The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-15
THE. TEACHER AND HIS THEME.

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THE. TEACHER AND HIS THEME!
1t was beautiful, touching apdso, very
suggestive-and yet some there are 80 un-
charitable as to carp at it IL was during
the morning hour, the children of a neigh
boring village had assembled and were
busily engaged upon those studies, a cor
rect understanding of which are supposed to
be the foundation of that higher and better
education for which every ole asIires and
the neglect of which is ever a matter Of re-
gret, when their attention was attracted
from their books by the entrance of a man
who has been conspicuous In our political
history, man who, we are told, is San
earnest friend of education, aud a great
" lover of children" The evening previ-
GUS, this clover of children" had recounted
to those more advanced in life the story of
Abraham Lincoln, whose very name was
the synonyme of honesty and who by his
honesty, integrity and fsIthtulness, had
come from the most humble of stations to
occupy the highest office in the world, to
become the ruler of free people, the pres
ident of the United States. Well might
this ''great lover of children" advise these
school children, as we are told he did, to
strive each day, to take at least one step
upward in ''moral culture" tell them that
true beroism consisted in standing up for
the right against wrong, and give them for
their motto, through life. 'stand up for
" the right'-and we wonder not that this
visit and address was ga very pleasing
event to both teacher and scholars
This man selected to tell the story of
Abraham Lincoln, to instruct the children
of Vermont in morality, to teach them the
beauties of honesty and Importance of al
ways being governed by principle, of stand
ing up for the right, was Schuyler Colfax !!
We can imagine him taking Abraham Lin
coin, poor, neglected, ignorant boy, and
tracing his career through all its stages, q
rail splitter, flat boatman, an officer of
volunteers, a law student, a village lawyer,
legislature, a member of congress, candl-
date for presidential elector, and finally
president of the United States, dying hon
ored and lamented by the whole civilized
world-and all because he was honest and
faithful, because he strove leach day to
" take one step upward In both intellectual
"and moral culture" because his motto
was 'stand up for the right, and because
his life was an exempliticaton of that true
heroism which always consists in standing
up for the right against the wrong. How
could the value of honesty and integrity
and faithfulness, in merely human point
of view, be better taught and illustrated
than by the story of Abraham Lincoln |?
Worthy was the theme. rr09 /
Yes, the theme was worthy one, but
its illustration ought not to have stopped
here. We can imagine the orator pausing
a moment, glancing at the children before
him, and then proceeding to enforce his
lesson of the value Of morality, honesty,
integrity, faithfulness and of having prin.
ciple for guiding star, by contrast. He
tells them of another man who started in
life as poor boy, who, too, achieved
greatness and at length reached the second
office in the gift of free people. How
that man. as speaker of the national house
of representatives, aud vice-president of the
United States, in an evil hour subscribed
and paid for Credit Mobelier stock, how,
saying that there was no harm therein, he
said, and so testified under oath, that no
man ever gave or offered him such stock
how he, a public officer, received from q
government contractor quarterly pensions
of one thousand dollars how, under oath,
he floundered and confessed and denied
and prevaricated and how by being un.
faithful, dishonest and untruthful, from
being the trusted of the people he fell
until few there were so poor to do him
reverence. And then, with tears in his
eyes, he urged upon the children, as he
had upon the elders, the practice of that
moral heroism which consists of standing
up for the right, concluding something
after this manner "From the contrast
" between Abraham Lincoln and Schuyler
d" Colfax, learn the true value of honesty,
g morality, faithfulness and principle
Yes, it must have been Every pleasing
" event." for 1t was both appropriate and
suggestive.