The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1870-07-11

been fought-of the fields that have been
made red with curnage.-of the banners
that have been batlled in blool-of the
warriors that have come forth from victo-
-ies, clad in glory as in garment, how
few continue long to interest mankind.
The victory Of to-day is dimmcd by the
defeat of tomorrow. The sun that rose,
all brilliant in the East, goes down, OBJ
scured by clouds, in the West. Disgrace
often hangs upon the heels Of honor. But
this is not always the case. There are
events which exercise q lasting influence
upon the world. There have been battles
fought which Fixed the fate Of Nations
Had the successor Of Mahommed been
triumphant on tho plains Of Tours, Charles
Martel would have been driven from
Paris, and in all probability, France
would, to-day. have followed thcshcresics
Of the Koran. Had Hannibal taken
Rome, the lustcr other authors would not
have polished the intellectual world. Had
Russia conquered Turkey, Christianity
would have been restored to tae home Of
its earlier patrons-Aurelian and Justin.
ian, and had not the arma Of the Republic
triumphed in the late struggle, who can
tell tho result. 4si55 ~.
It seems but yesterday that We emerged
from terrible and devastating war-a
war in which couutrymen were arrayed
against couutrymen-friendi against
friend and brother agains. .brotLer-awar
conceived in hate and born in hcll-a war
which clothed our whole country in q
purple testament Of blood. No Nation
ever before sent forth in such swift sue
cession, armies Of such magnitude, dis,
cipline and valor. Compared with the
campaigns Of Mcclellan. Sherman and
Grant, the march Of Campu, iuto Egypt
Of Alexander into India, Of Cesar into
Spain, are dwarfed and belittled. Com.
pared with Antietam and Shiloh. and
the Wilderness, Agaeeourt sinks into the
proportions of melee, and Poictiers de-
generates into skirmish.
Z The contest has ceased: The smoke Of
battle has rolled away and vanished into
air and we look upon the waste, the
wreck, the dcsolation that remains. In
the Sosth, where i;iia -,
"silent tents are spread,
t~ss And glory guards, will, solemn round
The bivuoac Of the dead, .i. Ga
we see the soil undulated with the graves
yof the fallen-we sec nlaimcd and disfg-
ured men where'er We go--we see pale
faced want, grim. gaunt and hollov-eyed,
clasping those Graded in luxury and
reared in the lap Of ease-we SEQ mourn
itg in almost every zhousehold-we see
de,olasion where once was frui. fulness aud
plenty-ws see ehsrishsd hopes bstiad in
thsSdespest abyss sof dark despair -but,
worse than poverty mourning and death
worse than buried hopes and desolated
l,car,h.stones-far worse than all else-we
see the morals Of our country buried be-
meath the ruins. .s.5rrs.,
] Look around you to-day, and what dc
you sect The pure stream Of virtue
which once coursed through our fair land
is polluted-the healthy conservatism Of
theipast ha, been swept avay-agrarian-
ism is rearing its hydra head against the
laws Of society and seeking to drag down
honestIindustry to its own shiftless level
-tho Press is teemibg with licentious pub
LEGATION, corrupting tue minds Of the
young and miuistcring 10 the purient
tastes Of maturer ycars-corruption, bold
and unblushing, is courting attention on
every hand-lioentiousness unveils its
brazen face in the broad light Of day, nnd
Justicehas snatched the bandags from
her eyes, and with scale extended for The
expected bribe, stalks through the land
hawking her favors to the highest bidder
Here is work for all. let us rise I,
the necessities Of the hour. Let us throw
ourselves into the widening breach, ane
stay the rush Of tho progressive tide
which threatens to engulf us all. 1 ap'
peal to you as citizens who love the good
order Of society-as patriots, in whose
hearts love Of country is enshrined-to
throw off tho sloth which oyershadows
you, and 60 to work earnestly and with
the faith ofloving hearts, to restore 80
oiety to its pristine purity, andout country
10 lis former greatness.
I have taken tho liberty Of speaking
thus plainly, because l believe that the
salvation Of our country depends upon The
virtue Of our citizsns; aud that, unless the