And never yet did I admire the power
Which makes so lustrous every threadbare theme--
Which won for Lafayette one other hour,
And e'en on July Fourth could cast a gleam--
As now, when I behold him play the host,
With all the dignity which red men boast--
With all the courtesy the whites have lost;--
Assume the very hue of savage mind,
Yet in rude accents show the thought refined:--
Assume the naivete of infant age,
And in such prattle seem still more a sage;
The golden mean with tact unerring seized,
A courtly critic shone, a simple savage pleased;
The stoic of the woods his skill confessed,
As all the Father answered in his breast,
To the sure mark the silver arrow sped,
The man without a tear a tear has shed;
And thou hadst wept, hadst thou been there, to see
How true one sentiment must ever be,
In court or camp, the city or the wild,
To rouse the Father's heart, you need but name his Child.
'Twas a fair scene--and acted well by all;
So here's a health to Indian braves so tall--
Our Governor and Boston people all!
I will copy the admirable speech of Governor Everett on that occasion,
as I think it the happiest attempt ever made to meet the Indian in his
own way, and catch the tone of his mind. It was said, in the
newspapers, that Keokuck did actually shed tears when addressed as a
father. If he did not with his eyes, he well might in his heart.
EVERETT'S SPEECH.
Chiefs and warriors of the Sauks and Foxes, you are welcome to our hall
of council.
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