Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-08-18

HON. HENRY wATTERSON.
Key and his wife. Mary Tayloe Key. Hitherto
unmarked. except in the humbleSt way their
final resting place on earth has been at last
separated from among the surrounding graves.
to be at once an altar and a shrine, known
among men. wherever liberty makes her home.
and consecrate to all hearts wherein the love Of
liberty dwells-
The Inspiration of the Almighty.
One can not help thinking it somthing more
than a coincidence that this monument is erect
cd, and that these services are held, at a mo-
ment when not alone is the country engaged in
foreign war, but also at a moment when the
words of Keys immortal anthem ring in the
memory and start to the lips OF all the people
Of all the states and SCI tions Of the Union But
little while ago this seemed a thing impossi-
BILE of realization durin the life of the genera
ton of men which is pa ssing away. Years of
embittered civil strife, W it'll their wounds kept
open by years of succeeding political contro-
versy which never before thus ended; nor did
ever a people so promptly obey the laws alike
of reason. race and nature. from which, as from
some magic fountain. the American republic
sprang.
Nothing in romance. or in poetry, surpasses
the wondrous story of this republic. Why
Washington, the Virginia planter, and why
Franklin. the Pennsylvania printer? Another
might have been chosen to lead the continental
armieg: brilliant and distinguished soldier;
but. as We now know, not only corrupt adj
Nt0tuEcT, Dub u pEcCCAcO
and who, had he been commander OF the forces
at Valley Forge, would have betrayed his
adopted country for the coronet which Wash
ington despised- In many ways was Franklin
experiment, and, as his familiars might
have thought, a dangerous experiment to be
appointed the representative of the colonies in
London and in Paris, they knew, and
as we now know, he was a stalwart,
self-indulgent man, apparently little
given either to prudence or to court
hal was II that SINGLED these
men from all others and designated them to be
the chiefs of the military and diplomatic estab-
lishments set up by the provincial gentlemen.
whose declaration of independence was not
merely to establish a new nation, but to create
Q new world? 1t was as clearly the inspiration
of the Almighty as. century later was the
faith of Lincoln in Grant whom he had never
seen, and had reason to distrust- 1t was as
clearly the inspiration of the Almighty as that.
In every turn OF fortune. God has stood by the
republic; not less in the strange vcissitudes of
the wars of the revolution and of 1872, than in
those of the war of sections; in the rails
ing up of Paul Jones and Perry, of Preble
and Hull, when. discouraged upon the land, the
sea was to send Gods people messages OF vic
tory and in the striking down of Albert Sidney
johnson and Stonewall Jackson, when they
were sweeping all before them. Inscrutable
are the ways OF Providence to man Philoso-
pliers may argue as they will. and, rationalism
may draw its conclusions; but the mysterious
power unexplained by either has. from the be-
ginning OF time, ruled the destinies OF men.
Back of these forces of life and thought there
Is yet another force equally inspired of God and
equally essential to the exaltatiOn of man force
without which the world does not move except
downward, the force of the imagination which
idealizes the deeds OF men and translates their
meaning into words It may be concluded into
words 1, may be concluded that Washington
at Monmouth and Franklin at Versailles were
not thinking great deal of what the world
was like to say. But there are beings so con-
stituted that they can not act, they can only
think and these are the Homers who relate in
heroic measure. the Shakespeares who sing In
strains of heavenly mnsic- Among the progeny
Of these was Francis Scott Key.
The Author of the Anthem.
The son of q revolutionary soldier. he was
born the 9th Of August 17S0. not far away from
the spot where we are now assembled. and
died in baltimore the 18th OF January
1873 His life of nearly sixty-three
years was an unbroken idyl OF tran
gull happiness: amid congenial scenes: amons
kindred people; blessed by welded love and
many children. and accompanied by the sue
cessful suit of the learned profession he had
chosen for himself. Goldsmith's sketch Of the
village preacher may not be inaptly quoted to
describe his unambitious and unootrusive
career:
Remote from towns he ran his godly race.
Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change
his place"
Yet it was reserved for this constant and
modest gentleman to leave behind him price
less legacy to his countrymen and to identify
his name for all time with his country's Dag.
Freedoms Gloria I'm Excelsis.
The Star SpanGled Banner owed very little 20
chance It was the emanation of a patriotic
fervor rs sincere and natural as it was simple
and noble It sprang from one cfthose glorious
Ina 1irationS which coming to tn author unoid-
den, seizes ct once upon the hearts and minds OF
men The occasion seemed TO have been ere
eted for the very purpose The man and the
hour were met, and the song came; and truly
vas song never yet born amid such scenes We
explore the pages OF folklore. we read the
story OF popular music. In vain, 70 ind the
like. Even the authorship of the En-
glish national anthem Is in dispute The
"Marseilalse' did indeed owe tts be-