Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-06-14

essay on Difficulty" There is an aim
which al men seek. The end. the light
that breaks the cloud into thousand
different forms, the child who proudly
laughs at the mastery of some new les
son, unconsciously develop the same
impulse, the impulse to prove its own
power. This is one of the aims of life
We cannot know our power till we are
tried. As soon as we finish one thine
another higher thing is waiting to be
done. In all progress there are diff
culties to be met, and success is meas
ured by our power TO overcome these
difficulties. Most men have too low an
ideal. Half our powers are wasted I'M
tried. Kepler and Newton overcame all
obstacles and so became great philoso-
pliers. What we hope for is in our
nature and may be drawn forth. Diff
cultieS vanquished make our strength.
The most important element of success
is spirit of independence and the re-
solve to work things out for ourselves.
No labor is wasted Exertion brings
its own regard. He who conquers in
the face of difficulties, amid sneers and
disheartening experience, accomplishes
a grand work.
Miss Nettie Woolsteuholme, IN her
essay, suggested the changes that mark
1.-The Last Decade" The predominant
characteristics of the present age is an
uneasy, restless seeking after
something broader, deeper and more
satisfying. There have been great
changes in literature, education, i'm
provement, invention and religion. The
uneasiness and restlessness is most
plainly shown in the prevailing strikes.
The Knights of Labor have been grow
ing more powerful. The main object
OF this organization is to benefit the
working classes. Their leaders are
agitators and not thinkers. If they
were thinking men they would see that
they are the ones who must suffer. The
capitalist can live anyway, and men
who get good wages may become capt.
talists. Society suffers more from the
waste of money than from the want of
it. During the last decade literature
has had much added to 1t, but we have
also lost many of our greatest writers
and thinkers. One of the greatest inn
provements has been the completion of
the Canadian Pacific Railroad. During
the last decade there have been no
great inventions but there have been
great improvements on inventions. Ed
ucation has advanced in the last de-
cade. This generation is greatly in adj
vance of the preceding one. Common
schools are being graded, new branches
of study are being introduced, more
competent teachers are being employed;
the teachers calling is taking the shape
and spirit of profession. During the
last decade the army of workers for
temperance has increased, and temper
ance principles are being Taught in the
schools, by showing the evil effects of
alcohol upon the system. The prosper
ity of our country depends not upon
the abundance of its revenues, fortifica-
tions and public buildings, but with us
as with the other decades that have
preceded us, all real progress depends
upon the quantity and character of our
moral ideas.
Miss Lena Oswald next sung in
manner that delighted the audience, a
little ballad of THAT Traitor Love-
An essay on "Our Characters fol-
lowed. Miss Doyle compared charac-
ter to a fabric that each is weaving for
himself, the threads of the fabric being
the acts, words and thoughts of our
lives. The little things of life change
the pattern of our weaving. The forma-
ton of character is not the work of an
instant but of lifetime Actions and
intentions must be pure and right, the
nobler instincts must rule over the
weaker. The essential elements of
good character are honesty, purity and
kindness. We often speak of charac-
ter in the sense of reputation, but char
acter and reputation are widely differ
ent, for reputation may be gained by a