private life, and left it with regret. He
left it, determined to retire from the field with the necessity that
called him to it, and not until then--not until the enemies of his
country, the slaves of power, and the hirelings of injustice, were
compelled to abandon their schemes, and acknowledge America as
terrible in arms as she had been humble in remonstrance. With this
object in view, he has long shared in your toils, and mingled in your
dangers. He has felt the cold hand of poverty without a murmur, and
has seen the insolence of wealth without a sigh. But too much under
the direction of his wishes, and sometimes weak enough to mistake
desire for opinion, he has until lately--very lately--believed in the
justice of his country. He hoped that, as the clouds of adversity
scattered, and as the sunshine of peace and better fortune broke in
upon us, the coldness and severity of government would relax, and that
more than justice, that gratitude would blaze forth upon those hands
which had upheld her in the darkest stages of her passage from
impending servitude to acknowledged independence. But faith has its
limits, as well as temper, and there are points beyond which neither
can be stretched without sinking into cowardice, or plunging into
credulity. This, my friends, I conceive to be your situation. Hurried
to the very verge of both, another step would ruin you for ever. To be
tame and unprovoked when injuries press hard upon you, is more than
weakness; but to look up for kinder usage without one manly effort of
your own, would fix your character, and show the world how richly you
deserve those chains you broke. To guard against this evil, let us
take a review of the ground upon which we now stand, and from thence
carry our thoughts forward for a moment into the unexplored field of
expedient.

"After a pursuit of seven long years, the object for which we set out
is at length brought within our reach.--Yes, my friends, that
suffering courage of yours was active once.--It has conducted the
United States of America through a doubtful and a bloody war.--It has
placed her in the chair of independency; and peace returns again to
bless--whom?--A country willing to redress your wrongs, cherish your
worth, and reward your services? A country courting your return to
private life with tears of gratitude and smiles of admiration--longing
to divide with you that independency which your gallantry has given,
and those riches which your