The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-05

elevated-that perhaps, in our catalogue of
maxims which are to possess the mind. is the
maxim which points to where the failure of the
unsound majority in a great democracy like
yours will possibly lie At any rate let us for the
moment agree 60 suppose So And the philoso-
pliers and prophets, whom at any rate | am dis
posed to believe, and who say that moral causes
govern the standing and falling of states will
tell us that the failure to mind whatsoever
things are elevated must impair with an inexora-
BILE fatality the life of a nation just as the failure
to mind whatsoever things are Just. or whatso-
ever things are amiable, or whatsoever things
are pure, will impair it, and that if the failure to
mind whatsoever things are elevated should be
real in your American democracy, and should
grow into disease, and take firm hold of you,
then the life even of these great United States
must inevitably be impaired more and more un-
til it perish
Then from this hard doctrine we will betake
ourselves to the more comfortable doctrine of
the remnant. THE remnant shall return shall
convert and be healed itself first and shall then
recover the unsound majority. And you are
fifty millions and growing apace! What rem
nant yours may be, surelyi A remnant of how
great numbers, how mighty strength, how ire
slStIble efficacy! Yet we must not 60 too fast
either, nor make too sure of our effcacious rem
nant. Mere multitudes will not give us a saving
remnant with certainty. The Assyrian empil
had multitude, the Roman empire had multitude.
yet neither the nor the other could produce
sufficient remnant any more than Athens or
Judah could produce it, and both of them per
1shed, like Athens or Judah.
But you are something more than people of
fifty millions. You fifty millions mainly
sprung as we in England are mainly sprung,
from that German stock which has faults indeed,
faults which have diminished its power of attrae-
tion diminished the extent of its influence and
the interest of its history, but of which it is yet
true, as my father said fifty years ago that it
has been stock "of the most moral races of
men that the world had yet seen, with the sound
oct fho1 al f,s.,
est domestic civil virtues" Even supposing
therefore, that by the necessity of things your
majority must, in the present stage of the world
probably be unsound, what a remnant, l say,
what an Incompatible all-transforming remnant
you may fairly hope, with your numbers, if
things go happily, to have!
Mr.. Arnold is a typical Englishman in appear
ance and manners-six feet two inches in stature,
with hair parted in the middle, fatty brushed in
front, and with side whiskers. His eyes are
rather obscure and his nose and mouth decidedly
otherwise The insular eye-gass dangled over
an expanse of linen, and now and then was
secured into place to look over the audience.
He spoke with broad, yet clear and quite dis
tinct accent, paid but slight attention to his
manuscript, yet occasionally darted glance at
it, that was by no means graceful,
but which was forgotten in delight
at the forcible clean-cut complete
sentences of English pure and undefled, which
made up the lecture In two or three places Mr.
Arnold's dignifed and manly references to
America, to England, and to himself evoked
audible response, and when he bowed at the CON
clusion the audience testified their pleasure by
generous applause. Mr.. Arnold was introduced
to number of our most prominent citizens as
the audience filed out and impressed those who
ma cf f,plx {hoY, ha In
heard him with the fact of his cultured and
SCHOLARLY manhood.