sonal appearance at all times and in all places was elegant, commanding, and courtly."

The annexation of Texas was at this time exciting the two worlds. Hilliard secured the full confidence of King Leopold, and Belgium did not protest against the annexation.

4. Member of Congress.-Upon his return to Alabama, Mr. Hilliard was elected to represent the State in the United States Congress. In that great body he displayed much energy and interest in affairs of the times. England and the United States were contending about the northwest boundary line between Canada and this country. Some people wanted the United States to claim up to 54° 40′ north latitude, and to fight England if this was not granted. Mr. Hilliard's speech on the subject of this boundary line was in sympathy with the sentiment "fifty-four forty or fight." He presented his side of the question so clearly and eloquently that John Quincy Adams walked across the hall of the house of representatives to congratulate him. Mr. Yancey opposed Mr. Hilliard on the question of the boundary line.

Congress disappointed Mr. Hilliard. The great orators of past ages whom he had studied as models made their speeches when public questions were settled before assemblies of the people themselves. In Congress, however, Mr. Hilliard was not addressing the people, and consequently his speeches were not received as he had expected. It worried him to look upon members of Congress engaged in cracking jokes, eating peanuts, writing letters, mailing papers, and wholly indifferent to his fiery orations.

Mr. Hilliard opposed the doctrine of secession, but he did not favor the passage of laws which excluded slavery from the territories.

5. Services to the Confederacy.-He followed Alabama in secession, and on the outbreak of war he was made commissioner to Tennessee to arrange for its admission into the Confederacy. He afterwards raised "Hilliard's Legion" of three thousand men for the Confederate service. After the war he made his home in Georgia and practiced law in Augusta.

6. Minister to Brazil.-President Hayes appointed Mr. Hilliard minister to Brazil. While in this service he aided in freeing the slaves. Upon request made by the government of Brazil for his views on slavery, he submitted a letter which was published throughout the world, and which produced a deep impression, coming as it did from one who had owned slaves. In his letter he not only advocated the freeing of slaves, but suggested seven years as the time in which this should be done. He was entertained by the Anti-Slavery Society of Brazil, and his speech on that occasion gave him reputation throughout the world. It was published in the official Bluebook of Great Britain.

7. Later Life. He resigned his office as minister to Brazil when Garfield became President, and resumed the practice of law in Augusta, Georgia.

He died in Augusta on December 17, 1892.

8. Writings. Mr. Hilliard was a graceful writer. He has left a volume of Speeches and Addresses; Roman Nights; and De Vane, a Story of Plebeians and Patricians. His Politics and Pen Pictures is an

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account of some interesting events in his political life. It also tells of his experiences among courts and people abroad. De Vane is a charming novel, full of beautiful descriptions of college and home life. It is a sweet love-story, which pictures the religious conditions of the day.

9. Hilliard and Yancey Compared.—Mr. Hilliard was not the equal of Mr. Yancey as an orator, but he was the only man in the State who could meet Yancey in debate, always share in the applause, and sometimes come off victor. The two were opposites in politics, but were united on some of the great questions that touched the South. Both condemned the policy that would exclude slavery from the territories or interfere with it in the States; but Mr. Hilliard accepted compromises to which Mr. Yancey would not listen. Mr. Hilliard was the gentler, more polished, more cultured of the two; but Mr. Yancey was the more profound thinker and the better judge of men. Mr. Hilliard never failed to entertain. He always sustained his reputation as a thorough statesman and a brilliant orator. Mr. Yancey seldom failed to eclipse his past. Especially did he rise in public opinion when he met, before Northern audiences, the men that most strongly opposed him. No compromise, but perfect composure and confident power marked his speech.

Mr. Hilliard loved popular applause, and while always guided by noble principles, he felt discontented when his lectures as a professor, or his speeches in the court room or in Congress, failed to arouse enthusiasm in his listeners. Mr. Yancey

never failed to call forth intense interest. He became so buried in his subject as to seem indifferent to what his hearers thought of him.

Both men helped to make history in peace and in war, and with conscious pride we should name them in love. All honor to their memory.

SUMMARY

Henry Washington Hilliard, a native of South Carolina, was for three years a professor of English literature in the University of Alabama. He made a study of oratory. Resigning his position, he became a lawyer and member of the State legislature. As minister to Belgium, he helped to keep the countries of Europe from objecting to the annexation of Texas. On his return to America, he was elected to Congress, but the work of that body did not please him. At the outbreak of the war he cast his fortunes with the Confederacy. After the war he was appointed minister to Brazil, and he aided in freeing the slaves of that country. He is the author of several valuable works.

QUESTIONS

1. Give a sketch of Henry W. Hilliard's early life. 2. Describe his work in the University of Alabama. 3. What did he accomplish as minister to Belgium? 4. Give an account of his work in Congress. 5. Why was he disappointed in Congress? 6. What services did he render to the Confederacy? 7. In what way and with what results did he serve the government of Brazil? 8. Give a brief sketch of his later life. 9. Of what books is he the author? 10. Compare Mr. Hilliard and Mr. Yancey.