Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1859-01-01

conquer the very adversely that stares in their
patA and pains their elevation. So we'll has
our Creator metcd out his rewards and pun.
iShmcnts, that none attain position without
leaving il full Of the bitter experience Of its
littlcncSs and hollowncss. In the vulgar
gaze, he who receives the plaudits Of the mul
titudc is great and A.Rpv,Ck henl in fact, the
SclEsatiShcd face covers 4 heart Of mass Of
tangled, Enottcil snakes Of passion. Socrates.
after having pleased the Athcnians with his
profound philosophy and made the woods Of
Acadcmus ring with dissertations never sur
passed by man, was met ut the threshold Of
home by the violent and angry Nan,ippe
Phillip of Maccdon and Hannibal each had hut
one eye. History also tells US Of two eminent
ancients Of the same name, one Of whom WAS
torn TO pieces by his dogs, and the other by
his lovers In our own day, what man Of en-
inencc has not drank to it's drcgS the cup Of
some bitterness or wOey As with man, so
with States Cities and Nations 70 ALL per-
fection Is denied, and to those who approxi-
mate to its goal, how bloody their feet and
jagged the path. Troy, tho greatest city Of
antiquity, was fatcd to fall thrice beneath the
hand Of violence. France has felt the path Of
empire washed by the blood Of Revolutions
England has advanced over n hccatomb Of
poor d@bjcct peoples. Russia has reached
almost the eliminating point. with n calender
Of dcbOuchCry and crime, sickcning to the
heart. Nay, We may go further and say that
even the Sun has spots Our solar system has
seeming imperfrctions, and the earth itself,
our present resting place must have its earth
quakCS and volcanoes. -
No man is exempt from this HllpCrvading
law, be he high or low. This element Of frail-
ty is universal.
We have been led to this homily by read
ing the ncvcr-ending assaults upon the Exccu.
tive of the Nation. Mr.. Buchanan is no more
perfect than was the great progcnitor Of our
racc--fathcr Adam,-and yet these opposi-
ton seribLlCrs almost beg the public to discard
nil charity towards him. " Ir he is not per-
feet, say they, she should be, and We con.
denim him." During their several Admins.
trations, all our former Presidents were most
bitterly assaicd. Washington was "aiisto-
cratic" and his ruitlcd cuffs and velvet knee.
brcechcs provoked, We read, the greatest ami.
madverSion. Jefferson was said to be" cor.
rupt" and a most sinister demagoguc.
Madison, Monroe, and tho two Adamscs, as
well as Old Hickory, were held up TO scorn
and dcriSion Tho latter was even openly
charged with an abandonment in private life,
known only to the Incrc hrcgs Of society.
Mr.. Buchanan could not hope to escape
this dcnunciatory spirit always manifested by
the opposition. Nor has hc Although he
entered upon his term Of office with great
cclat, We venture to say no one of his prrdc-
ccssors has had so many stumbling blocks
thrown in his pathway. a long life of cmi.
nent political fidelity has been no guaranty
against dctraction from the purity Of his in.
tcntions; record unSullicd by corruption has
not prevented the aspcrsion of his whole past
career a marked spirit of conservatism has
subjected him to tho boldcst charges of want
of patriotism aud Of being actuatcd by spirit
of low demngogueisn. To affirm that he has
not erred, ut times, is to say that he is not
human. 1t is very easy to tear down, but
very difficult to build up n reputation of
greatness and goodness. The power Of crca.
ton is Divine, but TO ancreate is peculiarly
tho province Of mortNls All the policy Of
Mr.. Buchanan, domestic and foreign, has been
aSSaied in the most unmeasurcd terms With
his foreign policy We have now to do, and We
venture to say that no one of his predecessors
has conferred moro honor on our country
abroad than has he.
No one Of our many Statesmen better un-
dcrstands our foreign relations As Secretary
of State under Mr.. Polk, and as Minister to
the Court Of James under Mfr. Pierce, he had
acquired thorough theoretical and practical
knowledge Of our foreign system. His first
act in checking tle deprcdations on our COM
mercc in the Gulf OF Mexico, by the Styr aud
other British mcn-oEwar, in Ovcrhauling our
merchantmen under the plea Of their being
SlavcrS, was master. stroke of Craftsmanship
Her this question With firmncss and in such
a manner as to convince Great Britain that
for once at least, We were in earnest. The
result was that England did what she has re-
fused to do for fifty years,-a refusal that once
cost us long aud expensive war--thc war of
lSl2-and yet wo obtained not the aim Of the
war, though We spent $50. 600, 900 and sacri-
feed thousands Of livcs,-she abandoned her
odious "right Of search" This result, 50
long coDtcnded for, SO Persistently refused,
was consummatcd by Mr.. Buchanan in man.
ner so quiet and yet so effective, that the ad.
miration Of the whole country was elected
Our relations with Spain had become en-
tangled, and this proud old government seem,
cd to resuscitatc her pluck to show the young
Giant Of the West that she was still his equal,
as she had once been his superior. Happily,
Mr.. Buchanan, Quoted all these grievances
and restored the old cOurtly feeling which has
always marked our intercourse with this
proud old nation. With Mexico, since the
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