Monmouth College - Ravelings Yearbook (Monmouth, IL)

Page 32 text:

OCir Altirrjrji. HE NOBLEST eulogy a mother ever had is in the lives of noble sons and daughters. The deepest satis- faction that can fill a mother ' s heart is the knowledge that her sons and daughters are living worthily. Such satisfaction belongs, in no stinted measure, to our beloved College, as she looks back on the record of her alumni. They fill places in all of the learned professions, adorning private as well as public life with the homely virtues which bless the world. First, in point of numbers, are the clergymen. They exceed those in any other one class. Our students come from Christian homes. In many of these homes there is a son who, by an inward voice and by the prayers of godly parents, has been set apart to the Gospel ministry. Our colleg ' e has always attracted such men. Such parents have always had faith in our colleg ' e. So from Maine to California, in Egypt and in India, these men are living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men. They are found in the quiet country churches where they are moulding the lives that help change the moral orbit of the world. They stand in the city pulpits where, because of the character of our cities in ' so many aspects of life, their courage and fidelity must be of the heroic order. They fill president ' s and professor ' s chairs in our seminaries and colleges, and wherever they are they are known by the quality of their lives and work. In point of numbers the teachers in all probability come next. From the primary departments of our public schools to the city superintendencies and college and seminary professorships, they fill responsible places worthily. Lawyers and physicians are many. The quiet country doctors, whose coming brings light to many a home in hours of trouble and darkness, and the specialist in the city hospital and medical school ; the lawyer, known only within a limited circle, and yet holding a most responsible place ; the judge on the bench, a man of far-reaching influence ; these are the classes and the qualities of men who reflect honor on their Alma Mater. Of those engaged in special lines of work, the same story can be writ- ten. Business men who are successful in a large way, managers of rail- roads, with one of national reputation and authority along ' lines of prison management. Such is the story of the men ami women who have gone forth from these college halls and are to-day serving their generation. Such is the record of the lives that are most conspicuous among those who are helping shape the destinies of States and individuals. There are 28

Page 31 text:

% 1L s BR.

Page 33 text:

iwo silent classes whose deeds are worth} ' of record here. The poet Bry- ant wrote: Once this soft turf, this rivulet ' s Ah! never shall the land forget sands, How gushed the life-blood of her Were trampled by a hurrying ' crowd, brave — And fiery hearts and armed hands Gushed, warm with hope and cour- Encountered in the battle-cloud. age yet, Upon the soil they fought to save. And among the class records in the early 60 ' s some read like this : Class of 1860 — Patterson, James S., B. S., ( killed in battle, Arkan- sas Post, Jan. 11, 1863.) Class of 1862— Campbell, James S., A. M., (killed in defense of Ft. Donaldson, Feb. 3, 1863.], ' Behind these simple records lies the story of the self-sacrifice of men who counted not their lives dear unto them. They ' ' cared not to be great, But as they saved or served the State. Many others there were who served their country amid roar and shock of battle, who, when the blessed peace came, beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning ' -hooks. Of many of these it should be said: Soon rested those who fought, but For truths which men receive not thou now, Who minglest in the harder strife, Thy warfare only ends with life. In this warfare for truth they are valiant soldiers still, and will be till He giveth us the victory. The other silent class is made up of the bright girls of our college days, who, in the quiet of their homes are training the brig-ht g-irls and boys of the future. The crown sf womanhood is motherhood. Colleg-e l ife is not without its romance. Here, too, Love took up the harp of Life and smote on all its chords with might. Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, passed in music out of sight. Many of the homes of our alumni can trace their beginning to college days. So, side by side walk the college boys and girls of other days, and now the olive plants that have grown up around their table are coming- to college and so the mother ' s influence is steadily moulding the lives that are to change the moral orbit of the world. The prayer of our Alma Mater for her children will ever be : That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as cornerstones polished after the similitude of a palace. ' '