NIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 06586 1107

.

¦ "
..
B28 C 4 J z
YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

LECTURE

ON

NATIONAL- CHARACTER,

DELIVERED AT THE

JAMAICA LYCEUM, L. I.,

APRIL 25th, 1843,

JAMES DE PEYSTER OGDEN.

Published by request, and for the use of the Lyceum.

NEW- YORK:
JAS. P. WRIGHT, -PRINTER, 122 PULTON STREET.
1843.

¦B2.8 ,43 or

ON

NATIONAL CHARACTER.

The value of a good name is -equally important to nation*
and to individuals. The essential advantage, indeed abso
lute necessity, of character, is exemplified in every day's ex
perience : it may be traced in every incident that affects our
prosperity or adversity ; and is felt in its effect on every
event destined to exert an '¦ influence, for weal or woe,
6n the future prospects and condition of a people. The
character of a nation may be said in some respects to be
made up of that of the individuals who compose it ; for in
dividual traits and qualities, acquirements and capabilities,
must, of necessity, form component parts of national charac
ter. The acquisition of personal reputation, and the main
tenance of the fair fame of a people, may be secured by an
adherence to the same rules of right, and to the same prin
ciples of rectitude ; and may accordingly be said to rest on
the same foundation. Still, national character is influenced
by a combination of causes, is represented by a vast mass
of different individuals of our common species, and is con
trolled and modified by the varying impulses and impres
sions that arise from our social condition. We find qualities
possessed by particular communities in which others seem
to be entirely deficient : there are virtues, too, for which some
are famed, and vices also to which others again seem more
peculiarly prone, according as the varying circumstances

and conditions of life produce their effect upon the moral
and social character of man. Sometimes causes, apparent
ly trivial in themselves, produce important results by their
tendency to harmonize the feelings, enlist, the sympathies,
and elevate the sentiments of the great body of a people.
Natural scenery, of a particular character, has its effects in
attaching men to their homes; and as it increases their
fondness for their native soil, serves, in this way, to quicken
¦and enlarge their patriotism. National music, when em
bodied in captivating songs, skilfully addressed to the better
feelings and nobler passions of our nature, and adapted to
the particular crisis of national affairs, is well calculated, by
infusing a spirit of enthusiasm, to kindle national ardor, and
excite a love of country.
The character of the people of remote ages, as well as
that of the present nations of Christendom, with much that
is common to all, differs, each from the other, in many es
sential particulars. There is found a difference in religion and
education — in climate and language — in customs and pur
suits — in habits and occupations. There is also a difference
in the forms of government, in the effects of a good or bad
administration of government under any form, but, above
all, in the fundamental laws and institutions of a country.
All these, in their respective degrees and varied combina
tion, exert a pervading influence, and exercise a controlling
effect upon the moral and physical character of man in his
individual and collective capacity ; and thus constitute
what is termed National Character.
A minute analysis, or a full investigation, of the numerous
branches of so comprehensive a subject, would lead me far
beyond the limits prescribed by the occasion. I shall con
fine myself, therefore, in conformity with the general outline

just presented, merely to a sketch of the prominent causes,
and an allusion to the leading events, that have exerted a
predominating influence in the formation and improvement
of the character of nations, and of the effects they have pro
duced : together with a brief review of our own govern
ment and the character of our people, and of the value of
the laws and institutions of our country.
After the confusion of tongues, at the building of the tower
of Babel, the people became dispersed to every region com
prised within the limits of the ancient world, and then were
founded, among the first, the kingdoms of Assyria and
Egypt. Their principal successors, in after-time, the know
ledge of whose history has reached us, were Greece and
Rome. China also lays claim to primeval origin, and history
encourages a belief in the correctness of her pretensions.
Assyria, and. Egypt, and Rome, still exhibit, in their ruins,
proud testimonials of their former grandeur, and enduring
monuments of the power of their people. Still, the waters
of oblivion may be said to have swept over them.
China alone, of the original kingdoms of remote antiquity,
may be said to remain, preserving the integrity of her ori
ginal possessions, boasting through an almost unbroken line
of succession, of her imperial but stable government, and
maintaining the greatest population ever claimed or pos-
sessed by any power of ancient or modern times.
Religion may well be considered as the foundation of all
instruction, as it forms the rudiments of education, in all
civilized nations, and thus enters early in life into the forma
tion of National Character ; and although, over a large- por
tion of the Eastern world, the people still bow to the gods
of heathen idolatry, even this religious worship has its hold

on the minds, and is not without its effect in solemnizing the
feelings, of the people. But throughout Christendom, whether
the Greek or Romish, the Reformed or Protestant faith prevail,
the" worship of a superior Being, that is inculcated, and the
homage to a common Creator, that is offered up, give their
impression to the mind in its earliest stages of being and in
telligence : and although the influence thus imparted may
become weakened in after-life, it returns and is ever strongly
felt at the close of existence ; for, when everything else is
fading away, religion comes to the aid of suffering humanity
with its blessings and its hopes.
In the early periods of history, the patriarchal form
of government was best adapted to the primeval sim
plicity of the husbandman and the shepherd. But as
people multiplied, their accustomed means of subsistence
were obtained with more difficulty, and as new demands
arose, and new wants were to be supplied, the pursuits
and occupations of men became changed and diversi
fied. Laws then became necessary to define rights and se
cure possessions ; and rulers, clothed with authority, were
required to enforce the laws and preserve the order of so
ciety. By degrees, kings and armies, thrones and sceptres,
either followed of course, or were deemed essential to up
hold national dignity, support magisterial authority, and
maintain national security. As confidence increased, cities,
and kingdoms, and empires were founded and established, .
while arts, and arms, and science, and literature, and com
merce, and laws, and liberty flourished, at intervals, in the
world, under the various forms of government that suc
ceeded to each other, and according to the security that was
afforded to person and property by the laws of the country
and the stability of national authority.

A representative form of government, an approximation to
which was exhibited in the commonwealth of Rome, and the
confederation of the Grecian States, had its trials for a time,
and flourished for a season. The Hanseatic league, consisting
of a few free cities, strengthened and enriched by commerce,
and improved by its enlightening aid and liberalizing spirit,
possessed a fair portion of rational freedom, and long enjoyed a
deserved reputations with a high commercial character. Car
thage, too, deriving her character and strength from being the
mart of trade, and mistress of the then commercial world, and
for more than a century the rival of Rome itself, boasted of
a form of government alike exempt from the effects of po
pular commotion, and free from despotic sway. Rome, the
mistress of the world, and the last power of importance
that flourished before the Christian era, with whose history
we are well acquainted — Rome was essentially military in
her character. Yet she was on the pinnacle of her fame — her
national character stood highest when her government was
the most free — when the rights and privileges of her people
were most secure, and their liberties best protected. And
although, when the contending and degenerate factions of
the State were overthrown, and bound by the golden chains
of the Augustan reign, which, having closed the Temple of
Janus as a symbol of profound peace, substituted for the
rude sway of military chieftains, the mildest form of des
potic rule, Rome prospered under the Imperial purple ; still
she lived upon the national character she had previously
acquired, long after the foundations of her real power and
greatness were crumbling beneath her feet. The people of
Rome had become tired of their freedom, had abused the
privileges they enjoyed, and their liberties departed for
ever : and although Rome survived for four hundred years
after the advent of Christianity, she fell at last under the

scourge of the Goths and Vandals, and her fall was suc
ceeded by a long reign of barbarism.
The Gothic ages lasted for a thousand years, during
which, nations were without character, and a dreary night
of ignorance and barbarism prevailed in the world. Two
men, however, whose enlightened views were far in ad
vance of their times, and whose achievements bear the
stamp of gigantic power and commanding genius, appeared
in Europe to illumine this age of barbarism. The light of
their talents and services reflected increased lustre on their
character, emanating, as it did, from surrounding darkness,
and their names long stood prominent as beacon-lights for
their own and for succeeding ages.
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of France, above
one thousand years ago, began the German, afterwards
called the Western Empire ; and which, with France, Spain,
Italy, Germany, and Hungary, under his sway, began to
rival ancient Rome itself. He founded seminaries of learn
ing, was the patron of scientific men, and established an
academy at Aix-la-Chapelle. He left with the people whom
he conquered, their customs and usages, with such laws as
they possessed, endeavoring only to improve them. He at
tempted, though unsuccessfully, to introduce uniformity of
weights and measures. He conceived the vast plan of
uniting the Rhine and the Danube, and the Atlantic, with the
Euxine Sea, by means of a canal, and he employed his army
on the work ; but the ignorance of his age in hydraulics
prevented the accomplishment of this great undertaking.
In a word (as was justly said of him,) he prevented the total
decline of the sciences in the West, by supplying new ali
ment to their expiring light. One hundred years after him,
Alfred the Great, of England, after subduing the Danish in-

vaders, composed a body of laws, divided England into
counties, tithings, and hundreds ; erected county courts, and
founded the University of Oxford. Alfred gave also to
England the trial by jury, and suggested the necessity of a
naval force for her protection, and thus became the archi
tect, in its early formation, of her distinctive national charac
ter. Four hundred years afterwards, or six hundred years
ago, the barons of England wrested' from their monarch,
King John, the famous Magna Charta of the land — the
charter of their liberties. The laws and improvements
therefore of Alfred, together with the rights and liberties
secured by Magna Charta, laid the foundation for the per
manent stability, and furnished the essential elements that
enter into the composition of the national character of Eng
land. The art of printing, of which China is supposed to
have made the first discovery and use, was not invented in
Europe until 1440, nor introduced into England, with metal
types, until 1471. This important discovery mainly con
tributed to the revival of learning and diffusion of science
in the sixteenth century, and nearly all the illustrious men
from whom our present stock of knowledge is derived, have
sprung up and flourished within the last three hundred years ;
a short period indeed, when compared with the duration of
the Christian world.
This general diffusion of knowledge, and the consequent
light shed on the science of government, have ameliorated the
condition of man, elevated him in the scale of being, and im
proved the character of nations. It is only, however, under the
guardianship and protection of equal laws and free institutions,
gradually introduced, and wisely adapted to the wants of a
people, that individual character can become essentially im
proved. Rulers must be taught that they were vested with
authority for the benefit of the people, and made to feel that
B

10
responsibility, and that the laws are their superiors ; and as
the rudiments of education and the first principles of rational
liberty proceed, hand in hand, in progressive advancement,
the people will take increased interest and feel an honest
pride in the public welfare ; and thus the fairest prospect will
be afforded, that individual happiness and prosperity will ad
vance with the improvement and elevation of national cha
racter. The two events — among the most important in history
— that have exercised the greatest influence in changing
and improving the social and political condition of man,
were our own Revolution, and that of France, which fol
lowed it. Their consequences are now beginning to be felt
and appreciated, for they will remain as guides and land
marks for other people and for future times. The laws and
institutions founded by Alfred, and the principles of liberty
established by Magna Charta, accustomed the English people,
for ages past, to feel and understand their rights ; and thus
enabled England to improve, to the fullest extent, by the
lights and information of later days. Our ancestors, ac
cordingly, who sought an asylum in the western world,
were well grounded in the principles of a government of
laws, intimately acquainted with their practical operation,
while they understood and appreciated the rights and im
munities they conferred and guaranteed. These they
claimed to exercise and enjoy, in the new world, under the
protection of the mother country. They did not, therefore,
in fact, desire a revolution in order to become free ; for, in
all essential particulars, and, of right, they were so already :
they were only determined to maintain what they deemed
their unalienable rights. They accordingly resisted en
croachment at the outset, and for a series of years before
they declared themselves independent, they were constantly
employed in opposing, to the arbitrary conduct of the

11
mother country, the arguments of men resolved to remain
free in defence of the principles of civil liberty, and of those
rights of which they were in actual possession : and when
reason and remonstrance were urged in vain, they had to
decide the question whether they should resist, regardless
of consequences, in order to continue in the enjoyment of
their birthrights, or yield them in subjection to the unjust
and unlawful pretensions of the British crown.
Our Revolution, therefore, was one of principle, and when
our independence was secured, a Constitution, recognizing and
confirming all the principles set forth in the Declaration of
Independence, was adopted by all the States of a confedera
cy forming our federal Union, and furnishing a model of the
freest government that had ever been presented to the world ;
and thus was laid the foundation of a national character, for
the formation of which no other people have ever possessed
the same materials or advantages, or seem destined to have
an opportunity to prove themselves worthy either to acquire
or enjoy. Yet the light of our example and the principles
of our government have benefitted the world, and will serve,
still more, to improve the condition, secure the rights, and
promote the happiness of other nations ; not to the extent,
or in the form of our own free and peculiar Republican in
stitutions ; still quite as far, for the present, as may be con
sistent with their means of appreciating, or their capacity
for enjoying, the blessings of civil liberty : for it must be-
remembered that all changes are not improvements, and
that a people must become prepared by degrees for every
important alteration and amelioration in their political and
social system. France assisted us in our Revolutionary
struggles, and the effect of our example and success began
to manifest itself on the part of those who had witnessed
aad nobly shared our toils and victories.

12
It may be considered an established truth, that all revolu
tions in States, indeed all revolts against lawful authority,
have arisen from the weak or corrupt administration of
those in power. France was ruled by nearly an absolute
monarch ; and oppression and priest-craft, corruption and
licentiousness, enslaved the people and degraded the charac
ter of the nation ; and when, at last, they rebelled, the peo
ple, who had been goaded into resistance by persevering
acts of tyranny and cruelty, were blamed for all the atroci
ties that were committed in the name of Liberty. But, it
may well be asked, whom should posterity hold justly re
sponsible for these atrocities ? The monarch and his minis
ters who tolerated the licentiousness of the court — permitted
the corruptions in the State, and issued their secret orders for
men to be buried alive in the dungeons of the Bastile ? — or the
people, who, suffering these enormities at the hands of their
rulers, resisted in the name of their country, under the pres
sure of their accumulated wrongs ? Were the people of
France, then, alone to blame ?
In the convention of Pilnitz in 1791, a treaty was formed
by the Emperor of Austria and King of Prussia, the professed
object of which was to invade France and remodel her go
vernment ; and in their proclamation, and that of the Duke
of Brunswick, it was intimated, nay openly declared, that the
King of France had not been sincere in accepting the con
stitution. Where, at this crisis, were the friends of their
country 1 Had the misguided nobility of France really felt
for the people, and been true to their King,— had they cared
more for their country and less for themselves, they might
have saved the life of their monarch and rescued from
anarchy the cause of social order. The idea of foreign in
terference, joined to a suspicion of domestic treason, was
sufficient to alarm every friend to his country ; while the

13
foes of freedom were thus afforded an opportunity to arouse
the evil passions of those who sought to rise to consequence
and power amid the storms of civil discord. The sceptre
of royalty once wrested from weak and inefficient hands —
the bonds of society, so loosely and corruptly held together,
once broken asunder — full sway was given to the worst
and basest passions of mankind to triumph over the ruin of
virtue and social order. The people of France were indeed
unprepared for liberty, and, as a natural consequence, the only
escape from the horrors of anarchy was found to be in the arms
of despotism. Napoleon profited by the spirit of the Revo
lution, and the commander of the army soon became the
ruler of the people : and that army, now accustomed to con
quest, became as eager to signalise itself under the protecting
wings of tha Imperial eagles, as it had before been anxious for
combat under the banners of Liberty and Equality. Napo
leon was as great a foe as Freedom ever knew. Regard
less of all interests and rights that interfered with his ambi
tion, he had not only France, but nearly the whole continent
subjected to his dominion, and while his power subdued their
will, the character of the people became debased by his
tyranny. Yet he seemed to be an instrument in the hands of
Providence to humble the pride of kings, who were made to
bow, in submission, to this child and champion of a revo
lution. The people of Europe at last rose in their might :
his armies were defeated, and the power'of Napoleon was
extinguished,, and when the allies restored the Bourbons to
the throne, Louis was compelled to give a charter to the
people of France. A charter, however, is not a contract
between the sovereign and the nation, nor is it a constitution
framed by the people : it is the free gift of the crown. But,
after the experience of the past, and in the present enlight
ened age, a charter once granted can never be recalled. The
people of France of the present day wish not to war

14
with the name of Royalty ; but they desire, and think them
selves entitled to demand, that their essential rights should
be defined and recorded beyond the power of a monarch's
will to alter, or his mandate to annul.
Observing men in France had long thought that the es
sential and vivifying spirit of the Revolution still existed,
having been suppressed, not extinguished, during the reign
of Napoleon ; and that, before long, a revolution in public
opinion would obtain for France the admission of doctrines,
and the acknowledgement of views of rational freedom,
consistent alike with the prerogatives of the monarch, the
stability of the throne, and the happiness of the people.
The old Bourbon dynasty, however, kept quiet possession of
the throne for fifteen years after the second restoration, when
Charles the Tenth, under the advice of a profligate ministry,
violated the charter he had given to France, by the unlawful
edicts of July, 1830. In an instant the people flew to arms,
and, to the everlasting honor of their name, proved that they
were worthy to enjoy the rights they were resolved to main
tain. In three days they conquered the guards of the King,
dethroned and expelled a monarch — yet preserved the mo
narchy, restored the charter, and thus reinstated the nation
in its immunities and rights ; while the tri-colored flag, that
national emblem of the Revolution, was again unfurled to
live in the affections of the people. France thus derived
the full benefit of our early example, and of her former
struggles and sacrifices ; and her national character now
stands redeemed and regenerated before the world.
The laws and institutions of a country have also a direct
influence on the individual character of a people, in their so
cial relations. Russia is ruled by a despotic emperor.

15
The improvements of the age, however, are duly apprecia
ted and readily adopted by a wise administration, under the
advice of enlightened councillors; and her government is, no
doubt, well administered. But the people are cerfs, without
education or character, famed neither for private virtues nor
personal spirit : for they submit to personal chastisement be
cause their condition gives them neither the privilege nor the
right to resist. In Sweden, on the contrary, the peasantry
are proverbially honest, they constitute an order of the State,
and are represented in the Diet. The Swede resists an
attack on his personal rights, and he is protected, in so doing,
by tho laws of the land. The people of Prussia, whose he
roic efforts and sacrifices contributed so eminently to the
downfall of Napoleon, were promised a charter by their
king. It has been withheld, or rather delayed, until they
shall be prepared, by education, for its enjoyment. The ne
cessity, as well as the right of popular education, are thus
admitted, and its practical benefits are becoming generally
dispensed ; and thus the people of Prussia and of a part of
Germany are beginning to feel and enjoy the blessings of
that civil liberty which their own exertions prepared and se
cured when they broke the fetters of Napoleon ; while
the formation of the Germanic league furnishes the best
evidence of the amelioration of the social condition of
a people arising from the progressive improvement in their
political institutions. The English people have long been
famed for independence of character, pride of country, and
a disposition to resist oppression of every description ; be
cause England is a country of men, and laws, and liberty : of
men who know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain, — of
laws that have endured for ages, and which form their so-
called constitution, for England has no other constitution — ¦
of liberty, consequent upon the pure administration of just

16
laws, in which all ranks feel an interest, — that liberty of the
subject which allows no man, however high in rank or pow
er, except the king, to be above the laws established for the
security of the meanest subject ; and although, as has been
said, the winds of heaven may enter unbidden the humble
dwelling of the poor man, yet there, even the king himself
dare not enter.
Climate materially and directly regulates and modifies the
habits and pursuits of man, and thus qualifies and influences
his character. The temperate zone is most favorable for the
full development and perfection of all his qualities and
faculties. The inhabitants of the frozen regions are com
pelled to a long season of inactivity, during which they must
intermit their exertions, and their energies are bound by the
icy fetters of their climate ; and Nature, thus restricted, is
bountiful in her favors neither to vegetable nor animal life.
In the torrid zone, man languishes under the rays of a
vertical sun, and he is incapable of long-continued mental or
bodily exertion. The stimulus to enterprise is withdrawn,
the energy necessary to accomplish important undertakings
is wanting, and man contents himself with enjoying the
bounties of Nature, so profusely lavished, with as little cost
or effort to himself as may be consistent with the security of
his subsistence. In those regions, removed from the two
extremes, where Nature is neither too niggardly with her
favors nor too profuse of her bounties, where the necessity
for exertion and the hope of reward are combined, and
where, by the application of industry, energy, and skill, man
is sure to reap the fruit of his exertions, and to enjoy, in
security, the reward of his toils, — there have our race ever
been most celebrated for their success in everything that can
elevate character, adorn life, and add value to existence.

It
There are other causes, also, operating on the mind of mail,
tending to excite the imagination, and which, by soothing the
feelings and leading to serious contemplation, are not without
their effect in improving his character.
The inhabitants of rude and mountainous regions are pro
verbially famed for attachment to their homes and to their
country. Nature, in all her works, is ever attractive, but
when she appears on her grandest scale, in her wilder forms
and more romantic scenery, she fixes the attention, enchains
the affection, elevates the feelings, and inspires her votaries
with the noblest emotions. The natives of Switzerland,
which is so justly celebrated for its sublime and magnificent
scenery, are well known to be devoutly attached to their
native valleys and their romantic wilds. Here, as in a bril
liant panorama, are presented at one view the snow-clad
mountain with the verdant lawn and fertile plain. The
snow-drift and the icicle, side by side with the fruitful val
ley and the vine-clad hill ; the lofty cataract and the foam
ing torrent, with the flowing rivulet and placid lake — all
mingled and blended in harmony and beauty. There too is
seen the fathomless glacier, that hath for ages formed the icy
barrier between those vast chains of mountains, with sum
mer, teeming in luxuriance, at their base, and everlasting
winter reigning on their lofty summits. There, too, is heard
that mighty sound, which once heard can never be forgotten,
the echo of the falling avalanche ; resembling the thunder of
the spheres, and seeming to rock the mountains on their
deep foundations. The rising and setting sun, the advance
of day, and the approach of night, have their peculiar and
appropriate beauties. As the peasant of the mountain rises,
after a ni^ht of storm, to greet the return of day, he stands
in silent and solemn contemplation of the approaching glories
of the dawn. The first glimmerings of day, lifting the veil of
C

18
mist and night, gradually unfold the drapery of the picture
which Nature here presents in unrivalled magnificence. Each
surrounding object, dimly seen at first, rising in its shadowy
form, now starts upon the view, then seems to recede from
the approaching light, as the orb of day gives token of his
coming in pride, and pomp, and majesty. Here his first rays
reflect the broad shadows of the mountain on the calm sur
face of the lake below ; there, glancing through the valleys,
they gild the spires of the village just emerging from the
wave ; then new beauties in the landscape, rising with his
advancing beams, display their varying form and hue, dis
tinct and bright ; now, far and wide, he fires the hill-tops as
his light ascends, then bursting forth, he shines in gorgeous
splendor on the snow-capped summit of the Alps that bound
the distant view.
With feelings thus chastened and solemnized, man goes
forth to his daily toil ; and when calm and sunshine cheer
the scene, he awaits, in joyful expectation, the milder beauties
of the closing day. The setting sun already marks the
lengthened shadows of the mountains, which stretch their
huge limbs like spectres chiding his departure ; while his re
tiring beams, lingering in the vale and reflected from the moun
tain sides, shine on the verdant lawns, and fertile plains, and
glassy lakes below, as on a sea of burnished gold ; until the
varying tints and ever-changing hues, that seem to brighten
ere they are lost to sight, gradually disappear as twilight
covers the face of Nature with its deepening shade. The
peasants fold their arms, while silence reigns unbroken, save
by the distant tinklings that steal upon the ear, or the wild, yet
cheering, spirit-stirring notes of the goatherd's song, as they
swell on the breeze, and echo through the mountain, and fall
gently on the vale. Good night, — good night, — is heard from
all around, as the curtain of departing day falls on the en-

19
chanted scene. No matter where in after-life their lot is
cast, no matter in what distant clime it shall be their fate to
wander, far from those endearing associations, these im
pressions endure with their existence — these scenes are
never effaced from their memory — that song still vibrates on
their ears — whenever, in fancy or in a dream, they revisit,
in fond recollection, their own, their native wilds.
It has been remarked, by no inexperienced observer of
human nature, that if he were allowed to write the songs
of a nation, he cared not who framed its laws. This asser
tion is, of course, too broad to be taken in its literal sense,
yet the effect of national songs in enlisting the feelings and
sympathies, and arousing an honorable emulation in pursuit
of national fame and glory, is too well known not to be uni
versally acknowledged. The celebrated Marseillois Hymn
of revolutionary France operated as a powerful stimulant,
as well as a noble incentive, not only to the military enthu
siasm, but to the patriotism and devotion of that excitable
and chivalrous nation. It addressed itself, with effect, to the
pride and feelings and sympathies of a people, who, as they
supposed, for having broken the fetters of tyranny at home,
were menaced with invasion and a foreign yoke ; and this
energetic and well-timed appeal aroused them to a quick
sense of their own wrongs, and of the insults and injuries
and oppression that might await them from the combined
attack, within and without, of the foes of freedom and of
France. This national anthem was chanted in their cities ;
it rung through the villages and resojunded throughout the
realm ; and wherever its sounds were heard, or its words
were felt, it proved a trump omnipotent to charm. The cry
" To arms !" " To arms !" was echoed through the land, and
France became a nation of soldiers. The defenders of their

20
soil, as they flocked to the standard of their country, re
peated its animating and spirit-stirring strains ; and as their
advancing columns, marshalled in defence of their liberties
and rights, pressed onward to meet their invaders, the melody
of song mingled with the war-notes of the trumpet and the
drum ; and while national enthusiasm and military ardor
spread and communicated from rank to rank, the sounds of
vocal music that rose on the air, as the legions of France
joined in conflict with their foes, were heard amid the din of
battle and the clash of arms.
What did not the songs of Dibdin accomplish for the British
navy? Displaying a thorough knowledge of naval tactics,
and a minute acquaintance with all the details of the naval
profession, they depicted in glowing but natural colors the
trials and struggles, the cares and dangers, the excitements
and enjoyments, the triumphs and glories, attending the pro
gress of a seaman's life, and the achievement of naval vic
tories. There were indeed circumstances, peculiar to the
situation of Great Britain, required, perhaps, to give exis
tence to the spirit that pervaded these songs, that favored
their effect, and gave increased value to the moral influences
they imparted. Surrounded by the ocean, the habits and
pursuits of her people must necessarily partake of the char
acter of a seaman's life. Without the benefit of rivers, in
ternational intercourse was carried on principally by sea, and
no inconsiderable portion of her population, residing on her
coasts, derived their maintenance from the sea, and lived a
sailor's life. Whole villages, nay towns, were sometimes
composed entirely of fishermen, adventuring daily on the
ocean for their daily bread. AH therefore had an interest
in their success, and all felt a sympathy in their hazardous
employment ; and accordingly, when the approach of night,

21
or of impending storm, created fears for their safety, one
and all — friends and relatives, mothers, wives and children,
would crowd the shore ; and as their fragile barks, now lost to
sight, now borne upon the billow's crest, were dimly seen
careering o'er the wave, would stand with straining eyes
and outstretched arms to await and welcome their return.
There was thus created an identity of interest, of feeling, and
of sympathy, allied to a pride of calling, when attended with
difficulty and danger, which, when duly encouraged, and
properly availed of, are attended with enduring national
benefits. Great Britain was probably indebted solely to
her insular position for her safety during that eventful pe
riod when nearly the whole continent of Europe was under
the dominion of her mightiest and greatest foe, who was
intent only on her conquest : and she then discovered that
her sole protection was in her wooden walls ; and not only
the maintenance of her Empire of the seas, but her very
existence as a powerful nation, required that she should
gain the victories of the Nile and of Trafalgar.
The songs of Dibdin lent her no inefficient aid in laying
a foundation for those victories, and for the maintenance of
her naval supremacy. Whate'ver could excite the ardor
and animate the patriotism of her people, was embodied in
these truly popular and national songs, so well calculated
to inspire a zeal for naval service and a thirst for naval
glory. They appealed to the pride of country and to the bet
ter feelings of our nature. The delights of home, the bonds
of friendship and fellowship, the blandishments and en
dearments of love, the hope of conquest and the reward
of victory, were all portrayed in their graphic descriptions,
and the spirit they inspired pervaded the realm ; all classes
chaunted their numbers, all ranks joined in the chorus.

22
There were none so high but admitted the sympathy they
awakened, none so low as not to be aroused by their heart
felt appeals. In every ale-house and cottage, in every ham
let and hovel, might be seen, sketched in rude characters
along the walls, their ship, their flag, the battle and the
chace, the proud array of their victorious fleet and the
wrecked squadron of a prostrate foe : and as the gathering
throngs would meet to listen to the tales of Ocean, and hear
the music of these songs, — as the night-winds howled around
the casements, and the raging of the tempest brought to
mind the perils of the deep, all who had served their coun
try and faced her foes, by turns recounted their adventures,
and painted, in glowing colors, the deeds of daring and the
feats of arms of their companions in danger and glory.
On such a night as this we weathered the dangers of that
rocky coast ; — in such a storm we cleared for action and
unfurled our flag, and dared — but dared in vain — the foe-
man to the fight; — in that hard conflict we bore our part; —
in that proud victory we gained our laurels ; — in honor of
our country's banner, and in defence of our country's rights,
together we have met, and shared, and stood, and braved,
the breeze and gale, the battle and the storm. While thus
the story and the song went round, even the mother with her
infant in her arms, as she caught the enthusiasm of the hour,
would clasp her boy, and fondly look and think when he
should follow in the footsteps of his sire, — should learn to
brave these dangers of the seas, and mingle in the strife
of arms.
This was the charm that taught Old England's meteor
flag — so called— to brave the battle and the breeze, and made
her seamen feel " at home" upon the deep. But her descen
dants in the West, who shared her national spirit, had now
grown up to manhood. We too had sought the ocean as our

23
home, for our commerce whitened every sea, and our ban
ner waved in every clime : and notwithstanding the broad
expanse of Ocean's vast domain, we met and jostled in the
pathways of the deep. She claimed dominion where we
claimed an equal and a common right ; wrongful encroach
ments made us foes, and then, in evil hour for her and
prouder day for us, on that element which we may hereaf
ter call our own, we met in conflict ; and then, in equal fight,
there stood confessed the drooping pennant and the broken
charm. The love of country, identified with national character, is
strongly implanted in every honest and manly heart. It is
confined to no rank or condition of life. It is sometimes
strongly felt by those in the highest sphere, even when de
prived of their rank and titles,earned in their country's service.
And a purer devotion to her cause is often shown by those in
humbler walks and subordinate stations, who fall fighting
the battles of their country, knowing that their names will
never outlive their deeds. What was the fate and what the
conduct of Ney, the gallant but misguided Ney, chief
among the marshals of France, and bravest of the brave !
He had passed through a brilliant military career with dis
tinguished and unblemished reputation. Sent by the king
to oppose Napoleon, he found his troops disaffected to the
royal cause and in favor of their former emperor ; when,
unwilling to attempt useless resistance, whereby to hazard a
civil war, he remained with Napoleon, instead of returning
to the king, and thereby committed an error of judgment.
But the treaty of Paris provided for his case : in the opinion
of one of the signers of that treaty, it was intended to pro
tect, and should have saved him. The peers of the realm,
however, representing the country in whose service he had
combatted in many a hard-fought field, and bravely won the
laurels that graced his brow, pronounced his doom. Yet

24
for that country his last prayer was uttered : " My rank,
my honors, my titles, and my fame, what, and where are
they now ? I am still Michael Ney, a soldier of France,
whose first duty is to obey. Lead me to my fate." He
found a remnant of those veterans, whom he had often led
to victory, drawn up to execute his sentence. When re
fusing the proffered bandage for eyes too long accustomed
to meet death in the field of battle to fear it then, and plac
ing his hand on his heart, his last command was, " Comrades,
fire there ;" and as the winged messengers of death followed
his direction, his last and dying shout was, " France for
ever !" During our last war with Great Britain, in the ac
tion between the Hornet and Penguin, in the southern seas,
a marine on board the Hornet, badly wounded, was about
being carried below : he begged for permission to remain on
deck until the battle was over. Having, as he said, the use
of his arms, he still could load and fire his musket : and if
seated with his back against the mast for a support, he yet
could do his duty. His request was complied with. When
in this state of suffering from his wounds, with rude bandages
hastily applied to his shattered limbs, with the tide of life fast
ebbing to its close, he shared to the last the toils, the glories
of the fight : and when he saw the foeman strike his flag,
while his own banner proudly waved aloft, 'twas all he asked
— for, with the first shout of victory, his gallant spirit sought
its last repose. In the action between the frigate Essex and
her two antagonists, the Phoebe and the Cherub, in the Paci
fic, the Essex, becoming crippled in her spars on leaving
port, and thus rendered unable either to gain an offing, or
regain the harbor, was compelled to anchor, where she lay
a target for her foes, who chose their distance and position.
The Essex, thus placed at their mercy, was compelled to
sustain the unequal ^conflict without a possible chance of
victory, until, as was eloquently said, " Humanity tore down

25
the colors which valor had nailed to the mast." Fighting
thus, without a hope of success, as her men, fast falling at her
guns, were carried wounded below, their last entreaty, their
earnest supplication, was : " Oh, let that banner wave while
my life lasts — strike not our colors till I am gone — let me
not survive the triumph of the foe" — thus exhibiting, in bright
relief, the ruling passion strong in death. They knew full
well their names would be inscribed on no scroll to live here
after in story or in song ; they would have no niche in temple
or in hall — no tablet to record their services — no monument
to prove a country's gratitude, or a people's thanks, where,
as the future sailor-boy should thither roam, his delighted
eye might rest, perhaps, on the proud memorial of his father's
fame. They fell far from country, kindred, and home, yet
their last thought was of the ship they had so nobly defended,
their last gaze was on the flag of their country, in whose ser
vice they died. They had no requiem but the winds of
heaven ; their only monument was Ocean's wave.
On what foundation do we now rest our hopes, and on
what basis do we securely repose for the preservation and
improvement of our own national character ? We owe much
to our advantages of primeval origin, but we owe still more to
the wisdom and firmness, and forecast, of our Revolutionary
fathers. As a people, we are better educated than any other
nation, and as a whole, we are more enterprising and ener
getic : we are proud of our country, attached to her insti
tutions, observant of her laws, and jealous of our rights ;
and although religion is not incorporated, in any way, with
our form of government, being wisely exempted from civil
jurisdiction, yet no people are more attached to its worship
and ordinances ; and with entire toleration of all sects and
persuasions, the Bible and its doctrines are universally cir
culated and received as the foundation of religious faith, the
D

26
source of present comfort, the shield of moral virtue, and
the anchor of future hope.
A perfect equality in political rights, and in all the privi
leges and immunities that belong to man in the enjoyment •
of rational freedom, is one of the distinguishing character
istics of our republican form of government, but a perfect
equality of social condition or of mental capacity is what
Nature never designed nor accomplished. In monarchies,
there is always a class forming an aristocracy of wealth and
title, and in some countries, as a necessary consequence, of
talents also. Titles are granted by the crown either as a
boon or as a reward of merit, and the wealth connected with
title is usually the accumulation of ages, perpetuated in a
few families and names ; and thus birth, titles and wealth
descend to remote posterity, and unless there is some ap
proach to constitutional or representative government, as in
England, and of late in France, talent of the higher order
will necessarily be confined to the higher classes, and thus
the empire of mind is added to the power of the sceptre.
With us these distinctions are unknown ; talent, including
acquirement of all descriptions, is confined to no rank, or
class, or profession, — it belongs to the republic. Wealth is
divided among all, not hoarded for the benefit of a few ; for
the accumulation of to-day is scattered by the divisions of the
morrow. With us, wealth, of itself, confers no distinction :
when associated with worth and talent it may dispense its
benefits and prove a blessing, but wealth enjoys no peculiar
privilege, nor is it a passport to public favor ; and it may be
said, to the credit of our political leaders, that since the for
mation of our government, they have neither sought nor
possessed riches, nor has money ever been used or abused
to secure popular favor.

27
With us the end and object of the great mass is to obtain
a competence, and to improve their condition. This pursuit
is more universal than in any other country, and for an ob
vious reason : tho road is open to all, and all are invited to
pursue a course where success is likely to attend every well-
intentioned and well-directed endeavor. New villages, towns
and cities are continually being founded, and improved ; new
territories are settling, new channels of international com
munication are constantly opening, and new prospects bright
ening on the hopes of the industrious and energetic ; and if
individual enterprise is not always successful, national bene
fit is usually attained by its exertions. With an extended
sea-coast, lined with capacious harbors, bays and inlets;
with immense inland seas and mighty rivers, we are provided
with vast means of international intercourse. But we have
improved these natural advantages by a more extensive sys
tem of internal improvements than any European nation has
yet projected or executed. The Erie Canal and Croton
Aqueduct, of our own State, may not only compare with any
work of the kind in Europe, but we may challenge her to
point out any work of hers that can form any comparison at
all with ours. Contiguous lines of railroads, with myriads
of steamers crowding our rivers, lakes and bays, connect
the most distant parts of the Union. The respective States
of the confederacy share more or less extensively, according
to their peculiar advantages of position or population, in
the three great sources of national wealth, Agriculture, Ma
nufactures, and Commerce : while the diversity of pursuits
gives rise to no permanently conflicting interests. The dif
ferent sections of our extended empire, thus dependent upon
and identified with each other, and thus brought in contact by
means of the facilities afforded by these internal communi
cations, become bound together by the adamantine chains of
mutual and common interest

28
¦ We have a form of government so free, that the people,
who possess the sovereign power, not only choose those who
are invested with brief authority, to frame the laws, but elect
also, and at short intervals, the Chief Magistrate who is to
execute them. And our ancestors gave us a Constitution,
where the principles of civil liberty and popular rights are
well defined and carefully secured ; but above all, with a wise
and extended forecast, they so guarded its provisions, with
respect to amendments, that it cannot possibly be changed
for light causes, and indeed any changes whatever become
less likely to be introduced in proportion as we increase our
population and add to the number of the States composing
the Union. On this basis rest our hopes for perpetuity of
the blessings we enjoy. I cannot therefore refrain from ex
pressing an opinion, that it manifests neither the sagacity of
the statesman nor the prophetic vision of the patriot — for
occasional error in the exercise, or even for an actual abuse
of a power, conferred by the Constitution — to desire to
abridge that power by altering that sacred instrument, which
will hereafter owe its enduring value to the veneration in
which it is held,in consequence of the permanency of its char
acter ; and which, if we are prevented from changing, Time
may improve, but which Time itself may not destroy.
If such are our present privileges and future prospects,
let us not be unmindful of our responsibilities. If, with
suqh superior advantages, we have the means of forming a
national character such'as no other nation possesses, are we
not bound to set an example to the world ? How have the
interests and rights, the intelligence and character, of this
people, been represented of late in our State and National
Legislatures ? Have these bodies reflected the lights and
information, or justified the hopes and expectations, of an
enlightened age ? Or do we not require a patriotism and a

29
public virtue of a higher order than of late exercised in these
departments, to guide us through the difficulties that sur
round, and the dangers that beset us ? — not dangers to the
stability of our Union, for that even the many-headed mon
ster of Abolition itself cannot shake, deep-rooted as it is in
the affections of the people ; but dangers that threaten the
permanent welfare as well as the fair fame and character of
the Republic. With all our boasted independence, we tole
rate, in some respects, a slavish dependence of mind. We
allow ourselves to be dependent upon the opinions of Europe.
If foreigners of rank or consequence visit our country,
we await in breathless suspense to hear what they will say
of us : making their opinions, which they rarely acquire an
opportunity of forming correctly, the arbiters of our fate.
If, with a manly independence, we looked for the opinions of
intelligent and enlightened men with a view to correct our
defects, we should perform an obvious yet a difficult duty,
that of searching for truth for its own sake and for our own
good ; but we are too prone to surrender our better judgment
in deference to that of the older world. We are unfortu
nately too apt to imitate their manners and customs because
they differ from ours, and to adopt their tastes because they are
dissimilar : in a word, to sacrifice, without reflection or dis
crimination, our own distinctive character. The prominent
public men of our country, who, from their situation, must
necessarily, to some extent, lead or mislead public opinion,
are also" lamentably deficient in independence of character.
They are fearful of expressing opinions in regard to mea
sures of vital importance to the country, lest they should
render themselves temporarily unpopular, and they thus re
fuse to give a healthy tone to public sentiment and a proper
direction to public opinion, for there is hardly a leading pub
lic man in the Union who has not been found on both sides
and on all sides of every great leading national measure

30
affecting directly the interests and prosperity of the country.
It need not of course be expected that the evil propensities,
the warring passions, the deep-seated prejudices, the sectional
jealousies and the vindictive feelings of our nature, or the
promptings of unchastened ambition, are to be changed in
character with our form of government ; although the ten
dency of our institutions, by diminishing the opportunities for
their gratification, may, by thus imposing restraints, give them
a better direction, and thereby weaken their influence. Poor
human nature, however, in possession of power, is not only
prone, but sure to abuse it. An occasional majority may
and will rule with despotic sway. » Possessing, for a time,
the legion of numbers, directed by a common impulse, and
obedient to the nod of favorite leaders, wrong will be com
mitted, and evil consequences ensue. But this cannot be
called public opinion, on which we must rely to correct such
evils. Public opinion with us is conservative in its charac
ter ; it is the calm reflection of intelligent masses qualified to
judge, and who, having their own rights and interests at stake,
are likely in most cases, in the end, to judge correctly. But
the leaders of the political parties of our day are strikingly
deficient in those essential qualifications which so eminently
distinguished our Revolutionary ancestors : in that patriot
ism which looked only to country, regardless of self- — in that
consistency of opinion, which, founded upon conviction, was
uninfluenced by the dictates of expediency — in that high-
minded and far-seeing statesmanship, which looked forward
to stable measures of national policy — scorning that spirit of
subserviency which would have disqualified ;fhem, in their
own estimation, for claiming the suffrages or deserving the
approbation of an intelligent people.
We cannot, therefore, too often refer the political leaders
of our day to a contemplation of the character and example

31
of our Revolutionary fathers, who have left us the sacred
legacy of their fame. Contending for principle, they boldly
defied the power of the mother country, of whom it was
eloquently said, " that she had dotted over the map of the
earth with her possessions, whose morning drum-beat, fol
lowing the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circled
the earth in one continuous and consecutive strain of the
martial airs of England." They foresaw the "dangers and
the consequences, yet hesitated not to hazard the issue of
the contest for the hope of their reward. They jeoparded
or sacrificed all that they possessed for their country, and
they triumphed in that country's cause : and when the liberties
they had achieved were to be secured and perpetuated by
that palladium of our rights, a written Constitution, their
unceasing labors accomplished that glorious work ; and
when the government it founded was to be administered, and
its practical advantages illustrated, free from selfish aims, or
misguided ambition, they applied themselves with renewed
effort to establish its character and its credit. They thus
laid the sure foundation for individual and national prosperity ;
and they saw this Republic take its stand among the nations
of the earth, prosperous at home and respected .abroad.
The morning of a life thus devoted to the service of their
country, led to a meridian beaming on the accomplishment
of their proudest hopes ; and they reaped the only reward
which their disinterested patriotism asked for, or expected,
the assurance of their country's happiness, and a well*founded
reliance on the duration of its liberties.
A life thus spent might well look forward to a calm re
pose. Their work was done, and, as their advancing days
gave notice of their approaching hour, there was vouchsafed
to them that unclouded sunset, which, lingering in the distant
horizon of their hopes, and beaming, with tranquillizing lustre,

32
on the verge of sight, as if to indicate another and a brighter
dawn, sheds its mild influence on the waning hours of life,
and gilds, with calm serenity, the evening of its days.
Their race is run, and their descendants enjoy the fruit of
their labors and sacrifices, their talents and their fame. Our
task is comparatively easy. It was theirs to build up and
establish wh'at we have only to maintain and secure.
Let us then preserve our Constitution, in all its integrity, as
the ark of our political safety. Let us guard our fair fame
and our national character as our ..most sacred inheritance ;
and we may then leave, with confidence, in the hands of an
over-ruling Providence, the future destinies of our Native
Land.
Jamaica Lyceum,
25th April, 1843.

1. P. Whioht, Printer, 122 Fulton-street, N. V.

I

'