The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-01-24

nest raised himself on his tip-toes in hopes TO &c
a glimpse Of the celebrated guest but there wa
a mighty crowd about the tables anxious TO hei
the toasis and speeches, and to catch any wor'
that might fall from the General in reply; and I
volunteer company, doing duty as guard, pricke'
ruihlessly with their bayonets at any particularly
quiet person among the tbrong. So Ernest, Deins
Of an unobtrusive character, was thrust quite int'
the background, where he could see no more o
Old Blood-and. Tbunder's phi siognOmy than if j
had been still blazing on the battlefield To con
sole himself, he turned towards the Great Ston,
Face. which. like faithful aod long-remembered
friend looked back and smiled upon him through
the vista Of the forest. Meantime, however, ht
could oyerhear the remarks of various individuals
who were comparing the features of the hero with
the face on the distant mountain-side
s'Tis the same fee, to q hairlp cried one man,
cutting caper for joy.
wonderfully like, that's fact" responded
another
aLikel-why. call it Old Blood and Thunder
himself in monstrous looking glass;" cried a
third And why not He's the greatest man
of this or any other age, beyond doubt"
And then, III three of the speakers gave a
great shout, which communicated electricity to
the crowd, and called forth roar from thousand
voices, that went reverberating for miles among
the mountains. until you might have supposed
that the Great Stone Face had poured its thunder
breath into the cry All these comments, and this
vast enthusiasm, served the more to interest our
friend nor did be think of questioning that now,
at length, the mountain visage had found its hui
man counterpart 1t is true, Ernest had imagined
that this long look editor parsonage would appear
in the character Of Man of Peace, utteripg wis.,
dom, and doing good, and making people happy
But taking habitual breadth ofview, with all his
simplicity, he contended that Providence should
choose its own method of blessing mankind, and
could conceive that this great end might be effected
even by a warrior and a bloody sword should tn
scrutable Wisdom zee fit to order matters So
-"The General the General ~ was now the cry
Hush silence! Old Blood-and- T hunders going
to make speech"
Even so; for, the cloth being removed, the
Generals health had been drunk amid shouts o.
applause and he now stood upon his feet to THANK
the company. Ernest saw him! There he was
over the shoulders of the crowd, from the two
glittering epaulets and embroidered collar up
ward, beneath the arch of green boughs with in
tertwined laurel and the banner dropping as If to
shade his brow. And there, too, visible in the
same glance, through the vista Of the forest, APP
peared the Great Stone Face! And was there,
indeed, such resemblance rs the crowd had tes-
tilted? Alas, Ernest could not recognise it! He
beheld o war-worn and weather beaten connte-
nance, full of energy, and expressive of an iron
will but the gentle wisdom, the deep, bread,
tender sympathies, were altogether wanting in
Old Blood-and- Thunder's vsage; and even if the
Great Stone Face had assumed his look Of stern
ovmnand, the miider traits wodM aSfi, na7o ttsi,
pered it,
"This is not the Man of Prophecy sighed
Ernest to himself, as he made his way out OF the
throng And must the world wait longer yet ?h
The mists had oongregated about the distant
mountain-side, and there were seen the grand and
awful features Of the Great Stone Face, awful but
benignant, as if mighty angel were sitting
among the hills, and enrolling himself in cloud
vessure Of gold and purple As be looked, Ernest
could hardly believe but that smile benmed over
the whole visage with radiance still brighten
ing although without motion of the lips. 1t was
probably the effect of the western sunshine, melt
ing through the thinly diffused vapors that had
swept between him and the object that he gazed
at. But--as it always did-the aspect of his
marvellous friend made Ernest as hopeful as if he
had never hoped in vain
GFear not, Ernest" said his heart, even as il
the Great Face were whispering him, fear not
Ernest, he will Gomez
2 More years sped swiftly and TRANQUILITY away
Ernest still dwelt in his native valley, and was
now man Of middle age. BY imperceptible de-
grees he had become known among the people
Now, as heretofore, he labored for his bread, and
was the same simple.hearte ed man that he had al
ways been But he had thought and felt so
much--he had given so many of the best hours Of
his life to unworldly hopes for some great good to
mankind, that it seemed as though he had been
talking with the angels and had imbihed portion
of their wisdom unawares. IL was visible i'll the
calm and well -considered bene6cence of his daily
life, the quiet stream Of which had made wide
green margin all along its course. Not day
passed by that the world was not the better be
cause this man. humble as he was, had lived Ht
never stepped aside from his own path, yet woulC
always reach blessing to his neghbor. AlmOs
involuntarily, too, he had become a preacher
The pure and high simplicity Of his thought
which, as one of is manifestations, took shape ir
the good deeds that dropped silently from hi
hand, flowed also forth in speech. He uttered
truths that wrought upon and moulded the liye'
Of those who heard him. His auditors, it may be
never suspected that Ernest, their own neighbol
and familiar friend, was more than an ordinar,
man least of all, did Ernest himself suspect it
but inevitably as the murmur Of rivolet, came
thoughts ont of his mouth that no other human
lips had spoken.
When the peoples minds had had a little tins
TO cool, they were ready enough to acknowledge
their mistake in imagining similarity between
General Blood-an .Thunders truculent physiOg
nomy and the benign visage on the mountain-side
But now, again, there were reports and many
paragraphs in the newspapers. affirming that th'
likeness Of the Great Stone Face had appeared
upon the broad shoulders of certain eminent
statesman TIe, like Mr.. Gathcrgod and Ole
Bio and Thunder, was a native OF the valley
but had left it in his early days and taken up th'
trades of law and politics. Instead of the rich
mans wealth and the warriors sword, he had bu
a tongue, and it was mghtier than both together
SO wonderfully eloquent was he that whatever h,
might choose to say. his auditors had no choic,
but to believe him wrong looked like right, anC
right like wrong; for when it pleased him, hi
could make kind of illuminated fog with his
mere breath, and obscure the natural daylight
with it, His tongue, indeed, was magic instru
ment sometimes it rumbled like the thunder
sometimes it warbled like the sweetest music. Il
was the blast Of war--the song Of peace; and il
seemed to have a heart in it, when there was nc
such matter In good truth, he was wondrou'
man and when his tongue had acquired him al
other imaginable success-when it had been hearC
in halls of state, and in the courts of princes anC
potentates-after il had made him known all over
the world. even as q voice crying from shore t
shorc-it finally persuaded his countrymen to sc
lec him as n candidate for the Presidency. Before
this tme-indeed as soon as he began to grow
celebrated-hs admirers had found out the re
semblance between him and the Great Stone Face
and so much were they struck by it, that through
out the country this distinguished gentleman wa
known by the name Of Old Stony Phiz TIL
phrase WAS considered as giving highly favorable
aspect to his political prospects, for as is lkewis
the case with the Popedom, nobody ever become
President without taking name other than hi
own
While his friends were doing their best t.
make him President, Old Stony Phiz, as he wa
called, set out on visit to the valley where h
was born OF course, he had no other object thai
to shake hands with his fellow-oitizens, and mel
tber thought nor cared about any effect which
his progress through the country might have up
on the election Magnificent preparations were
made to receive the illustrious statesman; cav