New-York tribune., 1867-06-13
THE POLITE LETTER WRITER'S


newspapers to be "a triumph of art" but as
the same compliment is paid to all new speci-
mems of marble manufacture. we do not attach
much Importance to the good natured criticism.
We have not seen the image but we have
seen the letters of those unfortunate gentle
men who were invited to assist at the cere-
monies, and who were forced TO send their re-
grets on account OF what the Irish schoolmas
ter called circumstances repugnant to the
"acquicsce.' The most curious and, we may
say, unique Of these was that which detained
Mr.. Miard Fillmore in Buffalo. when he
would gladly have been in Louisville. Il re-
gret to say" writes Mr.. Fillmore, that ] am
somewhat indsp0sed, and case of cholera
Z" has just been reported in this city, and
therefore. while | hope TO be able to 90,
must reserve promise positive to future
day" l. G., "This little complaint of mine
may turn ont TO be cholera, and. if ! must
/" die. prefer to die in my own house, III the
presence of my weeping friends and neigh
"bors." 1t is, we admit, unpleasant to be taken
with cholera while one il upon his travels;
but a. up to the present moment. no lntelli-
gcnce has been received OF Mr.. Fillmores col
lapse, we may safely assume that upon the
10th of May he labOred under quite al unne-
cesSary alarm. We think it an act of kindness
to remind MI. Fillmore. who may often he
similarly indisposed during the fruit sea-
SON that fear is admitted by the fac
ulty to be "a great provocative of the
cholera and 10 suggest to the distn-
guished patient that there il an excellent
medicine sold by the apothecaries. called
"Chalk Mixture" which il uncommonly ale
Ia.,sa ,a.1I in
several of our ex-Prcsidcnts tendency to
latuency, and wo chccrfully recommend to
them all the remedy aforementioned. IL Is
curious that Mr.. Pierce should have had the
same complaint upon the same occasion, mani
Testing itself, however, not physically but
intellectually. In a most spasmodc letter. Mr..
Pierce was not. We think, particular admirer
of Mr.. Clay while he was living; but now that
he is dead, and is to have II monument, Mr..
Pierce discovers that the late Senator from
Kentucky was perfect love of a man, as the
ladies say-that he was can orator, states
"man. and patriot and that il was great
misfortune TO the country that he died so young.
Mr.. Pierce is very pretty writer, with very
bod memory. He forgiyes and forgets with
such surprising facility that one ia tempted to
complain that he did not commence the culti-
vation of the milder and more Quakerly vir-
tues at an earlier period OF his career. lie
made but an ordinary President, but he might
have been perfectly immense in the Christian
ministry. lie might even have been poet,
like Mr.. George Lunt, who sent six stanzas to
Louisville, to be said or sung Mt the instant OF
the unvailng, the puIport OF the twenty live
lines being that Mr.. Clay was not Major
General, like the vulgar notorieties OF to-day,
Triumphant on the sanguine field"
If We may Judge by the tenor of his lyric,
which might have been written by the Vice
President OF a Peace Society Mr. Lunt seems
to consider il rather than else dsgraceful to
have seen service especially during the late
Rebellion. lie is anything but n Tyrtaeus.
lie is hard in II soft kind of way, upon the
"spoils of victory the martial trump" the
blooming cannon the Haunting banner" and
g the glancing crest" A milkier minstrel is not
To he found in The whole country; and our only
regret is that Mr.. Lunt did not go to Louis
Vile and there sing his little song dnddntc pas
fordle. with an amiable accompaniment of rus
tic flutes Then there might have been even
miracle The statue itself would, perhaps.
have winked its appreciation, while dilating
thousands, with oars erect and mouths wide
new Orpheus from Massachusetts! Perhaps it
is as well. The statue might have taken it
into it's head Tor its heels) to dance, which
would have spoiled tho dignity OF the occasion
In the batch of letters before us, there is an
excellent and most expansive one from the
Secretary of State. With pen IN hand and
Sitka in his head, Mr.. Seward casts foul scorn
upon latitude and longitude" which, he OBJ
serves, could never "hem in Mr.. Clay's great
| soul" We even notice what we must consider
to he an alarming tendency i'll Mr.. Seward to
abolish the points of the compass. He wishes
TO know ."nO North, no South, no East no
hWest;' and possibly his dislike 0i these points
may extend, although he does not say so, to
N.N.W, or to S.S.W, and other minor
divisions. This is poetical and brilliant, but, II
fully carried out, We fear that it would play the
very deuce with navigation. We trust that Mr..
Secretary will leave US the old points at least until
the hydrographical servants OF the Government
have devised something to take their places.
1t might incommOde the Sun to have new
locality for setting forced upon him in his Old
age, OF to be Ousted from his long accustomed
quarter of rising. We have already warned
Mr. Seward to be cautious in his thirst for new
territory, about disturbing the planets; and we
must hint TO him once more that the general
arrangements of the universe are entitled to
some respect. In his Louisville letter, the
Secretary abolishes the latitude and rcpeals
the meridian of Washington. lie has done
enough. In tho name of all the proprletors OF
all the Biographies, we protest against iurther
innovation
Al .atlna AI