to a precipitate flight. No sooner was Cornwallis beyond his reach, than he turned furiously on his posts in South Carolina, and carrying them one after another, brought the war to the doors of Charleston. His combinations, throughout the whole campaign, were admirable, and succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations. He did not commit a single error, and every failure that befell him was the result of the most arrant cowardice on the part of some of his militia. 13. Years before, the English officer opposed to him in Jersey, wrote, saying, "Greene is dangerous as Washington; he is vigilant, enterprising, and full of resources." The Chevalier de la Luzerne, Knight of Malta, in speaking of his southern campaign, said : "Other generals subdue their enemy by the means which their country or sovereign furnishes them; but Greene appears to reduce his enemy by his own He commenced his campaign without either.an army, provisions, or military stores. He has asked for nothing since; and yet, scarcely a post arrives from the South that does not bring intelligence of some new advantage gained over the foe. He conquers by magic. History furnishes no parallel to this." means. 14. The resources of his mind were inexhaustible; there was no gulf out of which he could not find a way of escape, and no plan, if necessary, too hopeless for him to attempt. Without a dollar from government, and penniless himself, he nevertheless managed to keep an army in the field, and conquer with it. True, it was half-naked and half-starved; but by his wonderful power he succeeded in holding it together. 15. His soldiers loved him with devotion, and having seen him extricate himself so often from apparently inevitable ruin, they at length came to regard him as invincible. Sharing all their toils and dangers, and partaking of all their sufferings, he so wound himself into their affections, that they would go wherever he commanded. He made of raw militia all that ever can be made of them, in the short time he had them under his control. 16. His patriotism was of the purest kind, and Washington spoke from correct knowledge when he said: "Could he but promote the interests of his country in the character of a corporal, he would exchange, without a murmur, his epau lets for the knot." His own reputation and life he regarded as nothing in the cause of freedom. Next to his country, he loved Washington; and no mean ambition, or envy of his great leader, ever sullied his noble character. 17. That affection was returned, and the two heroes moved side by side, as tried friends, through the revolutionary struggle. He was a man whose like is seldom seen; and placed in any country, opposed to any commander, would have stood first in the rank of military chieftains. In the heart of Europe with a veteran army under his command, he would have astonished the world. LESSON CXXIX. / 29 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD TO THE OLD. WEBSTER. 1. FEW topics are more inviting, or more fit for philosophical discussion, than the action and influence of the new world upon the old; or the contributions of America to Europe. Her obligations to Europe for science and art, laws, literature and manners, America acknowledges as she ought, with respect and gratitude. 2. And the people of the United States, descendants of the English stock, grateful for the treasures of knowledge derived from their English ancestors, acknowledge also, with thanks and filial regard, that among those ancestors, under the culture of Hampden and Sydney, and other assiduous friends, that seed of popular liberty germinated, which on our soil has shot up to its full height, until its branches overshadow all the land. 3. But America has not failed to make returns. If she has not canceled the obligation, or equaled it by others of like weight, she has, at least, made respectable advances, and some approaches toward equality. And she admits, that standing in the midst of civilized nations, there is a high part which she is expected to act, for the general advance of human interests and human welfare. 4. American mines have filled the mints of Europe with the precious metals. The productions of the American soil and climate have poured out their abundance of luxuries for the tables of the rich, and of necessaries for the sustenance of the poor. Birds and animals of beauty and value have been added to the European stock; and transplantations from the transcendent and unequaled riches of our forests have mingled themselves profusely with the elms, and ashes, and Druidal oaks, of England. 5. America has made contributions far more vast. Who can estimate the amount, or the value, of the augmentation of the commerce of the world that has resulted from America? Who can imagine to himself what would be the shock to the Eastern Continent, if the Atlantic were no longer traversable, or there were no longer American productions, or American markets? But America exercises influences, or holds out examples, for the consideration of the Old World, of a much higher, because they are of a moral and political, character. America has furnished to Europe proof of the fact, that popular institutions, founded on equality and the principle of representation, are capable of maintaining governments; able to secure the rights of person, property, and reputation. 6. America has proved that it is practicable to elevate the mass of mankind; — that portion which in Europe is called the laboring, or lower class; -to raise them to self-respect. to make them competent to act a part in the great right and great duty of self-government; and this she has proved may be done by education and the diffusion of knowledge. She holds out an example, a thousand times more enchanting than ever was presented before, to those nine-tenths of the human race who are born without hereditary fortune or hereditary rank. 7. America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind. Washington! "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen!" Washington is all our own! The enthusiastic veneration and regard in which the people of the United States hold him, prove them to be worthy of such a countryman; while his reputation abroad reflects the highest honor on his country and its institutions. I would cheerfully put the question to-day to the intelligence of Europe and the world, what character of the century, upon the whole, stands out in the relief of history, most pure, most respectable, most sublime; and I doubt not, that, by a suffrage approaching to unanimity, the answer would be, Washington! 8. I claim him for America. In all the perils, in every darkened moment of the State, in the midst of the reproaches of enemies and the misgiving of friends; I turn to that transcendent name for courage and for consolation. To him who denies, or doubts, whether our fervid liberty can be combined with law, with order, with the security of property, with the pursuits and advancement of happiness; to him who denies that our institutions are capable of producing exaltation of soul, and the passion of true glory; to him who denies that we have contributed anything to the stock of great lessons and great examples; to all these I reply, by pointing to Washington! 1. To him who, in the love of Nature, holds & Than-a-top'sis; a word of Greek derivation, signifying a view of death. 2. 3. Into his darker musings with a mild · When thoughts Of the last bitter hour come like a blight Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, 4. To nature's teachings, while from all around, Nor yet in the cold ground, Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim Shalt thou retire alone; nor could'st thou wish The hills, Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun; the vales, In majesty; and the complaining brooks, That make the meadow green; and poured round all Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man.. |