Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-06-22

He forms his opinions after mature
Thought, acts upon them, and Is not
swaSed by every shifting breeze OF chang
ing opinion. There is a kind OF specula-
tive courage and practical courage the
possessors OF the one are always ready 70
weave deep and subtle theories, aud are
ever active mentally In searching out rich
gems OF thought and storing them aw ay.
but lack the active, practical, Loving
courage TO push them into the World snd
make them useful. They "a like the
miser, who By unceasinP. .o,, has accumu-
lated vast piles of go. 1t and spends Sleep
less nights countlSg II over. have known
literary aud moral misers who seem to
labor bard TO store up knowledge,
and their gamers are rich with its
golden boarded piles, and yet there 1t
stays and they seem to reap quiet pleas
ure in It's possession, but lack the moral
force and courage to push 1t into some
definite channel and make Il useful to
the world. They lack practical force,
practical will power, practical courage,
and, like the timid servant who buried
his talent in a napkin, they fail to account
for its use. They fail TO reach that point
in life which was intended for them.
They fail to make their impress upon sne
world around them, and, like tsde barren
hg tree, they are but curnberers Of the
GROUND.
When Martin Ldthef, that great leader
OF the reformation, poor and hum
BILE monk, had worked out in
his mind and neart the troubles that be-
set religion, and boldly advocated his
doctrines, he excited the wrath Of Pope
Leo the Tenth and Charles the Fifth and
was summoned before the diet at Worms,
a body OF learned dignitarles. He was
repeatedly warned that II he went his life
would pay the penalty. What was he TO
do2 Here was a dilemma; II he went
the chances were that he ~clild iose his
life; II he staid away he virtually covered
before his adversaries. His bold charac-
ter soon determined the issue, and in that
rough. and-ready style which character
lied the man, he said: mot 90 to
Worms, say your will go II there are
as many devils In Worms as there are
tiles on the roofs Of the houses" He
went, and the signal gun OF the refot M
alton was sounded over Europe
1t was echoed among the noun
tains OF Switzerland; it was heard
In the sunny wales of France;
it resounded from the Albion cliffs of
England, until every mountain side, rock,
hill and valley seemed resonant with It's
thunder, and the nations of the earth
shook and trembled at the approaching
footsteps Of God. True courage which
boldly asserts itself, without the fear OF
opposition, asserts itself in the face of
danger and defeat, asserts itself even in
the face of death may be found in the char
acters Of such men as Ridley aud Lati-
mer aud thousands of other heroes, who
have willingly laid down their lives as
vicarious offerings
UPoN THE ALTAR OF PRINCIPLE.
When Robert Il. Lee, an officer In the
United States army, with the opportunities
of the highest promotion in an army of
wealth and power, resigned his commits
sion in order to accept the fate of his
own people, and to follow his loved Vir-
ginla into new and untried confederacy,
1t was thought by weaker men that his
moral courage was tested--but not SO
Guided by that spirit which rose highest
in the thickest Of the leaden storm, his
waving plume was the rallying point for
the giants OF battle, and he knew no such
words as physical or moral fear. When
at AppomattoX the two great chieftains
met, the fate of war was turned against
us. Our gallant Lee offered to sur
render that sword which had served his
------"-y - ss.iuifuiiJ .---S -,-pli, ~ was
magnanimously returned by Gen. Grant,
and became the subject Of a poem, from
the pen OF the late lamented Ryan, the
poet priest Of the South:
Out of its soabbard Never hand
waved sword from stain as free
Nor Eurcr sword led Drawer hand
NOT Drawer bleu for brighter land,
nor brighter lang mad cause so grand,
nor cause chief like Lee
His character was grander in defeat
IMAM In victory, nobler in peace than In
war. From Northumberland at the
mead OF great army he proudly assumed
his rank as a private citizen aud became
a modest teacher of Southern youth. A
few months ago had young friend who
was a teacher In one OF the public
schools, and was complaining Of the hard
duties OF teacher. told her to look
upi she had the noblest occupation on
earth-that OF molding the character Of
tle rising generation, In the chosen pro-
lesslon OF Robert Lee, himself the
grandest oharaCterof history, A listless,
cold and dragging nature, without energy
nre ana enthusiasm, can never push itself
: N-AN Va nuUkG HUl SuE-
lime objects.
The byways Of the world are lined with
men ana Wviliva wac, ike Mr. MicaY-
Der, are always "waitlng for something to
turn up" II they had other advantages,
Y they had some capital, II they had in
nnential friends to aid them, IL they had
little more OF this or little less OF that,
they would work wonders! Such chsrsc-
tiers never accomplish anything except 10
furnish examples for the young-exam-
pies Of weakness, examples of
lndecision, examples of lazi
ness, examples OF poor, yaclllatlne
humanity that are blown about like bub-
bles on the surface of the great sea of
life. Show me man who Is willing TO
grapple the round of the ladder within
his reach and to climb with energy and
decision, looking ever upward and on.
ward, and will show you a success.
What matters it if he is q hod.carrler
to-day,ii he can be master workman to-
morrow What though he is now we X
and Ignorant, II IN the future he can be
strong and wiser When the engineers
OF Bonaparte, who bad been sent upon a
reconnaissance Of the Alps to see II an
| army could pags that Tuiuhtv harriar :,