The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-09-15

Atlantic. Let me say to those at whos'
bidding l speak, the reward OF youl
labors is to be found in the splendie
snccess which has crowned them and ir
the thankful appreciation OF our com
munity, all classes of which share WIFE
you q deep reverence for the man ll
whose honor your imposing trlbute II
brought. Not only this. From one enc
of this country to the other, in all tht
cities and in almost every town in th'
land, countless multitudes are vieing
with each other in the magnificeRce o
their offerings to the memory of Alex
apder Ven Humboldt. You have tht
proud satisfaction of knowing that youl
example has been their incentive; that
they but follow where you first led.
We are met to express our sense o
the gratitude which the world owes Il
one of its greatest benefactors. The i'm
portance of the event we commemorate
and the character of the man we honor
will serve to dignity the occasion and
to properly impress the participants II
these proceedings.
A desire to be mourned when dyinG
and honored when dead seems to bt
| inherent in human nature. But eXpe
rience teaches that few men win fame
without deserving it. Merit must be
the test of reputation. We may deceive
our own age and generation, we may
conceal what we are and obtain creuiI
for what We are not from men OF cut
time, bat no discovered art can cheat
posterity. History is written "abovt
the Clouds" In the clear light of truth
free from the interests and the partial
tiles that "shake the wavering balance
of cotemporaneousj judgment, the future
chronicler will make up his record, and
character will be estimated at its actual
not it's apparent, value. Men to be re-
membertd must deserve remembrance
Usefulness to the cause OF Truth, oi
Right, of Humanity, will be the stand
ard of decision. A life by which the
world has not In some way been made
happier or better, no raatter how pre-
tentious its deeds, no matter how lofty
it's sphere, will find no place among
cherished memories in the Hereafter
What was true when Shakespeare wrote
is equally true of our time: "If man
do not erect, in this age, his own tomb
stone, ere he dies, hs shall live no longer
in monument than the bell rings and the
widow weeps."
1t is to be regretted that the converse
of this rule has its exceptions-that the
benefactors of the race do not always
receive its benedictions. Too often are
the good mans virtues written in water;
too often are the achievements OF
great men buried with their bones. And
yet ingratitude is not law of human
nature. Philosophers may moralize
upon the fickleness of fame, but obliv-
ion is not the invariable doom of great
ness and of goodness. Men do preserve
their exemplars of virtue, of heroism,
of unyielding devotion to truth
"Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,
The noble of all ages,
Whose deeds crowd history's pages,
And Times great volume make
1t is in obedience to this principle-this
instinct of reverence for departed ex.
Gel lence, that we this day unite with the
civilized men of all countries and climes
in owning allegiance to one of the first
monarchs of the intellectual empire.
Frederick Henry Alexander Won Hum
boldt was born in Berlin, September ID,
1863. His early studies were pursued
i'm private under the instruction of such
masters as Fischer in mathematics, En-
gel in philosophy and Dohm in politics.
His taste for the natural sciences, q
taste which gave direction largely to
the labors of his life, also received care
full cultivation and development. His
University studies were pursued at
Franz fort-on-t -the-Oder and at Gottln-
gen. Leaving the latter institution in
1890, he travelled through Belgium, Hol-
land, France and England, returned to
Germany, mastered finance and com
mercial studies, turned his attention to
practical mining, and received and held
unit! 1897 the position of Mining Super
intendent in the Fichtelgebirge. A
contemplated visit to the Holy Land
having been interfersd with by political
complications, we hear of him in Paris,
the peer and intimate companion of the
first scholars of the age. Having re-
mained here until proposed Govern
ment expedition for exploring the South
American coasts, which he desired to
join, was abandoned, he passed
the following winter in Spain,
in travel and scientific research.
His kind reception at Madrid, and
and the generous patronage extended
him by the Spanish Government, doubt
less led him to proceed at once to Span
ish America "and there crafty the long
ings for foreign adventure which had
haunted him from boyhood, but had all
along turned him in the dIametrically
opposite direction of Asia" OF his
travels through Sonth America, the
tolls, the perils and the results of that
famous Journey, my limited time for
bids me to speak. Let me only say that
the countless contributions TO science
which were collected during the prog
ress of that hazardous enterprise, were
all garnered as valuable treasures In the
store houses of physical knowledge, and
were sufficient of themselves TO give
this dauutless traveller a high position
among the foremost men of the world.
Three centuries before, the Spanish
adventurer had journeyed TO the same
regions to fulfil his cherished hope o,
founding a magnificent empire IN the
new lands of the West. Circumstances
Udu ldNDltu MS SuISCSss n wan HHN
simple aboriginal race went down be
meath his iron heel; the treasures of the
Incas freighted his homeward bound
galleoBs, and the future of Spain was
bright with the glory of her new poses
sions. At the beginning of the present
century came another bold dlscoverer
to the same land, seeking to make 1t
tributary, not to ambition, but TO
science. He looked upon the country
where the fancy Of the Castilian had
located that FL Dorado, from which be
had hoped to derive eternal youth and
yipor for his race. He saw nothing but
weakness, and ignorance, and barbaTism
where Force had attempted to found an
,mpire of strength, of intelligence and
of enduring greatness. He also came
as a conqueror, not of men, but oil
Natures mysteries. He explored her
fastnesses, be measured her mountains,
he mapped out her rivers, and lie car
ried the most valuable of her physical
facts back TO the civilization which bad
sent him forth and dedicated them upon
the altar of learning. Who shall say
that the fruits Of this conquest can ever
pass away and be forgotten While
Chimborazo shall stand, Humboldt Will
need no monument. While the Orinoco
sha1l urpe her billows to the ocean, he