The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1882-06-08
THAD II. MANNING, Editor.
COL. II l.. POLK'S ADDRESS
BEFORETHE ELLSWORTH
HIGH SCHOOL, WE'D,
NESDAY, MAY3I.

01G SCHOOL, JED
NESDAY, MAY3I.
Young Men of The Ells,rorth Male
School. Lad;esn7ad Gentlemen:-
Had yielded to my first im-
pulse. on receiving your courteous
Invitation to address you to>day,
lshonld, respectfully, have declined
Tie pEofered. honor; and while the
sa,x sssignsA me by your kind
duty Es;.,,ty is scarcely less RESPONSE
p par ,han that OF a Herald of the
be aso .sAy yet IL" oosy not decline c, the
C,o' a.res go tsfptingly offered by
;n,erethg OCCASION Once
, more ! TRANSPORTED to the ge>
~. sr esof rollickipg, happy boy
''a once again with grateful
NO ! breathe the cxhileratiDg
illness of the early morn hear
ie music of birds and mqrmuring
streams. and the ringingahout of con
genial companions, and see beauty.
harmony, peace; love, hope and
cheer in all the world around me,
rs I look into the bright hopeful
faces before me!
But bring no choice flowers
from the bright fields of Poesy.
] come with none of those sweet in
= SEPARATIONS, which l fancy must
cluster so lovingly around the dear
name of Akma Mater; but | come
from the scenes Of active, moving,
snsIling busy life, to bear a mes
TO the pupils of your school and
Nang men of this community.
Hest fapg friends. from tho ear
present. tlot civilization to the
frauoht 'DS sIhas been no period,
Of Dii uts,, ana slorious triumph
the one in which Won ana an msf e., as
! BE- n num.a Many of You Win live 10
can people. You may live
o this magnificent country
g from ocean to ocean in all
resplendent glory and gran
OF a higher and happier civil
tion, than has ever yet adorn-
7ed Or blest people; or you may
live to see it the bleak and desolatc
abode of the genius of ruin. You
may live to sec this, the happiest
most prosperous and powerful peo-
that ever figured in the annals OF
the world; or you may live to see
this God-fayored land transformed
into one vast Mausoleum where
shall be buried forever the splcn-
did wreck Of our past and pros
pectivc glory, and with it, the
worlds last hope tor civil and re-
ligious liberty.
You may live to see North Car
DINA by her craftsmanship, her en-
terprise, her intelligence and virtue
towering high among the foremost
of her sister States; or you may
live to see her proud old name en-
rolled on the mournlul list of ex-
tinct governments and wrecked
empires; and become q by-word
and a rcproach among the nations
of the earth.
And these possible conditions oil
happiness or misery, Of power OF
impotence, of glory or shame, are in
a large measure being pre>deter
mined around our neurth stones
.s.4 az our school-rooms.
North Carolina's record. from
the earliest OF our annals, has shed
lustre on the brightest pages of
America 3 glory and tame. Her
people are rich in e cherished the
treasured deeds andtraditionso Of the
past. They are strong in the oppor'
tunities and resources Of the present.
They are favored with the most in
auirin0 promises of an inviting
future, which is oil aglow with
the most brilliant progress that
has marked any period in the
worlds history.
But the successful utilization of
all these inherent elements a1d
the development OF all her varied
capabilities. can never be reached
until we shall have provided for
the education of her masses.
And by education, do not
mean simply the mastery Of those
studies prescribed by the cnr:icu-