,,advice                                
,,to                            ,,young 
,,men ,,and ,,boys                      
,illustration3 ,stephen ,girard4        
,,advice                                
,,to                            ,,young 
,,men ,,and ,,boys                      
,a ,,series ,,of ,,addresses            
,,delivered ,,by ,b4 ,b4 ,,comegys      
,,member ,,of ,,the ,,board ,,of ,,city 
,,trusts ,,of ,,philadelphia            
,,to ,,the ,,pupils ,,of ,,the ,,girard 
,,college                               
,,illustrated ,,with                    
,six ,photogravure ,portraits on ,steel 
,,philadelphia                          
,,gebbie  ,,co41 ,publishers            
#ahij                                   
,copyright by                           
,,gebbie  ,,co41                        
#ahhi4                                  
,,preface4      ,in ,january1 #ahhb1 ,i 
was appointed by the ,judges of the     
,courts of ,common  ,pleas of           
,philadelphia to the ,board of          

,directors of ,city ,trusts1 which  has 
charge of ,girard ,college1 having for  
some years previously1 by the  kind     
partiality of ,president ,allen1 been on
 the staff of speakers in  the ,chapel  
on ,sundays4 ,my interest in the ,pupils
 was of course at once  increased1 and  
ever since ,i have given much time and  
thought to the  moral instruction of the
 boys4    ,from the many ,addresses made
 to them ,i have selected the following 
as fair specimens of the instruction ,i 
have sought to impart4 ,some            
repetitions of thought and language may 
be accounted for by the lapse  of time  
between the giving of the ,addresses1   
not forgetting the  well-known ,hebrew  
proverb1 8,line upon lineprecept upon   
precepthere  a littlethere a little40   
,the word 8,orphans0 as used in the will
 of ,mr4 ,girard has been defined  by   
the ,supreme ,court of ,pennsylvania to 
mean boys who are fatherless4    ,the   
book is published in the hope that it   
may be the means of helping  some boys  

and young men other than those to whom  
the ,addresses were  made4        #dbje 
,,walnut ,,st41          ,november1     
#ahhi4                                  
,,contents4       ,,stephen ,,girard    
,,and ,,his ,,college4 7,introductory7  
,,page  #i     ,,how ,,to ,,win         
,,success                               
8  #be     ,,life,,its ,,opportunities  
,,and ,,temptations              8  #ci 
,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,william       
,,welsh                        8  #ea   
,,bad ,,associates                      
8  #ei     ,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of      
,,president ,,garfield                  
8  #fi     ,,the ,,case ,,of ,,the      
,,uneducated ,,employed                 
8  #gi     ,,william ,,penn             
8  #ii     ,,our ,,constitution         
8 #aac     ,,james ,,lawrence ,,claghorn
                              8 #abi    
,,the ,,leaf ,,turned ,,over            
8 #adc     ,,thanksgiving ,,day4        
7,november #bi1 #ahhh7                8 
#aee     ,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of        

,,president ,,allen                     
8 #afi     ,a ,,young ,,man',s ,,message
 ,,to ,,boys                        8   
#agi     ,a ,,truthful ,,character      
8 #ahh             ,,list ,,of          
,,photogravure ,,illustrations4         
,,stephen ,,girard      ,frontispiece4  
,b4 ,b4 ,,comegys                       
,,page #be     ,,william ,,welsh        
8  #ea     ,,james ,a4 ,,garfield       
8  #fi     ,,james ,,lawrence ,,claghorn
          8 #abi     ,,professor ,w4 ,h4
 ,,allen            8 #afi              
,,stephen ,,girard ,,and ,,his          
,,college4,a                            
,,introductory4    ,a ,this introduction
 is taken by permission from 8,the ,life
 and  ,character of ,stephen ,girard1 by
 ,henry ,atlee ,ingram1 ,,ll4 ,b40      
,stephen ,girard1 who calls himself in  
his will 8mariner and merchant10  was   
born near the city of ,bordeaux1        
,france1 on ,may #bj1 #agej4 ,at the age
  of twenty-six he settled in           
,philadelphia1 having his counting-house

  on ,water street1 above ,market4 ,he  
was a man of great industry and         
frugality1 and lived comfortably1 as the
 merchants of that day lived1  in the   
dwelling of which his counting-house    
formed a part4 ,he was  married and had 
one child1 but the death of his wife was
 followed  soon by the death of his     
child1 and he never married again4 ,he  
lived  to the age of eighty-one and     
accumulated what was considered at the  
time of his death a vast estate1 more   
than seven millions of dollars4  ,one   
hundred and forty thousand dollars of   
this was bequeathed to  members of his  
family1 sixty-five thousand as a        
principal sum for  the payment of       
annuities to certain friends and former 
employs1 one  hundred and sixteen       
thousand to various ,philadelphia       
charities1 five  hundred thousand to the
 city of ,philadelphia for the          
improvement of  its water front on the  
,delaware1 three hundred thousand to the
 ,state  of ,pennsylvania for the       

prosecution of internal improvements1   
and an  indefinite sum in various       
legacies to his apprentices1 to         
sea-captains  who should bring his      
vessels in their charge safely to port1 
and to his  house servants4 ,the        
remainder of his estate he devised in   
trust to the  city of ,philadelphia for 
the following purposes3 7#a7 ,to erect1 
improve  and maintain a college for poor
 white orphan boys2 7#b7 to establish a 
better police system1 and 7#c7 to       
improve the city of ,philadelphia and   
diminish taxation4    ,the sum of two   
millions of dollars was set apart by his
 will for  the construction of the      
college1 and as soon as was practicable 
the  executors appropriated certain     
securities for the purpose1 the actual  
outlay for erection and finishing of the
 edifice being one million nine  hundred
 and thirty-three thousand eight hundred
 and twenty-one dollars  and            
seventy-eight cents 7#a1icc1hba4gh74    
,excavation was commenced ,may  #f1     

#ahcc1 the corner-stone being laid with 
ceremonies on the ,fourth  of ,july     
following1 and the completed buildings  
were transferred to  the ,board of      
,directors on the #acth of ,november1   
#ahdg4 ,there was thus  occupied in     
construction a period of fourteen years 
and six months1 the  work being somewhat
 delayed by reason of suits brought by  
the heirs of  ,girard against the city  
of ,philadelphia to recover the estate4 
,the  design adopted was substantially  
that furnished by ,thomas ,u4 ,walters1 
an architect elected by the ,board of   
,directors4 ,some modifications were    
rendered advisable by the change of site
 directed in the second codicil  of     
,girard's will1 the original purpose    
having been to occupy the square        
bounded by ,eleventh1 ,chestnut1        
,twelfth and ,market streets1 in the    
heart  of the city of ,philadelphia4    
,but ,girard having1 subsequently to the
  first draft of his will1 purchased for
 thirty-five thousand dollars the       

,william ,parker farm of forty-five     
acres1 on the ,ridge ,road1 known as    
the 8,peel ,hall ,estate10 he directed  
that the site of his college should  be 
transferred to that place1 and commenced
 the erection of stores and  dwellings  
upon the former plot of ground1 which   
dwellings and stores  form part of his  
residuary estate4    ,the college proper
 closely resembles in design a ,greek   
temple4 ,it is  built of marble1 which  
was chiefly obtained from quarries in   
,montgomery  and ,chester counties1     
,pennsylvania1 and at ,egremont1        
,massachusetts4    ,the building is     
three stories in height1 the first and  
second being  twenty-five feet from     
floor to floor1 and the third thirty    
feet in the  clear to the eye of the    
dome1 the doors of entrance being in the
 north  and south fronts and measuring  
sixteen feet in width and thirty-two  in
 height4 ,the walls of the cella are    
four feet in thickness1 and are  pierced
 on each flank by twenty windows4 ,at   

each end of the building  is a          
vestibule1 extending across the whole   
width of the cella1 the  ceilings of    
which are supported on each floor by    
eight columns1 whose  shafts are        
composed of a single stone4 ,those on   
the first floor are  ,ionic1 after the  
temple on the ,ilissus1 at ,athens2 on  
the second1 a  modified ,corinthian1    
after the ,tower of ,andronicus         
,cyrrhestes1 also at  ,athens2 and on   
the third1 a similar modification of the
 ,corinthian1  somewhat lighter and more
 ornate4    ,the auxiliary buildings    
include a chapel of white marble1       
dormitories1  offices and laundries4 ,a 
new refectory1 containing improved      
ranges  and steam cooking apparatus1 has
 recently been added1 the dining-hall   
of which will seat with ease more than  
one thousand persons4 ,two              
bathing-pools are in the western portion
 of the grounds1 and others  in         
basements of buildings4 ,the houses are 
heated by steam and lighted  by gas     

obtained from the city works4           
,thirty-five electric lights from  seven
 towers one hundred and twenty-five feet
 high illuminate the  grounds and the   
neighboring streets4 ,a wall sixteen    
inches in thickness  and ten feet in    
height1 strengthened by spur piers on   
the inside and  capped with marble      
coping1 surrounds the whole estate1 its 
length  being six thousand eight hundred
 and forty-three feet1 or somewhat  more
 than one and one-quarter miles4 ,it is 
pierced on the southern  side1          
immediately facing the south front of   
the main building1 for the  chief       
entrance1 this last being flanked by two
 octagonal white marble  lodges1 between
 which stretches an ornamental          
wrought-iron grille1 with  wrought-iron 
gates1 the whole forming an approach in 
keeping with the  large simplicity of   
the college itself4    ,the site upon   
which the college is erected corresponds
 well with  its splendor and importance4
 ,it is elevated considerably above the 

general level of the surrounding        
buildings and forms a conspicuous       
object1 not only from the higher windows
 and roofs in every part of             
,philadelphia1 but from the ,delaware   
river many miles below the city and     
from eminences far out in the country4  
,from the lofty marble roof the  view is
 also exceedingly beautiful1 embracing  
the city and its environs  for many     
miles around and the course1 to their   
confluence1 eight miles  below1 of the  
,delaware and ,schuylkill rivers4       
,the history of the institution         
commences shortly after the decease of  
,girard1 when the ,councils of          
,philadelphia1 acting as his trustees1  
elected a ,board of ,directors1 which   
organized on the #ahth of ,february1    
#ahcc1 with ,nicholas ,biddle as        
chairman4 ,a ,building ,committee was   
also  appointed by the ,city ,councils  
on the #bast of the following ,march1 in
  whom was vested the immediate         
supervision of the construction of the  

college1 an office in which they        
continued without intermission until    
the final completion of the structure4  
,on the #aith of ,july1 #ahcf1 the      
former body1 having previously been     
authorized by the ,councils so to do1   
proceeded to elect ,alexander  ,dallas  
,bache president of the college1 and    
instructed him to visit  various similar
 institutions in ,europe1 and purchase  
the necessary  books and apparatus for  
the school1 both of which he did1 making
 an  exhaustive report upon his return  
in #ahch4 ,it was then attempted to     
establish schools without awaiting the  
completion of the main building1  but   
competent legal advice being unfavorable
 to the organization  of the institution
 prior to that time1 the idea was       
abandoned1 and  difficulties having     
meanwhile arisen between the ,councils  
and the ,board  of ,directors1 the      
ordinances creating the board and       
authorizing the  election of the        
president were repealed4    ,in ,june1  

#ahdg1 a new board was appointed1 to    
whom the building was  transferred1 and 
on ,december #ae1 #ahdg1 the officers of
 the institution  were elected1 the     
,hon4 ,joel ,jones1 ,president ,judge of
 the ,district  ,court for the ,city and
 ,county of ,philadelphia1 being chosen 
as  president4 ,on ,january #a1 #ahdh1  
the college was opened with a class of  
one hundred orphans1 previously         
admitted1 the occasion being signalized 
by appropriate ceremonies4 ,on ,october 
#a of the same year one hundred  more   
were admitted1 and on ,april #a1 #ahdi1 
an additional one hundred1  since when  
others have been admitted as vacancies  
have occurred or to  swell the number as
 facilities have increased4 ,the college
 now 7#ahhi7  contains thirteen hundred 
and seventy-five pupils4    ,on ,june   
#a1 #ahdi1 ,judge ,jones resigned the   
office of president of the  college1 and
 on the #bc;d of the following ,november
 ,william ,h4 ,allen1 ,,ll4  ,d41       
,professor of ,mental ,philosophy and   

,english ,literature in ,dickinson      
,college1 was elected to fill the       
vacancy4 ,he was installed ,january #a1 
#ahej1 but resigned ,december #a1 #ahfb1
 and ,major ,richard ,somers ,smith1 of 
the ,united ,states army1 was chosen to 
fill his place4 ,major ,smith was       
inaugurated ,june #bd1 #ahfc1 and       
resigned in ,september1 #ahfg1 ,dr4     
,allen  being immediately re-elected and
 continuing in office until his death1  
on the #bith of ,august1 #ahhb4    ,the 
present incumbent1 ,adam ,h4 ,fetterolf1
 ,ph4,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41 was elected        
,december #bg1 #ahhb1 by the ,board of  
,city ,trusts4 ,this ,board is composed 
of fifteen members1 three of whomthe    
,mayor and the ,presidents of           
,councilsare ex officio1 and twelve are 
appointed by the ,judges  of the ,court 
of ,common ,pleas4 ,its meetings are    
held on the second  ,wednesday of each  
month4    ,it has been determined by the
 courts of ,pennsylvania that any child 
having lost its father is properly      

denominated an orphan1 irrespective  of 
whether the mother be living or not4    
,this construction has been  adopted by 
the college1 the requirements for       
admission to the  institution being     
prescribed by ,mr4 ,girard's will as    
follows3 7#a7 ,the  orphan must be a    
poor white boy1 between six and ten     
years of age1 no  application for       
admission being received before the     
former age1 nor  can he be admitted into
 the college after passing his tenth    
birthday1  even though the application  
has been made previously2 7#b7 the      
mother  or next friend is required to   
produce the marriage certificate of the 
child's parents 7or1 in its absence1    
some other satisfactory evidence  of    
such marriage71 and also the certificate
 of the physician setting  forth the    
time and place of birth2 7#c7 a form of 
application looking to  the             
establishment of the child's identity1  
physical condition1 morals1  previous   
education and means of support1 must be 

filled in1 signed  and vouched for by   
respectable citizens4 ,applications are 
made at the  office1 ,no4 #ai ,south    
,twelfth street1 ,philadelphia4    ,a   
preference is given under ,girard's will
 to 7a7 orphans born in  the city of    
,philadelphia2 7b7 those born in any    
other part of  ,pennsylvania2 7c7 those 
born in the city of ,new ,york2 7d7     
those  born in the city of ,new         
,orleans4 ,the preference to the orphans
 born  in the city of ,philadelphia is  
defined to be strictly limited to the   
old city proper1 the districts          
subsequently consolidated into the city 
having no rights in this respect over   
any other portion of the ,state4        
,orphans are admitted1 in the above     
order1 strictly according to  priority  
of application1 the mother or next      
friend executing an  indenture binding  
the orphan to the city of ,philadelphia1
 as trustee  under ,girard's will1 as an
 orphan to be educated and provided for 
by  the college4 ,the seventh item of   

the will reads as follows3    8,the     
orphans admitted into the college shall 
be there fed with  plain but wholesome  
food1 clothed with plain but decent     
apparel 7no  distinctive dress ever to  
be worn71 and lodged in a plain but safe
  manner4 ,due regard shall be paid to  
their health1 and to this end their     
persons and clothes shall be kept clean1
 and they shall have suitable  and      
rational exercise and recreation4 ,they 
shall be instructed in the  various     
branches of a sound education1          
comprehending reading1 writing1         
grammar1 arithmetic1 geography1         
navigation1 surveying1 practical        
mathematics1 astronomy1 natural1        
chemical1 and experimental philosophy1  
the ,french and ,spanish languages 7,i  
do not forbid1 but ,i do not  recommend 
the ,greek and ,latin languages71 and   
such other learning and  science as the 
capacities of the several scholars may  
merit or warrant4  ,i would have them   
taught facts and things1 rather than    

words or signs4  ,and especially1 ,i    
desire1 that by every proper means a    
pure attachment  to our republican      
institutions1 and to the sacred rights  
of conscience1  as guaranteed by our    
happy constitutions1 shall be formed and
 fostered  in the minds of the          
scholars40    ,although the orphans     
reside permanently in the college1 they 
are1 at  stated times1 allowed to visit 
their friends at their houses and  to   
receive visits from their friends at the
 college4 ,the household  is under the  
care of a matron1 an assistant matron1  
prefects and  governesses1 who          
superintend the moral and social        
training of the  orphans and administer 
the discipline of the institution when  
the  scholars are not in the            
school-rooms4 ,the pupils are divided   
into  sections1 for the purposes of     
discipline1 having distinct officers1   
buildings and playgrounds4    ,the      
schools are taught chiefly in the main  
college building1 five  professors and  

forty eight teachers being employed in  
the duties of  instruction2 and the     
course comprises a thorough ,english    
commercial  education1 to which has been
 latterly added special schools of      
technical instruction in the mechanical 
arts4 ,as a large proportion of  the    
orphans admitted into the college have  
had little or no preparatory  education1
 the instruction commences with the     
alphabet4    ,the order of daily        
exercises is as follows3 the pupils rise
 at six  o'clock2 take breakfast at     
half-past six4 ,recreation until        
half-past  seven2 then assemble in the  
section rooms at that hour and proceed  
to  the chapel for morning worship at   
eight4 ,the chapel exercises consist  of
 singing a hymn1 reading a chapter from 
the ,old or ,new ,testament1 and        
prayer1 after the conclusion of which   
the pupils proceed to the various       
school-rooms1 where they remain1 with a 
recess of fifteen minutes1  until       
twelve4 ,from twelve until the          

dinner-hour1 which is half-past  twelve1
 they are on the play-ground1 returning 
there after finishing  that meal until  
two o'clock1 the afternoon school-hour1 
when they  resume the school exercises1 
remaining without intermission until    
four  o'clock4 ,at four the afternoon   
service in the chapel is held1 after    
which they are on the play-ground until 
six1 at which hour supper is  served4   
,the evening study hour lasts from seven
 to eight1 or half-past  eight1 varying 
with the age of the pupils1 the same    
difference being  observed in their     
bedtimes1 which are from half-past seven
 for the  youngest until a quarter      
before nine for the older boys4    ,on  
,sunday the pupils assemble in their    
section rooms at nine o'clock  in the   
morning and at two in the afternoon for 
reading and religious  instruction1 and 
at half-past ten o'clock in the morning 
and at three  in the afternoon they     
attend divine worship in the chapel4    
,here the  exercises are similar to     

those held on week days1 with the       
important  addition of an appropriate   
discourse adapted to the comprehension  
of the pupils4 ,the services in the     
chapel1 whether on ,sundays or on  week 
days1 are invariably conducted by the   
president or other layman1  the will of 
the founder forbidding the entrance of  
clergymen of any  denomination          
whatsoever within the boundaries of the 
institution4    ,the discipline of the  
college is administered through         
admonition1  deprivation of recreation1 
and seclusion2 but in extreme cases     
corporal  punishment may be inflicted by
 order of the president and in his      
presence4 ,if by reason of misconduct a 
pupil becomes an unfit companion  for   
the rest1 the ,will says he shall not be
 permitted to remain in the  college4   
,the annual cost per capita of          
maintaining1 clothing and educating each
  pupil1 including current repairs to   
buildings and furniture and the         
maintenance of the grounds1 is about    

three hundred dollars4 ,between the  age
 of fourteen and eighteen years the     
scholars may be indentured by  the      
institution1 on behalf of 8the city of  
,philadelphia10 to learn some  8art1    
trade1 or mystery10 until their         
twenty-first year1 consulting1  as far  
as is judicious1 the inclination and    
preference of the scholar4  ,the master 
to whom an apprentice is bound agrees to
 furnish him with  sufficient meat1     
drink1 apparel1 washing and lodging at  
his own  place of residence 7unless     
otherwise agreed to by the parties to   
the  indenture and so indorsed upon it72
 to use his best endeavors to teach  and
 instruct the apprentice in his 8art1   
trade1 or mystery10 and at  the         
expiration of the apprenticeship to     
furnish him with at least two  complete 
suits of clothes1 one of which shall be 
new4 ,should1 however1  a scholar not be
 apprenticed by the institution1 he must
 leave the  college upon attaining the  
age of eighteen years4 ,in case of death

  his friends have the privilege of     
removing his body for interment1        
otherwise his remains are placed in the 
college burial lot at ,laurel  ,hill    
,cemetery1 near ,philadelphia4          
,citizens and strangers provided with a 
permit are allowed to visit the  college
 on the afternoon of every week day4    
,permits can be obtained  from the      
,mayor of ,philadelphia1 at his office2 
from a ,director2 at  the office of the 
,board of ,city ,trusts1 ,no4 #ai ,south
 ,twelfth street1  ,philadelphia1 or at 
the office of the ,public ,ledger       
newspaper4  ,especial courtesy is shown 
all foreign visitors1 and particularly  
those  interested in educational        
matters4                       99       
99       99       99       99    ,in    
,december1 #ahca1 ,mr4 ,girard was      
attacked by influenza1 which was then   
epidemic in the city4 ,the violence of  
the disease greatly prostrated  him1    
and1 pneumonia supervening1 it became at
 once apparent that he  could not live4 

,he had no fear of death4 ,about a month
 before this  attack he had said3 8,when
 ,death comes for me he will find me    
busy1  unless ,i am asleep in bed4 ,if  
,i thought ,i was going to die to-morrow
 ,i  should plant a tree1 nevertheless1 
to-day40    ,he died in the back room of
 his ,water street mansion on ,december 
#bfth1  aged eighty-one years 7or       
nearly71 and four days after he was     
buried in  the churchyard at the        
northwest corner of ,sixth and ,spruce  
streets4    ,for twenty years the       
remains reposed undisturbed where they  
had been  laid in the churchyard of the 
,holy ,trinity ,church2 when1 the       
,girard  ,college having been completed1
 it was resolved that the remains of the
  donor should be transferred to the    
marble sarcophagus provided in its      
vestibule4 ,this was done with          
appropriate ceremonies on ,september    
#cj1  #ahea4    ,girard's great ambition
 was1 first1 success2 and this attained1
 the  longing of mankind to leave a     

shining memory merged his purpose in the
  establishment of what was to him that 
fairest of ,utopiasthe simple  tradition
 of a citizen4 ,a citizen whose public  
duties ended not with  the ,state1 and  
whose benefactions were not limited to  
the rescue or  advancement of its       
interests alone1 but whose charities    
broadened  beyond the limits of duty or 
the boundaries of an individual life1 to
  stretch over long reaches of the      
future1 enriching thousands of poor     
children in his beloved city yet unborn4
 ,his life shows clearly why he  worked1
 as his death showed clearly the fixed  
object of his labor in  acquisition4    
,while he was forward with an apparent  
disregard of self1  to expose his life  
in behalf of others in the midst of     
pestilence1  to aid the internal        
improvements of the country1 and to     
promote its  commercial prosperity by   
all the means within his power1 he yet  
had  more ambitious designs4 ,he wished 
to hand himself down to immortality  by 

the only mode that was practicable for a
 man in his position1 and  he           
accomplished precisely that which was   
the grand aim of his life4 ,he  wrote   
his epitaph in those extensive and      
magnificent blocks and squares  which   
adorn the streets of his adopted city1  
in the public works and  eleemosynary   
establishments of his adopted ,state1   
and erected his own  monument and       
embodied his own principles in a        
marble-roofed palace4  ,yet1 splendid as
 is the structure which stands above his
 remains1 the  most perfect model of    
architecture in the ,new ,world1 it     
yields in  beauty to the moral monument4
 ,the benefactor sleeps among the orphan
  poor whom his bounty is constantly    
educating4    8,thus1 forever present1  
unseen but felt1 he daily stretches     
forth  his invisible hands to lead some 
friendless child from ignorance to      
usefulness4 ,and when1 in the fullness  
of time1 many homes have been  made     
happy1 many orphans have been fed1      

clothed and educated1 and many  men made
 useful to their country and themselves1
 each happy home or  rescued child or   
useful citizen will be a living monument
 to perpetuate  the name and embalm the 
memory of the #8,mariner and            
,merchant4'0                            
,,board ,,of ,,directors                
,,of                                    
,,city ,,trusts1                        
#ahhi4                          ,w4     
,,heyward ,,drayton1 ,president1        
,ex-,officio ,member of all ,standing   
,committees4                            
,,louis ,,wagner1 ,vice-,president4     
,,alexander ,,biddle1                   
,,james ,,campbell1                     
,,joseph ,l4 ,,caven1                   
,,benjamin ,b4 ,,comegys1               
,,john ,h4 ,,converse1                  
,,william ,l4 ,,elkins1                 
,,william ,b4 ,,mann1                   
,,john ,h4 ,,michener1                  
,,george ,h4 ,,stuart1                  
,,richard ,,vaux4                       

,,members ,,of ,,the ,,board 8,,ex      
,,officio30                             
,,edwin ,h4 ,,fitler1 ,mayor4           
,,james ,r4 ,,gates1 ,president ,select 
,council4               ,,william ,m4   
,,smith1 ,president ,common ,council4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,f4 ,,carroll ,,brewster1 ,solicitor4   
,,frank ,m4 ,,highley1 ,secretary4      
,,john ,s4 ,,boyd1 ,m4,d41 ,supt4       
,admission and ,indentures4             
,illustration3 ,b4 ,b4 ,comegys4        
,,how ,,to ,,win ,,success4             
,may #bg1 #ahhh4      ,i wish to speak  
to you to-day about some of the plainest
 duties of  lifeof what you must be1 of 
what you must do1 if you would be good  
men and succeed4    ,it would be strange
 if one who has lived as long as ,i have
 should not  have learned something     
worth knowing and worth telling to those
 who are  younger and less experienced4 
,i have had much to do with young people
  here and elsewhere1 and ,i have seen  
many failures1 much disappointment1     

many wrecks of character1 and have      
learned many things2 and ,i speak to    
you to-day in the hope that ,i may say  
such things as will help some  boy1 at  
least one1 to determine1 while he is    
here this morning1 to do  the best he   
can1 each for himself1 as well as for   
others4 ,my remarks  are particularly   
appropriate to those just about to leave
 the college4    ,it is convenient for  
me to consider the whole subject        
#a4 ,as to health4      #b4 ,as to      
improvement of the mind4      #c4 ,as to
 business or work of any kind4      #d4 
,as to your duties to other people4     
#e4 ,as to your duty to ,god4    ,as to 
health4 ,you cannot be happy without    
good health1 and  you cannot expect to  
have good health unless you observe     
certain  conditions4 ,you must keep your
 person cleanly by bathing1 when that is
  within reach1 or by other simple      
methods 7such as a common brush7 which  
are always within your reach4 ,be as    
much in the open air as possible4  ,this

 is1 of course1 to those whose work is  
within doors and sedentary1  such as    
that of a clerk in any shop or office4  
,pure1 fresh air is  ,nature's own      
provision for the well-being of all her 
creatures1 and is  the best of all      
tonics4    ,be careful of your diet2 for
 it is not good to eat food that is too 
highly seasoned or too rich4 ,don't be  
afraid of fruit in season and  when it  
is ripe4 ,but don't eat much late at    
night4 ,late hot suppers are  apt to do 
great harm4 ,the plain1 wholesome food  
provided here1 accounts  for the        
extraordinarily good health which almost
 all of you enjoy4    ,have nothing     
whatever to do with intoxicating drinks4
 ,and the only  way to be absolutely    
safe is not to drink even a little1 or  
once in a  while4 ,don't drink at all4  
,be sure you get plenty of sleep4 ,be in
 bed not later than eleven  o'clock1    
and1 better still1 at ten4 ,a young     
fellow who goes to work  at seven       
o'clock in the morning can't afford to  

keep late hours4  ,young people need    
more sleep than older ones1 and you     
cannot safely  disregard this hint4     
,late hours are always more or less     
injurious1  especially when you are away
 from home or in the streets4 ,beware of
 the  temptations of the streets and at 
the theatres4    ,as to public          
entertainments or recreations in the    
evening1 go to no  place of seeing or   
hearing where you would not be willing  
to take your  mother or sister4 ,if you 
keep to this rule you are not likely to 
be  hurt4 ,if you play games1 avoid     
billiard saloons1 and gambling houses1  
or parties4 ,you cannot be too careful  
about your recreations2 let them  be    
simple and healthful as to mind and     
body1 and cheap4    ,have no personal   
habits1 such as smoking1 or chewing1 or 
spitting1 or  swearing1 or others that  
are injurious to yourselves or          
disagreeable  to other people4 ,all     
these are either injurious or           
disagreeable4 ,have  clean hands and    

clean clothes1 not while you are at     
workthis is not  always possiblebut when
 going and coming to and from work4     
,always give place to women in the      
streets1 in street-cars1 or in  other   
places4 ,do not rush into street-cars   
first to get seats4 ,a true  gentleman  
will wait until women get in before he  
goes4 ,do not sit in  street-cars1 while
 women are standing1 unless you are     
very1 very tired4  ,here is a temptation
 before you every day almost in our     
city4 ,hardly  anything is more trying  
than to see sturdy boys sitting in cars 
while  women are standing and holding on
 to straps4 ,and yet ,i see this every  
day4 ,what is a boy good for1 that will 
not stand for a few minutes1 if  he can 
give a woman or an old man a seat8      
,if you are so favored as to have a few 
days or two weeks holiday in  summer1 go
 to the country or to the sea-shore1 if 
your means will  allow4 ,the country air
 or sea air is better for you than      
almost any  other change4    ,do not be 

extravagant in dress2 but be well       
dressednot1 however1 at  your tailor's  
expense4 ,it is the duty of all to be   
well dressed1 but  don't spend all your 
money on dress1 and especially don't buy
 clothing  on credit4 ,it is            
particularly trying to pay for clothing 
when it is  nearly or quite worn out4   
,by all means keep out of debt1 for your
  personal or family expenses1 unless   
you are sure beyond any doubt that  you 
can very soon repay your dealer the     
money you owe4 ,the difference  between 
ease and comfort1 and distress1 in money
 matters1 is whether  you spend a little
 more than you make1 or a little less   
than you make4  ,don't forget the 8rainy
 day0 that is pretty sure to come1 and  
you must  lay up something for that day4
    ,very much of the crime that is     
committed every day 7and you cannot open
  a paper without seeing an account of  
some one who has gone wrong7 is  because
 people will live beyond their means2   
will spend more than they  earn4 ,they  

hope for an increase of pay1 or that    
they will make money in  some way or    
other1 and then when that good time does
 not come1 and as  they can't afford to 
wait for it1 they take something1 only  
borrowing  it as they say1 but they take
 it and spend it1 or pay some pressing  
debt with it1 and then1 and thenthey are
 caught1 and sent to court1  and tried  
and sent towell1 you know without my    
telling you4    ,as to the mind4    ,you
 have fine opportunities for education  
here1 but they will soon be  over1 and  
if you leave this college without having
 a good knowledge  of the practical     
branches of study pursued here1 and     
which ,mr4  ,girard especially enjoined 
should be taught1 you will be at a great
  disadvantage with other boys who are  
well educated4 ,i had a letter in  my   
pocket a few days ago written by a      
,girard boy1 and dated in the           
,moyamensing ,prison1 full of bad       
spelling and bad grammar2 and next to   
the horror of knowing he was in prison1 

,i felt ashamed1 that a boy so  ignorant
 of the very commonest branches of      
,english education should  have ever    
been within the walls of this college4  
,i think ,i have told you before of a   
man who employs a large number of  men1 
whose business amounts to perhaps       
hundreds of thousands of dollars  in a  
year1 who is entirely ignorant of       
accounts1 and who a few years  ago was  
robbed and almost ruined by his         
book-keeper1 and who would now  give    
half of what he is worth1 and that is a 
good deal1 if he could  understand      
book-keeping2 for he is entirely        
dependent upon other people  to keep his
 accounts4    ,as to books1 be careful  
what you read4 ,how it grieves me to see
 errand  boys in street-cars1 and       
sometimes as they walk in the streets1  
reading  such stuff as is found in the  
dime novels4 ,not merely a waste of     
time1  though that is bad enough1 but a 
positive injury to the mind1 filling  it
 with the most improbable stories1 and  

often1 also1 with that which  is        
positively vicious4 ,read something     
better than this4 ,do not confine       
yourselves to newspapers1 and do not    
read police reports4 ,attractive  as    
this class of reading is1 it is for the 
most part hurtful to the  young mind4   
,there is an abundance of cheap and good
 reading1 magazines  and periodicals2   
and books and books1 good1 bad1         
indifferent2 and you  will hardly know  
which to choose unless you ask others   
who are older  than you1 and who know   
books4 ,most boys read little but       
novels2 and  there are many thoroughly  
good novels1 humorous1 and pathetic1 and
  historical4 ,don't buy books unless   
you have plenty of money2 for you  can  
get everything you want out of the      
public libraries2 and this was  not so1 
or at least to this extent1 when ,i was 
a boy4    ,as to work or business4      
,set out with the determination that you
 will be faithful in everything4  ,only 
last week a ,girard boy called on me to 

help him get employment4  ,i asked him  
some questions1 and he told me that he  
had been out of  the college five or six
 years1 and had five or six situations4 
,do you  think he had been faithful in  
anything8 ,if he had been1 he would not 
have lost place after place4 ,when you  
get a place1 and ,i hope every  one of  
you will have a place provided for you  
before you leave here1  be among the    
first to arrive in the morning1 and be  
among the last to  leave at the end of  
the day's work4 ,do not let any         
fascination of base  ball or anything   
else lead you to forget that your first 
duty is to  your employer4 ,be quick to 
answer every call4 ,don't say to        
yourself1  8,it is not my place to      
answer that call1 it is the other boy's 
place10  but go yourself1 if the other  
fellow is slow1 and let it be seen that 
you are ready for any work4 ,and be very
 prompt to answer4 ,do whatever  you are
 told4 ,say 8yes1 sir10 8no1 sir0 with  
hearty good-will1 and say               

8good-morning0 as if you meant it4 ,in  
short1 do not be slovenly in  anything  
you have to do2 be alive1 and remember  
all the time that no  labor is          
degrading4    ,be sure to treat your    
employers with unfailing respect1 and   
your  fellow-clerks or workers1 whether 
superiors1 inferiors or equals1 with    
hearty good-will4    ,do not tell lies  
directly or indirectly1 for even if your
 employer do  so1 he will despise you   
for doing so4 ,no matter if he is       
untruthful1  he will respect you if you 
tell the truth always4 ,do not indulge  
in  or listen to impure talk4 ,no real  
gentleman does this1 and you can  be a  
real gentleman even if you are poor1 for
 you will be educated4  ,make yourself  
indispensable to your employer2 this1   
too1 is quite  possible1 and it will    
almost certainly insure success4 ,be    
ambitious in  the highest sense4        
,remember1 that if not now1 you will    
hereafter have  others dependent upon   
you for support or help4 ,it is a       

splendid thing  for a boy to go out from
 this college with the determination to 
support  his mother2 and some that ,i   
know and you know are doing this1 and   
many  others will do it4    ,i pause    
here to say that1 so far1 my words have 
been spoken as to your  duties to the   
world1 to yourselves4 ,i have supposed  
that you boys would  rather be bosses   
than journeymen1 that you would rather  
own teams than  drive them for other    
people1 that you would rather be a      
contractor than  carry the pick and     
shovel1 that you would rather be a      
bricklayer than  carry the hod1 that you
 would rather be a house-builder than a 
shoveler  of coal into the              
house-builder's cellar4 ,is it not so8  
,now1 ,i say that if you should do      
everything ,i tell you1 and avoid       
everything ,i have warned you against1  
you cannot succeed in the best  sense1  
you cannot become true men1 such men as 
the city has a right to  expect you to  
be1 unless you seek the blessing of     

,god2 for he holds all  things in his   
hands4 8,the silver and the gold are    
mine1 and the cattle  upon a thousand   
hills40 ,if ,god be for us1 who can be  
against us8    ,in these closing words1 
then1 ,i would speak to you as to your  
duty to  ,god4    ,what shall ,i say    
about this8 ,i can hardly tell you      
anything that you do  not already know1 
so often have you been talked to about  
this subject4  ,but nothing is so       
important for you to be reminded of1    
though ,i fear  that to some of you     
hardly anything is so uninteresting4    
,naturally the  heart is disinclined to 
think of ,god and our duty to him4 ,but 
we cannot  do without him1 though many  
people think they can1 or they act as if
  they thought so4 ,such people are not 
wise2 they are very foolish4    ,he made
 us1 he preserves us1 he cares for us   
with infinite love and  care1 he has    
appointed the time for our departure    
from this life1 and  he has prepared a  
better life than this for those who love

 him here4 ,we  cannot afford to        
disregard such a being as this1 for all 
things are in  his hands4 ,if you will  
think of it1 some of the best men and   
women you  know are believers in ,god1  
and are trying to serve him4 ,do you    
think  you can do without him8          
,cultivate1 then1 the companionship1 the
 friendship of those who love  and fear 
,god1 both men and women4 ,you are safe 
with such2 you are not  quite so sure of
 safety in the society of those who     
openly say they  can do without ,god4   
,when ,i speak of those who fear ,god1  
,i do not mean  merely professors of    
religion1 not merely members of meeting 
or members  of church1 but ,i mean      
people who live such lives as people    
ought to  live1 who fear ,god and keep  
his commandments4 ,you know there are   
such1  you have met with them1 you will 
meet many more of them1 and you will    
meet also those who call themselves     
,christians1 but whose lives show  that 
they have no true knowledge of ,god1 who

 are mere formalists1 mere  professors4 
,become acquainted with your ,bible4 ,i 
mean1 read it1 a little of it at  least1
 every day4 ,you need not read much1 it 
is well sometimes that you  read but a  
little2 but read it with a purposethat  
is1 to understand  it4 ,the literature  
of the ,bible as you grow older will    
abundantly repay  your careful and      
constant reading even before you reach  
its spiritual  treasuries4 ,in reading a
 few days ago the argument of ,horace   
,binney1  ,esq41 in the ,girard will    
case1 ,i was surprised to see how       
familiar ,mr4  ,binney was with the     
,bible1 and he was one of the ablest    
lawyers that  has ever lived in our own 
or any other country4 ,yet ,mr4 ,binney 
thought  it quite worth his while to    
read and study the ,bible4 ,don't you   
think  it is worth your while also8     
,be a regular attendant at some church4 
,i do not say what church it  shall be4 
,that must be left to yourselves to     
determine1 and many  circumstances will 

arise to aid you in your choice4 ,but   
let it be  some church1 and1 when you   
become more interested in the subject   
than  you are now1 join that church1    
whatever it may be1 and so connect      
yourselves with people who believe in   
and love ,god4 ,if there be a  ,bible   
class there1 connect yourselves with it1
 and so learn to study  the ,scriptures 
systematically4    ,do not be ashamed to
 kneel at your bedside every night and  
every  morning and pray to ,god4 ,you   
are not so likely to be ashamed if you  
have a room to yourself2 but you must   
not be ashamed to do this even if  there
 are others in the room with you1 as    
will be the case with many of  you4     
,this is a severe test1 ,i know1 but he 
who bears it faithfully will  already   
have gained a victory4    ,commit to    
memory the fifteenth verse of the       
twelfth chapter of the  ,gospel         
according to ,st4 ,luke3 8,take heed and
 beware of covetousness1  for a man's   
life consisteth not in the abundance of 

the things he  possesseth40    ,on last 
,monday1 ,founder's ,day1 there were    
gathered here many men1  a great        
company1 who were trained in this       
college1 and who1 after  graduation1    
went out into the world to seek their   
fortune4 ,it is always  a most          
interesting time1 not only for them but 
for the teachers and  officers who have 
had charge of them4    ,some of them are
 successful men in the highest and best 
sense1 and have  made themselves a name 
and a place in the world4 ,bright young 
lawyers1  clerks1 mechanics1 railroad   
menmen representing almost all kinds of 
business and occupationscame here in    
great numbers to celebrate the          
anniversary of the birth of the ,founder
 of this great school4 ,it was  a grand 
sight4 ,hardly anything impresses me    
more4 ,i do not know their  names2 for  
many of them had left before ,i began to
 come here2 but  from certain           
expressions that fell from the lips of  
some of them ,i am  persuaded that they1

 at least1 are walking in the truth4    
,it would be very interesting if we     
could know their thoughts1 and see  with
 what feelings they look back on their  
school-life4 ,i wonder if  any of them  
regret that they did not make a better  
use of their time  while here4 ,i wonder
 if any feel that they would like to    
become boys  again and go to school over
 again1 being sure that1 with their     
present  experience of life1 they would 
set a higher value on the education of  
the schools4 ,i wonder if any feel that 
they would have reached higher          
positions and secured a larger influence
 if they had been more diligent  at     
school4 ,i wonder if there are any who  
can trace evil habits of  thought to the
 companions they had here4 ,i wonder if 
any are aware of  evil impressions which
 they made on their classmates and so   
cast a  stain and a dark shadow on other
 young lives1 stains never obliterated1 
shadows never wholly lifted4 ,i wonder  
if there are any among them who  regret 

that the opportunity of seeking ,god and
 finding ,god in their  school-days was 
neglected1 and who have never had so    
favorable an  opportunity since4 8,if   
some who come back here on these        
commemoration  days were to tell you all
 their thoughts on such subjects1 they  
would  be eloquent with a peculiar      
eloquence40    ,i wish ,i could persuade
 you1 especially you larger boys1 to    
give most  earnest attention to the     
duties which lie before you every day4  
,you  will not misunderstand me1 nor be 
so unjust to me as to suppose that  ,i  
would interfere in the least degree with
 the pleasures which belong  to your    
time of life4 ,i would not lessen them  
in the least2 on the  contrary1 ,i would
 encourage you1 and help you in all     
proper recreation1  in all sports and   
plays4 ,the boy who does not enjoy play 
is not a happy  boy1 and is not very    
likely to make a happy man1 or a useful 
man4 ,but  it is quite possible1 as some
 of you know1 to enjoy in the highest   

degree all healthful sports1 and at the 
same time to be industrious  and        
conscientious in your studies4 ,i am    
deeply concerned that the boys  in this 
college shall be boys of the best1 the  
highest type2 that they  8shall walk in 
the truth40 ,there are1 alas1 many boys 
who have gone  through this college1 and
 fully equipped 7as well as their       
teachers  could equip them71 have been  
launched out into life and come to      
naught4  ,i do not know their names nor 
do you1 probably1 though you do not     
doubt  the fact4    ,whatever others    
say1 who speak to you here1 ,i want to  
discharge my duty  to you as faithfully 
as ,i can4 ,i know some of the          
difficulties of life1  for they have    
been in my path4 ,i know some of the    
fierce temptations  to which boys and   
young men are exposed1 for ,i have felt 
these assaults  in my own person4 ,i    
know what it is to sin against ,god1 for
 ,i am a  sinner2 so1 with my sympathies
 quick towards you1 ,i come with these  

plain1 earnest words1 and ,i urge you to
 look up to ,god1 and ask him to  help  
you4 ,he can help you1 and he will1 if  
you ask him4                            
,,life,,its ,,opportunities ,,and       
,,temptations4                          
,march #ab1 #ahhe4      ,i propose to   
speak to you now of some plain and      
practical duties which  await you in    
life2 and1 as there are many boys here  
who are anxiously  looking for the time 
when they will leave the college to make
 their way  in the world1 some of whom  
will probably have left the college     
before  ,i come again1 ,i speak more    
especially to them4 ,and my first words 
are  words of congratulation1 and for   
these reasons3    #a4 ,because you are  
young4 ,and this means very much4 ,you  
have an  enormous advantage over people 
that are your seniors4 ,other things    
being equal1 you will live longer1 and  
,i assume that 8life is worth  living40 
,then you have the advantage of         
profiting by the mistakes  committed by 

those who precede you1 and if you are   
not blind1 you can  avail yourselves of 
the successes they have achieved4       
,you have the freshness1 the zest of    
youth4 ,you are full of courage and     
endurance4 ,you can grapple with        
difficult subjects and with a strong    
hand4 ,and if you blunder1 you have time
 to recover yourselves and  start anew4 
,in short1 life is before you1 and you  
look forward with the  inspiration of   
hope1 and it may be1 also1 of           
determination4    #b4 ,i congratulate   
you also because you are poor4 ,you have
 your own  way to make in the world4    
,you know already that if you achieve   
success1  it must be because you exert  
yourselves to the very utmost4 ,indeed1 
you  must depend upon yourselves1 and   
this means that you must do everything  
in your power that is right to do1 to   
help yourselves4    ,you must understand
 that there is no royal road to success1
 any more  than there is to learning1   
and that there is no time to trifle4    

,if you were rich men's sons1 these     
remarks would have no special           
pertinence1 or importance4    ,my       
congratulations are quite in order also 
because very many1 if not  most of the  
high places in our country1 are held by 
those who once  were poor lads4         
,should you turn upon me and say1 8,why1
 then1 if one is to be  congratulated on
 his poverty1 do fathers toil early and 
late1 denying  themselves needed        
recreation1 not ceasing when they have  
accumulated  a good estate1 almost      
selling their souls to become           
millionaireswhy  do they so much dread  
to leave their sons to struggle for a   
living80  ,more than one answer might be
 given to these questions4 ,some fathers
  have so little faith in ,god's        
providence that they forget his         
goodness1  which now takes care of their
 families through the instrumentality   
of parents2 and who can continue that   
care through other means1 just  as well1
 when the parents are gone2 but high    

authority says that 8they  who will be  
rich1 fall into temptations and snares10
 one of which is  that the race for     
riches unfits the racer for all other   
pursuits and  amusements1 and he can't  
stop his course1 he can't change his    
habits1  he has no other mental         
resourceshe must work or perish4    ,do 
not1 then1 let the fact that you are    
poor discourage you in the  leastit is  
rather an advantage4    #c4 ,but again  
,i congratulate you1 because your lot is
 cast in ,america4  ,do not smile at    
this4 ,i am not on the point of flying  
the ,american  eagle1 nor of raising the
 stars and stripes4 ,it is1 however1 a  
good  thing to have been born in this   
country4 ,for in all important respects 
it is the most favored of all lands4 ,it
 is the fashion with certain  people to 
disparage our government and its        
institutions2 and one must  admit that  
in some particulars there might be      
improvement1 and will  be some day2 but1
 notwithstanding these defects1 it is   

unquestionably  true that it is the best
 government on earth4 ,is there any     
country  where a poor young man has     
opportunities as good as he has here1 to
  get on in life8 ,is there any obstacle
 or hindrance whatever1 outside  of     
himself1 in the way of his success8 ,if 
a young man has good health  of mind and
 body1 and a fair ,english education and
 good manners1 and  will be honest and  
industrious1 is he not much more certain
 to attain  success1 in one way or      
another1 in this country than anywhere  
else8  ,you know he is4 ,why8 ,because  
of our equal rights under the law4      
,there  is no caste here1 that curse of 
monarchies4 ,there is no aristocracy in 
sentiment or in power1 no ,house of     
,lords1 no established church1 no law   
of primogeniture4 ,one man is as good as
 another under the law as long  as he   
behaves himself4    ,if you want further
 evidence1 only look for a moment at the
 condition  of the seething1 surging    
masses of ,europe1 and the continual    

apprehensions of a general war4 ,before 
this year #ahhe has run its  course the 
,united ,states may be almost the only  
country among the great  powers that is 
not involved in war4    ,and if still   
further illustration were needed1 let me
 point to that  most extraordinary scene
 enacted in ,washington some weeks ago4 
,a great political party1 which has held
 control of this government  nearly a   
quarter of a century1 and which has     
exercised almost unlimited  power1      
yields most quietly and gracefully all  
high places1 all dignity1  all honor and
 patronage1 to the will of the people   
who have chosen a  new administration4  
,and everybody regards it as a matter of
 course4    ,was such a thing ever known
 before8 ,and could such a thing occur  
anywhere else among the nations8        
,once more1 ,i congratulate you because 
you live in ,philadelphia4 ,ah1  now we 
come to a most interesting point4 ,most 
of you were born here1  and you come to 
this by inheritance4 ,this is the best  

of all large  cities4 ,more to be       
desired as a place to live in than      
,washington1 the  seat of government1   
the most beautiful of all ,american     
cities1 or ,new  ,york1 with its vast   
commerce and enormous wealth1 or        
,boston1 with its  boasted intellectual 
society4    ,they may call us the       
8,quaker ,city10 or the 8worst paved    
city10 or  the 8slow city10 or the 8city
 of rows of houses exactly alike20 but  
these houses are the homes of separate  
families1 and in a very large  degree   
are occupied by their owners1 and you   
cannot say as much of any  other city in
 the world4 ,although there are         
doubtless many instances  in the oldest 
part of the city1 and among the         
improvident poor1 where  more than one  
family will be found in the same house1 
yet these are  the exceptions and not   
the rule2 and so far as ,i know there is
 not one  8tenement house0 in this great
 city that was built for the purpose of 
accommodating several families at the   

same time4 ,i need not point you  to    
,new ,york and ,boston1 where the great 
apartment houses1 with their  twelve and
 fourteen stories of flats for rich and 
well-to-do people  prevail1 utterly     
destroying that most cherished domestic 
life of which  we have been so proud1   
and introducing the life of ,european   
cities1  with its demoralizing          
associations and results2 nor shall ,i  
describe  the awful tenement houses in  
those two cities1 where the poor are    
crowded like animals in a cattle-train1 
suffering as the poor dumb  creatures   
do1 for want of air1 and water1 and     
space1 and everything  else that makes  
life desirable4    ,of all cities on the
 face of the earth1 ,philadelphia is the
 most  desirable for the young man who  
must make his own way in the world4444  
,and having shown you how favorable are 
the conditions which are  about you1 the
 next point is1 ,what will you do when  
you set out for  yourselves8    ,all of 
you are expecting when you leave school 

to be employed by  somebody1 or engaged 
in some business4 ,and ,i suppose you   
may be looking  to me to give you some  
hints how to take care of yourselves1 or
 how to  behave in such relations4    ,i
 will try to do so plainly and          
faithfully4    ,i cannot absolutely     
promise you success4 ,indeed1 it would  
be necessary  first to define the word4 
,and there are several definitions that 
might  be given4 ,one of the shortest   
and best would be in these words1 8,a   
life  well spent40 ,that's success4 ,and
 this definition shall be my model4     
,work hard1 then1 at your lessons4 ,let 
your ambition be1 not to get  through   
quickly1 not to go over much ground in  
text-books1 but to  master thoroughly   
everything before you4 ,if you knew how 
little  thorough instruction there is1  
you would thank me for this4 ,there are 
so many half-educated people from       
schools and colleges that one cannot    
help believing that the terms of        
graduation are very easy4 ,there have   

been1 and are now1 graduates of colleges
 who cannot add up a long  column of    
figures correctly1 nor do an example in 
simple proportion1  nor write a letter  
of four pages of note paper without     
mistakes of  grammar and spelling and   
punctuation1 to say nothing of          
perspicuity and  unity and general good 
taste4    ,it is quite surprising to    
find how helpless some young men are in 
the  simple matter of writing letters2  
an art with which1 in these days of     
cheap postage and cheap stationery1     
almost everybody has something  to do4  
,if you doubt this let me ask you to try
 to-morrow to write a  note of twenty   
lines on any subject whatever1 off-hand1
 and submit it  for criticism to your   
teacher4 ,do you wonder1 then1 that an  
employer  calling one of his young men1 
and directing him to write a letter to  
one of his correspondents1 saying such  
and such things1 and bring it to  him   
for his signature1 is surprised and     
grieved to see that the letter  is in   

such shape that he cannot sign it and   
let it go out of his office8    ,it is  
very true that letter-writing is not the
 chief business of life1  not the only  
thing of importance in a counting-house1
 but it is an  elegant accomplishment1  
and most desirable of attainment4       
,let me say some words about shorthand  
writing4 ,in this day of push and  drive
 and hurry1 when so many things must be 
done at once1 there is  an increasing   
demand for shorthand writers4 ,in fact1 
business as now  conducted cannot afford
 to do without this help4 ,it often     
occurs that  a principal in a business  
house cannot take the time to write long
  letters4 ,why should he8 ,it does not 
pay to have one that is occupied in     
governing and controlling great         
interests1 or in the receipt of a large 
salary1 tied to a desk writing letters1 
or reports1 or statements of  any kind4 
,he must talk off these things2 and he  
must be an educated  man1 whose mind is 
so disciplined to terse and accurate    

expression  that his dictation may      
almost be taken to be final4 ,he wants a
 clerk  who can take down his words with
 literal accuracy1 and who will be  able
 to correct any errors that may have    
been spoken1 and submit the  complete   
paper to his chief for his signature4   
,the demand for this  kind of service is
 increasing every day1 and some of you  
now listening  to me will be so         
employed4 ,see that you are ready for it
 when your  opportunity comes4    ,if   
you get to be a clerk in a railroad     
office1 or in an insurance  company1 or 
in a store1 or in a bank1 devote        
yourself to your  particular duties1    
whatever they may be4 ,and don't be too 
particular as  to what kind of work it  
is that falls to your lot4 ,it may be   
work that  you think belongs to the     
porter2 no matter if it is1 do it1 and  
do it  as well as the porter can1 or    
even better4    ,let none of you1       
therefore1 think that anything you are  
likely to be  called upon to do is      

beneath you4 ,do it1 and do it in the   
best manner1  and you may not have to do
 it for a long time4    ,make yourself  
indispensable to your employer4 ,you can
 do that2 it  is quite within your      
power1 and it may be that you may get to
 be an  employer yourself2 indeed it is 
more than probable2 but you must work   
for it4    ,if you get to be a          
book-keeper in any counting-house or    
public  institution1 remember that you  
are in a position of trust and          
responsibility4 ,when you make errors do
 not erase the error2 draw faint  red or
 black lines through it and write       
correct characters over the  error4 ,do 
not hide your errors of any kind4 ,do   
not misstate anything  in language or   
figures4 ,everybody makes errors at some
 time or other1  but everybody does not 
admit and apologize for them4 ,the      
honest man is  he who does admit and    
apologize1 and does so without waiting  
to be  detected4    ,there have been of 
late some deplorable instances of       

betrayal of trust  in our city4 ,i may  
as well call it by its right name1      
stealing4 ,the  culprits are now        
suffering in prison the penalty for     
their crimes4  ,while ,i am speaking to 
you there are men1 young and not young1 
in our  city who are now stealing1 and  
who are falsifying their books in the   
vain hope that it may be kept secret2   
who are dreading the day when  they will
 be caught2 who cannot afford to take a 
holiday2 who cannot  afford to be sick1 
lest absence for a single day may       
disclose their  guilt4 ,what a horrible 
state of mind6 ,they will go to their   
desks or  their offices to-morrow       
morning1 not knowing but it may be their
 last  day in that place4    ,and the   
day will come1 most surely1 when you    
will be tempted as  these wretched ones 
have been tempted4 ,in what shape the   
temptation  may come1 or when1 no human 
being knows4 ,the suggestion will be    
made1  that by the use of a little money
 you may make a good deal2 that the     

venture is perfectly safe2 some one     
tells you so1 and points to this  one or
 that one who has tried it and made     
money4 ,it is only a little  thing2 you 
can't lose much2 you may make enough to 
pay for the cost  of your summer        
holiday1 or for your cigar bill1 or your
 beer bill2 or  you will be able to     
smoke better cigars or drink better     
beer1 or buy a  gold watch1 or a diamond
 ring1 or anything else2 you can't lose 
much4  ,you have no money of your own1  
it is true1 but what is needed will not 
be missed if you take it out of the     
drawer4 ,shall you do it8 ,no6 ,let     
nothing induce you to take the first    
dollar not your own4 ,it is the  first  
step that counts4    ,but suppose you   
don't care for this warning1 or forget  
it4 ,suppose the  time comes when you   
find that you have taken something that 
was not  yours1 and that it is lost1 and
 that you cannot repay it1 what then8   
,why1 go at once to your employer2 tell 
him the whole story2 keep back  nothing2

 throw yourself upon his mercy1 and ask 
forgiveness4 ,better now  than later4   
,you will assuredly be caught4 ,there is
 no possibility of  continuous          
concealment4 ,tell it now before you are
 detected1 and1 if  you must be         
disgraced1 the sooner the better4    ,am
 ,i too earnest about this8 ,am ,i      
saying too much8 ,oh1 boys1 young  men1 
if you knew the frightful danger that   
you may be in some day1 the  subtle     
temptations that will beset you1 the    
many instances of weakness  about you1  
the shipwrecks of character1 the utter  
ruin that comes to  sisters and to      
innocent wives and children by the      
crimes of brothers1  husbands and       
fathers1 as we who are older know1 you  
would not wonder  that ,i speak as ,i   
do4    ,every case of breach of trust1  
every defalcation1 weakens confidence   
in human character4 ,for every such     
instance of wrong-doing is a stab  at   
your integrity if you are in a position 
of trust4 ,men of the  fairest          

reputation1 men who are trusted         
implicitly by their employers1  men who 
are hedged about by the sacredness of   
domestic ties1 on whom  the happiness of
 helpless wives and innocent children   
depend1 men who  claim to be religious1 
go astray1 step by step1 little by      
little2  they defraud1 steal1 lie1 try  
to cover up their tracks1 cannot do it  
long1 are caught1 tried1 convicted1     
sentenced and imprisoned4 ,then  the    
question may be asked about you or me3  
8,how do we know that ,mr4  ,so-and-,so 
is any better than those who have       
fallen80 ,don't you see  that these     
culprits are enemies of the public      
confidence1 enemies of  society1 your   
enemies and mine8    ,if the names of   
those who are now serving out their     
sentences in  the public prisons for    
stealing1 not petty theft1 but stealing 
and  defrauding in larger sums1 could be
 published in to-morrow morning's       
papers1 what a sad record it would be of
 dishonored names and blighted  lives   

and ruined homes1 and how the memory    
would recall some whom we  knew in early
 youth1 the pride of their parents1 or  
the idol of fond  wives and lovely      
children2 and we should turn away with  
sickening  horror from the record6 ,but1
 if there should appear in the same     
papers  the names of those who are now  
engaged in stealing and defrauding  and 
falsifying entries1 who are not yet     
caught1 but who may1 before  this year  
is out1 be caught and convicted and     
punished1 what a horrible  revelation   
that would be6                       99 
99       99       99       99    ,i     
close abruptly1 for ,i cannot keep you  
longer4    ,but do not think that it is 
for your future in this life only that  
,i am concerned4 ,life does not end     
here1 though it may seem to do so4  ,our
 life in this world is a mere beginning 
of existence4 ,it is the  future1 the   
endless life before us1 that we should  
prepare for2 and  no preparation is     
worth the name except that of a pure1 an

 upright and  honorable life1 that      
depends for its support on the love and 
the fear  of ,god4 ,you must accept him 
as your ,father1 you must honor him and 
obey  him1 and so consecrating your     
young lives to his service1 trust him to
  care for you with his infinite love   
and care4                               
,illustration3 ,william ,welsh4         
,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,william       
,,welsh1              ,first ,president 
of the ,board of ,city ,trusts4         
,february #bb1 #ahgh4      ,when ,i     
spoke to you last from this desk ,i     
tried to persuade you to  adopt the     
thought so aptly set forth by one of the
 old ,hebrew kings1  ,whatsoever thy    
hand findeth to do1 do it with thy      
might4 ,i little  thought then that ,mr4
 ,welsh1 who was one of the most        
conspicuous  examples of working with   
all his might1 and so much of whose work
 was  done for you1 whom you so often   
saw standing where ,i now stand1 ,i     
little thought that his work on earth   

was so nearly done4 ,last ,sunday  he   
addressed you here4 ,one1 two1 three    
services he conducted for the  boys of  
this college1 one in the infirmary1 one 
in the refectory  for the new boys1 and 
one in this chapel4 ,i venture to say   
from my  knowledge of his method of     
doing things that these services were   
all  conducted in the best manner       
possible to him2 that he did not spare  
his strength2 that there was nothing    
weak or undecided in his acts or        
speech1 but that he took hold of his    
subject with a firm grasp1 and  did not 
let go until the service was finished4  
,it is very natural  that we should     
desire to know as much as we can about a
 life that  has come so close to us as  
the life of ,mr4 ,welsh1 and to learn1  
if  we may1 what it was that made him   
the man that he was4 ,the thousands  of 
people that gathered in and about ,st4  
,luke's ,church on the day of  the      
funeral1 as many of you saw2 the very   
large number of citizens  of the highest

 distinction who united in the solemn   
services2 the  profound interest        
manifested everywhere among all classes 
of society2  the closing of places of   
business at the hour of these services2 
the  flags at half-mast1 all these      
circumstances1 so unusual1 so           
impressive1  assured us that no common  
man had gone from among us4 ,what was it
 that  made him no common man8 ,what was
 there in his life and character that   
lifted him above the ordinarily         
successful merchant8 ,in other places1  
and by those most competent to speak1   
will the complete picture of  his life  
be drawn1 but what was there in his life
 which particularly  interests you      
college boys8 ,it will surprise you     
probably when ,i tell  you that his     
early educationthe education of the     
schoolswas very  limited4 ,he was not a 
college-bred man4 ,at a very early age  
7as early  as fourteen1 ,i believe7 he  
left school and went into his father's  
store4 ,you know that he could not have 

had much education at that age4  ,and he
 went into the store1 not to be a       
gentleman clerk to sit in the           
counting-house and copy letters and     
invoices1 and do the bank business  and 
lounge about in fine clothing1 but he   
went to do anything that  came to hand1 
rough and smooth1 hard and easy1 dirty  
and clean1 for  in those days the duties
 of a junior clerk differed from those  
of a  porter only in this1 that the     
young clerk's work was not so heavy as  
the robust porter's4 ,and even when he  
grew older and stronger he would  go    
down into the hold of a vessel and vie  
with the strong stevedore in  the       
shifting and placing of cargoes4 ,and   
the days were long then3 there  were no 
office hours from nine to three o'clock1
 but merchants and  their clerks dined  
near the middle of the day1 and were    
back at their  stores1 their warehouses1
 in the afternoon and stayed and worked 
until  the day was done4 ,so this young 
clerk worked all day1 and went home at  

night tired and hungry1 to rest1 to     
sleep and to go through the next  day   
and the next in the same manner4 ,but   
not only to rest and sleep4  ,the body  
was tired enough with the long day's    
work1 but the mind was  not tired4 ,he  
early knew the importance of mental     
discipline1 of mental  cultivation4 ,he 
knew that a half-educated man is no     
match for one  thoroughly equipped1 and 
so he set himself to the task of making 
up1  as far as he could1 for that       
deficiency of systematic education which
  his early withdrawal from school made 
him regret so much4 ,what definite      
means or methods he resorted to to      
accomplish this ,i cannot tell you1  for
 ,i have not learned2 but the fact that 
he did very largely overcome  this most 
serious disadvantage is apparent to all 
who have ever met  him4 ,he was a       
cultivated gentleman1 thoroughly at ease
 in circles where  men must be well     
informed or be very uncomfortable4 ,as  
the ,president  of this ,board of       

,trustees1 having for his associates    
gentlemen of the  highest professional  
and general culture1 he was quite equal 
to any  exigency which ever arose4 ,all 
this you must know was the result of    
education1 not that which was imparted  
to him in the schools1 but that  which  
he acquired himself after his school    
life4 ,he was careful about  his        
associates4 ,then1 as now1 the streets  
were alive with boys and  young men of  
more than questionable character4 ,and  
the thought which  has come up in many a
 boy's mind after his day's work was    
done1 must  have come up in his mind3   
8,why should ,i not stroll about the    
streets  with companions of my own age  
and have a good time8 ,why should ,i be 
so strict while others have more freedom
 and enjoy themselves so much  more80 ,i
 have no doubt that he had his          
enjoyments1 and that he was a  free1    
hearty boy in them all1 but ,i cannot   
suppose1 for his after life  gave no    
evidence of it1 his general good health1

 his muscular wiry  frame forbade the   
thought1 ,i cannot suppose his youthful 
pleasures  passed beyond that line which
 separates the good from the bad1 the   
pure  from the impure4 ,few evils are so
 great as that of evil companions4      
,william ,welsh was not afraid of work4 
,i mean by that he was not lazy4  ,a    
large part of the failures in life are  
attributable to the love of  ease4 ,we  
choose the soft things2 we turn away    
from those which are  hard4 ,we are     
deterred by the abstruse1 the obscure2  
we are attracted  by the simple1 the    
plain4 ,a really strong character will  
grapple  with any subject2 a weak one   
shrinks from a struggle4 ,a character   
naturally weak may be developed by      
culture and discipline into one of  real
 strength1 but the process is very slow 
and very discouraging4 ,a  life that is 
worth anything at all1 that impresses   
itself on other  lives1 on society1 must
 have these struggles1 this training4 ,i
 do not  know minutely the              

characteristics of ,mr4 ,welsh's early  
life in this  particular1 but ,i infer  
most emphatically that his strong       
character was  formed by continuous1    
laborious1 exacting self-application4   
,i would now speak of that quality which
 is so valuable 7,i will not say  so    
rare71 so conspicuously and so          
immeasurably important1 personal        
integrity4 ,mr4 ,welsh possessed this in
 the highest degree4 ,he was most       
emphatically an honest man4 ,no thought 
of anything other than this  could ever 
have entered into the mind of any one   
who knew him4 ,all  men knew that public
 or private trusts committed to him were
 safe4  ,mistakes in judgment all are   
liable to1 but of conscious deflection  
from the right path in this respect he  
was incapable4 ,his high position  as   
,president of the ,board of ,city       
,trusts1 which includes1 among other    
large properties1 the great estate left 
by ,mr4 ,girard to the city of          
,philadelphia1 proves the confidence    

this community had in his personal      
character4 ,his private fortune was used
 as if he were a trustee4 ,he           
recognized the hand of ,god in his grand
 success as a merchant1 and he  felt    
himself accountable to ,god for a proper
 expenditure4 ,if he enjoyed  a generous
 mode of living for himself and his     
familya manner of life  required by his 
position in the communityhe more than   
equalized it by  his gifts to objects of
 benevolence4 ,he was conscientious and 
liberal  7rare combination7 in his      
benefactions1 for he felt that he held  
his  personal property in trust4        
,such are a few of the traits in the    
character of the man whose life  on     
earth was so suddenly closed on ,monday 
last4 ,under ,providence1 by  which ,i  
mean the blessing of ,god1 that blessing
 which is just as much  within your     
reach as his1 these are some of the     
conditions of his  extraordinary        
success4 ,his self-culture1 the choice  
of his companions  his persistent       

industry1 his integrity1 his religion1  
made the man what  he was4 ,i cannot    
here speak of his work in that church   
which he loved  so much4 ,i do not speak
 with absolute certainty1 but ,i have   
reason to  believe that1 next to his own
 family1 his affections were placed on  
you4 ,he could never look into your     
faces without having his feelings       
stirred to their profoundest depths4 ,he
 loved youin the best1 the  truest      
sense1 he loved you4 ,he was willing to 
give any amount of his  time1 his       
thought1 his care1 to you4 ,the time he 
spent in the chapel  was a very small   
part of the time he gave to his work for
 you4 ,you were  upon his heart         
constantly4 ,i do not knowno one can    
knowbut if it be  possible for the      
spirits of just men made perfect to     
revisit the scenes  of earthto come back
 and look upon those they loved so much 
when in  the flesh,i am sure his spirit 
is here to-daythis1 his first ,sabbath  
in ,heavenlooking into your faces1 as he

 often did when he went in and  out     
among you1 and wishing that all of you  
may make such use of your  grand        
opportunity here as will insure your    
success in the life which  is before you
 when you leave these college walls1 and
 especially as  will insure your        
entering into the everlasting life4     
,such was his life1  full of activity1  
generosity1 self-denial1 eminently      
religious1 in  the best sense           
successful4 ,he was never at rest2 his  
heart was always  open to human         
sympathy2 he denied nothing except to   
himself4 ,he wanted  everybody to be    
religious4 ,he died in the harness2 no  
time to take it  off2 no wish to take it
 off4 ,but in the front1 on the advance1
 not in  retreat4 ,he never turned his  
back on anything that was right4 ,his   
eye  was not dim2 his natural force was 
not abated4 ,death came so swiftly  that
 it seemed only stepping from one room  
in his ,father's house to  another4 ,we 
are reminded of the beautiful words in  

which ,mr4 ,thackeray  describes the    
death of ,colonel ,newcome in the       
hospital of the ,charter  ,house        
,school1 after a life spent in fighting 
the enemies of his country  abroad1 and 
the enemies of the good in society at   
home4 8,at the usual  evening hour the  
chapel bell began to toll and ,thomas   
,newcome's hands  outside the bed feebly
 beat time4 ,and just as the last bell  
struck1  a peculiar sweet smile shone   
over his face4 ,he lifted up his head a 
little and quickly said ,adsum1 and fell
 back4 ,it was the word they  used at   
school when names were called1 and lo1  
he1 whose heart was  as that of a little
 child1 had answered to his name and    
stood in the  presence of #8,the        
,master4'0                              
,,bad ,,associates4                     
,november #aa1 #ahhh4      ,i wish to   
speak to you to-day about the danger of 
evil company1 a  danger to which you    
will necessarily be exposed when you go 
out from  this college to make your way 

in life4    ,the desire for             
companionship sometimes leads people1   
and especially  young people1 into bad  
company4 ,a boy finds himself associated
 with a  schoolmate1 a fellow-apprentice
 or fellow-clerk1 who is attractive in  
manners1 full of fun1 but who is not    
what he ought to be in character4    ,no
 one is entirely bad2 almost all persons
 old or young have some  points that are
 not repulsive1 and sometimes the very  
bad are  attractive in some respects4 ,a
 comparatively innocent boy is thrown   
into such company1 and1 at first1 he    
sees nothing in the conduct of his  new 
friends which is particularly out of the
 way4 ,the conversation is  somewhat    
guarded1 the jokes and stories are not  
specially bad1 and1 for  a time1 nothing
 occurs to shock his feelings2 but1     
after a while1 the  mask is thrown off  
and the true character is revealed4     
,then very soon  the mind of the pure1  
innocent boy receives impressions that  
corrupt  and defile it4 ,all that is    

polluting in talk and story and song is 
poured out4 ,books and papers1 so vile  
that it is a breach of law to  sell     
them1 are read and quoted without       
bringing a blush to the cheek1  and1    
before his parents are aware of the     
danger1 the mind and heart of  their son
 are so polluted and depraved that no   
human power can save him4    ,i very    
well remember a boy older than myself   
who1 early in life1 gave  himself up to 
vile company and vile books and vile    
habits1 and who1  long agoalmost as soon
 as he reached an early manhoodsunk1    
under  the weight of his sinful habits1 
into a dishonored grave1 but not until  
he had defiled and depraved many a boy  
who came under his influence4  ,better  
would it have been for his companions if
 their daily walks and  playgrounds had 
been infested with venomous serpents1 to
 bite and sting  their bare feet1 than  
to associate with a boy whose heart was 
full of  all uncleanness4    ,it is     
dangerous to make such friendships4     

,circumstances may throw us  among them2
 the providence of ,god may send us     
there1 but we ought never  to seek such 
company1 except for good purposes4 ,what
 ,i mean is that  we ought not to seek  
such associates1 however agreeable they 
may be in  other respects1 and not to   
remain among them except for their good4
    ,there are wicked people in every   
community1 of all ages4 ,we cannot      
altogether avoid contact with them4 ,we 
find them among our schoolmates  and in 
the walks of business4    ,many a young 
man1 many a boy1 has been forever ruined
 by evil  companions4 ,a corrupt        
literature is bad enough1 but evil      
companions are  more numerous and1 if   
possible1 more fatal4 ,bad books and    
papers have  slain their thousands2 bad 
companions have slain their ten         
thousands4 ,i  can recall the names of  
many who were led away1 step by step1   
down the  broad road that leads to      
destruction1 by companions genial1      
attractive1  but corrupt4    ,there are 

some companions from whom you cannot    
separate yourselves4  ,they are with you
 continually2 at home and abroad1 in    
school or at  play1 by day and by night1
 asleep and awake1 they are always with 
you4  ,there is no solitude so deep that
 they cannot find you1 no crowd so      
great that they will ever lose you4 ,no 
matter who else is with you1  they will 
notcannotbe kept away4 ,i mean your own 
thoughts1 your  bosom companions4 ,shall
 they be ,,evil companions or ,,good8   
,ah6 you know  who1 and who only1 can   
answer this question4    ,i once went   
through a monastery in the old city of  
,florence1 in ,italy4  ,it was a retreat
 for men who were tired of the world1 or
 who felt so  unequal to the strife and 
conflict of life in the world that they 
believed peace could be found only in   
retirement4 ,the house was of the  order
 of ,st4 ,francis4 ,one of the monks    
took me into his cell1 and ,i  sat down 
and talked with him4 ,it was a very     
small roomone door1 one  window1 bare   

walls1 a small table1 two wooden chairs1
 a few books1 a  crucifix1 a washstand1 
and some pieces of crockery2 and that   
was all4  ,in this room he lived1 never 
to leave it except to go to the chapel1 
just across the corridor1 and to walk in
 the cloisters for exercise2  here he   
expected to die4 ,it seemed very dreary 
and lonely to me4 ,but  ,i thought1 if  
this were a certain and sure way of     
escaping from evil  thoughts1 and the   
only way1 men may well submit to the    
confinement1 the  solitude1 the         
monotony1 the dreariness of this way of 
life4 ,but1 alas6  it is not so4 ,no    
close and narrow cell1 no iron doors1 no
 bolts and  bars1 can shut out our      
thoughts1 for they are a part of        
ourselves3 they  are ourselves2 for1 8as
 a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he40
    ,some years ago a country lad left  
his home to seek his fortune in  the    
city4 ,his mother was dead and his      
father broken in health and in  fortune4
 ,the boy reached the city full of high 

hopes1 promising his  father that he    
would do his best to succeed in whatever
 fell to his  lot to do4 ,he was tall1  
strong and good-looking4 ,a place was   
soon  found for him1 and until he was   
better able to support himself he  found
 a home with some friends4 ,he was a boy
 of good mind but with a  very imperfect
 education1 and he seemed inclined to   
make up for this  in part by reading    
during his leisure hours4 ,the situation
 found for  him was in a large          
commercial house1 where everything was  
conducted  in the best manner and on the
 highest principles4 ,here he made rapid
  progress and was soon able to         
contribute to the support of those he   
had  left at home in the country4 ,he   
became interested in serious things1    
united with the ,sunday-school1 and     
after a while made a profession of      
religion4 ,everything went well with him
 for several years1 until he  fell in   
with some boys near his own age1 who had
 been brought up under  very different  

circumstances4 ,two or three of these   
were inclined  towards skepticism in    
religious things1 and their reading was 
quite  unlike that to which this boy had
 been accustomed4 ,some fascination  of 
manner about them attracted the lad to  
their society1 and he grew  less and    
less fond of his truest and best        
friends4 ,he became irregular  in his   
attendance at the ,sunday-school1 and   
when remonstrated with  by his teacher  
and friends had no candid and manly     
answer for them4  ,after a while he     
ceased going to church entirely1        
spending his time  at his lodgings      
reading profane and immoral books or in 
the society  of his new companions4     
,then he found his way with these       
friends 7so  he called them1 but they   
were really his greatest enemies7 to    
taverns  and even to worse places1      
reading a corrupt literature and        
thinking he  was strengthening his mind 
and broadening his views4 ,a little     
further  on and his habits grew worse1  

and became the subject of observation   
and remark4 ,his early friends          
interposed1 talked kindly with him and  
received his promise to turn away from  
his evil associates 7who had  well-nigh 
ruined him7 and to lead a better life4  
,he promised well1  and for a time      
things with him were better4 ,but after 
a while he fell  away again into his old
 ways and with his old tempters1 and    
before his  friends were aware of it he 
disappeared and went abroad4 ,then      
letters  were received from him4 ,he was
 without means2 he found it hard to get 
employment2 he had no references1 and   
the people among whom he found  himself 
were distrustful of strangers4    ,one  
of his friends to whom he wrote for a   
letter of recommendation  replied       
something like this3    8,it is         
impossible for me to give you a letter  
of recommendation except  with          
qualification4 ,if you are seeking      
employment it is your duty to  make a   
candid statement of your condition4     

,make a clean breast of it4  ,keep      
nothing back4 ,say that you had a good  
situation2 that you were  growing with  
the growth of your employers2 that your 
salary had been  advanced twice within  
the year2 that one of the partners was  
your  friend2 that he had stood by you  
in your earlier youth2 that he had      
extricated you from embarrassment and   
would have helped you again when        
needed1 and that in an evil hour you    
forgot this1 and your duty to him  and  
to the house which sustained you2 that  
you left your place without  your       
father's knowledge and well-nigh or     
quite broke his heart1 and  that all    
this grew out of your love of bad       
associates and your love of  drink1 and 
that while under this infatuation you   
went astray with bad  women2 and that in
 very despair of your ability to save   
yourself1 and  ashamed to meet your     
employers1 you sought other scenes in   
the hope  that in a new field and with  
new associates you could reform4    8,if

 you say this or something like this to 
a ,christian man1 little as  you affect 
to think of ,christianity1 his heart    
will open to you and you  can then look 
him frankly in the face1 and have no    
concealments from  him4 ,any other      
course than this will only prolong your 
agony1 and in  the end plunge you in    
deeper shame and disgrace4 ,if you will 
take this  advice1 you may yet make a   
man of yourself1 and no one will be more
  rejoiced than myself or more ready to 
help you4 ,read the parable of  the     
prodigal son every day2 don't think so  
much of your fancied mental  ability2   
get down off your stilts and be a man1 a
 humble1 penitent man1  and make your   
father's last days cheerful1 instead of 
blasting his life4    8,you see that ,i 
am in earnest and that ,i feel a deep   
interest in you1  else ,i would have    
thrown your letter to me into the fire40
    ,i believe that this young man's    
fall was due entirely to the influence  
of his foolish1 bad companions4 ,and ,i 

know that this sad history is the       
record of many others2 in fact1 that the
 same experience awaits all  who think  
it a light matter what company they     
keep1 and who drift on  the current with
 no purpose except to find pleasure1    
without regard to  their duty to ,god4  
,when ,i see1 as ,i so often do1 young  
men standing at  the corners of the     
streets1 or lounging against lamp-posts1
 and catch a  word as ,i pass1 very     
often profane or indecent1 ,i know very 
well that  a work of ruin is going on   
there1 which1 if unchecked1 will        
certainly  lead to destruction4 ,and ,i 
wonder whether these boys and young men 
have parents or sisters1 who love them  
and who yet allow them to pass  unwarned
 down the road that leads to death4     
,but there are other companions1        
foolish1 bad companions1 besides those  
that appear to us in bodily form4 ,they 
confront us in the printed page4  ,you  
read a book or a pamphlet or paper which
 is full of dialogue4 ,such  books are  

often more attractive than a plain      
narrative with little  conversation4    
,you enter fully1 even if unconsciously1
 into the spirit  of the story4 ,the    
characters are real to you4 ,you seem to
 see the forms  before you2 you make a  
picture of each in your mind1 so that if
 you  were an artist you could paint the
 portrait of each one4 ,sometimes the   
dialogue is full of profanity1 and      
though you make no sound as you  read1  
you are really pronouncing each word in 
your mind4 ,and every time  you say a   
bad word1 in your mind1 you defile your 
heart4 ,you are in  effect listening to 
bad words not spoken by other people    
merely1 but  spoken by yourself1 and    
before you are aware of it you will be  
in the  habit of thinking oaths when you
 are afraid to speak them out4 ,it is   
even worse1 if possible1 when the       
language is obscene4 ,now do you ever   
think that when you are reading such    
wretched stuff you are in effect        
associating with the characters whose   

talk you are listening to1 and  without 
rebuke8 ,they are thieves1 pirates1     
burglars1 dissolute1 the  very worst of 
society1 even murderers4 ,you may not   
have the courage to  rebuke those who   
are defiling the very air with their    
foul talk2 you  may be too cowardly even
 to turn away from such company lest    
they sneer  at you2 but what do you say 
of a boy who deliberately1 and after    
being  warned1 reads by stealth such    
stuff as ,i have described8 ,is there   
any  one here who would be guilty of    
such conduct8    ,these evils of which  
,i am speaking1 and ,i do so most       
reluctantly1 for  these are not pleasant
 subjectsare not mere theories4 ,they   
are sad  realities4 ,it was my ill      
fortune in my boyhood to know some boys 
who  were essentially corrupt4 ,their   
minds were cages of unclean birds4      
,they were inexpressibly vile4 ,and it  
is this fear of the evil that  one      
sinner may do among young boys that     
leads me to say what ,i do on  this most

 painful subject4 ,oh1 boys1 if ,i can  
persuade you to turn  away from foolish 
company1 from bad associates1 ,i shall  
feel that ,i am  doing indeed a blessed 
work4 ,for what is the object1 the      
purpose of  all this that is said to    
you8 ,it is to make men of you and to   
give  you grace and strength to assert  
your manhood4 ,it is to build you up  on
 the foundation of a substantial        
education1 and so prepare you for  the  
life that is before you here and for    
that life which is beyond4  ,but the    
education of text-books illustrated by  
the best instructors is  not enough2 it 
is not all you need for the great work  
of your lives4  ,you must be ready when 
you are equipped not only to take care  
of  yourselves1 but to help those who   
may be dependent upon you1 for you  are 
not to live for yourselves4 ,and you    
cannot be fully equipped unless  you    
have the blessing of ,almighty ,god on  
your work and on your life4    ,i want  
you to be successful men1 and no man can

 be a successful man1  in the highest   
and best sense1 unless he is a religious
 man4 ,how can  one expect to make his  
way in life as he ought1 without the    
blessing of  ,god8 ,and how can one     
expect the blessing of ,god who does not
 ask ,god  for his blessing8 ,prayers in
 the church are not enough2 the reading 
of the ,scriptures in the church is not 
enough2 you must read the  ,scriptures  
for yourselves2 you must pray for       
yourselves and each one  for himself1 as
 well as for others4                    
,illustration3 ,james ,a4 ,garfield4    
,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,president     
,,garfield4                             
,september #be1 #ahha4      ,i wish to  
lead your thoughts to one of the        
strangest thingsone of  the most        
difficult things to understand1 which   
has ever occurred4 ,on  the second day  
of ,july last the ,president of the     
,united ,states1 when  about to step    
into a railway train which was to carry 
him ,north1 where  he was to attend a   

college commencement1 at the college    
where he was  graduated1 was shot down  
by an assassin4    ,i say it is one of  
the strangest things1 because the       
,president did not  know the assassin1  
and had never injured him nor any of his
 friends4  ,there was absolutely no     
motive for the hideous deed4    ,i say  
it is most difficult to understand1     
because we believe that  ,divine        
,providence overrules all events1 holds 
all power1 and we wonder  why ,he       
permitted the wretch to do so deplorable
 a deed4    ,president ,garfield was no 
ordinary man4 ,he was emphatically a man
 of  the people4 ,he was born in a      
log-cabin which his father had built    
with  his own hands4 ,it was a very     
small house1 twenty feet by thirty4     
,when  ,james was two years old1 his    
father died1 late in the autumn1 and    
this  boy with three other children were
 all dependent upon their mother for  a 
support4 ,how the lone widow passed that
 winter we do not know2 but  when the   

spring came there was a debt to be paid1
 and part of the farm  had to go to pay 
it4 ,about thirty acres of the clearing 
were left1 and  this little farm was    
worked by the mother and her oldest son4
 ,only  those who have lived on a farm  
in the country know how hard the work   
is4 ,when ,james was five years old he  
was sent to school1 a mile and a  half  
away1 and as this was a very long walk  
for so young a boy1 his  sister often   
carried the little boy on her back4     
,after a while the boy tried to learn   
the carpenter's trade1 and in  this     
effort he spent two years or so1 going  
to school at intervals and  studying at 
spare hours at home4 ,so he mastered    
grammar1 arithmetic and  geography4     
,after that he became a sort of general 
help and book-keeper  for a manufacturer
 in the neighborhood at #ad per month   
8and found10  and this was to him a very
 great advance4 ,but not being well     
treated  there1 he soon left and took to
 chopping woodat one time cutting  about

 twenty-five cords for some #g4 ,then   
having read some tales of  the sea1     
sailors' stories1 such as you have often
 read1 he wanted to  be a sailor2 but   
when he applied for a place on the great
 lake1 he  looked so like a landsman    
from the country that no captain would  
engage  him4 ,so he went to the canal1  
and found employment in leading or      
driving horses or mules on the tow-path4
 ,but he was soon promoted to  be a     
deck-hand and steersman1 and often      
falling into the water 7once  almost    
being drowned7 and meeting some other   
mishaps1 he concluded that  8following  
the water0 was not his forte1 and he    
abandoned it4 ,by this  time he had     
saved some money1 and his brother       
,thomas lent him some  more1 and with   
another young man and a cousin he went  
to a neighboring  town to the academy4  
,these young fellows rented a room1     
borrowed some  simple cooking utensils1 
a table and some chairs1 made beds and  
filled  them with straw1 and set up     

house-keeping1 and went to the academy4 
,young ,garfield spent three years at   
this academy1 doing odd jobs of         
carpenter work when he could1 and so    
eking out a living4 ,then he  went to an
 eclectic institute1 and paid his way in
 part by doing  the janitor's work of   
sweeping the floor and making the fires4
 ,here  he prepared himself to enter the
 junior class in a higher college1  and1
 after some delay1 he entered that class
 in ,williams ,college1  ,massachusetts4
    ,while pursuing his college course  
at ,williams he filled his vacations  by
 teaching in district schools in the    
neighborhood until his  graduation1 in  
#ahef1 at twenty-five years of agequite 
advanced1 you  see1 in years for a      
college graduate4    ,then he went back 
as a teacher to his eclectic institute1 
became a  professor of ,greek and       
,latin1 and then at twenty-eight years  
of age  became a ,senator in the ,ohio  
,legislature4 ,when the war broke out   
in #ahfa1 while still a member of the   

,state ,senate1 the ,government         
commissioned him as colonel of a        
regiment1 and he did good service in    
the ,state of ,kentucky in driving out  
the rebels4 ,in a few months he was     
promoted to be brigadier-general4 ,so he
 went on distinguishing himself         
wherever he was placed1 and1 having been
 assigned for duty to the  ,army of the 
,cumberland1 fighting his last battle at
 ,chickamauga1 his  gallantry was so    
conspicuous and so successful that      
within a fortnight  he was made a       
major-general4    ,while in the army he 
was elected representative to ,congress1
 and on  ,december #e1 #ahfc1 he took   
his seat in the ,house1 the youngest    
member of  ,congress4    ,some time     
after this1 the war still going on1 he  
wished to rejoin the  army1 but         
,president ,lincoln would not permit it1
 on the ground that his  military       
knowledge would be invaluable to the    
government4 ,after serving  seventeen   
years in the ,house of ,representatives1

 at times ,chairman of  most important  
committees1 he was elected to the       
,senate1 but before he  took his seat he
 was nominated for the ,presidency1 and 
last ,november  was elected by a large  
majority to that high office4    ,on the
 #dth of ,march last he was inaugurated1
 and four months  afterwards 7,july     
#b;d7 he fell by the hand of an         
assassin4    ,you know how during this  
long1 dry1 hot summer he has been lying 
in  ,washington until the last two      
weeks1 hanging between life and death2  
and you know how tenderly and lovingly  
he has been nursed2 how gently  he was  
removed to the sea1 in the hope that a  
change of air and scene  would do what  
the best surgical and medical skill had 
failed to do2  and you know how last    
,monday night1 while you were sleeping  
soundly in  your beds1 the bells of our 
city and all over the land were tolling 
the  tidings of his death4    ,he was a 
good manin many respects as well        
qualified to fill the  ,presidential    

chair as any man who has ever sat in it4
 ,so ,i say it is  most difficult to    
understand why he was taken away4       
,like all of you he lost his father by  
death at an early age2 as is the  case  
with all of you his mother was poor4 ,he
 struggled hard for an  education1 and  
he acquired it1 who knows at what a     
cost6 ,he was never  satisfied with     
present attainments2 he was always on   
the advance4 ,at  an early age he gave  
himself to the ,lord1 joining the       
church2 and  as that branch of the      
church does not believe in the necessity
 of  ordination for the ministry he     
preached the ,gospel as a layman1 as the
  great ,faraday preached in ,london and
 as ,christian laymen preach the  same  
truths to you1 and it was my purpose1   
formed when he was elected  in ,november
 last1 to persuade him1 some time when  
he might be passing  through            
,philadelphia1 to come to this chapel   
and address you boys4  ,this1 alas1 now 
can never be4    ,president ,garfield   

loved his mother4 ,no more touching     
incident was ever  witnessed than that  
which hundreds of people saw on         
inauguration day1  when1 after taking   
the oath of his high office1 he turned  
immediately  to his dear old mother and 
kissed her4    ,our great sorrow is not 
felt by us alone4 ,all nations mourn    
with us4  ,the ,queen of ,great ,britain
 with her own hand sends messages of the
  sweetest1 the most touching sympathy4 
,she1 too1 is a widow and her  children 
are fatherless4 ,she sends flowers for  
,mrs4 ,garfield and puts  her court in  
mourning1 a compliment never extended   
before except in the  case of death in a
 royal family4 ,other ,european and     
,asiatic and ,african  governments send 
their sympathythey all feel itthey all  
deplore  it4 ,emblems of mourning are   
displayed in every street in our city1  
and  every heart is sad4 ,the people    
mourn4    ,boys1 you may not be         
,presidentsprobably not one here will   
ever be at  the head of this nation2 nor

 is this of any moment2 but remember it 
was not only as ,president of the       
,united ,states that ,general ,garfield 
was wise and goodit was in every place  
where he was put2 whether  in school1 in
 college1 in teaching1 in the army1 in  
,congress1 in the  ,president's chair1  
in his family and on his sick and dying 
bed1  languishing and suffering1 wasting
 and burning with fever1 exhausted by   
wounds cruel and undeserved1 he was     
always the same brave1 true1 real  man4 
,some of you know with what profound and
 tender interest people gathered  in    
places of prayer that ,tuesday morning  
to ask that the journey from            
,washington to ,long ,branch might be   
safe and prosperous1 and how the  hope  
was expressed1 almost to assurance1 that
 the ,saviour would meet  his disciple  
by the sea4 ,the prayer was granted4    
,the ,lord did meet his  disciple1 not1 
as was so much desired1 with gifts of   
healing2 nothing  short of a miracle    
could do that1 but by a more complete   

preparation  of the people for the final
 issue4 ,it came at last4 ,and while    
many of  us were sleeping quietly1      
telegraphic messages were flashing the  
sad  intelligence everywhere that1 at   
last1 he was at rest4    ,now that we   
know that he is taken away1 we stand in 
awe and amazement4  ,we cannot yet      
understand it4    ,shall we gather a few
 lessons from his life8 ,some of the    
most apparent  may be mentioned very    
briefly4    ,the simplicity of his      
character is most interesting4          
,conscious as he  must have been of the 
possession of no ordinary mental force1 
he was  never obtrusive nor             
self-assertive4 ,what seemed to be his  
duty he did1  with purpose and          
completeness4 ,and his associates often 
placed him in  positions of high trust  
and responsibility4    ,he was an       
accomplished scholar4 ,even while       
engrossed in ,congressional  duties1 to 
a degree which left him little or no    
time for recreation1  he did not fail to

 keep himself fresh in classic          
literature4 ,it is  said that a friend  
returning from ,europe1 and desiring to 
bring him  some little present1 could   
think of nothing more acceptable than a 
few  volumes of the ,latin poets4       
,when his life comes to be written by   
impartial hands1 it will be  found that 
along with his great simplicity and his 
high culture there  will be most        
prominent his devotion to principle4    
,this was his great  characteristic4 ,i 
have no time1 and this is not the place1
 to speak of  his adherence1 under      
strong adverse influences1 to his sound 
views on  the great currency question   
which has occupied so much the attention
 of  ,congress4    ,in a not very remote
 sense his death is to be attributed to 
his  devotion to principle4 ,that great 
and most discreditable contest at       
,albany might have been settled weeks   
before it was1 although in a very       
different manner1 if the ,president     
could have yielded his convictions4  ,he

 did not yield1 and he was slain4       
,the funeral services in the capitol are
 over and the men whom ,mrs4  ,garfield 
chose as the bearers of her husband's   
coffin were not members  of the cabinet1
 nor senators1 nor judges of the        
,supreme ,court1 any of  whom would have
 been honored by such a service1 but    
they were plain  men1 of names unknown  
to us1 members of his own little church4
    ,they are gone4 ,they have taken his
 worn and wasted and mutilated form1    
all that remains in this world of the   
strong1 pure life that was not  yet     
fifty years old1 to the beautiful city  
by the lake1 and there  within sight and
 almost within sound of the waves of the
 great inland  sea1 they will to-morrow 
lay him to rest until the morning of the
  resurrection4                       99
       99       99       99       99    
,what use shall we make of this         
deplorable calamity8 ,shall our faith   
in the prevalence of prayer be weakened8
 ,god forbid that we should so  distort 

his teachings4 8,nay1 but1 ,o man1 who  
art thou that repliest  against ,god80  
,our prayers are answered1 not as we    
wished1 and almost insisted1 but  in    
softening the hearts of the people and  
drawing them as they have  never before 
been drawn towards the ,great ,ruler of 
the universe1 and  in uniting the       
people1 and also in promoting a better  
feeling between  the different sections 
of our country than has been known for  
half a  century4 ,and if1 in addition to
 this1 the people would only learn to   
abate that passion for office which has 
been so fatal to peace1 and  would be   
content to allow fitness for office to  
be the only rule of  appointment1 then a
 true civil service would be a heritage 
for the  securing of which even the     
sacrifice of a ,president would seem not
 too  great a price4        8,and the   
archers shot at ,king ,josiah1 and the  
king said to his      servants1 ,have me
 away for ,i am sore wounded4 ,his      
servants      therefore took him out of 

that chariot1 and put him in the        
second chariot that he had1 and they    
brought him to ,jerusalem1      and he  
died and was buried4 ,and all ,judah and
 ,jerusalem mourned      for ,josiah40  
#b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bc1 #bd4              
,,the ,,case ,,of ,,the ,,uneducated    
,,employed4                             
,march #be1 #ahhh4      ,a distinguished
 lawyer of our city delivered an address
 before one of  the societies in the    
venerable ,university of ,harvard on    
this subject3  8,the ,case of the       
,educated ,unemployed40 ,with an        
intimate knowledge  of his subject1 and 
with rare felicity of thought and       
expression1  he set before his audience1
 most of whom were either in the learned
  professions or preparing to enter     
them1 the overcrowded condition of      
those professions1 especially that of   
the law1 a preparation for which  is    
supposed to imply a more or less        
thorough academic or collegiate         
education4    ,i have a different task2 

for ,i would show the importance of     
education  to the workers with the hand1
 whether in the mills1 the shops1 or    
among the various trades and            
occupations4 ,by education ,i do not    
mean  that of the colleges1 or of the   
common schools merely1 but also that    
which is acquired sometimes without the 
advantage of any schools4 ,and  ,i      
particularly desire to show that an     
uneducated worker1 whatever be  his     
work1 is at an immense disadvantage with
 one who is engaged in the  same kind of
 work1 and who is more or less educated4
    ,a mechanic may be well trained2 may
 have more than his share of brains2    
may be highly successful in his         
business2 indeed1 may have acquired  a  
large property1 and have very high      
credit1 and may hardly know how  to     
write his name4 ,a man may have scores  
or hundreds of men in his  employment1  
and be conducting business on a very    
large scale1 indeed1  and yet be so     
ignorant of accounts that he is entirely

 at the mercy of  his book-keeper1 and  
may be so defrauded as to be on the very
 brink  of ruin and not know it until it
 is almost too late4 ,in the course  of 
a long business life more than one such 
case has come under my  observation4 ,a 
man may be partially educated1 able to  
cast up accounts1  able to keep books by
 double entry 7and no other kind of     
book-keeping  is worthy of the name71   
and yet not be able to write a simple   
agreement  in good ,english1 nor        
understand clearly the meaning of such a
 paper  when written by another4        
,very many of the business failures that
 occur are due to the fact that  the    
person or firm did not know how to keep 
accounts4 ,this is not  confined to     
people of small business4 ,how often    
after a failure are we  told 8that the  
man was very much surprised at his      
condition2 he thought  he was all right2
 he could not account for his failure1  
and that in  a short time he would have 
his books in such a shape that he would 

be able to make a statement to his      
creditors and ask their advice4  ,it    
would require ten days or so1 however1  
before he could tell how  he stood40    
,why1 if the man had been an educated   
business man1 and an  honest man1 he    
would have known in twenty-four hours   
how he stood4    ,the great majority of 
people who are employed are not         
educated4 ,they  do not know how to do  
in the best manner1 that which they have
 to do4  ,perhaps a good definition of  
education1 as the word is applied to a  
working man1 may be that he knows how to
 do that which he has to do1 in  the    
very best way4    ,education may be of  
three kinds1 viz43    ,that of the      
schools4    ,self-education4    ,that of
 trade or business4    ,that of the     
schools4 ,and this is the best of all2  
for the whole  of one's time is given to
 it2 and if you are so inclined you may 
go  through the whole course1 as        
provided in this school4 ,and all this  
with  text-books1 instruments and other 

appliances1 absolutely free of cost4  ,a
 boy1 therefore1 who passes through the 
entire course of study here1  has       
superior opportunities of acquiring a   
most substantial education4             
,certainly the education of the schools 
is the best2 and let me urge you  with  
all seriousness to make the best use of 
your opportunities4 ,you  can never     
learn as easily as now4 ,you are young4 
,you are not burdened  with cares4 ,do  
not relax your efforts in the least2 do 
not yield to  weariness2 do not think   
you know enough already2 do not be      
impatient  lest others of your own age1 
who have already left school to go to   
work1 get ahead of you in trade or in   
any kind of business2 if they  have the 
start of you1 they may not be able to   
keep it2 and depend  upon it1 in the    
long run you will overtake and pass     
them1 other things  being equal1 if you 
have a better school education than they
 have4 ,when  you are told that young   
men who are well educated are thereby   

unfitted  or unwilling to take the      
lowest places in trade or business1 do  
not  believe it4 ,i know the contrary4  
,the better the school education you    
have1 and the more you know1 the more   
valuable you will be to your  employer4 
,another kind of education is called1   
but most inaccurately1  self-education4 
,all that ,i mean by it is1 that        
education which one  acquires without   
teachers4 ,as so defined1 it may be     
divided into two  parts1 viz43 the      
incidental and the direct4    ,let me   
speak first of the incidental4    ,i    
mean by this that education that comes  
to us from society4    ,you cannot live 
alone1 and you ought not to if you      
could4 ,you seek  companions1 or other  
persons will seek you4 ,let your        
associates be  those whose friendship   
will be an instruction to you1 rather   
than  simply a means of social          
enjoyment4 ,there are young people of   
both  sexes who1 without being vicious1 
are utterly weak and foolish1 idle  and 

listless1 drifting along a current1 the 
end of which they do not  care to think 
of4 ,they are living for this life only1
 with no thought  of the future1 no     
ambition1 mere butterflies1 who float in
 the sunshine  when the sun is shining1 
but who1 in a dark and cloudy day1 are  
bored  and miserable1 and utterly       
useless4 ,sometimes they are pleasant   
enough  to chat with for a few minutes1 
but to be shut up to such companionship 
as this1 would be intolerable4 ,society 
has a large element of this             
description1 and you are likely to see  
it in your daily life4    ,but this is  
not the worst phase of life among the   
young people with  whom you may be      
thrown4 ,there are worse elements than  
this4 ,there are  those who are depraved
 to a degree quite beyond their age2 who
 have  given themselves up to work all  
uncleanness with greediness2 who put  no
 restraint on their inclinations2 in    
whose eyes nothing is pure or  sacred2  
who have no respect for that which is   

wholesome or decent2  who are the       
devil's own children1 and who are not   
ashamed of their  parentage4 ,and to    
such baleful1 deadly influences and     
associations will  you be exposed1 my   
young friends1 and you may not be       
apprised of their  true character until 
it is too late4    ,but there are direct
 means of education1 so called4    ,the 
first of these which ,i mention is the  
use of books4 ,this is  unquestionably  
the best means4 ,i am supposing that you
 have some taste  for reading2 if you   
have not1 it is hardly worth while for  
me to speak1  or for you to listen4 ,i  
know some people who rarely read a book1
 and ,i  pity them4 ,they seem to think 
that all that is necessary to read is   
the  daily newspaper4 ,i do not say that
 such persons are necessarily very      
ignorant1 for very much may be learned  
from the daily paper4 ,but the          
newspaper does not pretend to supply all
 that you need1 to fit you for  a life  
of business1 either as a dealer in      

merchandise1 a professional  man or a   
mechanic4 ,no2 you must read books1 not 
only for entertainment  and recreation1 
but for information and culture1 which  
you can obtain  nowhere else4 ,if there 
is no public library within your reach1 
seek out  some kind-hearted man or woman
 who has books1 and who will be willing 
to lend them to one who is in search of 
knowledge4 ,i well remember a  gentleman
 in my early life who did this kind     
office for me before ,i was  able to buy
 books1 and there are such now who will 
do the same for you4    ,if you have    
little knowledge of books1 you ought to 
ask the advice  of some practical friend
 to point out such as you may most      
safely  and properly read4 ,for if left 
to your own judgment or taste1 you  will
 probably waste valuable time1 or be    
discouraged by an attempt to  read      
something not immediately necessary or  
appropriate4 ,but do not  attempt to    
follow an elaborate plan of reading1    
such as you will find  detailed in some 

books1 for you are very likely to be    
discouraged  by the greatness of the    
task4 ,such lists1 ,i fancy1 are made   
out by  scholars who have read almost   
everything1 and to whom reading is no   
task whatever1 and who have plenty of   
time4 ,do not attempt to read  too many 
books1 nor too much at a time1 and do   
not be disappointed or  discouraged if  
you are not able to remember or put to  
good account all  that you read4 ,you   
cannot always know what particular kind 
of food  has afforded you the most      
nourishment4 ,you may rest assured1     
however1  that as every morsel of food  
that you take and are able to digest    
does  something to build up and develop 
your system1 or repair its waste1 so    
every book or paper that you read1 that 
is wholesome1 does something1  you may  
not know how much1 to strengthen or     
develop your mind4    ,there are books  
that you read for entertainment or      
recreation1 and  that are written for   
that purpose only4 ,you may read such2  

indeed1 you  ought to read them1 for you
 need1 as everybody else needs1         
recreation  and amusement1 and there is 
much of the purest and best of this that
  you can get from books4 ,but you must 
not make the mistake of supposing  that 
most1 or even a very large proportion1  
of your reading can be of  this         
character4 ,you would not think of      
making your daily meals of the  articles
 of food that you enjoy as the sweets of
 your meals4 ,you would  not think of   
living on sponge-cake and ice-cream for 
a regular diet4  ,you might as well do  
so1 as to read only the light and       
humorous matter  that was never intended
 for the mental diet of a working man4  
,no4 ,if  you would attain the real     
object of reading and study1 you must   
read  and study books and papers that   
tax the full powers of your mind to     
understand them4 ,this will soon        
strengthen the quality of your mind1    
even as the exercise of your muscles in 
work or play will develop a  strength of

 body that the idle or lazy youth knows 
nothing of4    ,if you would know how to
 make yourself master of any book that  
you  read1 form the habit1 if the book  
is your own1 of making notes with  a    
pencil in the margin of the pages2 but  
if the book is not your  property1 or in
 any case1 take a sheet of paper and    
write at the end  of every chapter      
questions on the matter discussed1 and  
the answer to  such questions will      
probably bring out the author's meaning 
so fully  that you will have absorbed   
the book and made it your own2 for1 as  
an  eminent ,american author has said1  
8thought is the property of whoever  can
 entertain it40    ,i said just now that
 the daily newspaper does not pretend to
 supply all  that you need to fit you   
for a life of business1 either as a     
dealer  in goods1 or as a mechanic or   
clerk4 ,but the daily paper is a most   
important means of educationso important
 that no one can afford to  ignore it4  
,now-a-days one cannot be well informed 

who does not read  the newspaper4 ,the  
whole world is brought before us every  
morning and  evening1 and1 if we do not 
read the news as it comes1 we shall not 
know what we ought to know4 ,it is not  
necessary to read everything in  a daily
 paper2 there are some things that it   
will be better for you  not to read4    
,you need not read all the editorials1  
brilliant as some  of them are1 for     
sometimes they discuss subjects that are
 not at all  interesting nor useful to  
you4 ,the newspaper from which ,i make  
the most  clippings is one which is the 
fullest of advertisements1 but which    
sometimes has nothing whatever in it    
that ,i read4 ,but when it does  discuss
 a subject of interest1 it is apt to    
leave nothing further to be  said4      
,but to read with the most advantage one
 ought to have within easy reach  a     
dictionary1 an atlas and1 if possible1  
an encyclopedia4 ,then you can  read    
with profit1 and the mere outlines which
 the newspaper gives can  be filled up  

by reference to books which give more or
 less complete  histories4    ,the      
political articles which appear in the  
height of a campaign are  hardly worth  
reading1 unless you think of entering   
politics as a  money-making business1   
which ,i sincerely hope none of you     
think of  doing4 ,and ,i am sure that   
the full accounts of crime1 and         
especially  the details of police       
reports and criminal trials1 you will do
 well to  pass by and not read4 ,i      
really believe that a familiarity with  
these  details prepares the way1 in many
 instances1 for the commission of       
crime1 just as the reading of accounts  
of suicide sometimes leads to  the act  
itself4    ,some of the best minds in   
our country1 and in the world1 are now  
employed in writing for the periodicals 
and magazines4 ,no one can be  well     
informed without reading something of   
the vast amount of matter  which is thus
 poured out before him4 ,i have not     
named the newspapers  nor the magazines 

which you may read with the most profit2
 but your  teachers can advise you what 
to read4 ,rather is it important for you
 to  know what not to read4 ,many of the
 most popular and the most useful  books
 that have been published within the    
last quarter of a century  have appeared
 first in the pages of a weekly or      
monthly paper4 ,the best  thoughts of   
the best thinkers sometimes first see   
the light in such  pages4    ,besides   
the newspaper and the literary magazine1
 there are scientific  periodicals1     
which are of essential value to a worker
 who wishes  to be well informed in any 
of the mechanical arts4 ,the ,scientific
  ,american is1 perhaps1 the best of    
this class1 both in the beauty of  its  
illustrations and in the high quality of
 its contributions4 ,the  ,popular      
,science ,monthly is a periodical of a  
wider range and more  diversified       
character4 ,these periodicals1 if you   
are not able to  subscribe for them as  
individuals or in clubs1 you may find in

 the  public library4 ,but let me urge  
you to turn away from 8dime novels40    
,not because they are cheap1 but because
 they are often unwholesome  and        
immoral4 ,the vile1 fiery1 poisonous    
whiskey which so many wretched          
creatures drink until the coatings of   
the stomach are destroyed1 and  the     
brain is on fire1 is no more fatal to   
the health and life1 than  is the       
immoral literature ,i speak of1 to the  
mind and soul of him who  reads4 ,there 
is an abundance of good literature that 
is cheapdo not  read the bad4    ,having
 now spoken of the education you may get
 in the schools1 and that  which you may
 acquire for yourselves1 if you have the
 pluck to strive  for it1 either in the 
society which you cultivate1 or more    
directly  from books1 whether read as an
 entertainment and recreation1 or1      
better still1 by careful study2 or      
through the daily newspaper1 or the     
periodical1 whether literary or         
scientific2 or1 what is best of all1    

that which is decidedly religious2 ,i   
turn now to the education which  you    
will acquire when you work day by day at
 your trade or business4    ,let me beg 
of you to consider the great value of   
truthfulness in all  your training4     
,hardly anything will help you more to  
reach up towards  the top4 ,and when you
 are at the head of an establishment of 
your  own or somebody else's 7and ,i    
take it for granted you will be at the  
head some day71 whether it be a workshop
 or factory of any kind1 or  a store1 no
 matter what1 a fixed habit of keeping  
your word1 of not  promising unless you 
are certain of keeping your promise1    
will almost  insure your success if you 
are a good workman4 ,how many good      
mechanics  have utterly failed of       
success because they have not cared to  
keep  their promises8 ,a firm of high   
reputation agrees to supply certain     
articles of furniture at a time fixed by
 them4 ,the time comes but the  articles
 do not come4 ,a call of inquiry is made

 and new promises are  made only to be  
broken4 ,excuses are offered and more   
promises given2  then incomplete        
articles are sent2 then more delays1    
until1 when  patience is nearly         
exhausted1 the work is finished4 ,then  
comes the bill  and there is a mistake  
in it4 ,the whole transaction is a      
series of  disappointments and          
misunderstandings4 ,will you ever       
incline to go to  that place again8     
,it is usual for miners of coal to place
 their sons1 as they become ten  or     
twelve years of age1 at the foot of the 
great breakers to watch  the coal as it 
comes rattling and broken down the great
 wire screens1  and catch the pieces of 
slate and throw them to one side and    
allow  only the pure coal to pass down  
into the huge bins1 from which it is    
dropped into the cars and taken to      
market4 ,to an uneducated eye there  is 
hardly any perceptible difference       
between the coal and the slate4  ,but   
these little fellows soon become so     

quick in the education of the  eye1 that
 they can tell in an instant the        
difference4 ,when the boy  grows older  
he graduates to the place of a mule     
driver1 and has his car  and mule1 which
 he drives day by day from the mouth of 
the mine to the  breaker4 ,then when he 
begins to be of age he fixes his little 
oil lamp  in the front of his cap1 and  
goes down into the mines with his pick  
and becomes a miner of coal4 ,it seems a
 dreary life to spend most of  one's    
time under the ground1 shut out from the
 sunshine and from the  pure air4 ,and  
most of these men having no education1  
and never having  been urged to seek    
one1 are content to spend all their days
 in this  manner4 ,but occasionally     
there is one who feels that he is       
capable of  better things than this4    
,and ,i know one at least1 who began his
 work  at the foot of a coal breaker and
 worked his way up through all these    
stages1 as ,i have told you1 and who    
determined to do something better  for  

himself4 ,so he gave much of his leisure
 7and everybody has some  leisure7 to   
study2 nor was he discouraged by the    
difficulties in his  way4 ,he           
persevered4 ,he rose to be a boss among 
the men2 then having  saved some money1 
instead of wasting it at the tavern1 he 
bought his  teams1 and then bought an   
interest in a coal mine1 and became a   
miner  of his own coal1 and had his men 
under him1 and has grown to be a rich   
man1 and is not ashamed of his small    
beginnings nor of his hard work4  ,this 
is only one instance of success in      
rising from a low position to a  high   
one4    ,the same thing is going on all 
around us and we see it every day4 ,it  
would hardly be proper to give you      
names1 but ,i could tell you of many    
within my own knowledge who1 from       
positions of extremely hard labor and   
plain living1 have risen to be the head 
men in shops and other places  which    
they entered at the lowest places4 ,such
 changes are continually  occurring4    

,and there is no reason whatever1 except
 your indifference1  to prevent many of 
you from becoming1 if ,god gives you    
health1 the  head men1 in the places    
where you begin work as subordinates or 
in  very low positions4 ,and ,i tell you
 what you know already1 that there  is  
plenty of room for advancement4 ,it is  
the lowest places that are  full to     
overflowing4 ,who ever heard of a strike
 among the chiefs of  any industry8 ,no1
 indeed4 ,they have made themselves     
indispensable to  their employers and   
they don't need to strike4 ,and there is
 hardly a  youth who cannot by strict   
attention to business1 and conscientious
  devotion to the interests of his      
employer1 make himself so invaluable    
that he need not join any trades union  
for protection4 ,do the vast  army of   
clerks in the various corporations1 or  
in the great commercial  houses1 or in  
the public service1 or in the army and  
navydo these  people ever band          
themselves in any associations like the 

trades unions8  ,they know better than  
that2 they accomplish their purposes in 
better  ways4 ,if the working classes1  
so called1 were better educated1 they   
would not suffer themselves to be led by
 the nose by people who will  not       
themselves work1 who will not touch even
 with their little fingers  the burdens 
which are crushing the life out of the  
deluded ones whom  they are leading to  
folly4 ,it is a true education that is  
needed1 a  true conscience that must be 
cultivated1 to enable men to do their   
own  thinking1 and to determine for     
themselves what are their best          
interests4    ,i urge you all to seek   
that higher and better education which  
will make  you true men4 ,you have now  
the great advantage of the education of 
the  school4 ,i have tried very simply1 
but not the less earnestly1 to show  you
 how you can fit yourselves for high    
places4 ,it is for you to say  whether  
you will avail yourselves of these plain
 hints4 ,no earthly  power can force you

 to do that which you will not do4 ,you 
may lead a  horse to a brimming fountain
 of water1 but if he is not thirsty1 no 
coaxing nor threatening nor beating can 
make him drink4 ,i may show you1  to    
demonstration1 the abundant fountain of 
learning1 but ,i can't make  you drink1 
or even stoop to taste the stream1 if   
you are not thirsty4  ,i can't make you 
study1 however great the advantage to   
you1 or however  much they who are      
interested in you desire that you       
should4    ,every year this question    
which ,i have been pressing upon you    
becomes  more and more important4 ,the  
great colleges of the country are       
graduating their thousands of students1 
many of whom will compete  with you for 
the high places in the mechanic arts4   
,so are the public  schools of the      
country sending out hundreds of         
thousands1 many of them  having the same
 aim4 ,technical schools1 teaching the  
mechanic arts1 are  multiplying4 ,great 
changes have been made recently in our  

own city in  this respect4 ,the ,spring 
,garden ,institute is doing a noble work
 in this  way4 ,our own college is      
moving in the same direction1 and soon  
it will  be sending out its hundreds    
every year to compete for places in the 
shops1 with this great advantage1 that  
you ,girard boys have a school          
educationthe best that you are able to  
receive1 and you must not let  any      
others go ahead of you4    ,look at the 
poor1 ignorant people from abroad who   
sweep our  streetslook at the stevedores
 who load and unload the shipslook at   
the men who carry the hod of mortar or  
bricks up the high and steep            
ladderslook at the drivers and the      
conductors on our street cars1  the most
 hard worked people among usand are you 
not sure that most  of these people are 
uneducated8 ,no one wants to be at the  
bottom all  the time4 ,we may have been 
there at the first2 but those who have  
made  the most progress are generally   
those who have had the best education4  

,i know that education is not a sure    
guarantee of success2 many other  things
 enter into the consideration of the    
question2 but ,i am saying  that1 other 
things being equal1 he who knows the    
most will do the  best4 ,there are1     
alas1 many instances of the sons of the 
rich1 who  have been well educated1 who 
have everything provided for them1 who  
have no stimulus1 no spur2 who have no  
regular occupation1 and need not  have  
any2 many of whom sink into idleness and
 dissipation1 and their  fine education 
goes for nothing4 ,but you are not of   
this class4 ,you  will have to make your
 way in the world by your own exertions4
    ,i shall fail of my duty if ,i do   
not say some words about such boys  as  
sometimes stand at the corners of the   
streets in large or small  companies and
 amuse themselves by smoking and chewing
 tobacco1 telling  bad stories and      
making remarks upon those who pass by4  
,i am sure much  of this arises from    
thoughtlessness2 but ,i wish to point   

out the  exceeding impropriety of this  
behavior4 ,i have known ladies to cross 
the street and1 at much inconvenience1  
go quite out of their way rather  than  
pass within hearing of these boys and   
young men4 ,what right has  any one to  
make the streets disagreeable to any    
passenger1 to block  up the way or make 
loose or rude remarks1 or defile the    
pavement over  which ,i walk8    ,all   
this most serious waste of time is      
probably because no one has             
particularly called attention to it4    
,the time may come when you will  recall
 the words of advice which you hear     
to-day1 and you may regret  when it is  
too late that you turned a deaf ear to  
what was said4    ,i have now tried1 in 
as much detail as the time will permit1 
to show  the importance of that         
education which will enable you to rise 
in  your trade or business1 whatever it 
may be1 to the upper places2 and  ,i    
have tried to show that a true ambition 
leads one to strive to be  chief rather 

than a subordinate1 to be a foreman     
rather than a  journeyman4    ,but1     
after all1 everything will depend upon  
yourselves and upon ,god4  ,there is no 
royal road to education2 the very       
meaning of the word shows  this2 the    
mind must be drawn out1 worked over1    
developed1 rounded1  hammered1 somewhat 
as a blacksmith puts a piece of rough   
iron in the  coals1 keeps it there until
 it is red-hot1 then draws it out1 lays 
it  upon his anvil and hammers it1      
turning it over and over1 striking it   
first on this side and then on that1    
rounding it off2 then when it  cools    
thrusting it among the coals again1 then
 hammering away again  until he has     
brought the rough piece of iron to the  
size and shape  he wishes1 when he      
allows it to cool and harden4 ,if you   
are willing  to work your mind into the 
shape you want it1 you will surely bring
  yourself to the front among active1   
ingenious and successful men4 ,but  this
 means hard work1 and work all the time4

    ,now if you mean to avail yourselves
 of any of the hints which ,i have      
given you1 if you really mean to        
succeed1 if you are not content to be   
workers low down in the scale of        
industry1 if you mean to rise rather    
than to be obscure1 if you intend to be 
well-to-do men1 instead of  living from 
hand to mouth1 you must grapple with the
 subject with all  your might and keep  
at it all the time4 ,and you must keep  
out of the  streets at night1 away from 
the taverns and from the low theatres1  
and  from gambling dens1 and from other 
places which ,i will not name2 and1  in 
short1 you must be true ,americans1 for 
there is no truer type of  manhood in   
all the world than a real ,american2 and
 nowhere else in all  the world has a   
poor boy so good an opportunity to be   
and do all this1  as in our own good    
city of ,philadelphia4                  
,,william ,,penn4                       
,october #bb1 #ahhb4      ,in the early 
autumn of the year #afhb1 a vessel with 

her bow pointing  towards the west was  
making her way slowly across the        
,atlantic  ocean4 ,she was a small      
craft1 rigged as a ship1 and crowded    
with  emigrants4 ,the discomforts of a  
long and tiresome voyage1 the very      
small accommodations1 the horror of     
sea-sickness1 were in this vessel       
aggravated by the breaking out of that  
most awful of all scourges1  the        
small-pox4 ,in a very short time1 out of
 a population of one  hundred1 thirty   
passengers died4 ,no record is left of  
the incidents  of that voyage except    
this2 but it is easy to imagine that all
 the  circumstances were as deplorable  
as they could well be4    ,after a weary
 time of head winds and calms1 in about 
seven weeks1 this  ship1 the 8,welcome10
 came within the capes of the ,delaware 
bay4    ,the most distinguished person  
on that little ship was ,william ,penn4 
,he had left his home in ,england1      
embarking with his trusty friends in  a 
vessel only one-tenth the size of the   

ships of our ,american ,line1  to come  
to ,pennsylvania4 ,he had bought the    
whole province from the  government of  
,england for the sum of #af1jjj         
sterling1 which1 measured  by our money1
 is about #hj1jjj1 and this money was   
due to him for  services rendered and   
money loaned to the government by his   
father1 an  admiral in the ,english     
navy4    ,about the #bdth of ,october   
the vessel reached the town of          
,newcastle1  where ,penn landed and was 
cordially received by the people of that
  little village4 ,afterwards they came 
farther up the river to ,uplands1  now  
the town or city of ,chester4 ,then1    
leaving the vessel here1 they  came in a
 barge 7,penn and some of his principal 
men7 to the mouth of  ,dock creek1 the  
foot of what is now known as ,dock      
street1 where they  landed1 near a      
little tavern called the ,blue ,anchor4 
,there was already a settlement on the  
shore of the ,delaware river1 and  the  
people1 mostly ,swedes1 had built a     

little church somewhat farther  down the
 stream4 ,the entire land between the   
,delaware and ,schuylkill  rivers1 and  
for a mile north and south1 was owned by
 three brothers1  ,swedes1 named ,swen4 
,penn bought this tract from them1 and  
at once  proceeded to lay out his new   
city4 ,when he bought the whole province
  from the crown he desired to call it  
,new-,wales1 because it was so  hilly1  
but the king insisted on calling it     
,penn's ,sylvania1 in memory  of the    
admiral1 ,william's father4 ,but when   
the new city came to be  named1 ,penn   
having no one to dispute his wish1      
called it by that word1  of whose       
meaning we think so little1             
,philadelphiabrotherly love4 ,two       
months after this he met the ,indians1  
it is said1 under a great elm  tree in  
the upper part of the city1 in what we  
now call ,kensington1  and concluded    
that treaty which has been said to be   
the only treaty  that was ever made     
without an oath1 and that was never     

broken4 ,shortly  after this ,penn      
proceeded to lay out the city1 and1 as a
 distinguished  ,english author has     
said1 he must have taken the ancient    
,babylon for his  model1 for this was   
the first modern city that was laid out 
with the  streets crossing each other at
 right angles4    ,the charter which    
,penn received from ,charles the        
,second1 ,king of  ,england 7the        
original of which is in the capital at  
,harrisburg1 on  three large sheets of  
parchment71 makes him proprietary and   
governor1  also holding his authority   
under the crown4 ,he at once therefore  
set  about making a code of laws as     
special statutes1 which with the common 
law of ,england should be the laws of   
the province4 ,one of these special     
laws was this3 8,every one1 rich or     
poor1 was to learn a useful trade or    
occupation2 the poor to live on it3 the 
rich to resort to it if they  should    
become poor40 ,and ,i do not know what  
better law he could have  enacted4      

,when the news of ,penn's arrival and   
cordial reception reached ,england  and 
the continent of ,europe1 the effect was
 to arouse a spirit of  emigration4     
,although ,penn's first thought and     
purpose was to found  a colony1 where he
 and others who held the religious views
 of the  ,society of ,friends might     
worship without hindrance 7which liberty
  was denied them in ,england71 the     
people from other countries in  ,europe 
came here in great numbers for other    
purposes4 ,the population  therefore    
multiplied rapidly1 and the people were 
generally such as had  determined to    
brave the privations of a new country1  
to make themselves  a home where life   
could be lived under better conditions  
than in the  old countries1 under the   
harsh government of tyrannical kings4   
,this  emigration was stimulated also by
 the very liberal terms which the       
governor offered to new-comers2 for to  
actual settlers he offered the  land at 
about ten dollars for a hundred acres1  

subject1 however1 to  a quit-rent of a  
quarter of a dollar an acre per annum   
forever2 and  this may be the origin of 
that ground-rent instrument which is    
almost  peculiar to ,pennsylvania1 and  
which is such a favorite investment for 
our rich men4    ,after a stay of two   
years ,penn returned to ,england1 where 
he had left  his wife and children2 the 
care of the government having been left 
with  a council1 of which ,thomas ,lloyd
 was president1 who kept the great seal4
    ,not long after his return to       
,england the king1 ,charles the ,second1
  died1 and having no son he was        
succeeded by his brother1 ,james ,duke  
of  ,york1 as ,james the ,second4       
,although ,penn was on the most cordial 
terms  with the new king1 as he had been
 with ,charles1 this did not secure him 
from the repeated annoyances and        
persecutions of those who detested his  
religion4 ,so severe was the treatment  
to which he was subjected1 and  such was
 his personal danger from unprincipled  

men1 that he escaped to  ,france4 ,but  
not being able nor willing to bear this 
exile1 he returned  to ,england1 was    
tried for his offence against the law of
 the church and  was acquitted4 ,after  
this he came to ,america again1         
intending to spend  the rest of his life
 here1 but he remained only two years4  
,the rest of his life was spent in      
,england1 but it was a life broken by   
persecutions and trials at law and other
 annoyances1 the expenses of  which1    
added to the losses by the              
unfaithfulness of his stewards1 were  so
 great as seriously to involve him in   
financial embarrassments2 and  he was   
even compelled to mortgage his great    
estate in ,pennsylvania to  relieve     
himself2 but the interest annually      
payable on such encumbrance  was so     
heavy that he felt the necessity of     
relieving himself of the  property      
entirely1 and he offered to sell it to  
the crown4 ,while the  matter was under 
consideration1 his health began to      

decline2 however1  the terms were agreed
 upon1 but while the papers were in the 
course of  preparation he died          
peacefully at ,rushcombe1 in            
,buckinghamshire1 ,july  #cj1 #agah1 and
 was buried five days after in the      
burial ground belonging  to ,jordan's   
meeting house4    ,such is the briefest 
outline of the life of the founder of   
this  commonwealth of ,pennsylvania1 and
 of this city of ,philadelphia4    ,let 
us see now what there was in this life  
which we may find it  interesting to    
recall and dwell upon2 what there was in
 it which may be  useful for us to      
consider in its application to          
ourselves4    ,william ,penn was born in
 the city of ,london on the #adth of    
,october1  #afdd1 in the parish of ,st4 
,catharine's1 near the ,tower4 ,his     
father  was an admiral and his          
grandfather was a captain in the        
,english navy4  ,then1 as now1 it was   
the custom of ,english families of good 
condition  to send their boys away from 

home to school4 ,this boy1 an only son1 
was  therefore sent to school near the  
town of ,wanstead1 in ,essex1 called    
,chigwell4 ,here he remained until he   
was thirteen years old1 with no         
incident particularly worthy of notice1 
except that he was1 at the age  of      
twelve1 brought under deep religious    
impressions1 which1 however1  like many 
other boys1 he soon threw aside4 ,he    
seems to have been apt to  learn1 and   
was fond of the childish sports         
belonging to his age4 ,for  two years   
after leaving school1 he was under      
private instruction at  home1 until he  
was fifteen years old1 when he entered  
the ,university  of ,oxford4 ,here he   
devoted himself most diligently to his  
studies  and became a successful        
student4 ,but this did not prevent him  
from  entering most heartily into the   
sports which were common to young  men  
of his quality4 ,he was very fond of    
boating1 fishing1 shooting1  and other  
pleasures1 and he was extremely         

handsome2 but he avoided  dissipation of
 all kinds1 thus proving that the       
keenest enjoyment of  healthful sports  
is quite consistent with a pure life4   
,if the college  students of this day   
would believe and act upon this         
principle1 it  would be better for them 
and better for the world4    ,with this 
hearty enjoyment of sports1 and this    
diligent application to  study1 he had a
 very tender sympathy and love for      
domestic animals4  ,towards those that  
were the most helpless1 he evinced a    
kindliness that  was almost womanly4    
,but he had a strong will1 and it was   
impossible to turn him aside  from a    
course of duty1 when he was satisfied   
that it was real duty4  ,during his     
school and college life there were many 
seasons of religious  interest in his   
experience1 and he was at last brought  
7under the  preaching of a member of the
 ,society of ,friends named ,thomas     
,loe7 to  declare himself a member of   
that society4 ,he therefore refused to  

attend the services of the ,church of   
,england4 ,the custom of wearing        
surplices by ,oxford students1 which had
 been abolished in ,cromwell's  time1   
had been restored by ,charles2 but      
,penn1 when he came out as a  religious 
man1 threw off his surplice and refused 
to wear it4 ,this  act was bad enough in
 the eyes of the authorities2 but his   
zeal went  further than this1 and1 in   
common with some others of the same way 
of  thinking1 he so far forgot himself  
as to attack other students and tear    
off their surplices4 ,this very grave   
offence could not be overlooked1  and1  
admiral's son though he was1 he was     
expelled from the ,university  of       
,oxford4 ,this was a great blow to his  
father1 who was building  the fondest   
hopes on the advancement of his son at  
college and his  career as a courtier4  
,no persuasion1 however1 could induce   
the son to  reconsider his conduct1 and 
his father at last flogged him and drove
  him from the house4 ,some time after  

this1 through the intercession of  the  
mother1 the young man was brought back  
to his home2 and his father1  in the    
hope that a change of scene and         
circumstances would work a  change in   
the lad's feelings1 sent him to ,paris1 
and to travel on the  continent4        
,while in ,paris he studied the ,french 
language1 and read some books in        
theology1 and went as far as ,turin1 in 
,italy1 from whence1 however1 he  was   
recalled to take charge of a part of his
 father's affairs4 ,he then  studied law
 for a year1 which no doubt was of some 
help to him in the  founding of his     
commonwealth4 ,then his father sent him 
to take care of  his estates in         
,ireland1 at that time under the        
vice-royalty of the ,duke  of ,ormond4  
,he entered the army here1 and did good 
service too2 and was1  apparently1 so   
much pleased with his new life that he  
suffered the only  portrait of him that 
was ever painted1 to be taken when he   
was wearing  armor and in uniform4 ,this

 picture1 or a copy of it1 may now be   
seen at  the ,historical ,society of    
,pennsylvania1 in ,spruce street1 above 
,eighth4    ,about this time he came    
again under the influence of the        
preacher ,loe1  and was recalled by his 
father1 who remonstrated with him on his
 new  mode of life1 but with no success 
whatever4 ,he would not give up his  new
 religion4 ,his father tried to         
compromise the matter with him1 and  he 
even went so far as to propose to his   
son1 that if he would remove  his hat in
 the presence of the king and the ,duke 
of ,york and his  father1 as his        
superiors1 their differences might be   
healed2 but the  son1 believing that the
 removal of his hat would be            
dishonorable to  ,god1 absolutely       
refused4    ,his life for some time     
after this was stormy enough4 ,he came  
out boldly  and in defiance of law as a 
preacher of the ,society of ,friends2   
and was  repeatedly imprisoned1         
sometimes in the ,tower of ,london and  

sometimes  in the loathsome prison of   
,newgate1 from which places he was      
released  by the intercession of the    
,duke of ,york and his father and other 
friends4    ,those were very rough      
times1 not likely1 let us hope1 to be   
repeated4  ,society was very corrupt at 
the highest sources1 and religion was   
more  violent and aggressive in its     
measures then than now4 ,the world has  
grown wiser and betterthere is more     
toleration1 more of the ,spirit  of the 
,master now than then1 and in our       
favored land every soul can  worship    
,god as he may choose to do4    ,william
 ,penn was a statesman4 ,he founded this
 great commonwealth of  ,pennsylvania4  
,he established a code of laws that were
 in advance of  his time4 ,he stipulated
 that the law of primogeniture1 that law
 which  gives the lands of the father to
 the oldest son1 with little or no      
provision for younger sons1 that law    
which is the corner-stone of the  crown 
of ,england1 should have no place in    

this new commonwealth4 ,the  property of
 a parent dying without a will should be
 equally divided  among his children4   
,penn was a statesman in the broadest   
sense of the  term4 ,his laws were for  
the greatest good of the greatest       
number4 ,he  treated the ,indians as if 
they were human beings1 and not as if   
they  were brute beasts4 ,indeed1 he    
never treated the brutes as the ,indians
  have been treated even in our day by  
harsh and unscrupulous agents of  the   
government4 ,whether he was exactly just
 in his dealings with ,lord  ,baltimore1
 the settler of ,maryland1 ,i do not    
know4 ,perhaps he was not4  ,we know    
this misunderstanding gave him great    
trouble1 and was indeed  the prime cause
 of his return to ,england4    ,penn was
 a rich man4 ,the inheritance left him  
by his father was  handsome1 and he     
could have lived most comfortably upon  
it4 ,but when  he received from the     
crown the charter which made him the    
owner of  ,pennsylvania1 he was the     

largest landholder1 except sovereigns1  
known  in history4 ,he did not use his  
wealth for personal indulgence1 or for  
luxurious living for himself or his     
family4 ,he believed that he held  his  
property as a trustee1 and that he had  
no right to waste it4 ,he  might have   
lived the life of an ordinary ,english  
nobleman 7for it is  said his father was
 offered a peerage71 but such a life had
 no charms  for him4    ,penn was a     
conscientious man4 ,i mean by this that 
he followed his  inner convictions1     
without regard to consequences4 ,what he
 wanted to  know was1 whether a given   
thing was right and according to his way
  of determining what the right was2 and
 he did it if it were a duty1  without  
flinching4 ,no personal inconvenience1  
no consideration for the  views or      
wishes of other people1 was allowed to  
stand in the way of his  duty1 as he    
understood it4 ,it was the custom of    
that time for gentlemen  to wear swords1
 as some gentlemen now carry canes1 and 

with no purpose  except as an ornament  
or part of the dress4 ,some time after  
he joined  the ,society of ,friends1 and
 while still wearing his sword1 he said 
to  his friend ,george ,fox1 8,is it    
consistent with our principles and our  
testimonies against war for me to wear  
my sword80 ,when ,fox replied1  8,wear  
thy sword as usual1 so long as thy      
conscience will permit it40  ,this      
friendly rebuke led him to lay aside his
 sword never to resume it4    ,william  
,penn was a religious man4 ,he was      
called by the ,holy ,spirit  at the     
early age of twelve years1 as ,i have   
already said4 ,he resisted  that call   
and many others1 until under faithful   
preaching he could  resist no longer1   
when he yielded himself to the divine   
call and became  an open professor of   
the principles of the ,society of       
,friends4 ,this  was a very different   
thing1 so far as personal comfort was   
concerned1  from professing religion in 
the ordinary forms2 for this was to join

  a hated sect1 and bear all the        
contempt and persecution that belonged  
to a profession of religion in the early
 days of ,christianity1 when  men1 women
 and children perilled their lives in   
the service of the  great ,master4 ,but 
,penn cared not for the cost2 he was    
ready to go to  prison1 and to death if 
necessary1 for his opinions4 ,he did go 
to  prison over and over again1 and bore
 right manfully all that was put  upon  
him4 ,he was not idle1 however1 in the  
prison4 ,he preached to  his            
fellow-prisoners2 he wrote pamphlets2 he
 did everything in his  power to make   
known to others the good tidings of     
salvation that had  come to him4 ,he    
wrote a great many letters1 and they    
were all full  of the spirit of         
religion4 ,he wrote treatises on        
religious truth1  that might have been  
written by a systematic theologian2 but 
among  the most practical things he     
wrote was the address to his children1  
that it would be well if all people     

would read1 and which1 with a few       
exceptions1 is as appropriate for the   
people of to-day as it was for  those   
who lived two hundred years ago4    ,if 
,penn had not been a religious man1 his 
life had not been worth  recording4 ,he 
would have lived the life that was lived
 by almost all  men of his class at that
 time1 a life of unrestrained           
worldliness and  luxury4 ,the ,almighty1
 who had great purposes in store for the
 ,new  ,world1 to be wrought out by the 
instrumentality of man1 could have      
chosen another man1 but he chose ,penn4 
,such is the story of the life of a man 
who was one of the world's  heroes4 ,his
 name will never die4 ,there is a large 
literature on the  subject of his life1 
some of which you will find in your own 
library1  if you choose to look further 
into it4 ,this is all that ,i feel it   
proper to say to you to-day about it4   
,boys1 it is a great thing to have been 
born in ,pennsylvania1 as all  of you   
were4 ,and this could hardly be said of 

any other congregation  in this city    
to-day4 ,this is a great commonwealth4  
,as to its size1 it  is 7leaving out    
,wales7 nearly as large as the whole of 
,england4 ,as to  great rivers and      
mountains and mines and metals1 as to   
forests and  fields1 we are far in      
advance of anything of the kind in      
,england4 ,no  valleys on earth are more
 beautiful or more productive than the  
valleys  of our own ,pennsylvania4      
,it is a great thing1 boys1 to have been
 born in the city of  ,philadelphia1 as 
most of you were4 ,it was founded by a  
great and good  man4 ,there are1 in the 
civilized world1 but three cities that  
are  larger than ours4 ,there is no     
city1 except ,london1 that has so many  
dwelling-houses1 and there is none      
anywhere in all the world where the     
poor man who works for his living can   
live so happily and so well4    ,in this
 ,state1 in this city1 your lot is cast4
 ,you will soon many of  you take your  
place among the citizens1 and have your 

share in choosing  the men who make and 
execute the laws4 ,some of you will be  
the men  who make and execute the laws4 
,william ,penn founded this             
commonwealth1  not only to provide a    
peaceable home for the persecuted       
members of his  own society1 but to     
afford an asylum for the good and       
oppressed of  every nation2 and he      
founded an empire where the pure and    
peaceable  principles of ,christianity  
might be carried out in practice4 ,when 
you  come to take your part in the      
duties of public life1 see to it that   
you  forget not his wise and noble      
purpose4                                
,,our ,,constitution4                   
,october1 #ahhg4      ,i am about to do 
what ,i have never donewhat has probably
 never been  done by any other person in
 this chapel4 ,i propose to give you a  
political speech1 but not a partisan    
speech2 indeed1 ,i hardly think you     
will be able to guess1 from anything ,i 
say1 to which of the two great          

political parties ,i belong4    ,i do   
not go to the ,bible for a textthough   
there are many passages in  the holy    
,scriptures which would answer my       
purpose very wellbut ,i take  for my    
text the following passage from the will
 of ,mr4 ,girard3    8,,and ,,especially
 ,i ,,desire ,,that ,,by ,,every        
,,proper ,,means1 ,a ,,pure ,,attachment
  ,,to ,,our ,,republican               
,,institutions1 ,,and ,,to ,,the        
,,sacred ,,rights ,,of ,,conscience     
,,as ,,guaranteed ,,by ,,our ,,happy    
,,constitutions1 ,,shall ,,be ,,formed  
,,and ,,fostered  ,,in ,,the ,,minds    
,,of ,,the ,,scholars40    ,a few weeks 
ago our city was filled to overflowing  
with strangers4  ,they came from all    
parts of the land1 and some from distant
 parts of  the world4 ,our railways and 
steamboats were crowded to their utmost 
capacity4 ,our streets were thronged2   
our hotels and many private  dwellings  
were full4 ,it was said that there were 
half a million of  strangers here4 ,the 

,president of the ,united ,states1 the  
members  of the ,cabinet1 many members  
of the national ,senate and ,house of   
,representatives1 the general of the    
army and many other generals1 the       
highest navy officers1 judges of the    
,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states  
and of the ,state courts1 the governors 
of most of the ,stateseach  with his    
staffsoldiers and sailors of the ,united
 ,states1 and many  regiments of ,state 
troops 7the ,girard ,college cadets     
among them7a  military and naval display
 of twenty-five thousand                
menrepresentatives  of foreign states1  
an exhibition of the industrial and     
mechanic arts1  in a procession miles in
 extent1 such as was never seen in all  
the  world before2 receptions and       
banquets1 public and private2 a general 
suspension of most kinds of businessall 
this occurred in the streets  of our    
city1 only a few weeks ago4 ,what did it
 mean8    ,it was the ,one ,hundredth   
,anniversary of the adoption of the     

,constitution of the ,united ,states1   
and it was considered to be an  event of
 such importance that it was well worth 
while to pause in our  daily work2 to   
give holiday to our schools2 to still   
the busy hum  of industry2 to stop the  
wheels of commerce2 to close our places 
of  business4    ,one hundred years ago 
the ,constitution of the ,united ,states
 of ,america  was adopted in this city4 
,what had been our government before    
this time8 ,up to ,july1 #aggf1 there   
had been thirteen colonies1 all under   
the government of ,great ,britain4  ,in 
the lapse of time1 the people of these  
colonies1 owing allegiance to  the king 
of ,england1 and subjected to certain   
taxes which they had no  voice in       
considering and imposing1 because they  
had no representation  in the           
,parliament which laid the taxes1 became
 discontented and  rebellious1 and in a 
convention which sat in our own city of 
,philadelphia1 on the #dth of ,july1    
#aggf1 they united in a ,,declaration   

,,of  ,,independence of ,great ,britain1
 and announced the thirteen colonies as 
,free1 ,sovereign and ,independent      
,states4    ,this1 however1 was only a  
,,declaration2 and it took seven long   
years of  exhausting and terrible war   
7which would have been longer still but 
for  the timely aid of the ,french      
nation7 to secure that independence and 
have it acknowledged by the governments 
of ,europe4    ,before the              
,,declaration1 each of the colonies had 
a ,state government and  a written      
constitution for the regulation of its  
internal affairs4 ,now  these colonies  
had become ,states1 with the necessity  
upon them 7not at  first admitted by    
all7 of a general compact or agreement1 
by which the  ,states1 while maintaining
 their independence in many things1     
should  become a confederated or general
 government4    ,more than a year passed
 before the ,constitution1 which the    
,convention  agreed upon1 was adopted by
 a sufficient number of the ,states to  

make  it binding on all the thirteen2   
and ,i am glad to know and to say that  
my own little ,state of ,delaware was   
the first to adopt it4    ,now1 ,,what  
,,is ,,the ,,constitution8 ,how does it 
differ from the laws which  the         
,congress enacts every winter in        
,washington8    ,first1 let me speak of 
other nations4 ,there are two kinds of  
government  in the worldmonarchical and 
republican4 ,and there are two kinds of 
monarchiesabsolute and limited4 ,an     
absolute monarch1 whether he be  called 
emperor or king1 rules by his personal  
will,,his ,,will ,,is ,,the  ,,law4 ,one
 of the most perfect illustrations of   
absolute or personal  government is seen
 on board any ship1 where the will of   
the chief  officer1 whether admiral or  
captain1 or whatever his rank1 is1 and  
must  be1 the law4 ,from his orders1 his
 decisions1 there is no appeal until    
the ship reaches the shore1 when he     
himself comes under the law4 ,this  is a
 very ancient form of government1 now   

known in very few countries  calling    
themselves civilized4    ,the other kind
 of monarchy is limited by a            
constitution1 unwritten1  as in ,great  
,britain1 or written1 as in some other  
nations of ,europe4  ,in these countries
 the sovereigns are under a             
constitution2 in some  instances with   
hardly as much power as our ,president4 
,they are not a  law unto themselves1   
but are under the common law4    ,the   
other kind of government is republican1 
democratic or representative4  ,it is1  
as was happily said on the field of     
,gettysburg1 long after the  battle1 by 
,president ,lincoln1 8a government of   
the people1 by the  people1 for the     
people40 ,these few plain words are well
 worth  remembering8of10 8by10 8for0 the
 people4 ,these are the traits which    
distinguish our government from all     
kinds of monarchies1 whether  absolute  
or limited1 hereditary or elective4     
,after the war between ,germany and     
,france1 in #ahgj1 the ,german kingdoms 

of ,prussia1 ,hanover1 ,saxony1         
,wurtemberg1 ,bavaria1 with certain     
small  principalities1 each with its    
hereditary sovereign1 were consolidated 
or confederated as the ,german empire1  
and the king of ,prussia1 the  present  
,frederick ,william1 was crowned emperor
 of ,germany4    ,france1 however1 after
 that war1 having had enough of kings   
and  emperors1 adopted the republican   
form of government4 ,so that now there  
are three republics in ,europe1 viz43   
,france1 ,switzerland1 and a little     
territory on the east coast of ,italy1  
,san ,marino4    ,so that almost all of 
,europe1 all of ,asia1 and all of       
,africa 7except  ,liberia71 and the     
islands of ,australia1 and the northern 
part of ,north  ,america 7except        
,alaska71 are under the government of   
monarchs2 while  the three countries of 
,europe already mentioned1 and our own  
country1  and ,mexico1 and the ,central 
,american ,states1 and all ,south       
,america  except ,brazil 7and some small

 parts of the coast of ,south ,america  
under  ,british rule71 are republics4,b 
,b ,one of our most distinguished       
citizens said some years ago that he    
believed the tendency of things was     
towards the ,english language1 the      
,christian religion1 and republican     
government for the human race4    ,now  
let us come back to our own government  
and see what is1 and whether  it is     
better than any form of monarchy2 and if
 so1 why4    ,what is the ,,constitution
 ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states8 ,the     
first clause in it  is the best answer  
,i can give3    8,,we1 ,,the ,,people   
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states1 in order  
to form a more perfect  union1 establish
 justice1 insure domestic tranquillity1 
provide for the  common defence1 promote
 the general welfare1 and secure the    
blessings  of liberty to ourselves and  
our posterity1 do ordain and establish  
this  ,constitution for the ,united     
,states of ,america40    ,then follow   
the articles and sections setting forth 

the principles  on which it was proposed
 to build up a nation in this western   
world4  ,the thirteen ,states each had  
its constitution and its laws1 but this 
instrument was intended to serve as the 
foundation of the general  government4  
,until these ,states had formed their   
constitutions1 there  was no republican 
government in the world except          
,switzerland and ,san  ,marino1 and     
these lived only on the sufferance of   
their powerful  monarchical neighbors4  
,all ,south ,america was under ,spanish 
rule1 and  ,mexico was a monarchy4      
,the great principle of a republic is   
that people have a right to  choose     
their own rulers1 and ought to do it4   
,the divine right of  hereditary        
monarchy we deny4 ,it is often said that
 the ,english  government is as free as 
ours2 but it is not quite true1 and will
  not be true until every citizen is    
permitted to vote for his rulers4       
,whether so much liberty is perfectly   
safe for all people is well open  to    

question2 but it is a ,,fact here1 and  
if people would only behave  themselves 
properly there would be no danger       
whatever in it4 ,and if  there ,,is     
danger here1 it comes not from          
native-born citizens trained  under our 
free institutions4 ,the sun does not    
shine on a broader1  fairer land than   
this2 and under that divine ,providence1
 without  whose gracious aid we could   
not have achieved and cannot maintain   
our  ,constitution1 we have nothing     
whatever to fear for the present or to  
dread in the future1 but the evil men   
among usthe ,anarchists and             
,socialists1 the scum and off-scouring  
of ,europewho1 with no fear of  ,god    
before their eyes1 so far forget the    
high aims of this government  and their 
own obligations to it as to seek to     
overthrow its very  foundations4    ,the
 highest and best types of monarchical  
governments are in ,europe1  and it is  
with such that we seek comparison when  
we insist that ours is  better4         

,monarchies are hereditary4 ,they       
descend from father to the oldest  son  
and to the oldest son of the oldest son 
where there are sons4  ,england has     
rejoiced in two female sovereigns at    
least1 ,elizabeth1 and  ,victoria1 the  
present sovereign2 but they came to the 
throne because  there was no son in     
either case to inherit4 ,the            
heir-apparent1 whatever  his character  
or want of character1 ,,must reign when 
the sovereign dies1  because1 as they   
say1 he rules by divine right4 ,we      
insist on electing  our ,president for a
 term of years1 and if we like him we   
give him  another term2 if we do not    
like him1 we drop him and try another4  
,i  wish the term of office of the      
,president were longer1 and that he     
could  serve only one term4 ,perhaps it 
will come to that2 and ,i think he would
  be a more independent1 a better       
official under this condition4    ,what 
is the difference between the           
,constitution and the laws8    ,the     

,constitution is the great charter under
 which1 and within which1  the laws are 
made4 ,no law that ,congress may pass is
 worth the paper it  is printed on if it
 is contrary to the ,constitution4 ,such
 laws have  been passed ignorantly1 and 
have died4    ,a very simple            
illustration is at hand4 ,the           
constitution of this ,college  is ,mr4  
,girard's will4 ,this is our charter4   
,the laws which the ,directors  make    
must be within the provisions of the    
will or they will not stand4  ,for      
instance1 the will directs that none but
 orphans can be admitted  here2 and the 
courts have decided that a child without
 a father is  an orphan4 ,the directors1
 therefore1 cannot admit the child who  
has  a father living4 ,the will says    
that only boys can be admitted2         
therefore no law that the ,directors can
 make will admit a girl4 ,nor  can the  
,directors make a law which will admit a
 colored boy2 nor a boy  under six nor  
over ten years of age2 nor a boy born   

anywhere except in  certain ,states of  
our country,pennsylvania1 ,new ,york and
 ,louisiana4 ,it  would be              
,,unconstitutional4 ,i think now you see
 the difference between  the            
,constitution and the laws4    ,now1    
again1 is our government better than a  
monarchy8 and why8    ,because the men  
of the present time make it1 and are not
 bound by the  traditions of far-off    
times4 ,there are improvements in the   
science of  government as in all other  
human inventions1 as the centuries come 
and go4 ,man is progressive2 he would   
not be worth caring for if he  were not4
 ,if the present age has not produced a 
higher and better  development in all   
essentials1 it is our own fault1 and is 
not because  men were perfect in the    
past or cannot be better in the present 
or in  the future4 ,therefore when our  
,constitution is believed not to meet   
the  requirements of the present day    
there is a way to amend it1 although    
that way is so hedged up that it cannot 

possibly be altered without  ample time 
for consideration4 ,as a matter of fact1
 the ,constitution has  been altered or 
amended fifteen times since its         
adoption2 and it will  be changed or    
amended as often as the needs of the    
people require it4    ,we believe our   
form of government to be better than any
 monarchy  because the people choose    
their own law-makers4 ,the ,congress is 
composed of two houses or chambers3 the 
members of the ,senate1 chosen  by the  
legislatures of the ,states1 two from   
each ,state1 to serve for  six years2   
the members of the ,house of            
,representatives 7chosen by the         
citizens71 who sit for two years only1  
unless re-elected4 ,the ,senate is      
supposed to be the more conservative    
body1 not easily moved by popular       
clamor2 while the ,representatives1     
chosen directly and recently by the     
voters1 are supposed to know the        
immediate wants of the people4 ,the     
thought of two houses grew probably from

 the two houses of the ,british         
parliament4    ,we cannot have an       
hereditary legislature like the ,house  
of ,lords in  the ,british parliament1  
whose members sit1 as the sovereign     
rules1 by  divine right1 as they say1   
and with the same result in some        
instances3  for the sovereign may be a  
mere figure-head1 or only the nominal   
ruler1  while the cabinet is the real   
government1 and the ,house of ,lords    
long  ago sunk far below the ,house of  
,commons in real influence4 ,there is no
  better reason for this than the fact  
that the people have nothing to do  with
 the ,house of ,lords and the sovereign1
 except to depose and scatter  them when
 they choose to rise in their power and 
assert themselves4    ,we can have no   
orders of nobility under our            
,constitution4 ,there can  be no        
privileged class4 ,all men are equal    
under the law4 ,i do not mean  that all 
persons are equal in all respects4      
,divine ,providence has  made us        

unequal4 ,some are endowed naturally    
with the highest mental  and physical   
gifts and distinctions2 some are strong 
and others weak4  ,this has always been 
so and always will be so4 ,some have    
inherited or  acquired riches1 while    
others have to labor diligently to make 
a bare  living4 ,some have inherited    
their high culture and gentle manners   
and  noble instincts1 which1 in a       
general sense1 we sometimes call        
culture2  and others have to acquire all
 this for themselvesand it is not very  
easy to get it4 ,so there is no such    
thing as absolute equality1 and  cannot 
be2 but before the law1 in the enjoyment
 of our rights and in  the undisturbed  
possession of what we have1 we are all  
equal1 as we  could not be under a      
monarchy4 ,here there is no legal bar to
 success2  all places are open to all4  
,there can be no law of primogeniture   
under our ,constitution4 ,by this  law1 
which still prevails in ,england1 the   
eldest son inherits the  titles and     

estates of the father1 while the younger
 sons and all the  daughters must be    
provided for in other ways4 ,some of the
 sons are put  in the church1 in the    
army or the navy1 or in the professions1
 such as  law and medicine2 but it is   
very rare indeed that any son of a noble
  house is willing to engage in any kind
 of business or trade1 for they  are not
 so well thought of if they become      
tradesmen4    ,there can be no state    
church1 no establishment1 under our     
,constitution4 ,in ,england the         
,episcopal ,church1 and in ,scotland the
  ,presbyterian ,church1 are established
 by law2 and until within the  last     
seventeen years the ,church of ,england 
was by law established in  ,ireland2 and
 it is now established in ,wales2 and in
 other countries  of ,europe the ,roman 
,catholic ,church and the ,lutheran     
,church and the  ,greek ,church are     
established by law4 ,in countries where 
there is a  national church1 it derives 
more or less of its support from taxing 

the  people1 many of whom do not belong 
to it2 but in this land there is no     
established church2 and there never can 
be1 let us hope and believe4    ,under  
our form of government we need no       
standing army4 ,we owe this  partly to  
the fact that we are so isolated        
geographically that we do  not need to  
keep an army4 ,i heard the general of   
our army say1 a short  time ago1 that   
the regular army of the ,united ,states 
is a fictiononly  #be1jjj men4 7,you saw
 as many troops a few weeks ago in one  
day as are  in all our army47 8,the real
 army10 he added1 8is composed of every 
able-bodied citizen2 for all are ready  
to volunteer in the face of a  common   
enemy40 ,our territory is immensely     
large already1 and it will  probably be 
larger1 but it will not again be        
enlarged as the result  of war4 ,when we
 look at the nations of ,europe1 and see
 the immense  numbers of men in their   
standing armies1 we can't help thanking 
,god  that we are separated from them by

 the wide ,atlantic1 and that we  have a
 republican government1 and have no     
temptation to seek other  territory1 and
 are not likely to be attacked for any  
cause4 ,in the  armies of ,great        
,britain1 ,germany1 ,russia1 ,austria1  
,italy1 ,turkey1 are  more than ten     
millions of men withdrawn from the      
cultivation of the  soil and from the   
pursuits of commerce and manufactures4  
,in ,italy alone  the standing army is  
said to be #gej1jjj men6 ,the withdrawal
 of so many  men from peaceful          
occupations makes it necessary to employ
 women to do  work which in our country 
women are never asked to do4 ,i have    
seen a  woman drawing a boat on a canal1
 and a man sitting on the deck of that  
boat smoking his pipe and steering the  
boat4 ,i have seen a woman with  a huge 
load of fresh hay upon her head and a   
man walking by her side  and carrying   
his scythe4 ,i have seen women yoked    
with dogs to carts1  carrying the loads 
that here would be put in a cart and    

drawn by a  horse4 ,i have seen women   
carrying the hod for masons on their    
heads1  filled with stone and mortar4 ,i
 have seen women carrying huge baskets  
of manure on their backs to the field1  
and young girls breaking stone  on the  
highway4 ,did you ever hear of such     
things here8 ,see what a  difference6   
,the men in the army eat up the         
substance which the women  produce from 
the soil4    ,but nowhere else in the   
world is the dignity of labor recognized
 as  here4 ,they do not know the meaning
 of the words4 ,for in most other       
countries it is considered undignified1 
if not ungenteel1 to be engaged  in     
labor of any kind4 ,a man who is not    
able to live without work is  hardly    
considered a gentleman4 ,to work with   
the hands is degrading2  is what ought  
to be done by common people only1 and by
 people who are  not fit to associate   
with gentlemen and ladies4 ,it is not so
 in this  country4 ,here1 a man who is  
well educated and well behaved1 and     

upright  and honorable in his dealings  
with men1 who cultivates his mind by    
reading and observation1 and is careful 
of the usages of good society1  is fit  
company for any one4 ,he may rise to any
 place within the gift of  his          
fellow-citizens1 and adorn it4 ,this is 
not so elsewhere4 ,and think  of a young
 girl hardly out of her teens1 with no  
special preparation  for such a         
distinction1 but educated and           
accomplished1 becoming the  wife of the 
,president of the ,united ,states1 and  
proving herself  entirely worthy of that
 high position6 ,could any other country
 match  this8    ,now what is the effect
 of all this freedom of thought and     
action on the  people8 ,well1 it is not 
to be denied that there are some        
disadvantages4  ,there is danger that we
 may over-estimate the individual in his
  personal rights1 and not give due     
weight to the people as a community4    
,there is danger of selfishness1        
especially among young people4 ,there   

is not as much respect and reverence for
 age1 and for those above us1  and for  
the other sex1 as there ought to be4    
,young people are very  rude at times1  
when they should always be polite to    
their superiors  in age or position4 ,at
 a little city in ,bavaria the boys     
coming out  of school one day all lifted
 their hats to me1 a stranger6 ,that    
would  be an astounding thing in a      
,philadelphia street6 ,in riding in the 
neighborhood of the city here1 if ,i    
speak civilly to a boy by the  roadside1
 ,i am just as likely as not to get an  
impudent answer4    ,but in spite of    
these defects1 which we hope will never 
be seen  in a ,girard ,college boy1 the 
true effect of training under our       
republican institutions is to make men4 
,there is a wider1 freer1  fuller       
development of what is in man than is   
known elsewhere4 ,man is  much more     
likely to become self-reliant1          
self-dependent1 vigorous1  skillful1    
herenot knowing how high he may rise1   

and consciously or  unconsciously       
preparing himself for anything to which 
he may be called4  ,and for woman1 too1 
where else does she meet the respect    
that belongs  to her8 ,where else in the
 world do women find occupation in      
government  offices1 on school boards1  
at the head of charitable and           
educational  institutions8 ,with few    
exceptions1 such as ,girton ,college1   
where are  there in any other country   
such colleges as ,vassar or ,wellesley1 
and  as the ,woman's ,medical ,college1 
almost under the walls of our own8    ,i
 have already kept you too long4 ,but a 
few words and ,i am done4 ,i am  moved  
by the injunction of ,mr4 ,girard in his
 will not only to say these  things1 but
 by this grave consideration also4      
,every boy who hears me  to-day1 within 
fifteen years1 if he lives1 unless he is
 cut off by  crime from the privilege1  
will be a voter4 ,you will go to the    
polls to  cast your votes for those who 
are to have the conduct of the          

government  in all its parts4 ,i want to
 make you feel1 if ,i can1 the high     
destiny  that awaits you4 ,you are      
distinctive in this respectyou are all  
,american boys4 ,this can be said of no 
other assembly as large as this  in all 
this broad land4 ,you have it in your   
power1 and ,i want to help  you to it1  
and ,god will if you ask himyou have it 
in your power to  become ,american      
gentlemen4 ,and ,i believe that an      
,american gentleman  is the very highest
 type of man4        ,god1 give us men4 
,a time like this demands      ,strong  
minds1 great hearts1 true faith and     
ready hands3      ,men whom the lust of 
office does not kill2        ,men whom  
the spoils of office cannot buy2        
,men who possess opinions and a will2   
,men who have honor1 men who will not   
lie2      ,men who can stand before a   
demagogue        ,and scorn his         
treacherous flatteries without winking2 
,tall men1 sun-crowned1 who live above  
the fog        ,in public duty and in   

private thinking4                       
,illustration3 ,james ,lawrence         
,claghorn4                              
,,james ,,lawrence ,,claghorn4          
,when a man has lived a long1 busy1     
useful and successful life it seems     
proper that something more than the     
ordinary obituary notices in the  daily 
papers is due to his memory4 ,this      
thought moves me to speak to  you to-day
 of a gentleman who died on ,august #be1
 #ahhd1 while a ,director  of the       
,girard ,college1 and of whom it seems  
appropriate that something  may be said 
to you in this chapel4    ,mr4 ,james   
,l4 ,claghorn was a distinguished       
citizen of ,philadelphia4 ,he  was born 
here on the #eth of ,july1 #ahag4 ,his  
father1 ,john ,w4 ,claghorn1  was a     
merchant of excellent standing1 who in  
the latter years of his  life gave much 
time and thought to benevolent          
institutions4 ,at the age  of fourteen  
years ,james left school to go into     
business4 ,you boys know  how very      

incomplete an education at school must  
be which ends when the  boy is fourteen 
years old4 ,but you don't know until    
your own experience  proves it how hard 
it is for a half-educated boy to compete
 for the  high places in life or in     
business with boys of equal natural     
ability1  who have had the full         
advantage of a liberal school education4
 ,at  fourteen1 then1 ,james ,claghorn  
turned his back on school and went to   
work in earnest4 ,for it was an auction 
store that he entered1 and the  work    
there was usually harder work than in   
other kinds of stores4 ,the  hours of   
labor were longerearlier and laterand   
the holidays more  rare than in ordinary
 commercial houses4    ,there is no     
record of the early years of his        
business life2 but it is  not difficult 
to imagine the hardships to which a     
young lad of that  time would be        
subjected4 ,we can't suppose that any   
indulgence was  allowed him because his 
father was one of the partners in the   

firm2  neither he nor his father would  
have permitted such distinction4    ,the
 boy must have been industrious2 for in 
such a house there was no  place for an 
idle lounger4 ,he was not afraid of     
work1 for he was always  at it2 he did  
not spare himself1 else some other boy  
would have done  his share and got ahead
 of him2 he must have been faithful1 not
 one  who works only when his master's  
eye is on himnot shirking any hard      
worknot forgetting to-day what he was   
told yesterdaynot thinking  too much of 
his rights or his own particular work1  
but doing anything  that came to        
handlooking always to the interest of   
the firm1 and  trusting the future for a
 recognition of his faithfulness4       
,and he must have been patient4 ,many   
rough words1 many hasty and  passionate 
words are spoken to young boys1 and must
 have been spoken to  this boy1 and may 
have hurt him2 but there is good reason 
to believe  from the character he built 
up that he knew how to hold his tongue  

and  not answer back4 ,not every boy has
 learned that useful lesson2 and  hence 
the many outbreaks of passion and the   
frequent discharge of boys  who will    
8answer back0 when they are reproved4   
,and ,i think also that he must have    
been of a bright and cheery  disposition
 and well mannered4 ,some young fellows 
who have to make  their way in the world
 seem not to know the importance of a   
good  address2 in other words1          
politeness1 good breeding4 ,nothing     
impresses  one so favorably at first    
meeting a stranger as good manners4 ,a  
frank1 hearty greeting1 a bright1       
cheerful face1 a manly bearing1 a       
willingness to consider others1 a desire
 to please for the sake of  giving      
pleasure1 are of great importance4 ,on  
the contrary1 sullenness1  sluggishness1
 indifference1 selfishness are all      
repulsive1 and though  allowance will be
 made at first for the existence of such
 qualities1  yet they will hardly be    
tolerated long in a young person1 and   

they  will certainly unfit him for a    
successful career4 ,i did not know ,mr4 
,claghorn when he was a young lad2 but  
,i can hardly suppose that the  kindly1 
genial1 hearty man in middle and later  
life could have been a  morose1 sullen1 
sluggish1 ill-mannered boy4    ,i have  
said that ,mr4 ,claghorn left school    
while still a boy2 but we  must not     
infer that he supposed his education was
 complete with the  end of his school   
life1 for it is very evident that he    
must have  given very much of his       
leisure to self-improvement4 ,we do not 
know  how his evenings were spent when  
not in the counting-house2 but he  must 
have given a good deal of time to       
reading2 and it is not likely  that the 
books which he read were such as are to 
be found now at any  book-stand1 and in 
the hands of so many boys as they go to 
and fro on  their errandsbooks which are
 simply read without instruction1 and   
which sometimes treat of subjects which 
are unreal1 extravagant1 coarse  and    

brutalizing4 ,doubtless he was fond of  
fiction4 ,all boys of fair  education   
and refined taste are more or less fond 
of fiction2 but we  can hardly suppose  
that he gave too much of his time to    
such reading1  else he could not have   
become the strong business man that he  
was4 ,at  a very early age he became    
fond of art1 and gathered about him as  
his  means would permit engravings and  
pictures such as would cultivate his    
taste in that direction4 ,when he could 
spare the money he would buy  an        
engraving1 if the subject or the author 
interested him2 so that he  became1 in  
the latter part of his life1 the owner  
of one of the largest  collections of   
engravings in the whole country4        
,indeed1 he became a  noted patron of   
art1 and especially was he desirous of  
encouraging  native art1 so that at one 
period he had more than two hundred     
paintings1 the work of ,american        
artists2 for at that time he was more   
desirous of encouraging native artists1 

especially if they were poor1  than he  
was in making collections of the great  
masters4 ,many a picture  he bought to  
help the artist1 rather than for his own
 gratification  as a collector4 ,further
 on in life he became deeply interested 
in  the ,academy of the ,fine ,arts1    
which was then in ,chestnut street      
above ,tenth4 ,subsequently he became   
its ,president1 and very largely        
through his influence and his personal  
means that fine building at the         
southwest corner of ,broad and ,cherry  
street1 which all of you ought  to visit
 as opportunity is afforded1 was erected
 as a depository of  art4 ,the splendid 
building of the ,academy of ,music at   
,broad and ,locust  street1 is also     
largely indebted to ,mr4 ,claghorn for  
its erection4    ,but ,i am             
anticipating1 and we must now go back to
 ,mr4 ,claghorn in  his counting-house4 
,no longer a boyan apprenticehe has     
grown to  manhood1 and has become a     
member of the firm1 taking his father's 

place4 ,now his labors are greatly      
increased2 the hours of business1  which
 were long before1 are longer now2 he   
begins very early in  the morning1      
before sunrise in the winter season1 and
 is sometimes  detained late in the     
evening1 the long day being entirely    
devoted to  business2 and no one knows1 
except one who has gone through that    
sort  of experience1 how much labor is  
involved in such a life2 but not only   
his laborshis responsibilities are      
greatly increased4 ,he becomes the      
financial man in the firm2 he is the    
head of the counting-house2 he  has     
charge of the books and the accounts4   
,for many years no entry was  made in   
the huge ledgers except in his own      
handwriting4 ,the credit of  the house  
of ,myers  ,claghorn becomes deservedly 
high4 ,a time of great  financial       
excitement and distress comes on4 ,this 
house1 while others  are going down on  
the right and left like ships in a      
storm1 stands  erect with unimpaired    

credit1 and with opportunities of       
helping other  and weaker houses which  
so much needed help4 ,the name of his   
firm was a  synonym of all that is      
strong and admirable in business        
management4    ,so he passed the best   
years of his whole life in earnest      
attention to  business1 snatching all   
the leisure he could for the            
gratification  of his passion1 it may be
 called1 for art1 until the time came   
when1  having acquired what was at that 
time supposed to be an abundant         
competency1 he determined to retire from
 business4 ,now he appears to           
contemplate a long rest in a visit to   
other countries1 and was making         
arrangements looking to a long holiday  
of great enjoyment1 when the  country   
became involved in the ,great           
,rebellion4 ,none of you1 except  as you
 read it in history1 know what a        
convulsion passed over the  country when
 the first gun was fired upon the flag  
at ,fort ,sumter4  ,mr4 ,claghorn1 full 

of love for his country and unwilling to
 do what  seemed to him almost like a   
desertion in her time of trial1 gave up 
his contemplated foreign tour1 and      
applied himself most diligently and     
earnestly to the duties of a true1 loyal
 citizen in the support of the          
government4 ,he was one of the earliest 
members of the ,union ,league1  and was 
largely interested in collecting money  
for the raising and  equipping of       
regiments to be sent to the front4      
,three or four years of  his life were  
spent in this laudable work1 and in     
company with those  of like mind he was 
largely instrumental in accomplishing   
great good4  ,the war1 however1 came to 
an endwas fought out to its final and   
inevitable issue4    ,now the desire to 
visit foreign countries returned with   
increased  interest4 ,his business      
affairs1 although they had not been as  
profitable as they would have been if he
 had looked closer to them  and had     
given less thought to public matters    

during the war1 were so  satisfactory   
that he could afford to put them in     
other hands for a  while1 and in company
 with his wife he embarked for ,europe4 
,it was  to be a long holiday such as he
 had never known before4 ,he intended   
to make an extended tourhe was not to be
 hurried4 ,he went through  ,england1   
,scotland1 ,ireland1 ,france1           
,switzerland1 ,spain1 ,italy1  ,egypt1  
,palestine1 ,turkey1 ,greece1 ,austria1 
,russia1 ,germany1 ,holland  and        
,belgium4 ,in this way he saw and       
enjoyed all the most famous             
picture-galleries of the old world2 and 
his long study of art in its  various   
phases and schools gave him special     
advantages for the highest  enjoyment of
 the great collections1 public and      
private1 of the old  masters as well as 
of those of modern times4    ,the       
interest of his extended tour was not1  
however1 limited to  galleries and      
collections of paintings and statuary4  
,he was an observer  of men and things4 

,his practical ,american mind observed  
and digested  everything that came      
within his reach4 ,the government of the
 great  citiesthe condition of the      
masses of the people gathered in themthe
  common people outside of the cities1  
their customs and costumes2 their  way  
of livingin short1 everything that was  
unlike what we see at  homehe observed  
and remembered to enjoy in the          
retrospect of after  years4    ,it was  
hardly to be expected that ,mr4         
,claghorn1 having lived the busy  life  
that he had lived before he went abroad1
 should have been content  on his return
 to sit down in the enjoyment of his    
well-earned leisure2  and accordingly1  
shortly after his return1 he became the 
,president of  the ,commercial ,national
 ,bank1 one of the oldest financial     
institutions  in our city4 ,for several 
years previously he had been a ,director
 in  the ,philadelphia ,national ,bank  
7as his father had before him71 so  that
 he had had proper training for the     

duties of his new position4  ,he became 
also a ,manager in the ,philadelphia    
,saving ,fund ,society1 the  oldest and 
the largest saving fund in our city4    
,with most commendable  diligence and   
industry he at once set about building  
up the bank so as  to make it profitable
 to its stockholders4 ,not forgetting1  
however1  the attractions of art1 he    
covered the walls of his bank parlor    
with  beautiful specimens of the        
choicest engravings1 so that even the   
daily  routine of business life might be
 enlivened by glimpses into the         
attractive world of art4    ,in the year
 #ahfi1 when the ,board of ,city ,trusts
 was created by act of  ,legislature 7to
 which board is committed the vast      
estate left by ,mr4  ,girard1 as well as
 of the other trusts of the city of     
,philadelphia71  ,mr4 ,claghorn was     
appointed one of the original board of  
twelve1 and  from that date until his   
death he gave much time and thought to  
the  duties thus devolved upon him4 ,he 

became chairman of the finance          
committee1 which place he held until the
 end of his life4 ,although he  was not 
so well known to the boys of the college
 as some other members  of this board1  
because his duties did not require very 
frequent visits  to the college1 he     
nevertheless gave himself to the duties 
of the  committee of which he was       
chairman with great interest and        
fidelity2  and the time which he gave to
 this great work is not to be measured  
by  visits to the college1 but by the   
time spent in the city office and in    
his own place of business1 where his    
committee met him on their stated       
meetings4 ,as ,i have reason to know1 he
 had a deep personal interest in  all   
the affairs of this college1 and of the 
other trusts committed to  our charge4  
,although the condition of his health in
 the latter part of his life  made close
 attention to business very trying to   
him1 so far as ,i  know he never        
permitted his health to interfere with  

his business  engagements4    ,in this  
brief and fragmentary way ,i have tried 
to set before you  some features of the 
life of one of our most distinguished   
citizens4  ,in the limits of a single   
discourse as brief as this must be it is
  not possible to make this more than an
 outline sketch4 ,in the little  time   
that remains let me refer again for the 
purpose of emphasis to  some traits in  
the character of ,mr4 ,claghorn which   
will justly bear  reconsideration4    ,a
 very large proportion of the merchants 
of any city fail in business4  ,the     
proportion is much larger than is       
generally known1 and larger than  young 
people are willing to believe4    ,in an
 experience of more than forty years of 
business life1 during  which ,i have had
 much to do with merchants1 ,i have     
known so many  failures1 have seen so   
many wrecks of commercial houses1 that  
,i am  compelled to regard a merchant   
who has maintained high credit for a    
long term of years and finally retired  

from business with a handsome  estate as
 one who is entitled to the respect and 
confidence of his  fellow-citizens4     
,some men grow rich as junior partners  
in successful  business1 the good       
management having been due to the       
ability and tact  of their seniors2 but 
this can hardly be said in the present  
case4 ,the  merchant whose life we are  
considering was an active and           
influential  partner4    ,let me say1   
however1 that true success in business  
is not to be  measured by the amount of 
money one accumulates4 ,a man may be    
rich  in the riches acquired by his own 
activity and shrewdness who is in  no   
high sense a successful business man4   
,these things are necessary3  ,he should
 be a just man1 an upright1 honorable   
man1 a man of breadth  and solidity of  
character1 who gathers about him some of
 the ablest  and best of his            
fellow-citizens in labors for the good  
of others and  the welfare of society4  
,in such sense was ,mr4 ,claghorn a     

successful  business man4    ,his early 
love of art in its various forms1 the   
substantial aid and  encouragement he   
gave to young students in their         
beginnings1 his deep  sympathy with     
persons who in literature and art were  
striving for a  living1 his generous    
hospitality to artists1 and his public  
spiritall  these had their influence in 
the growth and development of his       
character1 and made his name to be loved
 and honored by many who shared  in his 
generous sympathies4    ,mr4 ,claghorn's
 love of country1 which we call         
patriotism1 was signally  disclosed at  
the outbreak of the war in #ahfa4 ,when 
we remember his  long and busy life as a
 merchantbroken by few or no vacations  
such  as most other men enjoyedwhen we  
remember that his self-culture had  been
 of such a nature as to prepare him most
 admirably well for a  tour in foreign  
countries1 especially such countries as 
had produced  the ablest1 the most      
distinguished artistswe can have some   

idea of  what it cost him to forego the 
much needed restto deny himself the     
well-earned pleasure of a visit to the  
picture galleries of ,europe1  where are
 gathered the treasures of the highest  
art in all the world4  ,many men in like
 circumstances would have felt that one 
man1 whose age  and sedentary habits    
unfitted him for active service in the  
field1  would hardly be missed from     
among the loyal citizens of the         
,northbut  he did not think so2 and     
therefore he put aside all his personal 
plans1  and in the city where he was    
born he remained and devoted himself  as
 one of her true1 loyal citizens in     
raising money and men for the  defence  
of the government4 ,there could be no   
truer heroism than this1  and right     
bravely and successfully he carried his 
purpose to the end4    8,i am           
permitted10 said the clergyman who spoke
 at his funeral1 and with  his words ,i 
close these remarks1 8,i am permitted to
 address to you  in the presence of the 

solemnity of death some few reflections 
that  occur to me in memory of one whom 
we shall know no more in life4 ,a  few  
,saturday evenings ago ,i was walking   
along by a lake at a seashore  home when
 a great and wondrous beauty spread     
itself beneath my eye4  ,it was one of  
those inimitable pictures that rarely   
come to one4 ,in  the foreground there  
lay a lake with no ripple on its        
surface4 ,it was  a calm and sleeping   
thing4 ,a shining glory was in the      
western sky4 ,the  sun had gone1 but    
where he disappeared were indications of
 beautyone  of the most beautiful       
afterglows ,i have ever seen4 ,it was   
not one of  the ordinary things1 and as 
,i looked at it there came many         
reflections4  ,here is one of them4 ,it 
seems quite applicable this morning4    
,that which  caused the quiet glory of  
the lake1 that which caused the         
radiation of  beauty1 had gone4 ,its    
day's work was done4 ,that quiet lake   
and streaked  sky were the type of a    

picture of a busy1 useful1 successful   
life that  had been accomplished4 ,it   
was a complete thing4 ,the day was done4
 ,the  activity had passed away4 ,it was
 finished just as this life4 ,what had  
made it beautiful had gone1 but he flung
 back monuments of beauty  that made the
 scene as beautiful as good words and   
noble deeds make  the memory of man4    
,there were six of these rays4 ,young   
men1 brethren  of this community1 you   
will do well to remember that anywhere  
and  everywhere1 without patience and   
industry1 nothing great can be done4    
,the life departed was a busy oneone of 
busy usefulness4 ,the cry that  came    
from him was1 #8,i must work2 ,i must be
 busy4' ,live as this man  did1 that    
your life may be one that can be held up
 as an example and a  light to young men
 of the coming generations4 ,one ray of 
beauty was  his sterling truthfulness4  
,it is a splendid thing to be trusted by
 your  fellows4 ,another ray was his    
prudent foresight4 ,it was              

characteristic  of him1 and it is a     
splendid thing to have4 ,another ray    
that welled out  of him was his striking
 humanity4 ,there was one continual     
trait in his  character4 ,i would call  
it manhoodness4 ,there was another      
featurehis  deep humility40    ,such    
were some of the traits of character of 
a man who lived a long  life in the city
 where he was born4 ,if no distinctive  
monument has been  erected to his       
memory1 there are the 8,union ,league10 
8,the ,academy of  the ,fine ,arts10 and
 8,the ,academy of ,music10 with which  
his name will  always be associated2    
and1 what is better still1 there are    
many hearts  that throb with grateful   
memories of an unselfish man1 who in    
time  of sore need stretched out his    
hand to help1 and that hand was never   
empty4 ,and you will remember1 you      
,girard boys1 that this man who did so  
much for his native city and for his    
fellow-citizens was not nearly so  well 
educated at the age of fourteen when he 

left school as many of you  are now4    
,see what he did2 see what some of you  
may do6                                 
,,the ,,leaf ,,turned ,,over4           
,january #a1 #ahhh4      ,some weeks ago
 ,i gave you two lectures on 8,turning  
,over a ,new ,leaf40  ,one of the       
directors of this college to whom ,i    
sent a printed copy said  ,i ought to   
follow those with another on this       
subject3 8,the ,leaf ,turned  ,over40 ,i
 at once accepted this suggestion and   
shall now try to follow  his advice4    
,most thoughtful people as they approach
 the end of a year are apt to  ask      
themselves some plain questionsas to    
their manner of life1 their  habits of  
thought1 their amusements1 their        
studies1 their business1  their home1   
their families1 their companions1 their 
plans for the  future1 their duty to    
their fellow-men1 their duty to ,god2 in
 short1  whether the year about to close
 has been a happy one2 whether they have
  been successful or otherwise in what  

they have attempted to do4    ,the      
merchant1 manufacturer or man of        
business of any kind who keeps  books1  
and whose accounts are properly kept1   
looks with great interest  at his       
account book at such a time1 to see     
whether his business has  been          
profitable or otherwise1 whether he has 
lost or made money1  whether his capital
 is larger or smaller than it was at the
 beginning  of the year1 whether he is  
solvent or insolvent1 whether he is able
 to  pay his debts or is bankrupt4      
,and to very many persons engaged in    
business for themselves1 this is  a time
 of great anxiety1 for one can hardly   
tell exactly whether he  is getting on  
favorably until his account books are   
posted and the  balances are struck4 ,if
 one's capital is small and the result  
of the  year's business is a loss1 that 
means a reduction of capital1 and       
raises the question whether this can go 
on for some years without  failure and  
bankruptcy4 ,many and many a business   

man looks with great  anxiety to the    
month of ,december1 and especially to   
the end of it1  to learn whether he     
shall be able to go on in his business1 
however  humble4 ,and1 alas6 there are  
many whose books of account are so badly
  kept1 and whose balances are so rarely
 struck1 or who keep no account  books  
at all1 that they never know how they   
stand1 but are always under  the        
apprehension that any day they may fail 
to meet their obligations  and so fail  
and become bankrupt4 ,they were         
insolvent long before1 but  they did not
 know it2 and they have gone on from bad
 to worse until  they are ruined4       
,others1 again1 are afraid to look      
closely into their  account booksafraid 
to have the balances struck1 lest they  
should  be convinced that their affairs 
are in a hopeless condition4 ,unhappy   
cowards they are1 for if insolvent the  
sooner they know it the better1  that   
they may make the best settlement they  
can with their creditors1  if the       

business is worth following at all1 and 
begin again1 8turning  over a new leaf40
    ,i do not suppose that many of you  
boys have ever thought much on these    
subjects2 for you are not in business as
 principals or as clerks1 you  have no  
merchandise or produce or money to      
handle1 you have no account  books for  
yourselves or for other people to keep1 
to post1 to balance1  and you may think 
you have no interest in these remarks2  
but ,i hope to  be able to show you that
 these things are not matters of        
indifference  to you4    ,the year      
#ahhg1 which closed last night1 was just
 as much your year as  it was that of   
any man1 even the busiest man of        
affairs4 ,when it came1  #cfe days ago1 
it found you 7most of you7 at school    
here3 it left all of  you here4 ,and the
 question naturally arises1 what have   
you done with  this time1 all these days
 and nights8 ,every page in the account 
books  of certain kinds of business     
represents a day of business1 and either

  the figures on both the debit and the 
credit side are added up and  carried   
forward1 or the balance of the two sides
 of the page is struck  and carried over
 leaf to the next page4    ,so every day
 of the past year represents a page in  
the history of your  lives3 for every   
life1 even the plainest and most humble1
 has its own  peculiar history4 ,your   
lives here are uneventful2 no very      
startling  things occur to break the    
monotony of school life1 but each day   
has  its own duties and makes its own   
record4 ,three hundred and sixty-five   
pages of the book of the history of     
every young life here were duly  filled 
by the records of all the things done or
 neglected1 of the words  spoken or     
unspoken1 of the thoughts indulged or   
stifled2 these pages  with their        
records1 sad or joyful1 glad or         
shameful1 were turned over1  and are now
 numbered with the things that are past 
and gone4 ,when an  accountant or       
book-keeper discovers1 after the books  

of the year are  closed and the balances
 struck1 that errors had crept in which 
have  disturbed the accuracy of his     
work1 he cannot go back with a knife and
  erase the errors and write in the     
correct figures2 neither can he blot    
them out1 nor rub them out as you do    
examples from a slate or from  the      
blackboard2 he must correct his         
mistakes2 he must counteract his        
blunders by new entries on a new page4  
,it is somewhat so with us1 with you4   
,last night at midnight the last  page  
of the leaves of the book of the old    
year was filled with its  record1       
whatever it was1 and this morning 8the  
leaf is turned over40  ,what do we see8 
,what does every one of you see8 ,a     
fair1 white page4  ,and each one of you 
holds a pen in his hand and the inkstand
 is within  reach2 you dip your pen in  
the ink1 you bend over the page1 the    
thoughts come thick and fast1 much      
faster indeed than any pen1 even  that  
of the quickest shorthand writer can put

 them on the page4 ,there  are          
stenographers who can take the language 
of the most rapid speakers1  but no     
stenographer has ever yet appeared who  
can put his own thoughts  on paper as   
rapidly as they come into his mind4 ,but
 while there is but  one mind in all the
 universe that can have knowledge of    
what is passing  in your mind and retain
 it all,,the ,,infinite ,,mind2 and     
while no one  page of any book1 however 
large1 even if it be what book-makers   
call  elephant folio1 can possibly hold 
the record of what any boy here says    
and thinks in a single day1 you may1 and
 you do1 all of you1 write  words good  
or bad on the page before you4    ,let  
me take one of these boys not far from  
the desk1 a boy of sixteen  or seventeen
 years of age1 who is now waiting1 pen  
in hand1 to write  the thoughts now     
passing in his mind4 ,what are these    
thoughts8 ,no one  knows but himself4   
,shall ,i tell you what ,i think he     
ought to write8 ,it  is something like  

this3    8,i have been here many years4 
,when ,i came ,i was young and ignorant4
 ,i  found myself among many boys of my 
own age1 hardly any of whom ,i ever  saw
 before1 who cared no more for me than  
,i cared for them4 ,i felt  very        
strange2 the first few days and nights  
,i was very unhappy1 for ,i  missed very
 much my mother and the others whom ,i  
had left at home4 ,but  very soon these 
feelings passed away4 ,i was put to     
school at once1 and  in the school-room 
and the play-ground ,i soon forgot the  
things and  the people about my other   
home4 ,years passed4 ,i was promoted    
from one  school to another1 from one   
section to another2 ,i grew rapidly in  
size2  my classmates were no longer     
little boys2 we were all looking up and 
looking forward to the school           
promotions1 and ,i became a big boy4    
,the  lessons were hard1 and ,i studied 
hard1 for ,i began to understand at     
last why ,i was sent here1 and to ask   
myself the question1 what might         

reasonably be expected of me8 ,sometimes
 when quite alone this question  would  
force itself upon me1 what use am ,i    
making of my fine advantages1  or am ,i 
making the best use of them8 ,and what  
manner of man shall ,i  be8 ,for ,i know
 full well that all well-educated boys  
do not succeed in  lifedo not become    
successful men in the highest and best  
sense4 ,how  do ,i know that ,i shall do
 well8 ,is my conduct here such as to   
justify  the authorities in commending  
me as a thoroughly manly1 trustworthy   
boy8 ,have ,i succeeded while going     
through the course of school studies  in
 building up a character that is worthy 
of me1 worthy of this great  school8    
,can those who know me best place the   
most confidence in me8 ,if  ,i am       
looking forward to a place in a machine 
shop1 or in a store1 or  in a lawyer's  
office1 or to the study of medicine1 or 
to a place in a  railroad office or a   
bank1 am ,i really trying to fit myself 
for such a  place1 or am ,i simply      

drifting along from day to day1 doing   
only what ,i  am compelled to do and    
cultivating no true ambition to rise    
above the  dull average of my           
companions8 ,and then1 as ,i look at the
 difficulties  in the way of every young
 fellow who has his way to make in the  
world1  has it not occurred to me to    
look beyond the present and the persons 
and things that surround me now1 and    
look to a higher and better ,helper     
than is to be found in this world8 ,have
 ,i not at times heard words of  good   
counsel in this chapel1 from the lips of
 those who come to give me  and my      
companions wholesome advice8 ,what      
attention have ,i given to such  advice8
 ,i have been told1 and ,i do not doubt 
it1 that the great ,god  stoops from    
heaven and speaks to my soul1 and offers
 his ,divine help1  and even holds out  
his hand1 though ,i cannot see it1 and  
will take my  hand in his1 and help me  
over all hard places1 and will never let
 me  go1 if ,i cling to him1 and will   

assure me success in everything that is 
right and good4 ,i have heard all this  
over and over again2 ,i know it is      
true1 but ,i have not accepted it as if 
,i believed it2 ,i have not acted       
accordingly2 in fact1 ,i have treated   
the whole matter as if it were  unreal1 
or as if it referred to somebody else   
rather than to me4    8,and now ,i have 
come probably to my last year in this   
school4 ,before  another ,new ,year's   
day some other boy will have my desk in 
the  school-room1 my bed in the         
dormitory1 my place at the table1 my    
seat  in the chapel4 ,these long years1 
oh6 how long they have seemed1 have     
nearly all passed2 ,i shall soon go     
away2 if some place is not found  for me
 ,i must find one for myselfoh6 what    
will become of me8 ,since  last ,new    
,year's day two boys who were educated  
here have been sent  convicted criminals
 to the ,eastern ,penitentiary4 ,what   
are they thinking  about on this ,new   
,year's morning8 ,they sat on these     

seats1 they sang  our hymns1 they heard 
the same good words of advice which ,i  
have heard1  they had all the good      
opportunities which all of us have2 what
 led them  astray8 ,did they believe    
that the good ,god stooped from heaven  
to say  good words to them1 holding out 
his strong hand to help them8 ,i wonder 
if they thought they were strong enough 
to take care of themselves8  ,i wonder  
if they thought they could get along    
without his help8 ,do ,i  think ,i can80
    ,some such thoughts as these may be 
passing in the mind of the boy now      
looking at me and sitting not far from  
the desk1 the boy whom ,i had  in my    
mind as ,i began to speak4 ,he is       
holding his pen full of ink4 ,he  has   
written nothing yet2 he has been        
listening with some curiosity to  hear  
what the speaker will say1 what he can  
possibly know of a boy's  thoughts4     
,i can tell that boy what ,i would write
 if ,i were at his age1 in this         
college1 and surrounded by these        

circumstances1 listening to these       
serious1 earnest words4 ,i would take my
 pen and write on the first page  of    
this year's book1 this ,sunday morning1 
this ,new ,year's day1 these  words3    
8,the leaf is turned over6 ,god help me 
to lead a better life4  ,god forgive all
 the past1 all my wrong doings1 all my  
neglect1 all  my forgetfulness4 ,god    
keep me in right ways4 ,god keep me from
 wicked  thoughts which defile the soul2
 keep me from wicked words which defile 
the souls of others40    8,but this is a
 prayer10 you say2 8do you want me to   
begin my journal by  writing a prayer80 
,yes2 but this is not all4 ,write again4
    #a4 ,i will not willingly break any 
of the rules which are adopted for  the 
government of our school4    ,some of   
the rules may seem hard to obey1 and    
even unreasonable1 but  they were made  
for my good by those who are wiser than 
,i am4 ,i can  obey them2 ,i will4      
#b4 ,i will work harder over my lessons 
than ever before1 and ,i will  recite   

them more accurately4    ,this means    
hard work1 but it is my duty2 ,i shall  
be the better for it2  it will not be   
long1 for ,i am going soon2 ,i can1 ,i  
will4    #c4 ,i will watch my thoughts  
and my talk more carefully than ,i have 
ever done before4    ,if ,i have hurt   
others by evil talk ,i will do so no    
more4 ,it is a common  fault2 many of us
 boys have fallen into the habit of it2 
but for one1 ,i  will do so no more2 ,i 
can stop it1 ,i will4    #d4 ,i will be 
more careful in my daily life here1 to  
set a good example  in all things1 than 
,i have ever been before4    ,the       
younger boys look to the older boys and 
imitate them closely4 ,they  watch us1  
our words1 our ways1 our behavior in all
 things4 ,if any young  fellows have    
been misled by me1 it shall be so no    
more4 ,i will behave  so that no one    
shall be the worse for doing as ,i do4  
,this is quite  within my control2 ,i   
can1 ,i will4    #e4 ,i will look to    
,god to help me to do these things4     

,for ,i have tried to do something like 
this before and failed2 it must  be     
because ,i depended on my own strength4 
,now ,i will look away from  myself and 
depend upon 8,god1 without whom nothing 
is strong1 nothing  is holy40 ,he can   
help me2 he surely will1 if ,i throw    
myself on his  mercy1 and by daily      
prayer and reading the ,scriptures1 even
 if only for  a moment or two each day1 
,i shall see light and find peace4      
,these are the things that ,i would     
write1 my boy1 if ,i were just as you   
are4    ,shall ,i stop now8 ,may ,i not 
go a little farther and say some words  
to  others here8    ,teachers1 prefects1
 governesses3 these boys are all under  
your charge1  and every day4 ,the same  
good ,providence that brought them here 
for  education and support1 brought you 
here also to teach them and care  for   
them4 ,your work is exacting1 laborious1
 unremitting4 ,some of these  young boys
 are trying to your patience1 your      
temper1 your forbearance1  almost beyond

 endurance4 ,sometimes you are          
discouraged by what seems  to be the    
almost hopeless nature of your work1 the
 untidiness1 the  rough manners1 the ill
 temper1 the stupidity of some of these 
young  boys4 ,but remember that all this
 is inevitable2 that from the nature of 
the case it must be so2 and remember1   
too1 that to reduce such material  to   
good order1 to train and educate these  
young lives so that they  shall be well 
educated1 well informed1 well mannered1 
polite1 gentle1  considerate1 so they   
may be fairly well assured of a         
successful future1  is a great and noble
 work1 worthy of the ambition of the    
highest  intelligence4 ,this is exactly 
what the great founder had in his mind  
when he established this college and    
provided so munificently for its        
endowment4 ,this is what his trustees   
most earnestly desire1 and the  hope of 
which rewards them for the many hours   
they give every week to  the care of    
this great estate4 ,we depend upon you  

to carry out the plan  of instruction   
here1 not only in the schools1 but in   
the section rooms  and on the           
play-grounds4 ,be to these older boys   
their big brothers1  their best friends4
 ,be kind to them always1 even when     
compelled to  reprove them for their    
many faults4    ,and to those of you who
 have the care of the younger boys1 let 
me  say3 remember1 they have no mothers 
here2 they are very young to send  from 
home2 they are homesick at times2 they  
hardly know how to behave  themselves2  
they shock your sense of delicacy2 they 
worry and vex you  almost to            
distraction2 but bear with them1 help   
them1 encourage them1  love them1 for if
 you do not1 who will8 ,and what will   
become of them8  ,and remember what a   
glorious work it is to lift such a young
 life out  of its rudeness1 its         
ignorance1 its untidiness1 and make a   
real man of  it4 ,oh6 friends1 suffer   
these words of exhortation1 for they    
come from  one who has a deep sympathy  

with you in your arduous1 self-denying  
work4        ,and ,i saw a great white  
throne1 and him that sat on it from     
whose face the earth and the heaven fled
 away2 and there was      found no place
 for them4 ,and ,i saw the dead1 small  
and great1      stand before ,god2 and  
the books were opened2 and another book 
was opened1 which is the book of life2  
and the dead were judged      out of    
those things which were written in the  
books1 according      to their works4   
,and the sea gave up the dead that were 
in it2      and death and hell delivered
 up the dead which were in them2        
and they were judged every man according
 to his works,rev4 xx4      #aa-ac4     
,,thanksgiving ,,day4                   
,november #bi1 #ahhh4      ,the         
,president of the ,united ,states1 in a 
proclamation which you have  just heard1
 has set apart this #bith day of        
,november for a day of  thanksgiving and
 prayer1 for the great mercies which the
 ,almighty has  given to the people of  

our country1 and for a continuance of   
these  mercies4 ,his example has been   
followed by the governors of            
,pennsylvania  and many1 if not all1 of 
the ,states1 and we may therefore       
believe that  all over the land1 from   
,maine to ,alaska1 and from the great   
lakes to  the ,gulf of ,mexico1 the     
people in large numbers are now gathered
 or  gathering in their places of       
worship1 in obedience to this proper    
recommendation4 ,the directors of this  
college1 in full sympathy with  the     
thoughts of our rulers1 have closed your
 schools to-day1 released  you from the 
duty of study1 gathered you in this     
chapel1 and asked you  to unite with the
 people generally in giving thanks to   
,god for the  past1 and imploring his   
mercies for the future4 ,for you are a  
part of  the people1 and although not   
yet able1 from your minority1 to take an
  active part in the government1 are yet
 being rapidly prepared for this  great 
right of citizenship4 ,it is the high   

privilege of an ,american  boy1 to know 
that when he becomes a man he will have 
just as clear a  right as any other man1
 to exercise all the functions of a     
freeman1  in choosing the men who are to
 be intrusted with the responsibilities 
of government4 ,what are some of the    
things that give us cause for           
thankfulness to ,almighty ,god8 ,very   
briefly such as these3    #a4 ,this is a
 ,christian country4 ,although there is 
not1 and cannot  be1 any part or branch 
of the church established by law1 there 
is  assured liberty for every citizen to
 worship ,god by himself1 or with       
others in congregations1 as he or they  
may choose1 in such forms of  worship as
 may be preferred1 with none to molest  
or make afraid4 ,here  is absolute      
freedom of worship4 ,and even if it be  
that the name of ,god  is not in our    
,constitution1 nevertheless no president
 or governor or  public officer can be  
inducted or inaugurated in high office  
except by  taking oath on the book of   

,god1 and as in his presence1 that he   
will  faithfully discharge the duties of
 his office4 ,if there were nothing     
else1 this public acknowledgment of the 
being of ,almighty ,god and our         
accountability to him gives us an       
unquestioned right to call ourselves  a 
,christian people4    #b4 ,this is a    
free government1 free in the sense that 
the people  choose their own rulers1    
whether of towns1 cities1 ,states1 or   
the  nation4 ,there is no hereditary    
rule here1 and cannot be4 ,we not  only 
choose our own rulers1 but when we are  
dissatisfied with them  for whatever    
cause1 we dismiss them4 ,and the        
minority accept the  decision when it is
 ascertained1 without doubt1 without a  
question of  its righteousness2 they    
only want to know whether the majority  
have  actually chosen this or that      
candidate1 and they accept frankly1 if  
not  cheerfully4 ,we have had a splendid
 illustration of this within this       
present month4 ,the great party that has

 administered the government  for four  
years past1 on the verdict of the       
majority1 are preparing to  retire and  
will retire on the fourth of ,march     
next1 and give up the  government to the
 other great party1 its victorious      
rival4 ,nowhere  else in the world can  
such a revolution be accomplished on so 
grand  a scale1 by so many people1 with 
so little friction4 ,this government    
then is better than any monarchy1 no    
matter how carefully guarded  by        
constitutional restrictions and         
safeguards4 ,the best monarchical       
governments are in ,europe3 the best of 
all in ,england2 but the  governments of
 ,europe have many and great concessions
 to make to the  people1 before they can
 stand side by side with the ,united    
,states in  strong1 healthy1 considerate
 management of the people4 ,it has been 
said  that the best machinery is that   
which has the least friction1 and as    
the time passes1 we may hope that our   
machinery of government will be  so     

smooth that the people will hardly know 
that they are governed at  all2 in fact1
 they will be their own governors4 ,this
 time is coming as  sure as ,christmas1 
though not so close at hand1 and you    
boys can hasten  it by your own upright1
 manly bearing when you come to be men4 
,never  forget that this is a government
 of the majority1 and you must see to   
it that the majority be true men4    #c4
 ,we are separated by wide oceans from  
the rest of the world4 ,the  ,atlantic  
separates us from ,europe on the east2  
the ,gulf of ,mexico from  ,south       
,america on the south1 and the great    
,pacific ocean washes our  western      
shores4 ,we are a continent to          
ourselves1 with the exception of        
,mexico1 a sister republic on the south1
 with whom we are not likely to  quarrel
 again1 and the ,dominion of ,canada on 
the north1 which1 if never  to become a 
part of ourselves1 will at least at some
 day1 and probably  not a very distant  
day1 become independent of the mother   

country as we  did1 though not at the   
great cost at which we obtained our     
freedom4  ,our distance from ,europe    
relieves us entirely from the           
consideration  of subjects which occupy 
most of the time of their statesmen1 and
  which very often thrill the rest of   
the world in the apprehension of  a     
general war in ,europe4 ,we are under no
 necessity of annexing other  territory4
 ,we are not afraid of what is called   
8the balance of power20  we have no army
 that is worthy of the name1 because we 
don't need one1  and we can make one if 
we should need it2 and we have no navy  
to speak  of1 though ,i think we ought  
to have for the protection of our       
commerce1  when our commerce shall be   
further encouraged4 ,we have no         
entanglements  with other nations2 the  
great father of his country in his      
,farewell  ,address warned the people   
against this danger4    #d4 ,our country
 is very large4 ,you school-boys can    
tell me as well as  ,i can tell you what

 degrees of latitude and longitude we   
reach1 and how  many millions of square 
miles we count4 ,europeans say we brag  
too much  about the great extent of our 
country2 but ,i do not refer to it now  
for  boasting1 but as a matter of       
thankfulness to ,god for giving it to   
us4  ,it means that our territory1      
reaching from the ,arctic to the        
tropics1  gives us every variety of     
climate and almost every variety of     
product  that the earth produces2 and ,i
 am sure that the time will come when1  
under a higher agricultural cultivation 
than we have yet reached1 our  soil will
 produce everything that grows anywhere 
else in the world4 ,the  corn harvest   
now being gathered in our country will  
reach two thousand  millions of bushels4
 ,the mind staggers under such ponderous
 figures  and quantities4 ,our wheat    
fields are hardly less productive2 our  
potatoes and rice and oats and barley   
and grass1 the products of our  cattle  
and sheep1 and1 in short1 everything    

that our soil above ground  yields2 and 
the enormous yield of our coal mines1   
our oil wells1 our  natural gas1 our    
metals1 our railroads1 spanning the     
entire continent  and binding the people
 together with bands of steelall these1 
and  many others1 which time will not   
permit me even to mention1 give some    
faint idea of what a splendid country it
 is that the ,almighty ,god has  given  
to the ,american people4 ,and do we not 
well therefore1 when we  come together  
on a day like this1 to make our         
acknowledgments to ,him8    #e4 ,the    
general education of the people is      
another reason for  thankfulness to     
,god4 ,the system is not yet universal1 
but it will be at  no distant day4 ,you 
boys will live to see the day when every
 man1 woman  and child born in the      
,united ,states 7except those who are   
too young or  feeble-minded7 will be    
able to read and write and cipher4 ,it  
is sure to  come4 ,then1 under the      
blessing of ,god1 when people learn to  

do their  own reading and thinking1 we  
shall not fear anarchists and atheists  
and  the many other fools who1 under one
 name or another1 are now trying to     
make this people discontented with their
 lot4 ,there is no need for such  people
 here1 and no place for them2 they have 
made a mistake in coming  to this free  
land1 as some of them found to their    
cost on the gallows  at ,chicago4    #f4
 ,we have no war in our country1 no     
famine1 and with the exception of  poor 
,jacksonville1 ,florida1 no pestilence4 
,famine we have never known1  and with  
such an extent of country we have little
 need to dread such a  scourge as that4 
,no one need suffer for food in our     
country1 and this  is the only country  
in the world of which this can be said2 
for labor  of some kind can always be   
found1 and food is so cheap1 plain kinds
 of  food1 that none but the utterly    
dissipated and worthless need starve2   
and in fact none do starve2 for if they 
are so wretchedly improvident1  the     

guardians of the poor will save them    
from suffering not only1 but  actually  
provide them with a home1 that for real 
comfort is not known  elsewhere in the  
world4    ,some of us have seen war in  
its most dreadful proportions1 but even 
then the alleviations furnished by the  
,christian ,commission greatly  relieved
 some of its most horrid features2 and  
we are not likely to see  war again1 for
 there will be hereafter nothing to     
quarrel and fight  about4 ,our political
 differences will never again lead to   
the taking up  of arms in deadly strife4
    ,such are some of the occasions of  
thankfulness which led the ,president   
of the ,united ,states to ask the       
people1 by public proclamation1 to turn 
aside for one day from their business1  
their farms1 their workshops1  their    
counting-houses1 to close the schools1  
and assemble in their  places of worship
 and thank ,god1 the giver of every good
 and perfect  gift4    ,but ,i don't    
think the ,president of the ,united     

,states knew what special  reasons the  
,girard ,college boys have to keep a    
thanksgiving day4 ,and ,i  shall try in 
what ,i have yet to say to point out    
some of them4    #a4 ,this foundation is
 under the control of the ,board of     
,city  ,trusts4 ,when ,mr4 ,girard left 
the bulk of his great estate for this   
noble purpose1 he gave it to the 8mayor1
 aldermen and citizens of               
,philadelphia10 as his trustees4 ,the   
city of ,philadelphia could act  only   
through its legislative body1 the select
 and common councils1  bodies elected by
 the people1 and consequently more or   
less under the  influence of one or the 
other of the great political parties4   
,nearly  twenty years ago1 owing largely
 to ,mr4 ,william ,welsh1 who became    
the first ,president of the ,board of   
,city ,trusts1 the legislature of       
,pennsylvania took from the control of  
councils all the charitable  trusts of  
the city and committed them to this     
board4 ,if any political  influences    

were ever unworthily exerted in the     
former board it ceased  when the judges 
of the city of ,philadelphia and the    
judges of the  ,supreme ,court named the
 first directors of the ,city ,trusts4  
,these  directors are all your friends2 
they give much thought1 much labor1     
much anxiety to your well-being1        
desiring to do the best things that  are
 possible to be done for your welfare1  
and to do them in the best  way4 ,many  
of them have been successful in finding 
desirable situations  for such of your  
number as were prepared to accept such  
places4 ,i am  glad to say that ,i have 
three college boys associated with me in
 my  business2 ,mr4 ,stuart had two2    
,mr4 ,michener has two2 ,general ,wagner
  has two1 and ,mr4 ,rawle has had one1 
and probably other members of the  board
 have also1 so you see our interest in  
you is not limited to the  time which we
 spend here and in the office on ,south 
,twelfth street1  but we are ever on the
 lookout for things which we hope may be

 to your  advantage4    #b4 ,this       
splendid estate1 which you enjoy2 these 
beautiful buildings1  which were erected
 for your use2 these grounds1 which are 
so well kept  and which are so          
attractive to you and to the thousands  
of visitors  that come here2 these      
school-rooms1 which we determine shall  
lack  nothing that is desirable to make 
them what they ought to be2 the         
text-books which you use in school1 the 
best that can be found2 the  teachers1  
the most accomplished and skilful that  
can be procured2 the  prefects and      
governesses chosen from among many      
applicants1 and because  they are       
supposed to be the best1 all your       
care-takers2 all who have  to do with   
you here are chosen because they are    
supposed to be well  qualified to       
discharge their duties most             
successfully4 ,the arrangements  for    
your lodging in the dormitories1 the    
furniture and food of your  tables1 the 
well-equipped infirmary for the sick1   

are such as1 in the  judgment of the    
trustees1 the great founder himself     
would approve if he  could be consulted4
 ,truly1 this gives occasion for special
 thanksgiving  on this ,thanksgiving    
,day4    #c4 ,you all have a birthright4
    ,what that meant in the earliest    
times we do not fully know2 but it      
meant at least to be the head or father 
of the family1 a sort of  domestic      
priesthood1 the chief of the tribe1 or  
the head of a great  nation4 ,in our own
 times1 in ,great ,britain the          
first-born son has by  right of birth   
the headship of the family1 inheriting  
the principal  part of the property1 and
 he is the representative of the estate4
 ,they  call it there the law of        
primogeniture1 or the law of the        
first-born4  ,in our country there is no
 birthright in families1 and we have no 
law  to make the eldest born in any     
respect more favored than the other and 
younger children4    ,but you ,girard   
boys have a birthright which means a    

great deal4 ,the  founder of this great 
school left the bulk of his large estate
 to  the city of ,philadelphia1 for the 
purpose of adopting and educating  a    
certain class of boys1 very particularly
 described1 to which you  belong4 ,the  
provision he made for you was most      
liberal4 ,everything that  his trustees 
consider necessary for your careful     
support and thorough  education is to be
 provided4 ,nothing is to be wanting    
which money  wisely expended can supply4
 ,this is your birthright4 ,no earthly  
power  can take it from you without your
 consent4 ,no commercial distress1 no   
financial panic1 no change of political 
rulers1 no combination of party         
politics can interfere with the purpose 
of the founder4 ,nothing but the  loss  
of health or life1 or your own          
misconduct1 can deprive you of this     
great birthright4 ,do you boys fully    
appreciate this8    ,now1 is it to be   
supposed that there is a boy here who is
 willing to  sell this birthright as    

,esau did8    ,is there a boy here who  
is corrupt in heart1 so profane and foul
 in  speech1 so vicious in character1 so
 wicked in behavior1 as to be an  unfit 
companion for his schoolmates1 and who  
cannot be permitted to  remain among    
them8 ,is there a boy here who1 for the 
gratification  of a vicious appetite1   
will sell that privilege of support and 
education so abundantly provided here8  
,so guarded is this trust1 so  sacred   
almost1 that no human being can take it 
away from you3 will  you deliberately   
throw it away8 ,the wretched ,esau1 in  
the old  ,jewish history1 under the     
pressure of hunger and faintness1 sold  
his  birthright with all its invaluable 
privileges2 will you1 with no such      
temptation as tried him1 with no        
temptation but the perverseness of  your
 own will and your love of              
self-indulgence1 will you sell your     
birthright8 ,bitterly did ,esau regret  
his folly2 earnestly did he try  to     
recover what he had lost1 but it was too

 late2 he never did recover  his lost   
birthright1 though he sought it         
carefully and with tears4 ,and  he had  
no one to warn him beforehand as ,i am  
warning you4    ,boys1 if you pass      
through this college course not making  
the best use  of your time1 or if you   
allow yourselves to fall into such evil 
habits  as will make it necessary to    
send you away from the collegeand this  
after all the kind words that have been 
spoken to you and the faithful  warnings
 that have been given youyou will lose  
that which can never  be restored to    
you1 which can never be made up to you  
in any other way  elsewhere4 ,you will  
prove yourselves more foolish1 more     
wicked than  ,esau1 for you will lose   
more than he did1 and you will do it    
against  kinder remonstrances than he   
had4    #d4 ,there is another feature of
 the management here which gives        
especial  satisfaction4 ,when a boy     
leaves the college to go to a place     
which has  been chosen for him1 or which

 he has found by his own exertions1 he  
is looked after until he reaches the age
 of twenty-one1 by an officer           
especially appointed1 and as we believe 
well adapted to that service4  ,and many
 a boy who has found himself in         
unfavorable circumstances and  under    
hard task-masters1 with people who have 
no sympathy with his  youth and         
inexperience1 many such have been       
visited and encouraged1  helped and so  
assisted towards true success4    #e4   
,but what is there to make each         
particular boy thankful to-day8 ,why    
you are all in good health2 and if you  
would know how much that means  go to   
the infirmary and see the sick boys     
there1 who are not able to  be in the   
chapel to-day1 not able to be in the    
play-grounds1 who are  looking out of   
the windows with wistful eyes1 very much
 desiring to be  with you and enjoying  
your plays but cannot4 ,god bless them4 
,you are all comfortably clothed2 those 
of you who are less robust have  warmer 

clothing1 and all of you are shielded   
and guarded as well as the  trustees    
know how to care for you1 so that you   
may be trained to be  strong men4       
,you are all having a holiday2 no school
 to-day2 no shop-work to-day2  no paying
 marks to-day2 no punishments of any    
kind to-day4 ,why8 ,it is  ,thanksgiving
 ,day and everything that is            
disagreeable is put out of  sight and   
ought to be put out of mind4    ,you are
 all to have a good dinner4 ,even now1  
while we are here in the  chapel and    
while some of you are growing impatient 
at my speech1 think  of the good dinner 
that is now cooking for you4 ,think of  
the roast  turkey1 the cranberry sauce1 
the piping-hot potatoes1 the gravy1 the 
dressing1 the mince pies1 the apples    
afterwards1 and all the other good      
things which make your mouths water1 and
 make my mouth water even to  mention   
the names4 ,then after dinner you go to 
your homes1 and you have  a good time   
there4    ,the last thing ,i mention    

which you ought to be thankful for is   
having a  short speech4                 
,illustration3 ,professor ,w4 ,h4       
,allen4                             ,,on
 ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,president ,,allen4
                              ,september
 #bd1 #ahhb4                            
8,remember how ,he spake unto you40     
,these are the words of an angel4 ,they 
were spoken in the early morning  while 
it was yet dark1 to frightened and      
sorrowful women1 who had  gone to the   
sepulchre of ,christ with spices and    
ointments to embalm  his body4 ,these   
women fully expected to find the body of
 their ,lord2  for as they went they    
said1 8,who shall roll us away the stone
 from  the sepulchre80 ,when they       
reached the place1 they found the stone 
was  rolled away and the grave was      
empty4 ,and one of them ran back to the 
disciples to tell them that the grave   
was open and the body gone4 ,those  that
 remained went into the sepulchre and   
saw two men in glittering  garments1    

who1 seeing that the women were         
perplexed and afraid1  standing with    
bowed heads and startled looks1 said1   
with a shade of  reproof in their tone1 
8,why seek ye the living among the dead8
 ,he is  not here1 he is risen40 ,and1  
perhaps1 seeing that the women could    
hardly believe this1 it was added1      
8,remember how he spake unto you when   
he was yet in ,galilee1 saying1 #8,the  
,son of man must be delivered into  the 
hands of sinful men1 and be crucified1  
and the third day rise  again4'0    ,the
 words that are quoted as having been   
spoken by ,jesus to his  disciples were 
spoken in ,galilee six months or more   
before this1 and as  they were not      
clearly understood at the time1 it is   
not so very strange  that they should   
have been forgotten4    ,it had been    
well if these sorrowing women1 as well  
as the other  disciples of the ,lord1   
had remembered other words1 and all the 
words  that the ,lord spake to them1 not
 only while in ,galilee1 but in all     

other places4 ,the world would be better
 to-day if those gracious words  had    
been more carefully laid to heart4    ,i
 hope the words of my text will bear1   
without too much accommodation1  the use
 which ,i shall make of them4    ,almost
 three-quarters of a century ago1 a boy 
was born in the family of  a ,new       
,england farmer4 ,it was in the then    
territory of ,maine1 and near  the      
little city of ,augusta4 ,the family    
were plain1 poor people1 and  the child 
grew up1 as many other farmers' children
 grew up1 accustomed  to plain living   
and such work as children could properly
 be set to  do4 ,in the winter he went  
to school1 as well as at other times    
when  the farm work was not pressing4   
,it would be very interesting to know1  
if we could know1 whether there was     
anything peculiar in the early          
disposition and habits of this boy1 or  
whether he grew up with nothing  to     
distinguish him from his playmates4 ,if 
we could only know what  children would 

grow up to be distinguished men1 we     
should1 ,i think1 be  very careful to   
observe and record any little traits and
 peculiarities  of their early          
childhood4 ,the boy of whom ,i am       
speaking1 and whom you  know to be      
,william ,henry ,allen1 seems to have   
been prepared at the  academy for       
college1 which he entered at the        
advanced age of twenty-one  years4 ,four
 years after1 he was graduated1 and at  
once he set out to  teach the classics  
in a little town in the interior of the 
,state of ,new  ,york4 ,while engaged in
 that seminary1 he was called to a      
professorship  in ,dickinson ,college1  
at ,carlisle1 in our own ,state of      
,pennsylvania4  ,in ,dickinson ,college 
he held successively the chairs of      
chemistry  and the natural sciences1 and
 that of ,english literature1 until his 
resignation1 in #ahej1 to accept the    
presidency of ,girard ,college4    ,from
 this time until his death1 except      
during an interval of five  years1 his  

life was spent here4 ,for twenty-seven  
years he gave himself  to the work of   
organizing and directing the internal   
affairs of this  college1 with an       
interest and efficiency which1 until    
within the last  year1 never flagged4   
,it is not possible at this day for any 
of us to  appreciate the difficulties he
 had to encounter in the early days of  
the college1 but we do know that he did 
the work well4    ,see how he was       
prepared for the work he did4 ,he was a 
lover of study4  ,when only eight years 
old he had learned the ,english grammar 
so well  that his teacher said he could 
not teach him anything further in that  
study4 ,there was an old family ,bible  
that was very highly prized by all  the 
family1 and his father told him that if 
he would read that ,bible  through by   
the time he was ten years old1 it should
 be his property4  ,the boy did so1 and 
claimed and received his reward4 ,that  
book is now  in the possession of his   
daughter 7,mrs4 ,sheldon74 ,this early  

reading  of the ,bible will1 perhaps1   
account for ,president ,allen's unusual 
familiarity with the ,scriptures1 as    
evinced in the richness of his  prayers 
in this school chapel4    ,the school to
 which he went in his early youth was   
three miles from  his father's house2   
and in all kinds of weather1 through the
 heats of  summer and the deep snows of 
winter1 he plodded his way4    ,i have  
said that his parents were not rich2 and
 this young man pushed  his way through 
college by teaching1 thus earning the   
money necessary  for his support4 ,this 
may account for the fact that he entered
 college  at the age when most young men
 are leaving it1 viz41 twenty-one years4
  ,it did not seem to him that it was a 
great misfortune to be poor2 but  it was
 an additional inducement to call forth 
all his powers to insure  success4 ,he  
knew that he must depend upon himself if
 he would succeed  in life4 ,and so he  
was not satisfied with qualifying       
himself for one  chair in a college1    

but1 as at ,dickinson1 he held two or   
three chairs4  ,he could teach the      
classics or mathematics or general      
literature1  or chemistry or natural    
sciences4 ,not many men had qualities so
  diversified1 or knew so well how to   
put them to good account4 ,you know     
very well that this liberal culture was 
not acquired without hard work4  ,and   
this hard work he must have done in     
early life1 before cares and  duties    
crowded him1 as they will absorb all of 
us the older we grow4    8,remember how 
,he spake unto you40 ,i would give these
 words a two-fold  meaningremember what 
he said and how he said it4             
,twenty-seven years is a long time in   
the life of any man1 even if he  has    
lived more than three-score years and   
ten4 ,in all these years  ,president    
,allen was going in and out before the  
college boys1 saying  good and kind     
words to them4    ,how often he spoke to
 you in the chapel6 ,it was your church1
 and the  only church that you could    

attend1 except on holidays4 ,his purpose
 was  that this chapel service should be
 worthy of you1 and worthy of the  day4 
,so important did he consider it1 that  
when his turn came to speak  to you     
here1 he prepared himself carefully4 ,he
 always wrote his little  discourses1   
and the best thoughts of his mind and   
heart he put into  them4 ,he thought    
that nothing that he or any other       
speaker could bring  was too good for   
you4    ,and then the tones of his      
voice1 the manner of his instruction2   
how  gentle1 kind1 conciliating4 ,he    
remembered the injunction of ,scripture1
  8,the servant of the ,lord must not   
strive40 ,you will never know in this   
life how much he bore from you1 how long
 he bore with your waywardness1  your   
thoughtlessness2 how much he loved you4 
,he always called you 8his  boys40 ,no  
matter though some of you are almost    
men1 he always called  you 8his boys10  
much as the apostle ,john in his later  
years called his  disciples his 8little 

children40 ,for ,president ,allen felt  
that in a  certain sense he was a father
 to you all4    ,for some time past you 
knew that his health was declining4 ,you
 saw his  bowed form and his feeble1    
hesitating steps4 ,in the chapel his    
voice  was tremulous and feeble4 ,the   
boys on the back benches could not      
always  understand his words distinctly4
 ,but you knew that he was in earnest in
  all that he did say4 ,and for many    
months he was not able to speak at  all 
in the chapel4 ,on the last ,founder's  
,day he was seated in a chair1  with    
some of his family about him1 looking at
 the battalion boys as  they were       
drilled1 but the fatigue was too great  
for him4 ,and as the  summer advanced   
into ,august1 and the people in his     
native ,state were  gathering their     
harvests1 he1 too1 was gathered1 as a   
shock of corn  fully ripe4    ,when ,tom
 ,brown heard of the death of his old   
master1 ,arnold of ,rugby1  he was      
fishing in ,scotland4 ,it was read to   

him from a newspaper4 ,he  at once      
dropped everything and started for the  
old school4 ,he was  overwhelmed with   
distress4 8,when he reached the station 
he went at once  to the school4 ,at the 
gates he made a dead pause2 there was   
not a soul  in the quadrangle1 all was  
lonely and silent and sad2 so with      
another  effort he strode through the   
quadrangle1 and into the school-house   
offices4 ,he found the little matron in 
her room1 in deep mourning2  shook her  
hand1 tried to talk1 and moved nervously
 about4 ,she was  evidently thinking of 
the same subject as he1 but he couldn't 
begin  talking4 ,then he went to find   
the old verger1 who was sitting in his  
little den1 as of old4    8#8,where is  
he buried1 ,thomas8'    8#8,under the   
altar in the chapel1 sir1' answered     
,thomas4 #8,you'd like to  have the key1
 ,i dare say4'    8#8,thank you1        
,thomas2 yes1 ,i should1 very much4'    
8#8,then1' said ,thomas1 #8perhaps you'd
 like to go by yourself1 sir8'0    8,so 

he walked to the chapel door and        
unlocked it1 fancying himself the  only 
mourner in all the broad land1 and      
feeding on his own selfish  sorrow4     
8,he passed through the vestibule and   
then paused a moment to glance  over the
 empty benches4 ,his heart was still    
proud and high1 and he  walked up to the
 seat which he had last occupied as a   
sixth-form boy1  and sat down there to  
collect his thoughts4 ,the memories of  
eight  years were all dancing through   
his brain1 while his heart was throbbing
  with a dull sense of a great loss that
 could never be made up to him4  ,the   
rays of the evening sun came solemnly   
through the painted windows  over his   
head and fell in gorgeous colors on the 
opposite wall1 and the  perfect         
stillness soothed his spirit4 ,and he   
turned to the pulpit and  looked at it2 
and then leaning forward1 with his head 
on his hands1  groaned aloud4 #8,if he  
could have only seen the doctor for one 
five  minutes1 have told him all that   

was in his heart1 what he owed him1  how
 he loved and reverenced him1 and would1
 by ,god's help1 follow his  steps in   
life and death1 he could have borne it  
all without a murmur4  ,but that he     
should have gone away forever1 without  
knowing it all1  was too much to bear4' 
#8,but am ,i sure that he does not know 
it all8'  ,the thought made him start4  
#8,may he not even now be near me in    
this  chapel8'0    ,and with some such  
feelings as these ,i suppose many a boy 
will  come back to the college and stand
 in this chapel1 and recall the         
impressions he has received from        
,president ,allen here4 ,but his voice  
will never be heard here again4 ,nothing
 remains but to 8remember how he  spake 
unto you40    ,i am sure you will never 
forget the day he lay in his coffin in  
the  chapel1 and you all looked on his  
face for the last time4 ,what could  be 
more impressive than the funeral8 ,the  
crowded house1 the waiting  people1 the 
bowed heads1 the solemn strains of the  

organ1 the sweet  voices of children    
singing their beautiful hymns1 the open 
coffin1 the  appropriate address given  
by one of his own college boys1 the     
thousand  and more boys standing in open
 ranks for the procession to pass       
through  to the college gates1 the      
burial at ,laurel ,hill cemetery1 where 
many  of his pupils already lie1 and    
where many more will follow him in the  
coming yearsall these thoughts make that
 funeral day one long to be  remembered4
    ,let us accept this as the will of  
,providence4 ,there is nothing to       
regret for him2 but for us1 the void    
left by his withdrawal4 ,he is  leading 
a better life now than ever before4 ,he 
has just begun to live1  and the best   
words ,i can say to you are1 8remember  
how he spake unto  you40                
99       99       99       99       99  
8,but when the warrior dieth1           
,his comrades in the war      ,with arms
 reversed and muffled drums             
,follow the funeral car4      ,they show

 the banners taken1        ,they tell   
his battles won1      ,and after him    
lead his masterless steed1        ,while
 peals the minute gun4        8,amid the
 noblest of the land        ,men lay the
 sage to rest1      ,and give the bard  
an honored place1        ,with costly   
marble drest1      ,in the great        
,minster transept        ,where lights  
like glories fall1      ,and the choir  
sings and the organ rings        ,along 
the emblazoned wall40                   
,a ,,young ,,man',s ,,message ,,to      
,,boys4                                 
,december #g1 #ahhd4      ,when ,i came 
here in ,april last ,i brought with me  
some friends1 among  whom was my son4   
,and ,i said to him that some day ,i    
should wish him to  speak to you4 ,he   
had so recently been a college boy      
himself1 graduating  at the ,university 
of ,pennsylvania1 and he was so fond of 
the games  and plays of boys1 and withal
 was so deeply interested in boys and   
young men1 that ,i thought he might be  

able to say something that would        
interest you1 and perhaps do you good4  
,at a recent meeting of the proper      
committee his name was added to the     
list of persons who may be invited to   
speak to you4 ,the last time ,i was  at 
the college ,president ,fetterolf asked 
me when my son could come to  address   
you1 and ,i replied that he was sick4   
,that sickness was far more serious than
 any of us supposed2 there was  no      
favorable change1 and at the end of     
twelve days he passed away4    ,my      
suggestion that he might be invited to  
speak here led him to  prepare a short  
address1 which was found among his      
papers1 and has1  within a few days1    
been handed to me4 ,it was written with 
lead pencil1  apparently hastily2 and   
certainly lacking the final revision1   
which in  copying for delivery he would 
have given it4    ,i have thought it    
would be well for me to read to you this
 address2 but  ,i did not feel that ,i  
had any right to revise it1 or to make  

any change  in it whatever2 so ,i give  
it precisely as he wrote it1 adding only
 a  word here and there which was       
omitted in the hurried writing4         
,he that is slow to anger is better than
 the mighty2 and he that      ruleth his
 spirit1 than he that taketh a          
city4,proverbs xvi4      #cb4    ,i want
 you to look with me at the latter part 
of each of these  sentences1 and see if 
we can't understand a little better what
 ,solomon  meant by such words 8the     
mighty0 and 8he that taketh a city40    
,do you remember the wonderful dream    
that came to ,solomon just after  he had
 been made king over ,israel8 ,how ,god 
came to him while he was  sleeping and  
said to him1 8,ask what ,i shall give   
thee10 and how  ,solomon1 without any   
hesitation1 asked for wisdom4 ,and ,god 
gave him  wisdom1 so that he became     
famous far and wide1 and people from    
nations  far off came to see him and    
learn of him4    ,if ,i were to ask you 
now who was the wisest man that ever    

lived1 you  would say 8,solomon40 ,often
 you have heard one person say of       
another1  8he is as wise as ,solomon40  
,i cannot stop here to tell you of the  
way  in which ,solomon showed this      
wonderful gift4 ,but his knowledge was  
not that of books1 because there were   
not a great many books then for  him to 
read4 ,it was the knowledge which showed
 him how to do right1  and how to be a  
good ruler over his people4 ,and because
 he chose  such wisdom1 the very best   
gift of ,god1 ,god gave him besides1    
riches  and everything that he could    
possibly desire4 ,his horses and        
chariots  were the most beautiful and   
the strongest2 his armies were famous   
everywhere for their splendid arms and  
armor4 ,he had vast numbers of  servants
 to wait upon him1 and to do his        
slightest wish4 ,presents1 most         
magnificent1 were sent to him by the    
kings of all the nations round  about   
him4 ,no king of ,israel before or after
 him was so great and so  powerful4     

,and1 greatest honor of all1 ,god       
permitted him to build a  temple for    
himwhat his father ,david had so longed 
to do and was not  allowed1 ,god        
directed ,solomon to do4 ,david's       
greatest desire before  he died was to  
build a house for ,god4 ,the ark of ,god
 had never had  a house to rest in1 and 
,david was not satisfied to have a      
splendid  palace to live in himself1 and
 to have nothing but a tent in which  to
 keep ,god's ark4 ,but ,god would not   
suffer him to do that1 although  he was 
the king whom he loved so much4 ,no1    
that must be kept for his  son ,solomon 
to do4 ,david had been too great a      
fighter all his life2 he  had been at   
war2 he had driven back his enemies on  
all sides1 and had  made ,god's people a
 nation to be feared by all their foes4 
,so ,david was  a 8mighty man10 and     
while ,solomon was growing up he must   
have heard  every one talking of the    
wonderful things his father had done    
from his  youth upthe adventures he had 

had when he was only a poor shepherd    
lad keeping his flocks on the hills     
about ,bethlehem4 ,and how often  must  
he have been told that splendid story1  
which we never grow tired  of hearing1  
of his fight with the giant ,goliath2   
and when he was shown  the huge pieces  
of armor1 and the great sword and spear1
 he surely knew  what it was for a man  
to be 8mighty0 and 8great40 ,and when   
his old  father withdrew from the throne
 and made him king1 he found himself    
surrounded on all sides with the results
 of his father's wars and  conquests1   
and soon knew that he also was 8a mighty
 man40    ,there is not a boy here who  
does not want to be 8great40 ,every one 
of you wants to make a name for himself1
 or have something1 or do  something1   
that will be remembered long after he is
 dead4    ,if ,i should ask you what    
that something is1 ,i suppose almost all
 of you  would say1 8,i want to be rich1
 so rich that ,i can do whatever ,i     
like2  that ,i need not do any work2    

that ,i can go where ,i please40 ,some  
of  you would say1 8,i would travel all 
over the world and write about what  ,i 
see1 so that long after ,i am dead      
people will read my books and say1      
#8what a great man he was6'0 ,some of   
you would say1 8,i would build great    
houses1 and fill them with all the      
richest and most beautiful goods4 ,i    
would have whole fleets of ships1       
sailing to all parts of the world1      
bringing back wonderful things from     
strange countries2 and when ,i would    
meet people in the street they would    
stand aside to let me pass1 saying  to  
one another1 #8there goes a great man2  
he is our richest merchant2  how ,i     
should like to be as great as he4'0     
,and still another would say3 8,i don't 
care anything about books or  beautiful 
merchandise4 ,no1 ,i'll go into foreign 
countries and become a  great fighter1  
and ,i shall conquer whole nations1 so  
that my enemies  shall be afraid of me1 
and ,i shall ride at the head of great  

armies1  and when ,i come home again the
 people will give me a grand reception2 
will make arches across the street1 and 
cover their houses with flags1  and as  
,i ride along the street the air will be
 filled with cheers for  the great      
general40    ,and so each one of you    
would tell me of some way in which he   
would like  to be great4 ,i should think
 very little of the boy who had no      
ambition1  one who would be entirely    
content to just get along somehow1 and  
never  care for any great success so    
long as he had enough to eat and drink  
and to clothe himself with1 and who     
would never look ahead to set  his mind 
on obtaining some great object4 ,it is  
perfectly right and  proper to be       
ambitious1 to try and make as much as   
possible of every  opportunity that is  
presented4 ,no one can read that parable
 of the  master who called his servants 
to account for the talents he had given 
them1 and not see that ,god gives us all
 the blessings and advantages  that we  

have1 in order that we may have an      
opportunity to put them to  such good   
use1 that ,he may say to us as the      
master in the parable said  to his      
servants1 8,well done1 good and faithful
 servant40    ,so it is right for you to
 want to be great1 and ,i want to try   
and tell  you how to accomplish it4 ,if 
you were sure that ,i could tell you the
  real secret of success you would      
listen very carefully to what ,i had  to
 say1 wouldn't you8 ,some of you would  
even write down what ,i said4  ,then    
write this down in your hearts2 for1    
following this1 you will  be greater    
than 8the mighty30 8,he that is slow to 
anger is better than  the mighty2 and he
 that ruleth his spirit1 than he that   
taketh a city40  ,are some of you       
disappointed8 do you say1 8,is that all8
 ,i thought he  was about to tell us how
 we could make lots of money40 ,ah1 if  
you would  only believe it1 and follow  
such advice1 such a plan were to be far 
richer than the man who can count his   

wealth by millions4 ,but look at  it in 
another way4 ,what sort of a boy do you 
choose for the captain of  a base-ball  
nine or a foot-ball team8 ,what sort of 
a man is chosen  for a high position8   
,is he one who loses all control over   
himself when  something happens to vex  
him1 and flies into a terrible passion  
when  some one happens to oppose him8   
,no2 the one you would select for any   
place of great responsibility is he who 
can keep his head clear1 who  will not  
permit himself to get angry at any      
little vexation1 who rules  his own     
spiritand can there be anything harder  
to do8 ,i tell you 8no40    ,so1 ,i have
 told you how to be successful1 and at  
the same time ,i tell  you1 there is    
nothing harder to do2 and now ,i go on  
still further1 and  say you can't follow
 such advice by yourself1 you must have 
some help4  ,is it hard to get8 ,no1 it 
is offered to you freely2 you are urged 
to  ask for it1 and you are assured that
 it is certain to come to all who  want 

it4 ,will such help be sufficient8 ,much
 more than sufficient1 for  ,he who     
shall help you is abundantly able to    
give you more than you ask  or think4   
,it is ,god who tells you to come to    
him1 and he shall make  you more than   
8the mighty10 greater than he which     
taketh the city2  yes1 for the greatness
 he shall bestow upon those who come to 
him is  far above all earthly greatness4
 ,he shall be with you when you are     
ready to fly into a furious temper1 when
 you lift your hand to strike1  when you
 would kill if you were not afraid2 but 
when the wish is in  your heart1 yes1   
then1 even then1 ,he is beside you4 ,he 
looks upon you  in divine mercy1 and if 
you will only let him1 will rebuke the  
foul  spirit and command him to come out
 of you1 and your whole soul shall  be  
filled with peace4 ,why won't you listen
 to his pleading voice1 and  let him    
quiet the dreadful storm of anger8 ,and 
when the hot words fly  to your lips1   
remember his soft answer that turns away

 wrath4 ,then  will you have won a      
greater battle than any ever fought2 for
 you will  have conquered your own      
wicked spirit1 and by ,god's grace you  
are a  conqueror4 ,and the reward for a 
life of such self-conquest shall be a   
crown of life that fadeth not away4     
,won't you accept such greatness8       
99       99       99       99       99  
,such are the words he would have spoken
 to you had his life been  spared2 and  
he would have spoken them with the great
 advantage of a  young man speaking to  
young men4 ,now they seem like a message
  from the heavenly world4 ,it is more  
than probable that in copying for       
delivery he would have expanded some of 
the thoughts and have made the  little  
address more complete4 ,perhaps it would
 be better for me to stop  here2 444 but
 there are a few words which ,i would   
like to say1 and it  may be that they   
can be better said now than at any other
 time4    ,i want to say again1 what ,i 
have so often said1 that a boy may be   

fond  of all innocent games and plays   
and yet be a ,christian4 ,some of you   
may doubt this4 ,you may believe and    
say1 that religion interferes with      
amusements and makes life gloomy4 ,here 
is an example of the contrary2  for ,i  
do not see how there could be a happier 
life than my son's  7there never was a  
shadow upon it71 and no one could be    
more fond of  base-ball and foot-ball   
and cricket and tennis than he was2 and 
yet he  was a simple-hearted ,christian 
boy and young man4 ,and with all this   
love of innocent pleasure and fun he    
neglected no business obligations1  nor 
did he fail in any of the duties of     
social or family life4 ,in  short1 ,i   
can wish no better thing for you boys   
than that your lives may  be as happy   
and as beautiful as his was4            
,a ,,truthful ,,character4              
,april1 #ahhi4      ,can anything be    
more important to a young life than     
truthfulness8 ,is  character worth      
anything at all if it is not founded on 

truth8 ,and are  not the temptations to 
untruthfulness in heart and life        
constantly in  your path8    ,it is most
 interesting to think that every life   
here is an individual  life1 having its 
own history1 and in many respects unlike
 every other  life4 ,when ,i see you    
passing through these grounds1 going in 
procession  to and from your            
school-rooms1 your dining halls and your
 play-grounds1  the question often      
arises in my thoughts1 how many of these
 boys are  walking in the truth8    ,if 
,i were looking for a boy to fill any   
position within my gift1 or  within the 
reach of my influence1 and should seek  
such a boy among  you1 ,i should ask    
most carefully of those who know you    
best1 whether  such and such a boy were 
truthful2 and not in speech merely 7that
 is1  does he answer questions          
truthfully71 but is he open and frank in
 his  life8 ,does he cheat in his       
lessons or in his games8 ,does he shirk 
any  duty that is required of him in the

 shops8 ,when he fails to recite his    
lessons accurately1 is he very ready    
with his excuses trying to justify      
himself for his failure1 or does he     
admit candidly that he did not do  his  
best1 and does he promise sincerely to  
do better in the future8  ,and is he one
 who may be depended upon to give a fair
 account of any  incident that may come 
up for investigation8 ,sometimes there  
are wrong  things done here1 done from  
thoughtlessness often2 may such a boy as
  ,i am looking for be depended upon to 
say what he knows about it1 in a  manly 
way1 so as to screen the innocent1 and1 
if necessary1 expose the  guilty8 ,in   
other words1 is he trustworthy1 worthy  
of trust1 can he be  depended on8    ,it
 may not be easy for one at my time of  
life to say just what a boy  ought to   
be1 if he is to make much of a man4 ,but
 we who think much  of this subject have
 an idea of what we would like the boys 
to be1  in whom we are especially       
interested4 ,and if ,i borrow from      

another  a description of what ,i mean1 
it is because this author has said it   
better than ,i can4    8,a real boy     
should be generous1 courteous among his 
friends and among  his school-fellows2  
respectful to his superiors1            
well-mannered4 ,he  must avoid loud talk
 and rough ways2 must govern his tongue 
and his  temper2 must listen to advice  
and reproof with humility4 ,he must be a
  gentleman4 ,he must not be a sneak or 
a bully2 he must neither cringe  to the 
strong nor tyrannize over the weak4 ,to 
his teachers he must be  obedient1 for  
they have a right to require obedience  
of him2 he must  be respectful1 because 
the true gentleman always respects those
 who  are wiser1 more experienced1      
better informed than himself4 ,he must  
apply himself to his lessons with a     
single aim1 seeking knowledge for  its  
own sake1 and earnestly striving to make
 the best possible use of  such         
faculties as ,god has given him4 ,he    
must do his best to store his  mind with

 high thoughts by a careful study of all
 that is beautiful  and pure4 ,in his   
sports and plays he must seek to excel1 
if excellence  can be obtained by a     
moderate amount of time and energy2 but 
he must  remember1 that though it is a  
fine thing to have a healthy body and  a
 healthy mind1 it is neither necessary  
nor admirable to develop a  muscular    
system like that of an athlete or a     
giant4 ,whatever falls to  his hands to 
do1 he must do it with his might1       
assured that ,god loves  not the idle or
 dishonest worker4 ,he must remember    
that life has its  duties and           
responsibilities as well as its         
pleasures2 that these begin  in boyhood1
 and that they cannot be evaded without 
injury to heart and  mind and soul4 ,he 
must train himself in all good habits1  
in order that  these may accompany him  
easily in later life2 in habits of      
method and  order1 of industry and      
perseverance and patience4 ,he must not 
forget  that every victory over himself 

smooths the way for future victories  of
 the same kind2 and the precious fruit  
of each moral virtue is to set  us on   
higher and better ground for conquests  
of principle in all time  to come4 ,he  
must resolutely shut his ears and his   
heart to every foul  word and every     
improper suggestion1 every profane      
utterance2 guarding  himself against the
 first approaches of sin1 which are     
always the most  insidiously made4 ,he  
must not think it a brave or plucky     
thing to  break wholesome rules1 to defy
 authority1 to ridicule age or poverty  
or feebleness1 to pamper the appetite1  
to imitate the #8fast1' to throw  away  
valuable time2 to neglect precious      
opportunities4 ,he must love  truth with
 a deep and passionate love1 abhorring  
even the shadow of a  lie1 even the     
possibility of a falsehood4 ,true in    
word1 true in deed1  he shall walk in   
the truth40    ,i say then to you boys1 
do your best2 be honest and diligent2 be
  resolute to live a pure and honorable 

life2 speak the truth like boys  who    
hope to be gentlemen2 be merry if you   
will1 for it is good to be  merry and   
wise2 be loving and dutiful sons1 be    
affectionate brothers1  be loyal-hearted
 friends1 and when you come to be men   
you will look  back to these boyish days
 without regret and without shame4      
,something like this is my ideal of a   
boy4 ,i am very desirous that your      
future shall be bright and useful and   
successful1 and ,i1 and others who  are 
interested in your welfare1 will hope to
 hear nothing but good of  you2 but we  
can have no greater joy than to hear    
that you are walking  in the truth4     
,some of you may become rich men2 some  
may become very  prominent in public    
affairs2 you may reach high places2 you 
may fill  a large space in the public   
estimation2 you may be able and         
brilliant  men2 but there is nothing in 
your life that will give us so much joy 
as  to hear that 8you are walking in the
 truth40    ,truth is the foundation of 

all the virtues1 and without it         
character  is absolutely worthless4 ,no 
gentleness of disposition1 no           
willingness  to help other people1 no   
habits of industry1 no freedom from     
vicious  practices1 can make up for want
 of truthfulness of heart and life4     
,some persons think that if they work   
long and hard and deny themselves  for  
the good of others1 and do many generous
 and noble acts and have  a good        
reputation1 they can even tell lies     
sometimes and not be much  blamed4 ,but 
they forget that reputation is not      
character2 that one may  have a very    
good reputation and a very bad          
character2 they forget that  the        
reputation is the outside1 what we see  
of each other1 while the  character is  
what we are in the heart4               
99       99       99       99       99  
,transcriber's ,notes3     ,text in     
italics is enclosed by underscores      
7italics74     ,printer's1 punctuation1 
and spelling inaccuracies were silently 

corrected4     ,archaic and variable    
spelling has been preserved4            
,variations in hyphenation and compound 
words have been preserved4