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reach of your hand, had not even been conceived much less prmted. 

 With the exception of Lawrence, there was no private collection of birds of 

 any moment in the country. The Mississippi was the western boundary 

 of civilization, and the last outpost of the Government was at Fort Union 

 on the IMissouri. Bej^ond that post across plains and mountains was the 

 land of the wild Indian, and the hardly less wild animals. It was the 

 glimmering of the da\\Ti of that glorious day that was to produce that 

 famous company of the greatest naturalists the world has ever seen, most 

 of whom have already crossed the river. 



"And this brings me to the consideration of the position I occupy this 

 evening as the recipient of the Society's medal. It is a pecuHar honor 

 that you have conferred upon me; peculiar in the fact that it does not 

 come to me from strangers, but from my friends, those who are my most 

 keen and competent judges. It is easy for me to say I thank you, but the 

 simple words fail to express the depths of feehng that causes them to issue 

 from my lips, and if I do not attempt to add anything to them it wiU be 

 because I know you will understand. 



"Now before I sit down I want to say a word to the young men whom 

 I am glad to see here present, and who are just entering the scientific field 

 which I am about to leave. Experience, from the heights which it has 

 gained through many a desperate struggle and dire conflict, looks back 

 over the past where its heart and memory He. It rarely scans the future 

 because, from its position to the river, the road is very short; and beyond 

 lies the unknown. You have hope, enthusiasm, and courage, great 

 attributes of youth, and I would not speak a word of discouragement but 

 rather bid you onward and God speed, but perhaps a word of caution and 

 advice from one who has travelled and knows weU the way, may not be 

 amiss. How beautiful the road appears before you; broad and smooth, 

 and brightened bj'' the sunhght of early morning, but it -^ill not always 

 be so; there will be rough places where j^ou will stumble and mayhap fall; 

 there will be heights which will demand all your youthful strength and 

 resolution before j'ou shall be able to cross the summit; there will be 

 waste places where you wiU lose your way and wander and be faint of heart 

 and weary, and the sunlight will not always shine upon that road for it 

 has been beautifully told us that 'Into each life some rain must faU, some 

 days must be dark and dreary.' But hold fast to your colors; I will give 

 you a motto to emblazon on its folds; 'Time, Faith, Energy.' Time, 

 The period of opportunity, for every son of earth, whether he possesses 

 the ten talents, or the three, or even only the one, at some time in his 

 career opportunity comes knocking at the door, the acceptance or rejection 

 of which makes or mars a life. Faith : Confidence in yourself and in j^our 

 work; resolution to seize it, determination to carry it forward to its legiti- 

 mate end. Energy: Firmness of will, so that whatever your hand finds 

 to do you may do it with your might. Under this motto of Time, Faith, 

 Energy, always pointing upward and onward, you may go far. Cling to 

 your principles of right thinking and clean hving, so that you may be 



