Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-07-27

The Nations Bereavement.
II biz. ] An wAtftNu DEATHS APPROACH.
! AM READY FuR THE SUMMONS; ] HAvE EN-
~bEAvoREp FAITHFULLY ri PERFORM NY Du-
rtEs; 7 RwiREf 10 LEAVE nv FRIENDS"
T'hHse were ilie dying words If HAcrth-
nv TAYLOR, President Of the United StHtes'
Tie spirit was about departing from its
earthly tenement Mortality was strtg
glinn vaihly VIII, the universal l%eyeller.
The eyes If the departing hero and sage-
So sonn 10 appear before a tribunal where
all enrthlE attiots are Judged according to
iafeatioaS aid nt6tjtps, where there is no
ronrealnipnt, where al that was hidden is
exposed. and, where the soui either puts
on the roiws Of Immortality o. is thrust
into the abyss Of everlasting punishment
were glazing over with the elm of death.
bit yet he, could put his hand Upon his
heart so soon to eease to beat, with nj ab-
sointe knowledge oflis. impending dissolu-
ton, and say-"1 have eH3earorei faith
fully to perform my dmties.'
There is n moral grandeur in the eE-
preston and the surrounding circuInsthtt-
ees. never eurtalled. 1t is sublinity itself
The filth Of the cliristihn At the stake, ell
during torture for the sake II his religioht
the fervor Of elevated and conscious pat=
r~iotism--tlie unqubiling heart Of bravery,
that kiew no fear-=the mishtinking rell-
atira Upon The mercy Of Divine Providence
founded Upon n life well spent, were oil
embodied in The eSprcssiUti-"I have eli
deavoted faithfully to perform my duties"
May each one Of lis. when our maker
calls for an account Of our Stewardship.
mud wliel, The last sands are reeedinn from
the glass, Ie enabled to lay orr hands
ttpon out hearts, q to be cold and pulse
less and say, we have radearDyeH f%aitlifil4
" to perform ottr duties Then the grim
messenger will be Invested Of all his ter.
rors, Mud the deep aud silent grave Of al
Its dread.
The author Of the above sentence had
reached the loftiest peak of earthly alnbi-
ton lie could hope for no further eleva-
ton, For him, indeed, ''there were no
more worlds to conquer" Upon the top
most round Of fsme's ladder he sat. a glo-
tious spectacle for all adrniring world.
Ills lightest whisper throbled through the
hearts Of millions Of freemen. lie wielded
the overwhelming power Of the great
western Republic, whose dumnins IRE
bounded Ivy either ocean, and whose NV.
ful shadow Of freedom-awful to tyrants
only-rests darkly aitd forebodingly upon
the breasts of the kings aud ~potentates Of
the Old World. lie commanded and il
was done. lie forebade, and no man dared
him. Tpon land hs was chief,
and upon the blue and borlu1less seu-
that GLORIOUS mirror of the Almighty's
FORM each ship that bore the starry ban
ner of DIR glorious Republic, owned the
sway Of him, the chief executive minister
of the laws Of u land Of laws. lie had
passed through trials AMI temptations
wlgch wonld have swerved almost any
MAJ from the line of dnty--but hc never
swetvcd. lie had passed through dun
gers which would have stricken with fear
the hearts of most men--but his heart
knew no fear, for he was "endeavoring fifth
to perform lis Duties The Indian
rifle ball sang the death requiem Of many
noble man In the dense and dark ever
when he was leader, and the pes
%tilential miasma Of the wanps carried
hundreds to their long homes; he was be-
set with difficulties which would have ap-
palled the hearts Of the bravest, but he
shrank, while "endeavoring faithfully
to perform his duty" to his country and to
his fellow men, He had met the enemies
Of his country ina foreign Iand-had gain
ed imperishable cnown for himself--and
had renewed the glories Of Bridgewater
and New Orleans on the plains of Palo Al
to, and amid the rocky Businesses Of Buena
Vista. On those glorious fields, the men
ton Of which makes the true American
heart throb with honorable pride, he car
ried the stars and stripes giorionsly on
ward, and
s-where deaths brief pang was quickest,
And the battles wreck lay thickest,D
he made his name glorious among these III
Of men. He had passed through all the
grades of the service, and had finally reach
ed the Presidency. He had seen az severe
ordeals as generally fall to the lot of NOR
to encounter. The blasts Of war,
death spoke i'll the flash and roar of
he cred artillery" had blown thickly a.
FOUND him; envy, jealousy, hate, disap-