which he so long occupied, in the midst of the
representatives of the people, has it taken one full of years and honors,
eminent, for more than half a century, in various departments of the
public service; who adorned every station, even the highest, by his
abilities and virtues; and whose influence, powerful in its beneficence,
is felt in many, if not in all the States of the civilized world.
* * * * *

"Not more certainly is the body invigorated and preserved by suitable
food, by manly exercises, by the vital air, than are the intellectual and
moral faculties by the investigation and reception of divine truths, by
habits of obedience to the divine will, by cheerful submission to the
order and discipline of Divine Providence. Nor let us ever distrust the
Father of our spirits, who knows perfectly all the wants of our nature,
but rest assured that his commandments in the sacred Scriptures are
entirely in harmony with the decrees of his providence; and that as to
fear Him and keep His commandments is the whole duty (because the highest
duty, and comprehending all others), so will it prove the whole and
eternal happiness of man. If the indissoluble and harmonious connection
between the laws of nature, of Providence and the moral law, be not
always obvious, it is always certain. Over all the darkness, disturbances,
and evils of the world shines revealed, more or less clearly, like the
serene and cheerful heavens, this immutable law, binding virtue, however
obscure, persecuted, or forsaken, to reward; duty, however humble or
arduous, to happiness. Hence the declaration, that all things shall work
together for good to them who love God, and that all things are
theirs--the past and future, things temporal and spiritual, prosperity and
adversity, angels, and principalities, and powers, and God himself, in all
the resources of his wisdom and all the eternity of his reign.

"How shone out, clear as the noonday, yet mild and gentle as the morning,
even in age, in the life and character of that great and venerable man,
around whose precious, but, alas! inanimate form we all press in
gratitude, admiration, and love, those high virtues derived from faith in
God, and nurtured by his revealed truth, this bereaved Congress, and, I
may add, this nation witnesses. * * * * * *

"Truly emblematic of his moral integrity and strength of character would
be the granite column from his native hills, one and entire, just in its
proportions, to