The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1904-10-05
A LIlerarN Genl.

A@t@-% - $3.50 >"
address by Col. Ingersoll on the
Liberty IF Man, Woman and
Child.
A little while ago stood BY
the grave Of the old Napoleon, j
magnificent tomb of gilt and gold,
ZIG almost for dead deity and
gazed upon the sarcophagus of
black Egyptian marble, where
rest at last the ashes Of that rest
less man. leaned upon the bal
ustrade and thought about the ca
reer of the greatest soldier of the
modern world.
81 saw him walking upon the
banks Of the Seine, contemplating
suicide. / saw him at To1lon, II
saw him putting down the mob In
the streets of Paris, / saw him at
the head Oh the army Of Italy, IL
saw him crossing the bridge Of
Lodi with the tricolor in his hand,
] saw him ID Egypt ID the shadow
of the Pyramids, | saw him con-
|qner the Alps and mingle the
eagles of France with the eagles
|of the crags, / saw him at UlmI
and AusterIitz. saw him in Rus
STA, where the infantry of the
snow and the cavalry Of the wild
blast scattered legions like win
teIs withered leaves. / saw him
at Liepsic 10 defeat and disaster,
driven by a million bayonets back
upon Paris, clutched like a wild
beast, banished to Elba. saw
him escape and retake an empire
by the force of his genius. saw
him upon the frightful field Of
Waterloo, where Chance and Fate
combined to wreck the fortunes
Of their former king. And saw
him at st. Helena, with his hands
crossed behind him gazing out up
on the sad and solemn sea.
Il thought OF the orphans and
widows he had made, Of the tears
that had been shed for his glory,
and of the only woman who ever
loved him, pushed from his heart
by The cold hand of ambition.
And / said / would rather have
been a French peasant and. worn
wooden shoes. | would have liv
ed in a hut with a vine growing
over the door, and the grapes
growing purple in the kisses of
che autumn sun. / would rather
have been that poor peasant with
my loving wife at my side, knit
ting as the day died out Of the
sky, with my children upon my
knees and their arms about me. Il
would rather have been that man
and gone down to the tongueIess8
silence of the dreamless dust than
to have been that imperial imper-
sonation of force and murder.
1t is not necessary to be great
to be happy; it is not necessary
to be rich to be just and generous,
and to have heart filed with
affection. No matter whether you
ale rich or poor, treat your wife
as though she were a splendid
flower, and she will fill your life
with perfume and Joy.
And do you know it is a splen-
did thing to think that the woman
you really love will never grow
old to you. Through the wrinkles
of time, through the mask of
years, il you really love her, you
will always see the face you loved
and won. And a woman who
really loves a man does not see
that he grows old; he is not de-
crepit to her; he does not trem-
BILE; he is not old; she always sees
the same gallant gentleman who
won her hand and heart. / like
to think of it that way; / like to
think that love is eternal And
to love in that way and then go
down the hill Of life together, and
as you go down, hear, perhaps,
the laughter of grandchildren,
while birds of Joy and love sing
once more in the ieafless branches
of the tree of age.
I believe in the fireside. e
believe in the democracy of the
home. / believe in the republi-
canism of the family. IbelieveI
in its liberty, equality and love. 81