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AJiDllKSS 
 
 ON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 OF 
 
 GEN. WILLIAM HENRF HARRISON. 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR 
 
 THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE I 
 
 DKUVEKKD BEFORE THE IXSTITUTION, 
 
 BY 
 
 RICHARD S. C O X E 
 
 JUJVE 34, 1841. 
 
 WASHINGTON : ^^ 
 PRINTED BV PETER FORCE. 
 
 184 L 
 
p. FORCE. PRINTER, 
 TENTH STREET. 
 
^. 
 
 At a btatod meeting of tlie National Institution for the Promotion of 
 Science, held on the 14tli Juuo, 1841, the following Letter was read: 
 
 Peter Force, Esa., Vice President of the National Institution : '■ 
 
 Sir: I have had the lienor to receive 3'our note, requesting me to prepare 
 and deliver before the National Institution, at as early a day as practicable, 
 an Address on tlie Life and Character of the late President ol the United 
 States, William Henry Harrison, an Honorary Member of the Institution. 
 I accept the appointment, and will, with great pleasure, undertake the per. 
 formancc of the duty assigned me. The selection of the time and place are 
 submitted entirely to the pleasure of the Institution, and I shall be prepared 
 whenever it may suit their convenience. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, 
 
 Richard S. Coxe. 
 May 15, 1841. 
 
 It was thereupon. 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of three members be appointed to take charge 
 of the above matter, to tix time and place for the delivery of the Address, 
 and to make all necessary arrangements. 
 
 Messrs. B. O. Tayloe, Robert Lawrence, and William Turnbull, were 
 appointed said Committee. 
 
 Jubj l2ih, 1841. The above Committee reported that they had discharged 
 all the duties devolving upon them by their appointment, and moved the 
 following Resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the National Institution for the Promotion 
 of Science, be presented to Richard S. Coxe, Esq., for the great gratifica- 
 tion it received in the delivery of his admirable Address before it, upon the 
 Life and Character of General William Henry Harrison, late President of 
 the United States, and an Honorary Member of this Institution. 
 
 Resolved, That Richard S. Coxe, Esq., be requested to furnish this In- 
 stitution with a copy of his Address for publication. 
 
ADDEESS. 
 
 The enlightened nations of antiquity were accus- 
 tomed to honor the memory and to celebrate the 
 achievements of their illustrious dead. The personal 
 appearance of the departed worthies was preserved 
 in the productions of the painter and the sculptor, 
 which embodied a faithful resemblance of their forms 
 and features. Their characters were delineated and 
 their exploits recited by distinguished orators and 
 cherished friends. The poet strung his harp to sound 
 their praise, and the nation, by some public and solemn 
 ceremonial, testified its sense of gratitude to the com- 
 mon benefactor. In thus preserving and fostering 
 the recollections of departed excellence, the survivors 
 were stimulated to imitate the example and to emulate 
 the virtues which had been thus recognised and thus 
 honored ; and personal ambition for fame and distinc- 
 tion was guided to seek its gratification in those 
 patriotic pursuits, which aimed at the aggrandize- 
 ment and the glory of the commonwealth. 
 
 A similar practice has not generally prevailed in 
 modern times. The principles of our nature, how- 
 ever, in which it originated, still continue to sway the 
 human heart, and when fit occasions present them- 
 
selves, it is not less a debt of gratitude which we dis- 
 charge towards those who in their generation con- 
 ferred signal benefits upon their country and upon 
 their race, than a positive advantage to the nation 
 thus to exhibit examples of public and private virtue 
 for the admiration and imitation of posterity. 
 
 The voice which resounded throughout our land 
 has proclaimed, in language which cannot be mis- 
 understood, that such an occasion has arisen. No 
 event has occurred in our brief national history, so 
 imposing in all its circumstances, so impressive in all 
 its details, so calculated to rouse and fix attention, as 
 the death of William Henry Harrison, late Presi- 
 dent of these United States. A long life, zealously 
 devoted to the service of the public, had endeared 
 him to the nation ; his private and social virtues had 
 won for him the affections of numerous family and im- 
 mediate connexions, and gathered round him a large 
 circle of personal friends. The incidents of his ca- 
 reer had made his name and history familiar to the 
 community, and awakened a deep and pervading 
 interest in every hamlet of our land. Through- 
 out the vast regions of the West, where his character 
 had been mainly formed, where his life had been 
 chiefly spent, and where, consequently, his private 
 worth was more extensively known, and his public 
 services were most highly appreciated, scarce an in- 
 dividual could be found, who participated in the gen- 
 eral prosperity, but could trace the comforts which 
 surrounded him and his family to the wise, humane, 
 •and disinterested policy of the individual to whom, 
 by universal consent, has been awarded the proud 
 
and merited appellation of being " the father of the 
 land system, and the poor man's friend." No mother, 
 while relating to her children, or hearing from her 
 seniors, the recital of the bloody and inhuman ravages 
 with which the youthful West had been so often and 
 so widely devastated, as she poured out her thanks- 
 giving to Heaven that her offspring had been spared 
 from the tomahawk and the scalping-knife, but min- 
 gled with these outpourings of heartfelt gratitude a 
 prayer for blessings upon him who, under God, had 
 been the chief instrument in affording safety and pro- 
 tection from these ruthless barbarities. 
 
 The closing scenes of this eventful life were passed 
 upon so lofty an eminence, and possessed so engross- 
 ing an interest, that the nation, nay the world, had 
 been the spectators and the auditors. In themselves 
 they had been so conspicuous and so extraordinary 
 as to arrest the attention of mankind. The catas- 
 trophe was so sudden and so astounding, so unex- 
 pected yet so solemn, as to overwhelm us with as- 
 tonishment and with awe. Within the brief period 
 of six months, General Harrison had been drawn 
 from the shades of a domestic and secluded life; 
 had been the leader in one of the most animated and 
 stupendous political struggles which had ever been 
 witnessed — the entire country the scene of the con- 
 test, the whole nation the combatants, and the civi- 
 lized world the anxious spectators. In this great 
 contest he was eminently successful, and the ^^ earth- 
 quake voice of victory" resounded throughout the 
 land. Assembled thousands, congregated from the 
 farthest extremes of this expanded empire, witnessed 
 
8 
 
 his installation into the office of the Chief Magis- 
 trate over seventeen millions of people. In one short 
 month this glorious and brilliant career was suddenly 
 and forever closed. He who had so recendy led the 
 vast host in triumphal procession, was himself borne 
 to the silent tomb. 
 
 A more striking and impressive contrast has rarely 
 been exhibited to man. The excitement of the all- 
 absorbing contest ; the insignia of exultatioUj flung to 
 every breeze; the acclamations which announced and 
 hailed the result — so speedily followed by the repose 
 of death. The lofty pinnacle had just been reached^ 
 when the downfall was consummated. The exulting 
 notes of triumph had not ceased to echo among our 
 remote valleys and distant mountains, when the joy- 
 ful sounds were interrupted and broken by the wait- 
 ings for the dead. The aspirations which breathed 
 from so many hearts for a continued life of prosperity, 
 and a successful administration of the Government by 
 the new rulers, were mingled with the funeral dirge. 
 But a single step intervened between the lofty emi- 
 nence and the humble grave. 
 
 The daily and hourly incidents of ordinary life are 
 calculated to impress the mind with a solemn sense of 
 the instability and transitoriness of all things sublu- 
 nary. Such lessons, however, usually fall upon us 
 singly, and in general upon individuals at distant inter- 
 vals. That which we have been perusing broke at 
 once upon a nation. Its solemnity was such as to 
 force itself upon the convictions and upon the con- 
 sciences of all. The most insensible cannot view it 
 with indifference, the most callous without emotion. 
 
For the first time in our history, the Union has been 
 deprived of its Chief Magistrate by death. We had 
 followed to the grave the fathers of the country, who 
 had honorably filled that elevated post. The nation 
 had testified its feelings of reverential gratitude and 
 affection over the tombs of Washington and of Adams, 
 of Jeflferson, Madison, and Monroe. They, however, 
 had all departed full of years as of honors. They had 
 finished their career, they had accomplished their task; 
 and when they were withdrawn from earth, it seemed 
 but the appropriate and natural closing of the scene — 
 the falling of the curtain when the last act in the drama 
 was completed. Harrison was arrested at the very 
 portals of the temple. He was just entering upon a 
 new sphere of action, of wider extent and more 
 enlarged importance. He had scarcely begun his 
 magnificent career as the executive of a nation of 
 freemen. The brilhant hopes which had been awak- 
 ened were nipped prematurely in their bud. The 
 blow was as unexpected as the burst of the thunder- 
 bolt from a serene and cloudless sky. 
 
 Now that the state of collapse into which the com- 
 munity was stunned by this afflicting dispensation 
 has passed, and our minds are at liberty calmly to 
 appreciate the event and its consequences, it is the 
 province of reason to apply our hearts to the wisdom 
 which may be extracted from it. 
 
 When suddenly deprived of one whom we had 
 held in reverence and respect, towards whom we 
 had been accustomed to cherish feelings of warm 
 affection, the first impulse by which we are prompt- 
 ed is to review the incidents in the life of our de- 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 parted friend, to dwell upon the traits of character 
 which he had exhibited, and thus, from a review of 
 what had proved the objects of our admiration and 
 the bond of our union, to gather new inducements to 
 emulate his virtues and to perpetuate his memory. 
 
 Such a review of the events of General Harrison's 
 life will present abundant materials to justify and to 
 exalt the opinions which the American people had 
 formed of his conduct and of the principles by which 
 he was guided. The circumstances by which he was 
 surrounded, from the cradle to the grave, were so 
 eventful and so chequered ; the positions he was called 
 upon to fill, and the duties he was required to per- 
 form, were so various and at the same time so impor- 
 tant, so calculated to develop, and exhibit in distinct 
 relief, all the characteristics of his heart and all the 
 faculties of his mind, as to supply us with the most 
 prolific sources of useful meditation. 
 
 The ancestral line of Gen. William Henry Harrison 
 may be distinctly traced in Virginia, as far back as the 
 year 1645, and it is believed that still more ancient 
 memorials of it are extant in that commonwealth. 
 The first member of the family of whom any certain 
 evidence has been clearly ascertained, bore the name 
 of Benjamin, which has from that time to the present 
 belonged to its elder branch. This gentleman was 
 buried in Surry County, Virginia; and the inscription 
 upon his tomb, which is stated to be a beautiful struc- 
 ture, records that he was born on the 28th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1645, in the same county in which his remains 
 are deposited, and that he died on the 28th January, 
 1712-13. The same monument bears a simple but ex- 
 
n 
 
 alted testimonial to his chi^racter. It represents him 
 as a man " who did justice, loved mercy, and walked 
 humbly with his God." It records that he ^' was 
 always loyal to his prince, and a great benefactor to 
 his country." This inscription appears to be utterly 
 at variance with the generally received opinion that 
 this family was lineally descended from the famous 
 Colonel Harrison who performed so conspicuous a 
 part in the Rebellion which occurred in the reign ot 
 Charles I. That monarch was beheaded in January, 
 1648; and the circumstance that Colonel Harrison 
 partic'ipated at his trial and in his death, cannot read- 
 ily be reconciled with the supposition that he was the 
 father of Benjamin Harrison, whose birth occured in 
 Virginia some years earlier, and whose loyalty to his 
 monarch is so especially noticed. 
 
 His eldest son, Benjamin Harrison, was, during his 
 life, which terminated on the 10th April, 1710, at the 
 early age of thirty-seven years, distinguished in the 
 history of the colony. He was by profession a lawyer, 
 and is represented as " eminent for his intelligence, 
 learning, eloquence, and fidelity ; the unwearied pa- 
 tron of widows, orphans, and of all the poor and op- 
 pressed ; the arbiter and pacificator in all controversies 
 and disputes ; a most upright judge in all the litiga- 
 tions of the county ; the stern avenger of impiety and 
 iniquity, and a zealous promoter of the public good." 
 Dying at Williamsburg while exercising the func- 
 tions of Speaker of the House of Burgesses, the mo- 
 nument erected to his memory, bearing an inscription 
 in Latin, of which the foregoing summary of his char- 
 acter is the translation of a part, is supposed to have 
 
12 
 
 been erected at the public expense. It appears, from 
 the contemporaneous legislative records of Virginia, 
 (3 Henning's Statutes at large, 538, &c.,) that he 
 was^ at the period of his death, '^ treasurer of the 
 public impositions;'^ that he possessed considerable 
 wealth, having died the proprietor in fee simple of 
 twenty thousand acres of land, besides a large per- 
 sonal estate, the administration of which devolved 
 upon his widow, a daughter of Lewis Burwell, of 
 Gloucester. ■ . 
 
 He left one son and one daughter. The son, also 
 named Benjamin, likewise appears to have been a . 
 man of high respectability of character, and a mem- ' 
 ber of the Provincial Legislature. He married a 
 daughter of Mr. Carter, the king's surveyor-general. 
 He accumulated a valuable estate, and was killed, to- 
 gether with two of his daughters, by lightning, in 
 the mansion-house at Berkeley, leaving six sons and 
 three daughters who survived him. Of the daughters 
 one married the celebrated Peyton Randolph, the 
 first President of Congress, and another his brother 
 William. ' '. ,..< -v, ' 
 
 The eldest son, Benjamin Harrison, was one of 
 the brightest and purest names recorded in our revo- 
 lutionary annals. At an early age he was called to the 
 management of his patrimonial estate, in which he in- 
 dicated great prudence and skill. He soon drew upon 
 himself the regard of the community, and obtained 
 the public confidence so rapidly, that he was elected 
 a representative of his district in the Colonial Legis- 
 lature, before he had attained the age at which he 
 became legally eligible. His personal character, his 
 
13 
 
 large fortune and family connexions, and his exten- 
 sive influencCj attracted the consideration of the royal 
 government, and induced a proposition to introduce 
 him into the executive council, one of the most hon- 
 orable and lucrative posts which the jealous pohcy of 
 England permitted to be filled by a native of the 
 colony. About the same time he contemplated a visit 
 to Europe, for the purpose of establishing his claim 
 to an Irish barony, to which he was represented as 
 having title. 
 
 The controversies which shortly after arose between 
 the colonies and the mother country, dissipated all 
 these expectations of royal patronage and of titular 
 distinctions. Mr. Harrison at once and unhesitatingly 
 took the side which patriotism and which justice dic- 
 tated, and as early as 1764, we find him one of the 
 distinguished members of the legislature, upon whom 
 was devolved the duty of laying before the authori- 
 ties of the British Government, in the form of memo- 
 rials and remonstrances, the opinions entertained in 
 the colonies of their arbitrary and unconstitutional 
 measures. The causes of dissension augmented in 
 number and in magnitude, and the duties of the pa- 
 triot became proportionally more laborious and more 
 responsible. Mr. Harrison was elected, in 1774, a 
 delegate to the first Congress. The eminent, various, 
 and arduous services performed by him during his 
 continuance in that post, are matters of general his- 
 tory, and must be familiar to this audience. As chair- 
 man of the committee to whom the subject had been 
 referred, he, on the 10th June, 1776, brought forward 
 the resolutions which declared the independence of 
 
14 
 
 the ColonieSj and which authorized the preparation of 
 the final and more solemn document which promul- 
 gated to the world this decisive act. This paper was 
 reported on the 28th of June^ and, after being adopt- 
 ed, was promulgated to the world on the memorable 
 4th day of July, when he, with his colleagues, affixed 
 their signatures to the instrument which proclaimed 
 the total and eternal separation from the mother coun- 
 try, and announced that America had assumed her 
 ^' equal station among the nations of the earth." 
 
 Throughout the whole period of his service in 
 Congress, Mr. Harrison was distinguished for untir- 
 ing industry, unswerving firmness, and incorruptible 
 integrity. It has been asserted, upon the high au- 
 thority of one of the prominent actors in the scene, 
 that, but for his determined resolution, the Decla- 
 ration of Independence would not have been signed 
 at the time it was. After the termination of his con- 
 gressional career, he returned to Virginia, where he 
 continued to receive reiterated evidences of public 
 confidence and respect. He participated largely in 
 the proceedings of the Convention created to deli- 
 berate upon the adoption of the Constitution ; and 
 while, with Patrick Henry, he entertained strong and 
 serious objections to many of the details of that in- 
 strument, yet, with that illustrious patriot, when the 
 measure had been determined upon, he strenuously 
 resisted the attempts which were made by distin- 
 guished members of the minority, to extend their 
 opposition to the administration of the Government, 
 and to thwart, as far as practicable, its actual operation. 
 He terminated his honorable and patriotic career, in 
 
15 
 
 which he had sacrificed the principle part of his 
 fortune in the cause of his country, in April 1791, 
 leaving seven surviving children. 
 
 William Henry Harrison, the third ^nd youngest 
 son, was born at Berkeley, on the 9t<h day of Feb- 
 ruary, 1773. His mother, Elizabeth, a daughter of 
 Colonel William Basset, was remarkable in youth 
 for her personal beauty, and still more eminent in 
 after life for fervent piety and pure benevolence. 
 Thus peculiarly fortunate in his parentage, his birth 
 occurred at that most critical and interesting period 
 in our history, when patriotism seemed to be purified 
 from and elevated above all mercenary motives and 
 selfish purposes ; when it was required to manifest its 
 existence and to exhibit its strength in struggles the 
 most perilous and by sacrifices the most momentous. 
 The controversies with the mother country demand- 
 ed and developed all the intellect the colonies could 
 furnish; invigorated, where they did not create, 
 the purest principles of republicanism, the most , 
 practical, and at the same time the most exalted 
 views of the rights of man ; and prompted the most 
 profound investigations into the principles upon 
 which free governments ought to be established, and 
 the principles by which the administration of them 
 should be conducted. The stake at hazard was of 
 infinite magnitude. The present and future political 
 independence of a nation, whose capacities and re- 
 sources, then nascent and in the earliest process of 
 germination, have since been so magnificently de- 
 veloped; the personal freedom, the fortunes, and the 
 lives of the devoted band of patriots who eagerly 
 
16 
 
 encountered all these hazards and firmly braved all 
 these perils ; the great principles of civil liberty — all 
 were equally involved in the contest, and the wise 
 and good throughout the world, who ardently desired 
 the improvement of man and the amelioration of his 
 condition, anxiously watched the scales in which 
 these momentous interests stood poised against their 
 antagonistic principles. The great battle was com- 
 menced and maintained throughout, upon the firm 
 foundation of right ; the fearful odds against which 
 it was waged, the uncertainty of the issue, and the 
 direful consequences which it was obvious must 
 attend defeat — all contributed to impress upon this 
 contest a character of elevation and of sublimity, 
 which, by a natural process, communicated itself to 
 those who participated in the mighty struggle. 
 
 The circumstances of such a period could not but 
 powerfully operate upon the character of Mrs. Har- 
 rison, and elevate her maternal anxieties, by blending 
 with them the deepest solicitude for the welfare of 
 her country. Her husband was absent from his home, 
 a conspicuous actor in this engrossing contest. The 
 critical posture of public affairs furnished her, in her 
 retirement, with materials for solemn reflection, and 
 increased in her a firmness, a purity, and a devotion 
 of mind, mingling in beautiful harmony, and which 
 eminently qualified her to pour into the ears of her 
 children the most valuable and impressive lessons of 
 patriotism and religion. 
 
 No scene can be exhibited to the human eye or 
 the human imagination replete with more touching 
 interest or more attractive beauty, than that of a 
 
17 
 
 mother instructing her infant boy in the principles of 
 piety and of virtue. The heart swells spontaneous- 
 ly at the sight. The feelings which it manifests are 
 so refined from human dross; the duty performed 
 is so pure and holy ; the affection which prompts it 
 so unalloyed, that the simple picture, independent of 
 any adventitious and extraneous circumstanceSj incon- 
 sequential, if we can so imagine it, to either party, 
 forces itself upon our notice, and inspires emotions 
 the most elevated and the most endearing. If, how- 
 ever, we direct our attention to this particular scene, 
 recall to our recollection the period so fraught with 
 interest — the husband and the father drawn from 
 the endearments of his home, to participate in the 
 responsible and momentous duties which the perilous 
 condition of his country imposed upon him ; the stir- 
 ring incidents which were enacting in the immedi- 
 ate vicinity; the triumphant progress of Cornwallis 
 through the South, followed by the surrender of him- 
 self and entire army, thus closing the war in a blaze of 
 glory ; and realize all the influences of these circum- 
 stances, in giving a loftier, yet a more anxious tone, 
 to the precepts then inculcated — the interest of the 
 'scene becomes proportionally augmented. If, while 
 contemplating this picture, we associate with it in our 
 fancy the future career of that bright and innocent 
 boy — behold him pursuing the wayward course of 
 life, encountering its trials, combating its tempta- 
 tions, struggling with its difficulties, and, amid all, 
 strengthened and sustained by these lessons of mater- 
 nal love — it rises into the highest order of moral sub- 
 
18 
 
 limity. Wherever the youth, now that child, may 
 wander — wherever the steps of the man may be 
 directed — those pure and holy lessons will never be 
 forgotten. A mother's tear of affectionate solicitude 
 has sanctified a mother's aspirations. Should vice 
 allure, the tempter will find himself disarmed of his 
 strength. Should disappointments oppress or care 
 corrode, the memory of the past will distil a precious 
 balm into the bitter cup of adverse fortune. The 
 principles then implanted will guide, restrain, illu- 
 mine, throughout the most eventful life. They will 
 cheer the retrospect of the past, and animate the 
 prospect of the future. They purify while they en- 
 noble. They strengthen the current of kind and 
 affectionate feeling in all the relations of life, and the 
 most devoted patriotism and the most refined philan- 
 thropy find in them their first seminal principle. 
 
 Could it have been vouchsafed to this lady, while 
 occupied in the performance of this duty, to lift the 
 veil which hid the future from her view, to behold 
 the progress through life of that boy, now radiant 
 with smiles and innocence — to anticipate the dangers 
 he was destined to encounter — his marches through 
 the wilderness, his conflicts with the savage and the 
 civihzed foe, the political contests in which he was to 
 mingle — engaged in the multifarious and perplexing 
 ofl^cial duties which he would be called upon to per- 
 form, and to perceive how, throughout the whole of 
 this eventful career, the principles she implanted 
 would prove his support, his solace, his guide — the 
 efficient cause of his success, and the brightest orna- 
 ment of his triumph — think you her happiness would 
 
19 
 
 not have been complete? Who that knows a pious 
 mother's heart, the objects of its most anxious sohci- 
 tude, the sources of its richest enjoyments, but knows 
 that the anticipation of all the brilliant visions which 
 that bright career would have exhibited, the trum- 
 pet sounds of victory which from time to time were 
 to swell upon the ear, and even his elevation to the 
 Presidential chair amid the exulting acclamations of 
 a great nation, however gratifying to a mother's pride, 
 would not have filled her bosom with that ^^ sacred 
 and homefelt delight " which it would have experi- 
 enced in beholding him, after achieving such suc- 
 cess by means as pure and honorable, retire from 
 the congratulations and the plaudits of the congre- 
 gated multitude, from the excitement and the tumult 
 of the scene in which he had participated, to the 
 seclusion of his native home, to the retiracy of the 
 chamber in which he had been born, to the spot in 
 which he had received the earhest instructions of 
 maternal love, and, surrounded by all these solemn 
 and hallowing influences, pen those lines, shortly to 
 be promulgated to the country and to the world, to 
 present and to future times, acknowledging that he 
 still remembered, still loved, still cherished that reli- 
 gious faith, which, in childhood, a mother had im- 
 planted in his heart. 
 
 The emotions engendered by the circumstances to 
 which allusion has been made, mingled with almost 
 the first pulsations of his heart, and exerted a power- 
 ful influence over the character of Harrison. His 
 entire life was marked with firm integrity of purpose, 
 with a benevolent regard to the feelings and best in- 
 
20 
 
 terests of those with whom he associated^ or over 
 whom he exercised power — with a devotion of patri- 
 otism which not only responded to every call which 
 his country made upon him for his services, but 
 which, on all occasions, stimulated him to promote 
 her prosperity and to exalt her fame. ^'The child 
 was" emphatically " the father to the man." Thus 
 instructed, his best affections thus nurtured, his best 
 feelings thus cultivated, early prompted to emulate a 
 father in intellect, a mother in purity of heart, and 
 both in lofty principle, these salutary influences con- 
 trolled all his public and private deportment, and he 
 exhibited, throughout life, an example of that charac- 
 ter which best becomes the American citizen who 
 loves his country and desires the perpetuity of her 
 institutions. 
 
 It is not my purpose, on this occasion, to trace, 
 with any degree of minuteness, the various incidents 
 of the life of General Harrison. The last eighteen 
 months have brought them prominently and in detail 
 before the public eye. They are familiar to the na- 
 tion and to the world. A brief and rapid sketch 
 will be all that can be either expected or desired ; 
 and those circumstances alone need be adverted to 
 which are calculated to illustrate the various and 
 diversified points of his character. 
 
 At an early age he manifested a decided taste for 
 literature, and particularly for the classical and his- 
 torical departments. Having finished his collegiate 
 studies at Hampden Sydney, he repaired to Phila- 
 delphia, with a view to pursue the study of medicine 
 under the professional charge of Dr. Rush, a friend 
 
21 
 
 of his father, and eminently distinguished as well for 
 his original genius and extensive acquirements in the 
 noble art to which he had especially devoted himself, 
 as for his patriotic services to his country. The gene- 
 ral superintendence of the youthful Harrison was en- 
 trusted to Robert Morris, an individual pre-eminent in 
 his particular career among the enlightened patriots 
 and gigantic intellects of the age. 
 
 The circumstances of the times, as well as the 
 patriotic associations formed under the influences 
 within which he was placed, operated powerfully 
 upon the youthful and adventurous mind of Harrison, 
 and, when stimulated by the excitement occasioned 
 by the defeat of Harmar and the anticipated difficul- 
 ties which menaced the country from the unsettled 
 state of our relations with Great Britain, he resolved 
 upon abandoning his intended profession, and devo- 
 ting himself to a military life. The peculiar position 
 of the country at this period, was in a high degree 
 embarrassing and perplexing. We had passed through 
 the ordeal of the revolutionary struggle, but the nation, 
 exhausted by that protracted contest, had relapsed 
 into a state of almost infantine imbecility. Without 
 commerce and without credit, menaced with dissolu- 
 . tion from internal dissensions, the newly created Go- 
 vernment scarcely entered upon its existence, our 
 weakness had encouraged England, still rankling with 
 her recent humiliation and discomfiture, to procras- 
 tinate the adjustment of controversies which remained 
 open between the two Governments, and, in violation 
 of treaty stipulations, to retain possession of the mili- 
 tary posts along our northern frontier. These mea- 
 
22 
 
 sures not only indicated the existence of hostile feel- 
 ing, but, in case of a rupture, these commanding po- 
 sitions furnished her with the most efficient means 
 of annoyance. With a view to the probable renewal 
 of war, under circumstances so unpropitious, Harri- 
 son, after tendering his services as a private volun- 
 teer, obtained the commission of ensign, and forthwith 
 repaired to the West, which was to be the scene of 
 action. The vast region lying between the river 
 Ohio and the northern boundary of the Union, now 
 comprehending within its limits four important States 
 and a Territory whose rapid progress will soon ele- 
 vate her to the same grade, then held a white popu- 
 lation not exceeding four thousand souls. The war- 
 like tribes of Indians, flushed with victory, and stimu- 
 lated to hostilities, entertained the confident hope 
 of success. Under circumstances the most discourag- 
 ing, amid perils the most threatening, and after en- 
 countering difficulties and exposure the most severe 
 to his youth and inexperience, Harrison commenced 
 his military career. His conduct and deportment won 
 for him the commendations of the commanding gene 
 ral, his promotion to the rank of lieutenant, and shortly 
 after he was selected by the gallant Wayne for the 
 important position of his aid. The courage, the 
 firmness, the deliberate coolness of the youthful hero, 
 rendered him the object of public approbation, and 
 laid the foundations of his subsequent reputation. 
 The battle of the Miami,* in which Harrison signally 
 distinguished himself, and the treaty negotiated by 
 Mr. Jay with Great Britain, dispersed the clouds 
 
 • More generally called the Maumee, though, as General Harrison himself 
 thought, inaccurately. 
 
23 
 
 which lowered over our Northwestern Territory, 
 and upon the death of Wayne, in 1797, he resigned 
 his commission in the army. 
 
 He was not long permitted to continue in private 
 life. Appointed to the situation of Secretary of the 
 Northwestern Territory, in the absence of the Go- 
 vernor the executive duties devolved upon him, and 
 he discharged them with an ability which won for 
 him the confidence and respect of all. When, in 
 1799, this Territory was admitted into the second 
 grade of government, Harrison was elected to repre- 
 sent it as the delegate to Congress. In this new 
 position he signally evinced the purity, integrity, and 
 disinterestedness of his character. Between the con- 
 tending claims of personal advantage and the public 
 good, he never faltered. His conduct on this occa- 
 sion has evoked the highest commendation of a po- 
 lititical opponent, but warm personal friend, who 
 thoroughly knew and duly appreciated his virtues. 
 He originated and was mainly instrumental in maturing 
 a new system for the administration of the public do- 
 main — a measure to which the western country owes 
 more than to any other single cause, its unprecedent- 
 ed growth in wealth and population, and its extraor- 
 dinary prosperity. 
 
 The division into two distinct parts of this exten- 
 sive Territory, was followed by the separate organiza- 
 tion of the western portion, of which General Harri- 
 son was appointed by President Adams the Governor. 
 In this office he was clothed with powers of the most 
 multifarious character and extensive range. They 
 were initiative as well as administrative. Mingling 
 
24 
 
 the executive with the legislative functions, both were 
 combined with such as were judicial in their nature. 
 Exercising authority over subjects of the highest im- 
 portance, he was equally required to attend to the 
 minute details of practical police. Upon him also 
 "Was devolved the duty of deciding legal controversies 
 of extensive interest and vast importance, and finally, 
 there was specially entrusted to him a diplomatic 
 power, unembarrassed by instructions indicating the 
 provisions of the treaties he was authorized to nego- 
 tiate, or even designating the particular tribes with 
 which they were to be conducted. The commission 
 given by Mr. Jefferson to Harrison in 1803, and 
 which received the unanimous approbation of the 
 Senate, is without a parallel in our history in the 
 latitude of the powers conferred, and in the extent 
 of the discretion reposed. 
 
 The discharge of these duties in a manner cal- 
 culated to secure the cordial approbation of the 
 distinguished patriots who entrusted them to his 
 care, implies, under our institutions, that they were 
 so executed as to merit the affection and confidence 
 of the community over whom he exercised these 
 almost unbounded and irresponsible powers. From 
 three successive Presidents, from Adams, Jefferson, 
 and Madison, he received the highest testimonials of 
 their full approval of his conduct, and their high ap- 
 preciation of his merits. The Legislative Council 
 and House of Representatives of the Territory, in an 
 address to the President, expressed their sense of his 
 virtues and his worth in language equally distinct, and 
 which is deserving of repetition, whenever the charac- 
 
25 
 
 ter of Harrison is the topic of discourse. ^' They can- 
 not/' they say^ " forbear recommending to and request- 
 ing of the President and Senate, most earnestly, in 
 their names and in the names of their constituents, the 
 re-appointment of their present Governor, Wilham 
 Henry Harrison ; because they are sensible he pos- 
 sesses the good wishes and affections of a great 
 majority of his fellow-citizens ; because they believe 
 him sincerely attached to the Union, the prosperity 
 of the United States, and the administration of the 
 Government; because they believe him, in a supe- 
 rior degree, capable of promoting the interests of 
 our Territory, from long experience and a laborious 
 attention to our general concerns, from his influence 
 with the Indians and his wise and disinterested man- 
 agement of that department ; and because they have 
 confidence in his virtues, talents, and republicanism." 
 The long cherished feelings of animosity existing 
 among the savages on our Northwestern frontier had 
 been stimulated into activity by various operative 
 causes. These influences were now powerfully aided 
 by two natives, the celebrated Tecumthe and his 
 scarcely less famous brother, known in the history of 
 the times under the appellation of the Prophet. The 
 martial character of the one, and the superhuman 
 faculties attributed to the other, were eminently 
 efficient in promoting a general and extensive con- 
 federacy, the chief design of which was the expul- 
 sion of the whites from the territory recently acquired 
 from the Indians, and the erection of an impassable 
 barrier against further encroachments. General Har- 
 rison penetrated into their schemes, and availed 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 himself of all the means at his command to crush 
 this formidable combination. In the autumn of 1811, 
 he marched with a body of nine hundred men into the 
 enemy's country, and encamped for the night. On 
 the morning of the 7th of November he was assailed 
 under cover of the darkness, by a greatly superior 
 body of Indians, who, confident of success, attacked 
 him with equal boldness and skill. Anticipating the 
 assault, Harrison was fully prepared for the encoun- 
 ter, and, after a bloody engagement, the assailants 
 experienced a complete repulse at every quarter. 
 The circumstances which preceded and attended this 
 action have been rigidly scrutinized by various indi- 
 viduals, acting under the impulse of different and 
 conflicting motives. The judgment which has been 
 pronounced by those most competent to form a cor- 
 rect opinion, and which has been ratified by the 
 nation, is, that they exhibit the clearest indications of 
 great sagacity, professional skill, and intrepid courage 
 of the highest order, which merited and received the 
 commendations of the Legislatures of two States espe- 
 cially interested in the result, and of the Executive 
 of the Union. 
 
 The war with Great Britain, which commenced 
 in 1812, inspired the savage allies of that power 
 with new hopes, and stimulated them to new enter- 
 prises. Selected by the gallant State of Kentucky to 
 the chief command of her troops, subsequently in- 
 vested with the same high ofl^ce under the authority 
 of the Union, Harrison directed and participated in 
 the various incidents of that arduous conflict, which 
 was finally closed by the signal victory at the Thames. 
 
27 
 
 The able and triumphant exhibition of his conduct 
 during this period^ which has recently been pro- 
 nounced in the capital of European civilization by 
 one every way competent to judge — a brother soldier, 
 and though a political opponent, a personal friend — 
 would render it an act of supererogation, on this oc- 
 casion, to pronounce an eulogium upon the military 
 qualities exhibited by the deceased. The testimony 
 to which I allude will dissipate the flimsy clouds which 
 malevolence may have raised from the fenny bogs of 
 falsehood and envy, and which, passing away, leave 
 the bright orb they had sought to darken in all its 
 beauty and purity. This victory fixed upon the brows 
 of Harrison imperishable laurels. He stands on the 
 page of history the first and only American Gene- 
 ral to whom a foreign army has surrendered beyond 
 our own limits, and the only General of any nation 
 to whom, for a long succession of years, any British 
 army has yielded upon their own territory. 
 
 His task accomplished, and acting under influences 
 to which, upon this occasion, no further allusion need 
 be made, Harrison once more retired to the shades of 
 private life. From this position he was again called 
 to represent his State in the legislative councils of 
 the nation, and the General Government as a minister 
 at a foreign court. He discharged the responsible 
 duties attached to these stations in a manner worthy 
 of his established character and high reputation. His 
 celebrated letter to Bolivar reflects equal honor upon 
 the principles by which he was guided, and the ele- 
 vated and just views which he presented of the duties 
 of the man and of the patriot. 
 
28 
 
 The public services of General Harrison, of which 
 it is practicable to give at this time but a rapid sketch, 
 have been of the most varied and diversified charac- 
 ^ ter. He has at different times exercised nearly every 
 description of employment which, under our free in- 
 stitutions, the nation confers upon a citizen. In his 
 military career, ascending from the rank of the hum- 
 ble ensign to that of commanding general, upon an 
 extensive frontier, and under circumstances demand- 
 ing every diversity of intellect, and exhibiting every 
 variety of military operation; in his civil capacity, 
 almost every duty, legislative, executive, and diplo- 
 matic, have been performed by him. In each and 
 all his conduct has been uniformly consistent and ex- 
 emplary, each adding new lustre to his former glories, 
 and giving him new claims upon the admiration of 
 his country. Public confidence and national esteem 
 were founded upon the broad, the deep laid basis of 
 private worth. Selected to fill public office because, 
 as a man, his eminent virtues had begot esteem and 
 inspired confidence, the manner in which he per- 
 formed the duties imposed upon him showed, that 
 anticipations formed upon such foundations are never 
 disappointed. 
 
 In General Harrison's opinion, proclaimed in his 
 language and exemplified in every part of his con- 
 duct, the first duty of the patriot is to learn and to 
 practice the duties of the man. The profligate 
 ' maxim which many act upon and some audaciously 
 avow, that private immorality and vice are not in- 
 compatible with the faithful performance of public 
 trusts, found with him no favor, and derived no coun- 
 
29 
 
 tenance from his example. He believed that the indi- 
 vidual who is a stranger to the domestic affections and 
 private virtues, which are engendered and strength- 
 ened in their .growth by the circumstances which bind 
 him to his home and to his family, can never be pow- 
 erfully controlled or influenced by those more remote 
 connexions and more attenuated ties which link him 
 to his country and his race. The language of the poet 
 on this subject is the language of truth, and is corro- 
 borated by every page in history — 
 
 " For where was public virtue to be found 
 Where private was not ? Can he love the whole 
 Who loves no part ? He be a nation's friend 
 Who is, in truth, the friend of no man there ! 
 Can he bo strenuous in his country's cause 
 Who slights the charities for whose dear sake 
 That country, if at all, must be beloved ?" 
 
 General Harrison's character exhibited this firm 
 foundation upon which alone genuine patriotism can 
 rest. Few men have been thrown into a greater 
 variety of positions, or surrounded by more trying 
 circumstances. Removed at an early period of life, 
 when the character is plastic and yields readily to 
 external impressions, from the parental roof, from 
 the scenes and associations of his childhood, he was 
 from necessity thrown principally upon his own re- 
 sources, and compelled to rely mainly upon him- 
 self. He was eminently self sustained, and through- 
 out life self poised. Few have occupied positions 
 in which their personal integrity has been more ex- 
 posed to tempting influences. Opportunities were 
 not rare in which, without any palpable or gross 
 dereliction of duty, or any violation of the com- 
 
30 
 
 monlj approved rules of private integrity, he might 
 have gratified, had he possessed them, the most 
 greedy desires of avarice. One such occasion has 
 been ah'eady adverted to. At such times, he not only 
 neglected to avail himself of the advantages which 
 were proffered to his grasp, but, with a promptitude 
 which evinced that he never faltered in his purpose, 
 and with a magnanimity which proved that selfish 
 and personal considerations exercised no sway over 
 his public conduct, he acted on the loftiest and purest 
 impulses of a disinterested and exclusive regard to 
 the interests of the republic. In all the intercourse 
 of private life, as well as in the administration of 
 power, no man was more scrupulously honest. His 
 hands were equally unsullied by the public gold which 
 passed under his control, and by cupidity and over- 
 reaching in his transactions with his fellow men. In 
 each and all no imputation rests upon his faithfulness 
 and truth. Decision of character and firm adherence 
 to principle mark his every step. 
 
 In the domestic and social circle an affectionate 
 and kindly feeling pervaded his entire life. Those 
 ties, now so abruptly broken, are almost too sacred 
 to be obtruded upon the public gaze. The bereaved 
 widow mourns her separation from the companion of 
 her hfe, in the privacy of her own now desolate home, 
 and in the still more sacred sanctuary of her own 
 heart. The family which so recently reverenced him 
 as its cherished support, its guide and its protector, 
 now bewails the irreparable loss. The domestics, 
 who had ever found in him a kind and attentive mas- 
 ter, testify with tears their affection for the deceased. 
 
31 
 
 The diversified situations occupied by General 
 Harrison, the large intercourse with men which was 
 the necessary consequence, brought him into frequent 
 contact with individuals of every grade of life and 
 every phase of character. His adventurous career in 
 youth, his active and enterprising spirit, his occupa- 
 tions civil and military, public and private, led to a 
 constant and familiar intercourse with a large pro- 
 portion of the citizens of the Union, and more espe- 
 cially of the inhabitants of the Western States. The 
 nature of this intercourse, and of the scenes in which 
 it occurred were eminently calculated to exhibit, in 
 their genuine form and just proportions, the qualities 
 which distinguished the individual, and to develop 
 every trait and lineament of his character. That he 
 possessed, in an exalted degree, those qualities which 
 merit esteem and win the affections, no more conclu- 
 sive evidence could be given, than the fact that he 
 ever had numerous and zealous friends. Among 
 those with whom this connexion was most intimate, 
 and the most enduring, we recognise individuals in 
 various stations in life, engaged in different pursuits, 
 members of every profession, and particularly men of 
 all political parties. The clergyman and the soldier, 
 the lawyer, the physician, the farmer, the philosopher, 
 the Washington federalist, and the zealous disciple of 
 Jefferson — all, without distinction, who possessed per- 
 sonal merit, shared his confidence and his affection. 
 The feelings of attachment mutually cherished, and 
 equally honorable to all parties, were conspicuously 
 manifested during the recent political canvass, in which 
 honorable opponents stood forth to vindicate his re- 
 
32 
 
 putation from the assaults of vulgar malevolence ; and 
 in the honors paid to his memory, in which, without 
 distinction of party, the great bulk of the nation has 
 united in the expression of lamentation and of sor- 
 row. It would be difficult to indicate a more unerring 
 standard by which to estimate genuine worth of char- 
 acter. It speaks a language which can neither be 
 misunderstood nor misinterpreted. It implies a kind- 
 ness of manner and affectionate disposition, the attrac- 
 tions of intellect and the embellishments of educa- 
 tion, a just, liberal, and catholic feeling ; while, with 
 equal distinctness, it evinces the absence of sectarian 
 bigotry and political intolerance, low habits or vulgar 
 pastes, that acerbity of language which too frequently 
 alienates friends, and that arrogance of manner which 
 confirms the hostility of foes. 
 
 The humane and benevolent feelings of the heart 
 were equally characteristic of General Harrison. In 
 all circumstances these were conspicuous. The pri- 
 vate in the army, while he admired the captain who 
 led him on to victory and to glory, loved the man who 
 participated with him in all his privations, shared all 
 his hardships, and who uniformly exhibited the most 
 vigilant attention to his comforts, the warmest sym- 
 pathy in his sufferings, and the kindest respect for 
 his feelings. The humble solicitant for charity was 
 never turned from his hospitable door, and the weary 
 traveller uniformly found under his roof rest from his 
 fatigue and food to relieve his hunger. 
 
 Nor was it merely in his private, domestic, and 
 social character that General Harrison exhibits a 
 bright example for the admiration of his contempo- 
 
33 
 
 rarieSj and the imitation of posterity. He availed 
 himself of every opportunity which a life so desultory 
 afforded him for laying the foundations for future 
 usefulness, and acquiring all the qualifications for 
 public station. His mind was improved by a larger 
 and a more familiar acquaintance with literature than 
 could reasonably have been anticipated from a course 
 of life so filled with active and engrossing occupations. 
 In his youth he imbibed with the rudiments of 
 knowledge a taste for intellectual improvement. In- 
 troduced into the army at an early age, stationed in 
 the western country, then an interminable forest in- 
 habited almost exclusively by the nomadic aborigines, 
 where men of literary acquirements were rare, and 
 libraries unknown, he created, what he could scarcely 
 have found amid such scenes, opportunities of enlarg- 
 ing his acquisitions and cultivating his mind. The 
 very character of the duties imposed upon him de- 
 manded the unceasing exercise of his intellect upon all 
 the materials which he could procure, upon all the 
 subjects on which he was to act. Few have more 
 diligently perused, or more familiarly understood, 
 that great repository of useful information which is 
 found in history. His powers of attention and of 
 observation were acute and vigorous, his memory at 
 once quick and tenacious. He read with care, and 
 treasured up the information which he collected. 
 His habits of life quickened his perceptive powers, 
 which, strengthened by exercise, and operating upon 
 a naturally sound judgment, gave to his mind a philo- 
 sophical cast, which, under circumstances more pro- 
 pitious, would probably have developed itself in some 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 valuable and enduring memorials. The views which 
 he presented of the ancient inhabitants of the valley 
 of the Ohio, to the Historical Society of that State, 
 indicate a high order of intellect, trained to habits of 
 logical and philosophical induction, and accustomed 
 as well to accurate observation as to large and practi- 
 cal generalization. The style of this production is 
 distinguished for precision and classical purity. , 
 
 General Harrison was especially familiar with the 
 history of his own country. He had studied the Con- 
 stitution, not with the technical acuteness of a profes- 
 sional lawyer, but as a practical expositor and authen- 
 tic guide in the administration of public affairs. He 
 had examined the origin and foundation of our in- 
 stitutions, for the purpose of extracting its genuine 
 spirit and true interpretation. He had studied our 
 domestic resources and capabilities, and our foreign 
 connexions and relations, with the eye of a statesman 
 illumined and directed by the feelings of a patriot. 
 If, in all his speculative views, he should not have 
 met with the unanimous concurrence of his country- 
 men, he but encountered the common lot of humanity. 
 Those however, who, while they differed with him in 
 opinion, partook of the honest, liberal, and catholic 
 spirit which animated his heart, will be free to ac- 
 knowledge, that wherever he erred in his views of 
 great and fundamental principles of politics, or in 
 matters of inferior moment, his error may be traced to, 
 and is strongly tinctured by his feelings of pure and 
 unadulterated republicanism, elevated conceptions of 
 human capabilities, and lofty and uncompromising 
 views of man's dignity and rights. If ever he was led 
 
35 
 
 astray, it was under the guidance of these lights, 
 which, if they cannot always preserve from error, 
 rarely mislead from the paths of truth, and which, 
 whenever they animate and control the conduct, fix 
 an indelible impression upon every fair and candid 
 mind, that, even where the judgment may have been 
 conducted to wrong conclusions, the purity and in- 
 tegrity of the heart are beyond suspicion. 
 
 Such is a brief and imperfect sketch of the man 
 whose memory we are now assembled to commemo- 
 rate, of the virtues which recommended him to the 
 confidence of the American people, of the services 
 which won their gratitude and respect. Such were 
 the proofs which he had given of his qualifications for 
 the highest office in their power to bestow. Without 
 political influence to sway, without wealth to corrupt, 
 without any adventitious or dazzling attractions cal- 
 culated to mislead, his strength consisted in the me- 
 morials of his past life, and the evidence they fur- 
 nished of his patriotism, his integrity, and his wisdom. 
 The eyes of the nation were turned upon Harrison, 
 and he was selected by an assemblage of delegates 
 from the various states of the Union, to bear the 
 banner of one great party of the combatants in the 
 approaching contest. Whatever opinions may be 
 entertained by individuals of the qualifications of the 
 respective candidates in this momentous struggle, or 
 upon the great principles of policy which were in- 
 voked by either party during its continuance, candor 
 will admit, that, until its close, no part of the conduct 
 of General Harrison was unworthy of the elevation to 
 which he aspired, or of the motives by which he pro- 
 
36 
 
 fessed to be governed. Whatever of acrimony, of false 
 representations, of calumny, of undignified or unwor- 
 thy means, may have been employed by or charg-ed 
 upon partisans in this warfare, nothing disreputable 
 or derogatory to the character of the gentleman or 
 the patriot can be brought home personally to him. 
 
 Appealing upon such grounds to the favor of his 
 countrymen, his elevation to the office of President 
 was equally honorable to himself and to the nation. 
 Merit and worth constituted his only recomm^enda- 
 tions; truth and honor the only weapons he em- 
 ployed. That they should have been successful 
 furnishes the most conclusive evidence that a people 
 who will recognise such claims to their confidence, 
 and will bestow the rich meed of their approval upon 
 such a champion, are, in the widest and most com- 
 prehensive extent of the meaning of the phrase, em- 
 phatically fit for self-government. 
 
 It was thus that General Harrison attained the ele- 
 vated position which he was destined to fill for so 
 brief a period. The address which he delivered at 
 his inauguration, was in perfect keeping with his 
 entire history. The same doctrines which he had 
 professed when a candidate for preferment were now 
 distinctly announced as those upon which he was to 
 practice. It contains a frank and manly exposition 
 of the principles upon which the Government should, 
 in his judgment, be administered. It is marked by a 
 just appreciation of his own position and duties, com- 
 prehensive and statesman-like views of the interests 
 and policy of the country, in all its various and di- 
 versified relations, foreign and domestic ; practical 
 
37 
 
 and judicious views of great constitutional questions ; 
 lines of demarcation distinctly drawn between the 
 great departments of the Government^ and manly and 
 patriotic sentiments in relation to the rights of the 
 people and the duties of their rulers; liberal and pa- 
 triotic attempts to conciliate and harmonize conflicting 
 interests and local prejudices. In his administration 
 of power, he ever avowed his determination to be 
 influenced by no other considerations than those of 
 duty ; to be guided by no other principles than those 
 of rectitude and patriotism ; and, relying with full and 
 assured confidence upon the virtue and intelhgence 
 of those whose representative he felt himself to be, 
 to assume no powers save those which the Constitu- 
 tion granted, to shun no responsibility attached to his 
 office, and to seek no other commendation than the 
 approval of his own conscience, his country, and his 
 God. 
 
 The manly frankness and simplicity of his charac- 
 ter inspired general confidence in the sincerity with 
 which he spoke, and in the steadfastness with which 
 he would conform to his professions. The tumultuous 
 billows were hushed into repose. The storms of 
 contention were at least for the moment lulled. Ere 
 the tempest could again collect its energies and burst 
 forth, he was summoned from the scene. The deep 
 grief which pervaded the nation at this unexpected 
 issue, was as universal as it was expressive. No dis- 
 tinction of party was manifested, no geographical 
 divisions were exhibited, but the whole republic, with 
 one heart and one voice, testified its respect and 
 veneration, its confidence and its love for the gallant 
 
38 
 
 soldier, the accomplished statesman, the disinterested 
 patriot, and the man now canonized by death. 
 
 The example thus held out to those who are filled 
 with a laudable ambition to identify themselves with 
 the honor and glory of their country, to blend their 
 fame with that of the republic, is rich and magnificent. 
 The life of Harrison will teach them that private 
 virtue and the faithful discharge of inferior trusts, are 
 the most certain paths by which to ror^ch the loftiest 
 heights, to acquire the love and confidence of the 
 people of these United States. That, though the 
 arts of the demagogue may for a time seduce the 
 public voice, and the machinations of the incendiary 
 deceive for the moment, the delusion is transitory 
 and meteoric. They constitute no certain or perma- 
 nent basis upon which to rest. 
 
 The patriot who loves his country and seeks her 
 glory ; the philanthropist who desires the happiness 
 and progressive improvement of the human family; 
 the statesman who combines the motives of both, 
 with his anxious labors to promote the best interests 
 of the commonwealth, will concur in the hope and 
 assured confidence, that, while virtues such as those 
 of Harrison continue to command the confidence and 
 the love of the People, the race of such men never 
 will be extinct, and this great Republic will advance 
 in true glory and substantial prosperity, till time shall 
 be no more. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 GEN. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, | 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR 
 
 <5> 
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 THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE 
 
 DEUVERED BEFORE THE INSTITUTION, 
 
 BY 
 
 
 RICHARD S. COXE 
 
 JUIVK 34, 1841. 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 PRINTED BY. PETER FORCE, 
 
 1841. 
 
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