Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-12-12
New Er~I-nl BuiIdino.
(Compiled by tie F. w Dodge Company
Contract awarded to
ROMANCE OF LIFE.
Some Reasons Why 1t VIII Always Sc
With Us.

When George Wyndram chose to dis
course a Edinburgh t the springs Of ro-
nance in the literature Of Europe he Sc
lectcd a theme that is blown about by
when romance came to mitigate oul dll-
ness will be iii Cu ,sed so long as human
curiosity is alive. But the romance Of
life is nteligibte TO all of us. Here is
no ground for argument. l. fe Is roman
tic at all times and in all seasons. ITS
romance is con tant and universal
f lloNs US from our cradle to the grav2.
This is no question of literary criticism
or of historical doubt, Romance is the
common btrthright Of mankind and It Is
our own fault ii we do n t make the
There Is food for wonder ana surprise
in every movement of nature The sun
cannot rise nor the moon shine In the
sky with ut a thrill The torrent "haunts
us like a p-ssion," the wei ID ne IL
tainss lift Their tops to heaven with all
the enchantment of romance. Nature
does not repeat herself There is the
every thundercloud which ohsCures her
face, And as every year spring grows
to summer, and summer fades to an
tumn. we listen with a new interest to
the tale that has been told q thousand
times.
But wonderful ard ever changing as
Is the face + nature. It IS man who IS
impact with the world is the material Of
all the great novels that have ever be n
written. ] ink what il i9 to be young
and hopeful and to look ogt for the iirst
time upon the land which expects its
Conqueror. Adventures are to the adj
venturous." and victory is always ready
10 perch upon til shoulder of the brave
man. II matters not which citadel to
be assaulted; it matter not which is
the weapon Of attaCk-thc sword, tha
pcn, the voice. There is still the excite
ment Of unc rtainty; there IS still the
u "a l,N-
In the kingdom Of romance are many
mansions, not buiided all after the same
fashion To some rnen are allott d the
loftiar enterprsas-to discover unknown
seas. TO stand upon rocks h therto un-
tr0fden of mortal men, to feel like
some watcher Of the skies when z new
planet swims into his ken" Til Sc
wheth they know it OF not, are the
happtest Of mowalS.
ii we had our choice. whose romance
would We claim for our Nwn? Columbus
knew q great moment when he saw for
the first time the coastline If the new
world. TIL moment would have been
greater had he been able to foretei all
that the new world was to suffer and in
human endeavor when, escaped fro n
Elba, he SIT hi. foot orce more upon
French soil Wellington. when he fell
asleep after the battle OF waterloo, had
who conquers the conqueror Of Europe.
To win the Derby, the blue ribbon OF
the turf when the Jaws of ruin are
open to swallow ou is a victory Of ro-
nance which cannot easily be surpasse1
IN the annals of welcome surprise. And
V no would not have been Byron.
who on the appearance of "Chide Har-
old woke UP and found msef famous?
Or kean, VINO after his first triumph at
Drury Lane came back to tell his wife
that she should ride in her carriage and
that Charlie" should go to Eaton?
In n a competition such as this let who
HT id
will know which victory TO
prefer But the variety Of conrlests
shows that romance is not necessarily
involved with action. There are other
th'n"s to discover besides contin ants
There are other battles to be won be-
sides those which are decided with gun
and sword Two men who marvelled
most sincerely at the romance Of evis-
-ence never Travelled far from the four
walls Of their. studies, Erasmus, whose
battles were an tha battles Of the spirit,
who fought his enemies. sloth and stu
oidity. at the pens point, marveled on
lis deathbed at This miracle Of human