The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-06-10

Many of you ought to be able to re-
member the facts concerning the siege
OF Yorktown > how Washington and
Lafayette carefully made their plans
threw up earth-works and with those
as means OF protection commenced to
harass the defenders of the town then
how by watching for the favorable mo-
ment they moved forward again and
threw up second line OF earth-works
Notwithstanding the enemy's guns we're
for little time shooting down the
length of the trenches and finally how
Cornwall is cut off on the water side by
the French and surrounded by the hand
forces, gave up the defence and sur
rendered over 1000 men as prisoners.
In your histories you can find numbers
of other sieges described, some Of them
lasting week after week; like that OF
SebastopoI, in the Crimean War, which
scarcely ended in year. Sieges call
for great courage, both on the part of
those shut in with starvation and thirst
and death coming nearer and nearer,
and also on the part of the besiegers
who are sometimes slaughtered in heaps
as they attempt to enter the town
through some breach in the walls. I
don't like this Idea OF an enemy crawl
ing, creeping, burrowing along until he
is ready to spring up suddenly and
strangle power and life out ct you. I
expect you do not either. But if the
people shut in have plenty of food and
good supply of water, if their walls
are too thick to be broken by cannon
balls, if they can make sudden rush
and break up the defences OF the be-
siegers or if they can burrow under
ground and meet the tlmnes OF the
enemy with countermines there is not
much to fear. Yet there remains one
danger with which even strong forces
sometimes have to contend the danger
within from traitor, who will tell Sec
rets to the enemy or open the gates to
them.
We can learn from battles of the past
to look for battles now. This week I
want you to remember that sieges have
not come to an end even in our peace
full country and that you, small, young,
unknown to me, are in state of siege /;
not with cannons nor with battering
rams, but with temptations.
If you will follow me little while /
will show you just how closely you re-
semble fortress that has enemies en-
camped around it to starve it out and
destroy 1t. A fortress can usually be
attacked in more ways than one. So
can you,-through your brain, your
vanity, and the appetites of your body.
In a fortress you cannot choose the
manner In which your enemy shall
attack you. He will seek the weakest
noint and the defence must be made
right there. 1t would be a poor de-
fender who massed his troops remote
from the point attacked. So if the
enemies of your character come tempt
ing you to conceit because you know
more than others, it is no use tor you
to saw in defence that you never eat
too much, because concelt concerning
knowledge has nothing to do with
overlooking the stomach. Then again
If another time you are tempted to be
greedy, what defence Is 1t to say thai
Won are not conceited? If also some
day you ere tempted to say yulga1
words to boys or girls it is no defence
to declare that you stood at the head o
| YOUR class and so on, I could multiply
the number Of temptations that ma,
aseail You from day to day, all ot them