Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-18

Of as thought, and the Fsrwells are Justly ~
entitled to our thanks, and this celebrs-
ton by this vast concourse OF
our citizens is the best expression
of our feeling toward the men
who have made 1t possible. This
magnificent building will speak
for their skill s thousand years
after we have ceased to speak, and
when the state in its citizens shall realize
value in these lands improved and set
tied mp Of $40 to SO per acre, no one will
say that the FarwelIs were not entitled to
every dollar they will make as
JUST REWARD
for benefits received by the stste. In
1852 by the sale of her title 20 New Mex
leo, Texas occupied the cspitol which
was destroyed bylfre in 1881. Let US not
pass lightly by that cid structure. Its halls
knew so much Of the grief and glory or
Texas, so much of her splendor snd her
sorrow and SO often saw her destinies al
ternately 'etween triumph ard ruin.
Within the walls Of that old cspitol whose
burned foundation rest yonder, the gov
ernmentfof Texas WAS administered for
twenty eight years. Beneath its roof
we're assembled thirteen Legislatures and
four constitutional conventions. There
were framed the constitutions OF 1851,
of 1866, of 1869 and or
1886. The organic law under which
we now live and containing the provision
for the erecting Of the ccpitol in exchange
for 5000, 600 acres of the puOlic domain,
passed within the walls since wasted by
fire, over which the historian of Texas
must ponder. It WAS there that the fair
profits Of annexation withered beneath the
simeon breath Of war. Here, too, in
frantic haste, wss consummsted the act
which shattered the golden links welded
by sixteen years OF union, and hurled
Texas into the vortex of secession, and
after southern vslor had wrecked itself
against the weight of the Union,th same
old capitol, on whose ruins many Of this
multitude stood, saw reconstruction
plant its crown Of thorns around
the weary brow Of Texas and press the
sponge of bitterness to her lips. Yet
| that same old building saw the parted
sceptre return to JuGah when the Four
teenth Legislature grasped the reins Of
power and submitted the constitution
under which we live. In
the adoption OF that constitution
you, the people, decreed the erection or
the building which you to-day accept and
dedicate to your use. 1t decreed the
eternal union OF Texas. Hereafter let no
man seek to put asunder that which the
fathers united. Let those who wait upon
the last hiss their hate snd
| SHREK THEIR CURSES
| in the ear of him who would plot the dis
memberment of Texas. To-day is an
era in our history. The survivors
Of .he early struggle who view
this building realize that all which they
did was not in vain. Texas stands peer
i en- and har hrnVv Ia
crowned with bewlderIpg magniicence.
This building fires the hesrt Of all. II
stands alone, the haughtiest type OF mod
ern civilization. In other lands the hand
of man has reared walls as stately
IS these and pierced the sky In prouder
heights. The architecture Of civiliza-
ton is its most enduring feature, and BY
this structure shall Texas transmit her
self to posterity. For here science has
done her utmost. The quarry has given
its granite and marble, and thS mines
have yielded their brass and iron, and an
empire has been passed as an equivalent
flor this house. All that enlighten-
ment and art could do
has been done. Were I to repress the
reflections that occur to me now would
be untrue to my convictions and to this
occasion. It would seem thst here gilt
tiers structure that shall stand as
SENTINEL OF ETERNITY
TO gaze upon passing sges and the survis
vors should mourn as each separate star
expires. Were we to feel thus
precedent would Justify us. Those who
builded the pyramids thought the Egyp-
tisn empire eternal. Those who reared
the coliseum boosted that it was pledge
: that Rome was everlasting. More solemn
lessons are taught at our OWN doors.
Great waves have swept DER this con-
, tinent like waves Ger the bosom OF the
deep and left traces almost as faint. Who
. reared the pyramids Of Uxmalf the
palaces Of Palenquef the msusoleums
, OF Mitta2 The splsndors Of lowered Full
, Iona? What is the date, origin or the
fate Of those mysterious, civilizations that
, have vanished forever in the forests OF
Mexico and Central America and flee
| from the search like those Elusive lights
, that fash and fade above
, the silent tomba We are
,, but one Of that vast procession OF races
) which fate has decreed should pass across
, this hemisphere. We have no right to
say that we are neither the arst nor the
last civilization whose impress this con-
. tinent shall feel. In other PERIODS the
|, world has lost civilization and resumed
i. IL OuE pOccC6oSo sAS w.
ments of perpetuity, IL differs from any
Of its predecessors, II the lessons Of the
past have not been taught in vain.
: They tell us that the future holds In hand
: an hour when the curious antiquarian
= shall wander through the rooeess cham
!. bers amid the shattered srcnes and fallen
: columns of all this imperial msgnifcence
: and ask, when were those walls reared!
q Was this building s palace or
= prison, tomb or templef Does
: it seem impossiblef Bsslbec's marble
- columns are as proud as these. Yet who
chiseled them? Who carved the hero
a glyphics that plead for Interpretation
!, from the sculptured walls OF Palenques
q The past hath . fearful Lesson OF the
: instability OF earthly greatness. Men
: dwelt upon the earth thousands OF years
: ere they ascertained its shape. They
! shed soss OF blood before they ascertsined
) that drop Of it circulated. They proudly
]. claim an existence Of $3.50 years. Yet
their annals DO not include half OF 1t.
: They cannot explain their diversity Ct
! language or the secrets Of thei exis
: ence. The destruction OF
PUBLIC VIRTUE
= caused the decline of other civilization :
= but does our civilization carry with Il