Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1861-06-28
NUMBER g..


past the door whore his future wife was,
standing-his speedy rise to distinction
his early scicntfc studies and experiments
that make an era in mans domiuion over,
the elements--his action in the Congress
that asserted Independe ce and his sigma
ture to the great dcclaration-hi labors
with Washington and Hamilton in forming
the constitution--his production during
these years of active public life of
week after week that made his name famil4
lar with all the scientific Academies and
among all the resorts Of the learned-these
are things that we have always known
The histories of his life were the first,
books that we read. The first wisdom
that we learned were the proverbs that he
made household words. The printer that
carried the forms along the streets of Lon
don which he aftcrward walked as the min
lister of great empire, hardly passed. dur.
ing eighty-six eyentfUl years, through q,
scene Of interest of which we are ignorant.
His massive features, in which the highest
intellect, thoughtful henevolence and mas
terly self possession appear combined, are
every day before us in paintings, plates.
and wood cuts and electrotypes, and arc
| as familiar to us as the lineameuts that our
mirrors have reflected from boyhood His
| handiwork is on the constitution that is tho
charter of our liberties, and the govern
ment under which we pass our daily lives.
In his fame we glory, and we claim as cur
own reflection Of its lustre. lie is the
synaseur of our profession, and his name
Is its most splendid ornament What Ho-
mer is to poets. Aristotle to philosophers
and Copernieus to Astronomers, Hervey
to Psychologists, Ben Franklin is to Amer
can printers. And lie honored every walk
and way of life that he tr d His style is
an excellent model for the student of the
the Engl sh language. His researches in
science have secured him reverence where
ever lightning rod protects home, or
telegraphic dispatches are read. His pro-
found and common sense philosophy has
given him distinction in all the records of
human learning, and consecrated his name
on every civilized tongue. His traits were
those of greatness. His understanding
was massive but acute. He was a little
skeptical in regard to theories that could
not be demonstrated little wanting in
religious faith. But he was, above all
things, well balanced. His passions were
strong, but they were not his master. His
love Of speculation was excessive, but be
restricted it to purposes of utility. He
loved poetry and wrote some; but he Iogei,
truth better and wrote much The rare
aud solid qualities Of bis mind fitted him
for either abstruse inquiry or practical bus
mess and he obtained eminen in both.
when the pursuit of each was the sole oh
ject of the most gifted minds. He OWNED
the quality Of the elements, distracted the
Lightning from the storm cloud, was an ar
tifcer of our Government and the marks
of his plastic hand are on all the features
of cur institutions. His fame was the fair
reward of his greatn ess it was worn
without envy and without reproaeh; it is
substantial and lasting time cannot efface
it, nor convulsion destroy it.
Nothing can cover his high fame, but heaven,
No pyramid sets off his memory.
But the eternal substance of his greatness"
Here find that I must stop l have.
arrived at time when names and incident
so crowd the history of The press and tbrong.
the chambers of my memory, that they
would require an address exceeding all otli-
er addresses in dimensions as DR. Mars
Life of Burghleigh exceeded all other
books, and the larks of Brobdlgnag ex-.
ceeded the larks of England. The events
Of newspaper life within the last hun
dred years, are the events Of civilization.
And the delightful fields for DEPRESSION,
and episode that they present is nowhere
equalled. The invasions by great states,
man and authors OF the Editorial columns
Lord Chesterfeld's labored puff in tie
World of Johnson's Dictionary, and the
surly but elegant letter in reply of the III
dignant scholar-the gay essays of Steele
and Addison-the humor of which engaged
the town and was enjoyed with their coffee
by fine ladies and courtly beaus Wednes-
day and Satu day mornings the conDec-
ton with Woodfall's Public Adrertiscr Of
the mysterious Junius. upon whose impcr-
vious secret the suns Of ninety years have
risen and set but shed no ray of light
Coleridge intermitting opium dreams and
oracles of divine philosophy with leaders
for the Morning Post-tbc immortal day
of tie London Times when it published
Queen Caroline's letter and its issue reach
ed 100000 copics-thc meeting of the
managers of the same paper TO devise
pretext for changing front on the
corn laws, and the dismissal of the con-
ference by the magnificent DeSane's
handing the manuscript leader to the type
setter with the remark "tbe Times never
apologies" s"-those pigeon holes where lie.
filed away the biographies Of all the great
men of the day by the first living authors,
only awaiting the death of their subjects
to be turned into obituaries, and the other
gossip of Printing House Square since
the fame of Sterling made all its
by-ways as familiar to as as the streets
and corners where cur own papers are
printed-the genial veteran now no more,
Joseph I. Buckingham's spelling by mis-
take the title ol the first issue of the Boston
Centinel with a''C,' and from pride refusing
to change it, but insisting, even afterward
that such was the correct orthography of
the word-Wm. Leggctt, the gifted, the
incorruptible, the early dead -Ritchle'a
tact, Benefits enterprise manifested in
stealing and publishing a copy Of the Mex
ican Treaty before the Cabinet had seen it,
| pranticos wit manifested in a myriad waye