Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet., 1865-07-11
WONDERFUL COUNTRY AND
A WONDERFUL AGE.

Every day brings 10 llgnO sonlo ho'e1
theory or wonder-working creation Of
the mind of man, upsetting some pre-
existent theory and mocking to scorn
the ne p1us ultra claims Of ante
cedent discoveries and inventions.
And yet, Solomon has told us that
"there is, no new thing under the
SUM-" The ancient Egyptians have
left us relics of their stupendous
monuments, from which we CLEAN
some idea Of their surprising knowi-
edge and skill in mechanics. From
that first "cradle of the arts and
sciences went forth colony under
Cecrops, to people Athens, which IN
time gave proof to the world OF un-
exampled perfection in her works OF
architecture and sculpture. Subse-
quently the mantle Of glory and
splendor descended upon the shout
ders of old Rome, giving her that
proud preeminence Of rank which
stamped her mistress OF the world. "
In craftsmanship, oratory and all the
incorporeal and material arts, she
has left an enduring heritage to the
nations, from which, as from All ex-
haustless reservoir Of inspiration,
great minds will ever continue to re-
ceiye their earliest lessons Of human
greatness.
The ages Of antiquity, so replete
with storied grandeur and famous
achievements in the walks of peace
and war, nevertheless attained their
prestige and perfection by > much
slower gradation than that which
characterizes our present age. 1t
may be that we have only entered
some restored cycle of time, wherein
"what is, has been," and that, like
history repeating ITSELF" we are
living over again the annals and
events Of some epoch long since
buried amid the rubbish Of time.
Nevertheless, it is not to be gain
sayed, that in comparison with our
known records of the past, ours is
certainly a "fast age" Like Mi
nerva springing full-panoplied from
the head Of Jove," the people of this
age and particularly of these United
States have cleared at a single
bound as it were, the chasm of time
which separates childhood from man
hood. With a country remarkable
for its vast expanse Of territory, en-
bracing every variety of soil, climate
and production; its great lakes, riy-
ers, mountains and prairies and its
adaptability to colossal enterprises,
our people seem to take their impress
of character from those varied and
indigenous elements, and to assimi-
late readily with the nature and re-
auirements of those elements. What
it took centuries in the old world to
accomplish, the American people &C
complish in very few years and
with almost incredible celebrity. Wit
ness the magical springing up of
cities out of the depths of the will
derness, and the thousands Of inven-
tions and improvements in the use
full arts, which reap their plentiful
rewards and exact from the world
that homage Of admiration due to
genius and enterprise. 1t would be
better if in some instances a little
more time would be devoted TO the
maturing aud perfecting of plans and
projects, as in the earlier attempts at
am-navigation, which from crude
and imperfect knowledge of the prin'
ciples Of steam in connection with
machinery has cost such immense
sacrifices Of life, and which even now
are the results occasionally of igno
rance or recklessness on the part o.
machinists and engineers. Herein
we discover the fatal mistake o
sometimes getting along n little toe