thoughts are withdrawn from his country, and concentrated on his consistency, his firmness, himself. 6. The high, the exalted, the sublime emotions of a patriot ism which, soaring towards heaven, rises far above all mean, low, or selfish things, and is absorbed by one soul-transport ing thought of the good and the glory of one's country, are never felt in his impenetrable bosom. 7. That patriotism which, catching its inspirations from the immortal God, and leaving at an immeasurable distance below all lesser, grovelling, personal interests and feelings, animates and prompts to deeds of self-sacrifice, of valor, of devotion, and of death itself—that is public virtue; that is the noblest, the sublimest of all public virtues ! CLAY. I 87. HONORABLE AMBITION. [Extract from his speech in favor of compromise.] 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. I know well the perils to which I expose myself; the risk of alienating faithful and valued friends, with but little prospect 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. 2. 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. 3. I have been, heretofore, often unjustly accused of ambition. Low, grovelling souls, who are utterly incapable of elevating themselves to the higher and nobler duties of pure patriotism,-beings 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. 4. I have given to the winds those false accusations, as I consign that which now impeaches my motives. I have no lesire for office, not even the highest. The most exalted is out a prison, in which the incarceratea 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. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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 fra ternal people! CLAY. WHI 88. ASPIRATIONS FOR AMERICA. WHILE the Union lasts, amid these fertile, verdant fields, these ever-flowing rivers, these stately groves, this genial, healthful clime, this Old Kentucky land,-hallowed by the blood of our sires, endeared by the beauty of her daugh ters, illustrious by the valor and eloquence of her sons, the centre of a most glorious empire, guarded by a cordon of States garrisoned by freemen, girt round by the rising and setting seas,-we are the most blessed of all people. 2. Let the Union be dissolved,-let that line be drawn, where be drawn it must, and we are a border State: in time of peace, with no outlet to the ocean, the highway of nations,a miserable dependency; in time of war, the battle-ground of more than Indian warfare, of civil strife and indiscriminate slaughter! 3. When, worse than Spanish provinces, we shall contend, not for glory and renown, but, like the aborigines of old, for a contemptible life and miserable subsistence ! Let me not see it! Among those proud courts and lordly coteries of Europe's pride, where, fifty years ago, we were regarded as petty prov inces, unknown to ears polite, let me go forth great in the name of an American citizen. 4. Let me point them to our statesmen and the laws and governments of their creation; the rapid growth of political science; the monuments of their fame, now the study of all Europe. Let them look at our rapidly increasing and happy population; see our canals, and turnpikes, and railroads, stretching over more space than combined Britain and Eu rope have reached by the same means. 5. Let them send their philanthropists to learn of our penitentiary systems, our schools, and our civil institutions. Let them behold our skill in machinery, in steamboat and ship-building, hail the most gallant ship that breasts the mountain wave, and she shall wave from her flagstaff the stars and stripes. 6. These are the images which I cherish; this the nation which I honor; and never will I throw one pebble in her track, to jostle the footsteps of her glorious march! C. M. CLAY. WA 89. THE EVILS OF WAR. AR, pestilence, and famine, by the common consent o mankind, are the three greatest calamities which can befall our species; and war, as the most direful, justly stands foremost and in front. Pestilence and famine, no doubt for wise although inscrutable purposes, are inflictions of Providence, to which it is our duty, therefore, to bow with obedience, humble submission, and resignation. Their duration is not long, and their ravages are limited. They bring, indeed, great affliction, while they last, but society soon recovers from their effects. 2. War is the voluntary work of our own hands, and whatever reproaches it may deserve, should be directed to ourselves. When it breaks out, its duration is indefinite and unknown,-its vicissitudes are hidden from our view. In the sacrifice of human life, and in the waste of human treasure,— in its losses and in its burdens,-it affects both belligerent nations, and its sad effects of mangled bodies, of death, and of desolation, endure long after its thunders are hushed in peace. 3. War unhinges society, disturbs its peaceful and regular industry, and scatters poisonous seeds of disease and immorality, which continue to germinate and diffuse their baneful influence long after it has ceased. Dazzling by its glitter, pomp, and pageantry, it begets a spirit of wild adventure and romantic enterprise, and often disqualifies those who embark in it, after their return from the bloody fields of battle, for engaging in the industrious and peaceful vocations of life. 4. History tells the mournful tale of conquering nations and conquerors. The three most celebrated conquerors, in the civilized world, were Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon. The first, after ruining a large portion of Asia, and sighing and lamenting that there were no more worlds to subdue, met a premature and ignoble death. His lieutenants quarrelled and warred with each other as to the spoils of his victories, and finally lost them all, 5. Cæsar, after conquering Gaul, returned with his triumphant legions to Rome, passed the Rubicon, won the battle of Pharsalia, trampled upon the liberties of his country, and expired by the patriot hand of Brutus. But Rome ceased to be free. War and conquest had enervated and corrupted the masses. The spirit of true liberty was extinguished, and a long line of emperors succeeded, some of whom were the most execrable monsters that ever existed in human form. 6. And Napoleon, that most extraordinary man, perhaps, in all history, after subjugating all Continental Europe, occupying almost all its capitals,-seriously threatening proud Albion itself, and decking the brows of various members of his fam ily with crowns torn from the heads of other monarchs, lived to behold his own dear France itself in possession of his enemies, was made himself a wretched captive, and, far removed from country, family, and friends, breathed his last on the distant and inhospitable rock of St. Helena. 7. The Alps and the Rhine had been claimed as the natural boundaries of France, but even these could not be secured in the treaties to which she was reduced to submit. Do you be lieve that the people of Macedon or Greece, of Rome, or of France, were benefited, individually or collectively, by the triumphs of their captains? Their sad lot was immense sacrifice of life, heavy and intolerable burdens, and the ultimate loss of liberty itself. H. CLAY. 90. HOHENLINDEN. [Hohenlinden, a German word meaning high lime-trees, is the name of a village in Bavaria, near which the Austrians were defeated by the French, under General Moreau, in December, 1800. A heavy snow-storm had continued through the night, and had hardly ceased when the roar of the cannons an nounced the opening of the battle.] N Linden, when the sun was low, ON All bloodless lay the untrodden snow; Of Iser, rolling rapidly. |