Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-11-19

N-iVhF ANt'o'-ts F1t'tf t'AiN ~
That rustic softly meath our tread.
Beautiful leaves.
That the frost King Weaves
In natures magic loom.
sz.zzzzsszzz
Concluding Extracts from Wei
coFlie Address 10 Teachers AS
sOci;ltioEs, al Bridgeport. Oh Sat.
urtiay. November 7Ih. 1874. by
Dr. J. VI. Todd.
While 7 press warmly each palm,
and force deeply into each heart the
word WELCOME, extend to all here
to-day a happy, cordial greeting-and
1 teel / can in no wise more appropri-
ately impress upon you the earnestness
of this civility than by brief review
of the inexhaustitle and imperishable
riches of your field of labor, your mis-
sion, its high aims and holy ambitions,
and its vast spOnsibililieS
The hearts that beat in unison to-
day for the triumph OF the education of
the popular mind, are worthy Of the
worlds homage. And yet, how will
ing the service, how plant the will to
kings and potentateS;. with what am
bitiOn we press into the presence OF the
honored of the earth, to secure their re-
cognition, bask in the sunshine of their
smiles, and hang in breathless admi-
ration on their utterances-be they
wise or otherWise-and then,
rise with respectful awe
At the, word given, and obsequioasly with
draw"
So the multitude goes, all their lives,
like wlde-mouthed rustics at a show,
gaping for more wonders, regarding
every rocket that eXplOdes as new
star burst into the ornament. and
learning no wisdom, when the thing
ends in burnt stick and bad smell.
There is place Cor all such in the para
disc of fools. We would not derogate
from a laudable and reasonable adula-
ton of the men OF E5tate-in hOnOring
their positions we honor ourselves
but to run after and canOniZe the sound
in- brass and tinkIing cymbals of SOW
ereignty, wherever found, is a crying
evil of the age. Take an example to
our purpose quite: The Shah of Persia
has Just fnfshed the t0ur of Europe.
An ovation awaited his royal presence
everywhere; Kings and Emperors de.
lighted to do him honor-and yet, were
single member of this association to
exhibit such 8tolid ignorance as was his
wont, | fear on examination day you
would get in the world Of letters one
Of Bishop Hughes big 'hists' from the
g. IN Ln hot Ntf.. Of
great gutter.
Worth makes the man. land the woman tool,
The want of it the fellow,
And all the rest Is leather and prunell;,;"
1t has been said, 'Giye me the men
who make the songs of the country, land
Icare not Isl no make the laws" say,
give me the inperishabie honOr that
belongs TO those who educate the youth
Of the land of the world. They do
service worthy the gratitude and hon
or of all mankind, in comparison with
which the tinscl of royalty is but pret-
ty baubles. " hat work is yours,
teachers!-What vast espnnsibiIities!-
what arduous struggles! Forty years
ago, rear this spot, l wei! remember
thumbing au old spelling-book, as
many of you doubtless nave done,
which had IL frontispiece called 1.-The
Hill Of Science" along up its rugged
sides toiIed a way-worn student. Be
fore him Were overhanging ledges, and
apparently inSuperable barriers; behind
him were difficulties overcome, formi-
dable as those confronting him. With
painful interest, day by day watched
the weary traveller, and wondered
when the painful journey wound end,
little dreaming then, that knowledge
could have 40 limit, because the great
Architect Of The mystic hill, was him
self illimitahie, and His works could
not be measured in their grand totali-
ty by any being less than Himself; or
that discoveries made already 10y the
weary footman, could not even lessen
the domain of the Unknown, which is
infinite. Hence the progress OF kn0Wl-
edge could have no end till Time itself
should be no longer. Nay, it is in the
very nature of discovery. as We weari-
ly ploG along the declivitieS and Jagged
prom0ntories of this formidable noun
tain, that new knowledge should be it
self the productive parent Of still great
er acquisitions, and that the very bril-
liancy OF one era Of scientific advance
ment, must be but the precursor OF an
other yet more beautiful, as in the as-
cent OF this highly diversified hill of
the speller, the peak gained to-lay but
shows the peaks to be gained to-mOr-
row, and tomorrow. The disposition
and ability 10 guide the inquirer, and
direct the footsteps upward aud Oh
ward, are badges of royalty worthy
the adulatinns Of the world-a royalty
dependent on no popular whim, or ac
cident of estate, but is as enduring in
their influence as the eternal ages, and
whose gems sparkle as the stars, and
whose limit is alone measured by the
infinite wisdom of God. How bound
less then the domain of the teacher.
how grandly prolific the field! Sci
entific perfectibility has not only ever
Knocked the proudest attainments of
the most gifted minds, but likewise
scorns 10 be circumscribed even by the
broad boundaries of the human inlagi-
nation. When fhe amazing endow-
ments and profound wisdom of New
ton-that prodigy of nature, and orna-
ment of science, who
with awful wing pursued
The comet through his long elliptic curve,
As round innumerous worlds 1t wound its
way
When even his wonderful learning,
and almost superhuman attainments
in science had transported him TO
height where almost ''ansels bashful
looked, he found heights above, still
more sublime. When he had arrived
at what seemed to Others as the ultima
thule of scientific knowledge, he found
that other continents even, sublime in
their vastness-aud other islands, beau
.tifnl in their verdure, lay Outstretched