Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-02-24
CASTLE BUILDING.

- Il
By MISS GEORGIA MoULE, OF wATERTowN
An Essay read before the Teachers Institute
at " atertown, Nis., saturday January 2Sd,
1869, and Published by request.
wtlI, nO douot, be lnterl ed that follow
Ing the announcement of this title, is to appear
Il prusy concaienation Of time-honored plati-
III ,es, denuncistory Of this questionable pur-
suit-aerisl- l-arehitecture-and you may per-
haps be SUI prised TO find that SO far from m
trodu cling the, sub ect for the purpose Of anath
ematizing it, in all the ardor OF that yirtuous
indignation with which the advisers OF youth
III every age have been wont to treat an occu-
patton so ina-material-I have thrown down
the gauntlet in its favor, and am ready, to-day,
to stand its uutiiuchiDg champion
First, then, let us consider the Tess important
it may be-features of this occupation, the
temporal pleasures OF this pursuit Who, 10
taking retrospective view OF his life, back to
the days OF his earliest childhood, could, for
d moment, endure the thought of having the
days spent in hopeful planning, and eager,
Joyous anticipation of The future, ooiterated
II ON his memory? Who would wish to forget
how in lites dewy morn, he loved to think of
the wondrous deeds he was to perform, the
grand achievements he was to make, and the
<, eat, untrammeled enjoyment in which he
was to bask when he was "grown up"
Trlfing tous now appear the golden schemes
which once sweied our childish hearts, but
they are fraught with hallowed lights, for re-
fected from them, on life's checkered way
come many of The rays that compose the sunny
portions OF that varied track Then, passing
along into maturer years, and recalling the
occasions when depression-that grim attend
ant upon an over-fasked trame--has been
warded off, disappontments robbed of their
sting, long hours of tedious waiting made
short, and tagging energies revived, by the
exercise of the magical re-creative faculty.
What matters II, hat to each of those por-
geous ediiees, SO dazzling in it's ephemeral
splendor, the rains of anxiety desc ,nded, and
the floods of reality came and the winds of
disappointment blew aud beat upon it, and it
fell, and great was the fall thereof hat
though, viewing ourselves to day, We are bui
caricatures of what, in those imaginative
days, we meant to be. Has not the happi
ness, derived lherefrom, been just as full,
though not quite as lasting, as if they were
built n marble ?
So much for the pleasure of Castle building.
Next, we come to the more material results o.
his much abused practice. Go with me, II
you please, to the humble workshop of the
mechanic. Mark the expression OF deep
thoughtfulness that rests On that toll-moIstened
brow, and the far-of earnestness that lends
brilliancy 10 that intelligent eye, as the weary
frame is sWaying monotonous TO and fro III
he rigid performance of the laborious task.
Castle building is going forward there
Wall uron wall, he is rearing high,
TIL the top looks out on the sunny sky"
and presently the nations OF the earth are ga
ziug in rapt admiration at the astounding i'll
vention that ori ginated in that lowy edifce.
The wonder working machinery, Whose
ceaseless hum fills theatmosphere OF our man
ufacturing towns, and by whose agency we
have been enabled to exchange the home-spun
fabrics IF our ancestors for those of more ex
quisite textures; that great art, by which the
treasured lore of every age is made accessible
TO the humblest citizen of earth, instead OF
allowing it TO be hidden a way in the costly
parchments Of the ancients; the magic cable,
by means of which we hold tea-table chats
with our trans Atlantio cousins; the steam
engine whose restless onward spirit, as if not
content with Transporting us in sumptuous
floating palaces, in the grandeur OF the orlen-
al voiuptuary, over the msghty waters that
enrich The globe, or traverse Its continents,
or, by whiriing us at lig htnIng spe. over the
plains and through the valleys of the civilized
world, has now sent emissaries to prepare its
way through the yet unyisited haunts of the
exploded American desert, and even its least
sanguine observers are congratulatlng them
selves that, ere another ausmD brings its
golden fruits New York and San Francisco are
20 be really and fraternaiy shaking hands.
All these were once Castles in the air.
And where, let me ask, can be found great
er Castle builder than the immortal Newton,
whose name shall be repeated through the
succeeding ages, while the' remains on earth
of all the temples of science, one wall to re-
echo the sounds. Or the ancient Galileo
who brought upon himself the unmltIgated
ven geance of the discount orted devotees of Co.
pernicus Or where more visionary archi-
tect than the humble native of Genoa, whose
sang Iine CO. struction of the earth's rotundi-
ty led b m TO the foot of the Spanish throne,
IN suppliance for aid in his enterprise Bur
what bearing, you k, has this upon the sub
ject uppermost in our minds to pay, upon the
purpose for which we have convened 1T the
Teachers Institute.
Let as see. Suppose the Teacher to enter
mis- class room at the beginning of New
Year, for instance, with q purpose bent upon
forming an intimate acquaintance with, and
acquiring thorough knowledge of the char
acter and temperament of each child under
his charge; and delightful task it is, one
hat interferes not with the daily routine of
duties, to watch the little group of tyros seat
ed before one each displaying, as he goes
through the perplexitles of his task, the char
acteristics peculiar to his nature. Will he not
be led to think next Of the probable future of
those young minds, of what they may become
if nurtured in d fitting soil and reared in a
genial atmosphere, in contrast with what sad
contortjon may take place in them, If left to
mature without the gentle guidsnoe Of 8 we'll
, trained judieious hands And working in