The National tribune., 1883-12-27
TIE AFFAIRS OF HUMANITY.


Endure, and wait and labor.
THE AFFAIRS OF HUMANITY.
In every civilized land rise striking and
costly monuments commemorative Of the ma
tons valor and constaucy in days of fearful
trial. National pride has set national wealth
and national skill to the work Of adequately
celebrating, in piled stone or enduring brass,
| the events which have made q peoples history
/ illustrious.
| But we have none of These No Trojan has
| built for US triumphal arch. Our capital has
no Column of July, no Trafalgar monument,
| no Lion of Geneva, no Statue of Hermann.
/ English, French, German, Swiss, Spaniard
and Roman have erected monuments to patriot
| ism. We, like the Athenans, have none.
/ The Athenians lavished a wealth of genius and
/ fancy, that the world has never eaualled, upon
! temples to the gods, but they, with that keen
/ tuition that revealed to them things hidden
/ from other peoples, seemed to recognize the
/ hopelessness of art enhancing the impressive
ness of fields where men died for freedom and
right and SO left them IN their majestic natural
i simplicity. They had no monuments at Mara
then or Platea, as we have none at Gettysburg,
ChicIzamaug9s, Shiloh. or the Wilderness
There is need of none Granite, or marble,
or brenze would seeln but tawdry addition to
those sublime affairs OF humanity.
We want no beIittleing attempts at making
memorable that which the heroisn of vast
hosts of men have made it impossible to forget.
! With each return of summer the long slopes
of Cemetery Ridge and Round Top at Gettys-
burg, glow and palpitate under the ardent WOO
| ing Of the July sun. as they did twenty years
ago. The bearded grain stands III russell shocks,
the quail flutes and pipes' in the stubble, the
white cottages simmer III the glare, the fruit
bushes towards ripefsess rs maiden toward
| woma1hood, the painted batteTiiy lives his enc
day Of resurrection and heaven serenely float
ing through the sun-steeped ether from odor-
GUS pink to nod9ing poppy, the white clover
breatlie5 q fragrance rs sweet and fine as the
aspiration from pure thought, and motion
i less fleece of clouds Hes around the measure
less depths Of the blue sky, like gentle foam
crests ON some infinite ocean Of purity and
restfulness
There reigns over all that benign serenity
which is like unto the peace OF God, and it il
the peace of God.
These eternal hills have been made our mon
uments, and they viii endure and speak II
men when the brass and stone of Europe hays
moldered into dust.
YES, REMEMBER GETTYSBURG.
For the people Of the United States and o
the world there can never be any idea of peacs
connected with those consecrated heights, any
more than there is any association of peace
with Marathon or Waterloo.
The thought Of them cannot fail to arous.
} memories of the grand drama enacted on thei
breasts The sun pyramids OF Egypt are feebll
mementos beside them. The sun may shine
upon them with varying tenderness, the cloud
weep over them, the SHOWS make them shee
: of ermine lifted up toward heaven, seed timt
and harvest may come and go, the flowers cove
the earth with d garment of beauty, die dowr
TO withered skeletons and wake again to highe
{ glory with the return Of spring; but to th
world there viii never be but one aspect Il
those hills.
With every mention Of the name comes baci
the memory of the first days of July, 1863, AM
the thunder of hundreds of deep-yoiced can
} non, the deadly clamor of 200, 000rifes. Thos
sunny heights are crowned again with ten
score regiments of biue-clad young veterans
standing sternly at bay in defense of the Ma
tiod's sacred life. Their feet press thrashinl
floor of DEATH where his terrible fail beats on
3 lives as numerous as the grains which leave tn
: overfull ears under the farmers stroke.
We see again the supremest effort of the re
beilion, when Pickett marches out his 1S,00
men from behind the cover of Cemetery Ridge
and moves forward in an array as poftentoH
, as a topping avalanche. We see In the lon
mile of firm brown lines, tipped with cleaning
steel, the flower of the troops Of the Southern
Confederacy: they carry more than Caesar AM
his fortanes-they bear those of the rebellion
] All the fierce destractiyeness of secession
termination to destroy the Nation and erectupol
Q its ruins another dedicated to human SLAYER,
burns In their bosoms. Better men than the,
to strike the crowning blow were not at tn
command of the rebel leaders, nor could tn
: blow have been better delivered. As the
sweep forward the Nations life trembies in TIL
balance. Ii they gain the summit of Gene
terry Ridge the rebellion is successful; iffhey
are driven back it is failure. Two hundre1
, thousand men have already died for the Ma
, ton, and 10000 have also died for the Con
, federacy. Il is now to be decided which o
: these shall have died in vain. Pickett reache
!, the foot of Cemetery Ridge, and begins the as
/ cent over the soft rich carpet of white clover
One hundred Union cannon T6nd his ranks a
hail tatters delicate leaves; 100 rebel eannol
behind him tear our lines as the lightning
] shiver oaks. But he presses onward, and Gu
men stand firmly. Midway up the ridge TIL
! blasting musketry begins devouring both as
saiants and assailed. Then the battle-fags G
!, both sides surge together in the deadly strue
: gle for a few brief, terrible moments, and the
. the stricken remnant of that host of desperat
men flies back TO cover that will protect then
: from utter humiliation. The charge has failed
. Gettysburg is victory, and the success of th
+ rebellion is now no longer possible.
e Such memories as these ennoble the soul Q
], every man, woman, and child that can la
, claim TO the name of American. They cleans
. and sweeten the moral atmosphere, strengthen
ing and invigorating everyone. The lowest
! rneanest and weakest are not so low, mean an
= weak as they would be without the exaltatio
I given by these reinembrances of the past
as--------
i Another Bill Suggested.
rr4. 4 NJ. s,r..