The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-04-03

ssJoHS c. CALHOUN, born 18th March,
1882. Died 3lst March, 1850" The
name of the State OF South Carolina was
not given--the fame Of the statesman be-
ing the property Of the entire country.
The whisperings Of the concourse now
ceased, and all seemed 10 be impressed
with the solemnity of the teachings u
"the silent lecturer" who lay unconscious
of the occasion which had brought together
the wisest and the most distinguished and
patriotic of the land, and representatives
of foreign courts.
The surviving Senator and the Repre-
sentatives of South Carolina, and the
friends and relatives of the deceased, in
GLIDING son, were the mourners, and sat
near to the coffin.
The Chaplain, the Rev. c. M. BUrLER,
after reading the fifteenth chapter Of First
Corinthians, on the subject Of the ssResur-
rection," delivered the following
81 have said ye gods, and all Of you arc
children of the Most High; but ye shall die like
men, and fall like one Of the princes."Ps lxxrii,
v. 6 and T.
One of the princes is fallen. prince In intel
lect; prince in his sway over human hearts and
minds; prince in the wealth Of his own generous
affections, and in the rich revenues Of admiring
love poured into his heart; prince in the dignity
Of his demeanor-this prince has fallen--fa fallen
And ye all, his friends and peers, illustrious
statesmen, orators, and warriors. 81 have said ye
are gods, and all of you children of the Most
High but ye shall die like men, and fall like this
one OF the princes"
The praises of the honored dead have been, here
and elsewhere, fifty spoken. The beautifully blend
ed benignity, dignity, simplicity, and purity Of
the husband, the father, and the friend; the in
tegrty, sagacty, and energy Of the statesman; the
high wrought vigor, the compressed intenscness,
the direct and rapid logic of the oratoral these
have been wildly portrayed by those who illustrate
what they describe. There seem to hnger still
around this hall echoes of the voices which have so
faithfully sketched the life, so happily dscrimi-
mated the powers, affectonatey eulogized the
virtues of the departed, that the Muse Of History
will note down the words the outline of her fu-
ture lofty narrative, her nice analysis, and her
glowing praise.
But the echo Of those eulogies dies away All
that was mortal of their honored object lies here
unconscious in the theatre of bis glory. Lord Of
the lion heart and eagle eye," there he lies-that
voice Claims your ear The minister Of God, stand.
ing over the dead is sent to say, :" ! said We are
gods, and all Of you are the children of the Most
High; but ye shall die like men, and fall like of
the princes" He is sent to remind you that there
are those here pot visible to the eye of sense, who
greater than the greatest-even DEATH AND
DEATHS LoRD AND MAsrER!
Death Is here. / see him stand over his PROSTATE
victim, and grimy smile, and shake his unsated
spear, and bid US all attend this day on him He is
king to-day, and leads all captive in his train
to swell his triumph and proclaim his power. And
there vsitant that stand before the soul of
man with such claims his awed, intent and
teachabe attention. When, on a day and in
scene like this he holds us in his presence, and bids
US hear him, who can dare disregard his man
date! Oh! there is no thought fact, having ref
erence to this brief scene Of things, however il
come with port and tone of dignity and power,
which docs not dwindle into meanness In the pre-
sence OF that great fact, that great thought which
has entered into the capitol to-day-Death To
be made to see that, by law perfectly inevitable
and irresistible soul and body soon to separate
that this busy scene of earth is to be suddenly and
forever left; that this human soul is to break |
through the circle of warm, congenial, familiar |
and kindred sympathies and associations, and to
put of all alone into the silent darkths is the mes
sage TO US OF death And as this message is spoken
to soul which is conscious of sin, which knows |
that it has in itself for self purfca-
ton and sef-sustainng JOY and peace; which real
lies retribution eternal, moral law-it comes
haught with the unrest which causes it to be dis
missed, or which lodges 1t in the soul-a vistant
whose first coming is gloom, but whose continued
presence shall be glory Then the spirit, peering
with intense earnestness into the dark unknown,
may in vain question earth of the destiny of the
soul beyond the grave, and lift TO heaven the pas
sonate invocation
Answer me, burning stars of night.
Where hath the spirit gone,
Which passed the reach of mortal sight,
Fen az a breeze hath flown?
And the stars answer him, We roll
In pomp and power on high,
But OF the never-dying soul
Ask things that cannot diei"
Things that cannot diet" God only can tell us
of the spirit world He assures us, by his Son. that
death s the child Of sin. He tells what is the power
Of this king Of terrors. He shows ''that in Adam
all die" He declares TO that, sinful by ma
ture and by practice, we are condemned to death;
that unfit for heaven; that we are consigned
10 wo; that the destiny Of the soul which remains
thus condemned and unchanged Is far drearer and
more dreadful beyond, than this side, the grave.
No wonder that men shrink from the thought Of
dcath Tor all his messages woful and appalling.
But thanks be to Cod though death be here, so
also is deaths Lord and Master. GAS in Adam all
die, even 20 in Christ shall all be made alive"
That Saviour, Christ, assures us that all who re-
pent and forsake their sins, who believe in him and
live TO him. shall rise 70 life glorious and eternal
with him and his in heaven. He tells that II
We his, those sharp shafts which death rattlcs
In our ear to-day shall but transfx, and but for
season, the garment OF our mortality; and that the
emancipated spirits Of the rghteous shall he borne,
on angel wings, 10 that peaceful Paradise where
they shall enjoy perpetual rest and felicity. Then
Il need not be voice Of gloom which announces TO
us day, eye shall die men, and fall Of
the princes" for IL tells that the humblest Of
men may be made equal 10 the angels. and that
earth's princes may become "kings and priests
unto God"
In the presence Of these simplest, yet grandcst
truths; with these thoughts Of death and the con-
queror Of death; and, above all, with this splendid
trophy Of his power, proudly held up 10 our view
by death to-day, need utter 10 you no common
place on the vanity Of life, the inevitabeness Of
death, and the soemnitcs Of after being Here,
and now, this theme, the silent dead is preach
ing 10 you more imprcssiyely than could the most
eloquent Of the living. You feel II now, in your
inmost hearts, that that great upper range Of things
with which you are connected as immortals; that
moral administration Of God which stretches
the infinite Of existence; that magnificent system
Of ordered governments, 10 whose lower range we
now belong, which consists Of thrones, dominions,
principalities, and powers, which rise,
"orb DER orb, and height DER height"
10 the enthroned Supreme ;-you feel that this,
your high relation 10 the Infinite and Eternal,
makes poor and low the most august and imposing
scenes and dgntics Of earth, which fit, like shad
ows, through your three-scor years and ten. Oh
happy IL the vivid sentiment OF the hour shall be-
come the actuating conviction Of your life. Happy
If IL take its place in the centre Of the SOUL and