To toil, of some character or other, he seemed to be destined. For no
sooner did he find a little rest from the field or herd, than all his
Hurculean energy was thrown into some cherished and waiting mental
project. His life is an example of the statement that "genius is the
result of labor." Neither did he travel in thought alone upon the
surface of things. There were subjects, the philosophy of which no
contemporary understood better; and upon the social and organic
relations of the religious reformation with which he always stood
identified, he was twenty years ahead of his confreres. He was a
veritable Elijah in many things, but he was never known to flee from
the face of his enemies.
His was a mighty nature; the soul of honor and the embodiment of
truth.
There are two features of his Kansas life, which marked the man, that
I wish to portray, viz: His _temperance_ work, and his _religious_
work. These were not in any sense divorced, as though they were not
always righteously allied; but, as all know, the prohibition question
holds a prominent place in the history of this proud young queen, with
her "_ad astra per aspera_," and from the time she was admitted to a
place among the sisterhood of States, up to the date that the
comparatively little majority of 8,000 votes placed her squarely in
opposition to the saloon, with all its interests and iniquities, he
labored, watched, and prayed, for such a consummation.
Pages:
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495