Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1857-12-31

It seems that Lord Brougham had fixed up
on Caen as the most attractive place on the
Continent, and thought it's charms so, great,
that he observed: 9sAll mankind might be
divided into two classes: those who had seen
Caen, and those who had not" His en-
thusiastic admiration of Caen equalled that
of the Neapolitans for their city, who say,
'sSee Naples and die"
We dined in company with him on one
occasion, at Mr.. Packenham's when that
gentleman was Her Majesty's Envoy in this
country; and we recall. with vivid pleasure
the extraordinary display which Mr.. Web
ster made of his power of conversation. lie
invited us to take the seat next his own,
and we felt through the flying hours of that
evening, as De Quincy did when listening
to Coleridge. He of course spoke Of Eng
land-of En- gland socially and politically
and the extent of his information, as we'll
as its accuracy respecting English affairs,
was really amazing.
Never have we known any one who COM
bined such rare and widely different ele-
ments as Mr. Webster. This was seen in
everything Learned as a lawyer, with a
vast amount of information as a statesman,
he was as familiar with all literature, really
worth the name, as most men would be it
they made that a single pursuit. He blend
ed both grace and strength in an extraordi-
nary manner, He forever dissipated the
popular idea of this country, that beauty is
Inconsistent with strength in intellectual
men: for no one ever combined SO much of
the beautiful with great power, as Mr..
Webster. He did not despise the graces
which literature lends to. great intellectual
efforts but, on the contrary, he studied TO
produce in his most elaborate arguments
whatever might adorn them. In his speech
in the Senate, delivered just before Mr..
Polk went out of power he undertook to
describe the waning influence of an Execu-
tive when about to surrender the power to
reward his partisans; and he said that in
political life no such fidelity was to be found
as is displayed in nature, where in the Ian
guage Of Moore, the sunfower is described
in those beautiful lines, breathing unselfsh
and answering affection, as turning
--------------seen on hessesed, ,mhefis sasa
Doubtless almost every one who heard
Mr. Webster on that occasion, supposed
that the quotation, occurred to him at the
moment; but it is known to some of his
friends that he sent to lady to borrow
Moore's Melodies a day or two before his
speech was delivered; and the happy thought
Of contrasting the beautiful constancy Of the
sunfower to its god, with the heartless
abandonment of the leader of a party in the
hour of his declining fortunes, by his fol-
lowers, like Skeridan's brilliant things ut
tered in convivial circles, actually premedi-
tated. @
+ The English statesmen well comprehend
the use Of elegant learning in aiding them
in their parliamentary efforts. This we shall
speak of at some length when we come to
our view of Mr. Webster's oratory. The
value of classical learning ought to be i'm
pressed upon the minds Of the public men
of the country. We think that there is a
sad decline in American oratory, and in
these papers we hope to show how it may
be improved.
Letsus say something more of him now
as man. He was full of nsibility-full
of generous and great sentiments of
affection Mr. Webster's intellectual ma
ture was really not greater than his moral
nature The picture of the youth leaning
his head on his fathers breast and weeping,
in reply to the promise that he should ''go
to college," illustrates the whole nature of
the man. So does the constant care shown
by the great statesman, with his renown
filling the wide world for his mothers gar
den {: ''That must be kept green, whatever
else may suffer- So do his letters to John
Taylor, with his quotations from Virgil as
to agriculture, translated for Johns bene-
benefit. So does that scene at home, when,
but few days before his death, he stood in
the door, and had his oxen driven up before
him, that he might look once more into their
''broad honest faces So do the tombs at
Marshfeld with loved names cut in marble.
So do those touching lines which dedicate
some of his volumes to his children dead.
So did his own love for the great solemn sea,
by which he wished to sleep; while its
sounding urges broke near his grave. It
was grand moral nature-no less grand
than his intellectual majesty.
His last hours were like gorgeous sun
set; not the going down of tropical sun in
Eunclouded splendor, but like the setting Of
sun behind the Alps, when its broad rays
fling parting glory upon snow-capped
peaks, and pour food Of golden light upon
the very clouds which hang their solemn
drapery about his dying couch.-Papers
from Strawberry HiU, by Walpole.
A good old Quaker lady who after listen.
ing to the extravagant yarns Of shopkeep.
er as long as her patience would allow, said
| to him:
s'Friend, what a pity it is a sin to lie,
! when it seems so necessary to thy business. y