THE CHOLERIC father.
Capt. A. Sir, I am delighted to see you here and looking so well! Your sudden arrival at Bath made me apprehensive for your health. Sir A. Very apprehensive, I dare say, Jack. What, are you recruiting here, eh? Capt. A. Yes, sir; I am on duty. Sir A. Well, Jack! I am glad to see you, though I did not expect it; for I was going to write to you on a little matter of business. Jack, I have been considering that I grow old and infirm, and shall probably not trouble you long. Capt. A. Pardon me, sir, I never saw you look more strong and hearty; and I pray fervently that you may continue so. Sir A. I hope your prayers may be heard, with all my heart. Well, then, Jack, I have been considering that as I am so strong and hearty, I may continue to plague you a long time. Now, Jack, I am sensible that the income of your commission, and what I have hitherto allowed you, is but a small pittance for a lad of your spirit. Capt. A. Sir, you are very good. Sir A. And it is my wish, while yet I live, to have my boy make some figure in the world. I have resolved, therefore, to fix you at once in a noble independence. Capt. A Sir, your kindness overpowers me. Such generosity makes the gratitude of reason more lively than the sensation even of filial affection. Sir A. I am glad you are so sensible of my attention; and you shall be master of a large estate in a few weeks. Capt. A. Let my future life, sir, speak my gratitude. I cannot express the sense I have of your munificence. Yet, sir, I presume you would not wish me to quit the army? Sir A. O, that shall be as your wife chooses. Capt. A. My wife, sir? Sir A. Ay, ay, settle that between you—settle that between you. Capt. A. A wife, sir, did you say? Sir A. Ay, a wife—why did I not mention her before? Capt A. Not a word of her, sir. Sir A. Upon my word, I must n't forget her, though! Yes, Jack, the independence I was talking of is by a marriage—the fortune is saddled with a wife; but I suppose that makes no difference? Capt. A. Sir! sir, you amaze me! Sir A. What 's the matter? Just now you were all gratitude and duty. Capt. A. I was, sir; you talked to me of independence and a fortune, but not one word of a wife. Sir A. Why, what difference does that make? Sir, if you have the estate, you must take it with the live stock on it, as it stands. Capt. A. If my happiness is to be the price, I must beg leave to decline the purchase. Pray, sir, who is the lady? Sir A. What 's that to you, sir? Come, give me your promise to love, and to marry her directly. Capt. A. Sure, sir, that 's not very reasonable, to summon my affections for a lady I know nothing of! Sir A. I am sure, sir, 't is more unreasonable in you to object to a lady you know nothing of. Capt. A. You must excuse me, sir, if I tell you, once for all, that on this point I cannot obey you. Sir A. Hark you, Jack! I have heard you for some time with patience; I have been cool,—quite cool; but take care; you know I am compliance itself, when I am not thwarted; no one more easily led—when I have my own way; but don't put me in a frenzy. Capt. A. Sir, I must repeat it; in this I cannot obey you. Sir A. Now, shoot me, if ever I call you Jack again while I live! Capt. A. Nay, sir, but hear me. Sir A. Sir, U won't hear a word—not a word!—not one word!—So, give me your promise by a nod; and I 'll tell you what, Jack,—I mean, you dog,—if you don't— Capt. A. What, sir, promise to link myself to some mass of ugliness; to— Sir A. Sir, the lady shall be as ugly as I choose; she shall have a hump on each shoulder; she shall be as crooked as the crescent; her one eye shall roll like the bull's in Cox's Museum; she shall leave a skin like a mumps and the beard of a Jew; he shall be all this, sir! Yet, I'll make you ogle her all day, and sit up all night to write sonnets on her beauty! Capt. A. This is reason and moderation, indeed! Sir A. None of your sneering, puppy! no grinning, jackanapes! Capt. A. Indeed, sir, I never was in a worse humor for mirth in my life. Sir A. 'T is false, sir! I know you are laughing in your sleeve. I know you'll grin when I am gone, sir! Capt. A. Sir, I hope I know my duty better. Sir A. None of your passion, sir! none of your violence, if, you please! It won't do with me, I promise you. Capt. A. Indeed, sir, I never was cooler in my life. Sir A. I know you are in a passion in your heart; I know you are, you hypocritical young dog! But it won't do! Capt. A. Nay, sir, upon my word Sir A. So you will fly out! Can't you be cool like me? What good can passion do? Passion is of no service, you impudent, insolent, overbearing reprobate! There, you sneer again! Don't provoke me! But you rely upon the mildness of my temper, you do, you dog! You play upon the meekness of my disposition! Yet, take care; the patience of a saint may be overcome at last! But, mark: I give you six hours and a half to consider of this: if you then agree without any condition, to do everything on earth that I choose, why, I may, in time, forgive you. lf not, don't enter the same hemisphere with me; don't care to breathe the same air, or use the same light, with me; but get an atmosphere and a sun of your own! I'll strip you of your commission; I'll lodge a five-and-three-pence in the hands of trustees, and you shall live on the interest! I'll disown you. I'll disinherit you! I'll never call you Jack again. [Exit.] Capt. A. Mild, gentle, considerate father! I kiss your hand. R. B. Sheridan.
Rolla. Inform me, friend, is Alonzo, the Peruvian, confined in this dungeon? Sentinel. He is. Rolla. I must speak with him. Sentinel. You must not. Rolla. He is my friend. Sentinel. Not if he were your brother. Rolla. What is to be his fate? Sentinel. He dies at sunrise. Rolla. Ha! then I am come in time, Sentinel. Just to witness his death. Rolla. [Advancing toward the door.] Soldier, I must speak with him. Sentinel. [Pushing him back with his gun.] Back! Back! it is impossible. Rolla. I do entreat you, but for one moment. Sentinel. You entreat in vain, my orders are most strict. Rolla. Look on this massive wedge of gold! look on these precious gems! In thy land they will be wealth for thee and thine, beyond thy hope or wish. Take them; they are thine; let me but pass one moment with Alonzo. Sentinel. Away! Wouldest thou corrupt me?—me, an old Castilian! I know my duty better. Rolla. Soldier, hast thou a wife? Sentinel. I have. Rolla. Hast thou children? Sentinel. Four honest, lovely boys. Rolla. Where didst thou leave them? Sentinel. In my native village, in the very cot where I was born. Rolla. Dost thou love thy wife and children? Rolla. Do I love them? God knows my heart,—I do. Rolla. Soldier, imagine thou wert doomed to die a cruel death, in a strange land,—what would be thy last request? Sentinel. That some of my comrades should carry my dying blessing to my wife and children. Rolla. What if that comrade was at thy prison door, and should there be told, "Thy fellow-soldier dies at sunrise, yet thou shalt not for a moment see him, nor shalt thou bear his dying blessing to his poor children, or his wretched wife!"— What would'st thou think of him who thus could drive thy comrade from the door? Sentinel. How! Rolla. Alonzo has a wife and child; and I am come but to receive for her, and for her poor babes the last blessing of my friend. Sentinel. Go in. [Exit sentinel.] Rolla. [ Calls] Alonzo! Alonzo! [Enter Alonzo, speaking as he comes in.] Alonzo. How! is my hour elapsed? Well, I am ready. Rolla Alonzo—Know me! Alonzo. Rolla! Heavens! how didst thou pass the guard? Rolla. There is not a moment to be lost in words. This disguise I tore from the dead body of a friar, as I passed our field of battle. It has gained me entrance to thy dungeon; now take it thou, and fly. Alonzo And Rolla,— Rolla. Will remain here in thy place. Alonzo. And die for me! No! Rather eternal torture rack me. Rolla. I shall not die, Alonzo. It is thy life Pizarro seeks, not Rolla's; and thy arm may soon deliver me from prison. Or, should it be otherwise, I am as a blighted tree in the desert; nothing lives beneath my shelter. Thou art a husband and a father; the being of a lovely wife and helpless infant depend upon thy life. Go, go, along, not to save thyself but Cora and thy child. Alonzo. Urge me not thus, my friend. I am prepared to die in peace. Rolla. To die in peace! devoting her you have sworn to live for to madness, misery, and death! Alonzo. Merciful Heavens! Rolla. If thou art yet irresolute, Alonzo,—now mark me well. Thou knowest that Rolla never pledged his word, and shrank from its fulfilment. And here I swear, if thou art proudly obstinate, thou shalt have the desperate triumph of seeing Rolla perish by thy side. Alonzo. O, Rolla! you distract me! Wear you the robe and though dreadful the necessity we will strike down the guard and force our passage. Rolla. What, the soldier on duty here? Alonzo Yes,—else, seeing two, the alarm will be instant death. Rolla. For my nation's safety, I would not harm him. That soldier, mark me, is a man! All are not men that wear the human form. He refused my prayers, refused my gold, refused to admit, till his own feelings bribed him. I will not risk a hair of that man's head, to save my heartstrings from consuming fire But haste! A moment's further pause, and all is lost. Alonzo Rolla, I fear thy friendship drives me from honor and from right.. Rolla. Did Rolla ever counsel dishonor to his friend? [ Throwing the friar's garment over his shoulder.] There! conceal thy face. Now, God be with thee! Kotzebue.
Traveller. Do you belong to this house, friend? Landlord. No, it belongs to me, I guess. [ The Traveller takes out his memorandum-book, and in a low voice reads what he writes.] Trav. "Mem. Yankee landlords do not belong to their house's [Aloud] You seem young for a landlord: may I ask how old you are? Land. Yes, if you'd like to know. Trav. Hem! [Disconcerted.] Are you a native, sir? Land. No, sir; there are no natives hereabouts. Trav. "Mem. None of the inhabitants natives; ergo, all foreigners." [Aloud] Where were you born, sir? Land. Do you know where Marblehead is? Trav. Yes. Land. Well, I was not born there. Trav. Why did you ask the question, then? Land. Because my daddy was. Trav. But you were born somewhere. Land. That 's true; but as father moved up country afore the townships were marked out, my case is somewhat like the Indian's who was born at Nantucket, Cape Cod, and all along shore. Trav. Were you brought up in this place, sir? Land. No; I was raised in Varmount till mother died, and then, as father was good for nothing after that I pulled up stakes and went to sea a bit. Trav. "Mem. Yankees, instead of putting up gravestones, pull up stakes, and go to sea, when a parent dies" [Aloud] You did not follow the sea long, for you have not the air of a mariner. Land. why, you see, I had a leetle knack at the coopering business; and larning that them folks that carry it on in the West Indies die off fast, I calculated I should stand a chance to get a handsome living there. Trav. And so you turned sailor to get there? Land. Not exactly; for I agreed to work my passage by cooking for the crew, and tending the dumb critters. Trav. Dumb critters! Of what was your lading composed? Land. A leetle of everything;—horses, hogs, hoop-poles, and Hingham boxes; boards, ingyons, soap, candles, and ile. Trav. "Mem. Soap, candles, and ile, called dumb critters by the Yankees." [Aloud.] Did you arrive there safely? Land. No, I guess we did n't. Trav. Why not? Land. We had a fair wind, and sailed a pretty piece, I tell you; but jest afore we reached the eend of our vige, some pirates overhauled us, and stole all our molasses, rum, and gingerbread. Trav. Is that all they did to you? Land. No, they ordered us on board their vessel, and promised us some black-strap. Trav. "Mem. Pirates catch Yankees with a black-strap." [Aloud] Did you accept the invitation? Land. No, I guess we did n't. And so they threatened to fire into us. Trav. What did your captain do? Land. "Fire, and be dammed!" says he, "but you'd better not spill the deacon's ile, I tell you." Trav. And so you ran off, did you? Land. No; we sailed off a small piece. But the captain said it was a tarnal shame to let them steal our necessaries; and so he right about, and peppered them, I tell you. Trav. "Mem. Yankees pepper pirates when they meet them." [Aloud.] Did you take them? Land. Yes, and my shear built this house. Trav. "Mem. Yankees build houses with shears." Land. It 's an ill wind that blows nowhere, as the saying is. And now, may I make so bold as to ask whose name I shall enter in my books? Trav. Mine! Land. Hem!—if it 's not an impertinent question, may I ask which way you are travelling? Trav. Home. Land. Faith! have I not as good a right to catechize you, as you had to catechize me? Trav. Yes. "Mem. Yankees the most inquisitive people in the world,—impertinent, and unwilling to communicate information to travellers." [Aloud] Well, sir, if you have accommodations fit for a gentleman, I will put up with you. Land. They have always suited gentlemen, but I can't say how you'll like 'em. Trav. There is a tolerable prospect from this window. What hill is that, yonder? Land. Bunker Hill, sir. Trav. Pretty hill! If I had my instruments here, I should like to take it. Land. You had better not try. It required three thousand instruments to take it in '75. Tram "Mem. A common Yankee hill cannot be drawn without three thousand instruments." [Aloud] Faith, Landlord, your Yankee draughtsmen must be great bunglers. But come, sir, give me breakfast, for I must be going; There is nothing else in the vicinity worthy the notice of a traveller. Anon.
Old F. What reputation, what honor, what profit canaccrue to you from such conduct as yours? One momentyou tell me you are going to become the greatest musicianin the world, and straight you fill my house with fiddlers.Tri. I am clear out of that scrape now, sir.Old F. Then from a fiddler you are metamorphosed into aphilosopher; and for the noise of drums, trumpets, and hautboys,you substitute a vile jargon, more unintelligible than wasever heard at the tower of Babel.Tri. You are right, sir, I have found out that philosophy isfolly; so, I have cut the philosophers of all sects, from Plato andAristotle down to the puzzlers of modern date.Old F. How much had I to pay the cooper, the other day,for barreling you up in a large tub, when you resolved to livelike Diogenes?Tri. You should not have paid him anything, sir, for the tubwould not hold. You see the contents are run out.Old F. No jesting, sir; this is no laughing matter. Yourfollies have tired me out. I verily believe you have taken thewhole round of arts and science in a month, and have been offifty different minds in half an hour.Tri. And, by that, shown the versatility of my genius.Old F. Don't tell me of versatility, sir. Let me see a littlesteadiness. You have never yet been constant to anything butextravagance.Tri. Yes, sir, one thing more.Old F. What is that, sir.Tri. Affection for you. However my head may have wandered,my heart has always been constantly attached to the kindestof parents; and, from this moment, I am resolved to lay myfollies aside, and pursue that line of conduct which will be mostpleasing to the best of fathers and of friends.Old F. Well said, my boy,—well said! You make mehappy indeed. [patting him on the shoulder] Now, then, mydear Tristram, let me know what you really mean to do.Tri. To study the law.Old F. The law!Tri. I am most resolutely bent on following that profession.Old F. No!Tri. Absolutely and irrevocably fixed.Old F. Better and better. I am overjoyed. Why, 't is thevery thing I wished. Now I am happy. [ Tristram makes gesturesas if speaking.] See how his mind is engaged!Tri, Gentlemen of the jury,—Old F. Why Tristram,—Tri. This is a cause,—Old F. O, my dear boy! I forgive you all your tricks. Isee something about you, now, that I can depend upon. [ Tristramcontinues making gestures.]Tri. I am for the plaintiff in this cause,—Old F. Bravo! bravo! excellent boy! I'll go and orderyour books directly.Tri. It is done sir.Old F. What, already!Tri. I ordered twelve square feet of books when I firstthought of embracing the arduous profession of the law.Old F. What, do you mean to read by the foot?Tri. By the foot, sir; that is the only way to become a solidlawyer.Old F. Twelve square feet of learning! Well,—Tri. I have likewise sent for a barber,Old F. What, is he to teach you to shave close?Tri. He is to shave one half of my head, sir.Old F. You will excuse me if I cannot perfectly understandwhat that has to do with the study of the law.Tri. Did you never hear of Demosthenes, sir, the Athenianorator? He had half his head shaved, and locked himself up ina coal-cellar.Old F. Ah! he was perfectly right to lock himself up afterhaving undergone such an operation as that. He certainlywould have made rather an odd figure abroad.Tri. I think I see him now, awaking the dormant patriotismof his countrymen,—lightning in his eye, and thunder in hisvoice: he pours forth a torrent of eloquence, resistless in itsforce—the throne of Philip trembles while he speaks; he denounces,and indignation fills the bosom of his hearers; heexposes the impending danger, and every one sees impendingruin; he threatens the tyrant,—they grasp their swords; hecalls for vengeance, their thirsty weapons glitter in the air,and thousands reverberate the cry. One soul animates the nation,and that soul is the soul of the orator.Old F. O! what a figure he'll make in the King's Bench!But, come, I will tell you now what my plan is, and then youwill see how happily this determination of yours will further it.You have [ Tristram makes extravagant gestures, as if speaking,]often heard me speak of my friend Briefwit, the barrister,—Tri. Who is against me in this cause?—Old F. He is a most learned lawyer,—Tri. But as I have justice on my side,—Old F. Zounds! he does n't hear a word I say! Why,Tristram!Tri. I beg your pardon, sir, I was prosecuting my studies.Old F. Now, attend,—Tri. As my learned friend observes,—Go on, sir, I am allattention.Old F. Well, my friend the counselor,—Tri. Say learned friend, if you please, sir. We gentlemenof the law always,—Old F. Well, well,—my learned friend,—Tri. A black patch!Old F. Will you listen, and be silent?Tri. I am as mute as a judge.Old F. My friend, I say, has a ward, who is very handsome,and who has a very handsome fortune. She would make youa charming wife.Tri. This is an action,Old F. Now, I have hitherto been afraid to introduce youto my friend, the barrister, because I thought your lightness andhis gravity,—Tri. Might be plaintiff and defendant.Old F. But now you are growing serious and steady, andhave resolved to pursue his profession, I will shortly bring youtogether; you will obtain his good opinion, and all the rest followsof course.Tri. A verdict in my favor.Old F. You marry and sit down, happy for life.Tri. In the King's Bench.Old F. Bravo! Ha, ha, ha! But now run to your study,—run to your study, my dear Tristram, and I'll go and callupon the counsellor.Tri. I remove by habeas corpus.Old F. Pray have the goodness to make haste, then.[Hurrying him off.]Tri. Gentlemen of the jury this is a cause. [Exit.]Old F. The inimitable boy! I am now the happiest fatherliving. What genius he has! He'll be Lord Chancellor oneday or other, I dare be sworn. I am sure he has talents! O!how I long to see him at the bar!Allingham.
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3. I. BROUGHAM, (broom,) HENRY, Lord, philosopher, law-reformer, statesman, orator, and critic, was born in 1779, at Edinburgh, where he was educated at the High School and University. He united with Jeffrey and Horner in establishing the "Edinburgh Review," and for nearly twenty years he was one of its most regular contributors. Having for a few years practised law at the Scottish bar, he removed to England in 1807, and entered Parliament in 1810. His long parliamentary career has been characterized as one of desultory warfare. "A great part of his life has been spent in beating down; in detecting false pretensions whether in literature or politics; in searching out the abuses of long-established institutions; in laying open the perversions of public charities; in exposing the cruelties of the criminal code; or in rousing public attention to a world of evils resulting from the irregularities in the administration of municipal law." The character of his eloquence is well suited to the purposes of an assailant. "For fierce, vengeful, and irresistible assault," says John Foster, "Brougham stands the foremost man in all the world." This extract is taken from his Inaugural Discourse as Lord Rector of the university of Glasgow delivered in 1825.
4. II. RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN was born at Dublin, September, 1751. His father was Thomas Sheridan, author of a Pronouncing Dictionary, and a distinguished teacher of elocution. His career was brilliant and successful, both as a dramatist and an orator. He entered Parliament in 1780 where his first speech was a failure; and when told, at its close, by one of his disappointed friends, that he had better have stuck to his former pursuit of writing plays, he rested his head on his hand for some minutes, and then exclaimed with vehemence, "It is in me, and it shall come out of me!" And so it did. Of his speech against Hastings, on the charge of the Begums, Mr. Pitt said, "an abler speech was perhaps never delivered;" and Mr. Fox characterized it as "the greatest that had been delivered within the memory of man." But his convivial habits betrayed him into gross intemperance, and he became bankrupt in character and health, as well as in fortune, and died on the 7th of July, 1816, at the age of sixty-four, a melancholy example of brilliant talents sacrificed to a love of display and sensual indulgence.
4. II. This is a very useful piece for practice, on account of the excellent illustrations of emphasis and inflections which it affords. The third paragraph is a fine example of the circumflex slides.
5. III. From the speech on the Begum Charge, before the House of Lords, sitting as a High Court of Parliament, June, 1788, and, said to be the most graphic and powerful description to be found in the speeches of Sheridan.
—Oude, (ood.): Begums, Hindoo Princesses. —Zenana. (ze-náh-nah): that part of a house in India particularly reserved for women.
6. IV. THOMAS SMITH GRIMKE was born in Charleston S. C., September 26, 1786. He was a descendant of the Huguenots. In the days of Nullification he supported the General Government. He was an eloquent advocate of the Union, and in a Fourth of July Oration at Charleston, in 1809, he graphically depicts the horrors of civil war, which must follow disunion. He died on the 12th of Octobers 1834.
8. V. Lycian (lí-she-an ): Achæan ( a-kee'-an): Hanseatic (han-se-at'-ic), from Hance (hän-seh), a German word signifying "association for mutual support." Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen, and Frankfort, constitute the present free Hanseatic cities.
12. VIII. CHAUNCEY A. GOODRICH Occupied the chair of Rhetoric and Oratory in Yale College, from 1817 until 1839, when he was transferred to that of Pastoral Theology, which he filled for more than twenty years. His chief literary works are his "Collection of Select British Eloquence," an excellent book, and his revised and enlarged edition of "Webster's Dictionary." Mr. Webster's argument in the Dartmouth College case, was delivered in 1818 and Professor Goodrich says that he went to Washington chiefly for the sake of hearing it.
14. IX. JOSHUA QUINCY was born in 1772 and graduated at Harvard College in 1790. He was in Congress from 1805 until 1813; mayor of Boston for six years, and President of Harvard from 1829 until 1845. He died July 1, 1864. This extract is from his Centennial Address on the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Boston, delivered in 1830.
16 X. Bon Homme Richard: (bo nom ree'-shar'') Guerriére: (ghér-re-air'').
17. XI. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING, grandson of William Ellery, one of the signers of the Declaration, was born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780. In 1798, he was graduated at Harvard, with the highest honors. For nearly forty years he was pastor of the Federal Street Church in Boston. The collection of his Works embraces six volumes. He was one of the most eloquent of American divines, and he wrote largely on war, temperance, slavery, and education. He died October 2, 1842.
22. XIV. Tyrol (tyr'-ol): Innspruk (inns'-prook): Scheldt (skelt).
23. XV. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER, an Irish patriot and orator. At present a general in the United States Army, and a stanch friend of the Union.
25. XVII. HENRY GRATTAN, born at Dublin, July 3, 1746; died May 14, 1820. He was the greatest of Irish patriots, and the greatest of Irish orators. His forte was reasoning, but it was "logic on fire." A distinguished writer described his eloquence as a "combination of cloud, whirlwind, and flame." His style was elaborated with great care. His language is select, and his periods are easy and fluent.
27. XVIII. RUFUS CHOATE was born at Ipswich, Mass., October 1, 1799, graduated at Dartmouth College, with the highest honors, in 1819, and died at Halifax, while on his way to Europe, July 13, 1859. Gifted with the most brilliant intellectual powers, he was ever a hard student. Mr. Everett says of him, "With such gifts, such attainments, and such a spirit, he placed himself, as a matter of course, not merely at the head of the jurists and advocates, but of the public speakers of the country." His most famous oration is his Eulogy on Daniel Webster, delivered at Dartmouth College. Mr. Choate's works have been edited, and an admirable Memoir of his Life written, by Professor Samuel G. Brown, the whole being published in two octavo volumes.
29. XX. Boëthius ( bo-e'-thi-us). —Sibyl (sib' il ).
30 XXI. From a Lecture on the Eloquence of Revolutionary Periods, delivered in Boston, February 1857.
33. XXIII. gobelin (gob'-e-lin): Pericles ( per'-i-cles).
37. XXVII. MRS. LYDIA MARIA CHILD, whose maiden name was FRANCIS, was born in Massachusetts, but passed a portion of her earlier years in Maine. Her literary productions are numerous and are characterized by vigor and originality of thought. She has been very prominent in the anti-slavery movement. A work on the subject of slaverey, published by her in 1833, produced a great sensation. This selection is from The Rebels, a tale of the Revolution, which was published in 1825, when she was quite young.
41. XXX. PATRICK HENRY. This distinguished "orator of nature" was born in Virginia, May 29, 1736. He was a member of the first Congress, which met in Carpenter's Hall, at Philadelphia, on the 4th of September, 1774. For several years he was governor of Virginia and for more than thirty years he stood among the foremost of American patriots and statesmen. He was one of the earliest and most powerful opponents of British power. In 1765, as member of the House of Burgesses, he introduced his famous resolutions against the Stamp Act, which proved the opening of the American Revolution in the colony of Virginia. He died on the 6th of June, 1799. His life has been written by William Wirt. This speech was delivered about one month before the battle of Lexington, so that his prophecy, "The next gale," &c. was almost literally fulfilled.
44. XXXIII, Præsidium ( pre-sid'-i-um): a guard. -Puéblo ( pwa'-blo ): a village. —-ranch: a hut, or collection of huts; a farming establishment. —-Tehuauntepec (ta-huán-te-pec).
46. XXXIV. REV. ROBERT HALL, an eminent Baptist minister, was born at Arnsby, England, August, 1764, and died at Bristols, on the 21st of February, 1831. His writings, which have been published in six volumes, are highly finished in style, and display a remarkable combination of logical precision, metaphysical acuteness, practical sense and sagacity, with a rich luxuriance of imagination, and all the graces of composition. Dr. Parr says of him—"He has, like Jeremy Taylor, the eloquence of an orator, the fancy of a poet the subtlety of a schoolman, the profoundness of a philosopher, and the piety of a saint."
47. XXXV. JOSEPH STORY was born at Marblehead, Mass., September 18, 1779. In 1810 he was appointed by President Madison Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and in 1829, he was made Professor of the Dane Law School, which office he held until his death, September 10th, 1845. He was an eminent jurist, an eloquent orator, and a finished scholar.
—Siloa: the metre here requires the accent on the first syllable (sil'-o-a, ) though most authorities make it (sil-ó'-a.).
52. XXXIX. REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG, a clergyman in Boston. He wrote this piece especially for declamation. This copy is a recent revision by the author for Hillard's Reader.
54. XL. From a speech delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States, January 8, 1847.
56. XLI. From an oration delivered at the seat of Government, on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the National Monument to Washington, July 4, 1848.
70. LIII. FISHER AMES was born at Dedham, Mass., April 9th, 1758, where he died, July 4th, 1808 He was a member of the first Congress under the Constitution, in which body he remained eight years. In 1804, he was tendered the Presidency of Harvard College, which he declined.. He was an excellent classical scholar and an accumplished orator. His speech on Jay's Treaty, from which this extract is taken is a production of the deepest pathos and richest eloquence. Webster is said to have committed the whole speech to memory in early life.
92. LXIX. Brougham's career, though brilliant, has been marked by the most extraordinary inconsistencies and contradictions, and now, at the age of eighty-five, forgetting his brave denunciation of slavery, he takes sides with a wicked rebellion, which was set on foot for the establishment of an empire based on slavery.
97. LXXIII. RICHARD LALOR SHIEL was born in Ireland, August 17, 1791 and died in Italy, May 23, 1857. He entered Parliament in 1830, and at the time of his death, he was Minister at the Court of Tuscany. For bold, impassioned declamation, this extract has seldom been equalled.
—STRAFFORD, EARL, whose family name was Wentworth. Rene gade, because having at first resisted the arbitrary power of Charles the First, he afterwards became so obnoxious to the people by his own exercise of arbitrary power that he was impeached of high treason and executed.
—one man of great abilities: LORD LYNDHURST, who was born in Boston, Mass., May 21, 1772. He was the son of the eminent portrait and historical painter, John Singleton Copley.
68.—Assaye (as-si'), a small town in Hindostan, where the Duke of Wellington commenced his career of victory in a battle fought September 23, 1803.
98. LXXIII. Waterloo: (waw'-ter-loo,) battle of, June 18, 1815.
—Vimeira: (ve-ma-e-rah,) a town in Portugal, where the Duke of Wellington defeated the French, August 21, 1808.
—Badajos: (bad-ah-hoce') a town in Spain, taken from the French by theDuke of Wellington, April 6, 1812.
—Salamanca: (sah-lah-mang'-kah) a city in Spain near which the English, under Wellington totally defeated the French, under Marmont and Clusel, July 22, 1812,
—Albuera: (al-boo-a'-rah ) a town in Spain where the British and allies gained a victory over the French, May 16, 1811.
—Toulouse: (too-looz') a city in France, where Wellington defeated theFrench under Soult, April 10, 1814.
99. LXXIV. FRANCIS WAYLAND, President of Brown University from 1827 until 1856, was born at New York, March 11. 1796. 111. LXXXIII. Edward Everett was born at Dorchester Mass., April 11, 1794, took his degree at Harvard College in 1811, and was settled over the church in Brattle Street, Boston, in 1813. In 1815, he was appointed Professor of Greek Literature in Harvard College, and he devoted the four succeeding years to study and travel in Europe, with the view to further qualify himself for its duties, which he assumed in 1819, with those of editor of the "North American Review." Both these positions he held till 1825 when his took his seat in Congress as Representative from Middlesex County, which he held for ten years. He was Governor of Massachusetts from 1836 until 1840. In 1841 he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James and on his return home in 1846, was elected President of Harvard College, which position he resigned in 1849. He succeeded Mr. Webster as Secretary of State, in 1852, and in 1853 was chosen to the Senate of the United States, but soon resigned on account of ill health. Edward Everett is the most accomplished orator in this country, and he may justly be styled the Cicero of America. His splendid oration pronounced August 26, 1824, at Cambridge, before the Society of Phi Beta Kappa, closing with the beautiful apostrophe to Lafayette, who was present, placed him before the public as one of the greatest and most accomplished orators who had ever appeared in America. The reputation then achieved by him has been steadily advancing for forty years. On the breaking out of the rebellion, he at once came out boldly in support of the Government and the constitution, and during the struggle thus far, his matchless pen, his eloquent voice, and his great personal influence have been employed, on all proper occasions, in maintaining the cause of his country. Three large octavo volumes of his orations and occasional speeches have been published constituting a body of eloquence and learning, which has been surpassed by no other orator in the language.
111—From an oration delivered at Plymouth, on the anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims: 22d of December, 1824.
114. LXXXVI. From an oration delivered at Bloody Brook, in South Deerfield, Mass., September 30, 1835, in commemoration of the fall of the "Flower of Essex," at that spot, in King Philip's war, September 18, ( O. S.) 1675.
114. LXXXVI. Mount Hope: a beautiful eminence of Bristol County, R. I., on the west shore of Mount Hope Bay.
118. LXXXVIII. Nevada, (na-vah'-dah): Antilles, (an-teel'): Archipelagoes, (ar-ke-pel'-a-goze).
120 XC. From a eulogy delivered at Boston, September 17, 1850, on the occasion of the inauguration of the statue of Daniel Webster which stands in front of the State House.
121.—Condé (con-da'): Rocroi, (ro-kroi'): Arbela, (ar-bee'-lah).
123. XCII. JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN was born at Nermarket, in the county of Cork, Ireland, July 24, 1750, and died at London, October 14, 1817. His voice was naturally bad, and his articulation so hasty and confused that he went among his school fellows by the name of "Stuttering Jack Curran." His manner was awkward his gesture constrained and meaningless and his whole appearance calculated only to produce laughter, notwithstanding the evidence he gave of superior abilities. All these faults he overcame by severe and patient labor. One of his biographers says,—"His oratorical training was as severe as any Greek ever underwent." Constantly on the watch against bad habits, he practised daily before a glass, reciting passages from Shakespeare, Junius, and the best English orators. He became the most eloquent of all irish advocates, and for more than twenty years he had an unrivalled mastery of the Irish bar. He was member of the Irish House of Commons from 1783 to 1797. In 1806, he was made Master of the Rolls, which office he resigned in 1814.
127 XCV. CHARLES JAMES FOX was born on the 24 th of January, 1749; was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He was fond of the classics and took up Demosthenes as he did the speeches of Lord Chatham. As an orator he was much indebted to the study of the Greek writers, for the simplicity of his tastes, his entire abstinence from everthing like mere ornament, the terseness of his style, the point and stringency of his reasonings, and the all-pervading cast of intellect which distinguishes his speeches even in the most vehement bursts of impassioned feeling. But his tastes were too exclusively literary. He could discuss Greek metres with Porson, but he had little acquaintance with the foundations of jurisprudence, or the laws of trade; and he always felt the want of an early training in scientific investigation, correspondent to that he re ceived in classical literature. He took his seat in Parliament in 1768. He was the first man in the House of Commons, who took the ground of denying the right of Parliament to tax the colonies without their consent, and he went on identifying himself more and more to the end of life with the popular part of the Constitution, and with the cause of free principles throughout the world, aiming always amid all the conflicts of party "to widen the base of freedom,—to infuse and circulate the spirit of liberty." He made it a point to speak on every question that came up, whether interested in it or not, as a means of exercising and training his faculties, for he was bent on making himself a powerful debater. His love of argument was perhaps the most striking trait of his character, and "he rose," said Mr. Burke, "by slow degrees to be the most brilliant and accomplished debater the world ever saw." There was nothing strained or unnatural in his most vehement bursts of passion, "his feeling," says Coleridge, "was all intellect, and his intellect was all feeling." In his language, Mr. Fox studied simplicity, strength, and boldness. "Give me an elegant Latin and a homely Saxon word," says he, "and I will always choose the latter." He died on the 13th September, 1806, and was buried with the highest honors of the nation, in Westminster Abbey.
127. XCV. This extract is from his speech on the rejection of Bonaparte's overtures for peace which was delivered February 3d, 1800 and was considered by most who heard it as the ablest speech he ever made. This selection is a fine illustration of the use of the circumflex slides.
—-Suwarrow: a Russian general. Praga: (prah'-gah).
129. XCVI. Utrecht, (yoo'-trekt): Blenheim, (blen'-hime).
131. XCVIII. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, son of John Adams, the second President, was born at Braintree, Mass., on the 11th of July, 1767. He took his degree at Harvard College in 1787, a year after his admission, having been prepared for an advanced class, in Europe, where he had previously resided for several years. He studied law with Theophilus Parsons. at Newburyport, and commenced practice in 1790. He was a member of the Senate of the United States from 1803 until 1808. In 1806 he was appointed Boylston Professor of Rhetoric in Harvard College, which office he held for three years. In 1810 he was appointed Minister to Russia, where he remained until 1815, when with other Commissioners he negotiated the treaty of peace with England at Ghent, and was appointed Minister to that country in the same year, a post which his father had occupied before him, and which is now so ably filled by his son, Charles Francis. He served as Secretary of State during the administration of Monroe, whom he succeeded in the Presidency. On his retirement from the Chief Magistracy, he was elected to represent his native district in the House of Representatives, until his death, which occurred the 23d of February, 1848. His career as a member of the House was distinguished for his fearless and uncompromising defence of the right of petition, and for his bold and effective opposition to the usurpation of the slave power.
133. XCIX. Gracchi: (grak'-ki) two distinguished Romans, sons of Cornelia.
135. CI. JOSEPH WARREN, the first great martyr in the cause of independence, was born at Roxbury, Mass., June 11th, 1741, and was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. General Warren acted as a volunteer at the battle of Bunker Hill, serving as a private in the ranks in the redoubt having borrowed a musket from a sergeant. When urged against hazarding his life on that day, be replied enthusiastically,—"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."
141. CV. WILLIAM PITT, the younger, was born on the 28th of May, 1759, and was the second son of Lord Chatham. He was educated at Cambridge university, where he continued nearly seven years, devoting his attention mainly to three things; namely, the classics, mathematics and the logic of Aristotle applied to the purposes of debate. In early life his whole soul seems to have been absorbed by one idea—that of becoming a distinguished orator. "Multum haud multa," was his motto in most of his studies for life. This language gave direction to most of his reading in English Literature; he had the finest parts of Shakspeare by heart; he read the best historians with great care; he entered Parliament in 1781, and at a single bound when only twenty-two years of age, he placed himself in the foremost rank of English statesmen and orators, at the proudest era of English eloquence. He was made Prime Minis ter at the age of twenty-four, and he continued to fill the first place in the councils of his country during most of the remaining period of his life, which terminated on the 23d of January, 1806, in the 47th year of his age. As a debater in the House, his speeches were logical and argumentative. The strength of his oratory was intrinsic, and his speeches were stamped with the inimitable marks of originality. This extract was taken from a. speech of the abolition of the slavetrade, in the House of Commons, 1792, which is regarded as one of the most brilliant displays of his eloquence.
143. CVI. HORACE MANN was born at Franklin, Mass. May 1796, and gradu ated at, Brown University, in 1819, with the highest honors. After a successful career as a politician having served in both branches of the Legislature, on the organization of the Board of Education in Massachusetts, on the 29th of June, 1837 Mr. Mann was elected its Secretary, which office he continued to fill with great ability, for twelve years. His twelve Annual Reports to the Board of Education probably constitute the most readable and instructive series of educational documents which has been produced by one mind in any language. On his retirement from the Secretaryship, he was elected Representative to Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Quincy Adams. Having served in Congress two terms, he again returned to the educational field by accepting the Presidency of Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he died.
144. CVII. DANIEL WEBSTER was born at Salisbury, N. H., on the 18th of January, 1782, and graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1801. His college life was distinguished by assiduous and various studies. He was admitted to the bar in 1805, and commenced the practice of law in his native town, but soon after removed to Portsmouth. He removed to Boston in 1816, and died at Marshfield, Mass., October, 1852. He was the first orator, the first Jurist, and the first statesman of his generations in America. His most famous forensic per formance, was his argument in the Dartmouth College case. His greatest parliamentary effort was his second speech on Foote's resolution; and his most important diplomatic service was his negotiation of the treaty of Washington, in 1842. His speeches and orations have been published in six volumes, with an admirable memoir, by Mr. Everett.
157. CXVI. This Will: of Stephen Girard, of Philadelphia, providing for the founding of a college for orphans.
160. CXVIII. This selection is the peroration to Mr. Webster's second speech on Foote's resolution.
165. CXXII. This extract is taken from the address delivered by Mr. Webster on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the extension of the National Capitol.
168. CXXIV. From the address on the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument, at Charleston, Mass., the 17th of June, 1825.
170. CXXV. WILLIAM PITT, first Earl of Chatham, was born at London, on the 15th of November, 1708. He became a member of Parliament in 1735, at the age of twenty-six, and was made Secretary of State in December, 1756, which office he continued to hold, with a brief interval, until October, 1761. He was appointed to the office of Lord Privy Seal in 1766, and elevated to the peerage with the title of Earl Chatham. He died at Hayes, in Kent, on the 11th of May, 1778 in the seventieth year of his age. His devotion to the interest of the great body, especially the middling classes, of the English nation, won for him the title of "the Great commoner." He consecrated his great talents and commanding eloquence to the defense of the popular part of the Constitution. In the latter part of his life, though suffering much from bodily infirmities, he was the champion of the American cause, standing forth, in presence of the whole British empire, to arraign, as a breach of the Constitution every attempt to tax a people who had no representative in Parliament. This was the era of his noblest efforts in oratory. He has been generally regarded as the most powerful orator of modern times. His success, no doubt was owing in part to his extraordinary personal advantages. In his best days before he was crippled by the gout, his figure was tall and erect; his attitude imposing; his gestures energetic even to vehemence, yet tempered with dignity and grace. His voice was full and clear; his loudest whisper was distinctly heard; his middle notes were sweet and beautifully varied; and, when he elevated his voice to its highest pitch, the House was completely filled with the volume of sound. The effect was awful, except when he wished to cheer or animate; then he had spiritstirring notes which were perfectly irresistible. But although gifted by nature with a fine voice and person, he spared, no effort to add everything that art could confer, for his improvement as an orator.
174 CXXVIII. HENRY CLAY was born in Virginia, April 12, 1777, and died at Washington, June 29, 1852. In early life his advantages of education were limited. He commenced the practice of the law in 1797. His political career began in 1803, and ended in 1852. He was twice Speaker of the National House of Representatives. In 1814, he was one of the commissioners to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent. He represented the State of Kentucky in the United States Senate at various periods from 1806 till 1852. He was Secretary of State during the administration of John Quincy Adams, and he was three times the unsuccessful Whig candidate for the Presidency. He was a man of the warmest sympathies, and he captivated the hearts of all who came in contact with him. He was a patriot, and willingly sacrificed private preference to public good. He said truly in his valedictory address to the Senate,—"In all my public acts, I have had a single eye directed and a warm and devoted heart dedicated to what, in my best judgment, I believed the true interest, the honor, the union, and the happiness of my country required." He was a consummate orator. In his manner he united the gentleness of woman with the pride and dignity of the haughtiest manhood. His style was full flowing, and manly; and his voice was sonorous, sweet, and powerful.
183. CXXXVI. ELIPHALET NOTT was born in Connecticut, in 1773 and is now upwards of ninety years of age. He has occupied the office of President of Union College for about sixty years. The eloquent discourse on the death of Hamilton was delivered at Albany, in 1804.
190. CXL. JOHN HANCOCK, President of the American Congress in 1776, and Signer of the Declaration, was born in Massachusetts in 1739, and died in 1793. This extract is from an oration delivered March 5th on the anniversary of the massacre of Boston citizens by British soldiers, which took place four years before.
191. CXLI. EDMUND BURKE, who was preëminently the great philosophical orator of our language, was born at Dublin January 1. 1730, and died at Beaconsfield, near London, July 9th, 1797. His political career commenced in the House of Commons, of which body he was a member during the greater part of his subsequent life. He wrote out six of his great speeches, the last of which was that on the Nabob of Arcot's debts. He was strenuously opposed to the American war, and two of his greatest speeches that on the Stamp Act, and that on Conciliation with America, supported the cause of the colonies. Of the latter, Mr. Everett says,—"It was less than a month before the commencement of hostilities, that Burke pronounced that truly divine oration on 'Conciliation with America,' which in my poor judgment, excels everything, in the form of eloquence, that has come down to us from Greece or Rome." And he said further,—"Certainly, no compositions in the English tongue can take precedence of those of Burke, in depth of thought, reach of forecast, or magnificence of style. . . . . In political disquisition elaborated in the closet, the palm must perhaps be awarded to Burke over all others, ancient or modern."
203. CL. Platæa, ( pla-te'-a): Artmisium (ar-te-me'-ze-um).
220. CLXII. SIR WALTER SCOTT was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, August 15, 1711, and died at; Abbotsford, his country seat, on the banks of the Tweed, September 21, 1832. He passed through the High School and University of his native city without attaining any marked distinction as a scholar. He made some proficiency in Latin, ethics and history, but he had no taste for Greek. He acquired a general, though not a critical knowledge, of the German, French, Italian, and Spanish languages. But from early youth he was an insatiable reader, and he stored his mind with a vast fund of miscellaneous knowledge. Romances were among his chief favorites, and he had great facility in inventing and telling stories. He became greatly distinguished as a poet before he commenced his career as a novelist. His first great poem, the Lay of the Last Minstrel, published in 1805, was received with enthusiastic admiration, and at once stamped him as a poetical genius. The appearance of Marmion, in 1808 greatly enhanced his reputation as a poet, and the Lady of the Lake, which came out two years later, was still more popular. Here he touched his highest point in poetical composition. His subsequent poems certainly added nothing to his reputation, if, indeed they sustained it. But, "as the old mine gave symptoms of exhaustion," says Bulwer, the new mine, ten times more affluent at least in the precious metals, was discovered. In 1814 he commenced that long and magnificent series of prose fictions which for seventeen years were poured out with an unprecedented prodigality, and which can onlv be compared with the dramas of Shakspeare, as presenting an endless variety of original characters scenes historical situations and adventures. In 1826, he became bankrupt, in consequence of a partnership with a printer and publisher, and, although fifty-five years old, he undertook the heroic task of discharging his heavy pecuniary liabilities by the productions of his pen. In six years of intense literary labor, he nearly accomplished his noble object, but before he reached the goal, he sank exhausted on the course. "In the portion of his life, from his bankruptcy to his death," says Mr. Hillard, "Scott's character shines with a moral grandeur far above mere literary fame."
222. CLXIV. From the poem Marmion.—-Tantallon's towers: the ruins of Tantallon Castle occupy a high rock projecting into the German Ocean about two miles east of North Berwick, in the southeastern part of Scotland.
223.—DOUGLAS, ARCHIBALD, Earl of Angus, a man remarkable for strength of body and mind, who died broken-hearted at calamities which befell his house and country at Flooden.
224. CLXV. Pibroch, (pi'-brok). In Scotland, a Highland air played on the bagpipe before the Highlanders when they go out to battle.—-Doneuil Dhu, (donnil du): MacDonald the Black.
230. CLXIX. Parrhasius, (par-ra'-zhius): Prometheus, (pro-me'-thuse): Caucasus, (caw'-ca'-sus): lame Lemnian: Vulcan, the artisan of the Olympian gods.
232. CLXX. MRS. FELICIA HEMANS, an admirable woman and sweet hostess, was born at Liverpool, England. September 25, 1793 and died May 16, 1835. Her maiden name was Browne. She was married to Captain Hemans an officer in the British Army, but the union was not a happy one. Her imagination was chivalrous and romantic, and she delighted in picturing the ancient martial glory of England. The purity of her mind is seen in all her works. Though popular, and in many respects excellent, her poetry is calculated to please the fancy rather than to make a deep and lasting impression.
232. CLXX. A true story. Young Casabianca, a boy thirteen years old, son of the commander of the Orient, remained at his post, in the battle of the Nile after the ship bad taken fire and all the guns had been abandoned, and was blown up with the vessel when the flames reached the magazine.
259. CLXXXVI. The Royal George, of 108 guns, whilst undergoing a partial ca reening in Portsmouth Harbor, England, was overset about 10, A. M. August 29, 1782. The total loss was believed to be near 1000 souls.
263. CXC. THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY was born in the county of Leicester, England, October 25, 1800, and died December, 28, 1859. He was educated at Cambridge University. He was several times elected member of Parliament and for several years he served the government in India as member of the Supreme Council. But his fame rests mainly on his literary productions, the principal of which is his History of England whose popularity has never been exceeded by any other historical work in the language. His essays, which have been collected and published in six volumes, are remarkable for brilliancy of style and richness of matter. As a descriptive poet he has ex-hibited high genius in his "Lays of Ancient Rome." His "Battle of Ivry" has the true trumpet-ring which kindles the soul and stirs the blood.—Ivry (ee'-vree): a town in France where Henry IV. gained a decisive victory over Mayenne, 1590.—oriflamme, (or'-e-flam): the ancient royal standard of France.—-Mayenne, Duke: commander of the army of the League.—-Remember Saint Bartholomew: the massacre on Saint Bartholomew's Eve, August 23, 1572.
265. CXCI. Bingen,(been'-ghen).
274. CXCVII. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, a man remarkable for his rich poetical imagination his unrivalled colloquial eloquence, and his superior critical powers was born in Devonshire, England, October 20, 1772, and died July 25, 1834. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, London, where he had Charles Lamb for a school-fellow, and at Jesus' College, Cambridge. He afterwards acquired a knowledge of the German language and literature at Ratzburg and Gottingen, In early life he was a Unitarian and a Jacobin, but he subsequently became a Trinitarian and a Royalist. Those who knew him thought him equal to any task; he planned great works in prose and verse which he never executed. His poetical works, of which his Ancient Mariner is the most striking and original, have been collected and published in three volumes. His language is often rich and musical, highly figurative and ornate. His Ode on France was considered by Shelley to be the finest English ode of modern times. His Hymn on Chamouni is equally lofty and brilliant.
274. CXCVII. Chamouni, (sha-moo'-ne): a valley in the Sardinian States, bounded on the south by Mont Blanc, the most remarkable for its picturesque sites and the wild grandeur of its glaciers.—-Arve, (arve); a rapid river flowing into the Rhone.
277.—Hierarch, (hi'-e-rark ).
283. CCII. WILLIAM COLLINS, whose poems though small in number are rich in vivid imagery and beautiful description, was born in Chichester, England, December 25, 1720, and died in 1756. His odes are acknowledged to be the best of their kind in the language. His finest lyric is his Ode on the Passions, which has been called "a magnificent gallery of allegorical paintings."
287. CCIV. JOHN DRYDEN, one of the great masters of English verse, was born in Northamptonshire, England, August, 1631, and died May 1, 1700. His Life, by Johnson, is regarded as the most carefully written, the most eloquent and discriminating of all the "Lives of the Poets." His Life was also written by Sir Walter Scott, who edited a complete edition of his works, in eighteen volumes.—St. Cecilia: the patron-saint of music, and the reputed inventress of the organ.
298. CCX. THOMAS CAMPBELL was born at Glasgow, Scotland, July 27, 1777, and died at Boulogne, France, June 15, 1844. He was educated at the university of his native city, and afterwards studied Greek in Germany under the learned Processor Heyne. After travelling on the continent he took up his residence in London in 1803, and devoted himself to literature as a profession. In 1799, at the earlyage of twenty-two years, he published The Pleasures of Hope, a poem of great merit, which captivated all hearts by its exquisite melody, its polished diction and its generous and lofty sentiments. His second great poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, a Pennsylvania Tale, was published in 1809. His genius shines most conspicuously in his shorter poems, his war-songs or lyrics, and his ballads, which have been said to form the richest offering ever made by poetry at the shrine of patriotism. Mr. Hillard says of him,—"No poet of our times has contributed so much in proportion to the extent of his writings, to that stock of established quotations which pass from lip to lip, and from pen to pen, without any thought as to their origin."
303. CCXIV. This fine passage is from the Pleasures of Hope—pandours, (pan-dorz'), the o as in move; the metre of the line requires the accent on the first syllable: infantry soldiers in the service of Austria, from districts near Pandur, in Hungary.—hussars, (hooz'-zarz): light-armed Hungarian horse-soldiers.
304.—Kosciusko, (kos-ci-us'-ko): a Polish patriot and hero, who served on Washington's staff in the war of the Revolution. In the battle which decided the fate of Poland, in 1794, he fell from his horse covered with wounds, and was made prisoner by the enemy. He died in France, in 1817.
305. CCXV. Hohenlinden: (hohen, high; linden, lime-trees,) the name of a village in upper Bavaria, twenty miles east of Munich celebrated for the victory of the French and Bavarians, under Moreau, over the Austrians under Archduke John, December 3, 1800. This battle was witnessed by the poet Campbell from the monastery of St. Jacob. In a letter written at this time, He says: "The sight of Ingoldstadt in ruins, and Hohenlindcn covered with fire, seven miles in circumference, were spectacles never to be forgotten." He has immortalized that conflict in these inimitable stanzas which form one of the grandest battle-pieces that ever were drawn.
305. CCXV, Iser, (e'-zer): the name of a river in the vicinity of Holhenlinden.—Frank: the ancient name of the French.—Hun: a name applied to the barbarous people of Scythia who conquered and gave name to Hungary.—Munich, (mu'-nik).
314. CCXXIII. This is considered one of the best martial lyrics in the language. Its author, FITZ-GREENE HALLECK, was born at Gifford, in Conn., August, 1795. He has written but very little, but that little is of such excellence as to make us regret that he has not written more.—Marco Bozzaris, (bot-sah'-ris): the most famous hero of modern Greece, fell in a night attack on the Turkish camp at Lapsi, the site of the ancient Platæa, August 20, 1823, and expired in the moment of victory. His last words were:—"To die for liberty is a pleasure, and not a pain."
315.—Old Platæa's Day: B. C. 479, when the Greeks, under Aristides and Pausanias, defeated the Persians with great slaughter.
317. CCXXIV. JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE was born at New York August 7, 1795, and died September 21, 1820. The most popular of his poems is the spirited ode, The American Flag, though his fame rests chiefly on the Culprit Fay, a poem of exquisite fancy and artistic execution.
318. CCXVIII. Old Ironsides: the frigate Constitution. This poem was written when it was proposed to break her up and convert her into a receiving ship, as unfit for service.
321. CCXXVI. CHARLES WOLFE was born at Dublin, Ireland, December 14, 1791, and died February 21, 1823.—-Sir John Moore a British general, was killed at Corunna, in Spain, in a battle between the French and English January 16,
1809. He was wrapped in his military cloak and buried by night in a hasty grave on the ramparts of the town.
335. CCXXXVI. From the last canto of Childe Harold. Compare this with the splendid prose poem by Dr. Swains page 396.
336.—Armada, (ar-mah'-da):a naval or military armament espacially applied to the fleet sent by Spain against England, 1588, which was dispersed and shattered by a storm.—Trafalgar, (traf-al-gar'): a cape on the coast of Spain, memorable for the great naval victory of the English under Nelson, who was killed in the action, over the French and Spanish fleets, October 21, 1805.
355. CCL. From a lecture on The Eloquence of Revolutionary Periods, delivered in Boston before the Mechanic Apprentices' Association, February 19, 1857.
356. CCLI. From the same as above. 357.—Mirabeau, (me'-rah-boe''): the greatest of French orators. Bema: a raised place in Athens whence the orators addressed assemblies of the people.
358. CCLII. From an oration delivered in Boston, July 5, 1858, before the Boston Democratic Club, his last address on general political interests.
360. CCLV. From a speech on Boston Common, in the autumn of 1861, on the occasion of presenting a flag to the 22d Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, commanded by Senator Wilson.
361. CCLVI. From a speech on Boston Common in 1861, at a grand rally of Union men to promote enlistments to put down the rebellion. 365. CCLVIII. From an oration delivered on the 4th of July, 1861, before the municipal authorities of Boston.
387. CCLXXIV. From an address delivered before the Norfolk County Agricultural Society, September, 1863.
388. CCLXXV. From an oration delivered at Roxbury, before the municipal authorities of the city, February 22, 1864.
391. CCLXXVI. From an address by Governor Andrew, to both branches of the legislature, at the opening of the session, January, 1863.
392. CCLXXVII. From an address before both branches of the Legislature, at the opening of the session, January, 1864.
393. CCLXXVIII. From a speech delivered in 1861 on the occasion of presenting a flag to the Second Regiment of Volunteers.
396. CCLXXX. From a discourse recently delivered by the author, in his own pulpit at Providence, on his return from a voyage to Europe.
404. CCLXXXVI. From the author's speeches in the memorable canvass with Douglas for the senatorship in Illinois.
406. CCLXXXVII. This extract and the succeeding one, are from the author's last great speech delivered at Springfield, Illinois, in 1861.
423. CCXCVIII. GEORGE THOMPSON, the great English agitator and anti-slavery leader delivered numerous addresses in different parts of England, during the summer of 1863, in defence of the American cause. This extract, from one delivered at Carlisle, England, was written out by the author, especially for this book.
433. CCCV. This extract and the two following were taken from an oration delivered July 4, 1863, before the municipal authorities of Boston.
440. CCCXI. From a eulogy on Webster, delivered in Boston, September 17, 1859, on the occasion of the inauguration of his statue, in front of the State House.
441. CCCXII. From an oration delivered at the Dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863.
449. CCCXVII. From a speech delivered in Tremont Temple, Boston, 1862.
451. CCCXVIII. From a speech delivered in New Orleans, at a grand celebration, on the occasion of the election of a Union Governor.
455. CCCXXI. From a discourse delivered in Boston, before the Ancient and honorable Artillery Company, at their anniversary, June, 1861.
462. CCCXXVI. Suggested by the President's first call for volunteers, April 16, 1861. The fabulous bell Roland, of Ghent, was an object of great affection to the people because it rang them to arms when Liberty was in danger.
468 CCCXXIX. GAIL HAMILTON, the nom de plume of Miss Abigail Dodge, a popular authoress, who resides in the town of Hamilton Mass.
472. CCCXXXI. Ziska's hunted flock, (shish'-ka): the Hussites in Bohemia.—Toussaint L'Ouverture, the great St. Domingo chief, an unmixed. negro, with no drop of white blood in his veins, having been treacherously arrested by his French foe, he was taken to France, and then sent by Napoleon to the Castle of St. Joux, to a dungeon twelve feet by twenty, built wholly of stone, where he was finally left to starve to death.
478. CCCXXXV. On Saturday, the 7th of March, 1862, the United States sloopof-war Cumberland, commanded by Captain Morris, was sunk in Hampton Roads, by the Confederate iron-clad. Merrimac, her men firing a broadside as she went down, with her flag flying.
490. CCCXLIV. The subject of these stanzas was Ormsby McKnight Mitchell, a distinguished astronomer, and major-general of volunteers in the United States service, who was born in Kentucky, August 28, 1810, and died at Beaufort, S. C., October 30, 1862. He was commander of the department of the South, and was making preparations for a vigorous campaign when he fell a victim to the yellow fever.
493. CCCXLVI. This is one of the finest productions which the present crisis has called forth. General Banks, in his official report of the assault on the fortifications of Port Hudson, on May 27th, thus speaks of the negro troops: "On the extreme right of our line I posted the 1st and 2d regiments of negro troops. . . . . The position occupied by these troops was one of importance and called for the utmost steadiness and bravery in those to whom it was confided. It gives me pleasure to report that they answered every expectation. In many respects their conduct was heroic,—no troops could, be more determined or more daring. They made during the day, three charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy losses, and holding their positon at nightfall with the other troops on the right of our lines. The highest commendation is bestowed upon them by all the officers in command on the right." And thus the question which had been so often asked, Will the negroes fight? was answered, and settled, and ever since our brave white soldiers have been glad to "Hail them as comrades tried."
511. CCCLV. C. F. BROWN, the comic writer, known as Artemus Ward.
End of Project Gutenberg's The American Union Speaker, by John D. Philbrick