Chapter XXIV: Part I: John Adams (20)

During his numerous voyages Capt. Whipple had treasured up a large fund of useful knowledge. He was a close observer of men and things--an analyzing reader and mingled with the best and most intelligent men when in port. In England he had listened to the unwarranted pretensions of ministers--in America--to the increasing complaints of the Colonists. He was familiar with the chartered rights of his own country and with the tyranny of the infatuated step-mother. He was prepared for action and took a bold stand in favor of freedom. He took a conspicuous part in public meetings and became one of the Committee of Safety. He rose rapidly in public esteem--the former cabin boy became a leading patriot.

In January 1775 he represented Portsmouth in the Provincial Congress at Exeter convened for the purpose of choosing delegates to the Continental Congress. On the 6th of the next January he was made a member of the Provincial Council of New Hampshire. On the 23d of the same month he was elected a member of Congress then in session at Philadelphia and continued actively and usefully engaged in that important station until the middle of September 1779. He was present at the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and affixed his name to that bold instrument with the same fearless nonchalance as if signing a bill of lading. He was emphatically a working man and rendered himself extremely useful on committees. As a member of marine and commercial boards, his practical knowledge gave him an advantage over his colleagues. He was one of the superintendents of the commissary and quarter masters' department and did much towards correcting abuses and checking peculation. He was untiring in industry, ardent in zeal, philosophic in views, pure in purposes and strong in patriotism. When he retired from Congress to serve his country in a more perilous sphere, he had the esteem and approbation of his co-workers in the glorious cause of LIBERTY.

In 1777 he became Brigadier General Whipple and took command of the first brigade of the Provincial troops of New Hampshire acting in concert with Gen. Stark who commanded the other. Gen. Burgoyne was on the flood tide of military glory--rushing down upon the north like a herd of wild buffaloes over a prairie--spreading consternation far and wide. He was first checked in his triumphant career by Gen. Stark at Bennington, Vermont. Gen. Whipple joined Gen. Gates about the same time and was in the bloody battles of Saratoga and Stillwater where the palm of victory was measurably attributed to the troops under his command. To the consummation of the brilliant victory over the British army Gen. Whipple contributed largely. Col. Wilkinson and himself were the officers who arranged and signed the articles of capitulation between the two commanders. He was one of the officers who conducted the conquered foe to Winter Hill near Boston. His faithful negro participated in all the perils of his old _massa_ and could not have been more elated with the victory had he been the commanding general.

In 1778 Gen. Whipple was with Gen. Sullivan at the siege of New Port which was abandoned for want of the aid of Count D'Estaing whose fleet was injured by a gale. A safe retreat was effected in the night. In 1780 Gen. Whipple was appointed a Commissioner of the Board of Admiralty which he declined, preferring to serve in the legislature of his own state in which he continued for years. In 1782 he was appointed Financial Receiver for New Hampshire by Robert Morris. The office was arduous, unpopular and irksome but in his hands lost much of its odiousness. At the end of two years he resigned. On the 20th of June 1782 he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court. On the 25th Dec. 1784 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace and Quorum throughout the state which latter office he held to the day of his death. He was one of the commissioners on the part of Connecticut to settle the controversy between that state and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relative to lands in Wyoming valley. In all the multiform duties that devolved upon him in the various public stations he filled he acquitted himself nobly. He possessed a strong analyzing mind, deep penetration of thought, a clear head and good heart.

During the latter part of his life he suffered much from disease in his chest which terminated his useful career on the 28th of Nov. 1785. At his request before death, his body underwent a _post mortum_ examination. His heart was found ossified. The valves were united to the aorta and an aperture not larger than a common knitting needle was all that remained for the passage of the blood. This explained the reason of his faintness under sudden emotion.

In all the relations of private and public life--from the cabin boy up to the lofty pinnacle of a well earned fame, Gen. Whipple was a model of consistency and virtue. He left a reputation pure as the virgin sheet. His career demonstrated clearly that in our country fame is confined to no grade in life and that practical knowledge, crowned with strong common sense, enables a man to be substantially useful to his country and fellow men. Citizens of America of only a common education--you can and should be useful. Look at this bright example and govern yourselves accordingly.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS.

Infidelity, in all its multiform aspects, is a legitimate child of inconsistency. The man who has impartially read the Bible--who understands physiology, the philosophy of mind--the minutiae of anatomy, the unerring laws of nature, the powers of reason--the revolving circuit of his own immortal soul and denies the existence of Him who spake and it was done--who commanded and it stood fast--disrobes himself of the noblest power bestowed by creative Wisdom and forfeits the high dignity of a man. All things, from the leaf that vibrates in the gentle breeze to the etherial sky spangled with stars, proclaim the existence of a God. Most assuredly there is a Supreme Being who rules, with unerring wisdom, in the kingdoms of Nature, Providence and Grace. Beyond all cavil this position is most conducive to the happiness of the human family in this life. The superstructure of the Infidel is clustered with present misery. If its foundation should prove sandy he curses himself in this world to be more wretched in the next. Aside from the question of its divinity--Religion is the substratum of social order and human felicity. Infidelity is the destruction of both. History is crowded with demonstrations of this position. Banish the Bible and religion from our Republic--remove this firm foundation upon which the Sages of the Revolution based it--anarchy would ensue and we should rush into the same vortex of ruin which engulphed the French Republic.

By many of our Revolutionary patriots religion was exemplified--by all it was venerated. Among those of them who enjoyed its full fruition through life was William Williams born at Lebanon, Windham County, Connecticut, on the 8th of April 1731. He was the son of Rev. Solomon Williams whose paternal ancestor came from Wales in 1630. Solomon was pastor of the Congregational church at Lebanon for fifty-six years. He was a man of consistent and uniform piety--of liberal and expansive views and believed religion to be the foundation of rational liberty. His own soul enraptured with the substantial joys of practical piety--he strongly desired his children might inherit the same blessing. His prayers were answered. Of a large family of sons and daughters--all consecrated themselves to the Lord of glory and became exemplary members of the church over which their father presided.

After completing his preparatory studies William entered Harvard College and graduated in 1751. He sustained a high reputation for correct deportment untiring industry and scholastic lore. His father then directed his theological course preparatory for the sacred desk. But his talents were too diversified for a clerical life. He had a taste for classics, architecture, mechanics, mathematics and general science.

He was also inclined to travel. In 1755 he accepted a commission in the staff of Col. Ephraim Williams a kinsman of his and founder of Williams College at Williamstown, Mass. Sir William Johnson, who commanded the English troops, detached Col. Williams with 1100 men to reconnoitre the army of Baron Dieskau composed of a large force of French and Indians. After proceeding some four miles the detachment was attacked by a superior force lying in ambush. Col. Williams fell in the early part of the engagement bravely fighting for the mother country. His troops then retreated in good order until the main body came up and repulsed the enemy.

The French war cost the Americans much blood and treasure. It was a matter of allegiance--not of interest. The Canadas were won by the Colonies for Great Britain. The pilgrim fathers were long treated and used as vassals of the English crown. Blended with the unparalleled cruelties of the hired minions of the mother country was damning ingratitude--the concentrated essential oil of Pandora that drives back the rushing blood upon the aching heart.

During the campaign Mr. Williams became disgusted with the hauteur of the British officers towards native Americans who were by far the most efficient troops against the Indians and French, whose mode of warfare they better understood. Released from the army, he resolved never again to submit to such indignities. He returned home and commenced the mercantile business. Soon after, he was elected town clerk, a member of the assembly and appointed a justice of the peace. These were unsought favors--purely a tribute to merit. For a long time he was either speaker or clerk of the House of Representatives in which he served nearly one hundred sessions. For fifty years he faithfully served in a public capacity.

When the Revolutionary storm began to darken the horizon of public tranquillity he boldly met its raging fury. Extensively and favorably known--his salutary influence had a wide range. When the tocsin of war was sounded he closed his commercial concerns and devoted his whole time to the glorious cause of equal rights and rational Liberty. His learning, piety, honesty of purpose, energy of action and large experience--combined to give great weight to his character. He was an active member of the council of safety and on the second Thursday of October 1775, was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress. He entered zealously into the deliberations of that revered body and made himself truly useful. He was ever ready to go as far as any one to obtain the liberation of his suffering country from the serpentine coils of tyranny. He was in favor of bold and vigorous measures and advocated the Declaration of Rights from its incipient conception to its final adoption. He was greatly instrumental in dispelling the doubts of many whose motives and desires were as pure but whose moral courage was less than his. He was well versed in the different forms of government, international law and the routine of legislation. When he spoke in public he was listened to with profound attention. He was a member of Congress in 1776-7 and when the final vote was taken upon the Magna Charta of our Liberty William Williams responded a thundering--AYE--that told his boldness and his zeal. That vote stands confirmed by his signature--a proud memento of his unalloyed patriotism--a conclusive proof of his moral firmness.

He was free from that aspiring ambition that is based on self and nurtured by intrigue. His motives emanated from the pure fountain of an honest heart. To promote the glory of his country was the ultimatum of his earthly desires. Upon the altar of Liberty he was willing to sacrifice his property and life. To vindicate the cause of Freedom he was willing to spend his latest breath. He used every honorable exertion to rouse his fellow citizens to a sense of danger and induce them to enlist in the common cause against the common enemy. At the time Congress was compelled to flee from Philadelphia he risked his life to rescue Colonel Dyer from the fangs of the British who had planned his arrest. They both made a hair-breadth escape. When the government treasury was drained of its last dollar, Mr. Williams threw in what he termed a mite of hard money, being over two thousand dollars for which he took continental money only to die in his hands. How emphatically things are changed. Now the public treasury distributes mint drops profusely upon many whose pretended services are as worthless as continental rags--in some instances absolutely injurious.

He was remarkably active and fortunate in obtaining private donations and necessaries for the army. He went from house to house, receiving small parcels of any and every article that would alleviate the wants of the destitute soldiers. At different times he forwarded to them more than a thousand blankets. During the winter of 1781 he gave up his own house for the accommodation of the officers of the legion of Col. Laurens and did all in his power to render officers and soldiers comfortable. His industry was equal to his patriotism seldom retiring until after twelve and up again by the dawn of day.

Mr. Williams was a member of the convention of his state when the Federal Constitution was adopted and gave it his hearty sanction. He was never permitted to retire from the public arena until prostrated by disease which terminated his useful career on the 2d of August 1811. He had lived the life of a good man--his end was peaceful, calm and happy.

He was a fine figure of the middle size, dark complexion and hair, piercing black eyes, an aquiline nose, an open and ingenuous countenance, a stentorian voice and strong physical powers. He was blessed with a clear head, a noble heart, a sound judgment, an acute perception and a logical mind. Not a blot could be found upon the fair fame of his public or private character. During the latter part of his life he was troubled with an increasing deafness and spent much of his time in Christian devotion. But few men have served their country as much and no one more faithfully than did WILLIAM WILLIAMS.

JAMES WILSON.

The history of party spirit is red with blood. Its career has been marked with desolation and ruin. It often rides on the whirlwind of faction or on the more dreadful tornado of fanaticism. It has blotted kingdoms and empires from existence, consumed nations, blighted the fairest portions of creation and sacrificed millions upon its sanguinary altar. Confined to no time or place--it has taken deep root in our own country. Its poison has contaminated our political and religious atmosphere most fearfully. It has had its victims of blood in this land of republican and Christian professions. Its miasma has reached our ballot boxes, violated the peaceful fireside, traduced private character, invaded patriotism, induced perjury, countenanced forgery, corrupted our elective franchise and produced mobocracy in its most direful aspect. Great and good men have been victimized by reckless partisans who stop at nothing and stoop to everything to accomplish their purposes--right or wrong. They look at the end regardless of means.

In recurring to the eventful period of the American Revolution those who are not familiar with the history of the local politics of that day may naturally conclude that party spirit found no place in the bosoms of those who were engaged in a common cause against a common enemy. Far different was the fact. Many of the best men of that trying period were scourged, lacerated and for a time paralyzed by reckless party spirit.

Among its victims was James Wilson, born of respectable parents near St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1742. His father was a farmer in moderate circumstances which he moderated still more by rushing into the whirlpool of speculation--an unfortunate propensity that adhered to this son. He graduated at St. Andrews, Edinburgh. This done he took lessons in rhetoric under Dr. Blair and in logic under Dr. Watts. He then came to Philadelphia and obtained the situation of usher in the college of that city. His moral worth, strong talents and high literary attainments gained for him the esteem and marked respect of Dr. Richard Peters, Bishop White and many others whose friendship and influence were most desirable. Those who knew him best admired him most.

He subsequently studied law under John Dickinson and settled at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he rose rapidly to the head of the Bar. A powerful exhibition of Ciceronian eloquence and legal acumen at the trial of an important land case between the Proprietaries and Samuel Wallace gained for him an early professional celebrity. The Attorney General, Mr. Chew, fixed his eyes upon him soon after he commenced his argument and gazed at him with admiring astonishment until he closed his lucid speech. He was immediately retained in another important land cause and was considered equal to any member of the Pennsylvania Bar. He removed ultimately to Annapolis, Maryland and at the end of a year to Philadelphia where he was liberally patronised but rushing occasionally into the whirlpool of speculation his circumstances were uniformly embarrassed. As an evidence of his goodness of heart, amidst the most keen reverses he remitted money regularly to his poor widowed mother in Scotland to the day of her death using every means in his power to smooth her path to the tomb.

With the intolerant commencement of British oppression the political career of Mr. Wilson began. He boldly spoke and ably wrote in favor of equal rights and liberal principles. He was an early and zealous advocate of the American cause. Of a consistent and reflecting mind he sometimes censured the rashness of others which brought upon him malicious slanders which enabled his enemies several times to envelope him so completely in the dark fog of party spirit as to partially paralyze his exertions until the sun of truth would rise and dispel the vapors of calumny.

He was a member of the Provincial Convention of 1774, convened for the purpose of devising plans for the redress of grievances imposed by England. During the session he was nominated to the Congress soon to meet. He was bitterly opposed by Mr. Galloway but was elected by a handsome majority. He was continued a member of Congress until 1777 when his enemies succeeded in their long nursed machinations against him. At the commencement of hostilities he was commissioned colonel and appointed a commissioner to treat with the Indians. On the 4th of July 1776 he proved his sincerity in the cause of Liberty by a fearless vote and a bold signature in favor of the Declaration of Independence. In the minds of all who were not blinded by party spirit his action on that day refuted the base slanders that had been promulged against him. At the shrine of this dread monster the brightest subjects of purity have often been sacrificed. No goodness of heart--no brilliancy of talent--no exalted worth--no sanctity of character can shield a public man from the base assaults of party spirit--be he benefactor, philanthropist, saint, sage or hero. Even Washington writhed under the ostracism of this withering scourge. Some men are born _demi-gogs_ and live under the influence of Gog and Magog during their deleterious existence.

Mr. Wilson was an esteemed and active member of the Continental Congress. Born a Scot he would not have exemplified the marked trait of his nation had he not been cool and cautious in everything. He, with many others, opposed the immediate adoption of the Declaration of Independence--not because they doubted its justice but because they believed the Colonies were not in a physical condition to sustain it. His patriotism and republicanism both stood forth in bold _relievo_ when the question was finally put. He venerated the instrument and was bound by principle to submit to the will of the majority in what he believed to be clearly right although he believed it premature. His opposition was based upon the single fact of the physical weakness of the Colonies clearly expressed, yet his partisan enemies branded him with a want of patriotism. The people were not long deceived and esteemed him the more for his candor.

In 1782 he was again elected to Congress and was hailed as one of its most efficient members. The same year he was appointed one of the counsellors and agents of Pennsylvania to meet the commissioners who convened at Trenton, New Jersey, for the final settlement of the protracted controversy between Connecticut and that commonwealth relative to certain lands in the Wyoming Valley. The luminous and unanswerable arguments of Mr. Wilson had a controlling influence over the commissioners who decided in favor of Pennsylvania and closed an unpleasant litigation of years.

During the _interim_ when he was not in Congress he held the office of advocate-general for the French which led him to a close investigation of national and maritime law. For this service the French king gave him 10,000 livres. He was at the same time a director in the Bank of North America and had the full confidence of Robert Morris as a safe and able financial adviser. As an active and discreet member of important committees he stood in the front rank. He traced the lines of every subject with the compass of wisdom and closed its bearings and measurement with mathematical precision. He arrived at the desired goal with less show but with more certainty than some whose zeal was more impetuous but not more pure than his. He sought more to bestow lasting benefits on his country than to elicit the huzzas of the multitude. He well knew that effervescent popularity was not an index of that substantial usefulness which lives long after that transient vapor consigns its ephemeral subjects to the mellow repose of peaceful oblivion. Balloon politicians may become inflated by the hydrogen of party spirit and rise in the political atmosphere followed by the eyes and elated by the shouts of thousands. A single spark of fire from the furnace that created the gas will show most of them to be treacherous and unsafe gasometers. Modest worth avoids ethereal excursions. It stands like a rock of granite on the _terra firma_ of deep thought, calm reflection and sound discretion. Nothing but a sense of imperious duty can induce the very men who should be there to enter the whirling vortex and thorny arena of politics. How many such men are now in public stations guarding the rights and directing the proper destiny of our nation is a subject worthy of careful and anxious inquiry. If the people in mass are not true to themselves demagogues will not be true to them.

Mr. Wilson was one of the most useful members of the Convention that formed the Federal Constitution. He strongly opposed the popular project of the appointment of members of Congress by the legislatures of the States and was mainly instrumental in placing their election in the hands of the people. This principle should have been applied to every office named in that instrument not subject to the control and supervision of the President and Senate. Mr. Wilson was one of the committee that put the Constitution in form and reported it to the Convention. When completed by amendments and presented to his own State he was its most powerful advocate and bore down upon the opposition with a sweeping torrent of eloquence and logic that was irresistible. He was also a member of the Convention of Pennsylvania to amend its Constitution, in which he took a decided stand in favor of placing the elective franchise in the hands of the people. The last vestige of aristocracy trembled before him and the last whisper of slander against the purity of his republicanism died upon the lips of echo. The boldest features of liberal principles in the old revised Constitution of that State were penned by James Wilson. Had his views been fully incorporated in that instrument I presume a second revision would not have been made.

When the Supreme Court of the United States was organized Washington selected Mr. Wilson for one of its judges. This high office he filled with great ability up to the time of his death. In 1790 he was appointed the first professor of the Law College in Philadelphia. When that and the University of Pennsylvania were united he filled the chair. As a learned and eloquent lawyer he had no superior at the Philadelphia bar. He was honored with the degree of LL.D. and during the first year of his professorship delivered an admirable course of lectures to the law students. Like most of the Scotch literati, towards them he was distant and reserved. His writings were vigorous and logical. In 1774 he wrote a spirited essay on the assumptions of the British Parliament not warranted by Magna Charta and portrayed the blessings arising from a republican form of government in such fascinating colors that it exercised a wide and salutary influence. To the uninitiated in party politics it may seem strange that any one accused James Wilson of aristocracy or a want of patriotism. A purer friend of his country or a more ardent advocate of the cause of freedom could not be found among the sages of '76. He passed through the ordeal of party persecution several times but truth-telling time forced his enemies to retrace their steps disgraced and shamed.

On the 28th of August 1798 this venerable sage, eminent lawyer, able statesman, profound jurist and impartial judge took a final leave of earth and closed his eyes in death. He died of strangury whilst absent on his circuit. Fortunately he was with his friend Judge Iredell in Edenton North Carolina where his ashes repose in peace. During his last illness he realized the proverbial hospitality of the south and was cared for in the kindest manner.

The private character of Judge Wilson was beyond reproach. He was a warm friend, an affectionate husband, a faithful father, a consolation to the widow and the fatherless, an upright and honest man.

In reviewing the history of this worthy man no one can doubt his patriotism and purity. No room is left to question his devotion to the American cause and his firm opposition to British oppression. Influenced by noble motives, guided by liberal principles--it is painful to reflect that he was often wounded in the house of his professed friends by those who had sworn to support the same cause he so ardently and ably espoused. The solution of this paradoxical problem may be found in the present state of things without travelling back to that time of times when party spirit should have withdrawn its hydra head into its legitimate Pandora box. We have those among us who live under the protective mantle of the Federal Constitution and the laws based upon it, who denounce that Constitution and refuse obedience to statutes according with it unless those statutes advance their interests and chime with their revolutionary views. They are cancers on the body politic loathsome to the sight of every friend of our country--to every advocate of our UNION. It would promote our safety and their happiness to colonize them beyond fifty-four forty.

JOHN WITHERSPOON.

The man who makes the Bible his counsellor--the polar star of his actions, will not go far astray. Divine in its origin, the sublimity of its language caps the climax of composition. As a history of the grand epoch when God said--"Let there be light--and there was light"--it stands alone clothed in all the majesty of Divinity. As a chronicle of the creation of man after the moral image of Deity--of his ruinous fall--of the glorious plan of his redemption--it must remain unrivalled. As a chart of human nature--human rights and wrongs and of the attributes of the great Jehovah--in precision, fullness and force of description it far exceeds the boldest strokes, the finest touches of the master spirits of elocution in every age. As a system of morals and religion--the efforts of men to add to its transcendent beauty--its omnipotent strength--are as vain as an attempt to bind the wind or imprison the ocean. As a book of poetry and eloquence--it rises in grandeur above the proudest production of the most brilliant talents that have illuminated and enraptured the classic world. As a book of Revelation--it cast a flood of light upon the wilderness of mind that shed fresh lustre upon reason, science and philosophy. As a book of counsel--its wisdom is profound, boundless, infinite. It meets every case in time and is a golden chain reaching from earth to Heaven. It teaches our native dignity--the duties we owe to our God, families, parents, children and our fellow men. It teaches us how to live and how to die--arms the Christian in panoply complete--snatches from death its painful sting--from the grave its boasted victory and points the pious soul to its crowning glory--a blissful immortality beyond the skies. The man who is led by this sacred book to lean upon the Supreme Ruler of revolving worlds, has a sure support that earth cannot give or take away. When we can rightfully appeal to Heaven for aid in our undertakings, faith bids us onward and fear no danger.

A large portion of the most prominent patriots of the American Revolution were pious men. I am not aware of one who did not believe in an overruling Providence. Several of them were devoted ministers of the gospel. Among these was John Witherspoon, born in the parish of Yester near Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 5th of February 1722. He was a lineal descendant of John Knox the celebrated reformer. The father of John was minister of Yester parish and moulded the mind of this son in the ways of wisdom, virtue and science. At an early age he placed him in the Haddington school where the rare beauties of his young mind unfolded like the flowers of spring. He soared above the trifling allurements that too often lead childhood and youth astray. His studies were his chief delight. He exhibited a maturity of judgment, clearness of perception and depth of thought--seldom manifested in juvenile life. He entered the Edinburgh University at the age of fourteen and fully realized the anticipations of his friends in his educational advancement. Especially did he excel in theology. He passed the ordeal of his final examination at the age of twenty-one and was licensed to proclaim to his fellow men the glad tidings of the Gospel of Peace. He immediately became the assistant of his revered father--a favorite among their parishioners--an eloquent preacher of plain practical Christianity.

On the 17th of January 1746, he was a "looker on in Vienna" at the battle of Falkirk and with many others whose curiosity had led them to the scene of action, was seized by the victorious rebels and imprisoned in the castle of Doune. After his release he resided a few years at Beith, subsequently at Paisly--rendering himself very useful as an exemplary and faithful minister. During his residence at the latter place he received urgent calls from Dublin, Rotterdam and Dundee. He also had an invitation to fill the presidential chair of the College of New Jersey in America to which he had been elected on the 19th of November 1766. This was done at the suggestion of Richard Stockton. A general demurrer by his friends and a special demurrer by his relatives were entered against his acceptance. Ingenious arguments were used to sustain the pleas put in. The delights of his native home--the horrors of the western wilderness were placed before him in fearful contrast. A very wealthy bachelor relative offered to will him his large estate if he would remain. For a year he declined the proffered chair. During that time his lady caught "the missionary fever" and became anxious to embark for the new world--removing every obstacle with the ingenuity and perseverance peculiar to woman when bent upon the accomplishment of a noble object. On the 9th of December 1767 Mr. Stockton had the pleasure of communicating his acceptance to the trustees of the college which was most joyfully received.

Early in the ensuing August he arrived with his family and was inaugurated at Princeton on the 17th of that month. His literary fame had been spread through the Colonies and caused an immediate accession of students--a new impetus to the institution--a renovation of the empty treasury of the college. He introduced a thorough and harmonious system in all its departments and fully answered the most sanguine anticipations of his warmest friends.

His mode of instruction was calculated to expand the ideas of his students and launch them upon the sea of investigation. He expelled the dogmatical and bewildering clouds of metaphysical fatality and mystic physiology that rendered darkness visible in the old schools. He illuminated the minds of his students with the mellow rays of scientific truth based upon enlightened philosophy, sound reason, plain common sense and liberal principles. He taught them to explore the labyrinthian avenues of human nature--the vast circuit of their own immortal minds. He raised before them the curtain of the material, moral, physical and intellectual panorama--lucidly demonstrated their harmonious unity of action--perfected by the great Architect of this mighty machinery made for man. He pointed them to the duties they owed to themselves, their fellow men, their country and their God. He awakened in their souls the living energies of charity that assimilates man to Deity and prompts him to noble god-like action. He taught them how to live and be useful--how to throw off this mortal coil when the journey of life should end. His instructions were luminous and enriching--his precepts fertilizing as the dew of Hermon.

On the flood tide of a high literary and theological fame he floated peacefully along until the revolutionary storm drove him from the college and the pulpit of his church to a different sphere of action. Before coming to America he understood well the relations between the mother country and the colonies. He was master of civilian philosophy, international law, monarchical policy and the principles of rational freedom. The enrapturing beauties of Liberty and the hideous deformity of tyranny passed in review before his gigantic mind. In the designs of creative Wisdom he saw the equal rights of man and resolved to vindicate them. He at once took a bold stand in favor of his adopted country. With an eagle's flight he mounted the pinnacle of political fame--with a statesman's eye he surveyed the mighty work before him. The plan of political regeneration stood approved by Heaven--he determined to give his aid to the glorious cause. Most nobly did he discharge every duty assigned him.

From the commencement of revolutionary agitation he was a member of various committees and conventions formed for the purpose of seeking redress from the king--_peaceably_ if possible--_forcibly_ if necessary. He was a member of the Convention of New Jersey that framed the new Constitution in 1776. On the 20th of June the same year he was elected to the Continental Congress and most ably and eloquently advocated the Declaration of Independence to which he affixed his name, appealing to his God for approval--to the world for the justice of the cause he espoused. He was continued a member of Congress up to 1782 with the exception of one year and contributed largely in shedding lustre over its deliberations. With a mind and intelligence able to grasp, comprehend and expound the whole minutiae of government and legislation, he combined a patriotic zeal and holy devotion for his country--unsurpassed by any of his colleagues. His labors were incessant, his industry untiring, his perseverance unyielding--his patriotism as clear as the crystal fountain--pure as the pellucid stream.

During the time he served in the legislative halls he did not neglect the higher honors of the vineyard of his Lord and Master. He was often at the family altar, in the closet and the pulpit. He was one of the most able, eloquent and profound preachers of that eventful period. He was one of the brightest ornaments of the religion of the Cross--one of the strongest advocates in the cause of LIBERTY. As a speaker he was listened to with deep interest--as a systematic and logical debater he had few equals. His arguments were _a posteriori_, _a priori_ and _a fortiori_--leading the mind from effect to cause, from cause to effect and deducing the stronger reason. His corollaries were often of the most thrilling character. He sometimes resorted to syllogism with great effect. His speeches would be a syllabus to many of modern times upon the same subjects. His memory was remarkably retentive, his perceptions clear, his judgment acute.

He was a member of the secret committee of Congress the duties of which were delicate and arduous. He was a member of the committee to co-operate with Gen. Washington in replenishing and regulating the army--of the committee of finance and upon several other working committees. The eloquent appeals to the people from Congress, recommending days for fasting and prayer were from his nervous pen. The burning and melting manifesto, protesting against the inhuman treatment of the American prisoners confined on board the filthy prison-ships at New York, was supposed to emanate from him.

Dr. Witherspoon was prophetic in his mode of reasoning when pointing out the results of propositions laid before Congress and opposed all those he believed would terminate unfavorably. He strongly remonstrated against the issue of continental money. His predictions of sudden depreciation were too fully realized. It took a rapid downward course and soon reached the ruinous discount of one hundred and fifty dollars of paper for one of silver and then took a fatal leap and plunged into the abysm of worthlessness. So deeply did he probe every subject that he investigated, that his powers of penetration became proverbial. Most of the measures he proposed when he entered the legislative arena that were adopted proved successful and those he opposed and were adopted uniformly proved disastrous.

In the halls of classic literature, the ecclesiastic courts or on the floor of Congress, he was a shining light to those around him. His literary, theological and political writings were numerous, of a high order and are justly celebrated here and in Europe. They exhibit a pleasing and rich variety of thought--a strong and chaste imagination--a luminous and flowing fancy--a keen and sarcastic wit--a brilliant and fascinating style--broad and liberal views--philosophic and logical propositions--clear and convincing conclusions--all mellowed with the rich freshness of living charity and universal philanthropy.

In 1779 he resigned his seat in Congress in consequence of ill health. His son-in-law, Rev. Dr. Smith was Vice President of the college and relieved him from the most arduous duties of President. The next year he was again elected to Congress and resigned finally in 1782. The trustees of the college then persuaded him to embark for Europe for the purpose of raising funds for the institution. As he predicted before he left, his efforts were unsuccessful. He returned in 1784 and retired to his country seat a mile from Princeton, there to enjoy the blessings of peace and the golden fruits that had been richly earned by years of peril and toil. Surrounded by relatives and friends, enjoying the praise and gratitude of a nation of freemen--his name immortalized as a scholar, divine, civilian, statesman and patriot--he sat down under the bright canopy of a clear conscience--an approving Heaven--anticipating a crown of unfading glory beyond the skies.

In this manner he glided down the stream of time peaceful and happy until the 15th of November 1794, when he fell asleep in the arms of his Lord and Master, calm as a summer morning, serene as a cerulean sky--welcoming the messenger of death with a seraphic smile. He was buried at Princeton.

A review of the life of this great and good man affords an instructive lesson for every considerate reader. He was endowed with all the qualities calculated to ennoble and dignify man and assimilate him to his Creator. His superior virtues and endowments eclipsed his frailties and placed him on a lofty eminence beyond the reach of envy, malice or slander. His fame is clustered with refulgent beauty that will spread a lustre over his name that will brighten and shine until the death knell of LIBERTY shall be sounded and social order rush back to original anarchy.

In all the relations of public and private life, Dr. Witherspoon stood approved, admired, revered. Let all strive to imitate his examples that our lives may be useful in time--our final exit tranquil and happy--ever remembering that virtue is the crowning glory of talent.

OLIVER WOLCOTT.

The unrestrained oppressions of imperial and kingly power, long exercised with impunity, have been receding before the light of intelligence with an ominous but rather unsteady pace for the last few centuries. As the genial rays of Liberty illuminate the crowding millions of the human family the tenure of thrones will become more slender--monarchies more limited if not annihilated. In Europe kingly power has been vibrating for years in the cradle of a political earthquake. The love of freedom has never been extinguished in the old world. The same motive power that prompted the pilgrims to court the dangers and privations of this western hemisphere, still pervades the bosoms of those held in bondage by military force. Volcanic eruptions occasionally occur--new craters open--the time is rolling on rapidly when these craters will rush together and deluge kingly and imperial power with one broad sheet of liquid fire. In thunder tones of retribution the people will proclaim their FREEDOM.

When our ancestors planted themselves on the granite shores of America they had clear conception of a republican form of government as organized by Greece and Rome. Many of them had read the thrilling history of the rise, progress and fall of those republics in the original languages where none of the beauties or force are lost by translation. They were prepared to improve upon those governments by avoiding their errors and preserving all that was valuable. With these lights the pilgrim fathers appear to have been illuminated when rearing the incipient superstructure of a more pure republic than any before known. At first, articles of association were entered into by the people of a single or contiguous settlements, based upon the broad platform of equal rights and universal Liberty circumscribed only by eternal justice and sterling honesty. Among the earliest of these miniature republics was that consolidating Windsor, Hartford and Weathersfield in Connecticut. The articles of association adopted by this infant Colony were penned by Roger Ludlow. The revised constitution of that state is either substantially copied from the instrument drawn by Ludlow or the ideas of republicans must run in a channel that has no change.

Among those who directed the destiny of the pioneers of the new world the name of Wolcott stands conspicuous. Henry Wolcott, the patriarch ancestor, removed from England to Dorchester, Mass. in 1630. In 1636 he founded the town of Windsor, Connecticut. During the perils of the Indian wars--the difficulties with the Canadian French and through all the various vicissitudes that have pervaded New England down to the present time, the descendants of Henry Wolcott have acted a conspicuous part. They were ready to go where duty called--to the field or legislative hall.

Oliver Wolcott, the subject of this brief sketch, was the son of Roger Wolcott who was appointed Governor of Connecticut in 1751. This son was born on the 26th of November 1726 and graduated at Yale College in 1747. The same year he was commissioned to raise and command a company which he marched to the defence of the northern frontiers where he remained until the peace of Aix la Chapelle. He then returned and applied himself to the study of medicine until he was appointed the first sheriff of Litchfield County formed in 1751. In 1755 he married Laura Collins a discreet woman of great merit. In 1774 he was appointed counsellor which station he filled for twelve consecutive years. He was also chief judge of the Common Pleas Court and for a long time a judge of the Probate Court. In the military field he rose from the grade of captain to that of major-general. In the summer of 1776 he commanded the fourteen regiments raised by Gov. Trumbull to act with the army in New York. He headed his division at the memorable battle that resulted in the capture of Burgoyne and revived the drooping spirits of those who were engaged in the glorious cause of equal rights. He was uniformly consulted on important military movements and listened to with great confidence. From its commencement he was a zealous and efficient advocate of the cause of freedom and stood firm amidst the revolutionary storm undaunted by the roaring of the British lion.

In 1775 Congress made him commissioner of Indian affairs for the Northern Department then an important trust. During the same year he effected much towards reconciling disputes between Colonies relative to their boundaries. Amiable and persuasive in his manners--imbued with a clear sense of justice, he was an admirable mediator. He merited the blessing pronounced on peace-makers.

In 1776 he took his seat in Congress and remained until he affixed his signature to that Declaration of Rights which burst the chains of material bondage--gave birth to our nation in a day--astonished gazing millions--shook the British throne to its centre and gave us a Republic that surpasses all Greek--all Roman fame.

He then returned to the field and on all occasions proved a brave, skilful and prudent officer. When he deemed his services more useful in Congress than in the army he would take his seat in that body, which he did at intervals up to 1783. In 1785 he was associated with Arthur Lee and Richard Butler to conclude a treaty of peace with the Six Nations of Indians. The year following he was elected lieutenant-governor and performed the duties of that office with great ability and dignity up to the time of his death which occurred on the 1st day of December 1797. He died regretted by the nation at large, but most by those who knew him best.

His numerous public services were highly appreciated. They were promptly and judiciously performed without any parade, pomp or vain show. His private character was adorned by all the richness of purity--purpose and action, that render a man an ornament among the virtuous. He possessed all the sterling virtues--was a devout and consistent Christian--a useful and honest man. In the hands of such men our government is secure--our UNION safe.

GEORGE WYTHE.

To be born rich is oftener a misfortune than a blessing. Action is designed by the great Creator--noble and god-like action. Riches are prone to produce inertness. With the young, who are left to the bent of their own inclinations either by the erroneous indulgence of parents or for the want of parents or an efficient and kind guardian, an abundance of riches often proves their ruin. A thousand emissaries are abroad to lead them into the purlieus of vice and hurry on their sure destruction. Money attracts attention in all circles. Although the love of it is the root of all evil--still it commands undue attention. Thousands live who will not earn, but must have it. These sharks are ever on the lookout for young men of fortune and too often succeed in plucking every feather from their newly fledged wings. The poor young man is in less danger. He has no attractions for fashionable blacklegs--the vilest things that creep on earth. Necessity impels him to action. He labors industriously--studies economy--saves his earnings and eventually becomes rich. Many of the most wealthy men of our country commenced without a dollar. Few who are left large fortunes retain them and but few who have lost them in profligacy have moral courage to break the letters of vice, spurn the demons who have robbed them, return to the paths of rectitude, redeem a lost fortune--a shattered reputation and again stand up like men. We wonder and admire to behold such instances--rare to be sure--but they have occurred.

This was fully exemplified by George Wythe born in Elizabeth City, Virginia, in 1728. His father was a wealthy planter--his mother a woman of unusual talents, learning and worth. To her this son was indebted for his education and early impressions of the correct and noble principles that actuated him after he assumed the dignity of a man. From her he acquired the Greek and Latin languages and general science. Unfortunately for him both his parents were snatched away by death nearly at the same time, leaving him a buoyant youth without a hand to guide or a voice to warn him against the allurements of vain pleasure or the seductions of ruinous vice.

His father left him a fortune which was sufficient to have made a prudent man in easy circumstances for life. Like too many _only_ sons, he had been put to no business. He was a stranger to labor and had no inclination to make its acquaintance. He was soon led away by idle company, became dissipated and pursued the road to ruin until he was thirty years of age, neglecting study and business and spending all his substance.

Like the prodigal he then came to himself--returned to the paths of virtue, studied the profession of law, was admitted to the Bar and became one of its brightest ornaments. During the remainder of his life he walked in the ways of wisdom most scrupulously and proved to his friends and the world that a young man may be led astray by the prowling wolves of vice--be torn and lacerated by the demon robbers that are permitted to prey upon the community by the official guardians of our cities and towns and yet recover from his wounds, redeem his character and become a virtuous and useful member of society. God grant that this example may influence thousands to go and do likewise.

No man ever dignified his profession more than Mr. Wythe. He was rigidly honest and would not proceed in a cause until convinced justice required his services. If drawn into a cause by misrepresentation that was tinctured with wrong, he would abandon it the moment he discovered that fact and return the fee. His virtuous habits, extreme fidelity, legal acquirements and untiring industry, gained for him the esteem and confidence of his friends and the people at large. He was a member of the House of Burgesses for a long time and under the new government was appointed Chancellor of the State, which office he filled with great ability to the time of his death. He was highly esteemed as a legislator for integrity, talent and independence. In politics he was guided by his own matured judgment irrespective of party. On the 14th of November 1764 he was appointed on a committee to prepare a petition to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords and a remonstrance to the House of Commons on the impropriety and injustice of the proposed Stamp Act.

The remonstrance was from the able pen of Mr. Wythe and was drawn in language so bold and strong that it alarmed many of his colleagues and underwent a modification to divest it of what they deemed a tincture of treason. He understood and properly appreciated the true dignity of man and did not live to quail at the tyranny of a haughty monarch or corrupt ministry. He was a prominent member of the House of Burgesses in 1768, when Virginia blood and Virginia patriotism were roused and passed the memorable resolutions asserting their exclusive right to levy their own taxes--accused ministers and Parliament of violating the British Constitution and denied the right of the crown to transport and try persons in England for crimes committed in America. In passing these resolutions parliamentary rules were dispensed with, the members anticipating the proroguing power of the governor, who, on learning their tenor, immediately dissolved the House. He was half an hour too late--they had passed their final reading--were entered upon the records and beyond his power to veto or expunge. This action of the governor was unfavorable to the interests of the crown--the people took the helm as they should do now and returned all the old patriotic members to the next session with several new ones of the "same sort."

Among the new members was Thomas Jefferson who had been a law student under Mr. Wythe--was charged with the same _rebel_ principles and was a bold and fearless champion of Liberty and equal rights. The atmosphere was becoming rather too highly charged with patriotic fire to be comfortably inhaled by the governor and the bipeds of the crown. It was rather too caloric for the free respiration of monarchical lungs. The people, awakened to their true position--saw the path of duty and pursued it. With an enlightened mass there is safety.

From that time Mr. Wythe continued to oppose parliamentary and ministerial oppression and boldly vindicated the rights of his injured country. At the commencement of the revolutionary movements he joined a volunteer corps, determined to vindicate in the field the principles he had advocated in the legislative hall. He lived up to the motto--"we do what we say."