Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

of property, with the pursuits and advancement of happiness—to him who denies that our institutions are capable of producing exaltation of soul, and the passion of true glory-to him who denies that we have.contributed any thing to the stock of great lessons and great examples-to all these I reply by pointing to Washington!

DANIEL WEBSTER was born at Salisbury, N. H., January 18, 1782, and died at Marshfield, Mass., Octocer 24, 1852. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1801, studied law under Christopher Gore of Boston, was admitted to the bar in 1805, and practiced in Portsmouth, N. H., until 1816, when he moved to Boston, He was member of Congress, 1813-17, and 1823-27; United States Senator, 1828-41, and 1845-50; Secretary of State under Presidents Harrison and Tyler, 1841-43, and under President Fillmore, from July 20, 1850, until his death. As an expounder of the powers and functions of the Federal government, as a great pleader, as an eloquent and finished speaker, and as a man, Daniel Webster stands in the front rank of American statesmen, lawyers, orators and patriots. Our extract is from his "Address delivered at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1843, on the completion of the Monument." 8vo., pp. 39. Boston, 1843.

VON RAUMER.

1846.

CONGRESS delivered to General Washington with provident sagacity and noble confidence the supreme command of the army. He was empowered at his discretion to raise and disband troops, to inflict punishment, levy contributions, award compensations, etc. That such a man as Washington was to be found, and that his worth was duly appreciated, were circumstances highly fortunate and highly meritorious. Without his personal influence and exertions, the American revolution could never have succeeded so admirably; in fact none can succed where the excited masses are destitute of wise and virtuous leaders.

George Washington was born in Virginia, in the County of Westmoreland, on the 22d of February, 1732, sound and strong in body, cultivated in mind by industry but still more by his way of life, and distinguished as a leader in the war of 1756 to 1763. He had an intellect powerful but not dazzling. Even in the present day in America, happily for the country, merely brilliant qualities are by no means over-estimated, as is so often the case in France; and rectitude, character, and virtue are never regarded as superfluous unimportant accompaniments. Few men who have earned for themselves a celebrated name in the history of the world exhibit such a harmony, such a concordant symmetry of all the qualities calculated to render himself

and others happy, as Washington; and it has been very appropriately observed, that, like the master-pieces of ancient art, he must be the more admired in the aggregate, the more closely he is examined in detail. His soul was elevated above party-spirit, prejudice, self-interest, and paltry aims; he acted according to the impulses of a noble heart and a sound understanding, strengthened by impartial observation. By calmly considering things in all their relations and from every point of view, he became master of them, and was able, even in situations of the greatest perplexity, to choose with certainty that which was best. To the greatest firmness he united the mildness and patience equally necessary in the then state of affairs; to prudence and foresight he joined boldness at the right moment; and the power entrusted to him he never abused by the slightest infraction of the laws.

Although it is impossible that an American can ever again perform such services for his country as were then rendered by Washington, his noble, blameless, and spotless image will remain a model and a rallying-point to all, to encourage the good and to deter the bad. How petty do the common race of martial heroes appear in comparison with Washington! how insignificant especially Lord North, who while internally wavering, strove after an appearance of decision, feebly pursued measures of violence, and awakened hatred without instilling fear!

FRIEDRICH LUDwig Georg von RAUMER, a German historian, was born near Dresden, May 14, 1781, and died in 1873. He studied law and financial science at the Universities of Halle and Göttingen, began the practice of law in 1801, and in 1819 became Professor of history and political economy at Berlin. Von Raumer travelled in America in 1843, and wrote "America and the American people," which was translated by William W. Turner, and published in New York in 1846, 8vo, from which we quote.

WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE.

1847.

It is rare to find a perfectly balanced character, even where the qualities which compose it rise not above a humble mediocrity. And it is rarer still to find an assemblage of the loftiest qualities so harmoniously combined, that no one can say that any one quality casts any of the rest into the shade. And who that knows anything o Washington, who, especially, that reads his farewell address, can doubt for a moment, that he was pre-eminently one of the rarest specimens of human character? Our country can indeed boast many other names that are deservedly called great; but in almost every instance, if you scrutinize closely, you find some doubtful spot that you wish to hide; something to disturb harmony, or mar dignity, or lessen usefulness-Washington, on the other hand, not only possessed every quality that belongs to true greatness, but so far as we can see, possessed all in perfect proportions. The intellectual, the moral, even the physical, are so admirably blended, that every one feels that the elements of his character must have been weighed out in a perfectly even balance; and no one thinks of exalting one of his faculties at the expense of another. I well know that this is not the type of character which multitudes love to contemplate; for many have a passion for the monstrous as well as the marvellous. It is a common remark

that genius is eccentric; and hence not a few admire eccentricity from

[ocr errors]

its supposed alliance to superior intellect; and some even feign eccentricity, as a means of acquiring an intellectual reputation. But this quality, when it actively exists, always supposes imperfection: a correct taste uniformly condemns it. It may be notorious for a little time; but it is like the transient and startling light of a meteor-not like the clear and steady shining of the sun. Cases indeed there are in which ill-balanced minds possess great strength, and make themselves every where known and always remembered; but the admiration which they excite at first, rarely survives their own generation. Napoleon's name no doubt will live as long as Washington's; but the one will gather around it in the distance, a darkness that can be felt, the other will shrine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. * *

I would not indeed be afraid to trust to this unparalled document* to vindicate the claims of its author to the character of the first man of his age-nay, of one of the noblest specimens of the race. I look upon it as that in which his greatness, his goodness, the epitome of all that belongs to his memory, is embalmed; and if it were possible that the time should ever come, when every other witness concerning him was dumb, this of itself would keep his name glorious and glowing to the end of time. Nevertheless in our estimate of him, it is fitting that we include his whole history, instead of limiting ourselves to a single point, no matter how important; and I pledge myself to those who have not already made the experiment, that if they will follow him from the beginning to the close of his career, each successive step will increase their admiration of his character, by throwing into a brighter light some one or more of the exalted qualities that compose it.

*The Farewell Address.-ED.

« ZurückWeiter »