Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-11-28
Spirit of tie 9ge; 8pleiy9 UortB-GoroIipp .

In viewing the fragility of human things,
and beholding the inordinate ambition of
man, many subjects of sober reflection force
upon the mind. The noblest
monuments OF art, even erected by the in
genulty and wisdom of artistic skill. crumble
before the rapid march of time; leaving here
and there frail and decaying memorials of
their once ~faultless splendor. On the Island
which it was my pleasure to have seen but
three short years ago, ample materials for
serious reflection was afforded. Slumbering
on the bosom of the Ohio, it looks silent, as
If guarded by the shades of the dead, from
the impious footsteps of man. Around it
civilization reigned in all its glorious and
astonishing triumphs leaving this spot un-
touched by its magic power. Bat a brief
period has elapsed, since the jocund song,
and the sound of the "mellow horn" from
some lone boatman, echoed throughout the
sombre wilderness, as the sweeping tide bore
him down the river. The mountains were
decked with the wigwams of the savage, dam
cling with his squaw at the tune of the shrill
war-song; and night made terrible by the
howl of the wolf, and the grQyl Of the bear
and the panther. Tall trees had shaded for
centuries a virgin soil, rich with the dark
crust of ages of decayed vegetation. But soon
the scene was destined to fade the white
man cam with his axe, he battles with forest
and Indian in deathly struggle, and strives
} to "turn tides Of carnage into streams of
peace" The forest yields to his sturdy
strokes, and the sunlight enters the small
clearing in the vast wilderness the savage
: snaps his bow-string, and signs a long fare
: well to the graves of his fathers. And now
; steam is on the Western waters, and a thou.
sand villages and cities dot their meander-
q ings, while prosperity smiles in exuberance
on every hand. Lone island in the grand
transition, your era Of advancement is gone
d Your glories have persisted!
Gone glimmering through the dreams of thing
that were."
20 Fleeing as all things Of human origin are
% let us trust no misdirected spirit will desolat
of our fair land; that unlike the island, it ma
stand and prosper till the latest syllable {
III recorded time"
s- The heart of man is too prone to err.
Is moments reflection, might avoid years
h mental anguish and pain. Blannerhasse
od assented to a wild scheme Of civil strife an
in dismemberment, in an idle moment, at the i
ed resistible opportunities of a great but wickt
Il man, and his fate was sealed with the blac
est odium. Reason was dethroned by Il
er, facination of the tempter, in the delirium
len excitement, and the spell continued unbroke
as until the strong arm of sovereign powt
crushed the mad dream of a rising empire.
Had calm meditation examined with t
searching philosophy of truth, the sophist
}. of the ambitious traitor, the blessed abode
happiness would have remained uncontar
mated. AS the steamer passes this wor
renowned island, melancholy emotions {
the p~~~"~A-Andth the heart repines as it conte
80 fallen greatness-the destruction of brI!
hopes, and the fel} influence that banisf
innocence from its borders forever.
w. V. G
;, Elizabeth City, N. c., Nov. 18th, 1856.