Year: 1878

THE WORLD MANS EMPIRE.


BY b. F. LoRANCE.


Bouhdless are the realms of space which
stirround immortal man. Strangely mhlti-
form are the innunierabls creatures which
inhabit this orbicular earth. Ihterminabls
is the web whose environing Threads weave
about man the eternal fabric OF being; and
matchless are the unseen silver wands which
bind together the different parts OF mans
organism. constituting him paramount In
dividualityt


From this high position man looks far out
into the world. and there he beholds the SIM
plicity of construction. the harmonious ac-
cord with which everything moves on, the
design manifest in every living creature al
SO he looks at himself and beholds him a
complete mechanism.


Then strange thoughts arise In his mind,
and he is made to ask-Was the earth al
ways as beautiful as IL is at the present mo-
ment? Has man always ruled supremely
over land and sea. and called them his ownf


Turning his eye down the vista OF by-gone
ages, when time was not; when the germs
of life silently slept their lethargical sleep
In homely chaos; when not a sound issued
forth throughout the long solitary depths of
the universe, and shrouds of darkness alone
ensphered this uninhabited, dreary earth,
how boundless the thought, that in those
dark hours of lonely solitude every particle
of matter which now is, the tissue Of every
living creature, man himself, and even the
brain which stirs the depths of the world
with scientific principles, slept together In
the same dark charnel. Yet. as those dark
ages issued forth from the depths of eternity,
the great designer looked far down through
their dark, dim shadows, and saw the earth
as 1t now is. He knew full well that the
world in lonely solitude could never sing
praises to and glorify Its creator. He there
fore breathed upon 1t the eternal breath Of
life, and the web of being ramified the earth
to Its utmost bounds. The world is now
finished, and certain 1t is that It has been
made for some purpose. The earth has not
swung round through space these countless
ages for nothing. The sun has not lent his
powerful rays through these long centuries
for mere pastime. The azure waters which
cover the mighty deep have not been gath
cred together in one place, simply for the
abode of fnny forms which may chance to
sport therein. The land has not been reared
from its once aqueous home, and beautified
with undulating hills and lofty mountains,
alone for the hungry wolf to prowl among
its lonely haunts.


The skeletons and foot prints in revealing
to us the grand day of the past, from their
rocky lodges, tell US that the earth was in
habited by huge and strange forms long ages
before the period OF man. All, from the trt-
lobite to the huge mastodon, had a function
TO perform. Thus, reiterating, the world was
made for some purpose. Even the little peb-
bles that lie scattered all over the northern
plains of this continent, have not been
placed there without design. Though voice.
less may be their instructions, yet most
forcibly do they teach us. that one day they
dwelt IN a cline far north of where they
now rest, and that they have been transport
ed to their present position by mighty rivers
of fee. which at that time moved slowly |
down from the north to south, thus grinding.
heaving and preparing the unshapely hills |
to be inhabited by man.


Though long ages have elapsed since that
most wonderful eroch. and though no human
being was present at that time to behold
them, as poised upon those icy walls slowly |
they glided down; yet, that such did come to
pass, is substantiated by the indelible writ |
ings upon the pages of the book of nature, |
where the Almighty invariably stamps the |
MYSTERIOUS workings OF his omnipotent |
hand.


After this mighty revolution oil was silent
In the eternal depths of the sea; the land |
stood forth in her garments of beauty. No
more the iChthyosauruss sported in his native
home; the iguanodon forever ceased to bask
IN the noon-day sun. All was silent-all
was beautiful. Down In the deep, dark vaults



out through the long blue depths of space
there twinkled shining orDs.


Then came the creation of man, the most
noted epoch within the earth's existence.
Look at him! He is the grandest and no.
blest that ever breathed the vitalair of heav-
en-. Within him there moves a spirit and
mind, which are mysteriously wonderful;
and around him the entire world of being
acknowledge his supremacy. The dark, rock
caverns yield up their costly treasures to the
powerful stroke of his majestic hand. The
vivid lIghtnings that flash so carelessly
among the floating clouds, tanned and fet-
tered, are to-day, by their unseen power.
speakihg-speaking the thoughts OF man
throughout the civilized world Mighty
structures stand forth to proclaim his excel
lency; and by his power the laws OF nature
|
work wonderful mysteries.


But with all his power, man looks back
upon the silent cities of the past, within
whose walls there sleep the bravest, and he
realizes that his little boat, too, will soon
have anchored in its haven Under the hill,
and the home where once he dwelt he Will
dwell no more; but as the time over which he
has passed can never die, SO the spirit which
In him moves will live on parallel with the
ages of eternity. And as there was period
when the earth did not move itself beneath
the web of life, when the ant knew not its
terresral hill, and fnny forms rejoiced not
of their aqueous home, so there VIII come a
day when man, and every living thing, will
sleep together in one cold, dark charnel;
when this earth, ensphered with oblivion's
dismal shroud, will roll uncontrolled through
space in the lonely solitude of endless night.
And though no sound of music or living
thing shall ever mar the eternal silence of
her motionless tomb; and though man, af-
ter that final day, shall never again gaze
upon her in her majestic splendor, yet his
soul will ever be content 10 bound on through
the interminable relms of ETHEREAL space, and
study the siderial march of grander spheres.


VALEDICTORY.