Part 31

_Mrs. Partington._--Benjamin P. Shillaber (1814-1890) was influenced by Sheridan even more strongly than was Saxe by the elder Hood. Mrs. Partington is America’s Mrs. Malaprop. Her misuse of the English language Shillaber recorded in three books bearing the several titles, “Life and Sayings of Mrs. Partington” (1854), “Partingtonian Patchwork” (1873), and “Ike and his Friend” (1879). Mrs. Partington’s likeness to her English predecessor, or, as she would undoubtedly have said, her “predecessoress,” may be seen in her chance remark: “I am not so young as I was once, and I don’t believe I shall ever be, if I live to the age of Samson, which, heaven knows as well as I do, I don’t want to, for I wouldn’t be a centurion or an octagon and survive my factories and become idiomatic by any means. But then there is no knowing how a thing will turn out till it takes place, and we shall come to an end some day, though we may never live to see it.”

_Artemus Ward._--Charles F. Brown (1834-1867), the third of the humourists writing about the middle of the last century, was born in Waterford, Maine, and lived in various parts of the United States as his newspaper work called him first to one town and then to another. He made extensive lecture trips, and finally went in 1866 to England, where he died in March of the following year. He had the distinction of being the first American contributor to _Punch_. He published during his lifetime a number of books, among which were “Artemus Ward: His Book” (1865), “Artemus Ward: His Book of Goaks” (1865), and “Artemus Ward in London” (1867). Undoubtedly his best single work was a lecture giving an account of his visit to the Mormons. Learning from Brigham Young that he was married to eighty wives and sealed to as many more, Artemus remarked that the prophet was “the most marriedest man” he ever saw. Ward then went on to say: “In a privit conversashun with Brigham I learnt the follerin’ fax: It takes him six weeks to kiss his wives. He don’t do it only onct a year and sez it’s wuss nor cleanin’ house. He don’t pretend to know his children, there is so many of ’em, tho they all know him. He sez about every child he meats call him Par and he takes it for granted it is so.”

_Later Writers of Boisterous Humour._--Taking up now the writers who were born in the decade immediately preceding the turning point of the nineteenth century, we may regard as worthy of special mention Charles Heber Clark, Charles Bertrand Lewis, Robert Jones Burdette, and Edgar Wilson Nye. Of these, all save one are still living and still writing. Mr. Clark was born in Berlin, Maryland, in 1841. For many years he has been the editor of _The Textile Record_, published in Philadelphia, to which he has contributed a number of articles on economic themes. He is best known, however, by two books of humour: “Out of the Hurly Burly” and “Elbow Room,” both written under the _nom de plume_ of “Max Adeler.” Mr. Lewis (born in 1842) is best known by his pseudonym, “M. Quad,” a title drawn from the parlance of printers. Mr. Lewis’ earlier work was much more spontaneous than that which he is producing now. Connected with _The Detroit Free Press_, he contributed to it a steady stream of character sketches of great variety. Collecting them later, he published them under various titles. Of these volumes the best are “Brother Gardener’s Lime-Kiln Club,” “Quad’s Odds,” and “Mr. and Mrs. Bowser.”

Edgar W. Nye (1850-1896), best known as “Bill Nye,” was born in Shirley, Maine, and died near Asheville, North Carolina. Educated in Wisconsin, he first turned his attention to the study of law. Abandoning that pursuit after having been admitted to the bar, he dabbled in several different occupations, and finally became a newspaper correspondent. For a short time he travelled with James Whitcomb Riley, the two giving a series of entertainments which proved widely popular. Nye’s published works were many, but they have little chance of permanent life. As good as any are “Bill Nye and the Boomerang” (1881), “A Comic History of the United States” (1894), and “The Railroad Guide” (1888), the last written in partnership with Mr. Riley. Mr. Burdette, the last of the quartette here mentioned together, was born in Greensboro, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and received his schooling in Peoria, Illinois. During the Civil War he was a soldier in the Union Army. At the close of the struggle, Mr. Burdette returned to Peoria, where he was connected with first one and then another of the newspapers published there. Finally, failing in a paper issued under his own proprietorship, he went to Burlington, Iowa, and became a member of the staff of _The Hawkeye_. While engaged in newspaper work, Mr. Burdette began to write funny things to amuse his invalid wife; and these, published later in the columns of the paper, have made him known throughout the United States. He was licensed as a Baptist preacher in 1887, since when he has signed himself Robert Burdette, D., on the ground that the abbreviation _D._ is the next thing to that of _D.D._ Mr. Burdette’s best humorous work may be read in “The Rise and Fall of the Moustache and other Hawkeyetems” (1877) and “Chimes from a Jester’s Bells” (1897).

_Mark Twain._--Of American humourists “Mark Twain,” known in private life as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is readily placed foremost by critics and admirers both at home and abroad. He has the right to be considered the Nestor of our writers, for, born in 1835, he began to produce his earliest work when Irving was in his prime, and has therefore seen at least one phase of every school in our literature. His younger years were those of the decline of the Knickerbocker writers; he saw the rise and fall of the Concord group, the Cambridge poets, and the New York writers; and now he is present at the general upward movement all over the country, including the South and the West. His relation to our literature is not unlike that of Fanny Burney to the novel; she was born before Richardson published “The History of Sir Charles Grandison,” and did not die until twelve years after the birth of George Meredith, thus being contemporaneous with the greatest English novelists from the first to the last. Mr. Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, and when scarcely thirteen years old was apprenticed to a printer. Barring a few years spent as pilot upon the Mississippi, he has devoted his life to literary work. His writings include “The Innocents Abroad” (1869), the humorous record of a trip in the countries of the Eastern Hemisphere; “The Gilded Age” (1873), a novel written conjointly with Charles Dudley Warner; “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1876), and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1884), both books about boys whose exploits are interesting to young and old alike; “A Connecticut Yankee at the Court of King Arthur” (1889), a cruel parody of Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”; and “Christian Science,” an attempt, despite all the fun it makes, to report sincerely upon a careful investigation of the claims of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy and her disciples. It is unfortunate for Mr. Clemens that he is a humourist, for he has had to suffer the lot long ago mentioned by Holmes as the fate of the fun-producer: no one can ever take such a man seriously; no one can believe that he ever has any other purpose than to tickle our fancy or awaken our laughter. Yet it is not impossible that future critics may come to regard “The Prince and the Pauper” (1882) and “The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” (1896), two serious and dignified pieces of writing, as Mr. Clemens’s best work.

Within recent years Oxford University has conferred the degree of D.C.L. upon Mr. Clemens in recognition of his contributions to literature. This action by a great institution of learning has filled many minds with surprise, nor have all of them quite recovered their mental equilibrium yet. Some, indeed, are still asking the old question, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” and can hardly believe their ears when they receive the answer, “Yea, verily!” Humour at last seems to be coming to its own. Said Mr. Meredith a few years ago: “Comedy, we have to admit, was never one of the most honoured of the Muses. She was in her origin, short of laughter, the loudest expression of the little civilisation of men.” While it must be admitted that when he wrote this the greatest English writer now living had in mind something much more delicate, much more refined, much more subtle, than anything yet produced in America, it is not beyond thought that even he would let us classify the fun-makers of this country as true humourists. They deal little in satire, little in irony, but they have much in common with those to whom Mr. Meredith said: “If you laugh all round a person, tumble him, roll him about, deal him a smack, and drop a tear on him, own his likeness to you, and yours to your neighbour, spare him as little as you shun, pity him as much as you expose, it is a spirit of Humour that is moving you.”

V. THE ORATORS AND THE DIVINES.

=The Historical Background.=--In America, oratory has been the most fortunate of all the arts. Whether in the era prior to the Revolution, or in the formative years of the Republic before 1800, or in the first half and more of the nineteenth century--in the pulpit as well as at the bar and in the forum, American orators have drawn their inspiration directly from the political or religious life of the nation. From the nature of things, no other art, neither poetry, nor painting, nor music, could bear so intimate a relation to the course of our national existence as the utterance of the public speaker. Every crisis in our history, the Revolution itself, the War of 1812, the struggle between North and South, was hastened by the spoken word. Trained poets have been wanting among us; trained speakers, in so far as their powers could develop without a correspondingly high development of poetry and music, we have always possessed; men skilled in rousing enthusiasm and reverence throughout congregations of the pious, men alert to kindle the intelligence of a legislature or to sway the minds of judge and jury. From the first, this training was continuous and effective. In the bare colonial churches thought, word, and action of the pastor were criticised by an audience that had braved the sea and the savage for the privilege of listening. From the colonial courts of justice spread the education which warranted Burke in saying of a litigious populace: “In no country perhaps in the world is the law so general a study. The profession itself is numerous and powerful.... But all who read, and most do read, endeavour to obtain some smattering in that science.” With this knowledge of law, every other colonist was a keen debater for his private rights and, when the time came, for the rights of his community or nation. From a population thus educated sprang the forensic leaders of the Revolution; and to its sources in eighteenth-century popular education we follow back the steady stream of American eloquence which in the nineteenth century runs strong and full in the noblest efforts of American literature--say Webster’s tribute to Massachusetts in the reply to Hayne, and Lincoln’s undying speech at Gettysburg.

So close indeed is the bond between juridic and political history on the one hand, and the achievement of the great American orators on the other, that they can be sundered, as in the following pages, only for purposes of general reference. Since a political history of the United States from the year 1783 is not here expected, we must limit ourselves to brief notice of a few representative men, taken in something like chronological order, and mainly between the years 1800 and 1865. With the Civil War, or perhaps with the second inaugural address of President Lincoln, ended the golden age of national eloquence.

=Precursors of the Nineteenth Century.=--The careers of James Otis (1725-83), Samuel Adams (1722-1803), Josiah Quincy, Junior (1744-75), and Patrick Henry (1736-99), fall largely in the period covered by the pages from Tyler; and the orations and political writings of the Revolutionary Period itself do not come within the scope of the present sketch. Of course it is impossible to make a line of sharp division in the case of public men whom we instinctively couple with the earliest days of the Republic, but whose voices were heard to the verge of the next century, or even beyond. The “Farewell Address” of Washington to his countrymen in 1796, so long regarded with veneration, was, in spite of its conservative form, its Johnsonian balance, a document with matter for the coming age. However, it is clear that statesmen who were in their prime at the time of Washington’s death in 1799 more particularly require our attention.

_Fisher Ames._--Among these is Fisher Ames (1758-1808). Admitted to Harvard at the age of twelve, after graduation he first engaged in teaching, then studied law, and entering politics, became a force among the Federalists. Long the victim of ill health, he nevertheless made his superior mental endowment felt in the counsels of the nation. His “Tomahawk Speech” (1796), on Jay’s treaty with Great Britain, contained passages of splendour on the fear of Indian massacres. For the eloquence of this speech he has been compared to Wilberforce, Brougham, Burke, Pitt, and Fox. He could not have resembled them all. Ames had a fastidious taste, was cautious and dignified in his utterances, and was not desirous of a cheap popularity. “To be the favourite of an ignorant multitude,” he observed, “a man must descend to their level.” Four years before he died, his health constrained him to decline the presidency of Harvard.

=The Early Nineteenth Century.=--The activity of Rufus King (1755-1827) and others continued somewhat later. This friend of Alexander Hamilton, and collaborator with him in the political essays signed “Camillus,” was in 1796 accorded the delicate function of Minister to England. In 1813 the Legislature of New York elected him to the United States Senate; here he won laurels for his speech on the destruction of Washington by the British. He returned to the Senate in 1820, and he was Minister to England again under President Adams.

_John Marshall._--The name of John Marshall (1755-1835) we naturally associate with his momentous work of interpreting the Constitution. The dry light of his intellect and his lack of passion were more suited to purely legal exposition than to the eloquence of debate. When he went to Congress in 1798, the cogency of his argument was already known. It is sufficiently demonstrated by his speech in Robbins’ case (1800), a case that involved the international law governing murder committed upon the high seas by a citizen of one country sailing on the ship of another. Marshall’s uninspiring “Life of Washington” is valuable as a repository of plain fact.

_Morris and De Witt._--Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) was early famous for his eloquence. His thought was orderly, his style finished. Successful in the practice of law, and distinguished for his services during the Revolution, he became a zealous Federalist, entering the United States Senate in 1800. Here his most notable effort was his “Speech on the Judiciary” (1802). Clinton De Witt (1769-1828), who was Mayor of New York City most of the time between 1803 and 1815, was also in the Senate for two years, and opposed the redoubtable Morris on the question of navigation on the Mississippi. De Witt was a man of wide interests, being something of a scientist and historian; his practical sense recognised the value of inland waterways. He merits more attention than can here be given him.

_Gore_, _Dexter_, _and Others_.--The same is true of the following: Christopher Gore (1758-1829), who in 1814 reached the Senate, to remain three years, and who spoke on “The Prohibition of Certain Imports” (1814) and on “Direct Taxation” (1815); Samuel Dexter (1761-1816), Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury; James A. Bayard (1767-1815), lawyer, Senator, Commissioner at Ghent in 1814; William Branch Giles (1762-1840); Edward Livingston (1764-1836), jurist, diplomat, Secretary of State; John Sergeant (1779-1852), candidate for Vice-President on the Clay ticket of 1832; John J. Crittenden (1787-1863), lawyer and statesman; James Hillhouse (1789-1846), orator as well as poet.

_William Pinkney._--Among the noteworthy orators during the first twenty years of the last century was William Pinkney (1764-1822). The son of a sympathiser with England, he was himself devoted to the cause of American freedom. His prominence in the affairs of Maryland ushered him into national concerns. He took part in the War of 1812, and was wounded. He was Attorney-General under Madison, but resigned for the sake of his private practice. He was made Minister to Russia in 1816; in 1820 he entered the United States Senate. A specimen of his eloquence may be seen in his argument before the Supreme Court (1815) in the case of the prize ship _Nereide_. Pinkney was fond of classical learning, and well versed in current literature. He prided himself on his accuracy in the use of English. This made him over-conscious in his style, so that his thought seems artificial. His death is said to have been partly caused by his labours in the preparation and delivery of an argument.

_Quincy_, _Gallatin_, _and Emmet_.--Josiah Quincy (1772-1864), son of Josiah Quincy of Revolutionary fame, was president of Harvard from 1829 to 1845. Besides his “History of Harvard University,” he was the author of many pamphlets and public addresses. “His career in Congress was distinguished chiefly for his opposition to the Embargo, to the War of 1812, and to the admission of Louisiana.” Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), leaving his birthplace, at Geneva, Switzerland, came to Boston in 1781, taught French in Harvard, went to Virginia, and there became the friend of Patrick Henry. He was sent to Congress in 1795, and thereafter entrusted with special missions to Holland and England. He was also Minister to France (1816), and Minister to England (1826). Gallatin’s intuitions were as quick and sure as his character was upright and urbane. His information, as in his speech (1796) on the earlier British treaty, was ample and exact. Among his innumerable services to the country of his adoption, not the least were his efforts on behalf of internal commerce and the improvement in methods of banking. Thomas Addis Emmet (1764-1827) was also a foreigner--a native of Cork. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, but turning to law, was admitted to practice in 1791 and settled at Dublin. For his share in the Irish insurrectionary movement he was imprisoned; after his release he emigrated to New York, where he became an eminent pleader. He had a “dignified but earnest attitude, forcible and unstudied gestures,” and a “powerful and expressive voice.” “No orator knew better how to enlist his hearers on the side of his client.”

_Red Jacket and Tecumseh._--Foreign, likewise, although bred within our borders, was the eloquence of the Indians, Red Jacket and Tecumseh. Red Jacket was the nickname of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha (“He keeps them awake”), otherwise known as “the last of the Senecas.” He was a lover of peace, resisting entanglements, counselling the Indians neither to fight, nor yet to mingle, with the whites, dissuading them against the adoption of Christianity, settled in his ancestral reverence for “the Great Spirit.” His simple and direct language was full of sudden poetic energy. He died at a great age in 1830. Tecumseh (1770?-1812), in many things his opposite, was killed at the Battle of the Thames, where he fought with the English against the United States. A born leader was Tecumseh, magnificent in his proportions, noble in his bearing, fiery and magnetic. Prior to the War of 1812 he tried to enlist the Indians of the South and West in a general insurrection against the government. He went from tribe to tribe, reproaching them with their debasement through white civilisation, and abusing the Federal authority.

_William Wirt._--Of Swiss descent, one of the ablest men this country developed in his time was William Wirt (1772-1834). His arraignment of Aaron Burr at the latter’s trial in 1807 was masterly, and made Wirt’s name familiar to the public ear. From 1817 to 1828 he was Attorney-General. In private as in national life his character was without stain; his correspondence discloses an honesty and consistency of statement and purpose almost unequalled. His imaginative “Letters of the British Spy” (1803) described Virginian society and American eloquence as they might appear to an unbiassed traveller. “The Life and Character of Patrick Henry” (1817) was roundly praised by Jefferson. Of Wirt’s occasional addresses none was more admired than that delivered in 1830 before the students of Rutgers College.

_Judge Story._--The voluminous works of Joseph Story (1779-1845), including text-books on law, are in part made up of his discourses. He began life as a poet, but attained his first eminence as a lawyer. Before his appointment to the United States Supreme Court, he was heard on the floor of the House of Representatives. As professor in the Harvard Law School he proved an acceptable lecturer.

_John Quincy Adams._--The younger Adams (1767-1848), sixth President of the United States, received from his father, the second President, specific training for the career of statesman; even his boyhood was passed in the midst of political and diplomatic life. He studied at Leyden, then at Harvard, where, during an interim in his public activities, he afterward held the chair of rhetoric and belles-lettres. He saw diplomatic service in Holland, Russia, England, was in the Senate, and was in the House of Representatives. He was a foe of slavery, but not a Garrisonian Abolitionist. In 1836 he urged upon Congress its right under the Constitution, as he believed, to abolish slavery by legal enactment. His influence was strong for freedom of debate. This “old man eloquent” continued speaking when he was over eighty, and died on the floor of the House of Representatives. He was a diarist, a poet, a translator. He was a clear, fluent, not very terse speaker, having the agglomerative and developing style of the parliamentary orator. When he desired, he could be ironical.

=The High Tide of American Oratory.=--The burning questions of the rights of an individual state as against its duties to the central government, of the extension of negro slavery, or its territorial limitation, or its entire abolition, brought on the crisis of the Civil War, which is the central fact in American history. Correspondingly, during the interval between the War of 1812 and the War of the Rebellion, their eloquence fired by these and related questions, lie the careers of our greatest orators.

“_Old Bullion._”--Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858) cannot be reckoned one of these. Indifferent to the spread of slavery, he was in favour of developing the great Western territories at any cost. He urged a reduction of the prices charged by the government in the sale of public lands, and promoted the interests of a railroad to the Pacific. As an advocate of specie currency he acquired the sobriquet of “Old Bullion.” Retiring from the Senate after extended usefulness there, he published his “Thirty Years’ View,” a history of the workings of the American Government from 1820 to 1850, highly commended by Bryant for its taste and simplicity of style.