The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-05-05
An ELOQUENT Speech.


ucipant in the German Revolution Of
l8+s, but now prominent member of
the bar of Wisconsin. and Jealous Re-
publican, visited Boston few days since, |
and made an able political speech in |
Faneuil Hall. He was introduced to the |
audience by Senator WILSON. The fol-
lowing eloquent extract was the intro
duction of his speech:
A few days ago / stood on the cupola
of your State House and overlooked, for
the first time, this venerable city, and
the country surrounding it, Then the
streets, and hills, and waters around me
began 10 TEEN with the life of historical
recollections, recollections dear to all
mankind. and feeling of pride arose in
my heart, and l said to myself, 1, too, am
an American citizen. (Applause) There
was Bunker Hill, there Charlestown,
Lexington, and Dorchester Heights, not
far of ; there the harbor into which the
British tea was sunk there the place
where the old liberty tree stood there
John Hancock's house there BENJAMIN
Franklin's birthplace-and now stand
in this grand old hall, which SO often re-
sounded with the noblest appeals that ev-
er thrilled American hearts, and where /
am almost afraid to hear the echo of INV
own feeble voice. Oh, sir, no man that
loves liberty, wherever he may have first
seen the light Of day, can fail on this
sacred spot to pay his tribute to Ameri-
canism. And here, with all those glori-
GUS memories crowding upon my heart,
l will offer mine. l, born in a foreign
land, pay my tribute to Americanism
Yes, for to me the word Americanism,
irIe Amerlcanisin, comprehends the no.
blest ideas which ever swelled human
heart with noble pride. (Applause.)
1t is one OF the earliest recolle ctions of
my boyhood, that one summer night our
whole village was stirred up by an un-
common occurrence. / say our village,
for l was born not far from that beauti-
full spot where the Rhine rolls his green
waters out of the wonderful gate Of the
seven mountains. and then meapders with
majestic tranquility, through one of the
most glorious valleys of the world. That
night our neig hbors were pressing around
a few wagons covered with linen sheets
and loaded with household utensils, and
boxes and trunks, to their utmost capac-
lily. One of our neighboring families
was moving far away across great wa
ter, and it was said they never would re-
turn again. And saw silent tears trick
ling down weather-beaten cheeks, and
the hands of rough peasants pressing
each other, and some of the men and
women hardly able to speak when they
nodded TO one another last farewell. At
last. the train came into motion, they
gave three cheers for america, and then
In the first gray dawn of the morning,
saw them vending their way over the
hill until they disappeared in the shadow
OF the forest. And | heard many a man
say, how happy be would be if he could
go with them to that great and free coun-
try. where man could be himself. ZAP
plause.
That was the first time that I heard of
America, and my childish lamentations
Win majestic trees. parity WITH nowery
prairie, unreasonable to the eye, and in
tersected with large rivers and broad
lakes, land where everybody could do
as he thought best, and where nobody
need be poor, because everybody was
free.
And later. when I was old enough to
read, and descriptions of this country
and books on American history fell into
my hands. the offspring of my magma
ton acquired the colors of reality, and l
began to exercise my brain with the
thought, what man might be and become,
when left perfectly free to himself. And
stlll later, when ripening into manhood,
looked up from my school books into
the stir and hustle of the world, and the
trumpet tones of struggling humanity
struck my ear and thrilled my heart, and
| saw my nation shake her chains in Or
der to burst them, and l heard gigan-
TIC universal shout for liberty rising up
to the skies; and at last, after having
struggled manfully, and drenched the
earth of Fatherland with the blood of
thousands of noble beings, l saw that
nation crushed down again, not only by
overwhelming armies, but by the dead
weight Of customs and institutions and
notions and prejudices which past CEN
turtles had heaped upon them, and which
moment Of enthusiasm, however sub
lime. could not destroy-then consoled
an almost respondent heart with the idea
OF ayouthful people and of original in
situations clearing the way for an un-
trammeled development of the ideal ma
ture OF man. Then I turned my eyes
instinctively across the Atlantic Ocean,
and America and Americanism, as fan
cied them, appeared to me as the last
repositories Of the hopes of all true friends
Of humanity. Applause.