The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-09-16
[ANswER.l

General George Washington =
acknowedge the receipt. at the time, Of the coat
No time viii be lost in bringing your interesting commu
ncaton to the attention of the members Of Institute
and in laying before them this precious relic Of the great
Jackson who has made the plain ofNew Orleans the
& places as Of
4, shall S DO this sir r. psrsc, confidence that your E
Certainly filter place TO deposite such sacred Amer
lean relics could have been chosen than the National nst
tute at the seat Of Its charter from
wSse Exhibited 70 al Ss garments worm BY
and Jsehson may inete our to emulate a Their
am sir. very respectfully,
Your most obedent servant
FRANCIS MARKoE in.
Cor secy Nat Inst
To Gen. TroMAs BRADLEY, Washington.
The present of General Bradley having been duly
accepted,.N. p. Trst, esq, susmitted resolution
on the occasion; which was adopted, and which he
accompanied by few remarks. ~
RESOLUTION
Rssvired That every American every heart that
gloes in the glory Of our country and loves with love-
be an object Of the deepest patriotic and that rs
assigning to the place asked for II by the donors the
theirs of the revolution. FIRST in war in peace
first in the hearts Of his countrymen" the Institute 40 but
which closed the mortal Of the immortal jacki
Remarks If Mr.. NJ P. Tris,.
gret with me, to be without that power, without
which an American citizen is-but half citizen
the power of giving utternnce, in unprecedented
words, to the thoughts and emotions which he
would communicate. But never, sir, have | so felt
the want Of this noble gift this moment. What
man. whose pulse ever throbbed in unison. with the
great heart of our country, but would hereSamong
us at this moment, feel his bosom swelling with
that for which language has no name--wih things
which, to utter, speak out the power of the lof
est eloquence would be tasked in yain' And, sir,
feeling this, as do feel it. how deep, how con-
founding must be my sense of the poverty Of the
voice which, now for the first time, is raised in
public meeting Of any kind. Would that the task
which, at the suggestion of my friend, Che CORES
ponding secretary of this institute, am now ven
turing upon, solely because the appeal has struck
chord whose vibrations are SO strong as to over
power conviction the most thorough, Of my utter
unftness for any effort of the kindwoud sir, that
this task had devolved upon one having less reason
to shrink from il. Most especially do regret not
to see standing here tie presence of this eloquent
memento, him who, were not the space which sepa-
rates great to forbid, would certainly be at
post so peculiarly his own; filling the place to which
he would be called by reclamation, and pouring
FORTH sin words that buxn, that stream of electric
thought with which his aAkhent mind is ever ready
charged, and whose corruscations would, at the
sight of this old EIGHTIror-J ANuARY coat, hsve1
been brilliant beyond oil former brliancy.
3 need not name him. 1t will readily occur, that
aude to the veteran whose power TO stir up souls has
been felt by thousands, and heard tell of by ALI and
whose proud privilege il would now be to say us:
81 was there During that conflict, in which BEAUTY
and BOOTY was the watchword that resounded
through the ranks Of the advancing foe, my eye
was of turned upon the erect and commanding
FORM clad in the garment which now fixes our gaze.
These insignia, now dimmed by the touch Of time,
and which, lustreess they are, mere insei as
they are aught but American eye, possess for
our country and her sons value beyond the price
Of the rarest Jewels of all the crowns Of Europe
and Asia combined These old epaulets were then
bright; they shone through the bate-coud, sending
assurance to our anx ous eyes, that Jackson stood
unframed. That Old Hickory, whom the Ten
nessee volunteers, worn down by forced marches, |
such as men never performed before, had, on near
ing the battlefield, DEMANDED TO SEE, as their re-
ward for the tolls through which they had passed
the one thing needfu TO make them fresh for the
fight, and to make them Of victory-dy i
though the foe to be beat were Wellingtons irwin
cibles; these old epaulets were the token by |
which those Tennessee volunteers, and the noble |
old farmer-solder who led them, knew that their
beloved Old Hickory was still there; guarded still
Oft before he had been under their eyes, by |
that PROVIDENCE, which he never for an instant
dstrusted, and his trust in which lay at the foun-
daton Of the strength and the power of his resist
less character s& A5 l
This it would be the privilege Of the old veterans
tell and to tell it in strains not unworthy of the
theme
But sir, unequal as feel myseft to be to this theme
there is one respect in which acknowledge no infe-
riority my title speak upon the present occasion
What man, with spark of soul, ever knew that
wonderful being, but he loved him. and loved him
with depth that knew bound, save the degree
in which he was gifted with the ability to lover
What man ever enjoyed the privilege of an insight
into the workings of that noble, that glorious ma
ture, but he felt in his Utmost SOUL how ineffaby
noble and glorious 1t was' This privilege, sir, has
been mine. have known that man; and so known
him to learn that hero-worship-as il is called by
one Of the master minds Of the epoch in which we
Eye--that hero-worship is no sin--no no weak
ness. r
II has been remarked, sir, by one Of the French
wits, that "no is hero to his valet''-an cpl
grammatc way ofteng MS, that to the eye of close
observer enjoying opportunities of seeing him at all
hours and under all circumstances, every man be-
comes reduced to, to, the ordinary standard
This wit never knew hero--a true, real hero; at
least he never knew Andrew Jackson. Had this
boon been given him, he would have come to learn
that the very reverse of what he has uttered true;
that it is exactly in proportion to the closeness of
our insight into him--exactly in proportion TO the
number and the variety of the circumstances under
which we become intimate with him--nay, TO the
very trIviaty ofthose circumstances, that the differ
ence between hero and other men becomes mani
fest, vast, impressive.
known Andrew Jackson. Nor do | feel that dis
trust in the impression that he has made upon me .
which might feel, had he been the only man of
emnence with whom il has been my lot to be
thrown into contact However limited my capacity
may be for measuring men, and approaching true
greatness Of character, my opportunities for do
ing have certainly not been small. Through acct
dental circumstances, unconnected in any way with
merit of mine, my life has been passed in manner
calculated to hnrden me against impressions of the
sort From my boyhood have lived among eminent
men. In this sense have truly been the spoilt
child Of fortune. To name but two--Thomas JEFF
ferson and James Madison have been of the num-
ber And, sir, il was after enjoying the priceless
privilege Of an intimacy with these two-after be-
ing, through periods by means short, as intimate
with them the disparity Of years rendered possi-
be that the same blind fortune comforting upon me
came to know him; and to know him with a thor