Washington telegraph., 1856-05-07

the graceful praises and felIcltous commen-
datlons of such man as Mr.. Clay, an un-
questioned king of mind By the true right
divine, when, with eyes beaming like gems,
his high white brow
That dome of thought, that palace of the soul.,'
radiant With benignity. and encircled by his
silvery locks as by crown, his aged lips
wreathed with the gentlest of smiles. he
stood before you in tall and stately maies
| ty- At such times he seemed to blend the
graees of Sheridan with the dignity of
Washington. Thousands and thousands of
his eountrywomen will long thus recall him
! to mind
But not alone in this, his more private
character does woman appreciate the excel.
lenee of Mr.. Clay. His public life in ma
ny of It's aspects had all the romance of
chivalry. He stood among the orators and
statesmen of his time as Philip Sidney
amid his cotemporary kings and barons-
History has already placed his statue in the
pantheon of immortality.
Our country's records, from the purchase
of Louisiana (this lovely land of the sugar
cane and magnolia) to the great pacifcation
of 1850. are vitalzed by his glowing words.
The mighty Mississippi, upon whose margin
we now stand, bears in all its waters a full
remembrance of his early efforts to give
freedom to its commerce, and to braid Its
million streams into mighty band of un-
ion and prosperity for our glorious country
The fame of Henry Clay can never die.
As our most gifted Southern poet has said
Long mid our gallant great and GOOD.
Like Washington he nobly stood
While trembling on his burning tongue,
Truth justice, peace and freedom hung.
Thrice when our storm tossed ship of State
Seemed sinking with its priceless freight
His guardian spirit, firm and free.
Walked DER our troubled Galilee
Through all the world his glorio::s name
Is whispered by the lips of fame;
For long in every kindlng zone,
Ills voice was freedoms bugl tone
The Greek girl, kneeling by her seas,
Deemed him a Demostkenes
And young Boliyia'S parrot ray
Was hgEt-like caught from Henry Clay.
How appropriate then is it that memo
rial of this model statesmen, patriot and
orator, should be erected here in the cres-
cent bend of the Mississippi.
Not far off rises the sculptured image of
his great rival patriot the one was the
! sword and shield. the other the mind and
the tongue Of the country. Side by side
they stand in the temple Of fame
Glorious in their lives, let the noblest of
the fine arts here place their scul ptured forms
together, that future generations may gaze
in love, gratitude and veneration upon them,
and he nObly stimulated in the paths of pa
triotism. while they feelthe refining infu-
ences which the beautiful in art always ex-
erts upon It's votaries.
The statue of Themistocles long greeted
from a pIOmonitory in Greece the home re-
turning vOyager, and fred afresh his love
FOR Attica and Athens. So may the statue
of our patriot orator ever inspire with emu
lating fervOr the citizens of this land of lib
erty, and especially of this prosperous city
of n. Orleans.
The next performance In the order of
exercises. was the delivery, by Its talented
author. of the following Occasional Ode,
written by NJ. F. Bigney, Esq. It was
well read and well received by the crowd of
listeners. to whom the poet read his lines
with good emphasis and discretion"
HENRY CLAY.-BY M T. BIGNEr.
Lonely the mill boy wends his weary way,
Too soo3 Injured to toll A mothers wants
A widowed mOther's-claim his young regard
And labor Is pleasure. Sometimes thoughts,
Prophetic OF the future, stir his soul,
And give ambition wings Golden and grand
The hills of Fame, In the dim distance, rise
All spangled DER with eriumphs, and he feels
That he can mount them with earnest tread,
And wreathe fadeless chaplet for his brow.
Nature is his instructor: trees and flowers;
Tba in nIubt-S
The sprins-tiI warblers, and tn insensate clod,
All teach him wondrous lore Bright as the sheen
OF an archangers wing, his thoughts take form
In rudimental beauty, but his tongue,
AS yet unskied in verbal witcheries,
All vainly strives to give them fitting speech
Time speeds its flight: the milboy's hopes expand
Friends gather round with kindly protfered aid,
! And he becomes student Books are his
/ The treasure-tomes of deep forensic skill
| MazeS of writt9n and unwritten law
And he attempts the hard, though pleasant task
OF searching out their hidden mysteries.
Who speaks of failure to that ardent bow
/ He scorns the timid word His soul mas grown
/ On young ambition's mamma, and ne dreams
/ That he shall yet so fix his name on Time
I That all the future cannot blot it out
l And Oh his mother mIngles with his dream
That gentle mother who, in poverty.
/ Had trained his infant steps; and in his eyes
I Had looked her doting love; and in his ear
/ Had breathed mothers purest. kindest thoughts
/ And so. the boy dreams on and studies on
Each day new SUGGEST The richest stores
| OF legal erlLit;on soon are his,
/ And with the strength of fresh giant mind
| He boldly joins in the polenic fray.
Now, like the star of empire Westernward
| He onward speeds, and where kentucky's fields
| Spread out in virgin beauty he begins,
/ The summer labors of active life.
I With -the stern joy' the generous foeman feels,
/ When battling with the brave, in mental strife
He meets the ablest jurists of the West
Reason his sword and eloquence his shield:
Strong as the heaving of mountain wave;
Playful as zephyrs toying with fair flowers:
Clear as the light and luminous as stars,
His thoughts take wing, and clothes themselves
/ with words.
In proud prominence, high over all,
Like Saul above his fellows forth he stands
A giant among giants. Soon the halls
Of legislation echo to his voice,
While plaudlts hail the wisdom of his speech
Deem vast and cornDrehensiye now his u,nd