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 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM 
 
 A REVIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY AND FORENSIC 
 
 Bm®t^wffisr®a 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Optimus est orator qui dicendo animos audientiam et docet, et delectat, et permovet. 
 
 TvXLy. 
 
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 WASHINGTON CITY: 
 
 1834. 
 
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 The following review was prepared in 1830, and is published 
 now for the first time. The original plan has been somewhat 
 varied, as many of the sketches of distinguished orators, are 
 here excluded, in order to condense the subject within its 
 present limits. It is hoped, however, that the article will not 
 be found so widely disjointed, as to destroy all connexion be- 
 tween the parts, or even to impair the interest, which might 
 otherwise be claimed for it. 
 
 r 
 
%.;t 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
•:.r 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM A REVIEW, &c. 
 
 Eloquence of the United States^ compiled by E. B. Williston^ in 
 5 vols, Middletown^ Connecticut — Gales S/' Seaton'^s Register 
 of Debates^ ^c, Sfc. 
 
 With the aid of the works which stand at the head of this ar- 
 ticle, we propose to throw together a few observations on the 
 Parliamentary and Forensic Eloquence of the United States. 
 
 The early history of this country presents to the American 
 reader, a spectacle in which he has reason to feel an elevated 
 pride. In the characters of our revolutionary ancestors, he has 
 the satisfaction to witness a degree of intelligence, seldom sur- 
 passed. The light of regeneration no sooner diffused itself over 
 the drooping, and almost hopeless spirits of those, to whom we 
 are indebted for our present national existence, than a new era 
 immediately dawned. The arts flourished — literature extended 
 the circle of its enchantment, and eloquence, like a torrent, in- 
 undated the whole land. Our republic, founded on principles of 
 solid justice, encouraged the liberal pursuits; freedom of action 
 and opinion predominated in the remotest corner, and the in- 
 fluence of this system, gladdened the hopes of every class of 
 society. The genius of the age which had drunk at this fountain, 
 and become purified by its waters, broke out in a sublimity 
 scarcely paralleled in the annals of the world. It was the 
 pride of our early history, that the event of the revolution found 
 us somewhat advanced in the arts of peace. Our fathers had 
 brought with them from a country, distinguished alike for its 
 learning and industry, the seeds of a liberal ambition, and these 
 grew lip and prospered, until a full harvest, by disseminating its 
 profits, imbedded them forever in our soil. They had crossed the 
 ocean under advantages which, at that time, no set of men could 
 
have boasted in an equal proportion: they were enlightened, 
 enterprising, and already deeply skilled in the discoveries of 
 knowledge, 
 
 American Eloquence, of which we are here to speak, drew 
 almost its first breath with the constitution of our republic. The 
 condition of the colonial government was so little calculated to 
 elevate the mind, or cherish intellectual aspiration, that until the 
 more auspicious period of our rupture with Great Britain, few 
 examples are to be met with of even moderate proficiency, in 
 the art of correct speaking. Nor is it surprising that oratory 
 should have slept with the enslaved spirit of the times. Govern- 
 ment must be liberal and compromising, neither too loose to favor 
 licentious indulgence, nor too severe to restrict the exercise of 
 free inquiry. Slavery creates an atmosphere in which nothing 
 can exist but its own enormities: it enjoins all manly pursuits, 
 tyrannises over the passions, and cramps, within its withering grasp, 
 all the generous feelings of the soul. The revolution found us 
 in this state of depression, the sparks of genius which had been 
 so long dormant, were ready to blaze forth at the shortest notice, 
 and only awaited the approach of a storm to mingle in general 
 conflagration. Under these circumstances, eloquence commenc- 
 ed: it sprang from a pure fountain, and flowed on, in a wide and 
 expanded ocean, from the very source of its origin. 
 
 In our own country, to a greater extent, perhaps, than in any 
 other part of the civilized globe, oratory has been relied upon 
 as the surest guide to honor and promotion: it is found to satisfy 
 the most grasping ambition, while equal talents and industry, 
 directed to pursuits of a more laborious and not less elevated 
 character, have ended in disappointment, or haply, passed with- 
 out notice altogether: where the number of those, on whom the 
 weight of government devolves, is extensive, the list of public 
 speakers will be correspondingly great, and be it our pride or 
 misfortune, it is no less true, that our history has ajways abound- 
 ed in the names of those, who have offered themselves as can- 
 
m 
 
 didates for oratorical distinction. To the universality of this 
 profession, we are doubtless to ascribe much of our present 
 happiness and prosperity. Public attention is often difficult to 
 be arrested, and seldom obeys the call of any but the most active 
 messengers — it requires to be roused by the charms of a living 
 eloquence. In this way oratory has effected more in the world, 
 than any other similar agent, and has penetrated into regions, 
 where civilization has scarcely entered, and the light of know- 
 ledge but partially dawned. It has assisted in those wise pro- 
 visions to which society has been so much indebted for the 
 lasting benefits they have conferred, by the establishment of re- 
 ligion and government; it has stimulated the efforts of men, to- 
 wards a judicious employment of their time and labor; it has 
 presided over the storms of political strife and directed their 
 fury; it has reared up factions, deposed sovereigns, overthrown 
 empires: in short, it is a despot, whose power acknowledges 
 no restraint, and whose dominions are co-extensive with the 
 earth itself. 
 
 In the works before us, we have the names of many distin- 
 guished public men. Henry, Lee, Ames, Marshall, Hamilton, 
 Pinkney, Webster, Clay, Wirt, Sergeant, Hayne, Calhoun, 
 McDuffie, &c. &c. It would be impossible to devote to all who 
 occupy even the first rank, on the list of American orators, the 
 space in our hasty notice, which their high merits justly demand, 
 at the hands of the unlimited historian. We are compelled to 
 select such only, as are best known, by their connexion, with 
 the constitution and operations of our government. 
 
 The early eloquence of the United States derives its origin 
 from a remarkable source. It is believed that no part of the 
 civilized globe, ever exhibited a brighter assemblage of the 
 highest characteristics of genius, than did our infant republic, 
 during the years immediately succeeding our separation from 
 England, and the establishment of the federal compact. To 
 this undoubted pre-eminence, we ^re indebted for that honorable 
 
8 
 
 tribute of Lord Chatham, in the British Parliament, where he 
 declared, that "for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and 
 wisdom of conclusion, under such a complication of diflScult 
 circumstances, no nation or body of men, could stand in prefer- 
 ence to the general Congress at Philadelphia." We revert to 
 those days, from the present advanced stage of our political ex- 
 istence, without the slightest reason to exult in any advantage, 
 which modern improvements have authorised us to assert. The 
 spirited eloquence of our ancestors, their faculties of penetra- 
 tion and judgment, their extensive and practical knowledge, and 
 those Roman virtues, which recommended whatever they un- 
 dertook, to the notice of mankind, enabled them to bequeath a 
 character to their posterity, which must furnish a proud model 
 to all future ages. 
 
 We are indebted to Mr. Henry for a large share of the glory 
 which adorned the history of those times. His mighty genius, 
 breaking the fetters in which it had been so long bound, scatter- 
 ed before him the clouds of terror that were gathering over the 
 land, and shed a lustre on the gloomiest crisis of our revolution- 
 ary troubles. His services are so interwoven with the events 
 that resulted in the production of the government under which 
 we live, that it is now almost impossible, to acquaint ourselves 
 with the cause to which this existence is ascribable, without 
 observing the intimate ties, by which his name is connected with 
 it throughout. Of the extent of Mr. Henry's powers, it would 
 be useless to attempt, at this late period, any very accurate de- 
 scription. From the imperfect reports that have come to us, 
 we are not prepared to appreciate the force of his astonishing 
 mind; nor should we be altogether satisfied to risk his fame, 
 upon the evidences which these afford. Tradition has woven 
 him a brighter crown than any of his harangues would seem to 
 justify. Printed reports are not always to be relied upon as 
 indicia, by which to estimate the influence of natural elo- 
 quence. A test like this could not fail to betray the injustice of 
 
its own operation; genius would be forgotten or shorn of its ho- 
 nors, and such men as Lord Chatham, with a host of others, 
 ^ might lose a large share of the applause, which the world, in its 
 liberality, has accorded to them. With an understanding natu- 
 rally vigorous, Mr. Henry blended a peculiarity of manner and 
 action, which rendered his style of oratory singularly imposing. 
 If these do not come to us in speeches, they survive in the recol- 
 lections of those, who w^ere victims of their influence, or in co. 
 temporaneous notices, the reward of their merit, while the ora- 
 tor and his eloquence yet lived to inspire a liberal commenda- 
 tion. Those with whom he acted, are the only competent judg- 
 es of the degree to which his extraordinary talents elevated 
 him. We have before us his speeches in the Virginia Con- 
 vention of 1798. Mr. Henry, it may be proper to remark, 
 was in the minority, on all the wise, and statesman-like, pro- 
 visions, recommended on that occasion, for the permanent se- 
 curity of our union; but it is equally true, that from his earli- 
 est life, he advocated the cause of the people, and his views 
 here, are by no means inconsistent with his favorite scheme of 
 a rational democracy. These displays of his eloquence, in their 
 present form, are remarkable for great clearness and simplicity, 
 without perhaps doing full justice to his capacity. They have 
 been corrected, it is said, by his own hand; but Mr. Henry was 
 no scribe, and we are, therefore, to receive them, only as faith- 
 ful records of the substance of his views, on the engrossing sub- 
 jects then before the convention. It is not expected that the 
 dispassionate reader of the present day, can discern in them the 
 same master-strokes of genius, that resistless energy which bore 
 down all opposition, or those persuasive arts, which those who 
 saw and heard him, have united in describing, in terms of such 
 high, and no doubt, merited praise. By these, it will appear, 
 that he confided mainly in the strength of his natural resources, 
 as he is known to have indulged an almost instinctive horror of 
 application. He derived little aid from the lights of science, 
 2 
 
10 
 
 He lived without toil, under no restraint, and seemed always 
 desirous, to enjoy the credit of his own lofty powers, without 
 obligation to human interference or direction. On subjects of 
 natural right, he was the most remarkable man of his age: this, 
 in truth, was his appropriate element. It was here that he ex- 
 erted his whole force, and broke out in those meteoric flashes, 
 which charmed and astonished every mind. We should recom- 
 mend, as the least faulty of his works, now before the world, 
 his speech in 1775, on a resolution providing measures for the 
 protection of the colonies. This effort has stood the test of 
 time. The report has been made with great accuracy, and we 
 may imagine, even at this late day, the effect of such an appeal, 
 on the incensed feelings of his audience. The pure spirit which 
 inspired the orator in those dark times, has found an asylum in 
 the hearts of an enlightened people, and the first voice of the re- 
 volution, can never fall coldly on their ears. While this spirit 
 continues, Mr. Henry's speech, apart from its own intrinsic me- 
 rit, must form a bright link in that great chain of events, which 
 resulted in the independence of our happy republic. 
 
 Cotemporary with this wonderful man, and fellow-laborers in 
 the daring work of rebellion, on the same floor, were Bland, 
 and Pendleton, and Wythe, and Lee. These men had all grown 
 up under the colonial government, and possessed qualifications of 
 the highest order, for the station which they occupied with so 
 much dignity and honor. Richard Henry Lee was somewhat 
 removed from the rest of his associates; he was surpassed by 
 Mr. Henry in the constitution of his natural mind, but in educa- 
 tion and acquirements, was decidedly his superior. The house 
 of Burgesses in Virginia, at that time, presented a galaxy of the 
 brightest luminaries — both statesmen and orators, men that could 
 have suffered by no comparison. The first years of a govern- 
 ment, recently organized, are not usually distin^ished by works 
 of a permanent character, but the incidents of our revolutionary 
 history, comprise much, on which the eye of posterity, will 
 
11 
 
 hereafter dwell with delight and enthusiasm. The reader who 
 takes up the mutilated journals of the debates in the Virginia 
 Assembly in 1775, and subsequently, on the adoption of the 
 constitution, will find little left there for his own correction; he 
 is surprised to witness a deviation so wide, from the examples 
 of past ages. The eloquence of that period, has withstood all 
 variations in public taste. The studied preparation, to which it 
 owes its chief merit, embraced a wide field, and the obscurity 
 of our character, the continued repose in which our ancestors 
 had lived^ since their immigration, aided in the general result, 
 and we might add, conduced to its permanency. This interval, 
 like the calm which precedes a storm, had marshalled the 
 strength of our forefathers, and collected whatever of vigor was 
 necessary to the emergency. The orators of those days, flou- 
 rished under advantages, which a more extended national exist- 
 ence, might have placed beyond their reach. Those insidious 
 seducers, which obstruct the march of eloquence, and poison its 
 pure atmosphere, of which multiplied examples could be fur- 
 nished, and in which the present age is unfortunately too prolific, 
 had hardly made their appearance. Pedantry was then compa- 
 ratively unknown: the passion for display which runs through 
 so large a portion of our parliamentary history, had not formed 
 a part of our character: those who practised oratory, followed 
 it for purposes wholly disinterested, as a security against en- 
 croachment, and not a medium, through which to realize plans 
 of personal reward or aggrandizement. This fact will appear 
 more conspicuous, when it comes to be contrasted with the in- 
 flated taste of a more modern date. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 It has excited surprise with those, who have not traced the 
 general progress of oratory in the world, that the long space 
 contained within the date of our establishment, as colonies, and 
 the commencement of that great conflict, which severed the 
 chains of our union with Great Britain, should have passed si- 
 
12 
 
 lently over, without affording any very striking evidence, of 
 those abundant resources which carried with them such distinc- 
 tion in after times. The pursuit of knowledge had always been 
 a prevailing desire, and the materials which our ancestors 
 brought with them, soon became greatly enlarged. The origi- 
 nal settlers, were, at no time, wanting in industry or persever- 
 ance; they were celebrated for their attainments from the earli- 
 est periods of their association, and the faculties which after- 
 wards contributed to their renown, must have existed through- 
 out in all the native vigor, in which they became finally dis- 
 closed. This season of repose, however, during our colonial 
 servitude, is not without a precedent. It has been remarked 
 by Longinus, that eloquence is to be looked for in free states 
 only. "Liberty," says this illustrious writer, "is the nurse of 
 true genius, it animates the spirit, and invigorates the hopes of 
 man, excites honorable emulation, and a desire of excelling in 
 every art.'' The influence of a liberal government, on the suc- 
 cess of oratory, is observed in the vicissitudes of good and evil 
 fortune, which have attended the march of all human institu- 
 tions. The genius of almost every age, has been denoted, by 
 the condition of its popular eloquence, and the correlative sym- 
 pathy existing between the unrestrained exercise of this most 
 sublime of all pursuits, and the political and moral character of 
 a people, is exemplified in the history of those states, which 
 have risen or sunk with its prosperity, or decline. In 
 Greece, where true eloquence may be said to have originated, 
 during a protracted period of many centuries, the nation flou- 
 rished under a system of equal laws. The effect was magical 
 Success attended every profession; the government advanced, 
 and the people individually prospered: the whole was a scene 
 for proud exultation. A spirit of enterprise everywhere dif- 
 fused itself; its results, redounded to the national honor. Elo- 
 quence buiSt forth at the very contemplation: it flowed alike from 
 the lyceum of the philosopher, from the forum, and from the 
 
13 
 
 halls of legislation: the world felt its benign influence, and the 
 pure fire still lives, to cherish the hopes, and command the admi- 
 ration of posterity.* The free-born Greek shuddered at the very- 
 idea of restraint. Nature and experience had taught him the 
 value of freedom: he had learned to guard it as a sacred inheri- 
 tance, identified both w^ith his prosperity and power. Athens 
 being subjected, and her ancient constitution disregarded, and 
 trampled under foot, a new era arises in the progress of orato- 
 ry. From this time its decline became every day more and 
 more perceptible. The people exulted no longer in those en- 
 larged views, which the spirit of a free government had inspired, 
 and it was not until the age of Demosthenes, whose genius, like 
 the rest, had been aroused by a prospect, remote indeed, of 
 restoring the long lost liberties of his country, that they appear 
 to have recovered from the weight of this depression. 
 
 The finest examples of Roman eloquence, derive their origin 
 from the same sources. It was not until a short time preceding 
 the age of Cicero, that the republic gave to the world any re- 
 markable evidence of her success in oratory, and we are left to 
 conjecture, whether the gradual progress of her institutions, to 
 the standard which had been furnished by those of Greece, in 
 her days of prosperity, did not tend to the production of this ef- 
 fort. The age bf Cicero forms an epoch in the eloquence of 
 Rome, and at no former period, had the nation enjoyed a more 
 liberal and consistent government. The administration of Clo- 
 dius, like the shadow of an eclipse, efiected a partial obscura- 
 tion only; but this soon disappeared, and the re-action ceased to 
 go on. Roman eloquence dates its decline from the institution 
 of the imperial government: it is worthy of remark, that during 
 the many centuries that elapsed, from the accession of Augus- 
 tus, to the invasion of Rome by the northern tribes, scarcely an 
 
 ♦"Oratory is not the child of hireling teachers: it springs from another source, from a 
 love of liberty." Tac. De caus. &c. $ xxxv.— 2. 
 
14 
 
 example of genuine oratory is to be met with under any admin- 
 istration.* 
 
 Such has been the influence of freedom, in the cultivation of 
 this popular art. It enables us to reconcile the indolence of our 
 colonial history, and the suddenness of those brilliant efforts, 
 which at a moment's warning, dazzled the world, and came like 
 a pillar of fire, to guide us through the dark and threatening 
 storms of the revolution. 
 
 Our limited space must necessarily exclude from the notice 
 of this article, the works of many eminent statesmen. The 
 names of Adams, Hamilton, Ames, Randolph, &c are well 
 known to every American reader. 
 
 Mr. Pinkney distinguished himself at a very early period. 
 The first important trust with which he was invested, was a 
 seat in the Maryland Convention, appointed to ratify the con- 
 stitution, soon after which he became a member of the state Le- 
 gislature. In this latter capacity, he continued till his transfer 
 to Congress, in 1790. While a member of the Legislature, ,|| 
 question arose on the policy of the state laws, prohibiting a vo- 
 luntary emancipation of slaves. The subject was reported on 
 by a committee selected for that purpose, and a debate having 
 ensued, Mr. Pinkney embarked in the discussion, and gave the 
 first evidence of his future promise. His speech on that occa- 
 sion has been carefully preserved, and carries with it internal 
 evidence of studied, and elaborate preparation. As a declamato- 
 ry appeal, adapted to the prejudices and passions of his audience, 
 it will be found wanting in many particulars: in its logical bear- 
 ing, it is, perhaps, still more defective. This production, in 
 the notices heretofore taken of it, has been far too highly esti- 
 mated; but the author did not permit himself to share the extra- 
 vagance of his admirers. His opinion may be gathered from a 
 private letter, where he says, in reference to it, that "for a 
 
 * Tac: De caus; Sec. $ ixiv.--12. 
 
15 
 
 young man, it is well enough." In 1796, he was appointed by 
 President Washington, one of the commissioners, on the part of 
 the United States, under the 7th article of Jay's treaty with 
 Great Britain, up to which period, he had been constantly occu- 
 pied in the public service. His engagements with the govern- 
 ment did not expire until 1811, when he was permitted to re- 
 turn home; but the vacation endured only a very short time. 
 Having resumed the labors of his profession, he was called to 
 the office of Attorney General under Mr. Madison, and entered 
 without delay upon its duties. 
 
 The success of Mr. Pinkney in the execution of this new trust, 
 exceeded public expectation. His habits always laborious, 
 had enabled him, while, in England, to devote much time to his 
 profession: he had gone extensively into the most approved 
 authors, attended regularly the courts of justice, and increased 
 his knowledge in every possible way. This had given him a 
 confidence in his professional attainments, which lew men rea- 
 sonably boast, and rendered him competent to the most embarrass- 
 ing calls of his station; Mr. Pinkney was indebted to his sojourn 
 jn England, for most of his legal and political knowledge. His 
 advantages are known to have been great, and it is not probable 
 that he permitted any opportunity of enlarging his understanding, 
 to pass unheeded. His labors were devoted principally to the 
 law, in which he had always taken a deep and lively interest. 
 In this field he has left behind him a monument, which must 
 excite the admiration of generations to come, and indeed, while 
 the holy fabric of the English law, shall continue to rest upon 
 its present enviable basis. 
 
 As a debater, Mr. Pinkney combined talents of the highest 
 order. He was less quick — less felicitous, in the arrangement 
 of his views, on short notices, than some of his distinguished 
 rivals; but his deficiencies, however great, in this respect, were 
 amply supplied, by that ceaseless devotion to his closet, which 
 enabled him to meet with confidence, any emergency, however 
 
16 
 
 sudden. It was his predominant passion to astonish by unex- 
 pected sallies of wit and learning. We have been informed 
 that many of those blazes of eloquence which intersperse his 
 harangues, have been recently found carefully written out, in the 
 form in which they appear. His love of applause had gained too 
 great an ascendancy. His faculty of moulding into a popular shape, 
 whatever was subjected to the action of his luminous mind, 
 gave him frequent opportunities of offering full indulgence to 
 this propensity. He was scarcely ever known to leave a crowd- 
 ed gallery, w^ithout having thrown out something, intended ex- 
 clusively for the popular ear. The speech in the Maryland 
 legislature, to which we have adverted, is evidence of this dis- 
 tinguishing trait, which, in after life, became even more remark- 
 able. 
 
 The perplexity of the negociations, in which Mr. Pinkney 
 bore so prominent a part, in England, made him not only a pro- 
 ficient in Ihe law of nations, but suggested a far more extensive 
 examination, into the difficult science of government, than most 
 men consider important. He saw before him many noble ib- 
 centives, such as had never been more numerous, or striking, at 
 any former period of the English history. It was the age of 
 Pitt, Fox, Canning, Greenville, Brougham, Wyndham, and a 
 long list of illustrious names, who had brought themselves into 
 notice, either by the influence of natural abilities, or that which 
 is still more to be applauded, an untiring assiduity in their re- 
 spective avocations. Although Mr. Pinkney had succeeded in the 
 higher qualifications of the advocate, and become learned in the 
 laws, he was not in the slightest degree incapacitated for pursuits 
 of a more liberal and comprehensive character. His mind did 
 not suffer from professional devotion. He could bind himself 
 down to the nice distinctions and technicalities of a legal argu- 
 ment, or career, in those more elevated and boundless fields, that 
 opened upon him, in the pursuit of his legislative speculations. 
 His speeches on the Missouri question, and the treaty-making 
 
17 
 
 power, are recommended as fine specimens of parliamentary 
 eloquence. 
 
 Mr. Pinkney's style of oratory was not characterised by any 
 very remarkable peculiarity, other than those we have mentioned. 
 His language was chaste and copious, and flowed on in an easy 
 current, meeting by a nice adaptation, the importance or gaiety of 
 his conceptions. He was a complete master of argumentation: 
 he reasoned with energy, and always in conformity to the rules 
 of science, which he observed, if possible, too closely. His 
 treatment of the various subjects that came under his notice, 
 shows that his intellect was one of great acuteness. He follow- 
 ed up his investigations with a perseverance, almost indomitable, 
 and had the satisfaction, on every occasion, to witness the 
 complete triumph of his industry. The great error of his mind, 
 was amplification; but this did not cause a disregard of the 
 minuter claims of logic. Like Mr. Brougham, he might be said 
 to have "twined round and round in a spiral, sweeping the con- 
 tents of a vast circumference before him." Examples of this 
 propensity to generalize, 4i to be met with, in many of his 
 speeches: in none, is there to be found a more striking illus- 
 tration, than that on the Missouri question above referred to. 
 The public always calculated extravagantly on Mr. Pinkney's 
 oratorical gapabilities. He had gratified expectation on so 
 many occasions, that the announcement of his name, for any 
 new effort, was a summons to which every one listened with 
 delight. His dignified person, varied resources, and command- 
 ing elocution, established his popularity with all classes; and he 
 practised liis arts with such infinite dexterity, that the ground 
 on which he stood, became every day, more and more solid. 
 No one left him disappointed. He adorned the rugged paths 
 of argument; presented objects of instruction or amusement, at 
 every step, and subjected his audience to a control, which, while 
 they acknowledged themselves its victims, they could neither 
 tell, when, or in what manner it was assumed. 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Thus much for the past, which we now follow up with 
 some account of our own times, and the better aid of living 
 examples. 
 
 Mr. Webster has contributed so largely towards the im- 
 provement of our national taste, that we make no apology for 
 presenting his name, thus early, to the notice of the reader. It 
 is not a groundless reproach, that oratory, like all other ambi- 
 tious pursuits, in this country, had become seriously corrupt- 
 ed, by a restlessness for distinction, and a spirit of excessive 
 pedantry, which sometimes disregarded every nobler purpose, 
 in the effort to dazzle and astonish the mind. In exposing this 
 error, Mr. Webster may be viewed as a great reformer. We 
 shall omit here any account of his history. Guided as he was, 
 by the aid of profitable examples, he will be found to have 
 avoided, by a well known discrimination, the seductive idols, 
 before which others, had rashly and incautiously, prostrated 
 themselves. We could, not perhaps, furnish a better illustration, 
 of the character and pretensions, a§ this gifted statesman, than 
 is afforded in a single incident connected with his political life.' 
 The debate which took place on the floor of the Senate in 
 1830, in which Mr. Webster was a prominent actor, will be 
 recollected by every reader. His speech on that occasion was 
 admitted to have transcended any of his former efforts, and 
 reflected a merit on the dignified body of which he was a mem- 
 ber, that would have been creditable to England, in the days of 
 her greatest prosperity, when Pitt, and Fox, and Sheridan, stood 
 foremost in the rank of her distinguished sons. His antagonist — 
 at that time the leader of the administration forces in the 
 Senate, was a gentleman of acknowledged abilities, and a debater 
 of the first order. In this contest he had embarked with his 
 whole soul, and we pay a merited tribute to both parties, when 
 we say in reference to the meeting. 
 
19 
 
 "As rolls the sea a thousand waves to the shore, 
 Thus Swarran's host came on: As meets a rock 
 A thousand waves, thus Inisfall met Swarran." 
 
 Mr. Wiftbster rose under a full conviction, of all that was to re- 
 sult from the action of his mighty powers, and as though a se- 
 cret voice had called him to complete, by a finishing stroke, the 
 work of his earthly renown. His appearance was that of no 
 common man, and a stranger entering the Senate chamber, at the 
 instant, would have been immediately impressed, with the idea 
 of his singular endowments. His whole figure was imposing in 
 the extreme; he suffered nothing that had fallen from his assail- 
 ant, to interrupt the serenity of his countenance, or cause the 
 slightest embarrassment. Although expectation had been 
 wrought up to a high pitch, it may be safely afiirjned, that no 
 one present, had anticipated the extent, to which its limits were 
 to be fairly overleaped. He commenced without parade; but 
 his intention soon became manifest, and he was seen to close in 
 a death grapple with his adversary. His versatility and know- 
 ledge astonished all present, and the bounds we had prescribed 
 to bis genius, were broken through, and lost sight of, in the dis- 
 tance which marked his proud elevation: he moved on with a 
 confidence unexampled, in a hitherto untrodden path; his invec- 
 tive was pointed, without elaboration, and triumphant, without 
 being in the least degree offensive: he kept his audience con- 
 stantly merry at the expense of his adversary, and did it after a 
 manqer so entirely consistent with the rules of decorum, that 
 those who suffered most under its castigation, admitted the de- 
 licacy and fairness, with which it was wielded. Such was his 
 appearance in this celebrated controversy. But Mr. Webster 
 was not more indebted to his acknowledged abilities, and the 
 happy faculty of which he proved himself so skilful a master, 
 than the circumstances, under which, he was dragged into this 
 appeal to the public liberality. He was not the invading party; 
 the war had been pushed into his own territory, and he was 
 
20 
 
 here upon his defence, exerting whatever of power, the sudden- 
 ness of the manifesto, and his own embarrassed situation, enabled 
 him to command. When he put on his shield, and girded him- 
 self for the conflict, the cravings of ambition became emerged 
 in a higher and paramount object. The enlargement of his fame 
 was not the motive that animated him: — it was the violated honor 
 of his good name, and that of his great patron, the state of Mas- 
 sachusetts — the integrity of his public conduct, and the consis- 
 tency of his acts and opinions. In passing this high eulogium on 
 the character of Mr. Webster, we are to be understood, as in 
 no way, depreciating that of his distinguished competitor. If 
 when that giant arm was lifted against him, 
 
 '*And swift and heavy fell each thundering blow," 
 
 the South Carolina champion should have excited public com- 
 miseration, it was a sympathy arising, not from the deficiency of 
 his intellect, but the misjudging spirit, which, at an unreflecting 
 moment, had involved him in the perils of this unequal contest. 
 Most of those who occupy a conspicuous place in our histo- 
 ry, have risen from small beginnings, a circumstance which does 
 not want a precedent, in any age of the world. Where men en- 
 ter life with high expectations, or already established fortune, 
 it is natural to presume that little time will be devoted to those 
 pursuits, from which distinction usually flows. Our modern 
 eloquence has degenerated from this cause. It is somewhat re- 
 markable, that the science of government, which numbers among 
 its votaries the ablest men, in all times, and which has never yet 
 been completely mastered, in all its complex bearings, not- 
 withstanding the valuable improvements that expand its limits, 
 should be viewed, as it really is, by a majority of those who as- 
 pire to eminence in oratory, as less a science, than one of the 
 lighter accomplishments. In one of the states,* an amendment 
 has recently been introduced into their constitution, changing 
 the qualification of a delegate to the legislature, from twenty- 
 
 *Virginia. 
 
21 
 
 one to' twenty-five years of age, and this with a view to meet 
 the growing evil, by allowing time for an increase of know- 
 ledge, before the citizen is allowed to take part, in the de- 
 liberations of that body. Notwithstanding, however, the evi- 
 dent disadvantages under which oratory must labor in our pub- 
 lic tribunals, from an obstacle like this, we find speakers shining 
 in debate, exerting the powers of a vigorous understanding, and 
 adorning whatever they touch by the originality of their con- 
 ceptions. Such men, it is reasonable to conjecture, with a more 
 expanded knowledge, might realize rewards, far beyond 
 what the world, under their present disabilities, has felt jus- 
 tified in according to them. Cicero (de oratore) tells us that 
 oratory is not the work of intuition: to surmount its difficulties, 
 one should make himself acquainted with all that is worth know- 
 ing, either in art or nature. ^'Ac rnea quide7n sententia^ nemo po- 
 test esse omne laude orator ^ nisi erit omnium rerum magnarum^ 
 atque artium scientiam consecutur?'^ He was himself an example 
 of a well cultivated intellect, combined with fine natural abili- 
 ties. He had devoted a youth to study, and we find among his 
 ihtructors, Phaedrus, and Arcbias, and Philo, and Diodotus, and 
 those illustrious statesmen, the Scaevolas. But when Tully 
 lived, the discoveries of knowledge were contained within a 
 moderate space, and all that demanded attention, in art and na- 
 ture, was bounded by a reasonable compass. Since then, new 
 fields have been explored, new lights revealed, and a world of 
 useful speculations laid open to the mind. Philosophy is indebt- 
 ed to modern times for some of its most valuable acquisitions: 
 Political economy is of recent origin, and we are to add to this, 
 that more than Egyptian structure, the common law of England, 
 which, in connexion with its commentary, forms an important 
 part of English literature, and has risen into a mountain of con- 
 flicting doctrines, whose very contemplation is appalling.* We 
 
 * Six months, according to Cicero, was ample time, in his day, for the study of jurispru- 
 dence. It is said that the forms, and other papers, in a single case, recently argued by the 
 great Irish advocate, O'Connell, weighed little short of a ton!!! 
 
22 
 
 profess a better understanding of the economy of human re- 
 sources, than to recognize such advice, as Cicero here gives us, 
 as at all essential, in the present enlightened age. In our pre- 
 parations for the high demands of oratory, it is quite enpugh, 
 that we devote ourselves to cardinal principles only, such as 
 are useful, by their application to the arts, and consequent in- 
 fluence over society. In the existing state of the sciences, and 
 the general augmentation in all the departments of knowledge, 
 we should trace out those fountains, from which the greatest be- 
 nefit is likely to accrue. We find the necessity of the rules laid 
 down by Lord Bacon,* in separating the useful, from that which 
 is of a character equally specious, and on this account decep- 
 tive. The propriety of such a plan is clearly confirmed, by the 
 almost total failure of those, who in their avidity to grasp every 
 thing, really excel in very little. The dominions of knowledge 
 are too extensive, for the limited time allotted to man: he should 
 father his resources with the utmost possible diligence. The 
 great misfortune in this country is, that the majority of our pub- 
 lic men, enter life without the adoption of any regular system qf^, 
 education. They anticipate the labor necessary to carry then/, 
 even a moderate distance on this untried journey, and sink un- 
 der its terrors, almost before they are apprized of its difficul- 
 ties. They draw upon nature when they know that farther ex- 
 actions are unreasonable — that she has already showered down 
 upon them her choicest blessings; and omit, in their impatience, 
 "under salutary and necessary restraint," those additional quali- 
 fications which fit them for the duties of practical legislation, and 
 the storms of political warfare. The preliminaries of an aca- 
 demical course having been accomplished, we see our youth 
 gradually throwing off the reins of a useful disciplihe — forget- 
 ting the importance of a farther conformity to their early pur- 
 suits, and shortly taking part in the weighty concerns of go- 
 vernment. Men entering life under obstacles like these, to use 
 
 * Organ, scient. 
 
23* 
 
 the language of Mr. Locke, may be said "readily and sinQerely 
 to follow reason, but for the want of that which one may call 
 large, sound, round-about sense, have not a full view of all that 
 relates to the question, and may be of moment to decide it.'^ 
 The characteristic of efforts, emanating from such a source, is 
 not that of permanency. Oratory may exert a power equally 
 resistless for the time, but the danger is, that the eflfect may 
 pass away, and be forgotten with the occasion that called it 
 forth. 
 
 In concluding what we have to say on this branch of our sub- 
 ject, we shall do little more than allude to another very dis- 
 tinguished individual, whose success in oratory has gained bim 
 the highest renown. His connexion with our history, is too 
 well known to require a particular notice here. Henry Clay 
 occupies a station, in many respects, peculiarly his own. On 
 the floor of Congress, where his brightest triumphs have been 
 realized, he has acted with many illustrious statesmen, all of 
 
 whom, he emulated in their chiefest eflbrts. 
 
 ^ # # * * # # 
 
 Messrs Clay and Webster, in the structure of their minds, 
 and their general style of oratory, are somewhat at variance 
 with each other. The one is a practised rhetorician, the other, 
 a self-taught reasoner: the one all life — all spirit, seldom abrupt 
 or disjointed, the other calculating and profound — on light sub- 
 jects, indifferent, to a fault, on questions of interest, blazing 
 with the flames of a volcano. Mr. Clay is always the same, 
 what you see him to day, he is sure to appear to-morrow — he 
 indulges in a stream of impassioned eloquence uniform through- 
 out. No clouds overhang his path: he goes on in the light of a 
 continued sunshine, over a bed of flowers, whose beauty and 
 fragrance enliven him at every step. Mr. Webster's course is 
 that of a mighty wind breaking over mountain and cliff. Some- 
 times he is terrible as the storm, when it desolates the face of 
 
•24 
 
 nature, and moves on in a whirl of resistless energy, at others— 
 a zephyr, serene, tranquil, and harmless. Mr. Clay always trusts 
 himself to impulse; but in addressing an audience, his ideas 
 would seem to carry with them, the marks of previous arrange- 
 ment — every sentence appears to have been measured, with a 
 view to melody, and each word finds its proper place. Mr. 
 Webster is borne on by the impetuosity of his genius. His 
 ideas crowd upon him and are thrown out, self-called, and it 
 
 would almost seem, self-directed. 
 
 # # # # * * 
 
 The Forensic Eloquence of the United States has been sup- 
 ported with equal talent and ability. The respective slates re- 
 serving to themselves, the privileges of distinct sovereignties, af- 
 ford employment to a large number of lawyers. Little encour- 
 agement, however, is offered, to men of aspiring views, except 
 where a single jurisdiction includes, as is sometimes the case, 
 the business of large commercial cities. Of all the tribunals 
 connected with this system, the most important is our supreme 
 federal judiciary, and it is to those, whose names adorn the 
 record of its proceedings, that we shall look for the supf^fl, 
 which this department of oratory has heretofore received. The 
 jurists of this country, generally speaking, are less learned than 
 those of England. The nature of our laws, and the better ar- 
 rangement of our legal system, enable us to boast a decided ad- 
 vantage. It may be safely asserted, that nearly one-half of the 
 litigation, with which the people of Great Britain are oppressed, 
 arises out of the complication of their judicature. With them 
 the law is a prevailing pursuit, and to men of talents and pro- 
 mise, holds out a certain reward. Since the establishment of 
 their government, it has been increasing in extent: it is now 
 grown into an Atlantean mass. Its fruits are to be gathered on- 
 ly by the most ceaseless perseverance, or as Sir William Black- 
 stone quotes, in his introductory lecture, Hucubrationes viginti 
 
25 
 
 annorum* In England, therefore, it comes invested with a 
 charm, which in our own country it has not yet, and we may be 
 permitted to hope, never will acquire. 
 
 On entering the Supreme Court, of which alone we propose 
 to speak, the first object that attracts the eye is the person of 
 the venerable chief justice, w^ho was called to this station on 
 the death of Mr. Jay , and of whom we might also say, that 
 "when the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell upon him, it 
 touched nothing not as spotless as itself." Here he has con- 
 tinued ever since. His decisions have been extensive, and con- 
 stitute in themselves, a complete system of proceeding, in near- 
 ly all the controversies that arise under our constitution. It is 
 a source of congratulation to the whole country, that we should 
 have been blessed with the labors of such a man, at a time 
 when our government is yet untried, and the constitution under 
 which we act, liable to much difference of construction. So far 
 he has harmonized all parties, and it is now universally conced- 
 ed^ that no man could have been clothed with this duty, better 
 qn^\^ed to contribute to the dignity of the station, and the high 
 character of his profession. Before this tribunal, the speaker 
 comes divested of all meretricious ornament. He stands here in 
 the gladsome light of jurisprudence, surrounded by an atmos- 
 phere of reason, where Justice is always ready to apply her im- 
 partial test. He expects no applause from crowded galleries; 
 he reads no smiles of favor, or disapprobation in the countenanc- 
 es of his hearers; he indulges in no bursts of idle declamation; 
 his course is right onward, and his eloquence the offspring of an 
 enlightened reason. We might ask with a distinguished ancient, 
 "is there any thing that can equal the heart-felt satisfaction of 
 the able advocate.'^" His reputation is beyond the reach of cri- 
 
 * Fortesque, in his work, "De laudibus legam Anglioe,*' gives us some idea of the labors 
 of an Englisli lawyer. 
 
 ^^Quare ad statum et gradum {Sergeant) talem, nullus hueusgue assumptus est; gut no 
 in predicto generali legis studio^ sexdecivi annos ad minus^ antea complevit. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 ticism: it may be covet ted by the great and good of all classes. 
 No rival success can overshadow it. Competition from the 
 other professions, struggles in a fruitless attempt to reach it. 
 He who would aspire to such a character, must bring with him 
 talents of the highest order, and fitted for the discharge of the 
 noblest functions; in a word, we may say with Aper in the Di- 
 alogue, he must have the "god within him." 
 
 The Supreme Court, heretofore, has not held out sufficient en- 
 couragement, to induce gentlemen of learning in the laws, to 
 devote themselves exclusively to its business, nor is it probable, 
 that this will ever be the case. Its jurisdiction being chiefly ap- 
 pellate, those by whom the causes on its docket, have been ori- 
 ginally argued, will, in most instances, come here to aid in their 
 final determination. Each State must take a pride in patronizing 
 talent within its own limits, and individuals confide more in the 
 services of men, who boast a common interest with themselves, 
 than those of whom they know nothing, except by report. At 
 all times, however, notwithstanding these prejudices, there have 
 been one or more persons, who have engrossed a large share of 
 the business of the court. Formerly, the names of Dur^r^ 
 Pinkney, &c. attract our notice; at a more recent date, those of 
 Webster, Wirt, Sergeant, &c. 
 
 Mr. Dexter was one of those, in whom nature had become so 
 deeply interested, that she seemed to omit nothing for the assist- 
 ance of education. He possessed a mind of uncommon strength 
 — altogether the most powerful and comprehensive of his day, 
 and fitted for the elucidation of those dark questions in law, and 
 politics, which occur so often, during the operations of a deli- 
 berative government. He was not a very learned lawyer, but 
 there was no deficiency, which the soundness of his principles 
 did not supply; and he found himself, on all subjects of liberal 
 justice, as much at home, when speaking from the great text- 
 book of his own understanding, as those who follow the paths 
 
27 
 
 of precedent, and are guided by the surer lights of experience. 
 He was the most enlightened constitutional lawyer the country 
 had produced, and he drew his knowledge from the deep foun- 
 tains of his own mind. His eloquence was of a truly convinc- 
 ing order. He seemed always to stake his reputation, on the 
 result of every cause, in which his services were employed: he 
 labored with his whole soul and spirit, and in this way, made 
 the interest of his client, his own. Such was the earnestness 
 of his manner, and so entirely free from suspicion, the exercise 
 of his ingenuity, that no one knew the extent, even where the 
 absurdity of a proposition was supposed to be evident, to which 
 he was yielding up his faith, before the triumph of this great 
 master-spirit was complete. In this particular, he has been 
 well described by a very great man, in a character of Demos- 
 thenes.* " Omnem artificii suspicionem tollit^ et in narrationibus 
 non advocati studium sed testis fidem^ in argumentis non rei ex- 
 cusationem sedjudicio auctoritatem habet?'^ His arguments were, 
 in all respects, unexceptionable. He studiously prepared and 
 dio-ested every idea that he uttered, and his arrangement of a 
 subject, established the advantage of that perseverance in 
 thought, which enabled him to boast so decided an influence. 
 He encumbered himself with no useless labor; his views were 
 all infallible, and his audience never had occasion to pause, in 
 order to consider their relations to each other — all tended to the 
 same end, and aided in the grand design. Such was the supe- 
 riority of his judgment, that nothing was ill-timed or superflu- 
 ous: his object became familiar to the dullest comprehension, 
 and no one left the fabric, which he had constructed, without 
 admiring its beauty and symmetry, and under a belief, that 
 
 "He said no more, than just the thing he ought." 
 
 In character not less prominent as a jurist, was Mr. Pinkney. 
 In the disposition of his mind, he was quite on the other ex- 
 
 '■' Lord Mansfield. 
 
28 
 
 treme. He could confide equally with others of the same rank, in 
 his own views of the subjects that occupied him; but he possessed 
 a natural love of labor — a predilection for research, which kept 
 him constantly on the alert, lest at any time, he should be 
 found encroaching on the principles of established authority. 
 Where Mr. Dexter looked only to the issue, and measured his 
 course, by the deductions of a sound instinctive logic, avoiding, 
 we had almost said as incumbrances^ or something quite as im- 
 material, the doctrines of previous adjudication, Mr. Pinkney 
 seldom passed over such auxiliaries as useless. He took plea- 
 sure in collating authorities, and following out his course, by the 
 
 guides which these furnished him. 
 
 # * # * # * 
 
 Of the relative claims of Messrs. Wirt and Webster, who 
 are intimately connected, at this time, with the business of the 
 Supreme Court, and who have become familiarly known', as 
 men of the highest legal ability, it might be interesting, did our 
 limits permit, to speak at large. Mr. Wirt in early life did not 
 attain to any extraordinary professional skill. He had yiel/^ 
 too much, to that restlessness for renown, which so often retards 
 the march of genius, or disappoints its destiny. He was ad- 
 mitted to the bar, without either a very extenswe, or a very 
 labored preparation, and could not have been grounded in those 
 fundamental principles of the law, which are so indispensable, 
 to the complete success of a jurist. The writer has heard from 
 this distinguished man, that when he entered the practice in 
 Virginia, his library consisted of a few odd volumes, and these 
 not altogether such, as Chancellor Kent, or some of our legal 
 disciplinarians of the present day, would be likely to recommend. 
 Among these, if his memory serves him, were some volumes 
 of Shakespeare, one or two of Blackstone's Commentaries— and 
 perhaps Sterne's Tristram Shandy, with a few more of a like 
 character. The reception of the Britsh Spy, a work not un- 
 known to the reader, gave the first evidence of his capacity 
 
29 
 
 for writing, and it is probable, that after the date of this publica- 
 tion, his profession became more and more subservient to miscel- 
 laneous literature, and pursuits of this character. Mr. Wirt's 
 appointment to the office of Attorney General, under Mr. 
 Monroe, gave a new impetus to the labors in which he had been 
 engaged. From this time he began to feel the necessity of an 
 exclusive devotion to his studies. Where the situation of a 
 lawyer, does not require any great degree of ingenuity or ap- 
 plication, he will be found invariably to accommodate his own 
 capacity and strength, to that of his adversary, and rest satisfied 
 with such preparation only, as may enable him to meet the 
 extent of the opposition he anticipates. This had been the 
 error of Mr. Wirt's life. The Supreme Court opened upon 
 him a new theatre. The competition likely to be encountered 
 here, was not only very formidable in point of merit, but quite 
 as much to be dreaded, on account of the varied talent and 
 abihty, with which it was sustained. It was found necessary to 
 be prepared equally for the studied onset of the disciplined foe, 
 or the reckless attack of the cunning marauder. After his ele- 
 vation to this ofiice, Mr. Wirt increased daily the fund of his 
 professional knowledge. He threw off immediately, the em- 
 broidered robes, which his fancy had wrought for him, in the 
 days of its youthful effervescence, and clothed himself in the 
 graver and more dignified dress, suited to his rank and station. 
 It required indeed, a more than common philosophy to put on 
 this new character; to bind in chains, the exercise of his 
 imagination, fraught as it was, with so much that was charming 
 and delightful, and frown upon those bright images, that were 
 wont to throw their cresset fire, over the dark scenes of his 
 professional labors. But it was accomplished, notwithstanding. 
 Those who have known Mr. Wirt, in his younger days, and 
 have read the effusions of his pen, or made themselves familiar 
 with his then style of oratory, find it diflBcult to credit the fact 
 of the complete metamorphosis, which his new station in life, 
 
30 
 
 had the effect of producing in him. But it is no longer question- 
 able. The sceptic has only to refer to his history, for the last 
 fifteen years. He will find him setting out in a new career — 
 drawing a curtain over the past, and entering upon the con- 
 struction of a monument to his reputation, more durable than 
 that which he had originally designed, and in every respect 
 worthy of posterity — such as the revolutions of time could not 
 impair or destroy. In the prosecution of this new work, he has 
 realized his most sanguine hopes. He now occupies the highest 
 rank, to which a professional man, in this country, can ascend, 
 and has become the rival of one of the greatest lawyers, which 
 our own country, indeed we might add, the present age, has 
 yet produced. 
 
 Mr. Webster, owing to his double character of jurist and 
 politician, has in some respects obtained an ascendancy, over 
 his accomplished rival. His duties in the Senate of the United 
 States, have disclosed to him a more expanded field, than is 
 necessary to be traversed, in order to sustain the former cha- 
 racter. Questions of constitutional law frequently arise, whiclL. 
 require, not only the proper science of the jurist; but all that 
 additional knowledge, which an intimate acquaintance with the 
 principles and action of a government, alone furnishes. In this 
 particular, he has enjoyed a decided advantage. It may be also 
 said, that Mr. Webster is less partial to labor, and more devoted 
 to his own habits of thought; his mind is naturally more pro- 
 found than that of Mr. Wirt; but on subjects of abstract law, 
 they may be viewed as equally balanced, for the one supplies by 
 industry and preparation, w4iat nature has bestowed upon the 
 other without the same faculty for research. 
 
 We have thus passed hastily, but, we hope not without a just 
 discrimination, over this interesting subject, which might have 
 filled a larger space, and dignified a more able pen, than has been 
 in our power to devote to it: Those, of whom we have spoken 
 
31 
 
 in detail, are selected from a long list of distinguished names, 
 whose merits will find them a place hereafter, in a record less 
 fleeting than this. The labor of illustrating by example, all 
 that has been said, would have been endless, besides the fact, 
 that it would have proved a useless tax, upon a great majority of 
 our readers. 
 
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