Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-12-28


a new and changed condition of public
AFFAIRS are TO be considered and deter.
neutrality-suspicious. vital 10 the best in
tereSls of the country, and involving
the highest welfare, and even the very
integrity and faith of the Government.
The national heart has been laden with
mourning and grief at the loss of many
gallant and patriotic aud noble sons of
the Republic-numbering In the list of
the mighty dead the chosen Chief Mag
istrate Of our country-during this
passing year now drawing TO its close,
TO whom we were all looking for coun-
sci and for guidance in these times of
pcrpleXity and OF trial. In the midst
OF these great bereavements, we have
only to bow in humble submission to
the will of Him who chastiseth mot
willingly" and who doeth all things
We'll" 1t is only left to US to cherish
the memories OF the good and great who
have been taken from us, to imbibe the
spirit Of their teachings, and to follow
on, so far forth as We may do it, in the
light of their examples.
Like most of the distinguished men
of our time, and especially of our coun-
try; like most of those who have risen
to the high places Of power and trust !;
like most Of the men who stand at the
head Of affairs in the various depart
ments of life, whether political, profess
sional, literary, commercial or other
pursuit; like most of the men who in
our day and country have made their
impress on society, and who have writ
ten their own history upon the times in
which they liyed-like these men, JACOB
COLLAMER was emphatically the author
and the arbiter of his own fortunes. He
owed nothing at all to the fictitious aids
or the accidental circumstances OF birth
or fortune or family patronage. Under
God, he made his own fame and his own
fortunes. With his own hands he
cleared the rugged pathway which led
him up to the entrance door of the tenn
pie of honor and renown. lie made his
own good name, and made it known and
honorable among men. With the au-
vantage of gifted mind, and with the
resolute purpose to fulfill the great end
Of his being-the service of God and
his country-by application and indus
try-by energy and perseverance, and an
honest and honorable life of well-dOing,
he formed his own character and won
his own distinction, and left it as rich
inheritance to his children, and as an
example to those who shall come up at
ter him.
Other and like examples abound in
all our history. So did Daniel Webster,
in whom the son of an humble Salisbury
farmer among the granite hills of New
Hampshire becomes in after years, and
by popular appellation, the great ex-
FOUNDER Of the American Constitution, {"
the great American Senator, the great
American Statesman, who stands, by
the common recognition of mankind, as
the intellectual monarch Of his age. So
did Abraham Lincoln-cla2m nomn-
the poor Kentucky boy the martyr
President, who, under God, had saved a
country and redeemed a race from the
bondage of centuries, falling by the as
sassin's hand Of treason, went down to
the grave amid nations tears, and
amid a nations wailing, yet bearing
with him to the tomb more of the
UUIlu'o aneCulUns, more vi IJS Sympa-
thies, and more of its hOnors, too, than
II,
prince or pOtentate of earth, and whose
highest eulOgium is spoken in the uni
versal lamentation. And sol beg par
don, If in the least offend against the
prOprletles OF this occasion, or of this
presence-so did Andres johnson. the
humble mechanic from the mountains
Of North Carolina, who now, by the will
of the American people, and by proyi-
Dental dispensatiou, Yields the power
and challenges the homage OF the first
magistrate Of the nation, aud on whose
will or word to-day, more than of any
other living man, hang the destinies of
this American Republic. These are
great examples These are illustrious
examples. Our history is full of them
! They are as beacOn-lights along the dim
and crowded pathway Of human life
They are for Instruction, for guidance,
for encouragement, for inspiration to
the rising and the coming generation of
American youth,
The fame which man wins for himself Is best
That he may call his own
JACOB CoLLAMER was endowed with
u rare combination of intellectual and
moral qualities of Il high order; a Ca
paCiOus mind, at once active, clear and
discriminating -7sa,, Haind, too, in which
the analytic powers and the reflective
faculties were largely developed; and
he was also gifted with 4 reteutve mem
DRY. He was capable OF fixed and con
tinuous application oil his mind to the
examination and analysis of whatever
question he took in hand. These facul-
ties were all sharpened and strengthen
ed by varied reading and requirement,
and by habits of careful study and re-
Election. He possessed, in a remarkable
degree, the power of condensation, and
of arranging the various points or pro-
positions involved in any subject under
discussion In the most clear and logical
order, and which enabled him to pre-
sent them with great force and perspi
Guilty to the minds of others. He always
secured respectful attention and defer
enCc to his opinions, whether in public
debate or private discussion, for the
clearness and force with which he pre-
scented his views. lie often enforced or
illustrated an idea or proposition by the
timely introduction of some apt and
racy and often amusing aneCdOte.
II ba yvssnnt o. vyayS ainnuppt bn lCas