genial, attractive, but corrupt.</p>
-
-<p>There are some companions from whom you cannot
-separate yourselves. They are with you continually;
-at home and abroad, in school or at play,
-by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always
-with you. There is no solitude so deep that
-they cannot find you, no crowd so great that they
-will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
-they will not—cannot—be kept away. I mean <em>your
-own thoughts</em>, your bosom companions. Shall they be
-<span class="allsmcap">EVIL</span> companions or <span class="allsmcap">GOOD</span>? Ah! you know who, and
-who only, can answer this question.</p>
-
-<p>I once went through a monastery in the old city
-of Florence, in Italy. It was a retreat for men who
-were tired of the world, or who felt so unequal to
-the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
-believed peace could be found only in retirement.
-The house was of the order of St. Francis. One of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>
-the monks took me into his cell, and I sat down and
-talked with him. It was a very small room—one
-door, one window, bare walls, a small table, two
-wooden chairs, a few books, a crucifix, a washstand,
-and some pieces of crockery; and that was all. In
-this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to
-the chapel, just across the corridor, and to walk in
-the cloisters for exercise; here he expected to die.
-It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But I
-thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping
-from evil thoughts, and the only way, men may
-well submit to the confinement, the solitude, the
-monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But,
-alas! it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron
-doors, no bolts and bars, can shut out our thoughts,
-for they are a part of ourselves: they <em>are</em> ourselves;
-for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”</p>
-
-<p>Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek
-his fortune in the city. His mother was dead and
-his father broken in health and in fortune. The boy
-reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
-father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever
-fell to his lot to do. He was tall, strong and
-good-looking. A place was soon found for him, and
-until he was better able to support himself he found
-a home with some friends. He was a boy of good
-mind but with a very imperfect education, and he
-seemed inclined to make up for this in part by reading
-during his leisure hours. The situation found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span>
-for him was in a large commercial house, where
-everything was conducted in the best manner and on
-the highest principles. Here he made rapid progress
-and was soon able to contribute to the support of
-those he had left at home in the country. He became
-interested in serious things, united with the
-Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession
-of religion. Everything went well with him for
-several years, until he fell in with some boys near
-his own age, who had been brought up under very
-different circumstances. Two or three of these were
-inclined towards skepticism in religious things, and
-their reading was quite unlike that to which this
-boy had been accustomed. Some fascination of manner
-about them attracted the lad to their society,
-and he grew less and less fond of his truest and best
-friends. He became irregular in his attendance at
-the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with by
-his teacher and friends had no candid and manly
-answer for them. After a while he ceased going to
-church entirely, spending his time at his lodgings
-reading profane and immoral books or in the society
-of his new companions. Then he found his way
-with these friends (so he called them, but they were
-really his greatest enemies) to taverns and even to
-worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking
-he was strengthening his mind and broadening
-his views. A little further on and his habits grew
-worse, and became the subject of observation and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>
-remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly
-with him and received his promise to turn away from
-his evil associates (who had well-nigh ruined him)
-and to lead a better life. He promised well, and for
-a time things with him were better. But after
-a while he fell away again into his old ways and with
-his old tempters, and before his friends were aware
-of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
-were received from him. He was without means;
-he found it hard to get employment; he had no references,
-and the people among whom he found himself
-were distrustful of strangers.</p>
-
-<p>One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter
-of recommendation replied something like this:</p>
-
-<p>“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of
-recommendation except with qualification. If you
-are seeking employment it is your duty to make a
-candid statement of your condition. Make a clean
-breast of it. Keep nothing back. Say that you had
-a good situation; that you were growing with the
-growth of your employers; that your salary had been
-advanced twice within the year; that one of the
-partners was your friend; that he had stood by you
-in your earlier youth; that he had extricated you
-from embarrassment and would have helped you
-again when needed, and that in an evil hour you
-forgot this, and your duty to him and to the house
-which sustained you; that you left your place
-without your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span>
-quite broke his heart, and that all this grew out of
-your love of bad associates and your love of drink,
-and that while under this infatuation you went
-astray with bad women; and that in very despair
-of your ability to save yourself, and ashamed to
-meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the
-hope that in a new field and with new associates you
-could reform.</p>
-
-<p>“If you say this or something like this to a Christian
-man, little as you affect to think of Christianity,
-his heart will open to you and you can then look
-him frankly in the face, and have no concealments
-from him. Any other course than this will only
-prolong your agony, and in the end plunge you in
-deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
-advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no
-one will be more rejoiced than myself or more ready
-to help you. Read the parable of the prodigal son
-every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
-ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a
-humble, penitent man, and make your father’s last
-days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.</p>
-
-<p>“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a
-deep interest in you, else I would have thrown your
-letter to me into the fire.”</p>
-
-<p>I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely
-to the influence of his foolish, bad companions.
-And I know that this sad history is the record of
-many others; in fact, that the same experience<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span>
-awaits all who think it a light matter what company
-they keep, and who drift on the current with no purpose
-except to find pleasure, without regard to their
-duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young
-men standing at the corners of the streets, or lounging
-against lamp-posts, and catch a word as I pass, very
-often profane or indecent, I know very well that a
-work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked,
-will certainly lead to destruction. And I wonder
-whether these boys and young men have parents or
-sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to
-pass unwarned down the road that leads to death.</p>
-
-<p>But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions,
-besides those that appear to us in bodily
-form. They confront us in the printed page. You
-read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of
-dialogue. Such books are often more attractive than
-a plain narrative with little conversation. You enter
-fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit of the
-story. The characters are real to you. You seem
-to see the forms before you; you make a picture of
-each in your mind, so that if you were an artist you
-could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
-dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no
-sound as you read, you are really pronouncing each
-word in your mind. And every time you say a bad
-word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are
-in effect listening to bad words not spoken by other
-people merely, but spoken by yourself, and before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>
-you are aware of it you will be in the habit of thinking
-oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It
-is even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene.
-Now do you ever think that when you are
-reading such wretched stuff you are in effect associating
-with the characters whose talk you are listening
-to, and without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates,
-burglars, dissolute, the very worst of society, even
-murderers. You may not have the courage to rebuke
-those who are defiling the very air with their
-foul talk; you may be too cowardly even to turn
-away from such company lest they sneer at you; but
-what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after
-being warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have
-described? Is there any one here who would be
-guilty of such conduct?</p>
-
-<p>These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so
-most reluctantly, for these are not pleasant subjects—are
-not mere theories. They are sad realities. It
-was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys
-who were essentially corrupt. Their minds were
-cages of unclean birds. They were inexpressibly
-vile. And it is this fear of the evil that one sinner
-may do among young boys that leads me to say what
-I do on this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can
-persuade you to turn away from foolish company,
-from bad associates, I shall feel that I am doing indeed
-a blessed work. For what is the object, the
-purpose of all this that is said to you? It is to make<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>
-men of you and to give you grace and strength to
-assert your manhood. It is to build you up on the
-foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare
-you for the life that is before you here and for that
-life which is beyond. But the education of text-books
-illustrated by the best instructors is not
-enough; it is not all you need for the great work of
-your lives. You must be ready when you are
-equipped not only to take care of yourselves, but to
-help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
-are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be
-fully equipped unless you have the blessing of Almighty
-God on your work and on your life.</p>
-
-<p>I want you to be successful men, and no man can
-be a successful man, in the highest and best sense,
-unless he is a religious man. How can one expect
-to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing
-of God? And how can one expect the blessing
-of God who does not ask God for his blessing?
-Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
-of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you
-must read the Scriptures for yourselves; you must
-pray for yourselves and each one for himself, as well
-as for others.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp069">
-  <img src="images/i_fp069.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption"><p class="noic"><i>James A. Garfield.</i></p></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="GARFIELD">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">September 25, 1881.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest
-things—one of the most difficult things to understand,
-which has ever occurred. On the second day of July
-last the President of the United States, when about
-to step into a railway train which was to carry him
-North, where he was to attend a college commencement,
-at the college where he was graduated, was
-shot down by an assassin.</p>
-
-<p>I say it is one of the strangest things, because the
-President did not know the assassin, and had never
-injured him nor any of his friends. There was absolutely
-no motive for the hideous deed.</p>
-
-<p>I say it is most difficult to understand, because we
-believe that Divine Providence overrules all events,
-holds all power, and we wonder why He permitted
-the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.</p>
-
-<p>President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was
-emphatically a man of the people. He was born in
-a log-cabin which his father had built with his own
-hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by
-thirty. When James was two years old, his father<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span>
-died, late in the autumn, and this boy with three
-other children were all dependent upon their mother
-for a support. How the lone widow passed that
-winter we do not know; but when the spring came
-there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm had
-to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing
-were left, and this little farm was worked by the
-mother and her oldest son. Only those who have
-lived on a farm in the country know how hard the
-work is. When James was five years old he was
-sent to school, a mile and a half away, and as this
-was a very long walk for so young a boy, his sister
-often carried the little boy on her back.</p>
-
-<p>After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s
-trade, and in this effort he spent two years or so,
-going to school at intervals and studying at spare
-hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic
-and geography. After that he became a sort
-of general help and book-keeper for a manufacturer
-in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
-and this was to him a very great advance. But not
-being well treated there, he soon left and took to
-chopping wood—at one time cutting about twenty-five
-cords for some $7. Then having read some tales
-of the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often
-read, he wanted to be a sailor; but when he applied
-for a place on the great lake, he looked so like a
-landsman from the country that no captain would
-engage him. So he went to the canal, and found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>
-employment in leading or driving horses or mules on
-the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to be a
-deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the
-water (once almost being drowned) and meeting
-some other mishaps, he concluded that “following
-the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it.
-By this time he had saved some money, and his
-brother Thomas lent him some more, and with
-another young man and a cousin he went to a
-neighboring town to the academy. These young
-fellows rented a room, borrowed some simple cooking
-utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and
-filled them with straw, and set up house-keeping,
-and went to the academy.</p>
-
-<p>Young Garfield spent three years at this academy,
-doing odd jobs of carpenter work when he could,
-and so eking out a living. Then he went to an
-eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
-the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making
-the fires. Here he prepared himself to enter the
-junior class in a higher college, and, after some delay,
-he entered that class in Williams College,
-Massachusetts.</p>
-
-<p>While pursuing his college course at Williams he
-filled his vacations by teaching in district schools in
-the neighborhood until his graduation, in 1856, at
-twenty-five years of age—quite advanced, you see,
-in years for a college graduate.</p>
-
-<p>Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span>
-became a professor of Greek and Latin, and
-then at twenty-eight years of age became a Senator
-in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out in
-1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the
-Government commissioned him as colonel of a regiment,
-and he did good service in the State of
-Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few
-months he was promoted to be brigadier-general. So
-he went on distinguishing himself wherever he was
-placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
-Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at
-Chickamauga, his gallantry was so conspicuous and
-so successful that within a fortnight he was made
-a major-general.</p>
-
-<p>While in the army he was elected representative
-to Congress, and on December 5, 1863, he took his
-seat in the House, the youngest member of Congress.</p>
-
-<p>Some time after this, the war still going on, he
-wished to rejoin the army, but President Lincoln
-would not permit it, on the ground that his military
-knowledge would be invaluable to the government.
-After serving seventeen years in the House of Representatives,
-at times Chairman of most important
-committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before
-he took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency,
-and last November was elected by a large
-majority to that high office.</p>
-
-<p>On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span>
-four months afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand
-of an assassin.</p>
-
-<p>You know how during this long, dry, hot summer
-he has been lying in Washington until the
-last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
-and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has
-been nursed; how gently he was removed to the
-sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene would
-do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed
-to do; and you know how last Monday night, while
-you were sleeping soundly in your beds, the bells of
-our city and all over the land were tolling the tidings
-of his death.</p>
-
-<p>He was a good man—in many respects as well
-qualified to fill the Presidential chair as any man
-who has ever sat in it. So I say it is most difficult
-to understand why he was taken away.</p>
-
-<p>Like all of you he lost his father by death at an
-early age; as is the case with all of you his mother
-was poor. He struggled hard for an education, and he
-acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
-satisfied with present attainments; he was always on
-the advance. At an early age he gave himself to the
-Lord, joining the church; and as that branch of the
-church does not believe in the necessity of ordination
-for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman,
-as the great Faraday preached in London and
-as Christian laymen preach the same truths to you,
-and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span>
-in November last, to persuade him, some time when
-he might be passing through Philadelphia, to come
-to this chapel and address you boys. This, alas, now
-can never be.</p>
-
-<p>President Garfield loved his mother. No more
-touching incident was ever witnessed than that
-which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
-when, after taking the oath of his high office, he
-turned immediately to his dear old mother and kissed
-her.</p>
-
-<p>Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations
-mourn with us. The Queen of Great Britain
-with her own hand sends messages of the sweetest,
-the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow
-and her children are fatherless. She sends flowers
-for Mrs. Garfield and puts her court in mourning, a
-compliment never extended before except in the case
-of death in a royal family. Other European and
-Asiatic and African governments send their sympathy—they
-all feel it—they all deplore it. Emblems
-of mourning are displayed in every street in our
-city, and every heart is sad. The people mourn.</p>
-
-<p>Boys, you may not be Presidents—probably not
-one here will ever be at the head of this nation; nor
-is this of any moment; but remember it was not only
-as President of the United States that General Garfield
-was wise and good—it was in every place where
-he was put; whether in school, in college, in teaching,
-in the army, in Congress, in the President’s chair,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>
-in his family and on his sick and dying bed, languishing
-and suffering, wasting and burning with fever,
-exhausted by wounds cruel and undeserved, he was
-always the same brave, true, real man.</p>
-
-<p>Some of you know with what profound and tender
-interest people gathered in places of prayer that
-Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from Washington
-to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous,
-and how the hope was expressed, almost to assurance,
-that the Saviour would meet his disciple by the sea.
-The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
-disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of
-healing; nothing short of a miracle could do that, but
-by a more complete preparation of the people for the
-final issue. It came at last. And while many of us
-were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were
-flashing the sad intelligence everywhere that, at last,
-he was at rest.</p>
-
-<p>Now that we know that he is taken away, we
-stand in awe and amazement. We cannot yet understand
-it.</p>
-
-<p>Shall we gather a few lessons from his life?
-Some of the most apparent may be mentioned very
-briefly.</p>
-
-<p>The simplicity of his character is most interesting.
-Conscious as he must have been of the possession of
-no ordinary mental force, he was never obtrusive nor
-self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
-with purpose and completeness. And his associates<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span>
-often placed him in positions of high trust and responsibility.</p>
-
-<p>He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed
-in Congressional duties, to a degree which
-left him little or no time for recreation, he did not
-fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
-said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring
-to bring him some little present, could think of
-nothing more acceptable than a few volumes of the
-Latin poets.</p>
-
-<p>When his life comes to be written by impartial
-hands, it will be found that along with his great simplicity
-and his high culture there will be most prominent
-his devotion to principle. This was his great
-characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the
-place, to speak of his adherence, under strong adverse
-influences, to his sound views on the great currency
-question which has occupied so much the attention
-of Congress.</p>
-
-<p>In a not very remote sense his death is to be
-attributed to his devotion to principle. That great
-and most discreditable contest at Albany might have
-been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
-different manner, if the President could have yielded
-his convictions. He did not yield, and he was
-slain.</p>
-
-<p>The funeral services in the capitol are over and
-the men whom Mrs. Garfield chose as the bearers of
-her husband’s coffin were not members of the cabinet,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span>
-nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any
-of whom would have been honored by such a service,
-but they were plain men, of names unknown to us,
-members of his own little church.</p>
-
-<p>They are gone. They have taken his worn and
-wasted and mutilated form, all that remains in this
-world of the strong, pure life that was not yet fifty
-years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and
-there within sight and almost within sound of the
-waves of the great inland sea, they will to-morrow
-lay him to rest until the morning of the resurrection.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<p>What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity?
-Shall our faith in the prevalence of prayer
-be weakened? God forbid that we should so distort
-his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that
-repliest against God?”</p>
-
-<p>Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and
-almost insisted, but in softening the hearts of the
-people and drawing them as they have never before
-been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe,
-and in uniting the people, and also in promoting a
-better feeling between the different sections of our
-country than has been known for half a century.
-And if, in addition to this, the people would only
-learn to abate that passion for office which has been
-so fatal to peace, and would be content to allow fitness
-for office to be the only rule of appointment,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span>
-then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
-securing of which even the sacrifice of a President
-would seem not too great a price.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king
-said to his servants, Have me away for I am sore
-wounded. His servants therefore took him out
-of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot
-that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
-and he died and was buried. And all Judah and
-Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv.
-23, 24.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CASE">THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">March 25, 1888.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an
-address before one of the societies in the venerable
-University of Harvard on this subject: “The Case
-of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate
-knowledge of his subject, and with rare felicity of
-thought and expression, he set before his audience,
-most of whom were either in the learned professions
-or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition
-of those professions, especially that of the law,
-a preparation for which is supposed to imply a more
-or less thorough academic or collegiate education.</p>
-
-<p>I have a different task; for I would show the importance
-of education to the workers with the hand,
-whether in the mills, the shops, or among the various
-trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
-that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely,
-but also that which is acquired sometimes without
-the advantage of any schools. And I particularly
-desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever
-be his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>
-who is engaged in the same kind of work, and who is
-more or less educated.</p>
-
-<p>A mechanic may be well trained; may have more
-than his share of brains; may be highly successful
-in his business; indeed, may have acquired a large
-property, and have very high credit, and may hardly
-know how to write his name. A man may have
-scores or hundreds of men in his employment, and
-be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
-and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely
-at the mercy of his book-keeper, and may be
-so defrauded as to be on the very brink of ruin and
-not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
-of a long business life more than one such case has
-come under my observation. A man may be partially
-educated, able to cast up accounts, able to keep
-books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
-is worthy of the name), and yet not be able
-to write a simple agreement in good English, nor understand
-clearly the meaning of such a paper when
-written by another.</p>
-
-<p>Very many of the business failures that occur are
-due to the fact that the person or firm did not know
-how to keep accounts. This is not confined to people
-of small business. How often after a failure are we
-told “that the man was very much surprised at his
-condition; he thought he was all right; he could not
-account for his failure, and that in a short time he
-would have his books in such a shape that he would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span>
-be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask
-their advice. It would require ten days or so, however,
-before he could tell how he stood.” Why, if the
-man had been an educated business man, and an
-honest man, he would have known in twenty-four
-hours how he stood.</p>
-
-<p>The great majority of people who are employed
-are not educated. They do not know how to do in
-the best manner, that which they have to do. Perhaps
-a good definition of education, as the word is
-applied to a working man, may be that he knows
-how to do that which he has to do, in the very best
-way.</p>
-
-<p>Education may be of three kinds, viz.:</p>
-
-<p>That of the <em>schools</em>.</p>
-
-<p><em>Self-education.</em></p>
-
-<p>That of <em>trade</em> or <em>business</em>.</p>
-
-<p><em>That of the schools.</em> And this is the best of all;
-for the whole of one’s time is given to it; and if you
-are so inclined you may go through the whole course,
-as provided in this school. And all this with text-books,
-instruments and other appliances, absolutely
-free of cost. A boy, therefore, who passes through
-the entire course of study here, has superior opportunities
-of acquiring a most substantial education.</p>
-
-<p>Certainly the education of the schools is the best;
-and let me urge you with all seriousness to make the
-best use of your opportunities. You can never learn
-as easily as now. You are young. You are not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>
-burdened with cares. Do not relax your efforts in
-the least; do not yield to weariness; do not think
-you know enough already; do not be impatient lest
-others of your own age, who have already left school
-to go to work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind
-of business; if they have the start of you, they may
-not be able to keep it; and depend upon it, in the
-long run you will overtake and pass them, other
-things being equal, if you have a better school education
-than they have. When you are told that young
-men who are well educated are thereby unfitted or
-unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business,
-do not believe it. I know the contrary. The
-better the school education you have, and the more
-you know, the more valuable you will be to your
-employer.</p>
-
-<p>Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
-<em>self-education</em>. All that I mean by it is,
-that education which one acquires without teachers.
-As so defined, it may be divided into two parts, viz.:
-the incidental and the direct.</p>
-
-<p>Let me speak first of the <em>incidental</em>.</p>
-
-<p>I mean by this that education that comes to us
-from society.</p>
-
-<p>You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you
-could. You seek companions, or other persons will
-seek you. Let your associates be those whose friendship
-will be an instruction to you, rather than simply
-a means of social enjoyment. There are young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span>
-people of both sexes who, without being vicious, are
-utterly weak and foolish, idle and listless, drifting
-along a current, the end of which they do not care
-to think of. They are living for this life only, with
-no thought of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies,
-who float in the sunshine when the sun is shining,
-but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
-and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they
-are pleasant enough to chat with for a few minutes,
-but to be shut up to such companionship as this,
-would be intolerable. Society has a large element
-of this description, and you are likely to see it in
-your daily life.</p>
-
-<p>But this is not the worst phase of life among the
-young people with whom you may be thrown. There
-are worse elements than this. There are those who
-are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who
-have given themselves up to work all uncleanness
-with greediness; who put no restraint on their inclinations;
-in whose eyes nothing is pure or sacred;
-who have no respect for that which is wholesome or
-decent; who are the devil’s own children, and who
-are not ashamed of their parentage. And to such
-baleful, deadly influences and associations will you be
-exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised
-of their true character until it is too late.</p>
-
-<p>But there are <em>direct</em> means of education, so called.</p>
-
-<p>The first of these which I mention is the use of
-books. This is unquestionably the best means. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span>
-am supposing that you have some taste for reading;
-if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to
-speak, or for you to listen. I know some people who
-rarely read a book, and I pity them. They seem to
-think that all that is necessary to read is the daily
-newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily
-very ignorant, for very much may be learned
-from the daily paper. But the newspaper does not
-pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for a
-life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a
-professional man or a mechanic. No; you must read
-books, not only for entertainment and recreation, but
-for information and culture, which you can obtain
-nowhere else. If there is no public library within
-your reach, seek out some kind-hearted man or
-woman who has books, and who will be willing to
-lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I
-well remember a gentleman in my early life who
-did this kind office for me before I was able to buy
-books, and there are such now who will do the same
-for you.</p>
-
-<p>If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to
-ask the advice of some practical friend to point out
-such as you may most safely and properly read.
-For if left to your own judgment or taste, you will
-probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by
-an attempt to read something not immediately necessary
-or appropriate. But do not attempt to follow
-an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>
-detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be
-discouraged by the greatness of the task. Such lists,
-I fancy, are made out by scholars who have read almost
-everything, and to whom reading is no task
-whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not
-attempt to read too many books, nor too much at a
-time, and do not be disappointed or discouraged if
-you are not able to remember or put to good account
-all that you read. You cannot always know what
-particular kind of food has afforded you the most
-nourishment. You may rest assured, however, that
-as every morsel of food that you take and are able to
-digest does something to build up and develop your
-system, or repair its waste, so every book or paper
-that you read, that is wholesome, does something, you
-may not know how much, to strengthen or develop
-your mind.</p>
-
-<p>There are books that you read for entertainment
-or recreation, and that are written for that purpose
-only. You may read such; indeed, you ought to
-read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
-and amusement, and there is much of the
-purest and best of this that you can get from books.
-But you must not make the mistake of supposing that
-most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading
-can be of this character. You would not think of
-making your daily meals of the articles of food that
-you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
-not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>
-a regular diet. You might as well do so, as to read
-only the light and humorous matter that was never
-intended for the mental diet of a working man. No.
-If you would attain the real object of reading and
-study, you must read and study books and papers
-that tax the full powers of your mind to understand
-them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your
-mind, even as the exercise of your muscles in work
-or play will develop a strength of body that the idle
-or lazy youth knows nothing of.</p>
-
-<p>If you would know how to make yourself master
-of any book that you read, form the habit, if the
-book is your own, of making notes with a pencil in
-the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
-property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and
-write at the end of every chapter questions on the
-matter discussed, and the answer to such questions
-will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
-that you will have <em>absorbed</em> the book and made it
-your own; for, as an eminent American author has
-said, “thought is the property of whoever can entertain
-it.”</p>
-
-<p>I said just now that the daily newspaper does not
-pretend to supply all that you need to fit you for a
-life of business, either as a dealer in goods, or as a
-mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
-important means of education—so important that no
-one can afford to ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot
-be well informed who does not read the newspaper.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>
-The whole world is brought before us every morning
-and evening, and, if we do not read the news as it
-comes, we shall not know what we ought to know.
-It is not necessary to read everything in a daily
-paper; there are some things that it will be better
-for you not to read. You need not read all the
-editorials, brilliant as some of them are, for sometimes
-they discuss subjects that are not at all interesting
-nor useful to you. The newspaper from which
-I make the most clippings is one which is the fullest
-of advertisements, but which sometimes has nothing
-whatever in it that I read. But when it does discuss
-a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further
-to be said.</p>
-
-<p>But to read with the most advantage one ought to
-have within easy reach a dictionary, an atlas and,
-if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can read
-with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper
-gives can be filled up by reference to books
-which give more or less complete histories.</p>
-
-<p>The political articles which appear in the height
-of a campaign are hardly worth reading, unless you
-think of entering politics as a money-making business,
-which I sincerely hope none of you think of
-doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of
-crime, and especially the details of police reports
-and criminal trials, you will do well to pass by and
-not read. I really believe that a familiarity with
-these details prepares the way, in many instances,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>
-for the commission of crime, just as the reading of
-accounts of suicide sometimes leads to the act itself.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the best minds in our country, and in the
-world, are now employed in writing for the periodicals
-and magazines. No one can be well informed
-without reading something of the vast amount of
-matter which is thus poured out before him. I have
-not named the newspapers nor the magazines which
-you may read with the most profit; but your teachers
-can advise you what to read. Rather is it important
-for you to know what <em>not</em> to read. Many of the
-most popular and the most useful books that have
-been published within the last quarter of a century
-have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or
-monthly paper. The best thoughts of the best
-thinkers sometimes first see the light in such pages.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine,
-there are scientific periodicals, which are of essential
-value to a worker who wishes to be well informed in
-any of the mechanical arts. The <cite>Scientific American</cite>
-is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the
-beauty of its illustrations and in the high quality of
-its contributions. The <cite>Popular Science Monthly</cite> is a
-periodical of a wider range and more diversified
-character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
-subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you
-may find in the public library. But let me urge you
-to turn away from “dime novels.” Not because they
-are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>
-and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey
-which so many wretched creatures drink until the
-coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and the brain
-is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
-is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and
-soul of him who reads. There is an abundance of
-good literature that is cheap—do not read the bad.</p>
-
-<p>Having now spoken of the education you may get
-in the schools, and that which you may acquire for
-yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive for it,
-either in the society which you cultivate, or more
-directly from books, whether read as an entertainment
-and recreation, or, better still, by careful study;
-or through the daily newspaper, or the periodical,
-whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
-that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to
-the education which you will acquire when you work
-day by day at your trade or business.</p>
-
-<p>Let me beg of you to consider the great value of
-truthfulness in all your training. Hardly anything
-will help you more to reach up towards the top.
-And when you are at the head of an establishment
-of your own or somebody else’s (and I take it for
-granted you will be at the head some day), whether
-it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or a store,
-no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word,
-of not promising unless you are certain of keeping
-your promise, will almost insure your success if you
-are a good workman. How many good mechanics<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span>
-have utterly failed of success because they have not
-cared to keep their promises? A firm of high reputation
-agrees to supply certain articles of furniture at a
-time fixed by them. The time comes but the articles
-do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new
-promises are made only to be broken. Excuses are
-offered and more promises given; then incomplete
-articles are sent; then more delays, until, when patience
-is nearly exhausted, the work is finished.
-Then comes the bill and there is a mistake in it.
-The whole transaction is a series of disappointments
-and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go
-to that place again?</p>
-
-<p>It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as
-they become ten or twelve years of age, at the foot
-of the great breakers to watch the coal as it comes
-rattling and broken down the great wire screens, and
-catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side
-and allow only the pure coal to pass down into the
-huge bins, from which it is dropped into the cars and
-taken to market. To an uneducated eye there is
-hardly any perceptible difference between the coal
-and the slate. But these little fellows soon become
-so quick in the education of the eye, that they can
-tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
-grows older he graduates to the place of a mule
-driver, and has his car and mule, which he drives
-day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
-breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>
-his little oil lamp in the front of his cap, and goes
-down into the mines with his pick and becomes a
-miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most
-of one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine
-and from the pure air. And most of these
-men having no education, and never having been
-urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days
-in this manner. But occasionally there is one who
-feels that he is capable of better things than this.
-And I know one at least, who began his work at the
-foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through
-all these stages, as I have told you, and who determined
-to do something better for himself. So he
-gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
-leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the
-difficulties in his way. He persevered. He rose to
-be a boss among the men; then having saved some
-money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought
-his teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine,
-and became a miner of his own coal, and had his
-men under him, and has grown to be a rich man, and
-is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his
-hard work. This is only one instance of success in
-rising from a low position to a high one.</p>
-
-<p>The same thing is going on all around us and we
-see it every day. It would hardly be proper to give
-you names, but I could tell you of many within my
-own knowledge who, from positions of extremely
-hard labor and plain living, have risen to be the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span>
-head men in shops and other places which they entered
-at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
-occurring. And there is no reason whatever,
-except your indifference, to prevent many of
-you from becoming, if God gives you health, the head
-men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates
-or in very low positions. And I tell you what
-you know already, that there is plenty of room for
-advancement. It is the lowest places that are full to
-overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the
-<em>chiefs</em> of any industry? No, indeed. They have
-made themselves indispensable to their employers
-and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly
-a youth who cannot by strict attention to business,
-and conscientious devotion to the interests of his employer,
-make himself so invaluable that he need not
-join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
-army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the
-great commercial houses, or in the public service, or
-in the army and navy—do these people ever band
-themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
-They know better than that; they accomplish their
-purposes in better ways. If the working classes, so
-called, were better educated, they would not suffer
-themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
-not themselves work, who will not touch even with
-their little fingers the burdens which are crushing
-the life out of the deluded ones whom they are leading
-to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span>
-true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable
-men to do their own thinking, and to determine for
-themselves what are their best interests.</p>
-
-<p>I urge you all to seek that higher and better education
-which will make you true men. You have
-now the great advantage of the education of the
-school. I have tried very simply, but not the less
-earnestly, to show you how you can fit yourselves
-for high places. It is for you to say whether you
-will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
-power can force you to do that which you will not
-do. You may lead a horse to a brimming fountain
-of water, but if he is not thirsty, no coaxing nor
-threatening nor beating can make him drink. I
-may show you, to demonstration, the abundant fountain
-of learning, but I can’t make you drink, or even
-stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty. I
-can’t make you study, however great the advantage
-to you, or however much they who are interested in
-you desire that you should.</p>
-
-<p>Every year this question which I have been pressing
-upon you becomes more and more important.
-The great colleges of the country are graduating
-their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
-with you for the high places in the mechanic
-arts. So are the public schools of the country sending
-out hundreds of thousands, many of them having
-the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic
-arts, are multiplying. Great changes have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span>
-been made recently in our own city in this respect.
-The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work
-in this way. Our own college is moving in the same
-direction, and soon it will be sending out its hundreds
-every year to compete for places in the shops,
-with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have
-a school education—the best that you are able to receive,
-and you must not let any others go ahead of
-you.</p>
-
-<p>Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who
-sweep our streets—look at the stevedores who load
-and unload the ships—look at the men who carry
-the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
-ladders—look at the drivers and the conductors on
-our street cars, the most hard worked people among
-us—and are you not sure that most of these people
-are <em>un</em>educated? No one wants to be at the bottom
-all the time. We may have been there at the first;
-but those who have made the most progress are generally
-those who have had the best education. I
-know that education is not a sure guarantee of success;
-many other things enter into the consideration
-of the question; but I am saying that, other things
-being equal, <em>he who knows the most will do the best</em>.
-There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the
-rich, who have been well educated, who have everything
-provided for them, who have no stimulus, no
-spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
-have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>
-and their fine education goes for nothing.
-But you are not of this class. You will have to make
-your way in the world by your own exertions.</p>
-
-<p>I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words
-about such boys as sometimes stand at the corners
-of the streets in large or small companies and amuse
-themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
-bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass
-by. I am sure much of this arises from thoughtlessness;
-but I wish to point out the exceeding impropriety
-of this behavior. I have known ladies to
-cross the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite
-out of their way rather than pass within hearing
-of these boys and young men. What right has any
-one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger,
-to block up the way or make loose or rude remarks,
-or defile the pavement over which I walk?</p>
-
-<p>All this most serious waste of time is probably because
-no one has particularly called attention to it.
-The time may come when you will recall the words
-of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
-when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what
-was said.</p>
-
-<p>I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will
-permit, to show the importance of that education
-which will enable you to rise in your trade or business,
-whatever it may be, to the upper places; and I
-have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span>
-strive to be <em>chief</em> rather than a <em>subordinate</em>, to be a
-<em>foreman</em> rather than a <em>journeyman</em>.</p>
-
-<p>But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves
-and upon God. There is no royal road to
-education; the very meaning of the word shows this;
-the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed,
-rounded, hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts
-a piece of rough iron in the coals, keeps it there until
-it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it upon his anvil
-and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
-first on this side and then on that, rounding it off;
-then when it cools thrusting it among the coals again,
-then hammering away again until he has brought the
-rough piece of iron to the size and shape he wishes,
-when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are
-willing to work your mind into the shape you want
-it, you will surely bring yourself to the front among
-active, ingenious and successful men. But this
-means hard work, and work all the time.</p>
-
-<p>Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the
-hints which I have given you, if you really mean to
-succeed, if you are not content to be workers low
-down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise
-rather than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do
-men, instead of living from hand to mouth, you
-must grapple with the subject with all your might
-and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out
-of the streets at night, away from the taverns and
-from the low theatres, and from gambling dens, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span>
-from other places which I will not name; and, in
-short, you must be true Americans, for there is no
-truer type of manhood in all the world than a real
-American; and nowhere else in all the world has a
-poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
-as in our own good city of Philadelphia.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="PENN">WILLIAM PENN.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">October 22, 1882.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel
-with her bow pointing towards the west was making
-her way slowly across the Atlantic ocean. She was
-a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
-emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome
-voyage, the very small accommodations, the horror
-of sea-sickness, were in this vessel aggravated by the
-breaking out of that most awful of all scourges, the
-small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population
-of one hundred, thirty passengers died. No record
-is left of the incidents of that voyage except this;
-but it is easy to imagine that all the circumstances
-were as deplorable as they could well be.</p>
-
-<p>After a weary time of head winds and calms, in
-about seven weeks, this ship, the “Welcome,” came
-within the capes of the Delaware bay.</p>
-
-<p>The most distinguished person on that little ship
-was William Penn. He had left his home in England,
-embarking with his trusty friends in a vessel
-only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span>
-Line, to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the
-whole province from the government of England for
-the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured by
-our money, is about $80,000, and this money was
-due to him for services rendered and money loaned
-to the government by his father, an admiral in the
-English navy.</p>
-
-<p>About the 24th of October the vessel reached the
-town of Newcastle, where Penn landed and was cordially
-received by the people of that little village.
-Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
-now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving
-the vessel here, they came in a barge (Penn and
-some of his principal men) to the mouth of Dock
-creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street,
-where they landed, near a little tavern called the
-Blue Anchor.</p>
-
-<p>There was already a settlement on the shore of
-the Delaware river, and the people, mostly Swedes,
-had built a little church somewhat farther down the
-stream. The entire land between the Delaware and
-Schuylkill rivers, and for a mile north and south,
-was owned by three brothers, Swedes, named Swen.
-Penn bought this tract from them, and at once proceeded
-to lay out his new city. When he bought
-the whole province from the crown he desired to call
-it New-Wales, because it was so hilly, but the king
-insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory of
-the admiral, William’s father. But when the new<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>
-city came to be named, Penn having no one to dispute
-his wish, called it by that word, of whose meaning
-we think so little, Philadelphia—brotherly
-love. Two months after this he met the Indians, it
-is said, under a great elm tree in the upper part of
-the city, in what we now call Kensington, and concluded
-that treaty which has been said to be the only
-treaty that was ever made without an oath, and that
-was never broken. Shortly after this Penn proceeded
-to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
-English author has said, he must have taken the
-ancient Babylon for his model, for this was the first
-modern city that was laid out with the streets crossing
-each other at right angles.</p>
-
-<p>The charter which Penn received from Charles the
-Second, King of England (the original of which is in
-the capital at Harrisburg, on three large sheets of
-parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
-also holding his authority under the crown. He at
-once therefore set about making a code of laws as
-special statutes, which with the common law of England
-should be the laws of the province. One of
-these special laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor,
-was to learn a useful trade or occupation; the poor to
-live on it: the rich to resort to it if they should become
-poor.” And I do not know what better law he
-could have enacted.</p>
-
-<p>When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception
-reached England and the continent of Europe,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span>
-the effect was to arouse a spirit of emigration. Although
-Penn’s first thought and purpose was to
-found a colony, where he and others who held the
-religious views of the Society of Friends might worship
-without hindrance (which liberty was denied
-them in England), the people from other countries
-in Europe came here in great numbers for other
-purposes. The population therefore multiplied rapidly,
-and the people were generally such as had
-determined to brave the privations of a new country,
-to make themselves a home where life could be lived
-under better conditions than in the old countries, under
-the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
-emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal
-terms which the governor offered to new-comers; for
-to actual settlers he offered the land at about ten dollars
-for a hundred acres, subject, however, to a quit-rent
-of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever;
-and this may be the origin of that ground-rent
-instrument which is almost peculiar to Pennsylvania,
-and which is such a favorite investment for
-our rich men.</p>
-
-<p>After a stay of two years Penn returned to England,
-where he had left his wife and children; the
-care of the government having been left with a council,
-of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept
-the great seal.</p>
-
-<p>Not long after his return to England the king,
-Charles the Second, died, and having no son he was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span>
-succeeded by his brother, James Duke of York, as
-James the Second. Although Penn was on the most
-cordial terms with the new king, as he had been
-with Charles, this did not secure him from the repeated
-annoyances and persecutions of those who
-detested his religion. So severe was the treatment
-to which he was subjected, and such was his personal
-danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
-France. But not being able nor willing to bear this
-exile, he returned to England, was tried for his
-offence against the law of the church and was acquitted.
-After this he came to America again, intending
-to spend the rest of his life here, but he remained
-only two years.</p>
-
-<p>The rest of his life was spent in England, but it
-was a life broken by persecutions and trials at law
-and other annoyances, the expenses of which, added
-to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards,
-were so great as seriously to involve him in financial
-embarrassments; and he was even compelled to mortgage
-his great estate in Pennsylvania to relieve himself;
-but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
-was so heavy that he felt the necessity
-of relieving himself of the property entirely, and he
-offered to sell it to the crown. While the matter
-was under consideration, his health began to decline;
-however, the terms were agreed upon, but while the
-papers were in the course of preparation he died
-peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>
-30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial
-ground belonging to Jordan’s meeting house.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder
-of this commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this
-city of Philadelphia.</p>
-
-<p>Let us see now what there was in this life which
-we may find it interesting to recall and dwell upon;
-what there was in it which may be useful for us to
-consider in its application to ourselves.</p>
-
-<p>William Penn was born in the city of London on
-the 14th of October, 1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s,
-near the Tower. His father was an admiral
-and his grandfather was a captain in the English
-navy. Then, as now, it was the custom of English
-families of good condition to send their boys away
-from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
-therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead,
-in Essex, called Chigwell. Here he remained until
-he was thirteen years old, with no incident particularly
-worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
-of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions,
-which, however, like many other boys, he soon threw
-aside. He seems to have been apt to learn, and was
-fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
-two years after leaving school, he was under private
-instruction at home, until he was fifteen years old,
-when he entered the University of Oxford. Here he
-devoted himself most diligently to his studies and became
-a successful student. But this did not prevent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>
-him from entering most heartily into the sports which
-were common to young men of his quality. He was
-very fond of boating, fishing, shooting, and other
-pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he
-avoided dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the
-keenest enjoyment of healthful sports is quite consistent
-with a pure life. If the college students of
-this day would believe and act upon this principle,
-it would be better for them and better for the world.</p>
-
-<p>With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this
-diligent application to study, he had a very tender
-sympathy and love for domestic animals. Towards
-those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness
-that was almost womanly.</p>
-
-<p>But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to
-turn him aside from a course of duty, when he was
-satisfied that it was real duty. During his school
-and college life there were many seasons of religious
-interest in his experience, and he was at last brought
-(under the preaching of a member of the Society of
-Friends named Thomas Loe) to declare himself a
-member of that society. He therefore refused to attend
-the services of the Church of England. The
-custom of wearing surplices by Oxford students,
-which had been abolished in Cromwell’s time, had
-been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came
-out as a religious man, threw off his surplice and refused
-to wear it. This act was bad enough in the
-eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went further<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span>
-than this, and, in common with some others of the
-same way of thinking, he so far forgot himself as to
-attack other students and tear off their surplices.
-This very grave offence could not be overlooked, and,
-admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from
-the University of Oxford. This was a great blow to
-his father, who was building the fondest hopes on the
-advancement of his son at college and his career as
-a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce
-the son to reconsider his conduct, and his father at
-last flogged him and drove him from the house.
-Some time after this, through the intercession of the
-mother, the young man was brought back to his
-home; and his father, in the hope that a change of
-scene and circumstances would work a change in the
-lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
-continent.</p>
-
-<p>While in Paris he studied the French language,
-and read some books in theology, and went as far as
-Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he was recalled
-to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs.
-He then studied law for a year, which no doubt was
-of some help to him in the founding of his commonwealth.
-Then his father sent him to take care of
-his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty
-of the Duke of Ormond. He entered the
-army here, and did good service too; and was, apparently,
-so much pleased with his new life that he
-suffered the only portrait of him that was ever painted,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>
-to be taken when he was wearing armor and in uniform.
-This picture, or a copy of it, may now be
-seen at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in
-Spruce street, above Eighth.</p>
-
-<p>About this time he came again under the influence
-of the preacher Loe, and was recalled by his father,
-who remonstrated with him on his new mode of life,
-but with no success whatever. He would not give
-up his new religion. His father tried to compromise
-the matter with him, and he even went so far as to
-propose to his son, that if he would remove his hat
-in the presence of the king and the Duke of York
-and his father, as his superiors, their differences
-might be healed; but the son, believing that the removal
-of his hat would be dishonorable to God, absolutely
-refused.</p>
-
-<p>His life for some time after this was stormy
-enough. He came out boldly and in defiance of law
-as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was repeatedly
-imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London
-and sometimes in the loathsome prison of Newgate,
-from which places he was released by the intercession
-of the Duke of York and his father and other
-friends.</p>
-
-<p>Those were very rough times, not likely, let us
-hope, to be repeated. Society was very corrupt at
-the highest sources, and religion was more violent
-and aggressive in its measures then than now. The
-world has grown wiser and better—there is more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>
-toleration, more of the Spirit of the Master now than
-then, and in our favored land every soul can worship
-God as he may choose to do.</p>
-
-<p>William Penn was a <em>statesman</em>. He founded this
-great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He established
-a code of laws that were in advance of his
-time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture,
-that law which gives the lands of the father to the
-<em>oldest</em> son, with little or no provision for younger
-sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the crown
-of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth.
-The property of a parent dying without
-a will should be <em>equally divided among his children</em>.
-Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense
-of the term. His laws were for the greatest good of
-the greatest number. He treated the Indians as if
-they were human beings, and not as if they were
-brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as
-the Indians have been treated even in our day by
-harsh and unscrupulous agents of the government.
-Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with
-Lord Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not
-know. Perhaps he was not. We know this misunderstanding
-gave him great trouble, and was indeed
-the prime cause of his return to England.</p>
-
-<p>Penn was a <em>rich man</em>. The inheritance left him
-by his father was handsome, and he could have lived
-most comfortably upon it. But when he received
-from the crown the charter which made him the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>
-owner of Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder,
-except sovereigns, known in history. He did
-not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
-luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed
-that he held his property as a trustee, and
-that he had no right to waste it. He might have
-lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it
-is said his father was offered a peerage), but such a
-life had no charms for him.</p>
-
-<p>Penn was a <em>conscientious man</em>. I mean by this
-that he followed his inner convictions, without regard
-to consequences. What he wanted to know
-was, whether a given thing was <em>right</em> and according
-to his way of determining what the right was; and
-he did it if it were a duty, without flinching. No
-personal inconvenience, no consideration for the views
-or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the
-way of his duty, as he understood it. It was the
-custom of that time for gentlemen to wear swords,
-as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no
-purpose except as an ornament or part of the dress.
-Some time after he joined the Society of Friends,
-and while still wearing his sword, he said to his
-friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles
-and our testimonies against war for me to wear
-my sword?” When Fox replied, “Wear thy sword
-as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
-This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword
-never to resume it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p>
-
-<p>William Penn was a <em>religious man</em>. He was called
-by the Holy Spirit at the early age of twelve years,
-as I have already said. He resisted that call and
-many others, until under faithful preaching he could
-resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the
-divine call and became an open professor of the
-principles of the Society of Friends. This was a
-very different thing, so far as personal comfort was
-concerned, from professing religion in the ordinary
-forms; for this was to join a hated sect, and bear all
-the contempt and persecution that belonged to a profession
-of religion in the early days of Christianity,
-when men, women and children perilled their lives
-in the service of the great Master. But Penn cared
-not for the cost; he was ready to go to prison, and to
-death if necessary, for his opinions. He <em>did</em> go to
-prison over and over again, and bore right manfully
-all that was put upon him. He was not idle, however,
-in the prison. He preached to his fellow-prisoners;
-he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
-power to make known to others the good tidings of
-salvation that had come to him. He wrote a great
-many letters, and they were all full of the spirit of
-religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth, that
-might have been written by a systematic theologian;
-but among the most practical things he wrote was
-the address to his children, that it would be well if
-all people would read, and which, with a few exceptions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>
-is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it
-was for those who lived two hundred years ago.</p>
-
-<p>If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had
-not been worth recording. He would have lived the
-life that was lived by almost all men of his class at
-that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
-luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in
-store for the New World, to be wrought out by the
-instrumentality of man, could have chosen another
-man, but he chose Penn.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the story of the life of a man who was one
-of the world’s heroes. His name will never die.
-There is a large literature on the subject of his life,
-some of which you will find in your own library, if
-you choose to look further into it. This is all that I
-feel it proper to say to you to-day about it.</p>
-
-<p>Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in
-Pennsylvania, as all of you were. And this could
-hardly be said of any other congregation in this city
-to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its
-size, it is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the
-whole of England. As to great rivers and mountains
-and mines and metals, as to forests and fields, we are
-far in advance of anything of the kind in England.
-No valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive
-than the valleys of our own Pennsylvania.</p>
-
-<p>It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the
-city of Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was
-founded by a great and good man. There are, in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span>
-civilized world, but three cities that are larger than
-ours. There is no city, except London, that has so
-many dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere
-in all the world where the poor man who works for
-his living can live so happily and so well.</p>
-
-<p>In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You
-will soon many of you take your place among the
-citizens, and have your share in choosing the men
-who make and execute the laws. Some of you <em>will
-be</em> the men who make and execute the laws. William
-Penn founded this commonwealth, not only to
-provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members
-of his own society, but to afford an asylum for
-the good and oppressed of every nation; and he
-founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
-principles of Christianity might be carried out in
-practice. When you come to take your part in the
-duties of public life, see to it that you forget not his
-wise and noble purpose.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONSTITUTION">OUR CONSTITUTION.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">October, 1887.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">I am about to do what I have never done—what
-has probably never been done by any other person
-in this chapel. I propose to give you a political
-speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly
-think you will be able to guess, from anything I
-say, to which of the two great political parties I
-belong.</p>
-
-<p>I do not go to the Bible for a text—though there
-are many passages in the holy Scriptures which
-would answer my purpose very well—but I take for
-my text the following passage from the will of Mr.
-Girard:</p>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">And especially I desire that by every proper
-means, a pure attachment to our republican institutions,
-and to the sacred rights of conscience as
-guaranteed by our happy Constitutions, shall be
-formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars.</span>”</p>
-
-<p>A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing
-with strangers. They came from all parts of the
-land, and some from distant parts of the world. Our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span>
-railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
-capacity. Our streets were thronged; our
-hotels and many private dwellings were full. It
-was said that there were half a million of strangers
-here. The President of the United States, the members
-of the Cabinet, many members of the national
-Senate and House of Representatives, the general
-of the army and many other generals, the highest
-navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the
-United States and of the State courts, the governors
-of most of the States—each with his staff—soldiers
-and sailors of the United States, and many regiments
-of State troops (the Girard College cadets among
-them)—a military and naval display of twenty-five
-thousand men—representatives of foreign states, an
-exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts, in a
-procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in
-all the world before; receptions and banquets, public
-and private; a general suspension of most kinds of
-business—all this occurred in the streets of our city,
-only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?</p>
-
-<p>It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the
-adoption of the Constitution of the United States,
-and it was considered to be an event of such importance
-that it was well worth while to pause in our
-daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still
-the busy hum of industry; to stop the wheels of
-commerce; to close our places of business.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p>
-
-<p>One hundred years ago the Constitution of the
-United States of America was adopted in this city.</p>
-
-<p>What had been our government before this time?
-Up to July, 1776, there had been thirteen colonies, all
-under the government of Great Britain. In the lapse
-of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance
-to the king of England, and subjected to certain
-taxes which they had no voice in considering and
-imposing, because they had no representation in the
-Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented
-and rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our
-own city of Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776,
-they united in a <span class="smcap">Declaration of Independence</span> of
-Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies
-as Free, Sovereign and Independent States.</p>
-
-<p>This, however, was only a <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>; and it
-took seven long years of exhausting and terrible
-war (which would have been longer still but for
-the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that
-independence and have it acknowledged by the
-governments of Europe.</p>
-
-<p>Before the <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>, each of the colonies had a
-State government and a written constitution for the
-regulation of its internal affairs. Now these colonies
-had become States, with the necessity upon them
-(not at first admitted by all) of a general compact or
-agreement, by which the States, while maintaining
-their independence in many things, should become a
-confederated or general government.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p>
-
-<p>More than a year passed before the Constitution,
-which the Convention agreed upon, was adopted by
-a sufficient number of the States to make it binding
-on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to
-say that my own little State of Delaware was the
-first to adopt it.</p>
-
-<p>Now, <span class="smcap">what is the Constitution</span>? How does it
-differ from the <em>laws</em> which the Congress enacts every
-winter in Washington?</p>
-
-<p>First, let me speak of other nations. There are
-two kinds of government in the world—monarchical
-and republican. And there are two kinds of monarchies—absolute
-and limited. An absolute monarch,
-whether he be called emperor or king, rules by his
-personal will—<span class="allsmcap">HIS WILL IS THE LAW</span>. One of the most
-perfect illustrations of absolute or personal government
-is seen on board any ship, where the will of the
-chief officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever
-his rank, is, and must be, the law. From his orders,
-his decisions, there is no appeal until the ship reaches
-the shore, when he himself comes under the law.
-This is a very ancient form of government, now
-known in very few countries calling themselves civilized.</p>
-
-<p>The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution,
-<em>un</em>written, as in Great Britain, or <em>written</em>,
-as in some other nations of Europe. In these countries
-the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
-instances with hardly as much power as our President.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span>
-They are not a law unto themselves, but are
-under the common law.</p>
-
-<p>The other kind of government is republican, democratic
-or representative. It is, as was happily said
-on the field of Gettysburg, long after the battle, by
-President Lincoln, “a government <em>of</em> the people, <em>by</em>
-the people, <em>for</em> the people.” These few plain words
-are well worth remembering—“of,” “by,” “for” the
-people. These are the traits which distinguish our
-government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
-absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.</p>
-
-<p>After the war between Germany and France, in
-1870, the German kingdoms of Prussia, Hanover,
-Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
-principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign,
-were consolidated or confederated as the German
-empire, and the king of Prussia, the present Frederick
-William, was crowned emperor of Germany.</p>
-
-<p>France, however, after that war, having had
-enough of kings and emperors, adopted the republican
-form of government. So that now there are
-three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland,
-and a little territory on the east coast of Italy, San
-Marino.</p>
-
-<p>So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of
-Africa (except Liberia), and the islands of Australia,
-and the northern part of North America (except
-Alaska), are under the government of monarchs;
-while the three countries of Europe already mentioned,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span>
-and our own country, and Mexico, and the
-Central American States, and all South America
-except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of
-South America under British rule), are republics.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[B]</a> One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
-believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
-Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>Now let us come back to our own government and
-see what is, and whether it is better than any form
-of monarchy; and if so, why.</p>
-
-<p>What is the <span class="smcap">Constitution of the United States</span>?
-The first clause in it is the best answer I can give:</p>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">We, the people of the United States</span>, in order
-to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
-domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence,
-promote the general welfare, and secure the
-blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
-ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
-States of America.”</p>
-
-<p>Then follow the articles and sections setting forth
-the principles on which it was proposed to build up
-a nation in this western world. The thirteen States
-each had its constitution and its laws, but <em>this instrument</em>
-was intended to serve as the foundation of the
-general government. Until these States had formed
-their constitutions, there was no republican government
-in the world except Switzerland and San Marino,
-and these lived only on the sufferance of their
-powerful monarchical neighbors. All South America<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span>
-was under Spanish rule, and Mexico was a monarchy.</p>
-
-<p>The great principle of a republic is that people
-<em>have a right to choose</em> their own rulers, and ought to
-do it. The divine right of hereditary monarchy we
-deny. It is often said that the English government
-is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
-not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote
-for his rulers. Whether so much liberty is perfectly
-safe for all people is well open to question; but it is
-a <span class="allsmcap">FACT</span> here, and if people would only behave themselves
-properly there would be no danger whatever
-in it. And if there <span class="allsmcap">IS</span> danger here, it comes not from
-native-born citizens trained under our free institutions.
-The sun does not shine on a broader, fairer
-land than this; and under that divine Providence,
-without whose gracious aid we could not have
-achieved and cannot maintain our Constitution, we
-have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
-dread in the future, but the evil men among us—the
-Anarchists and Socialists, the scum and off-scouring
-of Europe—who, with no fear of God before their
-eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
-and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow
-its very foundations.</p>
-
-<p>The highest and best types of monarchical governments
-are in Europe, and it is with such that we seek
-comparison when we insist that ours is better.</p>
-
-<p>Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span>
-father to the oldest son and to the oldest son of the
-oldest son where there are sons. England has rejoiced
-in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and Victoria,
-the present sovereign; but they came to the
-throne because there was no son in either case to
-inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever his character
-or want of character, <span class="allsmcap">MUST</span> reign when the sovereign
-dies, because, as they say, he rules by divine right.
-We insist on electing our President for a term of
-years, and if we like him we give him another term;
-if we do not like him, we drop him and try another.
-I wish the term of office of the President were longer,
-and that he could serve only one term. Perhaps it
-will come to that; and I think he would be a more
-independent, a better official under this condition.</p>
-
-<p>What is the difference between the Constitution
-and the laws?</p>
-
-<p>The Constitution is the great charter under which,
-and within which, the laws are made. No law that
-Congress may pass is worth the paper it is printed on
-if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
-been passed ignorantly, and have died.</p>
-
-<p>A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution
-of this College is Mr. Girard’s will. This is
-our charter. The laws which the Directors make must
-be within the provisions of the will or they will not
-stand. For instance, the will directs that none but
-<em>orphans</em> can be admitted here; and the courts have
-decided that a child without a father is an orphan.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span>
-The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who
-has a father living. The will says that only <em>boys</em> can
-be admitted; therefore no law that the Directors can
-make will admit a girl. Nor can the Directors make
-a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
-under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born
-anywhere except in certain States of our country—Pennsylvania,
-New York and Louisiana. It would
-be <span class="allsmcap">UNCONSTITUTIONAL</span>. I think now you see the difference
-between the Constitution and the laws.</p>
-
-<p>Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy?
-and why?</p>
-
-<p>Because the men of the present time make it, and
-are not bound by the traditions of far-off times.
-There are improvements in the science of government
-as in all other human inventions, as the centuries
-come and go. Man is progressive; he would
-not be worth caring for if he were not. If the present
-age has not produced a higher and better development
-in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is
-not because men were perfect in the past or cannot
-be better in the present or in the future. Therefore
-when our Constitution is believed not to meet
-the requirements of the present day there is a way
-to amend it, although that way is so hedged up that
-it cannot possibly be altered without ample time for
-consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution
-has been altered or amended fifteen times since its<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>
-adoption; and it will be changed or amended as often
-as the needs of the people require it.</p>
-
-<p>We believe our form of government to be better
-than any monarchy because <em>the people choose their own
-law-makers</em>. The Congress is composed of two houses
-or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen by
-the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to
-serve for six years; the members of the House of
-Representatives (chosen by the citizens), who sit for
-two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is supposed
-to be the more conservative body, not easily
-moved by popular clamor; while the Representatives,
-chosen directly and recently by the voters, are supposed
-to know the immediate wants of the people.
-The thought of two houses grew probably from the
-two houses of the British parliament.</p>
-
-<p>We cannot have an <em>hereditary legislature</em> like the
-House of Lords in the British parliament, whose
-members sit, as the sovereign rules, by divine right,
-as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
-for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head,
-or only the nominal ruler, while the cabinet is the
-real government, and the House of Lords long ago
-sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence.
-There is no better reason for this than the
-fact that the people have nothing to do with the
-House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose
-and scatter them when they choose to rise in their
-power and assert themselves.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p>
-
-<p>We can have no <em>orders of nobility</em> under our Constitution.
-There can be no privileged class. All
-men are equal under the law. I do not mean that
-all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence
-has made us unequal. Some are endowed
-naturally with the highest mental and physical gifts
-and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
-This has always been so and always will be so.
-Some have inherited or acquired riches, while others
-have to labor diligently to make a bare living. Some
-have inherited their high culture and gentle manners
-and noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we
-sometimes call culture; and others have to acquire
-all this for themselves—and it is not very easy to get
-it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality,
-and cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment
-of our rights and in the undisturbed possession of
-what we have, we are all equal, as we could not be
-under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to
-success; all places are open to all.</p>
-
-<p>There can be no law of <em>primogeniture</em> under our
-Constitution. By this law, which still prevails in
-England, the eldest son inherits the titles and estates
-of the father, while the younger sons and all the
-daughters must be provided for in other ways.
-Some of the sons are put in the church, in the army
-or the navy, or in the professions, such as law and
-medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of
-a noble house is willing to engage in any kind of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>
-business or trade, for they are not so well thought
-of if they become tradesmen.</p>
-
-<p>There can be no <em>state church</em>, no <em>establishment</em>, under
-our Constitution. In England the Episcopal
-Church, and in Scotland the Presbyterian Church,
-are established by law; and until within the last
-seventeen years the Church of England was by law
-established in Ireland; and it is now established in
-Wales; and in other countries of Europe the Roman
-Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
-Greek Church are established by law. In countries
-where there is a national church, it derives more or
-less of its support from taxing the people, many of
-whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is
-no established church; and there never can be, let us
-hope and believe.</p>
-
-<p>Under our form of government we need no <em>standing
-army</em>. We owe this partly to the fact that we
-are so isolated geographically that we do not need to
-keep an army. I heard the general of our army
-say, a short time ago, that the regular army of the
-United States is a fiction—only 25,000 men. (You
-saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as
-are in all our army.) “The real army,” he added,
-“is composed of every able-bodied citizen; for all
-are ready to volunteer in the face of a common
-enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already,
-and it will probably be larger, but it will not again
-be enlarged as the result of war. When we look at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span>
-the nations of Europe, and see the immense numbers
-of men in their standing armies, we can’t help
-thanking God that we are separated from them by
-the wide Atlantic, and that we have a republican
-government, and have no temptation to seek other
-territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any
-cause. In the armies of Great Britain, Germany,
-Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are more than ten
-millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of
-the soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures.
-In Italy alone the standing army is said
-to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
-men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary
-to employ women to do work which in our country
-women are never asked to do. I have seen a woman
-drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the
-deck of that boat smoking his pipe and steering the
-boat. I have seen a woman with a huge load of
-fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her
-side and carrying his scythe. I have seen women
-yoked with dogs to carts, carrying the loads that
-here would be put in a cart and drawn by a horse.
-I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on
-their <em>heads</em>, filled with stone and mortar. I have
-seen women carrying huge baskets of manure on
-their backs to the field, and young girls breaking
-stone on the highway. Did you ever hear of such
-things here? See what a difference! The men in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>
-the army eat up the substance which the women
-produce from the soil.</p>
-
-<p>But nowhere else in the world is the <em>dignity of
-labor</em> recognized as here. They do not know the
-meaning of the words. For in most other countries
-it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be
-engaged in labor of any kind. A man who is not
-able to live without work is hardly considered a gentleman.
-To work with the hands is degrading; is
-what ought to be done by common people only, and
-by people who are not fit to associate with gentlemen
-and ladies. It is not so in this country. Here, a
-man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
-and honorable in his dealings with men, who
-cultivates his mind by reading and observation, and
-is careful of the usages of good society, is fit company
-for any one. He may rise to any place within
-the gift of his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is
-not so elsewhere. And think of a young girl hardly
-out of her teens, with no special preparation for such
-a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming
-the wife of the President of the United
-States, and proving herself entirely worthy of that
-high position! Could any other country match this?</p>
-
-<p>Now what is the effect of all this freedom of
-thought and action on the people? Well, it is not to
-be denied that there are some disadvantages. There
-is danger that we may over-estimate the individual
-in his personal rights, and not give due weight to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span>
-people as a community. There is danger of selfishness,
-especially among young people. There is not
-as much respect and reverence for age, and for those
-above us, and for the other sex, as there ought to be.
-Young people are very rude at times, when they
-should always be polite to their superiors in age or
-position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming
-out of school one day all lifted their hats to me,
-a stranger! That would be an astounding thing in
-a Philadelphia street! In riding in the neighborhood
-of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by
-the roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent
-answer.</p>
-
-<p>But in spite of these defects, which we hope will
-never be seen in a Girard College boy, the true effect
-of training under our republican institutions is to
-make men. There is a wider, freer, fuller development
-of what is in man than is known elsewhere.
-Man is much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent,
-vigorous, skillful, here—not knowing how
-high he may rise, and consciously or unconsciously
-preparing himself for anything to which he may be
-called. And for woman, too, where else does she
-meet the respect that belongs to her? Where else
-in the world do women find occupation in government
-offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable
-and educational institutions? With few exceptions,
-such as Girton College, where are there in
-any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>
-and as the Woman’s Medical College, almost
-under the walls of our own?</p>
-
-<p>I have already kept you too long. But a few
-words and I am done. I am moved by the injunction
-of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
-things, but by this grave consideration also. Every
-boy who hears me to-day, within fifteen years, if he
-lives, unless he is cut off by crime from the privilege,
-will be a voter. You will go to the polls to cast
-your votes for those who are to have the conduct of
-the government in all its parts. I want to make
-you feel, if I can, the high destiny that awaits you.
-You are distinctive in this respect—you are all
-American boys. This can be said of no other assembly
-as large as this in all this broad land. You have
-it in your power, and I want to help you to it, and
-God will if you ask him—you have it in your power
-to become American gentlemen. And I believe that
-an <em>American gentleman</em> is the very highest type of
-man.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <div class="verse indent0">God, give us men. A time like this demands</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">Men whom the lust of office does not kill;</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">Men who possess opinions and a will;</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Men who have honor, men who will not lie;</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">Men who can stand before a demagogue</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">In public duty and in private thinking.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp129">
-  <img src="images/i_fp129.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="noic"><i>James Lawrence Claghorn.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CLAGHORN">JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<p class="p2">When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and
-successful life it seems proper that something more
-than the ordinary obituary notices in the daily papers
-is due to his memory. This thought moves me
-to speak to you to-day of a gentleman who died on
-August 25, 1884, while a Director of the Girard College,
-and of whom it seems appropriate that something
-may be said to you in this chapel.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen
-of Philadelphia. He was born here on the 5th of
-July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn, was a
-merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter
-years of his life gave much time and thought to benevolent
-institutions. At the age of fourteen years
-James left school to go into business. You boys
-know how very incomplete an education at school
-must be which ends when the boy is fourteen years
-old. But you don’t know until your own experience
-proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to
-compete for the high places in life or in business with
-boys of equal natural ability, who have had the full<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span>
-advantage of a liberal school education. At fourteen,
-then, James Claghorn turned his back on
-school and went to work in earnest. For it was an
-auction store that he entered, and the work there
-was usually harder work than in other kinds of
-stores. The hours of labor were longer—earlier and
-later—and the holidays more rare than in ordinary
-commercial houses.</p>
-
-<p>There is no record of the early years of his business
-life; but it is not difficult to imagine the hardships
-to which a young lad of that time would be
-subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence
-was allowed him because his father was one of the
-partners in the firm; neither he nor his father would
-have permitted such distinction.</p>
-
-<p>The boy must have been <em>industrious</em>; for in such
-a house there was no place for an idle lounger. He
-was not afraid of work, for he was always at it; he
-did not spare himself, else some other boy would have
-done his share and got ahead of him; he must have
-been <em>faithful</em>, not one who works only when his master’s
-eye is on him—not shirking any hard work—not
-forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday—not
-thinking too much of his rights or his own particular
-work, but doing anything that came to hand—looking
-always to the interest of the firm, and
-trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.</p>
-
-<p>And he must have been <em>patient</em>. Many rough<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>
-words, many hasty and passionate words are spoken
-to young boys, and must have been spoken to this
-boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason
-to believe from the character he built up that he
-knew how to hold his tongue and not answer back.
-Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
-hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent
-discharge of boys who will “answer back”
-when they are reproved.</p>
-
-<p>And I think also that he must have been of a
-bright and cheery disposition and well mannered.
-Some young fellows who have to make their way in
-the world seem not to know the importance of a good
-address; in other words, politeness, good breeding.
-Nothing impresses one so favorably at first meeting a
-stranger as good manners. A frank, hearty greeting,
-a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a willingness
-to consider others, a desire to please for the sake
-of giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the
-contrary, sullenness, sluggishness, indifference, selfishness
-are all repulsive, and though allowance will
-be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
-yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young
-person, and they will certainly unfit him for a successful
-career. I did not know Mr. Claghorn when
-he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that
-the kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later
-life could have been a morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered
-boy.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span></p>
-
-<p>I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while
-still a boy; but we must not infer that he supposed
-his education was complete with the end of his school
-life, for it is very evident that he must have given
-very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We
-do not know how his evenings were spent when not
-in the counting-house; but he must have given a
-good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely that
-the books which he read were such as are to be found
-now at any book-stand, and in the hands of so many
-boys as they go to and fro on their errands—books
-which are simply read without instruction, and which
-sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant,
-coarse and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond
-of fiction. All boys of fair education and refined
-taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we can
-hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to
-such reading, else he could not have become the
-strong business man that he was. At a very early
-age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as
-his means would permit engravings and pictures such
-as would cultivate his taste in that direction. When
-he could spare the money he would buy an engraving,
-if the subject or the author interested him; so
-that he became, in the latter part of his life, the
-owner of one of the largest collections of engravings
-in the whole country. Indeed, he became a noted patron
-of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
-<em>native</em> art, so that at one period he had more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span>
-than two hundred paintings, the work of American
-artists; for at that time he was more desirous of encouraging
-native artists, especially if they were poor,
-than he was in making collections of the great masters.
-Many a picture he bought to help the artist,
-rather than for his own gratification as a collector.
-Further on in life he became deeply interested in the
-Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut
-street above Tenth. Subsequently he became its
-President, and very largely through his influence and
-his personal means that fine building at the southwest
-corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all
-of you ought to visit as opportunity is afforded, was
-erected as a depository of art. The splendid building
-of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
-street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its
-erection.</p>
-
-<p>But I am anticipating, and we must now go back
-to Mr. Claghorn in his counting-house. No longer a
-boy—an apprentice—he has grown to manhood, and
-has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
-place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the
-hours of business, which were long before, are longer
-now; he begins very early in the morning, before
-sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes detained
-late in the evening, the long day being entirely
-devoted to business; and no one knows, except one
-who has gone through that sort of experience, how
-much labor is involved in such a life; but not only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>
-his labors—his responsibilities are greatly increased.
-He becomes the financial man in the firm; he is the
-head of the counting-house; he has charge of the
-books and the accounts. For many years no entry
-was made in the huge ledgers except in his own
-handwriting. The credit of the house of Myers &amp;
-Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
-financial excitement and distress comes on. This
-house, while others are going down on the right and
-left like ships in a storm, stands erect with unimpaired
-credit, and with opportunities of helping other
-and weaker houses which so much needed help. The
-name of his firm was a synonym of all that is strong
-and admirable in business management.</p>
-
-<p>So he passed the best years of his whole life in
-earnest attention to business, snatching all the leisure
-he could for the gratification of his passion, it may be
-called, for art, until the time came when, having acquired
-what was at that time supposed to be an
-abundant competency, he determined to retire from
-business. Now he appears to contemplate a long
-rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
-arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment,
-when the country became involved in the
-Great Rebellion. None of you, except as you read
-it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
-country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at
-Fort Sumter. Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his
-country and unwilling to do what seemed to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span>
-almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
-his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself
-most diligently and earnestly to the duties of a true,
-loyal citizen in the support of the government. He
-was one of the earliest members of the Union
-League, and was largely interested in collecting
-money for the raising and equipping of regiments to
-be sent to the front. Three or four years of his life
-were spent in this laudable work, and in company
-with those of like mind he was largely instrumental
-in accomplishing great good. The war, however,
-came to an end—was fought out to its final and inevitable
-issue.</p>
-
-<p>Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned
-with increased interest. His business affairs, although
-they had not been as profitable as they would have
-been if he had looked closer to them and had given
-less thought to public matters during the war, were so
-satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other
-hands for a while, and in company with his wife he
-embarked for Europe. It was to be a long holiday
-such as he had never known before. He intended to
-make an extended tour—he was not to be hurried.
-He went through England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
-Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey,
-Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
-In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most
-famous picture-galleries of the old world; and his
-long study of art in its various phases and schools<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span>
-gave him special advantages for the highest enjoyment
-of the great collections, public and private,
-of the old masters as well as of those of modern
-times.</p>
-
-<p>The interest of his extended tour was not, however,
-limited to galleries and collections of paintings
-and statuary. He was an observer of men and
-things. His practical American mind observed and
-digested everything that came within his reach.
-The government of the great cities—the condition
-of the masses of the people gathered in them—the
-common people outside of the cities, their customs
-and costumes; their way of living—in short, everything
-that was unlike what we see at home—he
-observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect
-of after years.</p>
-
-<p>It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn,
-having lived the busy life that he had lived before
-he went abroad, should have been content on his
-return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned
-leisure; and accordingly, shortly after his
-return, he became the President of the Commercial
-National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
-in our city. For several years previously he
-had been a Director in the Philadelphia National
-Bank (as his father had before him), so that he had
-had proper training for the duties of his new position.
-He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia
-Saving Fund Society, the oldest and the largest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span>
-saving fund in our city. With most commendable
-diligence and industry he at once set about building
-up the bank so as to make it profitable to its stockholders.
-Not forgetting, however, the attractions of
-art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
-beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so
-that even the daily routine of business life might be
-enlivened by glimpses into the attractive world of
-art.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts
-was created by act of Legislature (to which board is
-committed the vast estate left by Mr. Girard, as well
-as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
-Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board
-of twelve, and from that date until his death he
-gave much time and thought to the duties thus devolved
-upon him. He became chairman of the
-finance committee, which place he held until the end
-of his life. Although he was not so well known to
-the boys of the college as some other members of
-this board, because his duties did not require very
-frequent visits to the college, he nevertheless gave
-himself to the duties of the committee of which he
-was chairman with great interest and fidelity; and
-the time which he gave to this great work is not to
-be measured by visits to the college, but by the time
-spent in the city office and in his own place of business,
-where his committee met him on their stated
-meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>
-personal interest in all the affairs of this college, and
-of the other trusts committed to our charge.</p>
-
-<p>Although the condition of his health in the latter
-part of his life made close attention to business
-very trying to him, so far as I know he never permitted
-his health to interfere with his business engagements.</p>
-
-<p>In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to
-set before you some features of the life of one of our
-most distinguished citizens. In the limits of a single
-discourse as brief as this must be it is not possible
-to make this more than an outline sketch. In the
-little time that remains let me refer again for the
-purpose of emphasis to some traits in the character
-of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear reconsideration.</p>
-
-<p>A very large proportion of the merchants of any
-city fail in business. The proportion is much larger
-than is generally known, and larger than young people
-are willing to believe.</p>
-
-<p>In an experience of more than forty years of business
-life, during which I have had much to do with
-merchants, I have known so many failures, have seen
-so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am compelled
-to regard a merchant who has maintained
-high credit for a long term of years and finally retired
-from business with a handsome estate as one
-who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
-fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span>
-in successful business, the good management
-having been due to the ability and tact of their
-seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present
-case. The merchant whose life we are considering
-was an active and influential partner.</p>
-
-<p>Let me say, however, that true success in business
-is not to be measured by the amount of money one
-accumulates. A man may be rich in the riches acquired
-by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
-no high sense a successful business man. These
-things are necessary: He should be a just man, an
-upright, honorable man, a man of breadth and solidity
-of character, who gathers about him some of the
-ablest and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the
-good of others and the welfare of society. In such
-sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful business man.</p>
-
-<p>His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial
-aid and encouragement he gave to young
-students in their beginnings, his deep sympathy with
-persons who in literature and art were striving for a
-living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public
-spirit—all these had their influence in the growth
-and development of his character, and made his name
-to be loved and honored by many who shared in his
-generous sympathies.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call
-patriotism, was signally disclosed at the outbreak of
-the war in 1861. When we remember his long and
-busy life as a merchant—broken by few or no vacations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>
-such as most other men enjoyed—when we remember
-that his self-culture had been of such a nature
-as to prepare him most admirably well for a tour
-in foreign countries, especially such countries as had
-produced the ablest, the most distinguished artists—we
-can have some idea of what it cost him to forego
-the much needed rest—to deny himself the well-earned
-pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of
-Europe, where are gathered the treasures of the
-highest art in all the world. Many men in like circumstances
-would have felt that one man, whose age
-and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service
-in the field, would hardly be missed from among the
-loyal citizens of the North—but he did not think so;
-and therefore he put aside all his personal plans, and
-in the city where he was born he remained and devoted
-himself as one of her true, loyal citizens in
-raising money and men for the defence of the government.
-There could be no truer heroism than this,
-and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose
-to the end.</p>
-
-<p>“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at
-his funeral, and with his words I close these remarks,
-“I am permitted to address to you in the presence
-of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
-occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know
-no more in life. A few Saturday evenings ago I was
-walking along by a lake at a seashore home when a
-great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span>
-eye. It was one of those inimitable pictures that
-rarely come to one. In the foreground there lay a
-lake with no ripple on its surface. It was a calm
-and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the
-western sky. The sun had gone, but where he disappeared
-were indications of beauty—one of the most
-beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not
-one of the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there
-came many reflections. Here is one of them. It
-seems quite applicable this morning. That which
-caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused
-the radiation of beauty, had gone. Its day’s work
-was done. That quiet lake and streaked sky were
-the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life
-that had been accomplished. It was a complete
-thing. The day was done. The activity had passed
-away. It was finished just as this life. What had
-made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments
-of beauty that made the scene as beautiful as
-good words and noble deeds make the memory of man.
-There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
-of this community, you will do well to remember that
-anywhere and everywhere, without patience and industry,
-nothing great can be done. The life departed
-was a busy one—one of busy usefulness. The cry
-that came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be
-busy.’ Live as this man did, that your life may be
-one that can be held up as an example and a light to
-young men of the coming generations. One ray of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>
-beauty was his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid
-thing to be trusted by your fellows. Another ray was
-his prudent foresight. It was characteristic of him,
-and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray
-that welled out of him was his striking humanity.
-There was one continual trait in his character. I
-would call it manhoodness. There was another feature—his
-deep humility.”</p>
-
-<p>Such were some of the traits of character of a man
-who lived a long life in the city where he was born.
-If no distinctive monument has been erected to his
-memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy
-of the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of
-Music,” with which his name will always be associated;
-and, what is better still, there are many
-hearts that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish
-man, who in time of sore need stretched out
-his hand to help, and that hand was never empty.
-And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this
-man who did so much for his native city and for his
-fellow-citizens was not nearly so well educated at the
-age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
-are now. See what he did; see what some of you
-may do!</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="LEAF">THE LEAF TURNED OVER.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">January 1, 1888.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning
-Over a New Leaf.” One of the directors of this
-college to whom I sent a printed copy said I ought to
-follow those with another on this subject: “The
-Leaf Turned Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion
-and shall now try to follow his advice.</p>
-
-<p>Most thoughtful people as they approach the end
-of a year are apt to ask themselves some plain questions—as
-to their manner of life, their habits of
-thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
-their home, their families, their companions,
-their plans for the future, their duty to their fellow-men,
-their duty to God; in short, whether the year
-about to close has been a happy one; whether they
-have been successful or otherwise in what they have
-attempted to do.</p>
-
-<p>The merchant, manufacturer or man of business
-of any kind who keeps books, and whose accounts
-are properly kept, looks with great interest at his
-account book at such a time, to see whether his business
-has been profitable or otherwise, whether he has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>
-lost or made money, whether his capital is larger or
-smaller than it was at the beginning of the year,
-whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able
-to pay his debts or is bankrupt.</p>
-
-<p>And to very many persons engaged in business for
-themselves, this is a time of great anxiety, for one
-can hardly tell exactly whether he is getting on
-favorably until his account books are posted and the
-balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and
-the result of the year’s business is a loss, that means
-a reduction of capital, and raises the question whether
-this can go on for some years without failure and
-bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks
-with great anxiety to the month of December, and
-especially to the end of it, to learn whether he shall
-be able to go on in his business, however humble.
-And, alas! there are many whose books of account
-are so badly kept, and whose balances are so rarely
-struck, or who keep no account books at all, that
-they never know how they stand, but are always under
-the apprehension that any day they may fail to
-meet their obligations and so fail and become bankrupt.
-They were insolvent long before, but they did
-not know it; and they have gone on from bad to
-worse until they are ruined. Others, again, are
-afraid to look closely into their account books—afraid
-to have the balances struck, lest they should be convinced
-that their affairs are in a hopeless condition.
-Unhappy cowards they are, for if insolvent the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span>
-sooner they know it the better, that they may make
-the best settlement they can with their creditors, if
-the business is worth following at all, and begin
-again, “turning over a new leaf.”</p>
-
-<p>I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever
-thought much on these subjects; for you are not in
-business as principals or as clerks, you have no merchandise
-or produce or money to handle, you have no
-account books for yourselves or for other people to
-keep, to post, to balance, and you may think you
-have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to be
-able to show you that these things are not matters
-of indifference to you.</p>
-
-<p>The year 1887, which closed last night, was just
-as much <em>your</em> year as it was that of any man, even
-the busiest man of affairs. When it came, 365 days
-ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left
-all of you here. And the question naturally arises,
-what have you done with this time, all these days
-and nights? Every page in the account books of
-certain kinds of business represents a day of business,
-and either the figures on both the debit and
-the credit side are added up and carried forward, or
-the balance of the two sides of the page is struck and
-carried over leaf to the next page.</p>
-
-<p>So every day of the past year represents a page in
-the history of your lives: for every life, even the
-plainest and most humble, has its own peculiar history.
-Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span>
-things occur to break the monotony of school
-life, but each day has its own duties and makes its
-own record. Three hundred and sixty-five pages of
-the book of the history of every young life here
-were duly filled by the records of all the things done
-or neglected, of the words spoken or unspoken, of
-the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages with
-their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were
-turned over, and are now numbered with the things
-that are past and gone. When an accountant or
-book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year
-are closed and the balances struck, that errors had
-crept in which have disturbed the accuracy of his
-work, he cannot go back with a knife and erase the
-errors and write in the correct figures; neither can
-he blot them out, nor rub them out as you do examples
-from a slate or from the blackboard; he must
-correct his mistakes; he must counteract his blunders
-by new entries on a new page.</p>
-
-<p>It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night
-at midnight the last page of the leaves of the book
-of the old year was filled with its record, whatever it
-was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
-What do we see? What does every one of you see?
-A fair, white page. And each one of you holds a
-pen in his hand and the inkstand is within reach;
-you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page,
-the thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed
-than any pen, even that of the quickest shorthand<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>
-writer can put them on the page. There are
-stenographers who can take the language of the most
-rapid speakers, but no stenographer has ever yet appeared
-who can put his own thoughts on paper as rapidly
-as they come into his mind. But while there is
-but one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge
-of what is passing in your mind and retain it
-all—<span class="allsmcap">THE INFINITE MIND</span>; and while no one page of
-any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers
-call elephant folio, can possibly hold the
-record of what any boy here says and thinks in a
-single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
-words good or bad on the page before you.</p>
-
-<p>Let me take one of these boys not far from the
-desk, a boy of sixteen or seventeen years of age, who
-is now waiting, pen in hand, to write the thoughts
-now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts?
-No one knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I
-think he ought to write? It is something like this:</p>
-
-<p>“I have been here many years. When I came I
-was young and ignorant. I found myself among
-many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I
-ever saw before, who cared no more for me than I
-cared for them. I felt very strange; the first few
-days and nights I was very unhappy, for I missed
-very much my mother and the others whom I had
-left at home. But very soon these feelings passed
-away. I was put to school at once, and in the
-school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span>
-things and the people about my other home. Years
-passed. I was promoted from one school to another,
-from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
-my classmates were no longer little boys; we were
-all looking up and looking forward to the school
-promotions, and I became a big boy. The lessons
-were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand
-at last why I was sent here, and to ask myself
-the question, what might reasonably be expected of
-me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
-would force itself upon me, what use am I making
-of my fine advantages, or am I making the best use
-of them? And what manner of man shall I be?
-For I know full well that all well-educated boys do
-not succeed in life—do not become successful men in
-the highest and best sense. How do I know that I
-shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
-the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly
-manly, trustworthy boy? Have I succeeded while
-going through the course of school studies in building
-up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this
-great school? Can those who know me best place
-the most confidence in me? If I am looking forward
-to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or in a
-lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a
-place in a railroad office or a bank, am I really trying
-to fit myself for such a place, or am I simply
-drifting along from day to day, doing only what I am
-compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span>
-rise above the dull average of my companions? And
-then, as I look at the difficulties in the way of every
-young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
-has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present
-and the persons and things that surround me now,
-and look to a higher and better Helper than is to be
-found in this world? Have I not at times heard
-words of good counsel in this chapel, from the lips
-of those who come to give me and my companions
-wholesome advice? What attention have I given to
-such advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt
-it, that the great God stoops from heaven and speaks
-to my soul, and offers his Divine help, and even holds
-out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take
-my hand in his, and help me over all hard places,
-and will never let me go, if I cling to him, and will
-assure me success in everything that is right and
-good. I have heard all this over and over again; I
-know it is true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed
-it; I have not acted accordingly; in fact, I
-have treated the whole matter as if it were unreal,
-or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to
-me.</p>
-
-<p>“And now I have come probably to my last year
-in this school. Before another New Year’s day some
-other boy will have my desk in the school-room, my
-bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
-in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they
-have seemed, have nearly all passed; I shall soon go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span>
-away; if some place is not found for me I must find
-one for myself—oh! what will become of me? Since
-last New Year’s day two boys who were educated
-here have been sent convicted criminals to the Eastern
-Penitentiary. What are they thinking about on
-this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats,
-they sang our hymns, they heard the same good
-words of advice which I have heard, they had all the
-good opportunities which all of us have; what led
-them astray? Did they believe that the good God
-stooped from heaven to say good words to them, holding
-out his strong hand to help them? I wonder if
-they thought they were strong enough to take care
-of themselves? I wonder if they thought they could
-get along without his help? Do I think I can?”</p>
-
-<p>Some such thoughts as these may be passing in
-the mind of the boy now looking at me and sitting
-not far from the desk, the boy whom I had in my
-mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen
-full of ink. He has written nothing yet; he has
-been listening with some curiosity to hear what the
-speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a
-boy’s thoughts.</p>
-
-<p>I can tell that boy what <em>I</em> would write if I were at
-his age, in this college, and surrounded by these circumstances,
-listening to these serious, earnest words.
-I would take my pen and write on the first page of
-this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New
-Year’s day, these words: “<em>The leaf is turned over!</em><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>
-God help me to lead a better life. God forgive all
-the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all my
-forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God
-keep me from wicked thoughts which defile the soul;
-keep me from wicked words which defile the souls of
-others.”</p>
-
-<p>“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me
-to begin my journal by writing a prayer?”</p>
-
-<p>Yes; but this is not all. Write again.</p>
-
-<p>1. <em>I will not willingly break any of the rules which
-are adopted for the government of our school.</em></p>
-
-<p>Some of the rules may <em>seem</em> hard to obey, and even
-unreasonable, but they were made for my good by
-those who are wiser than I am. I <em>can</em> obey them;
-I <em>will</em>.</p>
-
-<p>2. <em>I will work harder over my lessons than ever before,
-and I will recite them more accurately.</em></p>
-
-<p>This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall
-be the better for it; it will not be long, for I am going
-soon; I <em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
-
-<p>3. <em>I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully
-than I have ever done before.</em></p>
-
-<p>If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no
-more. It is a common fault; many of us boys have
-fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I will do so
-no more; I <em>can</em> stop it, I <em>will</em>.</p>
-
-<p>4. <em>I will be more careful in my daily life here, to
-set a good example in all things, than I have ever been
-before.</em></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p>
-
-<p>The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate
-them closely. They watch us, our words, our
-ways, our behavior in all things. If any young fellows
-have been misled by me, it shall be so no more.
-I will behave so that no one shall be the worse for
-doing as I do. This is quite within my control; I
-<em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
-
-<p>5. <em>I will look to God to help me to do these things.</em></p>
-
-<p>For I have tried to do something like this before
-and failed; it must be because I depended on my
-own strength. Now I will look away from myself
-and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is
-strong, nothing is holy.” He <em>can</em> help me; he surely
-will, if I throw myself on his mercy, and by daily
-prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for a
-moment or two each day, I shall see light and find
-peace.</p>
-
-<p>These are the things that I would write, my boy,
-if I were just as you are.</p>
-
-<p>Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther
-and say some words to others here?</p>
-
-<p>Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all
-under your charge, and every day. The same good
-Providence that brought them here for education
-and support, brought you here also to teach them
-and care for them. Your work is exacting, laborious,
-unremitting. Some of these young boys are
-trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
-almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span>
-discouraged by what seems to be the almost hopeless
-nature of your work, the untidiness, the rough manners,
-the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these
-young boys. But remember that all this is inevitable;
-that from the nature of the case it must be
-so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
-to good order, to train and educate these young lives
-so that they shall be well educated, well informed,
-well mannered, polite, gentle, considerate, so they
-may be fairly well assured of a successful future, is a
-great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the
-highest intelligence. This is exactly what the great
-founder had in his mind when he established this
-college and provided so munificently for its endowment.
-This is what his trustees most earnestly desire,
-and the hope of which rewards them for the
-many hours they give every week to the care of this
-great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the
-plan of instruction here, not only in the schools, but
-in the section rooms and on the play-grounds. Be
-to these older boys their big brothers, their best
-friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled
-to reprove them for their many faults.</p>
-
-<p>And to those of you who have the care of the
-younger boys, let me say: remember, they have no
-mothers here; they are very young to send from
-home; they are homesick at times; they hardly
-know how to behave themselves; they shock your
-sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you almost to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span>
-distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage
-them, love them, for if <em>you</em> do not, who will?
-And what will become of them? And remember
-what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life
-out of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and
-make a real man of it. Oh! friends, suffer these
-words of exhortation, for they come from one who
-has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying
-work.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
-on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
-away; and there was found no place for them. And
-I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
-and the books were opened; and another book was
-opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were
-judged out of those things which were written in
-the books, according to their works. And the sea
-gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell
-delivered up the dead which were in them; and they
-were judged every man according to his works—Rev.
-xx. 11–13.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="THANKSGIVING">THANKSGIVING DAY.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">November 29, 1888.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">The President of the United States, in a proclamation
-which you have just heard, has set apart this
-29th day of November for a day of thanksgiving and
-prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
-given to the people of our country, and for a continuance
-of these mercies. His example has been
-followed by the governors of Pennsylvania and many,
-if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe
-that all over the land, from Maine to Alaska,
-and from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, the
-people in large numbers are now gathered or gathering
-in their places of worship, in obedience to this
-proper recommendation. The directors of this college,
-in full sympathy with the thoughts of our
-rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released you
-from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel,
-and asked you to unite with the people generally in
-giving thanks to God for the past, and imploring his
-mercies for the future. For you are a part of the
-people, and although not yet able, from your minority,
-to take an active part in the government, are yet<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span>
-being rapidly prepared for this great right of citizenship.
-It is the high privilege of an American boy, to
-know that when he becomes a man he will have just
-as clear a right as any other man, to exercise all the
-functions of a freeman, in choosing the men who are
-to be intrusted with the responsibilities of government.
-What are some of the things that give us
-cause for thankfulness to Almighty God? Very
-briefly such as these:</p>
-
-<p>1. <em>This is a Christian country.</em> Although there
-is not, and cannot be, any part or branch of the church
-established by law, there is assured liberty for every
-citizen to worship God by himself, or with others in
-congregations, as he or they may choose, in such
-forms of worship as may be preferred, with none to
-molest or make afraid. Here is absolute freedom of
-worship. And even if it be that the name of God is
-not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or
-governor or public officer can be inducted or inaugurated
-in high office except by taking oath on the
-book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
-faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there
-were nothing else, this public acknowledgment of
-the being of Almighty God and our accountability to
-him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
-a Christian people.</p>
-
-<p>2. <em>This is a free government</em>, free in the sense that
-the people choose their own rulers, whether of towns,
-cities, States, or the nation. There is no hereditary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span>
-rule here, and cannot be. We not only <em>choose</em> our
-own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them for
-whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority
-accept the decision when it is ascertained, without
-doubt, without a question of its righteousness; they
-only want to know whether the majority have actually
-chosen this or that candidate, and they accept
-frankly, if not cheerfully. We have had a splendid
-illustration of this within this present month. The
-great party that has administered the government
-for four years past, on the verdict of the majority,
-are preparing to retire and will retire on the fourth
-of March next, and give up the government to the
-other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere else
-in the world can such a revolution be accomplished
-on so grand a scale, by so many people, with so little
-friction. This government then is better than <em>any
-monarchy</em>, no matter how carefully guarded by constitutional
-restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
-governments are in Europe: the best of all
-in England; but the governments of Europe have
-many and great concessions to make to the people,
-before they can stand side by side with the United
-States in strong, healthy, considerate management
-of the people. It has been said that the best machinery
-is that which has the least friction, and as
-the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of
-government will be so smooth that the people will
-hardly know that they are governed at all; in fact,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>
-they will be their own governors. This time is coming
-as sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand,
-and you boys can hasten it by your own upright,
-manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
-forget that this is a government of the majority,
-and you must see to it that the majority be true
-men.</p>
-
-<p>3. <em>We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of
-the world.</em> The Atlantic separates us from Europe
-on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from South America
-on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes
-our western shores. We are a continent to ourselves,
-with the exception of Mexico, a sister republic on
-the south, with whom we are not likely to quarrel
-again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north,
-which, if never to become a part of ourselves, will at
-least at some day, and probably not a very distant
-day, become independent of the mother country as
-we did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained
-our freedom. Our distance from Europe relieves
-us entirely from the consideration of subjects
-which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
-which very often thrill the rest of the world in the
-apprehension of a general war in Europe. We are
-under no necessity of annexing other territory. We
-are not afraid of what is called “the balance of
-power;” we have no army that is worthy of the
-name, because we don’t need one, and we can make
-one if we should need it; and we have no navy to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>
-speak of, though I think we ought to have for the
-protection of our commerce, when our commerce
-shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
-with other nations; the great father of his
-country in his Farewell Address warned the people
-against this danger.</p>
-
-<p>4. <em>Our country is very large.</em> You school-boys
-can tell me as well as I can tell you what degrees of
-latitude and longitude we reach, and how many
-millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we
-brag too much about the great extent of our country;
-but I do not refer to it now for boasting, but as a
-matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
-It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic
-to the tropics, gives us every variety of climate and
-almost every variety of product that the earth produces;
-and I am sure that the time will come when,
-under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have
-yet reached, our soil will produce everything that
-grows anywhere else in the world. The corn harvest
-now being gathered in our country will reach
-<em>two thousand millions of bushels</em>. The mind staggers
-under such ponderous figures and quantities. Our
-wheat fields are hardly less productive; our potatoes
-and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products
-of our cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything
-that our soil above ground yields; and the enormous
-yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our natural gas,
-our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span>
-and binding the people together with bands of
-steel—all these, and many others, which time will
-not permit me even to mention, give some faint idea
-of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty
-God has given to the American people. And do we
-not well therefore, when we come together on a day
-like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?</p>
-
-<p>5. <em>The general education of the people</em> is another
-reason for thankfulness to God. The system is
-not yet universal, but it will be at no distant day.
-You boys will live to see the day when every man,
-woman and child born in the United States (except
-those who are too young or feeble-minded) will be
-able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to come.
-Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn
-to do their own reading and thinking, we shall not
-fear anarchists and atheists and the many other fools
-who, under one name or another, are now trying to
-make this people discontented with their lot. There
-is no need for such people here, and no place for
-them; they have made a mistake in coming to this
-free land, as some of them found to their cost on the
-gallows at Chicago.</p>
-
-<p>6. <em>We have no war in our country, no famine, and
-with the exception of poor Jacksonville, Florida, no
-pestilence.</em> Famine we have never known, and with
-such an extent of country we have little need to
-dread such a scourge as that. No one need suffer
-for food in our country, and this is the only country<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span>
-in the world of which this can be said; for labor of
-some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap,
-plain kinds of food, that none but the utterly dissipated
-and worthless need starve; and in fact none do
-starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
-the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering
-not only, but actually provide them with a home, that
-for real comfort is not known elsewhere in the world.</p>
-
-<p>Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful
-proportions, but even then the alleviations furnished
-by the Christian Commission greatly relieved
-some of its most horrid features; and we are
-not likely to see war again, for there will be hereafter
-nothing to quarrel and fight about. Our political
-differences will never again lead to the taking up
-of arms in deadly strife.</p>
-
-<p>Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness
-which led the President of the United States to ask
-the people, by public proclamation, to turn aside for
-one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
-their counting-houses, to close the schools, and
-assemble in their places of worship and thank God,
-the giver of every good and perfect gift.</p>
-
-<p>But I don’t think the President of the United
-States knew what special reasons the Girard College
-boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
-shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some
-of them.</p>
-
-<p>1. This foundation is under the control of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>
-Board of City Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the
-bulk of his great estate for this noble purpose, he
-gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
-Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia
-could act only through its legislative body, the
-select and common councils, bodies elected by the
-people, and consequently more or less under the influence
-of one or the other of the great political parties.
-Nearly twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr.
-William Welsh, who became the first President of
-the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of Pennsylvania
-took from the control of councils all the
-charitable trusts of the city and committed them to
-this board. If any political influences were ever unworthily
-exerted in the former board it ceased when
-the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges
-of the Supreme Court named the first directors of the
-City Trusts. These directors are all your friends;
-they give much thought, much labor, much anxiety
-to your well-being, desiring to do the best things
-that are possible to be done for your welfare, and to
-do them in the best way. Many of them have been
-successful in finding desirable situations for such of
-your number as were prepared to accept such places.
-I am glad to say that I have three college boys associated
-with me in my business; Mr. Stuart had two;
-Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner has two,
-and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other
-members of the board have also, so you see our interest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span>
-in you is not limited to the time which we
-spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
-but we are ever on the lookout for things which we
-hope may be to your advantage.</p>
-
-<p>2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these
-beautiful buildings, which were erected for your use;
-these grounds, which are so well kept and which are
-so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
-that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine
-shall lack nothing that is desirable to make
-them what they ought to be; the text-books which
-you use in school, the best that can be found; the
-teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can
-be procured; the prefects and governesses chosen
-from among many applicants, and because they are
-supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who
-have to do with you here are chosen because they
-are supposed to be well qualified to discharge their
-duties most successfully. The arrangements for your
-lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of
-your tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick,
-are such as, in the judgment of the trustees, the great
-founder himself would approve if he could be consulted.
-Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
-on this Thanksgiving Day.</p>
-
-<p>3. <em>You all have a birthright.</em></p>
-
-<p>What that meant in the earliest times we do not
-fully know; but it meant at least to be the head or
-father of the family, a sort of domestic priesthood,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span>
-the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great nation.
-In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son
-has by right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting
-the principal part of the property, and he is
-the representative of the estate. They call it there
-the <em>law of primogeniture</em>, or the law of the first-born.
-In our country there is no birthright in families,
-and we have no law to make the eldest born in any
-respect more favored than the other and younger
-children.</p>
-
-<p>But you Girard boys have a birthright which
-means a great deal. The founder of this great
-school left the bulk of his large estate to the city of
-Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
-a certain class of boys, very particularly described,
-to which you belong. The provision he
-made for you was most liberal. Everything that his
-trustees consider necessary for your careful support
-and thorough education is to be provided. Nothing
-is to be wanting which money wisely expended can
-supply. <em>This is your birthright.</em> No earthly power
-can take it from you without your consent. No
-commercial distress, no financial panic, no change of
-political rulers, no combination of party politics can
-interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing
-but the loss of health or life, or your own misconduct,
-can deprive you of this great birthright. Do
-you boys fully appreciate this?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span></p>
-
-<p>Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here
-who is willing to <em>sell</em> this birthright as Esau did?</p>
-
-<p>Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so
-profane and foul in speech, so vicious in character, so
-wicked in behavior, as to be an unfit companion for
-his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to remain
-among them? Is there a boy here who, for
-the gratification of a vicious appetite, will <em>sell</em> that
-privilege of support and education so abundantly provided
-here? So guarded is this trust, so sacred almost,
-that no human being can take it away from
-you: will you deliberately <em>throw it away</em>? The
-wretched Esau, in the old Jewish history, under the
-pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his birthright
-with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no
-such temptation as tried him, with no temptation
-but the perverseness of your own will and your love
-of self-indulgence, will you <em>sell your birthright</em>? Bitterly
-did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
-to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he
-never did recover his lost birthright, though he
-sought it carefully and with tears. And he had no
-one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.</p>
-
-<p>Boys, if you pass through this college course not
-making the best use of your time, or if you allow
-yourselves to fall into such evil habits as will make
-it necessary to send you away from the college—and
-this after all the kind words that have been spoken
-to you and the faithful warnings that have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span>
-given you—you will lose that which can never be
-restored to you, which can never be made up to you
-in any other way elsewhere. You will prove yourselves
-more foolish, more wicked than Esau, for you
-will lose more than he did, and you will do it
-against kinder remonstrances than he had.</p>
-
-<p>4. There is another feature of the management
-here which gives especial satisfaction. When a boy
-leaves the college to go to a place which has been
-chosen for him, or which he has found by his own
-exertions, he is looked after until he reaches the age
-of twenty-one, by an officer especially appointed,
-and as we believe well adapted to that service.
-And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable
-circumstances and under hard task-masters,
-with people who have no sympathy with his youth
-and inexperience, many such have been visited and
-encouraged, helped and so assisted towards true
-success.</p>
-
-<p>5. But what is there to make each particular boy
-thankful to-day? Why you are all in good health;
-and if you would know how much that means go to
-the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are
-not able to be in the chapel to-day, not able to be
-in the play-grounds, who are looking out of the
-windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
-with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God
-bless them.</p>
-
-<p>You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>
-are less robust have warmer clothing, and all of
-you are shielded and guarded as well as the trustees
-know how to care for you, so that you may be trained
-to be strong men.</p>
-
-<p>You are all having a holiday; no school to-day;
-no shop-work to-day; no paying marks to-day; no
-punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
-Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable
-is put out of sight and ought to be put out of
-mind.</p>
-
-<p>You are all to have a good dinner. Even now,
-while we are here in the chapel and while some of
-you are growing impatient at my speech, think of
-the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think
-of the roast turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot
-potatoes, the gravy, the dressing, the mince pies,
-the apples afterwards, and all the other good things
-which make your mouths water, and make my mouth
-water even to mention the names. Then after dinner
-you go to your homes, and you have a good time
-there.</p>
-
-<p>The last thing I mention which you ought to be
-thankful for is having a short speech.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp169">
-  <img src="images/i_fp169.jpg" alt="" title="">
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="noic"><i>Professor W. H. Allen.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="ALLEN">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">September 24, 1882.</p>
-
-<p class="noic">“<i>Remember how He spake unto you.</i>”</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">These are the words of an angel. They were
-spoken in the early morning while it was yet dark,
-to frightened and sorrowful women, who had gone to
-the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to
-embalm his body. These women fully expected to
-find the body of their Lord; for as they went they
-said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the
-sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they
-found the stone was rolled away and the grave was
-empty. And one of them ran back to the disciples
-to tell them that the grave was open and the body
-gone. Those that remained went into the sepulchre
-and saw two men in glittering garments, who, seeing
-that the women were perplexed and afraid, standing
-with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a
-shade of reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the
-living among the dead? He is not here, he is
-risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
-hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember
-how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
-saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span>
-hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third
-day rise again.’”</p>
-
-<p>The words that are quoted as having been spoken
-by Jesus to his disciples were spoken in Galilee six
-months or more before this, and as they were not
-clearly understood at the time, it is not so very
-strange that they should have been forgotten.</p>
-
-<p>It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well
-as the other disciples of the Lord, had remembered
-other words, and all the words that the Lord spake
-to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all other
-places. The world would be better to-day if those
-gracious words had been more carefully laid to heart.</p>
-
-<p>I hope the words of my text will bear, without too
-much accommodation, the use which I shall make of
-them.</p>
-
-<p>Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was
-born in the family of a New England farmer. It
-was in the then territory of Maine, and near the
-little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor
-people, and the child grew up, as many other farmers’
-children grew up, accustomed to plain living and
-such work as children could properly be set to do.
-In the winter he went to school, as well as at other
-times when the farm work was not pressing. It
-would be very interesting to know, if we <em>could</em> know,
-whether there was anything peculiar in the early
-disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he
-grew up with nothing to distinguish him from his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span>
-playmates. If we could only know what children
-would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I
-think, be very careful to observe and record any
-little traits and peculiarities of their early childhood.
-The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
-know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have
-been prepared at the academy for college, which he
-entered at the advanced age of twenty-one years.
-Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he
-set out to teach the classics in a little town in the
-interior of the State of New York. While engaged
-in that seminary, he was called to a professorship in
-Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of
-Pennsylvania. In Dickinson College he held successively
-the chairs of chemistry and the natural
-sciences, and that of English literature, until his
-resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of
-Girard College.</p>
-
-<p>From this time until his death, except during an
-interval of five years, his life was spent here. For
-twenty-seven years he gave himself to the work of
-organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
-college, with an interest and efficiency which, until
-within the last year, never flagged. It is not possible
-at this day for any of us to appreciate the
-difficulties he had to encounter in the early days
-of the college, but we do know that he did the work
-well.</p>
-
-<p>See how he was prepared for the work he did.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span>
-He was a lover of study. When only eight years
-old he had learned the English grammar so well
-that his teacher said he could not teach him anything
-further in that study. There was an old
-family Bible that was very highly prized by all the
-family, and his father told him that if he would
-read that Bible through by the time he was ten years
-old, it should be his property. The boy did so, and
-claimed and received his reward. That book is now
-in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon).
-This early reading of the Bible will, perhaps, account
-for President Allen’s unusual familiarity with the
-Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his prayers
-in this school chapel.</p>
-
-<p>The school to which he went in his early youth
-was three miles from his father’s house; and in all
-kinds of weather, through the heats of summer and
-the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.</p>
-
-<p>I have said that his parents were not rich; and
-this young man pushed his way through college by
-teaching, thus earning the money necessary for his
-support. This may account for the fact that he
-entered college at the age when most young men
-are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years. It did not
-seem to him that it was a great misfortune to
-be poor; but it was an additional inducement
-to call forth all his powers to insure success.
-He knew that he must depend upon himself if
-he would succeed in life. And so he was not satisfied<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span>
-with qualifying himself for one chair in a college,
-but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three
-chairs. He could teach the classics or mathematics
-or general literature, or chemistry or natural sciences.
-Not many men had qualities so diversified, or
-knew so well how to put them to good account. You
-know very well that this liberal culture was not acquired
-without hard work. And this hard work he
-must have done in early life, before cares and duties
-crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older
-we grow.</p>
-
-<p>“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would
-give these words a two-fold meaning—remember
-<em>what</em> he said and <em>how</em> he said it.</p>
-
-<p>Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of
-any man, even if he has lived more than three-score
-years and ten. In all these years President Allen
-was going in and out before the college boys, saying
-good and kind words to them.</p>
-
-<p>How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was
-<em>your church</em>, and the only church that you could attend,
-except on holidays. His purpose was that this
-chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy
-of the day. So important did he consider it, that
-when his turn came to speak to you here, he prepared
-himself carefully. He always wrote his little
-discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and
-heart he put into them. He thought that nothing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>
-that he or any other speaker could bring was too
-good for you.</p>
-
-<p>And then the tones of his voice, the manner of
-his instruction; how gentle, kind, conciliating. He
-remembered the injunction of Scripture, “The servant
-of the Lord must not strive.” You will never
-know in this life how much he bore from you, how
-long he bore with your waywardness, your thoughtlessness;
-how much he loved you. He always called
-you “his boys.” No matter though some of you are
-almost men, he always called you “his boys,” much
-as the apostle John in his later years called his disciples
-his “little children.” For President Allen felt
-that in a certain sense he was a father to you all.</p>
-
-<p>For some time past you knew that his health was
-declining. You saw his bowed form and his feeble,
-hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice was tremulous
-and feeble. The boys on the back benches
-could not always understand his words distinctly.
-But you knew that he was in earnest in all that he
-did say. And for many months he was not able to
-speak at all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s
-Day he was seated in a chair, with some of his family
-about him, looking at the battalion boys as they were
-drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And
-as the summer advanced into August, and the people
-in his native State were gathering their harvests, he,
-too, was gathered, as a shock of corn fully ripe.</p>
-
-<p>When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>
-master, Arnold of Rugby, he was fishing in Scotland.
-It was read to him from a newspaper. He at once
-dropped everything and started for the old school.
-He was overwhelmed with distress. “When he
-reached the station he went at once to the school.
-At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a
-soul in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and
-sad; so with another effort he strode through the
-quadrangle, and into the school-house offices. He
-found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
-shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously
-about. She was evidently thinking of the
-same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin talking.
-Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting
-in his little den, as of old.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’</p>
-
-<p>“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered
-Thomas. ‘You’d like to have the key, I dare say.’</p>
-
-<p>“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’</p>
-
-<p>“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go
-by yourself, sir?’”</p>
-
-<p>“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it,
-fancying himself the only mourner in all the broad
-land, and feeding on his own selfish sorrow.</p>
-
-<p>“He passed through the vestibule and then paused
-a moment to glance over the empty benches. His
-heart was still proud and high, and he walked up to
-the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form
-boy, and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span>
-memories of eight years were all dancing through
-his brain, while his heart was throbbing with a dull
-sense of a great loss that could never be made up to
-him. The rays of the evening sun came solemnly
-through the painted windows over his head and fell
-in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the perfect
-stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to
-the pulpit and looked at it; and then leaning forward,
-with his head on his hands, groaned aloud.
-‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
-minutes, have told him all that was in his heart,
-what he owed him, how he loved and reverenced
-him, and would, by God’s help, follow his steps in life
-and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
-But that he should have gone away forever,
-without knowing it all, was too much to bear.’
-‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’ The
-thought made him start. ‘May he not even now
-be near me in this chapel?’”</p>
-
-<p>And with some such feelings as these I suppose
-many a boy will come back to the college and stand
-in this chapel, and recall the impressions he has received
-from President Allen here. But his voice
-will never be heard here again. Nothing remains
-but to “remember how he spake unto you.”</p>
-
-<p>I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in
-his coffin in the chapel, and you all looked on his
-face for the last time. What could be more impressive
-than the funeral? The crowded house, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>
-waiting people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains
-of the organ, the sweet voices of children singing
-their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the appropriate
-address given by one of his own college boys,
-the thousand and more boys standing in open ranks
-for the procession to pass through to the college gates,
-the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many of
-his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow
-him in the coming years—all these thoughts
-make that funeral day one long to be remembered.</p>
-
-<p>Let us accept this as the will of Providence.
-There is nothing to regret for him; but for us, the
-void left by his withdrawal. He is leading a better
-life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
-and the best words I can say to you are, “remember
-how he spake unto you.”</p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<div class="poetry">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <div class="verse indent0">“But when the warrior dieth,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">His comrades in the war</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">With arms reversed and muffled drums</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Follow the funeral car.</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">They show the banners taken,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">They tell his battles won,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">And after him lead his masterless steed,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">While peals the minute gun.</div>
-  </div>
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <div class="verse indent0">“Amid the noblest of the land</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Men lay the <em>sage</em> to rest,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">And give the <em>bard</em> an honored place,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">With costly marble drest,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">In the great Minster transept</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Where lights like glories fall,</div>
-    <div class="verse indent0">And the choir sings and the organ rings</div>
-    <div class="verse indent2">Along the emblazoned wall.”</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="MESSAGE">A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">December 7, 1884.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">When I came here in April last I brought with
-me some friends, among whom was my son. And I
-said to him that some day I should wish <em>him</em> to
-speak to you. He had so recently been a college
-boy himself, graduating at the University of Pennsylvania,
-and he was so fond of the games and plays
-of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys
-and young men, that I thought he might be able to
-say something that would interest you, and perhaps
-do you good.</p>
-
-<p>At a recent meeting of the proper committee his
-name was added to the list of persons who may be
-invited to speak to you. The last time I was at
-the college President Fetterolf asked me when my
-son could come to address you, and I replied that he
-was sick.</p>
-
-<p>That sickness was far more serious than any of
-us supposed; there was no favorable change, and at
-the end of twelve days he passed away.</p>
-
-<p>My suggestion that he might be invited to speak<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>
-here led him to prepare a short address, which was
-found among his papers, and has, within a few days,
-been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
-apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final
-revision, which in copying for delivery he would
-have given it.</p>
-
-<p>I have thought it would be well for me to read to
-you this address; but I did not feel that I had any
-right to revise it, or to make any change in it whatever;
-so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding
-only a word here and there which was omitted in
-the hurried writing.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
-and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a
-city.—Proverbs xvi. 32.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>I want you to look with me at the latter part of
-each of these sentences, and see if we can’t understand
-a little better what Solomon meant by such
-words “<em>the mighty</em>” and “<em>he that taketh a city</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>Do you remember the wonderful dream that came
-to Solomon just after he had been made king over
-Israel? How God came to him while he was sleeping
-and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,”
-and how Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for
-wisdom. And God gave him wisdom, so that he
-became famous far and wide, and people from nations
-far off came to see him and learn of him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p>
-
-<p>If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man
-that ever lived, you would say “Solomon.” Often
-you have heard one person say of another, “he is as
-wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of
-the way in which Solomon showed this wonderful
-gift. But his knowledge was not that of books, because
-there were not a great many books then for
-him to read. It was the knowledge which showed
-him how to do <em>right</em>, and how to be a <em>good ruler</em>
-over his people. And because he chose such wisdom,
-the very best gift of God, God gave him besides,
-riches and everything that he could possibly desire.
-His horses and chariots were the most beautiful and
-the strongest; his armies were famous everywhere
-for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast
-numbers of servants to wait upon him, and to do
-his slightest wish. Presents, most magnificent, were
-sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
-about him. No king of Israel before or after him
-was so great and so powerful. And, greatest honor of
-all, God permitted him to build a temple for him—what
-his father David had so longed to do and was
-not allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s
-greatest desire before he died was to build a house
-for God. The ark of God had never had a house to
-rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
-palace to live in himself, and to have nothing
-but a <em>tent</em> in which to keep God’s ark. But God
-would not suffer him to do that, although he was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>
-king whom he loved so much. No, that must be
-kept for his son Solomon to do. David had been
-too great a fighter all his life; he had been at war;
-he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
-made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their
-foes. So David was a “mighty man,” and while
-Solomon was growing up he must have heard every
-one talking of the wonderful things his father had
-done from his youth up—the adventures he had had
-when he was only a poor shepherd lad keeping his
-flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
-must he have been told that splendid story, which
-we never grow tired of hearing, of his fight with the
-giant Goliath; and when he was shown the huge
-pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he
-surely knew what it was for a man to be “mighty”
-and “great.” And when his old father withdrew
-from the throne and made him king, he found himself
-surrounded on all sides with the results of his
-father’s wars and conquests, and soon knew that he
-also was “a mighty man.”</p>
-
-<p>There is not a boy here who does not want to be
-“great.” Every one of you wants to make a name
-for himself, or have something, or do something, that
-will be remembered long after he is dead.</p>
-
-<p>If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose
-almost all of you would say, “I want to be rich,
-so rich that I can do whatever I like; that I need
-not do any work; that I can go where I please.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>
-Some of you would say, “I would travel all over the
-world and write about what I see, so that long after
-I am dead people will read my books and say, ‘what
-a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I
-would build great houses, and fill them with all the
-richest and most beautiful goods. I would have
-whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
-bringing back wonderful things from strange countries;
-and when I would meet people in the street
-they would stand aside to let me pass, saying to one
-another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest
-merchant; how I should like to be as great as he.’”</p>
-
-<p>And still another would say: “I don’t care anything
-about books or beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll
-go into foreign countries and become a great fighter,
-and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
-shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of
-great armies, and when I come home again the people
-will give me a grand reception; will make arches
-across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
-and as I ride along the street the air will be filled
-with cheers for the great general.”</p>
-
-<p>And so each one of you would tell me of some
-way in which he would like to be great. I should
-think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
-one who would be entirely content to just get along
-somehow, and never care for any great success so
-long as he had enough to eat and drink and to
-clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span>
-to set his mind on obtaining some great object. It is
-perfectly right and proper to be ambitious, to try and
-make as much as possible of every opportunity that
-is presented. No one can read that parable of the
-master who called his servants to account for the
-talents he had given them, and not see that God
-gives us all the blessings and advantages that we
-have, in order that we may have an opportunity to
-put them to such good use, that He may say to us
-as the master in the parable said to his servants,
-“Well done, good and faithful servant.”</p>
-
-<p>So it is right for you to want to be great, and I
-want to try and tell you how to accomplish it. If
-you were sure that I could tell you the real secret of
-success you would listen very carefully to what I
-had to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even
-write down what I said. Then write <em>this</em> down in
-your hearts; for, following this, you will be greater
-than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is
-better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit,
-than he that taketh a city.” Are some of you disappointed?
-do you say, “<em>Is that all?</em> I thought he
-was about to tell us how we could make lots of
-money.” Ah, if you would only believe it, and follow
-such advice, such a plan were to be far richer
-than the man who can count his wealth by millions.
-But look at it in another way. What sort of a boy
-do you choose for the captain of a base-ball nine or a
-foot-ball team? What sort of a <em>man</em> is chosen for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span>
-a high position? Is he one who loses all control
-over himself when something happens to vex him,
-and flies into a terrible passion when some one happens
-to oppose him? No; the one you would select
-for any place of great responsibility is he who can
-keep his head clear, who will not permit himself to
-get angry at any little vexation, who rules his own
-spirit—and can there be anything harder to do? I
-tell you “no.”</p>
-
-<p>So, I have told you how to be successful, and at
-the same time I tell you, there is nothing harder to
-do; and now I go on still further, and say you can’t
-follow such advice by yourself, you must have some
-help. Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you
-freely; you are urged to ask for it, and you are
-assured that it is certain to come to all who want it.
-Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient,
-for He who shall help you is abundantly able
-to give you more than you ask or think. It is God
-who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
-you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which
-taketh the city; yes, for the greatness he shall bestow
-upon those who come to him is far above all
-earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you
-are ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift
-your hand to strike, when you would <em>kill</em> if you
-were not afraid; but when the wish is in your heart,
-yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks
-upon you in divine mercy, and if you will only let<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>
-him, will rebuke the foul spirit and command him to
-come out of you, and your whole soul shall be filled
-with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading
-voice, and let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger?
-And when the hot words fly to your lips, remember
-his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then will
-you have won a greater battle than any ever fought;
-for you will have conquered your own wicked spirit,
-and by God’s grace you are a conqueror. And the
-reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
-crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept
-<em>such</em> greatness?</p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<p>Such are the words he would have spoken to you
-had his life been spared; and he would have
-spoken them with the great advantage of a <em>young
-man</em> speaking to <em>young men</em>. Now they seem like a
-message from the heavenly world. It is more than
-probable that in copying for delivery he would have
-expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
-little address more complete. Perhaps it would be
-better for me to stop here; ... but there are a few
-words which I would like to say, and it may be that
-they can be better said now than at any other time.</p>
-
-<p>I want to say again, what I have so often said,
-that a boy may be fond of all innocent games and
-plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you may
-doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion
-interferes with amusements and makes life gloomy.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>
-Here is an example of the contrary; for I do not see
-how there <em>could</em> be a happier life than my son’s
-(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one
-could be more fond of base-ball and foot-ball and
-cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he was a
-simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And
-with all this love of innocent pleasure and fun he
-neglected no business obligations, nor did he fail in
-any of the duties of social or family life. In short,
-I can wish no better thing for you boys than that
-your lives may be as happy and as beautiful as his
-was.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="TRUTHFUL">A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="noic">April, 1889.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">Can anything be more important to a young life
-than truthfulness? Is character worth anything at
-all if it is not founded on truth? And are not the
-temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly
-in your path?</p>
-
-<p>It is most interesting to think that every life here
-is an individual life, having its own history, and in
-many respects unlike every other life. When I see you
-passing through these grounds, going in procession to
-and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and
-your play-grounds, the question often arises in my
-thoughts, how many of these boys are walking in the
-truth?</p>
-
-<p>If I were looking for a boy to fill any position
-within my gift, or within the reach of my influence,
-and should seek such a boy among you, I should ask
-most carefully of those who know you best, whether
-such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech
-merely (that is, does he answer questions truthfully),
-but is he open and frank in his life? Does he cheat
-in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span>
-duty that is required of him in the shops? When
-he fails to recite his lessons accurately, is he very
-ready with his excuses trying to justify himself for
-his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not
-do his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better
-in the future? And is he one who may be depended
-upon to give a fair account of any incident that may
-come up for investigation? Sometimes there are
-wrong things done here, done from thoughtlessness
-often; may such a boy as I am looking for be depended
-upon to say what he knows about it, in a
-manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if
-necessary, expose the guilty? In other words, is he
-trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be depended on?</p>
-
-<p>It may not be easy for one at my time of life to
-say just what a boy ought to be, if he is to make
-much of a man. But we who think much of this
-subject have an idea of what we would like the boys
-to be, in whom we are especially interested. And
-if I borrow from another a description of what I
-mean, it is because this author has said it better than
-I can.</p>
-
-<p>“A real boy should be generous, courteous among
-his friends and among his school-fellows; respectful
-to his superiors, well-mannered. He must avoid
-loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue
-and his temper; must listen to advice and reproof
-with humility. He must be a gentleman. He
-must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>
-cringe to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak.
-To his teachers he must be obedient, for they have
-a right to require obedience of him; he must be
-respectful, because the true gentleman always respects
-those who are wiser, more experienced, better
-informed than himself. He must apply himself to
-his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge
-for its own sake, and earnestly striving to make
-the best possible use of such faculties as God has
-given him. He must do his best to store his mind
-with high thoughts by a careful study of all that
-is beautiful and pure. In his sports and plays he
-must seek to excel, if excellence can be obtained
-by a moderate amount of time and energy; but
-he must remember, that though it is a fine thing
-to have a healthy body and a healthy mind, it is
-neither necessary nor admirable to develop a muscular
-system like that of an athlete or a giant.
-Whatever falls to his hands to do, he must do it
-with his might, assured that God loves not the idle
-or dishonest worker. He must remember that life
-has its duties and responsibilities as well as its
-pleasures; that these begin in boyhood, and that
-they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
-mind and soul. He must train himself in all good
-habits, in order that these may accompany him
-easily in later life; in habits of method and order,
-of industry and perseverance and patience. He
-must not forget that every victory over himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span>
-smooths the way for future victories of the same
-kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue
-is to set us on higher and better ground for conquests
-of principle in all time to come. He must
-resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
-word and every improper suggestion, every profane
-utterance; guarding himself against the first approaches
-of sin, which are always the most insidiously
-made. He must not think it a brave or
-plucky thing to break wholesome rules, to defy
-authority, to ridicule age or poverty or feebleness,
-to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to
-throw away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities.
-He must love truth with a deep and passionate
-love, abhorring even the shadow of a lie,
-even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word,
-true in deed, he shall walk in the truth.”</p>
-
-<p>I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest
-and diligent; be resolute to live a pure and honorable
-life; speak the truth like boys who hope to
-be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good
-to be merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons,
-be affectionate brothers, be loyal-hearted friends, and
-when you come to be men you will look back to
-these boyish days without regret and without shame.</p>
-
-<p>Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I
-am very desirous that your future shall be bright
-and useful and successful, and I, and others who
-are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>
-nothing but good of you; but we can have no
-greater joy than to hear that you are walking in
-the truth. Some of you may become rich men;
-some may become very prominent in public affairs;
-you may reach high places; you may fill a large
-space in the public estimation; you may be able
-and brilliant men; but there is nothing in your
-life that will give us so much joy as to hear
-that “you are walking in the truth.”</p>
-
-<p>Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and
-without it character is absolutely worthless. No
-gentleness of disposition, no willingness to help
-other people, no habits of industry, no freedom
-from vicious practices, can make up for want of
-truthfulness of heart and life. Some persons think
-that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
-for the good of others, and do many generous
-and noble acts and have a good reputation,
-they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
-blamed. But they forget that reputation is not
-character; that one may have a very good reputation
-and a very bad character; they forget that the
-reputation is the outside, what we see of each other,
-while the character is what we are in the heart.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap">
-<div class="tnote">
-<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
-   corrected.</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p>
-
-<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND BOYS ***</div>
-<div style='text-align:left'>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will
-be renamed.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
-States without permission and without paying copyright
-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;
-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away&#8212;you may
-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
-license, especially commercial redistribution.
-</div>
-
-<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div>
-<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div>
-<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project
-Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at
-www.gutenberg.org/license.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your
-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
-or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this
-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the
-Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
-of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual
-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
-that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting
-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily
-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when
-you share it without charge with others.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
-other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no
-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
-country other than the United States.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear
-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work
-on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the
-phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,
-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
-</div>
-
-<blockquote>
-  <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-    other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
-    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
-  </div>
-</blockquote>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is
-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project
-Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works
-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
-beginning of this work.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; License.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format
-other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official
-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website
-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain
-Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the
-full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-provided that:
-</div>
-
-<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>
-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
-        &#8226; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-        the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method
-        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
-        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has
-        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
-        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
-        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
-        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
-        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
-        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
-        Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
-        Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;
-    </div>
-
-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
-        &#8226; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
-        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
-        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-        works.
-    </div>
-
-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
-        &#8226; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
-        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
-        receipt of the work.
-    </div>
-
-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
-        &#8226; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-        distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.
-    </div>
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than
-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
-the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
-forth in Section 3 below.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
-contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
-cannot be read by your equipment.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right
-of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
-without further opportunities to fix the problem.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO
-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
-remaining provisions.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in
-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
-or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or
-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any
-Defect you cause.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
-from people in all walks of life.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;&#8217;s
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future
-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
-U.S. federal laws and your state&#8217;s laws.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website
-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
-public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
-visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
-Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be
-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
-distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of
-volunteer support.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
-edition.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
-facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
-</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-</div>
-
-</div>
-</body>
-</html>
-
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+
+    <title>
+      Advice To Young Men and Boys, by B. B. Comegys—A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
+
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+
+    <style>
+
+/* DACSoft styles */
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+/* General headers */
+h1 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* Chapter headers */
+h2 {
+    text-align: center;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    margin: .75em 0;
+}
+
+div.chapter {
+    page-break-before: always;
+}
+
+.nobreak {
+    page-break-before: avoid;
+}
+
+/* Indented paragraph */
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    text-indent: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Unindented paragraph */
+.noi {text-indent: 0em;}
+
+/* Centered unindented paragraph */
+.noic {
+    text-indent: 0em;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+/* Drop caps */
+p.cap {text-indent: 0em;}
+
+p.cap:first-letter {
+    float: left;
+    padding-right: 3px;
+    font-size: 250%;
+    line-height: 83%;
+}
+
+/* Non-standard paragraph margins */
+.p2 {margin-top: 2em;}
+
+.padl4 {
+    padding-left: 4em;
+}
+
+.padl6 {
+    padding-left: 6em;
+}
+
+.padr6 {
+    padding-right: 6em;
+}
+
+/* Horizontal rules */
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: 33.5%;
+    margin-right: 33.5%;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb {
+    width: 35%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    margin-left: 32.5%;
+    margin-right: 32.5%;
+}
+
+hr.chap {
+    width: 65%;
+    margin-left: 17.5%;
+    margin-right: 17.5%;
+}
+
+hr.r15 {
+    width: 15%;
+    margin-left: 42.5%;
+    margin-right: 42.55%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+hr.r30 {
+    width: 30%;
+    margin-left: 35%;
+    margin-right: 35%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Lists */
+ol {list-style-position: inside;}
+
+li {
+    text-indent: 0em;
+    padding-left: 0em;
+}
+
+/* Tables */
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+td {
+    padding: 5px;
+}
+
+/* Table cell alignments */
+.tdl {
+    text-align: left;
+}
+
+.tdcb {
+    text-align: center;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+}
+
+.tdrb {
+    text-align: right;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+}
+
+/* Physical book page and line numbers */
+.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+    position: absolute;
+    right: 3%;
+/*    left: 92%;  */
+    font-size: x-small;
+    font-style: normal;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-variant: normal;
+    text-align: right;
+    color: gray;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+/* Blockquotes */
+.blockquot {
+    font-size: 90%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Text appearance */
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+.allsmcap {
+        text-transform: lowercase;
+        font-variant: small-caps;
+}
+
+/* Small fonts and lowercase small-caps */
+.smfont {
+    font-size: .8em;
+}
+
+/* Illustration caption */
+.caption  {
+    font-size: .75em;
+    font-weight: bold;
+}
+
+/* Images */
+img {
+    max-width: 100%; /* no image to be wider than screen or containing div */
+    height:auto;     /* keep height in proportion to width */
+}
+
+.figcenter   {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 90%; /* div no wider than screen, even when screen is narrow */
+}
+
+/* Footnotes and sidenotes */
+.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+
+.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+
+.fnanchor {
+    vertical-align: super;
+    font-size: .65em;
+    text-decoration: none;
+    white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* Poetry */
+.poetry {
+    display: block;
+    text-align: left;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}
+
+.poetry .verse {
+    padding-left: 3em;
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+/* Poetry indents */
+.poetry .indent0 {padding-left: 3em;}
+.poetry .indent2 {padding-left: 4em;}
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.tnote {
+    background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    padding: .5em;
+}
+
+.tntitle {
+    font-size: 1.25em;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* Title page borders and content. */
+.halftitle {
+    font-size: 1.5em;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+.author {
+    font-size: 1.25em;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+.works {
+    font-size: .75em;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* ebookmaker classes */
+.x-ebookmaker p.cap:first-letter {
+    float: left;
+    padding-right: 3px;
+    font-size: 250%;
+    line-height: 83%;
+}
+
+    </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69531 ***</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="cover_sm">
+  <img src="images/cover_sm.jpg" alt="cover" title="cover">
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="noi author">ADVICE</p>
+
+<p class="noic works">TO</p>
+
+<p class="noi halftitle">YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis">
+  <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>Stephen Girard.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1 class="nobreak"><small>ADVICE</small><br>
+<span class="works">TO</span><br>
+YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</h1>
+
+<p class="p2 noic"><i>A SERIES OF ADDRESSES</i></p>
+
+<p class="p2 noic">DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS<br>
+<span class="works">MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2 noi author">TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE</p>
+
+<hr class="r30">
+
+<p class="noic works">ILLUSTRATED WITH</p>
+
+<p class="noic smcap">Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel</p>
+
+<hr class="r30">
+
+<p class="noic"><span class="allsmcap">PHILADELPHIA</span><br>
+GEBBIE &amp; CO., <span class="smcap">Publishers</span><br>
+1890</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="noic"><span class="padr6">Copyright by</span><br>
+<span class="smcap">Gebbie &amp; Co.</span>,<br>
+1889.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2 cap">In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges
+of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
+to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which has
+charge of Girard College, having for some years previously,
+by the kind partiality of President Allen,
+been on the staff of speakers in the Chapel on Sundays.
+My interest in the Pupils was of course at
+once increased, and ever since I have given much
+time and thought to the moral instruction of the
+boys.</p>
+
+<p>From the many Addresses made to them I
+have selected the following as fair specimens of
+the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
+repetitions of thought and language may be accounted
+for by the lapse of time between the giving
+of the Addresses, not forgetting the well-known
+Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line—precept upon
+precept—here a little—there a little.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p>
+
+<p>The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr.
+Girard has been defined by the Supreme Court of
+Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.</p>
+
+<p>The book is published in the hope that it may
+be the means of helping some boys and young
+men other than those to whom the Addresses
+were made.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 noi works"><span class="padl4 smcap">4205 Walnut St.</span>,<br>
+<span class="padl6"><i>November, 1889.</i></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<table>
+<colgroup>
+  <col style="width: 80%;">
+  <col style="width: 15%;">
+  <col style="width: 5%;">
+</colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#GIRARD">Stephen Girard and his College.</a></span> (Introductory)</td>
+  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#SUCCESS">How to win Success</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LIFE">Life—Its Opportunities and Temptations</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">39</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#WELSH">On the Death of William Welsh</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#BAD">Bad Associates</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">59</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#GARFIELD">On the Death of President Garfield</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CASE">The Case of the Uneducated Employed</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">79</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#PENN">William Penn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">99</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CONSTITUTION">Our Constitution</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">113</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CLAGHORN">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LEAF">The Leaf Turned Over</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">143</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#THANKSGIVING">Thanksgiving Day.</a></span> (November 29, 1888)</td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">155</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#ALLEN">On the Death of President Allen</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#MESSAGE">A Young Man’s Message to Boys</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">179</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#TRUTHFUL">A Truthful Character</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">188</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<table>
+<colgroup>
+  <col style="width: 80%;">
+  <col style="width: 15%;">
+  <col style="width: 5%;">
+</colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_frontis">Stephen Girard</a></td>
+  <td class="tdrb" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece.</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp025">B. B. Comegys</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp051">William Welsh</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp069">James A. Garfield</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp129">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp169">Professor W. H. Allen</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="GIRARD">STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">INTRODUCTORY.</p>
+
+<div class="p2 footnote">
+
+<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and Character
+of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will
+“mariner and merchant,” was born near the city of
+Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age of
+twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his
+counting-house on Water street, above Market.
+He was a man of great industry and frugality, and
+lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day
+lived, in the dwelling of which his counting-house
+formed a part. He was married and had one child,
+but the death of his wife was followed soon by the
+death of his child, and he never married again. He
+lived to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what
+was considered at the time of his death a vast estate,
+more than seven millions of dollars. One hundred
+and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed
+to members of his family, sixty-five thousand
+as a principal sum for the payment of annuities
+to certain friends and former employés, one hundred
+and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span>
+five hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia
+for the improvement of its water front on the
+Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State of
+Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements,
+and an indefinite sum in various legacies to his
+apprentices, to sea-captains who should bring his vessels
+in their charge safely to port, and to his house
+servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in
+trust to the city of Philadelphia for the following
+purposes: (1) To erect, improve and maintain a
+college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish
+a better police system, and (3) to improve the city
+of Philadelphia and diminish taxation.</p>
+
+<p>The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart
+by his will for the construction of the college, and
+as soon as was practicable the executors appropriated
+certain securities for the purpose, the actual outlay
+for erection and finishing of the edifice being one
+million nine hundred and thirty-three thousand eight
+hundred and twenty-one dollars and seventy-eight
+cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced
+May 6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies
+on the Fourth of July following, and the
+completed buildings were transferred to the Board of
+Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There
+was thus occupied in construction a period of fourteen
+years and six months, the work being somewhat
+delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
+Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span>
+estate. The design adopted was substantially that
+furnished by Thomas U. Walters, an architect elected
+by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
+rendered advisable by the change of site directed in
+the second codicil of Girard’s will, the original purpose
+having been to occupy the square bounded by
+Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in
+the heart of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard
+having, subsequently to the first draft of his will,
+purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the William
+Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge
+Road, known as the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed
+that the site of his college should be transferred to
+that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
+dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which
+dwellings and stores form part of his residuary
+estate.</p>
+
+<p>The college proper closely resembles in design a
+Greek temple. It is built of marble, which was
+chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery and
+Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont,
+Massachusetts.</p>
+
+<p>The building is three stories in height, the first
+and second being twenty-five feet from floor to floor,
+and the third thirty feet in the clear to the eye of
+the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
+and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width
+and thirty-two in height. The walls of the cella
+are four feet in thickness, and are pierced on each<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>
+flank by twenty windows. At each end of the
+building is a vestibule, extending across the whole
+width of the cella, the ceilings of which are supported
+on each floor by eight columns, whose shafts
+are composed of a single stone. Those on the first
+floor are Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at
+Athens; on the second, a modified Corinthian, after
+the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at Athens;
+and on the third, a similar modification of the
+Corinthian, somewhat lighter and more ornate.</p>
+
+<p>The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white
+marble, dormitories, offices and laundries. A new
+refectory, containing improved ranges and steam
+cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
+of which will seat with ease more than one
+thousand persons. Two bathing-pools are in the
+western portion of the grounds, and others in basements
+of buildings. The houses are heated by steam
+and lighted by gas obtained from the city works.
+Thirty-five electric lights from seven towers one hundred
+and twenty-five feet high illuminate the grounds
+and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches
+in thickness and ten feet in height, strengthened by
+spur piers on the inside and capped with marble coping,
+surrounds the whole estate, its length being six thousand
+eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
+more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced
+on the southern side, immediately facing the south
+front of the main building, for the chief entrance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span>
+this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
+lodges, between which stretches an ornamental
+wrought-iron grille, with wrought-iron gates, the
+whole forming an approach in keeping with the large
+simplicity of the college itself.</p>
+
+<p>The site upon which the college is erected corresponds
+well with its splendor and importance. It
+is elevated considerably above the general level of the
+surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous object,
+not only from the higher windows and roofs in every
+part of Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river
+many miles below the city and from eminences far
+out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
+view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the
+city and its environs for many miles around and the
+course, to their confluence, eight miles below, of the
+Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.</p>
+
+<p>The history of the institution commences shortly
+after the decease of Girard, when the Councils of
+Philadelphia, acting as his trustees, elected a Board
+of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
+1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A
+Building Committee was also appointed by the City
+Councils on the 21st of the following March, in whom
+was vested the immediate supervision of the construction
+of the college, an office in which they continued
+without intermission until the final completion
+of the structure.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span>
+previously been authorized by the Councils so to
+do, proceeded to elect Alexander Dallas Bache president
+of the college, and instructed him to visit
+various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase
+the necessary books and apparatus for the school,
+both of which he did, making an exhaustive report
+upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
+establish schools without awaiting the completion of
+the main building, but competent legal advice being
+unfavorable to the organization of the institution
+prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and difficulties
+having meanwhile arisen between the Councils
+and the Board of Directors, the ordinances
+creating the board and authorizing the election of
+the president were repealed.</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to
+whom the building was transferred, and on December
+15, 1847, the officers of the institution were elected,
+the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
+Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being
+chosen as president. On January 1, 1848, the college
+was opened with a class of one hundred orphans,
+previously admitted, the occasion being signalized by
+appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same
+year one hundred more were admitted, and on April
+1, 1849, an additional one hundred, since when
+others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred
+or to swell the number as facilities have increased.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>
+The college now (1889) contains thirteen
+hundred and seventy-five pupils.</p>
+
+<p>On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office
+of president of the college, and on the 23d of the
+following November William H. Allen, LL. D., Professor
+of Mental Philosophy and English Literature
+in Dickinson College, was elected to fill the vacancy.
+He was installed January 1, 1850, but resigned December
+1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith,
+of the United States army, was chosen to fill his
+place. Major Smith was inaugurated June 24, 1863,
+and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen being
+immediately re-elected and continuing in office until
+his death, on the 29th of August, 1882.</p>
+
+<p>The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D.,
+LL. D., was elected December 27, 1882, by the
+Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed of
+fifteen members, three of whom—the Mayor and the
+Presidents of Councils—are <i lang="la">ex officio</i>, and twelve are
+appointed by the Judges of the Court of Common
+Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second Wednesday
+of each month.</p>
+
+<p>It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania
+that any child having lost its father is properly
+denominated an orphan, irrespective of whether the
+mother be living or not. This construction has been
+adopted by the college, the requirements for admission
+to the institution being prescribed by Mr.
+Girard’s will as follows: (1) The orphan must be a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>
+poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
+application for admission being received before the
+former age, nor can he be admitted into the college
+after passing his tenth birthday, even though the
+application has been made previously; (2) the
+mother or next friend is required to produce the
+marriage certificate of the child’s parents (or, in its
+absence, some other satisfactory evidence of such
+marriage), and also the certificate of the physician
+setting forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form
+of application looking to the establishment of the
+child’s identity, physical condition, morals, previous
+education and means of support, must be filled in,
+signed and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications
+are made at the office, No. 19 South
+Twelfth street, Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>A preference is given under Girard’s will to (<i>a</i>)
+orphans born in the city of Philadelphia; (<i>b</i>) those
+born in any other part of Pennsylvania; (<i>c</i>) those
+born in the city of New York; (<i>d</i>) those born in the
+city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans
+born in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be
+strictly limited to the old city proper, the districts
+subsequently consolidated into the city having no
+rights in this respect over any other portion of the
+State.</p>
+
+<p>Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly
+according to priority of application, the mother or
+next friend executing an indenture binding the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>
+orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee under
+Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided
+for by the college. The seventh item of the
+will reads as follows:</p>
+
+<p>“The orphans admitted into the college shall be
+there fed with plain but wholesome food, clothed with
+plain but decent apparel (no distinctive dress ever to
+be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe manner.
+Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this
+end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean,
+and they shall have suitable and rational exercise
+and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
+various branches of a sound education, comprehending
+reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography,
+navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy,
+natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
+the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid,
+but I do not recommend the Greek and Latin languages),
+and such other learning and science as the
+capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
+I would have them taught facts and things,
+rather than words or signs. And especially, I desire,
+that by every proper means a pure attachment to our
+republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of
+conscience, as guaranteed by our happy constitutions,
+shall be formed and fostered in the minds of the
+scholars.”</p>
+
+<p>Although the orphans reside permanently in the
+college, they are, at stated times, allowed to visit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>
+their friends at their houses and to receive visits
+from their friends at the college. The household
+is under the care of a matron, an assistant
+matron, prefects and governesses, who superintend
+the moral and social training of the orphans and
+administer the discipline of the institution when the
+scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are
+divided into sections, for the purposes of discipline,
+having distinct officers, buildings and playgrounds.</p>
+
+<p>The schools are taught chiefly in the main college
+building, five professors and forty eight teachers being
+employed in the duties of instruction; and the course
+comprises a thorough English commercial education,
+to which has been latterly added special schools of
+technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a
+large proportion of the orphans admitted into the college
+have had little or no preparatory education, the
+instruction commences with the alphabet.</p>
+
+<p>The order of daily exercises is as follows: the
+pupils rise at six o’clock; take breakfast at half-past
+six. Recreation until half-past seven; then assemble
+in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to the
+chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel
+exercises consist of singing a hymn, reading a chapter
+from the Old or New Testament, and prayer, after
+the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the
+various school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess
+of fifteen minutes, until twelve. From twelve
+until the dinner-hour, which is half-past twelve, they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span>
+are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
+that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour,
+when they resume the school exercises, remaining
+without intermission until four o’clock. At four
+the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
+which they are on the play-ground until six, at which
+hour supper is served. The evening study hour lasts
+from seven to eight, or half-past eight, varying with
+the age of the pupils, the same difference being observed
+in their bedtimes, which are from half-past
+seven for the youngest until a quarter before nine for
+the older boys.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section
+rooms at nine o’clock in the morning and at two in
+the afternoon for reading and religious instruction,
+and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at
+three in the afternoon they attend divine worship in
+the chapel. Here the exercises are similar to those
+held on week days, with the important addition of an
+appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
+of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether
+on Sundays or on week days, are invariably conducted
+by the president or other layman, the will of
+the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of
+any denomination whatsoever within the boundaries
+of the institution.</p>
+
+<p>The discipline of the college is administered
+through admonition, deprivation of recreation, and
+seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal punishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span>
+may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
+presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes
+an unfit companion for the rest, the Will says
+he shall not be permitted to remain in the college.</p>
+
+<p>The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing
+and educating each pupil, including current repairs
+to buildings and furniture and the maintenance
+of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between
+the age of fourteen and eighteen years the
+scholars may be indentured by the institution, on behalf
+of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some “art,
+trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
+as far as is judicious, the inclination and
+preference of the scholar. The master to whom an
+apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with sufficient
+meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at
+his own place of residence (unless otherwise agreed
+to by the parties to the indenture and so indorsed
+upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach and instruct
+the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,”
+and at the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish
+him with at least two complete suits of clothes, one
+of which shall be new. Should, however, a scholar
+not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave
+the college upon attaining the age of eighteen years.
+In case of death his friends have the privilege of
+removing his body for interment, otherwise his remains
+are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
+Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p>
+
+<p>Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are
+allowed to visit the college on the afternoon of every
+week day. Permits can be obtained from the Mayor
+of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at the
+office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South
+Twelfth street, Philadelphia, or at the office of the
+<cite>Public Ledger</cite> newspaper. Especial courtesy is shown
+all foreign visitors, and particularly those interested
+in educational matters.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by
+influenza, which was then epidemic in the city. The
+violence of the disease greatly prostrated him, and,
+pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent
+that he could not live. He had no fear of death.
+About a month before this attack he had said:
+“When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
+unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going
+to die to-morrow I should plant a tree, nevertheless,
+to-day.”</p>
+
+<p>He died in the back room of his Water street
+mansion on December 26th, aged eighty-one years (or
+nearly), and four days after he was buried in the
+churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and
+Spruce streets.</p>
+
+<p>For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed
+where they had been laid in the churchyard of the
+Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard College having
+been completed, it was resolved that the remains<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span>
+of the donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus
+provided in its vestibule. This was done
+with appropriate ceremonies on September 30, 1851.</p>
+
+<p>Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this
+attained, the longing of mankind to leave a shining
+memory merged his purpose in the establishment of
+what was to him that fairest of Utopias—the simple
+tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties
+ended not with the State, and whose benefactions
+were not limited to the rescue or advancement of its
+interests alone, but whose charities broadened beyond
+the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual
+life, to stretch over long reaches of the
+future, enriching thousands of poor children in his
+beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why
+he worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed
+object of his labor in acquisition. While he was
+forward with an apparent disregard of self, to expose
+his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
+to aid the internal improvements of the country, and
+to promote its commercial prosperity by all the means
+within his power, he yet had more ambitious designs.
+He wished to hand himself down to immortality by
+the only mode that was practicable for a man in
+his position, and he accomplished precisely that
+which was the grand aim of his life. He wrote his
+epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks
+and squares which adorn the streets of his adopted
+city, in the public works and eleemosynary establishments<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>
+of his adopted State, and erected his own
+monument and embodied his own principles in a
+marble-roofed palace. Yet, splendid as is the structure
+which stands above his remains, the most perfect
+model of architecture in the New World, it yields
+in beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor
+sleeps among the orphan poor whom his bounty is
+constantly educating.</p>
+
+<p>“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily
+stretches forth his invisible hands to lead some
+friendless child from ignorance to usefulness. And
+when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
+made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed
+and educated, and many men made useful to their
+country and themselves, each happy home or rescued
+child or useful citizen will be a living monument
+to perpetuate the name and embalm the memory of
+the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p>
+
+<p class="noic">BOARD OF DIRECTORS</p>
+
+<p class="noic works">OF</p>
+
+<p class="noi author">CITY TRUSTS,</p>
+
+<p class="noic">1889.</p>
+
+<hr class="r15">
+
+<p class="noic">W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, <i>President,<br>
+Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">LOUIS WAGNER, <i>Vice-President</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">ALEXANDER BIDDLE,<br>
+JAMES CAMPBELL,<br>
+JOSEPH L. CAVEN,<br>
+BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,<br>
+JOHN H. CONVERSE,<br>
+WILLIAM L. ELKINS,<br>
+WILLIAM B. MANN,<br>
+JOHN H. MICHENER,<br>
+GEORGE H. STUART,<br>
+RICHARD VAUX.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 noic works">MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”</p>
+
+<p class="noic">EDWIN H. FITLER, <i>Mayor</i>.<br>
+JAMES R. GATES, <i>President Select Council</i>.<br>
+WILLIAM M. SMITH, <i>President Common Council</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="r15">
+
+<p>F. CARROLL BREWSTER, <i>Solicitor</i>.<br>
+<span class="padl4">FRANK M. HIGHLEY, <i>Secretary</i>.</span><br>
+<span class="padl6">JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., <i>Supt. Admission and Indentures</i>.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp025">
+  <img src="images/i_fp025.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>B. B. Comegys.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="SUCCESS">HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">May 27, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the
+plainest duties of life—of what you must be, of what
+you must do, if you would be good men and succeed.</p>
+
+<p>It would be strange if one who has lived as long
+as I have should not have learned something worth
+knowing and worth telling to those who are younger
+and less experienced. I have had much to do with
+young people here and elsewhere, and I have seen
+many failures, much disappointment, many wrecks
+of character, and have learned many things; and I
+speak to you to-day in the hope that I may say such
+things as will help some boy, at least one, to determine,
+while he is here this morning, to do the best he
+can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
+are particularly appropriate to those just about
+to leave the college.</p>
+
+<p>It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<ol>
+<li>As to health.</li>
+<li>As to improvement of the mind.</li>
+<li>As to business or work of any kind.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></li>
+<li>As to your duties to other people.</li>
+<li>As to your duty to God.</li>
+</ol>
+</div>
+
+<p>As to health. You cannot be happy without
+good health, and you cannot expect to have good
+health unless you observe certain conditions. You
+must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that
+is within reach, or by other simple methods (such as
+a common brush) which are always within your
+reach. Be as much in the open air as possible. This
+is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and
+sedentary, such as that of a clerk in any shop or office.
+Pure, fresh air is Nature’s own provision for
+the well-being of all her creatures, and is the best of
+all tonics.</p>
+
+<p>Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat
+food that is too highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t
+be afraid of fruit in season and when it is ripe. But
+don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
+apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food
+provided here, accounts for the extraordinarily good
+health which almost all of you enjoy.</p>
+
+<p>Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating
+drinks. And the only way to be absolutely safe is
+not to drink even a little, or once in a while. Don’t
+drink at all.</p>
+
+<p>Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not
+later than eleven o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A
+young fellow who goes to work at seven o’clock in
+the morning can’t afford to keep late hours. Young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span>
+people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot
+safely disregard this hint. Late hours are
+always more or less injurious, especially when you are
+away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
+temptations of the streets and at the theatres.</p>
+
+<p>As to public entertainments or recreations in the
+evening, go to no place of seeing or hearing where
+you would not be willing to take your mother or
+sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely
+to be hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons,
+and gambling houses, or parties. You cannot be too
+careful about your recreations; let them be simple
+and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.</p>
+
+<p>Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing,
+or spitting, or swearing, or others that are injurious
+to yourselves or disagreeable to other people.
+All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
+clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at
+work—this is not always possible—but when going
+and coming to and from work.</p>
+
+<p>Always give place to women in the streets, in
+street-cars, or in other places. Do not rush into
+street-cars first to get seats. A true gentleman will
+wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit
+in street-cars, while women are standing, unless you
+are very, very tired. Here is a temptation before
+you every day almost in our city. Hardly anything
+is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars
+while women are standing and holding on to straps.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>
+And yet I see this every day. What is a boy good
+for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if he can
+give a woman or an old man a seat?</p>
+
+<p>If you are so favored as to have a few days or
+two weeks holiday in summer, go to the country or
+to the sea-shore, if your means will allow. The
+country air or sea air is better for you than almost
+any other change.</p>
+
+<p>Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well
+dressed—not, however, at your tailor’s expense. It is
+the duty of all to be well dressed, but don’t spend all
+your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
+on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for
+clothing when it is nearly or quite worn out. By all
+means keep out of debt, for your personal or family
+expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
+you can very soon repay your dealer the money you
+owe. The difference between ease and comfort, and
+distress, in money matters, is whether you spend a
+little more than you make, or a little less than you
+make. Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty
+sure to come, and you must lay up something for
+that day.</p>
+
+<p>Very much of the crime that is committed every
+day (and you cannot open a paper without seeing an
+account of some one who has gone wrong) is because
+people will live beyond their means; will spend more
+than they earn. They hope for an increase of pay,
+or that they will make money in some way or other,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>
+and then when that good time does not come, and as
+they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something,
+only borrowing it as they say, but they take it and
+spend it, or pay some pressing debt with it, and then,
+and then—they are caught, and sent to court, and
+tried and sent to—well, you know without my telling
+you.</p>
+
+<p>As to the mind.</p>
+
+<p>You have fine opportunities for education here, but
+they will soon be over, and if you leave this college
+without having a good knowledge of the practical
+branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
+Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will
+be at a great disadvantage with other boys who are
+well educated. I had a letter in my pocket a few days
+ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the Moyamensing
+Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar;
+and next to the horror of knowing he was in
+prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so ignorant of the
+very commonest branches of English education should
+have ever been within the walls of this college.</p>
+
+<p>I think I have told you before of a man who
+employs a large number of men, whose business
+amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
+in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and
+who a few years ago was robbed and almost ruined
+by his book-keeper, and who would now give half of
+what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>
+understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent
+upon other people to keep his accounts.</p>
+
+<p>As to books, be careful what you read. How it
+grieves me to see errand boys in street-cars, and sometimes
+as they walk in the streets, reading such stuff
+as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste
+of time, though that is bad enough, but a positive
+injury to the mind, filling it with the most improbable
+stories, and often, also, with that which is
+positively vicious. Read something better than this.
+Do not confine yourselves to newspapers, and do not
+read police reports. Attractive as this class of reading
+is, it is for the most part hurtful to the young
+mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good
+reading, magazines and periodicals; and books and
+books, good, bad, indifferent; and you will hardly
+know which to choose unless you ask others who are
+older than you, and who know books. Most boys
+read little but novels; and there are many thoroughly
+good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and historical.
+Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money;
+for you can get everything you want out of the
+public libraries; and this was not so, or at least to
+this extent, when I was a boy.</p>
+
+<p>As to work or business.</p>
+
+<p>Set out with the determination that you will be
+faithful in everything. Only last week a Girard boy
+called on me to help him get employment. I asked
+him some questions, and he told me that he had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span>
+out of the college five or six years, and had five or
+six situations. Do you think he had been faithful in
+anything? If he had been, he would not have lost
+place after place. When you get a place, and I hope
+every one of you will have a place provided for you
+before you leave here, be among the first to arrive
+in the morning, and be among the last to leave at
+the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination
+of base ball or anything else lead you to forget
+that your first duty is to your employer. Be quick
+to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself, “It is
+not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s
+place,” but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and
+let it be seen that you are ready for any work. And
+be very prompt to answer. Do whatever you are told.
+Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and
+say “good-morning” as if you meant it. In short,
+do not be slovenly in anything you have to do; be
+alive, and remember all the time that no labor is
+degrading.</p>
+
+<p>Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect,
+and your fellow-clerks or workers, whether
+superiors, inferiors or equals, with hearty good-will.</p>
+
+<p>Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if
+your employer do so, he will despise you for doing
+so. No matter if he is untruthful, he will respect
+you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge
+in or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does
+this, and you can be a real gentleman even if you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>
+are poor, for you will be educated. Make yourself
+indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
+possible, and it will almost certainly insure success.
+Be ambitious in the highest sense. Remember, that
+if not now, you will hereafter have others dependent
+upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
+for a boy to go out from this college with the determination
+to support his mother; and some that I know
+and you know are doing this, and many others will
+do it.</p>
+
+<p>I pause here to say that, so far, my words have
+been spoken as to your duties to the world, to yourselves.
+I have supposed that you boys would rather
+be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather
+own teams than drive them for other people, that
+you would rather be a contractor than carry the pick
+and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer
+than carry the hod, that you would rather be a
+house-builder than a shoveler of coal into the house-builder’s
+cellar. Is it not so?</p>
+
+<p>Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell
+you, and avoid everything I have warned you against,
+you cannot succeed in the best sense, you cannot become
+true men, such men as the city has a right to
+expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of
+God; for he holds all things in his hands. “The
+silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle upon a
+thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be
+against us?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p>
+
+<p>In these closing words, then, I would speak to you
+as to your duty to God.</p>
+
+<p>What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell
+you anything that you do not already know, so often
+have you been talked to about this subject. But
+nothing is so important for you to be reminded of,
+though I fear that to some of you hardly anything is
+so uninteresting. Naturally the heart is disinclined
+to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
+do without him, though many people think they
+can, or they act as if they thought so. Such people
+are not wise; they are very foolish.</p>
+
+<p>He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with
+infinite love and care, he has appointed the time for
+our departure from this life, and he has prepared a
+better life than this for those who love him here. We
+cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all
+things are in his hands. If you will think of it, some
+of the best men and women you know are believers
+in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
+you can do without him?</p>
+
+<p>Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship
+of those who love and fear God, both men and women.
+You are safe with such; you are not quite so
+sure of safety in the society of those who openly say
+they can do without God. When I speak of those
+who fear God, I do not mean merely professors of religion,
+not merely members of meeting or members
+of church, but I mean people who live such lives as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span>
+people ought to live, who fear God and keep his commandments.
+You know there are such, you have
+met with them, you will meet many more of them,
+and you will meet also those who call themselves
+Christians, but whose lives show that they have no
+true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists,
+mere professors.</p>
+
+<p>Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean,
+read it, a little of it at least, every day. You need
+not read much, it is well sometimes that you read
+but a little; but read it with a purpose—that is, to
+understand it. The literature of the Bible as you
+grow older will abundantly repay your careful and
+constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
+treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument
+of Horace Binney, Esq., in the Girard will case,
+I was surprised to see how familiar Mr. Binney was
+with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers
+that has ever lived in our own or any other
+country. Yet Mr. Binney thought it quite worth his
+while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
+it is worth your while also?</p>
+
+<p>Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not
+say what church it shall be. That must be left to
+yourselves to determine, and many circumstances
+will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
+some church, and, when you become more interested
+in the subject than you are now, join that church,
+whatever it may be, and so connect yourselves with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>
+people who believe in and love God. If there be a
+Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so
+learn to study the Scriptures systematically.</p>
+
+<p>Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every
+night and every morning and pray to God. You are
+not so likely to be ashamed if you have a room to
+yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this
+even if there are others in the room with you, as will
+be the case with many of you. This is a severe test, I
+know, but he who bears it faithfully will already
+have gained a victory.</p>
+
+<p>Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the
+twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke:
+“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s
+life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
+possesseth.”</p>
+
+<p>On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered
+here many men, a great company, who were
+trained in this college, and who, after graduation, went
+out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
+a most interesting time, not only for them but for
+the teachers and officers who have had charge of them.</p>
+
+<p>Some of them are successful men in the highest
+and best sense, and have made themselves a name
+and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
+clerks, mechanics, railroad men—men representing
+almost all kinds of business and occupations—came
+here in great numbers to celebrate the anniversary of
+the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span>
+a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more.
+I do not know their names; for many of them had
+left before I began to come here; but from certain
+expressions that fell from the lips of some of them
+I am persuaded that they, at least, are walking in
+the truth.</p>
+
+<p>It would be very interesting if we could know
+their thoughts, and see with what feelings they look
+back on their school-life. I wonder if any of them
+regret that they did not make a better use of their
+time while here. I wonder if any feel that they
+would like to become boys again and go to school
+over again, being sure that, with their present experience
+of life, they would set a higher value on the
+education of the schools. I wonder if any feel that
+they would have reached higher positions and secured
+a larger influence if they had been more diligent at
+school. I wonder if there are any who can trace
+evil habits of thought to the companions they had
+here. I wonder if any are aware of evil impressions
+which they made on their classmates and so
+cast a stain and a dark shadow on other young lives,
+stains never obliterated, shadows never wholly lifted.
+I wonder if there are any among them who regret
+that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God
+in their school-days was neglected, and who have
+never had so favorable an opportunity since. “If
+some who come back here on these commemoration
+days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>
+they would be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”</p>
+
+<p>I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger
+boys, to give most earnest attention to the duties
+which lie before you every day. You will not misunderstand
+me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose
+that I would interfere in the least degree with the
+pleasures which belong to your time of life. I
+would not lessen them in the least; on the contrary,
+I would encourage you, and help you in all proper
+recreation, in all sports and plays. The boy who
+does not enjoy play is not a happy boy, and is not
+very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man.
+But it is quite possible, as some of you know, to
+enjoy in the highest degree all healthful sports, and
+at the same time to be industrious and conscientious
+in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the
+boys in this college shall be boys of the best, the
+highest type; that they “shall walk in the truth.”
+There are, alas, many boys who have gone through
+this college, and fully equipped (as well as their
+teachers could equip them), have been launched out
+into life and come to naught. I do not know their
+names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
+the fact.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I
+want to discharge my duty to you as faithfully as I
+can. I know some of the difficulties of life, for they
+have been in my path. I know some of the fierce<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span>
+temptations to which boys and young men are exposed,
+for I have felt these assaults in my own
+person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I
+am a sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards
+you, I come with these plain, earnest words, and I
+urge you to look up to God, and ask him to help
+you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIFE">LIFE—ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">March 12, 1885.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I propose to speak to you now of some plain and
+practical duties which await you in life; and, as
+there are many boys here who are anxiously looking
+for the time when they will leave the college to
+make their way in the world, some of whom will
+probably have left the college before I come again, I
+speak more especially to them. And my first words
+are words of congratulation, and for these reasons:</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>Because you are young.</em> And this means very
+much. You have an enormous advantage over people
+that are your seniors. Other things being equal,
+you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
+living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting
+by the mistakes committed by those who precede
+you, and if you are not blind, you can avail yourselves
+of the successes they have achieved.</p>
+
+<p>You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You
+are full of courage and endurance. You can grapple
+with difficult subjects and with a strong hand. And
+if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span>
+and start anew. In short, life is before you, and you
+look forward with the inspiration of hope, and it may
+be, also, of determination.</p>
+
+<p>2. I congratulate you also <em>because you are poor</em>.
+You have your own way to make in the world. You
+know already that if you achieve success, it must be
+because you exert yourselves to the very utmost.
+Indeed, you must depend upon yourselves, and this
+means that you must do everything in your power
+that is right to do, to help yourselves.</p>
+
+<p>You must understand that there is no royal road
+to <em>success</em>, any more than there is to <em>learning</em>, and that
+there is no time to trifle. If you were rich men’s
+sons, these remarks would have no special pertinence,
+or importance.</p>
+
+<p>My congratulations are quite in order also because
+very many, if not <em>most</em> of the high places in our
+country, are held by those who once were poor lads.</p>
+
+<p>Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if
+one is to be congratulated on his poverty, do fathers
+toil early and late, denying themselves needed recreation,
+not ceasing when they have accumulated a
+good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires—why
+do they so much dread to leave their
+sons to struggle for a living?” More than one answer
+might be given to these questions. Some
+fathers have so little faith in God’s providence that
+they forget his goodness, which <em>now</em> takes care of
+their families through the instrumentality of parents;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>
+and who can continue that care through other means,
+just as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority
+says that “they who will be rich, fall into
+temptations and snares,” one of which is that the
+race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits
+and amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he
+can’t change his habits, he has no other mental
+resources—he must work or perish.</p>
+
+<p>Do not, then, let the fact that you are <em>poor</em> discourage
+you in the least—it is rather an advantage.</p>
+
+<p>3. But again I congratulate you, because <em>your lot
+is cast in America</em>. Do not smile at this. I am not
+on the point of flying the American eagle, nor of
+raising the stars and stripes. It <em>is</em>, however, a good
+thing to have been born in this country. For in all
+important respects it is the most favored of all lands.
+It is the fashion with certain people to disparage our
+government and its institutions; and one must admit
+that in some particulars there might be improvement,
+and will be some day; but, notwithstanding these
+defects, it is unquestionably true that it is the best
+government on earth. Is there any country where a
+poor young man has opportunities as good as he has
+here, to get on in life? Is there any obstacle or
+hindrance whatever, outside of himself, in the way
+of his success? If a young man has good health of
+mind and body, and a fair English education and
+good manners, and will be honest and industrious, is
+he not much more certain to attain success, in one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span>
+way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
+You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights
+under the law. There is no caste here, that curse of
+monarchies. There is no aristocracy in sentiment or
+in power, no House of Lords, no established church,
+no law of primogeniture. One man is as good as
+another under the law as long as he behaves himself.</p>
+
+<p>If you want further evidence, only look for a moment
+at the condition of the seething, surging masses
+of Europe, and the continual apprehensions of a general
+war. Before this year 1885 has run its course
+the United States may be almost the only country
+among the great powers that is not involved in war.</p>
+
+<p>And if still further illustration were needed, let me
+point to that most extraordinary scene enacted in
+Washington some weeks ago.</p>
+
+<p>A great political party, which has held control of
+this government nearly a quarter of a century, and
+which has exercised almost unlimited power, yields
+most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
+all honor and patronage, to the will of the people
+who have chosen a new administration. And
+everybody regards it as a matter of course.</p>
+
+<p>Was such a thing ever known before? And could
+such a thing occur anywhere else among the nations?</p>
+
+<p>Once more, I congratulate you <em>because you live in
+Philadelphia</em>. Ah, now we come to a most interesting
+point. Most of you were born here, and you
+come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span>
+large cities. More to be desired as a place to live in
+than Washington, the seat of government, the most
+beautiful of all American cities, or New York, with
+its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston,
+with its boasted intellectual society.</p>
+
+<p>They may call us the “<i>Quaker City</i>,” or the “<i>worst
+paved city</i>,” or the “<i>slow city</i>,” or the “city of rows
+of houses exactly alike;” but these houses are the
+homes of separate families, and in a very large
+degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot
+say as much of any other city in the world. Although
+there are doubtless many instances in the
+oldest part of the city, and among the improvident
+poor, where more than one family will be found in
+the same house, yet these are the exceptions and not
+the rule; and so far as I know there is not one “tenement
+house” in this great city that was built for the
+purpose of accommodating several families at the
+same time. I need not point you to New York and
+Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
+twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do
+people prevail, utterly destroying that most
+cherished domestic life of which we have been so
+proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
+with its demoralizing associations and results; nor
+shall I describe the awful tenement houses in those
+two cities, where the poor are crowded like animals
+in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb creatures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span>
+do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
+else that makes life desirable.</p>
+
+<p>Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia
+is the most desirable for the young man who must
+make his own way in the world....</p>
+
+<p>And having shown you how favorable are the conditions
+which are about you, the next point is, What
+will you do when you set out for yourselves?</p>
+
+<p>All of you are <em>expecting</em> when you leave school to
+be employed by somebody, or engaged in some business.
+And I suppose you may be looking to me to
+give you some hints how to take care of yourselves,
+or how to behave in such relations.</p>
+
+<p>I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed,
+it would be necessary first to define the word. And
+there are several definitions that might be given.
+One of the shortest and best would be in these words,
+“A life well spent.” That’s success. And this definition
+shall be my model.</p>
+
+<p>Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition
+be, not to get through quickly, not to go over
+much ground in text-books, but to master thoroughly
+everything before you. If you knew how little
+thorough instruction there is, you would thank me
+for this. There are so many half-educated people
+from schools and colleges that one cannot help believing
+that the terms of graduation are very easy.
+There have been, and are now, graduates of colleges<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>
+who cannot add up a long column of figures correctly,
+nor do an example in simple proportion, nor write a
+letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes
+of grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say
+nothing of perspicuity and unity and general good
+taste.</p>
+
+<p>It is quite surprising to find how helpless some
+young men are in the simple matter of writing letters;
+an art with which, in these days of cheap postage
+and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
+to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try
+to-morrow to write a note of twenty lines on any
+subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it for criticism
+to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
+calling one of his young men, and directing
+him to write a letter to one of his correspondents,
+saying such and such things, and bring it to him for
+his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the
+letter is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let
+it go out of his office?</p>
+
+<p>It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief
+business of life, not the only thing of importance in
+a counting-house, but it is an elegant accomplishment,
+and most desirable of attainment.</p>
+
+<p>Let me say some words about shorthand writing.
+In this day of push and drive and hurry, when so
+many things must be done at once, there is an increasing
+demand for shorthand writers. In fact,
+business as now conducted cannot afford to do without<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span>
+this help. It often occurs that a principal in a
+business house cannot take the time to write long letters.
+Why should he? It does not pay to have one
+that is occupied in governing and controlling great interests,
+or in the receipt of a large salary, tied to a desk
+writing letters, or reports, or statements of any kind.
+He must <em>talk off</em> these things; and he must be an educated
+man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and
+accurate expression that his dictation may almost be
+taken to be final. He wants a clerk who can take down
+his words with literal accuracy, and who will be able
+to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and
+submit the complete paper to his chief for his signature.
+The demand for this kind of service is increasing
+every day, and some of you now listening to me
+will be so employed. See that you are ready for it
+when your opportunity comes.</p>
+
+<p>If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in
+an insurance company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote
+yourself to your particular duties, whatever they
+may be. And don’t be too particular as to what
+kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be
+work that you think belongs to the porter; no matter
+if it is, do it, and do it as well as the porter can,
+or even better.</p>
+
+<p>Let none of you, therefore, think that anything
+you are likely to be called upon to do is beneath you.
+Do it, and do it in the best manner, and you may not
+have to do it for a long time.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>Make yourself indispensable to your employer.
+You can do that; it is quite within your power, and
+it may be that you may get to be an employer yourself;
+indeed it is more than probable; but you must
+work for it.</p>
+
+<p>If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house
+or public institution, remember that you are in
+a position of trust and responsibility. When you
+make errors do not erase the error; draw faint red or
+black lines through it and write correct characters
+over the error. Do not hide your errors of any kind.
+Do not misstate anything in language or figures.
+Everybody makes errors at some time or other, but
+everybody does not admit and apologize for them.
+The honest man is he who <em>does</em> admit and apologize,
+and does so without waiting to be detected.</p>
+
+<p>There have been of late some deplorable instances
+of betrayal of trust in our city. I may as well call
+it by its right name, stealing. The culprits are now
+suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
+While I am speaking to you there are men, young
+and <em>not</em> young, in our city who are <em>now</em> stealing, and
+who are falsifying their books in the vain hope that
+it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day
+when they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a
+holiday; who cannot afford to be sick, lest absence
+for a single day may disclose their guilt. What a
+horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>
+or their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but
+it may be their last day in that place.</p>
+
+<p>And the day will come, most surely, when <em>you</em>
+will be tempted as these wretched ones have been
+tempted. In what shape the temptation may come,
+or when, no human being knows. The suggestion
+will be made, that by the use of a little money you
+may make a good deal; that the venture is perfectly
+safe; some one tells you so, and points to this one or
+that one who has tried it and made money. It is
+only a little thing; you can’t lose much; you <em>may</em>
+make enough to pay for the cost of your summer
+holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
+you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better
+beer, or buy a gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything
+else; <em>you can’t lose much</em>. You have no money
+of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
+be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you
+do it? No! Let nothing induce you to take the first
+dollar not your own. It is the <em>first</em> step that counts.</p>
+
+<p>But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget
+it. Suppose the time comes when you find that
+you <em>have</em> taken something that was not yours, and
+that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what
+then? Why, go at once to your employer; tell him
+the whole story; keep back nothing; throw yourself
+upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
+than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is
+no possibility of continuous concealment. Tell it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>
+now before you are detected, and, if you must be disgraced,
+the sooner the better.</p>
+
+<p>Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too
+much? Oh, boys, young men, if you knew the frightful
+danger that you may be in some day, the subtle
+temptations that will beset you, the many instances
+of weakness about you, the shipwrecks of character,
+the utter ruin that comes to sisters and to innocent
+wives and children by the crimes of brothers, husbands
+and fathers, as we who are older know, you
+would not wonder that I speak as I do.</p>
+
+<p>Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation,
+weakens confidence in human character. For every
+such instance of wrong-doing is a stab at <em>your</em> integrity
+if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
+fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by
+their employers, men who are hedged about by the
+sacredness of domestic ties, on whom the happiness
+of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men
+who claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little
+by little; they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up
+their tracks, cannot do it long, are caught, tried, convicted,
+sentenced and imprisoned. Then the question
+may be asked about you or me: “How do
+we know that Mr. So-and-So is any better than those
+who have fallen?” Don’t you see that these culprits
+are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
+society, <em>your</em> enemies and <em>mine</em>?</p>
+
+<p>If the names of those who are now serving out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>
+their sentences in the public prisons for stealing, not
+petty theft, but stealing and defrauding in larger
+sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
+papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored
+names and blighted lives and ruined homes, and how
+the memory would recall some whom we knew in
+early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol
+of fond wives and lovely children; and we should
+turn away with sickening horror from the record!
+But, if there should appear in the same papers the
+names of those who are <em>now engaged in stealing and
+defrauding</em> and <em>falsifying entries</em>, who are not yet
+caught, but who may, before this year is out, be
+caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
+revelation <em>that</em> would be!</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.</p>
+
+<p>But do not think that it is for your future in <em>this</em>
+life only that I am concerned. Life does not end
+here, though it may seem to do so. Our life in this
+world is a mere <em>beginning</em> of existence. It is the
+<em>future</em>, the <em>endless</em> life before us, that we should
+prepare for; and no preparation is worth the name
+except that of a pure, an upright and honorable life,
+that depends for its support on the love and the fear of
+God. You must accept him as your Father, you
+must honor him and obey him, and so consecrating
+your young lives to his service, trust him to care for
+you with his infinite love and care.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp051">
+  <img src="images/i_fp051.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>William Welsh.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="WELSH">ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,<br>
+<small><i>First President of the Board of City Trusts</i></small>.</h2>
+
+<p class="noic">February 22, 1878.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to
+persuade you to adopt the thought so aptly set forth
+by one of the old Hebrew kings, Whatsoever thy
+hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
+thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the
+most conspicuous examples of working with all his
+might, and so much of whose work was done for you,
+whom you so often saw standing where I now stand,
+I little thought that his work on earth was so nearly
+done. Last Sunday he addressed you here. One,
+two, three services he conducted for the boys of this
+college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory for
+the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to
+say from my knowledge of his method of doing
+things that these services were all conducted in the
+best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
+his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided
+in his acts or speech, but that he took hold
+of his subject with a firm grasp, and did not let go
+until the service was finished. It is very natural<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>
+that we should desire to know as much as we can
+about a life that has come so close to us as the life
+of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if we may, what it was
+that made him the man that he was. The thousands
+of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s
+Church on the day of the funeral, as many of you
+saw; the very large number of citizens of the highest
+distinction who united in the solemn services; the
+profound interest manifested everywhere among all
+classes of society; the closing of places of business
+at the hour of these services; the flags at half-mast,
+all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
+assured us that no common man had gone from
+among us. What was it that made him no common
+man? What was there in his life and character
+that lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant?
+In other places, and by those most competent
+to speak, will the complete picture of his
+life be drawn, but what was there in his life which
+particularly interests you college boys? It will
+surprise you probably when I tell you that his
+early education—the education of the schools—was
+very limited. He was not a college-bred man. At
+a very early age (as early as fourteen, I believe) he
+left school and went into his father’s store. You
+know that he could not have had much education at
+that age. And he went into the store, not to be a
+gentleman clerk to sit in the counting-house and copy
+letters and invoices, and do the bank business and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span>
+lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything
+that came to hand, rough and smooth, hard
+and easy, dirty and clean, for in those days the
+duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
+porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was
+not so heavy as the robust porter’s. And even when
+he grew older and stronger he would go down into
+the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore
+in the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the
+days were long then: there were no office hours from
+nine to three o’clock, but merchants and their clerks
+dined near the middle of the day, and were back at
+their stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and
+stayed and worked until the day was done. So this
+young clerk worked all day, and went home at night
+tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through
+the next day and the next in the same manner. But
+not only to rest and sleep. The body was tired
+enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
+not tired. He early knew the importance of mental
+discipline, of mental cultivation. He knew that a
+half-educated man is no match for one thoroughly
+equipped, and so he set himself to the task of
+making up, as far as he could, for that deficiency of
+systematic education which his early withdrawal
+from school made him regret so much. What
+definite means or methods he resorted to to accomplish
+this I cannot tell you, for I have not learned;
+but the fact that he did very largely overcome this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span>
+most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have
+ever met him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly
+at ease in circles where men must be well informed
+or be very uncomfortable. As the President of
+this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen
+of the highest professional and general culture,
+he was quite equal to any exigency which ever arose.
+All this you must know was the result of education,
+not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but
+that which he acquired himself after his school life.
+He was careful about his associates. Then, as now,
+the streets were alive with boys and young men of
+more than questionable character. And the thought
+which has come up in many a boy’s mind after his
+day’s work was done, must have come up in his
+mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
+with companions of my own age and have a good
+time? Why should I be so strict while others have
+more freedom and enjoy themselves so much more?”
+I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and
+that he was a free, hearty boy in them all, but I
+cannot suppose, for his after life gave no evidence of
+it, his general good health, his muscular wiry frame
+forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful
+pleasures passed beyond that line which separates
+the good from the bad, the pure from the impure.
+Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.</p>
+
+<p>William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean
+by that he was not lazy. A large part of the failures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span>
+in life are attributable to the love of ease. We
+choose the soft things; we turn away from those
+which are hard. We are deterred by the abstruse,
+the obscure; we are attracted by the simple, the
+plain. A really strong character will grapple with
+any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A
+character naturally weak may be developed by culture
+and discipline into one of real strength, but the
+process is very slow and very discouraging. A life
+that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on
+other lives, on society, must have these struggles,
+this training. I do not know minutely the characteristics
+of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this particular,
+but I infer most emphatically that his strong character
+was formed by continuous, laborious, exacting
+self-application.</p>
+
+<p>I would now speak of that quality which is so
+valuable (I will not say so rare), so conspicuously
+and so immeasurably important, personal integrity.
+Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest
+degree. He was most emphatically an honest man.
+No thought of anything other than this could ever
+have entered into the mind of any one who knew
+him. All men knew that public or private trusts
+committed to him were safe. Mistakes in judgment
+all are liable to, but of conscious deflection from the
+right path in this respect he was incapable. His
+high position as President of the Board of City Trusts,
+which includes, among other large properties, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span>
+great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of Philadelphia,
+proves the confidence this community had in
+his personal character. His private fortune was used
+as if he were a trustee. He recognized the hand of
+God in his grand success as a merchant, and he felt
+himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure.
+If he enjoyed a generous mode of living for himself
+and his family—a manner of life required by his
+position in the community—he more than equalized
+it by his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was
+conscientious and liberal (rare combination) in his
+benefactions, for he felt that he held his personal
+property in trust.</p>
+
+<p>Such are a few of the traits in the character of
+the man whose life on earth was so suddenly closed
+on Monday last. Under Providence, by which I
+mean the blessing of God, that blessing which
+is just as much within your reach as his, these are
+some of the conditions of his extraordinary success.
+His self-culture, the choice of his companions
+his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion,
+made the man what he was. I cannot here speak of
+his work in that church which he loved so much. I
+do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have
+reason to believe that, next to his own family, his
+affections were placed on you. He could never look
+into your faces without having his feelings stirred to
+their profoundest depths. He loved you—in the
+best, the truest sense, he loved you. He was willing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span>
+to give any amount of his time, his thought, his care,
+to you. The time he spent in the chapel was a very
+small part of the time he gave to his work for you.
+You were upon his heart constantly. I do not know—no
+one can know—but if it be possible for the spirits
+of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes of earth—to
+come back and look upon those they loved so
+much when in the flesh—I am sure his spirit is here
+to-day—this, his first Sabbath in Heaven—looking
+into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
+out among you, and wishing that all of you may
+make such use of your grand opportunity here as will
+insure your success in the life which is before you
+when you leave these college walls, and especially as
+will insure your entering into the everlasting life.
+Such was his life, full of activity, generosity, self-denial,
+eminently religious, in the best sense successful.
+He was never at rest; his heart was always
+open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except
+to himself. He wanted everybody to be religious.
+He died in the harness; no time to take it off; no
+wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance,
+not in retreat. He never turned his back on anything
+that was right. His eye was not dim; his
+natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
+that it seemed only stepping from one room in his
+Father’s house to another. We are reminded of the
+beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray describes
+the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>
+the Charter House School, after a life spent in fighting
+the enemies of his country abroad, and the enemies
+of the good in society at home. “At the usual
+evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and
+Thomas Newcome’s hands outside the bed feebly beat
+time. And just as the last bell struck, a peculiar
+sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his
+head a little and quickly said <em>Adsum</em>, and fell back.
+It was the word they used at school when names
+were called, and lo, he, whose heart was as that of a
+little child, had answered to his name and stood in
+the presence of ‘The Master.’”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="BAD">BAD ASSOCIATES.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">November 11, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of
+evil company, a danger to which you will necessarily
+be exposed when you go out from this college to make
+your way in life.</p>
+
+<p>The desire for companionship sometimes leads
+people, and especially young people, into bad company.
+A boy finds himself associated with a schoolmate,
+a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive
+in manners, full of fun, but who is not what
+he ought to be in character.</p>
+
+<p>No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or
+young have some points that are not repulsive, and
+sometimes the very bad are attractive in some respects.
+A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
+into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in
+the conduct of his new friends which is particularly
+out of the way. The conversation is somewhat
+guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad,
+and, for a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings;
+but, after a while, the mask is thrown off and the
+true character is revealed. Then very soon the mind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>
+of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that
+corrupt and defile it. All that is polluting in talk
+and story and song is poured out. Books and papers,
+so vile that it is a breach of law to sell them, are read
+and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
+and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the
+mind and heart of their son are so polluted and depraved
+that no human power can save him.</p>
+
+<p>I very well remember a boy older than myself who,
+early in life, gave himself up to vile company and
+vile books and vile habits, and who, long ago—almost
+as soon as he reached an early manhood—sunk, under
+the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored
+grave, but not until he had defiled and depraved
+many a boy who came under his influence. Better
+would it have been for his companions if their daily
+walks and playgrounds had been infested with venomous
+serpents, to bite and sting their bare feet,
+than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
+all uncleanness.</p>
+
+<p>It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances
+may throw us among them; the providence
+of God may send us there, but we ought never to <em>seek</em>
+such company, except for good purposes. What I
+mean is that we ought not to seek such associates,
+however agreeable they may be in other respects,
+and not to remain among them except for their
+good.</p>
+
+<p>There are wicked people in every community, of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span>
+all ages. We cannot altogether avoid contact with
+them. We find them among our schoolmates and in
+the walks of business.</p>
+
+<p>Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever
+ruined by evil companions. A corrupt literature is
+bad enough, but evil companions are more numerous
+and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers
+have slain their thousands; bad companions have
+slain their ten thousands. I can recall the names of
+many who were led away, step by step, down the
+broad road that leads to destruction, by companions
+genial, attractive, but corrupt.</p>
+
+<p>There are some companions from whom you cannot
+separate yourselves. They are with you continually;
+at home and abroad, in school or at play,
+by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always
+with you. There is no solitude so deep that
+they cannot find you, no crowd so great that they
+will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
+they will not—cannot—be kept away. I mean <em>your
+own thoughts</em>, your bosom companions. Shall they be
+<span class="allsmcap">EVIL</span> companions or <span class="allsmcap">GOOD</span>? Ah! you know who, and
+who only, can answer this question.</p>
+
+<p>I once went through a monastery in the old city
+of Florence, in Italy. It was a retreat for men who
+were tired of the world, or who felt so unequal to
+the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
+believed peace could be found only in retirement.
+The house was of the order of St. Francis. One of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>
+the monks took me into his cell, and I sat down and
+talked with him. It was a very small room—one
+door, one window, bare walls, a small table, two
+wooden chairs, a few books, a crucifix, a washstand,
+and some pieces of crockery; and that was all. In
+this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to
+the chapel, just across the corridor, and to walk in
+the cloisters for exercise; here he expected to die.
+It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But I
+thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping
+from evil thoughts, and the only way, men may
+well submit to the confinement, the solitude, the
+monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But,
+alas! it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron
+doors, no bolts and bars, can shut out our thoughts,
+for they are a part of ourselves: they <em>are</em> ourselves;
+for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”</p>
+
+<p>Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek
+his fortune in the city. His mother was dead and
+his father broken in health and in fortune. The boy
+reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
+father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever
+fell to his lot to do. He was tall, strong and
+good-looking. A place was soon found for him, and
+until he was better able to support himself he found
+a home with some friends. He was a boy of good
+mind but with a very imperfect education, and he
+seemed inclined to make up for this in part by reading
+during his leisure hours. The situation found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span>
+for him was in a large commercial house, where
+everything was conducted in the best manner and on
+the highest principles. Here he made rapid progress
+and was soon able to contribute to the support of
+those he had left at home in the country. He became
+interested in serious things, united with the
+Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession
+of religion. Everything went well with him for
+several years, until he fell in with some boys near
+his own age, who had been brought up under very
+different circumstances. Two or three of these were
+inclined towards skepticism in religious things, and
+their reading was quite unlike that to which this
+boy had been accustomed. Some fascination of manner
+about them attracted the lad to their society,
+and he grew less and less fond of his truest and best
+friends. He became irregular in his attendance at
+the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with by
+his teacher and friends had no candid and manly
+answer for them. After a while he ceased going to
+church entirely, spending his time at his lodgings
+reading profane and immoral books or in the society
+of his new companions. Then he found his way
+with these friends (so he called them, but they were
+really his greatest enemies) to taverns and even to
+worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking
+he was strengthening his mind and broadening
+his views. A little further on and his habits grew
+worse, and became the subject of observation and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>
+remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly
+with him and received his promise to turn away from
+his evil associates (who had well-nigh ruined him)
+and to lead a better life. He promised well, and for
+a time things with him were better. But after
+a while he fell away again into his old ways and with
+his old tempters, and before his friends were aware
+of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
+were received from him. He was without means;
+he found it hard to get employment; he had no references,
+and the people among whom he found himself
+were distrustful of strangers.</p>
+
+<p>One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter
+of recommendation replied something like this:</p>
+
+<p>“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of
+recommendation except with qualification. If you
+are seeking employment it is your duty to make a
+candid statement of your condition. Make a clean
+breast of it. Keep nothing back. Say that you had
+a good situation; that you were growing with the
+growth of your employers; that your salary had been
+advanced twice within the year; that one of the
+partners was your friend; that he had stood by you
+in your earlier youth; that he had extricated you
+from embarrassment and would have helped you
+again when needed, and that in an evil hour you
+forgot this, and your duty to him and to the house
+which sustained you; that you left your place
+without your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span>
+quite broke his heart, and that all this grew out of
+your love of bad associates and your love of drink,
+and that while under this infatuation you went
+astray with bad women; and that in very despair
+of your ability to save yourself, and ashamed to
+meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the
+hope that in a new field and with new associates you
+could reform.</p>
+
+<p>“If you say this or something like this to a Christian
+man, little as you affect to think of Christianity,
+his heart will open to you and you can then look
+him frankly in the face, and have no concealments
+from him. Any other course than this will only
+prolong your agony, and in the end plunge you in
+deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
+advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no
+one will be more rejoiced than myself or more ready
+to help you. Read the parable of the prodigal son
+every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
+ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a
+humble, penitent man, and make your father’s last
+days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.</p>
+
+<p>“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a
+deep interest in you, else I would have thrown your
+letter to me into the fire.”</p>
+
+<p>I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely
+to the influence of his foolish, bad companions.
+And I know that this sad history is the record of
+many others; in fact, that the same experience<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span>
+awaits all who think it a light matter what company
+they keep, and who drift on the current with no purpose
+except to find pleasure, without regard to their
+duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young
+men standing at the corners of the streets, or lounging
+against lamp-posts, and catch a word as I pass, very
+often profane or indecent, I know very well that a
+work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked,
+will certainly lead to destruction. And I wonder
+whether these boys and young men have parents or
+sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to
+pass unwarned down the road that leads to death.</p>
+
+<p>But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions,
+besides those that appear to us in bodily
+form. They confront us in the printed page. You
+read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of
+dialogue. Such books are often more attractive than
+a plain narrative with little conversation. You enter
+fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit of the
+story. The characters are real to you. You seem
+to see the forms before you; you make a picture of
+each in your mind, so that if you were an artist you
+could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
+dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no
+sound as you read, you are really pronouncing each
+word in your mind. And every time you say a bad
+word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are
+in effect listening to bad words not spoken by other
+people merely, but spoken by yourself, and before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>
+you are aware of it you will be in the habit of thinking
+oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It
+is even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene.
+Now do you ever think that when you are
+reading such wretched stuff you are in effect associating
+with the characters whose talk you are listening
+to, and without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates,
+burglars, dissolute, the very worst of society, even
+murderers. You may not have the courage to rebuke
+those who are defiling the very air with their
+foul talk; you may be too cowardly even to turn
+away from such company lest they sneer at you; but
+what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after
+being warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have
+described? Is there any one here who would be
+guilty of such conduct?</p>
+
+<p>These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so
+most reluctantly, for these are not pleasant subjects—are
+not mere theories. They are sad realities. It
+was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys
+who were essentially corrupt. Their minds were
+cages of unclean birds. They were inexpressibly
+vile. And it is this fear of the evil that one sinner
+may do among young boys that leads me to say what
+I do on this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can
+persuade you to turn away from foolish company,
+from bad associates, I shall feel that I am doing indeed
+a blessed work. For what is the object, the
+purpose of all this that is said to you? It is to make<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>
+men of you and to give you grace and strength to
+assert your manhood. It is to build you up on the
+foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare
+you for the life that is before you here and for that
+life which is beyond. But the education of text-books
+illustrated by the best instructors is not
+enough; it is not all you need for the great work of
+your lives. You must be ready when you are
+equipped not only to take care of yourselves, but to
+help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
+are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be
+fully equipped unless you have the blessing of Almighty
+God on your work and on your life.</p>
+
+<p>I want you to be successful men, and no man can
+be a successful man, in the highest and best sense,
+unless he is a religious man. How can one expect
+to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing
+of God? And how can one expect the blessing
+of God who does not ask God for his blessing?
+Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
+of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you
+must read the Scriptures for yourselves; you must
+pray for yourselves and each one for himself, as well
+as for others.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp069">
+  <img src="images/i_fp069.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption"><p class="noic"><i>James A. Garfield.</i></p></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="GARFIELD">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">September 25, 1881.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest
+things—one of the most difficult things to understand,
+which has ever occurred. On the second day of July
+last the President of the United States, when about
+to step into a railway train which was to carry him
+North, where he was to attend a college commencement,
+at the college where he was graduated, was
+shot down by an assassin.</p>
+
+<p>I say it is one of the strangest things, because the
+President did not know the assassin, and had never
+injured him nor any of his friends. There was absolutely
+no motive for the hideous deed.</p>
+
+<p>I say it is most difficult to understand, because we
+believe that Divine Providence overrules all events,
+holds all power, and we wonder why He permitted
+the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.</p>
+
+<p>President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was
+emphatically a man of the people. He was born in
+a log-cabin which his father had built with his own
+hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by
+thirty. When James was two years old, his father<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span>
+died, late in the autumn, and this boy with three
+other children were all dependent upon their mother
+for a support. How the lone widow passed that
+winter we do not know; but when the spring came
+there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm had
+to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing
+were left, and this little farm was worked by the
+mother and her oldest son. Only those who have
+lived on a farm in the country know how hard the
+work is. When James was five years old he was
+sent to school, a mile and a half away, and as this
+was a very long walk for so young a boy, his sister
+often carried the little boy on her back.</p>
+
+<p>After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s
+trade, and in this effort he spent two years or so,
+going to school at intervals and studying at spare
+hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic
+and geography. After that he became a sort
+of general help and book-keeper for a manufacturer
+in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
+and this was to him a very great advance. But not
+being well treated there, he soon left and took to
+chopping wood—at one time cutting about twenty-five
+cords for some $7. Then having read some tales
+of the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often
+read, he wanted to be a sailor; but when he applied
+for a place on the great lake, he looked so like a
+landsman from the country that no captain would
+engage him. So he went to the canal, and found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>
+employment in leading or driving horses or mules on
+the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to be a
+deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the
+water (once almost being drowned) and meeting
+some other mishaps, he concluded that “following
+the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it.
+By this time he had saved some money, and his
+brother Thomas lent him some more, and with
+another young man and a cousin he went to a
+neighboring town to the academy. These young
+fellows rented a room, borrowed some simple cooking
+utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and
+filled them with straw, and set up house-keeping,
+and went to the academy.</p>
+
+<p>Young Garfield spent three years at this academy,
+doing odd jobs of carpenter work when he could,
+and so eking out a living. Then he went to an
+eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
+the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making
+the fires. Here he prepared himself to enter the
+junior class in a higher college, and, after some delay,
+he entered that class in Williams College,
+Massachusetts.</p>
+
+<p>While pursuing his college course at Williams he
+filled his vacations by teaching in district schools in
+the neighborhood until his graduation, in 1856, at
+twenty-five years of age—quite advanced, you see,
+in years for a college graduate.</p>
+
+<p>Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span>
+became a professor of Greek and Latin, and
+then at twenty-eight years of age became a Senator
+in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out in
+1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the
+Government commissioned him as colonel of a regiment,
+and he did good service in the State of
+Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few
+months he was promoted to be brigadier-general. So
+he went on distinguishing himself wherever he was
+placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
+Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at
+Chickamauga, his gallantry was so conspicuous and
+so successful that within a fortnight he was made
+a major-general.</p>
+
+<p>While in the army he was elected representative
+to Congress, and on December 5, 1863, he took his
+seat in the House, the youngest member of Congress.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after this, the war still going on, he
+wished to rejoin the army, but President Lincoln
+would not permit it, on the ground that his military
+knowledge would be invaluable to the government.
+After serving seventeen years in the House of Representatives,
+at times Chairman of most important
+committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before
+he took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency,
+and last November was elected by a large
+majority to that high office.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span>
+four months afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand
+of an assassin.</p>
+
+<p>You know how during this long, dry, hot summer
+he has been lying in Washington until the
+last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
+and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has
+been nursed; how gently he was removed to the
+sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene would
+do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed
+to do; and you know how last Monday night, while
+you were sleeping soundly in your beds, the bells of
+our city and all over the land were tolling the tidings
+of his death.</p>
+
+<p>He was a good man—in many respects as well
+qualified to fill the Presidential chair as any man
+who has ever sat in it. So I say it is most difficult
+to understand why he was taken away.</p>
+
+<p>Like all of you he lost his father by death at an
+early age; as is the case with all of you his mother
+was poor. He struggled hard for an education, and he
+acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
+satisfied with present attainments; he was always on
+the advance. At an early age he gave himself to the
+Lord, joining the church; and as that branch of the
+church does not believe in the necessity of ordination
+for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman,
+as the great Faraday preached in London and
+as Christian laymen preach the same truths to you,
+and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span>
+in November last, to persuade him, some time when
+he might be passing through Philadelphia, to come
+to this chapel and address you boys. This, alas, now
+can never be.</p>
+
+<p>President Garfield loved his mother. No more
+touching incident was ever witnessed than that
+which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
+when, after taking the oath of his high office, he
+turned immediately to his dear old mother and kissed
+her.</p>
+
+<p>Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations
+mourn with us. The Queen of Great Britain
+with her own hand sends messages of the sweetest,
+the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow
+and her children are fatherless. She sends flowers
+for Mrs. Garfield and puts her court in mourning, a
+compliment never extended before except in the case
+of death in a royal family. Other European and
+Asiatic and African governments send their sympathy—they
+all feel it—they all deplore it. Emblems
+of mourning are displayed in every street in our
+city, and every heart is sad. The people mourn.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, you may not be Presidents—probably not
+one here will ever be at the head of this nation; nor
+is this of any moment; but remember it was not only
+as President of the United States that General Garfield
+was wise and good—it was in every place where
+he was put; whether in school, in college, in teaching,
+in the army, in Congress, in the President’s chair,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>
+in his family and on his sick and dying bed, languishing
+and suffering, wasting and burning with fever,
+exhausted by wounds cruel and undeserved, he was
+always the same brave, true, real man.</p>
+
+<p>Some of you know with what profound and tender
+interest people gathered in places of prayer that
+Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from Washington
+to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous,
+and how the hope was expressed, almost to assurance,
+that the Saviour would meet his disciple by the sea.
+The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
+disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of
+healing; nothing short of a miracle could do that, but
+by a more complete preparation of the people for the
+final issue. It came at last. And while many of us
+were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were
+flashing the sad intelligence everywhere that, at last,
+he was at rest.</p>
+
+<p>Now that we know that he is taken away, we
+stand in awe and amazement. We cannot yet understand
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Shall we gather a few lessons from his life?
+Some of the most apparent may be mentioned very
+briefly.</p>
+
+<p>The simplicity of his character is most interesting.
+Conscious as he must have been of the possession of
+no ordinary mental force, he was never obtrusive nor
+self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
+with purpose and completeness. And his associates<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span>
+often placed him in positions of high trust and responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed
+in Congressional duties, to a degree which
+left him little or no time for recreation, he did not
+fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
+said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring
+to bring him some little present, could think of
+nothing more acceptable than a few volumes of the
+Latin poets.</p>
+
+<p>When his life comes to be written by impartial
+hands, it will be found that along with his great simplicity
+and his high culture there will be most prominent
+his devotion to principle. This was his great
+characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the
+place, to speak of his adherence, under strong adverse
+influences, to his sound views on the great currency
+question which has occupied so much the attention
+of Congress.</p>
+
+<p>In a not very remote sense his death is to be
+attributed to his devotion to principle. That great
+and most discreditable contest at Albany might have
+been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
+different manner, if the President could have yielded
+his convictions. He did not yield, and he was
+slain.</p>
+
+<p>The funeral services in the capitol are over and
+the men whom Mrs. Garfield chose as the bearers of
+her husband’s coffin were not members of the cabinet,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span>
+nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any
+of whom would have been honored by such a service,
+but they were plain men, of names unknown to us,
+members of his own little church.</p>
+
+<p>They are gone. They have taken his worn and
+wasted and mutilated form, all that remains in this
+world of the strong, pure life that was not yet fifty
+years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and
+there within sight and almost within sound of the
+waves of the great inland sea, they will to-morrow
+lay him to rest until the morning of the resurrection.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity?
+Shall our faith in the prevalence of prayer
+be weakened? God forbid that we should so distort
+his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that
+repliest against God?”</p>
+
+<p>Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and
+almost insisted, but in softening the hearts of the
+people and drawing them as they have never before
+been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe,
+and in uniting the people, and also in promoting a
+better feeling between the different sections of our
+country than has been known for half a century.
+And if, in addition to this, the people would only
+learn to abate that passion for office which has been
+so fatal to peace, and would be content to allow fitness
+for office to be the only rule of appointment,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span>
+then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
+securing of which even the sacrifice of a President
+would seem not too great a price.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king
+said to his servants, Have me away for I am sore
+wounded. His servants therefore took him out
+of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot
+that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
+and he died and was buried. And all Judah and
+Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv.
+23, 24.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CASE">THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">March 25, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an
+address before one of the societies in the venerable
+University of Harvard on this subject: “The Case
+of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate
+knowledge of his subject, and with rare felicity of
+thought and expression, he set before his audience,
+most of whom were either in the learned professions
+or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition
+of those professions, especially that of the law,
+a preparation for which is supposed to imply a more
+or less thorough academic or collegiate education.</p>
+
+<p>I have a different task; for I would show the importance
+of education to the workers with the hand,
+whether in the mills, the shops, or among the various
+trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
+that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely,
+but also that which is acquired sometimes without
+the advantage of any schools. And I particularly
+desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever
+be his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>
+who is engaged in the same kind of work, and who is
+more or less educated.</p>
+
+<p>A mechanic may be well trained; may have more
+than his share of brains; may be highly successful
+in his business; indeed, may have acquired a large
+property, and have very high credit, and may hardly
+know how to write his name. A man may have
+scores or hundreds of men in his employment, and
+be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
+and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely
+at the mercy of his book-keeper, and may be
+so defrauded as to be on the very brink of ruin and
+not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
+of a long business life more than one such case has
+come under my observation. A man may be partially
+educated, able to cast up accounts, able to keep
+books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
+is worthy of the name), and yet not be able
+to write a simple agreement in good English, nor understand
+clearly the meaning of such a paper when
+written by another.</p>
+
+<p>Very many of the business failures that occur are
+due to the fact that the person or firm did not know
+how to keep accounts. This is not confined to people
+of small business. How often after a failure are we
+told “that the man was very much surprised at his
+condition; he thought he was all right; he could not
+account for his failure, and that in a short time he
+would have his books in such a shape that he would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span>
+be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask
+their advice. It would require ten days or so, however,
+before he could tell how he stood.” Why, if the
+man had been an educated business man, and an
+honest man, he would have known in twenty-four
+hours how he stood.</p>
+
+<p>The great majority of people who are employed
+are not educated. They do not know how to do in
+the best manner, that which they have to do. Perhaps
+a good definition of education, as the word is
+applied to a working man, may be that he knows
+how to do that which he has to do, in the very best
+way.</p>
+
+<p>Education may be of three kinds, viz.:</p>
+
+<p>That of the <em>schools</em>.</p>
+
+<p><em>Self-education.</em></p>
+
+<p>That of <em>trade</em> or <em>business</em>.</p>
+
+<p><em>That of the schools.</em> And this is the best of all;
+for the whole of one’s time is given to it; and if you
+are so inclined you may go through the whole course,
+as provided in this school. And all this with text-books,
+instruments and other appliances, absolutely
+free of cost. A boy, therefore, who passes through
+the entire course of study here, has superior opportunities
+of acquiring a most substantial education.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly the education of the schools is the best;
+and let me urge you with all seriousness to make the
+best use of your opportunities. You can never learn
+as easily as now. You are young. You are not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>
+burdened with cares. Do not relax your efforts in
+the least; do not yield to weariness; do not think
+you know enough already; do not be impatient lest
+others of your own age, who have already left school
+to go to work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind
+of business; if they have the start of you, they may
+not be able to keep it; and depend upon it, in the
+long run you will overtake and pass them, other
+things being equal, if you have a better school education
+than they have. When you are told that young
+men who are well educated are thereby unfitted or
+unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business,
+do not believe it. I know the contrary. The
+better the school education you have, and the more
+you know, the more valuable you will be to your
+employer.</p>
+
+<p>Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
+<em>self-education</em>. All that I mean by it is,
+that education which one acquires without teachers.
+As so defined, it may be divided into two parts, viz.:
+the incidental and the direct.</p>
+
+<p>Let me speak first of the <em>incidental</em>.</p>
+
+<p>I mean by this that education that comes to us
+from society.</p>
+
+<p>You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you
+could. You seek companions, or other persons will
+seek you. Let your associates be those whose friendship
+will be an instruction to you, rather than simply
+a means of social enjoyment. There are young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span>
+people of both sexes who, without being vicious, are
+utterly weak and foolish, idle and listless, drifting
+along a current, the end of which they do not care
+to think of. They are living for this life only, with
+no thought of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies,
+who float in the sunshine when the sun is shining,
+but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
+and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they
+are pleasant enough to chat with for a few minutes,
+but to be shut up to such companionship as this,
+would be intolerable. Society has a large element
+of this description, and you are likely to see it in
+your daily life.</p>
+
+<p>But this is not the worst phase of life among the
+young people with whom you may be thrown. There
+are worse elements than this. There are those who
+are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who
+have given themselves up to work all uncleanness
+with greediness; who put no restraint on their inclinations;
+in whose eyes nothing is pure or sacred;
+who have no respect for that which is wholesome or
+decent; who are the devil’s own children, and who
+are not ashamed of their parentage. And to such
+baleful, deadly influences and associations will you be
+exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised
+of their true character until it is too late.</p>
+
+<p>But there are <em>direct</em> means of education, so called.</p>
+
+<p>The first of these which I mention is the use of
+books. This is unquestionably the best means. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span>
+am supposing that you have some taste for reading;
+if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to
+speak, or for you to listen. I know some people who
+rarely read a book, and I pity them. They seem to
+think that all that is necessary to read is the daily
+newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily
+very ignorant, for very much may be learned
+from the daily paper. But the newspaper does not
+pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for a
+life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a
+professional man or a mechanic. No; you must read
+books, not only for entertainment and recreation, but
+for information and culture, which you can obtain
+nowhere else. If there is no public library within
+your reach, seek out some kind-hearted man or
+woman who has books, and who will be willing to
+lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I
+well remember a gentleman in my early life who
+did this kind office for me before I was able to buy
+books, and there are such now who will do the same
+for you.</p>
+
+<p>If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to
+ask the advice of some practical friend to point out
+such as you may most safely and properly read.
+For if left to your own judgment or taste, you will
+probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by
+an attempt to read something not immediately necessary
+or appropriate. But do not attempt to follow
+an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>
+detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be
+discouraged by the greatness of the task. Such lists,
+I fancy, are made out by scholars who have read almost
+everything, and to whom reading is no task
+whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not
+attempt to read too many books, nor too much at a
+time, and do not be disappointed or discouraged if
+you are not able to remember or put to good account
+all that you read. You cannot always know what
+particular kind of food has afforded you the most
+nourishment. You may rest assured, however, that
+as every morsel of food that you take and are able to
+digest does something to build up and develop your
+system, or repair its waste, so every book or paper
+that you read, that is wholesome, does something, you
+may not know how much, to strengthen or develop
+your mind.</p>
+
+<p>There are books that you read for entertainment
+or recreation, and that are written for that purpose
+only. You may read such; indeed, you ought to
+read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
+and amusement, and there is much of the
+purest and best of this that you can get from books.
+But you must not make the mistake of supposing that
+most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading
+can be of this character. You would not think of
+making your daily meals of the articles of food that
+you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
+not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>
+a regular diet. You might as well do so, as to read
+only the light and humorous matter that was never
+intended for the mental diet of a working man. No.
+If you would attain the real object of reading and
+study, you must read and study books and papers
+that tax the full powers of your mind to understand
+them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your
+mind, even as the exercise of your muscles in work
+or play will develop a strength of body that the idle
+or lazy youth knows nothing of.</p>
+
+<p>If you would know how to make yourself master
+of any book that you read, form the habit, if the
+book is your own, of making notes with a pencil in
+the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
+property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and
+write at the end of every chapter questions on the
+matter discussed, and the answer to such questions
+will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
+that you will have <em>absorbed</em> the book and made it
+your own; for, as an eminent American author has
+said, “thought is the property of whoever can entertain
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>I said just now that the daily newspaper does not
+pretend to supply all that you need to fit you for a
+life of business, either as a dealer in goods, or as a
+mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
+important means of education—so important that no
+one can afford to ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot
+be well informed who does not read the newspaper.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>
+The whole world is brought before us every morning
+and evening, and, if we do not read the news as it
+comes, we shall not know what we ought to know.
+It is not necessary to read everything in a daily
+paper; there are some things that it will be better
+for you not to read. You need not read all the
+editorials, brilliant as some of them are, for sometimes
+they discuss subjects that are not at all interesting
+nor useful to you. The newspaper from which
+I make the most clippings is one which is the fullest
+of advertisements, but which sometimes has nothing
+whatever in it that I read. But when it does discuss
+a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further
+to be said.</p>
+
+<p>But to read with the most advantage one ought to
+have within easy reach a dictionary, an atlas and,
+if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can read
+with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper
+gives can be filled up by reference to books
+which give more or less complete histories.</p>
+
+<p>The political articles which appear in the height
+of a campaign are hardly worth reading, unless you
+think of entering politics as a money-making business,
+which I sincerely hope none of you think of
+doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of
+crime, and especially the details of police reports
+and criminal trials, you will do well to pass by and
+not read. I really believe that a familiarity with
+these details prepares the way, in many instances,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>
+for the commission of crime, just as the reading of
+accounts of suicide sometimes leads to the act itself.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the best minds in our country, and in the
+world, are now employed in writing for the periodicals
+and magazines. No one can be well informed
+without reading something of the vast amount of
+matter which is thus poured out before him. I have
+not named the newspapers nor the magazines which
+you may read with the most profit; but your teachers
+can advise you what to read. Rather is it important
+for you to know what <em>not</em> to read. Many of the
+most popular and the most useful books that have
+been published within the last quarter of a century
+have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or
+monthly paper. The best thoughts of the best
+thinkers sometimes first see the light in such pages.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine,
+there are scientific periodicals, which are of essential
+value to a worker who wishes to be well informed in
+any of the mechanical arts. The <cite>Scientific American</cite>
+is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the
+beauty of its illustrations and in the high quality of
+its contributions. The <cite>Popular Science Monthly</cite> is a
+periodical of a wider range and more diversified
+character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
+subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you
+may find in the public library. But let me urge you
+to turn away from “dime novels.” Not because they
+are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>
+and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey
+which so many wretched creatures drink until the
+coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and the brain
+is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
+is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and
+soul of him who reads. There is an abundance of
+good literature that is cheap—do not read the bad.</p>
+
+<p>Having now spoken of the education you may get
+in the schools, and that which you may acquire for
+yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive for it,
+either in the society which you cultivate, or more
+directly from books, whether read as an entertainment
+and recreation, or, better still, by careful study;
+or through the daily newspaper, or the periodical,
+whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
+that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to
+the education which you will acquire when you work
+day by day at your trade or business.</p>
+
+<p>Let me beg of you to consider the great value of
+truthfulness in all your training. Hardly anything
+will help you more to reach up towards the top.
+And when you are at the head of an establishment
+of your own or somebody else’s (and I take it for
+granted you will be at the head some day), whether
+it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or a store,
+no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word,
+of not promising unless you are certain of keeping
+your promise, will almost insure your success if you
+are a good workman. How many good mechanics<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span>
+have utterly failed of success because they have not
+cared to keep their promises? A firm of high reputation
+agrees to supply certain articles of furniture at a
+time fixed by them. The time comes but the articles
+do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new
+promises are made only to be broken. Excuses are
+offered and more promises given; then incomplete
+articles are sent; then more delays, until, when patience
+is nearly exhausted, the work is finished.
+Then comes the bill and there is a mistake in it.
+The whole transaction is a series of disappointments
+and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go
+to that place again?</p>
+
+<p>It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as
+they become ten or twelve years of age, at the foot
+of the great breakers to watch the coal as it comes
+rattling and broken down the great wire screens, and
+catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side
+and allow only the pure coal to pass down into the
+huge bins, from which it is dropped into the cars and
+taken to market. To an uneducated eye there is
+hardly any perceptible difference between the coal
+and the slate. But these little fellows soon become
+so quick in the education of the eye, that they can
+tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
+grows older he graduates to the place of a mule
+driver, and has his car and mule, which he drives
+day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
+breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>
+his little oil lamp in the front of his cap, and goes
+down into the mines with his pick and becomes a
+miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most
+of one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine
+and from the pure air. And most of these
+men having no education, and never having been
+urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days
+in this manner. But occasionally there is one who
+feels that he is capable of better things than this.
+And I know one at least, who began his work at the
+foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through
+all these stages, as I have told you, and who determined
+to do something better for himself. So he
+gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
+leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the
+difficulties in his way. He persevered. He rose to
+be a boss among the men; then having saved some
+money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought
+his teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine,
+and became a miner of his own coal, and had his
+men under him, and has grown to be a rich man, and
+is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his
+hard work. This is only one instance of success in
+rising from a low position to a high one.</p>
+
+<p>The same thing is going on all around us and we
+see it every day. It would hardly be proper to give
+you names, but I could tell you of many within my
+own knowledge who, from positions of extremely
+hard labor and plain living, have risen to be the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span>
+head men in shops and other places which they entered
+at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
+occurring. And there is no reason whatever,
+except your indifference, to prevent many of
+you from becoming, if God gives you health, the head
+men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates
+or in very low positions. And I tell you what
+you know already, that there is plenty of room for
+advancement. It is the lowest places that are full to
+overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the
+<em>chiefs</em> of any industry? No, indeed. They have
+made themselves indispensable to their employers
+and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly
+a youth who cannot by strict attention to business,
+and conscientious devotion to the interests of his employer,
+make himself so invaluable that he need not
+join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
+army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the
+great commercial houses, or in the public service, or
+in the army and navy—do these people ever band
+themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
+They know better than that; they accomplish their
+purposes in better ways. If the working classes, so
+called, were better educated, they would not suffer
+themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
+not themselves work, who will not touch even with
+their little fingers the burdens which are crushing
+the life out of the deluded ones whom they are leading
+to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span>
+true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable
+men to do their own thinking, and to determine for
+themselves what are their best interests.</p>
+
+<p>I urge you all to seek that higher and better education
+which will make you true men. You have
+now the great advantage of the education of the
+school. I have tried very simply, but not the less
+earnestly, to show you how you can fit yourselves
+for high places. It is for you to say whether you
+will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
+power can force you to do that which you will not
+do. You may lead a horse to a brimming fountain
+of water, but if he is not thirsty, no coaxing nor
+threatening nor beating can make him drink. I
+may show you, to demonstration, the abundant fountain
+of learning, but I can’t make you drink, or even
+stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty. I
+can’t make you study, however great the advantage
+to you, or however much they who are interested in
+you desire that you should.</p>
+
+<p>Every year this question which I have been pressing
+upon you becomes more and more important.
+The great colleges of the country are graduating
+their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
+with you for the high places in the mechanic
+arts. So are the public schools of the country sending
+out hundreds of thousands, many of them having
+the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic
+arts, are multiplying. Great changes have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span>
+been made recently in our own city in this respect.
+The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work
+in this way. Our own college is moving in the same
+direction, and soon it will be sending out its hundreds
+every year to compete for places in the shops,
+with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have
+a school education—the best that you are able to receive,
+and you must not let any others go ahead of
+you.</p>
+
+<p>Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who
+sweep our streets—look at the stevedores who load
+and unload the ships—look at the men who carry
+the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
+ladders—look at the drivers and the conductors on
+our street cars, the most hard worked people among
+us—and are you not sure that most of these people
+are <em>un</em>educated? No one wants to be at the bottom
+all the time. We may have been there at the first;
+but those who have made the most progress are generally
+those who have had the best education. I
+know that education is not a sure guarantee of success;
+many other things enter into the consideration
+of the question; but I am saying that, other things
+being equal, <em>he who knows the most will do the best</em>.
+There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the
+rich, who have been well educated, who have everything
+provided for them, who have no stimulus, no
+spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
+have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>
+and their fine education goes for nothing.
+But you are not of this class. You will have to make
+your way in the world by your own exertions.</p>
+
+<p>I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words
+about such boys as sometimes stand at the corners
+of the streets in large or small companies and amuse
+themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
+bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass
+by. I am sure much of this arises from thoughtlessness;
+but I wish to point out the exceeding impropriety
+of this behavior. I have known ladies to
+cross the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite
+out of their way rather than pass within hearing
+of these boys and young men. What right has any
+one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger,
+to block up the way or make loose or rude remarks,
+or defile the pavement over which I walk?</p>
+
+<p>All this most serious waste of time is probably because
+no one has particularly called attention to it.
+The time may come when you will recall the words
+of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
+when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what
+was said.</p>
+
+<p>I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will
+permit, to show the importance of that education
+which will enable you to rise in your trade or business,
+whatever it may be, to the upper places; and I
+have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span>
+strive to be <em>chief</em> rather than a <em>subordinate</em>, to be a
+<em>foreman</em> rather than a <em>journeyman</em>.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves
+and upon God. There is no royal road to
+education; the very meaning of the word shows this;
+the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed,
+rounded, hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts
+a piece of rough iron in the coals, keeps it there until
+it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it upon his anvil
+and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
+first on this side and then on that, rounding it off;
+then when it cools thrusting it among the coals again,
+then hammering away again until he has brought the
+rough piece of iron to the size and shape he wishes,
+when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are
+willing to work your mind into the shape you want
+it, you will surely bring yourself to the front among
+active, ingenious and successful men. But this
+means hard work, and work all the time.</p>
+
+<p>Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the
+hints which I have given you, if you really mean to
+succeed, if you are not content to be workers low
+down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise
+rather than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do
+men, instead of living from hand to mouth, you
+must grapple with the subject with all your might
+and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out
+of the streets at night, away from the taverns and
+from the low theatres, and from gambling dens, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span>
+from other places which I will not name; and, in
+short, you must be true Americans, for there is no
+truer type of manhood in all the world than a real
+American; and nowhere else in all the world has a
+poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
+as in our own good city of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PENN">WILLIAM PENN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">October 22, 1882.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel
+with her bow pointing towards the west was making
+her way slowly across the Atlantic ocean. She was
+a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
+emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome
+voyage, the very small accommodations, the horror
+of sea-sickness, were in this vessel aggravated by the
+breaking out of that most awful of all scourges, the
+small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population
+of one hundred, thirty passengers died. No record
+is left of the incidents of that voyage except this;
+but it is easy to imagine that all the circumstances
+were as deplorable as they could well be.</p>
+
+<p>After a weary time of head winds and calms, in
+about seven weeks, this ship, the “Welcome,” came
+within the capes of the Delaware bay.</p>
+
+<p>The most distinguished person on that little ship
+was William Penn. He had left his home in England,
+embarking with his trusty friends in a vessel
+only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span>
+Line, to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the
+whole province from the government of England for
+the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured by
+our money, is about $80,000, and this money was
+due to him for services rendered and money loaned
+to the government by his father, an admiral in the
+English navy.</p>
+
+<p>About the 24th of October the vessel reached the
+town of Newcastle, where Penn landed and was cordially
+received by the people of that little village.
+Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
+now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving
+the vessel here, they came in a barge (Penn and
+some of his principal men) to the mouth of Dock
+creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street,
+where they landed, near a little tavern called the
+Blue Anchor.</p>
+
+<p>There was already a settlement on the shore of
+the Delaware river, and the people, mostly Swedes,
+had built a little church somewhat farther down the
+stream. The entire land between the Delaware and
+Schuylkill rivers, and for a mile north and south,
+was owned by three brothers, Swedes, named Swen.
+Penn bought this tract from them, and at once proceeded
+to lay out his new city. When he bought
+the whole province from the crown he desired to call
+it New-Wales, because it was so hilly, but the king
+insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory of
+the admiral, William’s father. But when the new<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>
+city came to be named, Penn having no one to dispute
+his wish, called it by that word, of whose meaning
+we think so little, Philadelphia—brotherly
+love. Two months after this he met the Indians, it
+is said, under a great elm tree in the upper part of
+the city, in what we now call Kensington, and concluded
+that treaty which has been said to be the only
+treaty that was ever made without an oath, and that
+was never broken. Shortly after this Penn proceeded
+to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
+English author has said, he must have taken the
+ancient Babylon for his model, for this was the first
+modern city that was laid out with the streets crossing
+each other at right angles.</p>
+
+<p>The charter which Penn received from Charles the
+Second, King of England (the original of which is in
+the capital at Harrisburg, on three large sheets of
+parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
+also holding his authority under the crown. He at
+once therefore set about making a code of laws as
+special statutes, which with the common law of England
+should be the laws of the province. One of
+these special laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor,
+was to learn a useful trade or occupation; the poor to
+live on it: the rich to resort to it if they should become
+poor.” And I do not know what better law he
+could have enacted.</p>
+
+<p>When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception
+reached England and the continent of Europe,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span>
+the effect was to arouse a spirit of emigration. Although
+Penn’s first thought and purpose was to
+found a colony, where he and others who held the
+religious views of the Society of Friends might worship
+without hindrance (which liberty was denied
+them in England), the people from other countries
+in Europe came here in great numbers for other
+purposes. The population therefore multiplied rapidly,
+and the people were generally such as had
+determined to brave the privations of a new country,
+to make themselves a home where life could be lived
+under better conditions than in the old countries, under
+the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
+emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal
+terms which the governor offered to new-comers; for
+to actual settlers he offered the land at about ten dollars
+for a hundred acres, subject, however, to a quit-rent
+of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever;
+and this may be the origin of that ground-rent
+instrument which is almost peculiar to Pennsylvania,
+and which is such a favorite investment for
+our rich men.</p>
+
+<p>After a stay of two years Penn returned to England,
+where he had left his wife and children; the
+care of the government having been left with a council,
+of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept
+the great seal.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after his return to England the king,
+Charles the Second, died, and having no son he was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span>
+succeeded by his brother, James Duke of York, as
+James the Second. Although Penn was on the most
+cordial terms with the new king, as he had been
+with Charles, this did not secure him from the repeated
+annoyances and persecutions of those who
+detested his religion. So severe was the treatment
+to which he was subjected, and such was his personal
+danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
+France. But not being able nor willing to bear this
+exile, he returned to England, was tried for his
+offence against the law of the church and was acquitted.
+After this he came to America again, intending
+to spend the rest of his life here, but he remained
+only two years.</p>
+
+<p>The rest of his life was spent in England, but it
+was a life broken by persecutions and trials at law
+and other annoyances, the expenses of which, added
+to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards,
+were so great as seriously to involve him in financial
+embarrassments; and he was even compelled to mortgage
+his great estate in Pennsylvania to relieve himself;
+but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
+was so heavy that he felt the necessity
+of relieving himself of the property entirely, and he
+offered to sell it to the crown. While the matter
+was under consideration, his health began to decline;
+however, the terms were agreed upon, but while the
+papers were in the course of preparation he died
+peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>
+30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial
+ground belonging to Jordan’s meeting house.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder
+of this commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this
+city of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>Let us see now what there was in this life which
+we may find it interesting to recall and dwell upon;
+what there was in it which may be useful for us to
+consider in its application to ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>William Penn was born in the city of London on
+the 14th of October, 1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s,
+near the Tower. His father was an admiral
+and his grandfather was a captain in the English
+navy. Then, as now, it was the custom of English
+families of good condition to send their boys away
+from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
+therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead,
+in Essex, called Chigwell. Here he remained until
+he was thirteen years old, with no incident particularly
+worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
+of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions,
+which, however, like many other boys, he soon threw
+aside. He seems to have been apt to learn, and was
+fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
+two years after leaving school, he was under private
+instruction at home, until he was fifteen years old,
+when he entered the University of Oxford. Here he
+devoted himself most diligently to his studies and became
+a successful student. But this did not prevent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>
+him from entering most heartily into the sports which
+were common to young men of his quality. He was
+very fond of boating, fishing, shooting, and other
+pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he
+avoided dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the
+keenest enjoyment of healthful sports is quite consistent
+with a pure life. If the college students of
+this day would believe and act upon this principle,
+it would be better for them and better for the world.</p>
+
+<p>With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this
+diligent application to study, he had a very tender
+sympathy and love for domestic animals. Towards
+those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness
+that was almost womanly.</p>
+
+<p>But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to
+turn him aside from a course of duty, when he was
+satisfied that it was real duty. During his school
+and college life there were many seasons of religious
+interest in his experience, and he was at last brought
+(under the preaching of a member of the Society of
+Friends named Thomas Loe) to declare himself a
+member of that society. He therefore refused to attend
+the services of the Church of England. The
+custom of wearing surplices by Oxford students,
+which had been abolished in Cromwell’s time, had
+been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came
+out as a religious man, threw off his surplice and refused
+to wear it. This act was bad enough in the
+eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went further<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span>
+than this, and, in common with some others of the
+same way of thinking, he so far forgot himself as to
+attack other students and tear off their surplices.
+This very grave offence could not be overlooked, and,
+admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from
+the University of Oxford. This was a great blow to
+his father, who was building the fondest hopes on the
+advancement of his son at college and his career as
+a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce
+the son to reconsider his conduct, and his father at
+last flogged him and drove him from the house.
+Some time after this, through the intercession of the
+mother, the young man was brought back to his
+home; and his father, in the hope that a change of
+scene and circumstances would work a change in the
+lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
+continent.</p>
+
+<p>While in Paris he studied the French language,
+and read some books in theology, and went as far as
+Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he was recalled
+to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs.
+He then studied law for a year, which no doubt was
+of some help to him in the founding of his commonwealth.
+Then his father sent him to take care of
+his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty
+of the Duke of Ormond. He entered the
+army here, and did good service too; and was, apparently,
+so much pleased with his new life that he
+suffered the only portrait of him that was ever painted,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>
+to be taken when he was wearing armor and in uniform.
+This picture, or a copy of it, may now be
+seen at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in
+Spruce street, above Eighth.</p>
+
+<p>About this time he came again under the influence
+of the preacher Loe, and was recalled by his father,
+who remonstrated with him on his new mode of life,
+but with no success whatever. He would not give
+up his new religion. His father tried to compromise
+the matter with him, and he even went so far as to
+propose to his son, that if he would remove his hat
+in the presence of the king and the Duke of York
+and his father, as his superiors, their differences
+might be healed; but the son, believing that the removal
+of his hat would be dishonorable to God, absolutely
+refused.</p>
+
+<p>His life for some time after this was stormy
+enough. He came out boldly and in defiance of law
+as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was repeatedly
+imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London
+and sometimes in the loathsome prison of Newgate,
+from which places he was released by the intercession
+of the Duke of York and his father and other
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>Those were very rough times, not likely, let us
+hope, to be repeated. Society was very corrupt at
+the highest sources, and religion was more violent
+and aggressive in its measures then than now. The
+world has grown wiser and better—there is more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>
+toleration, more of the Spirit of the Master now than
+then, and in our favored land every soul can worship
+God as he may choose to do.</p>
+
+<p>William Penn was a <em>statesman</em>. He founded this
+great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He established
+a code of laws that were in advance of his
+time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture,
+that law which gives the lands of the father to the
+<em>oldest</em> son, with little or no provision for younger
+sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the crown
+of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth.
+The property of a parent dying without
+a will should be <em>equally divided among his children</em>.
+Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense
+of the term. His laws were for the greatest good of
+the greatest number. He treated the Indians as if
+they were human beings, and not as if they were
+brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as
+the Indians have been treated even in our day by
+harsh and unscrupulous agents of the government.
+Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with
+Lord Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not
+know. Perhaps he was not. We know this misunderstanding
+gave him great trouble, and was indeed
+the prime cause of his return to England.</p>
+
+<p>Penn was a <em>rich man</em>. The inheritance left him
+by his father was handsome, and he could have lived
+most comfortably upon it. But when he received
+from the crown the charter which made him the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>
+owner of Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder,
+except sovereigns, known in history. He did
+not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
+luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed
+that he held his property as a trustee, and
+that he had no right to waste it. He might have
+lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it
+is said his father was offered a peerage), but such a
+life had no charms for him.</p>
+
+<p>Penn was a <em>conscientious man</em>. I mean by this
+that he followed his inner convictions, without regard
+to consequences. What he wanted to know
+was, whether a given thing was <em>right</em> and according
+to his way of determining what the right was; and
+he did it if it were a duty, without flinching. No
+personal inconvenience, no consideration for the views
+or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the
+way of his duty, as he understood it. It was the
+custom of that time for gentlemen to wear swords,
+as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no
+purpose except as an ornament or part of the dress.
+Some time after he joined the Society of Friends,
+and while still wearing his sword, he said to his
+friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles
+and our testimonies against war for me to wear
+my sword?” When Fox replied, “Wear thy sword
+as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
+This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword
+never to resume it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p>
+
+<p>William Penn was a <em>religious man</em>. He was called
+by the Holy Spirit at the early age of twelve years,
+as I have already said. He resisted that call and
+many others, until under faithful preaching he could
+resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the
+divine call and became an open professor of the
+principles of the Society of Friends. This was a
+very different thing, so far as personal comfort was
+concerned, from professing religion in the ordinary
+forms; for this was to join a hated sect, and bear all
+the contempt and persecution that belonged to a profession
+of religion in the early days of Christianity,
+when men, women and children perilled their lives
+in the service of the great Master. But Penn cared
+not for the cost; he was ready to go to prison, and to
+death if necessary, for his opinions. He <em>did</em> go to
+prison over and over again, and bore right manfully
+all that was put upon him. He was not idle, however,
+in the prison. He preached to his fellow-prisoners;
+he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
+power to make known to others the good tidings of
+salvation that had come to him. He wrote a great
+many letters, and they were all full of the spirit of
+religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth, that
+might have been written by a systematic theologian;
+but among the most practical things he wrote was
+the address to his children, that it would be well if
+all people would read, and which, with a few exceptions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>
+is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it
+was for those who lived two hundred years ago.</p>
+
+<p>If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had
+not been worth recording. He would have lived the
+life that was lived by almost all men of his class at
+that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
+luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in
+store for the New World, to be wrought out by the
+instrumentality of man, could have chosen another
+man, but he chose Penn.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the story of the life of a man who was one
+of the world’s heroes. His name will never die.
+There is a large literature on the subject of his life,
+some of which you will find in your own library, if
+you choose to look further into it. This is all that I
+feel it proper to say to you to-day about it.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in
+Pennsylvania, as all of you were. And this could
+hardly be said of any other congregation in this city
+to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its
+size, it is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the
+whole of England. As to great rivers and mountains
+and mines and metals, as to forests and fields, we are
+far in advance of anything of the kind in England.
+No valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive
+than the valleys of our own Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the
+city of Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was
+founded by a great and good man. There are, in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span>
+civilized world, but three cities that are larger than
+ours. There is no city, except London, that has so
+many dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere
+in all the world where the poor man who works for
+his living can live so happily and so well.</p>
+
+<p>In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You
+will soon many of you take your place among the
+citizens, and have your share in choosing the men
+who make and execute the laws. Some of you <em>will
+be</em> the men who make and execute the laws. William
+Penn founded this commonwealth, not only to
+provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members
+of his own society, but to afford an asylum for
+the good and oppressed of every nation; and he
+founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
+principles of Christianity might be carried out in
+practice. When you come to take your part in the
+duties of public life, see to it that you forget not his
+wise and noble purpose.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONSTITUTION">OUR CONSTITUTION.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">October, 1887.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I am about to do what I have never done—what
+has probably never been done by any other person
+in this chapel. I propose to give you a political
+speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly
+think you will be able to guess, from anything I
+say, to which of the two great political parties I
+belong.</p>
+
+<p>I do not go to the Bible for a text—though there
+are many passages in the holy Scriptures which
+would answer my purpose very well—but I take for
+my text the following passage from the will of Mr.
+Girard:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">And especially I desire that by every proper
+means, a pure attachment to our republican institutions,
+and to the sacred rights of conscience as
+guaranteed by our happy Constitutions, shall be
+formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars.</span>”</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing
+with strangers. They came from all parts of the
+land, and some from distant parts of the world. Our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span>
+railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
+capacity. Our streets were thronged; our
+hotels and many private dwellings were full. It
+was said that there were half a million of strangers
+here. The President of the United States, the members
+of the Cabinet, many members of the national
+Senate and House of Representatives, the general
+of the army and many other generals, the highest
+navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the
+United States and of the State courts, the governors
+of most of the States—each with his staff—soldiers
+and sailors of the United States, and many regiments
+of State troops (the Girard College cadets among
+them)—a military and naval display of twenty-five
+thousand men—representatives of foreign states, an
+exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts, in a
+procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in
+all the world before; receptions and banquets, public
+and private; a general suspension of most kinds of
+business—all this occurred in the streets of our city,
+only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?</p>
+
+<p>It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the
+adoption of the Constitution of the United States,
+and it was considered to be an event of such importance
+that it was well worth while to pause in our
+daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still
+the busy hum of industry; to stop the wheels of
+commerce; to close our places of business.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>One hundred years ago the Constitution of the
+United States of America was adopted in this city.</p>
+
+<p>What had been our government before this time?
+Up to July, 1776, there had been thirteen colonies, all
+under the government of Great Britain. In the lapse
+of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance
+to the king of England, and subjected to certain
+taxes which they had no voice in considering and
+imposing, because they had no representation in the
+Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented
+and rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our
+own city of Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776,
+they united in a <span class="smcap">Declaration of Independence</span> of
+Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies
+as Free, Sovereign and Independent States.</p>
+
+<p>This, however, was only a <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>; and it
+took seven long years of exhausting and terrible
+war (which would have been longer still but for
+the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that
+independence and have it acknowledged by the
+governments of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Before the <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>, each of the colonies had a
+State government and a written constitution for the
+regulation of its internal affairs. Now these colonies
+had become States, with the necessity upon them
+(not at first admitted by all) of a general compact or
+agreement, by which the States, while maintaining
+their independence in many things, should become a
+confederated or general government.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>More than a year passed before the Constitution,
+which the Convention agreed upon, was adopted by
+a sufficient number of the States to make it binding
+on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to
+say that my own little State of Delaware was the
+first to adopt it.</p>
+
+<p>Now, <span class="smcap">what is the Constitution</span>? How does it
+differ from the <em>laws</em> which the Congress enacts every
+winter in Washington?</p>
+
+<p>First, let me speak of other nations. There are
+two kinds of government in the world—monarchical
+and republican. And there are two kinds of monarchies—absolute
+and limited. An absolute monarch,
+whether he be called emperor or king, rules by his
+personal will—<span class="allsmcap">HIS WILL IS THE LAW</span>. One of the most
+perfect illustrations of absolute or personal government
+is seen on board any ship, where the will of the
+chief officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever
+his rank, is, and must be, the law. From his orders,
+his decisions, there is no appeal until the ship reaches
+the shore, when he himself comes under the law.
+This is a very ancient form of government, now
+known in very few countries calling themselves civilized.</p>
+
+<p>The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution,
+<em>un</em>written, as in Great Britain, or <em>written</em>,
+as in some other nations of Europe. In these countries
+the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
+instances with hardly as much power as our President.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span>
+They are not a law unto themselves, but are
+under the common law.</p>
+
+<p>The other kind of government is republican, democratic
+or representative. It is, as was happily said
+on the field of Gettysburg, long after the battle, by
+President Lincoln, “a government <em>of</em> the people, <em>by</em>
+the people, <em>for</em> the people.” These few plain words
+are well worth remembering—“of,” “by,” “for” the
+people. These are the traits which distinguish our
+government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
+absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.</p>
+
+<p>After the war between Germany and France, in
+1870, the German kingdoms of Prussia, Hanover,
+Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
+principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign,
+were consolidated or confederated as the German
+empire, and the king of Prussia, the present Frederick
+William, was crowned emperor of Germany.</p>
+
+<p>France, however, after that war, having had
+enough of kings and emperors, adopted the republican
+form of government. So that now there are
+three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland,
+and a little territory on the east coast of Italy, San
+Marino.</p>
+
+<p>So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of
+Africa (except Liberia), and the islands of Australia,
+and the northern part of North America (except
+Alaska), are under the government of monarchs;
+while the three countries of Europe already mentioned,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span>
+and our own country, and Mexico, and the
+Central American States, and all South America
+except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of
+South America under British rule), are republics.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[B]</a> One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
+believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
+Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Now let us come back to our own government and
+see what is, and whether it is better than any form
+of monarchy; and if so, why.</p>
+
+<p>What is the <span class="smcap">Constitution of the United States</span>?
+The first clause in it is the best answer I can give:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">We, the people of the United States</span>, in order
+to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
+domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence,
+promote the general welfare, and secure the
+blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
+ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
+States of America.”</p>
+
+<p>Then follow the articles and sections setting forth
+the principles on which it was proposed to build up
+a nation in this western world. The thirteen States
+each had its constitution and its laws, but <em>this instrument</em>
+was intended to serve as the foundation of the
+general government. Until these States had formed
+their constitutions, there was no republican government
+in the world except Switzerland and San Marino,
+and these lived only on the sufferance of their
+powerful monarchical neighbors. All South America<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span>
+was under Spanish rule, and Mexico was a monarchy.</p>
+
+<p>The great principle of a republic is that people
+<em>have a right to choose</em> their own rulers, and ought to
+do it. The divine right of hereditary monarchy we
+deny. It is often said that the English government
+is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
+not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote
+for his rulers. Whether so much liberty is perfectly
+safe for all people is well open to question; but it is
+a <span class="allsmcap">FACT</span> here, and if people would only behave themselves
+properly there would be no danger whatever
+in it. And if there <span class="allsmcap">IS</span> danger here, it comes not from
+native-born citizens trained under our free institutions.
+The sun does not shine on a broader, fairer
+land than this; and under that divine Providence,
+without whose gracious aid we could not have
+achieved and cannot maintain our Constitution, we
+have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
+dread in the future, but the evil men among us—the
+Anarchists and Socialists, the scum and off-scouring
+of Europe—who, with no fear of God before their
+eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
+and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow
+its very foundations.</p>
+
+<p>The highest and best types of monarchical governments
+are in Europe, and it is with such that we seek
+comparison when we insist that ours is better.</p>
+
+<p>Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span>
+father to the oldest son and to the oldest son of the
+oldest son where there are sons. England has rejoiced
+in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and Victoria,
+the present sovereign; but they came to the
+throne because there was no son in either case to
+inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever his character
+or want of character, <span class="allsmcap">MUST</span> reign when the sovereign
+dies, because, as they say, he rules by divine right.
+We insist on electing our President for a term of
+years, and if we like him we give him another term;
+if we do not like him, we drop him and try another.
+I wish the term of office of the President were longer,
+and that he could serve only one term. Perhaps it
+will come to that; and I think he would be a more
+independent, a better official under this condition.</p>
+
+<p>What is the difference between the Constitution
+and the laws?</p>
+
+<p>The Constitution is the great charter under which,
+and within which, the laws are made. No law that
+Congress may pass is worth the paper it is printed on
+if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
+been passed ignorantly, and have died.</p>
+
+<p>A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution
+of this College is Mr. Girard’s will. This is
+our charter. The laws which the Directors make must
+be within the provisions of the will or they will not
+stand. For instance, the will directs that none but
+<em>orphans</em> can be admitted here; and the courts have
+decided that a child without a father is an orphan.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span>
+The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who
+has a father living. The will says that only <em>boys</em> can
+be admitted; therefore no law that the Directors can
+make will admit a girl. Nor can the Directors make
+a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
+under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born
+anywhere except in certain States of our country—Pennsylvania,
+New York and Louisiana. It would
+be <span class="allsmcap">UNCONSTITUTIONAL</span>. I think now you see the difference
+between the Constitution and the laws.</p>
+
+<p>Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy?
+and why?</p>
+
+<p>Because the men of the present time make it, and
+are not bound by the traditions of far-off times.
+There are improvements in the science of government
+as in all other human inventions, as the centuries
+come and go. Man is progressive; he would
+not be worth caring for if he were not. If the present
+age has not produced a higher and better development
+in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is
+not because men were perfect in the past or cannot
+be better in the present or in the future. Therefore
+when our Constitution is believed not to meet
+the requirements of the present day there is a way
+to amend it, although that way is so hedged up that
+it cannot possibly be altered without ample time for
+consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution
+has been altered or amended fifteen times since its<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>
+adoption; and it will be changed or amended as often
+as the needs of the people require it.</p>
+
+<p>We believe our form of government to be better
+than any monarchy because <em>the people choose their own
+law-makers</em>. The Congress is composed of two houses
+or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen by
+the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to
+serve for six years; the members of the House of
+Representatives (chosen by the citizens), who sit for
+two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is supposed
+to be the more conservative body, not easily
+moved by popular clamor; while the Representatives,
+chosen directly and recently by the voters, are supposed
+to know the immediate wants of the people.
+The thought of two houses grew probably from the
+two houses of the British parliament.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot have an <em>hereditary legislature</em> like the
+House of Lords in the British parliament, whose
+members sit, as the sovereign rules, by divine right,
+as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
+for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head,
+or only the nominal ruler, while the cabinet is the
+real government, and the House of Lords long ago
+sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence.
+There is no better reason for this than the
+fact that the people have nothing to do with the
+House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose
+and scatter them when they choose to rise in their
+power and assert themselves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p>
+
+<p>We can have no <em>orders of nobility</em> under our Constitution.
+There can be no privileged class. All
+men are equal under the law. I do not mean that
+all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence
+has made us unequal. Some are endowed
+naturally with the highest mental and physical gifts
+and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
+This has always been so and always will be so.
+Some have inherited or acquired riches, while others
+have to labor diligently to make a bare living. Some
+have inherited their high culture and gentle manners
+and noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we
+sometimes call culture; and others have to acquire
+all this for themselves—and it is not very easy to get
+it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality,
+and cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment
+of our rights and in the undisturbed possession of
+what we have, we are all equal, as we could not be
+under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to
+success; all places are open to all.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no law of <em>primogeniture</em> under our
+Constitution. By this law, which still prevails in
+England, the eldest son inherits the titles and estates
+of the father, while the younger sons and all the
+daughters must be provided for in other ways.
+Some of the sons are put in the church, in the army
+or the navy, or in the professions, such as law and
+medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of
+a noble house is willing to engage in any kind of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>
+business or trade, for they are not so well thought
+of if they become tradesmen.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no <em>state church</em>, no <em>establishment</em>, under
+our Constitution. In England the Episcopal
+Church, and in Scotland the Presbyterian Church,
+are established by law; and until within the last
+seventeen years the Church of England was by law
+established in Ireland; and it is now established in
+Wales; and in other countries of Europe the Roman
+Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
+Greek Church are established by law. In countries
+where there is a national church, it derives more or
+less of its support from taxing the people, many of
+whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is
+no established church; and there never can be, let us
+hope and believe.</p>
+
+<p>Under our form of government we need no <em>standing
+army</em>. We owe this partly to the fact that we
+are so isolated geographically that we do not need to
+keep an army. I heard the general of our army
+say, a short time ago, that the regular army of the
+United States is a fiction—only 25,000 men. (You
+saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as
+are in all our army.) “The real army,” he added,
+“is composed of every able-bodied citizen; for all
+are ready to volunteer in the face of a common
+enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already,
+and it will probably be larger, but it will not again
+be enlarged as the result of war. When we look at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span>
+the nations of Europe, and see the immense numbers
+of men in their standing armies, we can’t help
+thanking God that we are separated from them by
+the wide Atlantic, and that we have a republican
+government, and have no temptation to seek other
+territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any
+cause. In the armies of Great Britain, Germany,
+Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are more than ten
+millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of
+the soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures.
+In Italy alone the standing army is said
+to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
+men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary
+to employ women to do work which in our country
+women are never asked to do. I have seen a woman
+drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the
+deck of that boat smoking his pipe and steering the
+boat. I have seen a woman with a huge load of
+fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her
+side and carrying his scythe. I have seen women
+yoked with dogs to carts, carrying the loads that
+here would be put in a cart and drawn by a horse.
+I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on
+their <em>heads</em>, filled with stone and mortar. I have
+seen women carrying huge baskets of manure on
+their backs to the field, and young girls breaking
+stone on the highway. Did you ever hear of such
+things here? See what a difference! The men in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>
+the army eat up the substance which the women
+produce from the soil.</p>
+
+<p>But nowhere else in the world is the <em>dignity of
+labor</em> recognized as here. They do not know the
+meaning of the words. For in most other countries
+it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be
+engaged in labor of any kind. A man who is not
+able to live without work is hardly considered a gentleman.
+To work with the hands is degrading; is
+what ought to be done by common people only, and
+by people who are not fit to associate with gentlemen
+and ladies. It is not so in this country. Here, a
+man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
+and honorable in his dealings with men, who
+cultivates his mind by reading and observation, and
+is careful of the usages of good society, is fit company
+for any one. He may rise to any place within
+the gift of his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is
+not so elsewhere. And think of a young girl hardly
+out of her teens, with no special preparation for such
+a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming
+the wife of the President of the United
+States, and proving herself entirely worthy of that
+high position! Could any other country match this?</p>
+
+<p>Now what is the effect of all this freedom of
+thought and action on the people? Well, it is not to
+be denied that there are some disadvantages. There
+is danger that we may over-estimate the individual
+in his personal rights, and not give due weight to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span>
+people as a community. There is danger of selfishness,
+especially among young people. There is not
+as much respect and reverence for age, and for those
+above us, and for the other sex, as there ought to be.
+Young people are very rude at times, when they
+should always be polite to their superiors in age or
+position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming
+out of school one day all lifted their hats to me,
+a stranger! That would be an astounding thing in
+a Philadelphia street! In riding in the neighborhood
+of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by
+the roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>But in spite of these defects, which we hope will
+never be seen in a Girard College boy, the true effect
+of training under our republican institutions is to
+make men. There is a wider, freer, fuller development
+of what is in man than is known elsewhere.
+Man is much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent,
+vigorous, skillful, here—not knowing how
+high he may rise, and consciously or unconsciously
+preparing himself for anything to which he may be
+called. And for woman, too, where else does she
+meet the respect that belongs to her? Where else
+in the world do women find occupation in government
+offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable
+and educational institutions? With few exceptions,
+such as Girton College, where are there in
+any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>
+and as the Woman’s Medical College, almost
+under the walls of our own?</p>
+
+<p>I have already kept you too long. But a few
+words and I am done. I am moved by the injunction
+of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
+things, but by this grave consideration also. Every
+boy who hears me to-day, within fifteen years, if he
+lives, unless he is cut off by crime from the privilege,
+will be a voter. You will go to the polls to cast
+your votes for those who are to have the conduct of
+the government in all its parts. I want to make
+you feel, if I can, the high destiny that awaits you.
+You are distinctive in this respect—you are all
+American boys. This can be said of no other assembly
+as large as this in all this broad land. You have
+it in your power, and I want to help you to it, and
+God will if you ask him—you have it in your power
+to become American gentlemen. And I believe that
+an <em>American gentleman</em> is the very highest type of
+man.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">God, give us men. A time like this demands</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men whom the lust of office does not kill;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men who possess opinions and a will;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men who have honor, men who will not lie;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men who can stand before a demagogue</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">In public duty and in private thinking.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp129">
+  <img src="images/i_fp129.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>James Lawrence Claghorn.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CLAGHORN">JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and
+successful life it seems proper that something more
+than the ordinary obituary notices in the daily papers
+is due to his memory. This thought moves me
+to speak to you to-day of a gentleman who died on
+August 25, 1884, while a Director of the Girard College,
+and of whom it seems appropriate that something
+may be said to you in this chapel.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen
+of Philadelphia. He was born here on the 5th of
+July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn, was a
+merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter
+years of his life gave much time and thought to benevolent
+institutions. At the age of fourteen years
+James left school to go into business. You boys
+know how very incomplete an education at school
+must be which ends when the boy is fourteen years
+old. But you don’t know until your own experience
+proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to
+compete for the high places in life or in business with
+boys of equal natural ability, who have had the full<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span>
+advantage of a liberal school education. At fourteen,
+then, James Claghorn turned his back on
+school and went to work in earnest. For it was an
+auction store that he entered, and the work there
+was usually harder work than in other kinds of
+stores. The hours of labor were longer—earlier and
+later—and the holidays more rare than in ordinary
+commercial houses.</p>
+
+<p>There is no record of the early years of his business
+life; but it is not difficult to imagine the hardships
+to which a young lad of that time would be
+subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence
+was allowed him because his father was one of the
+partners in the firm; neither he nor his father would
+have permitted such distinction.</p>
+
+<p>The boy must have been <em>industrious</em>; for in such
+a house there was no place for an idle lounger. He
+was not afraid of work, for he was always at it; he
+did not spare himself, else some other boy would have
+done his share and got ahead of him; he must have
+been <em>faithful</em>, not one who works only when his master’s
+eye is on him—not shirking any hard work—not
+forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday—not
+thinking too much of his rights or his own particular
+work, but doing anything that came to hand—looking
+always to the interest of the firm, and
+trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.</p>
+
+<p>And he must have been <em>patient</em>. Many rough<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>
+words, many hasty and passionate words are spoken
+to young boys, and must have been spoken to this
+boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason
+to believe from the character he built up that he
+knew how to hold his tongue and not answer back.
+Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
+hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent
+discharge of boys who will “answer back”
+when they are reproved.</p>
+
+<p>And I think also that he must have been of a
+bright and cheery disposition and well mannered.
+Some young fellows who have to make their way in
+the world seem not to know the importance of a good
+address; in other words, politeness, good breeding.
+Nothing impresses one so favorably at first meeting a
+stranger as good manners. A frank, hearty greeting,
+a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a willingness
+to consider others, a desire to please for the sake
+of giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the
+contrary, sullenness, sluggishness, indifference, selfishness
+are all repulsive, and though allowance will
+be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
+yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young
+person, and they will certainly unfit him for a successful
+career. I did not know Mr. Claghorn when
+he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that
+the kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later
+life could have been a morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered
+boy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span></p>
+
+<p>I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while
+still a boy; but we must not infer that he supposed
+his education was complete with the end of his school
+life, for it is very evident that he must have given
+very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We
+do not know how his evenings were spent when not
+in the counting-house; but he must have given a
+good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely that
+the books which he read were such as are to be found
+now at any book-stand, and in the hands of so many
+boys as they go to and fro on their errands—books
+which are simply read without instruction, and which
+sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant,
+coarse and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond
+of fiction. All boys of fair education and refined
+taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we can
+hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to
+such reading, else he could not have become the
+strong business man that he was. At a very early
+age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as
+his means would permit engravings and pictures such
+as would cultivate his taste in that direction. When
+he could spare the money he would buy an engraving,
+if the subject or the author interested him; so
+that he became, in the latter part of his life, the
+owner of one of the largest collections of engravings
+in the whole country. Indeed, he became a noted patron
+of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
+<em>native</em> art, so that at one period he had more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span>
+than two hundred paintings, the work of American
+artists; for at that time he was more desirous of encouraging
+native artists, especially if they were poor,
+than he was in making collections of the great masters.
+Many a picture he bought to help the artist,
+rather than for his own gratification as a collector.
+Further on in life he became deeply interested in the
+Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut
+street above Tenth. Subsequently he became its
+President, and very largely through his influence and
+his personal means that fine building at the southwest
+corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all
+of you ought to visit as opportunity is afforded, was
+erected as a depository of art. The splendid building
+of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
+street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its
+erection.</p>
+
+<p>But I am anticipating, and we must now go back
+to Mr. Claghorn in his counting-house. No longer a
+boy—an apprentice—he has grown to manhood, and
+has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
+place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the
+hours of business, which were long before, are longer
+now; he begins very early in the morning, before
+sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes detained
+late in the evening, the long day being entirely
+devoted to business; and no one knows, except one
+who has gone through that sort of experience, how
+much labor is involved in such a life; but not only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>
+his labors—his responsibilities are greatly increased.
+He becomes the financial man in the firm; he is the
+head of the counting-house; he has charge of the
+books and the accounts. For many years no entry
+was made in the huge ledgers except in his own
+handwriting. The credit of the house of Myers &amp;
+Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
+financial excitement and distress comes on. This
+house, while others are going down on the right and
+left like ships in a storm, stands erect with unimpaired
+credit, and with opportunities of helping other
+and weaker houses which so much needed help. The
+name of his firm was a synonym of all that is strong
+and admirable in business management.</p>
+
+<p>So he passed the best years of his whole life in
+earnest attention to business, snatching all the leisure
+he could for the gratification of his passion, it may be
+called, for art, until the time came when, having acquired
+what was at that time supposed to be an
+abundant competency, he determined to retire from
+business. Now he appears to contemplate a long
+rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
+arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment,
+when the country became involved in the
+Great Rebellion. None of you, except as you read
+it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
+country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at
+Fort Sumter. Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his
+country and unwilling to do what seemed to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span>
+almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
+his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself
+most diligently and earnestly to the duties of a true,
+loyal citizen in the support of the government. He
+was one of the earliest members of the Union
+League, and was largely interested in collecting
+money for the raising and equipping of regiments to
+be sent to the front. Three or four years of his life
+were spent in this laudable work, and in company
+with those of like mind he was largely instrumental
+in accomplishing great good. The war, however,
+came to an end—was fought out to its final and inevitable
+issue.</p>
+
+<p>Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned
+with increased interest. His business affairs, although
+they had not been as profitable as they would have
+been if he had looked closer to them and had given
+less thought to public matters during the war, were so
+satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other
+hands for a while, and in company with his wife he
+embarked for Europe. It was to be a long holiday
+such as he had never known before. He intended to
+make an extended tour—he was not to be hurried.
+He went through England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
+Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey,
+Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
+In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most
+famous picture-galleries of the old world; and his
+long study of art in its various phases and schools<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span>
+gave him special advantages for the highest enjoyment
+of the great collections, public and private,
+of the old masters as well as of those of modern
+times.</p>
+
+<p>The interest of his extended tour was not, however,
+limited to galleries and collections of paintings
+and statuary. He was an observer of men and
+things. His practical American mind observed and
+digested everything that came within his reach.
+The government of the great cities—the condition
+of the masses of the people gathered in them—the
+common people outside of the cities, their customs
+and costumes; their way of living—in short, everything
+that was unlike what we see at home—he
+observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect
+of after years.</p>
+
+<p>It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn,
+having lived the busy life that he had lived before
+he went abroad, should have been content on his
+return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned
+leisure; and accordingly, shortly after his
+return, he became the President of the Commercial
+National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
+in our city. For several years previously he
+had been a Director in the Philadelphia National
+Bank (as his father had before him), so that he had
+had proper training for the duties of his new position.
+He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia
+Saving Fund Society, the oldest and the largest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span>
+saving fund in our city. With most commendable
+diligence and industry he at once set about building
+up the bank so as to make it profitable to its stockholders.
+Not forgetting, however, the attractions of
+art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
+beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so
+that even the daily routine of business life might be
+enlivened by glimpses into the attractive world of
+art.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts
+was created by act of Legislature (to which board is
+committed the vast estate left by Mr. Girard, as well
+as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
+Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board
+of twelve, and from that date until his death he
+gave much time and thought to the duties thus devolved
+upon him. He became chairman of the
+finance committee, which place he held until the end
+of his life. Although he was not so well known to
+the boys of the college as some other members of
+this board, because his duties did not require very
+frequent visits to the college, he nevertheless gave
+himself to the duties of the committee of which he
+was chairman with great interest and fidelity; and
+the time which he gave to this great work is not to
+be measured by visits to the college, but by the time
+spent in the city office and in his own place of business,
+where his committee met him on their stated
+meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>
+personal interest in all the affairs of this college, and
+of the other trusts committed to our charge.</p>
+
+<p>Although the condition of his health in the latter
+part of his life made close attention to business
+very trying to him, so far as I know he never permitted
+his health to interfere with his business engagements.</p>
+
+<p>In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to
+set before you some features of the life of one of our
+most distinguished citizens. In the limits of a single
+discourse as brief as this must be it is not possible
+to make this more than an outline sketch. In the
+little time that remains let me refer again for the
+purpose of emphasis to some traits in the character
+of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear reconsideration.</p>
+
+<p>A very large proportion of the merchants of any
+city fail in business. The proportion is much larger
+than is generally known, and larger than young people
+are willing to believe.</p>
+
+<p>In an experience of more than forty years of business
+life, during which I have had much to do with
+merchants, I have known so many failures, have seen
+so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am compelled
+to regard a merchant who has maintained
+high credit for a long term of years and finally retired
+from business with a handsome estate as one
+who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
+fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span>
+in successful business, the good management
+having been due to the ability and tact of their
+seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present
+case. The merchant whose life we are considering
+was an active and influential partner.</p>
+
+<p>Let me say, however, that true success in business
+is not to be measured by the amount of money one
+accumulates. A man may be rich in the riches acquired
+by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
+no high sense a successful business man. These
+things are necessary: He should be a just man, an
+upright, honorable man, a man of breadth and solidity
+of character, who gathers about him some of the
+ablest and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the
+good of others and the welfare of society. In such
+sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful business man.</p>
+
+<p>His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial
+aid and encouragement he gave to young
+students in their beginnings, his deep sympathy with
+persons who in literature and art were striving for a
+living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public
+spirit—all these had their influence in the growth
+and development of his character, and made his name
+to be loved and honored by many who shared in his
+generous sympathies.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call
+patriotism, was signally disclosed at the outbreak of
+the war in 1861. When we remember his long and
+busy life as a merchant—broken by few or no vacations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>
+such as most other men enjoyed—when we remember
+that his self-culture had been of such a nature
+as to prepare him most admirably well for a tour
+in foreign countries, especially such countries as had
+produced the ablest, the most distinguished artists—we
+can have some idea of what it cost him to forego
+the much needed rest—to deny himself the well-earned
+pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of
+Europe, where are gathered the treasures of the
+highest art in all the world. Many men in like circumstances
+would have felt that one man, whose age
+and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service
+in the field, would hardly be missed from among the
+loyal citizens of the North—but he did not think so;
+and therefore he put aside all his personal plans, and
+in the city where he was born he remained and devoted
+himself as one of her true, loyal citizens in
+raising money and men for the defence of the government.
+There could be no truer heroism than this,
+and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose
+to the end.</p>
+
+<p>“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at
+his funeral, and with his words I close these remarks,
+“I am permitted to address to you in the presence
+of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
+occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know
+no more in life. A few Saturday evenings ago I was
+walking along by a lake at a seashore home when a
+great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span>
+eye. It was one of those inimitable pictures that
+rarely come to one. In the foreground there lay a
+lake with no ripple on its surface. It was a calm
+and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the
+western sky. The sun had gone, but where he disappeared
+were indications of beauty—one of the most
+beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not
+one of the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there
+came many reflections. Here is one of them. It
+seems quite applicable this morning. That which
+caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused
+the radiation of beauty, had gone. Its day’s work
+was done. That quiet lake and streaked sky were
+the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life
+that had been accomplished. It was a complete
+thing. The day was done. The activity had passed
+away. It was finished just as this life. What had
+made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments
+of beauty that made the scene as beautiful as
+good words and noble deeds make the memory of man.
+There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
+of this community, you will do well to remember that
+anywhere and everywhere, without patience and industry,
+nothing great can be done. The life departed
+was a busy one—one of busy usefulness. The cry
+that came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be
+busy.’ Live as this man did, that your life may be
+one that can be held up as an example and a light to
+young men of the coming generations. One ray of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>
+beauty was his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid
+thing to be trusted by your fellows. Another ray was
+his prudent foresight. It was characteristic of him,
+and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray
+that welled out of him was his striking humanity.
+There was one continual trait in his character. I
+would call it manhoodness. There was another feature—his
+deep humility.”</p>
+
+<p>Such were some of the traits of character of a man
+who lived a long life in the city where he was born.
+If no distinctive monument has been erected to his
+memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy
+of the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of
+Music,” with which his name will always be associated;
+and, what is better still, there are many
+hearts that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish
+man, who in time of sore need stretched out
+his hand to help, and that hand was never empty.
+And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this
+man who did so much for his native city and for his
+fellow-citizens was not nearly so well educated at the
+age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
+are now. See what he did; see what some of you
+may do!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LEAF">THE LEAF TURNED OVER.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">January 1, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning
+Over a New Leaf.” One of the directors of this
+college to whom I sent a printed copy said I ought to
+follow those with another on this subject: “The
+Leaf Turned Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion
+and shall now try to follow his advice.</p>
+
+<p>Most thoughtful people as they approach the end
+of a year are apt to ask themselves some plain questions—as
+to their manner of life, their habits of
+thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
+their home, their families, their companions,
+their plans for the future, their duty to their fellow-men,
+their duty to God; in short, whether the year
+about to close has been a happy one; whether they
+have been successful or otherwise in what they have
+attempted to do.</p>
+
+<p>The merchant, manufacturer or man of business
+of any kind who keeps books, and whose accounts
+are properly kept, looks with great interest at his
+account book at such a time, to see whether his business
+has been profitable or otherwise, whether he has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>
+lost or made money, whether his capital is larger or
+smaller than it was at the beginning of the year,
+whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able
+to pay his debts or is bankrupt.</p>
+
+<p>And to very many persons engaged in business for
+themselves, this is a time of great anxiety, for one
+can hardly tell exactly whether he is getting on
+favorably until his account books are posted and the
+balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and
+the result of the year’s business is a loss, that means
+a reduction of capital, and raises the question whether
+this can go on for some years without failure and
+bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks
+with great anxiety to the month of December, and
+especially to the end of it, to learn whether he shall
+be able to go on in his business, however humble.
+And, alas! there are many whose books of account
+are so badly kept, and whose balances are so rarely
+struck, or who keep no account books at all, that
+they never know how they stand, but are always under
+the apprehension that any day they may fail to
+meet their obligations and so fail and become bankrupt.
+They were insolvent long before, but they did
+not know it; and they have gone on from bad to
+worse until they are ruined. Others, again, are
+afraid to look closely into their account books—afraid
+to have the balances struck, lest they should be convinced
+that their affairs are in a hopeless condition.
+Unhappy cowards they are, for if insolvent the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span>
+sooner they know it the better, that they may make
+the best settlement they can with their creditors, if
+the business is worth following at all, and begin
+again, “turning over a new leaf.”</p>
+
+<p>I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever
+thought much on these subjects; for you are not in
+business as principals or as clerks, you have no merchandise
+or produce or money to handle, you have no
+account books for yourselves or for other people to
+keep, to post, to balance, and you may think you
+have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to be
+able to show you that these things are not matters
+of indifference to you.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1887, which closed last night, was just
+as much <em>your</em> year as it was that of any man, even
+the busiest man of affairs. When it came, 365 days
+ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left
+all of you here. And the question naturally arises,
+what have you done with this time, all these days
+and nights? Every page in the account books of
+certain kinds of business represents a day of business,
+and either the figures on both the debit and
+the credit side are added up and carried forward, or
+the balance of the two sides of the page is struck and
+carried over leaf to the next page.</p>
+
+<p>So every day of the past year represents a page in
+the history of your lives: for every life, even the
+plainest and most humble, has its own peculiar history.
+Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span>
+things occur to break the monotony of school
+life, but each day has its own duties and makes its
+own record. Three hundred and sixty-five pages of
+the book of the history of every young life here
+were duly filled by the records of all the things done
+or neglected, of the words spoken or unspoken, of
+the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages with
+their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were
+turned over, and are now numbered with the things
+that are past and gone. When an accountant or
+book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year
+are closed and the balances struck, that errors had
+crept in which have disturbed the accuracy of his
+work, he cannot go back with a knife and erase the
+errors and write in the correct figures; neither can
+he blot them out, nor rub them out as you do examples
+from a slate or from the blackboard; he must
+correct his mistakes; he must counteract his blunders
+by new entries on a new page.</p>
+
+<p>It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night
+at midnight the last page of the leaves of the book
+of the old year was filled with its record, whatever it
+was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
+What do we see? What does every one of you see?
+A fair, white page. And each one of you holds a
+pen in his hand and the inkstand is within reach;
+you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page,
+the thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed
+than any pen, even that of the quickest shorthand<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>
+writer can put them on the page. There are
+stenographers who can take the language of the most
+rapid speakers, but no stenographer has ever yet appeared
+who can put his own thoughts on paper as rapidly
+as they come into his mind. But while there is
+but one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge
+of what is passing in your mind and retain it
+all—<span class="allsmcap">THE INFINITE MIND</span>; and while no one page of
+any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers
+call elephant folio, can possibly hold the
+record of what any boy here says and thinks in a
+single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
+words good or bad on the page before you.</p>
+
+<p>Let me take one of these boys not far from the
+desk, a boy of sixteen or seventeen years of age, who
+is now waiting, pen in hand, to write the thoughts
+now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts?
+No one knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I
+think he ought to write? It is something like this:</p>
+
+<p>“I have been here many years. When I came I
+was young and ignorant. I found myself among
+many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I
+ever saw before, who cared no more for me than I
+cared for them. I felt very strange; the first few
+days and nights I was very unhappy, for I missed
+very much my mother and the others whom I had
+left at home. But very soon these feelings passed
+away. I was put to school at once, and in the
+school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span>
+things and the people about my other home. Years
+passed. I was promoted from one school to another,
+from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
+my classmates were no longer little boys; we were
+all looking up and looking forward to the school
+promotions, and I became a big boy. The lessons
+were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand
+at last why I was sent here, and to ask myself
+the question, what might reasonably be expected of
+me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
+would force itself upon me, what use am I making
+of my fine advantages, or am I making the best use
+of them? And what manner of man shall I be?
+For I know full well that all well-educated boys do
+not succeed in life—do not become successful men in
+the highest and best sense. How do I know that I
+shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
+the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly
+manly, trustworthy boy? Have I succeeded while
+going through the course of school studies in building
+up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this
+great school? Can those who know me best place
+the most confidence in me? If I am looking forward
+to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or in a
+lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a
+place in a railroad office or a bank, am I really trying
+to fit myself for such a place, or am I simply
+drifting along from day to day, doing only what I am
+compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span>
+rise above the dull average of my companions? And
+then, as I look at the difficulties in the way of every
+young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
+has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present
+and the persons and things that surround me now,
+and look to a higher and better Helper than is to be
+found in this world? Have I not at times heard
+words of good counsel in this chapel, from the lips
+of those who come to give me and my companions
+wholesome advice? What attention have I given to
+such advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt
+it, that the great God stoops from heaven and speaks
+to my soul, and offers his Divine help, and even holds
+out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take
+my hand in his, and help me over all hard places,
+and will never let me go, if I cling to him, and will
+assure me success in everything that is right and
+good. I have heard all this over and over again; I
+know it is true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed
+it; I have not acted accordingly; in fact, I
+have treated the whole matter as if it were unreal,
+or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to
+me.</p>
+
+<p>“And now I have come probably to my last year
+in this school. Before another New Year’s day some
+other boy will have my desk in the school-room, my
+bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
+in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they
+have seemed, have nearly all passed; I shall soon go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span>
+away; if some place is not found for me I must find
+one for myself—oh! what will become of me? Since
+last New Year’s day two boys who were educated
+here have been sent convicted criminals to the Eastern
+Penitentiary. What are they thinking about on
+this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats,
+they sang our hymns, they heard the same good
+words of advice which I have heard, they had all the
+good opportunities which all of us have; what led
+them astray? Did they believe that the good God
+stooped from heaven to say good words to them, holding
+out his strong hand to help them? I wonder if
+they thought they were strong enough to take care
+of themselves? I wonder if they thought they could
+get along without his help? Do I think I can?”</p>
+
+<p>Some such thoughts as these may be passing in
+the mind of the boy now looking at me and sitting
+not far from the desk, the boy whom I had in my
+mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen
+full of ink. He has written nothing yet; he has
+been listening with some curiosity to hear what the
+speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a
+boy’s thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>I can tell that boy what <em>I</em> would write if I were at
+his age, in this college, and surrounded by these circumstances,
+listening to these serious, earnest words.
+I would take my pen and write on the first page of
+this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New
+Year’s day, these words: “<em>The leaf is turned over!</em><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>
+God help me to lead a better life. God forgive all
+the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all my
+forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God
+keep me from wicked thoughts which defile the soul;
+keep me from wicked words which defile the souls of
+others.”</p>
+
+<p>“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me
+to begin my journal by writing a prayer?”</p>
+
+<p>Yes; but this is not all. Write again.</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>I will not willingly break any of the rules which
+are adopted for the government of our school.</em></p>
+
+<p>Some of the rules may <em>seem</em> hard to obey, and even
+unreasonable, but they were made for my good by
+those who are wiser than I am. I <em>can</em> obey them;
+I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>2. <em>I will work harder over my lessons than ever before,
+and I will recite them more accurately.</em></p>
+
+<p>This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall
+be the better for it; it will not be long, for I am going
+soon; I <em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully
+than I have ever done before.</em></p>
+
+<p>If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no
+more. It is a common fault; many of us boys have
+fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I will do so
+no more; I <em>can</em> stop it, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>4. <em>I will be more careful in my daily life here, to
+set a good example in all things, than I have ever been
+before.</em></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p>
+
+<p>The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate
+them closely. They watch us, our words, our
+ways, our behavior in all things. If any young fellows
+have been misled by me, it shall be so no more.
+I will behave so that no one shall be the worse for
+doing as I do. This is quite within my control; I
+<em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>5. <em>I will look to God to help me to do these things.</em></p>
+
+<p>For I have tried to do something like this before
+and failed; it must be because I depended on my
+own strength. Now I will look away from myself
+and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is
+strong, nothing is holy.” He <em>can</em> help me; he surely
+will, if I throw myself on his mercy, and by daily
+prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for a
+moment or two each day, I shall see light and find
+peace.</p>
+
+<p>These are the things that I would write, my boy,
+if I were just as you are.</p>
+
+<p>Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther
+and say some words to others here?</p>
+
+<p>Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all
+under your charge, and every day. The same good
+Providence that brought them here for education
+and support, brought you here also to teach them
+and care for them. Your work is exacting, laborious,
+unremitting. Some of these young boys are
+trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
+almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span>
+discouraged by what seems to be the almost hopeless
+nature of your work, the untidiness, the rough manners,
+the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these
+young boys. But remember that all this is inevitable;
+that from the nature of the case it must be
+so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
+to good order, to train and educate these young lives
+so that they shall be well educated, well informed,
+well mannered, polite, gentle, considerate, so they
+may be fairly well assured of a successful future, is a
+great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the
+highest intelligence. This is exactly what the great
+founder had in his mind when he established this
+college and provided so munificently for its endowment.
+This is what his trustees most earnestly desire,
+and the hope of which rewards them for the
+many hours they give every week to the care of this
+great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the
+plan of instruction here, not only in the schools, but
+in the section rooms and on the play-grounds. Be
+to these older boys their big brothers, their best
+friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled
+to reprove them for their many faults.</p>
+
+<p>And to those of you who have the care of the
+younger boys, let me say: remember, they have no
+mothers here; they are very young to send from
+home; they are homesick at times; they hardly
+know how to behave themselves; they shock your
+sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you almost to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span>
+distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage
+them, love them, for if <em>you</em> do not, who will?
+And what will become of them? And remember
+what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life
+out of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and
+make a real man of it. Oh! friends, suffer these
+words of exhortation, for they come from one who
+has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying
+work.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
+on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
+away; and there was found no place for them. And
+I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
+and the books were opened; and another book was
+opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were
+judged out of those things which were written in
+the books, according to their works. And the sea
+gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell
+delivered up the dead which were in them; and they
+were judged every man according to his works—Rev.
+xx. 11–13.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="THANKSGIVING">THANKSGIVING DAY.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">November 29, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">The President of the United States, in a proclamation
+which you have just heard, has set apart this
+29th day of November for a day of thanksgiving and
+prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
+given to the people of our country, and for a continuance
+of these mercies. His example has been
+followed by the governors of Pennsylvania and many,
+if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe
+that all over the land, from Maine to Alaska,
+and from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, the
+people in large numbers are now gathered or gathering
+in their places of worship, in obedience to this
+proper recommendation. The directors of this college,
+in full sympathy with the thoughts of our
+rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released you
+from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel,
+and asked you to unite with the people generally in
+giving thanks to God for the past, and imploring his
+mercies for the future. For you are a part of the
+people, and although not yet able, from your minority,
+to take an active part in the government, are yet<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span>
+being rapidly prepared for this great right of citizenship.
+It is the high privilege of an American boy, to
+know that when he becomes a man he will have just
+as clear a right as any other man, to exercise all the
+functions of a freeman, in choosing the men who are
+to be intrusted with the responsibilities of government.
+What are some of the things that give us
+cause for thankfulness to Almighty God? Very
+briefly such as these:</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>This is a Christian country.</em> Although there
+is not, and cannot be, any part or branch of the church
+established by law, there is assured liberty for every
+citizen to worship God by himself, or with others in
+congregations, as he or they may choose, in such
+forms of worship as may be preferred, with none to
+molest or make afraid. Here is absolute freedom of
+worship. And even if it be that the name of God is
+not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or
+governor or public officer can be inducted or inaugurated
+in high office except by taking oath on the
+book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
+faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there
+were nothing else, this public acknowledgment of
+the being of Almighty God and our accountability to
+him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
+a Christian people.</p>
+
+<p>2. <em>This is a free government</em>, free in the sense that
+the people choose their own rulers, whether of towns,
+cities, States, or the nation. There is no hereditary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span>
+rule here, and cannot be. We not only <em>choose</em> our
+own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them for
+whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority
+accept the decision when it is ascertained, without
+doubt, without a question of its righteousness; they
+only want to know whether the majority have actually
+chosen this or that candidate, and they accept
+frankly, if not cheerfully. We have had a splendid
+illustration of this within this present month. The
+great party that has administered the government
+for four years past, on the verdict of the majority,
+are preparing to retire and will retire on the fourth
+of March next, and give up the government to the
+other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere else
+in the world can such a revolution be accomplished
+on so grand a scale, by so many people, with so little
+friction. This government then is better than <em>any
+monarchy</em>, no matter how carefully guarded by constitutional
+restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
+governments are in Europe: the best of all
+in England; but the governments of Europe have
+many and great concessions to make to the people,
+before they can stand side by side with the United
+States in strong, healthy, considerate management
+of the people. It has been said that the best machinery
+is that which has the least friction, and as
+the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of
+government will be so smooth that the people will
+hardly know that they are governed at all; in fact,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>
+they will be their own governors. This time is coming
+as sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand,
+and you boys can hasten it by your own upright,
+manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
+forget that this is a government of the majority,
+and you must see to it that the majority be true
+men.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of
+the world.</em> The Atlantic separates us from Europe
+on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from South America
+on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes
+our western shores. We are a continent to ourselves,
+with the exception of Mexico, a sister republic on
+the south, with whom we are not likely to quarrel
+again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north,
+which, if never to become a part of ourselves, will at
+least at some day, and probably not a very distant
+day, become independent of the mother country as
+we did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained
+our freedom. Our distance from Europe relieves
+us entirely from the consideration of subjects
+which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
+which very often thrill the rest of the world in the
+apprehension of a general war in Europe. We are
+under no necessity of annexing other territory. We
+are not afraid of what is called “the balance of
+power;” we have no army that is worthy of the
+name, because we don’t need one, and we can make
+one if we should need it; and we have no navy to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>
+speak of, though I think we ought to have for the
+protection of our commerce, when our commerce
+shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
+with other nations; the great father of his
+country in his Farewell Address warned the people
+against this danger.</p>
+
+<p>4. <em>Our country is very large.</em> You school-boys
+can tell me as well as I can tell you what degrees of
+latitude and longitude we reach, and how many
+millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we
+brag too much about the great extent of our country;
+but I do not refer to it now for boasting, but as a
+matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
+It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic
+to the tropics, gives us every variety of climate and
+almost every variety of product that the earth produces;
+and I am sure that the time will come when,
+under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have
+yet reached, our soil will produce everything that
+grows anywhere else in the world. The corn harvest
+now being gathered in our country will reach
+<em>two thousand millions of bushels</em>. The mind staggers
+under such ponderous figures and quantities. Our
+wheat fields are hardly less productive; our potatoes
+and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products
+of our cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything
+that our soil above ground yields; and the enormous
+yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our natural gas,
+our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span>
+and binding the people together with bands of
+steel—all these, and many others, which time will
+not permit me even to mention, give some faint idea
+of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty
+God has given to the American people. And do we
+not well therefore, when we come together on a day
+like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?</p>
+
+<p>5. <em>The general education of the people</em> is another
+reason for thankfulness to God. The system is
+not yet universal, but it will be at no distant day.
+You boys will live to see the day when every man,
+woman and child born in the United States (except
+those who are too young or feeble-minded) will be
+able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to come.
+Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn
+to do their own reading and thinking, we shall not
+fear anarchists and atheists and the many other fools
+who, under one name or another, are now trying to
+make this people discontented with their lot. There
+is no need for such people here, and no place for
+them; they have made a mistake in coming to this
+free land, as some of them found to their cost on the
+gallows at Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>6. <em>We have no war in our country, no famine, and
+with the exception of poor Jacksonville, Florida, no
+pestilence.</em> Famine we have never known, and with
+such an extent of country we have little need to
+dread such a scourge as that. No one need suffer
+for food in our country, and this is the only country<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span>
+in the world of which this can be said; for labor of
+some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap,
+plain kinds of food, that none but the utterly dissipated
+and worthless need starve; and in fact none do
+starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
+the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering
+not only, but actually provide them with a home, that
+for real comfort is not known elsewhere in the world.</p>
+
+<p>Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful
+proportions, but even then the alleviations furnished
+by the Christian Commission greatly relieved
+some of its most horrid features; and we are
+not likely to see war again, for there will be hereafter
+nothing to quarrel and fight about. Our political
+differences will never again lead to the taking up
+of arms in deadly strife.</p>
+
+<p>Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness
+which led the President of the United States to ask
+the people, by public proclamation, to turn aside for
+one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
+their counting-houses, to close the schools, and
+assemble in their places of worship and thank God,
+the giver of every good and perfect gift.</p>
+
+<p>But I don’t think the President of the United
+States knew what special reasons the Girard College
+boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
+shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some
+of them.</p>
+
+<p>1. This foundation is under the control of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>
+Board of City Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the
+bulk of his great estate for this noble purpose, he
+gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
+Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia
+could act only through its legislative body, the
+select and common councils, bodies elected by the
+people, and consequently more or less under the influence
+of one or the other of the great political parties.
+Nearly twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr.
+William Welsh, who became the first President of
+the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of Pennsylvania
+took from the control of councils all the
+charitable trusts of the city and committed them to
+this board. If any political influences were ever unworthily
+exerted in the former board it ceased when
+the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges
+of the Supreme Court named the first directors of the
+City Trusts. These directors are all your friends;
+they give much thought, much labor, much anxiety
+to your well-being, desiring to do the best things
+that are possible to be done for your welfare, and to
+do them in the best way. Many of them have been
+successful in finding desirable situations for such of
+your number as were prepared to accept such places.
+I am glad to say that I have three college boys associated
+with me in my business; Mr. Stuart had two;
+Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner has two,
+and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other
+members of the board have also, so you see our interest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span>
+in you is not limited to the time which we
+spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
+but we are ever on the lookout for things which we
+hope may be to your advantage.</p>
+
+<p>2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these
+beautiful buildings, which were erected for your use;
+these grounds, which are so well kept and which are
+so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
+that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine
+shall lack nothing that is desirable to make
+them what they ought to be; the text-books which
+you use in school, the best that can be found; the
+teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can
+be procured; the prefects and governesses chosen
+from among many applicants, and because they are
+supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who
+have to do with you here are chosen because they
+are supposed to be well qualified to discharge their
+duties most successfully. The arrangements for your
+lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of
+your tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick,
+are such as, in the judgment of the trustees, the great
+founder himself would approve if he could be consulted.
+Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
+on this Thanksgiving Day.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>You all have a birthright.</em></p>
+
+<p>What that meant in the earliest times we do not
+fully know; but it meant at least to be the head or
+father of the family, a sort of domestic priesthood,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span>
+the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great nation.
+In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son
+has by right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting
+the principal part of the property, and he is
+the representative of the estate. They call it there
+the <em>law of primogeniture</em>, or the law of the first-born.
+In our country there is no birthright in families,
+and we have no law to make the eldest born in any
+respect more favored than the other and younger
+children.</p>
+
+<p>But you Girard boys have a birthright which
+means a great deal. The founder of this great
+school left the bulk of his large estate to the city of
+Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
+a certain class of boys, very particularly described,
+to which you belong. The provision he
+made for you was most liberal. Everything that his
+trustees consider necessary for your careful support
+and thorough education is to be provided. Nothing
+is to be wanting which money wisely expended can
+supply. <em>This is your birthright.</em> No earthly power
+can take it from you without your consent. No
+commercial distress, no financial panic, no change of
+political rulers, no combination of party politics can
+interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing
+but the loss of health or life, or your own misconduct,
+can deprive you of this great birthright. Do
+you boys fully appreciate this?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span></p>
+
+<p>Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here
+who is willing to <em>sell</em> this birthright as Esau did?</p>
+
+<p>Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so
+profane and foul in speech, so vicious in character, so
+wicked in behavior, as to be an unfit companion for
+his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to remain
+among them? Is there a boy here who, for
+the gratification of a vicious appetite, will <em>sell</em> that
+privilege of support and education so abundantly provided
+here? So guarded is this trust, so sacred almost,
+that no human being can take it away from
+you: will you deliberately <em>throw it away</em>? The
+wretched Esau, in the old Jewish history, under the
+pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his birthright
+with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no
+such temptation as tried him, with no temptation
+but the perverseness of your own will and your love
+of self-indulgence, will you <em>sell your birthright</em>? Bitterly
+did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
+to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he
+never did recover his lost birthright, though he
+sought it carefully and with tears. And he had no
+one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, if you pass through this college course not
+making the best use of your time, or if you allow
+yourselves to fall into such evil habits as will make
+it necessary to send you away from the college—and
+this after all the kind words that have been spoken
+to you and the faithful warnings that have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span>
+given you—you will lose that which can never be
+restored to you, which can never be made up to you
+in any other way elsewhere. You will prove yourselves
+more foolish, more wicked than Esau, for you
+will lose more than he did, and you will do it
+against kinder remonstrances than he had.</p>
+
+<p>4. There is another feature of the management
+here which gives especial satisfaction. When a boy
+leaves the college to go to a place which has been
+chosen for him, or which he has found by his own
+exertions, he is looked after until he reaches the age
+of twenty-one, by an officer especially appointed,
+and as we believe well adapted to that service.
+And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable
+circumstances and under hard task-masters,
+with people who have no sympathy with his youth
+and inexperience, many such have been visited and
+encouraged, helped and so assisted towards true
+success.</p>
+
+<p>5. But what is there to make each particular boy
+thankful to-day? Why you are all in good health;
+and if you would know how much that means go to
+the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are
+not able to be in the chapel to-day, not able to be
+in the play-grounds, who are looking out of the
+windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
+with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God
+bless them.</p>
+
+<p>You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>
+are less robust have warmer clothing, and all of
+you are shielded and guarded as well as the trustees
+know how to care for you, so that you may be trained
+to be strong men.</p>
+
+<p>You are all having a holiday; no school to-day;
+no shop-work to-day; no paying marks to-day; no
+punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
+Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable
+is put out of sight and ought to be put out of
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>You are all to have a good dinner. Even now,
+while we are here in the chapel and while some of
+you are growing impatient at my speech, think of
+the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think
+of the roast turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot
+potatoes, the gravy, the dressing, the mince pies,
+the apples afterwards, and all the other good things
+which make your mouths water, and make my mouth
+water even to mention the names. Then after dinner
+you go to your homes, and you have a good time
+there.</p>
+
+<p>The last thing I mention which you ought to be
+thankful for is having a short speech.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp169">
+  <img src="images/i_fp169.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>Professor W. H. Allen.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ALLEN">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">September 24, 1882.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">“<i>Remember how He spake unto you.</i>”</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">These are the words of an angel. They were
+spoken in the early morning while it was yet dark,
+to frightened and sorrowful women, who had gone to
+the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to
+embalm his body. These women fully expected to
+find the body of their Lord; for as they went they
+said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the
+sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they
+found the stone was rolled away and the grave was
+empty. And one of them ran back to the disciples
+to tell them that the grave was open and the body
+gone. Those that remained went into the sepulchre
+and saw two men in glittering garments, who, seeing
+that the women were perplexed and afraid, standing
+with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a
+shade of reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the
+living among the dead? He is not here, he is
+risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
+hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember
+how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
+saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span>
+hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third
+day rise again.’”</p>
+
+<p>The words that are quoted as having been spoken
+by Jesus to his disciples were spoken in Galilee six
+months or more before this, and as they were not
+clearly understood at the time, it is not so very
+strange that they should have been forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well
+as the other disciples of the Lord, had remembered
+other words, and all the words that the Lord spake
+to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all other
+places. The world would be better to-day if those
+gracious words had been more carefully laid to heart.</p>
+
+<p>I hope the words of my text will bear, without too
+much accommodation, the use which I shall make of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was
+born in the family of a New England farmer. It
+was in the then territory of Maine, and near the
+little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor
+people, and the child grew up, as many other farmers’
+children grew up, accustomed to plain living and
+such work as children could properly be set to do.
+In the winter he went to school, as well as at other
+times when the farm work was not pressing. It
+would be very interesting to know, if we <em>could</em> know,
+whether there was anything peculiar in the early
+disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he
+grew up with nothing to distinguish him from his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span>
+playmates. If we could only know what children
+would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I
+think, be very careful to observe and record any
+little traits and peculiarities of their early childhood.
+The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
+know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have
+been prepared at the academy for college, which he
+entered at the advanced age of twenty-one years.
+Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he
+set out to teach the classics in a little town in the
+interior of the State of New York. While engaged
+in that seminary, he was called to a professorship in
+Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of
+Pennsylvania. In Dickinson College he held successively
+the chairs of chemistry and the natural
+sciences, and that of English literature, until his
+resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of
+Girard College.</p>
+
+<p>From this time until his death, except during an
+interval of five years, his life was spent here. For
+twenty-seven years he gave himself to the work of
+organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
+college, with an interest and efficiency which, until
+within the last year, never flagged. It is not possible
+at this day for any of us to appreciate the
+difficulties he had to encounter in the early days
+of the college, but we do know that he did the work
+well.</p>
+
+<p>See how he was prepared for the work he did.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span>
+He was a lover of study. When only eight years
+old he had learned the English grammar so well
+that his teacher said he could not teach him anything
+further in that study. There was an old
+family Bible that was very highly prized by all the
+family, and his father told him that if he would
+read that Bible through by the time he was ten years
+old, it should be his property. The boy did so, and
+claimed and received his reward. That book is now
+in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon).
+This early reading of the Bible will, perhaps, account
+for President Allen’s unusual familiarity with the
+Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his prayers
+in this school chapel.</p>
+
+<p>The school to which he went in his early youth
+was three miles from his father’s house; and in all
+kinds of weather, through the heats of summer and
+the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.</p>
+
+<p>I have said that his parents were not rich; and
+this young man pushed his way through college by
+teaching, thus earning the money necessary for his
+support. This may account for the fact that he
+entered college at the age when most young men
+are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years. It did not
+seem to him that it was a great misfortune to
+be poor; but it was an additional inducement
+to call forth all his powers to insure success.
+He knew that he must depend upon himself if
+he would succeed in life. And so he was not satisfied<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span>
+with qualifying himself for one chair in a college,
+but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three
+chairs. He could teach the classics or mathematics
+or general literature, or chemistry or natural sciences.
+Not many men had qualities so diversified, or
+knew so well how to put them to good account. You
+know very well that this liberal culture was not acquired
+without hard work. And this hard work he
+must have done in early life, before cares and duties
+crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older
+we grow.</p>
+
+<p>“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would
+give these words a two-fold meaning—remember
+<em>what</em> he said and <em>how</em> he said it.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of
+any man, even if he has lived more than three-score
+years and ten. In all these years President Allen
+was going in and out before the college boys, saying
+good and kind words to them.</p>
+
+<p>How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was
+<em>your church</em>, and the only church that you could attend,
+except on holidays. His purpose was that this
+chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy
+of the day. So important did he consider it, that
+when his turn came to speak to you here, he prepared
+himself carefully. He always wrote his little
+discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and
+heart he put into them. He thought that nothing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>
+that he or any other speaker could bring was too
+good for you.</p>
+
+<p>And then the tones of his voice, the manner of
+his instruction; how gentle, kind, conciliating. He
+remembered the injunction of Scripture, “The servant
+of the Lord must not strive.” You will never
+know in this life how much he bore from you, how
+long he bore with your waywardness, your thoughtlessness;
+how much he loved you. He always called
+you “his boys.” No matter though some of you are
+almost men, he always called you “his boys,” much
+as the apostle John in his later years called his disciples
+his “little children.” For President Allen felt
+that in a certain sense he was a father to you all.</p>
+
+<p>For some time past you knew that his health was
+declining. You saw his bowed form and his feeble,
+hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice was tremulous
+and feeble. The boys on the back benches
+could not always understand his words distinctly.
+But you knew that he was in earnest in all that he
+did say. And for many months he was not able to
+speak at all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s
+Day he was seated in a chair, with some of his family
+about him, looking at the battalion boys as they were
+drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And
+as the summer advanced into August, and the people
+in his native State were gathering their harvests, he,
+too, was gathered, as a shock of corn fully ripe.</p>
+
+<p>When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>
+master, Arnold of Rugby, he was fishing in Scotland.
+It was read to him from a newspaper. He at once
+dropped everything and started for the old school.
+He was overwhelmed with distress. “When he
+reached the station he went at once to the school.
+At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a
+soul in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and
+sad; so with another effort he strode through the
+quadrangle, and into the school-house offices. He
+found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
+shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously
+about. She was evidently thinking of the
+same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin talking.
+Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting
+in his little den, as of old.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered
+Thomas. ‘You’d like to have the key, I dare say.’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go
+by yourself, sir?’”</p>
+
+<p>“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it,
+fancying himself the only mourner in all the broad
+land, and feeding on his own selfish sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>“He passed through the vestibule and then paused
+a moment to glance over the empty benches. His
+heart was still proud and high, and he walked up to
+the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form
+boy, and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span>
+memories of eight years were all dancing through
+his brain, while his heart was throbbing with a dull
+sense of a great loss that could never be made up to
+him. The rays of the evening sun came solemnly
+through the painted windows over his head and fell
+in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the perfect
+stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to
+the pulpit and looked at it; and then leaning forward,
+with his head on his hands, groaned aloud.
+‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
+minutes, have told him all that was in his heart,
+what he owed him, how he loved and reverenced
+him, and would, by God’s help, follow his steps in life
+and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
+But that he should have gone away forever,
+without knowing it all, was too much to bear.’
+‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’ The
+thought made him start. ‘May he not even now
+be near me in this chapel?’”</p>
+
+<p>And with some such feelings as these I suppose
+many a boy will come back to the college and stand
+in this chapel, and recall the impressions he has received
+from President Allen here. But his voice
+will never be heard here again. Nothing remains
+but to “remember how he spake unto you.”</p>
+
+<p>I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in
+his coffin in the chapel, and you all looked on his
+face for the last time. What could be more impressive
+than the funeral? The crowded house, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>
+waiting people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains
+of the organ, the sweet voices of children singing
+their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the appropriate
+address given by one of his own college boys,
+the thousand and more boys standing in open ranks
+for the procession to pass through to the college gates,
+the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many of
+his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow
+him in the coming years—all these thoughts
+make that funeral day one long to be remembered.</p>
+
+<p>Let us accept this as the will of Providence.
+There is nothing to regret for him; but for us, the
+void left by his withdrawal. He is leading a better
+life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
+and the best words I can say to you are, “remember
+how he spake unto you.”</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“But when the warrior dieth,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">His comrades in the war</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">With arms reversed and muffled drums</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Follow the funeral car.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">They show the banners taken,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">They tell his battles won,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And after him lead his masterless steed,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">While peals the minute gun.</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“Amid the noblest of the land</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men lay the <em>sage</em> to rest,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And give the <em>bard</em> an honored place,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">With costly marble drest,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In the great Minster transept</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Where lights like glories fall,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And the choir sings and the organ rings</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Along the emblazoned wall.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="MESSAGE">A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">December 7, 1884.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When I came here in April last I brought with
+me some friends, among whom was my son. And I
+said to him that some day I should wish <em>him</em> to
+speak to you. He had so recently been a college
+boy himself, graduating at the University of Pennsylvania,
+and he was so fond of the games and plays
+of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys
+and young men, that I thought he might be able to
+say something that would interest you, and perhaps
+do you good.</p>
+
+<p>At a recent meeting of the proper committee his
+name was added to the list of persons who may be
+invited to speak to you. The last time I was at
+the college President Fetterolf asked me when my
+son could come to address you, and I replied that he
+was sick.</p>
+
+<p>That sickness was far more serious than any of
+us supposed; there was no favorable change, and at
+the end of twelve days he passed away.</p>
+
+<p>My suggestion that he might be invited to speak<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>
+here led him to prepare a short address, which was
+found among his papers, and has, within a few days,
+been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
+apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final
+revision, which in copying for delivery he would
+have given it.</p>
+
+<p>I have thought it would be well for me to read to
+you this address; but I did not feel that I had any
+right to revise it, or to make any change in it whatever;
+so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding
+only a word here and there which was omitted in
+the hurried writing.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
+and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a
+city.—Proverbs xvi. 32.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I want you to look with me at the latter part of
+each of these sentences, and see if we can’t understand
+a little better what Solomon meant by such
+words “<em>the mighty</em>” and “<em>he that taketh a city</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>Do you remember the wonderful dream that came
+to Solomon just after he had been made king over
+Israel? How God came to him while he was sleeping
+and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,”
+and how Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for
+wisdom. And God gave him wisdom, so that he
+became famous far and wide, and people from nations
+far off came to see him and learn of him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p>
+
+<p>If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man
+that ever lived, you would say “Solomon.” Often
+you have heard one person say of another, “he is as
+wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of
+the way in which Solomon showed this wonderful
+gift. But his knowledge was not that of books, because
+there were not a great many books then for
+him to read. It was the knowledge which showed
+him how to do <em>right</em>, and how to be a <em>good ruler</em>
+over his people. And because he chose such wisdom,
+the very best gift of God, God gave him besides,
+riches and everything that he could possibly desire.
+His horses and chariots were the most beautiful and
+the strongest; his armies were famous everywhere
+for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast
+numbers of servants to wait upon him, and to do
+his slightest wish. Presents, most magnificent, were
+sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
+about him. No king of Israel before or after him
+was so great and so powerful. And, greatest honor of
+all, God permitted him to build a temple for him—what
+his father David had so longed to do and was
+not allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s
+greatest desire before he died was to build a house
+for God. The ark of God had never had a house to
+rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
+palace to live in himself, and to have nothing
+but a <em>tent</em> in which to keep God’s ark. But God
+would not suffer him to do that, although he was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>
+king whom he loved so much. No, that must be
+kept for his son Solomon to do. David had been
+too great a fighter all his life; he had been at war;
+he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
+made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their
+foes. So David was a “mighty man,” and while
+Solomon was growing up he must have heard every
+one talking of the wonderful things his father had
+done from his youth up—the adventures he had had
+when he was only a poor shepherd lad keeping his
+flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
+must he have been told that splendid story, which
+we never grow tired of hearing, of his fight with the
+giant Goliath; and when he was shown the huge
+pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he
+surely knew what it was for a man to be “mighty”
+and “great.” And when his old father withdrew
+from the throne and made him king, he found himself
+surrounded on all sides with the results of his
+father’s wars and conquests, and soon knew that he
+also was “a mighty man.”</p>
+
+<p>There is not a boy here who does not want to be
+“great.” Every one of you wants to make a name
+for himself, or have something, or do something, that
+will be remembered long after he is dead.</p>
+
+<p>If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose
+almost all of you would say, “I want to be rich,
+so rich that I can do whatever I like; that I need
+not do any work; that I can go where I please.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>
+Some of you would say, “I would travel all over the
+world and write about what I see, so that long after
+I am dead people will read my books and say, ‘what
+a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I
+would build great houses, and fill them with all the
+richest and most beautiful goods. I would have
+whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
+bringing back wonderful things from strange countries;
+and when I would meet people in the street
+they would stand aside to let me pass, saying to one
+another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest
+merchant; how I should like to be as great as he.’”</p>
+
+<p>And still another would say: “I don’t care anything
+about books or beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll
+go into foreign countries and become a great fighter,
+and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
+shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of
+great armies, and when I come home again the people
+will give me a grand reception; will make arches
+across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
+and as I ride along the street the air will be filled
+with cheers for the great general.”</p>
+
+<p>And so each one of you would tell me of some
+way in which he would like to be great. I should
+think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
+one who would be entirely content to just get along
+somehow, and never care for any great success so
+long as he had enough to eat and drink and to
+clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span>
+to set his mind on obtaining some great object. It is
+perfectly right and proper to be ambitious, to try and
+make as much as possible of every opportunity that
+is presented. No one can read that parable of the
+master who called his servants to account for the
+talents he had given them, and not see that God
+gives us all the blessings and advantages that we
+have, in order that we may have an opportunity to
+put them to such good use, that He may say to us
+as the master in the parable said to his servants,
+“Well done, good and faithful servant.”</p>
+
+<p>So it is right for you to want to be great, and I
+want to try and tell you how to accomplish it. If
+you were sure that I could tell you the real secret of
+success you would listen very carefully to what I
+had to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even
+write down what I said. Then write <em>this</em> down in
+your hearts; for, following this, you will be greater
+than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is
+better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit,
+than he that taketh a city.” Are some of you disappointed?
+do you say, “<em>Is that all?</em> I thought he
+was about to tell us how we could make lots of
+money.” Ah, if you would only believe it, and follow
+such advice, such a plan were to be far richer
+than the man who can count his wealth by millions.
+But look at it in another way. What sort of a boy
+do you choose for the captain of a base-ball nine or a
+foot-ball team? What sort of a <em>man</em> is chosen for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span>
+a high position? Is he one who loses all control
+over himself when something happens to vex him,
+and flies into a terrible passion when some one happens
+to oppose him? No; the one you would select
+for any place of great responsibility is he who can
+keep his head clear, who will not permit himself to
+get angry at any little vexation, who rules his own
+spirit—and can there be anything harder to do? I
+tell you “no.”</p>
+
+<p>So, I have told you how to be successful, and at
+the same time I tell you, there is nothing harder to
+do; and now I go on still further, and say you can’t
+follow such advice by yourself, you must have some
+help. Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you
+freely; you are urged to ask for it, and you are
+assured that it is certain to come to all who want it.
+Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient,
+for He who shall help you is abundantly able
+to give you more than you ask or think. It is God
+who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
+you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which
+taketh the city; yes, for the greatness he shall bestow
+upon those who come to him is far above all
+earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you
+are ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift
+your hand to strike, when you would <em>kill</em> if you
+were not afraid; but when the wish is in your heart,
+yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks
+upon you in divine mercy, and if you will only let<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>
+him, will rebuke the foul spirit and command him to
+come out of you, and your whole soul shall be filled
+with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading
+voice, and let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger?
+And when the hot words fly to your lips, remember
+his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then will
+you have won a greater battle than any ever fought;
+for you will have conquered your own wicked spirit,
+and by God’s grace you are a conqueror. And the
+reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
+crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept
+<em>such</em> greatness?</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>Such are the words he would have spoken to you
+had his life been spared; and he would have
+spoken them with the great advantage of a <em>young
+man</em> speaking to <em>young men</em>. Now they seem like a
+message from the heavenly world. It is more than
+probable that in copying for delivery he would have
+expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
+little address more complete. Perhaps it would be
+better for me to stop here; ... but there are a few
+words which I would like to say, and it may be that
+they can be better said now than at any other time.</p>
+
+<p>I want to say again, what I have so often said,
+that a boy may be fond of all innocent games and
+plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you may
+doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion
+interferes with amusements and makes life gloomy.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>
+Here is an example of the contrary; for I do not see
+how there <em>could</em> be a happier life than my son’s
+(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one
+could be more fond of base-ball and foot-ball and
+cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he was a
+simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And
+with all this love of innocent pleasure and fun he
+neglected no business obligations, nor did he fail in
+any of the duties of social or family life. In short,
+I can wish no better thing for you boys than that
+your lives may be as happy and as beautiful as his
+was.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="TRUTHFUL">A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">April, 1889.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Can anything be more important to a young life
+than truthfulness? Is character worth anything at
+all if it is not founded on truth? And are not the
+temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly
+in your path?</p>
+
+<p>It is most interesting to think that every life here
+is an individual life, having its own history, and in
+many respects unlike every other life. When I see you
+passing through these grounds, going in procession to
+and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and
+your play-grounds, the question often arises in my
+thoughts, how many of these boys are walking in the
+truth?</p>
+
+<p>If I were looking for a boy to fill any position
+within my gift, or within the reach of my influence,
+and should seek such a boy among you, I should ask
+most carefully of those who know you best, whether
+such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech
+merely (that is, does he answer questions truthfully),
+but is he open and frank in his life? Does he cheat
+in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span>
+duty that is required of him in the shops? When
+he fails to recite his lessons accurately, is he very
+ready with his excuses trying to justify himself for
+his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not
+do his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better
+in the future? And is he one who may be depended
+upon to give a fair account of any incident that may
+come up for investigation? Sometimes there are
+wrong things done here, done from thoughtlessness
+often; may such a boy as I am looking for be depended
+upon to say what he knows about it, in a
+manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if
+necessary, expose the guilty? In other words, is he
+trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be depended on?</p>
+
+<p>It may not be easy for one at my time of life to
+say just what a boy ought to be, if he is to make
+much of a man. But we who think much of this
+subject have an idea of what we would like the boys
+to be, in whom we are especially interested. And
+if I borrow from another a description of what I
+mean, it is because this author has said it better than
+I can.</p>
+
+<p>“A real boy should be generous, courteous among
+his friends and among his school-fellows; respectful
+to his superiors, well-mannered. He must avoid
+loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue
+and his temper; must listen to advice and reproof
+with humility. He must be a gentleman. He
+must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>
+cringe to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak.
+To his teachers he must be obedient, for they have
+a right to require obedience of him; he must be
+respectful, because the true gentleman always respects
+those who are wiser, more experienced, better
+informed than himself. He must apply himself to
+his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge
+for its own sake, and earnestly striving to make
+the best possible use of such faculties as God has
+given him. He must do his best to store his mind
+with high thoughts by a careful study of all that
+is beautiful and pure. In his sports and plays he
+must seek to excel, if excellence can be obtained
+by a moderate amount of time and energy; but
+he must remember, that though it is a fine thing
+to have a healthy body and a healthy mind, it is
+neither necessary nor admirable to develop a muscular
+system like that of an athlete or a giant.
+Whatever falls to his hands to do, he must do it
+with his might, assured that God loves not the idle
+or dishonest worker. He must remember that life
+has its duties and responsibilities as well as its
+pleasures; that these begin in boyhood, and that
+they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
+mind and soul. He must train himself in all good
+habits, in order that these may accompany him
+easily in later life; in habits of method and order,
+of industry and perseverance and patience. He
+must not forget that every victory over himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span>
+smooths the way for future victories of the same
+kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue
+is to set us on higher and better ground for conquests
+of principle in all time to come. He must
+resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
+word and every improper suggestion, every profane
+utterance; guarding himself against the first approaches
+of sin, which are always the most insidiously
+made. He must not think it a brave or
+plucky thing to break wholesome rules, to defy
+authority, to ridicule age or poverty or feebleness,
+to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to
+throw away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities.
+He must love truth with a deep and passionate
+love, abhorring even the shadow of a lie,
+even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word,
+true in deed, he shall walk in the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest
+and diligent; be resolute to live a pure and honorable
+life; speak the truth like boys who hope to
+be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good
+to be merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons,
+be affectionate brothers, be loyal-hearted friends, and
+when you come to be men you will look back to
+these boyish days without regret and without shame.</p>
+
+<p>Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I
+am very desirous that your future shall be bright
+and useful and successful, and I, and others who
+are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>
+nothing but good of you; but we can have no
+greater joy than to hear that you are walking in
+the truth. Some of you may become rich men;
+some may become very prominent in public affairs;
+you may reach high places; you may fill a large
+space in the public estimation; you may be able
+and brilliant men; but there is nothing in your
+life that will give us so much joy as to hear
+that “you are walking in the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and
+without it character is absolutely worthless. No
+gentleness of disposition, no willingness to help
+other people, no habits of industry, no freedom
+from vicious practices, can make up for want of
+truthfulness of heart and life. Some persons think
+that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
+for the good of others, and do many generous
+and noble acts and have a good reputation,
+they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
+blamed. But they forget that reputation is not
+character; that one may have a very good reputation
+and a very bad character; they forget that the
+reputation is the outside, what we see of each other,
+while the character is what we are in the heart.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+<div class="tnote">
+<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
+   corrected.</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69531 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/old/69531-0.txt b/old/69531-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ea559a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4776 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Advice to young men and boys, by B. B.
+Comegys
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: Advice to young men and boys
+       A series of addresses delivered by B. B. Comegys to the pupils of
+       Girard College
+
+Author: B. B. Comegys
+
+Release Date: December 12, 2022 [eBook #69531]
+
+Language: English
+
+Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+             Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
+             images generously made available by The Internet
+             Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND
+BOYS ***
+
+
+
+
+
+                                ADVICE
+                                  TO
+                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _Stephen Girard._]
+
+
+
+
+                                ADVICE
+                                  TO
+                          YOUNG MEN AND BOYS
+
+                        _A SERIES OF ADDRESSES_
+
+
+                      DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS
+          MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA
+
+                  TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE
+
+
+                           ILLUSTRATED WITH
+                  Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel
+
+
+                             PHILADELPHIA
+                       GEBBIE & CO., Publishers
+                                 1890
+
+
+
+
+                        Copyright by
+                             GEBBIE & CO.,
+                                 1889.
+
+
+
+
+                               PREFACE.
+
+
+In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges of the Courts of Common
+Pleas of Philadelphia to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which
+has charge of Girard College, having for some years previously, by the
+kind partiality of President Allen, been on the staff of speakers in
+the Chapel on Sundays. My interest in the Pupils was of course at once
+increased, and ever since I have given much time and thought to the
+moral instruction of the boys.
+
+From the many Addresses made to them I have selected the following
+as fair specimens of the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
+repetitions of thought and language may be accounted for by the lapse
+of time between the giving of the Addresses, not forgetting the
+well-known Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line――precept upon precept――here
+a little――there a little.”
+
+The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr. Girard has been defined
+by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.
+
+The book is published in the hope that it may be the means of helping
+some boys and young men other than those to whom the Addresses were
+made.
+
+    4205 WALNUT ST.,
+        _November, 1889._
+
+
+
+
+                         CONTENTS.
+
+
+ STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE. (Introductory)     PAGE  9
+
+ HOW TO WIN SUCCESS                                   “  25
+
+ LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS              “  39
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH                        “  51
+
+ BAD ASSOCIATES                                       “  59
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD                   “  69
+
+ THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED                  “  79
+
+ WILLIAM PENN                                         “  99
+
+ OUR CONSTITUTION                                     “ 113
+
+ JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN                              “ 129
+
+ THE LEAF TURNED OVER                                 “ 143
+
+ THANKSGIVING DAY. (November 29, 1888)                “ 155
+
+ ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN                      “ 169
+
+ A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS                        “ 179
+
+ A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER                                 “ 188
+
+
+
+
+   LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ STEPHEN GIRARD      _Frontispiece._
+
+ B. B. COMEGYS                  PAGE 25
+
+ WILLIAM WELSH                    “  51
+
+ JAMES A. GARFIELD                “  69
+
+ JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN          “ 129
+
+ PROFESSOR W. H. ALLEN            “ 169
+
+
+
+
+                  STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.[A]
+
+                             INTRODUCTORY.
+
+[A] This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and
+Character of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”
+
+
+Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will “mariner and merchant,”
+was born near the city of Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age
+of twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his counting-house
+on Water street, above Market. He was a man of great industry and
+frugality, and lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day lived,
+in the dwelling of which his counting-house formed a part. He was
+married and had one child, but the death of his wife was followed
+soon by the death of his child, and he never married again. He lived
+to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what was considered at the
+time of his death a vast estate, more than seven millions of dollars.
+One hundred and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed to
+members of his family, sixty-five thousand as a principal sum for
+the payment of annuities to certain friends and former employés, one
+hundred and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities, five
+hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia for the improvement of
+its water front on the Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State
+of Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements, and an
+indefinite sum in various legacies to his apprentices, to sea-captains
+who should bring his vessels in their charge safely to port, and to his
+house servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in trust to the
+city of Philadelphia for the following purposes: (1) To erect, improve
+and maintain a college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish a
+better police system, and (3) to improve the city of Philadelphia and
+diminish taxation.
+
+The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart by his will for
+the construction of the college, and as soon as was practicable the
+executors appropriated certain securities for the purpose, the actual
+outlay for erection and finishing of the edifice being one million nine
+hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and twenty-one dollars
+and seventy-eight cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced May
+6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies on the Fourth
+of July following, and the completed buildings were transferred to
+the Board of Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There was thus
+occupied in construction a period of fourteen years and six months, the
+work being somewhat delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
+Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the estate. The
+design adopted was substantially that furnished by Thomas U. Walters,
+an architect elected by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
+rendered advisable by the change of site directed in the second codicil
+of Girard’s will, the original purpose having been to occupy the square
+bounded by Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in the heart
+of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard having, subsequently to the
+first draft of his will, purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the
+William Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge Road, known as
+the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed that the site of his college should
+be transferred to that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
+dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which dwellings and stores
+form part of his residuary estate.
+
+The college proper closely resembles in design a Greek temple. It is
+built of marble, which was chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery
+and Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont, Massachusetts.
+
+The building is three stories in height, the first and second being
+twenty-five feet from floor to floor, and the third thirty feet in the
+clear to the eye of the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
+and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width and thirty-two
+in height. The walls of the cella are four feet in thickness, and are
+pierced on each flank by twenty windows. At each end of the building
+is a vestibule, extending across the whole width of the cella, the
+ceilings of which are supported on each floor by eight columns, whose
+shafts are composed of a single stone. Those on the first floor are
+Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at Athens; on the second, a
+modified Corinthian, after the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at
+Athens; and on the third, a similar modification of the Corinthian,
+somewhat lighter and more ornate.
+
+The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white marble, dormitories,
+offices and laundries. A new refectory, containing improved ranges
+and steam cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
+of which will seat with ease more than one thousand persons. Two
+bathing-pools are in the western portion of the grounds, and others
+in basements of buildings. The houses are heated by steam and lighted
+by gas obtained from the city works. Thirty-five electric lights from
+seven towers one hundred and twenty-five feet high illuminate the
+grounds and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches in thickness
+and ten feet in height, strengthened by spur piers on the inside and
+capped with marble coping, surrounds the whole estate, its length
+being six thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
+more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced on the southern
+side, immediately facing the south front of the main building, for the
+chief entrance, this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
+lodges, between which stretches an ornamental wrought-iron grille, with
+wrought-iron gates, the whole forming an approach in keeping with the
+large simplicity of the college itself.
+
+The site upon which the college is erected corresponds well with
+its splendor and importance. It is elevated considerably above the
+general level of the surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous
+object, not only from the higher windows and roofs in every part of
+Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river many miles below the city and
+from eminences far out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
+view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the city and its environs
+for many miles around and the course, to their confluence, eight miles
+below, of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.
+
+The history of the institution commences shortly after the decease of
+Girard, when the Councils of Philadelphia, acting as his trustees,
+elected a Board of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
+1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A Building Committee was also
+appointed by the City Councils on the 21st of the following March, in
+whom was vested the immediate supervision of the construction of the
+college, an office in which they continued without intermission until
+the final completion of the structure.
+
+On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having previously been
+authorized by the Councils so to do, proceeded to elect Alexander
+Dallas Bache president of the college, and instructed him to visit
+various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase the necessary
+books and apparatus for the school, both of which he did, making an
+exhaustive report upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
+establish schools without awaiting the completion of the main building,
+but competent legal advice being unfavorable to the organization
+of the institution prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and
+difficulties having meanwhile arisen between the Councils and the Board
+of Directors, the ordinances creating the board and authorizing the
+election of the president were repealed.
+
+In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to whom the building was
+transferred, and on December 15, 1847, the officers of the institution
+were elected, the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
+Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being chosen as
+president. On January 1, 1848, the college was opened with a class of
+one hundred orphans, previously admitted, the occasion being signalized
+by appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same year one hundred
+more were admitted, and on April 1, 1849, an additional one hundred,
+since when others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred or to
+swell the number as facilities have increased. The college now (1889)
+contains thirteen hundred and seventy-five pupils.
+
+On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office of president of the
+college, and on the 23d of the following November William H. Allen, LL.
+D., Professor of Mental Philosophy and English Literature in Dickinson
+College, was elected to fill the vacancy. He was installed January 1,
+1850, but resigned December 1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith, of
+the United States army, was chosen to fill his place. Major Smith was
+inaugurated June 24, 1863, and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen
+being immediately re-elected and continuing in office until his death,
+on the 29th of August, 1882.
+
+The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D., LL. D., was elected
+December 27, 1882, by the Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed
+of fifteen members, three of whom――the Mayor and the Presidents of
+Councils――are _ex officio_, and twelve are appointed by the Judges
+of the Court of Common Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second
+Wednesday of each month.
+
+It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania that any child
+having lost its father is properly denominated an orphan, irrespective
+of whether the mother be living or not. This construction has been
+adopted by the college, the requirements for admission to the
+institution being prescribed by Mr. Girard’s will as follows: (1) The
+orphan must be a poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
+application for admission being received before the former age, nor
+can he be admitted into the college after passing his tenth birthday,
+even though the application has been made previously; (2) the mother
+or next friend is required to produce the marriage certificate of the
+child’s parents (or, in its absence, some other satisfactory evidence
+of such marriage), and also the certificate of the physician setting
+forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form of application looking to
+the establishment of the child’s identity, physical condition, morals,
+previous education and means of support, must be filled in, signed
+and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications are made at the
+office, No. 19 South Twelfth street, Philadelphia.
+
+A preference is given under Girard’s will to (_a_) orphans born in
+the city of Philadelphia; (_b_) those born in any other part of
+Pennsylvania; (_c_) those born in the city of New York; (_d_) those
+born in the city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans born
+in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be strictly limited to the
+old city proper, the districts subsequently consolidated into the city
+having no rights in this respect over any other portion of the State.
+
+Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly according to
+priority of application, the mother or next friend executing an
+indenture binding the orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee
+under Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided for by
+the college. The seventh item of the will reads as follows:
+
+“The orphans admitted into the college shall be there fed with
+plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent apparel (no
+distinctive dress ever to be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe
+manner. Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their
+persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable
+and rational exercise and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
+various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing,
+grammar, arithmetic, geography, navigation, surveying, practical
+mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
+the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid, but I do not
+recommend the Greek and Latin languages), and such other learning and
+science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
+I would have them taught facts and things, rather than words or signs.
+And especially, I desire, that by every proper means a pure attachment
+to our republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience,
+as guaranteed by our happy constitutions, shall be formed and fostered
+in the minds of the scholars.”
+
+Although the orphans reside permanently in the college, they are, at
+stated times, allowed to visit their friends at their houses and
+to receive visits from their friends at the college. The household
+is under the care of a matron, an assistant matron, prefects and
+governesses, who superintend the moral and social training of the
+orphans and administer the discipline of the institution when the
+scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are divided into
+sections, for the purposes of discipline, having distinct officers,
+buildings and playgrounds.
+
+The schools are taught chiefly in the main college building, five
+professors and forty eight teachers being employed in the duties of
+instruction; and the course comprises a thorough English commercial
+education, to which has been latterly added special schools of
+technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a large proportion of
+the orphans admitted into the college have had little or no preparatory
+education, the instruction commences with the alphabet.
+
+The order of daily exercises is as follows: the pupils rise at six
+o’clock; take breakfast at half-past six. Recreation until half-past
+seven; then assemble in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to
+the chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel exercises consist
+of singing a hymn, reading a chapter from the Old or New Testament, and
+prayer, after the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the various
+school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess of fifteen minutes,
+until twelve. From twelve until the dinner-hour, which is half-past
+twelve, they are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
+that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour, when they
+resume the school exercises, remaining without intermission until four
+o’clock. At four the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
+which they are on the play-ground until six, at which hour supper is
+served. The evening study hour lasts from seven to eight, or half-past
+eight, varying with the age of the pupils, the same difference being
+observed in their bedtimes, which are from half-past seven for the
+youngest until a quarter before nine for the older boys.
+
+On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section rooms at nine o’clock
+in the morning and at two in the afternoon for reading and religious
+instruction, and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at three
+in the afternoon they attend divine worship in the chapel. Here the
+exercises are similar to those held on week days, with the important
+addition of an appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
+of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether on Sundays or on
+week days, are invariably conducted by the president or other layman,
+the will of the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of any
+denomination whatsoever within the boundaries of the institution.
+
+The discipline of the college is administered through admonition,
+deprivation of recreation, and seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal
+punishment may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
+presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes an unfit companion
+for the rest, the Will says he shall not be permitted to remain in the
+college.
+
+The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing and educating each
+pupil, including current repairs to buildings and furniture and the
+maintenance of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between the
+age of fourteen and eighteen years the scholars may be indentured by
+the institution, on behalf of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some
+“art, trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
+as far as is judicious, the inclination and preference of the scholar.
+The master to whom an apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with
+sufficient meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at his own
+place of residence (unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to the
+indenture and so indorsed upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach
+and instruct the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,” and at
+the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish him with at least two
+complete suits of clothes, one of which shall be new. Should, however,
+a scholar not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave the
+college upon attaining the age of eighteen years. In case of death
+his friends have the privilege of removing his body for interment,
+otherwise his remains are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
+Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.
+
+Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are allowed to visit the
+college on the afternoon of every week day. Permits can be obtained
+from the Mayor of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at
+the office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South Twelfth street,
+Philadelphia, or at the office of the _Public Ledger_ newspaper.
+Especial courtesy is shown all foreign visitors, and particularly those
+interested in educational matters.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by influenza, which was then
+epidemic in the city. The violence of the disease greatly prostrated
+him, and, pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent that he
+could not live. He had no fear of death. About a month before this
+attack he had said: “When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
+unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going to die to-morrow I
+should plant a tree, nevertheless, to-day.”
+
+He died in the back room of his Water street mansion on December 26th,
+aged eighty-one years (or nearly), and four days after he was buried in
+the churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and Spruce streets.
+
+For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed where they had been
+laid in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard
+College having been completed, it was resolved that the remains of the
+donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus provided in its
+vestibule. This was done with appropriate ceremonies on September 30,
+1851.
+
+Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this attained, the
+longing of mankind to leave a shining memory merged his purpose in the
+establishment of what was to him that fairest of Utopias――the simple
+tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties ended not with
+the State, and whose benefactions were not limited to the rescue or
+advancement of its interests alone, but whose charities broadened
+beyond the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual life, to
+stretch over long reaches of the future, enriching thousands of poor
+children in his beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why he
+worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed object of his labor in
+acquisition. While he was forward with an apparent disregard of self,
+to expose his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
+to aid the internal improvements of the country, and to promote its
+commercial prosperity by all the means within his power, he yet had
+more ambitious designs. He wished to hand himself down to immortality
+by the only mode that was practicable for a man in his position, and
+he accomplished precisely that which was the grand aim of his life. He
+wrote his epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks and squares
+which adorn the streets of his adopted city, in the public works and
+eleemosynary establishments of his adopted State, and erected his own
+monument and embodied his own principles in a marble-roofed palace.
+Yet, splendid as is the structure which stands above his remains, the
+most perfect model of architecture in the New World, it yields in
+beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor sleeps among the orphan
+poor whom his bounty is constantly educating.
+
+“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily stretches forth
+his invisible hands to lead some friendless child from ignorance to
+usefulness. And when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
+made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed and educated, and many
+men made useful to their country and themselves, each happy home or
+rescued child or useful citizen will be a living monument to perpetuate
+the name and embalm the memory of the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”
+
+
+
+
+                          BOARD OF DIRECTORS
+                                  OF
+                             CITY TRUSTS,
+                                 1889.
+
+
+                    W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, _President,
+            Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees_.
+
+                    LOUIS WAGNER, _Vice-President_.
+
+                         ALEXANDER BIDDLE,
+                         JAMES CAMPBELL,
+                         JOSEPH L. CAVEN,
+                         BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,
+                         JOHN H. CONVERSE,
+                         WILLIAM L. ELKINS,
+                         WILLIAM B. MANN,
+                         JOHN H. MICHENER,
+                         GEORGE H. STUART,
+                         RICHARD VAUX.
+
+
+                  MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”
+
+                       EDWIN H. FITLER, _Mayor_.
+              JAMES R. GATES, _President Select Council_.
+             WILLIAM M. SMITH, _President Common Council_.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+    F. CARROLL BREWSTER, _Solicitor_.
+        FRANK M. HIGHLEY, _Secretary_.
+            JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., _Supt. Admission and Indentures_.
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _B. B. Comegys._]
+
+
+
+
+                          HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.
+
+                             May 27, 1888.
+
+
+I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the plainest duties of
+life――of what you must be, of what you must do, if you would be good
+men and succeed.
+
+It would be strange if one who has lived as long as I have should not
+have learned something worth knowing and worth telling to those who are
+younger and less experienced. I have had much to do with young people
+here and elsewhere, and I have seen many failures, much disappointment,
+many wrecks of character, and have learned many things; and I speak to
+you to-day in the hope that I may say such things as will help some
+boy, at least one, to determine, while he is here this morning, to do
+the best he can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
+are particularly appropriate to those just about to leave the college.
+
+It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject――
+
+    1. As to health.
+    2. As to improvement of the mind.
+    3. As to business or work of any kind.
+    4. As to your duties to other people.
+    5. As to your duty to God.
+
+As to health. You cannot be happy without good health, and
+you cannot expect to have good health unless you observe certain
+conditions. You must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that is
+within reach, or by other simple methods (such as a common brush) which
+are always within your reach. Be as much in the open air as possible.
+This is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and sedentary,
+such as that of a clerk in any shop or office. Pure, fresh air is
+Nature’s own provision for the well-being of all her creatures, and is
+the best of all tonics.
+
+Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat food that is too
+highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t be afraid of fruit in season and
+when it is ripe. But don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
+apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food provided here, accounts
+for the extraordinarily good health which almost all of you enjoy.
+
+Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating drinks. And the only
+way to be absolutely safe is not to drink even a little, or once in a
+while. Don’t drink at all.
+
+Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not later than eleven
+o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A young fellow who goes to work
+at seven o’clock in the morning can’t afford to keep late hours.
+Young people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot safely
+disregard this hint. Late hours are always more or less injurious,
+especially when you are away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
+temptations of the streets and at the theatres.
+
+As to public entertainments or recreations in the evening, go to no
+place of seeing or hearing where you would not be willing to take your
+mother or sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely to be
+hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons, and gambling houses,
+or parties. You cannot be too careful about your recreations; let them
+be simple and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.
+
+Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing, or spitting, or
+swearing, or others that are injurious to yourselves or disagreeable
+to other people. All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
+clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at work――this is not
+always possible――but when going and coming to and from work.
+
+Always give place to women in the streets, in street-cars, or in
+other places. Do not rush into street-cars first to get seats. A true
+gentleman will wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit in
+street-cars, while women are standing, unless you are very, very tired.
+Here is a temptation before you every day almost in our city. Hardly
+anything is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars while
+women are standing and holding on to straps. And yet I see this every
+day. What is a boy good for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if
+he can give a woman or an old man a seat?
+
+If you are so favored as to have a few days or two weeks holiday in
+summer, go to the country or to the sea-shore, if your means will
+allow. The country air or sea air is better for you than almost any
+other change.
+
+Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well dressed――not, however, at
+your tailor’s expense. It is the duty of all to be well dressed, but
+don’t spend all your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
+on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for clothing when it is
+nearly or quite worn out. By all means keep out of debt, for your
+personal or family expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
+you can very soon repay your dealer the money you owe. The difference
+between ease and comfort, and distress, in money matters, is whether
+you spend a little more than you make, or a little less than you make.
+Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty sure to come, and you must
+lay up something for that day.
+
+Very much of the crime that is committed every day (and you cannot open
+a paper without seeing an account of some one who has gone wrong) is
+because people will live beyond their means; will spend more than they
+earn. They hope for an increase of pay, or that they will make money in
+some way or other, and then when that good time does not come, and as
+they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something, only borrowing
+it as they say, but they take it and spend it, or pay some pressing
+debt with it, and then, and then――they are caught, and sent to court,
+and tried and sent to――well, you know without my telling you.
+
+As to the mind.
+
+You have fine opportunities for education here, but they will soon be
+over, and if you leave this college without having a good knowledge
+of the practical branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
+Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will be at a great
+disadvantage with other boys who are well educated. I had a letter in
+my pocket a few days ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the
+Moyamensing Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar; and next to
+the horror of knowing he was in prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so
+ignorant of the very commonest branches of English education should
+have ever been within the walls of this college.
+
+I think I have told you before of a man who employs a large number of
+men, whose business amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
+in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and who a few years
+ago was robbed and almost ruined by his book-keeper, and who would now
+give half of what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could
+understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent upon other people
+to keep his accounts.
+
+As to books, be careful what you read. How it grieves me to see errand
+boys in street-cars, and sometimes as they walk in the streets, reading
+such stuff as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste of time,
+though that is bad enough, but a positive injury to the mind, filling
+it with the most improbable stories, and often, also, with that which
+is positively vicious. Read something better than this. Do not confine
+yourselves to newspapers, and do not read police reports. Attractive
+as this class of reading is, it is for the most part hurtful to the
+young mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good reading, magazines
+and periodicals; and books and books, good, bad, indifferent; and you
+will hardly know which to choose unless you ask others who are older
+than you, and who know books. Most boys read little but novels; and
+there are many thoroughly good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and
+historical. Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money; for you
+can get everything you want out of the public libraries; and this was
+not so, or at least to this extent, when I was a boy.
+
+As to work or business.
+
+Set out with the determination that you will be faithful in everything.
+Only last week a Girard boy called on me to help him get employment.
+I asked him some questions, and he told me that he had been out of
+the college five or six years, and had five or six situations. Do you
+think he had been faithful in anything? If he had been, he would not
+have lost place after place. When you get a place, and I hope every
+one of you will have a place provided for you before you leave here,
+be among the first to arrive in the morning, and be among the last to
+leave at the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination of base
+ball or anything else lead you to forget that your first duty is to
+your employer. Be quick to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself,
+“It is not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s place,”
+but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and let it be seen that
+you are ready for any work. And be very prompt to answer. Do whatever
+you are told. Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and say
+“good-morning” as if you meant it. In short, do not be slovenly in
+anything you have to do; be alive, and remember all the time that no
+labor is degrading.
+
+Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect, and your
+fellow-clerks or workers, whether superiors, inferiors or equals, with
+hearty good-will.
+
+Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if your employer do
+so, he will despise you for doing so. No matter if he is untruthful,
+he will respect you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge in
+or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does this, and you can
+be a real gentleman even if you are poor, for you will be educated.
+Make yourself indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
+possible, and it will almost certainly insure success. Be ambitious in
+the highest sense. Remember, that if not now, you will hereafter have
+others dependent upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
+for a boy to go out from this college with the determination to support
+his mother; and some that I know and you know are doing this, and many
+others will do it.
+
+I pause here to say that, so far, my words have been spoken as to your
+duties to the world, to yourselves. I have supposed that you boys would
+rather be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather own teams than
+drive them for other people, that you would rather be a contractor than
+carry the pick and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer than
+carry the hod, that you would rather be a house-builder than a shoveler
+of coal into the house-builder’s cellar. Is it not so?
+
+Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell you, and avoid
+everything I have warned you against, you cannot succeed in the best
+sense, you cannot become true men, such men as the city has a right to
+expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of God; for he holds all
+things in his hands. “The silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle
+upon a thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be against us?
+
+In these closing words, then, I would speak to you as to your duty to
+God.
+
+What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell you anything that you do
+not already know, so often have you been talked to about this subject.
+But nothing is so important for you to be reminded of, though I fear
+that to some of you hardly anything is so uninteresting. Naturally the
+heart is disinclined to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
+do without him, though many people think they can, or they act as if
+they thought so. Such people are not wise; they are very foolish.
+
+He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with infinite love and
+care, he has appointed the time for our departure from this life, and
+he has prepared a better life than this for those who love him here. We
+cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all things are in
+his hands. If you will think of it, some of the best men and women you
+know are believers in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
+you can do without him?
+
+Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship of those who love
+and fear God, both men and women. You are safe with such; you are not
+quite so sure of safety in the society of those who openly say they
+can do without God. When I speak of those who fear God, I do not mean
+merely professors of religion, not merely members of meeting or members
+of church, but I mean people who live such lives as people ought to
+live, who fear God and keep his commandments. You know there are such,
+you have met with them, you will meet many more of them, and you will
+meet also those who call themselves Christians, but whose lives show
+that they have no true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists, mere
+professors.
+
+Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean, read it, a little of it at
+least, every day. You need not read much, it is well sometimes that you
+read but a little; but read it with a purpose――that is, to understand
+it. The literature of the Bible as you grow older will abundantly repay
+your careful and constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
+treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument of Horace Binney,
+Esq., in the Girard will case, I was surprised to see how familiar Mr.
+Binney was with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers that
+has ever lived in our own or any other country. Yet Mr. Binney thought
+it quite worth his while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
+it is worth your while also?
+
+Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not say what church it
+shall be. That must be left to yourselves to determine, and many
+circumstances will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
+some church, and, when you become more interested in the subject than
+you are now, join that church, whatever it may be, and so connect
+yourselves with people who believe in and love God. If there be a
+Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so learn to study
+the Scriptures systematically.
+
+Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every night and every
+morning and pray to God. You are not so likely to be ashamed if you
+have a room to yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this even if
+there are others in the room with you, as will be the case with many of
+you. This is a severe test, I know, but he who bears it faithfully will
+already have gained a victory.
+
+Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the twelfth chapter of the
+Gospel according to St. Luke: “Take heed and beware of covetousness,
+for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
+possesseth.”
+
+On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered here many men,
+a great company, who were trained in this college, and who, after
+graduation, went out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
+a most interesting time, not only for them but for the teachers and
+officers who have had charge of them.
+
+Some of them are successful men in the highest and best sense, and have
+made themselves a name and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
+clerks, mechanics, railroad men――men representing almost all kinds of
+business and occupations――came here in great numbers to celebrate the
+anniversary of the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was
+a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more. I do not know their
+names; for many of them had left before I began to come here; but
+from certain expressions that fell from the lips of some of them I am
+persuaded that they, at least, are walking in the truth.
+
+It would be very interesting if we could know their thoughts, and see
+with what feelings they look back on their school-life. I wonder if
+any of them regret that they did not make a better use of their time
+while here. I wonder if any feel that they would like to become boys
+again and go to school over again, being sure that, with their present
+experience of life, they would set a higher value on the education of
+the schools. I wonder if any feel that they would have reached higher
+positions and secured a larger influence if they had been more diligent
+at school. I wonder if there are any who can trace evil habits of
+thought to the companions they had here. I wonder if any are aware of
+evil impressions which they made on their classmates and so cast a
+stain and a dark shadow on other young lives, stains never obliterated,
+shadows never wholly lifted. I wonder if there are any among them who
+regret that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God in their
+school-days was neglected, and who have never had so favorable an
+opportunity since. “If some who come back here on these commemoration
+days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects, they would
+be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”
+
+I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger boys, to give most
+earnest attention to the duties which lie before you every day. You
+will not misunderstand me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose that
+I would interfere in the least degree with the pleasures which belong
+to your time of life. I would not lessen them in the least; on the
+contrary, I would encourage you, and help you in all proper recreation,
+in all sports and plays. The boy who does not enjoy play is not a happy
+boy, and is not very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man. But
+it is quite possible, as some of you know, to enjoy in the highest
+degree all healthful sports, and at the same time to be industrious
+and conscientious in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the boys
+in this college shall be boys of the best, the highest type; that they
+“shall walk in the truth.” There are, alas, many boys who have gone
+through this college, and fully equipped (as well as their teachers
+could equip them), have been launched out into life and come to naught.
+I do not know their names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
+the fact.
+
+Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I want to discharge my duty
+to you as faithfully as I can. I know some of the difficulties of life,
+for they have been in my path. I know some of the fierce temptations
+to which boys and young men are exposed, for I have felt these assaults
+in my own person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I am a
+sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards you, I come with these
+plain, earnest words, and I urge you to look up to God, and ask him to
+help you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.
+
+
+
+
+               LIFE――ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.
+
+                            March 12, 1885.
+
+
+I propose to speak to you now of some plain and practical duties which
+await you in life; and, as there are many boys here who are anxiously
+looking for the time when they will leave the college to make their way
+in the world, some of whom will probably have left the college before
+I come again, I speak more especially to them. And my first words are
+words of congratulation, and for these reasons:
+
+1. _Because you are young._ And this means very much. You have an
+enormous advantage over people that are your seniors. Other things
+being equal, you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
+living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting by the mistakes
+committed by those who precede you, and if you are not blind, you can
+avail yourselves of the successes they have achieved.
+
+You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You are full of courage and
+endurance. You can grapple with difficult subjects and with a strong
+hand. And if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves and
+start anew. In short, life is before you, and you look forward with the
+inspiration of hope, and it may be, also, of determination.
+
+2. I congratulate you also _because you are poor_. You have your own
+way to make in the world. You know already that if you achieve success,
+it must be because you exert yourselves to the very utmost. Indeed, you
+must depend upon yourselves, and this means that you must do everything
+in your power that is right to do, to help yourselves.
+
+You must understand that there is no royal road to _success_, any more
+than there is to _learning_, and that there is no time to trifle.
+If you were rich men’s sons, these remarks would have no special
+pertinence, or importance.
+
+My congratulations are quite in order also because very many, if not
+_most_ of the high places in our country, are held by those who once
+were poor lads.
+
+Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if one is to be
+congratulated on his poverty, do fathers toil early and late, denying
+themselves needed recreation, not ceasing when they have accumulated
+a good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires――why
+do they so much dread to leave their sons to struggle for a living?”
+More than one answer might be given to these questions. Some fathers
+have so little faith in God’s providence that they forget his goodness,
+which _now_ takes care of their families through the instrumentality
+of parents; and who can continue that care through other means, just
+as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority says that “they
+who will be rich, fall into temptations and snares,” one of which is
+that the race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits and
+amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he can’t change his habits,
+he has no other mental resources――he must work or perish.
+
+Do not, then, let the fact that you are _poor_ discourage you in the
+least――it is rather an advantage.
+
+3. But again I congratulate you, because _your lot is cast in America_.
+Do not smile at this. I am not on the point of flying the American
+eagle, nor of raising the stars and stripes. It _is_, however, a good
+thing to have been born in this country. For in all important respects
+it is the most favored of all lands. It is the fashion with certain
+people to disparage our government and its institutions; and one must
+admit that in some particulars there might be improvement, and will
+be some day; but, notwithstanding these defects, it is unquestionably
+true that it is the best government on earth. Is there any country
+where a poor young man has opportunities as good as he has here, to
+get on in life? Is there any obstacle or hindrance whatever, outside
+of himself, in the way of his success? If a young man has good health
+of mind and body, and a fair English education and good manners, and
+will be honest and industrious, is he not much more certain to attain
+success, in one way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
+You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights under the law. There
+is no caste here, that curse of monarchies. There is no aristocracy in
+sentiment or in power, no House of Lords, no established church, no law
+of primogeniture. One man is as good as another under the law as long
+as he behaves himself.
+
+If you want further evidence, only look for a moment at the condition
+of the seething, surging masses of Europe, and the continual
+apprehensions of a general war. Before this year 1885 has run its
+course the United States may be almost the only country among the great
+powers that is not involved in war.
+
+And if still further illustration were needed, let me point to that
+most extraordinary scene enacted in Washington some weeks ago.
+
+A great political party, which has held control of this government
+nearly a quarter of a century, and which has exercised almost unlimited
+power, yields most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
+all honor and patronage, to the will of the people who have chosen a
+new administration. And everybody regards it as a matter of course.
+
+Was such a thing ever known before? And could such a thing occur
+anywhere else among the nations?
+
+Once more, I congratulate you _because you live in Philadelphia_. Ah,
+now we come to a most interesting point. Most of you were born here,
+and you come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all large
+cities. More to be desired as a place to live in than Washington, the
+seat of government, the most beautiful of all American cities, or New
+York, with its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston, with its
+boasted intellectual society.
+
+They may call us the “_Quaker City_,” or the “_worst paved city_,” or
+the “_slow city_,” or the “city of rows of houses exactly alike;” but
+these houses are the homes of separate families, and in a very large
+degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot say as much of any
+other city in the world. Although there are doubtless many instances
+in the oldest part of the city, and among the improvident poor, where
+more than one family will be found in the same house, yet these are
+the exceptions and not the rule; and so far as I know there is not one
+“tenement house” in this great city that was built for the purpose of
+accommodating several families at the same time. I need not point you
+to New York and Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
+twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do people
+prevail, utterly destroying that most cherished domestic life of which
+we have been so proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
+with its demoralizing associations and results; nor shall I describe
+the awful tenement houses in those two cities, where the poor are
+crowded like animals in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb
+creatures do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
+else that makes life desirable.
+
+Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia is the most
+desirable for the young man who must make his own way in the world....
+
+And having shown you how favorable are the conditions which are
+about you, the next point is, What will you do when you set out for
+yourselves?
+
+All of you are _expecting_ when you leave school to be employed by
+somebody, or engaged in some business. And I suppose you may be looking
+to me to give you some hints how to take care of yourselves, or how to
+behave in such relations.
+
+I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.
+
+I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed, it would be necessary
+first to define the word. And there are several definitions that might
+be given. One of the shortest and best would be in these words, “A life
+well spent.” That’s success. And this definition shall be my model.
+
+Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition be, not to get
+through quickly, not to go over much ground in text-books, but to
+master thoroughly everything before you. If you knew how little
+thorough instruction there is, you would thank me for this. There are
+so many half-educated people from schools and colleges that one cannot
+help believing that the terms of graduation are very easy. There have
+been, and are now, graduates of colleges who cannot add up a long
+column of figures correctly, nor do an example in simple proportion,
+nor write a letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes of
+grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say nothing of perspicuity and
+unity and general good taste.
+
+It is quite surprising to find how helpless some young men are in the
+simple matter of writing letters; an art with which, in these days of
+cheap postage and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
+to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try to-morrow to write a
+note of twenty lines on any subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it
+for criticism to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
+calling one of his young men, and directing him to write a letter to
+one of his correspondents, saying such and such things, and bring it to
+him for his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the letter
+is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let it go out of his office?
+
+It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief business of life,
+not the only thing of importance in a counting-house, but it is an
+elegant accomplishment, and most desirable of attainment.
+
+Let me say some words about shorthand writing. In this day of push and
+drive and hurry, when so many things must be done at once, there is
+an increasing demand for shorthand writers. In fact, business as now
+conducted cannot afford to do without this help. It often occurs that
+a principal in a business house cannot take the time to write long
+letters. Why should he? It does not pay to have one that is occupied in
+governing and controlling great interests, or in the receipt of a large
+salary, tied to a desk writing letters, or reports, or statements of
+any kind. He must _talk off_ these things; and he must be an educated
+man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and accurate expression
+that his dictation may almost be taken to be final. He wants a clerk
+who can take down his words with literal accuracy, and who will be
+able to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and submit the
+complete paper to his chief for his signature. The demand for this
+kind of service is increasing every day, and some of you now listening
+to me will be so employed. See that you are ready for it when your
+opportunity comes.
+
+If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in an insurance
+company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote yourself to your
+particular duties, whatever they may be. And don’t be too particular as
+to what kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be work that
+you think belongs to the porter; no matter if it is, do it, and do it
+as well as the porter can, or even better.
+
+Let none of you, therefore, think that anything you are likely to be
+called upon to do is beneath you. Do it, and do it in the best manner,
+and you may not have to do it for a long time.
+
+Make yourself indispensable to your employer. You can do that; it
+is quite within your power, and it may be that you may get to be an
+employer yourself; indeed it is more than probable; but you must work
+for it.
+
+If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house or public
+institution, remember that you are in a position of trust and
+responsibility. When you make errors do not erase the error; draw faint
+red or black lines through it and write correct characters over the
+error. Do not hide your errors of any kind. Do not misstate anything
+in language or figures. Everybody makes errors at some time or other,
+but everybody does not admit and apologize for them. The honest man is
+he who _does_ admit and apologize, and does so without waiting to be
+detected.
+
+There have been of late some deplorable instances of betrayal of trust
+in our city. I may as well call it by its right name, stealing. The
+culprits are now suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
+While I am speaking to you there are men, young and _not_ young, in our
+city who are _now_ stealing, and who are falsifying their books in the
+vain hope that it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day when
+they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a holiday; who cannot
+afford to be sick, lest absence for a single day may disclose their
+guilt. What a horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks or
+their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but it may be their last
+day in that place.
+
+And the day will come, most surely, when _you_ will be tempted as
+these wretched ones have been tempted. In what shape the temptation
+may come, or when, no human being knows. The suggestion will be made,
+that by the use of a little money you may make a good deal; that the
+venture is perfectly safe; some one tells you so, and points to this
+one or that one who has tried it and made money. It is only a little
+thing; you can’t lose much; you _may_ make enough to pay for the cost
+of your summer holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
+you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better beer, or buy a
+gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything else; _you can’t lose much_.
+You have no money of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
+be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you do it? No! Let
+nothing induce you to take the first dollar not your own. It is the
+_first_ step that counts.
+
+But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget it. Suppose the
+time comes when you find that you _have_ taken something that was not
+yours, and that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what then?
+Why, go at once to your employer; tell him the whole story; keep back
+nothing; throw yourself upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
+than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is no possibility of
+continuous concealment. Tell it now before you are detected, and, if
+you must be disgraced, the sooner the better.
+
+Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too much? Oh, boys, young
+men, if you knew the frightful danger that you may be in some day, the
+subtle temptations that will beset you, the many instances of weakness
+about you, the shipwrecks of character, the utter ruin that comes to
+sisters and to innocent wives and children by the crimes of brothers,
+husbands and fathers, as we who are older know, you would not wonder
+that I speak as I do.
+
+Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation, weakens confidence
+in human character. For every such instance of wrong-doing is a stab
+at _your_ integrity if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
+fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by their employers,
+men who are hedged about by the sacredness of domestic ties, on whom
+the happiness of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men who
+claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little by little;
+they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up their tracks, cannot do it
+long, are caught, tried, convicted, sentenced and imprisoned. Then
+the question may be asked about you or me: “How do we know that Mr.
+So-and-So is any better than those who have fallen?” Don’t you see
+that these culprits are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
+society, _your_ enemies and _mine_?
+
+If the names of those who are now serving out their sentences in
+the public prisons for stealing, not petty theft, but stealing and
+defrauding in larger sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
+papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored names and blighted
+lives and ruined homes, and how the memory would recall some whom we
+knew in early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol of fond
+wives and lovely children; and we should turn away with sickening
+horror from the record! But, if there should appear in the same papers
+the names of those who are _now engaged in stealing and defrauding_
+and _falsifying entries_, who are not yet caught, but who may, before
+this year is out, be caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
+revelation _that_ would be!
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.
+
+But do not think that it is for your future in _this_ life only that
+I am concerned. Life does not end here, though it may seem to do so.
+Our life in this world is a mere _beginning_ of existence. It is the
+_future_, the _endless_ life before us, that we should prepare for; and
+no preparation is worth the name except that of a pure, an upright and
+honorable life, that depends for its support on the love and the fear
+of God. You must accept him as your Father, you must honor him and obey
+him, and so consecrating your young lives to his service, trust him to
+care for you with his infinite love and care.
+
+
+
+
+                   [Illustration: _William Welsh._]
+
+
+
+
+                    ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,
+            _First President of the Board of City Trusts_.
+
+                          February 22, 1878.
+
+
+When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to persuade you to
+adopt the thought so aptly set forth by one of the old Hebrew kings,
+Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
+thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the most conspicuous
+examples of working with all his might, and so much of whose work was
+done for you, whom you so often saw standing where I now stand, I
+little thought that his work on earth was so nearly done. Last Sunday
+he addressed you here. One, two, three services he conducted for the
+boys of this college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory
+for the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to say from my
+knowledge of his method of doing things that these services were all
+conducted in the best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
+his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided in his acts or
+speech, but that he took hold of his subject with a firm grasp, and
+did not let go until the service was finished. It is very natural
+that we should desire to know as much as we can about a life that
+has come so close to us as the life of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if
+we may, what it was that made him the man that he was. The thousands
+of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s Church on the day of
+the funeral, as many of you saw; the very large number of citizens
+of the highest distinction who united in the solemn services; the
+profound interest manifested everywhere among all classes of society;
+the closing of places of business at the hour of these services; the
+flags at half-mast, all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
+assured us that no common man had gone from among us. What was it that
+made him no common man? What was there in his life and character that
+lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant? In other places,
+and by those most competent to speak, will the complete picture of
+his life be drawn, but what was there in his life which particularly
+interests you college boys? It will surprise you probably when I tell
+you that his early education――the education of the schools――was very
+limited. He was not a college-bred man. At a very early age (as early
+as fourteen, I believe) he left school and went into his father’s
+store. You know that he could not have had much education at that age.
+And he went into the store, not to be a gentleman clerk to sit in the
+counting-house and copy letters and invoices, and do the bank business
+and lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything that
+came to hand, rough and smooth, hard and easy, dirty and clean, for
+in those days the duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
+porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was not so heavy as
+the robust porter’s. And even when he grew older and stronger he would
+go down into the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore in
+the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the days were long then: there
+were no office hours from nine to three o’clock, but merchants and
+their clerks dined near the middle of the day, and were back at their
+stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and stayed and worked until
+the day was done. So this young clerk worked all day, and went home at
+night tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through the next
+day and the next in the same manner. But not only to rest and sleep.
+The body was tired enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
+not tired. He early knew the importance of mental discipline, of mental
+cultivation. He knew that a half-educated man is no match for one
+thoroughly equipped, and so he set himself to the task of making up,
+as far as he could, for that deficiency of systematic education which
+his early withdrawal from school made him regret so much. What definite
+means or methods he resorted to to accomplish this I cannot tell you,
+for I have not learned; but the fact that he did very largely overcome
+this most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have ever met
+him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly at ease in circles where
+men must be well informed or be very uncomfortable. As the President
+of this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen of the
+highest professional and general culture, he was quite equal to any
+exigency which ever arose. All this you must know was the result of
+education, not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but that
+which he acquired himself after his school life. He was careful about
+his associates. Then, as now, the streets were alive with boys and
+young men of more than questionable character. And the thought which
+has come up in many a boy’s mind after his day’s work was done, must
+have come up in his mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
+with companions of my own age and have a good time? Why should I be
+so strict while others have more freedom and enjoy themselves so much
+more?” I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and that he was a
+free, hearty boy in them all, but I cannot suppose, for his after life
+gave no evidence of it, his general good health, his muscular wiry
+frame forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful pleasures
+passed beyond that line which separates the good from the bad, the pure
+from the impure. Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.
+
+William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean by that he was not lazy.
+A large part of the failures in life are attributable to the love of
+ease. We choose the soft things; we turn away from those which are
+hard. We are deterred by the abstruse, the obscure; we are attracted
+by the simple, the plain. A really strong character will grapple
+with any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A character
+naturally weak may be developed by culture and discipline into one of
+real strength, but the process is very slow and very discouraging. A
+life that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on other
+lives, on society, must have these struggles, this training. I do not
+know minutely the characteristics of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this
+particular, but I infer most emphatically that his strong character was
+formed by continuous, laborious, exacting self-application.
+
+I would now speak of that quality which is so valuable (I will not say
+so rare), so conspicuously and so immeasurably important, personal
+integrity. Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest degree. He was most
+emphatically an honest man. No thought of anything other than this
+could ever have entered into the mind of any one who knew him. All
+men knew that public or private trusts committed to him were safe.
+Mistakes in judgment all are liable to, but of conscious deflection
+from the right path in this respect he was incapable. His high position
+as President of the Board of City Trusts, which includes, among other
+large properties, the great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of
+Philadelphia, proves the confidence this community had in his personal
+character. His private fortune was used as if he were a trustee. He
+recognized the hand of God in his grand success as a merchant, and he
+felt himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure. If he enjoyed
+a generous mode of living for himself and his family――a manner of life
+required by his position in the community――he more than equalized it by
+his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was conscientious and liberal
+(rare combination) in his benefactions, for he felt that he held his
+personal property in trust.
+
+Such are a few of the traits in the character of the man whose life
+on earth was so suddenly closed on Monday last. Under Providence, by
+which I mean the blessing of God, that blessing which is just as much
+within your reach as his, these are some of the conditions of his
+extraordinary success. His self-culture, the choice of his companions
+his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion, made the man what
+he was. I cannot here speak of his work in that church which he loved
+so much. I do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have reason to
+believe that, next to his own family, his affections were placed on
+you. He could never look into your faces without having his feelings
+stirred to their profoundest depths. He loved you――in the best, the
+truest sense, he loved you. He was willing to give any amount of his
+time, his thought, his care, to you. The time he spent in the chapel
+was a very small part of the time he gave to his work for you. You were
+upon his heart constantly. I do not know――no one can know――but if it be
+possible for the spirits of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes
+of earth――to come back and look upon those they loved so much when in
+the flesh――I am sure his spirit is here to-day――this, his first Sabbath
+in Heaven――looking into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
+out among you, and wishing that all of you may make such use of your
+grand opportunity here as will insure your success in the life which
+is before you when you leave these college walls, and especially as
+will insure your entering into the everlasting life. Such was his life,
+full of activity, generosity, self-denial, eminently religious, in
+the best sense successful. He was never at rest; his heart was always
+open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except to himself. He wanted
+everybody to be religious. He died in the harness; no time to take it
+off; no wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance, not in
+retreat. He never turned his back on anything that was right. His eye
+was not dim; his natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
+that it seemed only stepping from one room in his Father’s house to
+another. We are reminded of the beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray
+describes the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of the Charter
+House School, after a life spent in fighting the enemies of his country
+abroad, and the enemies of the good in society at home. “At the usual
+evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and Thomas Newcome’s hands
+outside the bed feebly beat time. And just as the last bell struck,
+a peculiar sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his head a
+little and quickly said _Adsum_, and fell back. It was the word they
+used at school when names were called, and lo, he, whose heart was
+as that of a little child, had answered to his name and stood in the
+presence of ‘The Master.’”
+
+
+
+
+                            BAD ASSOCIATES.
+
+                          November 11, 1888.
+
+
+I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of evil company, a
+danger to which you will necessarily be exposed when you go out from
+this college to make your way in life.
+
+The desire for companionship sometimes leads people, and especially
+young people, into bad company. A boy finds himself associated with a
+schoolmate, a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive in
+manners, full of fun, but who is not what he ought to be in character.
+
+No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or young have some
+points that are not repulsive, and sometimes the very bad are
+attractive in some respects. A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
+into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in the conduct of his
+new friends which is particularly out of the way. The conversation is
+somewhat guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad, and, for
+a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings; but, after a while, the
+mask is thrown off and the true character is revealed. Then very soon
+the mind of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that corrupt
+and defile it. All that is polluting in talk and story and song is
+poured out. Books and papers, so vile that it is a breach of law to
+sell them, are read and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
+and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the mind and heart of
+their son are so polluted and depraved that no human power can save him.
+
+I very well remember a boy older than myself who, early in life, gave
+himself up to vile company and vile books and vile habits, and who,
+long ago――almost as soon as he reached an early manhood――sunk, under
+the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored grave, but not until
+he had defiled and depraved many a boy who came under his influence.
+Better would it have been for his companions if their daily walks and
+playgrounds had been infested with venomous serpents, to bite and sting
+their bare feet, than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
+all uncleanness.
+
+It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances may throw us
+among them; the providence of God may send us there, but we ought never
+to _seek_ such company, except for good purposes. What I mean is that
+we ought not to seek such associates, however agreeable they may be in
+other respects, and not to remain among them except for their good.
+
+There are wicked people in every community, of all ages. We cannot
+altogether avoid contact with them. We find them among our schoolmates
+and in the walks of business.
+
+Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever ruined by evil
+companions. A corrupt literature is bad enough, but evil companions are
+more numerous and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers have
+slain their thousands; bad companions have slain their ten thousands. I
+can recall the names of many who were led away, step by step, down the
+broad road that leads to destruction, by companions genial, attractive,
+but corrupt.
+
+There are some companions from whom you cannot separate yourselves.
+They are with you continually; at home and abroad, in school or at
+play, by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always with you.
+There is no solitude so deep that they cannot find you, no crowd so
+great that they will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
+they will not――cannot――be kept away. I mean _your own thoughts_, your
+bosom companions. Shall they be EVIL companions or GOOD? Ah! you know
+who, and who only, can answer this question.
+
+I once went through a monastery in the old city of Florence, in Italy.
+It was a retreat for men who were tired of the world, or who felt so
+unequal to the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
+believed peace could be found only in retirement. The house was of the
+order of St. Francis. One of the monks took me into his cell, and I
+sat down and talked with him. It was a very small room――one door, one
+window, bare walls, a small table, two wooden chairs, a few books, a
+crucifix, a washstand, and some pieces of crockery; and that was all.
+In this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to the chapel,
+just across the corridor, and to walk in the cloisters for exercise;
+here he expected to die. It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But
+I thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping from evil
+thoughts, and the only way, men may well submit to the confinement, the
+solitude, the monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But, alas!
+it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron doors, no bolts and
+bars, can shut out our thoughts, for they are a part of ourselves: they
+_are_ ourselves; for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
+
+Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek his fortune in
+the city. His mother was dead and his father broken in health and in
+fortune. The boy reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
+father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever fell to his
+lot to do. He was tall, strong and good-looking. A place was soon
+found for him, and until he was better able to support himself he
+found a home with some friends. He was a boy of good mind but with a
+very imperfect education, and he seemed inclined to make up for this
+in part by reading during his leisure hours. The situation found for
+him was in a large commercial house, where everything was conducted
+in the best manner and on the highest principles. Here he made rapid
+progress and was soon able to contribute to the support of those he had
+left at home in the country. He became interested in serious things,
+united with the Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession of
+religion. Everything went well with him for several years, until he
+fell in with some boys near his own age, who had been brought up under
+very different circumstances. Two or three of these were inclined
+towards skepticism in religious things, and their reading was quite
+unlike that to which this boy had been accustomed. Some fascination
+of manner about them attracted the lad to their society, and he grew
+less and less fond of his truest and best friends. He became irregular
+in his attendance at the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with
+by his teacher and friends had no candid and manly answer for them.
+After a while he ceased going to church entirely, spending his time
+at his lodgings reading profane and immoral books or in the society
+of his new companions. Then he found his way with these friends (so
+he called them, but they were really his greatest enemies) to taverns
+and even to worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking he
+was strengthening his mind and broadening his views. A little further
+on and his habits grew worse, and became the subject of observation
+and remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly with him and
+received his promise to turn away from his evil associates (who had
+well-nigh ruined him) and to lead a better life. He promised well,
+and for a time things with him were better. But after a while he fell
+away again into his old ways and with his old tempters, and before his
+friends were aware of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
+were received from him. He was without means; he found it hard to get
+employment; he had no references, and the people among whom he found
+himself were distrustful of strangers.
+
+One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter of recommendation
+replied something like this:
+
+“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of recommendation except
+with qualification. If you are seeking employment it is your duty to
+make a candid statement of your condition. Make a clean breast of it.
+Keep nothing back. Say that you had a good situation; that you were
+growing with the growth of your employers; that your salary had been
+advanced twice within the year; that one of the partners was your
+friend; that he had stood by you in your earlier youth; that he had
+extricated you from embarrassment and would have helped you again when
+needed, and that in an evil hour you forgot this, and your duty to him
+and to the house which sustained you; that you left your place without
+your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or quite broke his heart, and
+that all this grew out of your love of bad associates and your love of
+drink, and that while under this infatuation you went astray with bad
+women; and that in very despair of your ability to save yourself, and
+ashamed to meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the hope
+that in a new field and with new associates you could reform.
+
+“If you say this or something like this to a Christian man, little as
+you affect to think of Christianity, his heart will open to you and you
+can then look him frankly in the face, and have no concealments from
+him. Any other course than this will only prolong your agony, and in
+the end plunge you in deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
+advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no one will be more
+rejoiced than myself or more ready to help you. Read the parable of
+the prodigal son every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
+ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a humble, penitent man,
+and make your father’s last days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.
+
+“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a deep interest in you,
+else I would have thrown your letter to me into the fire.”
+
+I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely to the influence
+of his foolish, bad companions. And I know that this sad history is the
+record of many others; in fact, that the same experience awaits all
+who think it a light matter what company they keep, and who drift on
+the current with no purpose except to find pleasure, without regard to
+their duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young men standing at
+the corners of the streets, or lounging against lamp-posts, and catch a
+word as I pass, very often profane or indecent, I know very well that
+a work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked, will certainly
+lead to destruction. And I wonder whether these boys and young men
+have parents or sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to pass
+unwarned down the road that leads to death.
+
+But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions, besides those
+that appear to us in bodily form. They confront us in the printed page.
+You read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of dialogue. Such
+books are often more attractive than a plain narrative with little
+conversation. You enter fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit
+of the story. The characters are real to you. You seem to see the forms
+before you; you make a picture of each in your mind, so that if you
+were an artist you could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
+dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no sound as you
+read, you are really pronouncing each word in your mind. And every time
+you say a bad word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are in
+effect listening to bad words not spoken by other people merely, but
+spoken by yourself, and before you are aware of it you will be in the
+habit of thinking oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It is
+even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene. Now do you ever
+think that when you are reading such wretched stuff you are in effect
+associating with the characters whose talk you are listening to, and
+without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates, burglars, dissolute, the
+very worst of society, even murderers. You may not have the courage to
+rebuke those who are defiling the very air with their foul talk; you
+may be too cowardly even to turn away from such company lest they sneer
+at you; but what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after being
+warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have described? Is there any
+one here who would be guilty of such conduct?
+
+These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so most reluctantly, for
+these are not pleasant subjects――are not mere theories. They are sad
+realities. It was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys who
+were essentially corrupt. Their minds were cages of unclean birds.
+They were inexpressibly vile. And it is this fear of the evil that
+one sinner may do among young boys that leads me to say what I do on
+this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can persuade you to turn
+away from foolish company, from bad associates, I shall feel that I am
+doing indeed a blessed work. For what is the object, the purpose of
+all this that is said to you? It is to make men of you and to give
+you grace and strength to assert your manhood. It is to build you up
+on the foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare you for
+the life that is before you here and for that life which is beyond.
+But the education of text-books illustrated by the best instructors is
+not enough; it is not all you need for the great work of your lives.
+You must be ready when you are equipped not only to take care of
+yourselves, but to help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
+are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be fully equipped unless
+you have the blessing of Almighty God on your work and on your life.
+
+I want you to be successful men, and no man can be a successful man,
+in the highest and best sense, unless he is a religious man. How can
+one expect to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing of
+God? And how can one expect the blessing of God who does not ask God
+for his blessing? Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
+of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you must read the
+Scriptures for yourselves; you must pray for yourselves and each one
+for himself, as well as for others.
+
+
+
+
+                 [Illustration: _James A. Garfield._]
+
+
+
+
+                  ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.
+
+                          September 25, 1881.
+
+
+I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest things――one of
+the most difficult things to understand, which has ever occurred. On
+the second day of July last the President of the United States, when
+about to step into a railway train which was to carry him North, where
+he was to attend a college commencement, at the college where he was
+graduated, was shot down by an assassin.
+
+I say it is one of the strangest things, because the President did not
+know the assassin, and had never injured him nor any of his friends.
+There was absolutely no motive for the hideous deed.
+
+I say it is most difficult to understand, because we believe that
+Divine Providence overrules all events, holds all power, and we wonder
+why He permitted the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.
+
+President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was emphatically a man of
+the people. He was born in a log-cabin which his father had built with
+his own hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by thirty. When
+James was two years old, his father died, late in the autumn, and this
+boy with three other children were all dependent upon their mother for
+a support. How the lone widow passed that winter we do not know; but
+when the spring came there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm
+had to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing were left, and
+this little farm was worked by the mother and her oldest son. Only
+those who have lived on a farm in the country know how hard the work
+is. When James was five years old he was sent to school, a mile and a
+half away, and as this was a very long walk for so young a boy, his
+sister often carried the little boy on her back.
+
+After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s trade, and in
+this effort he spent two years or so, going to school at intervals and
+studying at spare hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic and
+geography. After that he became a sort of general help and book-keeper
+for a manufacturer in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
+and this was to him a very great advance. But not being well treated
+there, he soon left and took to chopping wood――at one time cutting
+about twenty-five cords for some $7. Then having read some tales of
+the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often read, he wanted to
+be a sailor; but when he applied for a place on the great lake, he
+looked so like a landsman from the country that no captain would engage
+him. So he went to the canal, and found employment in leading or
+driving horses or mules on the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to
+be a deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the water (once
+almost being drowned) and meeting some other mishaps, he concluded that
+“following the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it. By this
+time he had saved some money, and his brother Thomas lent him some
+more, and with another young man and a cousin he went to a neighboring
+town to the academy. These young fellows rented a room, borrowed some
+simple cooking utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and filled
+them with straw, and set up house-keeping, and went to the academy.
+
+Young Garfield spent three years at this academy, doing odd jobs of
+carpenter work when he could, and so eking out a living. Then he
+went to an eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
+the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making the fires. Here
+he prepared himself to enter the junior class in a higher college,
+and, after some delay, he entered that class in Williams College,
+Massachusetts.
+
+While pursuing his college course at Williams he filled his vacations
+by teaching in district schools in the neighborhood until his
+graduation, in 1856, at twenty-five years of age――quite advanced, you
+see, in years for a college graduate.
+
+Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute, became a
+professor of Greek and Latin, and then at twenty-eight years of age
+became a Senator in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out
+in 1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the Government
+commissioned him as colonel of a regiment, and he did good service in
+the State of Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few months he was
+promoted to be brigadier-general. So he went on distinguishing himself
+wherever he was placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
+Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at Chickamauga, his
+gallantry was so conspicuous and so successful that within a fortnight
+he was made a major-general.
+
+While in the army he was elected representative to Congress, and on
+December 5, 1863, he took his seat in the House, the youngest member of
+Congress.
+
+Some time after this, the war still going on, he wished to rejoin the
+army, but President Lincoln would not permit it, on the ground that his
+military knowledge would be invaluable to the government. After serving
+seventeen years in the House of Representatives, at times Chairman of
+most important committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before he
+took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency, and last November
+was elected by a large majority to that high office.
+
+On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and four months
+afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand of an assassin.
+
+You know how during this long, dry, hot summer he has been lying in
+Washington until the last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
+and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has been nursed; how gently
+he was removed to the sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene
+would do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed to do;
+and you know how last Monday night, while you were sleeping soundly in
+your beds, the bells of our city and all over the land were tolling the
+tidings of his death.
+
+He was a good man――in many respects as well qualified to fill the
+Presidential chair as any man who has ever sat in it. So I say it is
+most difficult to understand why he was taken away.
+
+Like all of you he lost his father by death at an early age; as is the
+case with all of you his mother was poor. He struggled hard for an
+education, and he acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
+satisfied with present attainments; he was always on the advance. At
+an early age he gave himself to the Lord, joining the church; and
+as that branch of the church does not believe in the necessity of
+ordination for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman, as the
+great Faraday preached in London and as Christian laymen preach the
+same truths to you, and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected
+in November last, to persuade him, some time when he might be passing
+through Philadelphia, to come to this chapel and address you boys.
+This, alas, now can never be.
+
+President Garfield loved his mother. No more touching incident was ever
+witnessed than that which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
+when, after taking the oath of his high office, he turned immediately
+to his dear old mother and kissed her.
+
+Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations mourn with us.
+The Queen of Great Britain with her own hand sends messages of the
+sweetest, the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow and her
+children are fatherless. She sends flowers for Mrs. Garfield and puts
+her court in mourning, a compliment never extended before except in the
+case of death in a royal family. Other European and Asiatic and African
+governments send their sympathy――they all feel it――they all deplore
+it. Emblems of mourning are displayed in every street in our city, and
+every heart is sad. The people mourn.
+
+Boys, you may not be Presidents――probably not one here will ever be at
+the head of this nation; nor is this of any moment; but remember it
+was not only as President of the United States that General Garfield
+was wise and good――it was in every place where he was put; whether
+in school, in college, in teaching, in the army, in Congress, in the
+President’s chair, in his family and on his sick and dying bed,
+languishing and suffering, wasting and burning with fever, exhausted by
+wounds cruel and undeserved, he was always the same brave, true, real
+man.
+
+Some of you know with what profound and tender interest people gathered
+in places of prayer that Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from
+Washington to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous, and how the
+hope was expressed, almost to assurance, that the Saviour would meet
+his disciple by the sea. The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
+disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of healing; nothing
+short of a miracle could do that, but by a more complete preparation
+of the people for the final issue. It came at last. And while many of
+us were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were flashing the sad
+intelligence everywhere that, at last, he was at rest.
+
+Now that we know that he is taken away, we stand in awe and amazement.
+We cannot yet understand it.
+
+Shall we gather a few lessons from his life? Some of the most apparent
+may be mentioned very briefly.
+
+The simplicity of his character is most interesting. Conscious as he
+must have been of the possession of no ordinary mental force, he was
+never obtrusive nor self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
+with purpose and completeness. And his associates often placed him in
+positions of high trust and responsibility.
+
+He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed in Congressional
+duties, to a degree which left him little or no time for recreation,
+he did not fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
+said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring to bring him
+some little present, could think of nothing more acceptable than a few
+volumes of the Latin poets.
+
+When his life comes to be written by impartial hands, it will be
+found that along with his great simplicity and his high culture there
+will be most prominent his devotion to principle. This was his great
+characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the place, to speak of
+his adherence, under strong adverse influences, to his sound views on
+the great currency question which has occupied so much the attention of
+Congress.
+
+In a not very remote sense his death is to be attributed to his
+devotion to principle. That great and most discreditable contest at
+Albany might have been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
+different manner, if the President could have yielded his convictions.
+He did not yield, and he was slain.
+
+The funeral services in the capitol are over and the men whom Mrs.
+Garfield chose as the bearers of her husband’s coffin were not members
+of the cabinet, nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any of
+whom would have been honored by such a service, but they were plain
+men, of names unknown to us, members of his own little church.
+
+They are gone. They have taken his worn and wasted and mutilated form,
+all that remains in this world of the strong, pure life that was not
+yet fifty years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and there
+within sight and almost within sound of the waves of the great inland
+sea, they will to-morrow lay him to rest until the morning of the
+resurrection.
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity? Shall our faith
+in the prevalence of prayer be weakened? God forbid that we should so
+distort his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest
+against God?”
+
+Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and almost insisted, but
+in softening the hearts of the people and drawing them as they have
+never before been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe, and
+in uniting the people, and also in promoting a better feeling between
+the different sections of our country than has been known for half a
+century. And if, in addition to this, the people would only learn to
+abate that passion for office which has been so fatal to peace, and
+would be content to allow fitness for office to be the only rule of
+appointment, then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
+securing of which even the sacrifice of a President would seem not too
+great a price.
+
+    “And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king said to his
+    servants, Have me away for I am sore wounded. His servants
+    therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the
+    second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
+    and he died and was buried. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned
+    for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv. 23, 24.
+
+
+
+
+                 THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.
+
+                            March 25, 1888.
+
+
+A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an address before one of
+the societies in the venerable University of Harvard on this subject:
+“The Case of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate knowledge
+of his subject, and with rare felicity of thought and expression,
+he set before his audience, most of whom were either in the learned
+professions or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition of
+those professions, especially that of the law, a preparation for which
+is supposed to imply a more or less thorough academic or collegiate
+education.
+
+I have a different task; for I would show the importance of education
+to the workers with the hand, whether in the mills, the shops, or
+among the various trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
+that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely, but also that
+which is acquired sometimes without the advantage of any schools. And
+I particularly desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever be
+his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one who is engaged in the
+same kind of work, and who is more or less educated.
+
+A mechanic may be well trained; may have more than his share of brains;
+may be highly successful in his business; indeed, may have acquired
+a large property, and have very high credit, and may hardly know how
+to write his name. A man may have scores or hundreds of men in his
+employment, and be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
+and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely at the mercy of
+his book-keeper, and may be so defrauded as to be on the very brink
+of ruin and not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
+of a long business life more than one such case has come under my
+observation. A man may be partially educated, able to cast up accounts,
+able to keep books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
+is worthy of the name), and yet not be able to write a simple agreement
+in good English, nor understand clearly the meaning of such a paper
+when written by another.
+
+Very many of the business failures that occur are due to the fact that
+the person or firm did not know how to keep accounts. This is not
+confined to people of small business. How often after a failure are we
+told “that the man was very much surprised at his condition; he thought
+he was all right; he could not account for his failure, and that in
+a short time he would have his books in such a shape that he would
+be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask their advice.
+It would require ten days or so, however, before he could tell how
+he stood.” Why, if the man had been an educated business man, and an
+honest man, he would have known in twenty-four hours how he stood.
+
+The great majority of people who are employed are not educated. They
+do not know how to do in the best manner, that which they have to do.
+Perhaps a good definition of education, as the word is applied to a
+working man, may be that he knows how to do that which he has to do, in
+the very best way.
+
+Education may be of three kinds, viz.:
+
+That of the _schools_.
+
+_Self-education._
+
+That of _trade_ or _business_.
+
+_That of the schools._ And this is the best of all; for the whole
+of one’s time is given to it; and if you are so inclined you may go
+through the whole course, as provided in this school. And all this with
+text-books, instruments and other appliances, absolutely free of cost.
+A boy, therefore, who passes through the entire course of study here,
+has superior opportunities of acquiring a most substantial education.
+
+Certainly the education of the schools is the best; and let me urge you
+with all seriousness to make the best use of your opportunities. You
+can never learn as easily as now. You are young. You are not burdened
+with cares. Do not relax your efforts in the least; do not yield to
+weariness; do not think you know enough already; do not be impatient
+lest others of your own age, who have already left school to go to
+work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind of business; if they
+have the start of you, they may not be able to keep it; and depend
+upon it, in the long run you will overtake and pass them, other things
+being equal, if you have a better school education than they have. When
+you are told that young men who are well educated are thereby unfitted
+or unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business, do not
+believe it. I know the contrary. The better the school education you
+have, and the more you know, the more valuable you will be to your
+employer.
+
+Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
+_self-education_. All that I mean by it is, that education which one
+acquires without teachers. As so defined, it may be divided into two
+parts, viz.: the incidental and the direct.
+
+Let me speak first of the _incidental_.
+
+I mean by this that education that comes to us from society.
+
+You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you could. You seek
+companions, or other persons will seek you. Let your associates be
+those whose friendship will be an instruction to you, rather than
+simply a means of social enjoyment. There are young people of both
+sexes who, without being vicious, are utterly weak and foolish, idle
+and listless, drifting along a current, the end of which they do not
+care to think of. They are living for this life only, with no thought
+of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies, who float in the sunshine
+when the sun is shining, but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
+and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they are pleasant enough
+to chat with for a few minutes, but to be shut up to such companionship
+as this, would be intolerable. Society has a large element of this
+description, and you are likely to see it in your daily life.
+
+But this is not the worst phase of life among the young people with
+whom you may be thrown. There are worse elements than this. There are
+those who are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who have
+given themselves up to work all uncleanness with greediness; who put
+no restraint on their inclinations; in whose eyes nothing is pure or
+sacred; who have no respect for that which is wholesome or decent;
+who are the devil’s own children, and who are not ashamed of their
+parentage. And to such baleful, deadly influences and associations will
+you be exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised of their
+true character until it is too late.
+
+But there are _direct_ means of education, so called.
+
+The first of these which I mention is the use of books. This is
+unquestionably the best means. I am supposing that you have some taste
+for reading; if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to speak,
+or for you to listen. I know some people who rarely read a book, and I
+pity them. They seem to think that all that is necessary to read is the
+daily newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily very
+ignorant, for very much may be learned from the daily paper. But the
+newspaper does not pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for
+a life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a professional
+man or a mechanic. No; you must read books, not only for entertainment
+and recreation, but for information and culture, which you can obtain
+nowhere else. If there is no public library within your reach, seek out
+some kind-hearted man or woman who has books, and who will be willing
+to lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I well remember a
+gentleman in my early life who did this kind office for me before I was
+able to buy books, and there are such now who will do the same for you.
+
+If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to ask the advice
+of some practical friend to point out such as you may most safely
+and properly read. For if left to your own judgment or taste, you
+will probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by an attempt to
+read something not immediately necessary or appropriate. But do not
+attempt to follow an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find
+detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be discouraged
+by the greatness of the task. Such lists, I fancy, are made out by
+scholars who have read almost everything, and to whom reading is no
+task whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not attempt to read
+too many books, nor too much at a time, and do not be disappointed or
+discouraged if you are not able to remember or put to good account all
+that you read. You cannot always know what particular kind of food
+has afforded you the most nourishment. You may rest assured, however,
+that as every morsel of food that you take and are able to digest does
+something to build up and develop your system, or repair its waste, so
+every book or paper that you read, that is wholesome, does something,
+you may not know how much, to strengthen or develop your mind.
+
+There are books that you read for entertainment or recreation, and
+that are written for that purpose only. You may read such; indeed, you
+ought to read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
+and amusement, and there is much of the purest and best of this that
+you can get from books. But you must not make the mistake of supposing
+that most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading can be of
+this character. You would not think of making your daily meals of the
+articles of food that you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
+not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for a regular diet.
+You might as well do so, as to read only the light and humorous matter
+that was never intended for the mental diet of a working man. No. If
+you would attain the real object of reading and study, you must read
+and study books and papers that tax the full powers of your mind to
+understand them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your mind,
+even as the exercise of your muscles in work or play will develop a
+strength of body that the idle or lazy youth knows nothing of.
+
+If you would know how to make yourself master of any book that you
+read, form the habit, if the book is your own, of making notes with
+a pencil in the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
+property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and write at the end
+of every chapter questions on the matter discussed, and the answer to
+such questions will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
+that you will have _absorbed_ the book and made it your own; for, as an
+eminent American author has said, “thought is the property of whoever
+can entertain it.”
+
+I said just now that the daily newspaper does not pretend to supply all
+that you need to fit you for a life of business, either as a dealer
+in goods, or as a mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
+important means of education――so important that no one can afford to
+ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot be well informed who does not read
+the newspaper. The whole world is brought before us every morning and
+evening, and, if we do not read the news as it comes, we shall not
+know what we ought to know. It is not necessary to read everything in
+a daily paper; there are some things that it will be better for you
+not to read. You need not read all the editorials, brilliant as some
+of them are, for sometimes they discuss subjects that are not at all
+interesting nor useful to you. The newspaper from which I make the most
+clippings is one which is the fullest of advertisements, but which
+sometimes has nothing whatever in it that I read. But when it does
+discuss a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further to be
+said.
+
+But to read with the most advantage one ought to have within easy reach
+a dictionary, an atlas and, if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can
+read with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper gives can
+be filled up by reference to books which give more or less complete
+histories.
+
+The political articles which appear in the height of a campaign are
+hardly worth reading, unless you think of entering politics as a
+money-making business, which I sincerely hope none of you think of
+doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of crime, and especially
+the details of police reports and criminal trials, you will do well to
+pass by and not read. I really believe that a familiarity with these
+details prepares the way, in many instances, for the commission of
+crime, just as the reading of accounts of suicide sometimes leads to
+the act itself.
+
+Some of the best minds in our country, and in the world, are now
+employed in writing for the periodicals and magazines. No one can be
+well informed without reading something of the vast amount of matter
+which is thus poured out before him. I have not named the newspapers
+nor the magazines which you may read with the most profit; but your
+teachers can advise you what to read. Rather is it important for you to
+know what _not_ to read. Many of the most popular and the most useful
+books that have been published within the last quarter of a century
+have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or monthly paper. The best
+thoughts of the best thinkers sometimes first see the light in such
+pages.
+
+Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine, there are scientific
+periodicals, which are of essential value to a worker who wishes
+to be well informed in any of the mechanical arts. The _Scientific
+American_ is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the beauty of
+its illustrations and in the high quality of its contributions. The
+_Popular Science Monthly_ is a periodical of a wider range and more
+diversified character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
+subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you may find in the
+public library. But let me urge you to turn away from “dime novels.”
+Not because they are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome
+and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey which so many wretched
+creatures drink until the coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and
+the brain is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
+is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and soul of him who
+reads. There is an abundance of good literature that is cheap――do not
+read the bad.
+
+Having now spoken of the education you may get in the schools, and that
+which you may acquire for yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive
+for it, either in the society which you cultivate, or more directly
+from books, whether read as an entertainment and recreation, or,
+better still, by careful study; or through the daily newspaper, or the
+periodical, whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
+that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to the education which
+you will acquire when you work day by day at your trade or business.
+
+Let me beg of you to consider the great value of truthfulness in all
+your training. Hardly anything will help you more to reach up towards
+the top. And when you are at the head of an establishment of your
+own or somebody else’s (and I take it for granted you will be at the
+head some day), whether it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or
+a store, no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word, of not
+promising unless you are certain of keeping your promise, will almost
+insure your success if you are a good workman. How many good mechanics
+have utterly failed of success because they have not cared to keep
+their promises? A firm of high reputation agrees to supply certain
+articles of furniture at a time fixed by them. The time comes but the
+articles do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new promises are
+made only to be broken. Excuses are offered and more promises given;
+then incomplete articles are sent; then more delays, until, when
+patience is nearly exhausted, the work is finished. Then comes the bill
+and there is a mistake in it. The whole transaction is a series of
+disappointments and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go to
+that place again?
+
+It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as they become ten
+or twelve years of age, at the foot of the great breakers to watch
+the coal as it comes rattling and broken down the great wire screens,
+and catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side and allow
+only the pure coal to pass down into the huge bins, from which it is
+dropped into the cars and taken to market. To an uneducated eye there
+is hardly any perceptible difference between the coal and the slate.
+But these little fellows soon become so quick in the education of the
+eye, that they can tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
+grows older he graduates to the place of a mule driver, and has his car
+and mule, which he drives day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
+breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes his little oil lamp
+in the front of his cap, and goes down into the mines with his pick
+and becomes a miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most of
+one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine and from the
+pure air. And most of these men having no education, and never having
+been urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days in this
+manner. But occasionally there is one who feels that he is capable of
+better things than this. And I know one at least, who began his work
+at the foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through all these
+stages, as I have told you, and who determined to do something better
+for himself. So he gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
+leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the difficulties in his
+way. He persevered. He rose to be a boss among the men; then having
+saved some money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought his
+teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine, and became a miner
+of his own coal, and had his men under him, and has grown to be a rich
+man, and is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his hard work.
+This is only one instance of success in rising from a low position to a
+high one.
+
+The same thing is going on all around us and we see it every day. It
+would hardly be proper to give you names, but I could tell you of many
+within my own knowledge who, from positions of extremely hard labor and
+plain living, have risen to be the head men in shops and other places
+which they entered at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
+occurring. And there is no reason whatever, except your indifference,
+to prevent many of you from becoming, if God gives you health, the
+head men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates or in
+very low positions. And I tell you what you know already, that there
+is plenty of room for advancement. It is the lowest places that are
+full to overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the _chiefs_ of
+any industry? No, indeed. They have made themselves indispensable to
+their employers and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly a
+youth who cannot by strict attention to business, and conscientious
+devotion to the interests of his employer, make himself so invaluable
+that he need not join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
+army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the great commercial
+houses, or in the public service, or in the army and navy――do these
+people ever band themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
+They know better than that; they accomplish their purposes in better
+ways. If the working classes, so called, were better educated, they
+would not suffer themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
+not themselves work, who will not touch even with their little fingers
+the burdens which are crushing the life out of the deluded ones whom
+they are leading to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a
+true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable men to do their own
+thinking, and to determine for themselves what are their best interests.
+
+I urge you all to seek that higher and better education which will make
+you true men. You have now the great advantage of the education of the
+school. I have tried very simply, but not the less earnestly, to show
+you how you can fit yourselves for high places. It is for you to say
+whether you will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
+power can force you to do that which you will not do. You may lead a
+horse to a brimming fountain of water, but if he is not thirsty, no
+coaxing nor threatening nor beating can make him drink. I may show you,
+to demonstration, the abundant fountain of learning, but I can’t make
+you drink, or even stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty.
+I can’t make you study, however great the advantage to you, or however
+much they who are interested in you desire that you should.
+
+Every year this question which I have been pressing upon you becomes
+more and more important. The great colleges of the country are
+graduating their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
+with you for the high places in the mechanic arts. So are the public
+schools of the country sending out hundreds of thousands, many of them
+having the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic arts, are
+multiplying. Great changes have been made recently in our own city in
+this respect. The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work in this
+way. Our own college is moving in the same direction, and soon it will
+be sending out its hundreds every year to compete for places in the
+shops, with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have a school
+education――the best that you are able to receive, and you must not let
+any others go ahead of you.
+
+Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who sweep our
+streets――look at the stevedores who load and unload the ships――look at
+the men who carry the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
+ladders――look at the drivers and the conductors on our street cars,
+the most hard worked people among us――and are you not sure that most
+of these people are _un_educated? No one wants to be at the bottom all
+the time. We may have been there at the first; but those who have made
+the most progress are generally those who have had the best education.
+I know that education is not a sure guarantee of success; many other
+things enter into the consideration of the question; but I am saying
+that, other things being equal, _he who knows the most will do the
+best_. There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the rich, who
+have been well educated, who have everything provided for them, who
+have no stimulus, no spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
+have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation, and their
+fine education goes for nothing. But you are not of this class. You
+will have to make your way in the world by your own exertions.
+
+I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words about such boys
+as sometimes stand at the corners of the streets in large or small
+companies and amuse themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
+bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass by. I am sure much
+of this arises from thoughtlessness; but I wish to point out the
+exceeding impropriety of this behavior. I have known ladies to cross
+the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite out of their way rather
+than pass within hearing of these boys and young men. What right has
+any one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger, to block
+up the way or make loose or rude remarks, or defile the pavement over
+which I walk?
+
+All this most serious waste of time is probably because no one has
+particularly called attention to it. The time may come when you will
+recall the words of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
+when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what was said.
+
+I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will permit, to show
+the importance of that education which will enable you to rise in
+your trade or business, whatever it may be, to the upper places; and
+I have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to strive to be
+_chief_ rather than a _subordinate_, to be a _foreman_ rather than a
+_journeyman_.
+
+But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves and upon God.
+There is no royal road to education; the very meaning of the word shows
+this; the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed, rounded,
+hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts a piece of rough iron in the
+coals, keeps it there until it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it
+upon his anvil and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
+first on this side and then on that, rounding it off; then when it
+cools thrusting it among the coals again, then hammering away again
+until he has brought the rough piece of iron to the size and shape
+he wishes, when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are willing
+to work your mind into the shape you want it, you will surely bring
+yourself to the front among active, ingenious and successful men. But
+this means hard work, and work all the time.
+
+Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the hints which I have
+given you, if you really mean to succeed, if you are not content to be
+workers low down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise rather
+than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do men, instead of
+living from hand to mouth, you must grapple with the subject with all
+your might and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out of the
+streets at night, away from the taverns and from the low theatres, and
+from gambling dens, and from other places which I will not name; and,
+in short, you must be true Americans, for there is no truer type of
+manhood in all the world than a real American; and nowhere else in all
+the world has a poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
+as in our own good city of Philadelphia.
+
+
+
+
+                             WILLIAM PENN.
+
+                           October 22, 1882.
+
+
+In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel with her bow pointing
+towards the west was making her way slowly across the Atlantic
+ocean. She was a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
+emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome voyage, the very
+small accommodations, the horror of sea-sickness, were in this vessel
+aggravated by the breaking out of that most awful of all scourges,
+the small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population of one
+hundred, thirty passengers died. No record is left of the incidents
+of that voyage except this; but it is easy to imagine that all the
+circumstances were as deplorable as they could well be.
+
+After a weary time of head winds and calms, in about seven weeks, this
+ship, the “Welcome,” came within the capes of the Delaware bay.
+
+The most distinguished person on that little ship was William Penn.
+He had left his home in England, embarking with his trusty friends in
+a vessel only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American Line,
+to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the whole province from the
+government of England for the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured
+by our money, is about $80,000, and this money was due to him for
+services rendered and money loaned to the government by his father, an
+admiral in the English navy.
+
+About the 24th of October the vessel reached the town of Newcastle,
+where Penn landed and was cordially received by the people of that
+little village. Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
+now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving the vessel here, they
+came in a barge (Penn and some of his principal men) to the mouth of
+Dock creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street, where they
+landed, near a little tavern called the Blue Anchor.
+
+There was already a settlement on the shore of the Delaware river, and
+the people, mostly Swedes, had built a little church somewhat farther
+down the stream. The entire land between the Delaware and Schuylkill
+rivers, and for a mile north and south, was owned by three brothers,
+Swedes, named Swen. Penn bought this tract from them, and at once
+proceeded to lay out his new city. When he bought the whole province
+from the crown he desired to call it New-Wales, because it was so
+hilly, but the king insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory
+of the admiral, William’s father. But when the new city came to be
+named, Penn having no one to dispute his wish, called it by that word,
+of whose meaning we think so little, Philadelphia――brotherly love. Two
+months after this he met the Indians, it is said, under a great elm
+tree in the upper part of the city, in what we now call Kensington,
+and concluded that treaty which has been said to be the only treaty
+that was ever made without an oath, and that was never broken. Shortly
+after this Penn proceeded to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
+English author has said, he must have taken the ancient Babylon for his
+model, for this was the first modern city that was laid out with the
+streets crossing each other at right angles.
+
+The charter which Penn received from Charles the Second, King of
+England (the original of which is in the capital at Harrisburg, on
+three large sheets of parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
+also holding his authority under the crown. He at once therefore set
+about making a code of laws as special statutes, which with the common
+law of England should be the laws of the province. One of these special
+laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor, was to learn a useful trade or
+occupation; the poor to live on it: the rich to resort to it if they
+should become poor.” And I do not know what better law he could have
+enacted.
+
+When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception reached England
+and the continent of Europe, the effect was to arouse a spirit of
+emigration. Although Penn’s first thought and purpose was to found
+a colony, where he and others who held the religious views of the
+Society of Friends might worship without hindrance (which liberty
+was denied them in England), the people from other countries in
+Europe came here in great numbers for other purposes. The population
+therefore multiplied rapidly, and the people were generally such as had
+determined to brave the privations of a new country, to make themselves
+a home where life could be lived under better conditions than in the
+old countries, under the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
+emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal terms which the
+governor offered to new-comers; for to actual settlers he offered the
+land at about ten dollars for a hundred acres, subject, however, to
+a quit-rent of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever; and
+this may be the origin of that ground-rent instrument which is almost
+peculiar to Pennsylvania, and which is such a favorite investment for
+our rich men.
+
+After a stay of two years Penn returned to England, where he had left
+his wife and children; the care of the government having been left with
+a council, of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept the great seal.
+
+Not long after his return to England the king, Charles the Second,
+died, and having no son he was succeeded by his brother, James Duke of
+York, as James the Second. Although Penn was on the most cordial terms
+with the new king, as he had been with Charles, this did not secure him
+from the repeated annoyances and persecutions of those who detested his
+religion. So severe was the treatment to which he was subjected, and
+such was his personal danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
+France. But not being able nor willing to bear this exile, he returned
+to England, was tried for his offence against the law of the church and
+was acquitted. After this he came to America again, intending to spend
+the rest of his life here, but he remained only two years.
+
+The rest of his life was spent in England, but it was a life broken by
+persecutions and trials at law and other annoyances, the expenses of
+which, added to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards, were
+so great as seriously to involve him in financial embarrassments; and
+he was even compelled to mortgage his great estate in Pennsylvania to
+relieve himself; but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
+was so heavy that he felt the necessity of relieving himself of the
+property entirely, and he offered to sell it to the crown. While the
+matter was under consideration, his health began to decline; however,
+the terms were agreed upon, but while the papers were in the course of
+preparation he died peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July
+30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial ground belonging
+to Jordan’s meeting house.
+
+Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder of this
+commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this city of Philadelphia.
+
+Let us see now what there was in this life which we may find it
+interesting to recall and dwell upon; what there was in it which may be
+useful for us to consider in its application to ourselves.
+
+William Penn was born in the city of London on the 14th of October,
+1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s, near the Tower. His father
+was an admiral and his grandfather was a captain in the English navy.
+Then, as now, it was the custom of English families of good condition
+to send their boys away from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
+therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead, in Essex, called
+Chigwell. Here he remained until he was thirteen years old, with no
+incident particularly worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
+of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions, which, however,
+like many other boys, he soon threw aside. He seems to have been apt to
+learn, and was fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
+two years after leaving school, he was under private instruction at
+home, until he was fifteen years old, when he entered the University
+of Oxford. Here he devoted himself most diligently to his studies
+and became a successful student. But this did not prevent him from
+entering most heartily into the sports which were common to young
+men of his quality. He was very fond of boating, fishing, shooting,
+and other pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he avoided
+dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the keenest enjoyment of
+healthful sports is quite consistent with a pure life. If the college
+students of this day would believe and act upon this principle, it
+would be better for them and better for the world.
+
+With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this diligent application to
+study, he had a very tender sympathy and love for domestic animals.
+Towards those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness that
+was almost womanly.
+
+But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to turn him aside
+from a course of duty, when he was satisfied that it was real duty.
+During his school and college life there were many seasons of religious
+interest in his experience, and he was at last brought (under the
+preaching of a member of the Society of Friends named Thomas Loe) to
+declare himself a member of that society. He therefore refused to
+attend the services of the Church of England. The custom of wearing
+surplices by Oxford students, which had been abolished in Cromwell’s
+time, had been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came out as a
+religious man, threw off his surplice and refused to wear it. This
+act was bad enough in the eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went
+further than this, and, in common with some others of the same way of
+thinking, he so far forgot himself as to attack other students and tear
+off their surplices. This very grave offence could not be overlooked,
+and, admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from the University
+of Oxford. This was a great blow to his father, who was building
+the fondest hopes on the advancement of his son at college and his
+career as a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce the son to
+reconsider his conduct, and his father at last flogged him and drove
+him from the house. Some time after this, through the intercession of
+the mother, the young man was brought back to his home; and his father,
+in the hope that a change of scene and circumstances would work a
+change in the lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
+continent.
+
+While in Paris he studied the French language, and read some books in
+theology, and went as far as Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he
+was recalled to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs. He then
+studied law for a year, which no doubt was of some help to him in the
+founding of his commonwealth. Then his father sent him to take care of
+his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty of the Duke
+of Ormond. He entered the army here, and did good service too; and was,
+apparently, so much pleased with his new life that he suffered the only
+portrait of him that was ever painted, to be taken when he was wearing
+armor and in uniform. This picture, or a copy of it, may now be seen at
+the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Spruce street, above Eighth.
+
+About this time he came again under the influence of the preacher Loe,
+and was recalled by his father, who remonstrated with him on his new
+mode of life, but with no success whatever. He would not give up his
+new religion. His father tried to compromise the matter with him, and
+he even went so far as to propose to his son, that if he would remove
+his hat in the presence of the king and the Duke of York and his
+father, as his superiors, their differences might be healed; but the
+son, believing that the removal of his hat would be dishonorable to
+God, absolutely refused.
+
+His life for some time after this was stormy enough. He came out boldly
+and in defiance of law as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was
+repeatedly imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London and sometimes
+in the loathsome prison of Newgate, from which places he was released
+by the intercession of the Duke of York and his father and other
+friends.
+
+Those were very rough times, not likely, let us hope, to be repeated.
+Society was very corrupt at the highest sources, and religion was more
+violent and aggressive in its measures then than now. The world has
+grown wiser and better――there is more toleration, more of the Spirit
+of the Master now than then, and in our favored land every soul can
+worship God as he may choose to do.
+
+William Penn was a _statesman_. He founded this great commonwealth of
+Pennsylvania. He established a code of laws that were in advance of
+his time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture, that law which
+gives the lands of the father to the _oldest_ son, with little or no
+provision for younger sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the
+crown of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth. The
+property of a parent dying without a will should be _equally divided
+among his children_. Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense of the
+term. His laws were for the greatest good of the greatest number. He
+treated the Indians as if they were human beings, and not as if they
+were brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as the Indians
+have been treated even in our day by harsh and unscrupulous agents of
+the government. Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with Lord
+Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not know. Perhaps he was not.
+We know this misunderstanding gave him great trouble, and was indeed
+the prime cause of his return to England.
+
+Penn was a _rich man_. The inheritance left him by his father was
+handsome, and he could have lived most comfortably upon it. But when
+he received from the crown the charter which made him the owner of
+Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder, except sovereigns, known
+in history. He did not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
+luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed that he held
+his property as a trustee, and that he had no right to waste it. He
+might have lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it is
+said his father was offered a peerage), but such a life had no charms
+for him.
+
+Penn was a _conscientious man_. I mean by this that he followed his
+inner convictions, without regard to consequences. What he wanted to
+know was, whether a given thing was _right_ and according to his way
+of determining what the right was; and he did it if it were a duty,
+without flinching. No personal inconvenience, no consideration for the
+views or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the way of his
+duty, as he understood it. It was the custom of that time for gentlemen
+to wear swords, as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no purpose
+except as an ornament or part of the dress. Some time after he joined
+the Society of Friends, and while still wearing his sword, he said to
+his friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles and our
+testimonies against war for me to wear my sword?” When Fox replied,
+“Wear thy sword as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
+This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword never to resume it.
+
+William Penn was a _religious man_. He was called by the Holy Spirit
+at the early age of twelve years, as I have already said. He resisted
+that call and many others, until under faithful preaching he could
+resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the divine call and became
+an open professor of the principles of the Society of Friends. This
+was a very different thing, so far as personal comfort was concerned,
+from professing religion in the ordinary forms; for this was to join
+a hated sect, and bear all the contempt and persecution that belonged
+to a profession of religion in the early days of Christianity, when
+men, women and children perilled their lives in the service of the
+great Master. But Penn cared not for the cost; he was ready to go to
+prison, and to death if necessary, for his opinions. He _did_ go to
+prison over and over again, and bore right manfully all that was put
+upon him. He was not idle, however, in the prison. He preached to
+his fellow-prisoners; he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
+power to make known to others the good tidings of salvation that had
+come to him. He wrote a great many letters, and they were all full
+of the spirit of religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth,
+that might have been written by a systematic theologian; but among
+the most practical things he wrote was the address to his children,
+that it would be well if all people would read, and which, with a few
+exceptions, is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it was for
+those who lived two hundred years ago.
+
+If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had not been worth
+recording. He would have lived the life that was lived by almost all
+men of his class at that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
+luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in store for the New
+World, to be wrought out by the instrumentality of man, could have
+chosen another man, but he chose Penn.
+
+Such is the story of the life of a man who was one of the world’s
+heroes. His name will never die. There is a large literature on the
+subject of his life, some of which you will find in your own library,
+if you choose to look further into it. This is all that I feel it
+proper to say to you to-day about it.
+
+Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in Pennsylvania, as all
+of you were. And this could hardly be said of any other congregation
+in this city to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its size, it
+is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the whole of England. As to
+great rivers and mountains and mines and metals, as to forests and
+fields, we are far in advance of anything of the kind in England. No
+valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive than the valleys
+of our own Pennsylvania.
+
+It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the city of
+Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was founded by a great and good
+man. There are, in the civilized world, but three cities that are
+larger than ours. There is no city, except London, that has so many
+dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere in all the world where the
+poor man who works for his living can live so happily and so well.
+
+In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You will soon many of
+you take your place among the citizens, and have your share in choosing
+the men who make and execute the laws. Some of you _will be_ the men
+who make and execute the laws. William Penn founded this commonwealth,
+not only to provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members of his
+own society, but to afford an asylum for the good and oppressed of
+every nation; and he founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
+principles of Christianity might be carried out in practice. When you
+come to take your part in the duties of public life, see to it that you
+forget not his wise and noble purpose.
+
+
+
+
+                           OUR CONSTITUTION.
+
+                            October, 1887.
+
+
+I am about to do what I have never done――what has probably never been
+done by any other person in this chapel. I propose to give you a
+political speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly think you
+will be able to guess, from anything I say, to which of the two great
+political parties I belong.
+
+I do not go to the Bible for a text――though there are many passages in
+the holy Scriptures which would answer my purpose very well――but I take
+for my text the following passage from the will of Mr. Girard:
+
+“AND ESPECIALLY I DESIRE THAT BY EVERY PROPER MEANS, A PURE ATTACHMENT
+TO OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS, AND TO THE SACRED RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE
+AS GUARANTEED BY OUR HAPPY CONSTITUTIONS, SHALL BE FORMED AND FOSTERED
+IN THE MINDS OF THE SCHOLARS.”
+
+A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing with strangers.
+They came from all parts of the land, and some from distant parts of
+the world. Our railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
+capacity. Our streets were thronged; our hotels and many private
+dwellings were full. It was said that there were half a million of
+strangers here. The President of the United States, the members
+of the Cabinet, many members of the national Senate and House of
+Representatives, the general of the army and many other generals, the
+highest navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the United States
+and of the State courts, the governors of most of the States――each
+with his staff――soldiers and sailors of the United States, and many
+regiments of State troops (the Girard College cadets among them)――a
+military and naval display of twenty-five thousand men――representatives
+of foreign states, an exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts,
+in a procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in all the
+world before; receptions and banquets, public and private; a general
+suspension of most kinds of business――all this occurred in the streets
+of our city, only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?
+
+It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the adoption of the
+Constitution of the United States, and it was considered to be an
+event of such importance that it was well worth while to pause in our
+daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still the busy hum
+of industry; to stop the wheels of commerce; to close our places of
+business.
+
+One hundred years ago the Constitution of the United States of America
+was adopted in this city.
+
+What had been our government before this time? Up to July, 1776, there
+had been thirteen colonies, all under the government of Great Britain.
+In the lapse of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance to
+the king of England, and subjected to certain taxes which they had no
+voice in considering and imposing, because they had no representation
+in the Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented and
+rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our own city of
+Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776, they united in a DECLARATION OF
+INDEPENDENCE of Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies as
+Free, Sovereign and Independent States.
+
+This, however, was only a DECLARATION; and it took seven long years of
+exhausting and terrible war (which would have been longer still but for
+the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that independence and
+have it acknowledged by the governments of Europe.
+
+Before the DECLARATION, each of the colonies had a State government and
+a written constitution for the regulation of its internal affairs. Now
+these colonies had become States, with the necessity upon them (not at
+first admitted by all) of a general compact or agreement, by which the
+States, while maintaining their independence in many things, should
+become a confederated or general government.
+
+More than a year passed before the Constitution, which the Convention
+agreed upon, was adopted by a sufficient number of the States to make
+it binding on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to say that
+my own little State of Delaware was the first to adopt it.
+
+Now, WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION? How does it differ from the _laws_ which
+the Congress enacts every winter in Washington?
+
+First, let me speak of other nations. There are two kinds of government
+in the world――monarchical and republican. And there are two kinds of
+monarchies――absolute and limited. An absolute monarch, whether he be
+called emperor or king, rules by his personal will――HIS WILL IS THE
+LAW. One of the most perfect illustrations of absolute or personal
+government is seen on board any ship, where the will of the chief
+officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever his rank, is, and must
+be, the law. From his orders, his decisions, there is no appeal until
+the ship reaches the shore, when he himself comes under the law. This
+is a very ancient form of government, now known in very few countries
+calling themselves civilized.
+
+The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution, _un_written,
+as in Great Britain, or _written_, as in some other nations of Europe.
+In these countries the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
+instances with hardly as much power as our President. They are not a
+law unto themselves, but are under the common law.
+
+The other kind of government is republican, democratic or representative.
+It is, as was happily said on the field of Gettysburg, long after the
+battle, by President Lincoln, “a government _of_ the people, _by_ the
+people, _for_ the people.” These few plain words are well worth
+remembering――“of,” “by,” “for” the people. These are the traits which
+distinguish our government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
+absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.
+
+After the war between Germany and France, in 1870, the German kingdoms
+of Prussia, Hanover, Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
+principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign, were consolidated
+or confederated as the German empire, and the king of Prussia, the
+present Frederick William, was crowned emperor of Germany.
+
+France, however, after that war, having had enough of kings and
+emperors, adopted the republican form of government. So that now there
+are three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland, and a little
+territory on the east coast of Italy, San Marino.
+
+So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of Africa (except
+Liberia), and the islands of Australia, and the northern part of North
+America (except Alaska), are under the government of monarchs; while
+the three countries of Europe already mentioned, and our own country,
+and Mexico, and the Central American States, and all South America
+except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of South America under
+British rule), are republics.[B]
+
+[B] One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
+believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
+Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.
+
+Now let us come back to our own government and see what is, and whether
+it is better than any form of monarchy; and if so, why.
+
+What is the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES? The first clause in it
+is the best answer I can give:
+
+“WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in order to form a more perfect
+union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the
+common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings
+of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
+Constitution for the United States of America.”
+
+Then follow the articles and sections setting forth the principles
+on which it was proposed to build up a nation in this western world.
+The thirteen States each had its constitution and its laws, but _this
+instrument_ was intended to serve as the foundation of the general
+government. Until these States had formed their constitutions, there
+was no republican government in the world except Switzerland and San
+Marino, and these lived only on the sufferance of their powerful
+monarchical neighbors. All South America was under Spanish rule, and
+Mexico was a monarchy.
+
+The great principle of a republic is that people _have a right to
+choose_ their own rulers, and ought to do it. The divine right of
+hereditary monarchy we deny. It is often said that the English
+government is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
+not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote for his rulers.
+Whether so much liberty is perfectly safe for all people is well open
+to question; but it is a FACT here, and if people would only behave
+themselves properly there would be no danger whatever in it. And if
+there IS danger here, it comes not from native-born citizens trained
+under our free institutions. The sun does not shine on a broader,
+fairer land than this; and under that divine Providence, without
+whose gracious aid we could not have achieved and cannot maintain our
+Constitution, we have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
+dread in the future, but the evil men among us――the Anarchists and
+Socialists, the scum and off-scouring of Europe――who, with no fear of
+God before their eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
+and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow its very
+foundations.
+
+The highest and best types of monarchical governments are in Europe,
+and it is with such that we seek comparison when we insist that ours is
+better.
+
+Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from father to the oldest
+son and to the oldest son of the oldest son where there are sons.
+England has rejoiced in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and
+Victoria, the present sovereign; but they came to the throne because
+there was no son in either case to inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever
+his character or want of character, MUST reign when the sovereign dies,
+because, as they say, he rules by divine right. We insist on electing
+our President for a term of years, and if we like him we give him
+another term; if we do not like him, we drop him and try another. I
+wish the term of office of the President were longer, and that he could
+serve only one term. Perhaps it will come to that; and I think he would
+be a more independent, a better official under this condition.
+
+What is the difference between the Constitution and the laws?
+
+The Constitution is the great charter under which, and within which,
+the laws are made. No law that Congress may pass is worth the paper it
+is printed on if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
+been passed ignorantly, and have died.
+
+A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution of this College
+is Mr. Girard’s will. This is our charter. The laws which the Directors
+make must be within the provisions of the will or they will not stand.
+For instance, the will directs that none but _orphans_ can be admitted
+here; and the courts have decided that a child without a father is
+an orphan. The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who has
+a father living. The will says that only _boys_ can be admitted;
+therefore no law that the Directors can make will admit a girl. Nor
+can the Directors make a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
+under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born anywhere except in
+certain States of our country――Pennsylvania, New York and Louisiana. It
+would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I think now you see the difference between
+the Constitution and the laws.
+
+Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy? and why?
+
+Because the men of the present time make it, and are not bound by the
+traditions of far-off times. There are improvements in the science of
+government as in all other human inventions, as the centuries come
+and go. Man is progressive; he would not be worth caring for if he
+were not. If the present age has not produced a higher and better
+development in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is not because
+men were perfect in the past or cannot be better in the present or in
+the future. Therefore when our Constitution is believed not to meet the
+requirements of the present day there is a way to amend it, although
+that way is so hedged up that it cannot possibly be altered without
+ample time for consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution has
+been altered or amended fifteen times since its adoption; and it will
+be changed or amended as often as the needs of the people require it.
+
+We believe our form of government to be better than any monarchy
+because _the people choose their own law-makers_. The Congress is
+composed of two houses or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen
+by the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to serve for
+six years; the members of the House of Representatives (chosen by the
+citizens), who sit for two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is
+supposed to be the more conservative body, not easily moved by popular
+clamor; while the Representatives, chosen directly and recently by the
+voters, are supposed to know the immediate wants of the people. The
+thought of two houses grew probably from the two houses of the British
+parliament.
+
+We cannot have an _hereditary legislature_ like the House of Lords in
+the British parliament, whose members sit, as the sovereign rules, by
+divine right, as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
+for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head, or only the nominal ruler,
+while the cabinet is the real government, and the House of Lords long
+ago sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence. There is no
+better reason for this than the fact that the people have nothing to do
+with the House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose and scatter
+them when they choose to rise in their power and assert themselves.
+
+We can have no _orders of nobility_ under our Constitution. There can
+be no privileged class. All men are equal under the law. I do not mean
+that all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence has
+made us unequal. Some are endowed naturally with the highest mental
+and physical gifts and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
+This has always been so and always will be so. Some have inherited or
+acquired riches, while others have to labor diligently to make a bare
+living. Some have inherited their high culture and gentle manners and
+noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we sometimes call culture;
+and others have to acquire all this for themselves――and it is not very
+easy to get it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality, and
+cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment of our rights and in
+the undisturbed possession of what we have, we are all equal, as we
+could not be under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to success;
+all places are open to all.
+
+There can be no law of _primogeniture_ under our Constitution. By this
+law, which still prevails in England, the eldest son inherits the
+titles and estates of the father, while the younger sons and all the
+daughters must be provided for in other ways. Some of the sons are put
+in the church, in the army or the navy, or in the professions, such as
+law and medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of a noble
+house is willing to engage in any kind of business or trade, for they
+are not so well thought of if they become tradesmen.
+
+There can be no _state church_, no _establishment_, under our
+Constitution. In England the Episcopal Church, and in Scotland the
+Presbyterian Church, are established by law; and until within the
+last seventeen years the Church of England was by law established in
+Ireland; and it is now established in Wales; and in other countries
+of Europe the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
+Greek Church are established by law. In countries where there is a
+national church, it derives more or less of its support from taxing the
+people, many of whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is no
+established church; and there never can be, let us hope and believe.
+
+Under our form of government we need no _standing army_. We owe this
+partly to the fact that we are so isolated geographically that we do
+not need to keep an army. I heard the general of our army say, a short
+time ago, that the regular army of the United States is a fiction――only
+25,000 men. (You saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as are
+in all our army.) “The real army,” he added, “is composed of every
+able-bodied citizen; for all are ready to volunteer in the face of a
+common enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already, and it will
+probably be larger, but it will not again be enlarged as the result
+of war. When we look at the nations of Europe, and see the immense
+numbers of men in their standing armies, we can’t help thanking God
+that we are separated from them by the wide Atlantic, and that we
+have a republican government, and have no temptation to seek other
+territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any cause. In the
+armies of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are
+more than ten millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of the
+soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures. In Italy alone
+the standing army is said to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
+men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary to employ women to do
+work which in our country women are never asked to do. I have seen a
+woman drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the deck of that
+boat smoking his pipe and steering the boat. I have seen a woman with
+a huge load of fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her side
+and carrying his scythe. I have seen women yoked with dogs to carts,
+carrying the loads that here would be put in a cart and drawn by a
+horse. I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on their _heads_,
+filled with stone and mortar. I have seen women carrying huge baskets
+of manure on their backs to the field, and young girls breaking stone
+on the highway. Did you ever hear of such things here? See what a
+difference! The men in the army eat up the substance which the women
+produce from the soil.
+
+But nowhere else in the world is the _dignity of labor_ recognized as
+here. They do not know the meaning of the words. For in most other
+countries it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be engaged
+in labor of any kind. A man who is not able to live without work is
+hardly considered a gentleman. To work with the hands is degrading;
+is what ought to be done by common people only, and by people who are
+not fit to associate with gentlemen and ladies. It is not so in this
+country. Here, a man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
+and honorable in his dealings with men, who cultivates his mind by
+reading and observation, and is careful of the usages of good society,
+is fit company for any one. He may rise to any place within the gift of
+his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is not so elsewhere. And think
+of a young girl hardly out of her teens, with no special preparation
+for such a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming the
+wife of the President of the United States, and proving herself
+entirely worthy of that high position! Could any other country match
+this?
+
+Now what is the effect of all this freedom of thought and action on the
+people? Well, it is not to be denied that there are some disadvantages.
+There is danger that we may over-estimate the individual in his
+personal rights, and not give due weight to the people as a community.
+There is danger of selfishness, especially among young people. There
+is not as much respect and reverence for age, and for those above us,
+and for the other sex, as there ought to be. Young people are very
+rude at times, when they should always be polite to their superiors
+in age or position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming out
+of school one day all lifted their hats to me, a stranger! That would
+be an astounding thing in a Philadelphia street! In riding in the
+neighborhood of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by the
+roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent answer.
+
+But in spite of these defects, which we hope will never be seen
+in a Girard College boy, the true effect of training under our
+republican institutions is to make men. There is a wider, freer,
+fuller development of what is in man than is known elsewhere. Man is
+much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent, vigorous,
+skillful, here――not knowing how high he may rise, and consciously or
+unconsciously preparing himself for anything to which he may be called.
+And for woman, too, where else does she meet the respect that belongs
+to her? Where else in the world do women find occupation in government
+offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable and educational
+institutions? With few exceptions, such as Girton College, where are
+there in any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley, and
+as the Woman’s Medical College, almost under the walls of our own?
+
+I have already kept you too long. But a few words and I am done. I am
+moved by the injunction of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
+things, but by this grave consideration also. Every boy who hears me
+to-day, within fifteen years, if he lives, unless he is cut off by
+crime from the privilege, will be a voter. You will go to the polls to
+cast your votes for those who are to have the conduct of the government
+in all its parts. I want to make you feel, if I can, the high destiny
+that awaits you. You are distinctive in this respect――you are all
+American boys. This can be said of no other assembly as large as this
+in all this broad land. You have it in your power, and I want to help
+you to it, and God will if you ask him――you have it in your power to
+become American gentlemen. And I believe that an _American gentleman_
+is the very highest type of man.
+
+    God, give us men. A time like this demands
+    Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:
+    Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
+      Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
+    Men who possess opinions and a will;
+      Men who have honor, men who will not lie;
+    Men who can stand before a demagogue
+      And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
+    Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
+      In public duty and in private thinking.
+
+
+
+
+              [Illustration: _James Lawrence Claghorn._]
+
+
+
+
+                       JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.
+
+
+When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and successful life it seems
+proper that something more than the ordinary obituary notices in the
+daily papers is due to his memory. This thought moves me to speak to
+you to-day of a gentleman who died on August 25, 1884, while a Director
+of the Girard College, and of whom it seems appropriate that something
+may be said to you in this chapel.
+
+Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen of Philadelphia. He
+was born here on the 5th of July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn,
+was a merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter years of his
+life gave much time and thought to benevolent institutions. At the age
+of fourteen years James left school to go into business. You boys know
+how very incomplete an education at school must be which ends when the
+boy is fourteen years old. But you don’t know until your own experience
+proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to compete for the
+high places in life or in business with boys of equal natural ability,
+who have had the full advantage of a liberal school education. At
+fourteen, then, James Claghorn turned his back on school and went to
+work in earnest. For it was an auction store that he entered, and the
+work there was usually harder work than in other kinds of stores. The
+hours of labor were longer――earlier and later――and the holidays more
+rare than in ordinary commercial houses.
+
+There is no record of the early years of his business life; but it is
+not difficult to imagine the hardships to which a young lad of that
+time would be subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence was
+allowed him because his father was one of the partners in the firm;
+neither he nor his father would have permitted such distinction.
+
+The boy must have been _industrious_; for in such a house there was no
+place for an idle lounger. He was not afraid of work, for he was always
+at it; he did not spare himself, else some other boy would have done
+his share and got ahead of him; he must have been _faithful_, not one
+who works only when his master’s eye is on him――not shirking any hard
+work――not forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday――not thinking
+too much of his rights or his own particular work, but doing anything
+that came to hand――looking always to the interest of the firm, and
+trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.
+
+And he must have been _patient_. Many rough words, many hasty and
+passionate words are spoken to young boys, and must have been spoken to
+this boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason to believe
+from the character he built up that he knew how to hold his tongue and
+not answer back. Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
+hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent discharge of boys
+who will “answer back” when they are reproved.
+
+And I think also that he must have been of a bright and cheery
+disposition and well mannered. Some young fellows who have to make
+their way in the world seem not to know the importance of a good
+address; in other words, politeness, good breeding. Nothing impresses
+one so favorably at first meeting a stranger as good manners. A
+frank, hearty greeting, a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a
+willingness to consider others, a desire to please for the sake of
+giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the contrary, sullenness,
+sluggishness, indifference, selfishness are all repulsive, and though
+allowance will be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
+yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young person, and they
+will certainly unfit him for a successful career. I did not know Mr.
+Claghorn when he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that the
+kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later life could have been a
+morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered boy.
+
+I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while still a boy; but we
+must not infer that he supposed his education was complete with the
+end of his school life, for it is very evident that he must have
+given very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We do not know
+how his evenings were spent when not in the counting-house; but he
+must have given a good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely
+that the books which he read were such as are to be found now at any
+book-stand, and in the hands of so many boys as they go to and fro on
+their errands――books which are simply read without instruction, and
+which sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant, coarse
+and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond of fiction. All boys of fair
+education and refined taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we
+can hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to such reading,
+else he could not have become the strong business man that he was. At
+a very early age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as his
+means would permit engravings and pictures such as would cultivate his
+taste in that direction. When he could spare the money he would buy
+an engraving, if the subject or the author interested him; so that he
+became, in the latter part of his life, the owner of one of the largest
+collections of engravings in the whole country. Indeed, he became a
+noted patron of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
+_native_ art, so that at one period he had more than two hundred
+paintings, the work of American artists; for at that time he was more
+desirous of encouraging native artists, especially if they were poor,
+than he was in making collections of the great masters. Many a picture
+he bought to help the artist, rather than for his own gratification
+as a collector. Further on in life he became deeply interested in
+the Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut street
+above Tenth. Subsequently he became its President, and very largely
+through his influence and his personal means that fine building at the
+southwest corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all of you ought
+to visit as opportunity is afforded, was erected as a depository of
+art. The splendid building of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
+street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its erection.
+
+But I am anticipating, and we must now go back to Mr. Claghorn in
+his counting-house. No longer a boy――an apprentice――he has grown to
+manhood, and has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
+place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the hours of business,
+which were long before, are longer now; he begins very early in
+the morning, before sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes
+detained late in the evening, the long day being entirely devoted to
+business; and no one knows, except one who has gone through that sort
+of experience, how much labor is involved in such a life; but not only
+his labors――his responsibilities are greatly increased. He becomes the
+financial man in the firm; he is the head of the counting-house; he
+has charge of the books and the accounts. For many years no entry was
+made in the huge ledgers except in his own handwriting. The credit of
+the house of Myers & Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
+financial excitement and distress comes on. This house, while others
+are going down on the right and left like ships in a storm, stands
+erect with unimpaired credit, and with opportunities of helping other
+and weaker houses which so much needed help. The name of his firm was a
+synonym of all that is strong and admirable in business management.
+
+So he passed the best years of his whole life in earnest attention to
+business, snatching all the leisure he could for the gratification
+of his passion, it may be called, for art, until the time came when,
+having acquired what was at that time supposed to be an abundant
+competency, he determined to retire from business. Now he appears to
+contemplate a long rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
+arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment, when the
+country became involved in the Great Rebellion. None of you, except
+as you read it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
+country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at Fort Sumter.
+Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his country and unwilling to do what
+seemed to him almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
+his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself most diligently and
+earnestly to the duties of a true, loyal citizen in the support of the
+government. He was one of the earliest members of the Union League,
+and was largely interested in collecting money for the raising and
+equipping of regiments to be sent to the front. Three or four years of
+his life were spent in this laudable work, and in company with those
+of like mind he was largely instrumental in accomplishing great good.
+The war, however, came to an end――was fought out to its final and
+inevitable issue.
+
+Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned with increased
+interest. His business affairs, although they had not been as
+profitable as they would have been if he had looked closer to them
+and had given less thought to public matters during the war, were so
+satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other hands for a
+while, and in company with his wife he embarked for Europe. It was
+to be a long holiday such as he had never known before. He intended
+to make an extended tour――he was not to be hurried. He went through
+England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy,
+Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland
+and Belgium. In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most famous
+picture-galleries of the old world; and his long study of art in its
+various phases and schools gave him special advantages for the highest
+enjoyment of the great collections, public and private, of the old
+masters as well as of those of modern times.
+
+The interest of his extended tour was not, however, limited to
+galleries and collections of paintings and statuary. He was an observer
+of men and things. His practical American mind observed and digested
+everything that came within his reach. The government of the great
+cities――the condition of the masses of the people gathered in them――the
+common people outside of the cities, their customs and costumes; their
+way of living――in short, everything that was unlike what we see at
+home――he observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect of after
+years.
+
+It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn, having lived the busy
+life that he had lived before he went abroad, should have been content
+on his return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned leisure;
+and accordingly, shortly after his return, he became the President of
+the Commercial National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
+in our city. For several years previously he had been a Director in
+the Philadelphia National Bank (as his father had before him), so
+that he had had proper training for the duties of his new position.
+He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, the
+oldest and the largest saving fund in our city. With most commendable
+diligence and industry he at once set about building up the bank so as
+to make it profitable to its stockholders. Not forgetting, however,
+the attractions of art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
+beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so that even the daily
+routine of business life might be enlivened by glimpses into the
+attractive world of art.
+
+In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts was created by act of
+Legislature (to which board is committed the vast estate left by Mr.
+Girard, as well as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
+Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board of twelve, and
+from that date until his death he gave much time and thought to the
+duties thus devolved upon him. He became chairman of the finance
+committee, which place he held until the end of his life. Although he
+was not so well known to the boys of the college as some other members
+of this board, because his duties did not require very frequent visits
+to the college, he nevertheless gave himself to the duties of the
+committee of which he was chairman with great interest and fidelity;
+and the time which he gave to this great work is not to be measured by
+visits to the college, but by the time spent in the city office and in
+his own place of business, where his committee met him on their stated
+meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep personal interest in
+all the affairs of this college, and of the other trusts committed to
+our charge.
+
+Although the condition of his health in the latter part of his life
+made close attention to business very trying to him, so far as I
+know he never permitted his health to interfere with his business
+engagements.
+
+In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to set before you
+some features of the life of one of our most distinguished citizens.
+In the limits of a single discourse as brief as this must be it is
+not possible to make this more than an outline sketch. In the little
+time that remains let me refer again for the purpose of emphasis to
+some traits in the character of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear
+reconsideration.
+
+A very large proportion of the merchants of any city fail in business.
+The proportion is much larger than is generally known, and larger than
+young people are willing to believe.
+
+In an experience of more than forty years of business life, during
+which I have had much to do with merchants, I have known so many
+failures, have seen so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am
+compelled to regard a merchant who has maintained high credit for a
+long term of years and finally retired from business with a handsome
+estate as one who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
+fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners in successful
+business, the good management having been due to the ability and tact
+of their seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present case. The
+merchant whose life we are considering was an active and influential
+partner.
+
+Let me say, however, that true success in business is not to be
+measured by the amount of money one accumulates. A man may be rich
+in the riches acquired by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
+no high sense a successful business man. These things are necessary:
+He should be a just man, an upright, honorable man, a man of breadth
+and solidity of character, who gathers about him some of the ablest
+and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the good of others and
+the welfare of society. In such sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful
+business man.
+
+His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial aid and
+encouragement he gave to young students in their beginnings, his deep
+sympathy with persons who in literature and art were striving for a
+living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public spirit――all
+these had their influence in the growth and development of his
+character, and made his name to be loved and honored by many who shared
+in his generous sympathies.
+
+Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call patriotism, was signally
+disclosed at the outbreak of the war in 1861. When we remember his
+long and busy life as a merchant――broken by few or no vacations such
+as most other men enjoyed――when we remember that his self-culture had
+been of such a nature as to prepare him most admirably well for a
+tour in foreign countries, especially such countries as had produced
+the ablest, the most distinguished artists――we can have some idea of
+what it cost him to forego the much needed rest――to deny himself the
+well-earned pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of Europe,
+where are gathered the treasures of the highest art in all the world.
+Many men in like circumstances would have felt that one man, whose age
+and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service in the field,
+would hardly be missed from among the loyal citizens of the North――but
+he did not think so; and therefore he put aside all his personal plans,
+and in the city where he was born he remained and devoted himself
+as one of her true, loyal citizens in raising money and men for the
+defence of the government. There could be no truer heroism than this,
+and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose to the end.
+
+“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at his funeral, and with
+his words I close these remarks, “I am permitted to address to you
+in the presence of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
+occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know no more in life. A
+few Saturday evenings ago I was walking along by a lake at a seashore
+home when a great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my eye.
+It was one of those inimitable pictures that rarely come to one. In
+the foreground there lay a lake with no ripple on its surface. It was
+a calm and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the western sky. The
+sun had gone, but where he disappeared were indications of beauty――one
+of the most beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not one of
+the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there came many reflections.
+Here is one of them. It seems quite applicable this morning. That which
+caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused the radiation of
+beauty, had gone. Its day’s work was done. That quiet lake and streaked
+sky were the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life that
+had been accomplished. It was a complete thing. The day was done. The
+activity had passed away. It was finished just as this life. What had
+made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments of beauty
+that made the scene as beautiful as good words and noble deeds make
+the memory of man. There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
+of this community, you will do well to remember that anywhere and
+everywhere, without patience and industry, nothing great can be done.
+The life departed was a busy one――one of busy usefulness. The cry that
+came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be busy.’ Live as this man
+did, that your life may be one that can be held up as an example and a
+light to young men of the coming generations. One ray of beauty was
+his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid thing to be trusted by your
+fellows. Another ray was his prudent foresight. It was characteristic
+of him, and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray that welled out
+of him was his striking humanity. There was one continual trait in his
+character. I would call it manhoodness. There was another feature――his
+deep humility.”
+
+Such were some of the traits of character of a man who lived a long
+life in the city where he was born. If no distinctive monument has been
+erected to his memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy of
+the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of Music,” with which his name will
+always be associated; and, what is better still, there are many hearts
+that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish man, who in time
+of sore need stretched out his hand to help, and that hand was never
+empty. And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this man who did so
+much for his native city and for his fellow-citizens was not nearly so
+well educated at the age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
+are now. See what he did; see what some of you may do!
+
+
+
+
+                         THE LEAF TURNED OVER.
+
+                           January 1, 1888.
+
+
+Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning Over a New Leaf.”
+One of the directors of this college to whom I sent a printed copy said
+I ought to follow those with another on this subject: “The Leaf Turned
+Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion and shall now try to follow
+his advice.
+
+Most thoughtful people as they approach the end of a year are apt to
+ask themselves some plain questions――as to their manner of life, their
+habits of thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
+their home, their families, their companions, their plans for the
+future, their duty to their fellow-men, their duty to God; in short,
+whether the year about to close has been a happy one; whether they have
+been successful or otherwise in what they have attempted to do.
+
+The merchant, manufacturer or man of business of any kind who keeps
+books, and whose accounts are properly kept, looks with great interest
+at his account book at such a time, to see whether his business has
+been profitable or otherwise, whether he has lost or made money,
+whether his capital is larger or smaller than it was at the beginning
+of the year, whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able to
+pay his debts or is bankrupt.
+
+And to very many persons engaged in business for themselves, this is
+a time of great anxiety, for one can hardly tell exactly whether he
+is getting on favorably until his account books are posted and the
+balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and the result of the
+year’s business is a loss, that means a reduction of capital, and
+raises the question whether this can go on for some years without
+failure and bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks with great
+anxiety to the month of December, and especially to the end of it,
+to learn whether he shall be able to go on in his business, however
+humble. And, alas! there are many whose books of account are so badly
+kept, and whose balances are so rarely struck, or who keep no account
+books at all, that they never know how they stand, but are always under
+the apprehension that any day they may fail to meet their obligations
+and so fail and become bankrupt. They were insolvent long before, but
+they did not know it; and they have gone on from bad to worse until
+they are ruined. Others, again, are afraid to look closely into their
+account books――afraid to have the balances struck, lest they should
+be convinced that their affairs are in a hopeless condition. Unhappy
+cowards they are, for if insolvent the sooner they know it the better,
+that they may make the best settlement they can with their creditors,
+if the business is worth following at all, and begin again, “turning
+over a new leaf.”
+
+I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever thought much on these
+subjects; for you are not in business as principals or as clerks, you
+have no merchandise or produce or money to handle, you have no account
+books for yourselves or for other people to keep, to post, to balance,
+and you may think you have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to
+be able to show you that these things are not matters of indifference
+to you.
+
+The year 1887, which closed last night, was just as much _your_ year as
+it was that of any man, even the busiest man of affairs. When it came,
+365 days ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left all of
+you here. And the question naturally arises, what have you done with
+this time, all these days and nights? Every page in the account books
+of certain kinds of business represents a day of business, and either
+the figures on both the debit and the credit side are added up and
+carried forward, or the balance of the two sides of the page is struck
+and carried over leaf to the next page.
+
+So every day of the past year represents a page in the history of your
+lives: for every life, even the plainest and most humble, has its own
+peculiar history. Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling
+things occur to break the monotony of school life, but each day has
+its own duties and makes its own record. Three hundred and sixty-five
+pages of the book of the history of every young life here were duly
+filled by the records of all the things done or neglected, of the words
+spoken or unspoken, of the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages
+with their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were turned over,
+and are now numbered with the things that are past and gone. When an
+accountant or book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year are
+closed and the balances struck, that errors had crept in which have
+disturbed the accuracy of his work, he cannot go back with a knife and
+erase the errors and write in the correct figures; neither can he blot
+them out, nor rub them out as you do examples from a slate or from
+the blackboard; he must correct his mistakes; he must counteract his
+blunders by new entries on a new page.
+
+It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night at midnight the last
+page of the leaves of the book of the old year was filled with its
+record, whatever it was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
+What do we see? What does every one of you see? A fair, white page.
+And each one of you holds a pen in his hand and the inkstand is within
+reach; you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page, the
+thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed than any pen, even
+that of the quickest shorthand writer can put them on the page. There
+are stenographers who can take the language of the most rapid speakers,
+but no stenographer has ever yet appeared who can put his own thoughts
+on paper as rapidly as they come into his mind. But while there is but
+one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge of what is passing
+in your mind and retain it all――THE INFINITE MIND; and while no one
+page of any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers call
+elephant folio, can possibly hold the record of what any boy here says
+and thinks in a single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
+words good or bad on the page before you.
+
+Let me take one of these boys not far from the desk, a boy of sixteen
+or seventeen years of age, who is now waiting, pen in hand, to write
+the thoughts now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts? No one
+knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I think he ought to write? It
+is something like this:
+
+“I have been here many years. When I came I was young and ignorant. I
+found myself among many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I ever
+saw before, who cared no more for me than I cared for them. I felt
+very strange; the first few days and nights I was very unhappy, for I
+missed very much my mother and the others whom I had left at home. But
+very soon these feelings passed away. I was put to school at once, and
+in the school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the things and
+the people about my other home. Years passed. I was promoted from one
+school to another, from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
+my classmates were no longer little boys; we were all looking up and
+looking forward to the school promotions, and I became a big boy. The
+lessons were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand at
+last why I was sent here, and to ask myself the question, what might
+reasonably be expected of me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
+would force itself upon me, what use am I making of my fine advantages,
+or am I making the best use of them? And what manner of man shall I
+be? For I know full well that all well-educated boys do not succeed in
+life――do not become successful men in the highest and best sense. How
+do I know that I shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
+the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly manly, trustworthy
+boy? Have I succeeded while going through the course of school studies
+in building up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this great
+school? Can those who know me best place the most confidence in me? If
+I am looking forward to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or
+in a lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a place in a
+railroad office or a bank, am I really trying to fit myself for such a
+place, or am I simply drifting along from day to day, doing only what I
+am compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to rise above the
+dull average of my companions? And then, as I look at the difficulties
+in the way of every young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
+has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present and the persons
+and things that surround me now, and look to a higher and better Helper
+than is to be found in this world? Have I not at times heard words of
+good counsel in this chapel, from the lips of those who come to give me
+and my companions wholesome advice? What attention have I given to such
+advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt it, that the great God
+stoops from heaven and speaks to my soul, and offers his Divine help,
+and even holds out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take my
+hand in his, and help me over all hard places, and will never let me
+go, if I cling to him, and will assure me success in everything that is
+right and good. I have heard all this over and over again; I know it is
+true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed it; I have not acted
+accordingly; in fact, I have treated the whole matter as if it were
+unreal, or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to me.
+
+“And now I have come probably to my last year in this school. Before
+another New Year’s day some other boy will have my desk in the
+school-room, my bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
+in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they have seemed, have
+nearly all passed; I shall soon go away; if some place is not found
+for me I must find one for myself――oh! what will become of me? Since
+last New Year’s day two boys who were educated here have been sent
+convicted criminals to the Eastern Penitentiary. What are they thinking
+about on this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats, they sang
+our hymns, they heard the same good words of advice which I have heard,
+they had all the good opportunities which all of us have; what led them
+astray? Did they believe that the good God stooped from heaven to say
+good words to them, holding out his strong hand to help them? I wonder
+if they thought they were strong enough to take care of themselves?
+I wonder if they thought they could get along without his help? Do I
+think I can?”
+
+Some such thoughts as these may be passing in the mind of the boy now
+looking at me and sitting not far from the desk, the boy whom I had
+in my mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen full of ink. He
+has written nothing yet; he has been listening with some curiosity to
+hear what the speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a boy’s
+thoughts.
+
+I can tell that boy what _I_ would write if I were at his age, in this
+college, and surrounded by these circumstances, listening to these
+serious, earnest words. I would take my pen and write on the first page
+of this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New Year’s day, these
+words: “_The leaf is turned over!_ God help me to lead a better life.
+God forgive all the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all
+my forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God keep me from wicked
+thoughts which defile the soul; keep me from wicked words which defile
+the souls of others.”
+
+“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me to begin my journal by
+writing a prayer?”
+
+Yes; but this is not all. Write again.
+
+1. _I will not willingly break any of the rules which are adopted for
+the government of our school._
+
+Some of the rules may _seem_ hard to obey, and even unreasonable, but
+they were made for my good by those who are wiser than I am. I _can_
+obey them; I _will_.
+
+2. _I will work harder over my lessons than ever before, and I will
+recite them more accurately._
+
+This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall be the better for it;
+it will not be long, for I am going soon; I _can_, I _will_.
+
+3. _I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully than I have
+ever done before._
+
+If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no more. It is a common
+fault; many of us boys have fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I
+will do so no more; I _can_ stop it, I _will_.
+
+4. _I will be more careful in my daily life here, to set a good example
+in all things, than I have ever been before._
+
+The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate them closely. They
+watch us, our words, our ways, our behavior in all things. If any young
+fellows have been misled by me, it shall be so no more. I will behave
+so that no one shall be the worse for doing as I do. This is quite
+within my control; I _can_, I _will_.
+
+5. _I will look to God to help me to do these things._
+
+For I have tried to do something like this before and failed; it must
+be because I depended on my own strength. Now I will look away from
+myself and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is strong, nothing
+is holy.” He _can_ help me; he surely will, if I throw myself on his
+mercy, and by daily prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for
+a moment or two each day, I shall see light and find peace.
+
+These are the things that I would write, my boy, if I were just as you
+are.
+
+Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther and say some words to
+others here?
+
+Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all under your charge,
+and every day. The same good Providence that brought them here for
+education and support, brought you here also to teach them and care
+for them. Your work is exacting, laborious, unremitting. Some of these
+young boys are trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
+almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are discouraged by what seems
+to be the almost hopeless nature of your work, the untidiness, the
+rough manners, the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these young
+boys. But remember that all this is inevitable; that from the nature of
+the case it must be so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
+to good order, to train and educate these young lives so that they
+shall be well educated, well informed, well mannered, polite, gentle,
+considerate, so they may be fairly well assured of a successful future,
+is a great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the highest
+intelligence. This is exactly what the great founder had in his mind
+when he established this college and provided so munificently for its
+endowment. This is what his trustees most earnestly desire, and the
+hope of which rewards them for the many hours they give every week to
+the care of this great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the plan
+of instruction here, not only in the schools, but in the section rooms
+and on the play-grounds. Be to these older boys their big brothers,
+their best friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled to
+reprove them for their many faults.
+
+And to those of you who have the care of the younger boys, let me
+say: remember, they have no mothers here; they are very young to send
+from home; they are homesick at times; they hardly know how to behave
+themselves; they shock your sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you
+almost to distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage them,
+love them, for if _you_ do not, who will? And what will become of them?
+And remember what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life out
+of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and make a real man of
+it. Oh! friends, suffer these words of exhortation, for they come from
+one who has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying work.
+
+    And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it from
+    whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
+    found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
+    stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book
+    was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged
+    out of those things which were written in the books, according
+    to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it;
+    and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them;
+    and they were judged every man according to his works――Rev. xx.
+    11–13.
+
+
+
+
+                           THANKSGIVING DAY.
+
+                          November 29, 1888.
+
+
+The President of the United States, in a proclamation which you have
+just heard, has set apart this 29th day of November for a day of
+thanksgiving and prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
+given to the people of our country, and for a continuance of these
+mercies. His example has been followed by the governors of Pennsylvania
+and many, if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe that
+all over the land, from Maine to Alaska, and from the great lakes to
+the Gulf of Mexico, the people in large numbers are now gathered or
+gathering in their places of worship, in obedience to this proper
+recommendation. The directors of this college, in full sympathy with
+the thoughts of our rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released
+you from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel, and asked you
+to unite with the people generally in giving thanks to God for the
+past, and imploring his mercies for the future. For you are a part of
+the people, and although not yet able, from your minority, to take an
+active part in the government, are yet being rapidly prepared for this
+great right of citizenship. It is the high privilege of an American
+boy, to know that when he becomes a man he will have just as clear a
+right as any other man, to exercise all the functions of a freeman,
+in choosing the men who are to be intrusted with the responsibilities
+of government. What are some of the things that give us cause for
+thankfulness to Almighty God? Very briefly such as these:
+
+1. _This is a Christian country._ Although there is not, and cannot
+be, any part or branch of the church established by law, there is
+assured liberty for every citizen to worship God by himself, or with
+others in congregations, as he or they may choose, in such forms of
+worship as may be preferred, with none to molest or make afraid. Here
+is absolute freedom of worship. And even if it be that the name of God
+is not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or governor or
+public officer can be inducted or inaugurated in high office except by
+taking oath on the book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
+faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there were nothing
+else, this public acknowledgment of the being of Almighty God and our
+accountability to him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
+a Christian people.
+
+2. _This is a free government_, free in the sense that the people
+choose their own rulers, whether of towns, cities, States, or the
+nation. There is no hereditary rule here, and cannot be. We not
+only _choose_ our own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them
+for whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority accept the
+decision when it is ascertained, without doubt, without a question of
+its righteousness; they only want to know whether the majority have
+actually chosen this or that candidate, and they accept frankly, if not
+cheerfully. We have had a splendid illustration of this within this
+present month. The great party that has administered the government
+for four years past, on the verdict of the majority, are preparing to
+retire and will retire on the fourth of March next, and give up the
+government to the other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere
+else in the world can such a revolution be accomplished on so grand
+a scale, by so many people, with so little friction. This government
+then is better than _any monarchy_, no matter how carefully guarded
+by constitutional restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
+governments are in Europe: the best of all in England; but the
+governments of Europe have many and great concessions to make to the
+people, before they can stand side by side with the United States in
+strong, healthy, considerate management of the people. It has been said
+that the best machinery is that which has the least friction, and as
+the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of government will be
+so smooth that the people will hardly know that they are governed at
+all; in fact, they will be their own governors. This time is coming as
+sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand, and you boys can hasten
+it by your own upright, manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
+forget that this is a government of the majority, and you must see to
+it that the majority be true men.
+
+3. _We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of the world._ The
+Atlantic separates us from Europe on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from
+South America on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes our
+western shores. We are a continent to ourselves, with the exception of
+Mexico, a sister republic on the south, with whom we are not likely to
+quarrel again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north, which, if never
+to become a part of ourselves, will at least at some day, and probably
+not a very distant day, become independent of the mother country as we
+did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained our freedom.
+Our distance from Europe relieves us entirely from the consideration
+of subjects which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
+which very often thrill the rest of the world in the apprehension of
+a general war in Europe. We are under no necessity of annexing other
+territory. We are not afraid of what is called “the balance of power;”
+we have no army that is worthy of the name, because we don’t need one,
+and we can make one if we should need it; and we have no navy to speak
+of, though I think we ought to have for the protection of our commerce,
+when our commerce shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
+with other nations; the great father of his country in his Farewell
+Address warned the people against this danger.
+
+4. _Our country is very large._ You school-boys can tell me as well as
+I can tell you what degrees of latitude and longitude we reach, and how
+many millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we brag too much
+about the great extent of our country; but I do not refer to it now for
+boasting, but as a matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
+It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic to the tropics,
+gives us every variety of climate and almost every variety of product
+that the earth produces; and I am sure that the time will come when,
+under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have yet reached, our
+soil will produce everything that grows anywhere else in the world. The
+corn harvest now being gathered in our country will reach _two thousand
+millions of bushels_. The mind staggers under such ponderous figures
+and quantities. Our wheat fields are hardly less productive; our
+potatoes and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products of our
+cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything that our soil above ground
+yields; and the enormous yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our
+natural gas, our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent
+and binding the people together with bands of steel――all these, and
+many others, which time will not permit me even to mention, give some
+faint idea of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty God has
+given to the American people. And do we not well therefore, when we
+come together on a day like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?
+
+5. _The general education of the people_ is another reason for
+thankfulness to God. The system is not yet universal, but it will be at
+no distant day. You boys will live to see the day when every man, woman
+and child born in the United States (except those who are too young or
+feeble-minded) will be able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to
+come. Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn to do their
+own reading and thinking, we shall not fear anarchists and atheists and
+the many other fools who, under one name or another, are now trying to
+make this people discontented with their lot. There is no need for such
+people here, and no place for them; they have made a mistake in coming
+to this free land, as some of them found to their cost on the gallows
+at Chicago.
+
+6. _We have no war in our country, no famine, and with the exception of
+poor Jacksonville, Florida, no pestilence._ Famine we have never known,
+and with such an extent of country we have little need to dread such a
+scourge as that. No one need suffer for food in our country, and this
+is the only country in the world of which this can be said; for labor
+of some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap, plain kinds of
+food, that none but the utterly dissipated and worthless need starve;
+and in fact none do starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
+the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering not only, but
+actually provide them with a home, that for real comfort is not known
+elsewhere in the world.
+
+Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful proportions, but even
+then the alleviations furnished by the Christian Commission greatly
+relieved some of its most horrid features; and we are not likely to see
+war again, for there will be hereafter nothing to quarrel and fight
+about. Our political differences will never again lead to the taking up
+of arms in deadly strife.
+
+Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness which led the President
+of the United States to ask the people, by public proclamation, to turn
+aside for one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
+their counting-houses, to close the schools, and assemble in their
+places of worship and thank God, the giver of every good and perfect
+gift.
+
+But I don’t think the President of the United States knew what special
+reasons the Girard College boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
+shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some of them.
+
+1. This foundation is under the control of the Board of City
+Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the bulk of his great estate for this
+noble purpose, he gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
+Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia could act
+only through its legislative body, the select and common councils,
+bodies elected by the people, and consequently more or less under the
+influence of one or the other of the great political parties. Nearly
+twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr. William Welsh, who became
+the first President of the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of
+Pennsylvania took from the control of councils all the charitable
+trusts of the city and committed them to this board. If any political
+influences were ever unworthily exerted in the former board it ceased
+when the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges of the
+Supreme Court named the first directors of the City Trusts. These
+directors are all your friends; they give much thought, much labor,
+much anxiety to your well-being, desiring to do the best things that
+are possible to be done for your welfare, and to do them in the best
+way. Many of them have been successful in finding desirable situations
+for such of your number as were prepared to accept such places. I am
+glad to say that I have three college boys associated with me in my
+business; Mr. Stuart had two; Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner
+has two, and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other members of the
+board have also, so you see our interest in you is not limited to the
+time which we spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
+but we are ever on the lookout for things which we hope may be to your
+advantage.
+
+2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these beautiful buildings,
+which were erected for your use; these grounds, which are so well kept
+and which are so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
+that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine shall lack
+nothing that is desirable to make them what they ought to be; the
+text-books which you use in school, the best that can be found; the
+teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can be procured; the
+prefects and governesses chosen from among many applicants, and because
+they are supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who have
+to do with you here are chosen because they are supposed to be well
+qualified to discharge their duties most successfully. The arrangements
+for your lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of your
+tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick, are such as, in the
+judgment of the trustees, the great founder himself would approve if he
+could be consulted. Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
+on this Thanksgiving Day.
+
+3. _You all have a birthright._
+
+What that meant in the earliest times we do not fully know; but it
+meant at least to be the head or father of the family, a sort of
+domestic priesthood, the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great
+nation. In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son has by
+right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting the principal
+part of the property, and he is the representative of the estate. They
+call it there the _law of primogeniture_, or the law of the first-born.
+In our country there is no birthright in families, and we have no law
+to make the eldest born in any respect more favored than the other and
+younger children.
+
+But you Girard boys have a birthright which means a great deal. The
+founder of this great school left the bulk of his large estate to
+the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
+a certain class of boys, very particularly described, to which you
+belong. The provision he made for you was most liberal. Everything that
+his trustees consider necessary for your careful support and thorough
+education is to be provided. Nothing is to be wanting which money
+wisely expended can supply. _This is your birthright._ No earthly power
+can take it from you without your consent. No commercial distress, no
+financial panic, no change of political rulers, no combination of party
+politics can interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing but the
+loss of health or life, or your own misconduct, can deprive you of this
+great birthright. Do you boys fully appreciate this?
+
+Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here who is willing to
+_sell_ this birthright as Esau did?
+
+Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so profane and foul in
+speech, so vicious in character, so wicked in behavior, as to be an
+unfit companion for his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to
+remain among them? Is there a boy here who, for the gratification
+of a vicious appetite, will _sell_ that privilege of support and
+education so abundantly provided here? So guarded is this trust, so
+sacred almost, that no human being can take it away from you: will
+you deliberately _throw it away_? The wretched Esau, in the old
+Jewish history, under the pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his
+birthright with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no such
+temptation as tried him, with no temptation but the perverseness of
+your own will and your love of self-indulgence, will you _sell your
+birthright_? Bitterly did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
+to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he never did recover
+his lost birthright, though he sought it carefully and with tears. And
+he had no one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.
+
+Boys, if you pass through this college course not making the best use
+of your time, or if you allow yourselves to fall into such evil habits
+as will make it necessary to send you away from the college――and this
+after all the kind words that have been spoken to you and the faithful
+warnings that have been given you――you will lose that which can never
+be restored to you, which can never be made up to you in any other way
+elsewhere. You will prove yourselves more foolish, more wicked than
+Esau, for you will lose more than he did, and you will do it against
+kinder remonstrances than he had.
+
+4. There is another feature of the management here which gives especial
+satisfaction. When a boy leaves the college to go to a place which has
+been chosen for him, or which he has found by his own exertions, he
+is looked after until he reaches the age of twenty-one, by an officer
+especially appointed, and as we believe well adapted to that service.
+And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable circumstances and
+under hard task-masters, with people who have no sympathy with his
+youth and inexperience, many such have been visited and encouraged,
+helped and so assisted towards true success.
+
+5. But what is there to make each particular boy thankful to-day? Why
+you are all in good health; and if you would know how much that means
+go to the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are not able to
+be in the chapel to-day, not able to be in the play-grounds, who are
+looking out of the windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
+with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God bless them.
+
+You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who are less robust have
+warmer clothing, and all of you are shielded and guarded as well as the
+trustees know how to care for you, so that you may be trained to be
+strong men.
+
+You are all having a holiday; no school to-day; no shop-work to-day;
+no paying marks to-day; no punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
+Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable is put out of
+sight and ought to be put out of mind.
+
+You are all to have a good dinner. Even now, while we are here in the
+chapel and while some of you are growing impatient at my speech, think
+of the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think of the roast
+turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot potatoes, the gravy, the
+dressing, the mince pies, the apples afterwards, and all the other good
+things which make your mouths water, and make my mouth water even to
+mention the names. Then after dinner you go to your homes, and you have
+a good time there.
+
+The last thing I mention which you ought to be thankful for is having a
+short speech.
+
+
+
+
+               [Illustration: _Professor W. H. Allen._]
+
+
+
+
+                   ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.
+
+                          September 24, 1882.
+
+                  “_Remember how He spake unto you._”
+
+
+These are the words of an angel. They were spoken in the early morning
+while it was yet dark, to frightened and sorrowful women, who had
+gone to the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to embalm
+his body. These women fully expected to find the body of their Lord;
+for as they went they said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from
+the sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they found the stone was
+rolled away and the grave was empty. And one of them ran back to the
+disciples to tell them that the grave was open and the body gone. Those
+that remained went into the sepulchre and saw two men in glittering
+garments, who, seeing that the women were perplexed and afraid,
+standing with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a shade of
+reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is
+not here, he is risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
+hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember how he spake unto you when
+he was yet in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into
+the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise
+again.’”
+
+The words that are quoted as having been spoken by Jesus to his
+disciples were spoken in Galilee six months or more before this, and as
+they were not clearly understood at the time, it is not so very strange
+that they should have been forgotten.
+
+It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well as the other
+disciples of the Lord, had remembered other words, and all the words
+that the Lord spake to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all
+other places. The world would be better to-day if those gracious words
+had been more carefully laid to heart.
+
+I hope the words of my text will bear, without too much accommodation,
+the use which I shall make of them.
+
+Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was born in the family of
+a New England farmer. It was in the then territory of Maine, and near
+the little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor people, and
+the child grew up, as many other farmers’ children grew up, accustomed
+to plain living and such work as children could properly be set to
+do. In the winter he went to school, as well as at other times when
+the farm work was not pressing. It would be very interesting to know,
+if we _could_ know, whether there was anything peculiar in the early
+disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he grew up with nothing
+to distinguish him from his playmates. If we could only know what
+children would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I think, be
+very careful to observe and record any little traits and peculiarities
+of their early childhood. The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
+know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have been prepared at the
+academy for college, which he entered at the advanced age of twenty-one
+years. Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he set out to
+teach the classics in a little town in the interior of the State of New
+York. While engaged in that seminary, he was called to a professorship
+in Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of Pennsylvania.
+In Dickinson College he held successively the chairs of chemistry
+and the natural sciences, and that of English literature, until his
+resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of Girard College.
+
+From this time until his death, except during an interval of five
+years, his life was spent here. For twenty-seven years he gave himself
+to the work of organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
+college, with an interest and efficiency which, until within the last
+year, never flagged. It is not possible at this day for any of us to
+appreciate the difficulties he had to encounter in the early days of
+the college, but we do know that he did the work well.
+
+See how he was prepared for the work he did. He was a lover of study.
+When only eight years old he had learned the English grammar so well
+that his teacher said he could not teach him anything further in that
+study. There was an old family Bible that was very highly prized by all
+the family, and his father told him that if he would read that Bible
+through by the time he was ten years old, it should be his property.
+The boy did so, and claimed and received his reward. That book is now
+in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon). This early reading
+of the Bible will, perhaps, account for President Allen’s unusual
+familiarity with the Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his
+prayers in this school chapel.
+
+The school to which he went in his early youth was three miles from
+his father’s house; and in all kinds of weather, through the heats of
+summer and the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.
+
+I have said that his parents were not rich; and this young man pushed
+his way through college by teaching, thus earning the money necessary
+for his support. This may account for the fact that he entered college
+at the age when most young men are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years.
+It did not seem to him that it was a great misfortune to be poor; but
+it was an additional inducement to call forth all his powers to insure
+success. He knew that he must depend upon himself if he would succeed
+in life. And so he was not satisfied with qualifying himself for one
+chair in a college, but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three chairs.
+He could teach the classics or mathematics or general literature,
+or chemistry or natural sciences. Not many men had qualities so
+diversified, or knew so well how to put them to good account. You know
+very well that this liberal culture was not acquired without hard work.
+And this hard work he must have done in early life, before cares and
+duties crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older we grow.
+
+“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would give these words a two-fold
+meaning――remember _what_ he said and _how_ he said it.
+
+Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of any man, even if he
+has lived more than three-score years and ten. In all these years
+President Allen was going in and out before the college boys, saying
+good and kind words to them.
+
+How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was _your church_, and the
+only church that you could attend, except on holidays. His purpose was
+that this chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy of the
+day. So important did he consider it, that when his turn came to speak
+to you here, he prepared himself carefully. He always wrote his little
+discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and heart he put into
+them. He thought that nothing that he or any other speaker could bring
+was too good for you.
+
+And then the tones of his voice, the manner of his instruction; how
+gentle, kind, conciliating. He remembered the injunction of Scripture,
+“The servant of the Lord must not strive.” You will never know in this
+life how much he bore from you, how long he bore with your waywardness,
+your thoughtlessness; how much he loved you. He always called you “his
+boys.” No matter though some of you are almost men, he always called
+you “his boys,” much as the apostle John in his later years called his
+disciples his “little children.” For President Allen felt that in a
+certain sense he was a father to you all.
+
+For some time past you knew that his health was declining. You saw his
+bowed form and his feeble, hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice
+was tremulous and feeble. The boys on the back benches could not always
+understand his words distinctly. But you knew that he was in earnest in
+all that he did say. And for many months he was not able to speak at
+all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s Day he was seated in a chair,
+with some of his family about him, looking at the battalion boys as
+they were drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And as the
+summer advanced into August, and the people in his native State were
+gathering their harvests, he, too, was gathered, as a shock of corn
+fully ripe.
+
+When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old master, Arnold of Rugby,
+he was fishing in Scotland. It was read to him from a newspaper. He
+at once dropped everything and started for the old school. He was
+overwhelmed with distress. “When he reached the station he went at once
+to the school. At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a soul
+in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and sad; so with another
+effort he strode through the quadrangle, and into the school-house
+offices. He found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
+shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously about. She was
+evidently thinking of the same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin
+talking. Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting in his
+little den, as of old.
+
+“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’
+
+“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered Thomas. ‘You’d like to
+have the key, I dare say.’
+
+“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’
+
+“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go by yourself, sir?’”
+
+“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it, fancying himself the
+only mourner in all the broad land, and feeding on his own selfish
+sorrow.
+
+“He passed through the vestibule and then paused a moment to glance
+over the empty benches. His heart was still proud and high, and he
+walked up to the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form boy,
+and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The memories of eight
+years were all dancing through his brain, while his heart was throbbing
+with a dull sense of a great loss that could never be made up to him.
+The rays of the evening sun came solemnly through the painted windows
+over his head and fell in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the
+perfect stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to the pulpit and
+looked at it; and then leaning forward, with his head on his hands,
+groaned aloud. ‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
+minutes, have told him all that was in his heart, what he owed him,
+how he loved and reverenced him, and would, by God’s help, follow his
+steps in life and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
+But that he should have gone away forever, without knowing it all,
+was too much to bear.’ ‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’
+The thought made him start. ‘May he not even now be near me in this
+chapel?’”
+
+And with some such feelings as these I suppose many a boy will
+come back to the college and stand in this chapel, and recall the
+impressions he has received from President Allen here. But his voice
+will never be heard here again. Nothing remains but to “remember how he
+spake unto you.”
+
+I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in his coffin in the
+chapel, and you all looked on his face for the last time. What could
+be more impressive than the funeral? The crowded house, the waiting
+people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains of the organ, the sweet
+voices of children singing their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the
+appropriate address given by one of his own college boys, the thousand
+and more boys standing in open ranks for the procession to pass through
+to the college gates, the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many
+of his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow him in the
+coming years――all these thoughts make that funeral day one long to be
+remembered.
+
+Let us accept this as the will of Providence. There is nothing to
+regret for him; but for us, the void left by his withdrawal. He is
+leading a better life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
+and the best words I can say to you are, “remember how he spake unto
+you.”
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+    “But when the warrior dieth,
+      His comrades in the war
+    With arms reversed and muffled drums
+      Follow the funeral car.
+    They show the banners taken,
+      They tell his battles won,
+    And after him lead his masterless steed,
+      While peals the minute gun.
+
+    “Amid the noblest of the land
+      Men lay the _sage_ to rest,
+    And give the _bard_ an honored place,
+      With costly marble drest,
+    In the great Minster transept
+      Where lights like glories fall,
+    And the choir sings and the organ rings
+      Along the emblazoned wall.”
+
+
+
+
+                    A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.
+
+                           December 7, 1884.
+
+
+When I came here in April last I brought with me some friends, among
+whom was my son. And I said to him that some day I should wish _him_ to
+speak to you. He had so recently been a college boy himself, graduating
+at the University of Pennsylvania, and he was so fond of the games
+and plays of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys and
+young men, that I thought he might be able to say something that would
+interest you, and perhaps do you good.
+
+At a recent meeting of the proper committee his name was added to the
+list of persons who may be invited to speak to you. The last time I was
+at the college President Fetterolf asked me when my son could come to
+address you, and I replied that he was sick.
+
+That sickness was far more serious than any of us supposed; there was
+no favorable change, and at the end of twelve days he passed away.
+
+My suggestion that he might be invited to speak here led him to
+prepare a short address, which was found among his papers, and has,
+within a few days, been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
+apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final revision, which in
+copying for delivery he would have given it.
+
+I have thought it would be well for me to read to you this address; but
+I did not feel that I had any right to revise it, or to make any change
+in it whatever; so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding only a
+word here and there which was omitted in the hurried writing.
+
+    He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that
+    ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.――Proverbs xvi.
+    32.
+
+I want you to look with me at the latter part of each of these
+sentences, and see if we can’t understand a little better what Solomon
+meant by such words “_the mighty_” and “_he that taketh a city_.”
+
+Do you remember the wonderful dream that came to Solomon just after
+he had been made king over Israel? How God came to him while he was
+sleeping and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,” and how
+Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for wisdom. And God gave him
+wisdom, so that he became famous far and wide, and people from nations
+far off came to see him and learn of him.
+
+If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man that ever lived, you
+would say “Solomon.” Often you have heard one person say of another,
+“he is as wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of the way
+in which Solomon showed this wonderful gift. But his knowledge was
+not that of books, because there were not a great many books then for
+him to read. It was the knowledge which showed him how to do _right_,
+and how to be a _good ruler_ over his people. And because he chose
+such wisdom, the very best gift of God, God gave him besides, riches
+and everything that he could possibly desire. His horses and chariots
+were the most beautiful and the strongest; his armies were famous
+everywhere for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast numbers of
+servants to wait upon him, and to do his slightest wish. Presents, most
+magnificent, were sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
+about him. No king of Israel before or after him was so great and so
+powerful. And, greatest honor of all, God permitted him to build a
+temple for him――what his father David had so longed to do and was not
+allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s greatest desire before
+he died was to build a house for God. The ark of God had never had
+a house to rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
+palace to live in himself, and to have nothing but a _tent_ in which
+to keep God’s ark. But God would not suffer him to do that, although
+he was the king whom he loved so much. No, that must be kept for his
+son Solomon to do. David had been too great a fighter all his life; he
+had been at war; he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
+made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their foes. So David was
+a “mighty man,” and while Solomon was growing up he must have heard
+every one talking of the wonderful things his father had done from his
+youth up――the adventures he had had when he was only a poor shepherd
+lad keeping his flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
+must he have been told that splendid story, which we never grow tired
+of hearing, of his fight with the giant Goliath; and when he was shown
+the huge pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he surely knew
+what it was for a man to be “mighty” and “great.” And when his old
+father withdrew from the throne and made him king, he found himself
+surrounded on all sides with the results of his father’s wars and
+conquests, and soon knew that he also was “a mighty man.”
+
+There is not a boy here who does not want to be “great.” Every one
+of you wants to make a name for himself, or have something, or do
+something, that will be remembered long after he is dead.
+
+If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose almost all of you
+would say, “I want to be rich, so rich that I can do whatever I like;
+that I need not do any work; that I can go where I please.” Some of
+you would say, “I would travel all over the world and write about what
+I see, so that long after I am dead people will read my books and say,
+‘what a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I would build great
+houses, and fill them with all the richest and most beautiful goods. I
+would have whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
+bringing back wonderful things from strange countries; and when I would
+meet people in the street they would stand aside to let me pass, saying
+to one another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest merchant;
+how I should like to be as great as he.’”
+
+And still another would say: “I don’t care anything about books or
+beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll go into foreign countries and become a
+great fighter, and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
+shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of great armies,
+and when I come home again the people will give me a grand reception;
+will make arches across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
+and as I ride along the street the air will be filled with cheers for
+the great general.”
+
+And so each one of you would tell me of some way in which he would like
+to be great. I should think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
+one who would be entirely content to just get along somehow, and never
+care for any great success so long as he had enough to eat and drink
+and to clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead to set
+his mind on obtaining some great object. It is perfectly right and
+proper to be ambitious, to try and make as much as possible of every
+opportunity that is presented. No one can read that parable of the
+master who called his servants to account for the talents he had given
+them, and not see that God gives us all the blessings and advantages
+that we have, in order that we may have an opportunity to put them to
+such good use, that He may say to us as the master in the parable said
+to his servants, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
+
+So it is right for you to want to be great, and I want to try and tell
+you how to accomplish it. If you were sure that I could tell you the
+real secret of success you would listen very carefully to what I had
+to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even write down what I said.
+Then write _this_ down in your hearts; for, following this, you will
+be greater than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is better than
+the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.”
+Are some of you disappointed? do you say, “_Is that all?_ I thought he
+was about to tell us how we could make lots of money.” Ah, if you would
+only believe it, and follow such advice, such a plan were to be far
+richer than the man who can count his wealth by millions. But look at
+it in another way. What sort of a boy do you choose for the captain of
+a base-ball nine or a foot-ball team? What sort of a _man_ is chosen
+for a high position? Is he one who loses all control over himself when
+something happens to vex him, and flies into a terrible passion when
+some one happens to oppose him? No; the one you would select for any
+place of great responsibility is he who can keep his head clear, who
+will not permit himself to get angry at any little vexation, who rules
+his own spirit――and can there be anything harder to do? I tell you “no.”
+
+So, I have told you how to be successful, and at the same time I tell
+you, there is nothing harder to do; and now I go on still further, and
+say you can’t follow such advice by yourself, you must have some help.
+Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you freely; you are urged to
+ask for it, and you are assured that it is certain to come to all who
+want it. Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient, for
+He who shall help you is abundantly able to give you more than you ask
+or think. It is God who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
+you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which taketh the city;
+yes, for the greatness he shall bestow upon those who come to him is
+far above all earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you are
+ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift your hand to strike,
+when you would _kill_ if you were not afraid; but when the wish is in
+your heart, yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks upon you
+in divine mercy, and if you will only let him, will rebuke the foul
+spirit and command him to come out of you, and your whole soul shall
+be filled with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading voice, and
+let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger? And when the hot words fly
+to your lips, remember his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then
+will you have won a greater battle than any ever fought; for you will
+have conquered your own wicked spirit, and by God’s grace you are a
+conqueror. And the reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
+crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept _such_ greatness?
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such are the words he would have spoken to you had his life been
+spared; and he would have spoken them with the great advantage of a
+_young man_ speaking to _young men_. Now they seem like a message
+from the heavenly world. It is more than probable that in copying for
+delivery he would have expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
+little address more complete. Perhaps it would be better for me to stop
+here; ... but there are a few words which I would like to say, and it
+may be that they can be better said now than at any other time.
+
+I want to say again, what I have so often said, that a boy may be fond
+of all innocent games and plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you
+may doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion interferes with
+amusements and makes life gloomy. Here is an example of the contrary;
+for I do not see how there _could_ be a happier life than my son’s
+(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one could be more fond of
+base-ball and foot-ball and cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he
+was a simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And with all this
+love of innocent pleasure and fun he neglected no business obligations,
+nor did he fail in any of the duties of social or family life. In
+short, I can wish no better thing for you boys than that your lives may
+be as happy and as beautiful as his was.
+
+
+
+
+                         A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.
+
+                             April, 1889.
+
+
+Can anything be more important to a young life than truthfulness? Is
+character worth anything at all if it is not founded on truth? And are
+not the temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly in
+your path?
+
+It is most interesting to think that every life here is an individual
+life, having its own history, and in many respects unlike every other
+life. When I see you passing through these grounds, going in procession
+to and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and your play-grounds,
+the question often arises in my thoughts, how many of these boys are
+walking in the truth?
+
+If I were looking for a boy to fill any position within my gift, or
+within the reach of my influence, and should seek such a boy among
+you, I should ask most carefully of those who know you best, whether
+such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech merely (that is,
+does he answer questions truthfully), but is he open and frank in his
+life? Does he cheat in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any
+duty that is required of him in the shops? When he fails to recite his
+lessons accurately, is he very ready with his excuses trying to justify
+himself for his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not do
+his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better in the future?
+And is he one who may be depended upon to give a fair account of any
+incident that may come up for investigation? Sometimes there are wrong
+things done here, done from thoughtlessness often; may such a boy as
+I am looking for be depended upon to say what he knows about it, in a
+manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if necessary, expose the
+guilty? In other words, is he trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be
+depended on?
+
+It may not be easy for one at my time of life to say just what a boy
+ought to be, if he is to make much of a man. But we who think much
+of this subject have an idea of what we would like the boys to be,
+in whom we are especially interested. And if I borrow from another
+a description of what I mean, it is because this author has said it
+better than I can.
+
+“A real boy should be generous, courteous among his friends and among
+his school-fellows; respectful to his superiors, well-mannered. He
+must avoid loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue and his
+temper; must listen to advice and reproof with humility. He must be a
+gentleman. He must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither cringe
+to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak. To his teachers he must be
+obedient, for they have a right to require obedience of him; he must
+be respectful, because the true gentleman always respects those who
+are wiser, more experienced, better informed than himself. He must
+apply himself to his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge for
+its own sake, and earnestly striving to make the best possible use of
+such faculties as God has given him. He must do his best to store his
+mind with high thoughts by a careful study of all that is beautiful
+and pure. In his sports and plays he must seek to excel, if excellence
+can be obtained by a moderate amount of time and energy; but he must
+remember, that though it is a fine thing to have a healthy body and
+a healthy mind, it is neither necessary nor admirable to develop a
+muscular system like that of an athlete or a giant. Whatever falls to
+his hands to do, he must do it with his might, assured that God loves
+not the idle or dishonest worker. He must remember that life has its
+duties and responsibilities as well as its pleasures; that these begin
+in boyhood, and that they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
+mind and soul. He must train himself in all good habits, in order that
+these may accompany him easily in later life; in habits of method and
+order, of industry and perseverance and patience. He must not forget
+that every victory over himself smooths the way for future victories
+of the same kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue is to set
+us on higher and better ground for conquests of principle in all time
+to come. He must resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
+word and every improper suggestion, every profane utterance; guarding
+himself against the first approaches of sin, which are always the most
+insidiously made. He must not think it a brave or plucky thing to
+break wholesome rules, to defy authority, to ridicule age or poverty
+or feebleness, to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to throw
+away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities. He must love
+truth with a deep and passionate love, abhorring even the shadow of a
+lie, even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word, true in deed,
+he shall walk in the truth.”
+
+I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest and diligent; be
+resolute to live a pure and honorable life; speak the truth like boys
+who hope to be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good to be
+merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons, be affectionate brothers,
+be loyal-hearted friends, and when you come to be men you will look
+back to these boyish days without regret and without shame.
+
+Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I am very desirous that your
+future shall be bright and useful and successful, and I, and others who
+are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear nothing but good of
+you; but we can have no greater joy than to hear that you are walking
+in the truth. Some of you may become rich men; some may become very
+prominent in public affairs; you may reach high places; you may fill
+a large space in the public estimation; you may be able and brilliant
+men; but there is nothing in your life that will give us so much joy as
+to hear that “you are walking in the truth.”
+
+Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and without it character
+is absolutely worthless. No gentleness of disposition, no willingness
+to help other people, no habits of industry, no freedom from vicious
+practices, can make up for want of truthfulness of heart and life.
+Some persons think that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
+for the good of others, and do many generous and noble acts and have
+a good reputation, they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
+blamed. But they forget that reputation is not character; that one may
+have a very good reputation and a very bad character; they forget that
+the reputation is the outside, what we see of each other, while the
+character is what we are in the heart.
+
+
+                   *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+ Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+ ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
+
+ ――Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
+   corrected.
+
+ ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
+
+ ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND
+BOYS ***
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
+be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
+United States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+
+START: FULL LICENSE
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
+person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
+1.E.8.
+
+1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
+Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
+on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+
+  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+  most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the
+  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
+  you are located before using this eBook.
+
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
+other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
+Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+provided that:
+
+* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
+  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+  Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
+  works.
+
+* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+  receipt of the work.
+
+* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
+www.gutenberg.org
+
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
+widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
+state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: www.gutenberg.org
+
+This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/69531-0.zip b/old/69531-0.zip
index cdde436..cdde436 100644
--- a/69531-0.zip
+++ b/old/69531-0.zip
diff --git a/69531-h.zip b/old/69531-h.zip
index 816a2aa..816a2aa 100644
--- a/69531-h.zip
+++ b/old/69531-h.zip
diff --git a/old/69531-h/69531-h.htm b/old/69531-h/69531-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0bb0633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/69531-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,6684 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+
+    <title>
+      Advice To Young Men and Boys, by B. B. Comegys—A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
+
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+
+    <style>
+
+/* DACSoft styles */
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+/* General headers */
+h1 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* Chapter headers */
+h2 {
+    text-align: center;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    margin: .75em 0;
+}
+
+div.chapter {
+    page-break-before: always;
+}
+
+.nobreak {
+    page-break-before: avoid;
+}
+
+/* Indented paragraph */
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    text-indent: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Unindented paragraph */
+.noi {text-indent: 0em;}
+
+/* Centered unindented paragraph */
+.noic {
+    text-indent: 0em;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+/* Drop caps */
+p.cap {text-indent: 0em;}
+
+p.cap:first-letter {
+    float: left;
+    padding-right: 3px;
+    font-size: 250%;
+    line-height: 83%;
+}
+
+/* Non-standard paragraph margins */
+.p2 {margin-top: 2em;}
+
+.padl4 {
+    padding-left: 4em;
+}
+
+.padl6 {
+    padding-left: 6em;
+}
+
+.padr6 {
+    padding-right: 6em;
+}
+
+/* Horizontal rules */
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: 33.5%;
+    margin-right: 33.5%;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb {
+    width: 35%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    margin-left: 32.5%;
+    margin-right: 32.5%;
+}
+
+hr.chap {
+    width: 65%;
+    margin-left: 17.5%;
+    margin-right: 17.5%;
+}
+
+hr.r15 {
+    width: 15%;
+    margin-left: 42.5%;
+    margin-right: 42.55%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+hr.r30 {
+    width: 30%;
+    margin-left: 35%;
+    margin-right: 35%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Lists */
+ol {list-style-position: inside;}
+
+li {
+    text-indent: 0em;
+    padding-left: 0em;
+}
+
+/* Tables */
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+td {
+    padding: 5px;
+}
+
+/* Table cell alignments */
+.tdl {
+    text-align: left;
+}
+
+.tdcb {
+    text-align: center;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+}
+
+.tdrb {
+    text-align: right;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+}
+
+/* Physical book page and line numbers */
+.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+    position: absolute;
+    right: 3%;
+/*    left: 92%;  */
+    font-size: x-small;
+    font-style: normal;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-variant: normal;
+    text-align: right;
+    color: gray;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+/* Blockquotes */
+.blockquot {
+    font-size: 90%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+/* Text appearance */
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+.allsmcap {
+        text-transform: lowercase;
+        font-variant: small-caps;
+}
+
+/* Small fonts and lowercase small-caps */
+.smfont {
+    font-size: .8em;
+}
+
+/* Illustration caption */
+.caption  {
+    font-size: .75em;
+    font-weight: bold;
+}
+
+/* Images */
+img {
+    max-width: 100%; /* no image to be wider than screen or containing div */
+    height:auto;     /* keep height in proportion to width */
+}
+
+.figcenter   {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 90%; /* div no wider than screen, even when screen is narrow */
+}
+
+/* Footnotes and sidenotes */
+.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+
+.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+
+.fnanchor {
+    vertical-align: super;
+    font-size: .65em;
+    text-decoration: none;
+    white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* Poetry */
+.poetry {
+    display: block;
+    text-align: left;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}
+
+.poetry .verse {
+    padding-left: 3em;
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+/* Poetry indents */
+.poetry .indent0 {padding-left: 3em;}
+.poetry .indent2 {padding-left: 4em;}
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.tnote {
+    background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    padding: .5em;
+}
+
+.tntitle {
+    font-size: 1.25em;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* Title page borders and content. */
+.halftitle {
+    font-size: 1.5em;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+.author {
+    font-size: 1.25em;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+.works {
+    font-size: .75em;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* ebookmaker classes */
+.x-ebookmaker p.cap:first-letter {
+    float: left;
+    padding-right: 3px;
+    font-size: 250%;
+    line-height: 83%;
+}
+
+    </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Advice to young men and boys, by B. B. Comegys</p>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Advice to young men and boys</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A series of addresses delivered by B. B. Comegys to the pupils of Girard College</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: B. B. Comegys</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 12, 2022 [eBook #69531]</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND BOYS ***</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="cover_sm">
+  <img src="images/cover_sm.jpg" alt="cover" title="cover">
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="noi author">ADVICE</p>
+
+<p class="noic works">TO</p>
+
+<p class="noi halftitle">YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis">
+  <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>Stephen Girard.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1 class="nobreak"><small>ADVICE</small><br>
+<span class="works">TO</span><br>
+YOUNG MEN AND BOYS</h1>
+
+<p class="p2 noic"><i>A SERIES OF ADDRESSES</i></p>
+
+<p class="p2 noic">DELIVERED BY B. B. COMEGYS<br>
+<span class="works">MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF CITY TRUSTS OF PHILADELPHIA</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2 noi author">TO THE PUPILS OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE</p>
+
+<hr class="r30">
+
+<p class="noic works">ILLUSTRATED WITH</p>
+
+<p class="noic smcap">Six Photogravure Portraits on Steel</p>
+
+<hr class="r30">
+
+<p class="noic"><span class="allsmcap">PHILADELPHIA</span><br>
+GEBBIE &amp; CO., <span class="smcap">Publishers</span><br>
+1890</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="noic"><span class="padr6">Copyright by</span><br>
+<span class="smcap">Gebbie &amp; Co.</span>,<br>
+1889.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2 cap">In January, 1882, I was appointed by the Judges
+of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
+to the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which has
+charge of Girard College, having for some years previously,
+by the kind partiality of President Allen,
+been on the staff of speakers in the Chapel on Sundays.
+My interest in the Pupils was of course at
+once increased, and ever since I have given much
+time and thought to the moral instruction of the
+boys.</p>
+
+<p>From the many Addresses made to them I
+have selected the following as fair specimens of
+the instruction I have sought to impart. Some
+repetitions of thought and language may be accounted
+for by the lapse of time between the giving
+of the Addresses, not forgetting the well-known
+Hebrew proverb, “Line upon line—precept upon
+precept—here a little—there a little.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p>
+
+<p>The word “Orphans” as used in the will of Mr.
+Girard has been defined by the Supreme Court of
+Pennsylvania to mean boys who are fatherless.</p>
+
+<p>The book is published in the hope that it may
+be the means of helping some boys and young
+men other than those to whom the Addresses
+were made.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 noi works"><span class="padl4 smcap">4205 Walnut St.</span>,<br>
+<span class="padl6"><i>November, 1889.</i></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<table>
+<colgroup>
+  <col style="width: 80%;">
+  <col style="width: 15%;">
+  <col style="width: 5%;">
+</colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#GIRARD">Stephen Girard and his College.</a></span> (Introductory)</td>
+  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#SUCCESS">How to win Success</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LIFE">Life—Its Opportunities and Temptations</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">39</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#WELSH">On the Death of William Welsh</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#BAD">Bad Associates</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">59</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#GARFIELD">On the Death of President Garfield</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CASE">The Case of the Uneducated Employed</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">79</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#PENN">William Penn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">99</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CONSTITUTION">Our Constitution</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">113</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CLAGHORN">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#LEAF">The Leaf Turned Over</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">143</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap"><a href="#THANKSGIVING">Thanksgiving Day.</a></span> (November 29, 1888)</td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">155</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#ALLEN">On the Death of President Allen</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#MESSAGE">A Young Man’s Message to Boys</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">179</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#TRUTHFUL">A Truthful Character</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">188</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<table>
+<colgroup>
+  <col style="width: 80%;">
+  <col style="width: 15%;">
+  <col style="width: 5%;">
+</colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_frontis">Stephen Girard</a></td>
+  <td class="tdrb" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece.</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp025">B. B. Comegys</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb allsmcap">PAGE</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp051">William Welsh</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp069">James A. Garfield</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">69</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp129">James Lawrence Claghorn</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">129</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#i_fp169">Professor W. H. Allen</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcb">“</td>
+  <td class="tdrb">169</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="GIRARD">STEPHEN GIRARD AND HIS COLLEGE.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">INTRODUCTORY.</p>
+
+<div class="p2 footnote">
+
+<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> This introduction is taken by permission from “The Life and Character
+of Stephen Girard, by Henry Atlee Ingram, LL. B.”</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Stephen Girard, who calls himself in his will
+“mariner and merchant,” was born near the city of
+Bordeaux, France, on May 20, 1750. At the age of
+twenty-six he settled in Philadelphia, having his
+counting-house on Water street, above Market.
+He was a man of great industry and frugality, and
+lived comfortably, as the merchants of that day
+lived, in the dwelling of which his counting-house
+formed a part. He was married and had one child,
+but the death of his wife was followed soon by the
+death of his child, and he never married again. He
+lived to the age of eighty-one and accumulated what
+was considered at the time of his death a vast estate,
+more than seven millions of dollars. One hundred
+and forty thousand dollars of this was bequeathed
+to members of his family, sixty-five thousand
+as a principal sum for the payment of annuities
+to certain friends and former employés, one hundred
+and sixteen thousand to various Philadelphia charities,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span>
+five hundred thousand to the city of Philadelphia
+for the improvement of its water front on the
+Delaware, three hundred thousand to the State of
+Pennsylvania for the prosecution of internal improvements,
+and an indefinite sum in various legacies to his
+apprentices, to sea-captains who should bring his vessels
+in their charge safely to port, and to his house
+servants. The remainder of his estate he devised in
+trust to the city of Philadelphia for the following
+purposes: (1) To erect, improve and maintain a
+college for poor white orphan boys; (2) to establish
+a better police system, and (3) to improve the city
+of Philadelphia and diminish taxation.</p>
+
+<p>The sum of two millions of dollars was set apart
+by his will for the construction of the college, and
+as soon as was practicable the executors appropriated
+certain securities for the purpose, the actual outlay
+for erection and finishing of the edifice being one
+million nine hundred and thirty-three thousand eight
+hundred and twenty-one dollars and seventy-eight
+cents ($1,933,821.78). Excavation was commenced
+May 6, 1833, the corner-stone being laid with ceremonies
+on the Fourth of July following, and the
+completed buildings were transferred to the Board of
+Directors on the 13th of November, 1847. There
+was thus occupied in construction a period of fourteen
+years and six months, the work being somewhat
+delayed by reason of suits brought by the heirs of
+Girard against the city of Philadelphia to recover the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span>
+estate. The design adopted was substantially that
+furnished by Thomas U. Walters, an architect elected
+by the Board of Directors. Some modifications were
+rendered advisable by the change of site directed in
+the second codicil of Girard’s will, the original purpose
+having been to occupy the square bounded by
+Eleventh, Chestnut, Twelfth and Market streets, in
+the heart of the city of Philadelphia. But Girard
+having, subsequently to the first draft of his will,
+purchased for thirty-five thousand dollars the William
+Parker farm of forty-five acres, on the Ridge
+Road, known as the “Peel Hall Estate,” he directed
+that the site of his college should be transferred to
+that place, and commenced the erection of stores and
+dwellings upon the former plot of ground, which
+dwellings and stores form part of his residuary
+estate.</p>
+
+<p>The college proper closely resembles in design a
+Greek temple. It is built of marble, which was
+chiefly obtained from quarries in Montgomery and
+Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and at Egremont,
+Massachusetts.</p>
+
+<p>The building is three stories in height, the first
+and second being twenty-five feet from floor to floor,
+and the third thirty feet in the clear to the eye of
+the dome, the doors of entrance being in the north
+and south fronts and measuring sixteen feet in width
+and thirty-two in height. The walls of the cella
+are four feet in thickness, and are pierced on each<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>
+flank by twenty windows. At each end of the
+building is a vestibule, extending across the whole
+width of the cella, the ceilings of which are supported
+on each floor by eight columns, whose shafts
+are composed of a single stone. Those on the first
+floor are Ionic, after the temple on the Ilissus, at
+Athens; on the second, a modified Corinthian, after
+the Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, also at Athens;
+and on the third, a similar modification of the
+Corinthian, somewhat lighter and more ornate.</p>
+
+<p>The auxiliary buildings include a chapel of white
+marble, dormitories, offices and laundries. A new
+refectory, containing improved ranges and steam
+cooking apparatus, has recently been added, the dining-hall
+of which will seat with ease more than one
+thousand persons. Two bathing-pools are in the
+western portion of the grounds, and others in basements
+of buildings. The houses are heated by steam
+and lighted by gas obtained from the city works.
+Thirty-five electric lights from seven towers one hundred
+and twenty-five feet high illuminate the grounds
+and the neighboring streets. A wall sixteen inches
+in thickness and ten feet in height, strengthened by
+spur piers on the inside and capped with marble coping,
+surrounds the whole estate, its length being six thousand
+eight hundred and forty-three feet, or somewhat
+more than one and one-quarter miles. It is pierced
+on the southern side, immediately facing the south
+front of the main building, for the chief entrance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span>
+this last being flanked by two octagonal white marble
+lodges, between which stretches an ornamental
+wrought-iron grille, with wrought-iron gates, the
+whole forming an approach in keeping with the large
+simplicity of the college itself.</p>
+
+<p>The site upon which the college is erected corresponds
+well with its splendor and importance. It
+is elevated considerably above the general level of the
+surrounding buildings and forms a conspicuous object,
+not only from the higher windows and roofs in every
+part of Philadelphia, but from the Delaware river
+many miles below the city and from eminences far
+out in the country. From the lofty marble roof the
+view is also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the
+city and its environs for many miles around and the
+course, to their confluence, eight miles below, of the
+Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.</p>
+
+<p>The history of the institution commences shortly
+after the decease of Girard, when the Councils of
+Philadelphia, acting as his trustees, elected a Board
+of Directors, which organized on the 18th of February,
+1833, with Nicholas Biddle as chairman. A
+Building Committee was also appointed by the City
+Councils on the 21st of the following March, in whom
+was vested the immediate supervision of the construction
+of the college, an office in which they continued
+without intermission until the final completion
+of the structure.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th of July, 1836, the former body, having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span>
+previously been authorized by the Councils so to
+do, proceeded to elect Alexander Dallas Bache president
+of the college, and instructed him to visit
+various similar institutions in Europe, and purchase
+the necessary books and apparatus for the school,
+both of which he did, making an exhaustive report
+upon his return in 1838. It was then attempted to
+establish schools without awaiting the completion of
+the main building, but competent legal advice being
+unfavorable to the organization of the institution
+prior to that time, the idea was abandoned, and difficulties
+having meanwhile arisen between the Councils
+and the Board of Directors, the ordinances
+creating the board and authorizing the election of
+the president were repealed.</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1847, a new board was appointed, to
+whom the building was transferred, and on December
+15, 1847, the officers of the institution were elected,
+the Hon. Joel Jones, President Judge of the District
+Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, being
+chosen as president. On January 1, 1848, the college
+was opened with a class of one hundred orphans,
+previously admitted, the occasion being signalized by
+appropriate ceremonies. On October 1 of the same
+year one hundred more were admitted, and on April
+1, 1849, an additional one hundred, since when
+others have been admitted as vacancies have occurred
+or to swell the number as facilities have increased.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>
+The college now (1889) contains thirteen
+hundred and seventy-five pupils.</p>
+
+<p>On June 1, 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office
+of president of the college, and on the 23d of the
+following November William H. Allen, LL. D., Professor
+of Mental Philosophy and English Literature
+in Dickinson College, was elected to fill the vacancy.
+He was installed January 1, 1850, but resigned December
+1, 1862, and Major Richard Somers Smith,
+of the United States army, was chosen to fill his
+place. Major Smith was inaugurated June 24, 1863,
+and resigned in September, 1867, Dr. Allen being
+immediately re-elected and continuing in office until
+his death, on the 29th of August, 1882.</p>
+
+<p>The present incumbent, Adam H. Fetterolf, Ph.D.,
+LL. D., was elected December 27, 1882, by the
+Board of City Trusts. This Board is composed of
+fifteen members, three of whom—the Mayor and the
+Presidents of Councils—are <i lang="la">ex officio</i>, and twelve are
+appointed by the Judges of the Court of Common
+Pleas. Its meetings are held on the second Wednesday
+of each month.</p>
+
+<p>It has been determined by the courts of Pennsylvania
+that any child having lost its father is properly
+denominated an orphan, irrespective of whether the
+mother be living or not. This construction has been
+adopted by the college, the requirements for admission
+to the institution being prescribed by Mr.
+Girard’s will as follows: (1) The orphan must be a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>
+poor white boy, between six and ten years of age, no
+application for admission being received before the
+former age, nor can he be admitted into the college
+after passing his tenth birthday, even though the
+application has been made previously; (2) the
+mother or next friend is required to produce the
+marriage certificate of the child’s parents (or, in its
+absence, some other satisfactory evidence of such
+marriage), and also the certificate of the physician
+setting forth the time and place of birth; (3) a form
+of application looking to the establishment of the
+child’s identity, physical condition, morals, previous
+education and means of support, must be filled in,
+signed and vouched for by respectable citizens. Applications
+are made at the office, No. 19 South
+Twelfth street, Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>A preference is given under Girard’s will to (<i>a</i>)
+orphans born in the city of Philadelphia; (<i>b</i>) those
+born in any other part of Pennsylvania; (<i>c</i>) those
+born in the city of New York; (<i>d</i>) those born in the
+city of New Orleans. The preference to the orphans
+born in the city of Philadelphia is defined to be
+strictly limited to the old city proper, the districts
+subsequently consolidated into the city having no
+rights in this respect over any other portion of the
+State.</p>
+
+<p>Orphans are admitted, in the above order, strictly
+according to priority of application, the mother or
+next friend executing an indenture binding the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>
+orphan to the city of Philadelphia, as trustee under
+Girard’s will, as an orphan to be educated and provided
+for by the college. The seventh item of the
+will reads as follows:</p>
+
+<p>“The orphans admitted into the college shall be
+there fed with plain but wholesome food, clothed with
+plain but decent apparel (no distinctive dress ever to
+be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe manner.
+Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this
+end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean,
+and they shall have suitable and rational exercise
+and recreation. They shall be instructed in the
+various branches of a sound education, comprehending
+reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography,
+navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy,
+natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy,
+the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid,
+but I do not recommend the Greek and Latin languages),
+and such other learning and science as the
+capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant.
+I would have them taught facts and things,
+rather than words or signs. And especially, I desire,
+that by every proper means a pure attachment to our
+republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of
+conscience, as guaranteed by our happy constitutions,
+shall be formed and fostered in the minds of the
+scholars.”</p>
+
+<p>Although the orphans reside permanently in the
+college, they are, at stated times, allowed to visit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>
+their friends at their houses and to receive visits
+from their friends at the college. The household
+is under the care of a matron, an assistant
+matron, prefects and governesses, who superintend
+the moral and social training of the orphans and
+administer the discipline of the institution when the
+scholars are not in the school-rooms. The pupils are
+divided into sections, for the purposes of discipline,
+having distinct officers, buildings and playgrounds.</p>
+
+<p>The schools are taught chiefly in the main college
+building, five professors and forty eight teachers being
+employed in the duties of instruction; and the course
+comprises a thorough English commercial education,
+to which has been latterly added special schools of
+technical instruction in the mechanical arts. As a
+large proportion of the orphans admitted into the college
+have had little or no preparatory education, the
+instruction commences with the alphabet.</p>
+
+<p>The order of daily exercises is as follows: the
+pupils rise at six o’clock; take breakfast at half-past
+six. Recreation until half-past seven; then assemble
+in the section rooms at that hour and proceed to the
+chapel for morning worship at eight. The chapel
+exercises consist of singing a hymn, reading a chapter
+from the Old or New Testament, and prayer, after
+the conclusion of which the pupils proceed to the
+various school-rooms, where they remain, with a recess
+of fifteen minutes, until twelve. From twelve
+until the dinner-hour, which is half-past twelve, they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span>
+are on the play-ground, returning there after finishing
+that meal until two o’clock, the afternoon school-hour,
+when they resume the school exercises, remaining
+without intermission until four o’clock. At four
+the afternoon service in the chapel is held, after
+which they are on the play-ground until six, at which
+hour supper is served. The evening study hour lasts
+from seven to eight, or half-past eight, varying with
+the age of the pupils, the same difference being observed
+in their bedtimes, which are from half-past
+seven for the youngest until a quarter before nine for
+the older boys.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday the pupils assemble in their section
+rooms at nine o’clock in the morning and at two in
+the afternoon for reading and religious instruction,
+and at half-past ten o’clock in the morning and at
+three in the afternoon they attend divine worship in
+the chapel. Here the exercises are similar to those
+held on week days, with the important addition of an
+appropriate discourse adapted to the comprehension
+of the pupils. The services in the chapel, whether
+on Sundays or on week days, are invariably conducted
+by the president or other layman, the will of
+the founder forbidding the entrance of clergymen of
+any denomination whatsoever within the boundaries
+of the institution.</p>
+
+<p>The discipline of the college is administered
+through admonition, deprivation of recreation, and
+seclusion; but in extreme cases corporal punishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span>
+may be inflicted by order of the president and in his
+presence. If by reason of misconduct a pupil becomes
+an unfit companion for the rest, the Will says
+he shall not be permitted to remain in the college.</p>
+
+<p>The annual cost per capita of maintaining, clothing
+and educating each pupil, including current repairs
+to buildings and furniture and the maintenance
+of the grounds, is about three hundred dollars. Between
+the age of fourteen and eighteen years the
+scholars may be indentured by the institution, on behalf
+of “the city of Philadelphia,” to learn some “art,
+trade, or mystery,” until their twenty-first year, consulting,
+as far as is judicious, the inclination and
+preference of the scholar. The master to whom an
+apprentice is bound agrees to furnish him with sufficient
+meat, drink, apparel, washing and lodging at
+his own place of residence (unless otherwise agreed
+to by the parties to the indenture and so indorsed
+upon it); to use his best endeavors to teach and instruct
+the apprentice in his “art, trade, or mystery,”
+and at the expiration of the apprenticeship to furnish
+him with at least two complete suits of clothes, one
+of which shall be new. Should, however, a scholar
+not be apprenticed by the institution, he must leave
+the college upon attaining the age of eighteen years.
+In case of death his friends have the privilege of
+removing his body for interment, otherwise his remains
+are placed in the college burial lot at Laurel
+Hill Cemetery, near Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p>
+
+<p>Citizens and strangers provided with a permit are
+allowed to visit the college on the afternoon of every
+week day. Permits can be obtained from the Mayor
+of Philadelphia, at his office; from a Director; at the
+office of the Board of City Trusts, No. 19 South
+Twelfth street, Philadelphia, or at the office of the
+<cite>Public Ledger</cite> newspaper. Especial courtesy is shown
+all foreign visitors, and particularly those interested
+in educational matters.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>In December, 1831, Mr. Girard was attacked by
+influenza, which was then epidemic in the city. The
+violence of the disease greatly prostrated him, and,
+pneumonia supervening, it became at once apparent
+that he could not live. He had no fear of death.
+About a month before this attack he had said:
+“When Death comes for me he will find me busy,
+unless I am asleep in bed. If I thought I was going
+to die to-morrow I should plant a tree, nevertheless,
+to-day.”</p>
+
+<p>He died in the back room of his Water street
+mansion on December 26th, aged eighty-one years (or
+nearly), and four days after he was buried in the
+churchyard at the northwest corner of Sixth and
+Spruce streets.</p>
+
+<p>For twenty years the remains reposed undisturbed
+where they had been laid in the churchyard of the
+Holy Trinity Church; when, the Girard College having
+been completed, it was resolved that the remains<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span>
+of the donor should be transferred to the marble sarcophagus
+provided in its vestibule. This was done
+with appropriate ceremonies on September 30, 1851.</p>
+
+<p>Girard’s great ambition was, first, success; and this
+attained, the longing of mankind to leave a shining
+memory merged his purpose in the establishment of
+what was to him that fairest of Utopias—the simple
+tradition of a citizen. A citizen whose public duties
+ended not with the State, and whose benefactions
+were not limited to the rescue or advancement of its
+interests alone, but whose charities broadened beyond
+the limits of duty or the boundaries of an individual
+life, to stretch over long reaches of the
+future, enriching thousands of poor children in his
+beloved city yet unborn. His life shows clearly why
+he worked, as his death showed clearly the fixed
+object of his labor in acquisition. While he was
+forward with an apparent disregard of self, to expose
+his life in behalf of others in the midst of pestilence,
+to aid the internal improvements of the country, and
+to promote its commercial prosperity by all the means
+within his power, he yet had more ambitious designs.
+He wished to hand himself down to immortality by
+the only mode that was practicable for a man in
+his position, and he accomplished precisely that
+which was the grand aim of his life. He wrote his
+epitaph in those extensive and magnificent blocks
+and squares which adorn the streets of his adopted
+city, in the public works and eleemosynary establishments<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>
+of his adopted State, and erected his own
+monument and embodied his own principles in a
+marble-roofed palace. Yet, splendid as is the structure
+which stands above his remains, the most perfect
+model of architecture in the New World, it yields
+in beauty to the moral monument. The benefactor
+sleeps among the orphan poor whom his bounty is
+constantly educating.</p>
+
+<p>“Thus, forever present, unseen but felt, he daily
+stretches forth his invisible hands to lead some
+friendless child from ignorance to usefulness. And
+when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been
+made happy, many orphans have been fed, clothed
+and educated, and many men made useful to their
+country and themselves, each happy home or rescued
+child or useful citizen will be a living monument
+to perpetuate the name and embalm the memory of
+the ‘Mariner and Merchant.’”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p>
+
+<p class="noic">BOARD OF DIRECTORS</p>
+
+<p class="noic works">OF</p>
+
+<p class="noi author">CITY TRUSTS,</p>
+
+<p class="noic">1889.</p>
+
+<hr class="r15">
+
+<p class="noic">W. HEYWARD DRAYTON, <i>President,<br>
+Ex-Officio Member of all Standing Committees</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">LOUIS WAGNER, <i>Vice-President</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">ALEXANDER BIDDLE,<br>
+JAMES CAMPBELL,<br>
+JOSEPH L. CAVEN,<br>
+BENJAMIN B. COMEGYS,<br>
+JOHN H. CONVERSE,<br>
+WILLIAM L. ELKINS,<br>
+WILLIAM B. MANN,<br>
+JOHN H. MICHENER,<br>
+GEORGE H. STUART,<br>
+RICHARD VAUX.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 noic works">MEMBERS OF THE BOARD “EX OFFICIO:”</p>
+
+<p class="noic">EDWIN H. FITLER, <i>Mayor</i>.<br>
+JAMES R. GATES, <i>President Select Council</i>.<br>
+WILLIAM M. SMITH, <i>President Common Council</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="r15">
+
+<p>F. CARROLL BREWSTER, <i>Solicitor</i>.<br>
+<span class="padl4">FRANK M. HIGHLEY, <i>Secretary</i>.</span><br>
+<span class="padl6">JOHN S. BOYD, M.D., <i>Supt. Admission and Indentures</i>.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp025">
+  <img src="images/i_fp025.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>B. B. Comegys.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="SUCCESS">HOW TO WIN SUCCESS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">May 27, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about some of the
+plainest duties of life—of what you must be, of what
+you must do, if you would be good men and succeed.</p>
+
+<p>It would be strange if one who has lived as long
+as I have should not have learned something worth
+knowing and worth telling to those who are younger
+and less experienced. I have had much to do with
+young people here and elsewhere, and I have seen
+many failures, much disappointment, many wrecks
+of character, and have learned many things; and I
+speak to you to-day in the hope that I may say such
+things as will help some boy, at least one, to determine,
+while he is here this morning, to do the best he
+can, each for himself, as well as for others. My remarks
+are particularly appropriate to those just about
+to leave the college.</p>
+
+<p>It is convenient for me to consider the whole subject—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<ol>
+<li>As to health.</li>
+<li>As to improvement of the mind.</li>
+<li>As to business or work of any kind.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></li>
+<li>As to your duties to other people.</li>
+<li>As to your duty to God.</li>
+</ol>
+</div>
+
+<p>As to health. You cannot be happy without
+good health, and you cannot expect to have good
+health unless you observe certain conditions. You
+must keep your person cleanly by bathing, when that
+is within reach, or by other simple methods (such as
+a common brush) which are always within your
+reach. Be as much in the open air as possible. This
+is, of course, to those whose work is within doors and
+sedentary, such as that of a clerk in any shop or office.
+Pure, fresh air is Nature’s own provision for
+the well-being of all her creatures, and is the best of
+all tonics.</p>
+
+<p>Be careful of your diet; for it is not good to eat
+food that is too highly seasoned or too rich. Don’t
+be afraid of fruit in season and when it is ripe. But
+don’t eat much late at night. Late hot suppers are
+apt to do great harm. The plain, wholesome food
+provided here, accounts for the extraordinarily good
+health which almost all of you enjoy.</p>
+
+<p>Have nothing whatever to do with intoxicating
+drinks. And the only way to be absolutely safe is
+not to drink even a little, or once in a while. Don’t
+drink at all.</p>
+
+<p>Be sure you get plenty of sleep. Be in bed not
+later than eleven o’clock, and, better still, at ten. A
+young fellow who goes to work at seven o’clock in
+the morning can’t afford to keep late hours. Young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span>
+people need more sleep than older ones, and you cannot
+safely disregard this hint. Late hours are
+always more or less injurious, especially when you are
+away from home or in the streets. Beware of the
+temptations of the streets and at the theatres.</p>
+
+<p>As to public entertainments or recreations in the
+evening, go to no place of seeing or hearing where
+you would not be willing to take your mother or
+sister. If you keep to this rule you are not likely
+to be hurt. If you play games, avoid billiard saloons,
+and gambling houses, or parties. You cannot be too
+careful about your recreations; let them be simple
+and healthful as to mind and body, and cheap.</p>
+
+<p>Have no personal habits, such as smoking, or chewing,
+or spitting, or swearing, or others that are injurious
+to yourselves or disagreeable to other people.
+All these are either injurious or disagreeable. Have
+clean hands and clean clothes, not while you are at
+work—this is not always possible—but when going
+and coming to and from work.</p>
+
+<p>Always give place to women in the streets, in
+street-cars, or in other places. Do not rush into
+street-cars first to get seats. A true gentleman will
+wait until women get in before he goes. Do not sit
+in street-cars, while women are standing, unless you
+are very, very tired. Here is a temptation before
+you every day almost in our city. Hardly anything
+is more trying than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars
+while women are standing and holding on to straps.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>
+And yet I see this every day. What is a boy good
+for, that will not stand for a few minutes, if he can
+give a woman or an old man a seat?</p>
+
+<p>If you are so favored as to have a few days or
+two weeks holiday in summer, go to the country or
+to the sea-shore, if your means will allow. The
+country air or sea air is better for you than almost
+any other change.</p>
+
+<p>Do not be extravagant in dress; but be well
+dressed—not, however, at your tailor’s expense. It is
+the duty of all to be well dressed, but don’t spend all
+your money on dress, and especially don’t buy clothing
+on credit. It is particularly trying to pay for
+clothing when it is nearly or quite worn out. By all
+means keep out of debt, for your personal or family
+expenses, unless you are sure beyond any doubt that
+you can very soon repay your dealer the money you
+owe. The difference between ease and comfort, and
+distress, in money matters, is whether you spend a
+little more than you make, or a little less than you
+make. Don’t forget the “rainy day” that is pretty
+sure to come, and you must lay up something for
+that day.</p>
+
+<p>Very much of the crime that is committed every
+day (and you cannot open a paper without seeing an
+account of some one who has gone wrong) is because
+people will live beyond their means; will spend more
+than they earn. They hope for an increase of pay,
+or that they will make money in some way or other,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>
+and then when that good time does not come, and as
+they can’t afford to wait for it, they take something,
+only borrowing it as they say, but they take it and
+spend it, or pay some pressing debt with it, and then,
+and then—they are caught, and sent to court, and
+tried and sent to—well, you know without my telling
+you.</p>
+
+<p>As to the mind.</p>
+
+<p>You have fine opportunities for education here, but
+they will soon be over, and if you leave this college
+without having a good knowledge of the practical
+branches of study pursued here, and which Mr.
+Girard especially enjoined should be taught, you will
+be at a great disadvantage with other boys who are
+well educated. I had a letter in my pocket a few days
+ago written by a Girard boy, and dated in the Moyamensing
+Prison, full of bad spelling and bad grammar;
+and next to the horror of knowing he was in
+prison, I felt ashamed, that a boy so ignorant of the
+very commonest branches of English education should
+have ever been within the walls of this college.</p>
+
+<p>I think I have told you before of a man who
+employs a large number of men, whose business
+amounts to perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars
+in a year, who is entirely ignorant of accounts, and
+who a few years ago was robbed and almost ruined
+by his book-keeper, and who would now give half of
+what he is worth, and that is a good deal, if he could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>
+understand book-keeping; for he is entirely dependent
+upon other people to keep his accounts.</p>
+
+<p>As to books, be careful what you read. How it
+grieves me to see errand boys in street-cars, and sometimes
+as they walk in the streets, reading such stuff
+as is found in the dime novels. Not merely a waste
+of time, though that is bad enough, but a positive
+injury to the mind, filling it with the most improbable
+stories, and often, also, with that which is
+positively vicious. Read something better than this.
+Do not confine yourselves to newspapers, and do not
+read police reports. Attractive as this class of reading
+is, it is for the most part hurtful to the young
+mind. There is an abundance of cheap and good
+reading, magazines and periodicals; and books and
+books, good, bad, indifferent; and you will hardly
+know which to choose unless you ask others who are
+older than you, and who know books. Most boys
+read little but novels; and there are many thoroughly
+good novels, humorous, and pathetic, and historical.
+Don’t buy books unless you have plenty of money;
+for you can get everything you want out of the
+public libraries; and this was not so, or at least to
+this extent, when I was a boy.</p>
+
+<p>As to work or business.</p>
+
+<p>Set out with the determination that you will be
+faithful in everything. Only last week a Girard boy
+called on me to help him get employment. I asked
+him some questions, and he told me that he had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span>
+out of the college five or six years, and had five or
+six situations. Do you think he had been faithful in
+anything? If he had been, he would not have lost
+place after place. When you get a place, and I hope
+every one of you will have a place provided for you
+before you leave here, be among the first to arrive
+in the morning, and be among the last to leave at
+the end of the day’s work. Do not let any fascination
+of base ball or anything else lead you to forget
+that your first duty is to your employer. Be quick
+to answer every call. Don’t say to yourself, “It is
+not my place to answer that call, it is the other boy’s
+place,” but go yourself, if the other fellow is slow, and
+let it be seen that you are ready for any work. And
+be very prompt to answer. Do whatever you are told.
+Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir” with hearty good-will, and
+say “good-morning” as if you meant it. In short,
+do not be slovenly in anything you have to do; be
+alive, and remember all the time that no labor is
+degrading.</p>
+
+<p>Be sure to treat your employers with unfailing respect,
+and your fellow-clerks or workers, whether
+superiors, inferiors or equals, with hearty good-will.</p>
+
+<p>Do not tell lies directly or indirectly, for even if
+your employer do so, he will despise you for doing
+so. No matter if he is untruthful, he will respect
+you if you tell the truth always. Do not indulge
+in or listen to impure talk. No real gentleman does
+this, and you can be a real gentleman even if you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>
+are poor, for you will be educated. Make yourself
+indispensable to your employer; this, too, is quite
+possible, and it will almost certainly insure success.
+Be ambitious in the highest sense. Remember, that
+if not now, you will hereafter have others dependent
+upon you for support or help. It is a splendid thing
+for a boy to go out from this college with the determination
+to support his mother; and some that I know
+and you know are doing this, and many others will
+do it.</p>
+
+<p>I pause here to say that, so far, my words have
+been spoken as to your duties to the world, to yourselves.
+I have supposed that you boys would rather
+be bosses than journeymen, that you would rather
+own teams than drive them for other people, that
+you would rather be a contractor than carry the pick
+and shovel, that you would rather be a bricklayer
+than carry the hod, that you would rather be a
+house-builder than a shoveler of coal into the house-builder’s
+cellar. Is it not so?</p>
+
+<p>Now, I say that if you should do everything I tell
+you, and avoid everything I have warned you against,
+you cannot succeed in the best sense, you cannot become
+true men, such men as the city has a right to
+expect you to be, unless you seek the blessing of
+God; for he holds all things in his hands. “The
+silver and the gold are mine, and the cattle upon a
+thousand hills.” If God be for us, who can be
+against us?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p>
+
+<p>In these closing words, then, I would speak to you
+as to your duty to God.</p>
+
+<p>What shall I say about this? I can hardly tell
+you anything that you do not already know, so often
+have you been talked to about this subject. But
+nothing is so important for you to be reminded of,
+though I fear that to some of you hardly anything is
+so uninteresting. Naturally the heart is disinclined
+to think of God and our duty to him. But we cannot
+do without him, though many people think they
+can, or they act as if they thought so. Such people
+are not wise; they are very foolish.</p>
+
+<p>He made us, he preserves us, he cares for us with
+infinite love and care, he has appointed the time for
+our departure from this life, and he has prepared a
+better life than this for those who love him here. We
+cannot afford to disregard such a being as this, for all
+things are in his hands. If you will think of it, some
+of the best men and women you know are believers
+in God, and are trying to serve him. Do you think
+you can do without him?</p>
+
+<p>Cultivate, then, the companionship, the friendship
+of those who love and fear God, both men and women.
+You are safe with such; you are not quite so
+sure of safety in the society of those who openly say
+they can do without God. When I speak of those
+who fear God, I do not mean merely professors of religion,
+not merely members of meeting or members
+of church, but I mean people who live such lives as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span>
+people ought to live, who fear God and keep his commandments.
+You know there are such, you have
+met with them, you will meet many more of them,
+and you will meet also those who call themselves
+Christians, but whose lives show that they have no
+true knowledge of God, who are mere formalists,
+mere professors.</p>
+
+<p>Become acquainted with your Bible. I mean,
+read it, a little of it at least, every day. You need
+not read much, it is well sometimes that you read
+but a little; but read it with a purpose—that is, to
+understand it. The literature of the Bible as you
+grow older will abundantly repay your careful and
+constant reading even before you reach its spiritual
+treasuries. In reading a few days ago the argument
+of Horace Binney, Esq., in the Girard will case,
+I was surprised to see how familiar Mr. Binney was
+with the Bible, and he was one of the ablest lawyers
+that has ever lived in our own or any other
+country. Yet Mr. Binney thought it quite worth his
+while to read and study the Bible. Don’t you think
+it is worth your while also?</p>
+
+<p>Be a regular attendant at some church. I do not
+say what church it shall be. That must be left to
+yourselves to determine, and many circumstances
+will arise to aid you in your choice. But let it be
+some church, and, when you become more interested
+in the subject than you are now, join that church,
+whatever it may be, and so connect yourselves with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>
+people who believe in and love God. If there be a
+Bible class there, connect yourselves with it, and so
+learn to study the Scriptures systematically.</p>
+
+<p>Do not be ashamed to kneel at your bedside every
+night and every morning and pray to God. You are
+not so likely to be ashamed if you have a room to
+yourself; but you must not be ashamed to do this
+even if there are others in the room with you, as will
+be the case with many of you. This is a severe test, I
+know, but he who bears it faithfully will already
+have gained a victory.</p>
+
+<p>Commit to memory the fifteenth verse of the
+twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke:
+“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s
+life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
+possesseth.”</p>
+
+<p>On last Monday, Founder’s Day, there were gathered
+here many men, a great company, who were
+trained in this college, and who, after graduation, went
+out into the world to seek their fortune. It is always
+a most interesting time, not only for them but for
+the teachers and officers who have had charge of them.</p>
+
+<p>Some of them are successful men in the highest
+and best sense, and have made themselves a name
+and a place in the world. Bright young lawyers,
+clerks, mechanics, railroad men—men representing
+almost all kinds of business and occupations—came
+here in great numbers to celebrate the anniversary of
+the birth of the Founder of this great school. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span>
+a grand sight. Hardly anything impresses me more.
+I do not know their names; for many of them had
+left before I began to come here; but from certain
+expressions that fell from the lips of some of them
+I am persuaded that they, at least, are walking in
+the truth.</p>
+
+<p>It would be very interesting if we could know
+their thoughts, and see with what feelings they look
+back on their school-life. I wonder if any of them
+regret that they did not make a better use of their
+time while here. I wonder if any feel that they
+would like to become boys again and go to school
+over again, being sure that, with their present experience
+of life, they would set a higher value on the
+education of the schools. I wonder if any feel that
+they would have reached higher positions and secured
+a larger influence if they had been more diligent at
+school. I wonder if there are any who can trace
+evil habits of thought to the companions they had
+here. I wonder if any are aware of evil impressions
+which they made on their classmates and so
+cast a stain and a dark shadow on other young lives,
+stains never obliterated, shadows never wholly lifted.
+I wonder if there are any among them who regret
+that the opportunity of seeking God and finding God
+in their school-days was neglected, and who have
+never had so favorable an opportunity since. “If
+some who come back here on these commemoration
+days were to tell you all their thoughts on such subjects,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>
+they would be eloquent with a peculiar eloquence.”</p>
+
+<p>I wish I could persuade you, especially you larger
+boys, to give most earnest attention to the duties
+which lie before you every day. You will not misunderstand
+me, nor be so unjust to me as to suppose
+that I would interfere in the least degree with the
+pleasures which belong to your time of life. I
+would not lessen them in the least; on the contrary,
+I would encourage you, and help you in all proper
+recreation, in all sports and plays. The boy who
+does not enjoy play is not a happy boy, and is not
+very likely to make a happy man, or a useful man.
+But it is quite possible, as some of you know, to
+enjoy in the highest degree all healthful sports, and
+at the same time to be industrious and conscientious
+in your studies. I am deeply concerned that the
+boys in this college shall be boys of the best, the
+highest type; that they “shall walk in the truth.”
+There are, alas, many boys who have gone through
+this college, and fully equipped (as well as their
+teachers could equip them), have been launched out
+into life and come to naught. I do not know their
+names nor do you, probably, though you do not doubt
+the fact.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever others say, who speak to you here, I
+want to discharge my duty to you as faithfully as I
+can. I know some of the difficulties of life, for they
+have been in my path. I know some of the fierce<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span>
+temptations to which boys and young men are exposed,
+for I have felt these assaults in my own
+person. I know what it is to sin against God, for I
+am a sinner; so, with my sympathies quick towards
+you, I come with these plain, earnest words, and I
+urge you to look up to God, and ask him to help
+you. He can help you, and he will, if you ask him.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIFE">LIFE—ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND TEMPTATIONS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">March 12, 1885.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I propose to speak to you now of some plain and
+practical duties which await you in life; and, as
+there are many boys here who are anxiously looking
+for the time when they will leave the college to
+make their way in the world, some of whom will
+probably have left the college before I come again, I
+speak more especially to them. And my first words
+are words of congratulation, and for these reasons:</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>Because you are young.</em> And this means very
+much. You have an enormous advantage over people
+that are your seniors. Other things being equal,
+you will live longer, and I assume that “life is worth
+living.” Then you have the advantage of profiting
+by the mistakes committed by those who precede
+you, and if you are not blind, you can avail yourselves
+of the successes they have achieved.</p>
+
+<p>You have the freshness, the zest of youth. You
+are full of courage and endurance. You can grapple
+with difficult subjects and with a strong hand. And
+if you blunder, you have time to recover yourselves<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span>
+and start anew. In short, life is before you, and you
+look forward with the inspiration of hope, and it may
+be, also, of determination.</p>
+
+<p>2. I congratulate you also <em>because you are poor</em>.
+You have your own way to make in the world. You
+know already that if you achieve success, it must be
+because you exert yourselves to the very utmost.
+Indeed, you must depend upon yourselves, and this
+means that you must do everything in your power
+that is right to do, to help yourselves.</p>
+
+<p>You must understand that there is no royal road
+to <em>success</em>, any more than there is to <em>learning</em>, and that
+there is no time to trifle. If you were rich men’s
+sons, these remarks would have no special pertinence,
+or importance.</p>
+
+<p>My congratulations are quite in order also because
+very many, if not <em>most</em> of the high places in our
+country, are held by those who once were poor lads.</p>
+
+<p>Should you turn upon me and say, “Why, then, if
+one is to be congratulated on his poverty, do fathers
+toil early and late, denying themselves needed recreation,
+not ceasing when they have accumulated a
+good estate, almost selling their souls to become millionaires—why
+do they so much dread to leave their
+sons to struggle for a living?” More than one answer
+might be given to these questions. Some
+fathers have so little faith in God’s providence that
+they forget his goodness, which <em>now</em> takes care of
+their families through the instrumentality of parents;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>
+and who can continue that care through other means,
+just as well, when the parents are gone; but high authority
+says that “they who will be rich, fall into
+temptations and snares,” one of which is that the
+race for riches unfits the racer for all other pursuits
+and amusements, and he can’t stop his course, he
+can’t change his habits, he has no other mental
+resources—he must work or perish.</p>
+
+<p>Do not, then, let the fact that you are <em>poor</em> discourage
+you in the least—it is rather an advantage.</p>
+
+<p>3. But again I congratulate you, because <em>your lot
+is cast in America</em>. Do not smile at this. I am not
+on the point of flying the American eagle, nor of
+raising the stars and stripes. It <em>is</em>, however, a good
+thing to have been born in this country. For in all
+important respects it is the most favored of all lands.
+It is the fashion with certain people to disparage our
+government and its institutions; and one must admit
+that in some particulars there might be improvement,
+and will be some day; but, notwithstanding these
+defects, it is unquestionably true that it is the best
+government on earth. Is there any country where a
+poor young man has opportunities as good as he has
+here, to get on in life? Is there any obstacle or
+hindrance whatever, outside of himself, in the way
+of his success? If a young man has good health of
+mind and body, and a fair English education and
+good manners, and will be honest and industrious, is
+he not much more certain to attain success, in one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span>
+way or another, in this country than anywhere else?
+You know he is. Why? Because of our equal rights
+under the law. There is no caste here, that curse of
+monarchies. There is no aristocracy in sentiment or
+in power, no House of Lords, no established church,
+no law of primogeniture. One man is as good as
+another under the law as long as he behaves himself.</p>
+
+<p>If you want further evidence, only look for a moment
+at the condition of the seething, surging masses
+of Europe, and the continual apprehensions of a general
+war. Before this year 1885 has run its course
+the United States may be almost the only country
+among the great powers that is not involved in war.</p>
+
+<p>And if still further illustration were needed, let me
+point to that most extraordinary scene enacted in
+Washington some weeks ago.</p>
+
+<p>A great political party, which has held control of
+this government nearly a quarter of a century, and
+which has exercised almost unlimited power, yields
+most quietly and gracefully all high places, all dignity,
+all honor and patronage, to the will of the people
+who have chosen a new administration. And
+everybody regards it as a matter of course.</p>
+
+<p>Was such a thing ever known before? And could
+such a thing occur anywhere else among the nations?</p>
+
+<p>Once more, I congratulate you <em>because you live in
+Philadelphia</em>. Ah, now we come to a most interesting
+point. Most of you were born here, and you
+come to this by inheritance. This is the best of all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span>
+large cities. More to be desired as a place to live in
+than Washington, the seat of government, the most
+beautiful of all American cities, or New York, with
+its vast commerce and enormous wealth, or Boston,
+with its boasted intellectual society.</p>
+
+<p>They may call us the “<i>Quaker City</i>,” or the “<i>worst
+paved city</i>,” or the “<i>slow city</i>,” or the “city of rows
+of houses exactly alike;” but these houses are the
+homes of separate families, and in a very large
+degree are occupied by their owners, and you cannot
+say as much of any other city in the world. Although
+there are doubtless many instances in the
+oldest part of the city, and among the improvident
+poor, where more than one family will be found in
+the same house, yet these are the exceptions and not
+the rule; and so far as I know there is not one “tenement
+house” in this great city that was built for the
+purpose of accommodating several families at the
+same time. I need not point you to New York and
+Boston, where the great apartment houses, with their
+twelve and fourteen stories of flats for rich and well-to-do
+people prevail, utterly destroying that most
+cherished domestic life of which we have been so
+proud, and introducing the life of European cities,
+with its demoralizing associations and results; nor
+shall I describe the awful tenement houses in those
+two cities, where the poor are crowded like animals
+in a cattle-train, suffering as the poor dumb creatures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span>
+do, for want of air, and water, and space, and everything
+else that makes life desirable.</p>
+
+<p>Of all cities on the face of the earth, Philadelphia
+is the most desirable for the young man who must
+make his own way in the world....</p>
+
+<p>And having shown you how favorable are the conditions
+which are about you, the next point is, What
+will you do when you set out for yourselves?</p>
+
+<p>All of you are <em>expecting</em> when you leave school to
+be employed by somebody, or engaged in some business.
+And I suppose you may be looking to me to
+give you some hints how to take care of yourselves,
+or how to behave in such relations.</p>
+
+<p>I will try to do so plainly and faithfully.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot absolutely promise you success. Indeed,
+it would be necessary first to define the word. And
+there are several definitions that might be given.
+One of the shortest and best would be in these words,
+“A life well spent.” That’s success. And this definition
+shall be my model.</p>
+
+<p>Work hard, then, at your lessons. Let your ambition
+be, not to get through quickly, not to go over
+much ground in text-books, but to master thoroughly
+everything before you. If you knew how little
+thorough instruction there is, you would thank me
+for this. There are so many half-educated people
+from schools and colleges that one cannot help believing
+that the terms of graduation are very easy.
+There have been, and are now, graduates of colleges<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>
+who cannot add up a long column of figures correctly,
+nor do an example in simple proportion, nor write a
+letter of four pages of note paper without mistakes
+of grammar and spelling and punctuation, to say
+nothing of perspicuity and unity and general good
+taste.</p>
+
+<p>It is quite surprising to find how helpless some
+young men are in the simple matter of writing letters;
+an art with which, in these days of cheap postage
+and cheap stationery, almost everybody has something
+to do. If you doubt this let me ask you to try
+to-morrow to write a note of twenty lines on any
+subject whatever, off-hand, and submit it for criticism
+to your teacher. Do you wonder, then, that an employer
+calling one of his young men, and directing
+him to write a letter to one of his correspondents,
+saying such and such things, and bring it to him for
+his signature, is surprised and grieved to see that the
+letter is in such shape that he cannot sign it and let
+it go out of his office?</p>
+
+<p>It is very true that letter-writing is not the chief
+business of life, not the only thing of importance in
+a counting-house, but it is an elegant accomplishment,
+and most desirable of attainment.</p>
+
+<p>Let me say some words about shorthand writing.
+In this day of push and drive and hurry, when so
+many things must be done at once, there is an increasing
+demand for shorthand writers. In fact,
+business as now conducted cannot afford to do without<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span>
+this help. It often occurs that a principal in a
+business house cannot take the time to write long letters.
+Why should he? It does not pay to have one
+that is occupied in governing and controlling great interests,
+or in the receipt of a large salary, tied to a desk
+writing letters, or reports, or statements of any kind.
+He must <em>talk off</em> these things; and he must be an educated
+man, whose mind is so disciplined to terse and
+accurate expression that his dictation may almost be
+taken to be final. He wants a clerk who can take down
+his words with literal accuracy, and who will be able
+to correct any errors that may have been spoken, and
+submit the complete paper to his chief for his signature.
+The demand for this kind of service is increasing
+every day, and some of you now listening to me
+will be so employed. See that you are ready for it
+when your opportunity comes.</p>
+
+<p>If you get to be a clerk in a railroad office, or in
+an insurance company, or in a store, or in a bank, devote
+yourself to your particular duties, whatever they
+may be. And don’t be too particular as to what
+kind of work it is that falls to your lot. It may be
+work that you think belongs to the porter; no matter
+if it is, do it, and do it as well as the porter can,
+or even better.</p>
+
+<p>Let none of you, therefore, think that anything
+you are likely to be called upon to do is beneath you.
+Do it, and do it in the best manner, and you may not
+have to do it for a long time.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>Make yourself indispensable to your employer.
+You can do that; it is quite within your power, and
+it may be that you may get to be an employer yourself;
+indeed it is more than probable; but you must
+work for it.</p>
+
+<p>If you get to be a book-keeper in any counting-house
+or public institution, remember that you are in
+a position of trust and responsibility. When you
+make errors do not erase the error; draw faint red or
+black lines through it and write correct characters
+over the error. Do not hide your errors of any kind.
+Do not misstate anything in language or figures.
+Everybody makes errors at some time or other, but
+everybody does not admit and apologize for them.
+The honest man is he who <em>does</em> admit and apologize,
+and does so without waiting to be detected.</p>
+
+<p>There have been of late some deplorable instances
+of betrayal of trust in our city. I may as well call
+it by its right name, stealing. The culprits are now
+suffering in prison the penalty for their crimes.
+While I am speaking to you there are men, young
+and <em>not</em> young, in our city who are <em>now</em> stealing, and
+who are falsifying their books in the vain hope that
+it may be kept secret; who are dreading the day
+when they will be caught; who cannot afford to take a
+holiday; who cannot afford to be sick, lest absence
+for a single day may disclose their guilt. What a
+horrible state of mind! They will go to their desks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>
+or their offices to-morrow morning, not knowing but
+it may be their last day in that place.</p>
+
+<p>And the day will come, most surely, when <em>you</em>
+will be tempted as these wretched ones have been
+tempted. In what shape the temptation may come,
+or when, no human being knows. The suggestion
+will be made, that by the use of a little money you
+may make a good deal; that the venture is perfectly
+safe; some one tells you so, and points to this one or
+that one who has tried it and made money. It is
+only a little thing; you can’t lose much; you <em>may</em>
+make enough to pay for the cost of your summer
+holiday, or for your cigar bill, or your beer bill; or
+you will be able to smoke better cigars or drink better
+beer, or buy a gold watch, or a diamond ring, or anything
+else; <em>you can’t lose much</em>. You have no money
+of your own, it is true, but what is needed will not
+be missed if you take it out of the drawer. Shall you
+do it? No! Let nothing induce you to take the first
+dollar not your own. It is the <em>first</em> step that counts.</p>
+
+<p>But suppose you don’t care for this warning, or forget
+it. Suppose the time comes when you find that
+you <em>have</em> taken something that was not yours, and
+that it is lost, and that you cannot repay it, what
+then? Why, go at once to your employer; tell him
+the whole story; keep back nothing; throw yourself
+upon his mercy, and ask forgiveness. Better now
+than later. You will assuredly be caught. There is
+no possibility of continuous concealment. Tell it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>
+now before you are detected, and, if you must be disgraced,
+the sooner the better.</p>
+
+<p>Am I too earnest about this? Am I saying too
+much? Oh, boys, young men, if you knew the frightful
+danger that you may be in some day, the subtle
+temptations that will beset you, the many instances
+of weakness about you, the shipwrecks of character,
+the utter ruin that comes to sisters and to innocent
+wives and children by the crimes of brothers, husbands
+and fathers, as we who are older know, you
+would not wonder that I speak as I do.</p>
+
+<p>Every case of breach of trust, every defalcation,
+weakens confidence in human character. For every
+such instance of wrong-doing is a stab at <em>your</em> integrity
+if you are in a position of trust. Men of the
+fairest reputation, men who are trusted implicitly by
+their employers, men who are hedged about by the
+sacredness of domestic ties, on whom the happiness
+of helpless wives and innocent children depend, men
+who claim to be religious, go astray, step by step, little
+by little; they defraud, steal, lie, try to cover up
+their tracks, cannot do it long, are caught, tried, convicted,
+sentenced and imprisoned. Then the question
+may be asked about you or me: “How do
+we know that Mr. So-and-So is any better than those
+who have fallen?” Don’t you see that these culprits
+are enemies of the public confidence, enemies of
+society, <em>your</em> enemies and <em>mine</em>?</p>
+
+<p>If the names of those who are now serving out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>
+their sentences in the public prisons for stealing, not
+petty theft, but stealing and defrauding in larger
+sums, could be published in to-morrow morning’s
+papers, what a sad record it would be of dishonored
+names and blighted lives and ruined homes, and how
+the memory would recall some whom we knew in
+early youth, the pride of their parents, or the idol
+of fond wives and lovely children; and we should
+turn away with sickening horror from the record!
+But, if there should appear in the same papers the
+names of those who are <em>now engaged in stealing and
+defrauding</em> and <em>falsifying entries</em>, who are not yet
+caught, but who may, before this year is out, be
+caught and convicted and punished, what a horrible
+revelation <em>that</em> would be!</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>I close abruptly, for I cannot keep you longer.</p>
+
+<p>But do not think that it is for your future in <em>this</em>
+life only that I am concerned. Life does not end
+here, though it may seem to do so. Our life in this
+world is a mere <em>beginning</em> of existence. It is the
+<em>future</em>, the <em>endless</em> life before us, that we should
+prepare for; and no preparation is worth the name
+except that of a pure, an upright and honorable life,
+that depends for its support on the love and the fear of
+God. You must accept him as your Father, you
+must honor him and obey him, and so consecrating
+your young lives to his service, trust him to care for
+you with his infinite love and care.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp051">
+  <img src="images/i_fp051.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>William Welsh.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="WELSH">ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM WELSH,<br>
+<small><i>First President of the Board of City Trusts</i></small>.</h2>
+
+<p class="noic">February 22, 1878.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When I spoke to you last from this desk I tried to
+persuade you to adopt the thought so aptly set forth
+by one of the old Hebrew kings, Whatsoever thy
+hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I little
+thought then that Mr. Welsh, who was one of the
+most conspicuous examples of working with all his
+might, and so much of whose work was done for you,
+whom you so often saw standing where I now stand,
+I little thought that his work on earth was so nearly
+done. Last Sunday he addressed you here. One,
+two, three services he conducted for the boys of this
+college, one in the infirmary, one in the refectory for
+the new boys, and one in this chapel. I venture to
+say from my knowledge of his method of doing
+things that these services were all conducted in the
+best manner possible to him; that he did not spare
+his strength; that there was nothing weak or undecided
+in his acts or speech, but that he took hold
+of his subject with a firm grasp, and did not let go
+until the service was finished. It is very natural<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>
+that we should desire to know as much as we can
+about a life that has come so close to us as the life
+of Mr. Welsh, and to learn, if we may, what it was
+that made him the man that he was. The thousands
+of people that gathered in and about St. Luke’s
+Church on the day of the funeral, as many of you
+saw; the very large number of citizens of the highest
+distinction who united in the solemn services; the
+profound interest manifested everywhere among all
+classes of society; the closing of places of business
+at the hour of these services; the flags at half-mast,
+all these circumstances, so unusual, so impressive,
+assured us that no common man had gone from
+among us. What was it that made him no common
+man? What was there in his life and character
+that lifted him above the ordinarily successful merchant?
+In other places, and by those most competent
+to speak, will the complete picture of his
+life be drawn, but what was there in his life which
+particularly interests you college boys? It will
+surprise you probably when I tell you that his
+early education—the education of the schools—was
+very limited. He was not a college-bred man. At
+a very early age (as early as fourteen, I believe) he
+left school and went into his father’s store. You
+know that he could not have had much education at
+that age. And he went into the store, not to be a
+gentleman clerk to sit in the counting-house and copy
+letters and invoices, and do the bank business and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span>
+lounge about in fine clothing, but he went to do anything
+that came to hand, rough and smooth, hard
+and easy, dirty and clean, for in those days the
+duties of a junior clerk differed from those of a
+porter only in this, that the young clerk’s work was
+not so heavy as the robust porter’s. And even when
+he grew older and stronger he would go down into
+the hold of a vessel and vie with the strong stevedore
+in the shifting and placing of cargoes. And the
+days were long then: there were no office hours from
+nine to three o’clock, but merchants and their clerks
+dined near the middle of the day, and were back at
+their stores, their warehouses, in the afternoon and
+stayed and worked until the day was done. So this
+young clerk worked all day, and went home at night
+tired and hungry, to rest, to sleep and to go through
+the next day and the next in the same manner. But
+not only to rest and sleep. The body was tired
+enough with the long day’s work, but the mind was
+not tired. He early knew the importance of mental
+discipline, of mental cultivation. He knew that a
+half-educated man is no match for one thoroughly
+equipped, and so he set himself to the task of
+making up, as far as he could, for that deficiency of
+systematic education which his early withdrawal
+from school made him regret so much. What
+definite means or methods he resorted to to accomplish
+this I cannot tell you, for I have not learned;
+but the fact that he did very largely overcome this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span>
+most serious disadvantage is apparent to all who have
+ever met him. He was a cultivated gentleman, thoroughly
+at ease in circles where men must be well informed
+or be very uncomfortable. As the President of
+this Board of Trustees, having for his associates gentlemen
+of the highest professional and general culture,
+he was quite equal to any exigency which ever arose.
+All this you must know was the result of education,
+not that which was imparted to him in the schools, but
+that which he acquired himself after his school life.
+He was careful about his associates. Then, as now,
+the streets were alive with boys and young men of
+more than questionable character. And the thought
+which has come up in many a boy’s mind after his
+day’s work was done, must have come up in his
+mind: “Why should I not stroll about the streets
+with companions of my own age and have a good
+time? Why should I be so strict while others have
+more freedom and enjoy themselves so much more?”
+I have no doubt that he had his enjoyments, and
+that he was a free, hearty boy in them all, but I
+cannot suppose, for his after life gave no evidence of
+it, his general good health, his muscular wiry frame
+forbade the thought, I cannot suppose his youthful
+pleasures passed beyond that line which separates
+the good from the bad, the pure from the impure.
+Few evils are so great as that of evil companions.</p>
+
+<p>William Welsh was not afraid of work. I mean
+by that he was not lazy. A large part of the failures<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span>
+in life are attributable to the love of ease. We
+choose the soft things; we turn away from those
+which are hard. We are deterred by the abstruse,
+the obscure; we are attracted by the simple, the
+plain. A really strong character will grapple with
+any subject; a weak one shrinks from a struggle. A
+character naturally weak may be developed by culture
+and discipline into one of real strength, but the
+process is very slow and very discouraging. A life
+that is worth anything at all, that impresses itself on
+other lives, on society, must have these struggles,
+this training. I do not know minutely the characteristics
+of Mr. Welsh’s early life in this particular,
+but I infer most emphatically that his strong character
+was formed by continuous, laborious, exacting
+self-application.</p>
+
+<p>I would now speak of that quality which is so
+valuable (I will not say so rare), so conspicuously
+and so immeasurably important, personal integrity.
+Mr. Welsh possessed this in the highest
+degree. He was most emphatically an honest man.
+No thought of anything other than this could ever
+have entered into the mind of any one who knew
+him. All men knew that public or private trusts
+committed to him were safe. Mistakes in judgment
+all are liable to, but of conscious deflection from the
+right path in this respect he was incapable. His
+high position as President of the Board of City Trusts,
+which includes, among other large properties, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span>
+great estate left by Mr. Girard to the city of Philadelphia,
+proves the confidence this community had in
+his personal character. His private fortune was used
+as if he were a trustee. He recognized the hand of
+God in his grand success as a merchant, and he felt
+himself accountable to God for a proper expenditure.
+If he enjoyed a generous mode of living for himself
+and his family—a manner of life required by his
+position in the community—he more than equalized
+it by his gifts to objects of benevolence. He was
+conscientious and liberal (rare combination) in his
+benefactions, for he felt that he held his personal
+property in trust.</p>
+
+<p>Such are a few of the traits in the character of
+the man whose life on earth was so suddenly closed
+on Monday last. Under Providence, by which I
+mean the blessing of God, that blessing which
+is just as much within your reach as his, these are
+some of the conditions of his extraordinary success.
+His self-culture, the choice of his companions
+his persistent industry, his integrity, his religion,
+made the man what he was. I cannot here speak of
+his work in that church which he loved so much. I
+do not speak with absolute certainty, but I have
+reason to believe that, next to his own family, his
+affections were placed on you. He could never look
+into your faces without having his feelings stirred to
+their profoundest depths. He loved you—in the
+best, the truest sense, he loved you. He was willing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span>
+to give any amount of his time, his thought, his care,
+to you. The time he spent in the chapel was a very
+small part of the time he gave to his work for you.
+You were upon his heart constantly. I do not know—no
+one can know—but if it be possible for the spirits
+of just men made perfect to revisit the scenes of earth—to
+come back and look upon those they loved so
+much when in the flesh—I am sure his spirit is here
+to-day—this, his first Sabbath in Heaven—looking
+into your faces, as he often did when he went in and
+out among you, and wishing that all of you may
+make such use of your grand opportunity here as will
+insure your success in the life which is before you
+when you leave these college walls, and especially as
+will insure your entering into the everlasting life.
+Such was his life, full of activity, generosity, self-denial,
+eminently religious, in the best sense successful.
+He was never at rest; his heart was always
+open to human sympathy; he denied nothing except
+to himself. He wanted everybody to be religious.
+He died in the harness; no time to take it off; no
+wish to take it off. But in the front, on the advance,
+not in retreat. He never turned his back on anything
+that was right. His eye was not dim; his
+natural force was not abated. Death came so swiftly
+that it seemed only stepping from one room in his
+Father’s house to another. We are reminded of the
+beautiful words in which Mr. Thackeray describes
+the death of Colonel Newcome in the hospital of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>
+the Charter House School, after a life spent in fighting
+the enemies of his country abroad, and the enemies
+of the good in society at home. “At the usual
+evening hour the chapel bell began to toll and
+Thomas Newcome’s hands outside the bed feebly beat
+time. And just as the last bell struck, a peculiar
+sweet smile shone over his face. He lifted up his
+head a little and quickly said <em>Adsum</em>, and fell back.
+It was the word they used at school when names
+were called, and lo, he, whose heart was as that of a
+little child, had answered to his name and stood in
+the presence of ‘The Master.’”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="BAD">BAD ASSOCIATES.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">November 11, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to speak to you to-day about the danger of
+evil company, a danger to which you will necessarily
+be exposed when you go out from this college to make
+your way in life.</p>
+
+<p>The desire for companionship sometimes leads
+people, and especially young people, into bad company.
+A boy finds himself associated with a schoolmate,
+a fellow-apprentice or fellow-clerk, who is attractive
+in manners, full of fun, but who is not what
+he ought to be in character.</p>
+
+<p>No one is entirely bad; almost all persons old or
+young have some points that are not repulsive, and
+sometimes the very bad are attractive in some respects.
+A comparatively innocent boy is thrown
+into such company, and, at first, he sees nothing in
+the conduct of his new friends which is particularly
+out of the way. The conversation is somewhat
+guarded, the jokes and stories are not specially bad,
+and, for a time, nothing occurs to shock his feelings;
+but, after a while, the mask is thrown off and the
+true character is revealed. Then very soon the mind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>
+of the pure, innocent boy receives impressions that
+corrupt and defile it. All that is polluting in talk
+and story and song is poured out. Books and papers,
+so vile that it is a breach of law to sell them, are read
+and quoted without bringing a blush to the cheek,
+and, before his parents are aware of the danger, the
+mind and heart of their son are so polluted and depraved
+that no human power can save him.</p>
+
+<p>I very well remember a boy older than myself who,
+early in life, gave himself up to vile company and
+vile books and vile habits, and who, long ago—almost
+as soon as he reached an early manhood—sunk, under
+the weight of his sinful habits, into a dishonored
+grave, but not until he had defiled and depraved
+many a boy who came under his influence. Better
+would it have been for his companions if their daily
+walks and playgrounds had been infested with venomous
+serpents, to bite and sting their bare feet,
+than to associate with a boy whose heart was full of
+all uncleanness.</p>
+
+<p>It is dangerous to make such friendships. Circumstances
+may throw us among them; the providence
+of God may send us there, but we ought never to <em>seek</em>
+such company, except for good purposes. What I
+mean is that we ought not to seek such associates,
+however agreeable they may be in other respects,
+and not to remain among them except for their
+good.</p>
+
+<p>There are wicked people in every community, of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span>
+all ages. We cannot altogether avoid contact with
+them. We find them among our schoolmates and in
+the walks of business.</p>
+
+<p>Many a young man, many a boy, has been forever
+ruined by evil companions. A corrupt literature is
+bad enough, but evil companions are more numerous
+and, if possible, more fatal. Bad books and papers
+have slain their thousands; bad companions have
+slain their ten thousands. I can recall the names of
+many who were led away, step by step, down the
+broad road that leads to destruction, by companions
+genial, attractive, but corrupt.</p>
+
+<p>There are some companions from whom you cannot
+separate yourselves. They are with you continually;
+at home and abroad, in school or at play,
+by day and by night, asleep and awake, they are always
+with you. There is no solitude so deep that
+they cannot find you, no crowd so great that they
+will ever lose you. No matter who else is with you,
+they will not—cannot—be kept away. I mean <em>your
+own thoughts</em>, your bosom companions. Shall they be
+<span class="allsmcap">EVIL</span> companions or <span class="allsmcap">GOOD</span>? Ah! you know who, and
+who only, can answer this question.</p>
+
+<p>I once went through a monastery in the old city
+of Florence, in Italy. It was a retreat for men who
+were tired of the world, or who felt so unequal to
+the strife and conflict of life in the world that they
+believed peace could be found only in retirement.
+The house was of the order of St. Francis. One of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>
+the monks took me into his cell, and I sat down and
+talked with him. It was a very small room—one
+door, one window, bare walls, a small table, two
+wooden chairs, a few books, a crucifix, a washstand,
+and some pieces of crockery; and that was all. In
+this room he lived, never to leave it except to go to
+the chapel, just across the corridor, and to walk in
+the cloisters for exercise; here he expected to die.
+It seemed very dreary and lonely to me. But I
+thought, if this were a certain and sure way of escaping
+from evil thoughts, and the only way, men may
+well submit to the confinement, the solitude, the
+monotony, the dreariness of this way of life. But,
+alas! it is not so. No close and narrow cell, no iron
+doors, no bolts and bars, can shut out our thoughts,
+for they are a part of ourselves: they <em>are</em> ourselves;
+for, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”</p>
+
+<p>Some years ago a country lad left his home to seek
+his fortune in the city. His mother was dead and
+his father broken in health and in fortune. The boy
+reached the city full of high hopes, promising his
+father that he would do his best to succeed in whatever
+fell to his lot to do. He was tall, strong and
+good-looking. A place was soon found for him, and
+until he was better able to support himself he found
+a home with some friends. He was a boy of good
+mind but with a very imperfect education, and he
+seemed inclined to make up for this in part by reading
+during his leisure hours. The situation found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span>
+for him was in a large commercial house, where
+everything was conducted in the best manner and on
+the highest principles. Here he made rapid progress
+and was soon able to contribute to the support of
+those he had left at home in the country. He became
+interested in serious things, united with the
+Sunday-school, and after a while made a profession
+of religion. Everything went well with him for
+several years, until he fell in with some boys near
+his own age, who had been brought up under very
+different circumstances. Two or three of these were
+inclined towards skepticism in religious things, and
+their reading was quite unlike that to which this
+boy had been accustomed. Some fascination of manner
+about them attracted the lad to their society,
+and he grew less and less fond of his truest and best
+friends. He became irregular in his attendance at
+the Sunday-school, and when remonstrated with by
+his teacher and friends had no candid and manly
+answer for them. After a while he ceased going to
+church entirely, spending his time at his lodgings
+reading profane and immoral books or in the society
+of his new companions. Then he found his way
+with these friends (so he called them, but they were
+really his greatest enemies) to taverns and even to
+worse places, reading a corrupt literature and thinking
+he was strengthening his mind and broadening
+his views. A little further on and his habits grew
+worse, and became the subject of observation and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>
+remark. His early friends interposed, talked kindly
+with him and received his promise to turn away from
+his evil associates (who had well-nigh ruined him)
+and to lead a better life. He promised well, and for
+a time things with him were better. But after
+a while he fell away again into his old ways and with
+his old tempters, and before his friends were aware
+of it he disappeared and went abroad. Then letters
+were received from him. He was without means;
+he found it hard to get employment; he had no references,
+and the people among whom he found himself
+were distrustful of strangers.</p>
+
+<p>One of his friends to whom he wrote for a letter
+of recommendation replied something like this:</p>
+
+<p>“It is impossible for me to give you a letter of
+recommendation except with qualification. If you
+are seeking employment it is your duty to make a
+candid statement of your condition. Make a clean
+breast of it. Keep nothing back. Say that you had
+a good situation; that you were growing with the
+growth of your employers; that your salary had been
+advanced twice within the year; that one of the
+partners was your friend; that he had stood by you
+in your earlier youth; that he had extricated you
+from embarrassment and would have helped you
+again when needed, and that in an evil hour you
+forgot this, and your duty to him and to the house
+which sustained you; that you left your place
+without your father’s knowledge and well-nigh or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span>
+quite broke his heart, and that all this grew out of
+your love of bad associates and your love of drink,
+and that while under this infatuation you went
+astray with bad women; and that in very despair
+of your ability to save yourself, and ashamed to
+meet your employers, you sought other scenes in the
+hope that in a new field and with new associates you
+could reform.</p>
+
+<p>“If you say this or something like this to a Christian
+man, little as you affect to think of Christianity,
+his heart will open to you and you can then look
+him frankly in the face, and have no concealments
+from him. Any other course than this will only
+prolong your agony, and in the end plunge you in
+deeper shame and disgrace. If you will take this
+advice, you may yet make a man of yourself, and no
+one will be more rejoiced than myself or more ready
+to help you. Read the parable of the prodigal son
+every day; don’t think so much of your fancied mental
+ability; get down off your stilts and be a man, a
+humble, penitent man, and make your father’s last
+days cheerful, instead of blasting his life.</p>
+
+<p>“You see that I am in earnest and that I feel a
+deep interest in you, else I would have thrown your
+letter to me into the fire.”</p>
+
+<p>I believe that this young man’s fall was due entirely
+to the influence of his foolish, bad companions.
+And I know that this sad history is the record of
+many others; in fact, that the same experience<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span>
+awaits all who think it a light matter what company
+they keep, and who drift on the current with no purpose
+except to find pleasure, without regard to their
+duty to God. When I see, as I so often do, young
+men standing at the corners of the streets, or lounging
+against lamp-posts, and catch a word as I pass, very
+often profane or indecent, I know very well that a
+work of ruin is going on there, which, if unchecked,
+will certainly lead to destruction. And I wonder
+whether these boys and young men have parents or
+sisters, who love them and who yet allow them to
+pass unwarned down the road that leads to death.</p>
+
+<p>But there are other companions, foolish, bad companions,
+besides those that appear to us in bodily
+form. They confront us in the printed page. You
+read a book or a pamphlet or paper which is full of
+dialogue. Such books are often more attractive than
+a plain narrative with little conversation. You enter
+fully, even if unconsciously, into the spirit of the
+story. The characters are real to you. You seem
+to see the forms before you; you make a picture of
+each in your mind, so that if you were an artist you
+could paint the portrait of each one. Sometimes the
+dialogue is full of profanity, and though you make no
+sound as you read, you are really pronouncing each
+word in your mind. And every time you say a bad
+word, in your mind, you defile your heart. You are
+in effect listening to bad words not spoken by other
+people merely, but spoken by yourself, and before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>
+you are aware of it you will be in the habit of thinking
+oaths when you are afraid to speak them out. It
+is even worse, if possible, when the language is obscene.
+Now do you ever think that when you are
+reading such wretched stuff you are in effect associating
+with the characters whose talk you are listening
+to, and without rebuke? They are thieves, pirates,
+burglars, dissolute, the very worst of society, even
+murderers. You may not have the courage to rebuke
+those who are defiling the very air with their
+foul talk; you may be too cowardly even to turn
+away from such company lest they sneer at you; but
+what do you say of a boy who deliberately, and after
+being warned, reads by stealth such stuff as I have
+described? Is there any one here who would be
+guilty of such conduct?</p>
+
+<p>These evils of which I am speaking, and I do so
+most reluctantly, for these are not pleasant subjects—are
+not mere theories. They are sad realities. It
+was my ill fortune in my boyhood to know some boys
+who were essentially corrupt. Their minds were
+cages of unclean birds. They were inexpressibly
+vile. And it is this fear of the evil that one sinner
+may do among young boys that leads me to say what
+I do on this most painful subject. Oh, boys, if I can
+persuade you to turn away from foolish company,
+from bad associates, I shall feel that I am doing indeed
+a blessed work. For what is the object, the
+purpose of all this that is said to you? It is to make<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>
+men of you and to give you grace and strength to
+assert your manhood. It is to build you up on the
+foundation of a substantial education, and so prepare
+you for the life that is before you here and for that
+life which is beyond. But the education of text-books
+illustrated by the best instructors is not
+enough; it is not all you need for the great work of
+your lives. You must be ready when you are
+equipped not only to take care of yourselves, but to
+help those who may be dependent upon you, for you
+are not to live for yourselves. And you cannot be
+fully equipped unless you have the blessing of Almighty
+God on your work and on your life.</p>
+
+<p>I want you to be successful men, and no man can
+be a successful man, in the highest and best sense,
+unless he is a religious man. How can one expect
+to make his way in life as he ought, without the blessing
+of God? And how can one expect the blessing
+of God who does not ask God for his blessing?
+Prayers in the church are not enough; the reading
+of the Scriptures in the church is not enough; you
+must read the Scriptures for yourselves; you must
+pray for yourselves and each one for himself, as well
+as for others.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp069">
+  <img src="images/i_fp069.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption"><p class="noic"><i>James A. Garfield.</i></p></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="GARFIELD">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">September 25, 1881.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I wish to lead your thoughts to one of the strangest
+things—one of the most difficult things to understand,
+which has ever occurred. On the second day of July
+last the President of the United States, when about
+to step into a railway train which was to carry him
+North, where he was to attend a college commencement,
+at the college where he was graduated, was
+shot down by an assassin.</p>
+
+<p>I say it is one of the strangest things, because the
+President did not know the assassin, and had never
+injured him nor any of his friends. There was absolutely
+no motive for the hideous deed.</p>
+
+<p>I say it is most difficult to understand, because we
+believe that Divine Providence overrules all events,
+holds all power, and we wonder why He permitted
+the wretch to do so deplorable a deed.</p>
+
+<p>President Garfield was no ordinary man. He was
+emphatically a man of the people. He was born in
+a log-cabin which his father had built with his own
+hands. It was a very small house, twenty feet by
+thirty. When James was two years old, his father<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span>
+died, late in the autumn, and this boy with three
+other children were all dependent upon their mother
+for a support. How the lone widow passed that
+winter we do not know; but when the spring came
+there was a debt to be paid, and part of the farm had
+to go to pay it. About thirty acres of the clearing
+were left, and this little farm was worked by the
+mother and her oldest son. Only those who have
+lived on a farm in the country know how hard the
+work is. When James was five years old he was
+sent to school, a mile and a half away, and as this
+was a very long walk for so young a boy, his sister
+often carried the little boy on her back.</p>
+
+<p>After a while the boy tried to learn the carpenter’s
+trade, and in this effort he spent two years or so,
+going to school at intervals and studying at spare
+hours at home. So he mastered grammar, arithmetic
+and geography. After that he became a sort
+of general help and book-keeper for a manufacturer
+in the neighborhood at $14 per month “and found,”
+and this was to him a very great advance. But not
+being well treated there, he soon left and took to
+chopping wood—at one time cutting about twenty-five
+cords for some $7. Then having read some tales
+of the sea, sailors’ stories, such as you have often
+read, he wanted to be a sailor; but when he applied
+for a place on the great lake, he looked so like a
+landsman from the country that no captain would
+engage him. So he went to the canal, and found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>
+employment in leading or driving horses or mules on
+the tow-path. But he was soon promoted to be a
+deck-hand and steersman, and often falling into the
+water (once almost being drowned) and meeting
+some other mishaps, he concluded that “following
+the water” was not his forte, and he abandoned it.
+By this time he had saved some money, and his
+brother Thomas lent him some more, and with
+another young man and a cousin he went to a
+neighboring town to the academy. These young
+fellows rented a room, borrowed some simple cooking
+utensils, a table and some chairs, made beds and
+filled them with straw, and set up house-keeping,
+and went to the academy.</p>
+
+<p>Young Garfield spent three years at this academy,
+doing odd jobs of carpenter work when he could,
+and so eking out a living. Then he went to an
+eclectic institute, and paid his way in part by doing
+the janitor’s work of sweeping the floor and making
+the fires. Here he prepared himself to enter the
+junior class in a higher college, and, after some delay,
+he entered that class in Williams College,
+Massachusetts.</p>
+
+<p>While pursuing his college course at Williams he
+filled his vacations by teaching in district schools in
+the neighborhood until his graduation, in 1856, at
+twenty-five years of age—quite advanced, you see,
+in years for a college graduate.</p>
+
+<p>Then he went back as a teacher to his eclectic institute,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span>
+became a professor of Greek and Latin, and
+then at twenty-eight years of age became a Senator
+in the Ohio Legislature. When the war broke out in
+1861, while still a member of the State Senate, the
+Government commissioned him as colonel of a regiment,
+and he did good service in the State of
+Kentucky in driving out the rebels. In a few
+months he was promoted to be brigadier-general. So
+he went on distinguishing himself wherever he was
+placed, and, having been assigned for duty to the
+Army of the Cumberland, fighting his last battle at
+Chickamauga, his gallantry was so conspicuous and
+so successful that within a fortnight he was made
+a major-general.</p>
+
+<p>While in the army he was elected representative
+to Congress, and on December 5, 1863, he took his
+seat in the House, the youngest member of Congress.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after this, the war still going on, he
+wished to rejoin the army, but President Lincoln
+would not permit it, on the ground that his military
+knowledge would be invaluable to the government.
+After serving seventeen years in the House of Representatives,
+at times Chairman of most important
+committees, he was elected to the Senate, but before
+he took his seat he was nominated for the Presidency,
+and last November was elected by a large
+majority to that high office.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th of March last he was inaugurated, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span>
+four months afterwards (July 2d) he fell by the hand
+of an assassin.</p>
+
+<p>You know how during this long, dry, hot summer
+he has been lying in Washington until the
+last two weeks, hanging between life and death;
+and you know how tenderly and lovingly he has
+been nursed; how gently he was removed to the
+sea, in the hope that a change of air and scene would
+do what the best surgical and medical skill had failed
+to do; and you know how last Monday night, while
+you were sleeping soundly in your beds, the bells of
+our city and all over the land were tolling the tidings
+of his death.</p>
+
+<p>He was a good man—in many respects as well
+qualified to fill the Presidential chair as any man
+who has ever sat in it. So I say it is most difficult
+to understand why he was taken away.</p>
+
+<p>Like all of you he lost his father by death at an
+early age; as is the case with all of you his mother
+was poor. He struggled hard for an education, and he
+acquired it, who knows at what a cost! He was never
+satisfied with present attainments; he was always on
+the advance. At an early age he gave himself to the
+Lord, joining the church; and as that branch of the
+church does not believe in the necessity of ordination
+for the ministry he preached the Gospel as a layman,
+as the great Faraday preached in London and
+as Christian laymen preach the same truths to you,
+and it was my purpose, formed when he was elected<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span>
+in November last, to persuade him, some time when
+he might be passing through Philadelphia, to come
+to this chapel and address you boys. This, alas, now
+can never be.</p>
+
+<p>President Garfield loved his mother. No more
+touching incident was ever witnessed than that
+which hundreds of people saw on inauguration day,
+when, after taking the oath of his high office, he
+turned immediately to his dear old mother and kissed
+her.</p>
+
+<p>Our great sorrow is not felt by us alone. All nations
+mourn with us. The Queen of Great Britain
+with her own hand sends messages of the sweetest,
+the most touching sympathy. She, too, is a widow
+and her children are fatherless. She sends flowers
+for Mrs. Garfield and puts her court in mourning, a
+compliment never extended before except in the case
+of death in a royal family. Other European and
+Asiatic and African governments send their sympathy—they
+all feel it—they all deplore it. Emblems
+of mourning are displayed in every street in our
+city, and every heart is sad. The people mourn.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, you may not be Presidents—probably not
+one here will ever be at the head of this nation; nor
+is this of any moment; but remember it was not only
+as President of the United States that General Garfield
+was wise and good—it was in every place where
+he was put; whether in school, in college, in teaching,
+in the army, in Congress, in the President’s chair,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>
+in his family and on his sick and dying bed, languishing
+and suffering, wasting and burning with fever,
+exhausted by wounds cruel and undeserved, he was
+always the same brave, true, real man.</p>
+
+<p>Some of you know with what profound and tender
+interest people gathered in places of prayer that
+Tuesday morning to ask that the journey from Washington
+to Long Branch might be safe and prosperous,
+and how the hope was expressed, almost to assurance,
+that the Saviour would meet his disciple by the sea.
+The prayer was granted. The Lord did meet his
+disciple, not, as was so much desired, with gifts of
+healing; nothing short of a miracle could do that, but
+by a more complete preparation of the people for the
+final issue. It came at last. And while many of us
+were sleeping quietly, telegraphic messages were
+flashing the sad intelligence everywhere that, at last,
+he was at rest.</p>
+
+<p>Now that we know that he is taken away, we
+stand in awe and amazement. We cannot yet understand
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Shall we gather a few lessons from his life?
+Some of the most apparent may be mentioned very
+briefly.</p>
+
+<p>The simplicity of his character is most interesting.
+Conscious as he must have been of the possession of
+no ordinary mental force, he was never obtrusive nor
+self-assertive. What seemed to be his duty he did,
+with purpose and completeness. And his associates<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span>
+often placed him in positions of high trust and responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>He was an accomplished scholar. Even while engrossed
+in Congressional duties, to a degree which
+left him little or no time for recreation, he did not
+fail to keep himself fresh in classic literature. It is
+said that a friend returning from Europe, and desiring
+to bring him some little present, could think of
+nothing more acceptable than a few volumes of the
+Latin poets.</p>
+
+<p>When his life comes to be written by impartial
+hands, it will be found that along with his great simplicity
+and his high culture there will be most prominent
+his devotion to principle. This was his great
+characteristic. I have no time, and this is not the
+place, to speak of his adherence, under strong adverse
+influences, to his sound views on the great currency
+question which has occupied so much the attention
+of Congress.</p>
+
+<p>In a not very remote sense his death is to be
+attributed to his devotion to principle. That great
+and most discreditable contest at Albany might have
+been settled weeks before it was, although in a very
+different manner, if the President could have yielded
+his convictions. He did not yield, and he was
+slain.</p>
+
+<p>The funeral services in the capitol are over and
+the men whom Mrs. Garfield chose as the bearers of
+her husband’s coffin were not members of the cabinet,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span>
+nor senators, nor judges of the Supreme Court, any
+of whom would have been honored by such a service,
+but they were plain men, of names unknown to us,
+members of his own little church.</p>
+
+<p>They are gone. They have taken his worn and
+wasted and mutilated form, all that remains in this
+world of the strong, pure life that was not yet fifty
+years old, to the beautiful city by the lake, and
+there within sight and almost within sound of the
+waves of the great inland sea, they will to-morrow
+lay him to rest until the morning of the resurrection.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>What use shall we make of this deplorable calamity?
+Shall our faith in the prevalence of prayer
+be weakened? God forbid that we should so distort
+his teachings. “Nay, but, O man, who art thou that
+repliest against God?”</p>
+
+<p>Our prayers are answered, not as we wished, and
+almost insisted, but in softening the hearts of the
+people and drawing them as they have never before
+been drawn towards the Great Ruler of the universe,
+and in uniting the people, and also in promoting a
+better feeling between the different sections of our
+country than has been known for half a century.
+And if, in addition to this, the people would only
+learn to abate that passion for office which has been
+so fatal to peace, and would be content to allow fitness
+for office to be the only rule of appointment,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span>
+then a true civil service would be a heritage for the
+securing of which even the sacrifice of a President
+would seem not too great a price.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the king
+said to his servants, Have me away for I am sore
+wounded. His servants therefore took him out
+of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot
+that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem,
+and he died and was buried. And all Judah and
+Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.” 2 Chron. xxxv.
+23, 24.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CASE">THE CASE OF THE UNEDUCATED EMPLOYED.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">March 25, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">A distinguished lawyer of our city delivered an
+address before one of the societies in the venerable
+University of Harvard on this subject: “The Case
+of the Educated Unemployed.” With an intimate
+knowledge of his subject, and with rare felicity of
+thought and expression, he set before his audience,
+most of whom were either in the learned professions
+or preparing to enter them, the overcrowded condition
+of those professions, especially that of the law,
+a preparation for which is supposed to imply a more
+or less thorough academic or collegiate education.</p>
+
+<p>I have a different task; for I would show the importance
+of education to the workers with the hand,
+whether in the mills, the shops, or among the various
+trades and occupations. By education I do not mean
+that of the colleges, or of the common schools merely,
+but also that which is acquired sometimes without
+the advantage of any schools. And I particularly
+desire to show that an uneducated worker, whatever
+be his work, is at an immense disadvantage with one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>
+who is engaged in the same kind of work, and who is
+more or less educated.</p>
+
+<p>A mechanic may be well trained; may have more
+than his share of brains; may be highly successful
+in his business; indeed, may have acquired a large
+property, and have very high credit, and may hardly
+know how to write his name. A man may have
+scores or hundreds of men in his employment, and
+be conducting business on a very large scale, indeed,
+and yet be so ignorant of accounts that he is entirely
+at the mercy of his book-keeper, and may be
+so defrauded as to be on the very brink of ruin and
+not know it until it is almost too late. In the course
+of a long business life more than one such case has
+come under my observation. A man may be partially
+educated, able to cast up accounts, able to keep
+books by double entry (and no other kind of book-keeping
+is worthy of the name), and yet not be able
+to write a simple agreement in good English, nor understand
+clearly the meaning of such a paper when
+written by another.</p>
+
+<p>Very many of the business failures that occur are
+due to the fact that the person or firm did not know
+how to keep accounts. This is not confined to people
+of small business. How often after a failure are we
+told “that the man was very much surprised at his
+condition; he thought he was all right; he could not
+account for his failure, and that in a short time he
+would have his books in such a shape that he would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span>
+be able to make a statement to his creditors and ask
+their advice. It would require ten days or so, however,
+before he could tell how he stood.” Why, if the
+man had been an educated business man, and an
+honest man, he would have known in twenty-four
+hours how he stood.</p>
+
+<p>The great majority of people who are employed
+are not educated. They do not know how to do in
+the best manner, that which they have to do. Perhaps
+a good definition of education, as the word is
+applied to a working man, may be that he knows
+how to do that which he has to do, in the very best
+way.</p>
+
+<p>Education may be of three kinds, viz.:</p>
+
+<p>That of the <em>schools</em>.</p>
+
+<p><em>Self-education.</em></p>
+
+<p>That of <em>trade</em> or <em>business</em>.</p>
+
+<p><em>That of the schools.</em> And this is the best of all;
+for the whole of one’s time is given to it; and if you
+are so inclined you may go through the whole course,
+as provided in this school. And all this with text-books,
+instruments and other appliances, absolutely
+free of cost. A boy, therefore, who passes through
+the entire course of study here, has superior opportunities
+of acquiring a most substantial education.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly the education of the schools is the best;
+and let me urge you with all seriousness to make the
+best use of your opportunities. You can never learn
+as easily as now. You are young. You are not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>
+burdened with cares. Do not relax your efforts in
+the least; do not yield to weariness; do not think
+you know enough already; do not be impatient lest
+others of your own age, who have already left school
+to go to work, get ahead of you in trade or in any kind
+of business; if they have the start of you, they may
+not be able to keep it; and depend upon it, in the
+long run you will overtake and pass them, other
+things being equal, if you have a better school education
+than they have. When you are told that young
+men who are well educated are thereby unfitted or
+unwilling to take the lowest places in trade or business,
+do not believe it. I know the contrary. The
+better the school education you have, and the more
+you know, the more valuable you will be to your
+employer.</p>
+
+<p>Another kind of education is called, but most inaccurately,
+<em>self-education</em>. All that I mean by it is,
+that education which one acquires without teachers.
+As so defined, it may be divided into two parts, viz.:
+the incidental and the direct.</p>
+
+<p>Let me speak first of the <em>incidental</em>.</p>
+
+<p>I mean by this that education that comes to us
+from society.</p>
+
+<p>You cannot live alone, and you ought not to if you
+could. You seek companions, or other persons will
+seek you. Let your associates be those whose friendship
+will be an instruction to you, rather than simply
+a means of social enjoyment. There are young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span>
+people of both sexes who, without being vicious, are
+utterly weak and foolish, idle and listless, drifting
+along a current, the end of which they do not care
+to think of. They are living for this life only, with
+no thought of the future, no ambition, mere butterflies,
+who float in the sunshine when the sun is shining,
+but who, in a dark and cloudy day, are bored
+and miserable, and utterly useless. Sometimes they
+are pleasant enough to chat with for a few minutes,
+but to be shut up to such companionship as this,
+would be intolerable. Society has a large element
+of this description, and you are likely to see it in
+your daily life.</p>
+
+<p>But this is not the worst phase of life among the
+young people with whom you may be thrown. There
+are worse elements than this. There are those who
+are depraved to a degree quite beyond their age; who
+have given themselves up to work all uncleanness
+with greediness; who put no restraint on their inclinations;
+in whose eyes nothing is pure or sacred;
+who have no respect for that which is wholesome or
+decent; who are the devil’s own children, and who
+are not ashamed of their parentage. And to such
+baleful, deadly influences and associations will you be
+exposed, my young friends, and you may not be apprised
+of their true character until it is too late.</p>
+
+<p>But there are <em>direct</em> means of education, so called.</p>
+
+<p>The first of these which I mention is the use of
+books. This is unquestionably the best means. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span>
+am supposing that you have some taste for reading;
+if you have not, it is hardly worth while for me to
+speak, or for you to listen. I know some people who
+rarely read a book, and I pity them. They seem to
+think that all that is necessary to read is the daily
+newspaper. I do not say that such persons are necessarily
+very ignorant, for very much may be learned
+from the daily paper. But the newspaper does not
+pretend to supply all that you need, to fit you for a
+life of business, either as a dealer in merchandise, a
+professional man or a mechanic. No; you must read
+books, not only for entertainment and recreation, but
+for information and culture, which you can obtain
+nowhere else. If there is no public library within
+your reach, seek out some kind-hearted man or
+woman who has books, and who will be willing to
+lend them to one who is in search of knowledge. I
+well remember a gentleman in my early life who
+did this kind office for me before I was able to buy
+books, and there are such now who will do the same
+for you.</p>
+
+<p>If you have little knowledge of books, you ought to
+ask the advice of some practical friend to point out
+such as you may most safely and properly read.
+For if left to your own judgment or taste, you will
+probably waste valuable time, or be discouraged by
+an attempt to read something not immediately necessary
+or appropriate. But do not attempt to follow
+an elaborate plan of reading, such as you will find<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>
+detailed in some books, for you are very likely to be
+discouraged by the greatness of the task. Such lists,
+I fancy, are made out by scholars who have read almost
+everything, and to whom reading is no task
+whatever, and who have plenty of time. Do not
+attempt to read too many books, nor too much at a
+time, and do not be disappointed or discouraged if
+you are not able to remember or put to good account
+all that you read. You cannot always know what
+particular kind of food has afforded you the most
+nourishment. You may rest assured, however, that
+as every morsel of food that you take and are able to
+digest does something to build up and develop your
+system, or repair its waste, so every book or paper
+that you read, that is wholesome, does something, you
+may not know how much, to strengthen or develop
+your mind.</p>
+
+<p>There are books that you read for entertainment
+or recreation, and that are written for that purpose
+only. You may read such; indeed, you ought to
+read them, for you need, as everybody else needs, recreation
+and amusement, and there is much of the
+purest and best of this that you can get from books.
+But you must not make the mistake of supposing that
+most, or even a very large proportion, of your reading
+can be of this character. You would not think of
+making your daily meals of the articles of food that
+you enjoy as the sweets of your meals. You would
+not think of living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>
+a regular diet. You might as well do so, as to read
+only the light and humorous matter that was never
+intended for the mental diet of a working man. No.
+If you would attain the real object of reading and
+study, you must read and study books and papers
+that tax the full powers of your mind to understand
+them. This will soon strengthen the quality of your
+mind, even as the exercise of your muscles in work
+or play will develop a strength of body that the idle
+or lazy youth knows nothing of.</p>
+
+<p>If you would know how to make yourself master
+of any book that you read, form the habit, if the
+book is your own, of making notes with a pencil in
+the margin of the pages; but if the book is not your
+property, or in any case, take a sheet of paper and
+write at the end of every chapter questions on the
+matter discussed, and the answer to such questions
+will probably bring out the author’s meaning so fully
+that you will have <em>absorbed</em> the book and made it
+your own; for, as an eminent American author has
+said, “thought is the property of whoever can entertain
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>I said just now that the daily newspaper does not
+pretend to supply all that you need to fit you for a
+life of business, either as a dealer in goods, or as a
+mechanic or clerk. But the daily paper is a most
+important means of education—so important that no
+one can afford to ignore it. Now-a-days one cannot
+be well informed who does not read the newspaper.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>
+The whole world is brought before us every morning
+and evening, and, if we do not read the news as it
+comes, we shall not know what we ought to know.
+It is not necessary to read everything in a daily
+paper; there are some things that it will be better
+for you not to read. You need not read all the
+editorials, brilliant as some of them are, for sometimes
+they discuss subjects that are not at all interesting
+nor useful to you. The newspaper from which
+I make the most clippings is one which is the fullest
+of advertisements, but which sometimes has nothing
+whatever in it that I read. But when it does discuss
+a subject of interest, it is apt to leave nothing further
+to be said.</p>
+
+<p>But to read with the most advantage one ought to
+have within easy reach a dictionary, an atlas and,
+if possible, an encyclopedia. Then you can read
+with profit, and the mere outlines which the newspaper
+gives can be filled up by reference to books
+which give more or less complete histories.</p>
+
+<p>The political articles which appear in the height
+of a campaign are hardly worth reading, unless you
+think of entering politics as a money-making business,
+which I sincerely hope none of you think of
+doing. And I am sure that the full accounts of
+crime, and especially the details of police reports
+and criminal trials, you will do well to pass by and
+not read. I really believe that a familiarity with
+these details prepares the way, in many instances,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>
+for the commission of crime, just as the reading of
+accounts of suicide sometimes leads to the act itself.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the best minds in our country, and in the
+world, are now employed in writing for the periodicals
+and magazines. No one can be well informed
+without reading something of the vast amount of
+matter which is thus poured out before him. I have
+not named the newspapers nor the magazines which
+you may read with the most profit; but your teachers
+can advise you what to read. Rather is it important
+for you to know what <em>not</em> to read. Many of the
+most popular and the most useful books that have
+been published within the last quarter of a century
+have appeared first in the pages of a weekly or
+monthly paper. The best thoughts of the best
+thinkers sometimes first see the light in such pages.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the newspaper and the literary magazine,
+there are scientific periodicals, which are of essential
+value to a worker who wishes to be well informed in
+any of the mechanical arts. The <cite>Scientific American</cite>
+is, perhaps, the best of this class, both in the
+beauty of its illustrations and in the high quality of
+its contributions. The <cite>Popular Science Monthly</cite> is a
+periodical of a wider range and more diversified
+character. These periodicals, if you are not able to
+subscribe for them as individuals or in clubs, you
+may find in the public library. But let me urge you
+to turn away from “dime novels.” Not because they
+are cheap, but because they are often unwholesome<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>
+and immoral. The vile, fiery, poisonous whiskey
+which so many wretched creatures drink until the
+coatings of the stomach are destroyed, and the brain
+is on fire, is no more fatal to the health and life, than
+is the immoral literature I speak of, to the mind and
+soul of him who reads. There is an abundance of
+good literature that is cheap—do not read the bad.</p>
+
+<p>Having now spoken of the education you may get
+in the schools, and that which you may acquire for
+yourselves, if you have the pluck to strive for it,
+either in the society which you cultivate, or more
+directly from books, whether read as an entertainment
+and recreation, or, better still, by careful study;
+or through the daily newspaper, or the periodical,
+whether literary or scientific; or, what is best of all,
+that which is decidedly religious; I turn now to
+the education which you will acquire when you work
+day by day at your trade or business.</p>
+
+<p>Let me beg of you to consider the great value of
+truthfulness in all your training. Hardly anything
+will help you more to reach up towards the top.
+And when you are at the head of an establishment
+of your own or somebody else’s (and I take it for
+granted you will be at the head some day), whether
+it be a workshop or factory of any kind, or a store,
+no matter what, a fixed habit of keeping your word,
+of not promising unless you are certain of keeping
+your promise, will almost insure your success if you
+are a good workman. How many good mechanics<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span>
+have utterly failed of success because they have not
+cared to keep their promises? A firm of high reputation
+agrees to supply certain articles of furniture at a
+time fixed by them. The time comes but the articles
+do not come. A call of inquiry is made and new
+promises are made only to be broken. Excuses are
+offered and more promises given; then incomplete
+articles are sent; then more delays, until, when patience
+is nearly exhausted, the work is finished.
+Then comes the bill and there is a mistake in it.
+The whole transaction is a series of disappointments
+and misunderstandings. Will you ever incline to go
+to that place again?</p>
+
+<p>It is usual for miners of coal to place their sons, as
+they become ten or twelve years of age, at the foot
+of the great breakers to watch the coal as it comes
+rattling and broken down the great wire screens, and
+catch the pieces of slate and throw them to one side
+and allow only the pure coal to pass down into the
+huge bins, from which it is dropped into the cars and
+taken to market. To an uneducated eye there is
+hardly any perceptible difference between the coal
+and the slate. But these little fellows soon become
+so quick in the education of the eye, that they can
+tell in an instant the difference. When the boy
+grows older he graduates to the place of a mule
+driver, and has his car and mule, which he drives
+day by day from the mouth of the mine to the
+breaker. Then when he begins to be of age he fixes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>
+his little oil lamp in the front of his cap, and goes
+down into the mines with his pick and becomes a
+miner of coal. It seems a dreary life to spend most
+of one’s time under the ground, shut out from the sunshine
+and from the pure air. And most of these
+men having no education, and never having been
+urged to seek one, are content to spend all their days
+in this manner. But occasionally there is one who
+feels that he is capable of better things than this.
+And I know one at least, who began his work at the
+foot of a coal breaker and worked his way up through
+all these stages, as I have told you, and who determined
+to do something better for himself. So he
+gave much of his leisure (and everybody has some
+leisure) to study; nor was he discouraged by the
+difficulties in his way. He persevered. He rose to
+be a boss among the men; then having saved some
+money, instead of wasting it at the tavern, he bought
+his teams, and then bought an interest in a coal mine,
+and became a miner of his own coal, and had his
+men under him, and has grown to be a rich man, and
+is not ashamed of his small beginnings nor of his
+hard work. This is only one instance of success in
+rising from a low position to a high one.</p>
+
+<p>The same thing is going on all around us and we
+see it every day. It would hardly be proper to give
+you names, but I could tell you of many within my
+own knowledge who, from positions of extremely
+hard labor and plain living, have risen to be the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span>
+head men in shops and other places which they entered
+at the lowest places. Such changes are continually
+occurring. And there is no reason whatever,
+except your indifference, to prevent many of
+you from becoming, if God gives you health, the head
+men, in the places where you begin work as subordinates
+or in very low positions. And I tell you what
+you know already, that there is plenty of room for
+advancement. It is the lowest places that are full to
+overflowing. Who ever heard of a strike among the
+<em>chiefs</em> of any industry? No, indeed. They have
+made themselves indispensable to their employers
+and they don’t need to strike. And there is hardly
+a youth who cannot by strict attention to business,
+and conscientious devotion to the interests of his employer,
+make himself so invaluable that he need not
+join any trades union for protection. Do the vast
+army of clerks in the various corporations, or in the
+great commercial houses, or in the public service, or
+in the army and navy—do these people ever band
+themselves in any associations like the trades unions?
+They know better than that; they accomplish their
+purposes in better ways. If the working classes, so
+called, were better educated, they would not suffer
+themselves to be led by the nose by people who will
+not themselves work, who will not touch even with
+their little fingers the burdens which are crushing
+the life out of the deluded ones whom they are leading
+to folly. It is a true education that is needed, a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span>
+true conscience that must be cultivated, to enable
+men to do their own thinking, and to determine for
+themselves what are their best interests.</p>
+
+<p>I urge you all to seek that higher and better education
+which will make you true men. You have
+now the great advantage of the education of the
+school. I have tried very simply, but not the less
+earnestly, to show you how you can fit yourselves
+for high places. It is for you to say whether you
+will avail yourselves of these plain hints. No earthly
+power can force you to do that which you will not
+do. You may lead a horse to a brimming fountain
+of water, but if he is not thirsty, no coaxing nor
+threatening nor beating can make him drink. I
+may show you, to demonstration, the abundant fountain
+of learning, but I can’t make you drink, or even
+stoop to taste the stream, if you are not thirsty. I
+can’t make you study, however great the advantage
+to you, or however much they who are interested in
+you desire that you should.</p>
+
+<p>Every year this question which I have been pressing
+upon you becomes more and more important.
+The great colleges of the country are graduating
+their thousands of students, many of whom will compete
+with you for the high places in the mechanic
+arts. So are the public schools of the country sending
+out hundreds of thousands, many of them having
+the same aim. Technical schools, teaching the mechanic
+arts, are multiplying. Great changes have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span>
+been made recently in our own city in this respect.
+The Spring Garden Institute is doing a noble work
+in this way. Our own college is moving in the same
+direction, and soon it will be sending out its hundreds
+every year to compete for places in the shops,
+with this great advantage, that you Girard boys have
+a school education—the best that you are able to receive,
+and you must not let any others go ahead of
+you.</p>
+
+<p>Look at the poor, ignorant people from abroad who
+sweep our streets—look at the stevedores who load
+and unload the ships—look at the men who carry
+the hod of mortar or bricks up the high and steep
+ladders—look at the drivers and the conductors on
+our street cars, the most hard worked people among
+us—and are you not sure that most of these people
+are <em>un</em>educated? No one wants to be at the bottom
+all the time. We may have been there at the first;
+but those who have made the most progress are generally
+those who have had the best education. I
+know that education is not a sure guarantee of success;
+many other things enter into the consideration
+of the question; but I am saying that, other things
+being equal, <em>he who knows the most will do the best</em>.
+There are, alas, many instances of the sons of the
+rich, who have been well educated, who have everything
+provided for them, who have no stimulus, no
+spur; who have no regular occupation, and need not
+have any; many of whom sink into idleness and dissipation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>
+and their fine education goes for nothing.
+But you are not of this class. You will have to make
+your way in the world by your own exertions.</p>
+
+<p>I shall fail of my duty if I do not say some words
+about such boys as sometimes stand at the corners
+of the streets in large or small companies and amuse
+themselves by smoking and chewing tobacco, telling
+bad stories and making remarks upon those who pass
+by. I am sure much of this arises from thoughtlessness;
+but I wish to point out the exceeding impropriety
+of this behavior. I have known ladies to
+cross the street and, at much inconvenience, go quite
+out of their way rather than pass within hearing
+of these boys and young men. What right has any
+one to make the streets disagreeable to any passenger,
+to block up the way or make loose or rude remarks,
+or defile the pavement over which I walk?</p>
+
+<p>All this most serious waste of time is probably because
+no one has particularly called attention to it.
+The time may come when you will recall the words
+of advice which you hear to-day, and you may regret
+when it is too late that you turned a deaf ear to what
+was said.</p>
+
+<p>I have now tried, in as much detail as the time will
+permit, to show the importance of that education
+which will enable you to rise in your trade or business,
+whatever it may be, to the upper places; and I
+have tried to show that a true ambition leads one to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span>
+strive to be <em>chief</em> rather than a <em>subordinate</em>, to be a
+<em>foreman</em> rather than a <em>journeyman</em>.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, everything will depend upon yourselves
+and upon God. There is no royal road to
+education; the very meaning of the word shows this;
+the mind must be drawn out, worked over, developed,
+rounded, hammered, somewhat as a blacksmith puts
+a piece of rough iron in the coals, keeps it there until
+it is red-hot, then draws it out, lays it upon his anvil
+and hammers it, turning it over and over, striking it
+first on this side and then on that, rounding it off;
+then when it cools thrusting it among the coals again,
+then hammering away again until he has brought the
+rough piece of iron to the size and shape he wishes,
+when he allows it to cool and harden. If you are
+willing to work your mind into the shape you want
+it, you will surely bring yourself to the front among
+active, ingenious and successful men. But this
+means hard work, and work all the time.</p>
+
+<p>Now if you mean to avail yourselves of any of the
+hints which I have given you, if you really mean to
+succeed, if you are not content to be workers low
+down in the scale of industry, if you mean to rise
+rather than to be obscure, if you intend to be well-to-do
+men, instead of living from hand to mouth, you
+must grapple with the subject with all your might
+and keep at it all the time. And you must keep out
+of the streets at night, away from the taverns and
+from the low theatres, and from gambling dens, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span>
+from other places which I will not name; and, in
+short, you must be true Americans, for there is no
+truer type of manhood in all the world than a real
+American; and nowhere else in all the world has a
+poor boy so good an opportunity to be and do all this,
+as in our own good city of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PENN">WILLIAM PENN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">October 22, 1882.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">In the early autumn of the year 1682, a vessel
+with her bow pointing towards the west was making
+her way slowly across the Atlantic ocean. She was
+a small craft, rigged as a ship, and crowded with
+emigrants. The discomforts of a long and tiresome
+voyage, the very small accommodations, the horror
+of sea-sickness, were in this vessel aggravated by the
+breaking out of that most awful of all scourges, the
+small-pox. In a very short time, out of a population
+of one hundred, thirty passengers died. No record
+is left of the incidents of that voyage except this;
+but it is easy to imagine that all the circumstances
+were as deplorable as they could well be.</p>
+
+<p>After a weary time of head winds and calms, in
+about seven weeks, this ship, the “Welcome,” came
+within the capes of the Delaware bay.</p>
+
+<p>The most distinguished person on that little ship
+was William Penn. He had left his home in England,
+embarking with his trusty friends in a vessel
+only one-tenth the size of the ships of our American<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span>
+Line, to come to Pennsylvania. He had bought the
+whole province from the government of England for
+the sum of £16,000 sterling, which, measured by
+our money, is about $80,000, and this money was
+due to him for services rendered and money loaned
+to the government by his father, an admiral in the
+English navy.</p>
+
+<p>About the 24th of October the vessel reached the
+town of Newcastle, where Penn landed and was cordially
+received by the people of that little village.
+Afterwards they came farther up the river to Uplands,
+now the town or city of Chester. Then, leaving
+the vessel here, they came in a barge (Penn and
+some of his principal men) to the mouth of Dock
+creek, the foot of what is now known as Dock street,
+where they landed, near a little tavern called the
+Blue Anchor.</p>
+
+<p>There was already a settlement on the shore of
+the Delaware river, and the people, mostly Swedes,
+had built a little church somewhat farther down the
+stream. The entire land between the Delaware and
+Schuylkill rivers, and for a mile north and south,
+was owned by three brothers, Swedes, named Swen.
+Penn bought this tract from them, and at once proceeded
+to lay out his new city. When he bought
+the whole province from the crown he desired to call
+it New-Wales, because it was so hilly, but the king
+insisted on calling it Penn’s Sylvania, in memory of
+the admiral, William’s father. But when the new<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>
+city came to be named, Penn having no one to dispute
+his wish, called it by that word, of whose meaning
+we think so little, Philadelphia—brotherly
+love. Two months after this he met the Indians, it
+is said, under a great elm tree in the upper part of
+the city, in what we now call Kensington, and concluded
+that treaty which has been said to be the only
+treaty that was ever made without an oath, and that
+was never broken. Shortly after this Penn proceeded
+to lay out the city, and, as a distinguished
+English author has said, he must have taken the
+ancient Babylon for his model, for this was the first
+modern city that was laid out with the streets crossing
+each other at right angles.</p>
+
+<p>The charter which Penn received from Charles the
+Second, King of England (the original of which is in
+the capital at Harrisburg, on three large sheets of
+parchment), makes him proprietary and governor,
+also holding his authority under the crown. He at
+once therefore set about making a code of laws as
+special statutes, which with the common law of England
+should be the laws of the province. One of
+these special laws was this: “Every one, rich or poor,
+was to learn a useful trade or occupation; the poor to
+live on it: the rich to resort to it if they should become
+poor.” And I do not know what better law he
+could have enacted.</p>
+
+<p>When the news of Penn’s arrival and cordial reception
+reached England and the continent of Europe,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span>
+the effect was to arouse a spirit of emigration. Although
+Penn’s first thought and purpose was to
+found a colony, where he and others who held the
+religious views of the Society of Friends might worship
+without hindrance (which liberty was denied
+them in England), the people from other countries
+in Europe came here in great numbers for other
+purposes. The population therefore multiplied rapidly,
+and the people were generally such as had
+determined to brave the privations of a new country,
+to make themselves a home where life could be lived
+under better conditions than in the old countries, under
+the harsh government of tyrannical kings. This
+emigration was stimulated also by the very liberal
+terms which the governor offered to new-comers; for
+to actual settlers he offered the land at about ten dollars
+for a hundred acres, subject, however, to a quit-rent
+of a quarter of a dollar an acre per annum forever;
+and this may be the origin of that ground-rent
+instrument which is almost peculiar to Pennsylvania,
+and which is such a favorite investment for
+our rich men.</p>
+
+<p>After a stay of two years Penn returned to England,
+where he had left his wife and children; the
+care of the government having been left with a council,
+of which Thomas Lloyd was president, who kept
+the great seal.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after his return to England the king,
+Charles the Second, died, and having no son he was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span>
+succeeded by his brother, James Duke of York, as
+James the Second. Although Penn was on the most
+cordial terms with the new king, as he had been
+with Charles, this did not secure him from the repeated
+annoyances and persecutions of those who
+detested his religion. So severe was the treatment
+to which he was subjected, and such was his personal
+danger from unprincipled men, that he escaped to
+France. But not being able nor willing to bear this
+exile, he returned to England, was tried for his
+offence against the law of the church and was acquitted.
+After this he came to America again, intending
+to spend the rest of his life here, but he remained
+only two years.</p>
+
+<p>The rest of his life was spent in England, but it
+was a life broken by persecutions and trials at law
+and other annoyances, the expenses of which, added
+to the losses by the unfaithfulness of his stewards,
+were so great as seriously to involve him in financial
+embarrassments; and he was even compelled to mortgage
+his great estate in Pennsylvania to relieve himself;
+but the interest annually payable on such encumbrance
+was so heavy that he felt the necessity
+of relieving himself of the property entirely, and he
+offered to sell it to the crown. While the matter
+was under consideration, his health began to decline;
+however, the terms were agreed upon, but while the
+papers were in the course of preparation he died
+peacefully at Rushcombe, in Buckinghamshire, July<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>
+30, 1718, and was buried five days after in the burial
+ground belonging to Jordan’s meeting house.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the briefest outline of the life of the founder
+of this commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of this
+city of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>Let us see now what there was in this life which
+we may find it interesting to recall and dwell upon;
+what there was in it which may be useful for us to
+consider in its application to ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>William Penn was born in the city of London on
+the 14th of October, 1644, in the parish of St. Catharine’s,
+near the Tower. His father was an admiral
+and his grandfather was a captain in the English
+navy. Then, as now, it was the custom of English
+families of good condition to send their boys away
+from home to school. This boy, an only son, was
+therefore sent to school near the town of Wanstead,
+in Essex, called Chigwell. Here he remained until
+he was thirteen years old, with no incident particularly
+worthy of notice, except that he was, at the age
+of twelve, brought under deep religious impressions,
+which, however, like many other boys, he soon threw
+aside. He seems to have been apt to learn, and was
+fond of the childish sports belonging to his age. For
+two years after leaving school, he was under private
+instruction at home, until he was fifteen years old,
+when he entered the University of Oxford. Here he
+devoted himself most diligently to his studies and became
+a successful student. But this did not prevent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>
+him from entering most heartily into the sports which
+were common to young men of his quality. He was
+very fond of boating, fishing, shooting, and other
+pleasures, and he was extremely handsome; but he
+avoided dissipation of all kinds, thus proving that the
+keenest enjoyment of healthful sports is quite consistent
+with a pure life. If the college students of
+this day would believe and act upon this principle,
+it would be better for them and better for the world.</p>
+
+<p>With this hearty enjoyment of sports, and this
+diligent application to study, he had a very tender
+sympathy and love for domestic animals. Towards
+those that were the most helpless, he evinced a kindliness
+that was almost womanly.</p>
+
+<p>But he had a strong will, and it was impossible to
+turn him aside from a course of duty, when he was
+satisfied that it was real duty. During his school
+and college life there were many seasons of religious
+interest in his experience, and he was at last brought
+(under the preaching of a member of the Society of
+Friends named Thomas Loe) to declare himself a
+member of that society. He therefore refused to attend
+the services of the Church of England. The
+custom of wearing surplices by Oxford students,
+which had been abolished in Cromwell’s time, had
+been restored by Charles; but Penn, when he came
+out as a religious man, threw off his surplice and refused
+to wear it. This act was bad enough in the
+eyes of the authorities; but his zeal went further<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span>
+than this, and, in common with some others of the
+same way of thinking, he so far forgot himself as to
+attack other students and tear off their surplices.
+This very grave offence could not be overlooked, and,
+admiral’s son though he was, he was expelled from
+the University of Oxford. This was a great blow to
+his father, who was building the fondest hopes on the
+advancement of his son at college and his career as
+a courtier. No persuasion, however, could induce
+the son to reconsider his conduct, and his father at
+last flogged him and drove him from the house.
+Some time after this, through the intercession of the
+mother, the young man was brought back to his
+home; and his father, in the hope that a change of
+scene and circumstances would work a change in the
+lad’s feelings, sent him to Paris, and to travel on the
+continent.</p>
+
+<p>While in Paris he studied the French language,
+and read some books in theology, and went as far as
+Turin, in Italy, from whence, however, he was recalled
+to take charge of a part of his father’s affairs.
+He then studied law for a year, which no doubt was
+of some help to him in the founding of his commonwealth.
+Then his father sent him to take care of
+his estates in Ireland, at that time under the vice-royalty
+of the Duke of Ormond. He entered the
+army here, and did good service too; and was, apparently,
+so much pleased with his new life that he
+suffered the only portrait of him that was ever painted,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>
+to be taken when he was wearing armor and in uniform.
+This picture, or a copy of it, may now be
+seen at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in
+Spruce street, above Eighth.</p>
+
+<p>About this time he came again under the influence
+of the preacher Loe, and was recalled by his father,
+who remonstrated with him on his new mode of life,
+but with no success whatever. He would not give
+up his new religion. His father tried to compromise
+the matter with him, and he even went so far as to
+propose to his son, that if he would remove his hat
+in the presence of the king and the Duke of York
+and his father, as his superiors, their differences
+might be healed; but the son, believing that the removal
+of his hat would be dishonorable to God, absolutely
+refused.</p>
+
+<p>His life for some time after this was stormy
+enough. He came out boldly and in defiance of law
+as a preacher of the Society of Friends; and was repeatedly
+imprisoned, sometimes in the Tower of London
+and sometimes in the loathsome prison of Newgate,
+from which places he was released by the intercession
+of the Duke of York and his father and other
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>Those were very rough times, not likely, let us
+hope, to be repeated. Society was very corrupt at
+the highest sources, and religion was more violent
+and aggressive in its measures then than now. The
+world has grown wiser and better—there is more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>
+toleration, more of the Spirit of the Master now than
+then, and in our favored land every soul can worship
+God as he may choose to do.</p>
+
+<p>William Penn was a <em>statesman</em>. He founded this
+great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He established
+a code of laws that were in advance of his
+time. He stipulated that the law of primogeniture,
+that law which gives the lands of the father to the
+<em>oldest</em> son, with little or no provision for younger
+sons, that law which is the corner-stone of the crown
+of England, should have no place in this new commonwealth.
+The property of a parent dying without
+a will should be <em>equally divided among his children</em>.
+Penn was a statesman in the broadest sense
+of the term. His laws were for the greatest good of
+the greatest number. He treated the Indians as if
+they were human beings, and not as if they were
+brute beasts. Indeed, he never treated the brutes as
+the Indians have been treated even in our day by
+harsh and unscrupulous agents of the government.
+Whether he was exactly just in his dealings with
+Lord Baltimore, the settler of Maryland, I do not
+know. Perhaps he was not. We know this misunderstanding
+gave him great trouble, and was indeed
+the prime cause of his return to England.</p>
+
+<p>Penn was a <em>rich man</em>. The inheritance left him
+by his father was handsome, and he could have lived
+most comfortably upon it. But when he received
+from the crown the charter which made him the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>
+owner of Pennsylvania, he was the largest landholder,
+except sovereigns, known in history. He did
+not use his wealth for personal indulgence, or for
+luxurious living for himself or his family. He believed
+that he held his property as a trustee, and
+that he had no right to waste it. He might have
+lived the life of an ordinary English nobleman (for it
+is said his father was offered a peerage), but such a
+life had no charms for him.</p>
+
+<p>Penn was a <em>conscientious man</em>. I mean by this
+that he followed his inner convictions, without regard
+to consequences. What he wanted to know
+was, whether a given thing was <em>right</em> and according
+to his way of determining what the right was; and
+he did it if it were a duty, without flinching. No
+personal inconvenience, no consideration for the views
+or wishes of other people, was allowed to stand in the
+way of his duty, as he understood it. It was the
+custom of that time for gentlemen to wear swords,
+as some gentlemen now carry canes, and with no
+purpose except as an ornament or part of the dress.
+Some time after he joined the Society of Friends,
+and while still wearing his sword, he said to his
+friend George Fox, “Is it consistent with our principles
+and our testimonies against war for me to wear
+my sword?” When Fox replied, “Wear thy sword
+as usual, so long as thy conscience will permit it.”
+This friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his sword
+never to resume it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p>
+
+<p>William Penn was a <em>religious man</em>. He was called
+by the Holy Spirit at the early age of twelve years,
+as I have already said. He resisted that call and
+many others, until under faithful preaching he could
+resist no longer, when he yielded himself to the
+divine call and became an open professor of the
+principles of the Society of Friends. This was a
+very different thing, so far as personal comfort was
+concerned, from professing religion in the ordinary
+forms; for this was to join a hated sect, and bear all
+the contempt and persecution that belonged to a profession
+of religion in the early days of Christianity,
+when men, women and children perilled their lives
+in the service of the great Master. But Penn cared
+not for the cost; he was ready to go to prison, and to
+death if necessary, for his opinions. He <em>did</em> go to
+prison over and over again, and bore right manfully
+all that was put upon him. He was not idle, however,
+in the prison. He preached to his fellow-prisoners;
+he wrote pamphlets; he did everything in his
+power to make known to others the good tidings of
+salvation that had come to him. He wrote a great
+many letters, and they were all full of the spirit of
+religion. He wrote treatises on religious truth, that
+might have been written by a systematic theologian;
+but among the most practical things he wrote was
+the address to his children, that it would be well if
+all people would read, and which, with a few exceptions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>
+is as appropriate for the people of to-day as it
+was for those who lived two hundred years ago.</p>
+
+<p>If Penn had not been a religious man, his life had
+not been worth recording. He would have lived the
+life that was lived by almost all men of his class at
+that time, a life of unrestrained worldliness and
+luxury. The Almighty, who had great purposes in
+store for the New World, to be wrought out by the
+instrumentality of man, could have chosen another
+man, but he chose Penn.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the story of the life of a man who was one
+of the world’s heroes. His name will never die.
+There is a large literature on the subject of his life,
+some of which you will find in your own library, if
+you choose to look further into it. This is all that I
+feel it proper to say to you to-day about it.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, it is a great thing to have been born in
+Pennsylvania, as all of you were. And this could
+hardly be said of any other congregation in this city
+to-day. This is a great commonwealth. As to its
+size, it is (leaving out Wales) nearly as large as the
+whole of England. As to great rivers and mountains
+and mines and metals, as to forests and fields, we are
+far in advance of anything of the kind in England.
+No valleys on earth are more beautiful or more productive
+than the valleys of our own Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>It is a great thing, boys, to have been born in the
+city of Philadelphia, as most of you were. It was
+founded by a great and good man. There are, in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span>
+civilized world, but three cities that are larger than
+ours. There is no city, except London, that has so
+many dwelling-houses, and there is none anywhere
+in all the world where the poor man who works for
+his living can live so happily and so well.</p>
+
+<p>In this State, in this city, your lot is cast. You
+will soon many of you take your place among the
+citizens, and have your share in choosing the men
+who make and execute the laws. Some of you <em>will
+be</em> the men who make and execute the laws. William
+Penn founded this commonwealth, not only to
+provide a peaceable home for the persecuted members
+of his own society, but to afford an asylum for
+the good and oppressed of every nation; and he
+founded an empire where the pure and peaceable
+principles of Christianity might be carried out in
+practice. When you come to take your part in the
+duties of public life, see to it that you forget not his
+wise and noble purpose.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONSTITUTION">OUR CONSTITUTION.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">October, 1887.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">I am about to do what I have never done—what
+has probably never been done by any other person
+in this chapel. I propose to give you a political
+speech, but not a partisan speech; indeed, I hardly
+think you will be able to guess, from anything I
+say, to which of the two great political parties I
+belong.</p>
+
+<p>I do not go to the Bible for a text—though there
+are many passages in the holy Scriptures which
+would answer my purpose very well—but I take for
+my text the following passage from the will of Mr.
+Girard:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">And especially I desire that by every proper
+means, a pure attachment to our republican institutions,
+and to the sacred rights of conscience as
+guaranteed by our happy Constitutions, shall be
+formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars.</span>”</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks ago our city was filled to overflowing
+with strangers. They came from all parts of the
+land, and some from distant parts of the world. Our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span>
+railways and steamboats were crowded to their utmost
+capacity. Our streets were thronged; our
+hotels and many private dwellings were full. It
+was said that there were half a million of strangers
+here. The President of the United States, the members
+of the Cabinet, many members of the national
+Senate and House of Representatives, the general
+of the army and many other generals, the highest
+navy officers, judges of the Supreme Court of the
+United States and of the State courts, the governors
+of most of the States—each with his staff—soldiers
+and sailors of the United States, and many regiments
+of State troops (the Girard College cadets among
+them)—a military and naval display of twenty-five
+thousand men—representatives of foreign states, an
+exhibition of the industrial and mechanic arts, in a
+procession miles in extent, such as was never seen in
+all the world before; receptions and banquets, public
+and private; a general suspension of most kinds of
+business—all this occurred in the streets of our city,
+only a few weeks ago. What did it mean?</p>
+
+<p>It was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the
+adoption of the Constitution of the United States,
+and it was considered to be an event of such importance
+that it was well worth while to pause in our
+daily work; to give holiday to our schools; to still
+the busy hum of industry; to stop the wheels of
+commerce; to close our places of business.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>One hundred years ago the Constitution of the
+United States of America was adopted in this city.</p>
+
+<p>What had been our government before this time?
+Up to July, 1776, there had been thirteen colonies, all
+under the government of Great Britain. In the lapse
+of time, the people of these colonies, owing allegiance
+to the king of England, and subjected to certain
+taxes which they had no voice in considering and
+imposing, because they had no representation in the
+Parliament which laid the taxes, became discontented
+and rebellious, and in a convention which sat in our
+own city of Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1776,
+they united in a <span class="smcap">Declaration of Independence</span> of
+Great Britain, and announced the thirteen colonies
+as Free, Sovereign and Independent States.</p>
+
+<p>This, however, was only a <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>; and it
+took seven long years of exhausting and terrible
+war (which would have been longer still but for
+the timely aid of the French nation) to secure that
+independence and have it acknowledged by the
+governments of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Before the <span class="allsmcap">DECLARATION</span>, each of the colonies had a
+State government and a written constitution for the
+regulation of its internal affairs. Now these colonies
+had become States, with the necessity upon them
+(not at first admitted by all) of a general compact or
+agreement, by which the States, while maintaining
+their independence in many things, should become a
+confederated or general government.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>More than a year passed before the Constitution,
+which the Convention agreed upon, was adopted by
+a sufficient number of the States to make it binding
+on all the thirteen; and I am glad to know and to
+say that my own little State of Delaware was the
+first to adopt it.</p>
+
+<p>Now, <span class="smcap">what is the Constitution</span>? How does it
+differ from the <em>laws</em> which the Congress enacts every
+winter in Washington?</p>
+
+<p>First, let me speak of other nations. There are
+two kinds of government in the world—monarchical
+and republican. And there are two kinds of monarchies—absolute
+and limited. An absolute monarch,
+whether he be called emperor or king, rules by his
+personal will—<span class="allsmcap">HIS WILL IS THE LAW</span>. One of the most
+perfect illustrations of absolute or personal government
+is seen on board any ship, where the will of the
+chief officer, whether admiral or captain, or whatever
+his rank, is, and must be, the law. From his orders,
+his decisions, there is no appeal until the ship reaches
+the shore, when he himself comes under the law.
+This is a very ancient form of government, now
+known in very few countries calling themselves civilized.</p>
+
+<p>The other kind of monarchy is limited by a constitution,
+<em>un</em>written, as in Great Britain, or <em>written</em>,
+as in some other nations of Europe. In these countries
+the sovereigns are under a constitution; in some
+instances with hardly as much power as our President.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span>
+They are not a law unto themselves, but are
+under the common law.</p>
+
+<p>The other kind of government is republican, democratic
+or representative. It is, as was happily said
+on the field of Gettysburg, long after the battle, by
+President Lincoln, “a government <em>of</em> the people, <em>by</em>
+the people, <em>for</em> the people.” These few plain words
+are well worth remembering—“of,” “by,” “for” the
+people. These are the traits which distinguish our
+government from all kinds of monarchies, whether
+absolute or limited, hereditary or elective.</p>
+
+<p>After the war between Germany and France, in
+1870, the German kingdoms of Prussia, Hanover,
+Saxony, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, with certain small
+principalities, each with its hereditary sovereign,
+were consolidated or confederated as the German
+empire, and the king of Prussia, the present Frederick
+William, was crowned emperor of Germany.</p>
+
+<p>France, however, after that war, having had
+enough of kings and emperors, adopted the republican
+form of government. So that now there are
+three republics in Europe, viz.: France, Switzerland,
+and a little territory on the east coast of Italy, San
+Marino.</p>
+
+<p>So that almost all of Europe, all of Asia, and all of
+Africa (except Liberia), and the islands of Australia,
+and the northern part of North America (except
+Alaska), are under the government of monarchs;
+while the three countries of Europe already mentioned,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span>
+and our own country, and Mexico, and the
+Central American States, and all South America
+except Brazil (and some small parts of the coast of
+South America under British rule), are republics.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="noi"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[B]</a> One of our most distinguished citizens said some years ago that he
+believed the tendency of things was towards the English language, the
+Christian religion, and republican government for the human race.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Now let us come back to our own government and
+see what is, and whether it is better than any form
+of monarchy; and if so, why.</p>
+
+<p>What is the <span class="smcap">Constitution of the United States</span>?
+The first clause in it is the best answer I can give:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">We, the people of the United States</span>, in order
+to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
+domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence,
+promote the general welfare, and secure the
+blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
+ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
+States of America.”</p>
+
+<p>Then follow the articles and sections setting forth
+the principles on which it was proposed to build up
+a nation in this western world. The thirteen States
+each had its constitution and its laws, but <em>this instrument</em>
+was intended to serve as the foundation of the
+general government. Until these States had formed
+their constitutions, there was no republican government
+in the world except Switzerland and San Marino,
+and these lived only on the sufferance of their
+powerful monarchical neighbors. All South America<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span>
+was under Spanish rule, and Mexico was a monarchy.</p>
+
+<p>The great principle of a republic is that people
+<em>have a right to choose</em> their own rulers, and ought to
+do it. The divine right of hereditary monarchy we
+deny. It is often said that the English government
+is as free as ours; but it is not quite true, and will
+not be true until every citizen is permitted to vote
+for his rulers. Whether so much liberty is perfectly
+safe for all people is well open to question; but it is
+a <span class="allsmcap">FACT</span> here, and if people would only behave themselves
+properly there would be no danger whatever
+in it. And if there <span class="allsmcap">IS</span> danger here, it comes not from
+native-born citizens trained under our free institutions.
+The sun does not shine on a broader, fairer
+land than this; and under that divine Providence,
+without whose gracious aid we could not have
+achieved and cannot maintain our Constitution, we
+have nothing whatever to fear for the present or to
+dread in the future, but the evil men among us—the
+Anarchists and Socialists, the scum and off-scouring
+of Europe—who, with no fear of God before their
+eyes, so far forget the high aims of this government
+and their own obligations to it as to seek to overthrow
+its very foundations.</p>
+
+<p>The highest and best types of monarchical governments
+are in Europe, and it is with such that we seek
+comparison when we insist that ours is better.</p>
+
+<p>Monarchies are hereditary. They descend from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span>
+father to the oldest son and to the oldest son of the
+oldest son where there are sons. England has rejoiced
+in two female sovereigns at least, Elizabeth, and Victoria,
+the present sovereign; but they came to the
+throne because there was no son in either case to
+inherit. The heir-apparent, whatever his character
+or want of character, <span class="allsmcap">MUST</span> reign when the sovereign
+dies, because, as they say, he rules by divine right.
+We insist on electing our President for a term of
+years, and if we like him we give him another term;
+if we do not like him, we drop him and try another.
+I wish the term of office of the President were longer,
+and that he could serve only one term. Perhaps it
+will come to that; and I think he would be a more
+independent, a better official under this condition.</p>
+
+<p>What is the difference between the Constitution
+and the laws?</p>
+
+<p>The Constitution is the great charter under which,
+and within which, the laws are made. No law that
+Congress may pass is worth the paper it is printed on
+if it is contrary to the Constitution. Such laws have
+been passed ignorantly, and have died.</p>
+
+<p>A very simple illustration is at hand. The constitution
+of this College is Mr. Girard’s will. This is
+our charter. The laws which the Directors make must
+be within the provisions of the will or they will not
+stand. For instance, the will directs that none but
+<em>orphans</em> can be admitted here; and the courts have
+decided that a child without a father is an orphan.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span>
+The directors, therefore, cannot admit the child who
+has a father living. The will says that only <em>boys</em> can
+be admitted; therefore no law that the Directors can
+make will admit a girl. Nor can the Directors make
+a law which will admit a colored boy; nor a boy
+under six nor over ten years of age; nor a boy born
+anywhere except in certain States of our country—Pennsylvania,
+New York and Louisiana. It would
+be <span class="allsmcap">UNCONSTITUTIONAL</span>. I think now you see the difference
+between the Constitution and the laws.</p>
+
+<p>Now, again, is our government better than a monarchy?
+and why?</p>
+
+<p>Because the men of the present time make it, and
+are not bound by the traditions of far-off times.
+There are improvements in the science of government
+as in all other human inventions, as the centuries
+come and go. Man is progressive; he would
+not be worth caring for if he were not. If the present
+age has not produced a higher and better development
+in all essentials, it is our own fault, and is
+not because men were perfect in the past or cannot
+be better in the present or in the future. Therefore
+when our Constitution is believed not to meet
+the requirements of the present day there is a way
+to amend it, although that way is so hedged up that
+it cannot possibly be altered without ample time for
+consideration. As a matter of fact, the Constitution
+has been altered or amended fifteen times since its<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>
+adoption; and it will be changed or amended as often
+as the needs of the people require it.</p>
+
+<p>We believe our form of government to be better
+than any monarchy because <em>the people choose their own
+law-makers</em>. The Congress is composed of two houses
+or chambers: the members of the Senate, chosen by
+the legislatures of the States, two from each State, to
+serve for six years; the members of the House of
+Representatives (chosen by the citizens), who sit for
+two years only, unless re-elected. The Senate is supposed
+to be the more conservative body, not easily
+moved by popular clamor; while the Representatives,
+chosen directly and recently by the voters, are supposed
+to know the immediate wants of the people.
+The thought of two houses grew probably from the
+two houses of the British parliament.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot have an <em>hereditary legislature</em> like the
+House of Lords in the British parliament, whose
+members sit, as the sovereign rules, by divine right,
+as they say, and with the same result in some instances:
+for the sovereign may be a mere figure-head,
+or only the nominal ruler, while the cabinet is the
+real government, and the House of Lords long ago
+sunk far below the House of Commons in real influence.
+There is no better reason for this than the
+fact that the people have nothing to do with the
+House of Lords and the sovereign, except to depose
+and scatter them when they choose to rise in their
+power and assert themselves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p>
+
+<p>We can have no <em>orders of nobility</em> under our Constitution.
+There can be no privileged class. All
+men are equal under the law. I do not mean that
+all persons are equal in all respects. Divine Providence
+has made us unequal. Some are endowed
+naturally with the highest mental and physical gifts
+and distinctions; some are strong and others weak.
+This has always been so and always will be so.
+Some have inherited or acquired riches, while others
+have to labor diligently to make a bare living. Some
+have inherited their high culture and gentle manners
+and noble instincts, which, in a general sense, we
+sometimes call culture; and others have to acquire
+all this for themselves—and it is not very easy to get
+it. So there is no such thing as absolute equality,
+and cannot be; but before the law, in the enjoyment
+of our rights and in the undisturbed possession of
+what we have, we are all equal, as we could not be
+under a monarchy. Here there is no legal bar to
+success; all places are open to all.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no law of <em>primogeniture</em> under our
+Constitution. By this law, which still prevails in
+England, the eldest son inherits the titles and estates
+of the father, while the younger sons and all the
+daughters must be provided for in other ways.
+Some of the sons are put in the church, in the army
+or the navy, or in the professions, such as law and
+medicine; but it is very rare indeed that any son of
+a noble house is willing to engage in any kind of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>
+business or trade, for they are not so well thought
+of if they become tradesmen.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no <em>state church</em>, no <em>establishment</em>, under
+our Constitution. In England the Episcopal
+Church, and in Scotland the Presbyterian Church,
+are established by law; and until within the last
+seventeen years the Church of England was by law
+established in Ireland; and it is now established in
+Wales; and in other countries of Europe the Roman
+Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and the
+Greek Church are established by law. In countries
+where there is a national church, it derives more or
+less of its support from taxing the people, many of
+whom do not belong to it; but in this land there is
+no established church; and there never can be, let us
+hope and believe.</p>
+
+<p>Under our form of government we need no <em>standing
+army</em>. We owe this partly to the fact that we
+are so isolated geographically that we do not need to
+keep an army. I heard the general of our army
+say, a short time ago, that the regular army of the
+United States is a fiction—only 25,000 men. (You
+saw as many troops a few weeks ago in one day as
+are in all our army.) “The real army,” he added,
+“is composed of every able-bodied citizen; for all
+are ready to volunteer in the face of a common
+enemy.” Our territory is immensely large already,
+and it will probably be larger, but it will not again
+be enlarged as the result of war. When we look at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span>
+the nations of Europe, and see the immense numbers
+of men in their standing armies, we can’t help
+thanking God that we are separated from them by
+the wide Atlantic, and that we have a republican
+government, and have no temptation to seek other
+territory, and are not likely to be attacked for any
+cause. In the armies of Great Britain, Germany,
+Russia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, are more than ten
+millions of men withdrawn from the cultivation of
+the soil and from the pursuits of commerce and manufactures.
+In Italy alone the standing army is said
+to be 750,000 men! The withdrawal of so many
+men from peaceful occupations makes it necessary
+to employ women to do work which in our country
+women are never asked to do. I have seen a woman
+drawing a boat on a canal, and a man sitting on the
+deck of that boat smoking his pipe and steering the
+boat. I have seen a woman with a huge load of
+fresh hay upon her head and a man walking by her
+side and carrying his scythe. I have seen women
+yoked with dogs to carts, carrying the loads that
+here would be put in a cart and drawn by a horse.
+I have seen women carrying the hod for masons on
+their <em>heads</em>, filled with stone and mortar. I have
+seen women carrying huge baskets of manure on
+their backs to the field, and young girls breaking
+stone on the highway. Did you ever hear of such
+things here? See what a difference! The men in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>
+the army eat up the substance which the women
+produce from the soil.</p>
+
+<p>But nowhere else in the world is the <em>dignity of
+labor</em> recognized as here. They do not know the
+meaning of the words. For in most other countries
+it is considered undignified, if not ungenteel, to be
+engaged in labor of any kind. A man who is not
+able to live without work is hardly considered a gentleman.
+To work with the hands is degrading; is
+what ought to be done by common people only, and
+by people who are not fit to associate with gentlemen
+and ladies. It is not so in this country. Here, a
+man who is well educated and well behaved, and upright
+and honorable in his dealings with men, who
+cultivates his mind by reading and observation, and
+is careful of the usages of good society, is fit company
+for any one. He may rise to any place within
+the gift of his fellow-citizens, and adorn it. This is
+not so elsewhere. And think of a young girl hardly
+out of her teens, with no special preparation for such
+a distinction, but educated and accomplished, becoming
+the wife of the President of the United
+States, and proving herself entirely worthy of that
+high position! Could any other country match this?</p>
+
+<p>Now what is the effect of all this freedom of
+thought and action on the people? Well, it is not to
+be denied that there are some disadvantages. There
+is danger that we may over-estimate the individual
+in his personal rights, and not give due weight to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span>
+people as a community. There is danger of selfishness,
+especially among young people. There is not
+as much respect and reverence for age, and for those
+above us, and for the other sex, as there ought to be.
+Young people are very rude at times, when they
+should always be polite to their superiors in age or
+position. At a little city in Bavaria the boys coming
+out of school one day all lifted their hats to me,
+a stranger! That would be an astounding thing in
+a Philadelphia street! In riding in the neighborhood
+of the city here, if I speak civilly to a boy by
+the roadside, I am just as likely as not to get an impudent
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>But in spite of these defects, which we hope will
+never be seen in a Girard College boy, the true effect
+of training under our republican institutions is to
+make men. There is a wider, freer, fuller development
+of what is in man than is known elsewhere.
+Man is much more likely to become self-reliant, self-dependent,
+vigorous, skillful, here—not knowing how
+high he may rise, and consciously or unconsciously
+preparing himself for anything to which he may be
+called. And for woman, too, where else does she
+meet the respect that belongs to her? Where else
+in the world do women find occupation in government
+offices, on school boards, at the head of charitable
+and educational institutions? With few exceptions,
+such as Girton College, where are there in
+any other country such colleges as Vassar or Wellesley,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>
+and as the Woman’s Medical College, almost
+under the walls of our own?</p>
+
+<p>I have already kept you too long. But a few
+words and I am done. I am moved by the injunction
+of Mr. Girard in his will not only to say these
+things, but by this grave consideration also. Every
+boy who hears me to-day, within fifteen years, if he
+lives, unless he is cut off by crime from the privilege,
+will be a voter. You will go to the polls to cast
+your votes for those who are to have the conduct of
+the government in all its parts. I want to make
+you feel, if I can, the high destiny that awaits you.
+You are distinctive in this respect—you are all
+American boys. This can be said of no other assembly
+as large as this in all this broad land. You have
+it in your power, and I want to help you to it, and
+God will if you ask him—you have it in your power
+to become American gentlemen. And I believe that
+an <em>American gentleman</em> is the very highest type of
+man.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">God, give us men. A time like this demands</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men whom the lust of office does not kill;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men who possess opinions and a will;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men who have honor, men who will not lie;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Men who can stand before a demagogue</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">In public duty and in private thinking.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp129">
+  <img src="images/i_fp129.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>James Lawrence Claghorn.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CLAGHORN">JAMES LAWRENCE CLAGHORN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When a man has lived a long, busy, useful and
+successful life it seems proper that something more
+than the ordinary obituary notices in the daily papers
+is due to his memory. This thought moves me
+to speak to you to-day of a gentleman who died on
+August 25, 1884, while a Director of the Girard College,
+and of whom it seems appropriate that something
+may be said to you in this chapel.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. James L. Claghorn was a distinguished citizen
+of Philadelphia. He was born here on the 5th of
+July, 1817. His father, John W. Claghorn, was a
+merchant of excellent standing, who in the latter
+years of his life gave much time and thought to benevolent
+institutions. At the age of fourteen years
+James left school to go into business. You boys
+know how very incomplete an education at school
+must be which ends when the boy is fourteen years
+old. But you don’t know until your own experience
+proves it how hard it is for a half-educated boy to
+compete for the high places in life or in business with
+boys of equal natural ability, who have had the full<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span>
+advantage of a liberal school education. At fourteen,
+then, James Claghorn turned his back on
+school and went to work in earnest. For it was an
+auction store that he entered, and the work there
+was usually harder work than in other kinds of
+stores. The hours of labor were longer—earlier and
+later—and the holidays more rare than in ordinary
+commercial houses.</p>
+
+<p>There is no record of the early years of his business
+life; but it is not difficult to imagine the hardships
+to which a young lad of that time would be
+subjected. We can’t suppose that any indulgence
+was allowed him because his father was one of the
+partners in the firm; neither he nor his father would
+have permitted such distinction.</p>
+
+<p>The boy must have been <em>industrious</em>; for in such
+a house there was no place for an idle lounger. He
+was not afraid of work, for he was always at it; he
+did not spare himself, else some other boy would have
+done his share and got ahead of him; he must have
+been <em>faithful</em>, not one who works only when his master’s
+eye is on him—not shirking any hard work—not
+forgetting to-day what he was told yesterday—not
+thinking too much of his rights or his own particular
+work, but doing anything that came to hand—looking
+always to the interest of the firm, and
+trusting the future for a recognition of his faithfulness.</p>
+
+<p>And he must have been <em>patient</em>. Many rough<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>
+words, many hasty and passionate words are spoken
+to young boys, and must have been spoken to this
+boy, and may have hurt him; but there is good reason
+to believe from the character he built up that he
+knew how to hold his tongue and not answer back.
+Not every boy has learned that useful lesson; and
+hence the many outbreaks of passion and the frequent
+discharge of boys who will “answer back”
+when they are reproved.</p>
+
+<p>And I think also that he must have been of a
+bright and cheery disposition and well mannered.
+Some young fellows who have to make their way in
+the world seem not to know the importance of a good
+address; in other words, politeness, good breeding.
+Nothing impresses one so favorably at first meeting a
+stranger as good manners. A frank, hearty greeting,
+a bright, cheerful face, a manly bearing, a willingness
+to consider others, a desire to please for the sake
+of giving pleasure, are of great importance. On the
+contrary, sullenness, sluggishness, indifference, selfishness
+are all repulsive, and though allowance will
+be made at first for the existence of such qualities,
+yet they will hardly be tolerated long in a young
+person, and they will certainly unfit him for a successful
+career. I did not know Mr. Claghorn when
+he was a young lad; but I can hardly suppose that
+the kindly, genial, hearty man in middle and later
+life could have been a morose, sullen, sluggish, ill-mannered
+boy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span></p>
+
+<p>I have said that Mr. Claghorn left school while
+still a boy; but we must not infer that he supposed
+his education was complete with the end of his school
+life, for it is very evident that he must have given
+very much of his leisure to self-improvement. We
+do not know how his evenings were spent when not
+in the counting-house; but he must have given a
+good deal of time to reading; and it is not likely that
+the books which he read were such as are to be found
+now at any book-stand, and in the hands of so many
+boys as they go to and fro on their errands—books
+which are simply read without instruction, and which
+sometimes treat of subjects which are unreal, extravagant,
+coarse and brutalizing. Doubtless he was fond
+of fiction. All boys of fair education and refined
+taste are more or less fond of fiction; but we can
+hardly suppose that he gave too much of his time to
+such reading, else he could not have become the
+strong business man that he was. At a very early
+age he became fond of art, and gathered about him as
+his means would permit engravings and pictures such
+as would cultivate his taste in that direction. When
+he could spare the money he would buy an engraving,
+if the subject or the author interested him; so
+that he became, in the latter part of his life, the
+owner of one of the largest collections of engravings
+in the whole country. Indeed, he became a noted patron
+of art, and especially was he desirous of encouraging
+<em>native</em> art, so that at one period he had more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span>
+than two hundred paintings, the work of American
+artists; for at that time he was more desirous of encouraging
+native artists, especially if they were poor,
+than he was in making collections of the great masters.
+Many a picture he bought to help the artist,
+rather than for his own gratification as a collector.
+Further on in life he became deeply interested in the
+Academy of the Fine Arts, which was then in Chestnut
+street above Tenth. Subsequently he became its
+President, and very largely through his influence and
+his personal means that fine building at the southwest
+corner of Broad and Cherry street, which all
+of you ought to visit as opportunity is afforded, was
+erected as a depository of art. The splendid building
+of the Academy of Music at Broad and Locust
+street, is also largely indebted to Mr. Claghorn for its
+erection.</p>
+
+<p>But I am anticipating, and we must now go back
+to Mr. Claghorn in his counting-house. No longer a
+boy—an apprentice—he has grown to manhood, and
+has become a member of the firm, taking his father’s
+place. Now his labors are greatly increased; the
+hours of business, which were long before, are longer
+now; he begins very early in the morning, before
+sunrise in the winter season, and is sometimes detained
+late in the evening, the long day being entirely
+devoted to business; and no one knows, except one
+who has gone through that sort of experience, how
+much labor is involved in such a life; but not only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>
+his labors—his responsibilities are greatly increased.
+He becomes the financial man in the firm; he is the
+head of the counting-house; he has charge of the
+books and the accounts. For many years no entry
+was made in the huge ledgers except in his own
+handwriting. The credit of the house of Myers &amp;
+Claghorn becomes deservedly high. A time of great
+financial excitement and distress comes on. This
+house, while others are going down on the right and
+left like ships in a storm, stands erect with unimpaired
+credit, and with opportunities of helping other
+and weaker houses which so much needed help. The
+name of his firm was a synonym of all that is strong
+and admirable in business management.</p>
+
+<p>So he passed the best years of his whole life in
+earnest attention to business, snatching all the leisure
+he could for the gratification of his passion, it may be
+called, for art, until the time came when, having acquired
+what was at that time supposed to be an
+abundant competency, he determined to retire from
+business. Now he appears to contemplate a long
+rest in a visit to other countries, and was making
+arrangements looking to a long holiday of great enjoyment,
+when the country became involved in the
+Great Rebellion. None of you, except as you read
+it in history, know what a convulsion passed over the
+country when the first gun was fired upon the flag at
+Fort Sumter. Mr. Claghorn, full of love for his
+country and unwilling to do what seemed to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span>
+almost like a desertion in her time of trial, gave up
+his contemplated foreign tour, and applied himself
+most diligently and earnestly to the duties of a true,
+loyal citizen in the support of the government. He
+was one of the earliest members of the Union
+League, and was largely interested in collecting
+money for the raising and equipping of regiments to
+be sent to the front. Three or four years of his life
+were spent in this laudable work, and in company
+with those of like mind he was largely instrumental
+in accomplishing great good. The war, however,
+came to an end—was fought out to its final and inevitable
+issue.</p>
+
+<p>Now the desire to visit foreign countries returned
+with increased interest. His business affairs, although
+they had not been as profitable as they would have
+been if he had looked closer to them and had given
+less thought to public matters during the war, were so
+satisfactory that he could afford to put them in other
+hands for a while, and in company with his wife he
+embarked for Europe. It was to be a long holiday
+such as he had never known before. He intended to
+make an extended tour—he was not to be hurried.
+He went through England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
+Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey,
+Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
+In this way he saw and enjoyed all the most
+famous picture-galleries of the old world; and his
+long study of art in its various phases and schools<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span>
+gave him special advantages for the highest enjoyment
+of the great collections, public and private,
+of the old masters as well as of those of modern
+times.</p>
+
+<p>The interest of his extended tour was not, however,
+limited to galleries and collections of paintings
+and statuary. He was an observer of men and
+things. His practical American mind observed and
+digested everything that came within his reach.
+The government of the great cities—the condition
+of the masses of the people gathered in them—the
+common people outside of the cities, their customs
+and costumes; their way of living—in short, everything
+that was unlike what we see at home—he
+observed and remembered to enjoy in the retrospect
+of after years.</p>
+
+<p>It was hardly to be expected that Mr. Claghorn,
+having lived the busy life that he had lived before
+he went abroad, should have been content on his
+return to sit down in the enjoyment of his well-earned
+leisure; and accordingly, shortly after his
+return, he became the President of the Commercial
+National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions
+in our city. For several years previously he
+had been a Director in the Philadelphia National
+Bank (as his father had before him), so that he had
+had proper training for the duties of his new position.
+He became also a Manager in the Philadelphia
+Saving Fund Society, the oldest and the largest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span>
+saving fund in our city. With most commendable
+diligence and industry he at once set about building
+up the bank so as to make it profitable to its stockholders.
+Not forgetting, however, the attractions of
+art, he covered the walls of his bank parlor with
+beautiful specimens of the choicest engravings, so
+that even the daily routine of business life might be
+enlivened by glimpses into the attractive world of
+art.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1869, when the Board of City Trusts
+was created by act of Legislature (to which board is
+committed the vast estate left by Mr. Girard, as well
+as of the other trusts of the city of Philadelphia),
+Mr. Claghorn was appointed one of the original board
+of twelve, and from that date until his death he
+gave much time and thought to the duties thus devolved
+upon him. He became chairman of the
+finance committee, which place he held until the end
+of his life. Although he was not so well known to
+the boys of the college as some other members of
+this board, because his duties did not require very
+frequent visits to the college, he nevertheless gave
+himself to the duties of the committee of which he
+was chairman with great interest and fidelity; and
+the time which he gave to this great work is not to
+be measured by visits to the college, but by the time
+spent in the city office and in his own place of business,
+where his committee met him on their stated
+meetings. As I have reason to know, he had a deep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>
+personal interest in all the affairs of this college, and
+of the other trusts committed to our charge.</p>
+
+<p>Although the condition of his health in the latter
+part of his life made close attention to business
+very trying to him, so far as I know he never permitted
+his health to interfere with his business engagements.</p>
+
+<p>In this brief and fragmentary way I have tried to
+set before you some features of the life of one of our
+most distinguished citizens. In the limits of a single
+discourse as brief as this must be it is not possible
+to make this more than an outline sketch. In the
+little time that remains let me refer again for the
+purpose of emphasis to some traits in the character
+of Mr. Claghorn which will justly bear reconsideration.</p>
+
+<p>A very large proportion of the merchants of any
+city fail in business. The proportion is much larger
+than is generally known, and larger than young people
+are willing to believe.</p>
+
+<p>In an experience of more than forty years of business
+life, during which I have had much to do with
+merchants, I have known so many failures, have seen
+so many wrecks of commercial houses, that I am compelled
+to regard a merchant who has maintained
+high credit for a long term of years and finally retired
+from business with a handsome estate as one
+who is entitled to the respect and confidence of his
+fellow-citizens. Some men grow rich as junior partners<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span>
+in successful business, the good management
+having been due to the ability and tact of their
+seniors; but this can hardly be said in the present
+case. The merchant whose life we are considering
+was an active and influential partner.</p>
+
+<p>Let me say, however, that true success in business
+is not to be measured by the amount of money one
+accumulates. A man may be rich in the riches acquired
+by his own activity and shrewdness who is in
+no high sense a successful business man. These
+things are necessary: He should be a just man, an
+upright, honorable man, a man of breadth and solidity
+of character, who gathers about him some of the
+ablest and best of his fellow-citizens in labors for the
+good of others and the welfare of society. In such
+sense was Mr. Claghorn a successful business man.</p>
+
+<p>His early love of art in its various forms, the substantial
+aid and encouragement he gave to young
+students in their beginnings, his deep sympathy with
+persons who in literature and art were striving for a
+living, his generous hospitality to artists, and his public
+spirit—all these had their influence in the growth
+and development of his character, and made his name
+to be loved and honored by many who shared in his
+generous sympathies.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Claghorn’s love of country, which we call
+patriotism, was signally disclosed at the outbreak of
+the war in 1861. When we remember his long and
+busy life as a merchant—broken by few or no vacations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>
+such as most other men enjoyed—when we remember
+that his self-culture had been of such a nature
+as to prepare him most admirably well for a tour
+in foreign countries, especially such countries as had
+produced the ablest, the most distinguished artists—we
+can have some idea of what it cost him to forego
+the much needed rest—to deny himself the well-earned
+pleasure of a visit to the picture galleries of
+Europe, where are gathered the treasures of the
+highest art in all the world. Many men in like circumstances
+would have felt that one man, whose age
+and sedentary habits unfitted him for active service
+in the field, would hardly be missed from among the
+loyal citizens of the North—but he did not think so;
+and therefore he put aside all his personal plans, and
+in the city where he was born he remained and devoted
+himself as one of her true, loyal citizens in
+raising money and men for the defence of the government.
+There could be no truer heroism than this,
+and right bravely and successfully he carried his purpose
+to the end.</p>
+
+<p>“I am permitted,” said the clergyman who spoke at
+his funeral, and with his words I close these remarks,
+“I am permitted to address to you in the presence
+of the solemnity of death some few reflections that
+occur to me in memory of one whom we shall know
+no more in life. A few Saturday evenings ago I was
+walking along by a lake at a seashore home when a
+great and wondrous beauty spread itself beneath my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span>
+eye. It was one of those inimitable pictures that
+rarely come to one. In the foreground there lay a
+lake with no ripple on its surface. It was a calm
+and sleeping thing. A shining glory was in the
+western sky. The sun had gone, but where he disappeared
+were indications of beauty—one of the most
+beautiful afterglows I have ever seen. It was not
+one of the ordinary things, and as I looked at it there
+came many reflections. Here is one of them. It
+seems quite applicable this morning. That which
+caused the quiet glory of the lake, that which caused
+the radiation of beauty, had gone. Its day’s work
+was done. That quiet lake and streaked sky were
+the type of a picture of a busy, useful, successful life
+that had been accomplished. It was a complete
+thing. The day was done. The activity had passed
+away. It was finished just as this life. What had
+made it beautiful had gone, but he flung back monuments
+of beauty that made the scene as beautiful as
+good words and noble deeds make the memory of man.
+There were six of these rays. Young men, brethren
+of this community, you will do well to remember that
+anywhere and everywhere, without patience and industry,
+nothing great can be done. The life departed
+was a busy one—one of busy usefulness. The cry
+that came from him was, ‘I must work; I must be
+busy.’ Live as this man did, that your life may be
+one that can be held up as an example and a light to
+young men of the coming generations. One ray of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>
+beauty was his sterling truthfulness. It is a splendid
+thing to be trusted by your fellows. Another ray was
+his prudent foresight. It was characteristic of him,
+and it is a splendid thing to have. Another ray
+that welled out of him was his striking humanity.
+There was one continual trait in his character. I
+would call it manhoodness. There was another feature—his
+deep humility.”</p>
+
+<p>Such were some of the traits of character of a man
+who lived a long life in the city where he was born.
+If no distinctive monument has been erected to his
+memory, there are the “Union League,” “The Academy
+of the Fine Arts,” and “The Academy of
+Music,” with which his name will always be associated;
+and, what is better still, there are many
+hearts that throb with grateful memories of an unselfish
+man, who in time of sore need stretched out
+his hand to help, and that hand was never empty.
+And you will remember, you Girard boys, that this
+man who did so much for his native city and for his
+fellow-citizens was not nearly so well educated at the
+age of fourteen when he left school as many of you
+are now. See what he did; see what some of you
+may do!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LEAF">THE LEAF TURNED OVER.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">January 1, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Some weeks ago I gave you two lectures on “Turning
+Over a New Leaf.” One of the directors of this
+college to whom I sent a printed copy said I ought to
+follow those with another on this subject: “The
+Leaf Turned Over.” I at once accepted this suggestion
+and shall now try to follow his advice.</p>
+
+<p>Most thoughtful people as they approach the end
+of a year are apt to ask themselves some plain questions—as
+to their manner of life, their habits of
+thought, their amusements, their studies, their business,
+their home, their families, their companions,
+their plans for the future, their duty to their fellow-men,
+their duty to God; in short, whether the year
+about to close has been a happy one; whether they
+have been successful or otherwise in what they have
+attempted to do.</p>
+
+<p>The merchant, manufacturer or man of business
+of any kind who keeps books, and whose accounts
+are properly kept, looks with great interest at his
+account book at such a time, to see whether his business
+has been profitable or otherwise, whether he has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>
+lost or made money, whether his capital is larger or
+smaller than it was at the beginning of the year,
+whether he is solvent or insolvent, whether he is able
+to pay his debts or is bankrupt.</p>
+
+<p>And to very many persons engaged in business for
+themselves, this is a time of great anxiety, for one
+can hardly tell exactly whether he is getting on
+favorably until his account books are posted and the
+balances are struck. If one’s capital is small and
+the result of the year’s business is a loss, that means
+a reduction of capital, and raises the question whether
+this can go on for some years without failure and
+bankruptcy. Many and many a business man looks
+with great anxiety to the month of December, and
+especially to the end of it, to learn whether he shall
+be able to go on in his business, however humble.
+And, alas! there are many whose books of account
+are so badly kept, and whose balances are so rarely
+struck, or who keep no account books at all, that
+they never know how they stand, but are always under
+the apprehension that any day they may fail to
+meet their obligations and so fail and become bankrupt.
+They were insolvent long before, but they did
+not know it; and they have gone on from bad to
+worse until they are ruined. Others, again, are
+afraid to look closely into their account books—afraid
+to have the balances struck, lest they should be convinced
+that their affairs are in a hopeless condition.
+Unhappy cowards they are, for if insolvent the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span>
+sooner they know it the better, that they may make
+the best settlement they can with their creditors, if
+the business is worth following at all, and begin
+again, “turning over a new leaf.”</p>
+
+<p>I do not suppose that many of you boys have ever
+thought much on these subjects; for you are not in
+business as principals or as clerks, you have no merchandise
+or produce or money to handle, you have no
+account books for yourselves or for other people to
+keep, to post, to balance, and you may think you
+have no interest in these remarks; but I hope to be
+able to show you that these things are not matters
+of indifference to you.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1887, which closed last night, was just
+as much <em>your</em> year as it was that of any man, even
+the busiest man of affairs. When it came, 365 days
+ago, it found you (most of you) at school here: it left
+all of you here. And the question naturally arises,
+what have you done with this time, all these days
+and nights? Every page in the account books of
+certain kinds of business represents a day of business,
+and either the figures on both the debit and
+the credit side are added up and carried forward, or
+the balance of the two sides of the page is struck and
+carried over leaf to the next page.</p>
+
+<p>So every day of the past year represents a page in
+the history of your lives: for every life, even the
+plainest and most humble, has its own peculiar history.
+Your lives here are uneventful; no very startling<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span>
+things occur to break the monotony of school
+life, but each day has its own duties and makes its
+own record. Three hundred and sixty-five pages of
+the book of the history of every young life here
+were duly filled by the records of all the things done
+or neglected, of the words spoken or unspoken, of
+the thoughts indulged or stifled; these pages with
+their records, sad or joyful, glad or shameful, were
+turned over, and are now numbered with the things
+that are past and gone. When an accountant or
+book-keeper discovers, after the books of the year
+are closed and the balances struck, that errors had
+crept in which have disturbed the accuracy of his
+work, he cannot go back with a knife and erase the
+errors and write in the correct figures; neither can
+he blot them out, nor rub them out as you do examples
+from a slate or from the blackboard; he must
+correct his mistakes; he must counteract his blunders
+by new entries on a new page.</p>
+
+<p>It is somewhat so with us, with you. Last night
+at midnight the last page of the leaves of the book
+of the old year was filled with its record, whatever it
+was, and this morning “the leaf is turned over.”
+What do we see? What does every one of you see?
+A fair, white page. And each one of you holds a
+pen in his hand and the inkstand is within reach;
+you dip your pen in the ink, you bend over the page,
+the thoughts come thick and fast, much faster indeed
+than any pen, even that of the quickest shorthand<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>
+writer can put them on the page. There are
+stenographers who can take the language of the most
+rapid speakers, but no stenographer has ever yet appeared
+who can put his own thoughts on paper as rapidly
+as they come into his mind. But while there is
+but one mind in all the universe that can have knowledge
+of what is passing in your mind and retain it
+all—<span class="allsmcap">THE INFINITE MIND</span>; and while no one page of
+any book, however large, even if it be what book-makers
+call elephant folio, can possibly hold the
+record of what any boy here says and thinks in a
+single day, you may, and you do, all of you, write
+words good or bad on the page before you.</p>
+
+<p>Let me take one of these boys not far from the
+desk, a boy of sixteen or seventeen years of age, who
+is now waiting, pen in hand, to write the thoughts
+now passing in his mind. What are these thoughts?
+No one knows but himself. Shall I tell you what I
+think he ought to write? It is something like this:</p>
+
+<p>“I have been here many years. When I came I
+was young and ignorant. I found myself among
+many boys of my own age, hardly any of whom I
+ever saw before, who cared no more for me than I
+cared for them. I felt very strange; the first few
+days and nights I was very unhappy, for I missed
+very much my mother and the others whom I had
+left at home. But very soon these feelings passed
+away. I was put to school at once, and in the
+school-room and the play-ground I soon forgot the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span>
+things and the people about my other home. Years
+passed. I was promoted from one school to another,
+from one section to another; I grew rapidly in size;
+my classmates were no longer little boys; we were
+all looking up and looking forward to the school
+promotions, and I became a big boy. The lessons
+were hard, and I studied hard, for I began to understand
+at last why I was sent here, and to ask myself
+the question, what might reasonably be expected of
+me? Sometimes when quite alone this question
+would force itself upon me, what use am I making
+of my fine advantages, or am I making the best use
+of them? And what manner of man shall I be?
+For I know full well that all well-educated boys do
+not succeed in life—do not become successful men in
+the highest and best sense. How do I know that I
+shall do well? Is my conduct here such as to justify
+the authorities in commending me as a thoroughly
+manly, trustworthy boy? Have I succeeded while
+going through the course of school studies in building
+up a character that is worthy of me, worthy of this
+great school? Can those who know me best place
+the most confidence in me? If I am looking forward
+to a place in a machine shop, or in a store, or in a
+lawyer’s office, or to the study of medicine, or to a
+place in a railroad office or a bank, am I really trying
+to fit myself for such a place, or am I simply
+drifting along from day to day, doing only what I am
+compelled to do and cultivating no true ambition to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span>
+rise above the dull average of my companions? And
+then, as I look at the difficulties in the way of every
+young fellow who has his way to make in the world,
+has it not occurred to me to look beyond the present
+and the persons and things that surround me now,
+and look to a higher and better Helper than is to be
+found in this world? Have I not at times heard
+words of good counsel in this chapel, from the lips
+of those who come to give me and my companions
+wholesome advice? What attention have I given to
+such advice? I have been told, and I do not doubt
+it, that the great God stoops from heaven and speaks
+to my soul, and offers his Divine help, and even holds
+out his hand, though I cannot see it, and will take
+my hand in his, and help me over all hard places,
+and will never let me go, if I cling to him, and will
+assure me success in everything that is right and
+good. I have heard all this over and over again; I
+know it is true, but I have not accepted it as if I believed
+it; I have not acted accordingly; in fact, I
+have treated the whole matter as if it were unreal,
+or as if it referred to somebody else rather than to
+me.</p>
+
+<p>“And now I have come probably to my last year
+in this school. Before another New Year’s day some
+other boy will have my desk in the school-room, my
+bed in the dormitory, my place at the table, my seat
+in the chapel. These long years, oh! how long they
+have seemed, have nearly all passed; I shall soon go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span>
+away; if some place is not found for me I must find
+one for myself—oh! what will become of me? Since
+last New Year’s day two boys who were educated
+here have been sent convicted criminals to the Eastern
+Penitentiary. What are they thinking about on
+this New Year’s morning? They sat on these seats,
+they sang our hymns, they heard the same good
+words of advice which I have heard, they had all the
+good opportunities which all of us have; what led
+them astray? Did they believe that the good God
+stooped from heaven to say good words to them, holding
+out his strong hand to help them? I wonder if
+they thought they were strong enough to take care
+of themselves? I wonder if they thought they could
+get along without his help? Do I think I can?”</p>
+
+<p>Some such thoughts as these may be passing in
+the mind of the boy now looking at me and sitting
+not far from the desk, the boy whom I had in my
+mind as I began to speak. He is holding his pen
+full of ink. He has written nothing yet; he has
+been listening with some curiosity to hear what the
+speaker will say, what he can possibly know of a
+boy’s thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>I can tell that boy what <em>I</em> would write if I were at
+his age, in this college, and surrounded by these circumstances,
+listening to these serious, earnest words.
+I would take my pen and write on the first page of
+this year’s book, this Sunday morning, this New
+Year’s day, these words: “<em>The leaf is turned over!</em><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>
+God help me to lead a better life. God forgive all
+the past, all my wrong doings, all my neglect, all my
+forgetfulness. God keep me in right ways. God
+keep me from wicked thoughts which defile the soul;
+keep me from wicked words which defile the souls of
+others.”</p>
+
+<p>“But this is a prayer,” you say; “do you want me
+to begin my journal by writing a prayer?”</p>
+
+<p>Yes; but this is not all. Write again.</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>I will not willingly break any of the rules which
+are adopted for the government of our school.</em></p>
+
+<p>Some of the rules may <em>seem</em> hard to obey, and even
+unreasonable, but they were made for my good by
+those who are wiser than I am. I <em>can</em> obey them;
+I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>2. <em>I will work harder over my lessons than ever before,
+and I will recite them more accurately.</em></p>
+
+<p>This means hard work, but it is my duty; I shall
+be the better for it; it will not be long, for I am going
+soon; I <em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>I will watch my thoughts and my talk more carefully
+than I have ever done before.</em></p>
+
+<p>If I have hurt others by evil talk I will do so no
+more. It is a common fault; many of us boys have
+fallen into the habit of it; but for one, I will do so
+no more; I <em>can</em> stop it, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>4. <em>I will be more careful in my daily life here, to
+set a good example in all things, than I have ever been
+before.</em></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p>
+
+<p>The younger boys look to the older boys and imitate
+them closely. They watch us, our words, our
+ways, our behavior in all things. If any young fellows
+have been misled by me, it shall be so no more.
+I will behave so that no one shall be the worse for
+doing as I do. This is quite within my control; I
+<em>can</em>, I <em>will</em>.</p>
+
+<p>5. <em>I will look to God to help me to do these things.</em></p>
+
+<p>For I have tried to do something like this before
+and failed; it must be because I depended on my
+own strength. Now I will look away from myself
+and depend upon “God, without whom nothing is
+strong, nothing is holy.” He <em>can</em> help me; he surely
+will, if I throw myself on his mercy, and by daily
+prayer and reading the Scriptures, even if only for a
+moment or two each day, I shall see light and find
+peace.</p>
+
+<p>These are the things that I would write, my boy,
+if I were just as you are.</p>
+
+<p>Shall I stop now? May I not go a little farther
+and say some words to others here?</p>
+
+<p>Teachers, prefects, governesses: these boys are all
+under your charge, and every day. The same good
+Providence that brought them here for education
+and support, brought you here also to teach them
+and care for them. Your work is exacting, laborious,
+unremitting. Some of these young boys are
+trying to your patience, your temper, your forbearance,
+almost beyond endurance. Sometimes you are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span>
+discouraged by what seems to be the almost hopeless
+nature of your work, the untidiness, the rough manners,
+the ill temper, the stupidity of some of these
+young boys. But remember that all this is inevitable;
+that from the nature of the case it must be
+so; and remember, too, that to reduce such material
+to good order, to train and educate these young lives
+so that they shall be well educated, well informed,
+well mannered, polite, gentle, considerate, so they
+may be fairly well assured of a successful future, is a
+great and noble work, worthy of the ambition of the
+highest intelligence. This is exactly what the great
+founder had in his mind when he established this
+college and provided so munificently for its endowment.
+This is what his trustees most earnestly desire,
+and the hope of which rewards them for the
+many hours they give every week to the care of this
+great estate. We depend upon you to carry out the
+plan of instruction here, not only in the schools, but
+in the section rooms and on the play-grounds. Be
+to these older boys their big brothers, their best
+friends. Be kind to them always, even when compelled
+to reprove them for their many faults.</p>
+
+<p>And to those of you who have the care of the
+younger boys, let me say: remember, they have no
+mothers here; they are very young to send from
+home; they are homesick at times; they hardly
+know how to behave themselves; they shock your
+sense of delicacy; they worry and vex you almost to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span>
+distraction; but bear with them, help them, encourage
+them, love them, for if <em>you</em> do not, who will?
+And what will become of them? And remember
+what a glorious work it is to lift such a young life
+out of its rudeness, its ignorance, its untidiness, and
+make a real man of it. Oh! friends, suffer these
+words of exhortation, for they come from one who
+has a deep sympathy with you in your arduous, self-denying
+work.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
+on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
+away; and there was found no place for them. And
+I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
+and the books were opened; and another book was
+opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were
+judged out of those things which were written in
+the books, according to their works. And the sea
+gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell
+delivered up the dead which were in them; and they
+were judged every man according to his works—Rev.
+xx. 11–13.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="THANKSGIVING">THANKSGIVING DAY.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">November 29, 1888.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">The President of the United States, in a proclamation
+which you have just heard, has set apart this
+29th day of November for a day of thanksgiving and
+prayer, for the great mercies which the Almighty has
+given to the people of our country, and for a continuance
+of these mercies. His example has been
+followed by the governors of Pennsylvania and many,
+if not all, of the States, and we may therefore believe
+that all over the land, from Maine to Alaska,
+and from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, the
+people in large numbers are now gathered or gathering
+in their places of worship, in obedience to this
+proper recommendation. The directors of this college,
+in full sympathy with the thoughts of our
+rulers, have closed your schools to-day, released you
+from the duty of study, gathered you in this chapel,
+and asked you to unite with the people generally in
+giving thanks to God for the past, and imploring his
+mercies for the future. For you are a part of the
+people, and although not yet able, from your minority,
+to take an active part in the government, are yet<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span>
+being rapidly prepared for this great right of citizenship.
+It is the high privilege of an American boy, to
+know that when he becomes a man he will have just
+as clear a right as any other man, to exercise all the
+functions of a freeman, in choosing the men who are
+to be intrusted with the responsibilities of government.
+What are some of the things that give us
+cause for thankfulness to Almighty God? Very
+briefly such as these:</p>
+
+<p>1. <em>This is a Christian country.</em> Although there
+is not, and cannot be, any part or branch of the church
+established by law, there is assured liberty for every
+citizen to worship God by himself, or with others in
+congregations, as he or they may choose, in such
+forms of worship as may be preferred, with none to
+molest or make afraid. Here is absolute freedom of
+worship. And even if it be that the name of God is
+not in our Constitution, nevertheless no president or
+governor or public officer can be inducted or inaugurated
+in high office except by taking oath on the
+book of God, and as in his presence, that he will
+faithfully discharge the duties of his office. If there
+were nothing else, this public acknowledgment of
+the being of Almighty God and our accountability to
+him gives us an unquestioned right to call ourselves
+a Christian people.</p>
+
+<p>2. <em>This is a free government</em>, free in the sense that
+the people choose their own rulers, whether of towns,
+cities, States, or the nation. There is no hereditary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span>
+rule here, and cannot be. We not only <em>choose</em> our
+own rulers, but when we are dissatisfied with them for
+whatever cause, we dismiss them. And the minority
+accept the decision when it is ascertained, without
+doubt, without a question of its righteousness; they
+only want to know whether the majority have actually
+chosen this or that candidate, and they accept
+frankly, if not cheerfully. We have had a splendid
+illustration of this within this present month. The
+great party that has administered the government
+for four years past, on the verdict of the majority,
+are preparing to retire and will retire on the fourth
+of March next, and give up the government to the
+other great party, its victorious rival. Nowhere else
+in the world can such a revolution be accomplished
+on so grand a scale, by so many people, with so little
+friction. This government then is better than <em>any
+monarchy</em>, no matter how carefully guarded by constitutional
+restrictions and safeguards. The best monarchical
+governments are in Europe: the best of all
+in England; but the governments of Europe have
+many and great concessions to make to the people,
+before they can stand side by side with the United
+States in strong, healthy, considerate management
+of the people. It has been said that the best machinery
+is that which has the least friction, and as
+the time passes, we may hope that our machinery of
+government will be so smooth that the people will
+hardly know that they are governed at all; in fact,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>
+they will be their own governors. This time is coming
+as sure as Christmas, though not so close at hand,
+and you boys can hasten it by your own upright,
+manly bearing when you come to be men. Never
+forget that this is a government of the majority,
+and you must see to it that the majority be true
+men.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>We are separated by wide oceans from the rest of
+the world.</em> The Atlantic separates us from Europe
+on the east; the Gulf of Mexico from South America
+on the south, and the great Pacific ocean washes
+our western shores. We are a continent to ourselves,
+with the exception of Mexico, a sister republic on
+the south, with whom we are not likely to quarrel
+again, and the Dominion of Canada on the north,
+which, if never to become a part of ourselves, will at
+least at some day, and probably not a very distant
+day, become independent of the mother country as
+we did, though not at the great cost at which we obtained
+our freedom. Our distance from Europe relieves
+us entirely from the consideration of subjects
+which occupy most of the time of their statesmen, and
+which very often thrill the rest of the world in the
+apprehension of a general war in Europe. We are
+under no necessity of annexing other territory. We
+are not afraid of what is called “the balance of
+power;” we have no army that is worthy of the
+name, because we don’t need one, and we can make
+one if we should need it; and we have no navy to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>
+speak of, though I think we ought to have for the
+protection of our commerce, when our commerce
+shall be further encouraged. We have no entanglements
+with other nations; the great father of his
+country in his Farewell Address warned the people
+against this danger.</p>
+
+<p>4. <em>Our country is very large.</em> You school-boys
+can tell me as well as I can tell you what degrees of
+latitude and longitude we reach, and how many
+millions of square miles we count. Europeans say we
+brag too much about the great extent of our country;
+but I do not refer to it now for boasting, but as a
+matter of thankfulness to God for giving it to us.
+It means that our territory, reaching from the Arctic
+to the tropics, gives us every variety of climate and
+almost every variety of product that the earth produces;
+and I am sure that the time will come when,
+under a higher agricultural cultivation than we have
+yet reached, our soil will produce everything that
+grows anywhere else in the world. The corn harvest
+now being gathered in our country will reach
+<em>two thousand millions of bushels</em>. The mind staggers
+under such ponderous figures and quantities. Our
+wheat fields are hardly less productive; our potatoes
+and rice and oats and barley and grass, the products
+of our cattle and sheep, and, in short, everything
+that our soil above ground yields; and the enormous
+yield of our coal mines, our oil wells, our natural gas,
+our metals, our railroads, spanning the entire continent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span>
+and binding the people together with bands of
+steel—all these, and many others, which time will
+not permit me even to mention, give some faint idea
+of what a splendid country it is that the Almighty
+God has given to the American people. And do we
+not well therefore, when we come together on a day
+like this, to make our acknowledgments to Him?</p>
+
+<p>5. <em>The general education of the people</em> is another
+reason for thankfulness to God. The system is
+not yet universal, but it will be at no distant day.
+You boys will live to see the day when every man,
+woman and child born in the United States (except
+those who are too young or feeble-minded) will be
+able to read and write and cipher. It is sure to come.
+Then, under the blessing of God, when people learn
+to do their own reading and thinking, we shall not
+fear anarchists and atheists and the many other fools
+who, under one name or another, are now trying to
+make this people discontented with their lot. There
+is no need for such people here, and no place for
+them; they have made a mistake in coming to this
+free land, as some of them found to their cost on the
+gallows at Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>6. <em>We have no war in our country, no famine, and
+with the exception of poor Jacksonville, Florida, no
+pestilence.</em> Famine we have never known, and with
+such an extent of country we have little need to
+dread such a scourge as that. No one need suffer
+for food in our country, and this is the only country<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span>
+in the world of which this can be said; for labor of
+some kind can always be found, and food is so cheap,
+plain kinds of food, that none but the utterly dissipated
+and worthless need starve; and in fact none do
+starve; for if they are so wretchedly improvident,
+the guardians of the poor will save them from suffering
+not only, but actually provide them with a home, that
+for real comfort is not known elsewhere in the world.</p>
+
+<p>Some of us have seen war in its most dreadful
+proportions, but even then the alleviations furnished
+by the Christian Commission greatly relieved
+some of its most horrid features; and we are
+not likely to see war again, for there will be hereafter
+nothing to quarrel and fight about. Our political
+differences will never again lead to the taking up
+of arms in deadly strife.</p>
+
+<p>Such are some of the occasions of thankfulness
+which led the President of the United States to ask
+the people, by public proclamation, to turn aside for
+one day from their business, their farms, their workshops,
+their counting-houses, to close the schools, and
+assemble in their places of worship and thank God,
+the giver of every good and perfect gift.</p>
+
+<p>But I don’t think the President of the United
+States knew what special reasons the Girard College
+boys have to keep a thanksgiving day. And I
+shall try in what I have yet to say to point out some
+of them.</p>
+
+<p>1. This foundation is under the control of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>
+Board of City Trusts. When Mr. Girard left the
+bulk of his great estate for this noble purpose, he
+gave it to the “mayor, aldermen and citizens of
+Philadelphia,” as his trustees. The city of Philadelphia
+could act only through its legislative body, the
+select and common councils, bodies elected by the
+people, and consequently more or less under the influence
+of one or the other of the great political parties.
+Nearly twenty years ago, owing largely to Mr.
+William Welsh, who became the first President of
+the Board of City Trusts, the legislature of Pennsylvania
+took from the control of councils all the
+charitable trusts of the city and committed them to
+this board. If any political influences were ever unworthily
+exerted in the former board it ceased when
+the judges of the city of Philadelphia and the judges
+of the Supreme Court named the first directors of the
+City Trusts. These directors are all your friends;
+they give much thought, much labor, much anxiety
+to your well-being, desiring to do the best things
+that are possible to be done for your welfare, and to
+do them in the best way. Many of them have been
+successful in finding desirable situations for such of
+your number as were prepared to accept such places.
+I am glad to say that I have three college boys associated
+with me in my business; Mr. Stuart had two;
+Mr. Michener has two; General Wagner has two,
+and Mr. Rawle has had one, and probably other
+members of the board have also, so you see our interest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span>
+in you is not limited to the time which we
+spend here and in the office on South Twelfth street,
+but we are ever on the lookout for things which we
+hope may be to your advantage.</p>
+
+<p>2. This splendid estate, which you enjoy; these
+beautiful buildings, which were erected for your use;
+these grounds, which are so well kept and which are
+so attractive to you and to the thousands of visitors
+that come here; these school-rooms, which we determine
+shall lack nothing that is desirable to make
+them what they ought to be; the text-books which
+you use in school, the best that can be found; the
+teachers, the most accomplished and skilful that can
+be procured; the prefects and governesses chosen
+from among many applicants, and because they are
+supposed to be the best, all your care-takers; all who
+have to do with you here are chosen because they
+are supposed to be well qualified to discharge their
+duties most successfully. The arrangements for your
+lodging in the dormitories, the furniture and food of
+your tables, the well-equipped infirmary for the sick,
+are such as, in the judgment of the trustees, the great
+founder himself would approve if he could be consulted.
+Truly, this gives occasion for special thanksgiving
+on this Thanksgiving Day.</p>
+
+<p>3. <em>You all have a birthright.</em></p>
+
+<p>What that meant in the earliest times we do not
+fully know; but it meant at least to be the head or
+father of the family, a sort of domestic priesthood,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span>
+the chief of the tribe, or the head of a great nation.
+In our own times, in Great Britain the first-born son
+has by right of birth the headship of the family, inheriting
+the principal part of the property, and he is
+the representative of the estate. They call it there
+the <em>law of primogeniture</em>, or the law of the first-born.
+In our country there is no birthright in families,
+and we have no law to make the eldest born in any
+respect more favored than the other and younger
+children.</p>
+
+<p>But you Girard boys have a birthright which
+means a great deal. The founder of this great
+school left the bulk of his large estate to the city of
+Philadelphia, for the purpose of adopting and educating
+a certain class of boys, very particularly described,
+to which you belong. The provision he
+made for you was most liberal. Everything that his
+trustees consider necessary for your careful support
+and thorough education is to be provided. Nothing
+is to be wanting which money wisely expended can
+supply. <em>This is your birthright.</em> No earthly power
+can take it from you without your consent. No
+commercial distress, no financial panic, no change of
+political rulers, no combination of party politics can
+interfere with the purpose of the founder. Nothing
+but the loss of health or life, or your own misconduct,
+can deprive you of this great birthright. Do
+you boys fully appreciate this?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span></p>
+
+<p>Now, is it to be supposed that there is a boy here
+who is willing to <em>sell</em> this birthright as Esau did?</p>
+
+<p>Is there a boy here who is corrupt in heart, so
+profane and foul in speech, so vicious in character, so
+wicked in behavior, as to be an unfit companion for
+his schoolmates, and who cannot be permitted to remain
+among them? Is there a boy here who, for
+the gratification of a vicious appetite, will <em>sell</em> that
+privilege of support and education so abundantly provided
+here? So guarded is this trust, so sacred almost,
+that no human being can take it away from
+you: will you deliberately <em>throw it away</em>? The
+wretched Esau, in the old Jewish history, under the
+pressure of hunger and faintness, sold his birthright
+with all its invaluable privileges; will you, with no
+such temptation as tried him, with no temptation
+but the perverseness of your own will and your love
+of self-indulgence, will you <em>sell your birthright</em>? Bitterly
+did Esau regret his folly; earnestly did he try
+to recover what he had lost, but it was too late; he
+never did recover his lost birthright, though he
+sought it carefully and with tears. And he had no
+one to warn him beforehand as I am warning you.</p>
+
+<p>Boys, if you pass through this college course not
+making the best use of your time, or if you allow
+yourselves to fall into such evil habits as will make
+it necessary to send you away from the college—and
+this after all the kind words that have been spoken
+to you and the faithful warnings that have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span>
+given you—you will lose that which can never be
+restored to you, which can never be made up to you
+in any other way elsewhere. You will prove yourselves
+more foolish, more wicked than Esau, for you
+will lose more than he did, and you will do it
+against kinder remonstrances than he had.</p>
+
+<p>4. There is another feature of the management
+here which gives especial satisfaction. When a boy
+leaves the college to go to a place which has been
+chosen for him, or which he has found by his own
+exertions, he is looked after until he reaches the age
+of twenty-one, by an officer especially appointed,
+and as we believe well adapted to that service.
+And many a boy who has found himself in unfavorable
+circumstances and under hard task-masters,
+with people who have no sympathy with his youth
+and inexperience, many such have been visited and
+encouraged, helped and so assisted towards true
+success.</p>
+
+<p>5. But what is there to make each particular boy
+thankful to-day? Why you are all in good health;
+and if you would know how much that means go to
+the infirmary and see the sick boys there, who are
+not able to be in the chapel to-day, not able to be
+in the play-grounds, who are looking out of the
+windows with wistful eyes, very much desiring to be
+with you and enjoying your plays but cannot. God
+bless them.</p>
+
+<p>You are all comfortably clothed; those of you who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>
+are less robust have warmer clothing, and all of
+you are shielded and guarded as well as the trustees
+know how to care for you, so that you may be trained
+to be strong men.</p>
+
+<p>You are all having a holiday; no school to-day;
+no shop-work to-day; no paying marks to-day; no
+punishments of any kind to-day. Why? It is
+Thanksgiving Day and everything that is disagreeable
+is put out of sight and ought to be put out of
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>You are all to have a good dinner. Even now,
+while we are here in the chapel and while some of
+you are growing impatient at my speech, think of
+the good dinner that is now cooking for you. Think
+of the roast turkey, the cranberry sauce, the piping-hot
+potatoes, the gravy, the dressing, the mince pies,
+the apples afterwards, and all the other good things
+which make your mouths water, and make my mouth
+water even to mention the names. Then after dinner
+you go to your homes, and you have a good time
+there.</p>
+
+<p>The last thing I mention which you ought to be
+thankful for is having a short speech.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp169">
+  <img src="images/i_fp169.jpg" alt="" title="">
+  <div class="caption">
+    <p class="noic"><i>Professor W. H. Allen.</i></p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ALLEN">ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT ALLEN.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">September 24, 1882.</p>
+
+<p class="noic">“<i>Remember how He spake unto you.</i>”</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">These are the words of an angel. They were
+spoken in the early morning while it was yet dark,
+to frightened and sorrowful women, who had gone to
+the sepulchre of Christ with spices and ointments to
+embalm his body. These women fully expected to
+find the body of their Lord; for as they went they
+said, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the
+sepulchre?” When they reached the place, they
+found the stone was rolled away and the grave was
+empty. And one of them ran back to the disciples
+to tell them that the grave was open and the body
+gone. Those that remained went into the sepulchre
+and saw two men in glittering garments, who, seeing
+that the women were perplexed and afraid, standing
+with bowed heads and startled looks, said, with a
+shade of reproof in their tone, “Why seek ye the
+living among the dead? He is not here, he is
+risen.” And, perhaps, seeing that the women could
+hardly believe this, it was added, “Remember
+how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
+saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span>
+hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third
+day rise again.’”</p>
+
+<p>The words that are quoted as having been spoken
+by Jesus to his disciples were spoken in Galilee six
+months or more before this, and as they were not
+clearly understood at the time, it is not so very
+strange that they should have been forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>It had been well if these sorrowing women, as well
+as the other disciples of the Lord, had remembered
+other words, and all the words that the Lord spake
+to them, not only while in Galilee, but in all other
+places. The world would be better to-day if those
+gracious words had been more carefully laid to heart.</p>
+
+<p>I hope the words of my text will bear, without too
+much accommodation, the use which I shall make of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Almost three-quarters of a century ago, a boy was
+born in the family of a New England farmer. It
+was in the then territory of Maine, and near the
+little city of Augusta. The family were plain, poor
+people, and the child grew up, as many other farmers’
+children grew up, accustomed to plain living and
+such work as children could properly be set to do.
+In the winter he went to school, as well as at other
+times when the farm work was not pressing. It
+would be very interesting to know, if we <em>could</em> know,
+whether there was anything peculiar in the early
+disposition and habits of this boy, or whether he
+grew up with nothing to distinguish him from his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span>
+playmates. If we could only know what children
+would grow up to be distinguished men, we should, I
+think, be very careful to observe and record any
+little traits and peculiarities of their early childhood.
+The boy of whom I am speaking, and whom you
+know to be William Henry Allen, seems to have
+been prepared at the academy for college, which he
+entered at the advanced age of twenty-one years.
+Four years after, he was graduated, and at once he
+set out to teach the classics in a little town in the
+interior of the State of New York. While engaged
+in that seminary, he was called to a professorship in
+Dickinson College, at Carlisle, in our own State of
+Pennsylvania. In Dickinson College he held successively
+the chairs of chemistry and the natural
+sciences, and that of English literature, until his
+resignation, in 1850, to accept the presidency of
+Girard College.</p>
+
+<p>From this time until his death, except during an
+interval of five years, his life was spent here. For
+twenty-seven years he gave himself to the work of
+organizing and directing the internal affairs of this
+college, with an interest and efficiency which, until
+within the last year, never flagged. It is not possible
+at this day for any of us to appreciate the
+difficulties he had to encounter in the early days
+of the college, but we do know that he did the work
+well.</p>
+
+<p>See how he was prepared for the work he did.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span>
+He was a lover of study. When only eight years
+old he had learned the English grammar so well
+that his teacher said he could not teach him anything
+further in that study. There was an old
+family Bible that was very highly prized by all the
+family, and his father told him that if he would
+read that Bible through by the time he was ten years
+old, it should be his property. The boy did so, and
+claimed and received his reward. That book is now
+in the possession of his daughter (Mrs. Sheldon).
+This early reading of the Bible will, perhaps, account
+for President Allen’s unusual familiarity with the
+Scriptures, as evinced in the richness of his prayers
+in this school chapel.</p>
+
+<p>The school to which he went in his early youth
+was three miles from his father’s house; and in all
+kinds of weather, through the heats of summer and
+the deep snows of winter, he plodded his way.</p>
+
+<p>I have said that his parents were not rich; and
+this young man pushed his way through college by
+teaching, thus earning the money necessary for his
+support. This may account for the fact that he
+entered college at the age when most young men
+are leaving it, viz., twenty-one years. It did not
+seem to him that it was a great misfortune to
+be poor; but it was an additional inducement
+to call forth all his powers to insure success.
+He knew that he must depend upon himself if
+he would succeed in life. And so he was not satisfied<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span>
+with qualifying himself for one chair in a college,
+but, as at Dickinson, he held two or three
+chairs. He could teach the classics or mathematics
+or general literature, or chemistry or natural sciences.
+Not many men had qualities so diversified, or
+knew so well how to put them to good account. You
+know very well that this liberal culture was not acquired
+without hard work. And this hard work he
+must have done in early life, before cares and duties
+crowded him, as they will absorb all of us the older
+we grow.</p>
+
+<p>“Remember how He spake unto you.” I would
+give these words a two-fold meaning—remember
+<em>what</em> he said and <em>how</em> he said it.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-seven years is a long time in the life of
+any man, even if he has lived more than three-score
+years and ten. In all these years President Allen
+was going in and out before the college boys, saying
+good and kind words to them.</p>
+
+<p>How often he spoke to you in the chapel! It was
+<em>your church</em>, and the only church that you could attend,
+except on holidays. His purpose was that this
+chapel service should be worthy of you, and worthy
+of the day. So important did he consider it, that
+when his turn came to speak to you here, he prepared
+himself carefully. He always wrote his little
+discourses, and the best thoughts of his mind and
+heart he put into them. He thought that nothing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>
+that he or any other speaker could bring was too
+good for you.</p>
+
+<p>And then the tones of his voice, the manner of
+his instruction; how gentle, kind, conciliating. He
+remembered the injunction of Scripture, “The servant
+of the Lord must not strive.” You will never
+know in this life how much he bore from you, how
+long he bore with your waywardness, your thoughtlessness;
+how much he loved you. He always called
+you “his boys.” No matter though some of you are
+almost men, he always called you “his boys,” much
+as the apostle John in his later years called his disciples
+his “little children.” For President Allen felt
+that in a certain sense he was a father to you all.</p>
+
+<p>For some time past you knew that his health was
+declining. You saw his bowed form and his feeble,
+hesitating steps. In the chapel his voice was tremulous
+and feeble. The boys on the back benches
+could not always understand his words distinctly.
+But you knew that he was in earnest in all that he
+did say. And for many months he was not able to
+speak at all in the chapel. On the last Founder’s
+Day he was seated in a chair, with some of his family
+about him, looking at the battalion boys as they were
+drilled, but the fatigue was too great for him. And
+as the summer advanced into August, and the people
+in his native State were gathering their harvests, he,
+too, was gathered, as a shock of corn fully ripe.</p>
+
+<p>When Tom Brown heard of the death of his old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>
+master, Arnold of Rugby, he was fishing in Scotland.
+It was read to him from a newspaper. He at once
+dropped everything and started for the old school.
+He was overwhelmed with distress. “When he
+reached the station he went at once to the school.
+At the gates he made a dead pause; there was not a
+soul in the quadrangle, all was lonely and silent and
+sad; so with another effort he strode through the
+quadrangle, and into the school-house offices. He
+found the little matron in her room, in deep mourning;
+shook her hand, tried to talk, and moved nervously
+about. She was evidently thinking of the
+same subject as he, but he couldn’t begin talking.
+Then he went to find the old verger, who was sitting
+in his little den, as of old.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Where is he buried, Thomas?’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Under the altar in the chapel, sir,’ answered
+Thomas. ‘You’d like to have the key, I dare say.’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Thank you, Thomas; yes, I should, very much.’</p>
+
+<p>“‘Then,’ said Thomas, ‘perhaps you’d like to go
+by yourself, sir?’”</p>
+
+<p>“So he walked to the chapel door and unlocked it,
+fancying himself the only mourner in all the broad
+land, and feeding on his own selfish sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>“He passed through the vestibule and then paused
+a moment to glance over the empty benches. His
+heart was still proud and high, and he walked up to
+the seat which he had last occupied as a sixth-form
+boy, and sat down there to collect his thoughts. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span>
+memories of eight years were all dancing through
+his brain, while his heart was throbbing with a dull
+sense of a great loss that could never be made up to
+him. The rays of the evening sun came solemnly
+through the painted windows over his head and fell
+in gorgeous colors on the opposite wall, and the perfect
+stillness soothed his spirit. And he turned to
+the pulpit and looked at it; and then leaning forward,
+with his head on his hands, groaned aloud.
+‘If he could have only seen the doctor for one five
+minutes, have told him all that was in his heart,
+what he owed him, how he loved and reverenced
+him, and would, by God’s help, follow his steps in life
+and death, he could have borne it all without a murmur.
+But that he should have gone away forever,
+without knowing it all, was too much to bear.’
+‘But am I sure that he does not know it all?’ The
+thought made him start. ‘May he not even now
+be near me in this chapel?’”</p>
+
+<p>And with some such feelings as these I suppose
+many a boy will come back to the college and stand
+in this chapel, and recall the impressions he has received
+from President Allen here. But his voice
+will never be heard here again. Nothing remains
+but to “remember how he spake unto you.”</p>
+
+<p>I am sure you will never forget the day he lay in
+his coffin in the chapel, and you all looked on his
+face for the last time. What could be more impressive
+than the funeral? The crowded house, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>
+waiting people, the bowed heads, the solemn strains
+of the organ, the sweet voices of children singing
+their beautiful hymns, the open coffin, the appropriate
+address given by one of his own college boys,
+the thousand and more boys standing in open ranks
+for the procession to pass through to the college gates,
+the burial at Laurel Hill cemetery, where many of
+his pupils already lie, and where many more will follow
+him in the coming years—all these thoughts
+make that funeral day one long to be remembered.</p>
+
+<p>Let us accept this as the will of Providence.
+There is nothing to regret for him; but for us, the
+void left by his withdrawal. He is leading a better
+life now than ever before. He has just begun to live,
+and the best words I can say to you are, “remember
+how he spake unto you.”</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“But when the warrior dieth,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">His comrades in the war</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">With arms reversed and muffled drums</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Follow the funeral car.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">They show the banners taken,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">They tell his battles won,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And after him lead his masterless steed,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">While peals the minute gun.</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“Amid the noblest of the land</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Men lay the <em>sage</em> to rest,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And give the <em>bard</em> an honored place,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">With costly marble drest,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In the great Minster transept</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Where lights like glories fall,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And the choir sings and the organ rings</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Along the emblazoned wall.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="MESSAGE">A YOUNG MAN’S MESSAGE TO BOYS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">December 7, 1884.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">When I came here in April last I brought with
+me some friends, among whom was my son. And I
+said to him that some day I should wish <em>him</em> to
+speak to you. He had so recently been a college
+boy himself, graduating at the University of Pennsylvania,
+and he was so fond of the games and plays
+of boys, and withal was so deeply interested in boys
+and young men, that I thought he might be able to
+say something that would interest you, and perhaps
+do you good.</p>
+
+<p>At a recent meeting of the proper committee his
+name was added to the list of persons who may be
+invited to speak to you. The last time I was at
+the college President Fetterolf asked me when my
+son could come to address you, and I replied that he
+was sick.</p>
+
+<p>That sickness was far more serious than any of
+us supposed; there was no favorable change, and at
+the end of twelve days he passed away.</p>
+
+<p>My suggestion that he might be invited to speak<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>
+here led him to prepare a short address, which was
+found among his papers, and has, within a few days,
+been handed to me. It was written with lead pencil,
+apparently hastily; and certainly lacking the final
+revision, which in copying for delivery he would
+have given it.</p>
+
+<p>I have thought it would be well for me to read to
+you this address; but I did not feel that I had any
+right to revise it, or to make any change in it whatever;
+so I give it precisely as he wrote it, adding
+only a word here and there which was omitted in
+the hurried writing.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
+and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a
+city.—Proverbs xvi. 32.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I want you to look with me at the latter part of
+each of these sentences, and see if we can’t understand
+a little better what Solomon meant by such
+words “<em>the mighty</em>” and “<em>he that taketh a city</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>Do you remember the wonderful dream that came
+to Solomon just after he had been made king over
+Israel? How God came to him while he was sleeping
+and said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee,”
+and how Solomon, without any hesitation, asked for
+wisdom. And God gave him wisdom, so that he
+became famous far and wide, and people from nations
+far off came to see him and learn of him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p>
+
+<p>If I were to ask you now who was the wisest man
+that ever lived, you would say “Solomon.” Often
+you have heard one person say of another, “he is as
+wise as Solomon.” I cannot stop here to tell you of
+the way in which Solomon showed this wonderful
+gift. But his knowledge was not that of books, because
+there were not a great many books then for
+him to read. It was the knowledge which showed
+him how to do <em>right</em>, and how to be a <em>good ruler</em>
+over his people. And because he chose such wisdom,
+the very best gift of God, God gave him besides,
+riches and everything that he could possibly desire.
+His horses and chariots were the most beautiful and
+the strongest; his armies were famous everywhere
+for their splendid arms and armor. He had vast
+numbers of servants to wait upon him, and to do
+his slightest wish. Presents, most magnificent, were
+sent to him by the kings of all the nations round
+about him. No king of Israel before or after him
+was so great and so powerful. And, greatest honor of
+all, God permitted him to build a temple for him—what
+his father David had so longed to do and was
+not allowed, God directed Solomon to do. David’s
+greatest desire before he died was to build a house
+for God. The ark of God had never had a house to
+rest in, and David was not satisfied to have a splendid
+palace to live in himself, and to have nothing
+but a <em>tent</em> in which to keep God’s ark. But God
+would not suffer him to do that, although he was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>
+king whom he loved so much. No, that must be
+kept for his son Solomon to do. David had been
+too great a fighter all his life; he had been at war;
+he had driven back his enemies on all sides, and had
+made God’s people a nation to be feared by all their
+foes. So David was a “mighty man,” and while
+Solomon was growing up he must have heard every
+one talking of the wonderful things his father had
+done from his youth up—the adventures he had had
+when he was only a poor shepherd lad keeping his
+flocks on the hills about Bethlehem. And how often
+must he have been told that splendid story, which
+we never grow tired of hearing, of his fight with the
+giant Goliath; and when he was shown the huge
+pieces of armor, and the great sword and spear, he
+surely knew what it was for a man to be “mighty”
+and “great.” And when his old father withdrew
+from the throne and made him king, he found himself
+surrounded on all sides with the results of his
+father’s wars and conquests, and soon knew that he
+also was “a mighty man.”</p>
+
+<p>There is not a boy here who does not want to be
+“great.” Every one of you wants to make a name
+for himself, or have something, or do something, that
+will be remembered long after he is dead.</p>
+
+<p>If I should ask you what that something is, I suppose
+almost all of you would say, “I want to be rich,
+so rich that I can do whatever I like; that I need
+not do any work; that I can go where I please.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>
+Some of you would say, “I would travel all over the
+world and write about what I see, so that long after
+I am dead people will read my books and say, ‘what
+a great man he was!’” Some of you would say, “I
+would build great houses, and fill them with all the
+richest and most beautiful goods. I would have
+whole fleets of ships, sailing to all parts of the world,
+bringing back wonderful things from strange countries;
+and when I would meet people in the street
+they would stand aside to let me pass, saying to one
+another, ‘there goes a great man; he is our richest
+merchant; how I should like to be as great as he.’”</p>
+
+<p>And still another would say: “I don’t care anything
+about books or beautiful merchandise. No, I’ll
+go into foreign countries and become a great fighter,
+and I shall conquer whole nations, so that my enemies
+shall be afraid of me, and I shall ride at the head of
+great armies, and when I come home again the people
+will give me a grand reception; will make arches
+across the street, and cover their houses with flags,
+and as I ride along the street the air will be filled
+with cheers for the great general.”</p>
+
+<p>And so each one of you would tell me of some
+way in which he would like to be great. I should
+think very little of the boy who had no ambition,
+one who would be entirely content to just get along
+somehow, and never care for any great success so
+long as he had enough to eat and drink and to
+clothe himself with, and who would never look ahead<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span>
+to set his mind on obtaining some great object. It is
+perfectly right and proper to be ambitious, to try and
+make as much as possible of every opportunity that
+is presented. No one can read that parable of the
+master who called his servants to account for the
+talents he had given them, and not see that God
+gives us all the blessings and advantages that we
+have, in order that we may have an opportunity to
+put them to such good use, that He may say to us
+as the master in the parable said to his servants,
+“Well done, good and faithful servant.”</p>
+
+<p>So it is right for you to want to be great, and I
+want to try and tell you how to accomplish it. If
+you were sure that I could tell you the real secret of
+success you would listen very carefully to what I
+had to say, wouldn’t you? Some of you would even
+write down what I said. Then write <em>this</em> down in
+your hearts; for, following this, you will be greater
+than “the mighty:” “He that is slow to anger is
+better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit,
+than he that taketh a city.” Are some of you disappointed?
+do you say, “<em>Is that all?</em> I thought he
+was about to tell us how we could make lots of
+money.” Ah, if you would only believe it, and follow
+such advice, such a plan were to be far richer
+than the man who can count his wealth by millions.
+But look at it in another way. What sort of a boy
+do you choose for the captain of a base-ball nine or a
+foot-ball team? What sort of a <em>man</em> is chosen for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span>
+a high position? Is he one who loses all control
+over himself when something happens to vex him,
+and flies into a terrible passion when some one happens
+to oppose him? No; the one you would select
+for any place of great responsibility is he who can
+keep his head clear, who will not permit himself to
+get angry at any little vexation, who rules his own
+spirit—and can there be anything harder to do? I
+tell you “no.”</p>
+
+<p>So, I have told you how to be successful, and at
+the same time I tell you, there is nothing harder to
+do; and now I go on still further, and say you can’t
+follow such advice by yourself, you must have some
+help. Is it hard to get? No, it is offered to you
+freely; you are urged to ask for it, and you are
+assured that it is certain to come to all who want it.
+Will such help be sufficient? Much more than sufficient,
+for He who shall help you is abundantly able
+to give you more than you ask or think. It is God
+who tells you to come to him, and he shall make
+you more than “the mighty,” greater than he which
+taketh the city; yes, for the greatness he shall bestow
+upon those who come to him is far above all
+earthly greatness. He shall be with you when you
+are ready to fly into a furious temper, when you lift
+your hand to strike, when you would <em>kill</em> if you
+were not afraid; but when the wish is in your heart,
+yes, then, even then, He is beside you. He looks
+upon you in divine mercy, and if you will only let<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>
+him, will rebuke the foul spirit and command him to
+come out of you, and your whole soul shall be filled
+with peace. Why won’t you listen to his pleading
+voice, and let him quiet the dreadful storm of anger?
+And when the hot words fly to your lips, remember
+his soft answer that turns away wrath. Then will
+you have won a greater battle than any ever fought;
+for you will have conquered your own wicked spirit,
+and by God’s grace you are a conqueror. And the
+reward for a life of such self-conquest shall be a
+crown of life that fadeth not away. Won’t you accept
+<em>such</em> greatness?</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>Such are the words he would have spoken to you
+had his life been spared; and he would have
+spoken them with the great advantage of a <em>young
+man</em> speaking to <em>young men</em>. Now they seem like a
+message from the heavenly world. It is more than
+probable that in copying for delivery he would have
+expanded some of the thoughts and have made the
+little address more complete. Perhaps it would be
+better for me to stop here; ... but there are a few
+words which I would like to say, and it may be that
+they can be better said now than at any other time.</p>
+
+<p>I want to say again, what I have so often said,
+that a boy may be fond of all innocent games and
+plays and yet be a Christian. Some of you may
+doubt this. You may believe and say, that religion
+interferes with amusements and makes life gloomy.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>
+Here is an example of the contrary; for I do not see
+how there <em>could</em> be a happier life than my son’s
+(there never was a shadow upon it), and no one
+could be more fond of base-ball and foot-ball and
+cricket and tennis than he was; and yet he was a
+simple-hearted Christian boy and young man. And
+with all this love of innocent pleasure and fun he
+neglected no business obligations, nor did he fail in
+any of the duties of social or family life. In short,
+I can wish no better thing for you boys than that
+your lives may be as happy and as beautiful as his
+was.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="TRUTHFUL">A TRUTHFUL CHARACTER.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noic">April, 1889.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p2">Can anything be more important to a young life
+than truthfulness? Is character worth anything at
+all if it is not founded on truth? And are not the
+temptations to untruthfulness in heart and life constantly
+in your path?</p>
+
+<p>It is most interesting to think that every life here
+is an individual life, having its own history, and in
+many respects unlike every other life. When I see you
+passing through these grounds, going in procession to
+and from your school-rooms, your dining halls and
+your play-grounds, the question often arises in my
+thoughts, how many of these boys are walking in the
+truth?</p>
+
+<p>If I were looking for a boy to fill any position
+within my gift, or within the reach of my influence,
+and should seek such a boy among you, I should ask
+most carefully of those who know you best, whether
+such and such a boy were truthful; and not in speech
+merely (that is, does he answer questions truthfully),
+but is he open and frank in his life? Does he cheat
+in his lessons or in his games? Does he shirk any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span>
+duty that is required of him in the shops? When
+he fails to recite his lessons accurately, is he very
+ready with his excuses trying to justify himself for
+his failure, or does he admit candidly that he did not
+do his best, and does he promise sincerely to do better
+in the future? And is he one who may be depended
+upon to give a fair account of any incident that may
+come up for investigation? Sometimes there are
+wrong things done here, done from thoughtlessness
+often; may such a boy as I am looking for be depended
+upon to say what he knows about it, in a
+manly way, so as to screen the innocent, and, if
+necessary, expose the guilty? In other words, is he
+trustworthy, worthy of trust, can he be depended on?</p>
+
+<p>It may not be easy for one at my time of life to
+say just what a boy ought to be, if he is to make
+much of a man. But we who think much of this
+subject have an idea of what we would like the boys
+to be, in whom we are especially interested. And
+if I borrow from another a description of what I
+mean, it is because this author has said it better than
+I can.</p>
+
+<p>“A real boy should be generous, courteous among
+his friends and among his school-fellows; respectful
+to his superiors, well-mannered. He must avoid
+loud talk and rough ways; must govern his tongue
+and his temper; must listen to advice and reproof
+with humility. He must be a gentleman. He
+must not be a sneak or a bully; he must neither<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>
+cringe to the strong nor tyrannize over the weak.
+To his teachers he must be obedient, for they have
+a right to require obedience of him; he must be
+respectful, because the true gentleman always respects
+those who are wiser, more experienced, better
+informed than himself. He must apply himself to
+his lessons with a single aim, seeking knowledge
+for its own sake, and earnestly striving to make
+the best possible use of such faculties as God has
+given him. He must do his best to store his mind
+with high thoughts by a careful study of all that
+is beautiful and pure. In his sports and plays he
+must seek to excel, if excellence can be obtained
+by a moderate amount of time and energy; but
+he must remember, that though it is a fine thing
+to have a healthy body and a healthy mind, it is
+neither necessary nor admirable to develop a muscular
+system like that of an athlete or a giant.
+Whatever falls to his hands to do, he must do it
+with his might, assured that God loves not the idle
+or dishonest worker. He must remember that life
+has its duties and responsibilities as well as its
+pleasures; that these begin in boyhood, and that
+they cannot be evaded without injury to heart and
+mind and soul. He must train himself in all good
+habits, in order that these may accompany him
+easily in later life; in habits of method and order,
+of industry and perseverance and patience. He
+must not forget that every victory over himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span>
+smooths the way for future victories of the same
+kind; and the precious fruit of each moral virtue
+is to set us on higher and better ground for conquests
+of principle in all time to come. He must
+resolutely shut his ears and his heart to every foul
+word and every improper suggestion, every profane
+utterance; guarding himself against the first approaches
+of sin, which are always the most insidiously
+made. He must not think it a brave or
+plucky thing to break wholesome rules, to defy
+authority, to ridicule age or poverty or feebleness,
+to pamper the appetite, to imitate the ‘fast,’ to
+throw away valuable time; to neglect precious opportunities.
+He must love truth with a deep and passionate
+love, abhorring even the shadow of a lie,
+even the possibility of a falsehood. True in word,
+true in deed, he shall walk in the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>I say then to you boys, do your best; be honest
+and diligent; be resolute to live a pure and honorable
+life; speak the truth like boys who hope to
+be gentlemen; be merry if you will, for it is good
+to be merry and wise; be loving and dutiful sons,
+be affectionate brothers, be loyal-hearted friends, and
+when you come to be men you will look back to
+these boyish days without regret and without shame.</p>
+
+<p>Something like this is my ideal of a boy. I
+am very desirous that your future shall be bright
+and useful and successful, and I, and others who
+are interested in your welfare, will hope to hear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>
+nothing but good of you; but we can have no
+greater joy than to hear that you are walking in
+the truth. Some of you may become rich men;
+some may become very prominent in public affairs;
+you may reach high places; you may fill a large
+space in the public estimation; you may be able
+and brilliant men; but there is nothing in your
+life that will give us so much joy as to hear
+that “you are walking in the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>Truth is the foundation of all the virtues, and
+without it character is absolutely worthless. No
+gentleness of disposition, no willingness to help
+other people, no habits of industry, no freedom
+from vicious practices, can make up for want of
+truthfulness of heart and life. Some persons think
+that if they work long and hard and deny themselves
+for the good of others, and do many generous
+and noble acts and have a good reputation,
+they can even tell lies sometimes and not be much
+blamed. But they forget that reputation is not
+character; that one may have a very good reputation
+and a very bad character; they forget that the
+reputation is the outside, what we see of each other,
+while the character is what we are in the heart.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap">
+<div class="tnote">
+<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Printer’s, punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently
+   corrected.</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p>
+
+<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN AND BOYS ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will
+be renamed.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
+States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away&#8212;you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
+or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the
+Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work
+on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the
+phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+</div>
+
+<blockquote>
+  <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+    other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
+    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
+  </div>
+</blockquote>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; License.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format
+other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain
+Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+provided that:
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+        the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method
+        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has
+        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+        Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+        Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        works.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+        receipt of the work.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+        distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.
+    </div>
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right
+of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;&#8217;s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state&#8217;s laws.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
+public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
+visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+</div>
+
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..393d475
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/cover_sm.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/cover_sm.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b6053e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/cover_sm.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_fp025.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp025.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b59c26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp025.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_fp051.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp051.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e29105
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp051.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_fp069.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp069.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a681233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp069.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_fp129.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp129.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3817c11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp129.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_fp169.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp169.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71c3792
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_fp169.jpg
diff --git a/old/69531-h/images/i_frontis.jpg b/old/69531-h/images/i_frontis.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2903eab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/69531-h/images/i_frontis.jpg
author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 06:06:27 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 06:06:27 -0800
commit	9ee768a9d54c79f1f99254ec4c8058123ff3fccb (patch)
tree	90c49b4c032a7b457b5c390bc1345fb82dcca051
parent	966a8802931e8a6079e815e200d9a274288f60b9 (diff)