The Louisiana Democrat., 1883-03-07
SENATOR INGALLS, ON BEN HILL.

other day
"Ben. Hill has gone to the undisco'
cred country. Whether his journe
thither was but one step across an IN
perceptible frontier, or whether an II
terminable ocean, black, un1uctuatln
and voiceless, stretches between thes
earthly coasts and those invislol
shores-we do not know. Whether o
that August morning after death b
saw a more glorious sun rise with un
imaginable splendor above celestia
horizon, or whether his apathetic an
unconscious ashes still sleep in coll
obstruction and i0sensible oblivion
we do not know. Whether his stronj
and subtle energies found instant ex
ercise in another forum, whether hi
dextrous and disciplined faculties ar
now contending in higher Senate
than ours for supremacy, or whethe
his powers we're dissipated and dis
persed with his parting breath-we d.
not know. Whether bis passions, am
billions and affections will sway, at
tract and impel: whether be yet re-
members us as we remember him-w<
do not know. These are the unsolv'
ed, the insoluble problems of morta
life aud human destiny which prompt
cd the troubled patriarch to ask that
momentous question If mau die,
shall he live again 2 Every man il
the centre OF a circle whose fatal cir
cumference be cannot pass. Within
its narrow confines he is potential, be.
yond it he perishes; and if immortal.
ity is splendid but de!usive dream
if the incompleteness Of every career,
even the longest and most fortunate,
be not supplemented and perfected af.
ter it's termination here, then he who
breads to die should fear to live, for
life is tragedy more desolate and in
explicable than death.
"Of all the dead whose obsequies we
have paused to solemnize in this cham
Der, l recall no one whose untimely
fate seems lamentable and yet so rich
in prophecy as that of Senator Hill.
He had reached the meridian Of his
years. He stood upon the high plateau
of middle lite, in that serene atmos-
phere where temptation no longer as
sails, where the clamorous passions IN
more distract, and where the condi-
tions are most favorable for enduring
achievement. His upward path had
been through stormy adversely and
contention such as infrequently falls
to the lot of men. Though not with
ont the tendency to meditation, reve-
rie and introspection which accompa-
MES genius, his temperament was pa
lestric. He was competitive and IN.
peaceful. He was born polemic and
controversialist, Intellectually pugna-
,ious and combative, so that he was
compelled to defend any position that
night be assailed, or attack any posi-
ion that might be intrenched, not be-
;ause the defence or assault were es.
ential, bnt because the positions were
maintained, and that those who hold
hem became by that fact alone his
'dversaries. This tendency of his na-
;nre made his orbit cratic. He was
neteoric rather than planetary, and
dashed with irregular splendor, rather
'han shone with steady and penetra.
ing rays His advocacy of any cause
vas fearless to the verge of temerity.
he appeared to be Indifferent to ap-
'lause OF censure for their own sake.
Ie accepted intrepidly any conclusions
'e reached, without inquiring whether
hey were polite or inexpedient. To
ucl' spirit partisan ship was una
'oidable, but with Mr.. Hill it did not
into bigotry. He was capa-
'le of broad generosity, and extended
o his opponents the same unreserved
andor which he demanded for him
elf. His oratory was impetuous and
|evoid of artifice. He was not a pos.
urer or phrasemonger. He was too
ntense, too earnest, to employ the
heap and paltry decorations of dis
curse. He never reconnoitered a hos
lie position nor approached it by
teaithy parallels. He could not lay
eige to an enemy, nor beleaguer him,
or open trenches and sap and mine.
is method was the charge and the on
1t. He Was the Murat of senatorial
ebate. Not many men of this gener-
ion have been better equipped for
welfare than he, with
Is commanding n"esence, his sinewy
etion. his confidence snd impertura- {
"But in the maturity of his power F.;
ID his fame, with unmeasured oppor.
mites for achievment apparrentlyl
fore him, with great designs unac.
surrounded by The proud
I'd afiectionate solitude Of a great
nstltuency, the pallid messenger with
9 inverted torch beckOned him to
part. There are few scenes in histo.
more tragic than that protracted
rnggle with death. No man has {
ID greater inducements to live. But
the long struggle against the inexo-
BILE advance of an insiduous and NOR.
mafady, he did not falter or repiue.
> retreated with the aspect of a vic.
+, and though he succumbed he
emed to conquer. His sun went e
MN ok no~u b,,k "a | q