Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1919-07-10
thoughtfully out Of the window he

Bart, do you know when our first
fathers turned out of the trail of the
beast and found the long road Of hu-
mainly? I think it was when they dis
covered the compass in their hearts,"
So now ut last we have come to that
high and lonely place, where we may
look back upon the toilsome, adven-
turous way we have travelled with the
mid of the candle and the cnmnass.
Now let us stop a moment to rest and
to think. How sweet the air is here!
The night is falling. I see the stars I.
Ine SKY.
Just below me is the valley Of Eter-
nal silence. You will understand my
haste now. 1 have sought only to do
justice to my friend and to give my
country a name, long neglected, but
| equal in glory to those of Washington
and Lincoln.
Come, let us take one last look to-
gether down the road we have trav-
eled, now dim in the evening shad-
ows. Scattered along it are the little
houses of the poor of which 1 have
written. See the lights in the win
dows-the lights that are shining into
the souls of the young-the eager,
open, expectant, welcoming souls of
the young-and the light carries many
things, but best of all a respect for the
old, unchanging way of the compass.
After all that is the end and aim Of
the whole matter-believe me.
Nv 1Sfn hoe 1oooA1oooJ sulo lLzs1
days when most of our tasks are &C.
complished by machinery. We try to
make men by the thousand, in vast
educational machines, and no longer
by the n as of old. 1t was the low
ing, forgiving, ~forbearing, patient,
ceaseless toll Of mother and father on
the tender soul Of childhood which
quickened that inextinguishable sense
of responsibility to God and man in
these people whom I now leave to the
judgment of my countrymen.
I have lived to see the ancient plan
of kingcraft, for self-protection, COM
ing back into the world. 1t demands
that the will and conscience of every
individual shall be regulated and con-
trolled by some conceited prince,
backed by an army. 1t cannot fail, I
foresee, to accomplish such devasta-
ton in the human spirit as shall i'm
peril the dearest possession of man.
If n is to follow the compass he
can have but one Knights God.
. y x 81
I am near the end. I rode back to
Baltimore that forenoon. They had
nominated Mr.. Polk of Tennessee for
president and Silas Wright for vice
president, the latter by reclamation. I
knew that Wright would decline the
honor, as he did.
I hurried northward to keep my ar
pointment with Sally. The boats were
slowed by fog. At Albany I was a day
behind my schedule. I should have
only an hours leeway if the boats on
the upper lakes and the stage from
Plattsburg were on time. I feared to
trust them. So I caught the west.
bound train and reached Utica three
hours late. There I bought a good
horse and his saddle and bride and
hurried up the north road. When he
was near spent I traded him for a well.
Kn1r Morgan mare up in the little vii.
lage of Sandy Creek. Oh, I knew a
good horse as well as the next man
and a better one than she I eve
owned-never. I was back in my sad.
die at six in the afternoon and stopped
for feed and an hours rest at nine and
rode on through the night. I reached
the hamlet of Richville soon after day.
break and put out for a rest of two
hours. I could take it easy then. At
seven o'clock the mare and 1 started
again, well fed and eager to go on.
1t was a summer morning that short.
n the rcad-even that of the u
lover. Its air was sweet with the
breath of the meadows. The daisies
and the clover and the cornflowers
and the wild roses seemed to be wav-
ing q welcome to me-, and the thorn
trees-shapely ornament of my native
hills-were. in blossom. A cloud of
pigeons swept across the blue deep
above my head. The great choir of
the fields sang to me-bobolinks, song
sparrows, meadowlarks, bluebirds,
Warblers, wrens, and far away in the
edge Of a spruce thicket I heard the
flute Of the white-throated sparrow.
/ bathed at a brook in the woods
and put on a clean silk shirt and tie
out Of my saddlebags. I rode slowly
then to the edge of the village of Can
ton and turned at the bridge and took
the river road, although I had time to
spare. How my heart was beating as
I neared the familiar scene! The
river slowed it's pace there, like a dis
corning traveller, to enjoy the beauty
of it's shores. Smooth and silent was
the water and in IL were the blue Of
the sky and the feathery shadow-spires
Of cedar and tamarack and the reflect
ed blossoms of iris and meadow rue.
1t was a lovely scene.
There was the pine, but where was
my lady? I dismounted and tied my
/ m M 0~S #1>~r.-s 49, --I -