The Saint Paul globe., 1897-05-31
PRESIDENT NORTHROP POINTS OUT
THE VALUE OF A RIGHT START
IN LIFE
U. G. It. DELEGATES AT ~roNKA
Their Convention Closed With 1
Pleasant XcursiGln-Camera
Clubs Outing.


calaureate sermon. by Rev. c. B.
wise and patriotic counsel from Presi-
dent Cyrus Northrop.
Several thousand people, represent
ing the flower of Minneapolis, and
many other distinguished Minnesotans,
filled the large auditorium of the uni
versity armory at o'clock, When,
with appropriate music, the gradual
ing class, for the most part clad in
their black gowns and the mortar
board head covering, passed up
the middle aisle to the position Of
honor on the floor reserved for them.
All remained standing until each had
found his place, and at a signal they
were seated, the music swelled out
and the chorus, lead by Fraulein
Schoen-Rene, and with Miss Judd as
the soloist, sang Rossinfs "1nfiamatus
Stabat Mater" The invocation by
Rev. F. V. S. Fisher was followed by
the Scripture reading by Rev. William
Fielder. The lesson was from Mat
thew, and contained that beautiful ad-
monition, Consider the lilies. how
they grow" etc. Scott Woodwork
sang the aria from Mendelssohn's 'St.
Paul." and was followed in prayer by
Rev. George R. Merrill.
The bacoalaureate sermon was pre-
ceded by the familiar hymn, Corona
ton" and was followed by President
Northrop's address. He turned at first
to thank DR.. Mitchell for his words of
11o,> IL hpnonSn
had performed duty which devolved
ordinarily upon the president, and he
remarked that he never asked any man
to take his place unless he knew the
task would be as well done as he could
do 1t himself.
Then he addressed himself to the
graduates. and as he did so the large
class rose to their feet in filial respect
to the man who has guided their
course of learning and with whom
they leave the responsibility for the
future Of their alma mater. The slght
was one Of impressiveness, and as the
president reached his closing periods
there was a tremble Of emotion akin to
the moisture Of the eye which marked
his sentences. His words were freight
ed with the counsel that clings to the
memory and affects the future. Dr.
Northrop said, in part:
Ladies' and gentlemen Of the class
of '97: Your record at the university
is closed Some Of you have already
formed your plans for the careers you
mean to follow; others will spend years
in discovering your niche. But no mat
ter what your plans for the future now
nj l-( q
life with some degree Of comfort and
hope. None can foretell his future ana
it is not given to me to tell 1T Tor you.
TT has been said we are In a large
noea sure the architects of our own 1or~
tunes and that Is true to a certain ex-
tent. vet no mans life is free from the
elements Of uncertainty; no man Is
CAPABLE of piercing into the Ozark ~.
ture and saying unto hamsel1 TINS VIII
I do. Napoleon under the nooo VI suu
cess at jena could not nave foreGolo
that he would die on an island IN the
Atlantic thousands of miles from
France. vet Waterloo and st. Helena
awaited him. Americas S greatest MIN
ister of finance and Washington's ad
wiser and friend could not have fore
told that he would die as a fool mlght
die. vet Hamilton fell from the builet
of a duelist. James A. Garheld, Wneh
railway station ait Washington In an
ticipation of the pleasures such as
only the successful man can enjoy
when he returns to some anniversary
of his alma mater could not nave
known that in a moment the shot OF
Gl1iteau should place him upon a bed
Of suffering for months and END ms
great career. Abraham Lincoln, after
the trials and mental anguish of great
hoy 1yptO that five
days after Lees surrender at Appomat-
toX End the dawn of peace he should
he cut off in his great labors of restor-
ing the Union. And the great Nazarene,
when he was riding into Jerusalem
amidst the plaudits of the multitude.
could not, unless he was gifted with
more than human wisdom, have fore
told his sacrifice upon the cross on Cal
vary.
"Rut no seeming accident can rob a
man of what he makes of himself. The
assas ssin could not take from Lincoln
his endless fame. nor could the cross
take from Jesus the crown OF a spotles's
life. The question whether or not we
succeed in life depends largely upon
what we start out to do. NO man ever
accomplishes anything without effort
and that effort is within tine reacn OF
all. But the measure of success Ii;
largely limited by the goal we strive
for Be lit fame, or power, or wealth or
nlace these, we'll enough in their way,
are not the essentials and the effort
to secure them may not succeed. But
If II Is the ambition of life to ennoble
the mind and heart and establish right
relations with God and with mankind,
no matter what the accidents and mis-
fortunes, it will be crowned with sue
cess.
"In nearly every class there are those
who by their college careers, and Oft
en- by their expressions, mark them
selves as the most full Of promise. Yet
in after years these men are often
lost in the great world. It may be
their self-conSciousness,a as Of that Eng
lish statesman who at one time made
a. great speech, and who never after
ward dared attempt to speak for fear
that he would fail, SO that he was
known by the name Of "Single-Speech. "
Nevertheless, there are those who
leave college and who succeed in real
life. They are generally those silent,
retiring students from whom nothing
great is expected. They are men who
are not only able to learn, but to
think for themselves. 1t Is through
the great thinkers that the progress
of the world Is made. Elisha Null
ford, whom I knew at college, was one
Of these, and Horace Bushnell, whose
Illuminated soul brought God into the
atmosphere of daily life, are among
those who were not only able to learn,
but to teach the world by the power of
their thought. Most men do not create
light; they simply carry a torch. Com
pare one of the torch-bearers with an
Edison. There Is always room for the
thinkers because the world has a great
deal Of work for them to do
IAN institution like this has its