Him do we follow, Him do we fear-- The spirit of earth and sky;-- Who hears with the Wapiti's eager ear His poor red children's cry. Whose whisper we note in every breeze That stirs the birch canoe-- Who hangs the reindeer moss on the trees For the food of the Caribou. IV. That Spirit we worship who walks unseen Through our land of ice and snow: We know not His face, we know not His place, But His presence and power we know. McGee's power as an orator deserves special mention in this concluding chapter. There are few orators whose speeches have literary value. Supreme eloquence is rare and generally transitory. It is inspired by the gravity of great events or dramatic situations. When the vivid circumstances have passed, the printed sentences divorced from the inspiring presence of the orator lose their former magic influence. Thus, most great speeches come down in history as a feeble echo of what they had been when delivered. Those of Edmund Burke are an exception that prove the rule. McGee was an orator of great power, and his orations, delivered without the use of notes, live as literature. Something of the beauty of his expressions may be gathered from the few quotations on preceding pages. But these quotations do little to recall their thrilling effect when they were delivered by McGee. Leading contemporaries agreed in giving him the first position amongst the orators of Confederation, and the verdict of contemporaries on such a subject must be accepted. Sir Charles Tupper, on hearing the news of McGee's death, remarked that "the grave has closed over the most eloquent man in Canada." The _Globe_, in an editorial the day after his assassination, stated that "whether his hearers sympathized or not with what he said, it was impossible for anyone not to acknowledge that he was marvellously eloquent; that his words were fitly chosen, and gave every intimation of masterly power.... His wit--his power of sarcasm---his readiness in reply--his aptness in quotation--his pathos which melted to tears, and his broad humour which convulsed with laughter--were all undoubtedly of a very high order. Among the orators of Canada, either within or without the House, he has not, we believe, left his equal, and even his opponents will miss the speeches in which he developed his plans for promoting the greatness of Canada." This judgment is all the more convincing in that the _Globe_ had been for some years previous hostile to McGee.