Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-06-18

over men and worldly fame. And the
soft alluring voice OF pleasure whis-
pers in his ear all her golden prom
ises, but not a word of the disappoin;-
ed hopes which We're the portion of
those philosophers Of old. who at her
shrine sought peace of mind and free
dom of pain.
Many elect 10 walk along the path "a
fame only to findswhen they have
reached the end. that life after all.
has been empty and unproftable. They
have found no pot of gold at the end
of the glorious bow that spanned
their heaven and hred them on.
Others lay hold OF the shining gar
ments of wealth and enter the mad
race which makes men forget the
! higher things Of life, makes them
forget that they are creatures with
souls and spirits which starve and
shrivel under neglect. The power
over men which some covet, and
which seem so fair and good before
it is within their grasp. turns to dust
and ashes. when it Is entirely theirs,
and YEARLY indeed, they turn from
their idol of the brazen feet. Even
learning, almost altogether lovely,
philosophers have found unsatisfying.
i think of young Francis Bacon, that
fortunate. well-born. ambitious boy,
who wrote in such high hope. Il have
taken all knowledge to be my prov
ince." In the book OF his life disap-
poinfment looms large. However
great the tribute ne now pay to his
intellectual greatness, he is written
as n who forgot God. The story OF
his y~enality and fall is sad enough for
tears. Bacon ruined in fortune. brok-
en- i'm spirit, died in disgrace. He was
great as a lawyer, as a philosopher.
as a statesman, as a writer-great
alas, in everything but character.
His fate is mirrowed in the melan-
strange fires" as did the knights of
that fair country whose capital is
Camilor, After weary journeying
through a land of sand and thorns,
where everything they grasped crumh-
led away in their hands, ever the gem
tie Perciyal. wounded and sorely dis
appointed cried:
10. If ] find the Holy Grail itself.
And touch IT, it would crumble into
dust"
And Sir Launcelot returned blasted
and burnt and blinded" The Kings
dismal prophecy was fulfilled and
into decay fell the fairest fellowship,
and truest knighthood that ever was
seen.
Though every man must bear his
own burden, and fare. as it ere alone
over the highway of life, though moth
ing that has gone before can compel
his answer to Quo Vadis," there are
many goodly finger posts along the
way such as Christian found on his
perilous journey.
20 young men and maidens, read
what they who have passed this way
before, can tell you. The American
Bryant urges you:
$50 live, that when thy summons
comes to join
The innumerable caravan, that moves
To the mysterious realm, whers each
shall take
His chambers in the silent halls Of
death,
Thou as not like the quarry slave at
night
Scourged to his dungeon.
The gentle Wizard of the north who
left a fair fame, u~ntarnished by world
illness whose friends over the world
grieved for the troubles of so kindly
a soul, said one day "Lockhart. my
dear, be a good man-be virtuous-be
religions be a good man. Nothing
else will give you any comfort when
you come to lie here"
Even old heather Omar Khayyam
whose croaking fatalism sometimes
chills your heart, bids you so live that
when that angel of the darker drink,
At last shall meet you at the rivers
brink.
And offering his cup, invite your soul
forth from your lips to quaff,
Thou shall not shrink"
Hear the philosophy Of living which
the young Milton set forth in his early
works, which he embodied in his
later writings, and to which he chung.
himself through all the vicissitudes
of his wonderful life. THE radiant at
tendant spirit has once more put on
his sky robes spun from Iris wool"
"Mortals that would follow me,
Love Virtue. She alone is free.
She can teach you how to climb,
Higher than the starry chime,
Or. if Virtue feeble were,
Heaven itself would stoop to her.
Vs!edictory Of Clyde WhetzeI.
At last the day of days has come
when the class of 1910 shall be no
more. Our history has been com
pleted and the acts by which our res
idence here will be known have been
finished.
10 IL ha +rra 4hof ooad uina na0dc