The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1853-12-07
Prtriclr Henry.
at is the mind that makes the body rich
And as the sun shines through the darkest
clouds,
SO honor fcareth the mcancst habits"

Among those of our proud land whit
have reared for themselves, on the sole
foundation of real merit, fame whicl
shall stand, monument of glory, a
mid the solitudes of time" no Que la.
commenced lower and risen higher thar
Patrick Henry. In claiming for Mr.
Henry this proud station, | would moi
detract in the least from the dearly
bought and well.dcscrved fame of hi.
worthy compatriots, many of whose
names appear more conspicluously OF
the page which records the great event,
of our country's history. In the heart.
of their cOuntrymen, i'll the thanks anC
plaudits of the millions who arc yet tC
come along the track of the future, tC
enjoy these glorious privileges and civi
liberties, there is glory and honor enough
for them all. Their names have not
been written in the sand, that the firs
gale that sweeps along the plain might
bury them in oblivion. They have beer
interwoven with the very fabric OF oui
free government. and can be erased onl,
when that shall have crumbed and vast
cd away in the vortcx of political disso
luton
The hcroism of Washington nigh
lead brave people to victory. The wis
dom of Jefferson might direct the de-
cisions Of a sage Legislators but it re
quircd the cloquence of Il Henry to n
rouse that feeling of patriotism which
prompted the heroes Of Scvcnty-six to
that soul.trying struggle for freedom -
And when the American people cease to
do honor TO his name, we shall bchold
them III chains weeping at the throuc
of liberty. He was the first American
legislator who opposed the odious and
obnoxious stamp act. When the Con.
tincntal Congress had assembled. lie first
dared to break through the gloomy
cloud of fearful anxiety which ovcrhung
that venerable body. and portrayed with
unequalled skill the oppression of the
colonial wrongs He first exclaimed
the ''war is inevitable let ii come" lie
proposed and headed the first military
movement in his own native State, in
support of the cause of independence -
lie was the first Republican Governor
of the State of Virginia Then may
We not agree with America gycat AoteS-
man in saying MIR Henry certainly
gave the first impulse to the ball of the
revolution p The first impulse was Civ.
en- by Mr. Henry. in the House OF Bur
gcsses of Virginia, in which the charac-
ter Of the King. for the first tim. in \.
morica, was publicly arraigued and de
nounccd. 1t was during this speech that
he gave uttcrauce to that memorable sen
tence, which created against him, from
the minors Of an arbitrary Prince. the
cry Of TrcaSon, He said " Caesar had
his Brutus, Charles !. his Cromwell and
George III. may profit BY their exam
pie"
Patrick Henry is prominent exam
le tLat Greek aud Latin alone do not
form the man that true greatness is la
tive in the man, not DEF cudcnt upon cx
tcrnal conditions. At twelve years o
age he Was an idle fishing. g.boy-at fiji
teen, clerk in counting housc-u
twenty honestly dclving the dusty cal II
to obtain livclihood-at twcntv-four
bankrupt mcrchant-at twenty seven
suddenly bursting into rich popularity
by bold, noble and astonishing display
OF those mammoth powers Of mind,whicl
had so longe remained shroudcd in dark
LESS by the mantle Of his own sublim,
contcmplation-at forty. the first orato
in America, and, in the language o
Thomas Jefferson, "thc greatest orato
that ever lived
There is something in genuine clo
qucucc at once SO suprcmciy grand an,
majestic, MS to constrain us to confess i
the summit of human dignity The al
tist may please the eye, the musician tn
ear tho poet the Imagination and tn
inspiring power oi song, and the swcc
melody Of the vocal harp, attuncd j,
harmOned unison, may warblc fortl
their loftiest strains, and crafty for
while the finer feelings of our nature
but 1t is left to the orator to conbin
all these superemlnent powers in M0Ughl
WOyd and dcfiOn,-tur the orator, T.
strike all the pleasure giving chords 0
our beings nature, and make them v
brate symphonies Of delight to the hr
man heart.
The cunning Of logic may convinc
the understanding Eloquence doe
more, 1t unlocks the human heart, III
hinges obstinacy, hurls down superst
tlon, arouses to real and engaged actiy
ty, elevates, charms aud enraptures a
the ennobling energies, sways the judl
ment, aud ''ShaheS tic hHHan Soui"
Such was the power welded by Pat
rick Henry aud never was powc
: welded in better cause, and with bet
ter success His genius was an accurat
' mirror Of the human heart, and reflcc
ed all ITS p/otcan like shapes and cha:ne
ion hucs. which enabled him TO sprin
: the chord appropriate to the occasion
= and always command the feelings of hi
hearers. His eloquence came from til
full fountain of his understanding, an
flowed in a channel far superior to th
splendid decoration of art, because
s was natures own
At times, like the limid stream,
& purled along the grassy dale, murmu
ing in tones of silvery sweetness; the
. in comic playfuluess, dashing down sou
n little steep; then swelling into broa
Y stream, winding aud rolling onwar
5 through beautiful woodlands and We
n dant landscapes, enriched by the choices
If cverereens of fancy, tinctured by Il
|. various colorings of passion then ma
n ing many circumlutious, unobstructod,
t. the extensive field of argument the
n. in matchless grandeur, Ike the foomir
rntaract with houudless fnrcn ,,lun,,;