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science keep his better character alive,that indefinable spirit which, in its intimate and essential nature, has little to do with the number of facts discovered, or theories accepted; a spirit which merely exercises itself in research, and accepts discoveries as delightful accidents; a spirit which walks the paths of science, not as if they were turnpikes converging upon some smoky and squalid focus of toil-wearied population, but as if they had been gravelled and flower-bordered for it through some princely park; a

spirit of natural and cultivated nobleness, sweetened by boundless friendship for the world and all that lives therein; just and true to all men worthy or unworthy, proud without vanity, industrious without haste, stating its own griefs as lightly as an angel might, and generously bringing help to the discouraged and forlorn. In every one of us there is this genius, if we did but know it; and, as Emerson well says: "The moral is the measure of its health."

NOTE-BOOK AND PENCIL-A SUGGESTION

HE suggestion I am about to make has no novelty, but to an intelligent man or woman, whether young or middleaged, if faithfully followed, it will make him or her a person of intellectual resources, an intelligent listener, and, if one is not naturally tongue-tied, a bright, pleasant talker. Though here let me say that good listeners are more generally appreciated than good talkers.

Perhaps your early education has been neglected, and you feel that your ignorance of many things you hear talked about in the best society is a great drawback. Or, it may be, that you have been so engrossed in household or business cares, that you have forgotten much that you learned in your youth, and only now begin to realize that you have completely dropped out of the procession of students and thinkers; and that you are really incapable of taking any part in conversation, outside of your own particular, every-day affairs.

Now, at the opening of the winter reading season, is an excellent time to seek to remedy all that. And I would say to you, begin with the determination to continue the course I shall now lay out for you, at least during the ensuing winter. If you do, you will in another season lay out a still better and more extended plan for yourself, and perhaps thank me for having given you a start in the right direction.

First, provide yourself with a goodsized blank book, and a small pocket note-book and pencil. Carry the latter two articles with you wherever you go; and whenever you see a piece of statuary, (representing you know not what, or

J. P. LESLEY.

whom) or look upon what is considered a good picture; or read an extract containing an allusion that you do not understand; or hear a name, apparently well known to others, but conveying no meaning to you,-look it up! Perhaps that bit of marble may open up to you a most delightful chapter in ancient mythology, or a portion of history belonging to your own country or times, that you really ought to know all about.

Find out who painted the picture; whether it is by an old or modern artist, and learn all you can about it, and him. The extract you have come across, when looked into and sifted, may reveal a nugget of pure gold, or put you on the track of something you would not have missed for anything. The name you heard mentioned may be that of a man or woman, of whom it is perfectly inexcusable in you to be ignorant.

The

When you have a half hour or more to spare, spend it in transferring the information you have obtained from your small to your large note book. latter you may divide into sections for different subjects, and arrange as nicely as you choose. The re-writing will be a great aid in fixing the items in your memory.

In addition to this choose an author

one worth choosing-and make a study of his life and works, during the long winter evenings. If you have a friend or two to join you, so much the better; or perhaps you can get together a choice circle not too large- of those who are really desirous of self-improvement.

As the reading season closes, if you have pursued your purpose faithfuily,

you will find yourself possessed of a degree of knowledge and culture that will be a surprise, even to yourself.

I had thought to stop here, with the setting forth of my modest suggestion; but a few words directed especially to the young may not prove amiss. In continuing I would like to say some practical words to those whose literary tastes are, more or less, unformed.

Good literature may be safely set down as a large source of pure, unfailing enjoyment. My readers are doubtless familiar, to some extent, it may be, with our standard authors-Scott, Emerson, Carlyle, Hawthorne, Irving, Thackeray, Dickens, our beloved "Autocrat," Victor Hugo; and among the poets, I hope they have read enough of Milton to, at least, speak intelligently of "Paradise Lost;" and of Shakespeare, so as honestly to enjoy his plays. Of good Sir Of good Sir Walter, I should be glad to have you know much of him by heart—his "Lady of the Lake," especially, for, if you do, you are sure to read more of his poems. I would say the same of our revered Longfellow, our Whittier and Bryant and Holmes. But how can I place an adjective before one of those honored names and not before all? And, as I write, still others, of the great and good in the world of letters rise and claim a place in one's loving remembrance. I think of many more, of whom I hope you are saying, "Why was not his name mentioned? Or her name,- for you may be thinking of great women-perhaps of Mrs. Stowe, Mary Wilkins, or George Eliot.

I would have all our young people know intimately, at least the poets of our own country; for to know them is to love them; and, knowing and loving them, the desire must instinctively reach out to the poets and tuneful singers of other lands. It is a positive injustice to a child to allow him to grow up without a love for one or more of those great and inspiring writers, for surely, no child, judiciously treated to one selection after another from those authors, can avoid falling in love with everything that is noble and good; and that love will be fruitful in inculcating good taste and judgment in literature. Where the love of a young heart is once gained by a truly great and good author, I doubt

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much if the false or impure can ever obtain the same hold over it, as would have been possible without that foundation. Many distractions among them of late is the bicycle craze - are, I am aware, causing a diminution of the reading habit. I am not sure that I altogether regret it, for, really, so much trash has of late been sifted through the minds of our young people yes, and of older people, too-that, in too many cases, the poor sieves themselves will never be of much good again. But nature herself has a cure for this. The education that comes in through the sight of flowing brooks, placid lakes, hill and dale, wood and open field, as they greet the tired eyes, and freshen the jaded sensibilities of the omnivorous reader as he glides past or through, on his noiseless steed, may give tone to his thoughts; and enable him, by and by, to see the beauty of the strong and true, and understand and appreciate the really artistic in literature.

Of course, new books will be devoured, but I cannot help saying that it is a pity that present-day authors are read almost exclusively. Whether your author is a humorist who endangers your buttons with the hearty laughter he provokes ; or the pathetic writer, who draws tears from your eyes, and awakens the deepest sympathy of your heart; or the historian, who turns your history into a delightful story; you may soon appraise his moral standard, and I would advise you to determine largely by that whether to accept or reject him from your list of favorite authors, whose books you rush to secure as soon as issued.

Observe what stand your author takes on the great moral questions of the day. Is his heroine so lovely and so fascinating that she commands your whole sympathy and admiration; and yet, at the same time, is she false in word, and false in life and conduct; and directly the opposite of all you have hitherto considered good and womanly? If so, shun that author. He will do you harm. If again you find your author habitually making his mean men Sabbath school teachers or superintendents, and his most contemptible characters church members; while his manly, noble fellows drink and swear and gamble, throw his books aside, even though they delight you. The more charming they are, the worse they

are.

And this, no matter who or how popular the author may be. God is in the heavens, beholding the works of men. Right is right; and wrong is wrong, no matter how covered, or clothed upon with the color or drapery of beautiful, graceful language.

When, on the other hand, your author shows you that he is on the side of freedom, purity, temperance and religion you may be sure that he will do you good, and not evil, all the days of his life;-and he lives for

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thinkers and writers of the past who gave to us, not only pure language,

full of grace and beauty; but whose living soul within these vestments shines forth always pure and true. All honor, too, to the men and women of the present, who use their genius, talent, skill, whether it be with pen or brush, to uplift humanity; to show to men and women that vice is always and everywhere ugly, contemptible and morally ruinous, and that, as the old adage expresses it, "virtue is its own reward." E. A. SELKIRK.

AMERICAN PRESIDENTS ON THE UNITED STATES NAVY

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HE Navy Department at Washington has called to its aid, in the forming of opinion anent the increase of the United States navy, the utterances of over a dozen Presidents from the era of Washington to that of Benjamin Harrison. These utterances are culled from Presidential messages, and appear, with an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt, the present Assistant-Secretary of the Navy, in a brochure just issued from the Government Printing Office, entitled, "The Naval Policy of America as Outlined in Messages of the Presidents. In this bellicose age, and especially in view of the vast national interests of the United States at home and abroad, it should require little argument to convince the nation of the necessity for a sufficient and efficient navy. Nevertheless, the little government publication is timely and effective, while it is interesting as an expression of high official opinion on the policy of the Administration in regard to seaboard defense and on the effectual means of preserving peace. The situation to-day is of course very different from what it was in the early years of the Republic, and with the progress of the nation the need has grown immensely not only for an efficient defense for our three thousand mile coastline, but for a navy strong enough to command respect for our flag abroad and the full protection of the country's rights. The creation and the maintenance of an adequate navy must necessarily involve a large expenditure of money, but the dignity and honor of the nation, no less than its security, demand

the sacrifice. As President Cleveland once said, "the nation that cannot resist aggression is constantly exposed to it."

Since the Civil War we perhaps owe to President Arthur the most urgent appeal for an efficient navy, and with his administration the foundation of our present naval defense was laid. In his message to Congress, issued in December, 1881, President Arthur said:

"I cannot too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every consideration of national safety, economy, and honor, imperatively demands a thorough rehabilitation of our navy. Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than withholding the means necessary to accomplish the objects entrusted by the Constitution to the national Legislature. One of these objects, which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law to be the provision for the "common defense." Surely nothing is more essential to the defense of the United States and of all our people than the efficiency of our navy. If we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the life of every nation emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from dishonor."

Ten years later, President Harrison expressed himself with like emphasis when he said:

“There should be no hesitation in promptly completing a navy of the best modern type, large enough to enable this country to display its flag in all seas for the protection of its citizens and its extending commerce. It is essential to the dignity of this nation and to that peaceful influence which it should exercise on this hemisphere that its navy should be adequate, both upon the shores of the Atlantic and of the Pacific."

Happily, more than a beginning has been made in elevating the nation into a naval power.

SOME TYPES OF MEN OF SELF CULTURE:

THE LATE HANNIBAL HAMLIN, AMERICAN STATESMAN

H

ANNIBAL

HAMLIN had marked natural gifts that are bestowed on men who are called to wide careers, and he was reared under conditions that contributed to shape his course. He had a striking personality; in his prime he was six feet in height and was endowed with immense physical strength and endurance. His swarthy complexion, dark, piercing eyes, and simplicity of manner, gave him the appearance of an Indian sachem. His democratic ways bespoke a kind heart and deep interest in our common humanity. He was descended from good New England revolutionary stock. His grandfather was Eleazer Hamlin, of Harvard, Massachusetts, who was an officer of note in the Continental army. He had three sons in his company at one time, and one, Colonel Africa Hamlin, was among the founders of the Society of the Cincinnati. nibal Hamlin's mother, Anna Livermore Hamlin, was related to Samuel Livermore, a member of the Constitutional Congress, President Pro Tem. of the United States Senate for several terms, and finally Chief Justice of New Hampshire.

Han

Born at Paris Hill, Me., August 27, 1809, Hannibal Hamlin lived in his early years in the heart of nature among the yeomanry of Maine. Owing to the death of his father, young Hamlin was deprived of a thorough education. The care of his mother's farm fell on his shoulders, but this served to stimulate his ambition to obtain what schooling he could and proceed to a profession. Although he had to rise at five o'clock in the morning, take care of the cattle, and work all day on the farm, yet he managed to snatch a few hours a day. for his studies. Not infrequently he could be seen reading law and hoeing corn at the same time. Hamlin learned surveying, taught school, and also published a weekly newspaper for six months with Horatio King* in order to earn money to support himself while completing his legal studies in a wellestablished office. Finally he was able to spend a year in an office in Port

*Postmaster-General during the latter part of

Buchanan's Administration.

land, Maine, the senior member of the firm being General Fessenden, one of the first presidents of the New England Anti-Slavery Society, and father of William Pitt Fessenden.

Hamlin settled in Hampden, Me., and began the practice of his profession in that town. While he remained at the bar he was very successful, but he entered politics too soon to develop his powers as a jurist. Yet circumstances indicate that he attracted the attention of able men who regarded him as a lawyer of uncommon promise. Sidney Bartlett, for many years at the head of the Boston bar and one of the greatest lawyers New England ever produced, was associated with Hamlin in several suits, and as a result strongly urged him to remain in the practice of his profession. But Hamlin was a born politician, an Andrew Jackson Democrat, and he was elected to the Legislature within a few years after he had settled in Hampden. He served five consecutive terms and was thrice Speaker of the House, being the youngest man who had filled this position up to that time.

In the Legislature, Hamlin's career as an anti-slavery leader began, and it is the most picturesque and interesting feature of his political life. At this period the abolitionists were becoming active, though they were bitterly denounced as disunionists and repelled by both political parties. One method of procedure the abolitionists had in ventilating their opinions was to bombard Congress and the State legislatures with petitions to abolish slavery. To stop this, Congress passed the infamous gag law. The proslavery Democrats of Maine upheld this law at least they approved its purpose —but they were unwilling to allow the abolitionists to present petitions to the Maine Legislature. Hamlin said many a time: "I hope to see this accursed thing of slavery die out; I certainly believe God in His own good time and way will extinguish it; I will always fight it; but, while I believe in abolition and expect it to come, I do not believe in the abolitionists and their methods." Nevertheless, Hamlin desired that the aboli†Public speeches reported in newspapers.

tionists should have justice, and taking the floor on one occasion he said, in substance: "You must hear these people. They are American citizens, and the Constitution guarantees them the rights of free speech and petition."

The Abolitionists were heard, though the pro-slavery men were incensed against Mr. Hamlin; and then began that long fight between him and the slave party in Maine which ended only when the civil war abolished the "peculiar institution."

Hamlin was first nominated for Congress in 1840, when he was thirty-one years old. He beat the party machine in convention, but was defeated at the polls by Elisha H. Allen, the Whig candidate, who was afterwards Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Islands. This, however, was the year of the Whig cyclone, and at the next election Hamlin was chosen. After this he came rapidly to the front in the House as a debater, and finally became one of the leaders of the anti-slavery Democracy. The first speech of importance he made was a short, but vigorous, attack on the gag law, which he arraigned as an unconstitutional measure. John Quincy Adams, who had for ten years led the fight against this obnoxious rule, paid Mr. Hamlin marked attention while he was speaking and eulogized him in a warm compliment. Adams thereafter showed a hearty interest in his young colleague, while Hamlin always spoke of Adams as the real father of the Republican party, and one of the greatest and best men he ever knew.

Other notable speeches made by Hamlin were in opposition to the annexation of Texas as a Slave State, in exposing the plot of the slave power to betray Oregon into the hands of the British government, and in denunciation of the conspiracy to force slavery into Oregon. The slave party threatened to pass a vote of censure on Hamlin, while his anti-slavery Democratic colleagues sought to make him their candidate for Speaker.

Perhaps the most picturesque incident in Hamlin's two terms in the House was his connection with the Wilmot Proviso. The credit of devising this measure belongs to Jacob Brinkerhoff, of Ohio. knew that he could not obtain the floor at the necessary time because he was

He

He

known as an anti-slavery man. therefore asked David Wilmot to present the proviso, and Wilmot being popular with the Southern members of the House, on account of his free trade views, obtained the floor. The House passed the bill, but the Senate, as we know, did not act. At the next session Wilmot, though prepared to introduce the proviso again, did not appear when the time came for action. He always claimed that President Polk purposely detained him in the White House. The anti-slavery men placed Hamlin in charge of the Proviso, and, after a severe parliamentary fight and a dramatic scene, Hamlin succeeded in presenting the now historic measure. It passed the House, but was defeated by the Senate. But the proviso became the platform of the anti-slavery men of both parties, and they stood on it together to prevent the extension of slavery into free soil. Eventually it became the cardinal principle of the Republican party, of which Hamlin was one of the founders.

In 1846, when he was thirty-seven years old, Mr. Hamlin became a candidate for the United States Senate. He was the choice of the majority of his party. but the pro-slavery Democrats marked him as an object of displeasure, on account of his anti-slavery course in the House. They bolted from him, and after the Legislature had balloted for six weeks, Mr. Hamlin was defeated by one vote. Two years later, Senator Fairfield died, and Mr. Hamlin obtained his party's nomination by one vote and was elected. His first speech in the Senate was a powerful and convincing effort to prove that a so-called compromise bill was a conspiracy to let slavery into Oregon, California and New Mexico. Abraham Lincoln, then a member of the House, heard the speech, and twelve years afterwards, when Lincoln and Hamlin first met, Lincoln recalled the speech and told Hamlin that it had made a strong impression on him. Senator Hamlin at this period also reviewed at length_the conspiracy to prevent California from becoming a Free State and worked with the anti-slavery Senators on all occasions to defeat the plans of the slave power.

In 1850, Mr. Hamlin was a candidate for a full term in the Senate. He was renominated by two-thirds of his party in the Legislature; but by the accidents

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