Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1858-03-03

to be placed there in the fondness of mothers
! pride, he whom history will proclaim as one of
the apostles ofcivil liberty the authorofthe Bill
OF Rights of Virginia, the orator and the sage,
whose vision was so nearly prophetic and whose
wisdom and patriotism made him great leader
in his day. John Marshall is to constitute an
other figure in that great group, be whose quail
tiles OF head and heart were bestowed by Ma
ture as it she were trying her most cunning hand
to constitute perfect judicial character ,Une.i
quail in learning to Coke, or Hale, or Hsrdwicke,,
or Mansfield, because he had fewer opportupi-
ties to acquire it. he united the character of Hale
to the genius of Mansfield, and found in bis own
resources those means ofmastery for which they
were SO largely dependent on the assistance Of
Others. Patrick Henry already stands there, Q,
commanding figure in the group, the Homer OF
orators" whose mighty voice comes ringing
down with the ages to startle the most listless9
of human ears with those watch-words of civil !
revolution and progress, "Give me liberty or
give me DEATH" And yonder contemplatiye
figure, who needs to BE told that it is Thomas
Jefferson, the most intrepid thinker and the
greatest political genius of bis day; man who
was capable of committing himself, like Column
bus, to the winds and waves in pursuit of bis
own great idea, and of persevering until he dis
covered new provinces of thought, and found
firm ground for the human mind beyond the un-
| certain seas which others had feared to pass be-
| fore. ..
Still the representation of the revolutionary
family of Virginia is far from complete. The
Statue of George Rogers Clarke, like that Of
Brutus, is missing. The Lees and the RAN
dolphs, Madison and Monroe, sapientun' que ora
prioruna" might well constitute another group
Of kindred greatness to these May long sue
| cession of such chapters of monumental history
continue to tell the tale of Virginia's greatness
and glory. ~
But must not close this address without one
word of affectionate abjuration to thee, Virgin.
ia, and bidding You all hail, oh most glorious
motberl Take us, thy children, with thee to
the tombs of your mighty sons that we may
learn from your meditations something OF the
secret of your own great heart. Does it occur
to you as you bend in sorrowing pride over
these monuments of your dead, that perhaps the
wiser part was taken by the daughter of Scip.
pio and the mother of the Gracchi, who refused
to bear more children lest she should be sham
ed by the comparison of the younger with the
elder born2 Is it the secret question of your
bosom, "Quid taciunt ,Stemmata ?" when you
contrast your present with your pasta pray
You, by all the love we bear you, to harbor No
The wealth of your achievements may lie in the
past, but never was mother richer in the atfec-
tons Of her children. Every drop Of your wa
ters and the very dust of your soil are as dear
to them as if they bore the charm of life ITSELF
Your great name and its associations constitute
the fascination and the spell which call up the
deepest emotions of filial love and pride in the
hearts of your children. They may not add to
the lustre of your name, but they will preserve
and defend il against reproach and disgrace.-
They no longer bring currule dignities to your
house, nor do lictors and fasces mark their ap-
proach to your door, but they bear you what at
ter oil is the richest treasure and best defence OF
State, the loyalty and devotion of q united
family, which knows no higher reward than
mothers love, and no prouder object of ambi-
tion than mothers gory. Permit me, then,
to say, if the love which inspires it can excuse
the presumption of the advice, that if you wish
TO renew, in some future generation, the gories
| of your mighty line, you must be true to your
self, to the traditions of your past, to the long
established principles of your public policy, and
The peculiar genius of your people, For how
| long did American civilization follow the line OF
their camp fires as your pioneers passed through
the wilderness3 Why may there not spring up
again within your household the lights which
may lead to higher culture and to a happier,
more refined and more powerful combina-
ton of the social and individual elements whose
proper organization constitutes the strength OF
human government? believe, in my soul, that
such would be the results of the faithful and
further application of the principles ofyour own
! great school. Equally firm is my conviction,
that the lights which should direct that applica-
ton are to be found in the lessons which have
been taught by your own sons, whose teachings
have in them more of prophetic wisdom than all
the leaves of the Sibyl. Such are the achieve
ments which would place Virginia amongst the
States and nations of the earth, where Washing
ton, her own illustrous son, stands amongst
men,-the worlds great paragon, the cynosure
of his race.