Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1853-06-23
ADDRESS


Before the New York Historical Society NJ
Metropolitan Hall, By the Hon. Edward
Everett. on wednesday Evening, june 4,
1883.
Nh. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF
THE HIsToRIoAL Soc1ETY:-Although l
appear before you at the season at which
the various religious, moral, and philan-
thropic societies usually hold their an
nual meetings to discuss the stirring and
controyerted topics of the day, need
not say to you that the proprieties of
this occasion require me to abstain from
such subjects; and to select theme fall
ling to some extent at least, within the
province of an historical society. Ipro-
pose, accordingly, this evening to at
tempt sketch Of the history of the dis
covery and colonization of America and
of emigration to the United States. l
can of course offer you, within the limits
of single address, but most superb
cial view of so vast subject; but have
thought that even sketch of such a
subject would suggest important trains
of reflection to thoughtful minds
Words written or spoken are at best but
kind of shorthand to be filed up By
the reader or hearer. shall be graft
fed if, after honoring my hasty sketch
with your attention, you shall deem it
worth filling up from your own stores Of
knowledge and thought. You will for
give me if, in the attempt to give GER
tain completeness to the narrative, may
be led to glance at few facts, which,
however interesting, may seem to you
too familiar for repetition.
In the last quarter of the fifteenth
century, an Italian mariner, citizen of
the little Republic of Genoa, who had
hitherto gained livelihood as pilot in
the commercial marine of different coun-
tries, made his appearance successfully
at various courts in the south and west
Of Europe, soliciting patronage and aid
for bold and novel project in naviga-
ton. The state of the times was in
some degree favorable to the adventure.
The Portuguese had for half century
been pushing their discoveries south
ward upon the coast of Africa, and they
had ventured into the Atlantic as far as
the Azores. Several conspiring causes,
and especially the invention of the art of
printing, had produced a general revival
of Intelligence. Still, however, the state
of things prevailing, in this respect, was
very different from what we witness in
the middle of the nineteenth century,
On the part of the great mass of man
kind there was but little improvement
over the darkness of the middle ages:
The new culture centred inthe convent,
the court, and the university, places es-
sentially distrustful of bold novelties.
The idea of reaching the East by a
voyage around the American continent
had begun to assume consistency; but
the vastly more significant idea that the
earth is a globe, and capable of being
circumnavigated, had by no means be-
come Incorporated into the general intel
ligence of the age. The Portuguese
navigators felt themselves safe as they
crept along the African coast-yentur
ing each voyage few leagues further
doubling a new misunderstanding
some before unexplored riEer-holding
a palaver with SOM new tribe of the
native races; but to turn the prows of
their vessels boldly to the west, to en-
bark upon an ocean not known in the
popular geography of the day, to have
an outer shore, to pass that bourne from
which no traveller had ever returned,
and from which experience had not
taught that any traveller could return,
and thus to reach the east by sailing in
a western direction, this was. concep-
ton which no human being is known to
have formed before Columbus, and
which he proposed to the Governments
of Italy, of Spain, of Portugal, and of
England, and for long time without
success. The state of science was not
such as to enable men to discriminate be-
tween the improbable and the absurd.
They looked upon Columbus as we did
thirty years ago upon Captain Symmes.
Applause.
But the illustrious adventurer perse-
Eered. Sorrow and disappointment
clouded his spirits, but did not shake
his faith nor subdue his will His well
instructed imagination had taken firm
hold of the idea that the earth is a
sphere. What seemed to the multitude
even of the educated of that day a
doubtful and somewhat mystical theory
what appeared to the uninformed mass
a monstrous paradox, contradicted by
every step we take upon the broad fiat
earth which we daily tread beneath our
feet-that great and fruitful truth re-
vealed itself to the serene intelligence OF
Columbus as practical fact on which
he was willing to stake all he had-char-
acter and life. And it deserves ever tn
be borne in mind, as the most illustrious
example of the connexion of scientific
theory with great practical results, thai
the discovery of America, with all it,
momentous consequences to mankind, il
owing to the distinct conception in tn,
mind of Columbus of this single scien
tife proposition-the terraqueous eartl
Isl sphere. Applause.
After years of fruitless and heart sic
solicitation, after offering In effect to thi
monarch and to that monarch the gil
Of a hemisphere, the great discovere
touches upon a partial success. He sue
ceeds, not in enlisting- the sympathy {