The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-06-30

sup at that ne would 0ner an apology Tor the
unfortqpate multitude at the general judgment
IN the confidence that everything could be sat
istactorily arranged afterwards by his own kind
Offices
Of his moral conscience, ! am safe in saying
it was just the balance Of his own impulses
and opinions. His feelings settled the right
and wrong of things among themselves with.
out any reference TO received standards Nc
prophet could be more confident of his inspira.
ton than the General was of the oracle within
him, and he was moreover, not the man to de.
sire favor out of rule, to pray, or wish, in
thought or word, for personal benefit to soul
or body or to fear or evade any legitimate con.
sequence of his own large liberty Of soul. The
accordance of his opinions and practice with
the universal law depended, therefore, entirely
| upon the concurrence of his own constitution
and conditions This mich Observance he
frankly gave, and he ofsna no lip-serviee, and
added no slavery besidek His was a lofty love
Of right, o qnick and deep apprehension Of the
divine order, and a bold acceptance Of the in
most truth of things. For the rest--the appl
cation of principles to conduct in the regula.
ton Of his social life, he held his impulses full
ly capable and most worthy to direct him, and
all in the most confident reliance upon the per.
feet understanding subsisting between himself
and the Supreme Authority.
| | must insist again that he was religious
true, and noble; yet it must be admitted, in
such wise as allowed much in him incompati
BILE with received rules, and perchance, with
the absolute right too; for in character
where the natural constitution is everything
whenever the balance breaks, the most start.
ling incongruities will result Where the
standard of faith and practice is prescribed
one, resting on its proper authority in all ext
gencies and disturbances, the man still CRAWL
tates toward the point which is the fixed cen
ire of his homage but where liberty is law,
and the life is all spontaneous, in the confusion
of accident aud misadventure the direction is
apt to be assumed by the boldest sentiment and
strongest feeling, as provisional governments
arise in insurrections, and, like them, the de-
cision is likely to be ruled by the dominant in
terest of the hour. The individual is best as
serted and shows most nobly in such case, but
is liable to work most widely out of the gener.
al harmony, and to shake the authority of
creeds and precedents by his alterations.
The General, need hardly say, was no hyp-
ocrite or juggler in casnistry for the incon-
gruities and inexplicable things that puzzled
| every day orderly people were true enough
things to him, though false to them and to the
general rule too but it is strictly lust to saw in
| mitigation of the blame which they encounter.
ed and the mischief which they worked. that
they were never perpetrated in wantonness or
selfshness, but TO attain such ends as were
likely enough to Justify themselves when thew
were attained In such minds efficiency and
| the necessity of tho case override formal sys-
| tens, and the rule bends to the purpose that
purpose having first secured their appreciation
for the highest reasons. They are often break
ers but never despisers of the higher law.n
and if they leave the open pathway of the alb.
stract right by any constrained indrection,
they will recover it again il it can any way
lead them to their end, Tho best of tsraels
kings was found unfit TO build the temple The
great passions Of great natures burst out into
great crimes. Little men cannot Judge them.
They neither. .nrpya ,Gmrnniian. nor AM lha-i.A
cendiary cannot justify himsclf by the devesta-
ton of q fash Of tightening and philosophy
reverently hesitates to impeach the power with
the mischief which it works
As an example Of the Generals mode Of
| reasoning, and the morale IL his logic, he shall
| answer in his own style. Suppose an Indiar
war to be the subject; It's prowdential results
rather than its justice being its warranty
"Percizcly," be would say; "you muslin
look at great national movement the way
maepie equints into a marrow. bone histor,
isn't written with the point of pin. The Ca
NANTES were the Indians of the Holy Land
and when the cup of their iniquities was full
and the Cavaliers and Puritans of that da,
wanted room, aud had the better right of bet
ter men to fill it, Jehovah told them pine -blanl
to GUST the lounging varlets Ye see, the Lore
of the vineyard cannot tolerate mere oumber
ers of the ground The Copperheads take NJ
| more room than the rest Of the world can az
ford them! They are, in fact, the Creates
land monopolists in the universe, and the most
worthless squads at that; so, the fine fellow,
must either go to work when the time comes
or else pull up stakes and put out for the Rocky
Mountains, or for kingdom come. The earth
must be fsrrned not ioraged, by man and the
yagabonds that have neither forts nor fences
must give it up; their case is past praying for
burnt brandy wouldn't save them Besides, @
new world was wanted for the new SYSTEM
Democracy required fresh soil, a wide field
and clean sweep, to set up with and this
was Just the continent fit for the use. percize
lyn
With him, policy depended upon its wis
dom and fitness not however, always the wis.
dom and fitness of first principles, unless they
would work kindly for his uses, but the wisdom
and fitness of the end in contemplation, and a
strict observance of all the equities which, in
the circumstances, it was possible to preserve
| That which seemed to him the necessity of the
time, got credit for being the duty of the time
and he did it, running the hell-gatc of expedi.
ency as safely as any other navigator OF that
dangerous passage, for he mixed up no mean
or personal ends with the motives of his con-
duct and, especially to the credit Of his integ-
rity, he never mouthed and mumbled the max
inns of morals and religion while dispensing
with their acknowledged obligations What he
did, be believed in. Hewas never caught dodg-
| ing under the doctrine Of human deprsyity and
necessary imperfection, when he was engaged
in his greatest undertakings. He verify be-
lieyed that the best thing that could be done,
| in the circumstances, was right before heaven
and earth, and, being so, 10 had no apology to
make, but did whatsoever his hand found TO do,
with all his might His wss not the expediency
OF narrow mind or beggarly soul and he
was not time-serycr but q politicians prac-
teal mantle man Of his own day not be
hind 1t, but enough before TO advance it no.
10 much so, however, as to be it's prophet only,
but such combination Of speculation and ex.
periencc as meets in prophet king--the hero
of his own age though Questionable one to
| the age that follows, if 1t but proves as much
better than his own as he would have it TO be.
Of course, in some Of the exigencies Of his
life. the rule got rather accommodating appli.
cation 10 circumstances but these were only
the variations Of the needle, which left its pO-
larity unaffected and available when the dis
turbing cause was removed He was no excep-
ton to tho rule, "No man liveth and sinneth
notn but his errors were those Of brave and
candid heart.
The Generals afectioas were quick, strong
and constant; his friendship generous and en-
during; his benevolenoe wise and steady. Hi
sensibiIity to every form d beauty, md his rec
ognition of eminent excellence, answered like
a spiritual echo to the touch for be was ~
cara hla ~ thu In x,,yies n OF the ruder heroic,