Hence It Is That
Such Men As Mr. Seward In The Cabinet, And Mr. Everett Out Of It,
Can Reconcile It To Themselves To Speak As They Have Done Of
England.
It was but the other day that Mr. Everett spoke, in one
of his orations, of the hope that still existed that the flag of
the United States might still float over the whole continent of
North America.
What would he say of an English statesman who
should speak of putting up the Union Jack on the State House in
Boston? Such words tell for the moment on the hearers, and help to
gain some slight popularity; but they tell for more than a moment
on those who read them and remember them.
And then came the capture of Messrs. Slidell and Mason. I was at
Boston when those men were taken out of the "Trent" by the "San
Jacinto," and brought to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. Captain
Wilkes was the officer who had made the capture, and he immediately
was recognized as a hero. He was invited to banquets and feted.
Speeches were made to him as speeches are commonly made to high
officers who come home, after many perils, victorious from the
wars. His health was drunk with great applause, and thanks were
voted to him by one of the Houses of Congress. It was said that a
sword was to be given to him, but I do not think that the gift was
consummated. Should it not have been a policeman's truncheon?
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 422 of 538
Words from 112233 to 112489
of 143277
