The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1895-03-07

gaZed upon the sarcOphagus where resi- .
at last the ashes of that restless man ,
leaned over the balustrade and thought {
about the career of the greatest soldier
of the modern world | saw him at
TouIon: | saw him conquer the Alps
and mingle the eagles OF France with !
the eagles of the crags.
saw him at Marengo, at Tim. and
at Austerlitz | saw him in Russla
with the infantry of the snow, and the
cavalry of the wild blast scattered his
legions like winters dry and withered
leaves | saw him at Waterloo when
fate and chance combined to wreck the
fortunes of their former king: and
saw him at St. Helena with his hands
crossed behind him, gazing out upon
the sad and solemn sea. | thought .
of the orphans he had made, OF the
tears that had been shed for his glory,
and of the only woman who had ever
loved him, pushed from his heart by /
the cold hand of ambition; and SAID
would rather have been French peas
ant and worn wooden shoes: | would
rather have lived in hut with vine
growing over the door. and the grapes
growing purple i'll the autumn sun;
would rather have been that poor peas
ant with my loving wife by my side,
knitting as the day died out OF the SKY,
with my children upon my knee ana
oh |
have been that man and gone down to
? the tongueless silence of the dreamlesS
dust than to have been that Imperial
e impersonation of force and murder
: known as "NapoleOn the Great.
We read of EngIand'S great men, who
q have guided her with strong and steady
+ hands to her present position of lnflu-
n ence and power. We read OF Ireland
statesmen and patriots who have
g sealed with their blood the testimony
e of their lives. We read of our ances-
l. tors who gave us our independence. dl-
lie rected the course of our government
ID and built us up until we occupy a
er place first among the nations of the
III earth.
p This is but one department which
the love of reading leads us into
G. There is our scientific literature
lg Astronomy. which teaches us the name:
es of the stars, their distance from eacf
lie other. and so accurate a science that M
to who knows it's laws can foretei al
re eclipse hundreds of years away; so Ger
he tain that he who knows its laws Cal
he guide his ship in the midst OF the sea
VI directing it from continent to continent
Chemistry. where hidden forces al
IRE made known to him who has the ps
)ld thence to study: where we learn tn
component parts of matter and sue
us wonderful knowledge as is there r'
OF vealed. We find that the water Whlc
las we drink is but combination Of ga
ige ses. which may. by certain processe
see he set free. And we need not be Su
hat p,ised if one of the great invention
ave of the future is an economical proce
dor bv which the oxygen and hydrOge
~, NAV be separated SO that we may tai
h'o orr LIGHT and our heat from our well
There, too. is geology, which trea
yay of the formation of the earth cru
see and which teaches us the age of eve
,ot rock and coal bed.
'oU Our scientific literature is rich WI
ana the names of great scientists; men WI
and have brought such wonderful and us
the full knowledge to mankind-Frankl
tho who brought the lightning from t
'iio clouds. and Morse who utilized it
leth send a message around the world
:" the mere ticking of the telegraph
vino strument: Edison of our own day, w
;uod has enabled us to send the human vo
'Ao" a hundred miles, and made it possl|
uer' for that voice to be recognized at tn
out distance and, more wonderful yet, h
and so to speak, wound the voice upon
70 vo inder, which we can lay away for yea
s"'o aud then, as it we're, unwind the vo
esar and recognize in it the voice of frie
This is but another department.
war There is fiction; that realm in VIII
,cc;a the imagination holds sway, where
''''" writer tells not what has happened,
ieoh' what might happen.
and The name of our nOvelists arelegl
k of and their works are interesting
tho instructive. / do not mean to call y
NV attention to the yellow-back nov
atssC the reading of which makes your
}. IL to stand on ends, and inspires
and to put a revolver in your hip-poc