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much of his life on the stormy sea of politics, and now, having reached the Psalmist's limit of three score years and ten, is walking “thoughtful on the silent, solemn shore” of that other and vaster “ocean he must sail so soon.”
There is no finer quality of intellect than that which enables a man to brush aside all irrelevant matters and go straight to wise conclusions. There is no better element of character than that which, amidst the play and counter-play of the passions, makes it possible for a man to seize upon truth and to hold on to it, even when to do so may alienate old friends and create new enemies. Intellectual honesty and moral courage are the twin children of truth and faith. [Applause.] The capacity to hold the sensibilities in subjection to the intellect and the will, and to pass judgment calmly upon facts as they exist, ought to be an object of sincere desire by every man who seeks or accepts the responsibilities of helping to guide the fortunes of a popular government, where passion and prejudice, in the very nature of things, so often becloud the course of wisdom and justice.
In 1866, when sectional hate was at fever heat, Mr. Schurz was appointed by President Johnson as a Special Commissioner to examine into the conditions at the South, and to report his findings and opinions. A recent perusal of that report, more than thirty years after it was written, leaves no doubt on my own mind that, while, the writer was necessarily imbued with ideas in conflict with those generally entertained by as of the South, yet he was honestly seeking for the truth — if haply he might find it. [Applause.] In that hour,
