In
the midst of this general but portentous calm, Peter arose. The
breathing of the circle grew deeper, so much so as to be audible,
the only manner in which the intensity of the common expectation
betrayed itself. Peter was an experienced orator, and knew how to
turn every minutiae of his art to good account. His every movement
was deliberate, his attitude highly dignified--even his eye seemed
eloquent.
Oratory! what a power art thou, wielded, as is so often the case, as
much for evil as for good. The very reasoning that might appear to
be obtuse, or which would be over looked entirely when written and
published, issuing from the mouth, aided by the feelings of sympathy
and the impulses of the masses, seems to partake of the wisdom of
divinity. Thus is it, also, with the passions, the sense of wrong,
the appeals to vengeance, and all the other avenues of human
emotion. Let them be addressed to the cold eye of reason and
judgment, in the form of written statements, and the mind pauses to
weigh the force of arguments, the justice of the appeals, the truth
of facts: but let them come upon the ear aided by thy art, with a
power concentrated by sympathy, and the torrent is often less
destructive in its course, than that of the whirlwind that thou
canst awaken!
"Chiefs of the great Ojebway nation, I wish you well," said Peter,
stretching out his arms toward the circle, as if desirous of
embracing all present.
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