The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1907-04-18
of the Biblical adage: "The way of the
transgressor is hard"

of the Biblical adage: "The way of the
transgressor is hard"
There are few heroic figures that
loom up prominently in these troubled
times, among them may be mentioned
William the Silent who manfully op-
posed the despotic attitude of Philip H.,
refusing to surrender his birthright to
the sway of tyrant. Such spirit
breathes animation into the dullest
minds and serves to rekindle the smould-
ering fire of patriotism. Such was the
spirit that encouraged the patriots at
Valley Forge and Yorktown and made
possible the existence of our glorious
republic. Another of scarcely less re-
nown, was Gaspard Coligny, the HUI
guenot leader who opposed the power
of the naughty Bourbons. A truce was
agreed upon and toleration was granted |
to the Huguenots. On the 24th of Au-
gust, 1872, Henry of Navarro, the coad-
jutOr of Coligny, was to be married in
Paris to daughter of the reigning
house of Bourbon. The Huguenots
were invited to Paris to participate in
the merry making. Suddenly Cathe-
rine de Medici, the Regent, conceived
the idea of exterminating her foes.
She communicated her plan to the king,
Charles TX, her son, who at first re-
fused to consider it. Being taunted
with cowardice he flew into rage,
seized pen, and wrote an order for the
massacre of the Huguenots. Thereup-
on an indiscriminate slaughter was be-
gun Sunday morning and lasted until
nightfall. About 100000 persons were
slain, among them the valiant Coligny.
Navarro was spared, and after chang
ing his religion, succeeded Charles TX,
as Henry w. Such was the st. Bar
tholomew's day which remains blight
on the escutcheon of France. A period
was approaching, however, when the
veil was to be lifted from the eyes OF
the ignorant multitude and which ex-
posed the perfidy of those parasites
who waxed opulent by kingly favors.
The fall Of COnstantinople in 1853 forced
the Grecian philosophers to seek refuge
from the tyranny of the Turk. They
established themselves in Florence and
other parts of Italy, and then began
that era of learning which revolution
lied ancient forms and which was the
prolific source of agitation and discon-
tent thruout Europe. The printing
press, that great dissemlnator of knowl-
edge, had been introduced in 1476 into
England by Willism Caxton. and books
and pamphlets were substituted for
, parchment. Ithas been truly remarked
that the Reformation and the French
Revolution were the two most impor.
tsnt events in the history of Europe
There is no doubt that both have rem.
dered incalculable benefits to mankind
The former severed the bonds of igno.
! rance and superstition with which the
: majority of men were fettered; the latter
, demonstrated the fact that persecution
I is the progenitor of revenge, and the
severity which did not scruple to Cut
off kings head was the product of 8
J century of abuse. In England Henry
: VIII. had obtained divorce from Cath
crime of Aragon; in defiance of tht
: pope's command had married Anne
BOleyn, and by an act of Parliament
was proclaimed head of the church o1
:, England. Church property was confis
Gated and distributed amongst the no
y bles, who forthwith notified all farmer
q to vacate their lands.
q In view of the events that we hav'
q been relating, human nature must hav'
y wonderful qualities of redemption
II else there would be more anarchists il
g. our midst. I have selected extract
IT from English history chiefly becaus
n our laws, our language, and our insti
ID tutions are of English origin. An,
n while all nationr' . contributed to
n wards our, country sdvancement, ye
! it was on English soil that the princi
pies which underlie the American con
stitution were evolved.
The year 1912 marks an epoch in tn
movement toward emancipation. Ii
y that year began the great civil wa
20 which was to decide whether the rep
ie resentatives of the people were to gov
of ern the country, or whether they wer
e to submit to the dictation of the kinf
m From 1929 to 1910 there bad been n