The Falls City tribune., 1909-09-03

tNtt1AA ~ ~ - go
THE faintest vestage of a shrine
OF any Worship .begets some thoughts
divine"
The first l ever heard of the Eng
lish poet Byron. the author of the
above couplet, was at a Methodist
camp meeting away back near
the place of my nativity in an older
state, and mixed up with the dimly
remembered things of my infancy.
The preacher that Sunday was IA
Rev. Mr.. Andrus, an accomplished
pulpit orator, and a scholar of the
highest attainments.
l did not know that then, but
came TO know 1t in after years. when
the reverend gentleman had climbed
to the very top of professional excel
lence, power aud influence In the
religious world.
Among other beautiful things said
by him that day, in his fellcitous
word painting, was his reference to
the Incompatible genius of the poet
named. and the wrong use he made
of it-of his power of expression,
second TO none of the Greek and
Latin poets.a and equal if not superior
to the Bard of Avon. II Is too long
ago. and what he said too imperfect
ly remembered. for me TO attempt
its reproduction here, and if he had
failed to utter the words | will pres
entity repeat, ! should probably not
have remembered his sermon at all.
lie believed, or affected TO do so,
that Byron was thoroughly bad and
essentially wicked. and in a voice of
earnest entreaty warned young men
of the evil example of such a man.
a very human diamond, seductive as
the serpent in the garden, brilliant
as the SUM-, and therefore all the
more dangerous on that account,
otherwise" kissing the words
through his teeth. lin the name of
the great Englishman you will sure
ly urge your way to hell"
Those words have never left me,
but we're the efficient reason for my
examining the works of the poet for
myself, for my own satisfaction and
for the exercise of my own judgment;
and that having done so With what
critical power | possess. | am con
strained to say that the eminent di-
vine was wholly mistaken in his NOR
al estimate of what the world of let
ters has long ago acknowledged, one
of the greatest, If not the greatest
poet who eve wrote in any language.
Like all the race Of distinctiyely
came in for his share of abuse and
Misrepresentation lto call it by no
harsher namel, and died the worst
traduced and slandered man of his
time. 1t is the common fate of gen
ius, for the world has always thought
better of itself when engaged in
storming its prophets,
The plain simple meaning of the
lines quoted above is, that every
spot on this old rolling globe of ours,
upon which men have worshipped
God, has become holy ground. Bad
men, those who are of the real hard
ened wicked. do not subscribe to that
hind or dnptrinn. aud tbnt &c oil tbot
need be said on the subject.
The foregoing reflections are not
entirely irrelevant to the purpose of
this contribution to my reminiscent
history, as l shall endeavor to make
plain as | proceed. 1t is a fact with,
in the experience of all who have at.
tanned to the years of maturity
though they may not have accounted
to themselves for the knowledge, that
the association of time and place with
persons and events of concurrent ex
~istence, is quite rs important as the
persons and events themselves. AS
it is impossible to think of persons
and events out of time Il use the
last term in its popular sense) ant
out of space, we attach as much sig
nificanee to the one as to the other
and post them all together as one
common whole. For example, W,
cannot think of the piece of earth OF
which the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS bat
tie of Waterloo was fought, withou
associating with it the mighty armies
that %contended there on June 1855
and the illustrious generals who com
manded them, the slaughter tina
was done, the resultant destructio
of an empire, and the end of tn
meteorie military and civic career c
that strange human mystery, who i
his day, strobe the world like a yer
no1occ,S