'i!,?.?^ARY OF CX)NGRESS 
 
 III nil I 
 
AN 
 
 ®®i^®S®P?^ 
 
 DELIVERED ON THE 22d FEBRUARY, 1832. 
 
 ROBERT R. COI.LIER, Esc^. 
 
 ♦« 
 
 APPOINTED 
 
 331 THE CITIZENS OP FETERSBURGo 
 
 *'I have dared attempt his praise." 
 
 PRINTED BY YANCEY & WILSON. 
 1832. 
 
 -«2;*y., 
 
C ^ 
 
OUATZOI^. 
 
 Fkiends and Countrymen : 
 
 The j;reat events of a century have been evolved, since the 
 hirth of llie niaa v. hose menoory we have assembled to honor. 
 Atnid the vicissitudes of this period, crowns have crumbled and 
 palaces decayed, and the permanent structure of Freedom, in a 
 few favored regions, hath been erected on their ruins. Revolu- 
 tion, in its devastating renovations, has effaced the deep foun- 
 dations of empires ; and the fancied immortality of their founders 
 has been loit in the quiveriogjs of the convulsion, or lives to 
 dazzle and to terrify. But the fame of Washington has sur- 
 vived the wreck, and flourishes io invigorated freshness. ^ Fos- 
 tering virtue, and rebuking ambition which overleaps itself,Tirae, 
 in his hurried flight, honors its fellowship, and the waste of ages 
 will not wither it. Feeling anew its holy unction, on this hal- 
 lowed day, and eschewing the mean spirit of adulation, vye re- 
 view his virtues with solemn reverence, and, with gratitude, 
 retrace his achievements; and rallying around the altar oi 
 America's freedom, on this fit occasion, we renew, with reiiiQ- 
 dled ardor, the vow of devotion and the pledge of union. 
 
 Of these great events, none other has had so pervading and 
 beneficial a bearing on the destinies of nations, as the Amerioan 
 Kevolution. Originaiing in resistance to tyranny, — sustained by 
 materials discordant, but inspired with the spirit of liberty and 
 recruited for its service, — its onset, Qevertheless, seemed to 
 threaten unmitigated disaster and subjugation. The defeat on 
 Long Island, and Lee's capture, too well calculated to daoip 
 the ardor of raw recruits, spirited up stout hearts to bolder ad- 
 venture, and infused a sterner courage into the bosoms ol men 
 preferring liberty to life and leaih to dishonor. And soon, wh^n 
 adversity had convulsed the country into action, these wounds 
 were covered with laurels, and these deep sighs silenced by the 
 songs of victory. The masterly retreat from Trenton, the vic- 
 tories at Princeton and Monmouth, revived the sinking spirits 
 of the patriot army ; and though the Chief's best designs and 
 boldest efforts were sometimes frustrated by incidents without 
 the scope of human sagacity, his countrymen and Congress 
 admired hisFabian caution or Carthagenian fierceness.and con- 
 tided iu the constancy of his fortitude, which defied misfortune. 
 
Evoa the trlumphaat troops of Gates, ^ thouj;^!} faction mur- 
 mured, viewed him, steadily, as the pillar of cloud by day, aod, 
 by night, the fiery pdlar of the captive Israel ; aud clung to him, 
 as their political Saviour, with a firm reliance which no slander 
 could shake, and with a resolute love which no machiuatiou 
 could subdue. 
 
 As the storm gathered and its dangers thickened, friendships 
 and resources sprang into action, as if by the creative touch of a 
 special Providence. The alliance with France, and the arrival 
 of her fleet, unfolded brighter prospects, and created a general 
 joy. Even in the mother country, stretching her tyrannic arms 
 of giant's strength, yet weakened by the stretch, to the romantic 
 and devoted baul-s of the overflowing Ohio, and to those of ihe 
 renowned and ancient Gao;ies, — even there, the fearless friends 
 of the rights of man, aud they were not feeble, though few, 
 iuv.^ighed with eloquence, and openly, against the accuised and 
 unn-»iural principle of the war. Pitt, " whose wisdom bade 
 the broils of nations cease," pronounced it to involve every 
 characteristic of human depravitj, and to portend every humaa 
 mischief to the people by whom it was engendered. The im- 
 mortal Fox proclaimed it a ivar which drew the blood, the very 
 sustenance, from the vitals of the country : which filled the land 
 ■with lamentations for their own brave countrymen slain in the 
 cause af injustice, or recorded the righteous siruggles of their per- 
 secuted opponents, nobly bleeding in ihe holy defence of their 
 freedom. f Still did ministerial cupidity cling to so mighty aud 
 profitable a portion of the empire, and contest the very right and 
 legality to relinquish it. But all the profuse expenditure of Bri- 
 tish wealth: all' the boldest efforts of British power; all the 
 splendid exploits of British valor, though directed by Briiish 
 skill, proved powerless and ineffectual against the smiling en- 
 couragement of American Heroines and the God of Hosts, aui- 
 mafing and aiding American gallantry, guided by lh3 genius of 
 Washiivgton. 
 
 Through a doubtful and protracted contest, he displayed a 
 firmness that never wavered, and an integrity of purpose as 
 perfect as his prudence. To prevent famine in the camp, he 
 was forced to extort supplies for his army at the point of the 
 bayonet % He deplored the expedient as subversive of discipline, 
 and calculated to instil into his soldiery a disposition to plunder : 
 but >!ie depreciation of the Congress-bills of ciedit, and the de- 
 
 *lii..iisay'sLi(e of Washington) p. 84. 
 tMoclern Europe, by Jones. +Rainsay, p. 7D. 
 
o 
 
 ficieit manaiieinctit in iha Gomrais.snry Department, cr/a3j>ji'C',! 
 to laave hitn no alrornatlve is^or did tlie pcrprexitics of povesly, 
 unsiipplied arsenals an(i ofnnry m-igazinos, alono retiiH hs'^ 
 raarcii to triumph. The aboriginal Savage, iustij^ated by the 
 depravity of British emissaries, terrified the tVoatier settlement^; 
 with dreadful repetitions of inhuman crueUies. Tho Tory and 
 
 the Traitor let them sleep ; they withered beneath his jz;!ance, 
 
 and sunk under the }i,lory of his destiny. The e?:eitioj; iiazardi 
 of rapid rivers and trackless wilds, in the constant discharge of 
 his arduous duties, were cut'ountered and compassed with cau- 
 tion ud courage. The s(>ii"it of his snldiershi[>, — fertile in expe- 
 dients, prompt in iraproviuj? every advaotftge, sole nn in conflict 
 and serene in coiiquest, — was perplexed by multifiirai and con- 
 fluent difficulties, which, rolling- on like the billows of the ^reat 
 deep, and each emulafiog its precursor in heif^rit, espende.l their 
 vigor, against the tower of strength, and subsided in vanity. 
 Amid the toils of the tented field, detecring ?.m\ hafflins the 
 strataji;eins and skill of a widely spread en-miy, he manaiTed the 
 diplomatic relations of his country, exposed errors of civil niau- 
 a^esnent, and diflust^d the iovarialde li,,ht of a steadfast zeal in- 
 spiriting his restorative energy. Lloquent in patriotism, nud 
 ever ready to hazard liis persona! popularity fi»r the good ofhis 
 country, his piirsuasive influence with the Legislature of Ver- 
 mont, bold among the bravest in the fi^ht with the forei;.aj foe, 
 was happily exerted to extinguish ''the sparks of civil til^cord 
 which were kindling into a flaase."* Great without effort, pa- 
 triotic without tumult, exerting his induence without indignity 
 find his authority without arrogance, he arrested the inclination 
 to mutiny jn thai uncjad army which had attested, lo the world, 
 that Americans were as devoted to freedom and terrible inarms, 
 as they had been tolerant of unjust exactions and hwnhlc in re- 
 monstrance: in that untrained army which had wrung renowu 
 from disaster,! and snatched the trophies of triumph hmu de- 
 feat : in thaif unpaid army whose skill and valor won, at York 
 Town, with the aid of a gallant nation, enduring renown which 
 "the winds of Heaven will not visit roughly," even after the fame 
 of Marengo and the Nile shall have grown dim with age ; and 
 which imparted a brighter lustre to the benevolent aid of the 
 then noble stranger, the grandeur of whose philanthropy, un- 
 awed by tyranny and magnificent amid its ruins, now rivals, in 
 efficacious expansion, the ubiquity of his lame. 
 
 The eyes of all liurope were uow fixed on '' The Soldier of 
 
 *ilainsay, n. Ml. tTlie Battle at Guilford Couriljousc. 
 
G 
 
 America," whose gio'T was so great that he had hecoine the 
 tenoi* of tvratits, aod the i'ouuder of States. The pre-ernineoce 
 of the conqueror of the best {j;eaerals and dUcipliDed troops, with 
 an untrained force, liad been subjected to so many trials as to 
 alH-'id every proof of its permanency. He was elevated to a 
 moral height, resembling the cliflf of some lofty promontory, 
 coinlmandin}; an extensive prospect He had inspired the army, 
 which ho had oft led to victory, with the firmest reliance on his 
 raartial genius, and the most resolute love for his person. He 
 had transfused into his subordinates, even a portion of his owa 
 laborious application, and recuperative energy, and command- 
 ing intelligence. Amid theexcitation of the clash of arms and 
 the din of battle, animated by his voice and th« hope of victory, 
 they " could jest with danger and laugh at death." Pure and 
 sublime indeed, then, mtist have been his love of liberty and of 
 his liberated country. If any one of nature's " multiplying vil- 
 lainies" had seized his soul and made it rash, if restless ambi- 
 tion had occupied one avenue to the citadel, the crisis was too 
 propitious, and the temptation was too magnificent, to have beeu 
 resisted. Had he attempted, however, to pluck the forbidden 
 fruit, to direct the discontents of an unrequited army to his owa 
 aggrandizement, I doubt not, some Brutus had reserved a 
 dagger lor the aspiring C^sak. ; and the glory of Washington. 
 wherein he was worthy, would not have been extenuated, nor 
 the ofTeucef enforced, for which he had suffered death.* But 
 America was not destined to bleed and weep at the sight and 
 the recital of this tragical scene a iw l il^ <ii ivhl£ab w juI4j . The 
 splendors of power dazzled not his imagination, and the insin- 
 uating prospect of sovereignty could not cajole his judgment, uor 
 <!elude his love of man. Rising in goodness, above the vulgar 
 level of the great in other ages, he trampled under foot a Cesap^'s 
 fame, aud gave assurance of a new and -obler destiny. 
 
 Here, my countrymen, T might pause, and, in the just exul- 
 tations of natioofil pride, contemplate the noblest Hero that has 
 Hugmeoied theglor es of his race, and relieved the blood staiof'd 
 chronicles of national conflicts. But the greatness of the Ame- 
 rican Chief shone singularly beautiful and conspicuous in his 
 surrender of power; and the mingled joy with the taintless tears, 
 \vhich mantled the irianly cheeks of "the companions of his glory,*' 
 when he bade them adieu, sanctioned his objurgation of vaulting 
 ambition, and sanctified iheir deeds to man's bettered condition. 
 Jletiiitig from the head of au army, flushed with victory anti 
 
 ""Cihakspcare's Julius Cpcsar. 
 
triumphant over itself, to rn'mjiile with the people, an equal 
 amidst equals, io the quiet seeues of private life; his elevated 
 soul embraced witti ready delight the unambitious cares oi a 
 Farmer. The energies of his inventive mind were vigorously 
 devoted to this primary and essential art, and directed to the 
 lemoval of radical errorswhich infected the cultivation of his na- 
 tive soil — errors, which have not been and will not be eradica- 
 ted, until the removal of a blij^htrng curse, shall visit us with 
 its renovations. Here, in the domestic and social circle, scat- 
 tering charities and casting comfort into the cup of wo, like the 
 sun of Heaven, he diffused light, aud warmth, and luxury around 
 him. Here, in the midst of the people, like Hkneca with bis 
 pupils, he stimulated them to iaudlectual and moral advance- 
 jneot, and commended their effors to objects of national and 
 permanent utility. Modestlj receiving uncounted tributes of 
 grateful respect, his calm dignity gave a gentle grace to his stero 
 renown, whicti had not gathered half its lustre. Ld<e the victor 
 of the VoLSci, awaiting his summ)us agaiast Pr.EiVISte, he was 
 ever prompt in his obedience to his country's call ; and soon, 
 when required to renew his public service, though in a capaci- 
 ty more congenial, he relinqui-hed, with unaffected reluctance, 
 the endearments of his chosen retreat on the consecrated hank 
 of the Potomac. 
 
 Raised to the highest station in the gift of the people whose 
 freedom his genius had accomplished, and whose gratitude he 
 enhanced by this sacrifice to their interest; he encouutered, ivith 
 *' a real diffidence," the complicated cares otempire. Nor were 
 the t. nergy and sagacity of the Statesman, less potent and astute, 
 than his martial genius had been chivalric and illustrious. He 
 carried into happy and harmonious execution the powers of the 
 gov rnment, " uniting security with strength," which he had em- 
 inently contributed to establish. The rightful authority of thi? 
 Federal Government, is such, that it is not within the constitu- 
 tional competency nf the people's agents, elected for purposes 
 of ordinary legislation, to enlarge it by a disruption of reserved 
 rights, or the exercise of doubtful powers ; nor to lessen it by a 
 resumption of the rights relinquished by the States, for their com- 
 mon benefit. Its powers were intended to pervade the confed- 
 eracy, for necessary national purposes, with as much energy as 
 the constituted authorities extend exclusively over the respecfive 
 domestic concerns of the several States, which, yet retaining the 
 original impress of sovereignty, and in the full vigor of youth, 
 are capable of astonishing exertions, when stimulated to them. 
 
 Throughout his civil magistracy, he evinced a love of justice 
 
■6 
 
 wliich liis ardent love of country couUl not seduce,* nnd the 
 foresight (u his councils secured the confidetice of his constitU" 
 cuts. Ho displayed a dignity of office, which confirmed the af- 
 fection of a free people, and his mora! couraj;^ awed the fierce 
 iiisur^eut into uaresistiii}; oltedience to the laws. Presiding over 
 the diversified ftffairs of a widely spread nation, his fost' ring 
 care was extended to all ; to the commerce of the North, en- 
 riched hy its industry, a;;d enlerprize, and intelligence ; to the 
 aj^ricuiture of iho Sout!i, " the cherished object of solicitude to 
 Coligny, and Shaftcshury, and Locke;" and to the West, he 
 looked with a libcjrality commensurate with the promise of its 
 future greatness./ The li;^ht elicited from the rise and fall of 
 aacientetnpires, and beaming; from the advanced political knowl- 
 edge and intellect of the age, enabled him to grasp the, desti- 
 nies of the States, and wield their energies with monarchical 
 facilities and republican simplicity J n fine, such was the wis- 
 dom of ills policy, and the philanthropy of his counsels, and the 
 compreheosiveoess of his views, that with the aid of the co-or- 
 dinate b'-anches of the government, •and the co-operation of his 
 patriotic compeers, he extricated the country from ths want of 
 credit in which it was "nianj;led: he laid the foundations of the na- 
 tional character in the staid princij)les <if nrivate morality ; and 
 exhibited, to the confusion of tyranny and despotism, thepre em- 
 inence of institutions based on equality of rights, and illustrated 
 by every attractive attribute which can command the support 
 of the citizen, and claim the admiration of ihe enlightened 
 friends of freedom. / 
 
 While thus watchin;; with vigilance, and directing with wis- 
 dom, the interests of his country, he was inaccessible to toreiga 
 influence. Yielding neither to the honest prejudices ot his couq- 
 trymen, growing out of the revolution, nor to their unabated de- 
 votion to their recent ally — subduing those, and repressing this, 
 he displayed a firmness in council, which forei;;n intrusion could 
 not teirlfy, nor domestic faction shake ; and clinging, resolutely 
 but dispassionately, to his pacific policy of friendship in peacCf 
 and enmity in war, with all nations, and particularly then that 
 the Republic might test and mature its untried institutions, and 
 Dotdcvour in advance the resources of the future ; he preserved 
 a strict neutrality in this crisis impending portentous results. 
 Thus America, unsullied in her honor, and eventuall^f advanc- 
 ed in her interests, was rescued by him, whose arm was a for- 
 tress, and whose name was a host, frooi the terrific eniangle- 
 
 'Ramsay, p. 259. 
 
vaents of ;i revolution, the chief actor in which, conceiving the 
 idea of universal conquest, and gainiuK a reMlm at every battle, 
 snbjecleu, in his cart^^er, the people and tlieir potentated, from 
 Lishuu to Mus^cow,* to his general orders, and to the vast se- 
 quesiraiioo, \vhich he prescribed: — who, though he did some 
 goon lu dragging captive tyranis in his train, despoiled the rising 
 beauiitis ol recent Republics, and defaced " the title of Attila lo 
 the scourge ol God :" — 
 
 «« Wliose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones ; 
 Whose table, earth— whose dice were human bones:— 
 Behold the grand result in yon lone Isle, 
 And, as thy nature urges, weep or smile." 
 
 Thus instrumental in securing the trophies of a Revolution, 
 •which li) tne end of time will be an honor lo ihe age which ac- 
 complished it; he abandone<l, forevi-t, the illureraenis of oliice 
 and the seductions of patronage, which charmed noi him, except 
 in the a<lvancement of his country's destinies. 1 his unparal- 
 leled occurrence, this splendid contempt of herediiary power, 
 gratilied his gratelul countrymen ; but the rulers ot nations were 
 *' abashed at the majesty of bis virtue " i\ . mortihed ambition, 
 no hope ol higher othce, prompted his dignified retreat, which 
 subserved and exemplified the institutions of the Republic, 
 The freedom oi reason and of right rejoiced; and the poet 
 proclaims : 
 
 " Where may the wearied eye repose, 
 
 V\ hen gazinjj on the great, , 
 
 "Where uenher guilty glory glows, I 
 
 Wor despicable state ? 
 Yes, one — the first — the last — the best— 
 Ihe Caicinnatus ol the West, 
 
 V\ hom envy dared not hale, 
 Becjueath d the name oi Washington, 
 To make man biush there was but One!" 
 
 Yet he had not done enough ; and in the fulness of his pa- 
 triotism and philauthropv. he gave that last legacy to posterity. 
 Fcdiow its light, ray countrymen; ii is the blended light of virtue 
 and wisdom and, in moral sublimit}, rivals the milu glory ind 
 mi'ijiled beauties of the raini)ow. It issues, a-* it were, from the 
 toiiib of him who was the b^paminondas of your fathers in ele- 
 vating the glory of bi> country : who was ihe refuge of their 
 hope in the dark hour ol adversity; their pilot in the storm, and 
 
 *Modern Europe, p. G03. 
 
 fi 
 

 
 10 
 
 the pillar of thRipstrenK;t.h, amid the rumbling vibrations of th 
 oorr sil.sioii. The dearest ho[>es of ttn.' Iiuinao race, ' id \ou 
 follow its monitions; bid you eschew the stnfe of party vjiiirit ; 
 bi<i you rec«>llect that iuterest is a rock, and the fervor oi n-^n- 
 sieut sentiments is«*tubble; ao'l, theietore. be ju«t and firm v. ith 
 ail nations, and partial to none. Forget not that lair national 
 reputation is as valuable and important H!< independence itself: 
 tii.«t it carries aong with it a cha in ivnicb wins upon the 
 world; which claims respect Iroin all, aud extorts it even from 
 obstinate hostility. Rejoice that this fair character has beeu 
 preserved inviolate ; and 
 
 ♦' While one great clime, in fu!i and free defiance, 
 Yet rears her crest, uiiconcjner'd and subimje ;'* 
 
 ■while the lustre of our Fathers' {glorious deeds yet illumines our 
 onward march, and this day's associations kindle afresh our 
 gratitude; let us assume the solemnitief of •• their pied-e of ife, 
 of fortune, and of sacred honor," aud re assert the firm and 
 holy resolve to transmit their rich gifts to posterity, with tho 
 sign, and seal, and attestations of an honorable conveyance. 
 
 To preserve this character, the integrity of the L'nion of these 
 States, is essential ; and, surely, all the solemn responsibilities 
 that can affect the p;itriot's heart, and enkindle national pride, 
 ccmspire to enforce the serious contemplation of the mighty 
 magnitude of the object * Recur to the orijiin of America ; and 
 can any other people lioasl a nobler aud fairer descent ? Old 
 Koine, — the brij^htest name in the annals of antiquity, — ^ongia- 
 ally a race ofsheprerds and robbers, proudly domineered over 
 the then known world, and rapine made her rich, and the f)er- 
 Becutionsshe inflicted made her powerful In reviewing the rae- 
 m rahie series of revolutions.which ultimately subverted the vast 
 fabric of the Roman Empiie, the work and wonder of thirteea 
 
 *j5i)me ofthese thau^lits are Tom Paine's. The l\o. of the '-Crisis" 
 (13) from vvliioh tliev are borrowed, I would commend to be read, twice 
 a week Cor twelve nr>iitlis, by all who even tlun/c of "calculating ilie 
 value of the Union:" aud i' this:, and tl\eir own sober reflections, wdl 
 j>ol cure their liallucinalioiH, the patriot must exclaim in wrath '' Fa- 
 ther, (orgive them ; t*'cy know iiol what they do " nm why art not 
 these writings ot Paine more generally read 1 is it because men tve 
 disposed to bury with his bones the good wnicli he did, and let Ins .*vil 
 deedniive only to mislead, or to be execrated ! — I hey are the beautiful 
 :i!id forcible productions of genius kindled by the torch of Kevolmion — 
 they were originally inieniied to st;iniil:i!e our Fathers in their batiiing 
 for ireedom, and !io change ofcircuiistances has as jei rendered them 
 inapplicable, qr robbed them of iheir force. 
 
11 
 
 centuries, we sorrow over the extinction of Roman liberty ; we 
 rejoice m the desiructi<m of Reman despotism. But the colo- 
 nists of America, spurning the oppressions of kindly power and 
 priestcraft, and stimulated by the bold spirit of freedom and ad- 
 venture, sought and found, in these Western Wilds, an asylum, 
 and a land of pro;nise * The honors of a new cniation were 
 entrusted to them, and they were energetically alive to all the 
 high and solemn responsibilities of the trust. FiUcounterinjj the 
 iierce savage of the forest, they conciliated his favor, or re;>ell- 
 ed his ferocity, and offered to him the comforts of civilize.'! life 
 and the light of revelation. They endured privations and accu- 
 mulated difficulties, without a thought of yielding submissively. 
 Stirred up, by In<!ian outrages against the religion of humani- 
 ty, to the highest agony of hu'j.an hatred; roused from hum!)!© 
 remonstrance, to manly, chivalric an resolute resistance, as the *" 
 tyrannies of the mother country increaseil, they rose to empire hy 
 the accomplishment of a revolution which has contributed more 
 than any other event of man's achievement, to irradiate the 
 world by the diffusion of the light of liberality, and of free go- 
 vernment. 
 
 Thus the character of the colonists correspnnderl with the re- 
 vobiiion; and the objr;ct of that great event being secured with 
 the surest guarantees, our fathers, great in yrence and peaceful iti* 
 greatness, attested, by their transactions at home and nesotia- 
 tions abroad, that their honest virtue was equal to their heroic 
 fortitude, which had set danger and misfortune at defiance. 
 These lisringuisiinii cliaracteristics of their career, invited iho 
 contributions of the tyranny of the Old W^orld to people the 
 New, and the virtue of the adventurers improved it t^stablisb- 
 ing Religious Freedom ; tearing up the long-laid foundations 
 of primogeniture's proud structure, the withered limbs of tyran- 
 ny expired, and they erected an edifice in the construction of 
 "which, and even in its repairs, the direction* of the people are 
 sovereign. In the management of its various aparttnenis. the 
 people's delegated servants are accountable to them ; and na 
 restraints are imposed, except such gs are common andco-elIi_ 
 
 * Tiip emigrants from the Tllgldands of Scotland nnd tlio Islands of 
 the Hebrides, wedded lo tlie cn.stoms oftlieir ancestors, and tlie princi-. 
 pies of primitive equality, contributed niiscli !o the cultivation ofihe land;' 
 and fli.«(la.ning England's unjust demands — whi'di renewed in ilieir re- 
 membrance tne oppressions, produ* ed hy the raised rents oCtlitir land- 
 ed |)ro[)rielors, from which most of them had tied and (bund rejuge— ; 
 ihey accelerated, by ilicir influence, the jjrand event which ilieirvalor 
 aided lo efiectua'.e. 
 
12 
 
 cient ; extending over all, l»y the sanction of the many, for the" 
 benefit of ali. And whenever, in their tnultiplyiiig; and compli- 
 cated concerns, the diversitieij of interest, and inis<i;ui(led zeal, 
 distract tlieir councils, anri dissuade the <ii;eneral harmony, a firm 
 forhearance and the eloquent expostulations of patriotic broth- 
 erhood (have succeeded, and) cannot fail to correct the evil, and 
 to prove that any momentary discord, which may threaten to 
 disturb " the full tide of the successful operation of the experi- 
 ment." 1.9 /c/rmow?/ yet to he understood. 
 
 This n pufation, without a blemish, and above suspicion ; 
 this superstructure, furnished and fitted up for freemen, and the 
 rich heritable of a country " advancing with s;i^antic steps, in 
 a5;riculture, commerce, and the arts", in all that ennobles man 
 and di;:nifies a nation, vvere given to their children; who have 
 shewn that they are the sons of their sires ; have since evinced, 
 at New Orleans, their skill and valor, and, on the Ocean and the 
 Lakes, that 
 
 a braver choice of dauntless spirits, 
 
 Did never float upon the swelling tide." 
 
 They have now risen to an enviable eminence. Free, inJepen* 
 den? and powerful, their country, this land of promise, is empha- 
 tically the home of the brave and the refuge of the persecuted. 
 Tranquil within, and without the fear of aggression from 
 abroad, they are re-pected by all the nation> of the earth. Re- 
 sneeted, not as Stotes, but as United States. This is the nilioual 
 sovereignty : this is the palladium of the nation's liberty; the 
 nucleus of the States' strength, and the ark of their salety : and 
 thi^- blood of his ebildren will visit with cryinu execration-*, ago- 
 nizmg and awful and deep, the detestable treachery of him whof 
 shall assail its sacred mtegrity, and his cowardice, who shall 
 si rmk back from 'ts defence, whenever impious ambition, or un- 
 hopeful hatred, shall threaten it rudely, or name it with irrever- 
 ence 
 
 But I am diverging from the subject of this crude sketch, and 
 it might be considered unsjemly and obtri'sive to present other 
 objects to your view. Surely, my allotted time would fail me, 
 Tvijen every thought catches a theme, and every glance gathers 
 arr»..nd somei»arrior, who has been first to the charge, and last in 
 the retreat, in the conflicts of revolutions meliorating the moral 
 condition of the human race- France, restless ao<l revolution- 
 izing, commands the gift of an eulogy : FJritish tyrannies and 
 Irish disubilities are yielding to the power of diffused intelligence 
 2nd the ficedoni of speech, resisilessly urging, with the supre- 
 
13 
 
 macy of the Press, the progrpss of the Imprescriptible rights of 
 inaa ; and in reviewing the devasiatious of despotisui, I might 
 pause and weep ver Polatui : the land of Kosciusko, whose 
 kio^men were t<»rn, hy the deceitful Frederick, from the tombs 
 of their fathers, and transphmfed iu Poineratva : the kinsrn a 
 of Radzyvil, remembering; tiio uii>^etiled amount of Cathe- 
 rine's bloody debt, and " jijaspiup; for the gore of serfs and of 
 their Cxar :" Poland, deceived, and now bleeding ; mangled, 
 bur not annihilated : lacerated in the couvuMve throes of slrug- 
 gliug liberty, yet leaning on the trop iies and lighted by the 
 torch of American achievement! I might visir, in lancy's view, 
 " the moral desert." where Sparta, and Athens, an<l Rome 
 once reared their crests, io all the sfately pride of beauty and 
 haughty circumstance of power; and, with sorrow's pencil, lan- 
 guidly delineate the debasement of huinau beings, ruled by 
 '• a tvrant's slave," who, as if in abjert rivalry of Nero's san- 
 guinary deeds and fate, " spreads death around him ; then, 
 shuddering, meets his own" — Ther ', with the sullen " Ghost of 
 Freedo.n," I might survey the gloomy ruins of crumbled colon- 
 nades from which we have derived much of our literature and 
 many laws, and in<lulge the pleasing, perhaps illusive, belief, 
 that a relluent tide may yet carry back, the rich spoils of our 
 experience, the lamp of liberty, which is never dimmed by the 
 dissemination of its regenerating effects, to be relumed on the 
 graves i»f Antoninus, and Socrates, and Cicero. 1 might; 
 turn to a theme more attractive, and trace England's literary 
 aai scientific grandeur, ascended to its meridian in the genius of 
 Chatham and of Newton, and shedding, on America, the beams 
 of its effulgent orb, which vvan soon replenished by the original 
 radiance of Henry's eloquence, and reflected from "the sky of 
 Franklin," and will, ere long, I venture to predict, become a 
 brighter luminary by the accession of borrowed light from the 
 prditical wisdom of the philosophic Jefferson. But, although 
 these topics claim kindred with the associations of this day, 1 
 cannot dwell on them ; nor will I longer disturb the current of 
 your thoughts inspired bv the occasion, the rhetoric of which 
 ■would do justice to the memory of Him. the renown of whose 
 unexampled career, yet anima es the advancing destiny of 
 America, and mingling witti the magnanimity of Lafayette's 
 untiring efforts, visits the Ruropeau subject of tyranny, invig-o- 
 rates his enervated love of liberty, and bids him resist and ha 
 free. Indeed, he was without an exemplar and without a rival. 
 He led armies to victory, and valiant captains of other timcj 
 had bravely conquered, lie was undaunted amid dangers, aiid 
 
i4 
 
 devoted to his country; hut Cato and Camillds had left their 
 li}!;ht shiuiui; ou his pathway. Circled hy the gU)ries he created, 
 and eht^f'red h\ the suiJle of a nation's Ufve, he converted the in- 
 struraents of the soldier into the utensils of a farmer ; hut Cin- 
 ciNNATUS, with a {iliiomering li;;ht, had ^one hefore him. Ta 
 these illustrious displays of patriotism, he added the energy of 
 wisdom in the aCTairs of Stale; and Arnericans, with a proud 
 preference, eoro! his name first on the list of the few chosen 
 spirits, who have l)een conspicuous ahke in the cahiwet and thd 
 camp. He was just through life, and caimm dea h; and Aris- 
 TiuES had adorned the hrighiest days of Athknian greatness, 
 and "Socrates died like a Philosopher. ' But it was reserved 
 for Washington, the single heir of spotless fame, to eoucen- 
 trate in his own these noblest traits of m»h!e characters, to the 
 exciusKiO of every vicious propensity and o\ every aspiration of 
 unchastened amhition : and to heautify this garland of glories, 
 and to crown this cluster of virtues, in the giddiest heights of his 
 elevation, uith the humility <»f "a frail child of dust," he would 
 cry in faith : God of ^'Uk Fathers ; be, thou, our God, and 
 THE God of our children. 
 
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