Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1857-08-26


riees the ocean pillows Of time, and enters sufnsed
with glory, the port Of future generations.
"Where is the fame
Which the vanglorous of earth
Would seek to eternize? The minutest wave
That swe!ls the food Of ages, whems in nothing
Tho unsubstantsl bubble"
Mental and moral excellence are the enly sure basis
Of true nobility. 1t comes not by birth, not by
chance. not by the favor or sycophancy Of men; It
is the gift of heaven, not of heraldry-a sparkling
gem set in the coronet of fame, and polished by the
hand Of industry Such grandeur and nobIeness Oh
mind as characterized . Newton, Luther anu .
Locke-men claiming ana receiving from tne'r 'ei'
lowmen nothing only what their own m.rlns''
merits entitled them to- They were giants Iayers.
ing the fields Of thought in search OF natures laws
and of truth; laying hold upon the bases OF noun
tains of error, and upheaving their foundations.
Pioneers they were in the unexplored wiIds OF mo
den knowledge, removing the accumulated ruoosn
Of ages in Church and State leseing hills and NIL
ing up valleys for the rapid and triumphant progress
of poster,y to glory and renown. These are Heav-
ems .ristocracy, the true noblemen Of earth. They
have erected their own monuments-not of granite
and MARBLE as the Knights Of Heraldry are wont to
do, but of that mperishable material, thought
founded upon q rock of diamond brilliancy and
firmness their stately proportions, self.luminous,
shall attract the gaze of admiring millions. Would
you compare the nobility of intellect with that OF
the nhertors of greatness 60 to Westminster Abbey
and behold the gorgeous monuments that rise over
the remains of Englands royalty-the Plantagenets,
the Stuarts the Tudors and those Of the house OF
Brunswick. Compare the emotions excited in your
breast, by this scene, with those you feel when
viewing the plain tombstones that point out the
ashes Of the Bard OF Avon, of Milton OF Young, OF
Thompson, of Goldsmith and Gray-the untitled
genius wit and learning that moulder by their SIDE
Or count cover the names Of the Emperors and
Queens that lie garnered in the dreary pomp Of
monumental marble in the capuchin vaults OF
Vienna. Weigh their dust with the blood and
calamity Of their peasants war, their thirty years
war, and all the vile pretences for which they made
their kingdom an aceldama and charnel.hOuse.
Where now is their nobility, where that greatness
Of which they thought themselves the sole propri-
etorss Gone forgotten like dream. Theirs was
the name without the reality, the shadow without
the substance. The traveller stros indferently by
their mausoleums, admires their magniticence and
the skill of the architect but regards them only as
sepuchral piles over corrupticn-the last vain at
and perpetuate a name:
Let me urge you then to invest yourselves and all
the knowledge you acquire in the robes of vir
tuous principle integrity and uprightness. "Obsta
principals" Fortify yourselves against the first al
lurements Of vice. Shun them as you would .
quicksand a plague. Like Ulysses, bind your
selves with the chords of virtue to the mast of con-
scous rectitude, and stop your ears to the wooing
voice Of Calypso and her nymphs. 1t is the first
false step in the paths Of vice which makes the re-
turn to virtues ways difficult to all and impossi-
BILE to many. Clothed with the power Of knowledge,
and guided by that virtuous principle which knows
no indirection, which needs not the suggestions Of
expedency at the expense Of right future radiant
with hope and glorious destiny awaits you. Take
courage, then and press to the attainment o: true
greatness and true nobility, for the
"Lives of great remind US
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing. leave behind US
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints that perchance another
Sailing DER lfes troubled main,
forlorn and shipwrecked brother
Seeing shall take heart again..
We should be guilty of breach of courtesy, were
We to pass by the young ladies of this place, who
are engaged in similar pursuits without a word Of
admonltiOn and counsel. If the time and occasion
permitted, We would gladly trace for you, young Ia
dies, the influences which appear to US to have been
most efficient in elevatng. adjoining and dignifyng
female character. We would gladly 60 back with
you to the feudal halls and moated castles Of the
middle ages" in which woman received her first
upward impulse in the scale of social existence and
show you how, by the gentleness Of her disposition
and the serenity of her Manners she softened, re-
fined and humanized the rough nature of the sterner
| sex. How by the attractions and endearMents of
the home circle, man was won over from his mgra-
tory life, the pursuits of and the chase, to the
| more peaceful and profitable emp.oymenis of hus-
bandry, of art and of industry. We would gladly
attend you at the tournament of knight.errantry
and Of chivalry. where you presided "queen of
love and beauty, dispensing the honors of skill and
bravery to the victorious and gallant knight where
triumph was little less glorious and at the time
more exquisely felt, since battlefield could as
semble such witnesses of valOr. Honor to the brace
resounded amid the din of martial music from the
lips of minstrels as the gallant knight advanced to
receive the prize from the hand of woman, the sur
rounding multitude acknowledging in the prowess
Of that day an augury of nobler deeds yet to be
performed in his country's defence. At this stage
Of civilization when society casting off its bar
barous nature, and merging into refined state
Of existence, wo'nan reigned supreme-the extrav-
the low depths of social degradation from which she
had risen, The wild follies, however, into which
kng ht-errantry led its votaries, when real adven.
| ture was no more furnished, met happy corrective
in that fine specimen of ridcule and satire admins
tered by Ceramics the Grant knight, Don Quix.
ote-opPing off with exquisite touch the unnatural
excuses Of the overgallant and presenting in bold
relief, the virtues of that true chivalry which
rest womans claims upon society-whence springs
that true cvility unrestraned by the stiffness Of GER
emony, that amenity of manner, that genuine po-
likeness which seeks to heighten the happiness Of
| companions, those ornaments and graces which in
vest social intercourse with its most elegant and at
| tractive charms
IT. young ladies' your sex exerted the influence over
society we have ascrbed to it, by the native una.
dorned elements of character which are peculiarly
feminine, BY her beauty, her grace, her devotion and
constancy, her gentleness of disposition and tender
ness Of sympathy, ever alive to the cries Of wolf
in castle hall, she could say to mans tumutuouf
passions "peace be still "-if in those mimic scenes
Of war which she presided the arbitress of skill
and valor, by an approving smile or gentle wave o.
the hand she could nerve the arm Of the gallant
knight for feats Of courage-if by communion with
her she could soften his rough nature, humanze his
heart, and restrain his lawless spirit-what, allow
me to ask, will be the influence you must exert upor
society, when by Intellectual culture you shall adorn