Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-10-19
SPIRES.

Tue animal Cahcu ma - oil The high.
esi type known BY that appollatieu, and
yet he persecutes his kind more than he
does any other animal. The best test Of
u mau is his philanthropy or charity to-
ward his neighbor. An mankind is kin.
il the book Of Genesis is to be believed;
aud if you take the trouble to trace back
the c to,Adsm aud Evs-but as John
G. SAKE puts it, this might not be agree
able to some people, Tor
II your family thread you do ascend,
You may fnd IL Waxed AZ the other end
BY some plebeiAn vocation; {
Or IL you trace back the ancestral line,
10 may end In q rope OF stronger twino
That plagued some worthy relation"
This shows the folly of counting up a
blood pedigree, as it is bound to COM
meuee where all other pedigrees had
their beginning, aud the ending is not
yet A profound philosopher has as
serted, and with truth, that soap" is the
real test of civilization, as the great uu-
washed belong TO barbaric races, and
cleanliness aud civilization go hand in
hand together, just as did our FIRST par
euts in the Garden Of Eden. Soap is
therefore the origin of aristocracy or the
i" blue blood" as il is called in all civil
ized lands; consequently, when a person
desires to brsg on his or her pedigree, he
or she should say lin order to be logi.
calIy correcil, II am the result Of
soap" or a compound of oil and alkali, a
substance that neutralizes the plCbeian
and unwashed world, known chemically
as " acids" The alkali world builds
fine houses out Of soapstone, probably,
but in so building there is no necessity
flor surrounding the house with a rail.
ing, on top OF which are placed Spikes"
The philanthropist, the humanitarian,
the pure Christian never puts spikes on
his fence or railing whereby the outer
world could by any effort tear its pants
or upper garment. You can travel Main
and other streets and you can find spikes
on ratings, which railing withoue the
spikes would invite weary humanity to
sit down and rest. To do a good and
charitable deed is humane, conss-
quently we find in public squares aud
parks seats ready for the weary. In
front Of many buildings spikes ale ready
on iron ratings to receive With hospi-
tally tired humanity. Even in front
of some churches can be seen
spikes on iron ratings, because some
weary. unwashed acid may stop to
rest were they not there to prevent it or
to receive humanity on the point OF q
sharp instrument. ln all charity it may
be intended as a lesson to teach such un-
initiated humanity that as such spikes
are a thorn to the flesh, so may thesecol-
l%ections Of such be t their conscieDces
should they depart from the paths OF
rectilude and morality. AS you pass
along our principal streets, if you put
your hand on an iron railing you are apt
to receive injury, and if a perverse wind
blows your garments over the railing a
rent is the result. Laurence Sterne, the
great author Of the Sentimental Journey
Through France, and Of Tristram
Shandy (which latter work has been
translated into nearly all modern Ian
gusges), says OF Uncle Toby, that, being
annoyed by a fly b%uzzing around his
head, he suddenly caught it, ard his hu.
maniiy and generosity being aroused, he
walked to the window, threw it up and,
turning the insect loose. said: Go thy
ways, poor fly; this world is large enough
for you and me-" There is a great moral
in this lesson. II teaches gil that the
Coed Book insists upon do unto others
as you would others should do unto you"
but yet Christians put spikes on their
railings 10 Memphis to torture people
who desire to ait down or lean against
such. All hat ia what Beecher in bis
better days called true in~wardness," or
that selfshness which looks not outside
Of itself. In the name Of poor humanity,
we protest against spikes on ratings.