Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-06-29


ness men who lack honor are held up to
the working class as a type of Chris
tianity, just so long will the gulf be
fixed between the church and the great
mass of workingmcn.'
Albert G. Johnson. South Turner, had
| for his subject a Silent Martyr" He
| said:
There are many men to whom the
| title OF nero is given, on the ground Of
some act of brilliant courage or noble
| achievement. We could easily enumer-
| ate almost legion of heroes. if the
word were limited to such displays.
| But true heroism is the quality Of the
| inner nature as well as the external
| acts. and demands life devoted to the
| endeaVor to perform, without anxiety
as to the result, the duty which con-
science Dictates
'In our time we have been honored
by the presence among us of some men
of this elevated type and none has more
nearly approached the ideal of heroism
| than General Charles George Gordon.
| His determination to stand in the front
ranks was manifest from the very be-
ginning, when as a youth he outgrew
! his physical weaknesses and built up
a constitution of iron firmness, which
| has made him one of the greatest gen.
erals of modern times and has made
| his name immortal, as one who willing
/ ly and Cheerfully gave his life for the
honor Of his country and the uplifting
of humanity
I'VE get our first glimpse of him with
the British army, in the trenches before
| Sebastopol. 1t is impossible to describe
the misery of those brave soldiers on
that fatal winter.
during 10 long, weary years in the
Crimea, his achievements pass our
comprehension. We see him placed in
command of an army made up of the
scum of European civilization and the
lowest type of slaves, an army in which
looting and murder predominated dis
ciplinc and the spirit of mutiny held
sway over martial law. And what did
| he do? He brought order out of chaos;
ne developed from rioting, murderous
| horde of savages, one of the bravest
| armies that ever honored a nations
| flag, an army which from the time he
| took command never knew defeat.
| "He next appears in new light.
| Hitherto we have regarded him as a
man of war; let US now regard him for
time as man of peace. Free from
the distractions of war, he was able
to devote himself to quiet, unobtrusive
endeavors in the service of humanity
at home. The poor. the sick. the unfor-
tunatc, were all objects of his compass
sion and all who were in need, he was
ready to help.
hn ho ln1 Of
generalship equal to those of Napo-
| leon: the man whose dauntless cour-
age had accomplished deeds seemingly
beyond the power of man. quietly and
unobtrusively devoting his life to the
children of the street. rescuing scores
Of them from the gutter and setting
their little feet in the paths which lead
| them to a nobler and a purer life
Again we see him on the field of battle.
fighting for the cause of downtrodden
humanity and striving to wipe out the
blacklist stain that ever darkened the
| annals of civilization.
There can be no sadder spectacle
imaginable than the view presented to
US as the curtain goes up for the last
scene in Gordon's life. We see him be-
hini the walls of a doomed city, aban-
doned by the government to which he
has given his life; surrounded by
famine and death, but with no thoughts
of his own welfare, only compassion for
| tho little garrison which had served
him so faithfully. The dark cloud set
ties closer and closer about the city,
until finally the little spark of life
which remained in those forsaken souls
went out.
"Thus ended the life of one of the
bravest men that ever fought under a
banner of liberty. He did not live in
vain; he did not die in vain. Simple,
unassuming, heroic, noble. 'he died
where manhood's morning almost
touches noon and while the shadows
still were falling toward the west. He
had not passed on life's highway the
stone that marks the highest point,
but being weary, he lay down by the
waysde, and using burden for a pill
low. fell into that dreamless sleep that
kisses down his eyelids STILL"
Edna Beatrice Butler next had a
nicely written essay on 1.-The Faust Le-
gend," and Wayne Clark Jordan spoke
on 1.-The Control of Trusts"
Miss ALA Amantha Libby had an
essay on 1.-The Laboratory OF Human
Nature" Her essay was as follows:
To-day is day of science, of strenu-
GUS seeking for hard, matter-of-fact
knowledge of material things. spirit
Of investigation and research permeates
almost every field of human activity.
Radium has been discovered, wireless
biography has been perfected, the au-
tomobile become a thing of incredible
swiftness. This spirit of investigation
extends even beyond the natural SCI
ences. A great awakening is rousins
the spiritual world. The presence and
influence of the scientific method are
reflected in the religion of today. Even
poetry has become a science.
"There is one region, however, whose
barriers the scientific spirit has scarce
~ yet assailed-an UNEMPLOYED and I'M
known land of rich promise. 1t is the
realm of human nature, that eternal
unchanging, incomprehensible thing OF
which we say so much and know SC
, little. Neglected field of opportunity
in our ignorance of which lies the
cause of some of our greatest mistakes
and in the understanding of which lies