The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-06-26
different compositions. I'm : dungeon

different compositions. I'm d dungeon
of the Bastile, reposes, on his pallet
of straw, an old and feeble man,
whose sole crime, in the eyes OF mis-
prosecutors, was, that, s'nfter the.
manner they called heresy, 80 wor-
shipped he the gods of his fathers. p
It is Bernard de Palsy, who, in spite
of all the power welded by the
bigotted and bloody Catherine, and
her weak son, refused to abjure his
faith. The King of France is stand
ing before him, trying to shake that
faith by persuasion and menace fHe
is telling him that he has been his
friend, but, unless he abjnres his
religion, he will now be constrained:
to deliver him up to his enemies, to
be burned on the morrow. Bowing
before his sovereign, touched by the
kindness he had shown, but grieved
at the weakness he displayed, the
old man. infexible in his duty, re-
piled in these memorable words:
.'Sire, your Majesty has often said
that you pity me. For my part. [
pity you for pronouncing the words
Il am constrained This is not speak
ing like King. But, let me inform
you, in royal language, that neither
the Guisarts, your whole people, nor
you, yourself. shall constrain o poor
potter. I can die" s'I can diel"
royal language, indeed, for it is the
language of truth, of faith, OF duty. 4
Which of these men-Sylla, the for
tunate. or Palissy, the martyr, is the
greater in the sight of wisdom 2
/ Which the most successful, if this
question ,is to be answered, not by
time, but by eternity? r
1t is my earnest counsel to you, to
make a firm. and abiding sense of
duty the great active principle of
your lives I . do not tell you to do
this, because it is expedient that you
should do SO; [ do not promise that,
by SO doing, you will gain renown,
heap up riches, or escape sorrows,
because no such false and iLlusory
hopes can be held out to you. On
the contrary, you may fail, as many
of the best men have done, in accom-
plishing the objects dearest to you
on earth. You must look for no
earthly reward. if you adopt this
principle, and you may even expect
to suffer on its account; but, in the
face of this expectation, I still con-
jure you to cling to it, for it is the
right. Perhaps, as you walk, toiling
and painfully, along the straight and
narrow way of duty, where difficult
ties meet you at every step, where
dangers appal and temptations allure
you. your strength may fail, and you
will long to follow the alluring but
crooked paths of sin; if so, think of
Him, who, crowned with thorns,
trod, with naked and bleeding feet,
the road that led to Calvary, and,
from his example, learn to cleave to
the right, even if thus doing so leads
you, too, to the cross. Perhaps, when
you see vice Haunting by, in her
triumphant chariot, crowned with the
laurel of victory, drunk with power,
rich with spoil, seductive in her
meretricious beauty, pressing on
swiftly in that broad road, which
seems to lead to fortune, pleasure,
glory; while virtue, sad and afflicted,
with weary steps and slow, pursuing
her lonely way on that thorny and
rugged path, which ends only at the
grave, your hearts will sink, and you
may be tempted to forsake the true
faith, to worship at the shrine of the
false. Should such temptations
arise, should you be disposed, for
the sake of expediency, to sacrifice
duty, go to yonder quiet cemetery,
and, as you look upon the grave of
Jackson, think of that great soldier,
pure patriot and humble Christian,
"Who taught US how to live-and oh! too
high,
For such a price-who taught US how to
die"
Should any further incentive to
confirm your wavering faith be then
needed, turn from the grave of the
dead hero and Christian to contem-
plate the living one, and learn to live
like him, whose inspiration has been
patriotism, and whose pole-star is.
duty.
ANOTHER IMPEACHMENT SCHEME