The prairie news. [volume] (Okolona, Miss.) 1851-1875, 1858-04-08
From the Natchez Courier.
The True Dignity Of Labor.

years, that it is an actual disgrace for an,
: person to obtain his daily bread by hon
! est physical labor, thereby securing thu
comforts of life in obedience to the divine
injunction which has been laid upon man
kind ever since the temptation of oul
first parents in the garden of Eden, "ir
: the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread
till thou return into the ground" 1r
,. rearing their offspring, most parents seen
to imagine that unless their sons are
brought up to professional life, they
must of necessity be regarded as nobod.
les, and Of little value to themselves OF
those around them.
Never was there greater mistake, as
many members of the learned professions,
as they are termed, will frankly and hon
esty admit. Let any one examine the
long list of professional men among their
acquaintance, and then ask how many
among them all are to be envied. Half
pledged clericals who have to battle with
a stern, grasping, cold-hearted world
while as ignorant of it's ways as lisping
infant-briefess lawyers, who rush to and
fro among our law courts endeavoring to
persuade their friends that they are on
the full tide of success when there is
scarce a step between themselves and
starvation, and embryo physicians who
look with eagerness for enough practice
to keep them from absolute want have
become almost as numerous as the frogs
who infested the land Of Egypt during the
reign of ancient Pharaoh.
Many an intelligent mechanic has been
spoiled by fools and unwise parents, who
sought to keep up the pride of the family
by thrusting their precocious bantling into
professional career which he perhaps
detested from the bottom of his heart
Many an hour of agony has been expert
enced by professional men who have bat
tied against fate until even hope itself
seems to have taken its departure, when
a different course of life might have made
them the happiest of beings. In the use
less endeavor to keep up appearances, as
ii is termed, how many of the learned pro-
fessions have cursed the hour that gave
them birth, and absolutely envied the
joyous, light-hearted mechanic, as he
went to his daily toll, his heart buoyant
with happiness, and his features beaming
with nothing to divert his attention from
the daily :oil by which he honorably
earned his daily bread.
The mechanic is indeed the only true
type of natures noblemen, and the con-
sciousness of this fact is amply sufficient
to divest him of any feelings of envy he
might feel inclined to exhibit toward
those whom society seem to look upon as
his superiors. The examples of illustri-
GUS mechanics, whose names will illume
the scroll of fame long after the so-called
professional man shall have passed into
oblivion, should forever prevent any feel
ing of envy for the position of those who
seem to occupy higher position than
himself.
Look at Benjamin Franklin, the poor
printers boy, who had not even the means
of obtaining an ordinary education-with-
out money, without position, without
friends who had means or power to aid
him, with nothing but resistless energy
and unconquerable will, he became the
equal and companion of throned kings,
their superior in talent and intellect, and
left behind him the reputation of being
one Of the most distinguished savants the
world has ever known and yet Benjamin
Franklin was nothing more or less than
poor journeyman printer Yet this jour
neyman mechanic had power enough to
cause the thrones of Europe to quake and
trmeble, while he stood forth the cham
pion of the oppressed, the friend of liber-
ty, and the vindicater of eternal justice.
The Right Rev. John Hughes d. d.,
of the Catholic Diocese of New York, as
an Archbishop of the Church Of Rome,
possesses power enough at this very mo-
ment to change the destinies of millions
who acknowledge allegiance to the Ro-
man Catholic Church. For learning and
ability he has few equals on this side of
the Atlantic and the Catholic Hierarchy
look upon him as giant in Intellect
Triton among minnows. Who was he
But few years since the Rt. Rev. DR..
Hughes, was a poor, uneducated, orphan
less Irish boy, without cpper to bless
himself with, without home to shelter
him and without a single human being to
advance his interests directly or Indirect
ly. He had nothing but an iron deter
mination to battle with the world and |
conquer, but with this he triumphed.-
The poor hard working Irish gardener
has gone on step by step to his present
position. Ere long he win win the Car
dinal's Hat, and then he can hardly fail
of wearing the tiara as Pope of Rome.
Look at Elihu Burritt, the learned
blacksmith of Worcester. Hugh Miller