The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-10-31

SINCERE BUT IMPERFECT TRIBUTE TO THE
HON. IITTIEroN WALLER TAZEwEIL

HON, LllILElOS WALiEis ihNr." nsaA
OF the n,orals who figure in human aAirs nope haYe
farer claim 10 honor and fame than the statesman who
has and adorned his country While living the
eem, gratitude and yenefaton OF his felloweitizens
should contribute 10 reward him. When dead, the sor
rows of the nation should mosten his grave, and the
praises Of history preserve his renowp But full reward
can only FROM the high and mighty Ruler who pre-
sides ALL and whose ready disenment and srupulouF
justice will reward each among according to our
works. -, - I'D v-., Ii ~,
The final retirement Of a venerable statesman who has
shed lusrc his country leads to reflect ON the
brevity of e the certainty of DEATH the progress Of
genius, and the end Of power. The moment we come
into this world begin TO die Such the destiny that
awaits all and art evado nor force resist It,
Yet in hours Of ease and Of freedom from care how little
do we heed this solemn truth In the various stages of
our mortal existence slight it vision, treat il
au idle dream In the morning Of our days when the
senses are fresh and tcnderhe impressions made upon
the heart and understanding vivid and durable. Yet
then how feeble and inaccurate the Judgment is In that
soft season everything affects TO excess Our hopes
and our fears pleasures and our pains, are equally
acute. In her light and buoyant barquo fancy then
cruises over unknown while the Judgment Is too
green and inexperienced to preside and to navigate the
vessel in prosperous direction Rocks and whirpoo,
storms and tempes boset the dubious way and dangers
are UNDECIDED and until drefu calamity re-
veals them.
On the spring tide of youth embark our fondest
hopes and indulge ncinaons, matter where they
conduct us, or to what evils they betray us. In the
summer Of manhood we venture ON the swelling flood;
and filed with sanguino theories and eeming ancipa
tons we seldom calculate the force of refux. In
autumn the tide rctires and pleased with novelty and
constant change, follow the recedng pillows as they
bound away At last stern winter comes, freezes the
current of cherished schemes and within the en-
braces of mpenetabe ice olds the cruiser and his vain
desires Prone to foster the illusions of vanity, and to
expect that the evening will repair the losses and disasters
which the morning brought, each mortal calculates to
prosper and to erect for himself soine fc Of renown
which the stream of tears never wash away Vain
and idle; all prosperity is not the offspring Of neglected
opportunities and incident desires In the garden Of the
laggard the laurel thrivos Enincncc and renown
are not the children Of repose. In the presence of the
architects themselves their unsusantal fabrics sink and
leave no memory of what they The dust of ages
will be sed and searched in vain for anything to mark
the spot or tell the tale
Public men not exempt from the common lot Of hui
manity of the many barucs which venture on the ocean
of public life very few reach the port of destination One
founders in her oings at the outset Of the voyage one
becomes prey the plumbers of the pilot and the leak
age of the hull another to the violence of the wind and
the power of the and yet another to the still more
fatal clements of human folly and injustice Ri nans ~
gte paso Even when the tossed and distressed vessel
has reached the Shore she continues subject to the
howIngs Of the storm and the caprice Of the crew.
The very friends whom she often bore in triumph through
the pes of the deep desert her honoe colosa unpol
luted deck.
Such : sea, upon wloso swelling breast
re many wreck Of fond devotion lost !;
And fnihiul hearts beneath III rest,
By adverse pillows on it, passage tost Is
The Hon Iittleton Waller Tazewe who is the sub
iect of this feeble SKETCH sounded the of public life,
and passed it in full glory through the toughest storms
When others sank to rise more he faced the stormy
winds and foaming and with speed upon his PROV
and mette in his tier he broved their fury and dccd
their power The eye of envy cast no evil glance upon
him. The canvas that wooed the wind and urged his
barque was never stained tatcred by hostile hd
His noble ship plouyhed the waters of the deep free ad
,nnshackled as the element she clcaved.
Judge Henry Tazcwcll, of vIgina--the father OF our
retired statesman juris and patriot who stood
among the foremost in the brilliant circles of his native
State BY counsel and example he impressed upon his
gifted son the wholesome truth that whoever would make
easy of successful journey must rise early and
steadily forward in the proper direction; that wisdom is
pearl to be reached Mt the bottom Of the and that
he who desires to bring that precious gem to the surface
and realize its value must dive in and pursue the
treasure with steady aim. He placed his in the
choicest schools and fostered his talents in the College of
William and Mary-he alma Mater of noble constea-
ton heroes orators and statesmen The young and rising
orb gave early promise of power to dazzle and
Yet young Tazcwell did not shine alone in his glory
While at college he had to contend with several competi-
tors famed for genius attainments and ambition, and
who deemed his equals in precocity and promise
genius who the compecr Of any in carly fame
Peter Skipworth Randolph, Of Chatchworth the city
of Richmond Praise lats behind the pidty of his
enjoy his college reputation sud the glory of matches
mind. ase
l. the spur which the clear spirit doth raise
To ssghts, and live lniorious days
HIT the G,ir guerdon when hope to and
Aud think to burst ont into sudden blaze,
the blind fury with abhcrd shears ss
And slts the thin spun life. ss3tss
The planets perform their circuits ut different dis
tanccs and to complete their respective revolutions
each takes time proportionatc to the magnitude of the
circle it has to describe II is observable too in the
kingdom Of the brucs that the larger the animal des
tined by nature to become the longer it remains conceal
ed in the growing womb II IL likewise true of the h
mind and he who begins as man often ends
Ioy. lncn ucperur emulation and cul-
turo on the resolution and ability of the student
due the labor TINT alone fit him to excel, that
certain and unerrng conclusions be safely dcduced
from the promises Of early life.
The soil of Mr. TazewelTs mind was deep and fertile
1t stood the hardest cultivation and exhaust
ed IL alike tenacious and prolific II held what
Nas nut ,pon IT, and increased the product every wear