The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1861-11-20

will be foremost In the scroll which was
borne by one, who in the very spirit of
the arch demon, thought it ''better to
reign in hell than serve in heaven. =
Louisville Journal, Oct. %.
Bakers Eulogy on BrOderiCk.
The most famous Grafton delivered in
America since the days of Webster, was
that of Edward D. Baker over the dead
body of David Broderick in San Francisco
on the 18th of September, 1859. The
concluding passages are strangely appro-
pirate to the occasion of the death of their
author:
ga Senator lies dead in our midst He
is wrapped in bloody shroud, and we, to
whom his tolls and cares were given, are
about to bear him to the place appointed
for all living. 1t is not fit that such a
man should pass to the tomb unheralded;
it is not fit that slch life should steal
unnotioed to his close; it is not fit that
such death should call forth no rebuke,
or be surrounded by no public lamenta-
ton. We are here Of every station and
pursuit, of every creed and character,
each in his capacity of citizen, to swell
the mournful tribute which the majesty
of the people offers to the unreplying
dead. The hopes of high hearted friends
droop like fading flowers upon his breast,
and the struggling sigh compels the tear
in eyes that seldom weep. Around him
are those who have known him best and
loved him longest; who have shared the
triumph, and endured the defeat. Near
him are the gravest and nobest of the
State, possessed by grief at once earnest
and sincere; while beyond the masses of
the people that he loved, and for whom
his life was given, gather like thun-
der cloud of swelling and indignant
grief.
And now as the shadows turn towards
the east, and we prepare to bear these
! poor remains to their silent resting place,
let us not seek to repress the generous
pride which prompts recital Of noble
deeds and man y virtues. He rose un-
aided and alone; he began his career
without family or fortune, in the face of
difficulties; he inherited poverty and OBJ,
security; he died Senator in Congress,
having written his name in the history
of the great struggle for the rights Of
the people against the despotism of or
ganzatiOn and the corruption of power.
He leaves in the hearts of his friends the
tenderest and the proudest recollections
He was honest, faithful, earnest, sincere,
generous and brave. He felt In all the
great crisis of his life, that he was lead
er in the ranks and rights of masses of
men, and he could not falter When he
returned from that fatal ied, while the
dark wing of the Archangel of death was
casting his shadows upon his brow, his
greatest anxiety was as TO the performance
of his duty. He felt that all his strength
and all his life belonged to the cause to
which he had devoted them. "Baker,"
said he, and to me they were his last
words-"Baker, when | was struck |
tried to stand firm, but the blow blinded
me, and | could not" l trust it is no
shame to my manhood that tears blinded
me as he said it.
But fellow citizens, the voice of lam
entatlon is not uttered by private friend
ship alone-the blow that struck his man
ly breast has touched the heart of peo-
pie, and as the sad tidings spread, gen
eral gloom prevails. Who now shall
speak for California Who be the inter
prefer of the Pacific coast? Who can
appeal to the community of the Atlantic
who love free labor? Who can speak
for masses of men with a passionate love
for the classes from whence he sprung i?
Who can defy the Establishments of pow
er, the lnsolence of Office, the corruption
of Administrations What hopes are
buried with him in the grave?
"Ah who that gallant spirit shall resume.
Leap from Eurotus' bank and call us from
the tomb"
But the last word must be spoken and
the imper!ous mandate of death must be |
fulfilled. Thus, o brave heart we must
bear thee to thy rest Thus, surrounded
by tens of thousands, we leave thee to
the equal grave, AS in life, no other
voice among us SO rung its trumpet blast
upon the ear of freedom, so in death its
echoes will reverberate amid our noun
talns and our valleys, until truth and
yalor cease to appeal to the human
heart.
Good friend true hero! hail and fare
well
Rar | tell you that | shall commit su.
icide. If Won don't have mo