has secured our freedom, has extinguished our resentments. I therefore turn from these painful reminiscences, and refer you to the day when Independence, mature in age and loveliness, advanced with angelic grace from the chamber in which she was born, into the same balcony; and, holding in her hand the immortal scroll on which her name and character and claims to her inheritance were inscribed, received, from the street filled with an impenetrable phalanx, and windows glittering with a blaze of beauty, the heartfelt homage and electrifying peals of the men, women and children, of the whole city. The splendor of that glorious vision of my childhood seems to be now present to my view, and the harmony of universal concert to vibrate in my ear."

When our immortal Webster, that presiding genius of the constitution, often characterized as the modern Dexter, on the decision of the Whig party, in the presidential contest, to adopt Zachary Taylor as their candidate, exclaimed, in the heat of disappointed ambition, that it was a nomination not fit to be made, thus exciting confusion in the minds of the party, our venerable octogenarian, the Hon. Mr. Otis, in a magnanimous spirit of conciliation, addressed an epistle to the public, in the style of freshness, beauty and effect, so peculiar to him before the prime of life, advocating the expediency of this nomination. It had a tendency to unite the party, and insure the elevation of Zachary Taylor; and this last generous act of his life so overpowered his mind, that it accelerated his decease, written as it was under the pressure of years and infirmity. "The general objections to placing a military chieftain at the head of the nation are two-fold," says Mr. Otis, in this document: "first, the apprehension that the habits of absolute authority may be carried from the field to the cabinet,— that he may thus be inclined to say, 'I am the State;' and, if he cannot bend the constitution to his will, to pierce it with his sword. But a soldier of this species, before he is intrusted with civil offices, displays his character sufficiently to give warning. Like the rattlesnake, he may be known by his notes of preparation; and if the people will incur a danger equal to plague, pestilence and famine, it is their own fault. Second, the want of political experience, and other qualifications for a new sphere of action. But, for these, the constituency must generally take its chance. In our country, few persons 'make commonwealth's affairs their only study.' Politics are not a regular profession for which men are educated, though too many make it a trade. This last objection, therefore, applies to all other professions. Eminence

in either of them, especially of the bar, is regarded as an earnest of ability adequate to the most elevated station. Yet a great lawyer, in full practice, can do little more, if so much, to qualify himself for a new vocation, than a general. They will each have acquired a knowledge of the current of affairs from the public journals and from intercourse with others; and neither will have been able to do more. The soldier, perhaps, has most leisure for such pursuits, except in time of actual war. The studies and occupation of the lawyer seem to be most congenial to those of a civil chieftain; yet great names may be found to contend that these very studies and pursuits contract the mind of the practical jurist, and impair his qualifications for enlarged views of civil administration and adroit diplomacy.

"The truth, however, is, that a truly great man will always show himself great. The talents called forth by the strategy of a succession of military campaigns, in a country new and unexplored, and inaccessible by ordinary means, where resources must be created, and embarrassments not to be foreseen are constantly met and surmounted, would easily accommodate themselves to the varying, though less difficult exigencies of civil affairs. For myself, I rest satisfied that General Taylor would be found fully competent to the office of president, for the same reasons that I think Daniel Webster would make a great general. Each would require some little training and experience, in a new harness, and, perhaps, a good deal of consultation with others. History is replete with heroes transformed into statesmen. Who is unacquainted with the agency and influence of the great Marlborough, in the councils as well as in the wars of Queen Anne? Where did the greater Duke of Wellington qualify himself to settle the peace of Europe, which he had won by his sword, associated in congress with emperors and kings, and the most accomplished diplomatists from the principal cabinets of the old world? And whence did he derive the faculty which since that period has been displayed, in the intuitive sagacity with which he has controlled the measures of the British cabinet and peerage, and enabled his country to persevere in her career of power and glory, despite the most novel and serious embarrassments? In what school did the great Napoleon acquire the knowledge of affairs which enabled him to hold the strings of his administration in his own hands, to reform the interior management of the whole empire, and to preside in a council of the most distinguished jurists and civilians in the formation of the civil code, himself initiating

some of the most essential improvements? Finally, our own great Washington was a Samson in combat before he became a Solomon in council. On very mature reflection, I am satisfied that General Taylor, in a short time after he shall have taken the chair, will acquit himself of his high duties to the entire public satisfaction.

"It is further objected that General Taylor is a slave-holder. This objection comes sixty years too late. It was disposed of in substance by the original articles of confederation, and annulled in form by the constitution of the United States. The Northern States were glad enough to avail themselves of the coöperation of the South in their struggle for independence, and 'no questions asked.' Not less thankful were they to cement the incipient alliance by a most solemn compact, expressly recognizing their right to property in their slaves, and engaging to protect it,-treating with them, as proprietors of slaves, as our equals in all respects, and eligible, of consequence, to all offices under the constitution. What would have been the fate of a motion in that glorious assembly which formed the constitution, or of those who might have made it, George Washington present, to declare a slave-holder ineligible to any office under it? I well remember the adoption of the constitution by my fellow-citizens of the State, when Hancock, muffled in red baize, was brought into the convention, to sign the ratification. The evening preceding, a demonstration in favor of the measure was made in the streets of Boston, by an assemblage favorable to it, whose numbers, Paul Revere assured Samuel Adams, were like the sands of the sea-shore, or like the stars in heaven."

This vigorous document was published on Oct. 2, and the decease of Otis occurred on the 28th day of that month. His remains were entombed at Mount Auburn. He was aged 83 years and twenty days.

"Of no distemper, of no blast, he died,

But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long, -
E'en wondered at, because he dropped no sooner ;
Fate seemed to wind him up to fourscore years,

Yet freshly ran he on three winters more,
Till, like a clock worn out with eating time,

The wheels of weary life at last stood still."

Old Faneuil Hall will ever be memorable as the forum whence, with a voice of silvery sweetness, the flashes of wit and stirring eloquence of our Boston Cicero captivated the people. Like Cicero, our Otis was by nature a statesman; but the honestly-conceived Hartford Conven

tion, of which he was the most powerful advocate, blighted his political elevation above that of the Senate in Congress. Otis, however, was the pride of the Bostonians; and, while many a political opponent, both from the press and the rostrum, to use the words of our native poet, Sprague,

"Soils the green garlands that for Otis bloom,
And plants a brier even on Cabot's tomb,"

we are confident that posterity will view him as a luminous star in the constellation of American patriots. He was never rivalled for eloquence by any politician of his native city, or any of his native State, excepting only his noble kinsman, and the accomplished Fisher Ames. The contour of his head was beautiful, with animated eyes, and a ruddy complexion. He was rather tall, of noble bearing, graceful gestures, and courteous manners. A full-length portrait of Otis is in the care of the Massachusetts Mechanics' Charitable Association, and an accurate portrait by Stuart is in the family. William Sullivan aptly remarks of him, that he was the orator of all popular assemblies, the guide of popular opinion in all the trying scenes of commercial restrictions, embargo, and war. With a fine person and commanding eloquence, with a clear perception and patriotic purpose, he was the first among his equals, alike ready at all times with his pen and his tongue. And Samuel K. Lothrop, his pastor, says of him, that the action and play of his mental power was so easy, that one was apt to forget the profound and subtle nature of the subjects with which he was dealing. His power of nice analysis and sharp discrimination was extraordinary, and the broad and deep wisdom of his thought was often as remarkable as the language in which he clothed it was brilliant and beautiful. The biography of Harrison Gray Otis remains to be written. It was well said of him, at the Harvard centennial, by William H. Gardiner, that he was the first scholar of the first class of a new nation, the career of whose life has been according to the promise of his youth; who has touched nothing which he has not adorned, and who has been rewarded with no office, nor honor, nor emolument, to which he was not richly entitled.

19

GEN. WILLIAM HULL.

JULY 4, 1788. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI.

THE patriotic appeal of the orator to his companions in arms arouses in their descendants an impressive conception of the burning ardor of our Revolutionary heroes: The return of this joyful anniversary, my dear friends and companions, will naturally recall to your minds the various interesting scenes which have fallen to your lot while on the theatre of action. The rugged and thorny paths you have together trod, the dangerous but honorable part you have been called to act, the mingled emotions which have been excited, while the fate of your country was uncertain, and the scenes of your military drama were continually shifting. In the recollection of these important transactions, you will not be unmindful of your companions in danger. Are they all present to partake in the festivity of the day, and to commemorate those great events for the acquisition of which their valor and their virtue have largely contributed? No, my friends, many of the most ornamental pillars have fallen, in erecting the great fabric of freedom; and, while our feelings are alive on the subject, scarcely does the magnitude of the object compensate the magnitude of the sacrifice. May unfading laurels ever bloom around their tombs! May monuments more durable than marble be erected to their memories! May we, my brethren, ever bear on our minds the amiable and manly virtues by which they were distinguished while actors on the stage, and the glory and dignity with which they closed the scene. And while their memories live deeply engraven on the hearts and affections of a grateful people, may faithful history transmit their illustrious deeds to the latest time, and her fairest pages be ornamented with the lustre of their fame!

The memorable day we now celebrate, and the purposes for which we are assembled, will recall to our recollection the period which gave birth to our institution, the motives from whence it originated, and the principles upon which it is founded. Having for more than eight years devoted our lives to the service of our country,- having cheerfully endured the dangers and fatigues which are incident to a military employment, and having seen our efforts crowned with success, the period arrived when we were to take a farewell of each other. A