Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1859-01-28


Union; and chiefly, perhaps, sley will lnger
around the seats once occupied by the mighty
three whose names aud famc--associated in
life death has not been able to sever; illastri-
| Gus men, who, in their generation, sometimes
divided, sometimes led, and sometimes resisted
puoIie opinion--for they were of that higher
class Of statesmen who seek the right aud fol-
low their convictions. ~ sw
There sat Calhoun, the Senator--inaezible.
austere, oppressed but not overwhelmed BY his
deep sense of the Importance of his public fnnc-
tions- seeking the truth, then fearlessly follow
ing III man whose unsparing intellect COM
PEELED all his emotions 10 harmonic with the
dedrctiors of bis rigorous logic, and whose no
be countcnance hsbituaiiy wore the expression
Of one engaged IN the performance of high pub
lie duties.
This was Webster's seat He, too, was ey.
cry inch Senator. Conscious of bis own vast
powers, lie reposed with confidence on himself.
and scorning the contrivances Of smaller men,
he stood among his peers all the greater fors,he
simple dignity Of bis senatorial demeaior.-
Type of bis lorthcTp home, be rises before the
Imagination in the grand and granite outline of
his form and Intellect, like great New Eng
land rock, repeling New England wave, il
q writer, bis productions will be cherished bv
statesmen and scholars while the English tongue
is spoken. As senatorial orator, bis great eff
Forts arc historically associated With this cham
Der, whose very air seems yet to vibraie beneath
the strokes of his deep tones and his weiehty
words. sz
On the outer circle, sat Henry Clay, with his
inpetucus and ardent nature untamod hy. age.
aud exhibiting III ibe Senate the same vehement
patriotism and PASSIONATE eIoquence that. of
yore, electrified the House of Representatives
and the country. His exiraordinafy personal
endowmcnts, bis courage all his ncbieuoal;
ties, invested him With an individuality and
charm OF character which, in any age. would
llFye made him favorits Of history. lie loved
his country above all earthly objects. HeIoyed
liberty in all countries. IIlustricus nsan.--ora-
tor, patriot, phllanthropist-w whose light, at its
meridian. was seen and felt in the remotest mart
of the civilized world; ana whose declinine sun.
as il FASTENED down the West, threw back its
level beams in hnes of mellew splcndor 10 IL
la,alpate and 70 cheer the nsiad he loved and
served SO wen.
All The States may point With erat,fed nriaa
10 the services 10 the Senate Of their pafriat;c
sons. EtoWding the memory come the na,nes
= A~5 '1tlSJ NldSOns 1alGk-
ney, and the rest cannot number thcm-vbo
~ be record OF their acts and utterAnces. al,
peal ta their Successors 10 give the Union a
destiny hot unworthy Of the past What mod.
els were these to awaken emulation, or to ploDre
10 despair Fortunate will be the American
statesman who, in this age, or in succeeding
times shal: contribute 10 invest the new bail to
which We 80 with historic memories like those
which cluster here.
And now, Senators, we leave this nipmcrabIe
chamber, bearisg With US, unimpaired, the Gen.
sti'ution ne received from our iorefathers, Let
US cherish it with grateful ackaowled cement 10
the Divine Power, who controls the destiuies of
empires, and whose goodness we adore. The
structures reared by men, yield TO the corrodine
tooth OF time, These marble walls must moul.
der With ruin; but the principles of eonstitu-
tioua liberty, guarded by wisdom and virtue.
unlike material elements, do not decay. Let
us deyo1ledly trust that another Senate, in an
other aga shall bear to a new and larger cham
ber this Constitution vigorous and nviolate---
aud that the last generation of posterity shall
witness the deliberations of the representatives
of American States still united, prosperous and
free