Book Description

Excerpt from Oration of the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas: On the Inauguration of the Jackson Statue, at the City of Washington, January 8, 1853 Rev. Clement C. Butler, Chaplain to the Senate, opened the crcmonies by an elo quent and appropriate prayer. Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, Senator from Illinois, the orator of the occasion, was then introduced to the multitude, and riveted its attention while he delivered, in the happiest manner, the able, graphic, stirring address we pubs lish to - day, which cannot fail to command the attention and applause of every reader by the happy spirit in which it was conceived, by its admirable sketch of the civil and military services of Andrew Jackson, by its freedom from party illusions, by the patri otic sentiments it contains, and by the stirring language in which it was announced. When the orator had concluded, amidst the shouts of the thousands who surrounded him, Clark Mills, Esq., was introduced. He had no words to express his feelings, and in lieu of words he pointed to the veiled statue; the veil was instantly withdrawn, and Jackson on his steed, as if in full action, full of life and energy, was revealed. That was his speech, and none could have been more appropriate. Without instruction, without instruments or appliances, with but little encouragement, and against the re monstrances and hinderances of men of art and men of science, he had labored for years, and by a simple gesture he pointed to the result of his labors. The scene was most picturesque. The speaker's stand was filled with eminent men - the President and his cabinet, Gen. Scott and his staff, distinguished Senators and Representatives while at least twenty thousand of the people occupied the square and the neighboring house tops. The bands played a salute, and Taylor's battery answered With the guns which had done such good service against the enemies of the country. The Rev. Mr. Gallagher, Chaplain of the House of Representatives, closed the ceremonies in a most appropriate manner. Then the various military companies fired off amidst the cheers and the music of their hands, many citizens lingering in admiration of the matchless work which the hands of a man of the people had fashioned. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.