Since none of these are dated I have no idea when they were written.
Dress
“God has put on robes of beauty and glory upon all his
works. Every flower is dressed in
richness; every field blushes beneath a mantle of beauty; every star is veiled
in brightness; every bird is clothed in the habiliments of the most exquisite task. The cattle upon the thousand hills are
dressed by the hand divine.”
To love dress is not to be a slave of fashion. Beauty in dress is a good thing, rail at it
who may. But they love dress too much
who give it their first thought, their best time, or all their money, who for
it neglect the culture of mind or heart, or the claims of others on their
service, who care more for their dress than their disposition; who are troubled
more about an unfashionable bonnet than a neglected duty. Female loveliness never appears to so good an
advantage as when set off by simplicity of dress. A vulgar taste is not to be disguised by gold
& diamonds. Through dress the mind
may be read, as through the delicate tissue the lettered page. A modest woman will dress modestly; a really
refined woman will bear the marks of careful selection and faultless taste.
A coat that has the mark of use upon it is a recommendation
to the people of sense, and a hat with too high luster a derogatory
circumstance. The best coats in our
streets are worn on the backs of penniless folks, clerks with pitiful salaries,
and men that do not pay up. The heaviest
gold chains dangle from the fobs of gamblers and men of limited means; costly
ornaments on ladies, indicate the fact of a silly lover or husband cramped for
funds. Women are like books – too much
gilding makes men suspicious that the binding is the most important part. The love of beauty and refinement belong to
every true woman. She ought to desire
pretty dresses, and delight in beautiful colors and graceful fabrics; she ought
to take a certain pride in herself – exhibiting good taste, to care for harmony
and fitness of things, the cleanliness of her surroundings, and good style of
her arrangements; she ought to set the seal of gently woman on every square
inch of her life, and shed the radiance of her own beauty & refinement on
every material object about her.
What multitudes of young women waste all that is precious in
life on the finified fooleries of the toilet. How the soul of womanhood is
dwarfed and shriveled by such trifles, kept away from the great fields of
active thought and love by the gewgaws she hangs on her bonnet. Woman was made for a higher purpose, a nobler
use a grander destiny.
“Her powers are rich & strong; her genius bold and
daring, she may walk the fields of thought, achieve the victories of mind,
spread around her the testimonials of her worth, and make herself known and
felt as man’s co-worker & equal in whatsoever exalts mind, embellishes
life, or sanctifies humanity.”*
Dress affects our manners. A man who is badly dressed feels chilly, sweaty, and prickly. He stammers and does not always tell the
truth. He means to, perhaps, but he
can’t. He is half distracted about his
pantaloons, which are much too short, are constantly hitching up; or his
crumpled linen harrows his soul, and quite unmans him.
He treads on the train of a lady’s dress, and says “thank
you,” sits down on his hat, and wishes he was in the “deseret (sic.) of Sahara”.
Young ladies, never refuse to see a friend because you have
on a wash gown. Be assured the true
gentleman will not think less of you because he finds you in the performance of
your duties & not ashamed to let it be known.
There is a grace about an everyday dress that adds to every
charm of face & feature.
A. I.
* Weaver, G. S.. Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women. p 52. New York: Fowler and Wells, 1856.
Google Books. Web. http:/books.google.com.
Comrades of the G. A.
Ladies and Gentlemen
This beautiful custom of a grateful people had its origin in
1862 one year after the fall of Fort Sumter. In May of the following year the same sadly pleasant attention was
rendered to the graves of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg, Md.
The custom became so popular and met with such unqualified
approval that in 1873 through the efforts of that noble volunteer soldier the
lamented John A Logan congress declared the 30th of May a legal
holiday. And now another year in life’s
campaign brings again to Memorial Day with its sad memories and tender
associations and as the nation bends over the graves of its heroes and pays to
noble dust the tributes of its love, let us remember that we are not only to
cast any floral offerings upon the graves of our former comrades in arms, but
standing in their presence to rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work they
have left us to do.
Friends, upon this closing day of the budding Spring, “when
hoary frosts have fallen in the fresh lap of the crimson rose”, our smiling
land presents a scene that should forever blot from the record the slander of
the poet and the silly carping of the politician. Millions of people have gathered today to sing
psalms of gratitude to their sleeping benefactors, and with one loud voice to
chant anthems of sweet appreciation that may rise from earth to heaven like
“Sabean ordors* from the spicy shore of Araby the blest”. We
have come to claim our share in this beautiful and grateful service, & to perform
our harts (sic) in an act that
possesses no quality of a task. To be an
American citizen officiating in a service of gratitude to the fallen of his
country is but second to being numbered among those to whom this homage is
rendered.
No wonder the hearts of the boys of ‘61 swell with patriotic
pride and with streaming eyes witness the demonstrations made on this day. Farmers and laborers lawyers & doctors
ministers and teachers and men of all professions turn aside from their
avocations to honor this day no matter what they may think of the surviving
comrades they can not forget what they did.
No more lofty acts are to be found in the records of
authentic history than the noble sacrifices of the American soldier upon the
field of battle and the votive offerings of his countrymen upon the holy altar
of his memory. Over two million brave
patriots voluntarily left their homes their families and their peaceful
pursuits to defend upon battle-plain and over the swelling wave the principle
then submitted to decision under the dread arbitrament of arms. The contest was fierce & long nor ceased
until over 300,000 graves marked the no. slain, nor until 300,000 union
soldiers and sailors were made cripples for life, and left more than a million
devoted mothers, widows, sisters, and orphans &c &c**.
We are not here to talk of the causes that led to this great
sacrifice. Men & women are before me
to day who have come upon the stage of life and action since that appalling
event occurred that know as
*odours **Etc. etc. well as the actors in it the sad story of that blighting
conflict when the strength of the Republic was tried in the fire of steel. In all ages of the world flowers have been
used to represent the verdict against the hopeless doctrine of final extinction. The growth of flowers in Spring indicate the
revival of the fruitful earth after a period of quiet &c .
In the ancient Republics of Greece and Rome the crown of
honor was made of laurel. Victors in the
Pythian games were crowned with a wreath of laurel leaves as a symbol of
triumph and all down the vista of ages flowers have been largely used as a
device of heraldry. The fleur de lis
became the national emblem of France, the thistle of Scotland and the shamrock
of Ireland. The important feasts of all
the churches are now celebrated with flowers. Every religion that promises a renewal of life after the sleep upon
earth symbolizes its faith through the blooming beauties of the floral tribes.
From the baptismal font to the last couch of
man there lies but a single step; and the rose which unfoldes its crimson
petals to the morning air of the child may in the evening give place to the
gentle amaranth, as it speaks of hope from the grave of man.
Comrades and friends, we have come with beautiful flowers,
culled by the hands of our brothers and women into speaking forms by the fair
fingers of our sisters, to render the homage due to patriots who have died for
their country & for all mankind.
“Bring flowers then, to their memory;
Throw hither all your quaint, enameled eyes,
That on the green turf sucked the honeyed showers,
And purple all the ground with vernal flowers.
Bring the rath primrose that forsaken dies;
The tufted crow-toe and the pale Jessamine;
The white pink and the pansy, streaked with jet;
The glowing violet,
The musk-rose, and the well-attired woodbine,
With cowslips was that hand the pensive head,
And every flower that sad embroidery wears.”
We stand to-day at the
graves of comrades who marched with us one year ago. At these graves we are reminded that our
ranks are rapidly thinning and with each vacant place come new and weightier
responsibilities.’
Need I call your
attention to the name on the Cenotaph? Comrades, within that bosom throbbed a
heart as big & tender & loving as any within these walls to day, but
all is hushed and silent in death. One
year ago after the exercises were over he invited quite a number of old
comrades to the hospitality of his home. He was happy in the success of the exercises which he did so much to
help out and remarked that he never so much enjoyed Memorial Day. Comrades said he “When I am with you no more
don’t forget Men. Day, but each year as long as there is one of you left turn
out & honor the day & I have no doubt when the last comrade shall have
answered the last roll call a grateful people will take up the work and hand it
down to future generations.
Comrades, those of us
who are here today, who have in years gone by joined with comrades and friends
to honor the beloved dead, must not forget that way back in our eastern homes
kind & loving hands have gathered choice flowers from field & garden
& are placing wreaths upon the graves of our loved ones.
To us their comrades is
given the duty of keeping fresh and green their memories; of perpetuating and
transmitting intact to posterity the country perfected by their sacrifices
& sufferings.
Resting from their
labors, the story of their lives jeweled by deeds of valor & Patriotism
shall inspire in the hearts of all the people a love for country & flag
that shall keep the land forever united, beautiful & free.
Man is a rational being, susceptible of intellectual and
moral culture. His present depraved
state, the result of sin, subjects him to most of the ills of life, and makes
him a creature of much unhappiness. The
aches and pains of the body misfortunes in business loss of character and
disappointed hopes are some of the evils that mar his enjoyment and very
frequently make shipwreck of all that is noble & good in man.
Man, then is a wreck, and can never be saved without the
influence of the gospel of Christ. I
think proposition is clear to the minds of all Christians. The heathen must have the gospel or remain in
their degradation and filth. The
plaguespots so abundant in nominal Christian lands can never be removed without
the purifying influence of the gospel.
It is the only sure remedy for the evils of our present state of
society. Many projects are set on foot
now-a-days to improve the state of society; but all such attempts have failed,
and must fail, where the gospel is not the main factor in the process of
improvement; for the simple reason that all mere human arrangements do not and
can not reach the seat of the moral disease which is the root of the evil. You may cultivate the intellectual faculties
until the whole mass of the community be turned into philosophers, and yet make
them no more moral than the poor untutored savage who bows down to sticks and
stones.
They may be more refined and elevated but their moral nature
will be no better. We see this
illustrated in the so called higher classes all around us. All schemes that ignore the gospel must fail
in the future as they have in the past.
We need nothing better than the gospel to regenerate the
world. Bring the leaven of the gospel
fairly into contact with fallen humanity and men are saved. They become sober, industrious, and
pious. A portion of the working classes
frequently complain of hard times. They
organize themselves into unions and inaugurate strikes; they have been spending
too much of their hard earnings on their lusts. Six hund[red]-mill[ion]s of doll[ar]s are wasted every year in the
United States for strong drink; and I have no doubt that the laboring classes
spend four hund[red] mill[ion]s of it! Is it any wonder that times are hard for them. By way of contrast I take two mechanics equal
in training and skill – John Smith and George Jones – who work in the same shop
and have been working there these ten years.
John is a sober, steady man, and a Christian. He has paid regularly for the support of the
church say 25 to 30 doll[ar]s yearly yet he has prospered; he has his own neat
cottage, well furnished and paid for, and has a few hundred laid up for a rainy
day. His children were well clothed and
went to school; his wife was always cheerful and happy.
But now let us look at the case of George. He had no confidence in religion; he thought
it was nothing but priestcraft and superstition. He would think for himself, and do as he
pleased. He could drink or let it alone. He became a common drunkard; he drank up more
than half his wages; he had no house of his own, he was always hard up, his
children were uncared for unschooled, and neglected, his wife was soured,
discouraged & untidy; she saw nothing but poverty and rags before her. This is a picture that can be seen every day
in almost every community in the land.
The temperance movement, where the gospel is excluded, will
never save drunkards – at least not many of them. Men under the excitement of eloquent appeals
may break off for a while but very often return to their cups. Liquor
has destroyed the will-power, and they can not resist the temptation. So of all other sins. How then are men to be saved without the
gospel. Why do men murder each other and
commit suicide? Is it not because they
have rejected the gospel? Send the
gospel then to the heathen, and to those of our own land who have it not. It will do more good than all the mere human
organizations that ever have or can be made. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation; it is the great remedy
God himself has given to heal the moral diseases of humanity. No other remedy is to be looked for. If this does not reach the case, then man is
in a hopeless condition. The great
reformers of our day have much to say about the “gospel of humanity”, as if
their notions were better than the gospel of Christ and would do more for the
improvement of society.
The gospel of Christ is God’s remedy for the healing of the
nations; and if this does not save and elevate mankind nothing else will. Paul says “We must educate or perish” is a
truth that has been fairly demonstrated in the past. But we need this gospel which so fitly teaches
man the great fact of the brotherhood of our race, breaking the bondage of
selfishness, and drawing the individual closer and closer into harmony with the
great whole.
Touched by its magnetic influence man now feels the force of
sympathy, gentleness and love, and begins to see, and act, and live as a
brother of the common family. He
realized the connecting link that binds him to the lowest state of humanity.
A man may be great in intellectual attainments, he may have
“delved down deep and dragged up drowned honor by the books” but he needs this
moralizing force in order to make him a man with a heart and a soul possessed
of a centralizing force with which he is drawn to his fellow man by a power “he
could not resist if he would, and would not if he could.”
I cling to the hope that in the eventualities of the race,
though none of us shall live to see that happy day, the angels of Advent who sing
the song of “peace and good will shall bend over their harps to pour raptures
down upon a world grown green and blossoming with beauty – a world of teeming
activity, invention and production in which love and good will shall dominate
supreme.
Victor Hugo said, “if you want to reform a man you must
begin with his grandmother” We may not be able to reach the grandmothers of our
children but we have something to do with the child that is father of the man.
Man up a child ve (sic.).
Self-Reliance - Contributed
It was never intended that strong, independent beings should
be reared by clinging to others for support. The misfortunes and trials of life are positive blessings. They strengthen his muscles, and teach him
self-reliance, just as by lifting each day we increase our own strength.
All difficulties come to us like the lion which met Samson;
the first time we encounter them they roar and gnash their teeth, but, once
subdued, we find a nest of honey in them.
The greatest curse that can befall a young man is to lean,
while his character is forming, on others for support. The oak that stands alone to content with the
tempests’ blasts, only takes deeper root and stands the firmer for ensuing conflicts;
while the forest tree, when the woodman’s ax has spoiled its surroundings,
sways and bends and trembles, and perchance is uprooted, so it is with
men. Those who are trained to
self-reliance who have had to scratch for every inch of their life, are ready
to go out and contend in the sternest conflicts of life; while men who have
always depended upon others, are never prepared to breast the storms of
adversity that arise.
The best capital, in nine cases out of ten, a young man can
start with in the world, is robust health, sound morals, a fair intelligence, a
will to work his way honestly and bravely, and if it be possible a trade. He can always fall back on a trade when other
paths are closed.
Any one who will study the lives of memorable men, will find
that a large majority of them rose from the ranks with no capital for a start
save intelligence, energy, industry, and a will to rise and conquer. The greatest heroes of the battle-field—some
of the greatest statesmen and orators could boast no capital in gold to
start. Not only in the getting of
wealth, but also in the acquirement of various eminence – those men have won
most who relied on themselves. The Alps
stood between Napoleon and Italy, which he desired to conquer. He scaled the mountain and descended upon his
prey. So a barrier once scaled affords a
vantage ground for our future efforts. Opposition gives us greater power of resistance.
It is cowardice to grumble about circumstances. Some men always talk as though fate had woven
a web of circumstances against them, and it is useless for them to try to break
through it. It is their business to dash
on in pursuit of their object against everything. There are multitudes of such men. They are like summer vines which never grow
up unsupported, but stretch out a thousand little hands to grasp the stronger
shrubs; and if they can not reach them, they lie disheveled in the grass to be
trodden by beast and beaten of every storm.
It will be found that the first real movement upward will
not take place until in a spirit of resolute self-denial, indolence, so natural
to almost every one, is mastered.
“If you would go up, go – if you would be seen, shine.”
People who have been bolstered up and levered all their
lives are seldom good for anything in a crisis. When misfortune comes, they look around for somebody to cling to, or
lean upon. If the prop is not there down
they go. When a child is learning to
walk, if you can induce* the little creature to keep its eyes fixed on any
point in advance, it will generally “navigate” to that point without capsizing;
but distract its attention by work or act from the object before it and down
goes the baby.
To the young man favored
with education, friends and all the advantages which could be desired as means
to success, it is disgraceful to let those who stand in these respects at the
beginning, far below him, gradually approach as the steady years move on, and
finally outstrip him in the race.
A man’s true position in society – that which he achieves
for himself – he is worth to the world no more, no less. He is a man for what he does, not for what
his friends have done.
“If a boy is not trained to endure and to bear trouble he
will grow up a girl; and a boy that is a girl has all a girl’s weakness without
any of her regal qualities. A woman made
out of a woman is God’s noblest work; a woman made out of a man is his
meanest.”
A. I.
*not sure if this is the correct word
Only a Pansy Blossom
And it’s only a Pansy
blossom,
Delayed until faded and
old,
Among the neat folds of
a letter
More precious than
leaves of pure gold.
Its message was
truthful though silent,
Collected by hands that
are fair,
Kissed oft by the dews
of kind heaven,
Eagerly, dearly by one
there.
Sweet is the memory
that lingers
Securely, of the
by-gone years;
Each moment was golden
and rosy,
Now passing with
sadness and tears.
Dear friends we loved
in the “good old time”,
Sustained by their
memory ever;
Beyond the confines of
earth and sky,
Endeared, we’ll meet
ne’er to sever.
Slumber not while the
present prevails,
The future is fraught
with good cheer,
Wake up to the duty
before you,
In every good work, be
a peer.
Supreme be the power
that guides us;
High and noble, the aim
acquired;
Enduring, the faith
that inspires; then
Shall we reach ev’ry
state desired.
Together in friendship
we travel
O’re life’s fitful,
tempest-tossed sea;
Constant in season. So
may the earth
Abound in rich
blessings for thee.
Remember the sweet
Pansy blossom;
Remember the glad days
of yore;
I’ll cherish and
treasure them, Carrie,
Ever, forever,
evermore.
All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016. All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.
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