The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-24
THE LARGER PATRIOTISM.
Yesterday Mornings Service at the First
Unitarian Church.

Psalms s7.5. "Yea, OF Zion it shall be said,
this one and that one were.horn in her,"
Revelations q. "The gates thereof shall in no
wise 30 shut. and they shall bring the
glory and the honor of the nations unto it; f;
and there shall in no wise enter into it
anything unclean. he that doeth an
abomination or n lie."
These two Scriptural texts arc the en-
bodiment in words of that spirit of "larger
patriotism" which characterized not only
the pulpit utterances, but the entire SER
vice at the Benefit Street Unitarian
Church yesterday morning. The dis
course itself was an earnest, straight
forward appeal TO all the best instincts of
citizenship; and this appeal was appro-
priately supplemented by the passages of
Scripture read responsively from pulpit
and pew, as well as by the national
hymns selected for congregational sing
ing.
Mr.. Lord announced his subject in
these words:
"Today wish to speak of the power and
the scope of assimilation, the need OF be-
ing able TO renew the life aud enrich the
character of any organization by the con-
stant taking of elements from the life
that Is round about-from the character
thar is not native and instructive. And
this subject has much to do with the pur-
ity, sanity, safety and normal growth of
society, commerce, politics and re-
ligion.
In the following timely and telling
comparison Mr.. Lord proceeded TO Illus
trate his meaning.
"All this was brought home to me with
peculiar force not long ago when read
a chapter in CurZon's 'Iroblems of the
Far East describing the home of the
Emperor of China vt Pekin. There were
the beautiful Rerdens, the magnificent
palaces, never entered by the great mass
of the yeople; guards at every gate and
towers at every corner, and In the midst
of them lived the Emperor, a man never
seen, with whom there was no direct
touch, whose words came down through a
long and devious channel of othcialdom,
who, when he went abroad, rode through
streets cleared of all people. For In
China the ideal of sacredness is seclusion,
mystery, isolation.
alt SO happened that not long after read
ing this / visited Mount Vernon the
simple, unpretentious dwelling of cul-
tivated man. One could find many like
it all over the country-a thoroughly hui
man place, so clearly meant TO be lived
in. The touch of human interest and
affection was on everyt hing. Instead OF
shutting one away from the character and
life of those who had lived there. what
you saw drew you close to the inmost life
sunny dwelling. II before there had been
any trace of remotenCss, OF straugeness,
about the character and the life of Wash
ington, II was done away now. And the
admiration for his achievements was in
iiuitely deepSned by an added sense of
brotherhood of love-the going out q the
heart toward one whose life was clearly
built on just such memories and attach
ments ana companionships as are most
sacred to YOU and to me. Out of these
ne had lived into the mighty responsible
titles of his life. and there was no disSrep-
ancy between The official and the man.
IL could not help putting over against
the shadowy, conventional Zed character
OF the Emperor of china. the clearly de-
fined, intensely human life Of Washing
ton. The broad, open, widely sympa;het-
ic, clear-visioned and iirm-tempered
character of Washington did more than
any other single influence To- interest the
civilized world I'm the destiny of the new
republic. lie was n man who had kept
his mind open To the very best influences
Of his time, and so he was a man hat
could be put I'm comparison with man
hood anywhere and be found TO stand the
test.
In the character, In the purpose OF Wash
ington, therefore, hsve always found n
clear picture, n type of what I feel 90 be
the true American ideal-of what civiliza-
tion In America should stand for. and n
type also OF the American opportunity.
"But II there is one thing that frank
study OF history wilt make clear IL is this:
that the national ideal. the national OPP
portunty does not always coincide with
the prevailing or at least the most evil.
dent and pushing national characteris-
tic-or msnnerism-that happens to be
nearest the surface.
"It is the junction of the statesman, OF