The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1905-04-21
OPPORTUNITY.

OHPOH UNI T.
master of human destlnies am l;
Fame, love and fortune on my foot
STEPS wait.
Cities and telds / walk; penetrate
Deserts and seas remote, and passin!
by
Howell and mart and palace, soon Oh
late
knock unbIdden once at every gate
If sleeping wake, if feastlng. rise
before
turn away. 1t is the hour of fate
And they who follow me reach every
state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe
Save death; but those who doubt OF
hesitate
Condemned to failure, penury ano
woe
Seek me in vain and uselessly implore
anwser not and l return no more. "
You have heard, MI. Editor, of John
j. ingalls,. the brilliant Kansas senator
This is all that is left of him, but IT
Is immortal The man whose political
brilliancy was the talk of his decade,
passed from the world of politics long
before he ''shuffied off the mortal coll
lin poverty, in disappointment. in
sorrow. He lived to see ell he hoped
FOR turn to ashes. 1t is the way of
politics.
In moment of inspiration he turned
poet and threw off the sonnet above.
He little dreamed he builded his mon
nment then, for this poem has never
been permitted to get cold since. And
Il never will 1t ranks with any of
Millions twenty three, with Shake
speare's, with Wordsworth with any
in the English language. The supreme
test of the greateet poetry seems to be
the ability of the poet to write per-
feet sonnet
was Ieciting this poem to myself
the other day and suddenly around IT
sprang thought that / haven't been
able to put away from me since. 1t
has chung to me, it has worried me-
1t has hurt me. 1t has haunted me so,
that ! am gong to do my duty by it
here and be done with 1T. That I9m
was written for Columbia and the OPP
portunity is the greatest that has ever
come to the town. And they came,
o rare, rare coming hand IN hand
two of them beautiful meaning
more and bringing more than has ever
come to us before. Gifts great for us
now, gifts greater for those who come
after us; THE SCHOOL, THE
LIBRARY.
''IF SLEEPING, WAKE; If
FEASTING. RISE BEFORE l TURN
AWAY"
This is 10 time to talk. / am tired
OF talking. Let us act, and If neces
sary, let us fight Under our peculiar
institutions, 1t looks as if we must
light for everything we get. The town
is ripe for these things; let us fight for
them.
In behalf of the ladies serve notice !
now to the next crop of Mayor anu
Aldermen, that they have got to reckon !
with them before they find it easy
sailing. This library is going to be
an issue il it cannot be had otherwise,
for the town is for it and the people
are for 1t and we are going to have it.
It means so much for us-everybody-
all of us, young and old. 1t means !
more than good streets, or oven fine
buildings, or trade, or traffic, or the
shriyeled soul OF the nasty little god
called The Dollar It means a future
for Columbia, intellectually as well as
spiritually and materially.
In connection with this subject,
some one said sewerage the other day. |
Sewerage-sewerage- cesspool But
this-this Library-thls is the noun
tain spring-the peIennial-the ever
sweet-the everpure. brewed IN realms
we dream not of-and to the stagnant
streets of the neglected mind it will
be as the flush OF spring water
through them.
THE SCHOOL-THE LIBRARY.
oh we are at the turning point. 1t
hurts me to think we lie still and let
them pass-these twin blessings coming
to us. Shall we-dare we do 1t and
stand pilloried before the next genera
ton. who
"Condemned to failure, penury and
woe.
Seek me in vain and uselessly implore.
] answer not and return no more"
JOHN TROTWOOD MOORE.