kindles at the intent of such wrongs. We must learn, that to be right is to be strong, and we must infuse this sentiment into the minds of those who shall come after us. A righteous minority is always to be preferred to a reckless majority. The noble deeds of the one will be hallowed by the wise and good in after-years, while the selfish actions of the other will be forgotten, or remembered only in connection with the wrongs they have perpetrated. The ambition to be in the ascendant at all hazards is the fitting ambition of knaves and tyrants, but not of Republicans and freemen. May the time never come, when party spirit shall rise above the love of country, and seek to appropriate to itself present honors, at the expense of future peace. There is something so noble in the exhibition of a genuine patriotism, that it is not a matter of surprise that demagogues attempt to pass current with a counterfeit coin. It is perhaps strange, that with all the varied excellencies of the true, there should be an attempt at the false. The five smooth stones of the brook had more efficacy than the choicest armor and heaviest coat of mail. Their naturalness left the youth free, and by their use in the exercise of his vigorous powers, he was more mighty than his mighty foe. Why does not the constrained political aspirant learn this truth, and laying aside his unwieldy, because unnatural exterior, adopt those pure principles which will allow of the greatest freedom, and at the same time secure the greater and better results. Men are ambitious for place and power for which they have not the requisite qualifications, and become the trumpeters of their own fame for the most sinister ends. Principles on which any dependence can be placed they have not, but in professions they are not wanting. There are some such persons who are strug gling for political elevation, in every section of our land, and to mark them is the duty of every freeman. Corrupt men have in other days destroyed happy governments, and if ours should ever fall, it will be by the same instrumentality. It becomes then, a question of importance second to no other, how competent and true men shall be elevated to the highest offices of civil government. The destiny of this nation is of too much consequence to be readily committed to the hands of misguided and time-serving men. This Republic, the wonder and praise of the earth, must live, and its union be perpetuated until the inhabitants of this continent and the world shall recline in the shade of the tree of liberty. It is sometimes charged upon us that we are betrayed into a spirit of egotism; and it is a proper reply that no people can indulge in such a spirit more blamelessly than ourselves. The past and the present justly conspire to make us proud of our heritage. In the infancy of our national existence we shook off the oppressor's yoke; in our youth we have become the admiration of the world, and may we not hope that in our manhood we shall be a blessing to mankind. In the political horizon of the future there may rise up ominous clouds, yet if we be true to ourselves they shall pass away, leaving a serene sky to smile over the happy millions of future generations. We have a country surpassing an empire in magnificence, and yet it is only invested with the simple grandeur of Republican dignity. We have lords, but they are lords of the soil, proud of no title so much as of freedom's sons. The blessings and honors of the land are unconfined. To win them no one can count upon advantages which are not open to all; and with few exceptions, the prize is the award of merit. To maintain our institutions thus, should be the pride of every American. Long may the day be distant, when this, our characteristic glory shall have departed. The land of Washington, and of Franklin, of Henry, and of Lee of Adams and of Jefferson, must continue to be the hope and the asylum of the oppressed. And what an incentive are these illustrious examples to the cultivation of a like pure patriotism, that on the altar of liberty there may continue to burn that pure incense which shall be a sweet savor to all lands. How eminent are the advantages of the young men of this Republic. They have set before them all that is pure in patriotism, noble in principle, elevated in character, and lofty in aims. "Scorn to be slaves!" yet rings out from the voice of the past, and bids us take that commanding attitude which must ever command the respect of the civilized world. These examples should be studied until we catch their very spirit, and breathe the atmosphere which infused into them such a life. If difficulties arise, they have their solution in the conduct of those noble-minded sires. The honest inquiry, how would Washington or Jefferson have acted in similar circumstances, will take away every ignoble aim, and leave uppermost in our minds, love of country. And if, in the future, questions of importance should agitate the land, and threaten its peace, all shall be borne safely through, if we but emulate their spirit. The charge of the interests of this nation, shortly to be transmitted to its young men, should be gravely considered, and most seriously pondered. Liberty here, and incidentally the cause of human freedom throughout the world, is too weighty a trust not to be watched with the tenderest care. Let the young men of this nation see to their work. The pure patriotism of other days must be transmitted to posterity, that the latest generation may drink as deeply of its spirit as our fathers in their days of trial. Then shall this freest of all lands continue to be the home and the asylum of the oppressed. Then shall the sun in his circuit. enliven no brighter spot than our own happy America CONTENTS. Fox's Eulogy on General Washington in the British Parliament- Speech of the Irish Orator Phillips, previous to proposing as a Toast, at a Public Dinner in Ireland, "The Immortal Memory of George Lord Chatham on his Motion to amend the Address. Lord Chatham on the Employment of Indians against America..... Fox on the Arrival of the News of the Battle of Guilford Court- |