The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-05-09


for Canning's name. need only read the Gurwood
publications to be convinced Of his total ipefh-
cheney in the hour Of trial. and may learn how
splendid fortunes, even OF Wellington, in tho Pen
insula campaigns. He was in fact far more dam
gerous enemy to that great General than 6oult or
assena and it required the full exercise Of al bic
talents. backed by the strong common sense q
Castiereagh, To escape from the formidabSe din
cuties in which the man Of rhetoric involved him
and the cause he was sent to uphold. From this
the world might learn, il it sDosd learn any thing
from the experience of the past that the best talk
ers not always the best statesmen, and that 70
make a speech, which shall carry delibsrative
body by reclamation, 10 one thing; to conduct
great war to q successful issue IL another and
| very different one.
Fortunately for this country. James Madison
for in the darkest crisis of the Of 1884, after the
capitol had been burned, he dismissed from his
councils Armstrong. the unrivelIed political "a
tirst, and the most Indifferent Of War Secretaries
| to make room for James Monroe, q man who dealt
not in figures of speech, and had sovereign co.,
| tempt for flowers of rhetoric, but who knew bow
to raise army to keep it in the field, and 70 pro-
| vide for its being well commanded. Wits laughed
| at his public papers, and CongressInep made them
| selves merry at the expense Of his sentences He
Siege Of Ismsil, when the regimsntsl wags laughed
at him for drilling his recruits to charge certain
posts dressed up With flowing robes and turbans,
| like Turkish soldiers: s4fe .44sssi s-l
.'He made answer. but he took tho city,
/
an army which swept every thing before II. He
knew men well, and he rarely failed to make
| good selection. Under his auspices the country
| recovered from it, humiliation, and New Orleans
| soon followed. Ae ea
Though no orator, Mr.. M. was. nevertheless,
listened to with great respect in tho convention.
| And he entitled to be thus listened to. He
had filled the highest Offices had been twice elected
President of the United States and had conducted
one of the most successful administrations the
country had ever known. In spite of his smbar-
rassed manner and awkward delivery, these Acts
denoted him to be no ordinary man, and his fame
had already been placed beyond the reach Of acci-
dent. ittN
DoDpRIpeE.
Among the most eminent of the convention was
the great western orator, Philip Doddridge
Mr.. Doddridge has been called, perhaps with too
little reflection, the Patrick Henry of western Vir-
ginia. We say with too little reflection; Tor II
half that is said of Patrick Henry be- true, Il IL
doubtful whether the world ever, it is certain that
Virgins never, saw either his equal or his like But
points of resemblance. Each may claim for HIM
self the title accorded to Of them, that Of the
"forest-born Demosthenes." Each had matured I
in solitude the fruit Of those reflections the germ
of which had been planted by the hand Of the Cree
ator. Each drew his inspiration from that source
which the favorite Of nature never fnds exhausted.
In knowledge Of men, and of the means Of reach
ing their hearts the great eastern orator remains.
and must forever remain, without an equal, at
least among those who profess the art Of which he
was the master But the eloquencs Of Mr.. Dod-
bridge was, like his, an imitation of no man. II
was derived only from his own mind, and il
ceased with him, Like Patrick Henry, he re-
mains alike ipimitablc and unimitated.
The language Of Mr.. Doddridge, with all its i'm
petuosty, remarkable for its classical purity.
He violated no rule Of grammar or Of philology in
giving vent to his powerful and impassioned
thoughts. No rhetorician could find the slightsst
flaw, after the most rigid scrutiny, in the texture
Of hi. imagery tho congruity Of bis gures, Or the
cIoquencc rcsemblsd one Of his native mountain
torrents-small in the beginning gathering vol
ume a. It progresses-sw All obstacles be-
parent in the full majesty irres.tibie strength
AZ the crystal fountain in which it had its origin.
We have never seen any person who had words
moro entirely at command, or whose words were
were more indssoluby welded to the meaning
they were designed to convey. We havc never
thought Of his style Of speaking within the last few
years without being irresi;tbly reminded Of the
candid and least envious Of men, drew between his
own oratory and that Of his great rival. 81" said
he, "can always find word; but PiH always finds
the word" So 1t was with Mr.. Doddridge. He
always used the word-the psry word, which of all
others best suited to the OCCASION and he pick
ed it up without the slightest embarrassment, or
differed from the large majority Of our orators,
who class were aptly described by the cello
brated General Blackburn in figure which,
though applied by him 10 an individual, admits of
= very wide application. ssThe gentleman" he
said, "remnds me of a carpenter, who has all his
tools spread before him; but, with strange igno-
q
he catches up broadaxc."
There was no man in all that convention whose
great mental and moral qualities, in spite of sim
gle weakness, which greatly impaired his useful
meas, more thoroughly Commanded the respect Of
friend and foe. On one occasion, 1--WE have been
told, for we were not presently they drew forth a
eloquent cncomium from John Randolph, with an
his genius, the least tolerant Of men. In spite Of
tho evaporation which existed between the two
sections of the State, (and it at one time mounted
80 high that separation was openly spoken Of he
regard of ALL His heart was in the right place, and
was in every respect worthy of the noble intellect
with which God had endowed him. It is 20 rare
thing to behold great mental endowments united
with high moral worth, that the most bgoted Of
mankind are compelled TO pay homage to him in
whose person they are found.
Doddridge. He was a child Of thei7 own raising
specimen, and noble one, oe the western man
in the nearest approach to Perfection that can be
slowed upon great natucal abilities Next to Chap
man Johnson, he waS the ablsst of ali their cham.
pions, and we doubt, indeed, whether he was in-i
ferior to HIM hepossessed certain intellectual pro-
perties which that great man did not while
he was scarcely inferior in those by which he was
most eminently distinguished. He found his true
place among the intellectual giants with which ne
convention brought him in contact, and the excite
ment of his position was 20 pleasing. that we have
| heard some of his friends say they had never
known his spirits 20 elastic, his countcnanoe 90
| animated, or bis mind 90 cheerful and contented;
| another proof, If any farther were wanting, that
intellectual peasurss while they are the most en-
nobling, arc likewise enjoyed with the kecnest
| relish of all others whatsoever. ~ w
Along with the largo majority of those great men
who on whichever side Of the question they were
arrayed, supported the reputation Of Virginia.
MIR. Doddridgs has been gathered to his fathers.
Scarcely twenty years have elapsed since they
were all among us, and now how fow of them arc
| left.
| Correspondence Of tie NesDarh Daily Adusrtisey.
The Government Steamer at Jacksonville.
| JAcKsosvILLs. FLA, May 4, 1881.
| Events with which tho readers of the Daily are
warlike designs to which have previously alluded
The "Libcrators' in this quarter wear the face of
defeated party the next day after the election.
Some apprchend, are not sorry for this intercept
| ton by the United Staten Goxafnmcr,f and many