Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-06-16

Ne eohAinonooueHe paiit given thls year
in the exchange building.
TILE ATHENAEAS.
| NEWARK, June 15.-The alternate
smiles and frowns of yesterday cbeaked
not for an instant the busy preparations
going forward for the celebration of the
forty Seventh anniversary Of the
Athenaan Literary Society and last even
ing found tine oratory filled with the usual
crowd. The stage was deliberately and
| handsomely decorated with flowers and
evergreens. network of box wood
thanked each side of the stage and a rich
horal anchor stood on the left, while
above il was an arch in which the word
"Athen9an" burned IN loses and the
society's Greek monogram bioomed In
| living red and white. On either side of
the platform sat tine members of the two
| societies, number OF the Alumni, several
clergymen, the faculty and some of the
trustees of the college.
The Rev. w. W. Heberton of Elkton
made the opening prayer, and imlne-
lately afterward Mr.. Calvin Cubbase,
chairman for the evening, introduced MIR.
). ii. Messiek, the society orator. His
subject was, "Our Nations Future.'
The speaker first described the i'm
mense natural advantages which our
country enjoyed and the splendid system
of government which had been given to
us by our forefathers. "Our part OF the
| continent is the embodiment of the
glories, civil and religious, of all the
nations and the excellence OF all the
ages have their counterparts in our insti-
tutions." He thea spoke of the dangers
mt lrua paI ,F
"We may boast that it Is impossible for
any OF the nations of the world to con
| quer us, but we have to fear a more dan
| Serous, because more insidious, power
than any one of them-more dangerous
perhaps than all eombined-and that
| power turks within our borders" He
then referred to the corruption and
bribery which accompanied our elections
| in recent years, and the danger that
closely contested elections may precipi-
tate our country into bloody war. "The
| time may not be far distant when conse-
Grated patriotism will be- necessary to
steer the ship OF state safely between the
| Scylla of state rights and Chary bdis OF
| Capitalization.
Another danger to our institution was
the flight of European masses to our
shores, bringing with them communism,
lntemperance, Sabbath dissertation,
| ignorance and those religious sects which
| tend to break the friendly alliance exist
ing between our civil and religious insti-
| tutions.
But the speaker concluded that as we
had passed safely through so many crisis,
THAT we would be able to overcome the
difficulties to which he had referred, that
the sun of our liberty will show no
| setting, but he will continue TO shed his
| glorious influences upon the nations OF
the earth until our country shall be
acknowledged queen of the world and
child Of the skies"
Music interviewed, and then the Rev.
James Y. Mitchell, d. d., of Lancaster,
Pa, who had the chief Grafton of the
evening, was introduced. Ills subject
was, " Incentives to Industry" Dir.
Mitchell, in opening, spoke enthusiast
tally of his associations with the Athen-
can Society. This said, he launched
| upon his subject.
The Creator has made activity the law
Of the universe. Atoms, worlds, pro-
claim it. All things are in motion ali
things TEEN with life. The mind, like
| the muscles, weakens from disuse.
Labor is not punishment for sin. ''Uh,
If old Adam hadn't sinned, then We
shouldn't have had to work." say some,
and many lazy folks thus go cursing po0l
Adam all through life. Adam was bad
enough, bat don't blame him for all the
things you don't like. Work is neces-
sary 10 happiness. In the human hive
there are workers and drones. The mind
may be regarded as the queen bee. TIT
ant, bird and beaver have been tuiling Us
long as man has, but man alone has gone
forward. Mind has done it. 1t is the
philosophers stone that turns all things
INTO gold. Industry is the mother ol
good luck. II all men We're oilers, man
would be worse of than the brutes. We
are all dependent upon the workers.
There Is love story connected with the
invention OF the stocking loom.
student, not of Delaware College, was i'll
the habit of visiting young woman, as
students do, and lie frequently found heI
engaged i'll knitting stockings. He
thought there was too much time given To
stockings, and accordingly he invented
the stocking loom and so gained all her
time-a result WORTH working for. The
speaker was not certain that these deli
cate attentions are always productive OF
such inventive genius.
When Christ wanted laborers he chose
active men; they We're either mending
their nets or casting them into the sea.
When the devil wants disciples he hunts
up lazy people. ldleness is the devil 5
cushion. The ruin of most people dates
from some idle hour. To do nothing is
contrary to the laws Of our nature.
oilers, ii they by accident do something,
have so satisfied nature that they talk OF
it forever after. A lazy man once was
bearer at funeral and he talked of it for
\ month after.
If food were mixed with labor there
would be less dyspepsia. The workers
will find time for all things. Grattan
walked himself by the overflow OF water
from a basin filled from barrel. The
speaker knew some people who would
upon waking to find the bisin overflow
ing, turn of the barrels spigot and
go to sleep again.
DIR. Mitchell illustrated his subject
: very happily with anecdotes humorous
and otherwise and closed with poetica
{ quotation.
The farewell address was delivered
by Mr.. T. r. Mcdowell of Fair Hill, Md
who took for his subject "lntellectua
Freedom" The spe tktr started out b,
claiming freedom to be the normal condl
, ton Of man-neoessary to the full exercis
!. of his God given powers. He referred u
mems primitive condition as atfordini
: every facility for happiness, and tina
i much of the sin and misery of the worl'
, is owing to the ignorant condition oil IN
i human race after the fall. lie held tina
1 .,f tl,.A n..la