Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-26

him who answers TO the call OF fate. ~IdoIbted
that It right TO set the flag little closer TO
the enemy" Re never walked in primrose
paths. War as ne understood it meant hard
rough blows. the cruelty Of battle the hammer
and the anvil now. peace and her mercies when
God shall appoint the hour. In his memoirs he
has told Us how little taste he had for military
life. Nature formed him OF gentle mould and
tempered him also with the resOlute will, the
iron nerve Ito true occasion true
How plain and simple he was. The feverish
vision that disturbs the souls Of so many great
soldiers never troubled him. The ambition
that bubbles of glory and whispers sometimes
Of thrones and diadems found him deaf 10 every
voice save that which babe him GO forward 10
the duty that lag nearest Ican him great not
forgetting that greatness co nmonly needs the
perspective OF years II is the antique that
seems colossal You wreathe the name OF
Pericles with glcry but his contemporaries
deemed him worthy OF fines and punishment
English hands exhumed the bones OF Oliver
Cromwell and hung them On q gibbet. To-day
history has named him incomparaoly the great
est Of English soldiers and Of English rulers.
Washington Lincoln and Grant tasted the
bitterness that gathers in the cup OF the worlds
greatest men
Who hath lived without blame: II Grant had
faults they N y almost be summed up in these
his enemies His nature was simple and his
very faults made him more easy to deceive.
But l. for one would not have II otherwise l
would not take from that noble life one little
flaw through which the real brightness OF MS
character shins more plain. Victory IS sweet
to a soldiers heart When Lee surrendered the
measure OF success. so far as that can go, was
heaped and crowded for L. s. Grant He had
won for al time the fame OF great General
But he was something more than great Gen
eraI when that hour he bade the weary soldiers
he had fought so long go back to their farms and
cotton fields and build up their b oxen fortunes
in the peace he had won for them and Tor US
all. II was an act such as poets love. when
they sing TO Arthur and the table round or OF
the tabled Cid, whose gentle hands bound up
the wounds his own right arm had made. What
ever it meant to Others. to Grant Appomattox
meant only peace Some blossoms from the
famous apple tree dropped into the old COM
mander's heart and filed IL with the sweetness
! Of the spring But why dwell on these things!
! The great leader il at rest How widely dlI-
fused have been his acts and his example. In
! quiet wales in thrOnging cities and out upon
the uttermost land men speak Of Grant and
| find in his very name omens OF security and
peace Tie armies he led-vanishing now with
| the ~!ing years-share his fame. ms
| statue and all the monuments grateful people
raised TO him, attest equally the every day hero
/ ism OF the common soldier. The good cause Is
well commemorated. In the old days-old and
| grim as they seem How-we thought OF i mighty
and puissant nation. that has TO be. We
thought OF it as free, as great. noble. powerful,
unanimous. To help on The coming Of such a
| nation we thought it worth while to fight and
| some-wLo were OF the best and bravest-
| thought il almost priv eye to die. And now
! the dream has CO." true The statue is his
| tory in bronze means all that the war &C
| eomplished-pc , freedom and the inviolable
! sections OF M. unity 20 you; and the les
| son it teaches: Grasp the meaning OF the word
| duty and you have the answer. For gloritied
is that homespun word in WORDSWORTH immor-
| tai line
! Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong.
! The very universe is but the Obedlent re-
| Spouse 10 an omnipotent thought. 1t Is only
| duty that holds systems together. and fills all
! space with the melody Of order and of law.
| Here let the statue stand. the tribute of gen
erous hearts to a high ideal You will come
with reverenI steps to look upon It, and when
the air is loud with the noise and turbulence OF
faction, they will hear above it all the solemn
words of the old commander, Let Us have
| peace.n