The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-08-03

on, Of the eubarrassmenls OF every description, TOO
many for the popularity OF Monroe, loo many for The
VIII of occasoned. among other thiDys. by the
relation OF The Stale oil Maine the controversy you
al, aware qt1y opportunity OF frequent access 10 Nc
Webster may have enabled me somewhat better TO dis
cover win what profound conviction OF these dlcutsA,
wba. ank for the ssue hope aud tear alternately pre-
ponderang, be entered on that great al a temper,
hfmness, spI discretion, ability, and gosd fortuae,
aud carried II through AS il IL last ni1hi, re-
call The time when. alter the Senate had ratified il in an
evening executive session, BY vote Of 30 70 o. rson-
ally carried to him The result at his own house aud IN
presence OF bis wife Then. indeed the measure OF bs
flo,y and o As happiness sesned o a ,he sxahsrant
use The expression OF Scripture OF the hIst martyr WAS
as u II had been the face OF angel. Hope elevated
and Joy frightened his crest do not know how others
feel hui j had stood in that situation. would not have
exchanged il for all that kings people could bestow
Such eminenso and such hold the public mind be
attained demand extraordinary intellectual power. ade
qaae mental culture, an impressive, attractive energetic,
and gEea charHcer and extraordinary specific power also
Of nue the convictions and actions OF others by
sPtech, These all he had. sti.a ataag... 9s&
That in The qualify Of pure and sheer power ui iniss
versaI judgment of all who have personally witnessed
his higher display and of all who without tha, opportu-
atty have studied bis life in is actions and Influences.
and studied his mind in lis recorded thoughts To discern
the existence OF MS supreme intellectual power
inevitable 10 analyze IT, to compare or c0ntrastH 1t with
other mental celebrities, and show how il differed
scmbed; was not so easy. Whether, Tor example, he
wOuld have exceled much other fields Of exeron.
as IN speculative philosophy In any o lie departments ID
problem Impossible 10 determine and needless TO root
10 me it seems quite clear that the whole wealth OF bis
powers his whole emotional nature his eloquent feel
ngs his matchless capacity 10 affect Others conduct by
affecting their Practical Judgments, could not have been
known could not have been poured forth 10 sesm so
rich, and strong anl full, could not have reacted OF
and aided and winged the mighty intelligence IN any
other walk Of mind or life than that he cbose-that in
any other there must have been some disjonlng OF quail
ties which God had united-sOme divorce of pure INTEL
ec fbrh the helps OF hndeanses or companonshIp OF
common and beautiful gens; and that IN any field
OF speculative ideas but half OF him. part Of him, could
have found its sphere What that part might have been
or done il j. idle to inquire
Greatly important il is to say that this exaord
nary intellectual power not oppressed but aided and
accomplish ed by the most constant the mos, severe,
the most smulan and BY force Of will remarkable
his genius, and by adequate mental and tastsiul ca
uic. How much The eminent greatness reached Is due
TO the various and lofty competition to which he brought,
il he could, the most careful epsration-conpetion
with adversaes cum qnbus cerare era goriosus, guam
omnno advrrsarios non habere, cum peserm mod
nun1uam cit au orum ab ipso imperiins, au ab
pss guss sed contra sempef alter alb aero ADJUSTS
communlcando, ct momendo et iaveDdo--you may well
appreciate
claim mich too Under the name 0f mere mental cu.
re. Reriatk his s,yle and ALLOW ,s full weight 10 the
Horaan maxim. scrbendi re-te est p,e Siur II
Jons, and admit that be had deep and exquisite udg
men latgely OF The gilt OF God. But such style as his
is due also to art to pacce In the matter OF style. in
ces.an TO great examples OF fine writing TONED by the
nightly and the daily hand to Cicero, through whose
W, pearl
shows distinct, and large and nea as II i,hn the arms
reach to Virgil, whose magic OF words, who's, ex9uis.
lie structure and "fich economy OF expression no other
writer ever eqoaled to Shakespeare. OF the style OF
whose comic dialogue may; in the language u great
crc assert that 1t is taat which in the English nation 8
never TO becors obsssisa certain NODE df phraseoogy
70 consoaant ami congenal TO the snaogy 10 principles
of the language, as 10 remain settled and unaefed-a
sly above grossness, below modsb and pedantc fofms
OF speech, where propneiy resides TO Addison, whom
johnson, Macintosh and hacausy concur to put at the
head III Al hnn for Iha dol nj
unostenta,ious elegance OF his English TO Pope, pol
shed. condensed, sspenlious 10 johnson ~ burke.
in whom all the si'lence and al The energy OF our
orsue III both iis great elements OF Saxon and Latin
might be exemphed TO the study and comparison, but
the copying, of authors such these TO habits OF
writing and speaking and conversIog on the capital the
ory OF always doing his best thus somewhat, think
was acquired that remarkable production, The Last
Week OF Combined Study and Genius'--a rich, clear,
conec', harmonious. and weish,y style OF prose.
Beyond these studies and exercises OF taste he had
read variousy and ildiciously II any pubhe man,
any man, had more thoroughly mastered British cons
uonal and general history, or The history ol Bitsh le
g'saiion, or could deduce the pfogts erss causes aud
hinder OF British liberty prompt exact and
coplous detail or had IN his memory at any given mo-
mcnt more ample political biography or political h,eIa-
ure, have not heard OF him. His library oil English
history, and Of all history, always rich, select and
catholic, and web recollect bearing him. in lslo while
attending commencement OF this college al an evening
party sketch with great emphasis and interest oil manner
The merit. OF Georgs buchanan, the historian oI Scot
sndhls Lalinity aud eoguence almost equal TO byys,
his love OF liberty and his genius greater, and his tile to
credit not much worse. American history and American
political literature he had by heart The long series OF
Influences that trained Tor representation aud free gov
erunsnt; that other series OF Influences which moulded
nie united government-ihe colonial era the age OF
controversy before the revolution every and
cry pefsoD IN that great tragic action the age OF coniro-
vesy following the revolution aud preceding the coDsti
tutioo, unlike the earlier, in which we divided among
ourselves on the greatest questions which can engage
the mind oil Americathe sops OF The existence Of
national government OF THE continued existence o the
Stale governments, the partition Of powers, the
umplrage OF disputes between them--a controversy
which the destiny OF the New World was staked every
and every name which has hgursd in them--,be whole
stream OF time was open, clear and present ever 10
his eye
think, too, though not freq uen, and ambitious quo
ter OF authorities, he hal read The study OF bis pro-
iesson OF politics, ,aad neditaied, all The great writer's
erpmeni and all free governments, most suihorita
lively expoueded-Ars,os, Cicero, Machiavel, one Of
whose dIscourses living maintains in mastery an
Argument ho~ much wiser and more constant are the
people than the pr'ncea doctrine OF liberty consoltory
and full OF 10y, Harrington, Milton, Sidney, Locke
know he bad read and weighed.
Oher classes of Information there were, partly OBJ
tanned from books, partly from observation TO s3rse
tent refeube 10 his main employing OF politics and
law, by which he was distinguished remarkably Thus
nobody but wss struck with his knowledge OF civil and
ph, sca Apply. and less extent OF geology and
races OF all the great routes and mar,s OF foreign
coa4twse and interior commerce. the subjects which il
exchanges, The whole oIcls OF industry II compre.
hends and passes around the kinds OF mechanical
manufacturing PRODUCTIONS and their rel a'ions to all la
Dor and all life the hlsofy theories and practice OF ag
ricunre our own and that Of other countries and its
Iaons to government liberty. happiness, and the charac
Ter of nations This kind ot information enriched and
assisted all his public efforts Bot 10 appreciate the