The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1845-06-19
THE LEARNED BLACKSMITH.

met with him for the first time, oil
Boston, and the Learned Blacksmith is
| man big enough 10 entitle your first ia,
terview with him, to remembrance. Eli,
hu Burrilt is great man. What his de-
iects are, | cannot say,-but he has great
talents. He is great orator. At least
he has made one great speech 10 his life,
if no more, and that, heard, before about
a single handful of people, in partly lit
hall down under the Marlborough Chap.
ell. 1t was at a Peace meeting. | was
passing up 10 the Chapel, with William
b. Towne and John r.. French, the last
evening Of the New>England Convention
the hall door was open as we were pass.
ing it, and we discovered the form of the
Learned Blacksmith on the little platform,
by he side of Samuel E. Coues and the
celebrated Robert Owen. For Robert
Owen is now allowed place on Phlan>
thropy's chief seats, in the capital of pu.
ritan New England. A few years ago,
and they would much sooner have admit
ted the--I don't know who. A great
mark of the progress OF freedom and right,
eousness. The Clergy think as much
DOW, | guess of keeping their own plat
form. footing, as OF disturbing Robert Ow-
ems. | had been introduced 10 Eihu
| Bugritt, the day beforehand was much
interested in his original appearance, and
DESTROYS of knowing him further. had
not formed The highest opinion of his lib
eraity, from some passages between his
" Christian Citizen'' and the old Herald
OF Freedom. My companions and turn
led into the hall to hear him speak little,
before going up into the great Convention
over head. But we soon forgot did
every thing but the speaker before me-
The dim-Iit hall-the handful audience
the contrast of both with the illuminated
chapel, and ocean multitude assembled
over head--bespeak painfully the estima,
lion in which the great cause OF Peace is
held in Christendom. | wish all Christ.
endom could have heard EIlhu Burritt's
speech. One uRbroken, undated stream
it was, of profound and lofty and original
eloquence. l felt riveted 10 my seat till
be finished it. There was no oralory
about il, in the ordinary sense Of that word,
no graces of eocution. 1t was mighty
Thoughts radiating off from his heated
mind, like the sparkles from the glowing
steel on his own anvil-geling on, as they
come out, what clothing Of language they
might. and thus having on the most ap-
propriate and expressive, imaginable. Not
waste word, Eor wanting one. And
he stood and delivered himself in the sim.
plci,y and earnestness of attitude and ges.
lure, belonging TO his manly, and now
honored and distinguished trade. | ad-
mired 10 witness the touch Of rustcity in
his accent, amid his truly splendid diction,
which betokened, as well the vein of solid
sense that run entirely through his speech,
that he had not been educated at the COL
lege. | thought of PIoug hman Burns, as
| listened to Blacksmith Burrit. Oh
what dignity and beauty labor jmparts
10 learning.
do not know that this was sample OF
Ehhu Bprr;u's oratory. If it was, was
wondering had not heard him spoken o.
as the eloquent Blacksmith" as well as
the "earned." can think of nothing
now that could have specially inspired him
that evening, unless it was his lack OF
audience, and the bedlam "pother" that
everv now and then Numbered over head.
He had no rhetoric-no rounded, sound
ing, insignificant periods,-no beautiful,
unmeaning words. 1t was all meaning.
He said men would evade the prohibit
lions of the gospel Of Christ, and fight for
Life. SeIf-deience-ifthey couldn't find
the right of it in The gospel, they would
gather it farther back They would fight
for life. And if for life, certainly, for any
hing dearer than life. Liberty was dear.
err than life. They would, of course, fight
for liberty. And there was something
dtarer than liberty and life, and without
which these were nothing, 1t was Hon.
or. In defence of Honor, And there
was reputation for Courage-to avoid the
impualion of Cowardce. If England,
for instance, babe US not enter Canada
we must 90 10 Canada, TO escape the i'm
putaton of retaining for fear of England.
And we invade Canada. And what was
honor, or Iiberty-or ife-or any thing ,
withou, Property. We must fight if prop.
etv is invaded, and if for any amount Of
it, then for every amount, however trif1ing,
or we abandoned the right. II we would
fight for Oregon, he said why then wei
must, for the lonelcsl dead pine, that stood
on the remo.est cliff of the peaks Of the
Rocky Mountains. He glanced magnlfl'
Gently al the career of Napoleon-and
touched on Waterloo with IA fancy scarce
" short of Chlde Harold's, aud when
100 he was tracing the hosts that cncoun
tered there in the high and terrible strife
for glory-h he followed Them from he field