..'".M.fi'^'aM.'.irt^i

.JtR..

m. ORATION.

PuBi.isBEi> BT James Adams, Jr.

AN

ORATION,

DELIVERED BEFORE THE

YOUNG MEN OF PORTLAND,

JUXiV 4, 1827.

3$S St^tUtam JPftt iFessentren,

FORTZ.AITD,
Printed and Published by James Adams, Jr.
1827.

Portland, July 4, 1827.
Mr. William P. Fessenden.
Dear Sir — The Committee, in behalf ofthe young men of this town,
thank you for your Oration, this day delivered, and request a copy for pub
lication. Respectfully, your ob't servants,
J. F. DEERING,
S. PAINE, Jr.
M. FRENCH,
S. MORTON, J- Committee.
J.W. BA.RTOL,
A. W. H. CLAPP,
S. H. MUDGE,

Portland, July 5, 1827.
Gentlemen — A copy of the Oration, delivered by me, on the fourth
instant, before the young men of Portland, is at your service for pubhcation.
With much respect,
I am. Gentlemen,
Your ob't servant,
WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN.
To James F. Deering,
Seth Pause, Jr.
Marshall French,
S. Morton, ^ Committee.
3. W. Bartol,
A. W. H. Clapp,
S H. MUDGE,

318 -f

ORATION.

The shout of exultation, that, more than fifty
years ago, burst upon the silence of morning, is
again renewed. Our country's genius again
smiles upon the return of this national festival.
Our whole land, that fair and goodly temple, is,
once more, lighted brilliantly with the torches of
freedom, and its altars smoke with the incense of
grateful hearts. One universal burst of gratulation
rings o'er rock, hill, and valley. Joy sits on every
heart. It dances in the bright and sparkling eye
of youth, beams on the face of manhood with
more tempered lustre, and speaks swiftly, and
eloquently, in the garrulity of age.
And what is it, my fellow citizens, that, ever, on
the return of this day, occasions this outpouring of
hidden and suppressed feelings ? Who is this
mighty enchanter, that thus yearly sweeps along
our shores, and with a touch of his magic finger,
purifies and elevates the soul ; expels from the
bosom every feeling that would cast a gloom upon
the delight of his presence, and brings over the

4
mind a fulness of fruition, deep as the ocean's
waters, and pure, and calm, and delicious, as the
breezes of summer ? Whence comes it, that, on
this day, the implements of husbandry are thrown
aside, — the laboring man ceases from his toil, — the
sound of the axe and hammer strikes not upon the
ear, — the hum of business, and of busy men, dies
away, — and pleasure speaks in every variation of
feature, and modulation of voice ?
It is the work of nature; — for this is not only a
nation's, but nature's jubilee. It was on the day
whose fifty first anniversary we now celebrate, that
she obtained a most signal and conclusive triumph.
Then it was, that she burst the fetters of wrong, —
asserted her native rights, — and established for
herself a throne, durable and magnificent. Her
voice, in many regions of the earth, had long been
silent. In others, she had spoken in casual and
scarcely audible whisperings. In others, again, it
had been as a trumpet call, borne fitfully upon the
wind, and rousing to action the dormant energies
of man. But here, it was heard pealing from every
hill, and from every valley; — rising on the air, in
tones sweeter than the charmer's notes, and terri
ble as the crash of jarring elements. The calls of
that awful voice were obeyed. A nation rose in
the majesty of its youthful and untried strength.
Those born amid the terrors of a northern and
wintry region, reared in the desert, and who had
been accustomed to contend for sustenance with

savage men, and savage scenes, girded on the
panoply of war. Resolved to die as they had lived,
they went forth to battle with a stern inflexibility
of purpose, a coolness of resolution, that told,
plainly, how much they were resolved to bear, and
how long they could endure. It was more than a
barely mortal energy that nerved their arm. The
immortal spirit had, so far as the cause was involv
ed, turned their hearts to adamant. It was not the
ardor of a youthful soldier, in the heat of his warm
blood pressing to the conflict, and willing that his
life " be short, so it be honorable," that animated
our forefathers, — but a holy feeling, such as nerved
the ancient apostles ; — such as kindled the souls of
their ancestors, the Puritans ; — a spirit, such as
terror actuated not, — difiiculty could not sub
due, — and suffering only raised to a conflagration.
Where are those gallant men ? The snows of
many winters have melted upon the graves of those
who fell. The changing seasons have seen those
who survived the conflict, dropping one by one into
the prison-house of mortality. Some, a venerable
few, are left for a third generation to look upon, as
they are passing to the land of shadows. Their
forms are fast gliding away before us, moving along
in silent procession, and while the face of nature
is glowing richly around them, advancing, as we
hope, on the pathway of the blessed. Look upon
those dim and aged forms, as they recede farther
in the distance. How are they accompanied ? Is

6
it by the gratulation of thankful hearts ;— by the
shout of an admiring multitude, which their suffer
ings and privations rescued from bondage, and
placed in a rich and goodly heritage, where the
waters gush forth to refresh, and the earth teems
with various food, with beauty and with life ? Are
they shielded from the arrows of poverty, and is
their pillow of death softened and smoothed by the
kind oflSces of their countrymen? While all around
them is joyful, is any eye cast upon them in grati
tude, as the willing instruments by which all this
enjoyment was attained, or any hand extended to
welcome their coming ? Alas, how few ! Do we
not see them, parting from us, bowed down with
years and with labours unfitting to their age, neg
lected and forlorn, moving with feeble steps, and
uncheered by the voice of soothing ? Do they not
meet with averted eyes, and looks colder than
Siberian snows, from those whose justice should
relieve them ? And if they beg at their country's
door for charity, are they not sent away from it, if
not wholly unaided, yet scarcely relieved, and
grudged the morsel which is given 7 Is it so, or
not ? The voice of conscience answers, Yes !
And, how great a damp upon our present joyous-
ness should be this reflection ! It would seem as if
our happy country were hardly worthy of her lot.
A heathen nation could punish the ungrateful man
with death. Is the spirit of Christianity a hardener
ofthe heart? Or is national ingratitude a less cry
ing sin ?

But I turn, with pleasure, to the reverse of this
picture. All have not experienced this neglect.
Some eminent individuals have met their reward, —
the expression of a nation's gratitude. First in
honor and in name, stands that venerable hero,
who, though he has now departed forever from our
shores, will live eternally in the hearts of his adopt
ed countrymen. He, who in the vigor of his youth,
and the full glow of his comeliness, left the genial
climate of his native France to fight the battles
of an oppressed people, came again, after the pas
sage of years, to claim the meed of his generous
self-devotion. It was no longer the youthful chev
alier, in the fervor of romance, rushing fearlessly
to the combat, at the trumpet's awakening, and
ready to splinter his untried lance upon the giant
buckler of oppression. No ! It was an aged and
toil-worn veteran, the strength of whose arm had
departed, and the fire of whose eye had been mel
lowed into seriousness, who returned, like a long
absent parent to the loved children of his youth.
He returned, not to a depressed and scattered peo
ple, contending, at fearful odds, with penury and
power, and striving, like the infant Hercules with
the serpents who would strangle him in his cradle.
But he came to a mighty and powerful nation ; — a
land from which the horrors of war and desolation
had departed ; — a nation glorying in its inheritance,
and proud in the consciousness of its strength. He
landed on our shores, not in secrecy and silence,

8
enveloped in the darkness of midnight, danger lurk
ing in his path, and every eye lowering with mis
trust and suspicion. No ! The meridian sun shone
upon him in brightness ; — thousands assembled to
his welcoming ; — the proud and the wealthy alike
bowed before him in the overflowing of their thank
fulness ; — every eye beamed with gladness upon
him; — and one voice of cheering rose, spontane
ously, from every quarter of our land. Again he
has left us, and in all human probability we shall
see his face no more. But he has left wath us,
" the odour of a good name;" — a name, that,
should public virtue decline, and crazy ambition
usurp the seat of patriotism in our breasts, will be
a charm to save us ; — a name that will live among
us, long as virtue, as liberty, as a good conscience,
shall be thought worthy of preservation.
Of scarcely inferior note, though less questiona
ble in their lives, were those venerable patriots,
whose almost simultaneous death excited, so lately,
a deep and general emotion. A year ago this day,
and amidst the clamor of universal joy, was heard,
from two diflferent quarters, a voice of wailing^.
That voice grew louder in its not es^ — extended with
the rapidity of a whirlwind, — and spread through
out the whole nation. Men looked upon each other
with amazement, as at the occurrence of a prodigy.
Those bright examples of moral heroism, whose
light had shone so equal in lustre for half a century,
had gone on their long journey together. Fifty

9
years after promulgating that fearless declaration
which you have heard to day, and after reaping in
rich abundance its glorious fruits, their spirits fled
together to join that gallant and noble band which
had gone before them. The grief, which, at this
event, pervaded every bosom, was mixed with much
joyous reflection. They had gone in the fulness of
years ; — not, like their greater compatriot, him who
had won the divine appellation of " Father of his
country," cut down almost at the very close of his
labors ; or, like others, who fell in the times of
trouble, separated early from their beloved coun
try, like the youthful warrior, torn forever, by the
chances of battle, from his young and lovely bride;
— but these men had travelled through life, even to
its extremest verge, witnessing and enjoying that
happiness which they had contributed so large an
influence in bestowing upon millions of their fellow
creatures. They had attained ali the honor they
could attain, — and it was time for thera to die.
Be their faults forgotten ! Whatever they might
have been, love of country was still their govern
ing principle, — and its welfare their polar star.
Let, then, no daring hand tear away the mantle of
charity which a grateful country would cast over
them ; let them sleep together in peace !
And here, my fellow-citizens, let us contemplate
together the condition in which these venerable
patriots left that country, so long the beloved
object of their solicitude. Cast the eye of sober
2

10
reflection over its borders, and see what are the
cheering hopes to be indulged ; — what are the
happy prospects which await it. I will not carry
you back to the dark days of our Revolution, to
fight over again its battles ; neither is it necessary,
at this time, to dilate upon the fiery trial which
immediately succeeded those days of strife ; — or to
recount the numerous instances of noble, godlike
virtue, of heroic self-denial, of pure and saintly
patriotism, with which, at that time, the universe
was astonished. They are familiar to all of us.
They have been rung in our ears from infancy, with
every possible variety of changes. It is sufficient
that we know the result of these sacrifices for us,
and our posterity. We know, that after the at
tainment of our freedom, we were presented with a
form of government, the beneficial tendencies of
which have been, ever since, daily unfolding them
selves, in the increase of wealth, and, consequently,
the increase of political power. We have seen the
blessed eflfects of this system in our unexampled
increase of population, the giant march of civiliza
tion into our native forests, the activity and virtue
of our citizens, and the gradual, yet constant,
enlargement of our views on almost every subject,
political, moral, and religious. Population ! Pow
er ! Wealth ! Virtue ! What glorious witnesses
ye are to the beneficial tendency of a peculiar form
of government ! What other answer can be de
manded to the sneers and scoffs of European

11
hirehngs ? Do they ask us for proof of the advan
tages which a free government brings to its suppor
ters ? We point them to our whole land, — not
to any individual part of it, — and we ask them to
show us, on the face ofthe whole world, a people
more industrious, — more enterprising, — or enjoy
ing, as a people, more ofthe necessaries, not to say
the elegancies of life ? — We answer them, not
with theory or speculation, but with fact. Where
can be found more fully developed the truth of
that maxim, that as much as possible should be left
to individual exertion ; — that man should depend,
for the attainment of prosperity and happiness,
upon his own efforts, directed by the enlightened
operations of his own free and untrammelled intel
lect ? This is natural, — and nature is, after all,
the most capable instructer. I do not mean that
savage nature, than which nothing is more un
natural, that governed the wild and untutored
Indian. Our ancestors knew too much, as who,
among us, does not, to found their ideas of freedom
upon a return to original elements. They did not
make it to consist in tracking the deer over our
mountains, and leaving the forest-trees to wave
their ponderous branches in the wind ; — but in the
free operation of man's better qualities of heart ;
in the cultivation of his social affections ; — and, by
the protection of his person and property, leaving
him to promote the public good, by the increase
of his own moral and intellectual energies.

Look now, my countrymen, upon what have
been the results of a steady and uniform adherence
to these principles, strengthened and aided, in their
operation, by our great local advantages. See
what free individual enterprize has accomplished in
half a century. With regard to agriculture, — look
at the pleasant and delightful villages, scattered
far and wide, to the remotest boundary of our ter
ritory. Those lofty oaks and towering beeches,
which had stood, for so many centuries, unmoved
by the desert-blast, fell swiftly before the wood
man's axe. Far on the horizon, the earth is seen
decorated with spots of joyful promise. Universal
nature seems glowing with the bloom of Eden.
The husbandman rests sweetly in the quiet of his
Independence, — and contentment seems wafted
on every breeze. Enough is produced to gladden
the hearts, and refresh the bodies, of an increasing
population, and to aid the necessities of less genial
climates. And these tillers of the ground are a
noble race, too. In their number are found states
men of enlightened minds, — patriots of most ap
proved purity, — and scholars of far-reaching
intellect. Consider our commerce also. Is not the ocean's
bosom whitened with our canvass ? Does not the
sailor's enterprize carry his country's productions
to the remotest marts ? Are not the merchants of
this country, like the merchants of Venice in the
fifteenth century, a race of nobles ; — not heredita-

13
ry, — not depending upon the testimonials of
worm-eaten statues, and rusty armor ; — but self-
created — and showing in support of their claims to
the distinction, a splendid income, — a lordly pal
ace, — and a magnificent expenditure; — all attained
by their own industry and intelligence; — or, per
haps, in some instances, showing conclusively the
inborn nobility of their minds, by directing their
surplus revenues into some new channel, beneficial
alike to their country and themselves ?
That manufactures have advanced with unequal
steps must not be imputed to any physical or intel
lectual deficiency on our part ; but, (as has been
shown by a late writer) to certain political causes,
or accidents, which have, as yet, prevented their
receiving an equal share of attention. Indeed, the
progress which has been made in this particular,
within a very few years, demonstrates that if we
fail here, it can only be for want of that effort, with
out which nothing can be attained. And I am
unconvinced by that logic which would discourage
the generous attempts that have been making to
place us upon a level with other countries in rela
tion to this question, for no better cause than that,
at present, purchase is easier than manufacture.
There is no reason, under Heaven, why a nation
should not have within its own power all the sources
of national wealth, where rendered practicable by
its situation and means. Our commerce flourishes,
— our agriculture flourishes, — and why should the

14
other arm of national aggrandizement hang forever
powerless at our side ? History will teach us that
a nation cannot fence itself about with too many
safeguards. And while it is not the policy of this
country to secure itself within walls of wood and
stone, but to depend solely on its ability to meet
the occasion when it comes, it is certainly our
interest to place that ability beyond a question, and
show to the world, that we can rely with confidence
upon ourselves alone.
No country upon earth can be more favorably
situated than ours, for almost every description of
manufacture. Our water privileges are certainly
unequalled. Every variety of climate is embraced
within our territory. There are few articles, ne
cessary to the purpose, that are not the growth of
our soil. And, whatever foreign scoffers may as
sert, that quality of the mind, necessary to improve
ment in mechanics, is found nowhere, in greater
exuberance. Should they require of us an instance,
— they are pointed to Fulton, as the discoverer of
a power second only in importance to the art of
navigation itself; — and should a farther instance
be necessary, an answer is given, in tumultuous
echo, from the other side ofthe Atlantic; — and they
are pointed to a citizen of the United States, who
has now, for many years, been exciting the aston
ishment of lettered and polished Europe ; — a man
who would seem almost to move the world, without
requiring even the standing-place of Archimedes.

15
If it be farther inquired what, with all these
advantages, and this mighty increase of wealth
and power, has been undertaken of a public nature,
the answer is immediate. What country has done
more ? The nations of antiquity could boast their
respective wonders of industry and art. Thebes
had her hundred gates, — Rome her Colosseum,
the fragments of which still remain, a monument of
splendid folly. We read, too, of cutting a passage
through lofty mountains, and crossing the sea, dry-
shod. Has not the infant America done as much?
True, we raise no colossal statues to fabled divini
ties, and can boast no cenotaphs to national vanity.
The memory of our fathers and their deeds is
not perpetuated by splendid mausoleums, but is
written indelibly upon the hearts of their chil
dren. Nothing is sacrificed by us to magnificence
alone. In our country, utility always takes pre
cedence of ornament. Let the questioner look
abroad upon our land, and view the asperities of
nature softened and overcome by the labor and
ingenuity of our citizens. Let him consider what
New- York has done, in the process of a few years,
single and unassisted. Let him see what other
states are doing. And he might also take into con
sideration, that, having more money than is neces
sary to our national expenditure, we are devoting
it to increase the facilities of inter-communication.
In connection with our free system of govern
ment, much of this happy situation must be imputed,

16
undoubtedly, to that liberal encouragement which
education has received among us. I do not mean,
solely, that species of learning which is sought and
found only in colleges and great public seminaries.
Indeed, I question much, whether, under their
present unwise management, these institutions are
not nurseries of evil greater than the good. It is
a misfortune that those, who have the immediate
direction of these seminaries, are usually men little
remarked for their acquaintance with human na
ture, however distinguished for scientific, or classi
cal attainments. Their maxims of government are
not so much in accordance with the spirit of this
age, as of those in which monks and asceticks were
the gaolers of learning, and the cloister its only
receptacle. It is a very general remark, indeed,
that our colleges do not exhibit sufficient of the
paternal feeling, in the relation of teachers to stu
dents, and that a sentiment of hostility is generated
where confidence and esteem might be easily
acquired, were it not for the puerile idea tliat a
band of youth, bred in devotion to our free institu
tions, and glowing with the most ardent hatred to
oppression in any shape, or from any quarter, will
tremble at the shrine of an unreal dignity, and can
be ruled, like children, by the frown of those who,
though somewhat older, are apparently not much
wiser than themselves. Sad experience, one would
think, has long since exposed the absurdity of this
supposition. But every generation grows wiser

17
than the last. And we may indulge the hope, that
ere long, principles so inadequate to the object
will give place to the exercise of an enlightened
and parental authority. — But I would speak more
particularly, in this connection, of our public and
private schools ; — those little fountains which are
daily sending forth their intellectual waters to
freshen and renew the whole moral surface of our
country. We hardly appreciate, my countrymen,
the incalculable benefit of this system. Imperfect
as it certainly is, there is no operating power of
equal force to the support of such a form of govern
ment as ours. A Republic is no form for ignorant,
unenlightened men. Gross national ignorance is
necessarily accompanied with moral darkness.
Those nobler principles of the human mind which
lead it duly to appreciate, and firmly to support,
a system such as ours, need for their developement
the sublime aids of science, and an enlightened un
derstanding. Upon the diffusion of intellectual light
we must depend for the security of our institutions.
" What constitutes a State ?
Not high-raised battlements, or laboured mound,
Thick wall, or moated gate ;
Not cities proud , vi-ith spires and turrets crowned ;
Not bays and broad-armed ports.
Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride ;
Not starred and spangled courts.
Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride ;
No : men, high-minded men, with souls elate,
Men who their duties know.
And whence their rights do flow —
These constitute a State."

18
It is of vast importance also, in another point of
view. Without it, what improvement could be
expected in machinery ? Who are the authors of
all our most valuable discoveries and inventions ?
Not your educated and polished scholars, who have
stored their minds with riches of every description,
— with things new and old; — not your travelled
men ; — not your statesmen, or your men of the
learned professions ; but your practical mechan
ics; — men who by experiment have tested the neces
sity of these improvements ; — those whose avoca
tions have afforded thera opportunities of reducing
their principles to practice. Some there are indeed,
who, by the mere force of unaided and soaring
genius, have become benefactors of the human race.
I know very well that there are found those, in
every community, who decry all improvements of
this description, for the reason that their tendency
is to throw many out of employment. If there was
really any force in this objection, it could not oper
ate in our country, for we have more land than there
are hands to till it. But, in reality, there is none,
whatsoever. Industry will always find channels
enough in which to exert itself Our views should
be extended beyond the present day. Had our
ancestors looked only to time present, our necks
would have been still under the yoke. — Whatever
tends to lessen the necessity of severe manual labor
is manifestly beneficial. Such labor is a powerful
supporter of ignorance, for it leaves to the great

19
mass of society no time for improvement. Cling
then to our common schools, as your surest anchor
of hope. Let them grow up and flourish under
the fostering care of enlightened patriotism, and
they will pour into the nation's lap a flood of riches,
unequalled in lustre by the brilliancy of an eastern
diadem, and imperishable as the armor of truth.
In the face of these cheering and elevating facts,
however, and in opposition to the plain inferences
of reason from this unexampled increase of politi
cal greatness, we are met, occasionally, w ith dis
couraging doubts, and gloomy apprehensions.
Many thinking and intelligent minds, arguing from
history and experience, have told us ofthe self-
destroying principle in republics, — of the evila
arising from party dissensions, — and have foretold
the sad and sudden downfall of all our fond antici
pations. — That this cannot be the case, it were
presumption to assert. It is sufficient to say, in
reply, that our hopes rest upon a rational founda
tion. Party divisions are incident to every state,
in which flourishes a single shoot from the tree of
liberty. If we examine the history of those govern
ments which, at different ages of the world, have,
like stars of the firmament, first risen in brightness
and splendor on the eye, by degrees waxed dim
and faint, and, at last, sunk below the horizon in
darkness and in blood, we shall find the consum
mation to have been owing, in a great measure, to
other causes than this. Nowhere, but in the dead

20
sea of despotism, will you find a perfect calm. Its
sullen waters are " swelled by no breeze, and
ruffled by no murmur. ' ' In the wide ocean of free
dom, you will always find a tossing of the waves
\vhich compose it, — perhaps an angry surge, — and
then an ungovernable tempest. But again all be
comes calm,* — the sky clears away ; — a healthy
breeze sweeps over its surface, and impels gently
and safely on its bosom thousands of tall ships,
laden richly with enjoyment, happiness and peace.
Travel southward, my fellow-citizens, and you
find a more threatening cloud lowering upon us.
We there meet with a most singular and disgrace
ful solecism. That a vast number of the human
race is there held in bondage, and compelled to
drag out existence in hopeless servitude, is a truth,
which, through familiarity with our ears, sounds
very little appalling. This evil has now taken so
deep a root, that it is impossible, by a single effort,
to expel it. We cannot but hope, however, that the
noble efforts which are making by many generous
philanthropists to ameliorate the condition of these
unfortunate beings, will meet with the deserved
success; — that America will imitate the example
of Great Britain, in gloriously redeeming the much
injured African from his bondage, and will declare
to the world, that slavery, in any form, is not only
a sound hateful to her ear, but that its existence is
pollution to her eye, and at variance with every lib
eral emotion in the hearts ofher children. Then will

21
that Liberty whom we worship possess an mdisput-
able claim to the most unlimited and chivalrous de
votion. Then will she rise upon the world, like
yonder luminary from its chambers in the east,
with a spotless disk, and resplendent in brightness,
diffusing light, and life, and radiance in its circuit.
Then indeed will she stand aloft, clad in pure and
unsullied vesture, and no uneasy spirit will dare to
pollute her good name with the breath of scandal
or reproach.
There is one other evil, w hich, although it does
not threaten any thing like a national downfall, is
yet becoming of no little magnitude. I allude to
intemperance ; — that deep and deadly curse to our
country, — that worm in the bud, — that gnaw ing
canker, which is preying upon the vitals of our
nation. My fellow-citizens, the wide spreading
desolation of this vice is poisoning our cup of na
tional felicity. It is a solemn duty to oppose its
progress by every method in our power. Especi
ally does it become that portion of the community
which, more particularly, I have now the honor of
addressing, to resist this terrible destroyer. I
appeal to any candid thinking man. Is not this
fatal enemy hurling his arrows thick around us ?
There is no defence in age, in sex, or in intellect.
It attacks alike the giant and the worm, — the
armed and unarmed, — the husband and the wife of
his bosom ; — and, more horrible still ! — while, like
Laocoon, the parent's frame is crushed in the

22
monster's deadly coils, he sees, apparently, without
a pang of reproach, the young and tender limbs of
his offspring writhing in the same merciless em
braces. Let us cross now, for a few moments, the boun
dary-line, and contemplate the situation and pros
pects of our sister republics. And may we not
anticipate a harvest-time for them ? It is impos
sible for Americans to feel any other than a deep
and absorbing interest in the welfare of these
infant nations. We, as a people, are now in the
freshness and vigor of youth, — fast approaching to
the firmer strength, and more rigid nerve, of estab
lished manhood. They, on the contrary, are just
awakjiing to perception, — ^just tasting the sweet
consciousness of life. At times, they appear fretful,
peevish, and discontented in their movements, and
like other children of that early age, hardly know
ing in what manner to promote their own interests,
and disposed to prefer the evil and reject the good,
without perceiving the consequences of so unfortu
nate a choice. It is the natural course of things,
however, that, as they grow older, and become
more experienced in the ways and manners ofthe
world, they will lay aside these freaks and follies
incident to youth ; — that they will become ashamed
of such childish vac)«illation, and assume that
determined, resolute demeanor, which bespeaks a
greater maturity of judgment. It is an unhappy
circumstance, indeed, that some late occurrences

23
have cast a deep shadow of suspicion over the de
signs of a most eminent individual, who has acted
a distinguished part in this interesting drama.
Until a very recent date, the name of Bolivar ranked
on the rolls of patriotic glory, scarcely second to
that of our own great political father. After lead
ing his country's armies to victory, — after tramp
ling the oppressor beneath his feet, — being highly
instrumental in the emancipation of the whole
southern continent, — after manifesting throughout
a disinterestedness honorable to human nature, —
and finally, by way of setting a seal to his fame,
after being the proposer of that Congress, the
importance of which excited universal attention, it
is deeply to be regretted, that his purity should ever
have been called in question. But that some of his
late actions are somewhat questionable is the most
that can be said against him. And we may yet
hope that there is a redeeming spirit ; — that he
will yet emerge brightly from the vapours which
envelope him, and assume that truly illustrious
rank, before the glory of which the vain pageantr}'
of a monarch fades into evanescence.
Be the result, with regard to him, what it may,
there is pleasure in the reflection, that one man,
whatever may have been his services, cannot be
come the arbiter of those liberties which have been
so dearly purchased. It cannot be in vain, that
the waters of Amazon and La Plata have been
purpled with the current of human life. Events

24>
of such a character cannot be attended with a
shameful and dishonourable result. But we may
fondly anticipate, that this whole continent will at
last repose joyfully in the beams of peace ; — that
crowns and sceptres will become, as with us, the
subjects of universal derision ; — and that the vain
and powerless image of a king which still hovers
about the vales and mountains of Brazil, and views
its angry shadow in the waters, will again flit to its
rightful abode on the banks ofthe Tagus.
It is to this period that we may look forward, my
countrymen, with the most proud and exalted hopes.
Should such time ever arrive, as I trust in God it
will, it can then be said, not only that the course
of empire has gone westward, but that its star has
fixed itself permanently in our heavens,and become
a splendid and glorious constellation.
Cast now the eye of contemplation upon the old
world. Do we not there meet with sources of rich
and varied meditation ? I will detain you but a
few moments upon this eastern side ofthe Atlantic,
for, remote as it is fi'om us, and connected with us
only in the highway intercourse of nations, it ex
cites less of speculation, or inquiry. Curiosity,
however, still lingers upon its movements, and
marks, with a powerful interest, its rapid and
amazing changes. But a few centuries ago, and
Spain shone with unrivalled splendor in the coronet
of nations. It was when she enclosed Austria in
her dominion, — when she was revelling in the rich

25
acquisitions of Albuquerque and Ovando. What
is her situation now ? Shorn of her sparkling
honors, heartless and spirit-broken, fettered again
in the darkness of monastic rule, the scorn and
the laugh of nations, she sits down among the
ashes ofher departed greatness. But a few years
since, and a ray of light broke in upon the deep
gloom ofher downfall, and cast over her a momen
tary illumination. But nature was not to triumph
then. The season ofher visitation had come. And
though, for the sake of humanity, we may bewail
her present humiliation, reason whispers us that
her punishment is just.
The same baleful alliance, that mildewed the
short anticipations of unhappy Spain, has cast its
iron network over the most of continental Europe.
The Lilies of France no longer bloom in the fresh
ness of that age, w hen they waved on to victory
the legions of her fourteenth Louis. The black
eagle of Austria has folded its pinion. The minor
principalities sit in stupid indifference ; — while, in
the frozen north, a tempest is gathering, that will,
one day, burst upon them with a tremendous pow
er. An idea has been advanced, by one ofthe
ablest of our modern writers, that continental
Europe will, ere many ages have elapsed, become
one great military monarchy, with Russia at its
head ; — and this opinion is drawn from the regu
larly increasing power of this northern Colossus,
and the as regularly decreasing power of every
4

26
other nation on the Continent. This opinion,
however, bears too much the appearance of fanciful
conjecture on its face, to admit of unqualified
allowance. Such also was the opinion of Napole
on. But it was then thought that, although
Russia was rapidly acquiring a vast weight in the
political balance, yet, very little danger existed of
so singular a consummation. Some dependence
should be placed upon the character and spirit of
the age. It seems impossible that, with so much
intellectual light, the nations of Europe can yield
themselves up to foreign domination, without a
long and desperate struggle. Little dependence
can be placed upon crowned heads ,• — but notwith
standing the example of imbecility in the once
chivalrous Hidalgo, we may rely with confidence
upon the energies of an aroused and awakened
people. But while Europe, in general, is at present en
joying the pleasures and benefits of tranquillity, the
dill of battle arises from a secluded spot. The
war in Greece has,, from its beginning, been wit
nessed with a deep and heartfelt sympathy on both
sides ofthe Atlantic. The peculiar character of
the contest is, of itself, sufficient to awaken a gen
erous compassion in every bosom not wholly closed
to the melting influence of humanity. How great
have been the political changes of this once happy
and delightful country, since the period of its sub
jugation by the Romans ! — It has now, for centu-

21
ries, been wrapped in the gloom of a Turkish
despotism. Its people, the descendants of heroic
sires, have been debarred almost the use of vital
elements, — and trampled almost to powder, by the
servile and infidel Ottoman. Her long and arduous
warfare has been one of extermination. Her classic
soil has been drenched with the blood ofher old
men, her women, and her children. But there has
been no looking back. In victory and defeat,
through evil report and good report, the Greeks
have appeared alike resolute and determined. The
armies of their brutal invaders have been scattered
like " the chaff, of the summer threshing-floor."
And still, as new legions have poured on over the
bodies of their fallen comrades, they have been
met, and in their turn repulsed. Of late, a new
and more terrible adversary has appeared against
her. Famine has sharpened the edge ofthe Tur
kish scymetar. But Greece is still unconquered.
Amid rapine and blood, — amid butchery and car
nage, — amid the desolation of her temples and
profanation of her altars, there has been no abate
ment of heroic determination. But now there is
a cry for assistance. No weapons of war, no levy
ing of foreign armies is requested. Greece can
fight her own battles yet. But her supplication
is for food. She asks of every christian people, of
us, to cast the eye of pity upon her starving popu
lation. Is there a heart in the whole christian
world unmoved by this grievous lamentation ? I

28
pity the possessor of that heart. Curse not its
avarise, for that avarice is curse enough to itself.
But Greece will not perish thus. Some spirit
whispers, that so many sacrifices cannot be in vain.
It must be that she is yet to triumph in that holy
cause for which she is contending ; — and that this
gallant people are not to suffer universal immola
tion, on the tombs of their immortal ancestors.
The nature of this occasion renders it necessary
that something should be said of our mother-coun
try; her, who has so long claimed and exercised the
empery of the ocean ; — that fair Q,ueen of Islands,
who, for her commerce, her manufactures, her sci
ence, has long stood justly preeminent among the
nations. It has been common, in these anniversary
addresses, to mention Great Britain in terms of
deep reproach ; — to contrast her institutions with
ours, — and to awaken, if possible, all those angry
feelings which naturally attend the recollection of
oar long and arduous Revolutionary struggle. Far
be this from my intention ! Now that the two coun
tries maintain so amicable a relation, now that they
have in some measure linked their fates together
by their noble and independent conduct in regard
to South America, it were unwise in any one, did
he possess the power, to rake open again those
coals of discord, which have been so long expiring.
In fact, we, in common v.'ith the world, have prof
ited much by her exertions. What vast sums of
money has she expended, and how much blood has

29
she shed, to preserve the sparkof liberty in Europe!
How important, in its effects, was that revolu
tion which closed with the dethronement of the
Stuarts ! And though she once seemed disposed
to act toward us the part of a severe and cruel
parent, we should yet reflect, that no other Eu
ropean nation would have yielded so easily. The
young and flourishing daughter should forgive
these things in one, who, after all, is her nearest
natural relation. — But let Great Britain reflect, in
turn, that we are not to be trifled with. Injury,
often repeated, will rouse to anger the best regu
lated dispositions. She has already occasioned us
mischief enough to cancel the debt of gratitude we
otherwise might owe her. And it would be well for
her to consider, that however much disposed we
may be to cultivate a friendly understanding, and
however ready to forgive past transgressions, it is
only upon the condition that they are not repeated;
that we are too high spirited a people lo bear tame
ly the divestment of our privileges, and to hear our
just complaints treated with scorn and contempt,
by any of her place-proud politicians. A sneer
and a laugh will not repay us for an injury ; neither
will a civil speech from Mr. Canning operate upon
us as an opiate, to lull our watchfulness asleep.
Let her not attempt, then, to take from us our right
ful heritage, or to fetter us in our trade. The
daughter has become too vigorous and mature to
be frightened by sour looks. Threats of the rod

30
have no effect now. Having a family ofher own to
provide for, she must look out for its interests ;
and let the mother beware lest, in her old age, she
forfeits, altogether, the respect and affection of her
prosperous and powerful descendant.
The celebrated Montesquieu once predicted the
overthrow of her constitution, and the extinction of
her political splendor. And why should it not be
so ? All human institutions have had, and proba
bly ever will have, their periods of growth, matu
rity and decay. Probably, after the lapse of ages,
our turn will come also. But, in the course of
human events, England must perish first. Extend
ing the mental eye down the long vista of future
years, may we not contemplate the time, when
her glory will be faded, and her proud palaces be
level with the dust ; — when her magnificent ruins
shall excite the curiosity of some future traveller;
— when her arts, her arms, her letters, and all the
proud memorials ofher greatness, shall become the
theme of some future bard ! That time may come.
— And then will the now young and vigorous
America have long been the asylum of her wander
er, and the home of her exile. "Here" says a
beautiful writer, " mingling with a people descend
ed from the same stock, speaking the same lan
guage, inheriting the same passion for liberty, and
worshipping the same God, — brothers and chris
tians, — they will feel that they yet have a country.
And this nation will perpetuate the names and

31
glory of Englishmen, long, long after their monu
ments shall have been crumbled to dust, and their
towers and palaces become a " habitation for dra
gons, and a court for owls."