Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-03-08

mat form which we behold bu. few days since is
now cold in death,
But the last Sabbath. and in this Hall he wor-
shipped with others. Now his spirit minges with
tho noble army of martyrs and the Just made per-
,sC., IN the eternal alteration OF the living God
WIN MN This Is the end Of earta." He sleeps
the sleep that knows no waking. lie is gone-and |
ana forever! The sun that ushers in the morn of |
that next holy day, while it gilds the lofty dome of
the capitol, shall rest with soft and mellow lubt
upon the consecrated spot beneath whose turf for
ever lies the PATRIor FATHER and the PArR,or
SAGE!
said:- 'N'' anu
Such for half century Mr.. Speaker, has been
the eminent position of Mr.. ADAMS in the ewes of
ms couh'rymen; his pariicirat in tho highest
honors which 1t was theirs to give: his intimate
association with controlling events in their national
annals and with tho formation Of that public o.
Pinion which brought them about; such the vene-
ration and almost universal homage entertained for
his intellect and virtues and such in all resncc,s
ms great relations TO this entire Union and to the
carly thought OF ITS growing millions, that on this
sad occasion the language Of all its parts will be
mat OF laTnentaiion and of tribute. 1t is not for
massachusetts to mourn alone over solitary and
exclusive bereavement Ii is not for her to feel a
lone solitary and exclusive sorrow. No, sir no
Tier sister Commonweaths gather to her side in
thls hour OF her atillcon, and INTERVIEWING their
arms with hers they bend together over the bier of
her iilustrious son-eeling as she feels and weep
ing as she weeps, over 4 sage, patriot, and n
statesman gone 1t was in these great ch,rac,eris
tics Of individual and of public man tina, his country
reverenced that son when living, and such, with a
painful sense OF her loss, will she deplore
him now that he is dead.
Born in our Revolutionary day, and br rght up
IN early and cherished intimacy with tho fathers
and founders of the republic, he was living bond
Inc anJt ho ia,
venerable representative of the memories Ut another
age, and the jealous, watchfui, and powerful one
OF the expectations, interests, and progressive know
ledge of his own.
There he sat, with his intense eye upon every
thing that passed. the picturesque and rare old man
unapproachable by all others in the unity Of his
character, and i'll the housand-fuld anxietcs which
conferred upon him. No human being ever enter
ed his hall without turning habi,uallv and with
heartfelt Difference first to him, and few ever left
without pausing as they went TO pour out their
blessings upon that spirit of conservation "a the
country which brought and which kept him here.
Standing upon the extreme boundary Of human
lie, aud dsdainlng all the relaxations and exemp-
lions oil age, his outer framework only was crumb-
ling away. The glorious engine within still
worked on unhurt, uninjured, amid all the dapi-
dations around it, and worked on with its wonted
and Its iron power until the blow was sent from a
oove which crushed it into fragments before us
ana however appalling that blow, and however
profoundly 1t smote upon our own feelings as we
oehe!d It's eX'lngushing effect upon his where else
could 1t have fallen SO fifty upon him? Where
else could he have been relieved from the woke Of
his labors so well rs in the field where he bore
fhemE Where else would he himself have been
SO willing to have yielded up his life as upon the
post OF duty and by the side of that very altar 10
which he had devoted t2 Where but in the
capitol OF his country, to which all the throbbings
and hopes OF his heart had been given, would the
mai nj ho will
throobIngs should cease2 And where but from
this mansion house of liberty on earth could this
dying Christian more fully go TO his mansion house.
ofeternal liberty on high?
But k!ndng to the imagination and soothing
even to the feelings rs is the death of Mr. ADAMS,
win all the accessories and associations of this
spot around him, how infinitely deeper is the in.
terest which is given to il by the conviction that
he was willing and ready 10 meet it2 He was
happily spared, by the preservation Of his rich IA
cultes to the last, from becoming melancholy
spectacle of dotard and dwelling old age He was
Still more happily spared by the Just and wise and
truthful use of those faculties, from becoming the
melancholy and revolving spectacle of irreveren,
and wicked old age. None knew better or felt
more deeply than he that
'''Tis not the whole ofHfc to live,
Nor all OF death TO dic;'
and hence for long years his life has been a con-
fnuous and beautiful illustration of the great truth
mat, whilst the fear Of man is the consumma ton
OF all folly, the fear Of God IS the beginning of all
wisdom. To such one ''composure" amid the
perils of death and when ''the last of earth has
come, Is supporting power frequently and di-
vinely given and, if it has not been permitted to
him, as to prophet of old, TO be spared the bitter
ness OF death, and to go 10 the heaven that he look
cd for, and that he loved, in a chariot Of fire. yet
70 the eye of human faith his access to the same
abode has been as speedy and safe. Instead of
wearing away under the waste of disease and pass
ing through al the woes and weaknesses which
dIssoving nature generally undergoes blow of
brlei but mortal agony strikes him once into the
tomo, and thus his spirit instantly freed goes right
Up TO the parent fountain from which it came.-
The messenger calls, the soul is in heaven.
AT this moment Of fresh affection, whilst stand
Ing IN The very presence Of DEATH it is not meet to
60 into any special review Of the labors or opn-
ions of the departed. Whatever may be thought
OF those politically, posterity will never deny to
HI IN the possession of great talents, actuated by
great virtues, and directed with boldness honesty.
and earnest purpose, for uDequaled length Of
Tune, to whatever, in his judgment, best for
the honor, interest, and perpetuity OF his country
is taught ~ his death calls upon us all, with
Tor you know not the hour when the Son of man
cometh 20
the 26th instant, with all the 'pomp and ceremo-
ny" due to so distinguished citizen. The cere-
monies were ofthe most interesting character. and
were participated in by thousands of the distin-
guished citizens Of the country.
CIR Y,J y 4