The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1850-07-10
. ora.ory 81 lhe Ials 5. ). Prsntiss

" hiiu the iohOWlng communicated TO The nc
ayune Of yesterday
To the Editors Of the Picayune
Judge buisard, in his speech on the character of
The late y 5. Prenss published in the Delta Of the
9Th inst, refers to- a meetng which was held some
years ago, in the First Congregational Church, to
devise measures for procuring statue of Franklin.
was present on that occasion, and can testify To
the correctness so ably skeiched in the beautiful
eulogium pronounced by Judge Bullard. After re-
titing to my room on the evening above alluded to.
aet down in a notebook some "reminiscences Of
the concluding part of Mr.. Premises address,
Though am aware that they must sound tame and
fgid To- those who had the good fortune to be- pres
ent on the occasons yeI and it is possible, that their
pernsai may be lntefestng 10 some friends of the
deceased, whoare acquainted with that brilliant
and remarkable display Of oratory by report only.
can convey no adequate idea OF the original g To
have caught up its brilliant sciniillatiUns would
have been as difficult as to have snatched the me-
teors as they shoot athwart the sky" What
could call mind OF the peroration Just referred to
was recorded as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen = The most splendid
cities, mallsoleums and pyramids must crumble to
dust, but the genius embodied in the picture and
The statue and the literary page is like the mind Of
man endued with Immortality The physical forms
Of Greece and Rome Atted across the horizon like
The shadows of cloud passing over a verdant field
in summers afternoon but the productions OF
her heaven-b0rn artists still live and hold pre-
eminent place in the admiration Of the civilized
world: They will 60 down on an accommodating
lIde ofgoIy 70 succeeding generations, even to the
last recorded syllable OF time.
Hail spirits, born in happier days;
Immortal heirs of universal praise
Whose honors with insrense Of ages grow,
q As s stieams soi down, enlargIng as they hos
And worlds applaud hat must not yet be found =
The Pantheon Of Greece was filed with the
creatures Of immortal genius. It's deities were the
same beings whom genuine poets Of every cline and
land see in their day-dreams on the oceans rocky
shores, Or by the gufgliHg fountain, or in the
shady grove, or on the mountains eFaggy Steep Or
along the gentle stream meandering through the
sweetest charms Of rural scenery. Her statues,
paintings and poetry have kindled the imagination
and touched the hearts Of all cultivated aces and
nations to the present day. Her mission was to in
spire the human race with profound eternal adj
miFauon OF the great, good and beautiful. The
visions ofloyelness which she delineaied can new
er Jade, because they are true 10 nature and c0nse
quenlly secure TO her aa iustrious and deafness
name.
Az Republic, we possess all the advantages
Of civil and religious freedom. We have the
means and appliances Of boundless physical pros
teFliy But the American people especially re-.
quire more acute perception and lively eninvnert
Of the refining and endsssly diversifed beauties ~
nature and art These would emancipate them
from the dominion Of those gross sensual indul-
gences which so extensively prevail in the United
States, under the name of Inducements or neces-
\
childhood with the exquisite miracles Of superior
genius, would grow up enabled 10 comprehend and
ieel the lOvellness and grandeur that pervade the
whole creation, and which in vain courtthe notice
Of the illiteTate and vulgar. In the training OF
youth, nothing is more important than to excite in
them lively relish for the entertainments of taste
cultivated sensibility to the elegant and grand,
is, OF Itself, almost sufficient TO inspire a young
man with the noble spirit Of patriotism, passion
Tor true glory, a contempt for all that IS mean in
principle and conduct, and profound admiration
tor every thing truly great, immaculate and illus
trous Let il be remembered, also, that the enjoy
ments which arise from delicate perception Of the
beautiful are c0ngenal with the tenderest and holt
est sentiments of religion, and are foretaste of
that refined, unimaginabe bliss that awaits the
good in the fair and glorious mansions of immor
Iality Let us rest assured then ladies and gentle
men, that by furthering the object for which this
meeting IS called, shall at least contribute our
mite towards the promotion Of that social refine
ment, peace, order and morality that are indspen-
SADLY necessary to perpetuate our civil and rel
gious liberties -
As this memorandum was made at the time and
on the spot, il may be relied upon as a tolerably
faithful account of the ideas contained in the con-
GLIDING part of Mr. Prenliss' address on the above
mentioned occasion. The writer did not a,lempt
70 give sample Of his inimiiable STYLE The ora
tor was most modest and unpreiending in his man.
neF. He appeared to be quite unconscious of the
elect which he was producing on the minds of his
audience. His periods OF ardent and glowing die.
lion, his rich, original and beautiful figures, flowed
from him without effort. He seemed TO speak from
the impulse of some superior power that he could
not resist. have listened to the most distinguished
orators on both sides of the Atlantic bat never
before or since Witnessed an Outburst Of such pro-
found, original and impressive eloquenee.