USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume II > Part 49
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Foster was an Englishman, and paid his addresses to a young lady who admitted that she was pleased with him, but had resolved to wed no man until he had given proof of a superior intellect. His plan was fixed ; the prize he intended to gain. He wrote her several letters, and such love- letters! Not a word about the tender passion ; but he opened the philoso- phy of life with the hand of a master. His Essay on the Decision of Character comprised some of these epistles. It is worth a peck of dia- monds. Foster triumphed : the lady became his wife. Would it not be wise for our lovely maidens of the present day to require a pledge of their suitors, not so ambitious, perhaps, as that exacted of Foster, but at least a certificate of industry ? A man who boldly faces the ills of life, and who avails himself of all the possibilities of his situation, may stumble; he may fall, but he will rise again stronger and wiser for the confliet that awaits him. The man of resolution will overcome adversity at last. Trials and disappointments are necessary to form a solid character. A lazy man who has no will of his own and no courage to combat difficulties is not worth a pinch of snuff. Life is a battle-field, in which the daring conquer the timid. I love that modesty which is often associated with merit. Youth may defer to age, and wait its opportunity : it is right to do so. Still,
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there is a limit beyond which modesty is a foe to advancement. The dan- ger in holding back is, the feelings become impatient, and, for want of utterance on equal terms, they turn upon their possessor with an intensity that devours. A noble mind, conscious of its powers and rights, will suffer in silence rather than seek relief by complaint. This is a morbid condition, and should be prevented. Go forth, young man, listen and talk your full share. Be not dismayed at wrinkled gravity. If you have ideas, men of experience will give you credit for them; and, if your head is empty, the sooner you learn the fact the more time you will have to fill it. To men over middle age use no flourishing expressions. As ladies never reach that period, you are at liberty to avail yourself of all the rich- ness of the language in pleasing them.
But I have strayed into the book-department merely to aid labor the better to accomplish its mission. The mind as well as the body needs sus- tenance. For the graces of learning, aside from its practical use, I care little. That man who shuts himself up among his books, who revels in the luxuries they afford, without bestowing a morsel outside his chamber, may be very amiable, but it is also certain that he is a very profitless being. His wealth may justify the expense, and his spirit may desire seclusion ; yet he will be happier by mixing a knowledge of mankind with his medi- tations. He is then a real essence. A false light is shed by books. Men and objects of a very common description are magnified into wonders. There is a vanity in authors to show their abilities in composition to the best advantage, whether on a fat or a lcan subject. All is superlative .. Be on your guard : I have been behind the scenes, and assisted in dressing up the characters for exhibition. Look on your neighbor-that mechanic, merchant, doctor, farmer, lawyer, or whoever he may be-as a man of the same material out of which prodigies are made in print. A practised writer can take any yearling lad who has blubbered over the Children of the Abbey, and fix him up with such finery of sentiment and character that his own dear mother will never recognise him ! I am sick of this stuffing process by which sparrows are made to resemble turkeys in the feast of literature. It is time a greater simplicity, a more faithful narra- tive, should obtain in our books. In reading of certain heroes and states- men, my young fancy hailed them as demigods. Afterward, conversing with these same immortals, I found them nothing but men, hesitating for ideas and language, just as we are in the daily habit with each other. The chief mark of superiority I discovered in them was plainness of manner.
My object in exposing this book-deception is, that we may all be re- conciled to our lot. In contrasting our humble position with the fame we see heralded from the press, we feel our insignificance most forcibly. We ask, Why did our Creator cast us in such inferior mould ? Surely Hc has exercised the potter's privilege, of shaping one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. This, however, affords us no consolation. We murmur still. When we come to find out the truth, there is no such partiality in our Creator. He has made us all pretty much alike in faculties and disposi- tions ; but it is the writer of books who has caused the difference to ap- pear so manifestly. Let us cheer up, then, forgiving all rivalries, and be animated with one common resolve to be useful in our day and genera- tion, to the extent of our capabilities.
The seeming lightness with which I have spoken of books merely ap- plies to the sin of exaggeration in authors, and the unhappy effect on
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readers, of the class of writings specified. We must read books, not to be scholars all, but to have our minds stored with images to bind us in more cordial fellowship with our race. The course of Providence has been the same from the day Adam reigned in Eden. A law has been given and the penalty required. Action in the line of duty has ever been blessed. We derive happiness or pain as conscience approves or con- demns. To act well, we must be enlightened. What books deserve to be read must depend on the peculiarities of each individual. First of all, acquire the habit of reading, and then push on as circumstances may lead. I have seen persons take up an interesting book, and in a few minutes dismiss it with a yawn. It is generally a hard task to read unless the mind has been occupied with lively impressions. A long course of study, though much to be desired, is not indispensable. Knowledge sufficient for the common exigencies of life can be acquired without severe training of the intellect. Natural Philosophy is taught us by every operation of nature. The forest, the river, the blade of grass, the atmosphere, the heavenly bodies,-light, darkness, the electric flash and the roaring thun- der,-every arch, circle, segment, and line; every force in mechanics, the pulley, the screw, the wedge, the lever,-are all pertinent illustrations, after a few elementary principles have been settled in our minds. But to ob- tain this preparation is the rub. How shall we start? Really, I am the last man to advise you ; for I know very little of these things myself. True, I have read books professing to explain the mystery of matter,-that wood, iron, water, rocks, trees, and even animals, are made up of gases, or elastic fluids, called hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbonic acid, with their endless compounds, far beyond mny feeble grasp. I regret my igno- rance in this respect, and I frankly confess it, to warn the young against idleness. Had I read works on chemistry and made experiments with the ardor and curiosity natural to youth, I could have talked to you to- night like a man sensible of his claim to your attention.
Do you believe that the globe turns round every twenty-four hours with a speed equal to that of the swiftest steam-engine? It seems impossible. Why are not our houses turned upside down, and the millponds emptied, was my simple inquiry when the unreasonable fact was first told ine. Though I could not understand it, yet I believed, because about the same time an eclipse of the sun took place on the very day, at the very hour and minute, predicted in the almanac a year beforehand. I then gave in fully to the astronomer, and have been his confiding yet stupid child ever since, willing to catch the music of the spheres as I gaze at night on the starry orbs as so many beautiful lamps in the porch of Paradise. The same canopy that hangs in cerulean splendor over our heads was decked by the light which guided the sages of the East to Bethlehem. Who can look on the glittering firmament and the green earth, with full dominion vested in man over all the intermediate space, without kindling in admi- ration and gratitude for such a universe ? Let man, the head of creation and the agent of the Almighty, prove himself faithful to the trust. Let each of us resolve to live better, to be more diligent in our several occupa- tions, and to do all the good we can to our fellow-beings, that, when we sleep in the grave, our deeds shall be our monument.
I am not here to moralize, but to invite your company on a glorious ex- pedition. We all seek happiness. It can be found only in self-conquest. I war upon sloth, my old enemy; I draw my sword, and press you in the fight. We have our own infirmities to subdue. There is a lion in the
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way, and we must slay him with the club of Hercules. Do you ask for the weapon ? I hand it to you : Let us lock hands and pledge ourselves to labor. Heaven will ratify the compact, and fortune will reward its observance. Some of us, I fear, will excuse ourselves by saying, It is too late now : I have wasted the prime of life in ease, and to rouse up in the middle of the afternoon to accomplish any thing by sunset is like cutting down a stone wall with a pocket-knife. Yes; this is the very work I call on you to do. If you have slept away three-fourths of your life, the reason is stronger that you should devote the remaining fourth with more assiduity to some useful end. With the lights of experience, you can be more successful. Industry will pick the stone wall to pieces after a while. So will your energies, once fairly stirred, batter down all difficulties. Try what you can do. You can never fathom your capacity until it is put to the test. Adversity is our friend; she drives us to action. Instead of grumbling at our condition, let us try a little more patient labor to im- prove it. Heaven will prosper the diligent. We all have our troubles. In youth we dream, and love, and hope, in happy ignorance of the future ; in middle age we find out the delusion; and, unless we employ the balance of our time in rectifying the errors of the past, our lives will prove a mise- rable failure. It is never too late to do good, and never too soon to be- gin, is an old yet valuable maxim.
I take occasion to introduce here some lines from the pen of Martin Farquhar Tupper, whose late visit to the United States has added nothing to his fame. He is the author of Proverbial Philosophy, a work of more wisdom and nonsense oddly blended together than has ever before issued from the press. Yet I admire Mr. Tupper for his self-reliance and forti- tude. He says, "Cheer Up."
" Never so gloomily, man with a mind ; Hope is a better companion than fear ; Providence, ever benignant and kind, Gives with a smile what you take with a tear ; All will be right : Look to the light ; Morning is ever the daughter of Night : All that was black will be all that is bright ! Cheerily, cheerily, then ! cheer up !
" Many a foe is a friend in disguise ; Many a sorrow a blessing most true, Helping the heart to be happy and wise, With love ever precious and joys ever new ; Stand in the van ; Strive like a man ; This is the bravest and cleverest plan ; Trusting in God while you do what you can ! Cheerily, cheerily, then ! cheer up !"
Having quoted from an author who certainly evinces a philanthropic spirit, I will merely say, in regard to books, that, when the habit of reading is once fixed, the individual has a source of enjoyment to which he was previously a stranger. Nothing can then come amiss, from light romance to grave history. I never perused a book that did not afford me new ideas or contribute pleasure in some way. Always have a variety, that you may take up at intervals of leisure such as your mood may prompt. If reading is a burden, beguile your imagination with a novel, and perse-
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vere to the plot, surrounded by lovers and mountains, ivy-crowned castles and sloping parks. You are then safe. By the law of gravitation, you will hold out to the end, to see the fate of that solitary traveller who, on a stormy November evening, rode up to a nice cottage where dwelt a pretty maiden with dark ringlets. Believe it all, and sympathize with the cha- racters. That is the way to enjoy romance, or any other class of reading. When the taste, however, can relish more solid nutriment, lay novels aside and take to the magazines, a mixture of fiction and truth quite enter- taining and harmless. Then visit the bookstore and choose for yourself.
I must relieve your attention from a further tax, unless I had some- thing more worthy to offer. I am but a pioneer, to scar a tree here and there in the Lyceum forest. As you see, I have swung a dull axe, and have opened no path. Still, I have taken formal possession of the ground, and shall leave the smiling fields and rich gardens to be cleared by more skilful workmen. Our Executive Committee will provide speakers to address you at suitable periods. If services from abroad are not obtained, we have gentlemen at home well qualified for the Lecture-Chair. Do not be discouraged at this poor specimen.
One word to the ladies, in conclusion. In the name of my associates of the Lyceum, I tender you a special invitation to our Lectures. We shall always feel honored by your presence. We are striving to advance your happiness by improving our own sex. Men of intelligence know the claims of lovely woman to protection and kindness. You exert an in- fluence which I will not trust myself to portray. The dessert is always reserved for the last of the feast. Even so, ladies, by associating you with my closing remarks, I give an interest to the occasion which it would not otherwise possess.
(From the Democrat, July 1, 1853.)
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT :- A young man recently applied to me for some thoughts on Eloquence. The reply is herewith sent you for publication, in order that, while reaching him, it may be seen by others who are willing to accept good intentions as a sub- stitute for merit, on a topic so worn yet always fresh. The sources from which I draw "The Spirit of Eloquence" are disclosed in the reply,- the heart and the external world. If I have failed to expose the folly and bad taste of a lifeless rhetoric, it is not from partiality to so glaring a defect, which is not the less objectionable because it happens to be pre- valent. I teach from observation, not by example .- M.
THE SPIRIT OF ELOQUENCE.
A false idea of Eloquence too commonly prevails. Scholars by profes- sion are apt to consider flowery sentences and musical periods as the very art itself, beyond which there is no improvement. These qualities, indeed, captivate the taste, but do not constitute Eloquence in its purity and force.
First of all, there must be a purpose in the mind of the speaker, be- sides showing off his pictures of fancy or the beauties of rhetoric. Is a conclusion to be established ? Let the facts which lead to it be given with simplicity. The less drapery in the narrative, the more distinct the sub- ject-matter. Nature is the best guide. Men are accustomed to follow the order of things in making up their judgment. The speaker should begin in a modest, subdued style, with his voice rarely pitched above the conversational tone. This will give ease and confidence, -- two very essen-
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tial cords to bind an audience in silent, attentive mood, thereby inspiring his own faculties. There is a mental electricity that flows from eye to eye, and from heart to heart, in a large collection of people. A man must be either a veteran in debate, or of very obtuse sensibilities, who can face an assembly without trepidation. The best way to preserve his calmness, if much be expected or promised, is to fall below his reputation, or his ability, in the opening.
Here lies the secret of Eloquence,-self-possession in the orator, and a definite object in view, earnestly pursued. It is an error to suppose that the treasures of the mind must be poured forth in a constant stream of rich language, or that the ideas of the speaker must be adorned with poetic softness of expression verging on the wild melody of Ossian. This strain can be indulged only as an exercise to work the fancy into a proper mould for the combination of truth and feeling, with no effort at scholarship other than an easy style. Whenever it is perceived that a speaker is on stilts to show himself, he loses the sympathy of his audience. It is there- fore important to cultivate an artless yet graceful diction, with learning and taste so gently blended that minds of severe cast may be satisfied, while those of a different structure or of less refinement may consider the feast as prepared specially for them. Much will depend on the occasion, and the judgment of the speaker. No rules can be laid down applicable to all situations. The best general hint is conveyed in a brief sentence :- Good sense, strong impressions, and a deliberate manner. With these, the highest offices of speech may be achieved. Brilliant and stirring passages should never be introduced, unless the topic is worthy of the expenditure.
To shine in debate, however desired by all, is the privilege of only a few. A good voice is rarely possessed by scholars of a high order. Such men, in the eager pursuit of letters, usually forget their health until disease has commenced on the most vital organ, the lungs. There is a fascination in books hard to resist, even when life is at stake. Study should be temperate, -never excessive,-and always suspended for a brief interval, until the energies of mind and body can be recovered by countervailing exercise. This suggestion may be deemed by some as rather more appropriate in a lecture on the art of preserving health than in an essay on eloquence ; but its propriety here can be defended. To insure success, the speaker must feel within himself the certainty of pleasing. He must know beforehand whether he will appear timid and confused, (a most painful situation to all present,) or whether, with commanding address, he is to lead his audience safely into his subject, kindling, as he proceeds, from the very inspiration of silence around him. There is often a conflict between extreme mo- desty or diffidence on the one hand, and an arrogant self-superiority on the other. Neither condition is the best for eloquence; but, if one or the other defect must prevail, modesty will find more favor with the public, besides being the most usual companion of ability.
To sum up the constituents of eloquence is no easy task. We all know when we are pleased or enlightened. The test may be thus applied : Does the speaker interest me by the originality of his thoughts, the gran- deur of his emotions, or the purity of his style ? If either, then he is eloquent ; but if he unites thought, emotion, and style of the degree sup- posed, with a good delivery, then he is more than eloquent,-he is sublime. Such a qualification is within reach of gloomy natures, who have been tried in the crucible of adversity, whose hearts have bled from concealed
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griefs, and who, with virtue and humanity ever alive, have pierced the fountain of human sensibilities. With men of such experience, the tinsel of rhetoric has lost its charm and the romance of passion its iron rule. Just as the master-workman can select materials for the edifice with better judgment than his apprentice, so the man of large observation knows exactly what fragments of literature to gather, what cords of the heart to touch, and what motives to address, to accomplish his purpose. Elo- quence requires diligent, persevering study, not always in the closet, but in society, amid the daily actions of men in all situations. The book- worm, merely as such, has very little intrinsic value. He must devote his acquisition to some useful end,-something that will benefit his fellow- men, either in the walks of learning, in the products of the soil, or in the mechanic arts. A knowledge of these different interests, and a cordial sympathy with all, would furnish a key to every bosom. Men require their judgments to be moved by a solid, matter-of-fact appeal : no mere embellishment will answer. Hence the richest style of the scholar, un- mixed with the true sympathies of life, can never be accepted as eloquence. It has the frame, but not the spirit.
The time has passed for an artificial and scholastic array of words to stir the minds of men. A new channel may be opened by some bold, philan- thropic pioneer who seeks the shortest way to their affections. Let him cultivate letters as a passion, so as to elevate and expand his intellect, but at the same time cherish a deep and active principle of benevolence which shall manifest itself in the daily courtesies of life, promoting the welfare of all classes, feeling a right of equality with the highest, and a kind, obliging regard for the humblest. A good heart can perform this duty without violence to its pride. Ungainly and repulsive as uneducated men may appear in literary circles, still, they possess ideas and information of practical value, which, contrasted with the mere man of books, would put him equally to the blush among the masses of his countrymen. There is no cause for enmity or discord between the different classes ; all have a work assigned them necessary to their mutual well-being, and all who do the best they can, with their opportunities, are entitled to praise, however opposite their fortunes. Genuine eloquence is from the heart: it can have no other source. To-be-sure, it must have words as a vehicle, just as the gun-barrel gives direction to the ball; but the force is supplied by another agent.
The heart is the reservoir of all that is truly good and persuasive. Smooth sentences and formal illustrations, aiming only to impress others with the refinement of the speaker, can never excite the feelings. A sense of pleasure may be experienced; but the utmost that can be claimed for such artistic skill is a mastery of language under the control of classic taste,-a qualification often possessed by men who never felt or observed enough of life to know the springs of human action, or with what force to touch the heart, to awaken its deepest responses. All nature is sug- gestive of eloquence ; and he who trusts to his books alone, and to his own solitary speculations, for the power of moving men, will find himself griev- ously deluded.
From this picture it may possibly be inferred, by some, that hoary locks and a wrinkled visage inust grace a man before he is prepared to conquer in the field of eloquence. This idea is not to be admitted. Youth is the season for gathering laurels, just as spring is the time of flowers; and, like the annual and perennial stems of the vegetable kingdom, so of human
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character and capacities. Many are cut down by the first frost; while others hide their blooms through thirty or forty winters but to unfold a richer crown, studded with the gems of tribulation and fortitude, to last forever. The average of success is greatly in favor of the young aspirant. The boldness of self-conceit and the timidity of a modest mind are both to be avoided: the one usually ends in disgust, and the other in failure. The happy medium is the ladder of triumph.
But the line of duty, as it is the path to distinction, is active employ- ment. Plant the seed, and in due time the harvest will appear. He that craves honor must toil for it with patience and energy. Like the statue in the block of marble, the rubbish must be removed to bring out the image that slumbers in the quarry : the fragments that lie in confusion in dreamy, indolent, ambitious minds must be cleared away to arrive at the spirit of a man. It is a mysterious power,-which, fairly roused and nobly directed, proves a blessing to the possessor and to the world. Aim, then, at high objects within the range of possibility. Take good care of the heart as well as of the intellect, with strong hope to sustain you amid the count- less difficulties you will have to face in any career worthy of a rational being, and the reward will be sure just at the proper time and in the right measure.
VIII .- NEUTRALITY IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
The author does not presume to interest the public by his course in late Presidential elections ; yet he ventures to republish a short correspondence on the subject with this additional remark,-that he did not vote for President in 1848, because he was then residing in the city of New Orleans, and could not vote under two years in Louisiana, which time had not elapsed. Had he been entitled, he would have voted for Gen. Taylor. In the contest of 1856 the author took no part, and gave no vote, though his sympathies were with the American candidate for President. His desire-freely expressed previous to the Macon Convention in July-was that the American party would present no Electoral Ticket in Georgia, but would unite in support of Mr. Buchanan to beat down the sectional movement at the North, which he considered as likely to endanger the Union. The author takes occasion to say that he never be- longed to the Order of " Know-Nothings," and also that he has no affinity for any political organization which recognises Martin Van Buren, against whom he wrote and published many hard things in 1840,-sincerely believing that he was alike heartless and destitute of principle, as his conduct has since fully verified, to the great confusion of his former supporters in the South.
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