Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-06-28

luminous old ago that has given assur-
ance Of deathless influence to the work
and personality Of Matthew Henry Buck
ham.
IAN age that meits with unperceived de-
cay,
And slides In modest innocence away;
Whose night congratulating Conscience
cheers;
The general favorite as the general
friend:
Such age there is. and who shall wish
its end?"
Passive character may be efficacious
without being famous. The mothers OF
men. for the most part, live In obscur-
ity. Many Of them are not known beyond
the door-yarfs Of their nearest neighbors.
but the sunlight Of their passive good
ness shines into the souls Of sons made
noble and efiicient by the Illuminating
influence Of maternal ideals. I have
known a woman with the frost Of ninety
winters upon her brow and though In
physical helplessness she could do little
more than smile her sweet appreciation
Of the little attentions given to her COM
fort. yet children and children's children
prayed earnestly that she might be spar
ed to shed the gentle radiance Of her
effulgent character upon them In the tu-
mutt Of their daily distractions.
'"rhe soul's dark cottage. batter'd and
decay'd,
Lets in new light through chinks that
time has made.
Stronger by weakness. wiser all become
As they draw near to their eternal home.
Leaving the old, both worlds at once
they view,
That stand upon the threshold Of the
new"
ent type. She was the pioneer woman
in blasting the way to the goal Of what
she regarded as a proper recognition Of
the rights of her sex. In pushing her
propaganda, though, she was in no sense
narrow or uncharitable. Her exaltation
Of the family life, her large vision. her
acquaintance with literature. her study
Of philosophy her advocacy Of emanci-
patton, and her broad sympathy made
her an inspiring wife. wise mother and
a potent force in every worthy movement
for human betterment.
The philanthropic schemes Of Doctor
Samuel Gridley Howe and his work az
editor Of the Boston Commonwealth ex.
perienced an added vitalization through
the collaboration Of his gifted and ener.
getic wife. The study Of German phil.
osophy which inspired her essays or
doubt and Belief" and "The Duality OF
Character commanded the wholesome
respect for her intellectual penetration
that made the home Of Mrs. Howe lit.
erary salon frequented for stimulation
Of thought by Longfellow, Phillips. Gar
rison. Sumner, Theodore Parker. Jamei
Freeman Clark and others of their kind
who placed greater value upon brain thar
upon Drawn. Her husband and his illus
trious contemporaries passed off the stag
Of action and left her to carry the es
sence of their lofty idealism into the
sordid utilitarianism Of the early TWEEN.
tieth century.
This great woman did not accept OLE
age as an invitation to the Incidence Of
luxurious ease. At seventy-six she edit
ed that remarkable collection Of address
es bearing the suggesdvely interrogation,
title as Polite Society Polite?" Then ter
years later at the advanced age of eighty
six when she might have been excused
for sitting In an arm chair with folded
hands she made notable contribution t,
the series entitled Famous Women b,
writing her interesting Sketches Of Rep
resentative Women Of New England
During the last fve years Of her lif,
when writing and speaking we're no long
or permissible Mrs. Howe's room was al
intellectual and moral sanctuary sough
out by those who felt the need of up
lift through contact with the passiv
remnant of q personality that had thrille.
the mighty soul of Abraham Lincoln viii
the exhortation Of a poem that has givel
her Immortality.
On the nth Of October. 1910, in nature
period of the scar and yellow leaf, viii
ninety-one years Of resplendent earthl,
life to her credit, Julia Ward Howe wen
to her coronation. Her old age had bee,
blessed because Of the background o
| passive strength which held her stead,
in the maddening turmoil Of active lif
| and enabled her to give expression t
lofty sentiments that will live forever
| more. From generation to generation, Il
times Of national crisis. the fires Of pa
triotism will be reldndled in the heart
Of loyal men and women called to heroi
| sacrifice for human liberty by the Bat
tie Hymn Of the Republic.
I'm the beauty Of the lilies Christ wa
born across the sea,
With glory in His bosom that trans
figures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let u
die to make men free.
While God Is marching on"
ACTIVE SERVICE THAT IS WORTH
WHILE.
Active service that is worth while is tn
| ccfN -
| No life can be poured out in deeds tina
count unless it reaches down deep int
a heart center whore the still water
dow inexhaustible in clarity and purit,
The Apostle James oomprehended 1t a
in the implied answer to his strikin
question Doth q fountain send forth q
the same place sweet water and bitter
The tendency to use the mechanism q
organization as a substitute for thos
deep-rooted convictions which alone ca
! guarantee potent goodness Is nowher
more noticeable than in the religious or
| erattons OF our own times. Freuuentl
we hear zealots Of church reform expires
commiseratton for our forebears VIII
were subjected to the narowness Of tn
old-time religion consisting only of Sur
| day services and an emotional mid-Wee
! prayer-meeting.
Doubtless the religious life OF twent,
five years ago was incomplete. A Chri,
tian experience fully realized Is somethin
more than a mere individual possession
That interpretive notion of religion whic
is satisfied with the feeling of ones ow
spiritual pulse and then telling Of II
process and results in a public testimon
Ia morbidly selfish in its deficiencies.
is entirely at variance with the examp
Of Him who went about doing good. an