Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1853-05-31
WnRTH

----4s--
WORTH READING.
We commend 10 our readers the following splendid Ierora
lion of Thomas F.. Meaeher's Grafton before the surviving
members Of the New York Regiment of Mexican 'olIn'
teers, delivered in New York last week. IL brea'tes as much
true patriotism and eloqucnce, as we have seen fall from Inc
Inns OF one of The most eloquent men OF the age:
H,nnv 40 feel. when gazing on this peopled space SO
brilliant and so vast-the thought comes upon me, that
may have ret in motion the elements when repose IN IN
hiobcr REGIONS of our nature, and that This hand, tremul0us
and unskIIul as IL Is, may have drawn down from those re
pions one kindly ray at least, TO illuminate The hearth and
homestead Of the men who were the guardians OF those en-
signs.
tell of-ehnlI | ieel, If. with this snme hand, can smooth
The pillow of the dying soldier-give, like Abercrombie ia
the sands of Egypt. to his quiyering lip, the cup which shall
soothe IN. fever OF his last breath; or over his humble cot.
fn, like the poet over the grave OF Marcellus, strcw the pur.
Pile flowers.
Who could look on, and not feel his heart give way al the
spectacle of u glorious companionship, stricken by want,
disease, and ieath-a group of stately trees, struck by the
storm, stripped of The shellering leaves, and scared by The
lightning, bending 10 every passing gust; and one by one
sinking, with the shreds Of their gay foliage and fragments
Of their brave limbs, in desoalion 10 the earth? Who can
| read Of a fine army-even though that urmy be the foe OF
freedom, and, in the fight, we ourselves should strike il TO
The heart-who can read OF such an army being cut 10 pieces,
or by plague ar famine disappearing from the earth, without
commiseration without a thrill, a syllable, one tear OF no.
BILE pity?
IT. then, 10 The stranger, though he come against US, our
nature yields insiinctiveiy a generous measure OF sympathy
and succor, what should be the emotions, what the anxieties
what the actions Ut tnUSS, VINO, IN tieT InluSi, OtlOlu the
wreck Of those young legions whose crimsoned swords
flashed in the sun that shone up there, upon the fortress Of
Chepultepec, and SO helped TO clear gu, u new field for that
adventurous activity, the spread VI which neither the forest,
nor the swamp, nor the mountain, nor The river, nor yet the
covenants and intrigucs, the contrlVances and conspiracies
Of the crowned families down there in Europe, nor their al
lies mere or elsewhere, can BUMPER divert, nor iof uh hour
Withstand.
But is it just, considera,e, delicate of me 10 put this ques-
ton, when hardly a day passes without u comrade falling In
those crippled ranks, whose wounds, not less eloquent than
those for which the friend of Caesar pleaded, cry out 10 you
not for vengeance, but for love! That you could be insensi.
bic To this fatality that You could thus behold one OF The
pillars Of the State decay, and with its laurclIcd capital cruni-
BILE 10 the dust, until nothing but the pedestal was left stand
ing beside thai stream of business, gaic,y and wealth, which
threatens TO etiace this the latest record OF your wor'h-tlut
you could be i~nsensibie 10 a fatality go striking, il would be
most ungraciuus in me for a mornent TO imply.
You have not forgotten Washington, nor Warren, nor
Montgomery, nor Jackson That scene upon Breeds Hill
that of Fort Moultrie-tiat upon The Delaware That upon
the snow PILED bastions of Quebec-that at the Bayou
Bicu venue. where the English columns were swamped be-
tore the fire which opened On them from the cotton. bales OF
Louisiana -tiuse scenes are no less visible to the memory
Of the Republic, than to the eye OF the stranger are those
paintings, which, In such nootc proportions, decorated Inc
halls OF Congress.
Which being so, yoa will not forget the men, who,
commissioned or on-commissiOned-%i or without epau.
letlee, in The corn. fields and marshes at Los Portales, and at the
lower of Nuera Rancho, and alupg the burning rocks. and
through the woods and ravines, that lay between them and
their golden prlze, gave proof Ina; the spirit which brooks the
sword in The hand. of BJrgoyne and Cornwa!is, was not
laid 10 rest in the grave that oyerlooks the Potomac-and
passing which, by night or day, no craft fails to strike The
l minute DSn-tut III ~ Naihe 'S Suihiu "1 'huh oS "ith
the republic all days, even TO the end of time.
Would that il were my fortune TO speak thus, in the land
Of my fulher'r home, for men, who, Ike those before me,
wore scars in evidence OF their courage, and the blood poured
oui by them, that 80 their country might be saved, and all
the stains upon her ancient map and tame might be eiiaced
But since his privilege is denied lne.-sincc the foreign
sentinel sill keeps witch upon her wall. and the flag, wet
with the blood Of Fitzgerald, Wolfe Tone and Emmett, lies
burled in the Ivy of gudenstown chutchyard, and no favor
iDu breeze lifts the dropping fulds-then glad am to plead
Tor those, who, to the brothers OF my native land are next
akin, and whose blood with ours IN u thousand channels l.
| iascparab.y mingled.
And since also, it il denied me TO kiss tho flag wet with
the blood Of those young nobles,-thc Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego of freedom, then let me embrace tins, the
symbol Of that citizenship whicli--in the words uttered On
the steps Of The Capitol the morning Cl The 4h OF March
shall be an i~nvioable ~panopoly for American rights. and in.
vested with which the poorest ldaorcr small sianc uiiaoashed
even in the presence OF kings.
Soldiers Of Cerro Gordo! Soldiers OF Conireras and ChG.
rubusco! Far rom your homes-from The Hudson 10 Lake
r, zuco-you have borne This flag with honor. Romano
carried il in tie left hand, when his right was shattered. and
parted with il only when death struck il from his grasp. Lake
seized il. and, waving 1t. was shot down. And then another
and then another, until you planted il in the captured field
FROM the slormiesl Rtraits you have brought il back uninJnr
cd, save by those rents which have rendered II a sacred relic,
and il is due to you that. beneath IL, you should nurse your
failing strength You should enjoy thai peace which, in The
words OF the sacred book, ie nike a clear heat upon herbs
and a cloud Of dew in the hea. o! the harvest'--and so apend
| s.renely the remainder of The days spared 10 you in the great
! storm that swept the base and summit t the Sierra Matre.
NAV tina, Gag never fail TO find less eager champions than
you have been, 10 shield II rom aissrace, ana pear II haea
charmed robe, unhurt through the flames OF war. May that
| flag never lose enc star; but, as the Old Thirteen has multi.
piled in time, muy others, no leRs brilliant, DO added thereto;
and may the constellation, which first stlonc out through the
tempest and The lightnines, and has now become fixed in
the blue eXpnnee OF peace, on every sea, be seen; and may
the nations, journeying, like the Kings o! old, to a noble
worship, he led 10 q new faith and destiny, by The light il
gives May ii mount 10 where tho Amazon leaps forth
from its crude in the Andes; may ii DC seen upon the rivers
that wash tho hidden treasures of JAPAN and. in the clul-
gence which ii sheds, side by side with the rudcr structures
of your making, may the graces Of life spring up may lite
nature and the arts flourish; may the canvass become iaci-
| laceably impressed with the great conceptions OF your sons;
and may The chisel and the furnace contribute 10 The genius
Of America he lame Of Phidias and Canova, as we have seen
that genius immortalizing the beauty of Greece in her ma
| kedncse and chains, and. later still, unwilling that famous
production which fronts the White House, in which The tea-
lures of nature are not only copied, but the laws of nature,
By the dumb charger, are obeyed!
To this republic renouncing all foreign powers and pc
,entates-havr | taken the oath Of aieeiancei and, in the
new sphere and citizenship which is opened TO me here. do
trust 10 prove the sincerity with which that oath was ia
! ken, and my deep sense o! tho duties which, by that act, de.
volYGo upon me.
framed, faithful ~ the la VS. on which it proceeds and ope-
rates; faithful 10 the Institutions which distribute the vitality
whilst they secure the unity OF the whole; faithful, above
ap, 10 that noble system of public schools, which, in the IL
Elimination OF The public mind. ensures The perPetuity OF a
condition Of government and society. based upon lntclif
pence and s6uI sense, qualifying, in each succeeding gsner-
alton, the entire body Of citizens the yet more wisely TO ek-
crcise their great faculties. diminishing the chances OF The
impustor, and. ~ the end, elsvstiag the Democracy TO the
highest level lastcad oil Keeping 1t 10 TIE lowest-tilc Toe oi
biSotry, from whutever pulpit il may descend, or in what
ever eatb il may riot or play its %maddening pranks-:he foe
OF tyranny in every cline, whatever De the motto or the
mask under which il uIurches, or whatever be the ceremn.
mics with which it Is Misunderstanding az yon have acted
true as you have been true, brave soldicr% liberal 0: my scr.
vices 10 the Republic, as YOU have been-if that Be neces.
sary, liberal OF my blood, 10 the cause of the Republic. as
YOU have been-1 trust, that, il il be the will OF Heaven TO
crown me with the white lilies and the silver crown OF age,
looking back upon a life well spent, | shall be able 10 say
with The great foe of Catalina. the conspiralor against the
Roman Commonwealth
"Rempublicam delsnsi adolescen., nondsserams ene1''
Aud Why should | no, stand, with a proud love and cour.
aye 10 this Republc-her interests, her laws, and lns!ilu-
tons? There is more than one good reason for SO doing
II is not alone that l am grateful for the protection and me
citizenship ensured 10 me; il is not alone that ! regard THIS
iorm of government, and this condition OF society, as the
finest and most truthful expression Of the national will, ne
cessities, intellect, and ambition. which anywhere on This
earth exists; but that | recognize in the stability of the re-
public q source of strength to other nations, and in her cue.
cess an incentive with them TO a courageous emulation.
Whilst this republic stands-augments her foriune-pro-
reecs uuou her high career-there is hope for the most alb
yec,, DC crepld and disabled of mankind. As the thoughts Of