cence are far above the reach of any praises which it is in my power to utter. Landing, as he did, here at New York after a long absence in England, where he had already performed acts of charity without a precedent in the annals of the world, and which gave a new lustre to the American name wherever that name is known; landing here, I say, on the first day of May last, his visit to his native country has been one continued May-day of benevolence and beneficence. There has been no winter in his bounty. The storms and snows of New England, which have raged around him with more than their wonted severity, have not been able to repress or chill-have stimulated, rather-the genial currents of his soul. His pathway through our land, as he has gone along scattering the seeds of light and love, of knowl edge and science, on his right hand and on his left, with such marvellous exuberance and such wise discrimination,- his pathway, I repeat, has been a perfect Milky Way, leaving a radiance on the historic page as enduring as that of the stars above us. And this last, best, largest, noblest, crowning gift, for aiding the work of education in the desolated South, has, above all others, touched and thrilled every heart in the land; and there is, at least, one of his trustees—I think I can speak for them all who regards his association with that gift the highest honor of his life. It was once said on some occasion, by my illustrious friend, the late Daniel Webster, in that terse and impressive language in which he excelled almost all other men, that if an inquiry were made as to what America had ever contributed to the world, it was enough to say that she had contributed the character of George Washington. And we, of this day and generation, may now answer to that inquiry, that she has not only contributed the character of George Washington, but also the example of George Peabody. And, let me add, that if some American Thackeray should hereafter spring up, to compose a series of lectures or of essays on our American Georges, he will be able to trace in them elements of true nobility, of real royalty, such as have rarely adorned the lives of those who have wielded the sceptre of earthly sovereignty in any land or age. But I beg pardon of Mr. Peabody for such personalities. I must say no more; I could not have said less. Let me only assure him, in conclusion, that every thing has gone on most happily and most harmoniously in the proceedings of our Board, and that measures have been adopted which will soon be communicated to the public, and which, as we all believe, will secure the entire success of his noble design. Nor is the day distant, we trust, when hundreds and thousands of young children, of every class of the population in the Southern and South-western States, will have substantial cause to bless his name as their greatest benefactor. God grant that he may live long to witness the fruits of his beneficence; to visit the States which his bounty will have helped to restore, we hope, to more than their former prosperity and happiness; and to be hailed by them, as he is by us here to-night, as the great Philanthropist of his age! Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to unite with the Trustees in drinking the health of our loved and honored friend, Mr. Peabody. APPENDIX. I. THE REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. A LETTER TO HON. W. C. RIVES. BOSTON, June 24, 1856. MY DEAR SIR, I have received and read with deep interest the letter of June 10, which you have done me the honor to address me in the columns of the "National Intelligencer," together with the extracts of Mr. Madison's letter to Mr. Walsh on the constitutional questions involved in the Missouri Compromise. I thank you for the whole tone and spirit of your communication, and for the welcome response which it contains to the hope which I had ventured to express, both publicly and privately, that in the further progress of the painful controversies which now agitate the country, there may be exhibited more of that spirit of moderation and forbearance which can alone lead to a happy solution, or, indeed, to any solution, of questions so full of difficulty and of danger. You do me no more than justice in the suggestion, that the deliberate judgment of Mr. Madison would always receive from me the most deferential attention and respect. It was my good fortune to pass a day or two with that eminent man, under his own roof at Montpelier, in the year 1832, when the regard which I had previously been taught to cherish for his calm, consummate prudence and patriotism, was warmed and ripened into something of affectionate personal veneration Feeble as he then was from age and illness, he was yet full of the kindest and most cordial hospitality, and his conversation was a continued flow of entertainment and instruction. I shall not soon forget one remark of his, of which I made a memorandum at the time: "The recent revolution of opinion in Virginia on the subject of slavery (said he) is the most important that has taken place |