The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-06-29

plore the mysteries of earth and sea,
and equally eager to bestow the ben
efits of his discoveries on mankind
belongs to the highest type of great
ness
AS examples of ambitions right and
wrong, he depicted the general who
in battle ruthlessly leads his men into
the laws of death, and where he would
write his name in the annals of fame,
makes only blot, while on the other
hand the commander who aspires to
promote the welfare of his country,
carefully estimating the outcome OF
the issues and measuring movements
by the good they will do, leads his
nations armies to his nations vic.
tories and the world proclaims him
patriot.
SIN all times", continued the
speaker, "there have been few whose
aspirations were to attain power to
do good. These are the great. These
who @ levated to eminence by intel
lectual superiority still can SYM
pathize with the surging multitude
beneath-these who, impelled by their
own true, noble natures, act always
for the u pliftiDg and enlightening OF
their fellow men-these are the nobly
great"
before us the future opens up the
wide avenues of hope that stimulate
to INSTRUMENTATION that ennoble
the life and develop all the latent
beauties of being, or ambitions that
wither the heart and consume the
soul. Which shall we choose? 1
hope that our aspirations will be d.
rected to the attainment of power to
do good and that we will gain that
highest and best of all distinctions
the name of beneIactor of men,"
Mr.. J. F. Nichols, second in the law
department, considered that gruesome
subject "Ghostsu He said 1t was
commonly believed that there were
no such things as ghosts, but that
they do exist and stalk the cart h today
with their gaunt figures and ghostly
looks. That the ghosts whose shad-
oWy forms are the most numerous and
do most often appear are the ghosts of
lost opportunities. Commenting upon
the superior advantages as enjoyed by
the young men of today, he asser led it
was an obligation resting on every
young man to take advantage of his
opportunities, to be one of the actors
contributing to the glory of his day.
That if, however, he neglects these
opportunities there will be personal
consequence for after the summer of
life is over and the autumn is come,
he will sit and mediate on the past,
while the ghost of each lost oppor-
tunity glides up and looks into his
soul with sad, spectral eyes and
speaks the mournful words, sit might
have BEEN"
Continuing he spoke of the phantoms
of abortive undertakings. He said
that many people grew up with no
definite idea of what they intended to
do; that in the formative period of
their existence they do not shape
! themselves to fit any special sphere,
and that in the eventide of life, like
the poet who commences many poems
but finishes none, they have passed a
lifetime in attempting almost every
thing and accomplishing nothing,
That when the echoes of the past sing
10 them 1t Is song of uncompleted
work in broken and unfinished notes.
That the consummation OF such a
shifting life is inglorious that its
path is lined with uncompleted
efforts, the ruins of each of which
forms the spectral abode of its
peculiar phantom, all of which
come forth and stand in their deform-
ed shapes as a silent and solemn con-
domination.
The ghosts of neglected duties came
next for their share of attention. The
duty to the poor, the duty of the child
to honor its parents and the most
solemn duty, that which man owes
his Creator Of this last duty he said
that when the curtain is ready to fall
and the scenes of long life begin to
hasten before the eye, there will stand
the ghost of this neglected duty to the
Creator, which with deep sadness will
oint to the glittering array of earthly
triumphs that now begin to fede
away.
at is sometimes advanced" said
the speaker in conclusion, "that a man
may spend half his life in the foul
atmosphere of disgraceful actions and
for the remainder of his days 1--we up
rightly, but in the night of his con-
duct memory stored up all these mis-
deeds and wnen his view is purified
by reformation. in the daylight of his
life he sees these past actions in all
their deformity. They come in all
their hideousness and compel him to
acknowledge them as his own. When
all is calm and still, and memory
turns backward over the flight of
time, these ghosts come in solemn
march from the past and file about
him like the specters of Uhe murdered
dead around the uneasy couch
of Richard,
Whose conscience had thousand tongues,
A d each tongue. brought in different tale"
DIR. Thos d. Wooten, president OF
the board of regents, made short ad-
dress congratulating those about to
finish their college course upon the
manner in which they had acquitted
themselves in the classroom and
wished them continued success in
their several pursuits in life, after
which he presented each with their
diplomas.
Following is list of those receiving
degrees in the different branches:
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
BACHELOR OF LAW.