The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1898-10-06
Then at the balance let's be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What's done. we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted.
BURNS.
A MANS MEASURE.

delivered at Presentation Day Ex-
erclses OF Gallandet College, Washing
ton, ID. G., May 4, by Peter n. Peterson,
of Minnesota.
In all Gods creation nothing is more
wonderful and mysterious than man.
The stately grandeur, the terrific pow
er, The sublime beauty Of nature are
not entirely beyond our comprehension.
1t Is easy to ascertain the height of a
mountain, or the depth of the sea; we
can measure the velocity and force of
the hurricane, the brilliancy OF light
Ing, and the lOudness of thunder; we
can compute the position of the celes.
tla bodies, and estimate their magnl-
tude and speed, yea, indeed, their course
OF motion for thousands of years to
| come. There is a standard of measure.
ment for every thing in the universe.
But what standard is there for the
measurement of man? Who can faith
ON the depth of the soul, or reveal
its mystery?
Man is the union of body and soul.
We know what the body is, handful
of clay; but what is the soul? Nobody
ever knew. 1t lives in the invisible
world, and nowhere can it be found.
Yet we are conscious that this strange.
invisible, Intangible, mysterious some
thing called the soul, which hopes and
fears, loves and hates, rejoices and sor-
rows, remembers and forgets, is our
selves, our very life and existence.
Of all problems confronting us in
our daily life none is more difficult of
solution than the measurement of man.
BY what standard can man be measur.
ed? BY what he thinks himself to be {?
by what he seems tn be? or, by what
he is? The man should be measured
by his own worth, independent of the
chances of birth or fortune. His value
should not be estimated by his earthly
possessions, not by station and worldly
power, not by his successes and fame.
but by his character. A man may own
untold riches; they may be inherited.
He may be a powerful sovereign, by
chance of birth merely. He may have
been successful in some enterprise, and
fame has followed in its wake: freak
of fortune, perhaps. Not all the sue
cessful are great; not all the powerful
noble. The weak, the poor, the friend
fro \
by the serOnger ones in the mad rush
for success and fame. Nevertheless
many of them are finally winners in
the race. Secluded in the deep forest,
the little blue violet grows out of the
hard, uncultivated ground, amidst de-
caying grasses and leaves, and perfumes
the air with its fragrance. Its blue eye
looks heavenward, and smiles in the
brilliant sunshine. From the black,
Shiny depth of sluggish river arises
the fragrant white pond-lily. 1t
CLEANS pure and beautiful on the sur
face of the dark water. A drop of dew
sparkles On the petal of the lily, and
there we see reflected the azure heavens
above. Whence does the violet derive
its sweetness? whence the lilly, its
loveliness Thus it is with some peo-
pie born and reared to the slums and
among the outcasts of society. There
is none to take care of them, none to
teach them truth and virtue, none to
love them. Left to themselves and the
world, they grow up in the midst of
vice and ignorance, poverty and need;
yet like the violet in the wild forest.
like the pond-lilly on the stagnant riv.
er,they are not affected by the mean