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THE DAluY EVlftNlNG TELEGRAFII PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1871
EVERY-DAY LIFE.
An Address Before the literary Societies of
Lafayette College, by Hon. A. It. Mc
Clnre
At the Lafayette College commencement, at
Eastern, Pa., last evening-, Hon A. K. McClure
spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Literary Societies: I have
chosen a common, homely theme "Every -day
Life." Many of you may hastily pronounce it
uninteresting and uninstructlve. It is not set
forth in your list of studies. It is not a favorite
field for rhetoric. Most students habitually
overlook it; too many great teachers forget or
ignore it. It does not mingle with the pleasing
inspirations which are busy weaving future gar
lands for the graduate. It may uuseule some
delightful castles reared in your moments of re
pose from weary labor; but it ii the life we each
and all must live. Let m look at it soberly,
and cultivate it kindly, and it will reward ua
with many cheering smiles and chariniug attri
butes. While our every-day life is the theme that
should be most familiar to all, it is the one im
portant part of education that Is most neglect
ed. You may become what the world of letters
calls a great scholar, aad yet be to the world,
and in the world, a novice. If successful, it will
be an accident; if nseful, it will be grudgingly
acknowledged after after you are dead, if even
then. Mere scholarship, in its relations to the
great purposes of human life, is like au Intricate
machine in unskilful hands. While it will run it
self, it is well; but when it wants direction its
beauty and its mechanism go for naught. Our
colleges and higher schools are of iuestlmablo
value, but they cannot do everything for the
student. They can store tho mind aud fit the
man for the ceaseless lesson of lite; but when
they have done, the work of learning has but
commenced. Wben you shall have passed safely
through your recitations and examinations you
are just fitted to enter the boundless school that
is ever open around us.
The world itself is the master teacher of its
countless pupils. It has no sessious or vaca
tions. Its vast books are never closed. Its
million-tongued voices are never silent. Its
precepts and admonitions, its gentle suasipus
and vengeful mandates, throng upon us
wherever we are. In its sources of instruction,
aiming to make men each day better than bo
fore, it is as varied as the handiwork of God;
and yet how many of all the living profit by
these multiplied teachings as they swiftly pass?
You have read, and doubtless often quoted,
the truism that "the proper study of mankind
in man." It is the plain, broad channel of ad
vancement, lor the study of man iuvolves the
Btudy of everything. For him all things were
created. All of tho world's beauty is but a
tribute to his excellence. All of its thorns and
brambles are but chastening rods to make him
mindful of the purpose of his being. The
grandest themes of the painter and poet relate
to his destiny. The pulpit Is inspired by the
Btory of his redemption. Senators and com
moners win distinction only as they promote
his happiness, and that heroism is enshrined
over all that has achieved his amelioration.
It is an imperative lesson to enable us to
know something of ourselves. Whether we
would pay court to the fickle goddess of fame,
or aspire to wealth, or to usefulness, or to the
nearest possible perfection of human character,
the one unending study is of Man. The supreme
problem that confronts the faithful student
from day to day, and fpom year to year, ever
revolves closely about himself, and yet it takes
in its scope all of nature's infinite variety of
ever-present and ever-changing text-books.
Lsok out upon the world's tumultuous school.
Each one so like his fellow, and all so unlike:
yet each varied understanding is bountifully
furnished with endless sources of culture. Did
all pursue the same beaten path, the world
would be monotonous, and most of itsbaiuty
and teachings would be lost. But no two have
the same aspirations, or garner the same har
vest; from the same field of thought, while the
larger number go out and como in,
from the cradle to the grave, and are
insensible of the riches they have
cast aside. The absorbed astronomer may ex
plore the heavens when opportunity is pre
sented, and then pass on through the world un
conscious of its offerings. The geologist may
delve into the earth's recesses and rocks, and
forget the living in his search for the records of
the past. The scholar of books performs only
what some other mind bids him ail else is a
sealed treasure around him. He could solve the
most abstruse problem for the student, but
would be confounded if asked to solve the prob
lem the student himself presented. Many right
eous men teach from the Holy Book, and teach
in vain. They know only what they teach, and
not to whom they teach. The thoughtless, plod
ding son of toil relects ail things save as neces
sity becomes his master. Thus do the learned
and unlearned jostle on, like truant children,
discarding the best means of usefulness to their
fellows, and dooming to pitiful thraldom the
immortal element of our existence.
If I were to call upon the learned yonng men
before me to tell of the great epochs of human
history, you would answer promptly and cor
rective I conld tell yon nothing of the world's
mutations that would be novel to you. So much
you have learned, or are learning well. Do not
understand me as assuming that you should have
earned more, for I have alreadytold you that life
is one unending lesson; and here, when all has
been done that can be done, you are only fitted
to begin the great study. Let me kindly, and,
I trust, pleasantly and profitably, lead you from
the stilted plane that youthful ambition builds,
to look into the fountains which have given the
world its varied eras. You have studied its
heroes, its sages, its patriots, its poets, its scho
lars, and its masters. 1 would now have you
stndy the sources whence they came.
The marked events of the world's history may
always be traced to the every-day life of the
peoples who were the chief actors therein. You
would point to Casar or Alexander as the great
hero of the ancients; but without Rome, just a)
she then was, what could Ciesar have beeu? and
without Greece, trained as one vast military
camp, Alexander might have been a slave
instead of the conqueror of the world. Heroes
are made and unmade, not by circumstances
alone, but heroism must ever be the joint crea
tion of the man and or the occasion the people
must find their true type with the particular ele
ments of excellence which meet their supreme
want. We speak thoughtlessly of great leaders.
forgetful that they are created, and that their
followers have can much to do with their ere a
tion. Kienzi deserved greater honors from Rome
than ever did Ciesar, yet the one was master of
Rome when she was mistress of the world, and
the other failed and fell iguomlnlously, and is
remembered only as the lastot the Tribunes,
lie was not overthrown by rivals, as was Cxsar,
when be fell at the toot 01 the statue otfompey,
The boisterous fountains of ambition which
made Brutus a murderer gradually coursed like
subtle poison through the ranks or the people.
and patrician aud plubelan alike were tainted
and paralyzed. Ciesar hai a party, and Autouy
a nartv. but Rome bad none, and the sad sequel
is told in the single sentence: "Kienzi fell from
the vices of the people. At last a mere nana
fnl of banditti possessed the capital of the once
proud empire, and her liberties were overthrown
because her people bad lot all their noblest
attributes.
Washington was perhaps the only man who
could have won the independence of the colo
nies, and yet there were those in the He vol u
tionary army no less brave, ana much more
brilliant, it was rare wisdom that called him
to the chief command. Had Arnold com
manded, be would have lived a patrio
fought desperately, aud lost his came
Between Waehlbglon and the peopla
there was a common inspiration. They mutually
led, mutually lollowed, mutually sunerea, mid
mutually triumphed. The desire for liberty t.u
came part of the every-duy life, part of t!i
every-day devotion, of the colonists; aud t'u
patriot hero became the Father of his Coiuhtrv.
Let us for a moment trauspose the two cliii-f
military leaders of the early part of the preseut
century. Transfer Napoleon to Britain aud
Wtlliugton to France. Could there have been a
Marengo, or Austerlitz, or Waterloo? Had Na
poleon been in tbe KoglUh army with all his
fiery eeal, Le would have been cashiered before
he reached a colonel's commission; and had
Wellington been nnder the eagles of France, he
would have lived and died a subaltern. But
each in his own army was a great captain, and
each typified the people he so successfully com
manded. The people of France created Napo
leon; the people of England made Arthur Welles
ley Lord Wellington. "Soldiers! from these mon
uments forty centuries look down upon you,"
were Uninspiring words of Napoleon to his vic
torious army in Egypt. "England expects every
man to do his duty,'' was the strongest appeal
that could be made to the British soldier. Na
poleon would apostrophize the "sun of Auster
fitg," and hurl his columns Into battle like the
whirlwind; while Wellington would silently,
calmly, and stubbornly maintain his position in
presence of defeat and wait for Blucher. The
people of these two powerful nations moulded
their leaders, and through them moulded their
own dcetiny. Had they been differently edu
cated and inspired, they would have created
other leaders, and the annals of their heroism
would have bees no less glorious; but the names
to which ambition so proudly points would bo
unwritten therein. Napoleon quickened and de
veloped, but did not create, the every-day life of
the people of France. The ripening fruit fell
before tbe fitting harvester, and since then
France 1ms obeyed, but never loved, another
name. Never was she so great as nnder Napo
leon I. The glory of France was in the keeping
of every household. Honesty, vigor, and ad
vancement inspired all classes, and their eveo
day life was written in Mood on the battle
fields of almost every nation of Europe, and
commemorated in the grand column in the
Place Veudome.
But peoples, like individuals, never stand
still. All exceptions to this rule are but insig
nificant. Fiance gradually and imperceptibly
declined nnder the restored Bourbon rule, and
was ready for the gnawing cancer of the secoud
empire. They worshipped tho name of Napo
leon, and gave hearty enthusiasm to the feeble
imitations of the weak pretender who usurped
the throne. They merited their ancient
renown In the Crimea and followed
their new Emperor to Italy; but
decny was indelibly stamped upon the
French nation, for her once great people were
enfeebled by studied profligacy and debauchery,
mid their decline grew more marked with each
returning year. At last the terrible avenger
came. It was not so much Prussia as the every
day life of the French people. Under the first
Napoleon Prussia miirht have defeated them in
battle, but their honor and their nationality
would have been preserved. But their destruc
tion was hastened by a feeble and corrupt and
corrupting court, until all France could not
create a leader, because her people had lost all
their quuliiies of greatness.
It would seem that an overruling Providence
meant for all mankind to have a most impressive
lesson in the late Franco-Prussian war. We read
and speak of Bismarck and Napoleon
as if thej' were its authors.
They were but borne by the flood-tide
to the grand consummation. Had Bismarck
been a Frenchman, he would have rotated from
local turbulence to exile; and had Napoleou
been a Prussian, he would have been a third-rate
author or a Boldier unknown to fame. But while
France was declining in the moral, mental, and
physical qualities of her citizens, the German
people, nnder a weak but honest ruler, were
advancing in all that develops and ennobles a
nation. It was said that the German universities
triumphed over the Anstrlana at Sadowa, and
that in the late war the soldier of Von Moltke
marched with a professor's gown in his knap
sack. These are exaggerated but significant
delineations of tbe every-day life of the German
people who won at Gravelotte, at Sedan, at
Metz, at Strasburg, and at Paris. The every
day purity, patriotism, industry, religious zeal,
and universal education of the German people,
ripened them for German unity. The Father
land Is their first love, and Bismarck was the
master architect to rebuild the lost empire.
Calm, clear-sighted German statesmanship.
called him as the best type of the nation's want,
and he saw the foundations well laid, and every
thing at band lor the imposing structure, lie
could not miscalculate the venture. The every
day life of forty millions of Germans was steadily
and surely preparing them lor the great work,
and he gathered the fulness of their Just re
ward. William now wears the imperial crown,
and the princes are marshals of the empire, aud
Bismarck is prince of the realm all wearing
well-earned honors; but the thoughtful historian
will record the story ot the households ot the
Fatherland, mouldiug the solidarity of the Ger
man peoples.
ihermopylne was made memorable by the
every-day life of the Spartan people. They
were not more courageous than the other sol
diers of Greece, but they were a law unto them
selves In warlare. Had it been an arbitrary de
cree of a bloody despot, that they should never
retreat in battle, they would have defied it. Had
it been an exceptional command of Leonldas, it
might have been disobeyed without peril to re
putation. But it was the law of the Spartan
people, made by and tor themselves conceived
by their Idolatry ot nniaitermg bravery, and it
was obeyed by tbe soldiery because each man
was but obeying himself. They could have re
tired with credit, according to the generally
accepted laws of war, as did their comrades;
but they had erected their own strange
standard of heroism. None could
hope to survive the unequal
conflict, bnt death itself was as nothing wben
weighed against the honor of the Spartan citi
zen in arms. They fought and fell, and the
column that commemorated their willing sacri
fice bore the faithful inscription "O stranger,
go tell to the Lacedemonians that we lie here iu
obedience to their laws."
You will better appreciate this important les-
ron when we glance at the startling events
which have just transpired in our own midst.
Most of you were susceptible of intelligent con
victions, touching the great war ot tue
Rebellion, from its beginning to the
consummation of its logical results. It is
said, however, that children believe that
all the mighty revolutions of war or
peace happened long before they lived, and
it is auite true of men as well. Few,
indeed, who witnessed tbe colossal struggle
between tbe North ana tne eoutn, can measure
its marvellous achievements or its momentous
consequences. Its heroes sprang from our own
everr-dav circles, and we cannot invest them
with the romance that history will weave so
beautifully around thm. The grave questions
to be decided In the cabinet and in the field, we
decided ourselves in our every-day actions.
Our every-day education and advancement
advanced the statesmen and standards of the
nation, and as a people we were almost imper
ceoublv and unconsciously working out its
crownlDg triumph Man's noblest struggle for
man. The thoughtless and superficial blamed
the nolitlcians. and charged them with the
country's misfortunes. It was not so. They
were bad enough, and may have quickened the
conflict, but when the passions ot civil strue
shall subside, and the impartial historian
comes to record tbe most thrilling annals of
civilized warfare, it will be truthfully told
that two brave and powerful peoples had
exhausted compromise on Irreconcilable dlffar
ences of national policy, and accepted the In
evitable arbitrament of the sword.
A quaint, uncouth, and untried man was
called to tbe chief magistracy of the nation to
grapple with issues of incalculable moment,
Experienced and cultivated statesmanship was
appalled at tbe consuming disorder that beset
the Government, and it had little faith in the
wisdom that was to guide the old ship through
the tempestuous sea ot bitter sectional estrauge
rue lit. But the guidiDg star of national safety
was the single-hearted and faithful ruler who
was from tbe people and of the people. I have
heard him jament in profoundest sorrow, In the
dark days of the struggle, that scarcely a score
of (senators ana congressmen were In sincere
accord with his couvictious of public duty It
was their prerogative to counsel and to com
plain it was his to decide and to act for thirty
millions of bis countrymen. They bowed to
the expedients which arose with each day he
was the guardian of the noblest patrimony that
future generations could inherit. He resisted
the imperious demands of ono-ldea Uaders,
until, iu his calm, patient reflection, he felt that
the f ulnets of time for the great epoch of the
war had been reached, lie looked solely to the
necessities and to the sentiments of the people.
"What I do about slavery and the colored race,
I do because I believe it helps to save this
Union; and what I forbear, I forbear be
cause I do not believe that it will help to
save tbe Union," was one of his trite
and pungent rentences addrewed in reply to a
sincere criticism; and it frankly defined his
whole policy on the great question that was
convulsing friends and foes alike. Had he been
a supreme trickster, or what the world calls a
trained and subtle statesman, he might have
made the wounds of the country seem less
ghastly than they were, and deluded the people
to be content with healing the surface, leaving
the terrible gangrene deeply imbedded in the
body politic, to sap its vitality and finally break
out afresh with refistless vlruleuce. Bat he
believed in self-government, and, believing, he
maintained It. At Gettysburg, in dedicating the
resting-place of the martyrs who fell in the de
cisive battle of the war, he declared the high
resolve that ever animated him "that govern
ment of the people, by the people, and for the
people, shall not perish from the earth." He
advanced only ns the people advanced.
When the' faltered nnder the grinding ex
actions and sore sacrifices of the conflict, he
parleyed until they were relnspired. His whole
administration, touching tbe threatened dis
memberment of the republic, was but the
varying record of tho every-day current and
inspiration of the great fountaia of popular
power. Its violence was severely criticized, but
it was ever rocked upon tho boisterous waves
of revolution. The whole contest, from its
inception until Its issues were finally decided,
was but one continuous revolutionary progres
sion. It was honestly and earnestly assailed by
the highest waves of partisan hostility, but he
was faithful in the one supreme purpose of
national unitj', and a people equa ly faithful
generously forgave in all minor issues whit
they could not approve. Had he been called to
the Presidency before the war, with
nothing but the ordinary political
strife to quicken the pulsations of the
national heart, he would have been but an ordi
nary, and perhaps an unsuccessful, executive.
Unschooled and unapt in political mauagemeut,
he would have been paralyzed by tho atiler and
more adroit machinations bf jealous rivals, and
the logical sequence must have been failure.
But a great occasion imposed great duties upon
the people and upon their chief ruler. It was
for them to count the cost aad to pay the ap
palling tribute. They felt, as their President so
forcibly expressed it in his first message "This
is essentially a people's contest. On the side of
the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the
World that fprm and substance of goverumeut
whose leading object is to elevate the condition
of men;" nnd the iimn of the people only could
successfully lead them, through fearful tribula
tion, to their national delherauce.
Had Mr. Lincoln been a citizen of the South,
and ardently in sympathy with its cause, he
could not have administered the government of
the Confederacy for a twelvemonth. Nor could
Mr. Davis, with his confessed administrative
ability, have conducted the war as the Execu
tive of the Union. Men of the type of these two
rulers were not rare in both the North and South
during the war, and sincerely devoted to their
respective sections; but they were felt or uufelt
just as their leading characteristics were in
accord or In antagonism with the great purpose
of their people. Had the causes of these two
civil leaders not been essentially and irrecon
cilably at variance, there would have been no
dissevered States and no war; and being vitally
discordant, their rulers and heroes were
created lor widely different purposes, aud
of necessity from the most opposite of ele
ments. ' Each was the true creation
of his own people, and I believe that both filled
the possible measure or the duties assigned
them. One was successful, and success is the
most successful of all human rewards. The
other failed, and must answer for all the errors
that failure so greedily groups and magnifies.
The Confederacy was reared upon despotism.
Its boasted corner-stone was caste. Its theory
of government avowed the inequality of human
rights beiore the law. a cold, polished, able,
and sincere despot only could crystalize such a
movement, and accept a conflict that braved
the progress ot enlightened civilization. He
was the otispring, not tbe parent, ot a mon
strous wrong. However diversified their views
may have been at the beginning, for four
years the Southern people waged
war lor the dissolution ot the Union, and proved
their devotion on many bravely-contested battle
fields. Their President was their chosen leader,
their faithful exponent, and his failure was uat
the accomplished failure of the every-day life
of the habits, convictions, and teachings, for
more than a generation, of eight millions of our
ienow-citizens.
Equally marked were the opposite require
ments of the Northern and Soutuern peoples, in
selecting their great captains from widely oppo
site characteristics of military genius. Grant
and Lee were confessedly the heroes of the sau-
guinary struggle, in their respective positions
none could have been greater none mora suc
cessful. But had Grant been a Confederate and
Lee a Federal, both would have been good sol
diersneither a successful general. Both reached
supreme command over stars which bad guttered
and paled, because they respectively filled the
measure of their people's necessities. The con
test was unequal with respect to numbers aud
resources. The couth required the genius to
husband, to protract, to give battle only wben
superior lorces were neutralized by position or
circumstances. Tbe North demanded swift aud
crushing blows, its hunger-cry was, battle
victory! One sought Its most trusted aud skilful
defender; the other called for its most persistent
and obstinate assailant. The Sauth found its
true type of a warrior early In the strife. The
North would have revolted at the Wilderness
campaign bad It been attempted one vearearlier.
In the late fall of 1801 1 heard tbe inquiry made
01 a gaiiant omcer, wno subsequently com
manded the Army ol the Potomac "VYhv
do you not advance? Tbe answer
was, We could move directly udou
Manassas and Richmond, and capture
both, but it would cost ten thousand men to do
It; and cavil was silenced. Ten times ten
thousand men were Killed, wounded, and miss
lng in military movements well meant to econo
mize the terrible sacrifice. Then half as many
more fell in the campaign of 1864, which was
wisely planned in accord with the nation a in
evitable need, and executed with marvellous
heroism and skill. Grant fought lust one de
feDeive battle during the war. He lost it, and
lost bis command. Lee conducted two offensive
campaigns, and both were disasters. "I propose
to fight it out on this line if it takes all sum
mer," was Grant's echo, from the Wilderness, of
the throbbing popular heart In the North. "A
renewal of the engagement could not be ha
zarded," were the sober words with which
Lee assured the South that though Gettysburg
was lost the army was not sacrificed. These
chieftains were the faithful creatures of the
every-day lives, the purposes, the hopes, aud
the wants of their peoples; ana their achieve
ments were but the patiently aud painfully
wrought consummation of years of mingled
thought and action in tne nonies ot the nation
Hie same causes which have created the
heroes and sages in the world's history have
been tbe chief agencies in the rapid progress of
Christian civilization. Its origin was divine, but
the means employed for its diffusion are withiu
the economy of human euorts aud influences,
and the every-day lives of sincere Christian
people are tbe most impressive and sue
cessiul of all its teachers. The every-day life of
Christ silences the scandal ot the scotter,
and it resolves the doubts of thousands whose
frailties quettion the oUrlces of faith. His was
the one perfect life among men, He was sorely
tempted, and He knew not sin. He was re
viled aud persecuted, and He prayed for His
enemies. Ills teachings were pure as the
fountain of inspiration whence they came, aud
His dally walk and actions confouuded a sinful
world that sought in vain for tbe blemish ou
His garment. Even those who reject Him as
the Messiah pronounce Him as the best of men,
and confess the happy influence of His sound
precepts and Blameless example. At Antioch
the seat of learning aud luxury and moral pro
fligacy, His bumble followers were classed as
Christians. They were distinguished from the
ways of mankind about them, and the Christian
era was thus named. Trace it thence through
the revolutions of nearly two thousand years
through the gradual triumphs of error by the
gradual corruption of the people through
tbe terrible penalties which slowly but surely
came as withering vengeance from heaven; and
through seasons of moral darkness which ap
peared as if hope had fled from man. In all
these wonderful mutations, not mere rulers or
leaders are answerable for results. They were
but the creatures of the ebbing and flowing tides
of popular degeneracy, or of the struggles of
the people for their temporal or spiritual ame
lioration. The 8tate corrupted the Church; the
Church subordinated the State, and the battle
axe smote the altars where the faithful wor
shipped. The name and ceremonies of the
Church were prostituted to the flagrant abue
of external government, until natlonas
and religious decay made civilization o
reproach. We point to the Reformation al
the date of the new Christian era that has s.
rapidly advanced and ennobled the human race
But when and what was the Reformation?
Luther and Calvin were bnt the builders of
Protestantism.' Its foundations had long been
laid, Its corner-stones had been fashioned by
centuries of consistent devotion, and all its
materials bad been framed and seasoned for the
Imposing temple. The martyr of Bohemia had
gone to tbe stake a century before, and Wick
llffe bad taught still half a century earlier. The
line of reformers is unbroken from the date of
the Son of Man until now. There were periods
wben their voices were hushed, and when they
w ould have taught as to the winds had they
dared to teach; but there were every-day lives
in every State, whose purity of character and
action were like the silver dew
drops of tho morning when the
earth is parched to desolation. And when tne
struggle began, the world was in travail for two
centuries before the Reformation was born.
The "reformers before tbe Reformation" ara
not unnoticed iu history; but before them still
were the ever-living currents of Christian life.
Like the waters of the western desert, which
hide from the weird and burning waste, but rise
gain where there are lite and beauty, Christian
excellence and Christian Influence coursed
onward through ages of degeneracy, until they
swelled up as the flood-tide that bore Luther
and Calvin to the great worn, iiuther ignited
the latent spark that Illumined the world. An
unscrupulous Dominican friar made him revolt
n gainst the poer from which he had accepted
Holy Orders. Tho first step once taken, he
earnestly sought the truth, and as he advanced
he was lollowed by many who had long aided to
influence, and had long felt the influence of.
the Reformaton. He little dreamed of the
elumberiDg unrest that was beneath the serene
surlace ol the Church. When he boldly erected
the standard of regeneration, the quickened life
of the people made his journey to Worms a
triumphal ovation, and he entered the city
chanting the song of the disenthralled, for the
Reformation had Its Marseillaise. Nor has tho
lapse of time, nor the rapid strides of enlight
ened progress, changed the chief agency ol
Christian advancement. The Church has great
teachers men whose fame is world-wide, and
many stars mav be worn in their crowns. And
we have books, and journals, and periodicals,
nnd tracts, which tell at every door ot tho way
of redemption; but above all and
successful over all, is the every-day
Christian life that is silently but surely restrain
ing evil, and telling to all around it, in gentle,
ceaseless wbispers,that the good only are happy,
hopeful and great.
I would not seek to dim the lustre that
brightens the memory of the names which are
interwoven with the world's great events. Not
one leaf should be plucked from their laurels.
They are as bright beacons along the dark ways
of our journey, and they are standards which
invite emulation. The higher you place your
standard, the higher will be the measure of your
attainment. You may fall far short of the reali
zation of your dreams, but no earnest efforts in
the right direction can be wholly lost. Still
behind you, ana lar ou yet behind
others, will be struggling mortals
to take fresh inspiration by what you, in your
laiiure, have won. But 1 would remind you ot
the sonrce, the currents, the tides, and the ha
vens of the troubled waters on which you are
about to embark, the broad ocean of life Is
made up of individual lives, and each has its
labor to perform in rearing the angry waves of
tne tempest, or in settling the calm surtace ot
the world s repose. 1 watched a clear, co U,
bubbling spring as it rose on the summit of the
rocky range, aud its little streamlet hurrying off
in iretiui murmurs to tne eastern sea. An ox
would drain its overflow, yet it is the source of
the Father of Waters. It dashes down the rude
declivities, and foams through the narrow ca
nons, loined in every ravine by its tributaries.
nntil it washes the precious metals from their
long mamg places, ana quenches the thirst ot
tne luxuriant mountain valley. Around it on
every side, through the chaos of bald cliffs and
green ranges, come many streams of
every character and temperament, not
geysers are flung into the air, and from tho
pierced rocks the cold, crystal waters flow.
btrange minerals give tbe hues of the chameleon
to some, and others encrust their fountains with
monuments created by tbe wealth they hold in
solution. Here are boiling currents and there
are tepid wells, and yonder are silver lakes;
but all, all course onward and are lost in the
great river, which in turn is lost in the vast
ocean. Did l say lost let me recall it. Not
one drop of all those various springs is lost
xsot one ot all their varied qualities goes lor
nought. Ihough all are mingled in one tern'
perament. and all become alike in their
elements, yet each has its office in
moulding the qualities of the river and
the ocean. is or are these little sources
limited to the task of shaping the character of
the great streams into which they flow. Each by
itself has some good work to do.- They have
cooled the lips of people and of creatures which
we know not of. 1'hey have gathered the
mountain riches, in single sands, during forgot
ten ages, to be ripe for the necessities of civili
zation. They have opened new fields for sci
ence, or made paths plain where the learned
nave stumbled. They nave swept tne scant ter
tility of the rugged hills, aud made broad
meadows for man to develop into beauty and
plenty. Each babbling rivulet, and each parti
cle of itself, have never been idle nor have they
toiled In vain. They may have been sent to
flood the plains, or to fill tbe mountain gorges
Thence they may have been diffused as the mists
oi itne morning, or drums in by the insatiate
eaith. But they have ever returned and ever
win. l hey may rise ana iaii in some lar d's
tant clime, to revive the drooping plant or gilt
ter on the fragrant flower; or they may come in
the scalding tear, or in the tinted rainbow, or
in the gentle dews, or in tne destruction of the
tempest.
W bat I would most pointedly illustrate la the
value and influence and duty of each individual
every-day life. But few even of the most learned
can have their names inscribed on what we call
the "scroll of fame;" but that rare attainment
ib not the true measure of a great life. I speak
oi what an classes are most prone to lor get,
ana wnai me amuiuous ana cuitivatea youth,
more than others, is likely to overlook. You
turn to the monuments of greatness as ore
served in the history of human effort; but you
are unmindful that the sources of all memorable
events, and of ail distinguished benefactors, are
the infinite individual beings who make up
the family of mankind. I would not have
you close your eyes to tbe fact that the world
bad Its Cieears ana Napoleons, its Bbakespeares
aud Miltons, Its Washington aud Jacksons, its
Clays and Calhouns, its Liucolus and Douglases.
Well-directed ambition animates to noble deeds
and adorns a noble life: but the faithful aim
tLould be to make one pure, unselfish, earnest
every-day existence. The value oi such a life
Is incalculable.' It may not be heralded to the
world, or be notable in history, but it is a per
petual well-spring of blessings to its author, and
to all wiihin the range ot Its influence, and tbe
end of its good offices cannot be measured.
All see the pure fountain, drink of Its refreshing
waters, and all of bounty and beauty around it
muteiy nut eloquently testify to the gran
deur of Its attributes, the brilliant me tour
Caches, expires, and is forgotten. The comet
comes to note the revolutions of the heavenly
bodies, and passes away. Bnt the goddess ot
night, and her countless family of merry stars,
return with the decline of day and perform
their ceaseless mission. Many are unnoticed;
millions are unknown; but they all join In lifting
the curtain ot darkness, and are as priceless
diamonds of beanty and endless sources of bene
flcei.ee. Look well to the single Individual life, and
guard with jealous care against the ambition
that would make von the prey ot a selfish strug
gle for mere distinction among men. It Is a
Mow, deadly poison to tbe Integrity ot youth.
It dwarfs and paralyzes mature manhood. It
chills all the nobler aspirations of our nature.
It hastens a vexed life to withered and untimely
senility. To such the world is a vast,
dreary solitude, save as it ministers
to one unholy, unsatisfying purpose. Their
efforts are like footprints in the shifting sands
of the desert the simoon sweeps over them and
they are effaced forever. All the hopes and alms
of an immortal being are staked upon an at
tainment which, If won, is but a hollow, fleeting
bauble, and its garlands turn to burning ashes
when they are grasped. A crowded throng has
run this thorny, cheerless course, and innumer
able throngs will persist in clouding and per
verting bright lives, only to tell in the end how
ineir aays were "worse than basely lost."
coon you win go hence, fitted for the better
efforts of mankind, and strong In the vigor of
youtn ana nope, uo back to the great school
whose portals are never closed, whose admoni
tions are never voiceless, and whose honors are
rich in lustre, and fade not when the sober
evening-time shall bid you set your house la
oraer. .Learn that he is ever a stranger in the
land who does not live for others, and that
He most lives
Who thinks the most, feels the noblest, acta tho
The whole family of man Is mingled in a mass
of mutual teachers and pupils, and each indi
vidual life should take its part in advancing and
elevating the human race. Wherever you mv
be, or however conditioned, tho field will
be boundless. Every passing day should save
some oruisea reea, or solace some bitter sorrow.
or halt some wayward step, or Inspire some
wise resoive. mis is me lesson of the pure.
the hopeful, the earnest every-day life. It Is
always being taught, and always teaching; always
lojinning some msirous gem, to note that it
eaves the world better thau It was found. Its
course of study is never finished; Its work ia
never done. It makes tbe peaceful home. whoe
door is not passed without a welcome. It
brightens the places of tbe lowly, and Is felt In
the temples of pride aud selfishness. It Is ever
sowing, ever reaping, ever garnering, and only
in the iuuness ot tune cau its jewels be counted
It is the sublimity of well-spent years, in which
Liie is reace.
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
JJOOVKlt'S RIJW ClIEtOHO.
"Tbe Changed Cross," size 22x23, the finest ever
offered to the public.
"Mary and St. John," size 22x23, a most sublime
chromo.
"Tho Beautiful Snow," size 16x22, a very Impres
sive picture.
"The Holy Family," size 22x23, a real gem.
"Delhi, DeL Co., N. Y.," size 22x23, a beautiful au
tumn scene.
Published and sold, wholesale and retail, by
J. HOOVER, No. 604 MARKET Street,
8 18smw3m Philadelphia, second floor.
LOOKINQ GLASSES, ETO.
HEW ROGERS CROUP,
"RIP VAN WINKLE."
NEW CHKOMOS.
All Chromes sold at vs per cent, below regular rates.
All of Prang's, Hoover's, and all others.
Bend for catalogue.
L.ookingSlasses,
ALL NEW STYLES,
At the lowest prices. All of our own manufacture.
JAMES 3. EAR LB & 805M8.
No. 816 CHESNUT 8TRBBT.
WHISKY, WINE. ETO.
w
1NES, LIQUORS, ENGLISH AND
SCOTCH ALES, ETC.
The subscriber begs to call the attention of
dealers, connoisseurs, and consumers generally to
bis splendid stock of foreign goods now on hand, of
his own importation, as well, also, to bis extensive
assortment of Domestic Wines, Ales, etc, among
which may be enumerated :
too cases of Clarets, high and low grades, care
fully selected from best foreign stocks.
loo casks of Sherry Wine, extra quality of finest
grade.
100 cases of Sherry Wine, extra quality of finest
grade.
29 casks of Sherry Wine, best quality of medium
grade.
25 barrels Scuppernong Wine of best quality.
CO casks Cataw ba Wine " "
10 barrels " " medium grade.
Together with a full supply of Brandies, Whiskies,
Scotch and EDgliBh Ales, Brown Btout, etc., etc.,
which he is prepared to furnish to the trade and con
sumers generally la quantities that may be re
quired, and on the most liberal terms.
P. J. JORDAN.
B 6 tf No. 220 PEAR Street,
Below Third and Walnut and above Dock street.
CAR STAIRS & ftfcCALL,
E o. 126 Walnut and 21 Granite St,,
IMPORTERS OP
Erandiei, "Wines, Gin, Olive Oil, Etc.,
WHOLESALE DEALERS IN
PURE RYE WHISKIES,
IN BOND AND TAX PAID 834
OLOTHS, OASSIMERES. ETO-
LOTH W O U 8 B.
J & W C 8 &' H U B BR,
H. 11 north 1 Street,
Sign or the Oolden Lamb,
Art w receiving a large and splendid assort men
of new styles of
FANCY OASSIMERES
Ard standard makes of DOESKINS, CLOTHS an
COATINGS, U 88 mw
AT WHOLESALE ANDjETAIL.
CROOERIES. ETC
FAMILIES RESIDING IN TIIE
RURAL DISTRICTS.
We are prepared, as heretofore, to supply families
at their country residences with EVERY DESCRIP
TION OF FINE GROCERIES, TEAS, Etc
ALBERT O. ROBERTS,
Corner ELEVENTH and VINE Sta.
OORDAOE, ETO.
CORDACB.
K&nllla, wd Tarred Ccrda:
at lew Raw Tork Priest and TtMthU.
kv edwin u. viti.ku au inn
yjHOT, TKKTH Bi. and UXBtf ASTOWn 1iuu
tor.Bo. U WATKB Bt. and U tL DKLAWAEB
trau,
PUILADUiLPHLa
S. LEU fc CO.. KOPB AND TWINE
MAM'FACrtREhS.
ANCHORS AND CHAINS,
SHIP CHANDI.BKY GOUlS, ETC
JMOf. 44 aud id NORTH WHARVld.
PROPOSALS.
DEPARTMENT OF I1IGTIWAY8,
BRIDGES. BEWITRR v.rn avvrr'tr rii
CHIEF COMMISSIONER. No. 104 SOUTH
FIFTH STREET.
.,Phtt'ait'pt". Jnne 19, 1871.
. r 0TJCE T0 CONTRACTORS.
SEALED PROPOSALS will h rt;vA at th
Office of the Chief Commissioner of High
ways, until 12 o'clock M. on THURSDAY, 2U
instant, for the construction of a sewer on the
line of nAVERFORD Street, from TiTIRTV-
EIGIITII to THIRTY-NINTH Street.
On DIAMOND and BODINE Street, from the
sonth curb line of 8USQUE4ANNA Avenue
alonp BODINE Street to DIAMOND Street,
thence aim v II AMON D 8treet to the west curb
line of AMERICAN Street.
On HALE Street, from the south curb line
of MONTGOMERY Avenue and connect with
the sewer in COLUMBIA Avenue.
On VIENNA Street, from the south curb line
of FRANKFORD Road, and connect with a
sewer already constructed on the said VIENNA
Street, to a point fifty-three feet northward of
MEMPHIS Street.
On SECOND Street, from the northwest curb
line of CUMBERLAND Street to the sewer In
YORK Street.
On MONTGOMERY Avenue, from " the
sewer in TWENTY-SECOND Street to RIDGE
Avenue.
On TWELFTH Street,-from "WALLACE to
MELON Street; eald sewer to be constructed In
the usual form with a clear Inside diameter of
three feet.
And a SEWER ACROSS MUL3ERRY Street,
at the distance of fifteen feet southerly of
MEADOW Street, in the Twenty-third ward;
said fewer to have a clear Inside diameter of
four feet, nnd constructed according to plans
and specifications furnished by the Chief En
gineer and Surveyor.
With euch manholes as may be required. The
understanding Jto be that the sewers herein ad
vertised are to be completed on or before tho 31st
day of December, 1871, and that tho contractor
bhall take bills prepared against tho property
fronting on said sewers to the amount of one dol
lar and fifty cents for each lineal foot of
front on each side of the street as so much
c&th paid; tbe balance, as limited by ordinance,
to be paid by tho city; and the contractor will
be required to keep the street and sewer in good
order for three years after the sewer is
finished.
When the Etreet Is occupied by a city passen
ger railroad track, the sewer shall he constructed
alongside of said track in such manner as not to
obstruct or interfere with the safe passage of the
cars thereon; and no claim for remuneration
shall be paid the contractor by the company
using said track, ns specified In the Act of
Assembly approved May 8, 1800.
Eacu uroposai must be accompanied by a cer
tificate that a bond has been filed in the Law
Department, as directed by ordinance of May
25, 18(50.
If the lowest bidder shall not execute
a contract within five days after .the work
is awarded, ho will bo deemed as declining, and
will be held liable on his bond for the differ
ence between his bid and the next lowest bid
der. Specifications may be had at the De
partment of Surveys, which will be strictly
adhered to. The Department of Highways re
serves the right to reject all bids not deemed
satisfactory.
All bidders may be present at the time and
place of opening the said proposals. No al
lowance will be made for rock excavation,
except by special contract.
MAIILON II. DICKINSON,
6 19 31 Chief Commissioner ot Highways.
OTlCE.-SEALED PROPOSALS, INDORSED
IN "Proposals for furnishing the Public Schools
with Lehigh or Schuylkill Coal," will be received by
the undersigned at the office of the Board of Public
Education. S. E. corner SIXTH ami ADELPHI
Streets, from shippers and miners only (pursuant to
an orriluanoe of Councils), until SATURDAY, June
4, 1S71, till 12 o'clOCKM.
The proposals, which will include the storage of
tbe coal, must e for separate districts, as fol
lows: First dlst., comprising 1, 2, 3, 4, and 26th wards.
Second " " 6, T, 8, and 9th "
Thlid " " 6, 11, 12, and 13th
Fourth " ' 10, 14, 1(5, 20, and 2th "
Fifth " " 16, IT, 18, 19, and ssth
Sixth " " stst " '
Seventh " 22t
Eighth " " 2d "
Ninth " 24 andgfth
Tenth " " 25th "
There will be two sizes required, egg and stove,
and tbe ton 2240 pounds. Each and every ton of
said coal shall be weighed at the place of delivery,
In the presence of a proper person to be deputed by
each sectional board as weigher (suoject to the ap
proval of the Committee on Supplies), who shall
keep an accurate account of each load of coal de
livered, Its exact weight as ascertained by correct
scales; and no bill shall be approved for such coal
unlets an atlldavlt of the weigher shall accompany
euch bill, setting forth by what contractor the coal
was delivered, the date of delivery of each load, the
number of tons and tbe quality of ooal delivered,
and whether weighed at the place of delivery.
Proposals will be received at the same time for
Kindling Wood and Charcoal that may be re
quired. By order Committee on Supplies.
11. W. HALLIWELL,
6 12eod t6 24 Secretary.
VUARTEEMABTER'8 OFFICE, U. 8. ARMY.
Philadelphia, Pa, June 14, 1ST1.
SEALED PROPOSALS, in triplicate, will be re
ceived at this onlce until l'i o'clock noon, SATUR
DAY, July IS. Ib71, lor building a One and One Half
dl) frtnry (-'tone Lodge, at the Culpeper Court
House (Va ) National Cemetery.
Separate bids for building this Lodge or brick are
also invited.
Sealed I'roposa's will also be received at this office
at the same time, for building a Stone or Brick Wall
and Iron Railings, with one donble and one single
iron gate, around the Fredericksburg (Va) National
Cemetery.
Bidders for the Htone or Brick Wall, and Iron
Bailings, will be required to specify the price per
linear foot, and no bid will be received that does not
conform to this requirement.
The rnbbUh resulting from the excavation for the
walls and foundation for the lodge to be removed
from tbe ground of each cemetery at the expense of
tbe successful bidder.
Plats, special ntlons, and blank form for bids
will be furnished upon application to the under
signed. 6 HENRY a HODGES,
0 14 6t Major and Quartermaster U. a. A.
E NQINES, MACHINERY, ETO.
-rfdFf PENN STEAM ENGINE AND BOILX5
22J WORKS NEAELS & LEVY, PRACTI.
CAL AND THEORETICAL ENGINEERS, MA.
CH1NI8T8. BOILER-MAKERS, BLACKSMITHS,
and FOUNDERS, having for many years been la
uccessfdl operation, and been exclusively engaged
In building and repairing Marine and River Engines,
high and tow prettaure, Iron Boilers, Water Tanks,
Propellers, etc. etc., respectfully offer their servleee
to the public as being fully prepared to oontraot for
engines of all siseM, Marine, River, and Stationary;
having seta of patterns of dlffeient slses, are pre
pared to execute orders with quick despatch. Every
description of pattern-making made at tne shortest!
notice. High and Low Pressure Fine Tubular and)
Cylinder Boilers of the best Pennsylvan'a Charcoal
Iron. Forging of all slae and kinds. Iran and
Brass Castings of all descriptions. Roll Turning,
rcrew cutting, and all other work connect!
with tbe above business. '
Drawings and specifications for all work done
the eHiabliahmeni; tree of charge, and work gua
ran teed. , w . .
The subscribers have ample wharf dock-room lot
repairs of boats, where they can lie la perfect
aafety, and are provided with shears, Diooki, fall,
etc. etc, :or rau-ng m, sato.
JOHN P. LEVY,
BEACH and PALMER Strettta.
QTRARD TUBE WORKS AND IRON CO.;
Manoiaura Plain and Oalvamsed
WholUHT-lRON pipjt
and Sundries for tias and Steam Fitters, Ptamberi
Machibinia. KnUnr Makers, Oil tteNuers, eta.
WORKS,
TWENTY-THIRD AND FILBRKT HTKEBT&
Oiff ASH WAKKIJUlSt;
Nil. U N. FIFTH bTnEl-T
LAW A l 1A1 12N T O V I I
No. 418 WALNUT STItEKT.
IViiuoIh X. Paw tor
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Fa'.tEU procured for.Inventlonji 1 168
4
l
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