The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-09-01
,EXANDRIA La, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 1862.

ton. Man, you know, more than any
other creature, has the faculty Of Oh
serving and remembering, of collecting
and comparing, and ofdrawing conclu-
sions by the lights of reason. Now,
remember, that it is chiefly by bringing
these powers and attributes to bear
upon the facts and phenomena of, ma
ture that the world has been brought
from the rude, condition of ancient
days to its present advanced state of
industrial energy and material prosper
lity. Remember, that to observe nature
does not require those rare powers that
the young, especially, are apt to fancy.
All of us, each in his way, are observ-
ers Of nature: and it is the faculty of
noticing what comes under the eye,
and Of striving, each in his own way,
to trace effect back to cause, that ! am
advising you to cultivate and nourish,
until it ripens into habit.
You remember it was the fact, ia
miliar to Others, no doubt, but first no.
ticed by pump maker, that led to the
invention of the barometer, an instru-
ment which now daily and hourly saves
ships and their crews, merchants and
their fortunes, from wreck and disas-
ter.
The whole science Of electricity has
grown out Of fact first noticed in the
kitchen.
A traveller bought writing desk in
England, brought it to this country,
and observed that it soon began to
wary, crack and spit. That fact led to
the discovery Of a most important me-
neurological circumstance; viz: that the
climate of America is dryer than the
climate of England.
| And. so with many other discoveries
las the alteration Of lightly MOTTO
ing that the wind-vane on board ves-
sci under sail pointed differently the
the moment she anchored.
i Every physical fact, by whomsoever
observed, is, when placed in its true
connections, discovery, an invention !;
and all such facts are like the sheaf of
magic wheat--the more it is threshed
the more it yields.
Here let me remind you that do
not wish you to infer too much. In
citing these examples, and urging you
on to observation and study, do not
wish you to understand that am hold
ing them up to you as the chief incen-
tive why you should observe and study
the phenomena of nature. Far from
it. The chief incentive, which l wish
, to hold out to you for the study is, the
idea that it will certainly make you
wiser and better men, and may make
you benefactors, If not of the world, al
, least of your own people. What YOU
are to observe is the work of Gods
!, writing traced by holy fingers, an6
spread out before You by omnipoten,
hands, with gems and precious stones
for your good, your enjoyment ant
!, your delight. The pleasures and tn,
profit which the fondest student o
history, or the most devoted admire
= Of romance of song, or Of story, or tn
: greatest lover of music derives from
reveling in his speciality, is not to b.
envied for a moment by the observing
!, student Of nature; as he pores Owe
this great and mighty tome, which tn
Creator has garnished with the star
;. above, spread out in the air, suspend
= ed in the trees, written upon the land
scape, engraved upon the rock, an
:, buried in the earth.
i As an example, you have leari4e
: here the properties of light, and place
Il the knowledge in your educations
corner stone. Light, heat, and SOUND
: you remember, are all impressed upo
= our senses in the same way. Color
Is conveyed to the eye by the vibrations
Just as music is to the ear. But til
- organs ofthe human ear are SO ordere
: that it cannot comprehend, color an
more than the eye can see SCUM,
- Nevertheless, your right minded oil
:, server of nature may, whenever, wit
= his mental eye, be looks aloft in COZ
temptation, hear over again the son
n which the morning stars first sang Il
: gether, or at this season, when he tax,
;. his solitary walk among the beautif1
!. hills and lovely landscapes that su;
70 round US, he may not only feast b
- natural eye among the exquisite flov
ers which deck the rocks and festOo
the cliffs, but his mental eye can e,
NJ joy feast; also, Of the most cxquisi
:, relish.
OIL Light as well as sound has It's gamu
H. The high notes comprise the violel
ID end of the spectsum; the red Ell
a. forms the base, and though the huma
te ear may not catch the songs that Il
OF rose ndthe lily and the violet sing Il
or livelong day, they may, for aught :
, !: know, be to the humming bird, Il
re butterfly, and the bee, music more q
N chanting than that which Prospert