Nobody is forgotten so soon as an American ex-President, and
the death of Mr. Fillmore will probably excite much less atten- tion than that of Senator .Sumner. The former, indeed, was. never known to this country, where nobody understood what Silver-grey-Fillmore-Whigs could possibly be. Mr. Sumner was better known and better understood as a man of high principle, soured temper, inordinate vanity, and of late years bitter dislike to England. We prefer to remember him as the gallant politician who for fifteen years led the Abolitionists, who stood up against ridicule, insult, and at last personal violence—being nearly beaten to death in the Senate Chamber by Mr. Preston Brooks—for an oppressed race, and who contributed more than any man, except John Brown, to the overthrow of slavery. His very foibles served him in this cause, for he would face anything, dare any consequences, and wait with implacable patience for the triumph which he fortunately lived to see. The amendment to the Con- stitution giving the negro a vote avenged him on Mr. Brooks, and justified his career.
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