The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-04-23

ing energy; that power impossible
to resist, kind of energy urges il
onward from action TO action that
in it the State is cverything--indi-
viduals nothing. That in such a po-
iitical society il a man has acquired
any reputation, there is but one way
for him TO sustain it, namely, to in
crease it; that the memory Of the
past fame becomes dim unless it be
constantly refreshed by new; that
to such men emphatically applies
the implacable cry of FORWARD !!
because the wave of time and of
competition is ever pressing on to
overwheln them from behind if they
stop, and because events, pride, am
bition, favors, and above all duty,
carry them irresistibly along in a
path troubled though glorious, and
with rapidity dangerous while it
dazzlcs. And fit were otherwise,
| must be dead to all human emo
tons, if | did not feel moved to the
recesses of the heart; if feelings of
never ending gratitude towards the
kind friends who honor me with this
evidence Of their esteem, did not
swell up from the fountains Of ny
soul so as almost to choke the utter
ancc Of speech. But see that who
ever enters the path Of active duty
is never without the voice of encour-
agement and graduation from an APP
plaudirg people. This voice you,
sir, in behalf Of the friends here pre-
sent have spoken TO me; and if no
language can fully utter the deep
thankGulness | feel towards them in
their behalf, this at least | may say,
this do say, | swear in the face OF
Heaven, and ofthis cloud of witness
es, that whatever Of strength God
may have vouchSafcd TO NE shall be
dedicated to the faithful discharge
of my duty to the Commonwealth
and to tie Union.
In other days and in other lands,
when the warrior prepared for bat
tie, lie watched the solemn silence
Of some Old cathedral, with its mon
nmental columns, sepulchres of his
dead ancestors around lin, and the
ministers Of religion to sanctily the
deed lie was armed a knight by
honored mobiles apd fair. Ladies whn
cneered hun to the performance OF
his duties.
The forms of chivalry and its rites
have passed away, but the sentiment
still holds place in every bosom
But it is before the assembled peo-
Pile, and in scenes like this, not less
imposing and solemn than the ccrc-
monies Of chivalry, that | grid on
this sword, to be drawn only in the
cause of the country, and to be
sheathed only with honor or in death.
For it is not me, but the cause, that
this solemnity is designed to honor {:
the cause of our beloved country
whose prosperity, whose integrity,
whose glory, are and should be the
highest earthly glory Of her sons
She demands all there is Of devotion
in the heart of man; and in what
ever we perform for her, we but i'm
perfectly discharge the sacred debt
we owe her, 10 have done which
constitutes no title Of desert, no claim
of recompcnSc.
Athrr call, these gallant and high
hearted men whom you see beside
me, and the brave soldiers we are
to lead, have spontaneously enrolled
themselves to fight her battles
They leave behind them cherished
homes, tie safe and easy pursuits Of
peace, and all that may render cXis-
tence dear, 10 peril their lives on
the tropical plains of Mexico. They
constitute, as speak only the sim
pie truth when | say it, as manly a
body OF soldiers as ever went forth
to tread the path of duty and of glo-
ry: hardy sons of this our New Eng.
land, with the blood of ireemen in
our hearts, and the vigor of con-
scions intelligence in their souls
They will do no discredit to the an
Gent fame Of Massachusetts,, and
they will take good care if any spot
fall on the honored banner of the
Commonwealth, it shall be only the
blood Of those who bear it, poured
forth in its defence.
We SO to untried duties, but we
do so in the confidence of men, of
men Of the British race, against
Which. whether in the Old World or
the New, none other has yet success
fully commended. | know well the
Spanish race. | omnot unacquain-
ted with that type Of it which exists
IN Mexico, and | DO all honor to its
bravery, its iirmuess under misior-
tunes, its long enderancc, its obsti-
macy in war. do not shut my eyes
to the nature Of the country in which
we go TO fight; the blazing suns of
its tropical shores-its mountains
piled on mountains even TO the skies.