192 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



ships, or engineering his Thames tunnel amid immense difficulties, in all 

 he undertook distinguished b}'- untiring perseverance and inexliaustible 

 fertility of invention, gave evidence of the benefit of education to this 

 class, as did the younger Brunei when he invented the broad-gauge 

 locomotive, and constructed the Great Eastern and Leviatlian. The 

 Stephensons, elder and younger, illustrious for their mechanical inven- 

 tions and magnificent structures, shed imperishable honor on tlie indus- 

 trial classes. Sir Humphrey Dav}'^ takes this rank by his electrochemical 

 researches and discoveries, not less than by his invention of a safety 

 lamp which has saved the lives of thousands. 



iiinglake, an English historian of the Crimean war, whose able work 

 has excited much notice, objects to the application of the phrases " true 

 honor" and "true glory" to men like these, as a desecration of terms, 

 which he deems should not be borrowed for such a purpose from warlike 

 heroes. He ridicules the "extravagant veneration of mechanical con- 

 trivances " and glory of the mechanic arts which were indulged when 

 the " cathedral of glass," or Crj'stal Palace, climbed high over the stately 

 elms at Knightsbridge. In the magnificent exhibition of the industries 

 of all nations, he saw signs which might lead to the conclusion that 

 England was failing in her ancient spirit. In his view "an army is but 

 the limb of a nation, and it is no more given to a people to combine the 

 possession of military strength with' an unmeasured devotion to the arts 

 of peace, than it is for a man to be feeble and helpless in the general 

 condition of his body, and yet to have at his command a strong right 

 arm for the convenience of self-defence." How false his theories are 

 our own national experience amj^ly shows. What more sublime instance 

 of devotion, patriotism, and courage has the world ever seen than that 

 displayed b}' the American people during the desolating struggle through 

 which this nation has passed ! We had been deeply engrossed in the 

 pursuit of wealth, devoted to the arts of peace, were unused to war, but 

 were not corrupted or enfeebled. From the farm, the workshop, the 

 protession, our people poured forth in countless numbers to sustain the 

 national arm, and vindicate the national cause. Amid discouragements 

 and disasters, the frown of Europe darkening our cause, with accumu- 

 lating debt weighing heavily on the resources of the countr}^, with hope 

 deferred by seemingly endless sacrifices, our people evinced a heroic 

 and king-like power and constancy, and vindicated the power of a people 

 among whom labor is honored to preserve their liberties and the integ- 

 rity' of their country. Devotion to the arts of peace may be immeas- 

 urable, and not inconsistent with spirit and excellence in war. 



The eminent men whom I have named are illustrious instances of the 

 jjower of genius applied to mechanical and scientific pursuits, and some 

 of them furnish examples of the power of intellect in creating for itself 

 distinction in spite of defective education. Franklin relates that he lived 

 on vegetable diet to save a few pence from his daj^'s wages for the pui'- 

 chase ot books, learned a little geometry from a treatise on navigation that 

 he ]>ickc;d up at a bookstall, and got his clear and powerful st^de by 

 studying the Spertntor. Perhaps his experience in a printing office, that 

 excellenL school, supplied the lack of other teaching, or his powerful 

 mental organization needed little extrinsic aid to produce admired results 

 in physical and political science. What more Franklin might have accom- 

 plished with thorough education cannot be estimated. George Stephen- 

 son began life in poverty. He was a self-educated inventor. He created 

 English railroading, and perfected the locomotive engine. But the genius 

 of liis son, a2)parently of the same character, was carefiill}- cultivated by 



