[From _Obituary Addresses_ (Frankfort, Kentucky, 1855)]
On his accession to the Presidency, General Jackson--with that
discerning appreciation of the most available ability and worth in his
party which characterized him--called Mr. Barry into his cabinet to
the position of Postmaster General. Here, as one of the most
distinguished of the council of Jackson, during the greater part of
his incumbency, he is entitled to his full share of the fame of that
glorious administration. His health, however, failing him under the
wasting labors of the toilsome department over which he presided, he
was forced to relinquish it before the administration terminated; and
General Jackson, unwilling entirely to lose the benefit of his able
services, appointed him, in 1835, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy
Extraordinary to Spain, a post in which, while its dignity did not
disparage his civil rank, it was hoped that the lightness of the
duties, and the influence of a genial climate, might serve to renovate
his impaired health. But it was otherwise ordained above. He had
reached Liverpool on the way to his mission, when the great conqueror,
at whose summons the strongest manhood, the noblest virtue, the
proudest genius, and the brightest wisdom must surrender, arrested his
earthly career on the 30th of August, 1835; and here is all that is
left to us of the patriot, the orator, the hero, the statesman, the
sage--the rest belongs to Heaven and to fame.
Such, fellow-citizens, is a most cursory and feeble memento of the
life and public services of the illustrious man in whose memory
Kentucky has decreed the solemn honors of this day. It is well for her
that she has felt "the late remorse of love," and reclaimed these
precious ashes to her heart, after they have slumbered so many years
unsepultured in a foreign land; that no guilty consciousness of
unworthy neglect may weigh upon her spirit, and depress her proud
front with shame; that no reproaching echo of that eloquent voice that
once so sweetly thrilled her, pealing back upon her soul amidst her
prideful recollections of the past, may appal her in her feast of
memory, and blast her revel of glory; that no avenging muse, standing
among the shrines of her departed greatness, and searching in vain for
that which should mark her remembrance of one she should so devoutly
hallow, shall have reason to sing of her as she has sung:
"Ungrateful Florence! Dante sleeps afar;
And Scipio, buried by the upbraiding shore."
Here, beneath the sunshine of the land he loved, and amid the scenes
which he consecrated with his genius, he will sleep well. Sadly, yet
proudly will his fond foster-mother receive within her bosom to-day
this cherished remnant of the child she nursed for fame; doubly
endeared to her, as he expired far away in a stranger land, beyond the
reach of her maternal embrace, and with no kindred eyes to light the
gathering darkness of death, no friendly hand to soften his descent to
the grave, no pious orisons to speed his spirit on its long journey
through eternity. Gently, reverently let us lay him in this proud
tabernacle, where he will dwell embalmed in glory till the last trump
shall reveal him to us all radiant with the halo of his life. Let the
Autumn's wind harp on the dropping leaves her softest requiem over
him; let the Winter's purest snows rest spotless on his grave; let
Spring entwine her brightest garland for his tomb, and Summer gild it
with her mildest sunshine. Here let the marble minstrel rise to sing
to the future generations of the Commonwealth the inspiring lay of his
high genius and his lofty deeds. Here let the patriot repair when
doubts and dangers may encompass him, and he would learn the path of
duty and of safety--an oracle will inhabit these sacred graves, whose
responses will replenish him with wisdom, and point him the way to
virtuous renown. Let the ingenuous youth who pants for the glories of
the forum, and "the applause of listening Senates," come hither to
tune his soul by those immortal echoes that will forever breathe about
this spot and make its silence vocal with eloquence. And here, too,
let the soldier of liberty come, when the insolent invader may profane
the sanctuary of freedom--here by this holy altar may he fitly devote
to the infernal gods the enemies of this country and of liberty.
We will now leave our departed patriot to his sleep of glory. And let
no tear moisten the turf that shall wrap his ashes. Let no sound of
mourning disturb the majestic solitude of his grand repose. He claims
no tribute of sorrow. His body returns to its mother earth, his
spirit dwells in the Elysian domain of God, and his deeds are written
on the roll of Fame.
"Let none dare mourn for him."