Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1874-01-01

Great Cities.
by HON. JOHN HICKMAN.

by HON. JOHN HICKMAN.
Great cities, i'll moral aspect, are great tore
and the result of mans cupidity, mans ambi
tion, and mans vanity. Eventually they be
come the nursing mother of mans crlmes.-
They are stenchy ulcers on the State. To con
centrate vast wealth within small district |.
10 infect what otherwise would be a SCUM,
health and to spread social tain.
To walk in Rome is to stumble over rui d.
and To be brought TO consciousness. Stand IL
the Forum Magnum, or sit upon the fragment
of mutilated column and look around ant
solve seeming mystery.
Here was the centre OF a worlds capital
Studded with basilicas temples ,a.id monuments
1t recllled all ofpIevious life; life from barbar
ism to refinement, from dependence and pov.
erty TO supre me, august authority. Here was
the rostra and yontier the column commcmo.
rating the great victory of Du Illus over the Car.
thagenlans. What grandeur and what glory
There it was that "Tuy watched while Gaia.
line conspired."
From komeus To Cesar fiom the wolf hui Sc
TO the constantly corrupted matron; what ages
OF vicissitude and experience.
Planting the small seeds OF what sh all prove
TO be future empire is watching an infant
Hercules in his cradle, or teaching the child
Shakespeare his alphabet. Shall II ever possess
either physical or mental strength? The future
her Vow,is pmied alive. 1t is hidden yet quick
but must, sooner Or 'aler, die the death Every
Work OF mans hand is pershable. How much
could Mohammed forsee of the influence OF his
creed, William Of his conquest of England
Charlemagne OF his sovereignty over France
or Washington of his revolutionary labors and
sacrifices? Simply, nothing. Louis Napoleon
hid as he supposed, reviYsl "The Empire" u
DC heiedItary in his issue. The Bou rbons are
8XDclIpu from Al a Tijuana nFS ,,I
tons run, forever
The descendants Of the Moor's serts hopes
through his fears, and fears whilst he hopes
Inc crescent, having oversladowed the East
pales before the march of events, and Constan.
lllople is doomed to become christian centre
Inc Cross NOV, slowly, but surely around the
ESr,h The Mistress OF lands and seas bearing
ner meteor flag" long trembled before the de-
crees OF continental bastard. The brain Of
what was ancient Gaul begins TO soften and
semi-idiotey may be the result.
Inc law which begets Liberty, and the Lib
erty which defends Law, are by no means Sc
cure even in the United States Every thing
os'liiatps wlihthe unsteady motion OF our plan
ct. r
AS Tar as we are able to discover the first law
OF nature IS motion, action, change It effects
eVery created Thing from celestial system to
agaseous atom. II is primordial and as eter-
nal as its Founder. It first p4rfects and then
destroys. It's an ever-revolving wheel.
"There is the moral of all human tales.
lis but the same rehearsal of the past.
rlIst Freedom, and then Glory-When that
fails, ~
wealth, vice, uption-barbarism at last
but we cannot DOW wonder outside of con-
sueratlons particularly affecting the metropolis
OF social life-Great Cities.
Inc Pnrltans planted New ENGLAND the
Dnteh, New York, and the luakers, Pennsyl-
Vania' Dut Who watrred and gave the increaspo
Mha' was the seed sown, the rain which ferti-
Lzau, and the crop which is now beino barvast
ed' II Is not to be believed that the o,i.inal
settlers were other than rugged, ure-minded
anu Vutuohs-noyed by the highest motive q
anu having the )blest objects in view. They
were not mercenaries intent On thrift, but de.
voul heroes Drawing all manner of dangers =
"hat simplicity was theirs. Neither yewyaws
or costly diamonds bedecked their persoI,s.-
vi science and courly phrases they were ignu-
rant In homespun and with home-learninp
they stepped with the muscle OF ripe man.
hood, and acknowledged no superors save God
anu Law. Their simple f rest homes were
aDodes OF faith and love. Tley knew rom
whence every good and perfect gilt came. and
They offered morning and evening sarritir.
upon the altar Of a consecrated heart. Here
we imagine we see the nearest approach To the
E. 00'''"-
The first law, alike ofmind and matter ,orcs,
and controls. The command is either
FORWARD OF backward There ia M
such thug as stand-slill. We move either
IN right path or wrong path. In the cln,rl,
oil the inevitable whittier will they be l.lp We
VIII see. Ultimately downward.
Coie 8 "Course OF Empire" is pictorial ~
eie-a whole history TO be comprehended at a
il a mari .apt.
Vi Feiumes, and ever recarTing events. II il
more than paint and canvass. 1t is the poetic
eTouping Of the worlds generations: the
Aipha and Omega Of fully wroughtou, d.s-
tiny. "@'
Between the Lighthouse and the granite tem-
pie, the stage coach and the locomotive. the
printer's horse mail and the telegraph, what
ssp-what aguli! And yet it has been bridc-
ed, brldged through development generally cali
ed progress. But every step which has heen
taken over that bridge has led the traveller
away from ylltuous thought and action
This at least is our assertion, as il is our he.
liet.
AS we write we are thinking of Charley Mar
iiu, once our schoolfellow, and as honest. BRIGHT
and ambitious boy as ever lived. We idoIiz-
ed him with whole heart; he was so unselfsh
so gentlemanly, scholarly and proud. His ca.
reer had been marked wonderful; but we can
only hint at it, as the publisher says he will moi
tolerate long, verbose and tedious articles
me father OF Charley Martin was a farmer
OF little capital, but prudent, practical. and sa
gscious. Very early, and very poor, .e lad
married his wife, and trials came tblrkIy and
heavily upon him.
After years Of continuous tod, he baca,n,, ia.
nominal owner OI lean farm, heavily rncun
bered with debt, and hc resolved 10 accom-
pllsh two thing--to pay what he owed, and ed
ueats his son. Ilrfnuh" OF the be-, was uui
only nousekcGh-r, bar / household li~..,.,ity
que CHUNG 10 her husband AZ the NY To- Ih.. " All
AS Ruth TO Naomi Conhdine pal,. an 1 ,ut
you would Judge ali angel could hot consent To
enter. But greater than messenger visited
them. He had given them a boy, and be taught
them their duties toward him They PRAYED
the Father 10 bless the chid, and they received
put was 1t as they had pstifioned? The deyot-
ed parents sowed and wrought in faith and
strength, did they really reap the reward thew
seemed to have earned, Never did youth pro-
duce brighter buds OF hope than in the case of
Charley Martin, but what was the fruit to be?
There Is canker, and worm, and rot, in field. in
garden, and in home; we ought not therefore
TO est'' sttthe worth of the yield until the har-
vest o., egathered In. The Reaper is some
lin 'aDeath, followed by Destruction, as the
b ihuer.
Charley Martin grew and gained knowledge
he fed and fattened on The books OF the school,
hud OH the writings Of the sages. Few of his
AZ" were wiser than he; indeed, few as wlse.-
ny many he was regarded aS 4 marvel, and by
all as Iare int llIeenc-.
by bis winning manners and hood reputation
be secured the confidence of all tho knew him,
- go ~