Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1855-12-22
-vr cnApAcrrR OF THE ruR trAhs'

i norton Of PARKR GopwIs ssirsceh'
,sc,nre touched upon the character
and as the same subject wiz "
= ,.oms If a discourse by one OF Q or Gle :
80 tomorrow evening, the folio S'tg ex-
r. r.. 81 from Macaulay will be read VIII IN
,ercst We take it from the article on
Milton which was the first OF M.acar LAY
,o,,ributious to the Edinburg Review
The puritans were men whose anus
had derived peculiar character rom n
daily contemplation OF superior oems
external interests. Not cohteh' w" ~
know ledging, in general terms, az -
rnlinr Providence, they haoituaiiy asuioeu
every event TO the will of the drea' neins'
far whose power nothing was 100 'asl' ~
whose inspection nothing was loo ihin ,:
/ To know him, TO serve him, 10 ehJ'! n'n''
,,as with them the great end OF eAls'ehee
They rejected with contempt tue ee'e
monions homage which other see'S suos''-
tinted for the pure worship OF the soul in-
! stead Of catching occasional gilmpses Vi .he
Deity through an obscuring ven, .ney as
nirei to gaze full on the lntoiefsoie of,sh.'
ness. and 10 commune with HIM lace ~ lace.
Hence originated their contempt ior ter
ras,riaI distinctions The difference between
The greatest aud meanes, humankind seemed
To vanish. when compared with The bound
less interval which separated the whole race
fram him on whom their own eyes were
| constantly fixed. They recognized no ti'is
to superiority bat his favour: and, eonhdeh'
81 that favour, they despised all the accom-
prshments and sill the dignities OF the word.
Irhey were unacquainted with the WORKS
ofrh ilosopher. and poets, they were deeply
rad IN the oraclcs Of God. Ii their names
were not found in the registers vi herae,s,
they felt assured that they wsre recorded
in the Book of Life. Ii their steps were not
accompanied by splendid train OF menlals'
lerions of ministering angels had charge
over them. Their palaces were houses not
made with hands; their diadems crowns oil
glory which should never fade away. On
the rich aud the eloquent, on MOBILES anu
pyiests. they looked down with contempt;
for they esteemed themselves rich in more
nrecious treasure, and eloquent IN more
sublime language, mobiles by the right OF an
earlier creation, and priests by the imposi'
ton of mightier hand. The very meanes'
of them was a being to whose tate mystic
rious and terrible Importance belonged
! on whose slightest actions the spirits o
4 f0ht and darkness looked with anxious IN
terest-who had been destined, before hea
ven aud earth were created, to ENJOY the lie
u Hcity which sheuld continue when HEAVIER
: and earth should have passed away Events
f which short sighted politicians ascrioed Il
earthly causes had been ordained on his &C
count. For his sake empires had risen, ant
fourished and decayed. For his sake the
Almighty had proclaimed his will by the
pen of the evangelist and the harp OF the
prophet. He had been rescued by 60 com
, mon deliyerer from the grasp of no common
+ foe. He had been ransomed by the sweat
of no vulgar agony, by the blood of no earth
" sacrifice. II was for hun that the sun
had been darkened, that the rocks had been
r rent. that the dead had arisen, that all nature
: had shuddered at the sufferings Of her ex'
: piriug God
Thus the Puritan was made up of two
different men. the one all establishment
: penitence, gratitude, passion; the Other
: prond. calm, inflexible, sagacious. He
4, Frustrated himself in the dust before hi:
Maker. but he set his foot on the neck OF his
king. In his devotional retirement, he
nrsved with commissions, and groans, and
. III
, terrible Illusions. He heard the Tyres OF
angels or the tempting whispers of fiends.
He caught CLEAN OF the Beatiiic Vision,
Or woke screaming from dreams OF eyerlas'-
ing fire. Like Sane, he thought himself in
trusted with the sceptre OF the millennial
wear. Like Fleetwood, he cried in the Bit
terness of his soul that God had hid his face
from him. But when he took his seat in
the council, OF grit on his sword for war,
these tempestuous workings OF the soul had
left no percepiible trace behind them. Peo-
: pie who saw nething OF the cody but their
uncouth visages, aud heard nothing from
them but their groans and their whining
hymns, might laugh at them. But those
had little reason TO laugh, who encountered
them in the hall of debate or on the field Of
battle. These fanatics brought to civil anl
military affairs a GOODNESS Of judgment ant
an immutability of purpose which some
writers have thought inconsistent with thei
religious zeal, but which were in fact thu
u necessary effects OF it. The intensity o
their feelings on one subject made then
d tranquil on every other. One oyerpowerina
sentiment had subjected TO itself pity am
hatred, ambition and fear. Death had los
its terrors and pleasure its charms. They
had their smiles and their fears, their rap
ture. and their sorrows, but not for thu
: things ofthis world. Enthusiasm had made
# them stoics, had cleared their minds iron
: every vulgur passion and prejudice, ant
4 raised them above the influence of DANCE
and Of corruption. 1t sometimes might leat
them to pursue unwise ends, but never Il
!, choose unwise means. They went through
the world like Sir Artegale's iron man tn
lus with his fail, crushing and tramplne
: down oppressors, mingling with human be-
e ings. bat having neither part nor lot in hu.
man niirmities; insensible TO fatigue. to plea.
Z sure, and to pain not to be pierced by any
= weapon not to be withstood by any barrier
# Such we believe to have been the charac.
: ter of the Puritans We perceive the alb.
surdity Of their manners. We dislike the
sullsn gloom of their domestic habits. We
acknowledge that the tone of their minds
g was often injured by straining ,after things
too high for mortal reach. And We know
that, in spite of their hatred Of Popery, they
too often fell into the worst vices of that
bad system, intolerance and extrayagant