[49] The following extract from an extemporaneous speech made in Faneuil Hall, at the great Union meeting held in February, 1861, will give some idea of his fervid oratory:—
Virginia, startled by the guns of Lexington, gave us Washington; and shall we now say to Virginia, “Begone, we have no part with you!” Never! while Concord and Bunker Hill remain on Massachusetts soil, never will we consent to part with the birthplace and home of Washington. Our Washington looks down upon us and approves our action this night. From yonder painted canvas he speaks to us. And he, brave John Hancock, whose name stands so boldly prominent on the Declaration,—he says to us, citizens of Massachusetts, “Thirteen States signed that Declaration of your liberties. Will you consent that of those thirteen States, seven shall no longer have any part with you?” Go on, citizens of Massachusetts, and show that the old Bay State has still the spirit of ‘76, and knows that liberty without Union is an impossibility and a delusion! What can protect our liberties? Look at ancient Greece. The elegance and grace of Athens, the wealth of Corinth, and the strength of Sparta might have made one of the most glorious nations of antiquity; and yet, one by one, they fell victims to a monarch's sceptre. What would be our fate,—whether we should perish by intestine strife, or, one by one, fall victims to some foreign power, or a prey to the most powerful of our own number,—none can tell; but, sooner or later, we should find that, having thrown aside our Union, our liberty had followed. Webster demonstrated the impossibility of a peaceable secession, much more of a peaceable dissolution. He, though dead, still liveth! Yes, and until that canvas crumbles into dust, until these walls shall decay and perish, the noble form of Webster says to us, “Preserve the Union for which I toiled and wept and prayed! Preserve the Union, and do not, do not disgrace my image, which has proclaimed it forever!” We can do little more. We can, by all the means in our power, try to induce our Congress to submit to us, the people, a plan of compromise. We shall have ample time to decide upon its merits, and to express that decision at the ballot-box. This is the last cry raised up by old Faneuil Hall, protesting against an involuntary exile. We do our best. We appeal to the hearts of men. But finally, we shall have to appeal to Him who has raised us up from thirteen small colonies to one of the greatest and proudest nations of the earth,—who, for eighty-six years, has protected, strengthened, and blessed us. We must turn to Him, and with our