The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1894-10-18

4O3 AOC IL
forth upon the world, making the moral
heavens glow with splendor, and has g
awakened the awe, admiration and
praise of generations. With distinct, Q
but inferior brightness, have appeared e
Abraham, Moses and the Apostle Paul, Z
though they are worthy OF all imitation. )
The poet represents the man striving t
for fame as a traveller ascending the {
Alps at twilight, waving banner with S
this inscription, Excelsior" He pur- S
sues his upward course, unheedlng the
clamorous voices of pleasure as they
call to him from below; undaunted by
the sliding avalanche and the froWnlng
night: but ever his clarion voice rings
out, as he ascends, Excelsior After
passing difficulty after difficulty, scaling
summit after summit, and he is lost in
the distance, voice from the sky softly
and unsteady utters, Excelsior
Nothing is beyond the reach of one
who is constantly striving. But as ne
strives in this upward way one should
always remember that others are strlv-
ing as we'll as himself. He should not
/ look simply to his own selfish aims.
He must lend a helping hand to the
faint and discouraged. Inaiding others
he will gain strength for himself. I'm
selfshness is the chief element OF a
noble character. It is this last that
makes man willing to die for home and
Q country.
Two armies rush upon each other like
s avalanches from the side of mountain.
e They pour volley after volley Of death
J. in each others ranks. What is the
s cause of all this bloodshed and destruc-
Il ton? 1t is the love of home and native
n land. 1t is patriotism. The love OF
j. country is next to the love of home.
% Who has not realized this?
# "Breathes there man with soul so dead
- Who never to himself has said,
is This is my own my native 'and?
Whose soul is it that is not stirred by
j. the lines of our own dear hymn:
my country It's of thee
Sweet land of liberty?"
Or VINO OO6S uOU locl OlIlCOIO1y
81 love thy rocks and rills:
Thy woods and tempted hills
n My heart with rapture HIS
at Like that abOVe?"
Patriotic achievements have been re
or corded by the historian, celebrated D!
or poets and orators, and commentaries
DR. bv painters and sculptors. The stor.
no of the three hundred Spartans sacrltlc
bo ing their lives to the glory OF thel
inc country: of Regulus spurning Wealt
ho offered for the compromise OF Rome
M and of Washington presenting hlmsel
no to help protect the feeble colonies, the
in LAYING aside power and retiring to pr
,oS yate life, will be taught to the chlldre
Or of every generation. The love OF cou1
old trv is sometimes great even II IN
70 country is not very magnificent: but
ass is increased to great extent by TT
cb, beauty and advantage of the land.
;na If the Laplander, amid banks
did eternal snow, or the Russian, Wrlthlr
oon beneath the heel of oppression, or I'll
not Turk, tool of lust and power, or Il
900 Chinaman, immersed in his seclusion
., the world where ignorant hordes
born and die in poverty and stupldlt
can shout, and fight, and die for +
be- country, what ought not Amerlc
rtue youth to feel and. do, and dare, al
the suffer for their country? What
tree EngIands glory as queen of the Sc;
bv France with her vineclad hills a
of classic groves; Italy with her sun
by skies and genial chimes, and mement(
con- of other days of grandeur!
peri What are they, compared with
fruit own great land of prairie and slopi
Ill to hill. of broad rivers and rolling lax
avor of wide swamps, of towns, and of cit
the and states; of busy millions of free, h
.cter. py, thriving people; with schools,
. is churches at their doors, with telegrar
rs in railroads. and libraries in most OF
light towns? What are the European NJ
,ht is ions huddled and cramped in their &C
shape ers, jostling against each other at eV
r the turn, compared with our own br
:. So sweep of territory, stretching from
N the rise to sunset, the unbroken solitude
The which would hide these European
shone ions from the light of the sun?