New-York tribune., 1903-05-02

II were in judgment upon him. Many better
speech both in the grandeur and the grace OF
his oratory have we heard from Wendell Phil
lips but never did we encounter harder task
than to escape the fascination Of that magnln-
cent presence of the man which worked SO
potently to charm the mind from a Judlclai
serenity to an admiring enthusiasm Ihere ne
stood at bay. and that one man. with ms poil-
derous forehead, his sharp. cliff-edged pro"s'
his brooding, thunderous eyes, his Mlraoedu
name of hair, and all those other nanleless at
tributes of his ionlke port, seemed enough 10
overbalance and outweigh that great muitltuoe
Of men who came as accusers. but VINO re-
mained, so to speak as captives, swayed TO anu
fro by his aroused energy the facile grain is
turned hither and thither in mimic suIges ey
the strong wind that runs before the thunoe1
gust. We have compared him to lion YET
perhaps that lazy strength of his might better
be typif1ed by a slightly changed quotation from
that language. to display his shalloWness IN
which he has so sophomore tondness Let us
liken him. then. to an angry bull, TO an Epicuri
di grege" taurus
No truly great man can find his adequate
type among the animal, though men of any con-
ceivable degree o. mental power may
VIII God decide that the occasion has been
wanting to Daniel Webster? How far m'ght not
that trumpet voice have reached, In oehaf OF
the oppressed. from the commanding position
conceded to his powerful inteilect! HOW many
might il not have aroused who now sleep, Tor
getful of their duty to their fellow mani God
has given him eminent faculties. and what Is
the harvest? Will they who from among the
crowdng tares of the world CLEAN the sparse
wheat ears for Gods hungry poor be forced 10
pull down their barns and build greater pe-
cause Daniel Webster has lived? He has mace
some great" speeches in defence OF the tarit
He has defended from the insults Of a worthless
slave trader that State which, were it indeed
worthy of his eulogv were it the old Bay State
Of former days would never have suffered
cowardIy governor to impeach the integrity OF
a noble commonwealth by issuing his proclama-
ton in behalf OF slave trading. murderous@ @ anu
unholy war He has won the title or De
fender of the Constitution by mis- zeal III los los
tering the corrupt public sentiment whlch sets
Z ha shifts
nature and Of God He has settled the north-
eastern boundary. He has IN aGcoroance WIeh de
that axiom Of natural philosophy which de-
cIares that ex nihflo nihil fit, reduced Charles
Iared Inpersoll 20 nothing by speech In Which
he descended even below the vulgar level Of MS
assailaut and finally, he has sent his youngeSt
son "a youth who has just about brains ehoush
to be conveniently come at by a cannon paIiJ @ 10
Boston 10 recruit company tor the M~eAicdI ~
War as If his subservienCy to the slave power
had not already amply atoned for MS feoerallslil
in the last war. and richly earned Tor MN tlde
+gt,a of na triot as II is understood in AMERICA
shall not the Recording Angel write lcilt tpou C
after the name OF this man IN the great pooA
of Doom? What voice OF one entrahchlseu at NJ
what saving testimony Of single greal .'l5 ~,
mode clearer of a single human sorrow hiaoe
lighter shall plead for q reversal OF the uecl7e'
These harsh judgments those who could
not go to the extremes of abolition WERE VI
course fanatical Lowell. in the midst OF the
fight and with his youthful ardor. coulo not oe
expected to see that men like Greeley were o9
0Ac
Webster. in preaching the sacredness OF the
Constitution as the charter of paramount anu
indestructible nationality, was making posi-
bIe the work Of a Lincoln, the recruiting OF
armies and the abolition Of slavery. AT that
time IF Lincoln had been a prominent hgure
before the country, Lowell would oouotiess
have found him, too. compromising polI'io'"Li
who refused to follow the light But Lo"el
himself ripened. The Lincoln who was reaoy
70 save the Union by freeing the negroes or
keeping them slaves is the subject Of one OF MS
most eloquent eulogies. Though in 1873 ne coulo
lust barely synpa thize with the Free Soll move
ment and its policy of restricting the spread oA
slavery as only something better than the com
pIete surrender OF the Did parties to the save
power. in 1860 he wrote cordially in support OF
the Republicans and utterly disavowing any
idea of their interfering with slavery as d
domestic institution in the States Where II eA-
listed It should also be said for LoWeh that
behind all his early expressions OF Intolerance
is a feeling for the moral quality OF the men
he censures 1t is the trimmer and he selfish
politician of whose honesty in conservatism ne
is sceptical against whom his bltterest sar-
casm is hurled His real impatience Is not
with difference Of opinion even on a great moral
question on which he has intense CONVICTIONS
but with hypocrisy and sham. Before he was
the Abolitionist he was the devotee Of truth.
word is in order about the book work OF
these two volumes At time or many re-
vfyals of old typogra ply, which often result IN
affectation and eccentrcity. it is a pleasure TO
see in these broad margins. plain, light but
opaque and strong paper, large type, tuIi-tace
titles and olive paper-CoveTed boards free
adaptation to the practical requirements of to-
dav of the style which produced the excellent
FIRST editions in original boards" of the early
nineteenth century classics. The books are
handsome durable convenient to read and
handle and without a hint Of preciosity in
their imitation of old fashion.