Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 3.djvu/47

 an impressive ceremonial affecting so large an assemblage of the choice youth of the land cannot but be intensely grateful to the heart of an old school-master, especially an Indian school-master. To him, as he nears the close of the working-period of life, this solemn scene is as a Pisgah-height vision of that Promised Land towards which, in humble imitation of shining exemplars, he has striven in his day to direct a succession of pilgrim steps. To the sight this is a joy; to the spirit, a benediction.

Another introductory word may recall the sublime sentiment shared in by all leading faiths that where even a few congregate for a worthy object, the Eternal Witness is unfailingly present to inspire and to bless. If there be some real significance in the myth which traces the genesis of learning to a striking incident in the self-manifestation of the Supreme, an occasion on which hundreds of ardent lives, with a promising future before them, are to be consecrated to the noble ends of culture and character, ought to be solemnised by the felt presence of the