15th of November, 1708. He became a member of Parliament in 1735, at the
age of twenty-six, and was made Secretary of State in December, 1756, which
office he continued to hold, with a brief interval, until October, 1761. He
was appointed to the office of Lord Privy Seal in 1766, and elevated to the
peerage with the title of Earl Chatham. He died at Hayes, in Kent, on the
11th of May, 1778 in the seventieth year of his age. His devotion to the
interest of the great body, especially the middling classes, of the English
nation, won for him the title of "the Great commoner." He consecrated his
great talents and commanding eloquence to the defense of the popular part
of the Constitution. In the latter part of his life, though suffering much
from bodily infirmities, he was the champion of the American cause,
standing forth, in presence of the whole British empire, to arraign, as a
breach of the Constitution every attempt to tax a people who had no
representative in Parliament. This was the era of his noblest efforts in
oratory. He has been generally regarded as the most powerful orator of
modern times. His success, no doubt was owing in part to his extraordinary
personal advantages. In his best days before he was crippled by the gout,
his figure was tall and erect; his attitude imposing; his gestures
energetic even to vehemence, yet tempered with dignity and grace. His voice
was full and clear; his loudest whisper was distinctly heard; his middle
notes were sweet and beautifully varied; and, when he elevated his voice to
its highest pitch, the House was completely filled with the volume of
sound. The effect was awful, except when he wished to cheer or animate;
then he had spiritstirring notes which were perfectly irresistible. But
although gifted by nature with a fine voice and person, he spared, no
effort to add everything that art could confer, for his improvement as an
orator.
174 CXXVIII. HENRY CLAY was born in Virginia, April 12, 1777, and died at
Washington, June 29, 1852. In early life his advantages of education were
limited. He commenced the practice of the law in 1797. His political career
began in 1803, and ended in 1852. He was twice Speaker of the National
House of Representatives. In 1814, he was one of the commissioners to
negotiate the Treaty of Ghent. He represented the State of Kentucky in the
United States Senate at various periods from 1806 till 1852. He was
Secretary of State during the administration of John Quincy Adams, and he
was three times the unsuccessful Whig candidate for the Presidency. He was
a man of the warmest sympathies, and he captivated the hearts of all who
came in contact with him. He was a patriot, and willingly sacrificed
private preference to public good. He said truly in his valedictory address
to the Senate,--"In all my public acts, I have had a single eye directed
and a warm and devoted heart dedicated to what, in my best judgment, I
believed the true interest, the honor, the union, and the happiness of my
country required." He was a consummate orator. In his manner he united the
gentleness of woman with the pride and dignity of the haughtiest manhood.
His style was full flowing, and manly; and his voice was sonorous, sweet,
and powerful.
183. CXXXVI. ELIPHALET NOTT was born in Connecticut, in 1773 and is now
upwards of ninety years of age. He has occupied the office of President of
Union College for about sixty years. The eloquent discourse on the death of
Hamilton was delivered at Albany, in 1804.
190. CXL. JOHN HANCOCK, President of the American Congress in 1776, and
Signer of the Declaration, was born in Massachusetts in 1739, and died in
1793. This extract is from an oration delivered March 5th on the
anniversary of the massacre of Boston citizens by British soldiers, which
took place four years before.
191. CXLI. EDMUND BURKE, who was preëminently the great philosophical
orator of our language, was born at Dublin January 1. 1730, and died at
Beaconsfield, near London, July 9th, 1797. His political career commenced
in the House of Commons, of which body he was a member during the greater
part of his subsequent life. He wrote out six of his great speeches, the
last of which was that on the Nabob of Arcot's debts. He was strenuously
opposed to the American war, and two of his greatest speeches that on the
Stamp Act, and that on Conciliation with America, supported the cause of
the colonies. Of the latter, Mr. Everett says,--"It was less than a month
before the commencement of hostilities, that Burke pronounced that truly
divine oration on 'Conciliation with America,' which in my poor judgment,
excels everything, in the form of eloquence, that has come down to us from
Greece or Rome." And he said further,--"Certainly, no compositions in the
English tongue can take precedence of those of Burke, in depth of thought,
reach of forecast, or magnificence of style. . . . . In political
disquisition elaborated in the closet, the palm must perhaps be awarded to
Burke over all others, ancient or modern."
203. CL. Platæa, ( pla-te'-a): Artmisium (ar-te-me'-ze-um).
220. CLXII. SIR WALTER SCOTT was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, August 15,
1711, and died at; Abbotsford, his country seat, on the banks of the Tweed,
September 21, 1832. He passed through the High School and University of his
native city without attaining any marked distinction as a scholar. He made
some proficiency in Latin, ethics and history, but he had no taste for
Greek. He acquired a general, though not a critical knowledge, of the
German, French, Italian, and Spanish languages. But from early youth he was
an insatiable reader, and he stored his mind with a vast fund of
miscellaneous knowledge. Romances were among his chief favorites, and he
had great facility in inventing and telling stories. He became greatly
distinguished as a poet before he commenced his career as a novelist. His
first great poem, the Lay of the Last Minstrel, published in 1805, was
received with enthusiastic admiration, and at once stamped him as a
poetical genius. The appearance of Marmion, in 1808 greatly enhanced his
reputation as a poet, and the Lady of the Lake, which came out two years
later, was still more popular. Here he touched his highest point in
poetical composition. His subsequent poems certainly added nothing to his
reputation, if, indeed they sustained it. But, "as the old mine gave
symptoms of exhaustion," says Bulwer, the new mine, ten times more affluent
at least in the precious metals, was discovered. In 1814 he commenced that
long and magnificent series of prose fictions which for seventeen years
were poured out with an unprecedented prodigality, and which can onlv be
compared with the dramas of Shakspeare, as presenting an endless variety of
original characters scenes historical situations and adventures. In 1826,
he became bankrupt, in consequence of a partnership with a printer and
publisher, and, although fifty-five years old, he undertook the heroic task
of discharging his heavy pecuniary liabilities by the productions of his
pen. In six years of intense literary labor, he nearly accomplished his
noble object, but before he reached the goal, he sank exhausted on the
course. "In the portion of his life, from his bankruptcy to his death,"
says Mr. Hillard, "Scott's character shines with a moral grandeur far above
mere literary fame."
222. CLXIV. From the poem Marmion.---Tantallon's towers: the ruins of
Tantallon Castle occupy a high rock projecting into the German Ocean about
two miles east of North Berwick, in the southeastern part of Scotland.
223.--DOUGLAS, ARCHIBALD, Earl of Angus, a man remarkable for strength of
body and mind, who died broken-hearted at calamities which befell his house
and country at Flooden.
224. CLXV. Pibroch, (pi'-brok). In Scotland, a Highland air played on the
bagpipe before the Highlanders when they go out to battle.---Doneuil Dhu,
(donnil du): MacDonald the Black.
230. CLXIX. Parrhasius, (par-ra'-zhius): Prometheus, (pro-me'-thuse):
Caucasus, (caw'-ca'-sus): lame Lemnian: Vulcan, the artisan of the Olympian
gods.
232. CLXX. MRS. FELICIA HEMANS, an admirable woman and sweet hostess, was
born at Liverpool, England. September 25, 1793 and died May 16, 1835. Her
maiden name was Browne. She was married to Captain Hemans an officer in the
British Army, but the union was not a happy one. Her imagination was
chivalrous and romantic, and she delighted in picturing the ancient martial
glory of England. The purity of her mind is seen in all her works. Though
popular, and in many respects excellent, her poetry is calculated to please
the fancy rather than to make a deep and lasting impression.
232. CLXX. A true story. Young Casabianca, a boy thirteen years old, son of
the commander of the Orient, remained at his post, in the battle of the
Nile after the ship bad taken fire and all the guns had been abandoned, and
was blown up with the vessel when the flames reached the magazine.
259. CLXXXVI. The Royal George, of 108 guns, whilst undergoing a partial ca
reening in Portsmouth Harbor, England, was overset about 10, A. M. August
29, 1782. The total loss was believed to be near 1000 souls.
263. CXC. THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY was born in the county of Leicester,
England, October 25, 1800, and died December, 28, 1859. He was educated at
Cambridge University. He was several times elected member of Parliament and
for several years he served the government in India as member of the
Supreme Council. But his fame rests mainly on his literary productions, the
principal of which is his History of England whose popularity has never
been exceeded by any other historical work in the language. His essays,
which have been collected and published in six volumes, are remarkable for
brilliancy of style and richness of matter. As a descriptive poet he has
ex-hibited high genius in his "Lays of Ancient Rome." His "Battle of Ivry"
has the true trumpet-ring which kindles the soul and stirs the
blood.--Ivry (ee'-vree): a town in France where Henry IV. gained a decisive
victory over Mayenne, 1590.--oriflamme, (or'-e-flam): the ancient royal
standard of France.---Mayenne, Duke: commander of the army of the
League.---Remember Saint Bartholomew: the massacre on Saint Bartholomew's
Eve, August 23, 1572.
265. CXCI. Bingen,(been'-ghen).
274. CXCVII. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, a man remarkable for his rich
poetical imagination his unrivalled colloquial eloquence, and his superior
critical powers was born in Devonshire, England, October 20, 1772, and
died July 25, 1834. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, London, where he
had Charles Lamb for a school-fellow, and at Jesus' College, Cambridge. He
afterwards acquired a knowledge of the German language and literature at
Ratzburg and Gottingen, In early life he was a Unitarian and a Jacobin, but
he subsequently became a Trinitarian and a Royalist. Those who knew him
thought him equal to any task; he planned great works in prose and verse
which he never executed. His poetical works, of which his Ancient Mariner
is the most striking and original, have been collected and published in
three volumes. His language is often rich and musical, highly figurative
and ornate. His Ode on France was considered by Shelley to be the finest
English ode of modern times. His Hymn on Chamouni is equally lofty and
brilliant.
274. CXCVII. Chamouni, (sha-moo'-ne): a valley in the Sardinian States,
bounded on the south by Mont Blanc, the most remarkable for its picturesque
sites and the wild grandeur of its glaciers.---Arve, (arve); a rapid river
flowing into the Rhone.
277.--Hierarch, (hi'-e-rark ).
283. CCII. WILLIAM COLLINS, whose poems though small in number are rich in
vivid imagery and beautiful description, was born in Chichester, England,
December 25, 1720, and died in 1756. His odes are acknowledged to be the
best of their kind in the language. His finest lyric is his Ode on the
Passions, which has been called "a magnificent gallery of allegorical
paintings."
287. CCIV. JOHN DRYDEN, one of the great masters of English verse, was born
in Northamptonshire, England, August, 1631, and died May 1, 1700. His Life,
by Johnson, is regarded as the most carefully written, the most eloquent
and discriminating of all the "Lives of the Poets." His Life was also
written by Sir Walter Scott, who edited a complete edition of his works, in
eighteen volumes.--St. Cecilia: the patron-saint of music, and the reputed
inventress of the organ.
298. CCX. THOMAS CAMPBELL was born at Glasgow, Scotland, July 27, 1777, and
died at Boulogne, France, June 15, 1844. He was educated at the university
of his native city, and afterwards studied Greek in Germany under the
learned Processor Heyne. After travelling on the continent he took up his
residence in London in 1803, and devoted himself to literature as a
profession. In 1799, at the earlyage of twenty-two years, he published The
Pleasures of Hope, a poem of great merit, which captivated all hearts by
its exquisite melody, its polished diction and its generous and lofty
sentiments. His second great poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, a Pennsylvania
Tale, was published in 1809. His genius shines most conspicuously in his
shorter poems, his war-songs or lyrics, and his ballads, which have been
said to form the richest offering ever made by poetry at the shrine of
patriotism. Mr. Hillard says of him,--"No poet of our times has
contributed so much in proportion to the extent of his writings, to that
stock of established quotations which pass from lip to lip, and from pen to
pen, without any thought as to their origin."
303. CCXIV. This fine passage is from the Pleasures of Hope--pandours,
(pan-dorz'), the o as in move; the metre of the line requires the accent on
the first syllable: infantry soldiers in the service of Austria, from
districts near Pandur, in Hungary.--hussars, (hooz'-zarz): light-armed
Hungarian horse-soldiers.
304.--Kosciusko, (kos-ci-us'-ko): a Polish patriot and hero, who served on
Washington's staff in the war of the Revolution. In the battle which
decided the fate of Poland, in 1794, he fell from his horse covered with
wounds, and was made prisoner by the enemy. He died in France, in 1817.
305. CCXV. Hohenlinden: (hohen, high; linden, lime-trees,) the name of a
village in upper Bavaria, twenty miles east of Munich celebrated for the
victory of the French and Bavarians, under Moreau, over the Austrians under
Archduke John, December 3, 1800. This battle was witnessed by the poet
Campbell from the monastery of St. Jacob. In a letter written at this time,
He says: "The sight of Ingoldstadt in ruins, and Hohenlindcn covered with
fire, seven miles in circumference, were spectacles never to be forgotten."
He has immortalized that conflict in these inimitable stanzas which form
one of the grandest battle-pieces that ever were drawn.
305. CCXV, Iser, (e'-zer): the name of a river in the vicinity of
Holhenlinden.--Frank: the ancient name of the French.--Hun: a name
applied to the barbarous people of Scythia who conquered and gave name to
Hungary.--Munich, (mu'-nik).
314. CCXXIII. This is considered one of the best martial lyrics in the
language. Its author, FITZ-GREENE HALLECK, was born at Gifford, in Conn.,
August, 1795. He has written but very little, but that little is of such
excellence as to make us regret that he has not written more.--Marco
Bozzaris, (bot-sah'-ris): the most famous hero of modern Greece, fell in a
night attack on the Turkish camp at Lapsi, the site of the ancient Platæa,
August 20, 1823, and expired in the moment of victory. His last words
were:--"To die for liberty is a pleasure, and not a pain."
315.--Old Platæa's Day: B. C. 479, when the Greeks, under Aristides and
Pausanias, defeated the Persians with great slaughter.
317. CCXXIV. JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE was born at New York August 7, 1795, and
died September 21, 1820. The most popular of his poems is the spirited ode,
The American Flag, though his fame rests chiefly on the Culprit Fay, a poem
of exquisite fancy and artistic execution.
318. CCXVIII. Old Ironsides: the frigate Constitution. This poem was
written when it was proposed to break her up and convert her into a
receiving ship, as unfit for service.
321. CCXXVI. CHARLES WOLFE was born at Dublin, Ireland, December 14, 1791,
and died February 21, 1823.---Sir John Moore a British general, was killed
at Corunna, in Spain, in a battle between the French and English January
16,
1809. He was wrapped in his military cloak and buried by night in a hasty
grave on the ramparts of the town.
335. CCXXXVI. From the last canto of Childe Harold. Compare this with the
splendid prose poem by Dr. Swains page 396.
336.--Armada, (ar-mah'-da):a naval or military armament espacially
applied to the fleet sent by Spain against England, 1588, which was
dispersed and shattered by a storm.--Trafalgar, (traf-al-gar'): a cape on
the coast of Spain, memorable for the great naval victory of the English
under Nelson, who was killed in the action, over the French and Spanish
fleets, October 21, 1805.
355. CCL. From a lecture on The Eloquence of Revolutionary Periods,
delivered in Boston before the Mechanic Apprentices' Association, February
19, 1857.
356. CCLI. From the same as above. 357.--Mirabeau, (me'-rah-boe''): the
greatest of French orators. Bema: a raised place in Athens whence the
orators addressed assemblies of the people.
358. CCLII. From an oration delivered in Boston, July 5, 1858, before the
Boston Democratic Club, his last address on general political interests.
360. CCLV. From a speech on Boston Common, in the autumn of 1861, on the
occasion of presenting a flag to the 22d Regiment of Massachusetts
Volunteers, commanded by Senator Wilson.
361. CCLVI. From a speech on Boston Common in 1861, at a grand rally of
Union men to promote enlistments to put down the rebellion. 365. CCLVIII.
From an oration delivered on the 4th of July, 1861, before the municipal
authorities of Boston.
387. CCLXXIV. From an address delivered before the Norfolk County
Agricultural Society, September, 1863.
388. CCLXXV. From an oration delivered at Roxbury, before the municipal
authorities of the city, February 22, 1864.
391. CCLXXVI. From an address by Governor Andrew, to both branches of the
legislature, at the opening of the session, January, 1863.
392. CCLXXVII. From an address before both branches of the Legislature, at
the opening of the session, January, 1864.
393. CCLXXVIII. From a speech delivered in 1861 on the occasion of
presenting a flag to the Second Regiment of Volunteers.
396. CCLXXX. From a discourse recently delivered by the author, in his own
pulpit at Providence, on his return from a voyage to Europe.
404. CCLXXXVI. From the author's speeches in the memorable canvass with
Douglas for the senatorship in Illinois.
406. CCLXXXVII. This extract and the succeeding one, are from the author's
last great speech delivered at Springfield, Illinois, in 1861.
423. CCXCVIII. GEORGE THOMPSON, the great English agitator and anti-slavery
leader delivered numerous addresses in different parts of England, during
the summer of 1863, in defence of the American cause. This extract, from
one delivered at Carlisle, England, was written out by the author,
especially for this book.
433. CCCV. This extract and the two following were taken from an oration
delivered July 4, 1863, before the municipal authorities of Boston.
440. CCCXI. From a eulogy on Webster, delivered in Boston, September 17,
1859, on the occasion of the inauguration of his statue, in front of the
State House.
441. CCCXII. From an oration delivered at the Dedication of the Soldiers'
National Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863.
449. CCCXVII. From a speech delivered in Tremont Temple, Boston, 1862.
451. CCCXVIII. From a speech delivered in New Orleans, at a grand
celebration, on the occasion of the election of a Union Governor.
455. CCCXXI. From a discourse delivered in Boston, before the Ancient and
honorable Artillery Company, at their anniversary, June, 1861.
462. CCCXXVI. Suggested by the President's first call for volunteers, April
16, 1861. The fabulous bell Roland, of Ghent, was an object of great
affection to the people because it rang them to arms when Liberty was in
danger.
468 CCCXXIX. GAIL HAMILTON, the nom de plume of Miss Abigail Dodge, a
popular authoress, who resides in the town of Hamilton Mass.
472. CCCXXXI. Ziska's hunted flock, (shish'-ka): the Hussites in
Bohemia.--Toussaint L'Ouverture, the great St. Domingo chief, an unmixed.
negro, with no drop of white blood in his veins, having been treacherously
arrested by his French foe, he was taken to France, and then sent by
Napoleon to the Castle of St. Joux, to a dungeon twelve feet by twenty,
built wholly of stone, where he was finally left to starve to death.
478. CCCXXXV. On Saturday, the 7th of March, 1862, the United States
sloopof-war Cumberland, commanded by Captain Morris, was sunk in Hampton
Roads, by the Confederate iron-clad. Merrimac, her men firing a broadside
as she went down, with her flag flying.
490. CCCXLIV. The subject of these stanzas was Ormsby McKnight Mitchell, a
distinguished astronomer, and major-general of volunteers in the United
States service, who was born in Kentucky, August 28, 1810, and died at
Beaufort, S. C., October 30, 1862. He was commander of the department of
the South, and was making preparations for a vigorous campaign when he fell
a victim to the yellow fever.
493. CCCXLVI. This is one of the finest productions which the present
crisis has called forth. General Banks, in his official report of the
assault on the fortifications of Port Hudson, on May 27th, thus speaks of
the negro troops: "On the extreme right of our line I posted the 1st and
2d regiments of negro troops. . . . . The position occupied by these troops
was one of importance and called for the utmost steadiness and bravery in
those to whom it was confided. It gives me pleasure to report that they
answered every expectation. In many respects their conduct was heroic,--no
troops could, be more determined or more daring. They made during the day,
three charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy losses,
and holding their positon at nightfall with the other troops on the right
of our lines. The highest commendation is bestowed upon them by all the
officers in command on the right." And thus the question which had been so
often asked, Will the negroes fight? was answered, and settled, and ever
since our brave white soldiers have been glad to
"Hail them as comrades tried."
511. CCCLV. C. F. BROWN, the comic writer, known as Artemus Ward.
End of Project Gutenberg's The American Union Speaker, by John D. Philbrick