Slavery Question in Oregon. 343 tic faculties, which do not require the imposing physical presence to reach them. Of this there have been some notable instances, of which only one may be cited. Very likely none of the millions of school children in the United States ever heard or read of the name of Samuel Lewis, of Ohio, who was nominated for Gov- ernor of that State, by the free-soil party in the year 1846, His name does not appear on the list of orators, and yet. notwithstanding this and his mild and undistinguished pres- ence, he could quell the turbulence of a mob that would hang Wendell Phillips; would divest it of prejudice and melt it to sympathy with the lowest of God's creatures, if they would consent to hear him at all. It must be borne in mind that the famous orators of Amer- ica, Phillips and Beecher excepted, never placed themselves in entire antagonism to the prejudices of the people— the mob spirit. All were more or less conservative, going with the current. They did not essay for themselves any such task as was undertaken by the abolitionists. It was not in accord with their judgment, perhaps, but they did not champion the cause of free speech for the abolitionists, as they should have done, Webster was an anti-slavery man in opinion ; he could declare slavery to be a great moral and political evil, for that was agreeble to his manhood, but he did not plead the cause of the slave. It is easy to float with the current, easy for an orator to raise a shout by voicing the sentiments, passions and preju- dices of an audience, but that is not a good test of oratory. The real test is in evoking from human beings a response in opposition to their governing tendencies. In view of this and accepting the truth that great excellence is acquired by great trials, an American orator said that eloquence was dog- cheap to the abolitionists. And Wendell Phillips, in answer to a young friend who asked him how to become an orator, said Take a course of mobs. Webster never took a courjse of mobs, so really was not fully developed.
