Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-12

3
"a. 1885, a.... ava
GENTLENEN ALUMNI OF CuNBERL AND ONiNEK
sITY: / bow with reverence and awake IN my
senSibilities TO the interesting and touchlng &C
easicn which has united SO many OF her SCI
tered children at the shrine OF our eeautifnI
Mother. After many long years OF lie 5 nttul
fever" diversified with toll and pleasure. with
hopes and fears, with good and EVIL fortune. we
return. as pilgrims, to our Meccs.
We come. trust, not as prOdlgaI sons. but
with ten. and some with an hundred told, as Of
ferings at her shrine, and to do homage at her
sacred affairs. 1t is true, that during our long
absence, her symmetry has been marred, her al
tars misplaced ana hsr iSuntanS5s1hvS l daI
like that of Ahaz seemed turned backward for
time; yet, .-- ID.
You may break, you may shstter. the vase. If
you will
The scent OF the roses will hang round it still"
The sceptre hath not departed from our Judah
for all time, but, by the blessings of Him who
tempers the wind to the shOrn lamb. our Alma
Mater has again reared her bruised and broken
crest amid the fragments of her old household
gods and, like the mother Ofthe 6racchi with the
voice Of sad affection. eXclaims, Come unto me.
my children; you are the remnant OF my scat
tered lewels!.' In response TO your gene! Gus
call, Mother we come to nestle once more IN the
lap Of love. ''the enviei kiss to share" we come
from tn busy baunts Of life, with our varied
offerings. and ask Their acceptance.
We come i-sOme from the PutDif-that sanct-
uary of love and holiness. whence issue the
waters Of life eternal,-sittinR as vgils on tho
outposts Of life beckoning with theshi ling cross
the wayward and wandering spirits TO the bat
'emeDts Of heaven. Some from the Bench.
Where Justice sits enthroued 10 her robes of
spotless ermine, dispensing her temporal edicts
flr the good of man. Others from the Bar. that
attractive arena where forsensic INSTALLATIONS
magic blades of Saladin and the ponderOus bat
tie axe Of Ceur de Lion; testing the skill and
power OF the cOmbatants as they struggle for the
Prize with more than Olympic zeal. Some there
are, who come with their EsculdpidR motto.
Non si6t sed Gtiis," from that field Of active
NH hwVu. l..
the kind office Of the good Samaritan. and wells
up the Warmest symp athies Of generous hearts,
put calls into requsition the skill of the practi-
TONER, when the lights and shadows of life and
death are alternately swaying the brittle thread
on which hangs earthly hopes. Some from the
literary tripods of Editorial sanctums demon
stratiDg. through their unmuzzed organs that
the pen is mighter than the sword" culling
here and there, the flowers of literature and
welding imperial sway over the popular heart
Others there are in our circle who come from
the Pr0fcssor's chair and the Lecture room
where the handmade of learning plies her busy
wheel spinning those scientific threads which |
adorn, as with garment the scholarly mar
and whence Is scattered too, as from a cOrnu-
SOpla, the gold-dust" of knowledge "o'er the |
budding lntelleets of the rising generation" |
May not say that these occupants of our seats
OF learning are as beacOns on the isles of the |
ocean OF mind to light the young mariners, as |
they grOpe and struggle through clouds of ig-
nOrance. galding them on their way to a great
moral and intellectual haven. Let the hearts Of /
those weary pilgrims burn within them, like the |
learning talk with them by the way" Again,
more envied class of your children come from
the sHnHvHetds and silent shades where life is /
less dependent and more at ease, as il is quietly
spent IN the sweetest and simplest rusticitieS,
surrounded by lowing heards and grazing kids |
alternately listening to the babbing brook and |
mellow horn-and rejoice, as Philosophers of |
nature, IN the IyrOlean strain. tn yldfuiap sab /
recu6HHs feGmiRc Jugi' Otherwise from the /
commerce lmaTts and avenues of trade where /
ilie runs on IN golden sands" and thrift doth
bring its sure reward. Among your duti- |
ful vOtaries is fOan1 the Artisan d eveloI ing by
the magic Of mechanics, that to-day is a. i'm
PToSement upon yesterday, and but an earnest |
OF Tomorrow, in all that is to ameliOrate the |
condition Of life. Some are from the ERgHeej. |
thg department, that adventurous enterprise |
which enables continents to whisper as neigh
bors- through the post-bOys OF thought beneath
the waves and DER the land; enterprise. that
penetrates the heart OF the mountain, spans the |
wave, and, upon an iron wing, rushing like a |
thunder bolt, sWOOps through the valleys liRat- |
ing with cords of steel the arteries ofeommerce
hitherto broken, until ROto Pegasus drinks be- |
meath the smiles OfAurOra on thes Opes of the Old
Dominion. courses with thesun DER the "COlos- |
sus of Rhodes (rOads). and amid tn gorgeous
ness ol the near setting day, battles his burning
sides In the broad waters Of the great Pacific! |
others there are who have figured upon the |
Political arena, and won the laurel. and worn
the bay, upon the hustings. in dav 5 when to do
so was more honorable than in these distemper-
ed times.
And though. our mother, We may have been |
hayward and lost much of hesimilitude of our
long ago; though the playful freaks of boy l
hood have given place to the soberness OF ma
turer years. and ardent enthusiasm 10 more
dlgnlhed reflection; and though some of US are |
carewOrn and weary, and here and there the
almond blossom is beginning to flourish above
our Wrlnkled fronts" yet We are proud TO |
know vOH still claim US as pour children; while
noe. recognizing the impress of your genius upon |
our varied fortunes, must assure you, that. with
true nllal devotion. Wherever we may nave |
wandered. We have never forgotten your smiles
nor your irOwns out have turned and Worshipped |
you with that SunshOWer devotion
(which gives to his God, when he sets,
The same look that 1t gave when he rose"
We are stricken with grief in this Alumni>
reunion. to look around and find here and there |
a vacant seat. where brothers used to sit and
catch inspiration from these fountains Lf light
and knowledge. Thy scythe and glass, U, |
Time, are not the emblems of thy gent pow |
err" Thy memorable demands have been an
sW cred by GROWING with the victims wreath |
The chosen of our band, Thy death angel has
tapped his uurelenting wing, and waited the |
spirits Of our braves and best from amongst US. |
Since We were here the spirit of inteTnecine |
strife, red with revolution and stirred by an
uncommon wrath, seems to have grown weary |
of his favOrite kurOpea.f haunts, and, in search
of fresher fields, dropped from the bridge Of
signs" into the Nenicean wave, and darling, |
AIethusa-hke, beneath ocean Of waters.
dubbed up in our Western world. This rest
ius of liberty; has held high carnival in our
temples; has gotten drunk on crime and yom-
tied blood until many Of our old familiar
haUnts and our quiet, beautiful homes became |
as blighted gardens, and even the very walls Of
our old sanctuary, which sat like a beacon on |
the slope Of yOnder Parnassus, were raZed to |
the ground, and her sacred timbeTs, touched by
the torch of war, vanished into cracking flames |
and wreathing smoke.
1t is encouraging, however, to her children |
here again gathered to know that, though the
physical form was destroyed. her spirit was not 1
consumed, but only slept through the long night
of her misfOrtune-has risen, PhwniX-like from
the ashes-is once more prepared to bless her
childTen's children with her wOnted smile of
affection, and again invites the youth of the |
land to drink at her Perian fOunt.
In the midst Of this termination and this re-
union is it not meet that tho light Of other
days" should play in sportive rays about the
heart cords and uuchain from the prison cells
Of thick peOpled memory the incidents of early |
college life; and that sweetest friendships in
woke the images from boyhOed's mirror, for fear
they die away, does its lullaby The quaint |
traditions of college life, which hang about its /
classic walls as drapery about picture. TO grace
and soften, should not be swept by iethean
waves into the ocean Of oblivion, but, brought /
forth by the inv cations Of JOY from the tomb of /
the past and retold, with touch Ofnew delight, |
as each cycle invites the annual feast
The organization and keeping Of Alumni So /
cieties Is not alone to foster science and litera-
ture. but 10 photograph anew, by our reunions, /
those beautiful pictures of college life, which, i
Ike flowers IN memory vase, must wlther and i
lade. uuless refreshed by the dews of the pass
ing hour. CallOu5 the heart that Is not moved /
TO quicker beat by contact with the dear /
old scenes Of college life, and dead thelsOUl that
does not relumc It's light of love from the ashes |
Of the past aud let wide ats portals as some
chum, ana let incidents Of the Olden time spring
forth TO the magic sound, like hidden warriors |
10 the Moorish Caverns. Ii these reunions are |
not golden apples from uespeTides. stolen be"
meath tie ylgIls Of every day life, they are GER
tainly flowers pluCked from the broken arches
of our Appian way. These treasured incidents
constitute the aroma Of our individual and bio
graphical history; yea, they are the greel ivy
that cings to life's broken column! Can not
say they are the bright threads woven by the
shuttle Of accident OF fate into our sOmbTe webs,
and haunt US. in our happy moments, as beauti,
fulyisions until. like leaves m whit yweather,
a Ee drop through the broken arches along the
Ngay Of life, and are swept. by tie river OF
Utne." into the great Hereafter!
Irpon an occasion like this, whe-e is Assem-
bled for the Grst time so many of those who
have graduated in the Law Department 81 the
Gun berla d University, will II not be ia per
feet taste 10 discuss
"THE BENCH AND THE EAR2'
The Bible recognizes society as composed Of
three grand T,idtiOnshipS. First, the russian"
aud Njff. as shown by the gift Of I've 70 Adam
from this grows, as the leaf from the tHlg, Inc
secohd-P,rert and child. The thIrd-Mdst
AID Nsrrnut-is a convenience Arising out OF the
two first. These three grand relationships ARI
ing been established by the great Organizer OF
the Universe, Tor the government Of society,
brook no iutTactl0u.
The torch that lights up the marriage altar
consumes the trguL existence OF wO nan. but en-
larges her sphere for usefulness; aud should the
allar-hTCs become eNtiHguIshed, hOrrid. CHASTITY
shapes would ARISE from the cold. dead ashes.
and chase away happiness and prosperity. The
be obedIcnt unto your pa ents, that thy days
may be long IN tnel land which the Lord thy
G,d giyeth thee is sufficient admOnItiOn to
attest the sanctIty with which this second, and
subordinate relation Is regarded.
The dominant spirit Of man, as well as the
responsibilities attaching 10 hun, AS the head f
Little circle, demands service in some form;
md Il care not what his color OF cline If not
obtained from other soui Ces, all history tea h =