Part 5 (2/2)
Herman Blennerha.s.set and his accomplished wife have sat for many a picture; but, after all, Fancy, alone, guided the pencil, and the originals have never been truly sketched. The reality of their history possesses sufficient interest, without the aid of fiction, to enlist the sympathies of the most romantic. Born to fortune, and n.o.bly connected, Blennerha.s.set stood in the front rank of Irish society.
Educated for the bar, he distinguished himself on many occasions, and he was the a.s.sistant counsel, with Curran, in the celebrated trial of Hamilton Rowan. But his disposition was restless, his mind visionary, and, doubtless, he felt sincerely for the degraded state of his country. Notwithstanding his close relations.h.i.+p to the aristocracy of Ireland, and the glaring unfitness of his character for scenes of daring and of danger, he connected himself with the leading yeomen of that day, and became the intimate a.s.sociate and co-adjutor of Arthur O'Conner. He continued to labor in the cause of Liberty, until the eyes of Government were turned upon him; the result is a matter of public history: O'Conner was arrested, and Blennerha.s.set escaped. He had the good fortune, however, to secure a considerable portion of his property, and, accompanied by his accomplished wife, an English lady, he arrived in New York in 1796 or '97, with what, in this country, was esteemed a large fortune.
He was, however, a visionary; he knew nothing of human nature, nothing of the practical business of life. With considerable literary acquirements, and much pretensions to science, he gave himself up to all the reveries and schemes of modern philosophy; with Southey, G.o.dwin, and the whole cla.s.s, he was continually dreaming about the perfectibility of human nature, and believed that innocence was alone to be found in that portion of humanity, which approached the nearest to the state of nature. With these notions, which he succeeded, in some measure, in imparting to his young and interesting partner, he declined establis.h.i.+ng himself in any of our Atlantic cities, then the only places in the Union offering attractions to a foreigner of taste and fortune, and turned his attention, to the magnificent solitudes of the West. He purchased a portion of the Island in Virginia, near the mouth of the Little Kenhawa, which has been consecrated by his misfortunes, and executed those embellishments which have since become the theme of many a fanciful speech and tale.
Considering himself a second Capac, he set about acquiring an influence over the rude inhabitants of the Virginia sh.o.r.es, which might enable him to test the efficiency of his favorite system. But his exertions were abortive, and he became convinced of the folly of his early speculations on human nature; his unsophisticated scholars, affecting to admire him, overreached him on all occasions, and then laughed at him. He embarked in commercial speculations; this proved a failure, and he stopped in time to save a portion of the large fortune which, a few years before, he brought from Europe. He recanted, in bitterness of feeling, his early political principles, and began to sigh for the charms of refined society. Discontent stole into his domestic circle, and the idea of educating his two interesting boys in the desert became insupportable.
_Oh! quantum est in rebus in ave!_
During this state of feeling, Colonel Burr presented himself, armed with all the fascinations of manners and address, which so eminently distinguished him. He soon became the ruler of the destiny of the Island pair, and unfolded to them, with resistless eloquence, his magnificent project of the conquest of Mexico, gilding his own ambition under the plausible motive of relieving enslaved millions from the thraldom of Spanish tyranny. The idea of becoming prominent members of a court that would rival the ancient splendor of Montezuma, and the modern glory of Napoleon, absorbed every other feeling. The remains of this once large fortune were embarked in the scheme, and ruin and misery were the consequence. What he felt and saw as but a misdemeanor, was distorted, by political rancor, into treason; and, although one of the most enlightened juries that were ever empanelled, p.r.o.nounced an acquittal, Blennerha.s.set was left dest.i.tute of means, and blasted in reputation. He attempted to retrieve his affairs as a cotton planter, but was unsuccessful; he afterwards removed to Montreal, to resume his profession. Within a few years he has returned to England, the outlawry against him having been removed; and those who feel an interest in the history of this persecuted family, may be gratified to know that their decline of life will not be devoid of comfort. They reside near Bath, in England, with a sister of Blennerha.s.set, the relict of the late admiral De Courcy. The evening of life promises to close free from those clouds that so long lowered over them.
NOTE VII.
_”Alas! another came,” &c._
See Mr. Wirt's character of Colonel Burr, in his great speech against him. It was scarcely necessary to refer to this speech, as it is in the mouth of every school boy.
NOTE VIII.
_”Say, has our Capital no Tarpeian height From which to hurl the traitor?”_
These lines were written in the excitement which prevailed during the session of the last Congress, when the Nullifiers were fulminating their doctrines of disunion and prophesying the downfall of the Republic, when he, who has not yet lost all his original brightness, was acting a part which Milton has described.
This may account for what now may be deemed harshness.
NOTE IX.
_”I recollect it well, and loved the time, When we were wont to meet: when last we met I parted from you for this western clime, With the deep feeling never to forget.
In the quick bustle of the busy throng, I feel that I shall miss ye, O! how long!
The generous hearts who mann'd my spirit on-- Who sooth'd me when I lost and cheer'd me when I won.”_
I have both rhyme and reason for remembering my young friends of Baltimore. More frank, fearless, and generous spirits, it has not been my lot to meet: social companions, firm friends, and with highly cultivated minds, they possess an _esprit du corps_ which gives such qualities their strongest attractions. They have made Baltimore to me the ”city of the soul.”
NOTE X.
_”Making of human rights the merest mock.”_ The fiend's arch mock.
SHAKSPEARE.
ERRATA.
In Stanza 69, 7th line, read _To_ for _No_.
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