Democratic banner., 1847-03-01
DISTINCTION OPEN TO ALL.
Ely EZRA HOLDEN.

tory, are to be found among those of self
'5trGhG men; and this fdct canno! be too
fen c1mmcndcdto the attention of Tie ris-
I:Hr generation. Example is better than
~!r"crpt in THIS and many other cases. De-
H"St''cncs, was the son of a blacksmith; Vir-
iii, Of IA baker; Tamcrlane, of a shepherd:
H%"lierc. Of an upholster; Massillon, of a
I'lrncr;J. 3. Rousseau, Of a shoemaker; J..
J. Rousseau, Of a watchmakcr; Rembrandt,
IF n miller; Shakespeare. of a butcher:
R"mil!y. of n goldsmith; Sir Edward Sug-
zen. Of a hair-cutter; Rollir, of a cutler,
and Fen Johnson. Of a mason. Six of the
'litish poets of celrbriety, / rccollect, were
brought NJ to various laborious employ
rapnts; for Collins, was the son of a halter;
Gray, Of il SERVE er; Battle, of a farmer;
Burns. of y peasant; Bloomfield, of a%tailor;
iand Tom Moore, Of a grocer.
So. also, non the diItrcn; italian au-
l%tIors; Ariosto, TassI, ;;jante and Pptrarch,
we're all children Of INDECENT parents, and
suffered, like Calico, great privations; yet
they all became illustrions; the first four as
poets Of surprising ability, and the latter
as an astronomer, second only 10 Sir Isaac
Newton, who was scarce a year old when
Gailleo died, andderived great aid from his
works. There was Watt, and Furguson,
and Arkwright-to say nothing Of our own
Franklin, Fulton, and Fitch, to whom the
world is deeply indebted for quiet revclu-
.tiansiS science, surprising all political revo-
%luti"ns that ever Numbered through the an
mails of time. Started by the Kissing of his
mothers tea-kcttle, when a boy, Watt at
length invented the steam engine. What a
pity he did not live to sec it, through the art
of Fulton. hnrrying our floating castles a.
cross the Atlantic in a week or ten days.
He did, however, live, | believe, TO see it
pump water. drive the shuttle, embroider
muslin, grind corn, and forge anchors
What a triumph Of genius was this! And
there was Arkwright, too-Sir Richard Ark
wrig''t-a poor barber, who, failing of per-
pCtmaI mil N, did invent the spinning jen-
ny, and by this means gave employment to
millions of hands, in place Of thirty
thousand. By means of his machinery,
one family was enabled TO do as much as six
hundred families ever did before; and thus
did he literally clothe the naked and feed
the hungry. At forty years of age he was
4 poor man, but at fifty in a~fllucnt circum-
stances At the former age, although per-
.S"vcring and Industrious, his genius out
Stripped his hands, and infdel-like, as some.
= "nId saw lie failed to provide for his
household. The consequence was, his wife,
WHO complained of his starring his family
ny Schrming, when he should be sharing,
'rnke ny his models of machinery, and left
;r'i :" i've Oh his hedd-TOrk, as best he
light. He, however, by means Of his ge-
i'uS, became as keen rs the raZors that
ave him 4 start, and he lived TO acquire
he rank and wealth of u nabob. So much
Tor ~perscvering genius.
%Furguson, too, with his submarine bate
~ and steamboat projects, lived to astonish
the natives, who thought him insane. Like
Andrew Jackson, he was the son Of an
irish peasant; but like Jackson, also, he
went on the principle, "there's no such
word as fall. both Henry Clay and An
drew Jackson were poor orphan boys. and
who can read their lives, without being SEN
>ihly impressed. that even in early boyhood,
lrey went upon the great motto upon which
his brief essay is iounded?] 1t is well
known that less than forty years ago, Full
ton invrntrnted the steamer "C!crmont,"
'ut NoNiu III Sctd SubSic IhCIS'HhI III u"
York to advance a third part of her cost,
and receive tile property by way Of securi-
lty. Nay, shouts of laughter followed his
footsteps, and the ignnblc crowd were tri-
umphin9 ovcr the anticipated failure of his
genius. At length, however, the day Of
trial arrivcd-a head of steam was put on,
anG off wen the majestic steamboat, walk
ing the waters, nay, running the water,
"like a thing of life" Astonishmcnt seiz-
ed the crowd; their shouts of scorn chang
ed TO shouts of exultation, and genius once
more lifted her head on high. All, yes
1907 was TO poor Fulton a happy day, such
as few hearts have evcr known. Let the
young, then, remember the maxim
"Therc'sn 10 such word as fail"
COURAGE.-It is n popular error to
suppose that courage means courage i'll
every thing. Put a hero on board n ship al
a fivc-barred gate and if he is not used tc
hunting he will turn pale; put a fox-huntcl
in one of the Swiss chasms, over which tho
mountainecr springs like a roe, and hi
, knees will knock under him. People art
brave in the dangers to which they accus
tom themselves, either in imagination o.