American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-06-19

MN; not Tor the house he tenants but for the
heart he owns. He has an innate dignity and
worth that cannot be cyphered out in the alge-
bra OF commerce, or summed up in the ledger
Gold is too poor to buy him, and power is mis-
applied when it seeks to control his convictions
Of truth and duty. Bury him in obscurity, and
he is hidden gem Try him by misfortune
and want, and he is still rich in the nobest
treasures Of humanity. Exalt him to high sta
ton, and you will find that he is there, what
he was before, a king among men--the sover-
eign of himself
Industry too, is always respectable when
honest and useful. The tools it works with
are one thing, and its own spirit and aims quite
another. The value of these last, makes that
OF the former comparatively insignificant. The
man that earns his own bread by the sweat of
his brow, even though he picks up rags in the
street or cries "soap fat" is entitled to respect
II with somewhat more polished manners, and
schooled in profigacy he had become the pro-
prietor of some one Of those sinks of pollution
where youth is corrupted, and honor lost, he
might have worn the garb and been treated with
the respect of I" gentleman" But in this case
the change would have been like substituting
for a gnarly but ripe and healthful fruit the
apple of Sodom. The polished exterior that hides
inward rottenness is the fittest object of con
tempt You cannot varnish Incidence or stag
nant sensualism, so as to change the loathsome-
ness Of their nature. The man who sports him
self about in leisurely parade Of his gentility,
while ne feeds perhaps the filchings of others
gains, or rolls in the luxury that was bought by
another's sweat, is in truth one of the most con-
temptble OF all beings whom nature has spared
reptile FORM He may know the ways of
men, and the ways of the world; he may abuse
with the omnipotence of gilded folly men
who are smeared with the dust or the SCOT of
the workshop, but in all that makes man truly
respectable he is infinitely their inferior. The
place which man occupies in the great fac
tory OF a worlds industry is little, is nothing
to the case, if he fills it well. All are contribu
ting to the same object the support and the
welfare of the race; and the great duty is, that
each should do his own task as it ought to be
done. 1t is no disgrace to oil the wheels, or
feed the spindles, or kindle the fire. The man
that plans the structure, and he that follows
him with trowel and sledge- hammer, stand on
the same platform of common industry. All
honor, then, to that nobility which carries its
patent with it in the strong and healthful
frame, the brawny arm and industrious habits
Of honest labor Begrimed it may be at the
forge, swarthy it may be in the sun, rude it may
be in manners, plain it may be in features, and
palmer still in garb; but all this is only the
setting of jewel that makes of the palm-leaf a
coronet
There is pride Of occupation and calling,
contributing much to strengthen the feeling of
caste, which needs to be demolished One man
is counted somewhat better than another be-
cause he can do his business without changing
his coat He is not exposed to the weather.
He can ride while others walk. His transac-
tions it may be are such that the drudgery is
all imposed on others. Distinctions of this
character run largely through society. 1t is
more respectable to sew than to do housework
There is q sort of stain attached to factory
labor 1t is time that the true respectability of
labor was indicated, defined, and understood
1t is not bounded by geographical lines; it does
not expire because it has nothing but the
heavens for roof, 1t can even outliye the
SCOT and dust with which it may have to come
in contact. There is no such magic power in
the touch Of spade as TO dissolve it. A man
may stain his fingers and not soil his honor.
He may take poor, erring human brother by
the hand, and treat him kindly, and not be the
less a man for it. Industry in any useful form
confers respectabihty, lie only is the greatest
who best executes his mission among men.