doubtedly surpassed him; in carefully-elaborated periods, in equi-ponderance of sentences, in studied bursts of passion, as well as in general philosophy, Cicero excelled him. But what one work of either of those great masters of eloquence presents such a combination of various excellencies as the reply to Hayne? In what phillipic of either, or other immortal production, shall we look for its equal?

Of Modern Eloquence, we know nothing comparable. Much of Chatham depends upon tradition; more, perhaps, upon partial reporters; but, conceding to him all his most ardent admirers ever claimed, we still should deny him much reach of thought, or even well-sustained eloquence. Voice, manner, gesture, majesty of presence-all these he had; but all these produce but a temporary effect. His eloquence electrified rather than convinced; astonished more than it confuted; and mastered the passions rather than the judgment of men. It flashed like the lightning, which men gazed at with a fearful interest, ignorant of its direction; but once gone, the mind soon returned to its previous thought. His fame as an orator is the greater, that he left so little to sustain it. Contemporaneous opinion has been more favorable to him than faithful record might have been. No entire speech of his is extant; the fragmentary parts which we have, it is true, like the celebrated Torso of antiquity, reveal the possession of great genius, and forbid the hope of their completion by another hand. Still they afford no sufficient indication of what the merits of the whole would have been.

The philosophical orator of England-EDMUND Burke— whose magnificent imagery, power of illustration, and vigor of thought have never been surpassed, was yet so warped by prejudice, was such a self-deluding sophist, as to leave no one production, not as much marred by great defects, as characterized by inimitable excellencies. In style, too, almost every work of his is as objectionable as in sentiment. He scatters, with a lavish hand, such a wasteful profusion of imagery, as to almost drown the sense of his meaning. The mind is puzzled, wearied by the accumulation of illustrations, and loses all command of the subject-matter. No one speech of this great writer, not the speech against Hastings, can hold the unwearied attention throughout.

There can be found in the speeches neither of Fox nor of his more distinguished rival-great Chatham's greater sonone, the equal to this of Mr. Webster's, in various merit. Fox exhibited at times more fiery declamation and more fervid eloquence; Pitt, more severity of invective and a wider range of argument; but neither, on any occasion, ever made a speech so complete in every point.

Brougham's speech on the Reform Bill, a masterly production doubtless, wants compactness of expression, and fidelity to the main question of debate, comparatively. But there are many passages of great eloquence in it, and its peroration is only inferior to Webster's.

The great charm of this speech, of all speeches of Mr. Webster, is the ardent patriotism and devotion to liberty that

pervade them; a patriotism, not of a fanatical but universal character; not hating other countries from love of natal soil ; but radiating from home a feeling of charity and good will upon all mankind; a devotion to liberty, as far removed from licentiousness as tyranny-liberty inseparable from virtue, from public and private morals-that imposes checks upon itself, and guards against the abuse of its own power.

It is this, which gives to his works their wide-spread popularity. It is this which has acclimated them everywhere. It is this which has carried the English language further than English arms have ever done; to regions of thick-ribbed ice, where day and night make one sad division of the year; to the utmost isles of the sea, and lands beyond the solar road.

He has spoken, and enslaved nations have started from the torpor of centuries. The down-trodden Greek has heard his voice, and risen upon his oppressors. The Turkish hordes have fallen where the Persian fell; and Marathon and Salamis shine with a newer glory, and a wider emblasonry.

As his words of cheering encouragement have crossed the equator and penetrated the southern seas, whole nations have thrown off the yoke of bondage, and achieved an independent existence. SOUTH AMERICA, emerging from beneath the horizon with its constellation of republics, has given light and gladness to the nations. His voice has called a New World into existence, to compensate for the decline of the old.*

* Englishmen give this praise to Canning, but hardly with as much

Sub

It is not yet hushed; his words have lost none of their vital force. The throes of Europe are their response. terranean fires are burning there with fatal activity; which burst out, ever and anon, in volcanic eruptions, overwhelming thrones, and destroying oppressors. It may not be long, ere one universal conflagration shall devour every vestige of tyranny, and liberated Europe spring up from the ruin, to recominence a more glorious career. and accomplish a surer destiny.

justice; for our country recognized the independence of the South American Republics before England.

CHAPTER XIII.

It was the fortune of General Jackson's administration to have provoked or undergone more public excitement, springing from causes of a domestic character, than that of either of his predecessors. A constant agitation pursued it throughout. The Hayne controversy roused the public mind from its apathetic state under the preceding administration, and stimulated it to apprehension and entertainment of elevated yet fearful themes. The war of nullification followed, ere the public pulse had recovered its accustomed tone, and gave a more turbulent motion to opinion. The passions excited by this quarrel had not subsided, but swayed the minds of men to and fro, as if tempest-tossed, when the REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITES Supervened, and raised the whole country.

The later history of the Bank of the United States may have reflected the necessity of this measure. Its subsequent mismanagement and explosion should, perhaps, be holden a retrospective justification of the decisive proceeding. But, at the time the removal of the deposites took place, the policy