The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-12-28
From the N. Y Evening Post
The Funniest Thing OF the Season.


| Among all the rich things that are put forth fol
entertainment during the holydays there has nothing ye
appeared that can at all compare with the address at the
wing meeting on Monday evening The author of il
must be happy fellow. He has troubled himself
with the dry formulas of Lindey Murray, or the still
more dry definitions of Noah Webster Grammar and
dictionary are thrown to the dogs loco-focos The
mighty, overwhelming wing intellect this occasion
could not submit to be trammeled by the rules of Ian
guage, and we might add, the dictates of common
But we are OBTAINING our readers from this treat II is
too long Tor us to publish entire But doubtless il will be
printed in gold to accompany the speech of Mr. Clay If
SO, we advise every one TO purchase il as they would
was written by Punch himself, and brought out by the
last steamer Only conceive fifteen hundred or two
thousand persons out of population exceeding three
hundred thousand collected together after the abors the
cares and the duties of the day have been performed
usual when officer of the meeting rises read the
address expressive of the feelings of the assembly and
breaks forth like the letting loose of long pen up hur
ricane-" Fellow citizens: gigantic dangers imminently
threaten our common country"
The two hundred and ninety nine thousand inhabt-
ants OF the city quietly and unconcemedly passing
along the Streets some smoking cigars, singing,
going to the theatres, to concerts shows and
amusemens of every kind All, little do they ken of
the Gigantic dangers;' little do they know how i'm
ninently they threaten" Most humbly do we suggest
that ipend IS the proper word to in this connexion
performance Having told the audience about the gil
gantic dangers they began to look TO what they
were. Then the address tells them "mos perlous Of
ALL the national mind is wearing itself channel utterly
inconsistent with the simplicity and purity of our free
institutions"
How surprising is the richness of expression in the
English language The " mind wearing itself chan.
mel" inst rivers and brooks do to say nothing about
the dripping from the of houses is expression
without parallel in Greek, Latin, German, French and
Spanish, any other language. But the thought is truly
sublime if submlty consists in what is perilous and
awful. For this wearing of the channel" is the most
perilous' OF the Gigantic dangers that inminently
threaten our common country" We now see why the
author did not use the word mpend, suggested
above Wearing channels can hardly be spoken of as
impending; So with singular beauty, he uses the term
mminently threaten"
We can hardly notice 1.-THE of this string of gems
The poor audience, direct from their daily abors and pur
suits, told that he paths of peaceful industry are
deserted by the sangune and aspiring for dreams of
quest and military domination; life of patient hOmey
toll seems and abject while visions Of procosushps
and despoc commands OF the conquest of Provinces and
the acquisition of gold mines, dazzle the view" OF
the audience not cassed among the ''sanguine
and aspiring"
On the wings of some Kentucky Pegasus, the assembly
in instant is transported TO the republics of Greece and
sweeps through "conquerng coonizng Spain and repub
lican France" In instant all are unhorsed and
an efusion of melancholy moral reflections is passed
through Their minds ThcG src closes with tn this ho5
hound the warm track of his prey browns the calm
voice of reason, the soft pleadngs of humanity"
quite difficult to do justice to the merits here dis
PLAYED Omitting the insult it contains against Lindley
understood that Z" blood-hounds' soldiers in
Mexico; the fierce bay" is alegorca of their cannon
when fired and that warm track" the route of
the Meyicans during the heat of day. the expression
charge the Mexican lancers and the soft pleadngs
of humanity" metaphorca of the invitations given
by the MeXcans to soldiers TO 60 into the shops and
drink puquR, where they assassinated.
We must leave our readers to examine for themselves
this fragment 1t will furnish high entertainment for the
holydays, and amply repay their pains