or to serve her; he always has served her faithfully and effectually. He has often been weighed in the balance, and never found wanting. The only fault ever found with him is, that he sometimes fights ahead of his orders. The world has no match for him, man for man; and he asks no odds, and he cares for no odds, when the cause of humanity, the glory of his country, calls him to fight. Who, in the darkest days of our Revolution, carried your flag into the very chops of the British Channel, bearded the lion in his den, and woke the echoes of old Albion's hills by the thunders of his cannon and the shouts of his triumph? It was the American sailor. And the names of John Paul Jones, and the Bon Homme Richard, will go down the annals of time forever. Who struck the first blow that humbled the Barbary flag,-which for a hundred years had been the terror of Christendom,- drove it from the Mediterranean, and put an end to the infamous tribute it had been accustomed to extort? It was the American sailor. And the name of Decatur and his gallant companions will be as lasting as monumental brass. In your war of 1812, when your arms on shore were covered by disaster,-when Winchester had been defeated, when the army of the Northwest had surrendered, and when the gloom of despondency hung like a cloud over the land,- who first relit the fires of national glory, and made the welkin ring with the shouts of victory? It was the American sailor. And the names of Hull and the Constitution will be remembered, as long as we have left anything worth remembering. That was no small event. The wand of Mexican prowess was broken on the Rio Grande. The wand of British invincibility was broken when the flag of the Guerrière came down. That one event was worth more to the Republic than all the money which has ever been expended for the navy. Since that day, the navy has had no stain upon its escutcheon, but has been cherished as your pride and glory. And the American sailor has established a reputation throughout the world, in peace and in war, in storm and in battle,for heroism and prowess unsurpassed. He shrinks from no danger, he dreads no foe, and yields to no superior. No shoals are too dangerous, no seas too boisterous, no climate too rigorous for him. The burning sun of the tropics cannot make him effeminate, nor can the eternal winter of the polar seas paralyze his energies. Foster, cherish, develop these characteristics, by a generous and paternal government. Excite his emulation, and stimulate his ambition, by rewards. And, when the final struggle comes, as soon it will come, for the empire of the seas, you may rest with entire confidence in the persuasion that victory will be yours. 14. AMBITION OF A STATESMAN.-Henry Clay. (0) I have been accused of ambition in presenting this measure ambition, inordinate ambition. If I had thought of myself only, I should have never brought it forward. know well the perils to which I expose myself; the risk of alienating faithful and valued friends, with but little prospects of making new ones, if any new ones could compensate for the loss of those we have long tried and loved; and the honest misconception both of friends and foes. Ambition? If I had listened to its soft and seducing whispers; if I had yielded myself to the dictates of a cold, calculating and prudential policy, I would have stood still and unmoved. I might even have silently gazed on the raging storm, enjoyed its loudest thunders, and left those who are charged with the care of the vessel of state to conduct it as they could. I have been heretofore, often unjustly, accused of ambition. (G) Low, groveling souls, who are utterly incapable of elevating themselves to the higher and nobler duties of pure patriotismbeings who, forever keeping their own selfish ends in view, decide all public measures by their presumed influence on their aggrandizement — judge me by the venal rule which they prescribe to themselves. I have given to the winds those false accusations, as I consign that which now impeaches my motives. (0) I have no desire for office, not even the highest. The most exalted is but a prison, in which the incarcerated incumbent daily receives his cold, heartless visitants, marks his weary hours, and is cut off from the practical enjoyment of all the blessings of genuine freedom. I am no candidate for any office in the gift of the people of these states, united or separated; I never wish, never expect to be. Pass this bill, tranquillize the country, restore confidence and affection in the Union, and I am willing to go home to Ashland, and renounce public service forever. I should there find, in its groves, under its shades, on its lawns, midst my flocks and herds, in the bosom of my family, sincerity and truth, attachment, and fidelity, and gratitude, which I have not always found in the walks of public life. (AO) Yes, I have ambition; but it is the ambition of being the humble instrument, in the hands of Providence, to reconcile a divided people; once more to revive concord and harmony in a distracted land - the pleasing ambition of contemplating the glorious spectacle of a free, united, prosperous, and fraternal people. (0) 15. RIENZI'S ADDRESS TO THE ROMANS.-Mary Russell Mitford. (See § 148: b, c.) Friends! I come not here to talk. You know too well The story of our thralldom. We are slaves! The bright sun rises to his course and lights By the full tide of power, the conqueror led Strong in some hundred spearmen; only great (AO) In that strange spell· a name. (0) Each hour, dark fraud Or open rapine, or protected murder, Cries out against them. But this very day An honest man, my neighbor - there he stands (G) Was struck-struck like a dog, by one who wore (0) (G) The badge of Ursini, because, forsooth! He tossed not high his ready cap in air, Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts, At sight of that great ruffian! Be we men, (GO) And suffer such dishonor?— men, and wash not The stain away in blood? Such shames are common. I have known deeper wrongs; I, that speak to ye, I had a brother once· a gracious boy, (0) Full of all gentleness, of calmest hope, (AP) Of sweet and quiet joy;—there was the look Of heaven upon his face, which limners give To the beloved disciple. (P) How I loved That gracious boy! Younger by fifteen years, Brother at once, and son! He left my side, A summer bloom on his fair cheek; a smile (AG) Parting his innocent lips. In one short hour The pretty, harmless boy was slain! I saw The corse, the mangled corse, and then I cried (GO) For vengeance! ROUSE ye, ROMANS! ROUSE ye, SLAVES! Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce brawl (0) To see them die. Have ye fair daughters? Look Yet, this is Rome, That sat upon her seven hills, and from her throne (AO) Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman Was greater than a king! And, once again— Hear me, ye walls that echoed to the tread Of either Brutus! once again, I swear, The Eternal City shall be FREE! 16. THE SEMINOLE'S DEFIANCE.-G. W. Patten. Blaze, with your serried columns! I will not bend the knee; Some strike for hope of booty; some to defend their all; I battle for the joy I have to see the white man fall. I love, among the wounded, to hear his dying moan, And catch, while chanting at his side, the music of his groan. come not here! Think ye to find my homestead? — I gave it to the fire. My tawny household do ye seek?—I am a childless sire. But, should ye crave life's nourishment, enough I have, and good; I live on hate, 'tis all my bread; yet light is not my food. I loathe you with my bosom! I scorn you with mine eye! And I'll taunt you with my latest breath, and fight you till I die! The following, in this style, are less vehement, and, for this reason, not so well suited as the foregoing for those students whose delivery is naturally lacking in force or spirit: 17. CIVIL WAR THE GREATEST NATIONAL EVIL, 1829. Lord Palmerston. Some Then come we to the last remedy, — civil war. gentlemen say that, sooner or later, we must fight for it, and the sword must decide. They tell us that, if blood were but shed in Ireland, Catholic emancipation might be avoided. Sir, when honorable members shall be a little deeper read in the history of Ireland, they will find that in Ireland blood has been shed, that in Ireland leaders have been seized, |