Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-05-26

es, hidden now by the very closeness Of their
Application to. the moment. are destined
hereafter to wide fame. What pregnant
dehnltlons what nnerTing common sense
what foresight; and on great occasions what
lofty, and more than national, what humane
tone! His speech at Gettysburgh will not
easily be surpassed by words on any record
ed occasion This, and one other American
speech, that of John Brown to the Court
that tried him, sand part of Kossuth s
speech at birmingham, can only be ,compar-
ed with each other, and with no fourth. n.
bis occupying therchair of State was
triumph of the good sense of mankind, and
OF the public conscience. The lniddle-class
country had got middle-class President at
last. Yes, ln'nanners, sympathies, but not
IN powers, for his powers were superior
HIS mind mastered the problem Of the day:
and, as the problem grew, SO did his COM
prehension OF it. Rarely was man SO fitted
to the event, la the midst of fears and
jealousles, In the Babel 0fcounsels and par
ties, this man wrought incessantIy with all
his might and all his honesty, ilaboring to
find what the people wanted and how to
obtain it,
lteannot be said there is any exaggera-
ton of his worth. IT ever man was fairly
tested he was There was no lack of resis-
tence, nor of SANDER, nor of ridicule. The
times have allowed no State secrets; the ma
ton has been in such ferment, such multi
tudes had to be trusted, that no secret could
be kept, Every door was ajar, and weknoW
all that befel. rass.6 ~
Then what an occasion was the WhlrlYlnd
of the war. Here was place for no holiday
magistrate, no fair-weather sailor; the new
pilot was hurried to the helm in a tornado,
In four years--the four years Of battle-days
his endurance, has fertility of resources,
his magnanimity, were sorely tried and new
er found wanting
There, by his courage, his justice; his even
temper, his fertile counsel, his humanity, he
stood an heroic figure in the centre of an he-
roic epoch. He is the true history of the
American people in his time. Step by step
he walked before them: slow with their.
slowness, quickening his march by theirs;
the true representative of this continent; an
entirely public man; father of his country,
the pulse of twenty millions throbbing in his
heart, the thought of their minds artieula-
ted by his tongue
Adam Smith remarks that the axe, which
in Houbraken's portraits of British Kings
and worthless, is engraved under those who
have suffered at the block, adds certain
lofty charm to the picture. And who does
not see, even in this tragedy so recent, how
fast the terror and ruin of the massacre are
already burning into glory around the vic
tim? Far happier this fate than to have
lived to be wished away; TO have watched
the decay of his cWn faculties; to have seen
perhaps, even he-the proverbial ingrati-
,,o4
preferred.
Had he not lived long enough to keep the
greatest promise that ever man made to his
fellow men-the practical abolition of slave
ry? He had seen Tennessee, Missouri and
Maryland emancipate their slaves. He had
seen Savannah, Charleston and Richmond
surrendered; had seen the main army of the
rebellion lay down its arms. He had con-
quered the public opinion of Canada, Eng
land and France. Only Washington can
compare with him in. fortune
And what if it should turn out, In the un-
folding of the web, that he had reached the
term; that this heroic deliverer could no
longer serve us; that the rebellion had touch
ed its natural conclusion, and what remain
ed to be done required new and unconImit-
ted hands-a new spirit born out of the ash
CO VI tHC Wal dld tAtdt AACefCLy NtcAAAuS "
show the world completed benefactor, shall
make him serve his country even more by
death than by hislife Nations, ike Kings,
are not good by facility and complaisance
''The kindness of Kings cnosists in justice
and strength Easy good nature has been
the dangerous foible Of the republic, and it
was necessary that It's enemies should out
rage it, and drive US to unwonted frmness,
to secure the salvation of this country in
the next ages. oh's
The ancients believed ina serene and beau
tifl Genius which ruled in the affairs of
nations; which, Witha slow but stern justice,
carried forward the fortunes of certain cho-
sen houses, wedding out single offenders, or
offending families, and securing at last the
firm prosperity of the favorites of Heaven.
1T was too narrow a view of the Eternal Ne
mesis There is a serene Providence which
rules the fate of nations, which makes little
account Of time, little of one generation or
race, makesn no account of disasters, conquers
alike by what is called defeat or by what is
called victory, thrusts aside enemy and OBJ
structions, erushes everything immoral as
inhuman, and obtains theiultimate triumph
of the best race by the sacrifice of everything
which resists the moral laws of the world
1t makes its own Instruments, creates the
man for the time, trains him in poverty
inspires his genius, and arms him for his
task. 1t has given every race itsOWn talent,
and ordains that only that race which CONF
bines perfectly with the virtues Of all shall
endure. s32
ta-f d a Is II HF ~ b 81