St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-01-05


spirit that mark, at once, the noble
man and the true physician.
1t is not possible that man Of this
stamp could meet with poverty as
the physician is obliged to see it and
not be stirred to the depths Of his
being, by the various problems
which it presents. Accordingly we
find DR.. Blanchard thoroughly alive
to social questions SO deeply did
this stir his heart, that tor the last
year or more he has been moved to
write not little upon them. His
last published article deals with
Signs Of the times" and sees in the
recent political overturning not the
victory OF the party that it brings
INTO power, but evidence that the
people are aroused; that they are
thinking on new lines, and moving
towards new issues. He secs in
short, the tokens OF a coming social
revolution. The last words written
by him were on the same theme,
and were read in a little circle Of
friends only a few days before his
departure. They seem to show not
only HIS deep interest in this qucs-
ton, but the conservation Of temper
and method in which he would have
it dealt with He says THE word
tor the hour is courage, aud one
other word, humility. A true man
may become hero in a day, but he
cannot in day become a states.
man. So let us not, noviccs, with
pre>umptuous hands, try to frame
codes of law for the twentieth cen
fury. Let us rather do those little
deeds that make for freedom today.
He who cannot plan a campaign
may mold bullets. AT the present
stage OF affairs, our most dangerous
friends are noisy men-lightning cal
culators who solve every problem at
a glance, screech out the answer and
strain their cars to catch the
plaudits OF the multitude. A
thoughtful man taking the pen OF
legislation in his hand must >lccl his
fingers thrill with awe" This is not
the language Of fippant-tongued,
ShaIloW-braincd agitator. 1t is the
utterance Of a thoughtful man keen
ly alive to the inju>tices of this time;
man alive to the memorable de-
mands OF moral government, and
conscious that the nations in their
persistent disregard of these de-
mands are putting in peril their very
existence. DR.. Blanchard was
very genuine man; a man right in
the main purpose and spirit of his
life; right i'll his Sympathies and
desires And this l take it is, in the
Christ estimate of character, of the
very first Importance. Yet the
doctor would never have thought
of calling himself in the technical
sense Christian A disbeliever in
the doctrines commonly received by
the church: rejecting in toto the
supernatural element in religion, he
would have felt that he had no
claim to the title, and indeed would
have been unwilling to hear it. Still
he was so strongly attracted by the
life purpose and spirit OF Chrst-the
purpose that made him seek not to
be ministered unto but to minister,
that he said to friend only short
time before his death, while speak
ing of this ethical purpose of Chris
tianitV, II really believe am Chris
tian. find no other religion that
reaches out to all men to help and
upiit them as Christianity does.
From this point of view he found
himself in hearty sympathy with
it. He thought that it held in
its ethical teachings the real
solution OF the social problem, and
therefore in his sympathy with it in
this respect he felt himself to be
Christian. Is it not this sort of
Christian sympathy and Christian
character that the world stands
most in need Of, after all? Arc not
there men with all their speculative
difficulties and doubts about divin-
lty OF Jesus, and the authority of his
religion, the men he would be read
lest to welcome and to own? There
are plenty still to say Lord, Lord,
but now as them, there are few who
areready to do the things that he
said.
Dr. Blanchard was, in the respects
we have mentioned, one of those few.
Of his general culture and literary
tastes need not speak. He has APP
peared as writer both of prose and
poetry, in several of the papers and
magazines OF the country. Written
amid the pressure of other duties, his
productions are Of course of VARYING
merit, but most of them show gifts
OF a high order, and breathe the
spirit OF manly freedom and kindly
sympathy we all delight to honor
] may httiug)y close this poor
tribute to his worth with single
verse almost fresh from his zen and
entitled Truth:
Who fceleth underneath him beat the eternal
pulse of love,
Who pillowrth his heavy head on Truths
bare solid ground,
Whose eye unfinching looks to meet the |
searching eye above,
Need never heed the threat of tide nor
trembling look around
ALEX KENT.