The Monticellonian., 1895-07-19
Address Delivered Before the Alumni ct
 AlamRae Association of H. U. s.
BY A J. WILsoS JR,
.punllsEnd hv-Rcni1csf

iol Us p2 a7stllDie l0 lefiVe pita-aitt memo ries of bysHae days, and to renew aur plrdges of friendship one to another It i, not my intention this evening, my friends, to indulge in any iulsone eulegics or empty peans of praise. but rather in plain, blunt terms to pay honor to wbom honor is due and to offer uP d heartfelt and, as l believe, deserved tribute to our benign Alma Nater.
 The period of eur school days is insepara- by linked with the period of our youth; and it has been the universal experience of man kind that, in alter years, memory delights to picture yodth as the most inrocent, the most beautlul and the most joyous period of life His,
 'rhe Magical Isl. in the River of Time,
 Where softcst of echoes are strayine;
 And the iris as soft as a musical chime.
 Or the exquisite breath of tropical cline.
 When Jnne with its roses Is swaying." eaTis where memory dwel's with herpur. gold
 en hue
 And music forever is flowing:
 While the low -murmured tones that come
 trembling through
 Sadly tronble the helrt yet sWeetcn it. too,
 A the south wind OCT water when blowing. oh this beautiful isle, with its phantom like
 show
 Isa vista exceedingly bright
 And the River of Time in its turbulent flow.
 k oft soothed by the voices we hcafd longago.
 When the years were a dream of delight
 As youth is the most delightful period of life, so we whe are but emerging from its rapturous wales cau distinctly realize that it is the most important one. It is the spring time-the soWug-seas n of Gfe-and, as the universal law of harvest t, old age invariably reaps more than youth sows. II then We sow an act, we shall afterwards reap habit; if we s9w a habit, wc shall reap a character; and if Wc sow character, we shall reap Il destiny Il iH childhood the mind is not cultivated aaa stored with useful knowledge, t will become q lheray wilderness or a bar ran desert. Then every thought Is striking blew; every impulse is doing mason-work; and the imagination in all directions Is build ing Tie recollection ot childhood and oi our sehool-days ,an never be wholly obliter- atcd fr7m oHr minds. The first thng en- aures forever with IL. Tie first color, the first flower, thc first music, 1t has been said. femans indelibIy stamped on the plastic photographic cylinders of eur minds
 There are certain forces and certain iaha- chees which bring their effects to bear most powerfully Oh youth. h the light of our own iivc, and the lives of those around us we are capablc of judging, to some extent, as b what those forces and those influences are. l am confident that you will all agree with me in saying that To two agencies are so potent in pieturing the fore ground of the life of youth as the home and the school. Hi,sa ,., .,. ..fs .5.e recollection. of home. "mevery cline the magnet of our soul
 Touched by remembrance. tremblt tothat pole. It is the spot of earth snpremely blest,
 A dearer, sWccter spot than all the rest, Where man. rredtien's tyraut casts aside His sword and seeptrc his pagcantry and pride, While in his softcned looks benisnly blend The sire, the son, the husband. brother, friend. Here woman rcgns the mother. daughter. wife streWs with fresh flowers the narrow way oflife; In the oear heaven of her delighted eye Anangrl guarl of loves and sraees l:e,a
 Most powerful arc the influences of the home in shaping oui destinies, and strong indeed are the ties of affection which ever bind Us to 1t.
 Il is the object ofoar earliest sympathies and most permanent attachments but scarce iy less deeply seated in oar affections and al most as potent as the influences which they exert in moulding our character are the en- yjrons of our school-days. We rarely forget the first school-room whose threshold we crossed with trembling step and fast-beating heart and where first We learned to lisp our letters. As our minds expanded and be- came moro susceptible of influences each sue ceeding one made 4 more lasting impression upon us Our physical surroundings, eur teachers, our associates, our childish sports, all gave impress to eur characters and in- elii.ation to the current of our lives. The home and the school then were the two in- portant factor, i, our youthful training As our natural mother, the enthroned queen of home, merits our love anI our reverence for the fostering care exercised by her in our maral and physical culture, so our Alma Ma- ter, our literary mother, deserves our grati- tade and our support for the intellectual fr.,;t,i,4,r #f.,eei,,aI ,-ithitt bar v.aNs
 h view of the lasting and far-reachng influence cNerted over Us by our Alma Mater, am certain you win pardon me if, for Il bficfwhile, play the part of reminiscent aud recall to your minds some of the crcum- stances which lcd to her establishment. 1 wish ta say in the outset that her establi>h- ,neut wa> due primarily and chiefly to that innate luye of mi,chievousncss-some people call 1t ncanness-which has ever been Il leading characteristic of the Monticello boy. dare not pause long after such statement, but ha,teu to explain.
 Some eight years ago the honorable sehool- beard of our town, the conserrators of our educational interests, awoLe to the fac (as they imaeiued1 that Monticello WAS in- fcstad with st of exceedingly bad boys. Why the geatemen should have thought that the boys of eight wears ago, the boys of our set, were any worse than the proceeding ones, what skiilful logic or technical reason- ing they reached such conclusion We knox not; yet such was their decision. We begged leave te differ with the gentle men and rcpelled their i.inuation as flse