But even as Everett
was speaking, the aged author of the Declaration breathed his
last at Monticello, and in the afternoon of that same day Adams
died also, murmuring, it is said, with his latest breath, and as
if with the whimsical obstinacy of an old man who hated to be
beaten by his ancient rival, "Thomas Jefferson still lives." But
Jefferson was already gone.
On the first of August, Everett commemorated the career of the
two Revolutionary leaders, and on the following day a greater
than Everett, Daniel Webster, pronounced the famous eulogy in
Faneuil Hall. Never were the thoughts and emotions of a whole
country more adequately voiced than in this commemorative
oratory. Its pulse was high with national pride over the
accomplishments of half a century. "I ask," Everett declared,
"whether more has not been done to extend the domain of
civilization, in fifty years, since the Declaration of
Independence, than would have been done in five centuries of
continued colonial subjection?" Webster asserted in his
peroration: "It cannot be denied, but by those who would dispute
against the sun, that with America, and in America, a new era
commences in human affairs.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112