The Gavelyte, February 1909

The o ·avelyte. VOL. IV. FEBRUARY, 1909. NO. 2. ohe Lessons of ohe Past. MIL KENNETH WI LLIAMSON . '10. The T nited States is a pupil in t he g rea t school of na ti ons. Her les onH properly learned will determine her destiny. Her in– structors are the great AngE::ls of Experience, Conscience, and History. The first, being short li ved, her knowledge is limited ; ancl therefore inadt'quate for her complete instructi on, conscience, altho ever present, is weak and vulnerable, and very liable t o fail her pupil at a crucial moment. It is to the last named instruct or t her efore, t , history, that ou r nation must look fo r a g ui dance in t he solu tion of her problems. If mindful of His t ory's wisdom, heeding her warnings, we as a nation will solve our problems, and growing in moral streng th and courage, will prove t he fallacy :)f the belief t hat a nation is cloome<l to die and pass int::> obli vion . We are a nation of destiny, unlike rr:cst great nations, our foundation stones are not bound together by blood, but by the prayern cf a godly peop le, seeking to establish a kingdom of righteousnesR; our constitution was framed to promote t he happiness ancl prosperity of all our citizens; in the conflicts into whi r h we have fallen. though far outnumbere<l we have truimphed glor iously. Our inexhaustible resources are only being discovere<l; our \\'Paith is fa! ulous; the future seems aglow with heaven's ri chest }iJp:,;sing. Truly we are a nation of destiny, and yet it wou ld be fo lly to a:-;. t:lIIP that there are no peri l:-; in our pathway, that because we ha\'e hi ht'rto m,,ve<l forwa1 cl with seeming irresistible powP r , that we ·hall tlwn·fon, alw:1y:,; do so. W<• h:m-' faith in our abi lity to :,;olvr