St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-01-10
JANUARY ."~ l0. q. 1850. &c.,: s NO. a.

>JANUA I! RY -" .l0 j ii! j.
t',..1>i" T. f. ::..3b,r IA >-. .':.."i,jnJ,Ii
o,5 II ,51:r .,u2u t;~@9! njnA I:,t>1,y,-
magic circle :. Of Genius; and never, lik'
those be crowned with the laurel and tn.
amaranth. IS The sacred mantle hal; not fal
len upon us. The divine Inspiration thai
gives voice to tho water-fall-=music to The
stars and beauty to jagged mountain- 7anq
gems the sky with innumerable worlds oj
unapproachable brightncss, lmna! may never be
vouchsafed to us. o. We may be all1unvor
thy OF the Heavenly gift. But we have
each our mission yet, as truly as Bcetho:
ven and Goethe had. IF divine power
was theirs, SO had they assigned them a
lofty work which they worfhily and faith.
fully performed. What was theirs to dc
they did well, They were, no, idlers stand:
ing still in the world with the worlds splcp.
dors around them. They we're not like
certain ones Of old Of whom it is written
"Ears haye they and they hear; not; eyes
have they and they see not :. -. + 4
Life with them was not cheap but sacred
They lived not sel6shly, but for: centuries:
forward, all loaded and fragrant They
disdained frippery and spurhcd trihers.-
They were emphatically vorAers. ,r.~ ....:
Though far in the distance, let us in our
humble sphere emulate their example il,
our way and mode of life. ..'-
No man can: be said to have lived we'll
who has not laid some gift, however small,
upon the altar of learning. We can all do
something. We can quarry the rock if
we cannot give it form and beauty. No
man does all in anything Life is too short.
Man lives a short life. Mankind only long
ones. Each must do his part and leave
the un6nishe ed work to those that come af-
Do you say wehavo no time? Remem-
ber tho old masters; poor, prosecuted, ex-
lied, they were not the favored Of Princes,
Theirs were not the paths Of roses. To
them this was a world Of TOLL struggle and
hardships. The rains fell, and tie winds
blew and the storms of life fell upon them
But they never faltered J. they never COM
planned but worked on and the crown is
theirs. Who wants tor perpetual sunshine
will never find it. Your time is now
whether rain or sunshine-it is now the
time to add to that soul, each addition to
which will abide and travel with it through
this life into the next: "Proyidence has
wild, rough, incalculablc road to its end,;'
and We must take it as. it is-never de-
spairing, but working on to higher, and
higer intelligence. ,...."....
Nine years ago your speaker pitched his
tent on the opposite bank Of the river
The ground on which we now stand was
Indian ground. No white man int1uded
his settlement here. 1t was seldom tray
ersed by the foot Of the pale-face, and then
only for him to wonder, when the light Of
learning should dawn upon this wilderness.
1t was emphatically the Red Mans Home
In these groves his camp fires were lighted
Up and down these banks, in long lines,
these rude sons Of the forest trailed their
devious way in silence, erect, and fearless;
Even here has the war song oft been sung;
and the solemn, mystic sounds of the med
icine dance been heard. These banks
have echoed to the sharp report Of the
warriors rifle, peradventure in deadly con-
aict, and Red ia cket or Tecumseh. has
fallen. e.
We need not arrogate to ourselves the
claim as the first dwellers by the Northern
banks of this majestic Mississippi. In
years remote, tglided upon its placid waters
swiftly and: gracefully, the bark canoe
These prairie flowers .bloomed not to
"blush unseen through. all these unre.
corded years. The maiden of the forest
gathered them to twine the dark braid Of
her abundant hair; and with all the heart
sentiments Of her paler sister gave them
as Interpreters Of her affection to her war
rior lover. @! no, an untutored but not
an uninteresting race preceded us. They
accrc, bat now are not. Their graves with
fast decaying crnblenis '"of "of remembrance
are all that remain: ~ No more III thu. YER. =
nal year are the strawberry and whortle.
berry found upon rude hillocks, to subsist
the departed ones es on their long journey to
The land of the |sGrcat Spirit' Farther
toward the setting sun are they making
their way, whittier are fast tending the
'neet 1oQtsteps OF tne remnant ofI q race
that once. .reigned undisputed sovereigpa
from Americas Eastern to her Western
shores. II -
;;dat ;dt seems e t bqt yesterday athat} loitered
along these kanks~withs mo human habita-
'tion inlniew:i What a change have nine
short, years produced!s Here is a. a,Aourish-
ins City With the arts arts and adornments Of
civilization: The vast, region stretching
out' beyond Us teens With thrifty and
busy population l. am proud of what /
see around me. Il Proud of, the intelligence
and m , enterprise, sSo Rsoud ge Of ttAe work dore
here, in less than {; one q decade IF of great great
land prosperous com !nuaity} the centre u
trade and rEcommerce, ,nof' Intelligence and