The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-11-18
A Group Of Great Men.


Group Of Great Men.
The subjoised article from the New Orleans Delta
presents porraue OF four Of the greatest nieecs Of
our day. marked BY such vgor aud accuracy Of outline
as well TO deserve place in our columns Our readers
will, sure, approve the judgment Of the writer
in placing the honored name Of Cass side by side with
those OF the mighty rRIumyIRArE, whose renown has
now, under the seal OF DEATH become ineifaceable
portion OF our national history:
THAsAros-Four stood amongst US, short years
since, who looked like the of the ago
there were giants upon the earth. Behind them
long past. through which recolecons of heroic
and memories OF brave deeds, attempted and DONE flashed
like Fata Morgana DER the and before them the
great and growing fabric OF republican liberty. which
founded their hopes, designed by their wisdom and
raised by their energy The character each pila
Ia the porch OF the temple while their genius created the
flowers which crled, with Conhian richness round the
graceful capitals The pillars might be removed, and the
structure remain mistaken, bur deny that The
symmetry Of the porch has been diminished
"Of the four brothers but remains--ihe last giant
Three of Them have forgotten their enmes in the gave
Three have fought the battle Of life without batting lot OF
hope giving way inch, and last laid aside the
shield and sword They have gained the Valhaa Of the
brave One died with defiance his lips and when The
States followed him In gloomy procession to the tomb
South Carolina the deepest mourning, and had the
mark of tears her cheek One died in calm and peace
sunshine of noble intellect still blazed upon his brow
and the hunters Kentucky no,ched day hour
sadness, the rhe.bIeech. The third has Just fallen
Age had not yet vanquhed him disease he could grappe
WI and throw In the wreste toll had him
and lac died from the wound of poisoned spear. more
deadly than tipped by Apache Delaware,
which we have called in everyday style, ngrattude
Had the ghining kiner mission throb out the
solemn tdings that Calhoun Clay and Webster had
aganl
sour citizens have heard long before this that Daniel
Webster is The last has been concluded
Marshfed and the curtain which is called the pail has
dropped Ia the hushed moments which follow the close
Of noble tragedy. 1t would be sacriIege TO ntrude
hatred, dislike, cav. Let applause be silence,
or if you will, let the silence be only broken by the boom
of the and the muted roll of the mourning drum.
great man has passed from midst, and the altar
should be ROBBED in black and the heart cuained by grief
!" Daniel Webster was great orator. The of his
efforts the broadcast in the world, and his
commensurate. He the spokesman of the common
of America, and HE words solid the char
acer of New England, while they tinted and gold
mised by the reflection of southern skies He
Demoshenes, rousing Athens against Philip and
eriDg words which smoe like spears and echoed like the
clash Of warriorswords He a Henry fired with
The grand idea oi his time, and imbodying il in Ian
guage which worthy vehicle of its grandeur. He
was Calhoun, whose eloquence the offspring OF
and round tho massive shaft OF whose logic the
light OF enthusiasm played like nbeams round the statue
OF Memnon-not Clay whose oratory the eloq
of PATRIOTISM and whose style the realization of Greek
and Roman tradition and assuredly he a Cas-
whose speeches the expression of grand sympathy
for humanity, which has limits but the possible OF re-
pubicanism, and which hints popheticaiy the desruc
ton Of desposm from the Indus the ocean, from the
pam-tree to the pine. He simply Daniel Webster,
and IL was enough. great orator without enlhusa -
unequalIed OF language, and reasoner the
massive mould--gifted with unerring eye which
pieoes the -hought Of argument or con-
situation, and blessed with the power of planting his
ideas broadcast in the hearts of ohershe stood hesde his
rivals, their equal in many things, their master some
and their inferior in few. His thoughts wide and
strong, and few with the wing Of eagle. His dia
lectical power was massive and formidable, and luin,
bered through argument like a park Of artillery His
analytic talent marked and peculiar, and searched
into the very heart OF question, like physicians knife
in dssecring room and the comprehensive mould In
which he cast mis- great public addresses was rarely equaed
in widlh, symmetry, and strength.
is always fertile 10 seek parallels in mental history
IL absurd compare mind With another as 10 de-
eide upon likeness between TWO mands for there will
eyer be some difference 10 the hue, the delicate CLEANS
and the worth The water OF one will be the purestha
OF the other, perhaps, de less than the purest; but
they cannot be similar. At the time, IL strikes rs
that orator, Webster bore marked reese bance to
the glory OF English staesmanshphe lri.hman Edmu nd
Burke The grasp thought sodity Of logic clear
ness Of Insight, and felicity Of illustrations characterized
them both. Webster had less fancy than Burke and
Bsrks less tact than Webster. The former would fail
in the pfose.poety 70 which the great Irshmans elo-
quence occasionally scared bat he could forge, him
se, like the latter, and fling his richest though
to assembly which only thinking OF It's dinner.
Even in the prnc Piles there resemblance Nat
uY conservative, they stood mp against the progressive
ideas OF society like bulwatk while they drew much OF
their inspiration from Change and Wall street. Burke
hated the French revolution, which shed its blood insure
the happiness Of It's descendants and Webster was too
ready weigh the markets efa country against Its honor
and depeess the flag Of the republic into mere symbol
Of the merchant Both lived for their party and deserved
by IL!
Webster was great statesman, OF course He wa,
wise, psinssking, learned, and cautious His moral
courage sufficient for any position and his
ance with diplomatic affairs was confessedy great as
that Of Of his cotempoaes But we doubt IL he was
a profound Secretary Of State. lie was too
Boom There spoke the Deep solemn voice OF tho can
non and fancied that against Invading the
ssncty Of the grave Let the dead Ii is to
pluck one flower from his grave.
And now only Cas- remainsr'