to him by a friend in London. The result was his brilliant discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric fluid. In modern times, the merit of our modest and self-taught mathematician, Bowditch, the American translator and 5 commentator of La Place, had nowhere been better known and appreciated than here; and, in reference to science, in general, I wish it to be constantly borne in mind by every votary of its pursuit in this country, that fourteen days are enough to elapse after the publication to the sci10 entific world here, of his speculations or discoveries, before they are liberally received, considered and appreciated, according to their merit, by the only other people on the face of the globe, speaking the same language, and belonging to the same school of civilization. 15 It is unnecessary to speak before this company,-to which the name of Fulton is as familiar as those of Bolton or Watt, of the part alternately performed by the science of England and America, in bringing about the use of steam as a locomotive power, by land and by water,20 the great philosophical and mechanical improvement of the day. In literature, (though I know it is not proper before this company to wander far beyond the pale of science,) yet I know you will pardon me for saying that it is our boast 25 and joy, that Shakspeare and Milton were the countrymen of our fathers. We worship at the same altars; we reverence the same canonized names as you. The great modern names of your literary Pantheon, the Addisons, Johnsons, and Goldsmiths of the last century, the Scotts 30 and Byrons of this, are not more familiar to you than to us. And may I not say, that the names that adorn the nascent literature of my own country,—our_Irvings, our Prescotts, our Coopers, our Pierponts, our Bryants, our Bancrofts, and our Channings,-may I not say, that they 35 are scarcely better known to us than to you? I know it is thought that a great difference exists be tween our political institutions, and certainly it is in some respects considerable, and those institutions, of course, have a great influence on the character of a nation. 40 But all republicans as we are, (and I have seen something of the continent of Europe as well as Great Britain,) all republican as we are, taking our systems through and through, I think the candid observer will admit that there is a much greater similarity between you and us, even politically speaking, than between England and any of her sister monarchies. I believe we may boast, that we are children of the British school of freedom. Though we are ardently, passionately attached to liberty, it is liberty en5 shrined in constitutions, and organized by laws. On your part, if I am not too presumptuous, as a stranger, in forming an opinion, I think I may say that it is your boast, that the pillars of the state are laid deep in those representative institutions, by which the power, the will, and the affec10 tions of the people, are brought to the support of the throne. And do we not,-English or American, do we not derive our only hope of a name and praise in the world, politically speaking, from our attachment to those old British muniments of liberty, trial by jury, the habeas corpus, free15 dom of speech, and liberty of the press ?-do we not derive it from that ardent love of self-government, tempered by a proud submission to lawful sway which flowed in the veins of Englishmen for centuries before America began to be? and will, I trust, flow in the veins of Englishmen, and 20 their descendants in America, to the end of time. LESSON CCXX.-MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW YORK.- [From an address at the meeting of the Legislatures of the two States, to celebrate the completion of the Western Railroad.] We cannot forget, that it was Massachusetts that encountered first, and suffered most, from the tyranny which resulted in our national independence; that the first blood shed in that sacred cause, flowed at Lexington; and that 5 Liberty's earliest rampart was established upon Bunker's Hill. Nevertheless, the struggles and sacrifices of Massachusetts, have, until now, been known to us through traditions not her own; and seem to be those of a distant, though an allied people,-of a country separated from us 10 by mountain barriers, such as divide every continent into states and empires. But what a change is here! This morning's sun was just greeting the site of old Fort Orange, as we took our leave; and now, when he has scarcely reached the meri15 dian, we have crossed that hitherto impassable barrier, and met you here, on the shore of the Connecticut, the battle ground of King Philip's cruel wars; and, before that sun shall set, we might ascend the heights of Charlestown, or rest upon the rock that was wet with blood flowing from the weary feet of the pilgrim fathers. New York has been addressed here in language of magnanimity. It would not become me to speak of her position, 5 her resources, or her influence. And yet I may, without offending against the delicacy of her representatives here, and of her people at home, claim that she is not altogether unworthy of admiration. Our mountains, cataracts, and lakes, cannot be surveyed without lifting the soul on high. 10 Our metropolis and our inland cities, our canals and railroads, our colleges and schools, and our twelve thousand libraries, evince emulation and a desire to promote the welfare of our country, the progress of civilization, and the happiness of mankind. 15 While we acknowledge that it was your Warren who offered up his life at Charlestown, your Adams and your Hancock, who were the proscribed leaders in the revolution, and your Franklin, whose wisdom swayed its counsels; we cannot forget that Ticonderoga and Saratoga are 20 within our borders; that it was a son of New York who first fell in scaling the heights of Abraham; that another of her sons shaped every pillar of the constitution, and twined the evergreen around its capital; that our Fulton sent forth the mighty agent that is revolutionizing the 25 world; and that, but for our Clinton, his lofty genius and undaunted perseverance, the events of this day, and all its joyous anticipations, had slept together in the womb of futurity. The grandeur of this occasion oppresses me. It is not, 30 as some have supposed, the first time that states have met. On many occasions, in all ages, states, nations, and empires, have come together; but the trumpet heralded their approach; they met in the shock of war; one or the other sunk to rise no more; and desolation marked, for 35 the warning of mankind, the scene of the fearful encounter. And if sometimes chivalry asked an armistice, it was but to light up with evanescent smiles the stern visage of war. How different is this scene! Here are no contending 40 hosts, no destructive engines, nor the terrors, nor even the pomp of war. Not a helmet, sword, or plume, is seen in all this vast assemblage. Nor is this a hollow truce between contending states. We are not met upon a cloth canopy, to practise deceitful of gold, and under a silken courtesies, nor in an amphitheatre, with jousts and tournaments, to make trial of our skill in arms, preparatory to a fatal conflict. We have come here, enlightened and fraternal states, without pageantry, or even insignia of 5 power, to renew pledges of fidelity, and to cultivate affection and all the arts of peace. Well may our sister states look upon the scene with favor, and the nations of the earth draw from it good auguries of universal and perpetual peace. LESSON CCXXI.-THE BIBLE.—GRIMKÉ. The Bible is the only book, which God has ever sent, the only one he ever will send, into this world. All other books are frail and transient as time, since they are only the registers of time; but the Bible is durable as eternity, 5 for its pages contain the records of eternity. All other books are weak and imperfect, like their author, man; but the Bible is a transcript of infinite power and perfection. Every other volume is limited in its usefulness and influence; but the Bible came forth conquering and to con10 quer: rejoicing as a giant to run his course, and like the sun, "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." The Bible only, of all the myriads of books the world has seen, is equally important and interesting to all mankind. Its tidings, whether of peace or of woe, are the same to the poor, the ignorant, and the weak, as to the rich, the wise, and the powerful. 15 Among the most remarkable of its attributes, is justice; for it looks with impartial eyes on kings and on slaves, on the hero and the soldier, on philosophers and peasants, on 20 the eloquent and the dumb. From all, it exacts the same obedience to its commandments, and promises to the good, the fruits of his labors; to the evil, the reward of his hands. Nor are the purity and holiness, the wisdom, benevolence and truth of the Scriptures, less conspicuous, 25 than their justice. In sublimity and beauty, in the descriptive and pathetic, in dignity and simplicity of narrative, in power and comprehensiveness, depth and variety of thought, in purity and elevation of sentiment, the most enthusiastic admirers of the heathen classics have con30 ceded their inferiority to the Scriptures. The Bible, indeed, is the only universal classic, the classic of all mankind, of every age and country, of time and eternity, more humble and simple than the primer of a child, more grand and magnificent than the epic and the oration, the ode and the drama, when genius with his chariot of fire, and his horses of fire, ascends in whirlwind 5 into the heaven of his own invention. It is the best classic the world has ever seen, the noblest that has ever honored and dignified the language of mortals! If you boast that the Aristotles, and the Platos, and the Tullies, of the classic age, "dipped their pens in intellect," 10 the sacred authors dipped theirs in inspiration. If those were the "secretaries of nature," these were the secretaries of the very Author of nature. If Greece and Rome have gathered into their cabinet of curiosities, the pearls of heathen poetry and eloquence, the diamonds of Pagan 15 history and Philosophy, God himself has treasured up in the Scriptures, the poetry and eloquence, the philosophy and history of sacred lawgivers, of prophets and apostles, of saints, evangelists, and martyrs. In vain may you seek for the pure and simple light of universal truth in the 20 Augustan ages of antiquity. In the Bible only is the poet's wish fulfilled,— "And like the sun be all one boundless eye." LESSON CCXXII.-FATE OF MONTEZUMA.-WM. H. PRESCOTT. When Montezuma ascended the throne, he was scarcely twenty-three years of age. Young, and ambitious of extending his empire, he was continually engaged in war, and is said to have been present himself in nine pitched 5 battles. He was greatly renowned for his martial prowess, for he belonged to the highest military order* of his nation, and one into which but few even of its sovereigns had been admitted. In later life, he preferred intrigue to violence, as more 10 consonant to his character and priestly education. In this he was as great an adept as any prince of his time, and by arts not very honorable to himself, succeeded in filching away much of the territory of his royal kinsman of Tezcuco. Severe in the administration of justice, he made 15 important reforms in the arrangement of the tribunals. He introduced other innovations in the royal household, * Quachictin. |