Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1822-07-09

lost in the vivid sentiments Of honour. -
Thus their embaitled hosts march on 20
the conflict rejoicing.
sGlittering in golden coats like images
eAs full Of spirit as the month OF May
..And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer
But far different was The predlcanent
of our revolutionary soldiers. success
only could save the cause they engaged
in from the odium of rebellion, ana its
supporters, from the punishment! Oh reg
son Though such hideous conseque nces )
awaited defeat, they possessed out rev o.
the means, commonly esteemed aosoiulely
necessary to secure victory. ooiniers
without discipline, officers without expe-
rience, treasury without funds ana al
most without credit government weak
and inefficient, were circumstances SUN
Gent, one would have thought, to apPai
the stoutest resolution. and to extingplsn
hope in the most sanguine bosoms. Yet
the ardour of patriotism, and plous conn
dence IN The Great PROTECTOR Of the good,
inspired these gallant men with courage
and fortitude, to brave all this complica,,
ton OF difficulty, and to endure repeated
disaster. Half-clad, half-fed, balt-armed,
thew traversed unshrinking, the frozen
SHOWS. and burning sands OF this long coll
tinenf' whenever their beloved comman-
der pointed. or led the way. Often VIC
torious. but never presumptuous; oitener
defeated. but never dismsyed; oftenesi
disappointed, but never respondent; they
fought on from year to year, till at last,
the earnest Of FINAL triumph, gwen them
ON the field Of Saratoga, was happily lul-
filed at the siege of York.
The contest was equally striking be.
tween the situation OF our legislators ana
those OF that country, from which we were
about to seperate. If member OF the
English parliament be possessed OF com
handing abilities, the prospect before nm
is bright indeed Fame and consequence
are the certain rewards Of his exertions
and If be happen to be attached to The
predominant party, to these, are probably
added the more substantial acquisitions Oh
wealth and power. Various prefermeDts
a, home. NAV crafty his avarice or ambi-
finn. or if his inclination lead him abroad,
he NAV still indulge these passions, and
live in splendour amidst the elegant les
tiyities of the Courts OF Europe sway
with patrarchal authority the beauti'
ful isles of America or exercising more
absolute domination on the peninsula VI
Hindostan. reYel IN all the pleasures, riot in
all the grandeur, and exult in all tue pow
er, which can be'suppled by oriental lux
| ury, Asiatic magnIhcence, and the neets
| and soldiers Of Britain.
But these illustrious men. who IN the
| first days of our troubles stood forth TO
give order to confusion, and efficacy TO re-
sIstance. took their seats in the Congress
with full knowledge of the perpiexily Y
danger attendant on their pre-eminence.
| And seldom have men been IN situation
of more alarming responsibility, or more
pregnant with harrassing anxiety. But
| their decision at once evinced their oeVo-
! ton to noble principles, and their comb
dence, in the energy OF patriotism, and ID
the force of mans will. and the power oil
bis genius, to triumph over physical dis
| advantages. 1t was on the moral resour-
| ces of the country that they relied. des-
pite its restitution of the materiel OF war.
| Now, this is the soul of heroism, land
here | would have you recollect what
| said in the first part of this address this,
| repe at it is the soul of heroism. 1t does
not consist in corporal strength or agility
| not in those personal Accomplishments,
which make the foot firm in the s!lrTup,
and the hand deXtrous with the sword,-
not in that hardness of constitution. which
| is capable Of the sharpest endurance-not
| in that insensibility 10 danger, which rush.
| es on destruction without pause-no, not
| in all this, but in that devotion to noble
principles, which in pursuing right IS re-
| CARELESS of consequences-in that strength
| of the will, which supplies all detects OF
corporeal agency,-in that force OF the
| spirit, which imparts lis own unshrnking
| energy TO these sensitive nerves and ira
| gie forms-and in that feeling OF lmmor-
| lality, which seems 10 render man superior
to his condition here, by indicating some
better state oil being; TO lose sight OF what
is temporal, in long gage at eternity
aye, and to spurn the earth, as though he
held on by the stars.
1t j., impossible, that We can dwell too
long or too inlenlly on these traces of exal-
tation in our nature, on these flashes OF ce-
lestial fire, which occasionally irradia.e
| mortals with al immortal glory. They
are better than the greatest monuments OF
manual or mental labour
Regohque stu pyremidum altius,
finer than the perfection of the arts,
brighter than the light of science; and
it seems to me, are more palpable in
the character of our revolutionary he
roes, than in that of any other class OF
men. Those traces and that fire are
distinct and vivid in the character and
conduct of each, who was great in war,
or great in peace, but swell with the
u.s-l..I .II;-o on1 Nooh xrith fbo IN :.