Whi'.hk Siim.i. Wi: Wimti: Oun N.mi:s?
1150
is stronger tlinn fortillcations and iron
clails, slio would have curbed licr nind
ness. An institution, wliether good or
bad, cannot be suddenly overthrown will),
out great public commotion. And long
after the commotion lias subsided, its over
throw will effect multitudinous evils.
The North and the South seemed to be ig
norant of these facts; and the North,
thinking it was for the public good, d.
sired immediate emancipation. The
South, not knowing the tenacity of the in
stitution, took up arms for its preserva
tion. The render, by giving careful attention
to this work, will derive more pleasure
and benefit by drawing bis own deduc
tions. May the truths of this book lead many
into the paths of political virtue, that
our country may escape "the fate that
bleeding thousands bore." Anon.
WIIEJIE SHALL WE WHI1E OUR
NAMES ?
Shall we engrave them deep on tablols
of ever during brnss, whoso unyielding
surface resists the tooth of time! Shall
wc chisel them on columns of imperish
able granite, whose polished coldness
feigns defiance to the storms of ages?
Shall wo write them in shifting sand?
Shall wo dip our pens in humnn blood,
and proudly traco our names beside those
of conquerors and heroes? Shall we
stamp them indelibly on the hearts of our
fellow men, y acts of kindness and love?
These questions come to ono and all but
once in a life time, and must be decided
by self alone, no matter how difficult or
complex they may be, and, when once de
cided, wo commence to engrave our names
in letters that can not be effaced.
The desire to engrave their names so
that they may be read by all future gene
rations is common to all. This desire is
not only in the present day, but extends
back to ages that are passed and gone.
Some erect nioiuiiin ir ai.d columns in
memory, but these will not always defy the
ravage of time. The pyramids of Egypt
wore erected thousands of years ago, and
the ancient kings of Egypt inscribed their
names thereon But will these pyramids
endure forever Pompcy's Pillar has
stood the storms of ages, but it is crumb
ling, and now on the point of falling;
while Cleopatra's pride, the massive frrnn
Itc shaft, lies prostrate, broken, and half
buried in the drifting sands of Egypt.
There arc conquerors who stir up strife
causing bloodshed, purposely to grat
ify ambition, and that their names
may be borne on the wings of time;
they tread under foot their fellow men
and sacrifice noble lives that this ambition
may be gratified. Napoleon has secured
for himself a name that will remain for
ages, but one for which he sacrificed his
conscience. "We find his name written
side by side with the fact that he was only
true in war. Surely we will not want to
write our names on the roll of fame, if,
by so doing, wc sacrifice the purest mo
tives of our nature.
Shall we write them in shifting sand?
Indifference or carelessness often erases
from our minds the importance of writ
ing our names indelibly; hence, many
who have talent through indifference miss
the opportunity of giving lnstingbonor to
their names, and write them so lightly
that it is like the shifting sand which the
wind will obliterate, or the returning tide
wash away forever. To this class belong
those who have no force or independence
of their own. Thousands of men, and
women, too, live, breathe, move, pass off
the stage of life and are heard of no
more. They do not a particle of good in
the world; not a word they speak can
be recalled; and so their names perish,
their light goes out in darkness, and they
are remembered no more. Will j'ou
thus live and die?
Numerous are the places where the
children of men may write their names.
In ancient times, Alexander the Great,
with fame, ambition and glory as his