There  were  two  parties  in  the  Assembly,  of  course.  But  pos
teritjr  cares  only  for  the  party  that  triumphs,  —  the  radical  party
the  party  in  the  right.  In  his  own  day,  the  conservative  usually  is
and  usually  ought  to  be,  uppermost:  he  represents  the  human
family,  which  is  too  large  a  body  to  move  forward  rapidly.  The
radical  usually  is  one  of  a  small  minority,  —  half  a  dozen  pioneers
with  broai-axes  and  leathern  aprons,  who  march  some  paces  in
advance  of  the  regiment,  and  get  little  besides  scratches  and  hard
knocks.  But  the  radical  has  his  revenge.  He  alone  can  have  any
enduring  success.  If  the  politics  of  the  United  States,  from  1787
to  1861,  are  remembered  at  all  in  the  general  history  of  the  world,
the  only  names  likely  to  be  preserved  will  be  those  of  a  few  trouble-
some Abolitionists,  Democrats,  Law- reformers,  and  Free-traders.
The  triumphant  and  respectable  multitude  with  whom  and  for  whom
these  contended,  sweet  Oblivion  will  claim  them,  and  have  its  claim
allowed.
