Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1872-12-07
Character.

actsr which marks his identity. In
some persons, good and evil arc so
antithstically t,i1ed that we con scarce
determine whether VA ought to con.
slider than virtuous and honorable.
It is the dsplotable misfortune Of these
that, having no fixsd principles Of ac-
ton, thsy veer about, unstable ~ the
tresehsrous 500. I4ikeths many.hued
chameleon, they change in thought
and act till unreliable" comes to be
their proper designation, and the most
indulgent Of their friends are forced
to admit the fact that fatal weakness
the weakness Of change-bars them
for ever from greatness, makes them
traitorous to love and friendship, and
spoils them of an attribute which dis
tinyuishes mankind from the brute
creation.
Character e1nlts the saint; charac.
ter stamps the demon. tits charac-
ter which We love when external at
kractisn fades in both man and wo.
man. The hidden jewel Of the soul.
it commands affection and respect
down to the day whom age, having
"clawsd man in his clutches --ss
Shakespeare has titles down in bat
tered desol.tion, like some grand old
crnmbling edifce, bearing on its classic
front the magnificent architecture
which protects it from vulyarity even
in ruin.
The man Of character is also the
man Of nstve; no may bc neither n
great statesman nor politician; he
may DO humble in his associations and
his aspirations; hi. heart is right, his
integrity mistaken. He looks on truth
with clear vision, acting in accordsn' e
with i,s supern.l dictates; be does
not fes. the face Of his fellow men. for
bis sonl 10 white with integrity, and
he looks hnlably and sruAtingly up to
IN. Eternal Source Of Truth, a. his
fellow beings, in q lowlier sense. look
up TO him, because he is trustworthy,
and. in short, has chnr.cter-good and
stable character-that cornerstone in
individual greatness, that Doric and
splendid colu nn in the maJestic struc-
ture Of a true and dignified man, who
is at once al heir Of glory, frail
child Of dust" To earth only be-
longs his eorrnptible body to another
and more enlarged sphere. his soul,
stamped with divinity. Hear Hope Is
immortal bard on this subject:
! Cold in the dus. this persisted form may
liz,
But that which warmed 1t once shall
never die.
Tha, spark, unburicd In its mortal frame.
With living light. eternal and the same,
Shall Msm on joys interminablc years.
Unveiled by darkness - unass,agcd by
tears
1t is here that character is being
formed for eternity. The nursery Of
heaven. esrth. teens with her millions
Of deathless souls.
tits fearful reality that the barren
6g-tree and death-'ii.tilling upas here
and there meet our sight, but these.
though fit only to Be burned up and
destroyed, cannot mar tho growth or
retard the fructifcation Of useful and
pracious plants, destined to bloom
hereafter in celestial glory. fast by the
throne Of God.
Again, wssay. az surely a. a tree
is known by its fruits, 20 certainly do
we know men by their acts. Charac-
ter, whether good or ILL, must, in the
long run, become evident; like mur-
der, it will out; srt cannot conceal it.;
dissi mutation, with its snaky circum-
locutions, cannot hide it. Again we
say. even in this life, character will
not Away be concealed, and charac-
ter makes the real man, whether con.
cealed OK not.--N1c Orleans Times.