104 CORRESPONDENCE. 



which affords so many comforts to the civilized world, and the 

 means of subsistence to so many of the hardy sons of New Eng- 

 land. And, though last, not least, it promises to extend the bounds 

 of science, increase the capital of human knowledge, and thereby 

 add to the substantial fame of our republic. Some may deem 

 these views the mere dreams of a wild fancy, or the hallucinations 

 of an ill-balanced intellect ; but, with all deference to the spirit of 

 censure, I consider the enterprise an object of a more lofty am- 

 bition than the acquisition of a portion of a neighboring republic, 

 and infinitely more worthy the patronage of the government than 

 the sordid peculations which are becoming the reproach of the 

 age we live in. Is it not better to send a portion of our vessels 

 of war into the South Seas, to watch over the twelve thousand of 

 our hardy seamen, to point out the harbours and shelters from the 

 storms and the icebergs to save some of them from famine, ship- 

 wreck, or captivity, and to restore them to their long lost country 

 and friends, than to send them up the Mediterranean, where our 

 officers and seamen will render no other service, but to contract 

 the vices and follies of Europe ? 



But, Sir, should this enterprise fail in producing all the results 

 anticipated by a sanguine imagination, it will detract nothing 

 from the merits of the undertaking. The true value of a deed 

 must be estimated by its motive, and the moral sublimity which it 

 exhibits ; not its fortunate or unfortunate result. The catastrophe 

 of Phaeton, or the fate of Napoleon, detracts nothing from the 

 sublimity of their enterprises, but through some mysterious in- 

 fluence, adds a charm of indescribable interest to the pictures. 



But when the expedition shall be finally embarked, and you find 

 yourself ploughing the broad expanse of the southern convex* 

 when a southern heaven spreads out, and new constellations blaze 

 over your head, forget not your country and friends ; nor the im- 

 portant part you are to perform, nor the high responsibilities com- 

 mitted to your hands. Describe things as they are, not as fancy 



