=^ 
 
 
 ADDEESS 
 
 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE EXAMINATION OF THE STUDENTS OF 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 OF 
 
 
 
 FRANKLIN COUNTS, N. C. 
 
 
 
 Ju?ie 12, 1857. . 
 
 
 • 
 
 BY 
 
 
 
 HENRY G. WILI^IAMS, ESQ., 
 
 
 Of Nash Countt, N. C, 
 
 . 
 
 ' -:^^L 
 
 
 
 Hi:' 
 
 RALEIGH: 
 HOLDEN & WILSON, PRINTERS TO THE STATE. 
 
 
 
 ^ 1857. 
 
 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE EXAMINATION OP THE STUDENTS OF 
 
 hmm Mikm mmmt 
 
 OP 
 
 fl^^olili^ 6oiiot(j, ^oHt)-6^^olir)^, 
 
 June 12, 1857. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY G. WILLIAMS, ESQ., 
 
 OF NASH COUNTY. 
 
 RALEIGH: 
 
 HOLDEN & WILSON, "STANDARD" OFFICE. 
 
 1857. 
 
 ( 
 
Digittzed by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 \ 
 
 http://archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOwill_0 
 
Belford Academy, June 13, 1857. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 "We have been appointed a committee by our fellow-students, to return you their 
 sincere thanks for the interesting and instructive Address delivered before them on 
 yesterday, and to request a copy of the same for publication. With an earnest hope 
 that you will comply with that request, we are very respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 0. H. HARRIS, 1 
 
 RICKS M. PEARCE, | 
 
 J. A. BAKER, \ Committee. 
 
 A. E. UPCHURCH, | 
 
 JNO. M. STALLINGS, J 
 
 H. G. Williams, Esq. 
 
 HiLLiARDSTON, Nash Co., N. C, June 16, 1857. 
 Gentlemen ; 
 
 I herewith hand you, as requested, a copy of the Address delivered at the close 
 of your examination, on the 12th inst. I desire to return my sincere thanks to the 
 siudents of Belford academy for their very kind notice of a production, which I am 
 fully aware, contains many imperfections. 
 
 Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 H. G. WILLIAMS. 
 To Messrs. 0. H. Harris and others, Committee. 
 
 '■{ 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 In complying with an invitation to deliver an address on 
 this occasion, with which I have been honored by the stu- 
 dent's of this academy, I am not insensible of the fact that 
 a high and responsible duty has been assumed, and sincerely 
 regret that they have not selected some one more competent 
 to advise and instruct them, and more able to contribute to 
 the entertainment of others who have left their daily avoca- 
 tions to be present and participate on this festive occasion. 
 I trust, however, that the same kind spirit which animated 
 my young friends in imposing upon me this responsibility, 
 will, in my humble effort to meet it, throw the mantle ©f 
 charity around the many faults and short-comings which may 
 appear. 
 
 It should afford us no small degree of gratification to wit- 
 ness the lively interest generally manifested in these public 
 examinations. They are annual re-unions by no means un- 
 important, or unproductive of good. They are calculated to 
 arouse a generous rivalry and a laudable ambition among the 
 students, and to enkindle m the minds of the community a 
 deep interest for the prosperity, not only of their own schools, 
 but of the cause of education generally. It is in behalf of 
 that cause, especially in ^N'orth-Carolina, that I shall appeal 
 to you to-day, the short time during w^hich I propose to oc- 
 cupy 3^our attention. It is an interesting theme — one in 
 which we should all feel particularly interested ; for upon the 
 virtue and intelligence of the people of this country depends 
 the preservation of those free and happy institutions which 
 are the admiration of the world, and which it should be the 
 highest aim and proudest ambition of every American pa- 
 triot to perpetuate — not for the good of ourselves alone, but 
 
of those who are to come after us. We, of the present gen= 
 eration, are but the appointed trustees to preserve and pro- 
 tect those institutions, and transmit them unimpaired to our 
 posterity. It is a high and holy trust imposed upon us, and 
 we should guard, with anxious solicitude and becoming vig- 
 ilance, the invaluable treasure which has been deposited 
 with us. 
 
 " The greatest gloiy of a free-born people, 
 
 Is to transmit that freedom to their children." 
 
 The progress which education has made in ISTorth-Carolina, 
 for a few years past, is, too, a source of gratification. The 
 schools and academies springing up in every neighborhood 
 are evidences of this progress. That its course may be on- 
 ward and upward should be the honest and heartfelt desire of 
 every North-Carolinian. May it continue to spread until it 
 shall reach every portion of our beloved State — shedding its 
 benign influence everywhere, and irradiating in its bright 
 track the gloomy paths of ignorance. This alone will develop 
 the hidden resources of North-Carolina, and cause her wil- 
 derness to blossom as the rose; bring to light the genius 
 which slumbers in the minds of her sons and daughters ; ele- 
 vate her to that proud position among her sisters, to which 
 she is entitled, and, by disseminating intelligence among her 
 people, increase their prosperity and happiness. Education 
 should not be weighed in the balance with the earthly treas- 
 ures sought after by man. It is of a different character — of 
 a higher and nobler quality. It is the richest legacy you can 
 bequeath your children ; for, amid all the changes and vicis- 
 situdes of life, it will cling to them. It is a legacy which they 
 cannot lose ; one like true wisdom, which " moth and rust can- 
 not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal." In com- 
 parison with it, gold is but dross, and silver but leaden ore. 
 The pleasure they produce is sordid and visionary. They 
 never impart true and genuine happiness — never satisfy the 
 mind. 
 
 " As some lone miser visiting bis store, 
 Bends at his treasure, counts, re-counts it o'er, 
 Hoards after hoards his rising raptures fill, 
 Yet still he sighs, for hoards are wanting still." 
 
But the benefits conferred by education are real and sub- 
 stantial ; nor are they confined, but, free as the mountain air 
 to all, they delight to strew their flowers along the pathway 
 of life, to cheer and gladden the hearts of men. Man, being 
 the only animal possessing the intellectual faculty to receive 
 an education, would be abusing the high prerogative with 
 which he has been blessed, were he to neglect its cultivation. 
 He was made to be useful and happy, and it is his duty to 
 improve the talents which have been given to him in order 
 to fulfil his destiny. Other animals possess no such faculty 
 of the mind. They make no progress, but are stationary. 
 What is the history of one of them to-day is the history of 
 the same creature from time immemorial. But the history 
 of man, in his mental capacity, presents many phases, as he 
 emerges from the low condition of barbarity, and approaches 
 to civihzation, when education carries him still higher and 
 higher, expanding his intellect and genius at each successive 
 stride. Who has failed to observe and to admire the appa- 
 ren t generosity and disinterestedness of genius ? It is, lite- 
 rally speaking, no respecter of persons. Its refulgence, like 
 the splendid rays of the sun, is confined to no particular class 
 or locality. It gathers pearls and jewels of priceless value 
 from no selfish motive, but lavishes them freely upon all, and 
 in its triumphant march admonishes us " what shadows we 
 are, and what shadows we pursue." 
 
 How much of real enjoyment is forever lost to those, whose 
 naturally bright intellects are obscured and enveloped in the 
 clouds of mental darkness, which might have been dissipated 
 by the sun of education. They live out their lives here in 
 utter ignorance, not only of their history, but of their destiny. 
 They pass to their graves and are soon forgotten — leaving no 
 foot-prints on the sands of time to mark a distinguished and 
 useful career ! 
 
 On the other hand, contemplate for a moment the inex- 
 haustible pleasures and pure delight afiforded by education, to 
 the cultivated mind. How pleasing it must be to the scholar 
 to reflect that his life is being spent in ameliorating the con- 
 dition of man ! In fact, the field for his enjoyment is bound- 
 
8 
 
 less. He is at home in all companies. By the history of the 
 past, the actors and scenes of other days are introduced to 
 his mental -vision, in all the reality of life, and he is at once 
 made familiar with the rise and fall of the mighty empires of 
 antiquity, their revolutions and their mythologies. For his 
 amusement he can rove over the flowery fields of fiction and 
 romance. With Gallileo and Newton, he can soar to more 
 etherial climes, where, amid suns and moons and stars, ex- 
 plaining and unravelling the mysteries of these mighty lumi- 
 naries, he can contemplate and admire the wonderful discov- 
 eries of sublime astronomy. With Socrates, Plato and others 
 of ancient renown, he can travel over the whole range of 
 philosophy and cull from the recorded wisdom of ages, treas- 
 ures of knowledge to improve, enlighten and gratify the 
 mind. Amid all his intellectual enjoyments, the man of ed- 
 ucation is ever combining the utile cum, dulce^ and contri- 
 buting as well to the improvement as to the comfort and hap- 
 piness of those around him. We should rejoice that our lots 
 have been cast in an age of progress. Look around and be- 
 hold, on every side, the wonderful triumphs of art and ge- 
 nius — triumphs, in comparison with which the achievements 
 of other days dwindle into insignificance. The railway car, 
 with its iron horse, traversing with incredible velocity nearly 
 every portion of the country — the steamboats, like floating 
 palaces, moving with majesty to and fro on our rivers, and 
 riding with equal ease the billows of the ocean— the electric 
 telegraph, conveying intelligence from place to place, with 
 lightning speed, annihilating distance as well as time — all are 
 the results of education combined with inventive genius. 
 Even now, railroad enterprise, disregarding the natural bar- 
 riers of the Eocky mountains, is about to connect the Atlantic 
 and Pacific oceans, and make distant California one of our 
 nearest neighbors. The submarine telegraph, which is now 
 in the course of construction, by its magnetic cable, will soon 
 join two great continents, and bring Europe and America 
 within speaking distance. The aeronaut, in his restless am- 
 bition, soaring with the eagle in the clouds of heaven, aspires 
 soon to cross the ocean in his bird-like car ; and who knows 
 
9 
 
 but that he will, at no distant day, make his a usual mode oi 
 travel ? Judging by the past, who is there so astute as to be 
 able to penetrate the veil of the future, and comprehend, 
 even in his imagination, the gigantic strides which science is 
 destined yet to make. " Coming events cast their shadows 
 before," and bright as has been her career, still more brilliant 
 will be her future. The great reservoir of knowledge is in- 
 exhaustible — the drafts made upon it reduce not the supply. 
 
 "Whilst all the wondrous improvements of the present age 
 are going on, shall North-Carolina remain stationary ? Will 
 her sons and daughters be content to see her lag behind her 
 sisters, in the honorable race before them ? Surely they will 
 not. The signs of the times, we are gratified to say, are en- 
 couraging. She has already awakened from her inactivity. 
 A proper degree of State pride seems to be engendered 
 among her people. Education is receiving an impetus, and 
 progress and prosperity seem to be the order of the day. 
 When we speak of prosperity, in connection with the spirit 
 and improvements of the age, we regret that its application 
 is not universal. We would that prosperity and plenty pre- 
 vailed throughout the land, in every sense. Times of scarcity, 
 however, like those with which nearly every portion of our 
 State is at present afflicted, do not result from the inactivity of 
 man. They come from the sun and the showers — from Him 
 who holds in his hand the destiny of men and of nations, and 
 who doeth all things well. His ways are inscrutable, and we 
 should bow with humble submission to his all-wise provi- 
 dence. " He maheth his sun to rise upon the evil and upon 
 the good^ and sendeth his rain upon the just and the unj%istP 
 Let us hope for the future, and rejoice that the prospects for 
 a rich and early harvest are so abundant. 
 
 ]^orth- Carolina has ever been distinguished for the honesty 
 and integrity of her citi/iens. These are rich jewels which 
 we should never forfeit. Her fair fame which "base dis- 
 honor ne'er yet hath blurred," is the property of her chil- 
 dren. They inherit it from her as a child inherits from his 
 father. How imperative upon us then, from every consider- 
 ation of gratitude, to cling to her with patriotic affection, and 
 
10 
 
 lend whatever of talents and energy we may possess to ad- 
 vance her prosperity. In no way can we more effectually do 
 this than by fostering and encouraging education, and so ap- 
 plying the arts and sciences as to develop the rich resources 
 with which nature has so bountifully supplied her. This 
 being accomplished, instead of emigrating to other lands, 
 Is^orth-Carolinians will be proud to own that they live in a 
 State noted for the intelhgence, prosperity and happiness of 
 her people — a State, once the by-word and jest of the nation, 
 now honored for her learning, extolled for her virtues, and 
 admired for her excellency in all that constitutes true great- 
 ness and an enviable name. The greatest draw-back upon 
 l^orth-Carolina has ever been the emigration of some of her 
 most talented and energetic sons to other States. Such drafts 
 upon her resources, if continued, will ever retard her pro- 
 gress. If her productions are to become the wealth and 
 property of other States, to build them up, she cannot expect 
 to advance herself. But it is gratifying to believe that no 
 such cause will operate to any great extent against her in the 
 future. Her people have gone to work to build up their own 
 State, and they find already, that she possesses all the ele- 
 ments necessary to make a great, noble and prosperous com- 
 monwealth. May the most sanguine expectations of her best 
 friends be more than realized — may she go on prospering and 
 to prosper. 
 
 Whilst our good old State has been at all times sufficiently 
 watchful of her rights and her honor, she has ever been de- 
 votedly attached to the Union, with no pulsation of her heart 
 but that beats for its preservation, for the rights of the States 
 and the prosperity of all her sisters. Whilst others have been 
 led off by the foul spirit of fanaticism, plotting treason 
 against the constitution of their country, and resistance to 
 the supreme courts of the land, North-Carolina, as true now 
 as in May, 1TY5, when she was the iirst to declare indepen- 
 dence, wifh her moorings firmly attached to the constitution, 
 unmoved from the path of duty, regrets their folly but de- 
 sphes their treason. Would that the constitution of our 
 fathers, upon which alone we can rely for safety, were be- 
 
11 
 
 yond the reach of sacrilegious hands ! What language can 
 sufficiently stigmatize — what code can sufficiently punish the 
 traitor, who would, by invading that sacred instrument, de- 
 stroy this happy government, which is " the fairest fabric of 
 man's creation " — who would dissever this Union, cemented 
 by the blood of so many martyrs in the cause of liberty, and 
 consummated by the patriotic efforts of the best and purest 
 men that ever lived ? men, whose names should not be men- 
 tioned by an American citizen, except with feelings of the 
 profoundest reverence and veneration I Nearly all of those 
 great and good men have passed from earth ; but their deeds 
 are immortal ; their names will live forever. 
 
 " These shall resist the empire of decay> 
 
 When time is o'er and worlds have passed away," 
 
 In this connexion, I should ihol that I was doing injustice, 
 not only to the mothers of the revolution, but to those of 
 their daughters who have honored us with their presence on 
 this occasion, did I not pay a passing tribute to their pa- 
 triotism, devotion to civil and religious liberty, and the ef- 
 fectual services which they rendered in those " times that 
 tried men^s souls.^' Nothing great or good can often be ac- 
 com23lished without the hearty co-operation of woman. Her 
 smiles and her cheers never fail to lend a charm to every 
 cause, and an interest to every occasion. 
 
 " 'Tis woman's smiles that lull our car6s to rest» 
 Dear woman's charms, that ^ive to life its ^est." 
 
 I should feel that I had but poorly performed my duty, and 
 had failed to complete my task, did I not^ before concluding, 
 address a f^w remarks more directly to the young gentlemen 
 connected with this institution, and in obedience to whose 
 invitation I appear here on this occasion. 
 
 It is hardly to be expected that you, my young friends, can 
 now fully appreciate the privileges you here enjoy, and the 
 heavy responsibility resting upon you. It may be difficult to 
 impress upon you, in all their reality, tlie important parts that 
 
12 
 
 each one of you will soon have to perform in the great drama 
 of life. These things you should bear in mind, and endeavor 
 to improve each moment as it flies. The time wasted here 
 in idleness can never be recalled, but is lost to you forever. 
 The errors committed here can never be entirely obliterated, 
 and the habits formed, whether for good or for evil, exert a 
 controlling influence on your future lives. Yours is the 
 bloom-time of life, and the rich blossoms that shed their 
 sweet fragrance around your school-boy days but foreshadow 
 the fruits of your future usefulness and your future great- 
 ness ; just as the weeds, which are permitted to spring up 
 and overgrow your mental path, portend troubles and dark- 
 ness in the future. 
 
 Let me urge you to improve the golden opportunity which 
 it is your good fortune here to enjoy ; persevere in the strict 
 performance of your duties ; never despair, but remember 
 lahor omnia vinciL Let your associations be pure and noble ; 
 avoid the contaminating efl'ects of bad associates, " for evil 
 communications corrupt good morals," and your character 
 will be judged by the company you keep. Let your am- 
 bition be laudable and unselfish, remembering that selflsh- 
 ness has been the rock on which many have foundered. Let 
 not your labors be spent in wild and visionary pursuits, but 
 aim at something substantial. Profit by the sad experience 
 of others, whose defeats and disappointments only contribute 
 to your good, by pointing out the stumbling blocks which 
 they encountered, and serving as lighthouses to warn you of 
 the shoals and quicksands which lie in your way. Remem- 
 ber that you live in a country in which the road to eminence 
 and distinction is alike open to all — a country, whose destiny 
 will soon be placed in the hands of yourselves and your co- 
 temporaries, and which will call upon all your patriotism and 
 wisdom to protect it. Remember that here, in the free land 
 of America, those of the humblest origin have often risen to 
 the highest position within the gift of then* countrymen, there- 
 by clearly demonstrating that, 
 
 *' Honor and shame from no condition rise, r 
 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 
 
13 
 
 Ever and gratefully bear in mind that the liberty you enjoy 
 is unknown to the people of other countries. It is an inesti- 
 mable prize — one which reason and instinct teach all ani- 
 mated nature to desire — a blessing, the love of which inspired 
 our forefathers when they so gloriously responded to the 
 noble sentiment, "give me liberty or give me death !" Read 
 the history of those great and good men who have been ben- 
 efactors to mankind ; study well their character ; emulate 
 their example ; strive to make your end like theirs — 
 
 " To win the wreath of fame, 
 
 And write on memory's scroll a deathless name." 
 
 Make the effort, and if you fail in your laudable underta- 
 king, you fail like Phaeton, who attempted to direct the char- 
 iot of the sun — you nobly fail. 
 
 Remember that science and high attainments do not fall to 
 any chance, but are to be acquired only by patient industry 
 and perseverance. l!^o matter how highly you may be gifted 
 by nature with talent, without application, it will avail you 
 but little. Nature only furnishes the capital ; you, yourselves, 
 must do the business. 
 
 "Learning by study must be won, 
 'Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son." 
 
 The youth of ordinary talents, by study and application, 
 soon surpasses him of superior genius who is indolent and 
 neglects his duties. Hercules untrained, with all his natural 
 powers, is no match for the skilful and well-trained gladiator. 
 You must not expect to acquire anything great, without great 
 exertion. He who builds his hopes upon any other founda- 
 tion, is doomed to disappointment. 
 
 Worship at the shrine of wisdom, for " her ways are ways 
 of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." But whilst 
 learning and science are so greatly to be desired, do not rest 
 satisfied with their acquisition alone ; for with all the learning 
 which you may acquire, your education will not be properly 
 completed until jour heart shall be thoroughly imbued with 
 
u 
 
 the principles of virture and honor. Let these be your guides 
 through hfe. They alone will point the way to happiness and 
 success. It is from the impulses of the heart that the mind acts. 
 Hence, the importance of its proper training. Cultivate, my 
 young friends, a cheerful and happy disposition. Be gen- 
 erous and kind, polite and courteous in your intercourse with 
 others. Let candor, truth and honesty ever be uppermost in 
 your thoughts ; for all your acquirements will avail you no- 
 thing without an honorable name. 
 
 " The purest treasure mortal times afford, 
 
 Is spotless reputation; that away, 
 
 Men are but gilded loam or painted clay." 
 
 IVtay your conduct be such, and your time so spent here, 
 as to prepare you to buifet with success the rude waves on 
 the ocean of life, and to meet, with becoming fortitude, the 
 clouds of adversity, which none of us can expect at aJl times 
 to escape. From the time the serpent entered the garden of 
 Eden, no man has been entirely free from sorrow and disap- 
 pointment; therefore, you cannot expect yours to be a life of 
 continued sunshine. I would not willingly or unnecessarily 
 mar a single happy anticipation that you may indulge. I wish 
 only to prepare you to meet the realities of life. Many of you, 
 no doubt, regard your time spent here as dull and heavy ; have 
 longed for your school to close, and rejoice to-day, that your 
 session is ended. This is the natural inclination and impulse 
 of your young hearts. All experience teaches, however, 
 that your schoolboy days are the happiest Iiours of your life. 
 Under the delusive influence of youtlitul liupe, in your vivid 
 imagination, you may paint on the pathway of life a lovely 
 landscape ; but when the time for its realization comes, you 
 will And that distance only has lent enchantment to the 
 scene, and that all the cares, troubles and perplexities of life 
 everywhere beset you. Do not understand me by this, as in- 
 tending to discourage you in the least. Far be it from my 
 intention to do so. My object is rather to stimulate you and 
 to encourage you to hope for the attainment of that success 
 which alone is sure, and which is the reward of merit. It is 
 
15 
 
 your business here to prepare to meet those difficulties on 
 life's journey ; and you will realize that bright picture which 
 you have drawn here, just in proportion as you do your duty 
 here. 
 
 But very few young men, while at school, entertain that 
 high respect and esteem for their teachers, which is justly 
 due them, and with which riper years are sure to inspire us. 
 !N"o man is more entitled to our kind remembrance and affec- 
 tion than he who is the guardian of our minds and our hearts. 
 They are entrusted to him for improvement, and for the man- 
 ner in which he manages our mental and moral estates, he 
 will be held to a strict accountability. His is a high calling ; 
 he is engaged in a noble cause. What heavy responsibilities 
 are resting upon him ! What more honorable profession than 
 his ! The very fate of our country is in his hands ; for he 
 trains and instructs the youth, who will have to manage its 
 affairs, and who will shape its destiny. " If we work upon 
 marble, it will perish ; if we work upon brass, time will efface 
 it. If we rear temples, they will crumble into dust. But if 
 we work upon immortal minds and imbue them with high 
 and heavenly principles, we engrave on these tables some- 
 thing which no time can efface, and which will brighten to 
 all eternity." 
 
 Many of the most distinguished authors and statesmen, 
 that have adorned and enlightened the world by their labors, 
 commenced life as teachers — thereby showing that the hum- 
 ble schoolhouses, however unpretending in appearance, have 
 often been presided over by men of genius, and proven their 
 stepping stone to honor and renown. Let no young teacher 
 be dissatisfied with his calling, or despair of ultimate success. 
 May the highest hopes of him who has so auspiciously com- 
 menced his professional labors here, be more than realized. 
 The exercises of this occasion have proven that he has done 
 his whole duty. Born and raised here in your midst, you all 
 know how to appreciate his talents and his virtues. We can 
 only say, " well done, thou good and faithful servant."