Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-10-15

who could say that tlllS great luke llad WrohGeu
him: for his entire existence was devoted to the
cause Of legal authority and regulated power.
You seek il it in vain for those strokes of auda-
cious enterprise which in other great captains,
his rivals III flmc have sometimes won the laizc
of il crown or turned the fate of nations. But
his whole career shines with the steady light of
day. 1t has nothing to conceal, it has nothing
to interpret by the flexible organs Of history.
Everything III it is manly, compact and clear
shaped to one rule of public duty, animated by
one passion-the love Of England, and the SER
vice of ,he Crown.
! The Duke Of Wellington lived, commanded,
and governed in unconscious Indifference or dis
daintul aversion to those common incentives Of
human action which are derived from the powers
of Imagination and Of sentiment. lie held them
chcap both in their weakness and i'll their strength.
The force and weight Of his character stopped to
no such alvcnt!tious influences. lie might have
kindlcd more enthusiasm, especially in the early
and doubtful davs of his Peninsular career; but
in his successful and triumphant pursuit of glo-
ry, her name never passed his lips, even in his
addresses to his soldiers. His entire nature and
character were moulded on reality. He li;ed to
sec things as they were. His acute glance and
cool judgment pierced at once through the sur
face which entangles the imagination'Or kindles
the sympathy of the feelings. Truth, as he
loved her, is to be reached by rougher path and
by sterner minds In war, in politics, and nthe
common transactions of life, the Duke Of Wei
lington adhered inhexby to the most precise
correctness in word and deed His temperament
abhoncd disguiscs and despised eyaggerations
The fearlcssilcss of lis actions was never tLe re-
suit of speculative confidence, or fool-hardy pre-
sumption, but it lay mainly in a just perception
of the true relation in which he stood to his an
tagonsl in the field or in the Senate. The great
est exploits Of his life such as the passage OF the
Douro, followed by the march Oh Madrid, the
battle of Waterloo, and the passing the Catholic
Relief Bill, were performed under no circum-
stances that could inspire Misunderstanding
but the GOODNESS Of the player could have VOL
the mighty stakes upon cast apparently SO ad-
verse to his success. Other commanders have
attained the highest pitch of glory when they
disposed of the colossal resources Of empires, and
headed armies already flushed with the conquest
of the world The Duke of Wellington found
no such encouragement in any part of his career.
At 10 time We're the means at his disposal ade-
quatc to the ready and certain execution Of his
designs. His steady progress in the Peninsula
campaigns went Oh against the current OF for
tune till that currcnt was itself turned 10y perse-
verancc and resolution. He had clear and
complete perception Of the dangers he cncoun-
tered, but he saw and grasped the latent power
which bafllcd those dangers and surnounted re-
sistarces apparently nvincible. That is precise
" the highest degree of courage, for it is courage
conscious, enlightened, and determined.
Cearness OF diScernment, correctness Of Judg-
mcnt. aud rcctitude in action were, without
doubt, the principal elements Of the Dukes bril-
liant achievements in war, and Of his vast al-
thority in the councils of his country, as well rs
in the conferences Of Europe. They gave to his
determinations an originality and vigor akin to
that Of genius, and sometimes impaired to his
language in debate pith and significance at
which more brilliant orators failed to arrive bis
mind, equally careless Of obstacles and Of effect,
travelled bv the shortest road to its end; and he
retained even in his latest years, all the precision
with which he was wont to handle the subjects
that, carnc before him, Or had at any time en-,
crossed his attention. This was the secret OF
that untaueht mauliness and simplicity of style
that pcrvadcs the last collection Of his despatch
es. written as they were amidst the varied cares
and emotions of war; and Of that lucid and ap-
propriate mode of Exposition which never tailed
to leave clear impression on the minds OF those
whom he addressed. Other men have enjoyed,
even in this age, more vivid faculties o. inven-
ton and contrvance, more extended range OF
foresight more subtle comprehension OF the
changing of laws of society and the world. But
the value Of these finer perceptions, and OF the
policy founded upon them, has never been more
assured than when it was tried and admitted Dy
the wisdom and patriotism OF that venerable
mind. His superiority over other men consisted
rather in the perfection Of those qualities which
he prominently possessed, than III the variety
and extent If his other faculties.
These powers, which were uncrrlng when APP
Piled to definite and certain facts, sometimes
failed in the appreciation of causes wilch hau
not hitherto come under their observation. 1t
is perhaps, less to be wondered at that the sol,
dier and the statesman of 1915, born and bred
in the highest schooo Of Tory politics, should have
mscarried in his opinion Of those eyentl"i times
which followed the accession Of William w.,
than that the defeated opponent OF ieiorn III
1881. should have risen into the patriot S'n;-
tor of 1916 and 1851. Yet the Administration
of 1928, in which the Duke of Wellington oc-
cupied the first and most responsible place, pass
ed the Catholic Emancipation Act, and thereby
cave the signal OF rupture in the Tory party,
never afterwards entirely healed, and struck the
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