16 already reached the national heart, and we were hopelessly death-struck. That season no American heart can ever forget, and its record shames us more than flight from a hundred battles ! Alas what days those were ! When with the old flag spurned, torn, trampled under traitorous feet, our nationality reviled, our capital threatened—the derision of enemies—the gazing-stock of a world—we stood yet calmly by, ease-loving, pusilanimous, servile, seemingly troubled only about prices-current and stockmarkets, careful only of trade and gain. There lay the grand old ship of State, with all her priceless freight of human interests and hopes and fears, and divine purposes of mercy to an oppressed world, yet driven back from her course, dismantled, dismasted, on her beam-ends, rolling a shattered wreck upon the waters, seemingly about to be broken up piecemeal and go down forever ; and yet we, not girding ourselves in seamanship to wrestle with the storm, neither tightening a rope, nor standing to the rudder, we only anxious about her lading—the supercargo's invoices—with outstretched hands and quivering lips crying, " Out with the life-boat, the long boat, the yawl, the pinnace, for Heaven's sake save—the dry goods ! To the rescue ! Bear a hand every man Oh! the Cotton—the Cotton !" Verily it did seem that the palsy of avarice had reached the national heart! Columbia the fairest child in the family of nations seemed dying ! The old Empires watched for the death and made ready
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