Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / Oct. 18, 1876, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
4 THK OliPllANS’ FRIEND. W!'l!n;silay, October 5M. SS7t>. ■\rHAT OUGHT TO BE VEISSL'S AVSIAT IS. Well we know that the inven tors of reform are legion, and we do not propose to forthwith en list in tiie crusade against theimilti- tudinous posts of evil, rather pre ferring that the competent hosts already in the field, should battle valiantly for the right and leave us modest, jetiring ones to be the exponents of their liigh behests. One of their dictnms is that educa tion is so hedged around with traditions, and tlie educated man ydaced upon such an isolated pin- nicle, that by common consent he is shut off fiO'.n cooperation with the busy workers in the practical world, and allowed as a special fiivor to “ delve at tho roots of classic lore,” or roam the realms of the ideal, forgetting that those localities are not famous for the producti(jn of meat and bread, and that the exile there must nec essarily grow “beautifully less” feasting on fruits there gleaned, 'reaching a bo}' that a college e1ucation is not necessary to a money-making business man, and citing examj)les where the mer chant princes of to-day started in life with small capital of lore, is but tantamount to telling him that the curriculum of a college unfits him for tho practical duties of life, and then tlie time is not far dis tant wiien the business boy will look upon the college student as the antagonist of liis interest; instead of harmony tliere is dis cord. Mutually dependent they meet as livals, and tlie interests of the causes they espouse suffers in the contest. The consequences of that contest are telling on the literature of our day ; men must write for bread, and hence the crude undigested matter thrown into the press and exerting such a baneful influence. And just here the money-mak ing business man has his reward in a meagre and unsatisfying lit erature. lint then he determined that this imyiracticablo being should reap no benefits from him or his. And tlie student, educated in the belief, the traditional belief, tliat lie must use Lis time and tal- entsin the interest oiil}" of the liber al professiorV'ej resses as unworthy' of ids attaiiiiiieiits any' desire that might prompt liim to engage in manual labor. Why have the line so strongly defined between the two classes that each liesitates to intrude on the territory of the other ? Why' not rather educate your children in the belief that they are better fitted for any sta rioii by a tlioroiigli education, and that tho college student is not too dainty' an individual to apply his learning to any of the practical duties of life? “When education becomes a I'.ealthy and rugged worker in every' field,” ami is no fonger forced to be a dreamer, then will there be a holv dawiiin g that will and in order, while dav.s are set apart for various ol.ijects to devote one to the destruction of all the worthless tra.sh in the world, but what a conflagration !. The peo pled nations of our neigliboring planets tvoiild in wonder behold us and the vacuum no succeeding generation could fill uidess it prov'ed as prolific in “aiiy noth ings” as our own. It pains us to think of the emptied shelves (for tho subject of books touches us very nearly;) —one large libiary we knoiv of, would scarcely' have a whole shelf left, but there are many y'oung minds feeding at that source, and in the formative state of character rvho can estimate the damage done by one peruieious page ? Some minds will ravenously devour all that comes in their way and of many' a book thus devoured they will say in after years “w'ould tliat I never had seen it.” The Hindoos illustrate this theory of the Survival of the Fittest in its application to the human race,to challenge their cus toms is not V, hat we propose to do, but we always thought they made a great mistake in carrying tue'r theory in to execution so soon, if instead of destroying in infancy all but those that gave promise of reflecting credit on tlieir race, they would wait awhile and ed ucate them in the belief that if they' reached years of maturity without giving evidence ol some- tliing good and great they should pay' the forfeit with their unpi’ofitable lives, wdiat a stru- gle for improvement there would be ! And we doubt w'liether with the ever-to-be remembered-end the mortality' would be greater that at present, and certainlv the result could but bo gratifying. From the moral stand jioint we see no difl'erence. Of course to put into execution such a decn e now W'ithout previously prepareiiig folks W'ould depopulate the globe at any rate we are not going to advocate the adoption of aiiy suoh custom as wo would serious ly fear not survivina'. FOOEO.UETBKS. leave iuj room fur such harangues ami no demand for reform. 'I'HE SJ'IiVlV.iE OF THE FIT- 'I'EST, Holy wiit tells us what will survir e the conflagration of tlie last great day. but what would escape if the above test was en forced in all it.s rigidity, we trem ble to say, but feel morally sure that many of those limber-backed, dog-eared boiiks that wo have so often read and wish we had not, would fail to put in an appearance when the survivors were drum med together. It nvght be well, It was Professor de Morgan, we belive, who coined the word, stating at the time that tliey were worthy' of consideration as indi cating the degree of folly attaina ble by the human mind, and that through them the world miglit, from time to time, be kept inform ed of the point reached. He ev idently alluded to them thus, at a time when they were “few and far between,” and their insignifi cance made him fearless in his taunts; not so would he liave written now when the class looms up before us so numei'ous and influential, because you know we must speak resjiectfully of num bers, and then too, by far the larger part of these have the press at their command, and are wielding a po tent influence through it. They no longer occupy' the stationary', subordinate place of meters, but are holding high carnival over the world. It is an ancient fam ily since we have an account of some of its members existingjust prior to the flood, strange to say the descendants do not seem to be proud of their ancestors, per haps thougli it is due to the fact that not one of their number was preserved in the ark, but perished like the common herd in the great cominotioii. We hardly' know whether to bo glad or sorry' that t'i3 1 rince of Pandemonium l:a-i not the power to levy' on his property since if he did there would ■ be a sudden cessation of many enterprises in this busy' world of ours as the dark host tramped downward, and their ab sence would be so felt in every' denartment. TRUE PRIAUiPEK. UKEAH UFGA’ THE WATERS. iVway back in the y'ears that are gone, a rich merchant of New Yoi-k, returning to lus home one cold November ev'ening-, found a poor, barefooted child upon liis doorstep, shivering and in tears from suffering and want. Many' persons vrould have driven her away', but a glance at her face struck pity to Ids heart, and he took her into bis house, wanned her by tlie lire, fed her at his table, and clothed her in the warm cast-off garments of his own little girl. He listened to her tale of sorrow, believed’ it, and vvitli a basket of food and an old though comfortable blanket, sent her home, telling her to come to his house whenever they needed food, clothing or fuel. It seems that the poor family struggled on as best they could, and whenever poverty' pinched too bitterly the girl came to the merchant’s house for the proffered charity, until her little face be came quite familiar. One day she came in great sorrow and bitter weeping. Her mother was dead, and slie had no one to turn to in the bereavement of her little heart but the kind inercliaut. Ho buried tlie poor dead woman, and took tho girl to liis home until he could, from the dy'ing directions of the mother, write to her relations, for it seems the mother had married again.st tlie will of her parents, and had been disinherited. During her life she had pre ferred to remain in poverty and oliscuritv rather than to ap[)eal to her relatives, but at her death pride was swallowed up in anx iety for lier Helpless cliilJ. 'I'lie relations came and took the child away, a"d then her whereabouts was lost to the merchant. Years rolled by, and misfortune overtook our man of generous heart. Death of his family and bankruptcy of his fortune left him a poor and desponding man. Many' were the ways he strove to rise again, but always failed, until he finally' kept a street stand, selling apples and cakis to the cliildren. One day' a runa way team overturned his stand and injured him so severely' that he was taken to the hospital, and a paragraph of the accident ap peared in the jjapers, with his name and a sketch of his life and failure. This paragraph caught the eye of a wealtliy lady living in a neighboring city. She hasten ed to New Yorkand to thehospital, and stood by the bed of the poor old man. In her fine, generous face he could not recognize tlie little girl he once befriended. But such she was. She had been educated by' wealtliy relations, had married well, and lived in luxury. Site had never forgotten her first benefactor, but had lost all traces of him, until, to her surprise, she saw the paragraph in the papers. And now the bread cast upon the waters had been found, after many days, gloriously multiplied, like the Saviour’s loaves ; and, taken to the generous home of the noble woman, he is passing liis last days in peace and happiness, loved and honored as lier own fatiier, ami the children even call him grandpa.—Caj^ie Cod Gazette. The first and highest study of 1 t'e should be to cultivate an ab solute and positi\e reverence for moral truth and power. The spirit of every high and noble work stands upon the solid foun dation of truth, and no enterprise is worthy' of respect and admira tion unless this is the corner stone. The old adage,—that honesty' is the best policy,—is not the best saying in the world. Sometimes there is counterfeit change in full circulation ; there are false words and false reputation, and some times policy is tlie cause of mucli sseniiiig dishonesty Doing this or that for the sake of policy, witl.- out regard to principles of justice and honor, is a poor excuse for honesty'. When one stops to think of policy' instead of duty, then honesty becomes a questionable character. Joining a party or embracing a creed, just to be popular, or because some one else has done the same, —may betray a selfish and uiqjrincipled spirit, but not rare wisdom or marvelous piety'. Kiglit doing-, for tlie sake of right, is the only' true exercise of the mind. He is not wholly free who looks to others for the rule of riglit that binds his tlionghts and actions. Always be true for truth’s sake, and too brave to speak or act against conscience. The inclination to allow any other motive to control one’s ac tions is a temptation to do wrong. zVctiiig in an unpi-iiiciplcd way is acting a lie. Tlie most expedient way' may not always be plain ; but one may follow his liigliest ideas of right, and that life stand.' hightest in the scale of liiiniaiiilx that is most jierffcct and trutlifu). Only' the sophist can say that it is hardly' jiossible or desirable to have an honest heart and tongue. Tliere is no real advantage to be gained fiom a deceitful face, or a doulilo tongue. Double detiling seldom bi'irigs even a present and temporary rewaid. Tt is plainly written that “ tho lip of truth sliall be established forever ; but a ly ing tongue is but for a moment.” To cunningly boast of having “come it” over others—in any way' or shape, is a species of boasting' tliat deserves a combi nation of pity' and contempt. Discretion and perfect sinoerit-^' do not require one to turn the heart inside out to gratify the in quisitive; hut good will and good sense will show what it is to be true ill princi[ile—true to self and others.—Hx. THE BEEES OF THE SOUE. A. man who has a musical ear goes into a work-hop and sees lying there largo quantities of material of various kinds—iron, and steel, and copper, and brass —and he says, “Let me make these available.” And he takes the various kinds of metal, and pats them into a furnace, and melts them, and pours the liquid which they form into a mold, and when it is cool and brought out it is a bell. Such is the result of the combination of all the.so inco herent substances. And when it is struck it is musical. And ho savs, “ I liave hit it! It is per fect !” But it is a monotone ; and after some thought he says, “No.; I liave not i-eached perfection yet. '1 here is more material hero. M hat if I should make another bell ! So lie goes to work and makes a second bell. zViid then he makes a third, and then a fourth. And some musician says, “ Hang them up in y onder tow er ;” and they are lifted up into the tower, and, swinging there they' ring out througli the air srlorious chants which call men to God’s house. The man has now not one bell but eight bells—and they are but a few. If yon have listened, in Antwerp, to the chime of bells that fill the whole atmosphere with music; if you liave stood there and heard its notes as they sounded out through the frosty air of the morning, how imperfect would seem to yon a chime of eight bells, as compared with the swarm of bells of which that chime is composed ! God has lifted up the spire or tower of the human soul, and has set in it some thirty bells; and they are all to be brought into accord, 'fliere are two or three that strike bass notes musically ; but it is our business to briuo- harmony into the whole mighty collection of musical instruments tliat are sw'inging iu the belfry of man’s soul. No man is perfect until all his faculties are brought into harmo nious play. Tliere is not a single tiling in my' w'atch which, being taken out, would leave it good for anytliing. God never put a fac ulty' in a man w'hich was notnec. essary'; and if we are to be per fect, every one of our i'aciiltits must be developed and used. I.li ISE.RE.tIBKANCE. Are olors romorabered ! M. Littre, a Frei'icli writer on psvcli- oiogy' fthn science of tiie iiiiiiil) mniiituiiis tliat tho impre.ssioiis made on the organ of smell are not stron.g enough, and are too Ih etiiig', to remain in tlie uieuio- ry. But til -re are numerous facts which si,o.v that , lie is mistaken at any rate w'itli respect to the lower animals. In Swilzerhiiid, the cattle kept in winter in the valleys, a id spend the siunmer Oil the lofty' Alpine pastures, 'lliere the herbage is short, but very sweet, both in taste and s.nell, i ml tiio cows evidently re member it. No sooner is the first faint odor of the grass, just freed from the snow, wafted down in the valleys by' the breath of spring, than tiio cattle manifest the greatest jov, and seem t> long w'ith piissioiiate }'( aiiiiiig for the time when they w 1, return to tlie Alps. Dogs have been known to re tain tlie scent of the murderers of their masters in their memory for y'ears, and on meeting the per- s ms again have displayed tlie most lively' feeling of revenge. An ele[)haiit if offered a rose and an odorless flow'or at tho s inie lime, w.ll eve i at a distance show a preforanco for the rose. Ele phants take great delight in flow ers and sw'eet perfumes, their or gans ot smell being provided with numerous delic ite nerves. In a state of nature they find their way about in the forest, where tliey live more by smell than by sight. In man, there are indications that odors to which one lias been accustomed in childhood linger in the memory like a national melody', and when tiiey return, bring back w'ith them the most pleasant associations. The language of tiie heart— the language w'hich “comes from the heart”—is alvvays siuijile, al ways graceful and full of power, but no art of riietorio can teach it. It is at once the easiest and most difficult la.'igiiage—difficult, since it needs a lieart to speak It; easy, because its jieriods, though rounded and full of har mony, are still unstudied.
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 18, 1876, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75