New-York daily tribune., 1858-10-20

ble a. tn" thron. OF The OmaiE-,n nj, which seats MI
ton on hight serene and uHapproachei, and ksds
the sacred carrent of his song fast by the
clee Of Gcd." Those solemn words of his opening
manhood
"As in m. sr.A, rs.h nssssr's sye"-
are the epitome Of his hework, the pledge fh- ur-
diminished potency al along the sges. iIis nyiDeibh.
hardihood of moral conviction, his strrnuonsncss Vi
upriebt rurpose the might Of integrity for which
the mi, rsc had bribe, the kng'y spr'bat owusd
no master this side of heaven, breathe IN every hns
inipart in his unequaled majesty to eomnon
auc familiar themes, and sustain ms even ngnl the
inward We undaxz.ed-
Where Ar gel. trcmsle while they sa1e'
And Of Wordsworth:
Iu forms less stern and gid but with equal strength
OF fiber, appear the elements of eotca greatness
IN Wordsworth. In him ever discern the seina
prompt moral sersbty. the samc aithfufness TO the
law at eternal right. These traits dignity what were
else Insignificant, make his platuaes high table
land aud invest with the proonndest interest under his
hand trivial incidents aud unmportapt personages.
There IL not ballad of his which derives no, i,s
lEent, not sonnet which catches not its glow, from
ssme great universs-wide, moral verify, while the
colloqui,s in the Excursion lay bare the uncfsated
basis Of right and obligation, and exhibit CHRISTIAN
ethics the constitutional law OF al life ani being
Tried by merely poetcal standards, Wordsworth fats
back from the foremost rank, and often merits even
scathing criticism. Whimsical in taste, lackaaascai
III sentiment, limited in range, striking ever th. same
lusrous d:ocping in continuous fight, prosac when
profound, with feeble Of proportion, ana with
perspective in his word painng, he would, had he
been merely verse.wrght, have outlived what ht,a
fame might have accrued 10 him. But, as the poet-
priest OF centuryhs singing robes the sanity alb
and stole Of the atahe looms in the retrospect abovs
al his coevals; and, for ages TO come, ehkthood,
madeny purity, virtue in its might and holiness in its
rhythm Of his song.
Also of our own Whittier:
OF our American poets were to name who Ia
prominently indebted TO his sympathy with the eer-
nal law, his loyalty 10 tie immutsble right, it waid
be Whittier. Often with deficient euphony and halt
ing ryhm; strong. but not versatile; rich IN eenti-
ment but meager in fancy-it is the energy OF pro-
found moral conviction that rasps the ear in his rough
scorn, now to no less indignant pity; row to heru'1
daring and now to glad sacrifice for God and virtue.
The poet of reform; the Amphcn by the rising walls
Of that New Jerusalem, within which bondage, strife,
msmmon-servioe, and man.worship shall 6nd no pscs
he may now wreathe his brow With scanty lawels;
but amaranthine awaits him in coming times
Of purer faith and nobler humanity.
The novels Of the day summoned 10 judg-
mcnt.
In no walk Of literature do feel the lack and
need OF the moral element Of which have spoken ~
in that of prosecution. Novels swarm thick as tho
frogs in Egypt, in honres, in our bcdchamhers,
and upon our beds and j doubt not should find
them, in dingier covers in our ovens and kneading-
gathered together upon heaps their SAVIOR would
be hardly less offensive than that which IN tho
nostrils of Pharaohs subjects. OF thsm ALL how few
transcend the conventional ethics Of the authors aga
and people Indeed, the highest praise awarded them
is for the faithful portraure Of men and things %
they were and are; and, the more deformed and ABB
normal the originals the larger is the imDers need
of panegyrc. If Scott makes the registering Orur 10
Lion or the stold and profane Pevcr, perfectly hfs-
like; if Dickins, with diamond or two, and few
grains Of pure gold enptes his page the very sew
and cess-poos Of London socsty, and our nausea
bears witness that the outpouring is equally genuine
and unsnted; if Thackeray puts into print just sacp
afec ation and snobbery as in actual life We shun as
We would vipers blood-we regard the triumph n
genius complete, and pronounce its fame immortal.
The oration concludes with testing our current
politics by the doctrine Of eternal right.
In the whole political history Of our own country,
there has been sin atrocious as the reputation
Of higher than human law. II Is stark atheism;
for with the law, this position virtually denies as0
tie providence Of God, and makes men and nations
sole arbiters Of their own fortunes. Bnt "the Hea-
vens do rule" II there be institutions or measures
Inconsistent with mmuable rectitude, they are fos-
tered only under the ban Of righteous God; they
uwrap the germs Of their own harvest cf shame, dis.
order, vice and wrctchedpessi nay, their very pros
per,y is but the verdure and blossOmng which shal
mature the apples Of Sodom. Oh, how often have our
Legislators had 10 recall Ia pregnant w0rds
Of Jefrersonsad Indeed is it that they should have
become almost too trite for repetition, without having
worked their way into the national c0nscence-"l
remble for my country, when | consider that God 10
justw The nations that have passed away, the de-
cayng nations, the cOnvnlsed thrones, the smoderng
rebellion fires Of the Old World reveal the elements
of national decline and ruin, and hold out balel sig
nails over the career on which Republic Is hurry.
ing assuring by the experience Of oil cmes aud
ages that Slavery, the nnprncped last Of power and
territory, official corruption and vennlty aggressive
war; partisan legislation, but sowing the wind 10
reap the whirlwind."
These are sound words and braveIy spoken,
showing the loyalty of the speaker to the tradi-
tions Of the Puritans, whose spirit he inhasts, ~