Arkansas State Gazette

DANIEL WEBSTER.

Who can withhold the homage of his admiration for the mighty intellect of the great statesman of the country? Who does not acknowledge the power of that mind which breaks the cords of sophistry and subtlety as if they were but tiny threads around the giant's limbs? Who does not, at the same time, mourn that one whom nature designed to be great, should be contaminated with the leprosy of Tylerism? Whoever before saw the mountain eagle descend from its lofty eyrie to mingle and associate with rooks, and daws, and mousing owls? Sad, sad have been the feelings of his personal friends, and great the disappointment of those who had been accustomed to follow him as one of the champions of whig principles and most stalwart defenders of the Constitution.

Great men sometimes go astray; but when they commit errors they commit great errors; at least their errors stand out in bold relief, and are seen by all. That Mr. Webster has committed a great mistake in adhering to John Tyler the perfidious, his friends do not deny, and even he himself, we believe, is now convinced. We also believe he is anxious to wipe off the stains which that connection has left upon him.

Let him perform a lustration. He may ask,

"Will all Neptune's ocean wash this stain
Clean from my hand?"

To which some may be inclined to reply,

"No. This my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red."

If the immediate friends of Mr. Webster can be relied on, and speak his wishes, he is desirous of being received back into the whig ranks, and of taking part with them in the great cause of 1844, as he did in that of 1840; and we are assured that he will go as far as he who goes farthest in support of the nominee of the whig National Convention, and in battling for whig principles.

Who that nominee will be he can have no more doubt than we have. He is already nominated by the people of the United States. The honest, generous, and true hearted of all parties have proclaimed Henry Clay their candidate, and no convention representing that portion of the can or will attempt to place any other name before them for their outrage.

If Mr. Webster is desirous of being received back into the bosom of the party with which he so ably battled, let him cleanse himself from the leprous spots of Tylerism, put on his armor, and wield once more his battle axe in the good cause. He has rested his head and slept in the lap of Delilah, but his locks are not yet shorn; let him take care that he rises and sleeps no longer, lest he expects the fate of another man of strength and folly.