Saint Mary's beacon., 1914-01-08

""~ Ao' sen hohor ana glory on
this lake, or perish in the attempt.
Conceive my feelings; an enemy
within striking distance, my vessels
ready, and not men enough to man
them But not a word of criti-
cism; not breath of complaint.
Gentlemen, obey your superior..
obey your bishop and your pastors:
and the Stars and Stripes will be
the more glorious by your obedience
to your Church. e Obey the laws of
your country. and her images trates.
and you will be true Catholics.
worthy of the name.
But does loyalty stop with the
avoidance of treachery-for disobe-
dience is the vilest of treacheries-
does 1t not mean sacrifice and enter
prise: II is one thing not to betray
our country's interests; it is another
to further them by using every
talent that God has given us.
Perry knew that he had come to
Erie not to command a fleet but TO
build IL: not To launch il when
built, but to lift it in the air oyor
sandbars; not to assign :nen to il,
but TO create the men TO be assigned.
He was to make everything out Of
nothing: gunmountS and chains out
of wagon-tires and hinges, blocks
without block-makers. hulls and
masts out of a standing forest, Off
GERS out of seamen. marines out of
malitiamen, seamen out of farm
hands. He was not only to stand
by his flagship. but in the hick of
battle TO hunt for a flagship to
stand by. He was TO be the strength
of all VIXEN fever-wssted himself;
he was to read Victory in what
spelt Defeat
Opportunity for Perry meant
duty. Harrison campaigning against
the British on the Thames river
meant for him, Perry on Harrison's .
right hand. He could not daily on
a riverbound gunboat when there
was a horse ready for him to charge
into battle. In a word Perry saw
all interests that were dependent on
him, and was ready for all exertions
IN their behalf. Out of such a
heart springs not only matchless
courage, but the flower of Christian
manhood. divine charity,.as,d it In
charity that makes Perry not only
a hero, but a knight. II was the
spirit of the old knights Of Malta
and st John that prompted Perry
~
IN his care for the sick and wounded
after the battle; in his generosity
to the British commander, Commo-
dore Barclay, which inspired the
brave old warrior to the toast.
Commodore Perry, the gallant and
generous enemy Chivalry gave
him his scrupulous regard for the
ranking of his fello w-ofiicer. whether
1t was a question of his promotion
or theirs; and kept his own heart
from bitterness when attacked by
the malign sting Of jealousy
Such loyalty cannot be sup
ported by any mere earthly consid-
eratiOns. To have a worthy view
Of the individual we must have a
lofty idea Of man; but to value the
divine IN man, we must. above all
things esteem loyalty to God. Not
instinct, not respect for mems opin-
ions, not the quest of the praise of
posierity, the love Of seif-perfection.
not devotion to mere humanity. no.
not all the warmth of patriotism
will suffice it we do not live for
God. Man is made for God: and
all that man is, is made for God.
Perry's character--his patriotic
principles and his loyalty to those
principles-was founded on some
thing more than human. He was q
religious man. He was not a Cath
olic, because he had never been
taught the fulness Of the Church's
message; but he cherished those
great fundamental truths which his
DevoDshire forefathers had inherited
from their Catholic ancestry; those
supernatural truths which Protestant
teachers transmitted as best they
could to the. makers of our country,
but which now are evermore and
more left to be defended only by the
Mother Church as she taught them
70 the two great Catholic constitu-
tion makers OF Maryland and has
taught them even from the begir-
ming. To those first principles he
paid tribute in the supreme moment
Of victory, when he claimed his tri-
umph not for himself but for the
Almighty who has been pleased to
give to the arms of the United
States signal victory over their
enemies on this lake
Ii was this steadfastness of reli-
QlOus Drincinla "a fnuch as sha x,...