The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-12-31

N ~ - ter has been
: g. 4 : *::::: :: : il !? r; + :
~ world. a chapter
more wonderful than any in the Won
derful narrative. aud to recording an
gel sets his seal t1.d turn the page. It
Is a story that it j. granted to none to
see its conclusion. and few indeed are
there who rightly read its past. It's be-
ginning was when the morning stars
sang together over the order that was
created mt Of chaos. and tn plot. with
It's threads Of lie,t and shade sublime
Courage and pitIful cOwardice, hate and
love, joy and fear. no man can cocnpre-
h"nd and no man can alter He may
delay the contamination Of the Divine
plan, but there is all eternity for its
completion.
The year of our Lord 1891 has wit
messed Inarvcls in the arts and sciences.
The depths of the earth and the heights
Of the clouds have been called upon to
yield their secrets, and the whole realm
of space Is now virtually the kingdom
Of the mind. In q wear the world has
matte "iant strides toward the perfcc-
ton Of Civilization, andcvery one of the
last fifty years has witnessed discoveries
and inventions that have put to shame
those Of as many centuries. until. paus-
ing in umazemcnt on tlac threshold of
the future we are forced to cxcIaim:
'What wilt thou bring forth, oh, mex
plicablc void. The browning Of mans
dreams or the end of material great
ness? The summit Of perfection or the
return Of fOrmicSs chaos"
Great as has been the progress of the
world, the high water mark has only
been reached IN certain favored spaces,
and vast continents are still reserved
for the maturing Of Gods purposes.
70 our nation it has been a year
whose bountcousncss and peace have
been unparalleled IN the history of any
country. The seasons have poured
from their laps their garnered treas
urcG, and north, SOUTH east and west
rejoice III abundance. The faces of ma
turc and the clements have been pro-
pitiOus, and the smile of PrOvi-
dcncc seems to rest in bcncdictiOn upon
the land. In the social world too, the
fruitagc has been abundant. Never be
fore in the history Of our country has
50 much good been done by earnest in
dividuals and society for the rcclama-
ton of evil, the reform of abuses, and
the amcIiOratiOn of the condition of the
deserving poor. The harvest of good
deeds in that has been great in spite Of
the fact there are still fallow fields, and
that much has been left uninterrupted.
There are those. of course. who take
gloomy views OF the times. who see the
evil, but fail to recognize the good, and
declare that morally the world is grow
ing weaker and moro degenerate with
each year. But truth. the mighty leaven,
is terminating, dropped in the dark soil
Of ignorance and error; and hidden
away from sight. folded IN the bursting
sheath. is the sprOut which shall one
day become the giant oak. meath which
our nation shall be sheltered from
storms and nOontide heats.
Not in the spirit of the Pharisea. but
in that Of rcvcrent humility, should we
view our blessings Of the past year. and
have a fratcrnal sympathy for the fam
i>hin- peasants whose cry goes up from
the banks of the EOlga, and from the
slopes Of the I,ral mountains: for the
cxilcd race. whose wandering through
the wilderness of prejudice and inius-
t!cc is a cruel as their forty wears pro-
baton in the desert; for the pOvcrty-op-
pressed masses of our kindred nation.
whose. mot her tongue j. ours. and with
whom wrclaim common ancestry and
for those nations who sit in darkness.
or girt about with misty and uncertain
light, but longing for perfect day.
The year 1~93. rpon whose threshold
we Tu,v stand. is surely destined to be
Il mum.l'tuus one in the world'> history.
and II -tIucrica is granted the honor of
erecting :; milestone in the universal
progress. IN tn. wear that i, ore
u> the pcu,l, OF th,' old world will be
sumIu",s,.,! =. witness, the Inauguration
of Il n':,usu>.Ht worthy OF the genius
anil cnuTH.r. # toluabrlS. Il monument
which put, t. shame the prouticst
str,tytr,r'. ,'vr: raised to CONNIE morate
the great deeds TT prince or cnuQucrOr,
AMI That monument i an enlightened
and nro~0-rruS people. whose self rev
errHc>, LII !lnoHlrdTr and self control
have raised them, III but little moro
than 1 century, to be the object of the
wonder and admiration OF the world
| Not Columbus. the Gcnocse. nor Column
| nus. the Navigator. do We thus honor.
but the courage which was repre-
scnted in him. which dared to tlincr
ward voice urging onward to Great
achievement.
1
The wear lies before us. mystery as
great as the mystery of all mysteries