The Mercury - May 1903 ; Gettysburg College Mercury; College Mercury; Mercury

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YOL. XII SO. 3 MAY, 1903 The ■ Gettysburg i GETTYSBURG COLLEGE GETTYSBURG, PA. BARBEHENN fc LITTLE, LTD., GETTYSBURG f PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTIZERS. I "We always nave tine; sea-sons novelties, "besides a complete line o£ staples at priees to tempt you, SPECIAL CARE TAKEN TO MAKE WORK STYLISH AND EXACTLY TO YOUR ORDER. ttlill m. Seligman, Tailor?, 7 Chambefsbupg St., Gettysburg, Pa. R. A. WONDERS Corner Cigar Parlors. A ful'i line of Cigars, Tobacco, Pipes, etc. Scott's Corner, opp. Eagle Hotel GETTYSBURG, PA. Pool Parlors in Connection. D. J. Swartz Dealer in Coantry Proflnce Groceries Ciprs and Tobacco GETTYSBURG. Established 1887 by Allen Walton. Allen K. Walton, Pros, and Treas. Root. J. Walton, Superintendent. Hummelstown Brown Stone Compaq, and Manufacturers of BUILDING STONE, SAWED FLAGGING, and TILE, IALTONVILLE DAUPHIN COUNTY, FENNA. Contractors for all kinds of cut stone work. Telegraph and Express Address, BROWNSTONE, PA. Parties visiting Quarries will leave cars at Brownstone Station, on the P. & R. R.R. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTIZERS. Geo. E. Spacer, PIANOS, ORGANS, MUSICAL MERCHANDISE . MuaiC Rooms, - York St. Telephone 181 GETTYSBURG C. B. KITZMILLER, DEALER IN Hats, Caps, Roots. »nd ^"^fe^^-Douglas Shoes GETTYSBURG, TPJPS. h. M. AIAEMAN, Manufacturer's Agent and Jobber of Hardware, Oils, paints and Queensware Gettysburg, Pa. THE ONLY JOBBING HOUSE IN ADAMS COUNTY W. F. Odori, ^DEALER IN^k. Beef, fwh tail, t .SPECIAL RATES TO CLUBS. York Street, Gettysburg:, Pa. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. EGKENR09E & BEGKEK CHAMBERSBTJRG ST., Dealers in Beef, Teal, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Pudding, Bologna, Hams, Sides, Shoulders, Lard, Prime Corned Beef. The Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia. DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE Offers exceptional facilities to graduates of Gettysburg College, especially to those who have taken a medical preparatory or biological course. The instruction is thoroughly practical, particular attention being given to laboratory work and bed-side and ward;class teaching. Ward-classes are limited in size. A modified seminar method is a special feature of the Course. Free quizzing in all branches by the Professors and a special staff of Tutors. The College has also a Department of Dentistry and a Department of Pharmacy. All Gettysburg College students are cordially invited to inspect the College and Clinical Amphitheatre at any time. For announcements or information apply to SENECA EGBERT, Dean of the Department of Medicine, 17th & Cherry Streets, PHILADELPHIA, PA. Wright, %j \ Co. Manufacturers of high grade Fraternity Emblems Fraternity Jewelry Fraternity Novelties Fraternity Stationery Fraternity Invitations 140-144 Woodward Avenue, Fraternity Announcements DETROIT, MICH. Fraternity Programs Send for Catalogue and Price List. Special Designs on Application. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. **»♦«♦«**»«««♦*$' Good Work Low Prices Publishers ot THE GETTYSBURG NEWS 142 Carlisle St., Gettysburg, Pa. BIIIE1EII if LITTLE, LTD. AMOS ECKERT Latest Styles in HATS, SHOES AND GENT'S FURNISHING .Our specialty. WALK-OVER SHOE AMOS ECKERT Prices always right The Lutheran puhl^pg poitfe. No. 1424 Arch Street PHILADELPHIA, PA. Acknowledged Headquarters for anything and everything in the way of Books for Churches, Col-leges, Families and Schools, and literature for Sunday Schools. PLEASE REMEMBER That by sending your orders to us you help build up and devel-op one of the church institutions with pecuniary advantage to yourself. Address H. S. BONER, Supt. THE GETTYSBURG JIEKCURY The Literary Journal of Gettysburg College VOL. XII. GETTYSBURG, PA., MAY, 1903 No. 3 CONTENTS THE TOMB OF HIS FATHERS (Poem) . 80 THE INFLUENCE OF STOIC PHILOSOPHY ON ROMAN LAW 81 RALPH H. BERGSTRESSER, '03. A STUDY FROM LIFE 85 HERBERT L. STIFEL, '03. THE HIGHWAY TO SCHOLARSHIP 88 VERA L. WAGNER, '06. RETURN OF PERSEPHONE (Poem) 91 THE NEGRO—HIS DEMANDS AND PROSPECTS . . 93 NORMAN S. WOLF, '04. A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE 101 J. GARFIELD DILLER, '04. INSTRUCTION BY MEANS OF PICTURES . . .106 A. L. DlLLENBECK, '05. EDITORIALS 108 EXCHANGES no 8o THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. THE TOMB OF HIS FATHERS. FROM THE GERMAN OF UHLAND. I LOWLY he went o'er the meadows To the chapel above the wood ; There, a gray-haired knight in armor, In the darkened choir he stood. The coffins of his fathers Stood close along the wall; A wondrous song came in warning From the depths of the vaulted hall. 'Plainly I hear your greeting, Ye spirits of heroes dead. Now hail me, for I am worthy And am come to share your bed." There stood in a sheltered corner A coffin yet unfilled ; For his resting place he took it, For a pillow he took his shield. His hands on his sword he folded And peacefully fell asleep. The ghostly songs grew silent, For here must be silence deep. it THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 81 THE INFLUENCE OF STOIC PHILOSOPHY ON ROMAN LAW. RAI.PH H. BERGSTRESSER, '03. IN order to form a correct conception of Stoicism we must remember that it was not merely a system of ethics, but a religion raised upon the ruins of polytheism ; that it was not the work of a single individual, but a collection of doctrines from different sources which meet in one and the same channel like the tributaries of a river. Hence its practical turn, and the complex nature of its teachings. The Stoics had no fixed dogmas concerning theoretical ques-tions of religion ; one might believe in immortality or not with-out ceasing to be a disciple of Stoa. What constituted the Stoic, and united all the members of the school, was their motto, "Virtue for virtue's sake." The "summum bonum," according to Stoicism, is to do your duty because it is your duty; everything else, health, fortunes, honors and pleasures, are indifferent and even bad, when they are the sole objects of your strivings. Virtue alone has the power of making us happy, providing we seek it in a disinterested manner. Every-thing is decreed by Fate and nature; therefore let come what may, the Stoic is resigned. His supreme rule is "sequi na-turam," that is, to follow the law which nature enjoins upon conscience, and which is identical with the law that governs the world. Before the introduction of Stoicism, the tyranny of the Ro-man emperors seems incredible to us, viewing it as we do from a great distance of time and place. It is not so much the bar-barity of the despot—released from all fear of God, and over-whelmed at the same time with the fear of man—as the pa-tience of the subjects, that moves our wonder and appears at first sight among the inscrutable problems of history. Are we not able to find a solution of this in the tyranny of the Roman families ? The viciousness of their own institutions, their own personal habits and usages, hardened them against the sense of 82 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. wrong and suffering. Whenever the Roman entered his own dwelling, the slave chained to the door-way, the marks of the iron and the cord upon the faces of his domestics, all impressed him with the feeling that he was a despot himself; for despot and master were only other words for the same fearful thing— the irresponsible owner of a horde of human chattels. Ty-ranny was his own birthright; how could he resent its exercise in another? Roman Imperialism allowed the freest discussion of Stoic philosophy, although, no doubt the object was to direct the attention from politics. Stoicism, however, held aloof from the practical workings of the world, and it has frequently been taunted for the hopeless distance at which it stood from the sympathies of mankind in general. But let the Stoics be judged solely by what they attempted. Their aims were high. They sought to make some men more than human. The empire for which they sighed was the empire of the best and wisest, the oligarchy of reason. But, according to-a noted scholar, their aspirations were really less visionary and unpractical. They descended from the clouds to the earth to impregnate with noble and fruitful principles such forms of government as were actually accessible to them. The point of contact between the Stoic Philosophy and Roman Law is to be found in the Law of Nature, and this con-ception of the jus naturale worked its way into the Roman thought, and was used to explain not only the foundation of individual and social morality, but also the basis of legal rights and obligations. From the time of Alexander Severus, the legal literature of Rome is pervaded with the idea that law has a more ultimate foundation than custom or convention—that it is founded on the nature of things. "The influence of Stoicism upon Roman Law," according to Maine, "is not to be judged by mere repetitions of moral pre-cepts, but rather upon the prevalent belief in Natural Law as the ethical basis of civil law, by the general recognition of the supremacy of reason as a guide in civil action, and by the common method which came to be employed of interpreting THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 83 legal duties in the light of the higher principles of Natural Equity." One of the first changes was noticed in the new meaning attached to the jus gentium. The term was originally applied to the body of customs common to Rome, and the states sub-ject to Roman dominion. When viewed in the light of the jus naturale, the edicts of the praetors, instead of being viewed merely as arbitrary laws, were considered as the remains of that primitive law which the Universal Reason had instituted for all men. Gains says that "the law which natural reason has con-stituted for all men obtains equally among all nations and is called the jus gentium." As a natural result of the adoption of Stoicism, slavery was condemned. It was no longer considered to be an eternal law of nature. The new light in which the Stoic viewed the affairs of life, taught him to recognize the moral government of the world as a system of mysterious wisdom and mercy besides which the idea of slavery was incongruous. One of the greatest changes effected by the new philosophy was the abolition of domestic tyranny. The .authority of the father had been without limit. As far as the restraints of law were concerned he was despot in the household. He had over its members the right to inflict death. From the time of the introduction of Stoicism the authority of the father began to be reduced. The paternal power, the patria potestas, was curtailed. Christianity also contributed to this reform. How far the milder sentiments of Christianity were active in modifying the thought and feeling is a question difficult to settle. This is certain, that the Stoic teachings tended strongly from the be-ginning to such a result. Regarding the influence of Stoicism upon Roman Law, dif-ferent opinions have been advocated by different writers. Some profess to find the Roman Law filled with particular precepts drawn from the Stoic philosophy ; while others seem to qustion the reality of any Stoical influence whatever. "The view which seems most reasonable," says Morrey, "is that the Stoic theory of natural law exercised a positive influence upon the legal 84 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. thought of Rome, exhibited not so much in the form of partic-ular rules, as in the general principles which controlled the methods of interpretation employed by the jurists." ^i,- A MEMORY. The March winds blow across the fields With clamorous trumpeting ; And to my heart there comes a dream Of a long vanished spring. The scent of the lilac-perfumed air Within a garden old, Where grew sweet-blossomed mignonette, Pansy and marigold. And there was one who culled the flowers Theirs was a happy lot, The lily with its heart of gold, The blue forget-me-not. Ah, little maid of long ago, Who, with your spring time flowers Comes from the past to gladden |me, And cheer my dreamy hours. No fairer flower ever grew Nor one with daintier grace, Than you, with sunlight in your hair, And rose hue in your face. The flowers sweet long since are gone, No more they greet the dew ; But ever in my heart is kept The memory of you. So to that heart there comes a dream When wild the March winds blow, A maiden in a garden old A spring time long ago. —University of Virginia Magazine. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 85 A STUDY FROM LIFE. HERBERT L. STIFEI., '03. IT was the night of the President's reception. Jack Burton and Donald Hastings, who had taken charge of an alum-nus that evening, were strolling along the leafy campus paths, listening to his tales of college life long ago. The alumnus was telling the story of an old hazing expedition in which he had taken part back in the fifties. When he had finished and the laugh was over, he suddenly became grave and after a mo-ment's silence said in a low tone, "Poor old Bill 'Knox was* in that, too. He was one of our men. Did you fellows ever hear his story ?" "No," replied Hastings. "I've seen his name in the records, but very little is given about him there." The alumnus threw away his cigar: "Well, it's a queer tale. Knox was a good, conscientious fellow, the kind you would have for one of ycur Y. M. C. A. presidents now, and he was very much interested in another man, a classmate by the name of Phillips. This man Phillips was a tough case ; he had been a mighty bright and promising young fellow when he came to college, but he got into the wrong crowd and certainly did go down hill fast. Drink ! I've seen a bit of the world for the past thirty years, but I never saw a man drink the way he did. I-Ie seldom drew a sober breath. Well, Bill liked the fellow and tried and tried to reform him, but it was no good until that night in '59 when the dormitory burned down. Phillips was lying in his room dead drunk. He would have been burned to death that night if Knox hadn't thought of him and dragged him out at the risk of his own life. Both of them were in the hospital for a month and a half after that. From that time on Phillips was a changed man. The two became inseparable and under Bill's influence he pulled himself up until he was the man he had been at the beginning of his course. Naturally bright, he gradually rose until at Commencement he stood sec-ond in his class. The one man above him was Bill Knox. 86 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. After graduation they opened a law office in partnership, and when the Civil War broke out, they both answered Lincoln's call for volunteers, and enlisted in the same company. "The rest of the story I heard from Phillips. During the third year of the war, Bill's misfortune began. Just after the battle of Gettysburg a message came to him that his wife was dying—he had married Bess Lawrence, one of the town girls— and if he wished to see her alive, he must come at once. He did not wait for leave of absence; that would take time, and every moment was precious then. Under cover of night he stole through the lines and reached home just in tirne to be with her when she died. And then—then, when it _was all over, and he was about to rejoin his regiment, he found that he was branded as a traitor and deserter. If caught he would be shot without mercy ; he was a fugitive from justice. Well, the poor fellow disappeared completely, and no one has ever heard of him since. I don't know whether he is dead or alive, nor does anyone else. It does seem strange, though, the way his life was ruined, and now Phillips, the man for whom he did so much, is on the bench in Chicago—criminal court, I believe just elected." When the alumnus finished, the little group was strangely silent. The strains of the orchestra playing "Auld Lang Syne" in Bayard Hall, floated softly across the campus. "Poor devil!" muttered Burton, and silence fell again. * * * * # * Upon the same day on which the alumnus told the story of his college career, Judge Phillips was to try his first murder case. The accused, as it seemed, had stabbed and mortally wounded a man in a drunken brawl in one of the down-town saloons. The deed was witnessed by five or six persons and the counsel for defense despaired of getting even a second de-gree verdict. The judge was in a strangely reminiscent mood that morn-ing. This was the day on which his old class was holding its reunion. It set him thinking of his college days, of that night when Knox had not only saved his life but had rescued his THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 8; immortal soul. He was thinking how much he owed to his old chum and wondering what had become of him. When he arrived at the court room, it was already half filled. Court was opened and the prisoner was brought in. He was a miserable, trembling wretch, with bleared eyes and unkempt, matted hair. A ray of sunlight crept softly in through the barred window and played about the room. It seemed strangely out of place on the bare, white walls and the stern faces of the jury. The trial was short. The jury, retiring only for fifteen minutes, brought in a verdict of "Guilty in the first degree." The judge had not paid much attention to the details of the trial; he had barely glanced at the prisoner. Now he arose to pass the sentence. "Prisoner at the bar, have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you ?" The words fell solemnly and slowly from his lips. Suddenly the crouching figure in the prisoner's "bar sprang up, the stooped shoulders were squared, the dull eyes flashed defiantly, yet with a pleading light. The prisoner uttered but one sen-tence. Stretching out his arms to the judge he cried, "Dick, don't you know me ?" The judge started ; he reeled and leaned heavily on the desk beside him. That voice, that position. Surely this creature could not be Will Knox, laughing, gay, honest, good hearted Bill. The room swam before his eyes, a black mist was hiding everything. His brain was on fire. God! He could not sentence this man—the man who had saved him, soul and body ; the man who had made him all that he"was. He could not condemn him tp death. He could not—he could not—but calm, he must be calm his duty ! Twelve honest men had found him guilty of murder and his duty! There was an awful silence in the court room. Then the judge, with white, set face, slowly but clearly and distinctly spoke the words which consigned the man to the scaffold. They led the prisoner away. The people filed slowly from the room. His Honor sank back into his chair. His head drooped on the railing before him, his clinched hands relaxed. The little sunbeam danced across the room and rested gently on his face. He was dead. 88 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. THE HIGHWAY TO SCHOLARSHIP. VERA L. WAGNER, '06. THIS is an age of specialization along all lines of activity. A special training is therefore necessary to eminence in any one of the vocations. The successful farmer, lawyer, preacher, or physician is the man who thinks. Thought power is the door to success and it is open to all. Reading is one of the avenues leading up to scholarship—not reading and storing the knowledge which has been gained in the upper shelf of the mind, never to be used again, but reading and making what rs read a part of that mind. If what is read be not assimilated, the mind becomes like a storehouse filled with things useless. The scholar reads and masters what he reads; arranges and classifies the knowledge he has gained. The manner of reading is of far greater importance than the quantity read. To read and retain confused and indistinct im-pressions is of no practical value. To read without testing the facts and criticizing the theories advanced, is equally useless. Others may state facts and put forth new theories, but the scholar will verify these facts by his own experience and en-deavor to establish the validity of the theories. The scholar is so far superior to other men because he thinks. The thinker cuts his way through his subject smoothly, grace-fully, rapidly ; other men wear out life against the simplest problems. The scholar is not led hither and thither by the opinions of others, but, after a thoroughly unprejudiced investi-gation of a subject, he forms an opinion to which he will cling until convinced of his error. This resolute following of one's opinion in the face of any apparent failure is the secret of any discovery, any great achievement, any advance in philosophy or historical knowledge. Columbus, in spite of the doubts of friends and the jeers of others, demonstrated to the world that his theory of the earth's sphericity was a scientific fact and not a baseless fancy. Edison said in respect to his inventions, "I never did anything worth THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 89 * doing by accident." Grant, with his iron will, turned not a hair's breath from his purpose until Lee surrendered his sword at Appomatox. Cyrus Field made three attempts before he mastered the forces of nature and successfully laid the Atlantic Cable. Kant spent seven years upon his "Critique of Pure Reason." Bancroft worked twenty-six years on his "History of the United States," Gibbon twenty years on his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Webster thirty-six years on his dictionary. Stephenson perfected his locomotive after fif-teen years of intense application. Harvey labored seven years before he discovered the circulation of the blood and was then called a crack-brained imposter by his fellow physicians. These great achievements were wrought out, not by one tremendous effort, but by patient and continuous endeavor. Labor is still and ever will be the inevitable price set upon everything which is valuable. Ruskin says, "Never depend on genius; if you have talent, industry will improve it; if you have none, industry will supply the deficiences." Great achievements are not accomplished by half hearted effort. Any attempt toward achievement of any kind will prove a dismal failure unless all the energies are bent in that one direction. To none other can more difficult problems arise than to the scholar. Unless, therefore, all the forces of a scholar are united by a lively enthusiasm he cannot succeed. The intellectual development of man during the last century is marked by specialization in all vocations. The scholar is expending his energies not in all directions, but earnestly and resolutely in one direction. Too many persons of to-day are content to be "Jacks of all trades and masters of none." The world is full of persons who can do everything, but the world wants those who can do one thing and do it well. "The weak-est living creature," says Carlyle, "by concentrating his power on a single purpose can accomplish something, whereas the strongest by dispersing his over many may fail to accomplish anything. The drop by continually falling bores its passage through the hardest rock. The hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no traces behind." 90 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. By contrasting the scholar and the illiterate the rewards of scholarship are fully understood. In their mental and material conditions, vast differences are noticeable. The ignorant and surperstitious fail to appreciate the true beauty of nature. On the other hand, high positions are not held by the rich, but by men of cultured mind. Why then cannot everyone become eminent in a world where thought rules and great minds achieve mastery over men?' Eminence, however, cannot be attained but by persistent, strenuous effort for "No pain, no palm ; no thorn, no throne; no gall, no glory ; no cross, no crown." * % A sense of duty pursues us ever. It is omnipresent, like the Deity. If we take to ourselves the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, duty performed or duty violated is still with us, for our happiness or our misery. If we say the darkness shall cover us, in the darkness as in the light our obligations are yet with us.—WEBSTER. Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man—yester-day in embryo, to-morrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hair's-breadth of time assigned to thee live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the sea-son that bore it and the tree that matured it.—MARCUS AURE-LIUS. Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be ; or they are, and do not appear to be ; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man's task.—EPICTETUS. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 91 RETURN OF PERSEPHONE. f^EMETER decks the world in green ■*^ To greet Persephone. She carpets with a verdant sheen Each meadow, lawn and lea; And every field and forest scene She brightens silently. She bids the tiny buds unfold, The merry robin sing, The violet forget the cold, The arbutus upspring. The crocus, too, in cup of gold Its sweetest tribute bring. She watches with an anxious eye Each shifting shade and light, And scans the ever-changing sky From morning until night. Now heavy clouds go floating by, And now the sun shines bright. Oh, for a breath of summer breeze To wake the sleeping flowers ! Oh, for the shade of budded trees, The balm of April showers ! Oh, for the green of grassy leas, For glad and golden hours. Oh Earth, no more in silence be, In deepest, darkest night ; Break forth in strains of melody, Press onward to the light. Then shall my lost Persephone Return all fair and bright. 90 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. By contrasting the scholar and the illiterate the rewards of scholarship are fully understood. In their mental and material conditions, vast differences are noticeable. The ignorant and surperstitious fail to appreciate the true beauty of nature. On the other hand, high positions are not held by the rich, but by men of cultured mind. Why then cannot everyone become eminent in a world where thought rules and great minds achieve mastery over men? Eminence, however, cannot be attained but by persistent, strenuous effort for "No pain, no palm ; no thorn, no throne; no gall, no glory ; no cross, no crown." A sense of duty pursues us ever. It is omnipresent, like the Deity. If we take to ourselves the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, duty performed or duty violated is still with us, for our happiness or our misery. If we say the darkness shall cover us, in the darkness as in the light our obligations are yet with us.—WEBSTER. Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man—yester-day in embryo, to-morrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hair's-breadth of time assigned to thee live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the sea-son that bore it and the tree that matured it.—MARCUS AURE-LIUS. Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be ; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man's task.—EPICTETUS. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 91 RETURN OF PERSEPHONE. ■ "%EMETER decks the world in green -™^ To greet Persephone. She carpets with a verdant sheen Each meadow, lawn and lea ; And every field and forest scene She brightens silently. She bids the tiny buds unfold, The merry robin sing, The violet forget the cold, The arbutus upspring. The crocus, too, in cup of gold Its sweetest tribute bring. She watches with an anxious eye Each shifting shade and light, And scans the ever-changing sky From morning until night. Now heavy clouds go floating by, And now the sun shines bright. Oh, for a breath of summer breeze To wake the sleeping flowers ! Oh, for the shade of budded trees, The balm of April showers ! Oh, for the green of grassy leas, For glad and golden hours. Oh Earth, no more in silence be, In deepest, darkest night ; Break forth in strains of melody, Press onward to the light. Then shall my lost Persephone Return all fair and bright. 92 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Persephone, Persephone, For many weary days My heart has wandered, seeking thee In dark and desert ways ! Persephone, come back to me, And fill my soul with praise ! I hear her footfall on the hills, Her smile the flowers hold ; Her laughter ripples in the rills, Sunshine her hair of gold. Her sweetness all the Spring-time fills With beauty, never told. -*> * ** She comes! Her footsteps press the grass,- Wild flowers spring beneath, And bloom, a perfect, perfumed mass Her queenly brow to wreathe. The wood birds greet her as they pass, And sweetest carols breathe. O Earth, bring all thy treasure sweet, The lilies of the lea, And scatter at her fairy feet Who cometh now to me ; And sea and sky grow glad to greet Returned Persephone. A. R. W" '99. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 93 THE NEGRO—HIS DEMANDS AND PROSPECTS. NORMAN S. WOW, '04. THAT slavery always is one of the most shameful and disas-trous institutions which can exist in any country under any form of government is obvious, and there is no need to tarry for the substantiation of this fact. All right-minded men have granted it, when once they have seen and felt the tightening fetters which slavery twines about society. While many clearly saw the dangers with which our nation was threatened by treat-ing the negro as a chattel, they nevertheless felt that the slave-trade could not be abolished without blasting the prosperity of the people by whom it was upheld. We have learned the lesson that slavery is unjustifiable, since over our land has been un-furled the standards of worth and merit, and they demand re-cognition, no matter by whom they are floated. The darkest blot on. the pages of the short, yet significant, career of our country is the stain which the disregard for in-herent rights of God-created creatures has left. It is as a thorn buried deep in our nation's conscience, which shall always prick us with the sting of remorse, no matter how closely our ex-bond servants may become assimilated into the interests, prosperity and welfare of their former task masters. The no-bler they acquit themselves, the greater will be our cause for shame. The negro's bondage was in a measure worse than the scourge-inflicted servitude which the Egyptians forced upon God's chosen people. Israel suffered at the direction of God and was subdued by a heathen power. But the negro in his inno-cence and ignorance was bound by an enlightened nation. He, whom the mist of superstition enshrouded, possessed neverthe-less an embryonic soul which was fashioned by God. For no cause except the spirit of indolence and the greed of a superior brother was his back seamed and scarred. This brother treated him as a peer of beasts of burden and labor, whose mouths never frame words whereby to witness of their powers of thought, of reason, and of love. In silence do beasts drag out 94 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. their lives with now and then a bray or a low, which tells most convincingly what grade of creatures they are. They see, but their powers of discrimination and reason, if they have any, are not cognizable—their all is sentiency alone. Are we not shocked to the center of our moral and spiritual natures, to re-call that men and women, who not only felt, but were also sus-ceptible to fine discriminations of friend and foe, of right and wrong, of honor and disgrace, have no more than twenty-five years ago been trodden down and made a brother to the brute ? This fact alone is sufficient justification for proper attention and the cultivation of the negro, that during his dark days of slavery, he was not only capable of loving, but in many instances he really loved those who held him in bondage; he wept with the afflicted ones of the "big house," as well as with those of his own race. During the absence of the master, when to the servants was entrusted the guardianship of the home, no ma-rauders or foe entered those doors, except over the dead or wounded bodies of those whose duty was defence of property and persons, and not self-defence. It does not seem plausible nor proper that the negro should be rated as a brute, nor was he such during his bondage, in spite of the fact that he shared pens and stalls in common with the brute. He was and is a man acquainted with the '.'I" and "you." From many a black "mammy" and father also went up such heart-appealing prayers as God alone has recorded and also rewarded. Since the negro is susceptible to the finer emotions and sentiments, which the white race boastfully calls its own in its pride and prejudice, there is need to ponder seri-ously before we declare against the rights and privileges, for which the negro is slowly but surely becoming a worthy re-cipient. His condition calls for the sympathy and the love of an es-pecially honored and superior race. We are proud of pedi-grees which can be traced back through many generations. We are called upon to maintain them and to keep them from disgrace, or perchance, to free them from dishonor. The in-fluences of ages of Christianity and civilization are focused THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 95 upon us, and in the brilliancy and congeniality of their beams we seem to forget that around us precious seed is wasting for want of the necessary conditions of life. The Negro knows no lineage either to honor or to disgrace, he was transplanted from regions where civilization has not yet dawned, where gods of cruelty stir up strife and murderous dissension instead of breathing the heaven born peace, which, strange to say, he has learned to find and feel during his days of servitude. The Negro has no claim to prestige and honor in the light of illustrious predecessors, which, alas too often is made the all-sufficient claim for rights and distinctions by many mem-bers of our own race, regardless of individual worth and at-tainments. Will the fact alone, that we belong to a superior race secure just and lasting success, when merit is painfully lacking, and will the fact that individual worth has been suc-cessfully developed in an inferior race, be a sufficient reason for ignoring that worth? Something is continually whispering to us that the world looks for merit, and wherever it is found, it will be recognized in the measure that it answers the demands of human needs. We ought neither to be impatient nor to despair of him who has so lately learned the blessed privilege of freedom, since by its wholesomeness are fed the unfolding possibilities of a down-trodden and ignorant race. Hope and encouragement are found in the great leaps which the Negro has made towards en-lightenment and usefulness during his short citizenship of our nation. Not for all the wealth and ease, which he might have brought the South, would we wish to see him still in the shackles of slavery, where knowledge could not penetrate, and his lofty aspirations, now entertained, to which freedom has made him susceptible, would be unknown. His development will be our gain, his bonds were our burden and now are our shame. Many people have persuaded themselves, through prejudice, to think that the Negro will never rise to the standards of civ-ilization and conservatism which a participation in all the civic rights requires. If we should never have met with any but 96 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. those who have been induced to live by their wit, we might justly hold this opinion. But the real condition and character of the Negro, as of all other races, needs careful investigation, and upon these results a safer judgment may be passed. In attempting a brief characterization of the Negro, not as the race may be represented by any individual, since individu-ality may be one of the extremes of the great mass of human-ity which his race represents, we would call attention to his ca-pability to realize his situation. When, on that significant day after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, the slaves were summoned to appear before the "big house" to have the fetters cut asunder, there was great rejoicing, with many ecstatic scenes. But in some way these ignorant, crushed people felt that from henceforth their lot was cast in other places. They felt they were no longer the chattels of their masters, but that it was now their duty to care for themselves, to create homes, to acquire education and to fit themselves for citizenship. Do we wonder that soon ecstasy changed to gloom, when the im-mensity of the blessing which had now been conferred upon them was realized ? Do we wonder that many, conscious of their helplessness, stole back to the "big house" and entreated "ole Massa and Missus" that they might stay with them. Hopelessly abandoned, and they felt it, they looked about, imploringly for guidance from generous men which should point them the way to manhood and usefulness. When they discovered that they were now more loathesome and abandoned than ever—and oh! the narrowness and inhumanity of a Chris-tian nation to leave them to such abandonment—they nat-urally, because of necessity, were compelled to depend upon the little ingenuity they possessed in ordering and promoting the best possible interests which could be fostered by their crude knowledge. Because the Negro had been released from slavery, it should not have followed that he could grow to fruit of civilization without careful attention. It is to the un-selfishness of a few men and women, who were too large to be little, that we owe our thanks. By their patient toil and kind-ness they have done more to convince us of the Negro's capa- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 97 >■) !F2.-upp B-ut.ild.irag, YORK, PENN'A. Watch for his Representative when he visits the College THESE FIRMS ARE O. K. PATRONIZE THEM. DO YOU KNOW WHERE The Choicest Candies, The Finest Soda Water, The Largest Oysters, The Best Ice Cream, Can be found in town? Yes, at Young's Confectionary On Chambersburg Street, near City Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa IF YOU CALL OH C. A. Bloehep, Jeuuelei*, Centre Square, He can serve you in anything you may want in REPAIRING or JEWELRY. SEFTON & FLEMMING'S LIVERY Baltimore Street, First Square, Gettysburg, Pa. Competent Guides for all parts of the Battlefield. Arrangements by telegram or letter. Lock Box 257. J. I. MUMPER. The improvements to our Studio have proven a perfect success and 41 Baltimore St., weare now better prepared than Gettysburg, Pa, ever t0 &™y°" satisfactory work. EMIL ZOTHE COLLEGE EMBLEMS Engraver, Designer and Manufacturing Jeweler, 716 CHESTNUT ST., - PHILADELPHIA. SPECIALTIES : Masonic Marks, Society Badges, College Buttons, Pins, Scarf Pins, Stick Pius and Athletic Prizes. All goods ordered through PHILIP BIKLE, JR. HELP THOSE WHO HELP US. Tiie Intercollegiate Bureau or Academic Gosfum. Chartered igog. Ootrell St lAeonard, makers of the Caps, Gouuns and Hoods To the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Min-nesota, Leland Stanford, Tulane, University of the South, Wel-esley, Bryn Mawr, Wei s, Mt. -iolyoke and the others. Illustrated Bulletin, Samples, Etc., upon request. E. A. Wright's Engraving House, 1108 Chestnut St. PHILADELPHIA We have our own photograph gallery for half-tone and photo engraving. Fashionable Engraving and Stationery. Leading house for College, School and Wedding Invitations, Dance Programs, Menus. Fine engraving of all kinds. 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