It was only when the
flood was past, that I thought of our common country.
His time had come. He had disappeared from our sight to take his place
in history. He had attained an age almost double that which his father
had reached when that honored statesman fell in a distant city in the
service of his country; and he had been blessed with a larger share of
health than usually attends extreme old age. His faculties, which had
kindled the admiration of our fathers, shone bright to the last. His
children had reached maturity, and watched and cheered with tender care
his failing hours; and with each revolving morn his numerous
grandchildren came with their infantile ways to win the blessing of
their ancestor. Had he lived, he could not have performed any public
service. The voice whose tones had so often echoed in the forum was
gone, and his feeble limbs could no longer bear his weight. His duty
was done. His orations for the crown had all been delivered; and that
crown had been won and worn for half a century with the modesty which
became a wise and virtuous statesman of a republic; and when it was
about to be taken from his brow to be garnered for the coming ages, its
flowers were fresh, and, like those which the muse of Milton strewed
about the walks of Eden, were without a thorn.
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