From a Newark paper.
Native Merit.—Among the eminent men of our country
who have risen to distinction, without the factitious advantages
of birth or fortune, through the mere force of merit,—the innate,
buoyant energies of a great mind,—Major Downing, of Downingville,
the confidante of the President, and correspondent of
the New-York Daily Advertiser, stands pre-eminent—high above
his contemporaries in all that enters into the composition of a
great character,—a noble, ingenuous spirit “that takes no private
way,”—an acute, comprehensive mind,—habits of observation
and research,—a profound acquaintance with human nature,
—magnanimous and brave, feared at court, and a favourite of
the people. In the two latter attributes he bids fair to excel the
great master whom it was once his glory to serve, as he has
long been confessedly superior to all rivalry in every other.
The pen, the pencil, and the press have dedicated their best services
to do him honour; the Wandering Piper pipes his praise;
and the muses have pronounced his fame, in high poetic strains,
from the top of Ida.
