ppears
to be a sudden, as well as a great change, naturally produces a shock. I
confess that, for one, I was shocked when the honorable gentleman, at
the last session, espoused this bill of the administration. And when I
first read this letter of November, and, in the short space of a column
and a half, ran through such a succession of political movements, all
terminating in placing the honorable member in the ranks of our
opponents, and entitling him to take his seat, as he has done, among
them, if not at their head, I confess I felt still greater surprise. All
this seemed a good deal too abrupt. Sudden movements of the affections,
whether personal or political, are a little out of nature.

Several years ago, Sir, some of the wits of England wrote a mock play,
intended to ridicule the unnatural and false feeling, the
_sentimentality_ of a certain German school of literature. In this play,
two strangers are brought together at an inn. While they are warming
themselves at the fire, and before their acquaintance is yet five
minutes old, one springs up and exclaims to the other, "A sudden thought
strikes me! Let us swear an eternal friendship!" This affectionate offer
was instantly accepted, and the friendship duly sworn, unchangeable and
eternal! Now, Sir, how long this eternal friendship lasted, or in what
manner it ended, those who wish to know may learn by referring to the
play.

But it seerns to me, Sir, that the honorable member has carried his
political sentimentality a good deal higher than the flight of the
German school: for he appears to have fallen suddenly in love, not with
strangers, but with opponents. Here we all had been, Sir, contending
against the progress of executive power, and more particularly, and most
strenuously, against the projects and experiments of the administration
upon the currency. The honorable member stood among us, not only as an
associate, but as a leader. We thought we were making some headway. The
people appeared to be coming to our support and our assistance. The
country had been roused, every successive election weakening the
strength of the adversary, and increasing our own. We were in this
career of success carried strongly forward by the current of public
opinion, and only needed to hear the cheering voice of the honorable
member,

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!"

and we should have prostrated for ever this anti-constitutional,
anti-commercial, an