more and more absorbed in public action. As ominous storms threatened the common weal, he found less delight in his library than in the stern strife of the forum. As he prognosticated the coming tempest and comprehended its fearful issue, he became transformed in aspect like one inspired. His appearance in public always commanded prompt and profound attention; he both awed and delighted the multitudes whom his bold wisdom so opportunely fortified. "Old South," the "Old Court House," and the "Cradle of Liberty," in Boston, were familiar with his eloquence, that resounded like a cheerful clarion in "days that tried men's souls." It was then that his great heart and fervid intellect wrought with disinterested and noble zeal; his action became vehement, and his eyes flashed with unutterable fire; his voice, distinct, melodious, swelling, and increasing in height and depth with each new and bolder sentiment, filled, as with the palpable presence of a deity, the shaking walls. The listeners became rapt and impassioned like the speaker, till their very breath forsook them. He poured forth a "flood of argument and passion" which achieved the sublimest earthly good, and happily exemplified the description which Percival has given of indignant patriotism expressed in eloquence :

"Its words

Are few, but deep and solemn; and they break
Fresh from the fount of feeling, and are full

Of all that passion, which, on Carmel, fired
The holy prophet, when his lips were coals,
The language winged with terror, as when bolts

Leap from the brooding tempest, armed with wrath,
Commissioned to affright us, and destroy."

We have said that the eloquence of Otis was bold, witty, and pungent; we remark, in conclusion, that it was exceedingly practical. The great body of the people comprehend thought and genius most easily under the emblems of force; they are ready to respect that which they love, and yield willingly to that which impels them; they highly appreciate that which is heard with pleasure, and venerate the heart that has profoundly moved them. Intellect and emotion constitute the basis of all effective speech; but the commanding form, stentorian lungs, and flashing eye, are indispensable adjuncts to the popular speaker.

The trait which, perhaps, was most prominent in Mr. Otis, was his constant and complete forgetfulness of himself in the themes he discussed. He explored all the resources at command, and, in defending his position, became entirely absorbed. While engaged in speaking, he appeared to be absolutely possessed by his subject, and thought as little of the skill he should. display as an orator, as he who is fighting for his life thinks of the grace he shall exhibit in the flourish of his weapons. Enthusiastic sincerity actuated his great native powers, and gave them overwhelming force. His was the true eloquence of nature, the language of a strong mind under high but well regulated excitement. The disenthralment of the Colonies of America was the grand ambition of his soul; and to the attainment of this he subordinated all the resources he could command. Freedom, of the most exalted kind, was the idol

of his heart, and, as he braved the terrors of rebellion against sovereign power, he saw nothing, loved nothing, with affection more fixed. In this consisted his best qualification for the great work to the execution of which, under Providence, he was assigned;

"For he whom Heaven

Hath call'd to be th' awakener of a land,
Should have his soul's affections all absorbed

In that majestic purpose, and press on

To its fulfilment, as a mountain-born
And mighty stream, with all its vassal-rills,
Sweeps proudly to the ocean, pausing not
To dally with the flowers."

In respect to physical ability, Otis was happily endowed. One who knew him well has recorded, that "he was finely formed, and had an intelligent countenance his eye, voice, and manner were very impressive. The elevation of his mind, and the known integrity of his purposes, enabled him to speak with decision and dignity, and commanded the respect as well as the admiration of his audience. His eloquence showed but little imagination, yet it was instinct with the fire of passion." It may be not unjustly said of Otis, as of Judge Marshall, that " He was one of those rare beings that seem to be sent among men from time to time, to keep alive our faith in humanity." He had a wonderful power over the popular feelings, but he employed it only for great public benefits. He seems to have said to himself, in the language of the great master of the maxims of life and conduct:

"This above all,-to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Otis was just the person to kindle a conflagration; to set a continent on fire by the power of speech. When heard on exciting local topics, deep feeling, kindred to the sentiments of the orator, opened each heart and soul to the stream of his burning thoughts. Assembled multitudes love that which dazzles them, which moves, strikes, and enchains them. In the best orations of the ancients, we find not a multiplicity of ideas, but those which are the most pertinent, and the strongest possible; by the first blows struck ignition is produced, and the flame is kept blazing with increased brilliancy and power, until guilt stands revealed in terror, and tyranny flies aghast. It is indeed. true, as an American poet has said,

"Few

The spirits who originate and bend

All meaner hearts to wonder and obey,

As if their look were death, their word were fate ;"

but Otis was certainly one of this rare class.

His eloquence, like that of his distinguished successors, was marked by a striking individuality. It did not partake largely of the placid firmness of Samuel Adams; or of the intense brilliancy and exquisite taste of the younger Quincy; or the subdued and elaborate beauty of Lee; or the philosophical depth of John Adams; or the rugged and overwhelming energy of Patrick Henry; though he most of all Americans, resembled the latter.

Compared with English orators, our great countryman was not unlike Sheridan in natural endowment. Like him, he was unequalled in impassioned appeals to the general heart of mankind. He swayed all by his electric fire; charmed the timid, and inspired the weak; subdued the haughty, and enthralled the prejudiced. He traversed the field of argument and invective as a Scythian warrior scours the plain, shooting most deadly arrows when at the greatest speed. He rushed into forensic battle, fearless of all consequences; and as the ancient war-chariot would sometimes set its axle on fire by the rapidity of its own movement, so would the ardent soul of Otis become ignited and fulminate with thought, as he swept irresistibly to the goal. When aroused by some great crisis, his eloquent words were like bolts of granite heated in a volcano, and shot forth with unerring aim, crashing where they fell.

No patriot was ever more heartily devoted to the welfare of his country, nor more practical in his public toils, than was James Otis. Taking into consideration the times in which he appeared, and the sublime results that have flowed from the influence he exerted, the following language of President Adams seems appropriate and just. "I have been young, and now am old, and I solemnly say, I have never known a man whose love of his country was more ardent or sincere; never one who suffered so much; never one, whose services for any ten years of his life, were so important and essential to the cause of his country, as those of Mr. Otis, from 1760 to 1770."