Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1861-03-29
How Men Expand in the west.

"" Woh EAp"hu III the west.
One often is amused, In travelling in
the western States, to meet with a dis
ungulshed lawyer or politician, perhaps
u judge or Congressman, produced (and
no sham production either) from what
was known in some district school at the
East as merely q tongucy lad, or at best,
college boy, endowed with some little
native brass, it may be, but foreshowing
no more distinction in the world than
torty-nine others in his class of fifty.--
A physician, who now stands confessed
~ at the head Of the faculty in one Of
the largest cities ofthe West, went thoro
some twenty years ago, without friends.
without even college diploma TO recon-
mend him-merely tall, green Yankee.
who had thoroughly read medicine, and
could read men. He, and his friends.
and his native New England, owe his ex-
paasion and elevation TO the formative
power Of the West 10 the same city.
where It was od, 3. topreueh half day
for brother minister and college mat :.
"a distinguished d. D., by the way,
whose distinction had all been acquired
after he went out there, in answer to
questions artlessly asked respecting the
general habits of the congregation. as
hearers of the word, we are told the sto.
ry of lawyer in his flock, who was SO
very exacting. and had such a lofty
standard of pulpit excellence, that no
had become terror, not to f" evil doors"
merely, but to all who could not do ex.
tremely well. And so quick was his de-
ception OF any defect. that in nine cases
out of ten lie could tell, or thought he
could, by tho way in which the preacher
read his first hymn. or chapter in tho
Bible, at the opening of the service,
whether he was fit to preach and if nos
he, the lawyer, did not feel bound to
keep awake, and had often been known
to show other less equivocal signs of dis
gust. 1t was impossible, after hearing
all this, not to feel annoyed at tho
thought of preaching in such u presence.
We bethought us of David, with his five
smooth stones and sling, going to meet Il
giant whose spear was like q weavers
beam !" but could hardly be solaced with
the hope that, like him, we possessed
missile that would penetrate either his
head or heart.
We remembered once to have preached
to Daniel Webster, and found him an at
tentlye nearer but then, while we could
not question his intellectual equality with
this second Daniel come to Judgment"
1t was remembered that he Of Marshfeld
was proyerbially indulgent in his crit.
cisms on ministers, which thing, it was
clear from the pastors showing, was not
the habit of this formidable parsonage.
Several times during the sermon, and ia
several different pews, Imagination saw
the man for neither his name, nativity.
nor place in church, was told us. On
leaving the pulpit we were accostcd by.a
young man, remembered as a student in
Monson Academy some ten years pre-.
vlous, when we had the honor of serving
on the board Of trustees To our utter
surprise, it afterwards appeared that this
was none other than that same "Goliah
OF Gath" grown to this stature from that
academy boy since he came into the West.
In another locality--a rising young CITY
we found in almost everybody's mouth
the name Of a certain individual of re-
markably shrewd business tact, Of largo
enterprise, and the owner Of an immense
landed estate, with any number of tenants
and employees ut his control. lie had.
built an straightforward dollar hotel in
the young city of his adoption, at which
he boarded. We. too, had taken lodgings
at the same house. Judge of our as
constituent, when the dinner hour came.
to find this western nabob at our elbow,
the identical person whom we had known
IN one OF the obscures: towns Of Eastern
Massachusetts, himselfan obscure Young
stor, with no more promise than scores Of
others in that place, who, in continued
obseurity,
9 Along the cool scqucstered vale of1ife
Have passed the even tenor Of their wny.n
These are given as specimens. Each
IS the representative ola class. Other
classes might be represented as well but
there 10 no need Of it. The great fact
underlying them all is sufficiently appa.
rent, namely: that, from some cause or
other, there is quckcning. energizing.
expanding effect produced in the West
on the general manhood Of those who
come there from the East. What is IL?
Can il be pointed out or defined? Its
the theory Of some, we know. that these
phcnomena can be accounted for on tho
principle that only tho most active and
enterprisiDg 60 from home; that il Is
not so much the West that expands their
manhood as il is their expanding man
hood chat carries them there. But this
IS mere begging Of the question for il
IS part Of the phenomena themselves.
that there is no perceptiblo difference in
this respect between those who 20 and
those who stay al home ill after they have
gone. --Congrcgatfon@ Qaa,terly.