Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-12-14
99 WASHINGTON ID C. TJIFSnAY DECEMRrp :, 1880

| and poetry.
Mr.. Fessenden was not theorist; the vision
OF abstract speculation did not inspire him will
i commence. He saw passing events as ii wer
In the retrospect, and was little affected by til,
factitious circumstances and cxcitements of t.,
moment. He was not especially deferential Il
the authority Of precedent or tradition, nol
readily attracted by novelties specious pre-
fences OF reform, and fearlessly applied TO al
propositions for his action assent the rigor c
his accustomed me thOds of induction and analy.
Sis. His character rested on n granite basis and
sustained the structure Of a lofty public virtue
and private integrity; while an infieNible per
sOnal independence kept guard over the intel
lect and conscience, and challenged the advance
alike Of friend and foe TO this scat of his power
and secret of his success. 1t would have been
impossible for him, like his great namesake, the
premier of George the Third, to recover Office,
10 acquire or retain place or power, by a con-
cession OF his principles or of point OF honor.
lowcdthe leadership of his reason and Judgment
and with a loftier disdain of inferior guidance.
His mind and method were of the judicial order.
he did not defer TO the decision of the popular
judgment as the sum of political wisdom and the
inevitable law Of duty. His own, and not the
public sense, was his rule of actisn as a Sena-
tor. he paid little court to the people, and
practlced no artifces and employed no gratui-
ties to enlist them in his interests or purposes
And he Gid net sway the masses so much by the
subnmlty or his sentiments as he inspired conf
dence and admiration by the dignity of his man.
ners, the clearness of his UNDERSTANDING and the
purity of his life. That he possessed ambition
was doubtless true, while equally true il was
that he was free from all suspicion that his am
bition had overcome his Judgment or BETRAYED
his public virtue. He had little ambition for
mere power, and less use for it. Patronage he
did not covet or employ as a support.
III excellence i'm oratory is to be determined
by its instant effect, Mr.. Fessenden was in this
entitled TO high rank. His style was clear and
close, his reasoning concise, his language simple
His speeches were calculated and designed for
present effect, and never seemed to have been
elaborated with view to their appearance in
print. Taken by no sudden impulse poised in
debate on his intellect and reason he was never
vehement, rarely yielding to str, ng emotions,
and only when pressed by antagonisms strongly
ASSUMING his convictions or impinging his per
sonal independence. On such occasions he ex-
hibited the amplitude Of his powers and the in
teEsity of his nature.
SkePticism and infdelity were foreign to his
nenta! constitution. Thoughtful and sincere
with Characteristic independence of creeds and
tradtlons, his was nature to feel the religious
sentiment strongest as it dwells apart in the
silence of the SOUL In his recent touching eulogy
here OF his cherished friend, with whom he had
long been associated, are to be found utterances
OF his profound faith in God and of the Chris
tian's hope of endless and more exalted life
Among the distinguished Characters who shall
Illustrate the annals of our times, history will
assign to VIM. Pitt Fessenden a conspicuous
place. Through all his public life and services,
there shines the lustre of a gifted and noble
manhood, OF tried patriotism, and of disin-
terested devotion to worthy ends and aims.
steady leader, safe counsellor, pure and con-
siderate patriot, an eminent statesman, a true
man and friend has gone to his reward
Mr.. Morrill,, in concluding, offered the Gus
tOmary resolutions.
MR.. SUMMERS ADDRESS.
MIR. Sumner spoke rs follows: A seat in this
Chamber is vacant. But this is a very made
quate expression for the present occasion. Much
more than seat is vacant. There is void diff
ncult tC measure, as ii will be difficult TO fill.
Always eminent from the beginning, Mr.. Fes-
senden during these latter years became 80 large
part of the Senate that, without him, il seems
to be different body. His guiding Judgment
are gone taking away from this Sha%
besides myself witnessed his entry into this
Chamber. i cannot forget it. He came in the
midst OF that terrible debate on the Kansas and
Nebraska bill by which the country was con-
yulsed TO its center, and his arrival had the eff
feet OF reinforcement on a field of battle.
These who stood for Freedom then were few i'm
numbers-nOt more than fourteen, while 81 SEN
atOrs in solid column voted to break the faith
originally plighted to Freedom and to overturn'
q time-hOnored landmark, opening that vast
MesoIOtamian region to the curse of Slavery.
Those anxious DAYS are with difficulty comnre-
hended by Senate where Freedom rules. One
more in our small number was a sensible ad-
diton. We were no longer II, but 10. His rep
utation ut the bar, and his fame in the other
House gave assurance which was promptly sus-
tanned. He did not wait, but at once entered
into the debatewith all those resources which af
ensued exhibited his readiness and courage
While saying that the people of the North were
fatigued with the threat of dsunion-that they
considered IT as mere NOISE and nothing else"
Carolina, always ready to speak for slavery, ex-
claiming, "If such sentiments as YOURS prevail |
want dissolution right away"-a character
istic intrusion doubly out Of out of order
to which the new conner rejoined, "Do not
delay it on my account; do not delay
it on account of anybody at the North"
The effect was electric; but this incident was not
alone: Douglas, Cass, and Butler interrupted
only to he wOrsted by one who had Just ridden
into the lists. The feelings Of the other side
Carolina, who after one of the flashes of debate
which he had provoked exclaimed :-"Eery
we'll, go on have no hope of YOU" All this
will be found i'm the Globe, precisely as give
it. but the Globe could not picture the exciting
scene-the Senator from Maine erect, firm, i'm
movable as jutting promontory against which
the waves of ocean tossed and broke in dssolv-
ing spray. There he stood. Not a Senator,
loving freedom, who did not feel on that day
that champion had come.
This scene, so brilliant in character, illustrated
MIR. Fessenden's long career in the Senate. All
present were moved, while those at a distance
were less affected. His speech, which was ar
gumentative, direct, and pungent, exerted more
influence on those who heard it than ON those
who only read it, vindicating his place as de-
batter rather than orator. This place he held to
the end without a superiOr-without a peer.
Nobody could match him in immediate and in
cisiye reply. His words were swift and sharp
As a cimeter, or, borrowing an illustration from
an opposite quarter, he "shot flying and with
unerring aim. But while this great talent Sc
cured for him always the first h0nors of debate,
it was less important with the country, which,
except in rare instances, is more impressed BY
idea and by those forms in which truth is mani
fest.
The Senate has changed much from its ORR
ginal character, when, shortly after the forma-
ton of the National Government, a Nova Scotia
paper, while declaring that the habits of the
people here are very favorable TO Oratory, could
say -" There is but one assembly in the whole
range of the Federal Union in which oratory is
deemed unnecessary, and, 1 believe, even alb
surd and obtrusive; to wit: the Senate, or upper
House Of Congress. They are merely delib-
erative meeting, in which every man delivers
his concise opinion, one leg over the other, as
was great rarity" United States Gazette, Phil
ddelphia, Dec. 81, 17s9.) Speech was, then, for
business and immediate effect in the chamber
Since then the Transformation has proceeded
speech becoming constantly more important
until now, without neglect Of business, the SEN
ate has become q center from which to address
the country. A seat here is q lofty pulpit with
a mighty sounding-bOard and the whole wide
spread people is the congregation.
AS Mr.. Fessenden rarely spoke except for
business, what he said was restrained in its in
fuence, but ii was most effective in this Cham
Der. Here was his empire and his undisputed
throne. OF perfect integrity and austerest vir-
tue, he was Inaccessible to those temptations
which in various forms beset the avenues of
public life. Most faithfully and constantly did
he watch the interests intTusted 10 him. Here
he was model. Holding the position Of chair.