Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1853-10-27


nindp 10 what country and what age do;
you look for an example, Are you fascins-
nted by the deceptive halo which antiquity
throws upon the men and deeds Of remote
nges? Then go TO Rome in her purest,
palmiest days. when to be a good citizen
was to be good farmer, when to be skill
full agrlculturist was the highest distinction
Of Roman ciizen--when nnskillfulness in
farming was visited by the rebuke of the
Censors. Study the names Of such Ro.
mans of that period as history makes immor-
tal, and you will find that they come down
to US, not by the names given TO them at
birth, but by titles derived from the plants
and grains brought 10 greatest perfection
under the culture of their own hands. In
that school of virtue and true glory you will
find that history had holier office than 10
record the antiques and battles of ambition.
Or, il willing TO take model from The short
but glorious career Of your own country, look
at the names which make purt of our
national property. Ofal the men who have
shed lustre upon our annals, how few can
YOU number who were not farmers!
Be assured, there is not an error moro
mischievous to start with in life--not one
apter 10 mar the usefulness you aim at, than
the mistake Of surprising any incompati-
bility between husbandry and greatness.
Craftsmanship, which opens 10 noble ambi-
ton the widest paths Of honorable fame, is
only farming of a large scale. Are yo,h
captivated by the exhibition of intellect in
its highest reach, winning Hottest honors at
the bar and in the Senator Contemplate
the life and death of Daniel Webster. See
how his mind acquired strength of fibre, in
his farm life, amidst the hills of New
Hampshire; watch it in the acquisition
Of knowledge at college; its earliest tri-
umphs at The bar; pursue it 10 the Senate
Chamber; the scene Of its matured splcndor;
follow it in the quiet shades Of Marshfeld;
and every where you will behold its unbrok-
en- allegiance to the soil. In the last days
of his life, what brings him from the sick
chamber TO the porch, to look for the last
time upon n scene lit up "by the sun in
heaven?" Upon what does his "last ling
ering glance. fix itself2 The ocean is OF
his feet; he hears its murmurs, and the sea
breath fans his whiened locks; perhaps his
soul seeking sympathy with its own ee-
ments ofgrandeur, gazes on what in nature
was the type Of its depth and power? No!
no! it is not that; his deeply poetical nature
turns from the contemplation of mere physi-
cal nature in her sublimest aspect and seeks
the "utterances Of life" in pastoral SIM
plicity. He turns from the sea; his ewes
are on the fields enriched by his culture; on
the lowing herds who miss the hands that
fed them. In that moment, whatever are
his other aspects, he stood revealed TO us
and TO the world, as the Farmer of Marsh
field.
Mr.. President, we live in remarkable
age. The human mind, starting out in new
paths of inquiry, has established a new
dominion over the physical world. On the
sea, and on the land, Time and Space, the
old foes Of progress, are nearly conquered
conquered by Science. Once they were
Despots, but now, reasonable Rulers, con-
fined within certain well defined limits Of
power. The spirit Of progress demands yet
further restrictions. See how science has
laid her hand upon the sea! Commerce
once crept from headland to headland in
timid crafts. Scince gave her the compass,
and sha went from shore TO shore. Naval
architecture then became underwritten for
the safety Of cargo and crew. The mad
waves which once severed nation, from ma
ton, science turned into the theatre of ma
tional contests in peace and in war; and
weary Of the laggard and tickle motion Of
the winds, she seized the invisible strength
of water, put it into iron harness, and defied
both wind and wave. She made 'her home
upon the deep" but her greater triumphs
are on the land. The locomotive is swilter
than the steamship. By their united power,
oceans dry up, continents shake hands, and
AriePs girdle belts the earth. Men are
made of wood and metal and stone-swift
men-strong men-enduring men-who
live and work, without food, without sleep,
and on small pay--but amidst all this mar
vel of progress, which changes the COM
merce and character of the world, puts new
ideas in the heads of statesmen, and rererses
the policy Of cabinets, how little has been
accomplished by science to augment the
productive power of nature! She has been
treated as if the principle of decay could
meyer touch her bosom, nor the process of
exhaustion diminish its supply. Agricul-
ture is the only art left behind IN this I'M
paralleled advance of all other arls and SCI
ences. Is this neglect, necessity or an
oversight? That is the great question for
solution. Let the agricultural mind of
Missouri determine it.
The earth belongs not to those who now
live on it. 1t is an estate in perpetuiiy. We
are the tenants Of this age, and there are
countless ages of remaindermen. Resp
sibility to God and man rests upon all who
injure or destroy the fec.