r-1 Class _ Book ^ CHjp)TightN^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. vfl^ C_^?ti^ ^c^- ^ C^^^^^ e--^^^^. / MM OFF-HAND TAKINGS; OK, CRAYON SKETCHES OF THE J^OTICEABLE MEN OF OUR AGE. BT GEORGE W. BUNGAY. !Emi)£nis|)£li iwitl) OTfatnt^ portraits on %itt\. THIED EDITION. NEW YORK: ROBT. M. DE WITT, PUBLISHER, ICO & 1(;2 NASSAU STREET, IBfts- Ertekbd according to Act of Congress, in tlio year 1854, br DE WITT 4 OAYENPORT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Conrk 'or the Southf rn District of New York VV. H. TINSON', PB.STEa ASD STEREOTYPEB, >l ISeeknwn Street. ALEXANDER i STOKM, BOOKBIKDIUil., 7 Sprnce Stiei , CONTENTS. Daniel Webster 9 Henry Clay 20 Kdwin H. Cliapin {tciHi portrait) 28 J&liii Charles Fremont 8T Geo. P. Mollis and N. P. WiUis 4.3 AVilliam H. .•^eward {wU/i portrait) 52 KUward Everett (tcith portrait) 69 John P. Uale {uith portrait) 72 Father Taylor 79 Jolin C. Calhoun 82 Lewis Cass 92 Charles C. Burleigh 101 Henry Ward Beecher (tw'Wt portrait) 104 Abbott Lawrence 116 Italph Waldo Emerson 119 John Van Buren {icil/i portrait) 127 John Greenleaf Whitticr 132 Washington Irving 141 O. W. Betbune 147 E. P. AVhipple 150 G. C. Ilebbe (with portrait) 1C2 Rufus Choate 107 Horace Mann 175 Dr. Boardman 1S2 Solon Robinson (with portrait) 186 Jolm Ross Dix 190 P. T. Barnum (wii/i, portrait) 199 Dr. E. Kane 205 Nathaniel Hawthorne 210 Samuel F. B. Slorse 214 Ceo. W. Kendall 218 Sanjuel Houston (with portrait) 219 Pierre Soule 223 W. Tliackeray 2Z4 CONTENTS. IV Page John I'iexpont 229 Horace Greeley {with portrait) 237 Moses Grant 24o George N. Briggs 241) Theodore Parker 253 Neal Dow {with portrait) 2G3 Philip S. White 26T Charles Sumner 273 Ogden Hoffman {with portrait) 2S4 E. L. Snow 286 Thomas Francis Meagher 2S8 Wendell PhiUips 292 Elihu Burritt 801 William CuUen Bryant {with portrait) 309 Daniel S. Dickinson 316 General Winfield Scott 323 William R. Stacy 32T Gerrit Smith {with portrait) 830 Edward Beecher 841 Thos. Hart Benton {with portrait) 345 William L. Marcy 346 Alfred Bunn 847 Peter Cartwright 861 Anson Burlingame 355 George Law {with portrait) 363 Dr. J. W. Francis 3(>4 Dr. S. H. Cox 36a Freeman Hunt 368 B. P. Shillaber 372 Bishop James S77 Rev. Mr. Wadsworth 378 Rev. Dr. Durbin 8S2 S. A. Douglas {with portrait) 883 W. Gilmore Simms 886 James Gordon Bennett 3S9 Caleb Gushing 890 James Watson Webb 391 Dr. Dufficld 892 J. R. Lowell 394 John Mitchel {with portrait) ., ... 40(1 PREFACE. There is, at least so it seems to us, very little need of a Preface to such a book as this ; yet, as the public seems to think that the old custom of providing one should be kept up, and as our friend, the Author of these " Crayon Sketches," has asked us to furnish one, we do not see how we can refuse to stand, as it were, at the door of his picture gallery, for the purpose of furnishing all who may enter with a synopsis of what is to be seen within. And, having seen and examined the portraits themselves, we can, in all sin cerity, testify to their faithfulness and artistic merits. It is not, by any means, the easiest thing in the world to sketch portraits in pen-and-ink, so as to con- vey to the reader's mind accurate and life-like impres- sions of the originals. Different people observe objects from such various points of view, that what to one might appear a satisfactory resemblance, would seem VI PREFACE. to another a mere caricature. Now to meet this diffi culty it is requisite that the sketcher should possess such an intimate knowledge of the man he seeks to portray as will enable him to seize upon those broad features of character which are obserA^able by all, and to dispose of those peculiarities that are perceivable by but the few. These qualifications we believe Mr. Bungay to possess in an eminent degree, and do not doubt that the reader will entertain the same opiniop when he shall have read through this volume. All personal gossip is interesting. Although the matter may at first glance seem trivial, we, all of us. like to know something of the men whom we hear talked of every day, and whose works have either de- lighted or instructed us. How they dressed, talked, or amused themselves ; what they loved to eat and drink, and how they looked when their bows were un- bent. It is this sort of gossip that makes Boswell's Life of Johnson one of the most delightful works in our language ; and such petty details, though the " high art " biographer may deem them of but little value, constitute a charm which the most elaborate expositions of mental characteristics would fail to secure. PREFACE. VI. But let it not be thought that in the following por- traits mental traits are lost sight of. On the contrary, our Author has a keen eye for detecting such, and a ready pen to record them. A poet himself, and a true one. as the world will before long know, if it knows it not alread}^ he is well able to detect and prize the poetic faculty in others ; and his general knowledge of most subjects enables him to seize upon the prominent features in the politician, the philosopher, the orator, the merchant, or the journalist. In these " Takings" we think he hcis been singularly successful ; and if in some instances he has been hurried, by an enthusiastic temperament, into over-coloring, the fault may be easily excused, for where is the painter who does not now and then overstep the " modesty of nature," and produce effects which, though they existed in his prolific imagination, are not set down in the strict rules of art ? To American readers this Gallery of Portraits of some of their most illustrious men will be of great and abiding interest. Of course there are many others whom the Author might have sketched, but wliat single volume could have contained all ? Should, however, this book be received with favor and we do not in the VIU PREFACE. least doubt it, a second and a third series may appear Of such, however, it is premature to speak at present, and we therefore rest content with introducing this volume to the American reader. J. K D. Boston, Mass., June, 1854 Orr-HAID TAIQNGS; OR, CRAYON SKETCHES DANIEL WEBSTER. America is the greatest continent, and embraces within its * limits the grandest mountains, the broadest lakes, the longest rivers, the largest prairies, and, with all these, the mightiest intellect. Its mountains stand up like pillars supporting the azure arch in the temple of nature ; its lakes are inland seas ; its rivers could swallow the waters of Europe without over- flowing their banks; and its mind is correlative with the magnificence of its scenery. There is but one Niagara, and that is in America ; there is but one Webster, and ho is in America. The cataract flows now, as it did when God first smote the rock in this Western wilderness, and He has woven a rainbow about its silver forehead, and ci"Owned it with a fountain of diamonds. It shouts the same song of liberty it did when the world was in its infancy. It is fi*ee and mighty, and cannot be hushed into silence, nor flattered into subserviency. So with Webster, when he lifts up his voiofl 1* 10 CRAYON SIvETClIES, AND for freedom, it is like " deep calling unto deep ;" and the light of Heaven illuminates his magnetic eyes and beams on his mighty forehead. Geologists have discovered the colossal hones of the Mas- todon, and hence we infer that there were larger animals in ages gone by, than we have living at present ; so, future his- torians will find, in their mutilated and mouldy libraries, the remains of Webster's greatness. In the glory of his man- hood he represented Massachusetts ; defended liberty ; sympa- thized with humanity, and won the approbation of all good men. Tn the arena of debate he usually came ofi" more than conqut i'or. He was regarded as the senator of the United States. When he rose in his place, in the council chamber of the nation, with a voice of thunder and eyes on fire, every face was turned towards him, every tongue was silent, for he was clad to the teeth in armor, had a spear h'ke a weaver's beam, and had been trained to battle. He has great self-pos- session coolness, adroitness, and tact ; never was remarkable for sunshiny gaiety of imagination ; rarely strayed to select bright flowers in the garden of literature ; his attempts at wit were like the antics of the elephant that tried to mimic the lap-dog ; but he was emphatically great. He was the Defender of the Constitution, and could present arguments in its defence with irresistible force and eloquence. His words were full of marrow, his logic unctuous with fatness. He defeated his opponents, not by the " delicacy of his tact, but by the prodigious power of his reason." There " was no Jioneyed paste of poetic diction " I'ucrusting his speeches, " like OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 11 the candied coat of the aui-icula," but there was tremendous weight in his arguments. Webster, in earlier days, was sublime as Chatham, classi- cal as Burke, terse as Macintosh, forcible as Tully. Endowed by nature, with a noble and commanding person, he never failed to attract attention. When excited in debate, his granite face glowed with intellect ; " the terrors of his beak, the lightnings of his eye, were insufferable." He was the king of the Senate, for nature had stamped him with the unmistakable mark of sovereignty, regardless of the republi- canism of his country. There was grace in his gesture, dig- nity in his deportment, and humanity as well as patriotism in his speeches. His voice was rich, full, and clear; now thril- ling like the blast of a trumpet, now intimidating by the awful solemnity of its tone, now animating by its soul-stirring notes. Abroad, he was the lion of London, his noble exterior making him " a man of mark." He has coal-black hair, (now thickly sprinkled with grey,) a lofty brow, " the forge of thought;" magnificent eyes; an ample chest; a patrician hand; a face broad and dark as some of the fugitives he would return to bondage. See him in the zenith of his man- hood, standing on the battle-ground at Bunker Hill, with kingly dignity, uttering sentiments that will be fresh in the memories of millions, when the shaft of granite now standing there shall have crumbled to dust ! Apparently as impregna- ble as the granite hills of his own New Hampshire, who sup- posed that he, so great and gifted, towering above ordinary men, was as the mountain which wraps the cloud-cloak about 12 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND its shoulders, wLile a vest of eternal snow keeps the sunshine for ever from its heart ! The mountain is great, sublime, and lofty, but cold, barren, and unapproachable ; it points towards Heaven, but remains fixed to earth. Daniel Webster has accomplished noble feats, for which ha merits the gratitude of good men. Since the days of Washington, there has been no man so well qualified, in many points, for the presidency, as he. His impatience and irritability, in consequence of his disappointment, have been frequently exhibited. As a last resort, he tried to conciliate the South at the expense of the North. As a public speaker, he seldom enlivens his aro-uments with the flashes of wit, but he has said some keen things, which have become as common as " household words." At a public meeting, a young aspi- rant for poetical and political honors attempted to drink a toast to the honor of the immortal John Q. Adams, who was present. " Mr. Adams," said the toaster, " may he perplex his enemies as " here the speaker hesitated, and Webster thundered out, " as he has his friends." Foote made a fulsome speech in praise of ^Ir. Webster, at one time, in the senate, but the " g:od-like " cut him short by shouting, " Git eout^'' The yankee twang he gave the sentence convulsed the senate with irrepressible laughter. For superior specimens of pure style, lofty reasoning, and eloquent declamation, read Mr. Webster's arguments before the Supreme Court, his speeches delivered in Faneuil Hall, his best efforts in the senate chamber, his imstudied responses at public dinners and conventions, his lectures before ths OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 13 lyceums, his remarks on the gi-eat political and constitinionai questions of the past and present times. Indeed, all are familiar with these efforts of a master mind. The profes- sional skill and the parliamentary talent of Mr. "Webster are appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic. He has contended with the ablest intellects, — stout competitors, keen opponents, — and always came off with flying colors, when he was in the right. Even his rivals give him the credit of being the mos. forcible debater in America. At the age of thirty he appeared in the Congress of 1812, and Mr. Lowndes then said of him, that the North had not his equal, nor the South his superior. That he has been a sagacious statesman, a skillful diplomatist, a profound investi- gator, and the greatest thinker in America, is the opinion of millions of his countrymen. Never was the English language more eloquently employed than in Webster's magnificent speech, in reply to Haynes. Hear him : — " And now, sir, I repeat, how is it that a state legislature acquires any right to interfere ? Who, or what, gives them the right to say to the people, ' We, who are your agents and servants for one purpose, will undertake to decide that your other agents and servants, appointed by you for another pur- pose, have transcended the authority you gave them ?' The reply would be, I think, not impertinent, ' Who made you a judge over another's servants ? To their own masters they stand or fall.' " Sir, I deny this power of state legislatures altogether. Tl 14 CKAYON SKETCHES, AND cannot stand tlie test of examination. Gentlemen may say that, ill an extreme case, a state government might protect themselves, without the aid of the state governments. Such a case warrants revolution. It must make, when it comes, a law for itself. A nullifying act of a state legislature cannot alter the case, nor make resistance any more lawful. In maintaining these sentiments, sir, I am but asserting the right of the people. I state what they have declared, and insist on their right to declare it. They have chosen to repose this power in the General Government, and I think it my duty to support it, like other constitutional powers. " For myself, sir, I doubt the jurisdiction of South Carolina, or any other state, to prescribe my constitutional duty, or to settle, between me and the people, the validity of laws of Con- gress for which I have voted. I decline her umpirage. I have not sworn to support the Constitution according to her construction of its clauses. I have not stipulated, by my oath of office or otherwise, to come under any responsibility, except to the people, and those whom they have appointed to pass upon the question, whether the laws, supported by my votes, conform to the Constitution of the country. And, sir, if we look to the general nature of the case, could anything have been more preposterous than to have made a government for the whole Union, and yet left its powers subject, not to one interpretation, but to thirteen or twenty-four interpreta- tions ? Instead of one tribunal — established by all, responsi- ble to all, with power to decide for all — shall constitutional questions be left to four and twenty popular bodies, each at OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 15 liberty to decide for itself, and none bound to respect the decisions of others ; and each at liberty, too, to give a new construction, on every new election of its owti members ? Would anything, with such a principle in it, or rather vrith such a destitution of all principle, be fit to be called a govern- ment ? No, sir. It should not be denominated a Constitu- tion. It should be called, rather, a collection of topics for everlasting controversy ; heads of debate for a disputatious people. It would not be a government. It would not be adequate to any practical good, nor fit for any country to live under. To avoid all possibility of being misunderstood, allow me to repeat again, in the fullest manner, that I claim no powers for the government, by forced or unfair construc- tion. 1 admit that it is a government of strictly limited powers ; of enumerated, specified, and particularized powers ; ami that whatsoever is not granted is withheld. But, not- withstanding all this, and however the grant of powers may be expressed, its limits and extent may yet, in some cases, admit of doubt ; and the General Government would be good for nothing, it would be incapable of long existence, if some mode had not been provided in which those doubts, as they should arise, might be peaceably, but authoritatively, solved. " And now, Mr. President, let me run the honorable gentle- man's doctrine a little into its practical application. Let us look at his probable modus operandi. If a thing can be done, an ingenious man can tell how it is to be done. Now, I wish to be informed how this state interference is to be put in prac- tice. We will take the <'xisting case of the tariff law. South 16 Carolina is said to have made up her opinion upcn it. If we do not repeal it (as we probably shall not), she Avill then apply to the case the remedy of her doctrine. She will, we must suppose, pass a law of her legislature, declaring the several acts of Congress, usually called the tariff laws, null and void, so far as they respect South Carolina, or the citizens thereof. So far, all is a paper transaction, and easy enough. But the collector at Charleston is collecting the duties imposed by these tariff laws — he, therefore, must be stopped. The collector will seize the goods if the tariff duties are not paid. The state authorities will undertake their rescue : the marshal, with his posse, will come to the collector's aid ; and here the contest begins. The militia of the state will be called out to sustain the nullifying act. They will march, sir, under a very gallant leader ; for I believe the honorable member himself commands the militia of that part of the state. He will raise the NULLIFYING ACT ou his Standard, and spread it out as his banner. It will have a preamble, bearing that the tariff laws are palpable, deliberate, and dangerous violations of the Con- stitution. He will proceed, with his banner flying, to the cus- tom house in Charleston, — 'all the whUe Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds.' Arrived at the custom house, he will tell the collector that he must collect no more duties under any of the tariff laws. This he will be somewhat puzzled to say, by the way, with a grave countenance, considering what hand South Carolina herself OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 17 had in that of 1816. But, sir, the collector would, probably, uot desist at his bidding. Here would ensue a pause ; for they say, that a certain stillness precedes the tempest. Before thia military array should fall on the custom house, collector, clerks, and all, it is very probable some of those composing it would request of their gallant commander-in-chief to be in formed a little upon the point of law ; for they have doubtless a just respect for his opinions as a la\vyer, as well as for his bravery as a soldier. They know he has read Blackstone and the Constitution, as well as Turenne and Vauban. They would ask him, therefore, something concerning their rights in thia matter. They would inquire whether it was not somewhat dangerous to resist a law of the United States. What would be the nature of their offence, they would wish to learn, if they, by military force and array, resisted the execution in Carolina of a law of the United States, and it should turn out, after all, that the law was constitutional. He would answer, of course, treason. No lawyer could give any other answer. John Fries, he would tell them, had learned that some years ago. How, then, they would ask, do you propose to defend us ? ' We are not afraid of bullets, but treason has a way of taking people off that we do not much relish. How do you propose to defend us?' 'Look at my floating banner,' ho would reply; 'see there the nullifying law P 'It is your opinion, gallant commander,' they would then say, ' that if iro should be indicted for treason, that same floating banner of yours would make a good plea in bar ?' ' South Carolina is a sovereign state,' he would reply. ' That is true ; but would the 18 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND judge admit our plea V ' These tariff laws,ihe would repeal ' are unconstitutional.' ********* "That Union we reached only by the discipline of oui virtues in the severe school of adversity. It had its origin in the necessities of disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined credit. Under its benign influence, these great interests immediately awoke, as from the dead, and sprang forth with newness of life. Every year of its duration has teemed with fresh proofs of its utility and its blessings ; and although our territory has stretched out wider and wider, and our population spread farther and farther, they have not outran its protection or its benefits. It has been to us all a copious fountain of national, social, personal happiness. I have not allowed my- self, sir, to look beyond the Union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recesses behind. I have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving liberty, when the bonds that unite us together shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom the depth of the abyss below ; nor could I regard him as a safe counsellor in the affiiirs of this government, whose thoughts should be mainly bent on considering, not how the Union should be best pre- served, but how tolerable might be the condition of the people when it shall be broken up and destroyed. While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant that, in my day at least, tha» OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 19 curtain may not rise. God grant that oii my vision never may be opened what lies behind. When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shinino^ on the broken and dishonored fraarments of a once-glorious Union ; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering glance, rather, behold the gorgeous ensign of the Republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high ad- vanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured — bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, Wltat is all this worth? nor those other words of delusion and folly. Liberty first, and Union afterwards ; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart — Liberty and Union, now and for- ever, one and inseparable !" - Note. — It is is scarcely necessary to state, that the above sketch was written prior to the decease of the great statesman to whom it refers. AUTHOS. 20 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND HENRY CLAY. Every American citizen, who has arrived at years of discretion, must be familiar with the remarkable history of Henry Clay. What man figured more conspicuously in Con- gress than he did during his terms of service there ? Who exerted such a magnetic and potent influence over the Whig party ? Where in this country could be found his equal for impassioned eloquence ? Who understood better than he did the modern history of the diplomacy of nations ? He was a man of extraordinary endowments, courteous, brave, generous, and urbane, and yet opinionative, arbitrary, and dogmatical. It is said, that on a certain occasion, while Eufus Clioate waf a member of the United States Senate, the imperious Kentuc- kian made the Massachusetts orator shrink to his seat, in the midst of a speech, by simply shaking his finger at him. What a sight ! Rufus Choate struck dumb by the pantomime :>f Henry Clay. As a statesman he had great forecast, save vhen he permitted himself to become a candidate for the presidency ; then he unwisely hampered himself Avith answers io the impertinent inquiries of the little great men which flash like fire-flies when the stars are shining. Had he been a Northern man, with a New England educa- tion, he would have been a bolder and braver herald of freedom, and he would have discountenanced those who havw OFF-HAXD TAKINGS. 21 betrayed liberty in the bouse of its pi-ofessed friends for less than thirty pieces of silver; renegades who have crucified humanity — by driving in the rusty nails of cruel enactments and putting on the crown of bitter shame. He, however, was a wise statesman and a mairnificent jjentlcman. " Peace to his ashes." Having no desire whatever to dwell on that unpleasant side of the medal, I turn to a theme in which the general reader will take a deeper interest. Henry Clay had a Avell balanced temperament, combining vast powers of origination with great force and activity. Indolence was punishment to him. Mr. Fowler, the justly celebrated phrenologist, speaking of him, says, " He also had great elasticity of constitution ; could endure almost anything." He was tall — full six feet in his stockings, I should think — stood erect as the towering pines on the sandy hills of his native state, had a capacious chest, sandy complexion, florid countenance, wide, sensual mouth, starry eyes, and a magnificent forehead. He looked the patrician. Even strangers knew at a glance that he was no ordinary person. Nature had put a mark of distinction upon him, and pedestrians would stop in the road and look back after him. When he smiled, the infection charmed the circle on which his countenance shone. When he spoke, he had the entire nation for his audience. When ho made an effort, there was a vibration throughout the Confederacy. That ho was an ambitious man, and desired most ardently to be ele- vated to the highest post of honor his country could offer him, will not be disputed by those who are competent to 22 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND appreciate his speeches and his sentiments. He was born to be a leader, and he did lead, and sometimes drive. He drove his cruel omnibus into the Senate, and would have hac Bcythes upon its wheels, if Benton had not knocked them off with his battering-ram. Mr. Clay was noted for his hospitality and great-hearted generosity. He was fond of tho approbation of his fellow- men, and would often put himself to inconvenience to accom- modate those even, who could render no return but gratitude for his magnanimity. Not at all inclined to believe in the wonderful and marvelous, and not being overetocked with veneration for religious rites and ceremonies, he was in his earlier days regarded as a dashing, brilliant, reckless, gifted, and graceless young man, with lofty anticipations that would never be realized. It is quite evident he expected notoriety, honor, and distinction, and his career proves that he did not over-estimate his abilities, while it furnishes positive evidence that his expectations were not often disappointed. Although a popular man, who moved the masses and even the sympa- thies of the poor as well as the rich — while he was naturally aristocratic and exclusive, and wished all to keep at a respectful distance from him — he was accessible and sociable when approached through proper mediums. No one at all acquainted with him could fail to notice his unfaltering firm- ness and unyielding perseverance. Whatever project he undertook was pursued with volcanic vigor until it was accom- plished. He was cautious, without being timid — resolute, but not rash — firm, but not obstinate. He could mature his plans OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 23 in his own mind, and keep them shut up there until the time came for their development ; hence he was a sage politician — a smart tactician. He was a warm friend, and a cold, dig- nified enemy ; an affectionate husband (when addressing a large audience of beautiful ladies, a short time previous to his decease, he told them they were very handsome, but there was an old lady in Ashland, he loved more than he loved them), a tender father (there can be no doubt that the death of his son, on the Mexican battle-field, cut him to the heart, and hastened him to the grave, by irritating the disease to which lie was predisposed), and an appreciating teacher (he edu- cated the eminent scholar and distinguished orator, Bascom). He had more courage than cruelty, and would defend him- self when assailed with a degree of patriotic pluck which was a caution to the invader. The love of money was not remarkable in him. It is my impression that he left only a moderate competency behind him. In his younger days, ho occasionally indulged in games of chance, not for the profit but for the excitement of the game. Gambling, however, is always reprehensible, and no excuse can whitewash it into innocent amusement. After all, it was his mind that made him such an attractive man. He was fond of the sublimo and beautiful, had a nice discriminating taste, hence his lan- guage and his illustrations were chaste and elegant, and he became the most eloquent expounder of the principles of his party. The magazines are filled with specimens of his glow- ing imagery and subtle reasoning. It was, indeed, a rich ♦reat to look up at bis stalwart form and listen to the deep 24 notes that pealed from his organ-chest, until the senate chamber rang with the mighty magic of his unapproachable eloquence. He had not the massive grandeur of Webster, but he was more acute in his argument, and had a more gracious manner of delivery. He did not display the scholarship of Benton, but he had a richer fancy and more declamatory power, and far exceeded him in mattei-s of diplo- macy. Without the calmness of Cass, he always commanded more attention in Conojress than the arreat oriant of Michisran. Perhaps he may be called, the Canning of America; although his style is pecuhar to himself, there is the same fascinating finish — the same mingling of pathos and poetry, argument and invective. He was rapid, forcible, brilliant, piercing. His wit was always refined as attic salt, his humor perfectly irresistible, though seldom indulged, his invective as rankling as the bite of an adder. Now he sounded the deep sea of passion — then he soared to the sky of fancy. He would have shone in Parliament with such men as Pitt, Fox, Burke, and Sheridan. His mind was not like the eye of Cyclops, " letting in a flood of rushing and furious splendor," but a Drummond light, illuminating without impairing what it shone upon. His let- ters are lucid, terse, fluent, courteous, classical, with the heart of their author throbbing in them.' His collected speeches form volumes of American eloquence, which should be found in every well-appointed library in our land. The last speeches he made breathe the same youthful v\gcr of his earlier efforts, and the reader never thinks that the speaker was OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 25 a venerable white-haired man ; indeed, his heart never became grey. If the Congress of the United States may be called an aviary of birds of prey, he was the eagle in that aviary ; if it may bo termed a menagerie, he was the lion of that menagerie. It is to be deeply deplored that such a man was a slavehold'T, that he lived and died a defender of slavery ; that he ever countenanced in any way the cruel code of honor which demands a man to make a martyr of himself to " preserve his honor unsullied." I here annex a specimen of the style of Mr. Clay's oratory : — Hon. Henry Clay's appeal in behalf of Greece. " Mr. Chairman : — There is reason to apprehend that a tre- mendous storm is ready to burst upon our unhappy country — one which may call into action all our vigor, courage, and resources. Is it wise or prudent, then, sir, in preparing to breast the storm, if it must come, to talk to this nation of its incompetency to repel European aggression, to lower its spirit, to weaken its moral energy, and to qualify it for easy conque.it and base submission ! If there bo any reality in the dangers which are supposed to encompass us, should we not animate the people and adjure them to believe, as I do, that our re- sources are ample, and that we can bring into the field a million of freemen ready to expend their last drop of blood, and to spend their last cent in the defence of their country, its liberty and its institutions ? " Sir, are we, if united, to be conquered by all Europe com- bii-ed ? No, sir, no united nation that resolves to be free can 2 26 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND be conquered. And has it come to this ? Are we so humble, so low, so debased, that we dare not express our sympathy for sufferinec Greece : that we dare not articulate our detestation of the brutal exercise of which she has been the bleeding vic- tim, lest we might offend one or more of their imperial and royal majesties ? Are we so mean, so base, so despicable, that we may not attempt to express our horror, utter our indigna- tion at the most brutal and atrocious war that ever stained earth or shocked high heaven ; at the ferocious deeds of a savage and infuriated soldiery, stimulated and urged on by the clergy of a fanatical and inimical religion, and rioting in all the excesses of blood and butchery, at the mere details of which the heart sickens and recoils ? " But, sir, it is not for Greece alone that I desire to see the measure adopted, it will give her but little support, and that purely of a moral kind. It is principally for America — for the credit and character of our common country, for our own un- sullied name, that I hope to see it pass. What appearance, Mr. Chairman, on the page of history, would a record like this exhibit ? — ' In the month of January, in the year of our Lord and Saviour 1824, while all European Christendom beheld witT.i cold and unfeeling indifference, the unexampled wrongs and inexpressible misery of Christian Greece, a proposition was made in the Congress of the United States, almost the sole, the last, the greatest depository cf human hope and freedom, the representatives of a gallant nation, containing a miilion of freemen ready to fly to arms, while the people of that nation were spontaneously expressing its deep-toned feeling, and the OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 2*1 whole continent, by one simultaneous emotion, was rising and solemnly and anxiously supplicating and invoking high heaven to spare and succor Greece, and to invigorate her arms, in her glorious cause ; — while temples and senate-houses were alike resounding with one burst of generous and holy sympathy ; in the year of our Lord and Saviour — that Saviour of Greece and of us — a proposition was offered in the American Congress to send a message to Greece, to inquire into her state and condition, with a kind expression of our good wishes and our sympathies — and it was rejected !' " Go home, if you can, go home, if you dare, to your con stituents, and tell them that you voted it down. Meet, if you can, the appalling countenances of those who sent you here, and tell them that you shrunk from the declaration of your own sentiments ; that you cannot tell how, but that some un- known dread, some indescribable apprehension, some indefinite danger, drove you from your purpose ; that the spectres of scimitars, and crowns, and crescents, gleamed before you, and alarmed you ; and that you suppressed all the noble feelings prompted by religion, by liberty, by national independence, and by humanity. " I cannot, sir, bring myself to believe that such will be the feelings of a majority of this committee. But for myself, though every friend of the cause should desert it, and I be left to stand alone with the gentleman from Massachusetts, I will give to his resolution the poor sanction of my unqualified approbation.'" 28 CRAVON SKETCHES, AND EDWIN II. CIIAPm. Edwin H. Ghapin is one of the ablest and most eloquent expounders and defenders of the doctrine of unlimited salva- tion. He has no foith in the old black fellow who keeps the fire-office. He imagines that poets and divines give him more credit for sagacity and potency than he deserves, and that if he ever was a genius he is now in his dotage, and, furthermore, that he has not goodness enough to be entitled to our respect, nor influence sufficient over our future destiny to alarm our fears. To him a devil by any other name is just as dreadful, and the Satan he endeavors to subdue he calls Evil, Sin, Crime, Vice, Error. He thinks the distillery, where the worm dieth not and the fires are unquenched, is a hell on earth, which causes weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Mr. Chapin is an independent, straight-forward man, who has a will and a way of his own, and he is willing to allow others the same freedom he assumes himself. He does not expect his church to cough when he takes cold, nor to acqui- esce in silent submission to every proposition that he makes. He is not a theological tyrant, threatening vengeance, and outer- darkness, and eternal fire, to all the members of his flock who will not uncomplainingly and unhesitatingly yield to his spiritual supervisorship. His lessons and lectures may tif: I (^^ c^. ■^^^^^-^^^-^5^!^ /* OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 2S sometimes smell of the lamj), but they never smell of brim stone. His education, his temperament, his organization of brain, his natural benevolence, and the society in which he has lived, moved, and had his being, have contributed to make him a preacher of the gospel. He advocates vith heroic courage and untiring zeal the doctrines of his faith, but Ks universally respected by all denominations of professing Christians. Mr. Chapin, is happily constituted. Tlie animal and the angel of his nature are so nicely balanced, and his poetical temperament is so admirably controlled by his practical knowledge, that his intellectual efforts are invariably stamped with the mint-mark of true currency. There is harmonious blending of the poetical and the practical, a pleasant union of the material with the spiritual, an arm-in-arm connection of the ornamental and useful, a body and soul joined together in his discourses. He avoids two extremes, and is not so material as to be cloddish, of the earth earthy, nor so atrial as to be vapory, or of the clouds cloudy. There is something tangible, solid, nutritious, and enduring in his sermons. IIo is not profound in the learning of the schools. Many of hi». inferiors could master him on doctrinal questions. The out- bursting and overwhelming effusions of his natural eloquence, the striking originality of his conceptions, the irresistible power of his captivating voice, the vivid and copious display of illustration, thrill and charm the appreciative hearer. IIo presents his arguments and appeals with an articulation as distinct and understandable as his gesticulation is awkward. 30 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND He is sometimes abrupt, rapid, and vehement, but never " tears a passion to tatters." " His tenacious memory enables him to quote with great promptitude, and he has that delicate, sensi tive taste which enables him to select, with unerring precision, whatever is truly sublime and beautiful." Mr. Chapin declaims splendidly, in spite of his hands, which are always in his way. The stiff and technical re- straints of style, which disfigure the pulpit efforts of some divines, never appear in his sermons, but seem rather to pinion his elbows and cramp his fingers. He has a fervid imagina- tion, great facility of expression, is scrupulously correct in his pronunciation ; never indulges in hj'^ocritical cant. There is no theatrical uplifting of the hands and uprolling of the eyes, so frequently witnessed in the hysteric raptures of mahogany orators. He seems to have a thorough knowledge of his subject, and commands your admiration by the kingly majesty and sublime beauty of his thought. Now he flings a page of meaning into a single aphorism, — now he electrifies his spell- bound hearers with a spontaneous burst of eloquence, — now he dissolves their eyes to tears by a wizard stroke of pathos, — now he controls their hearts with the sovereign power of a monarch who rules the mind-realm. "He infuses his soul into his voice, and both into the nerves and heart of the hearer." In person, he is stout, fleshy, and well-proportioned. He has a full, florid face, which indicates good health and happy contentment; countenance mild, benignant and thoughtful, »* b Hn expression of integrity, denoting his inability to peer- OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 31 form a meal action ; is near- sigli ted, and this defect is no small disadvantage to him when he reads, and may account for his ungraceful action in the pulpit, since it compels him to face his manuscript so closely, he almost eats his own words, and salutes his own rich figures and glowing sentiments, and fulfils literally the scripture maxim, " He shall kiss his own lips who giveth a correct answer." As I have just intimated, ha usually reads his discourses, although he is an easy extempo- raneous speaker ; but he is apt to become so intensely excited he rarely trusts to his impidses. He commands a very ready pen, and is the author of two or three small volumes, which are widely circulated. His hair is dark brown. He wears ghusses, so I cannot tell the color of his eyes ; has a broad, high forehead, indicating the intellectual strength of ita owner ; is now about forty years of age, and has labored with honor and success for many years, in Richmond, Va., Charles- town, Mass., as well as Boston, but is now preaching in tho city of New York, where he is very popular and useful. Mr. Chapin has recently delivered a number of discourses, illustrating the phases and corruptions of city life. We give below a few extracts from some of his lectures ; although it is but just to say that they have been taken from reports and sketches, and not from any revised or complete publication by the riTithor, who is now preparing them for the press of D. ^ e^^^^^'^^^ OFF-HAND TAKINGS. "73 Foote is a miudle-aged gentleman, with a bald head, sear face, shrunken limbs, and restless manners, and so ignitable, it is a wonder he has not caught fire and burnt up long ago. Halo is in the prime of life, broad shouldered, broad chested, and stout limbed, and he has such control over his temper, he never forgets to be courteous, even to those who permit passion to rule reason, while they sink the glorious dignity of the statesman to the gladiatorial level of the blackguard and the bully. Hale can flog the powdery senator in debate, and fling him out of the window of the Capitol afterwards, as Commodus threw Oleander out of the Roman palace. Foote has the most finished education. Hale the most prac- tical sense ; Foote has read history, and is familiar with the past, Hale has associated with the people, and knows the neces- sities of the present ; Foote understands parliamentary usages, Hale observes the rules of the Senate ; Foote is nervous, furious, and vituperative. Hale is pleasant, manly and earnest ; Foote has the rasping severity of Randolph, without his glow- ing eloquence ; the brilliancy of Lee, without his chaste dignity ; Hale has the self-reliance of Benton, without his general information. The former is a Cavalier, the latter a Roundhead. One would have fought to the death for King Charles, the other would have imited with republican Oliver ; one is of the South, so extreme as to be tropical, the other of the North, so distant as to be frigid. When that great Nebuchadnezzar, the Compromise Bill, Avith its bead of gold (without brains), its feet of Clay (without a foothold), was set up, Mr. Hale refused to bow before it ; consequently 74 CRAYOJ>f SKETCHES, AND he was bound hand and foot, and cast into the heated furnace , but he came out without the smell of fire upon his garments, During the last session of the Senate he was like Daniel (not the Webster) in the lions' den, but he remained uninjured, although there was no angel present to keep the mouths of the lions closed. Mr. Hale is a man whose telescopic discernment enables him to discover danger at a distance, and when unwise or reckless statesmen jilot the ruin of the nation, he sends up a rocket so that its showers of sparks, sheet of fire, and startling report, may attract the attention of the people. When that infamous Compromise Bill was before the Senate, he frequently- fired an alarm gun, to warn his constituents and his country- men. Although he is constitutionally indolent, when his mercury is made to rise to the blood heat of excitement he is a giant, and ordinary men are like grass-hoppers in his hands. He has not genius to originate, neither does he display much H original skill ; but his words drop at the right time and in the right place, as the seed falls from the hands of the sower into the furrow. He puts new wine into old bottles, and bursts them. He is a man for the times, and speaks the language as well as the sentiments of the masses. The man bleached in the factory, and the man bronzed in the foundry, under- stand him without the aid of an interpreter. Mr. Hale is sociable and affable in his manner, hearty and pleasant in his address. He has the courage to patronize and defend whatever is designed to promote the welfare of the human race, and the firmness to remain the unfaltering friend OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 75 of humanity. He speaks fluently and feelingly, and his style and sentiment are both forcible and persuasive. He is a man of foresight and sagacity, and keeps pace with the march of progress. He speaks in behalf of the African race, and pleads for the Abstinence cause. In personal appearance, Mr. Hale is a large, stout man, somewhat inclined to corpulency ; has a full, healthy, rosy face ; dark hair, touched with frost ; blue eyes, beaming with mirthfulnoss ; an ample chest swelling with a generous heart, and shoulders strong enough to bear the cross of his party. We cannot resist the temptation to insert the following graphic sketch from the ready pen of Mrs. Swisshelm : " Hale is just as he looks in the Senate there. He has the greatest amount of droll humor and sly sarcasm that ever fell to the lot of one man ; but our opinion of him is, that the ^ basis of his character is combativeness and firmness. Let any one walk up the pave behind him, and notice the way he sets down his foot ! Every step says, ' there ;' and there he is. "When he has taken a position he will keep it, because he took it for no other purpose. Attempts to drive him thence will only fasten him down. Rouse the lion in him, and you may kill, but never conquer him. Opposition is the most powerful incentive to action. He loves an antagonistic posi- tion for the sake of its antagonism, and the reason he is so perfectly good-humored while contending most obstinately, is, that strife affords the most ample scope for his energies — leaves no feculty to rust. At least, that is our opinion of him, r6 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND ^^nd we would trust our life to his stability and faithfulness, so long as the cause in which he labors is unpopular — very unpopular ; but let him take the popular side of the question, and he would be a very small matter. Let the cause in which he labors become fashionable, and it is done with John P. Hale. Liberty may trust him to advocate her cause so long as she is an outcast, and while she has desperate battles to fight. He will be very respectful to her ladyship, while other people publicly spit upon her ; but if she becomes a reigning princess, and crowds of courtiers kneel at her feet, he will either turn round with a careless fling, walk off to attend to some other business, without thinking to go backwards out of the royal presence ; or he would hide behind a pUlar of her majesty's palace, and shoot bits of potatoe at her out of a quill pop-gun. We do not believe he has a particle of vene- ration for anything but weakness and misfortune, or that he could set a high value on anything that was not very difficult to obtain. " We walked up Pennsylvania Avenue behind him one day, and watched him wearing the outside oflF the heels of his boots with his firm dogged step, as he conversed with a gen- tleman, turning his head on one side or the other, with an air of droll waggery that is almost peculiar to him, and we fancied we saw him, a little short-necked m-chin, in slip and pinafore, with his little, fat fists clenched, and every nerve strung to its utmost tension, fighting with a youngster in breeches, twice his own size, for an apple which he deemed his peculiar pro- perty. We watch the battle in imagination, until, with OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 77 bloody nose and well-pulled hair, he held the prize secur<>, and stood looking defiance at his antagonist, and the other young diplomatist with a snaky eye, and assumed look of indifference, calling out, as if in triumph, ' He ! he ! keep your old apple! I didn't want it! I've got a whole load !' " There was the look of hesitation, a moment's pause, and, without a word, the object of contention was hurled at the head of the young intriguer, while John tottled ofi" in pursuit of something better worth having ; and perfectly satisfied with the result of his encounter. "If he has not or does not, at some time of his manhood's career, re-enact this imaginary childish scene, we have greatly mistaken him, or he has and will exercise this supreme con- trol of reason over natural bent, which, in this case, would be almost superhuman. If he does not, at some time, toss his fame into the face of the public, from whom he has won it, and start full chase after something else, ho is not the John P. Hale we take him to be. With him a day of pursuit is worth twenty of possession. Abolitionists ought not to blame him if he really throws up his seat in the Senate, as it is rumored he will. He was true to the strongest impulses of his nature while he stood there alone, and fought their battles. He is alone no longer ! It is a mooted point if he be not in the majority, and he has not half enough work to keep him busy. The very impulses that drove him into the Senate are now driving him out of it. He may resist them, but it will be an unnatural warfare, and his spirit will chafe under it. V8 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND If Free Soil gains a triumph in Congress, and he stays there, just see if his good humor is not impaired — if he does not grow ill-tempered for want of something with which to con- tend. Like Alexander, he will take sick for want of more worlds to conquer." OFF-HAJfD TAKINGS. 79 FATHER TAYLOR. Such vast impressions did his sermons mal^e, He always Icept bis flock awalce. Db. Wolcott. I venerate ttie man whose heart is warm, Whose hands are pure, whose doctrines and whose life Coincident, exhibit lucid proof That he is honest in the sacred cause. Cowpbr. One Sunday morning I went to the Sailoi-s' Chapel in Boston, to see and hear the far-famed mariners' preacher, Father Taylor. lie was reading the familiar liymn which commences with the well-known lines, " Come, thou fount of every blessing," when I entered the house of worship. The choir wedded the words to music — the Divine blessinsf was invoked — a chapter was read — and. then the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of Colossians was selected as the basis of the discourse. The striking peculiarities of the eccentric and celebrated preacher cannot fail to attract the attention of the seamen and landsmen who attend his church. He rises clum- sily from the sofa in the pulpit, and puts his fore-finger on the text as though he anticipated the danger of losing it, or was determined to stick to it. After reading it distinctly and delilx erately, he is pretty sure to raise the spectacles from his eyes and let them rest over the organs of causality. Father Taylor does not ape the clerical stiffness which so 80 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND ill-liccomes those vvlio strive to make up in dignity what they lack in devotion and intellect. When he walks the pulpit floor, like a caged lion, or pounds the desk with his fists, there seems to be, and doubtless is, honesty in his zeal. When he distorts his weather-beaten face, and swings his out-stretched arms about him, and shakes his lean fingers in the faces of his hearers, we see that he has in him the elements of a good actor. He is an odd genius, and I have no hesitation in affirm ing that he will utter more wise sayings and more sayings that are otherwise, in a single sermon, than any other man in Massa- chusetts. Not unfrequently he mixes his pathos and humor so evenly, the listener knows not whether to laugh or weep. One minute he appeals to Heaven, in a strain of sublimity that excites your admiration and astonishment; and the next moment he appeals to Mr. Foster, or some other member of his congregation, in a style not comporting with the idea most men have of the dignity of the pulpit. Now, with com- pressed lips, grating teeth and flashing eyes, he denounces some vice or some heresy, in words steeped in a solution of brim- stone ; and then, with a smiling countenance, upturned eyes, and outspread hands, he lavishes encomiums on hope, faith, love, virtue, piety. Now he pours out a torrent of adjectives, as though he resolved to exhaust the vocabulary ; then follows a stream of nouns, from his unfailins: Cochituate of lanoruajre, His sermons are ornamented with gems of poetry. The following extracts from the sermon I heard a week or two since, will give the reader a tolerable idea of his matter ; his manner is unreportable, for he is the Booth of the Boston OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 81 pulpit. "Some men," said he, "will lie for a glass of grog, and some women will lie for a cup of tea, K God respects some sinners more than others, there will be a back hole in hell for liars." " Who are so low, vile, mean, hateful, as the wholesale dealers and the retail pedlars in lies ?" He prefaced a quo- tation from Proverbs with these words: "Solomon was a wise old fellow, although he had strange notions about somo things." Speaking of backsliders, he observed : " They slide by moonshining and deceiving themselves." He ridiculed, with bitter severity, the Oratorios of the present day; said that "profane lips dared to imitate the groans of Christ upon the cross. Infidels, with instruments of music, endeavored to show the sufferings of the Saviour in the garden — the driving of the nails, the dripping of the blood upon the accursed tree — and they mimicked the blast of the angel's trumpet." It was an eloquent and just rebuke to those who trifle with sacred things. Father Taylor is a plain-looking man, and his bronzed face is strongly marked. He is now in the sunset of life, and his head is thickly sprinkled with grey hairs. When excited, his voice is harsh, and conveys the impression to the mind, that the "man behind it" hates the devil more than he loves Jesus. He is volcanic, and is often guided more by impulse than by intellect. Although he is in the autumn of his years, he can perform more service, endure more hardship, and preach better sermons, than half the young preachers of the present day. 4* 82 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND JOHN C. CALHOUN. No one at all acquainted with the political history of the United States, will deny the fact that John C. Calhoun, was one of the distinguished few whose voices penetrated every portion of our country. His bold and sententious and condensed utterances were also echoed in other lands, and excited indignation and admiration everywhere. The lovers of univei-sal liberty admired his genius, while they deplored his course in the council chamber of state. Earnestly, eloquently, and perseveringly did he labor, in season and out of season, to defend and perpetuate slavery. Unlike such men as Jefferson, Randolph, Henry, and Clay, he regarded human slavery as an invaluable blessing — promoting the welfare of society, advancing the prosperity of the nation, and perpetuating the free institutions of the Republic — while they, on the contrary, declared involuntary servitude an unmitigated curse — impairing our social happiness, hampering the welfare of our common country, and threatening the stability of our free institutions. John C. Calhoun was a sectional senator — South Carolina was so vast in his eye, he could never look beyond its boundaries. He legislated and labored in his study and in the senate, not for the good of the United States, but for the protection and prosperity of South Carolina. That state was OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 83 all the world to him, and he knew no North, no East, no West. It is astonishing that any man, ha\-ing such breadth of character, and such depth of intellect, did not have more comprehensive views — Webster went for our coun- try, however bounded — Winthrop for our country, right or wrong, but Calhoun went for South Carolina — for her men, her laws, her institutions, and her slaves. He toiled during a life-time, to persuade the world, that slavery was not an infringement on the rights of man. He was aware that it paid no respect to the institution of marriage, and made every cabin liable to become a brothel. He knew that whips, and chains, and yokes, and thumbscrews, and bloodhounds, were some of the accompaniments of such a state of society, yet he defended it. He knew that it separated husband from wife, and child from parent, and consigned three millions of human beings to stripes, and sorrow, and premature death ; yet he demanded its everlasting perpetuation. William Lloyd Garrison, speaking, said of him, with characteristic vigor, soon after Calhoun made an able speech in the senate : " There is no blood in him — he is as cold as a corpse. Ho is made of iron, not flesh ; he is liybridous, not natural." Having seen the most forbidding side of the picture, let us do him and ourselves the justice to look at the favorable side. He was a consistent man, there was no two-facedness, no double-heartedness, no dough in the composition of his nature. Whichever way the wind might blow — whatever course the flood might take — he waa 8t CRAYON SKETCHES, AND the saiie unfaltering and invincible advocate of sla\ery There was no chicanery, no humbug, no hoisting of false colors, no underhandedness in his course. He made the auction block his platform, and there he sounded the bugle blast in the ear of the nation, and acknowledged that he was the champion of chattel slavery. No electioneering tricks, no flattering nominations, no log rolling, no wire pulling, no efforts of friends, no party considerations ; nothing contained in the exchequer, could cause him to swerve a single hair, for a single moment, from his straightforward course. He was frank ; his votes, and speeches, and eiforts were open and above board. He never dodged, never failed to commit himself when an opportunity was presented to show his hand ; and never wore the white feather when assailed by his fellow senators. He was personally a virtuous man, honest in his dealings (save with his slaves, he never paid them), sober (except when intoxicated with excitement, in defending slavery), chaste (his plantation was undoubtedly like others). I say, personally, he was a brave, honest, frank, chaste, and virtuous man. He had an active organization, and his fiery temperament made him an injudicious and unsafe counsellor, although his intellect was mightier than his impulses. When his head and heart were cool, he was generally right on all subjects, save one. He was a man of unbounded ambition, inflexible dignity, and great weight of character ; besides, he was wilful in his resolutions and Indomitable in his perseverance. He had wonderful self-pos- session, and plenty of assurance for a score of ordinary men ; OKK-HAND TAKINGS. 85 Bomo say he had a better balanced head than either of his great compeers ; that his judgment was more correct, and hia views more consistent than theirs. It is certain he was distinguished for clearness of conception, copiousness of logic, and appropriateness of illustration. His speeches are more remarkable for condensed logic, than luminous ornament. He had the vehemence of Clay, without his bonhommie ; the terseness of Benton, without his humanity ; the philosophy of Cass, without his double-dealing. If he was not so colossal as Webster, he was a closer reasoner, and his transparent earnestness won the admiration of those who were indiff- nant at his doctrines ; indeed, men of all parties, and in all parts of the country, entertained but one opinion respecting the consistency of John C. Calhoun. He was not a man of universal acquirements, although he understood jurisprudence, mathematics, modern history, gene- ral literature, the classic languages, and politics. The peculiar features for which he is noted, are his practical and subtle reasoning powers, his intuitive gifts of perception, and hia magnetic influence over his associates and friends. In public, he spoke in a tone approximating to autocratic authority (excuse the alliteration). Occasionally he was vehement as a cataract; at i?uch times he did not curb his passions, nor restrain his invective, but dashed right on with lightning in his eyes, and thunder on his lips ; now tearing a bit of sophistry to shreds ; now laboring an argument fused in the fire of his eloquence ; now lifting the veil from the goddess of Liberty, to show his auditors her face, then uttering sentiments Sff CRAYON SKETCHES, AND that might make the busts of Washington, and Adams, and Madison blush with shame. On, on, he dashed, with the rapidity of a race-horse, out-speeding the swiftest reporters — saying more words in a given time, than any other man. Wit is a weapon too small for our Hercules to wield ; poetry is not practical enough for him ; besides, slavery detests poetry, and cannot boast a single stanza in its defence ; pathos he has not ; but he has philosophy, history, argument, facts, at his fingers' ends, and he uses them as they were never used before, for he is the only prominent man who in any age, in any land plead for slavery as a blessed institution, to bo sustained at all hazards, for the social and political welfare of the world. What a paradoxical man was the great Calhoun j yet he was idolized by the South Carolinians, and they would have been willing to have crowned the great Nullifier their king, and then they would have become his dutiful subjects. A word or two respecting his personal appearance must conclude this sketch. Mr. Calhoun was a tall, thin, straight, wiry man, with sharp angular features ; hair, originally black, but turned quite grey before he died. It was coarse, and bristled up in the most combative manner imaginable, and trespassed on that part of the forehead which is usually bare, consequently, some persons, unacquainted with the science of phrenology, have quoted his peculiar formation of head, as evidence against its doctrines. Doctor Lyman Beecher, the grandfather of Uncle Tom, and the father of the temperance enterprise, is another i istance of this nature, which has been used by the OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 87 sceptical in the same way ; whereas the doctor has a magnificent head, well balanced, and large at the right points, t«) make him the blessed, good man he is. Excuse this digression, I have a vagrant pen, and I have neither bit nor bridle in its nib this evening. I have the impression that Calhoun was of the nervous, bilious temperament, perhaps the bilious predominated. He had great vital and great muscular as well as great mental power. Great as was the reputation of Calhoun, it did not equal his ability. He had brain and bone enough to sustain himself in almost any contest. An author who had frequently seen him and heard him speak in Washington, says, " I do not now remember to have met an organization of greater power, during all my visits at Washington. Webster had more vital power, and perhaps, as much muscular, but not as much mental. Calhoun's head was not as large as Webster's, though it was decidedly large. On a great occasion, Webster was decidedly the greatest man ; but under all circumstances, and when his powers were not wrought up and brought out by some powerful stimulus, he was probably not so great. In matters of detail and practical affairs, Calhoun, probably excelled; but for profound argument. Constitutional questions, conduct- ing great matters, &c., Webster had the best developments. Still the powerful, the impressive, the forcible, the deep, and the efficient, are the prevailing characteristics of both. Calhoun's organization combines tremendous powers with great activity ; these two conditions are rarely united in any one man to as great a degi-ee. He was indeed a great man. 88 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Clay's reputation was equal to his talents, which were of a brilliant, showy order. Not so with those of Calhoun. He was all that he was supposed to be. * * * * " It is doubtful if there was a higher forehead in Washington. Clay's appeared larger, for the hair retired in him ; but the development of his reasoning organs was, indeed, immense, especially comparison." In alluding to the fact, that Mr. Calhoun's hair " grew lower down on his fore- head," he observes, "The fact, that the hair grew on the reasoning organs, does not affect either size or power, for it ia as easy to think through the hair as without it." With the following specimens of his speech-making, I conclude this article. EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECH OF JOHN C. CALHOUN, IN THE SOUTHERN CAUCUS, 1848. * * * "I consider the address indispensable. Whatever action is taken must proceed from the slaveholding states. If the Constitution be violated, and their rights encroached upon, it is for them to determine the mode and measure of redress. We can only suggest and advise. We are in the theatre of action, the witnesses of the alarming encroach- ments which have been going on upon the rghts of the slaveholding part of the Confederacy. We see them plainly, we feel them deeply. They are rapid and alarming ; for Avho would have believed, even three years ago, that j^reparations, which have within a few days past commanded the support OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 89 of a majority of the Lower house of Congress, would have been tolerated by any respectable portion of either house ? " We are in the midst of events scarcely of less import than those of our revolutionary era. The question is, are we to liold our position in this Confederacy upon the ground of equals, or are we to content ourselves with the position of Colonial Dependence ? Sir, it would be worse than Colonial Dependence. For who would not prefer to be taxed and governed without pretence of representation, than, under the form of representation, to be greviously oppressed by measures over which we have no control, and against which our remonstrances are unavailing? " It is undeniable, that encroachments upon our rights have been rapid and alarming. They must be met. I conceive, that no Southern man can entertain, for one moment, the idea of tame submission. " The action of the South should be united, temperate, but decided. Our position must be taken deliberately, but held at every hazard. We wage no war of aggression. We ask only for the Constitution, and Union, and government of our fathers. We ask our Northern brethren to leave us those rights and privileges which our fathers held, and without Bocuring which for their children, all know they would not have entered into this Union. These we must maintain. " It appears to me proper that we, who are on the theatre of action, should address our constituents of the slaveholding states ; briefly and accurately portray the progress of usurpa^ tion and aggression, vividly exhibit the dangers which 90 CUAYON SKETCHES, AND threaten, and leave it in their hands to mark out the propel time of action. " What that should be, it is needless here to discuss. Whatever it is, it should be temperate, united, and decided." EXTRACTS FROM JOHN 0. CALHOUn's SPEECH ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN THE SENATE, MARCH 4, 1850, * * * " But will the North agree to this ? It is for her to answer this question. But I will say slie cannot refuse, if she has half the love for the Union which she professes to have, or without justly exposing herself to the charge that her love of power and aggrandizement is far greater than her love of the Union. At all events, the responsibility of saving the Union is on the North and not the South. The South cannot save it by any act of hers, and the North may save it without any sacrifice whatever, unless to do justice and to perform her duties under the Constitution be regarded by her as a sacrifice. It is time, senators, that there should be an open and manly avowal on all sides as to what is intended to be done. If the question is not now settled, it is uncertain whether it ever can hereafter be ; and we, as the representatives of the states of this Union, regarded as governments, should come, to a distinct imderstanding as to our respective views, in oi'der to ascertain whether the great questions at issue between the two sections can be settled or not. If you who represent the stronger portion cannot agree to settle them on OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 9] the broad principle of justice and duty, say so, and let the states we represent agree U separate and part in peace. " If you are not willing we should part in peace, tell lus so, and we shall know what to do when you require the question to submission or resistance. K you remain silent, you then compel us to infer what you intend. In that case, California will become the test question. If you admit her under all the difficulties that oppose her admission, you compel us to infer that you intend to exclude us from the whole of the acquired ten-itories, with the intention of destroying irretrievably the equilibrium between the two sections. We would be blind not to perceive in that case, that your real objects are power and aggrandizement, and infatuated not to act accordingly, " I have now, senators, done my duty in expressing my opinions fully, freely, and candidly, on this solemn occasion. In doing so, I have been governed by the motives which have governed me in all the stages of the agitations of the slavery question since its commencement, and exerted myself to arrest it, with the intention of saving the Union, if it could be done ; and if it cannot, to save the section where it has pleased Pro- vidence to cast my lot and which I sincerely believe has justice and the Constitution on its side. " Having feithfully done my duty to the best of my ability, both in the Union and my section, throughout the whole of this agitation, I shall have the consolation, let what will come, that I am free from all responsibility." 92 CRAYON BKETCHE9, AXD LEWIS CASS. Hon. Lewis Cass is a gallant general, a good citizen, an eminent statesman, who lias served his country at home and abroad, for many years, with honor to himself and credit to his country. He is a man of unimpeachable purity of cha- racter, — and his abstemious habits (unless he has met with a recent change) deserve the commendation of all good men. He is pugnacious, and often shakes his fist in the face of John Bull ; is ambitious, and has made high bids for the presidency In his efforts to provoke the former and secure the latter, he has displayed his weakest points. Lewis Cass is a great man — physically and intellectually, There is nothing trashy or inane in his speeches ; he is not subject to poetical hysterics, and there is not much of the ma- jestic or the sublime in his speeches. It is seldom that gi-eat and mighty thoughts leap from his mouth, as " Minerva sprang from the brain of Jove ;" but he is plain, practical, philosophical, argumentative, correct, and classical. He does not soar like an angel, but he stands erect like a man. He has a well- balanced, ratiocinative mind — deeply experienced, and tho- roughly cultivated. He cannot, like Webster, " heap Pelion upon Ossa," until his opponent is overwhelmed and crushed to the dust, — but he digs deeply, until the victim is fii'st under- mined, and finally buried under his own premises. He is corpulent — almost gross — and has a dull face ; is a OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 93 perfect gentleman in his address, excellent company, when ha is sufficiently acquainted to " unbend the brow," and in the convivial circle he can contribute his share of merriment. He speaks French fluently, and is familiar with other languages. He is a man whom his party delights to honor, — and has been governor, representative, foreign minister, is now senator, an several times he has been almost President of the United States. He lives in a large, plain, democratic-looking house, in the beautiful city of Detroit. He is now ill with the ague* — the only thing that can shake him. Senator Douglass has recently employed an artist to take his portrait. Perhaps he designs to hang the shadow on the wall, and take the place of the substance himself. He is highly esteemed in Michigan and has more influence there than any other man in the state. Permit me to record a joke, which has been exposed to the sun and air so long it has become dry, if not stale. *' Tell Hale," said Cass, " that he is a Granite goose.' " Tell Cass," replied Hale, " that he is a Michi-gander /" Here is a specimen of his style : — BPEECU OF LEWIS CASS, ON THE DEATH OF DANIEL WEBSTER, DELIVERED IN U. S. SENATE, DECEMBER, 14, 1852. "Mr. President. — Row Are The Mighty Fallen! was the pathetic lamentation when the leaders of Israel were struck down in the midst of their services and of their renown. Well may we repeat that national wail — How are the mighty fallen ,' * Since recovered. 94 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND — when the impressive dispensations of Providence have so re* oently carried mourning to the hearts of the American people, by summoning from life to death three of their eminent citizens, who, for almost half a century, had taken part — and prominently, too — in all the great questions, as well of peace as of war, which agitated and divided their country. " Full indeed they were of days and of honors, for, " ' The hand of the reaper Took the ears that were heavy but never brighter in intellect, purer in patriotism, nor more powerful in influence, than when the grave closed upon their labors, leaving their memory and their career at once an in- centive and an example for their countrymen in that long course of trial — but I trust, of freedom le were astonished at his awkwardness. He cannot make an extemporaneous speech. He would not have appeared to such great disadvan- tage, perhaps, had he not followed directly in the wake of Wendell Phillips. Mr. Emerson is in the prime of life, and is an intellectual-looking man ; has dark brown hair, blue eyes, a pale, thoughtful face, not a great development of forehead, and is between forty and fifty years of age. He is a sociable, accessible, republican sort of a man, and a great admirer of nature. Had he been a Persian he would have worshipped the sun. He is celebrated the world over as a lyceum lec- turer. He is in independent circumstances. He is a strange compound of contradictions — always right in practice, often OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 123 right in theory. He is a sun, rising in the East and setting in the West, but occasionally he alarms and astonishes us by rising and sinning at midnight. The literary lilliputians, who have endeavored to pin Emer- son to the earth, find that he is in good standing with the gods ; of course, their labors, not of love but of jealousy, are lost. He loves his brother man, whether he belongs to the green-jacket tribe or the royal family. He looks upon the flowers as his friends. " The spendtlirift crocus, bursting from the mould, Naked and shivering with its cup of gold," has honey and fragrance for him. The birds are his compa- nions, and he interprets their warblings. He reads the les- sons that are stereotyped on the rocks — in a word, to him the world is a book and the sky its blue cover ; deserts and oceans arc its fly-leaves, and the busy nations the illustrations of the volume. Kossuth probably never listened to a more eloquent speech than the following. SPEECH OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON. "Sir. — The fatigues of your many public visits, in such unbroken succession, as may compare with the toils of a campaign, forbid us to detain you long. The people of this town share with their countrymen the admiration of valor and perseverance ; they, like their compatriots, have been hungry to see the man whose extraordinary eloquence is seconded bj 124 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND the splendor and the solidity of his actions. But, as it is the privilege of the people of this town to keep a hallowed mound which has a place in the story of the country — as Concord is one of the monuments of freedom — we knew beforehand that you could not go by us ; you could not take all your steps in the pilgrimage of American liberty, until you had seen "with your eyes the ruins of the little bridge, where a handful of brave farmers opened our Revolution. Therefore, we sat and waited for you. " And now. Sir, we are heartily glad to see you, at last, in these fields. We set no more value than you do, on cheers and huzzas. But we think that the graves of our heroes around us throb to-day to a footstep that sounded like their own ; ' The mighty tread Brings from the dust the sound of liberty.' " Sir, we have watched with attention your progress through the land, and the varying feeling with which you have been received, and the unvarying tone and countenance which you have maintained. We wish to discriminate in our regard. We wish to reserve our honor for actions of the noblest strain. We please ourselves that in you we meet one whose temper was long since tried in the fire, and made equal to all events ; a man so truly in love with the greatest future, that he cannot be diverted to any less. " It is our republican doctrine, too, that the wide variety of opinions is an advantage; I believe, I may say of the people of this country at large, that their sympathy is more worth, OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 125 because it stands tlie test of party. It is not a blind wave it is the living soul, contending with living souls. It is, in every expression, antagonized. No opinion -will pass, but must stand the tug of war. As you see, the love you win is worth something ; for it has been argued through ; its foun- dation searched ; it has proved sound and whole ; it may b« avowed; it will last; and it will draw all opinion to itself. " We have seen, with great pleasure, that there is nothing accidental in your attitude. We have seen that you are organically in that cause you plead. The man of freedom, you are also the man of fate. You do not elect, but you are elected by God and your genius to your task. We do not, therefore, affect to thank you. We only see you the angel of freedom, crossing sea and land ; crossing parties, national i- lic's, private interests, and self-esteems; dividing populations, where you go, and drawing to your part only the good. We are afraid you are growing popular, Sir ; you may be called to the dangers of prosperity. But hitherto, you have had, in all countries, and in all parties, only the men of heart. I do not know but you will have the million yet. Then, may your strength be equal to your day ! But remember. Sir, that every- thing great and excellent in the world is in minorities. " Far be from us, sir, any tone of patronage ; we ought rather to ask youi-s. We know the austere condition of liberty — that it must be reconquered over and over again ; yea, day by day ; that, it is a state of war ; that it is always slipping from those who boast it, to those who fight for it; and you, the foremost soldier of freedom in this age — it is for 12G CRAYON SKETCHES, AND US to crave your judgment — who are we, tliat we should die tate to you ? "You have won your own. We only affirm it. This country of working-men greets in you a worker. This Re- public greets in you a republican. We only say, 'Well done, good and faithful.' You have earned your own nobility at home. We admit you ad eundem (as they say at college). We admit you to the same degree, without new trial. We (Suspend all rules before so paramount a merit. You may well sit a doctor in the college of liberty. You have achieved your right to interpret our Washington. And I speak the sense, not only of every generous American, but the law of mind, when I say, that it is not those who live idly in the city called after his name, but those who, all over the world, think and act like him, who can claim to explain the sentiment of Washington. " Sir, whatever obstruction from selfishness, indifference, or from property (which always sympathises with possession) you may encounter, we congratulate you, that you have known how to convert calamities into powers, exile into a campaign, present defeat into lasting victory. For this new crusade which you preach to willing and to unwilling ears in America, is a seed of armed men. You have got your story told in every palace, and log hut, and prairie camp, through- out this continent. And, as the shores of Europe and America approach every month, and their politics will one day mingle, when the crisis arrives, it will find us all instructed beforehand in the rights and wrongs of Hungary, and parties ited as when ' His look drew audience still as night, Or summer's noontide air,' till the heavens be no more. Throughout that spacious and calm scene all things to the eye showed at first unchanged. The books in the library, the portraits, the table at which he wrote, the scientific culture of the land, the course of agricul- tural occupation, the coming in of harvests, fruit of the seed his own hand had scattered, the animals and implements of husbandry, the trees planted by him in lines, in copses, in orchards, by thousands, the seat under the noble elm on which he used to sit to feel the southwest wind at evening, or hear the breathings of the sea, or the not less audible music of the starry heavens, all seemed at first unchanged. The sun of a bright day, from which, however, something of the fervors of mid-summer were wanting, fell temperately on them all, filled the air on all sides with the utterances of life, and gleamed on the long line of ocean. Some of those whom on earth he 174 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND loved best, still were there. The great mind still seemed to preside ; the great presence to be with you. You might expect to hear again the rich and playful tones of the voice of the old hospitality. Yet a moment more, and all the scene took on the aspect of one great monument, inscribed with his name, and sacred to his memory. And such it shall be in all the future of America ! The sensation of desolate- ness, and loneliness, and darkness with which you see it now will pass away ; the sharp grief of love and friendship will become soothed ; men will repair thither, as they are wont to commemorate the great days of history; the same glance shall take in, and the same emotions shall greet and bless the Harbor of the Pilgrims and the Tomb of Webster." OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 175 HORACE MANN. The name and fame of the distinguished subject of this sketch are world-wide. He is known, honored, and appre- ciated as the promoter of education and the defender of the oppressed. The mantle dropped by the lamented Adams sits gracefully upon his shoulders. He is eminent as a writer, a speaker, a scholar, and a statesman. His essays and his speeches command the attention and win the admiration of all who read or hear them. He never fails to get the eyes and ears, if not the hearts, of his hearers, whether they be little children in a common school, or larger ones in Congi-ess. He is a prophet who hath honor in his own and other coun- tries. The first time the writer saw hira, was at the opening of a primary school in Boston. Several prominent men had spoken to the children present, in unintelligible language ; in fact, they spoke to the youths as they were accustomed to speak to adults. By-and-by, a tall, thin, graceful man, with a high forehead and silvery hair, arose in one comer of the room, and in a familiar manner asked the children to let him see their red lips and bright eyes. In a moment a sea of sunny faces was turned toward him. He told them to perse- vere in the acquisition of knowledge, and asked them if they ever saw a honey-bee go out from its hive on a May morning in pursuit of its sweets. They said they had seen the bee on his tour among the flowers. " Now," continued the speaker, 176 CRAYON SKETCHES, ANL " when lie comes from the leaves he does not bring a whola hive on his back, but he flies home with a little at a time. You must copy the example of the bees, and gather the sweets of knowledge from book leaves, as they gather honey from flower leaves." The children were intensely interested in his stories, comparisons, allusions, and admonitions. The next time I saw this prominent and popular Mann, was at the dedication of a grammar school in Boston. Many of the first citizens were present, and listened with delight to his extemporaneous and appropriate speech. His tongue is like the pen of a ready writer. It costs him little or no efibrt to round a period handsomely, or polish a sentence until it becomes transparent with beauty, and as for grammatical inaccuracies, even in his impromptu efibrts, they are out of the question. Last winter he delivered the introductory lec- ture before the Mercantile Library Association. Tremont Temple was packed, from the orchestra to the entrance. Many persons were obliged to leave the crowded doors for want of accommodation. After the usual preliminaries, the orator appeared on the platform and was warmly greeted by the vast audience. He commenced at once by leaping, at a single bound, into the middle of his lecture, and he addressed the young merchants in a strain of surpassing power and elo- quence. The last survivor of that large assembly cannot outlive the impression that masterly efibrt made on every appreciating mind. He spoke forcibly, rapidly, emphatically. Wit, humor, pathos, irony, argument, fiowed fi-om his lips aa freely as water from an unfailing fountain. Those who carry OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 177 their souls in the sacks of their stomachs, and those who carry their hearts in their breeches-pockets, were shown up as Mar- shal Tukey exhibits the light-fingered gentlemen who some- times visit the City of Notions. He did not spare the wine- bottle nor the tobacco-box, the coflee-pot nor the tea-kettle. He pronounced woes against those who will not breathe pure air, and drink cold water, and eat plain food, and sleep on hard beds in ventilated rooms. He has a stout heart and a strong hand, and the whip he holds over the backs of glut- tons and imbibers has a silver lash and a golden handle, and although every blow reaches the red, the wounded and the whipped save their lamentations for the secret chamber where they sit upon the stool of repentance. If it be true that New England is farther from perdition and nearer paradise than any other portion of America, it in owing to the superiority of her public schools. Horace Mann has done more than any other person to elevate the educa- tional advantages of New England. His praise is in all the schools. His system of instruction is almost universally adopted. The moral atmosphere of Washington is sure to spoil the principles of some men whom the multitude delight to honor. Not so with Horace Mann. He does not wear a double face. He does not blow hot and cold in the same brea,<^^ He does not amend, abridge, or alter his speeches to suit the latitude in which he lives. Even the Hercules of tlia senate, the mighty Expounder of the Constitution, has felt the weight of his arm, and staggered under the force of his blow Horace Mann not only goes for free soil and free men, but foi 8* 1Y8 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND free air and the free use of cold water. He is liberal-minded, generous-hearted, dignified in his deportment, genteel in his address, and his character is like Caesar's wife, above suspicion. He is not only admired, but really beloved, by his friends, acquaintances, and constituents. He has a classical face and forehead. The organ of benevolence is prominently developed, as are the organs of causality, comparison, ideality, and sublimity. He is a poet, although he may not have exhibited any symptoms of that sort in rhyme. In his happiest efibrts before an audience, he often leads them high up the mountain so that they may see the promised land where the nations shall dwell in the good time coming. Mr. Mann is a cogent reasoner, a deep thinker, a ready debater, an elegant writer, a splendid speaker. There is a lit- tle lisping impediment on his tongue until he becomes excited. Anti-progress men cannot bribe him, nor scare him, nor gag him, nor cope with him at the press, or in the forum. He is remarkable for his originality, and his ideas are like pictures painted on glass, by those ancients who had the art, now lost, of making the colors penetrate the surface so that the object appeared as vividly on one side as the other. He may be called a " proverbial philosopher," a prose poet, a sayer as well as a doer of good things. Some of the " old liners " in literature and theology, do not approve his liberal sentiments. They have not the courage to assail him openly, but they damn him with faint praise in private circles. He is apt to indulge a taste for alliteration. It is almost the only blemish OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 179 in his essays and speeches. There is no maa in New England so well qualified in every respect to occupy the post of honoi and duty rendered vacant by the death of John Quiucy Adams, as he. Mrs. Jane Swisshelm has the following in one of her inimi table sketches : — HON. HORACE MANN. " The people of the district of the ' old man eloquent ' cer tainly did a very becoming thing when they sent Horace Mann to take his place in the House of Representatives. One does not feel that he, or any other man, can fill the place of John Quincy Adams ; but in looking at Horace Mann, we felt it was becomingly occupied. In the general characteris- tics of personal appearance, he is strikingly like our neighbor, Hon. William Wilkins — tall, erect, and thin, with hair of that singular whiteness which shows the premature bleaching of care or sorrow. It is said that his hair turned thus in twenty- four hours after the death of his wife. He afterwards married Miss Peabody, a sister to the wife of Hawthorne, author of the ' Scarlet Letter.' His movements show a large amount of muscular energy and activity, but the most remarkable fea- ture in his personal appearance is that singular transparency of complexion, and that uncommon cleanliness, that gives one a kind of spiritual look. He has long been a warm public advocate of a plentiful use of fresh air and pure water, or a physiological education, as necessary to develope the natural powers of the mind ; and he certainly is a good example of 180 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND the system. To look in his face, you would not dream his brain was ever clouded with impure humors, and you look not 07i, but into his face, through the clear white skin, for the spirit within. His conversational powers we have seldom seen equalled. One is attracted, fascinated by the steadfastness of bis gaze, and the information to be gained by his rapid con- versation. Yet our sensations, while listening to him, were not all pleasurable. His eye has that piercing expression which is so often described as looking one 'through and through,' and we did not choose to have him read on our withered brow, a record of all the cups of tea we had drank. Then his enunciation of every one of his rapidly spoken words is so very correct, and the rendering of his sentences so very perfect, that it made the contrast of our blundering answers somewhat mortifying. " His affections must be of the strongest class, but they are not apparent to a stranger. His appearance is that of a half- disembodied intelligence of a superior order. We never saw an old man for whom we had so much respect and admira- tion, with so little affection ; but then he looks as if he could not get the gout or the i-heumatism, or the bilious fever, and nothing about him appeals to one's pity ; so he has no occa- sion to be loved by any but the few he loves. He has none of that broad, good-humored smile, that invites the love of all the world, and promises an ample return^ His smile is as dis- criminating as his look is penetrating, and shows that his heart is approached through his reason ; that he loves but few, and loves them passing well. His stock of information OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 181 IS very large and very accurate, for on almost any subject of general interest, he is ready, at a moment's warning, to give you the general view and the minute details ; but education, education for all, is the topic he loves best, and he can give one clearer views of its importance in fifteen minutes' talking, than can be obtained from reading a dozen respectable essays on the subject. We should rather listen to his talk, than any one whom we have ever heard lecture on education. Any one visiting Washington may know him without the trouble of 'pointing out.' He is the tall, straight, thin gentleman, with the clean face, white hair, gold-rimmed spectacles, black clothes, and firm, quick motions." 182 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND REV. DOCTOR BOARDMAN. The Rev. Dr. Boardman preaches in a neat and beautiful cliurcli in Walnut street, Pliiladelpliia ; 'the building will seat about a thousand persons, has galleries on three sides, a hand- some pulpit, trimmed with red silk velvet, pews wide, well- cushioned and accessible. The only opportunity I had to hear the celebrated preacher and author who has occupied, for fifteen years, his present post of honor and duty and responsibility, was on my home return from Washington, Avhen he delivered one of his inimitable and eloquent lectures to the merchants of Philadelphia. Some of the solid men of the Quaker city were present. The house, a spacious one, was so crow^ded it was with difficulty the preacher wedged his way to the pulpit. Scores went away, unable to obtain even a standee — good evidence that the Doctor "wears well," that he has not "run out," that he is still popular. He read the opening hymn in a clear, distinct, manly voice. The hymn was well sung by a thoroughly disciplined choir. Good singing is one of the most attractive and delightful features of public worship — it is the language of heaven — the dialect of angels. It seems to give us "the sense of wings " on which we float sky-ward. Who- ever heard of a vile deed being done immediately after OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 183 Binging a sacred song ? Here the congregation joins with the choir in singing ; this is surely much better than being happy by proxy. After singing, the preacher read a chapter giving Solomon's opinion of a virtuous woman. The prayer which followed was fervid, honest, and impressive. The text was from the writings of Solomon, " many women have done virtuously," an eloquent extract from the Merchant's Magazine followed ; it was written by a lady who complains of her lord because of his neglect. The speaker regrets that he cannot deny the grave imputations brought against merchants who allow themselves to be so submerged in business they seem to forget their families. But I intend to sketch persons and not sermons. The Rev. Doctor Boardman has a good voice. It is mellow, witli a gentle grate and quaver in it, which seems to leave his peculiar mark on the word he utters. His gesticulation is graceful, natural, and emphatic. The peculiar manner in which he " fixes " his eyes upon his hearers and the way in which his lips come together, when he has concluded a sentence, (he desires to be pondered and remembered,) and the manner in which he throws his face forward, as he does occasionally, gives the idea that his words are arrows from a shaft stronrrer than steel, that hit the heart of the appreciating hearer. His matter is solid not heavy, sprightly not light, practical not mechanical, classical not cobwebish, it is philosophical, argu- mentative, and scriptural. Such matter „as any sensible man may hear day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and never suffer a surfeit, or starve for lack of 184 CRAYON SKETCIIKS, AND spiritual food. There is no need of making points to keep up the interest, no need of his using spice to sharpen the appe- tite. When he is severe his sarcasm cuts like a lancet. He is not a subtle metaphysician, not a prating pedant not a noisy bunkum declaimer. He has a strong clear intellect, and common sense of that uncommon quality which is closely allied to genius. He is well educated, and what he knows he knows thoroughly, and has complete mastery of the stock of wisdom always on hand. His language is now strong, now soft, now bold, now beautiful. His sarcasm is refined, compact, steeped in humor, and spiced with irony. He has many brilliant qualities, often breaking forth in bursts of kindling magnificence. He is generally moderate, some^ times vehement, always majestic, commanding the attention, impressing the impartial, and overawing the sceptical. His sermons are his own, not copies, not echoes, not shadows, but real transcripts of his own heart and brain ; shining here and there with lucidus ordo. His sentences are so perfectly finished they are fit for the reviewer as they fall from his lips. He was rather uncivil to the ladies who lead the Woman's Rights party, declaring they were Amazonians quarreling with Providence for creating them women instead of creating them men. In person he is rather tall, well formed, has dark brown hair, carelessly pushed back from a noble, prominent forehead ; has an oval face, blue eyes (I think), straight nose, thin, may I say literary, hps, dresses in a most unministerial manner, with a black neck tie in place of the white cravat. He is upwards of forty years of age. Long life to him and may h. AXD glorieth in the goad, that driveth oxen, and is occupied in theii labors, and whose talk is of bullocks ; who giveth his mind to make furrows, and is diligent to give the kine fodder/' Yet the subject of this sketch has got all the wisdom he possesses, amid just such scenes and occupations, for he was born and has always lived amid the green fields, and has fol- lowed after the plow and led the kine until within a few years past, and has not yet done talking of bullocks, having made the reports of the New York Cattle Market a prominent feature in the Tribune. Solon Robinson was born October 21st, 1803, about a mile south of the village of Tolland, Connecticut. His father, whose name was Jacob, the son and grandson of Jacob, and lineal descendant of James, the Puritan, whose son came over with the Pilgrims, was born in Scotland parish, a few miles east of the scene of the great bull-frog fight, or fright, which has made their native town of Windham wide-world renowned. Solon's mother was Salinda Ladd, of Coventry. His father, a small farmer on the hard lands of that part of the state, and a cooper, died when Solon, the fourth son, was about six years old, and his mother, who had one son a week after her hus- band's death, found herself, as many a widow has, obliged to sell everything to pay debts, and to put her boys out to places with farmers, who would teach them to hold the plow and talk of bullocks. After a second marriage, and a sixth son, she died, and his three eldest brothers subsequently, with a similar pulmonary complaint. Solon, himself, has several times been " given up OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 189 by the doctors" with the same complaint. Once he was cured by electricity — once by cold water. His education was just such as might be expected in the old school house, at the corner of the cross roads, where he attended at irregular intervals. At fourteen he closed this course of study with ability to spell the hard words of Xoah Webster's spelling-book and to write his name in a good round hand. After that he went to learn the trade of a carpenter; his master found him exceedingly useful when an old roof was to be mended or a new one built. This work he was com- pelled to quit because he had not sufficient strength, but the knowledge gained by it he found very useful in after life, especially during his log-cabin experiences in the West. He then, like many other Yankee boys went peddling, and after many and various other avocations wrote some graphic papers in the Albany Cultivator, which attracted much atten- tion. For several years he has been connected with the press In the city of New York, and is now the associate, on the Tribune, of Horace Greeley and C. A. Dana. Of the former it is needless to say anything in praise, and scarcely is it so of Mr. Dana, who is one of the most accomp- lished of American editors, and who has done much to raise the Tribune to its present high position. The Hot Corn stories have made their author a celebrity, and with Mrs. Stowe, and a few more favored writers, Solon Robinson enjoys a reputation more extensive, perhaps, than that of any othei living sketcher of men and manners. 190 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND JOHN EOSS DIX Is one of the most fluent and forcible writers in America, and having made his mark on the present age by the produc- tions of his classic pen, I will endeavor to gratify the general reader by inserting the following " off-hand " sketch, which was written by me for an editorial friend at a time when family afflictions incapacitated him for superintending the management of his paper. Mr. Dix is a native of Bristol England, and now editor of the " Waverley Magazine," pub- lished in Boston : — In this issue of our paper we close the interesting series of articles entitled " Passages from the History of a Wasted Life." They have been to the " Life Boat " what the thrilling tale of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was to the ^'■National Era.'''' Our readers will be delighted to know that our enterprising and excellent fellow-townsman, B. B. Mussey Esq., has made arrangements with the distinguished author of this truthful narrative to publish it forthwith, so that its appreciating admirers, and others, may have it in a more beautiful and a less ephemeral form. During the many years ■'hat we have been connected with the press, nothing has appeared in the columns of our Temperance Journals, whose melting pathos, sparkling poetry, earnest air, and laughing humor, have OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 191 created such a sensation iu the great circle of Temperance readers. The magnificent poem entitled " To-Morrow," which appeared in last week's paper, is a perfect gem ; and stamps its author as a man of rare genius. Indeed, there is so much feeling and passion in these lines, we seem to feel the pulsa- tions of the heart out of which they throbbed — and see the radiant light of the cultured brain that conceived them. It is not a matter of astonishment that such an eminent man as Lucius M. Sargent, who stands at the head of Tem- perance literature in this country, should volunteer his approval of the work in question. From all quarters the same verdict is rendered by disinterested parties ; even the enemies of our common cause admire the thrilling style and truthful history of our author. Here it may not be amiss to say, that this inimitable series of sketches is not the maiden- effort of our highly esteemed friend and correspondent. His prolific pen, like a match ignited by friction, has blazed through many folios. He is the author of the " Pen and Ink Sketches" — "Loiterings in and about Boston " — " Life of John B. Gough " — " Pen Portraits of English Preachers," and per- haps a dozen other different works. Doubtless, our readers would be gratified with a personal sketch of one, in whose remarkable history they have been so intensely interested. We were on the point of mentioning his name ; but, as we are not authorized to take that liberty, ■we will proceed by saying, our author is a well-formed man of common stature — rather slender — of the nervous bilious 192 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND temperament — has black curly hair — a handsomely developed forehead — a nose that would have suited Napoleon — and his pale classic face is lit up with a pair of black eyes, in which nis soul shines like a star in the firmament. He is very sensitive and nervous ; when excited, he cannot maintain his seat a minute, but moves about quickly, as though he would twitch his limbs from their ligaments. At such times he has a habit of shutting and opening his eyes rapidly, while light flashes from them, like lightning from a summer cloud. He dresses neatly, not foppishly ; has the air of a well-bred gentleman ; converses fluently, is acquainted personally with most of our literary lions on both sides of the Atlantic ; reads much — and in addition to his literary and scientific attainments, has a large stock of general knowledge. He is a regular apothecary and surgeon ; and has been editor of a journal in England. His style is peculiar to himself; clear, graphic, eloquent, and original. At some future time we may write a criticism on that subject ; at present we will add but a word or two by way of urging our readers to procure an early copy of " Passages from the History of a Wasted Life." His style reminds one of De Quincy somewhat — there is in it the same bonhommie and graphic energy — the same manly courage which dares to utter the truth in plain Saxon words, which are strong as " hooks of steel." He never " glories in his shame," but like the author of the " Opium Eater," tells his story frankly, that his experience may be a lesson and a warning to others. His " Life of Chatterton," the boy-poet, although one of his earliest efforts, is full of memorable pas- OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 193 sa^s. His miscellaneous writings, to be found in the periodi- cal literature of the day, would make a volume whicli would be a valuable acquisition to any library. Those who are familiar with the productions of his pen, must have admired his chatty, sketchy, dashing way of word painting. He writes rapidly, and seldom re-touches his most elaborate essays — and their smoothness is not to be attributed to the file and polisher, but to the fine texture of the natural enamel. Owing to his intuitive and quick habit of thought, and the entire command he has acquired over his intellectual resources, he is ever ready at a moment's warning to write a " leader " for a newspaper, a lyric for an annual, or an essay for the most fastidious review. The autobiogi-aphy of John B. Gough, which has been scattered broadcast over the American Con- tinent, and republished in Europe, was written by him in a single week. We have not space in the present crowded columns of our little sheet, to amplify on a theme which deserves more space and an abler pen. Here is the beautiful poem alluded to, with a preface from his own pen ; I clip it from one of the passages of his history. " Before I more particularly allude to this residence of mine 'in Chambers,' I may, perhaps, as an indication of the morbid condition of my mind at this period, be permitted to present the reader with a copy of some verses, Avritten at midnight, during a fit of deep despondency. No one has a more thorough contempt than myself for ' occasional verses,' made to order ; and I trust the reader will not suspect that these 194 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND were written to gi'atify a stupid vanity. Tliey were penned one dreary niglit, in a bare room, almost within the shadow of the towers of Westminster Abbey, the great bell of which was booming twelve o'clock over the wilderness of London, whose dull mysterious roar sounded even then. TO-MORROW. Sweet day — firom whose perpetual dawn Half of Life's little light we borrow ; — Veil of the future yet undrawn ! — Hope's own blue beautiful To-Morkow ! Day ever rising — never risen ! Time ever coming — never come ! Thou, who dost paint the soul's dim prison With landscapes of Elysium, Still peeps thy morning-star behind. Though sorrowful To-Day is glooming; And o'er the vexed, tempestuous mind. The thunder-peals of thought are booming ! When the heart to its black depths is stirred, Still, in each pause of raging sorrow, A Voice, — a soft, blest Voice is heard ! 'Tis thine — the sky-lark of Hope's heaven, — To-Morrow! What hoards of Happiness to he, Lie somewhere in thy secret keeping ! Aye keeps, as keeps a sunny sea The rich Avrecks in its bosom sleeping ! Yet, blest in but expected pleasures, Earth's millions wait, and watch thy dawn: As well the owTiers of those treasures Might wait to see the deep gulf yawn, i OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 19a And give them back their gold ! Oh ! when That burial-vault of wealth shall ope, Then shall the soul — and not till then, Unfold the landscape of thy dream, oh ! Hope I Like some bright host with untried powers, Bright, marching in the morning sun, Started To-Day, wdth all its Hours, Prepared a bright career to run; Like that lost army, madly strewing The battle field ere day is done ; From all that field's dumb death and ruin, But one voice heard, and that a dying one; Such this To-Day's last hours — now taking flight, With all their hopes and aims and prospects bright, And purposes sublime, to everlasting Night ! ■ Then, wherefore hail a Day new-bom, As though, upon its soimdless wing, Some dove unto life's Ark forlorn The olive branch of Peace might bring ? No Eden Bird this bosom's emblem ! The stormy Petrel's mine might form, That builds no nest, but fluttering — trembling, Lives out at sea, and fights the storm ! Screaming its sad song o'er the abyss. Heard but by men distressed : as this, Lost on the world's dull ear, may reach lone mieerv's. 196 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND The following, from the pen of Mr. Dix, has never before appeared in print. While it affords a specimen of our author's style, it cannot fail to interest the reader. A PAIR OF ROMISH PORTRAITS. FATHER GAVAZZI AND CARDINAL WISEMAN. " Travel, with us, reader, to the Princess' Concert Hall, for in that spacious and splendid Hall, a famous Monk is about to lecture on the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. Light is about to be emitted from a dark church lantern. The Canon Laws and Papal Usurpation is to be the subject of the oration. Look at that swarthy man, on the platform, whose fine figure is draped in the flowing robes of his religious order ; a cross being worked on the left breast. Look at his broad forehead, his dark, glancing, half-sinister eyes, and listen to his magnificent voice. The Concert Room is as crowded, as if Jenny Lind were to sing, for here is a mighty gathering of exiles and patriots of every grade. There is Mazzini, tall and gaunt, with his olive-complexioned face, large melancholy eyes, and fine head ; and others, of lesser note, are to be seen in the crowd of brave men and fair women. All these are attracted not less by sympathy for suffering humanity than by the exquisite beauty of Italy's language, embellished by the splendid delivery of the monk. Members of the Ho\ise of Commons muster in great force ; and, indeed, all intellectual London has its representatives present at the Hall. 'lavazzi commenced his oration. At first his tones were OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 197 low and solemn, gradually lie warmed up with his theme, and then, with amazing \ngor he poured forth a rushing tide of eloquence. Satire, sarcasm, invective, pathos, sublimity, an*/ piety followed each other in rapid succession. His form dilated, and his eyes flashed, as he denounced the rascalities of Popery, and his garments, flowing in the wind of stormy applause, rendered his appearance highly picturesque. He evidently made his expose with a gusto ; after any point he would partially stoop, lean forward, clap his hands, and a triumphant smile would play on his features. The enthusiasm which for two hours pervaded the assembly, and which the vigorous declamation of the orator, never allowed to flag for a moment, found frequent utterance in the most energetic bursts of uproarious applause. It would require — so fluent was he — a regular staff" of stenographers to fairly report a speech of Fatlier Gavazzi, for the eloquence of the monk is of a higher and diflx^rent order than that which the ' gallery men ' of the great legislative assemblies usually have to do with." ****** Here is a sketch from the life of Cardinal Wiseman : — " Slowly, and with an air which some might mistake for dig- nity, and which it is very possible was meant to express it, came on the prime emissary of the Vatican. Before him was one official bearing a lofty triple, gilded cross, and a second carry- ing a magnificent crosier ; and on either side of the " proud prelate " slowly walked two priests, in amber-colored robes, richly braided with gold, supporting his train. With tall 198 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND robust form, towering above tliese appeared Cardinal Wisenaan. He was superbly clothed ; on his head pressed a mitre, all glistening with gold and jewels ; a robe of amber colors, pro- fusely decorated with gold embroidery, and on the back embroidered with a gorgeously wrought cross, enveloped his portly frame ; and from beneath the rustling garment appeared trowsei-s (profanely so to speak) of white satin, glistening with gold spangles, and white satin shoes also spangled with auriferous ornaments; his great, fat hands were enclosed in white gloves, elaborately embroidered, and over these were rings of dazzling lustre — ^but conspicuous among all was the large Episcopal signet, which appeared gloomy and grim among its sparkling companion-gems, like the dark church of which it was a symbol, when compared with that of a simpler but a far purer and more resplendent faith. Shade of Wolsey ! we mentally exclaimed, as we gazed on the new Cardinal, can the priest upon whom we gaze be the man who has set Protestant London at defiance? Is that vulgar, coarse, and sensual-looking individual, the head of the Catholic Church in Britain ? The universal homasre that was paid him as he slowly paced the aisles of St. George's Cathedral presented us with an affirmative reply. ■j-ivTtir.'ea. by J'^ I'luiu:^ ^C L C <- L^ OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 199 P. T. BARNUM. p. T. Barnum, the chief caterer for the amusements of the million, the prince of showmen, the curiosity king, the ex-editor, ex-school teacher, ex-clerk, ex-merchant, is one of the most remarkable men of any age in any couutry, and ray book would be incomplete without some allusion to his wonderful energy and successful enterprise. He has been regarded by multitudes as a strange something, part humbug, part human, part Hercules. At present he is the proprietor of the American Museum, and one of the sleeping, but not one of the sleepy, partners of the firm which controls the New York Illustrated News. He is a writer of more than medio- cre ability, and he ranks high as a platform speaker, while his financiering skill is unsurpassed even among Yankees. Whatever he touches turns to gold, whether it be Joice Heth, or Jenny Lind, Tom Thumb, or a pair of giants. For his generous efibrts in assisting the unfortunate and aiding young beginners, he has endeared himself to many recipients of his bountiful benevolence ; for his disinterested labors to promote the temperance cause, he deserves the gratitude and admira- tion of our race ; at his own expense he has travelled and toiled, week after week, in the face of obloquy and opposition, to secure the advancement of a glorious reform which is identi* 200 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND fied with the happiness of every member of the human family. Barnum is a man and not a humbug. He is an extraordinary man, he is a great man. See with what tact, boldness, and practical good common sense he managed the Jenny Lind affair : did he not deserve the princely profit he received from his well directed efforts to secure the services of the queen of song, and the admirable manner in which he carried out his well directed plans ? It was risk enough for a corporation to hazard, and required as much enterprise as a community possesses to execute the arrangements after they had been made. With w^hat Napoleonic energy, and superior generalship did he foil the attempt made to decoy the bird from his hands after he had caught it from the bush ; what a knowledge of human nature has he displayed in the tact and skill with which he has brouo-ht out cunnino; contrivances for the entertainment of the curious. Now he shows a "fictitious" nurse of Washing- ton, now a mermaid, half cod-fish and half monkey, manu- factured more to please than to deceive the public, now an amiable and handsome dwarf, is exhibited in the presence of the Queen and nobility of England. Now, for the sake of notoriety, he calls himself a humbug, and the cry is echoed by the press all over the Union. But he always gave his patrons their money's worth of amusement, and it cannot be proved that he ever received the price of a ticket " under false pretences ;" that Joice Heth was not 163 years of age has never been proved, that the mer- maid which is now in the Boston Museum was not the creature OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 201 it purported to be was no fault of his. If it is not a natural it is a mechanical curiosity. The woolley horse was a natural curiosity, for which he paid the sum of five hundred dollars. Barnum is a shrewd man, who has the art and mystery of making large sums of money in a short time, and then ho has the magnanimity to distribute it unostentatiously among those who will make wise appropriations of it. He is a scheming speculative man, but far removed from selfishness, and would never sacrifice nor deny his principles to obtain place, or power, or fame, or fortune. lie is a business man, and his rules for success in business, deserve to be written in gold, and preserved in frames of silver in every counting room, work-shop, foundry, and factory, and dwelling, in the land. He is a gentleman, polite not finical, courteous not affected, and truthful without dissimulation in his pei*sonal intercourse with his fellow men. He is a philanthropist. Where is the man who gives more generously, and makes less parade about it? In politics he is a cold water Democrat; in religion he is a cold water Universalist. Mr. Barnum is a native of Danbury, Connecticut, and is now forty-three years of age. He is a fine-looking man, well formed and somewhat above the ordinary size and stature. He has a noble forehead, expressive eyes, and a mouth finely cut and indicative of decision and energy ; there is a mixture of mirthfulness,* shrewdness and benevolence in his counte- * While lecturing out West on the subject of temperance, some one 5n tht loetlng cried out, " What shall we do with our surplus grain?" " "eed the starving wives and children of drunkards," replied Barnum. 9* 202 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND nance, which comports with his character. He dresses neatly without much ornament, is very accessible, and treats even the humblest person with much kindness, and never cuts an old acquaintance in the hour of trial and misfortune. He is charitable and strictly honorable in all his business trans- actions. He has a beautiful home, and is very happy in his domestic relations. One of his daughters was recently married. The following description of his residence will form a fitting close to this sketch. It comes from one of his own townsmen. p. T. BARNUM, AND HIS RESIDENCE. One of the first places which a stranger visits on coming here, is Iranistan, the residence of P. T. Barnum, proprietor of the American Museum and importer of heavenly minstrelsy into our unharmonious country. It stands upon a level plateau, about half a mile from the main street, a unique and mag- nificent building, in the Oriental and Turkish style — its wings, piazzas, galleries, pinnacles, and dome giving it a light and airy appearance. It is especially beautiful, when viewed by moonlight. The grounds are laid out in excellent taste, with the gardener's cottage, the green-houses and the stables built in a style of architecture corresponding sufficiently to that of the house, without being stiff copies of it, all disposed in the best manner for a pleasing general effect. The gates are con- stantly thrown open, and, in pleasant weather, visitors may at almost any time be seen riding or walking through the grounds of this earthly paradise. Is it thus thrown open tc OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 203 the public merely to gratify an ostentations pride ? I ihint not. It is a Sabbath evening, and the sun is just setting. Groups of gentlemen and ladies are threading the walks among the trees — the hard-working mechanic with his wife and children, all dressed in their best, are sauntering over paths thickly strewed with tiny seashells, admiring the flowers and rare shrubs that border the walks, or throwing crumbs to the tame fishes in the fish-pond, or gazing at the rare exotics in the green-houses, and all enjoying the costly scene, as really, for the moment, as if it were their own. The proprietor, if he is at home, simply enjoys the innocent pleasure which his establishment afibrds the people, and I really believe, that if he were conditioned to hold it guarded with the exclusiveness which characterizes some of the snobbish aristocracy of our land, he would sooner burn it to the gi-ound. But the chances are that, instead of being at home, stretched upon a luxurious sofa, this Sunday evening, he started in his buggy some hour or two since, to fulfil an appointment to lecture upon temperance in some country village, distant ten or fifteen miles. His heart is thoroughly interested in this reform, which, heaven knows, is unpopular enough in Connecticut, and he is constantly sacrificing his money and ease to promote it. Although unaccustomed to public speaking, his addresses tell upon an audience in a most efiective manner. "With many others, I was once accustomed to associate the name of Barnum with humbug^ but the truth is, there is no humbug about the man — Barnum. He may have taken tli« 204 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND advantage of the craving for humbugs, whicli is one of tlie passions of mankind, but he is a real man, witb noble qualities and feelings — and no humbug. He is proving in many ways that tlie public know nothing of, that he unites benevolence and enlarged views to his acknowledged business tact, talent, and enterprise. This latter has indeed been placed above all cavil by his engagement with the famed Swedish Nightingale ; for who in America could have given us Jenny Lind, but Barnum ? OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 205 DR. E. KANE. It was announced that Dr. E. Kane, of Arctic Expedition notoriety, would lecture before the citizens of Boston, on Mon- day evening, consequently an immense audience convened at an early hour to see and hear the intrepid traveller. While we were patiently waiting the arrival of the great tourist, a sudden outburst of applause advertised the arrival of a short, stout, fat, corpulent old gentleman, whose large round head was thickly covered with long dark hair, carefully parted in the middle and combed behind his ears. He had a low fore- head, full, fat face, light inexpressive eyes, and his jaws seemed to cave in as though he had lost his teeth. He looked more like a Dutch ploughman from the valley of the Mohawk, than a learned lawyer, but it really was Chief Justice Shaw, the most distinguished jurist in Massachusetts. Another explosion of applause, and a slender man of average height, weighing perhaps one hundred and twenty-five pounds, walked gracefully toward the desk. It was the heroic adven- turer, who has probably seen as much of the physical world as any living man of his age. He has black hair with a curl ia it, carefully brushed aside, leaving one of his lofty temi:)lea 206 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND bare and concealing the other. His pale thin face is lit up with a pair of small round blue eyes, and his mouth is shaded with a short black moustache, which terminates in an impe- rial ; his long nose indicates clearness of brain, and his earnest countenance denotes unfaltering integrity of purpose. His voice, though clear and flexible, has not sufficient volume and power to fill the great hall where he lectured. He extem- porised nearly half the time, and spoke fluently and cor- rectly. In his right hand he held a fish pole, with which he pointed to the diagrams on the wall in front of the audience. His lecture was the shortest of the season, and might have been made the most interesting one had he confined himself to the history of his search for Sir John Franklin, instead of giving us a geographical history of the North Pole. A report of a part of his lectuie, however, I am sure will be intensely interesting. " It is difficult," the lecturer remarked in opening, " as we look at a map of the world, to believe that all the world, save a very limited expanse, was wrapped in ignorance. Nor has that ignorance totally disappeared, for there are portions of the globe entirely unknown to the civilized world, and much exploration is needed to reveal vast regions, still hidden from the knowledge of man. The vicinity of the North Pole is among those portions yet to be explored. It is shut out from us by a vast barrier of ice. The early settlers of Iceland revealed an extension of ice far to the north. It was then shown to extend to Hudson and Baffin's Bays, and Captain Cook defined its existence in Behring's Straits. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 207 "Modern science has taught us to lay down the limits of this vast ice barrier, and to define the boundaries of a great polar continent. The ice barrier, commencing at Labrador, extends to that portion known as Lost Greenland, and then comes across the Atlantic to Spitzbergen, thence to Nova Zembla. On the northern coast of Russia it may further bo traced, and also north of America, while whalers have found it throughout Behring's Straits. This immense body of ice bounds a circle 6000 miles in circumference, and encloses an area one-third larger than the continent of Europe. It can be safely stated that this ice barrier is not continuous, but is a ring surrounding an open sea. How solemn is the conception of such a vast inland sea, shut in by ice, on whose coast no human being has yet trod ! " There are facts to show the necessity and certainty that there is a vast inland sea at the North. There must be some vast receptacle for the drainage of the polar regions, and the great Siberian rivers. To prove that water must actually exist, we have only to observe the icebergs. These floating masses cannot be formed without terra firma, and it is a remarkable fact that out of 360° in only 30° are icebergs to be found, showing that land cannot exist in any considerable portion of the country." " Again, Baffin's Bay was long thought to be a close bay, but it is now known to be connected with the Arctic sea. Within the Bay, and covering an area of 90,000 square miles, there is an open sea from June to October. We find heie a 208 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND vacant space with water at 40° temperature — eight degrees higher than freezing point. This is due to the polar ice drift. " A halt is ordered, and rising twenty feet in the air is a ridge to oppose the progress of our party. Quickly the sledge is taken to pieces, the various parts are conveyed over the ridge, it is again put together, and the party move on. Another halt, and a black river flows directly across the path of our party. The gutta percha boats are taken out, the sledge is again taken to pieces and carried across, again to be put together. No hesitancy is allowed, and although the houi's of work in a day are many, yet ten miles is considered good progress. " Another halt, and the day's work is done. A snow-hut is erected, the men remove their wet boots and stockings, wash their feet in snow, and step into a wolf-skin blanket, spread upon water-proof cloth, thrown upon the icy ground. A lamp is lighted, and water is procured from the snow. The supper is prepared, another wolf skin is thrown over the fatigued explorer, and he sleeps only to wake again to renewed labor. The food to be used by Dr. Kane's Expedition is dried pemmican, which is composed of the muscles of oxen, prepared in the marrow of these animals, forming a nutritious article of sustenance. " All unnecessary baggage will be avoided, and the smallest needful quantity of food and raiment will be proportioned to each man. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 209 " The line of travel to be pursued will be due north until we reach the headlands of Greenland, and then we shall descend in search. It has been determined to make the expedition one of scientific importance, and for this purpose every obser- vation possible will be made and chronicled. Natural historj^, the mysteries of northern migi-ation, in a word, all subjects that are worthy of investigation will be made objects of search by the expedition. Prof. Henry of the Smithsonian Institute, always ready to advance every endeavor to attain knowledge, has furnished the party with a supply of instru- ments for observations, and the Secretary of the Navy will apply to Congress for appropriations necessary to carry forward the work. And now an appeal is made to Boston for sympathy and aid. " Whether Sir John Franklin is alive or not, is not now the subject under discussion. Our duty to attempt to rescue him if alive, or to seek the solution of his fate is plain. Traces can be found, and it is incumbent on us to attempt to find them." In concluding. Dr. Kane asked the sympathy of all the good and kind, for the party who are soon to leave for a region where even day and night are unknown, and all is dreary and desolate. The Hall was densely crowded, and Dr. Kane's lectur« was listened to with marked attention by all. 210 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. € What grand accommodations are provided for the peopL of this generation ! Rivers are bridged, hills are tunnelled, ships are launched, while fire, wind, and water are harnessed and compelled to turn a crank here, and roll a wheel there, and drive a wedge yonder. The elements once controlled us. We were blown about by the wind, scorched by the lightning and drowned in the flood. Now the sea is the " highway of nations," the lightning our messenger, and the wind our hard- workinof slave. Then, again, we have such advantages in this " land of the free and home of the brave." Our kind-hearted relative, Uncle Sam, is such a clever old chap, who knows how to provide for his twenty millions of nephews and nieces. In every place, that is any place, drop a letter into his post box, and forthwith he mounts the stage-seat, and with a bland smile drops the billet on the breakfast table the next morning, one thousand miles away. If one desires to ride, he yokes his team of fire and water, and his steeds, with lungs of fire and manes of smoke, speed forward with wings on their heels. Accept my grateful acknowledgments, good, dear, kind Uncle Sam, for the delightful ride I have had from Boston to Concord this glorious morning. The trees are in full blossom ; OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 211 birds are flying from bush to bush, and they have set to music the poetry Spring has written ; lambs, with no fear of the butcher and no thought of the glutton before them, are frolick- ing in the green meadows ; and lovely children, apparently as innocent as lambs, and certainly more beautiful than flowers, are on their way to school with bouquets in their hands. A kind friend has invited me to accompany him to the monument erected to the memory of the first battle fought during the revolutionary struggle. We have passed several ancient buildings, relics of the "olden time." From that window looking eastward, the old lady who now occupies the house saw the soldiers passing over the hill, with their hand- kerchiefs in their sides to staunch the blood gushing from their gaping wounds. We have now reached the spot where some say the first blood was shed in the battle for fi-eedom in America. A shaft of gi-anite, about thirty feet high, marks the spot where the first victims were sacrificed on the altar of Liberty. On the 19th of April, 1775, three hundred intrepid rural soldiers drove before them five times that number of regular British troops, and forced them to find shelter behind their own bul- warks. There goes a tall, lean, venerable, senatorial looking man, his head whitened with the snows of seventy winters. It is Judge Hoar, the distinguished jurist and the noted hero of the South Carolina explosion. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the essay- ist and lecturer, lives in that large square, unpoetical-looking cottage, so handsomely situated; and that Gothic summe^ 212 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND house in his garden was built by his intimate friend Alcott, the author of the " Delphic Oracles." In the old parsonage yonder, near the monument, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of the " Scarlet Letter," and other popular books, was born. Here is a good back-ground for a picture : suppose we take his portrait. Until within a few years, the author of " Twice Told Tales" has remained in comparative obscurity ; for it is one of the sins of the American people, that they rarely appreciate genius on this side of the Atlantic until it has been discovered by some critic on the other side. Besides, the few here who think they have gi'own to full fame seem anxious to make the number grow " beautifully less," and while they hold the keys of the temple of fame, no man is allowed to step over its threshold, who comes unheralded by a trumpeter from England. Thank fortune and his own genius, he has worked his way to true appreciation without using cant or claptrap — humbug and hypocrisy. Long ago he should have stood in the company of such men as Irving, Paulding, Bancroft and Prescott ; but he was too poor and too honest to purchase labored puffs and eloquent eulogies in the magazines. No thanks to the critics (who tried to kill him by letting him alone severely) for the prominent position he now occupies. Edgar A.Poe, speaking of Hawthorne, says that he is pecu- liar, not original — something like the German Tieck in his manner and in the selection of his subjects, while his same- ness, or monotony, or peculiarity is mistaken for originality. He is less original but almost as allegorical as John Bunyan, OFF-HAND TAKINGS. ' 213 and when we read the " Old Arm Chair," " Sights from a Steeple," " Little Annie's Ramble," " Sunday at Home," " A Rill from the Town Pump," " The Toll Gatherer's Day," " The Haunted Mind," " The Snow Flakes," " Night Sketches," and the "Celestial Railroad," we find as many figures and as much dreaming in Hawthorne's progress as we do in "Pilgrim's Progress." He has not the polish of Irving, the poetry of Lamb, nor the variety of Hazlitt. The subject of this sketch is to all intents and purposes a first-rate story- teller ; for he has invention and imagination, refined style, exquisite taste, delicate humor, melting pathos, and scholar- ship sufiicient and ingenuity enough to employ all the materials and attributes he possesses to the best account. A friend of mine informed me to-day that Hawthorne is such a modest man that he will not look another in the face — that he is so bashful he avoids society, and will sometimes leave his house to avoid the contact of visitors. In person ie is a little above the ordinary stature — has dark hair and dark, dreamy eyes. He is seen so seldom in public, it is as diflBcult to describe him as to paint a figure of the fleet- ing air. 214 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. What an age of invention and improvement is this I Our patli is paved -vvitli rails of iron, on whicli steeds of steam outrace the eagle ; our portraits are painted by the sun, so accurately that ugly people, who are vain, seldom look a daguerreotypist in the face ; but the greatest and most impor- tant invention of this century, is the Magnetic Telegraph, as a communicator of intelligence by signs, which it records in cha- racters so palpable that he who runs may read — while no one can run so fast as the news can fly. The railroad, the steam- boat, sun-painting, are not to be compared for a moment with the invention perfected by Professor Morse. Watts, Fulton, Franklin, and other men deserve our affectionate admiration, but Morse overshadows them all ; and he will live for ever, fresh in the recollection of his countrymen ; while those who would deprive him of his honor, fairly won, and his reward, so niggardly bestowed, will sink to insignificance. I do not now refer to the men who have suggested improvements in the method of recording the communication received and transmitted on the wires, but to those who, through envy and jealousy, manifest a mean reluctance to give honor to whom honor is due, and withhold the consideration to which Pro- fessor Morse is so well entitled. The distinguished American artist who invented the Elec- OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 215 trie Telegrapli, is the eldest son of the Rev. Jedediah Morse, the first writer on geography in this country. He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and is now about sixty years of age. He studied at Yale College, where he graduated in 1810, Having an irresistible desire to become a painter, his father reluctantly gave his consent, and permitted him to sail for London under the care of Washinjrton Allston. After his arrival in the great Babylon of Britain, he became acquainted with Leslie, and their first efforts were portraits of each other. So industrious and successful was Mr. Morse in his profession, that two years after his landing in London he exhibited, at the Royal Academy, his famous picture of " The Dying Her- cules." He received the most flattering compliments from connossieurs, and the model which he made to assist him in painting his picture, obtained the sculpture prize for him. When he returned to the United States, he settled in Boston, where he had to contend with so many discouragements, he quitted the city of " Notions " and went to New Hampshire, and painted portraits for a trifling consideration — say from $10 to $15 each. Afterwards he plied his pencil in Charleston, South Carolina, where his talents were appreciated, and where he was more generously compensated for his labors. In 1822 he commenced operations in the city of New York, where he became popular as a painter, and where he was handsomely compensated for his skill. It was there, under the auspices of the City Corporation, he painted the full-length likeness of Lafayette. About this time he was mainly instrumental in organizing 216 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND the Artists' Association, from whicli grew tlie National Academy of Design. He was tlie first president of this famous institution, and he delivered the first course of lectures on Art in America. In the year 1829 he again visited Europe, and was absent from his native land three years. " On his return from Europe," says the author of the "Men of the Time," " a gentleman in describing the experiments that had just been made in Paris with the electro magnet, the question arose as to the time occupied by the electric fluid in passing through the wire, stated to be about one hundred feet in length. On the reply that it was instantaneous (recollecting the experiments of Franklin), he suggested that it might be carried to any distance, and that the electric spark could be made a means of conveying and recording intelligence. This suggestion, which drew some casual observation of assent from the party, took deep hold of Professor Morse, who undertook to develope the idea which he originated, and before the end of the voyage, he had drawn out and written the general plan of the invention, with which his name will be inseparably connected." After landing in New York, he resumed the practice of his profession, devoting his leisure moments to the accomplish- ment of his object. In 1835 he demonstrated the feasibility of his plan in the New York University, by putting a model telegraph in operation. Two years afterwards, Whcatstone, of England, and Steinheil, of Bavaria, also invented magnetic telegraphs, differing from each other, and both inferior to the invention of Professor Moise. CFF-HAND TAKINGS. 217 Since tliat time the entire world has been made acquainted with the progress and history of the invention. Professor Morse has received honors and presents from various sources. At the suggestion of Steinheil, his system was adopted in Germany ; the sultan of Turkey bestowed on him the " order of glory," with a diploma decorated with diamonds; the kino- of Prussia, though not wishing the discovery to be sneezed at, gave him a gold snuff-box ; the king of Wiirtemberg gave him a gold medal. In 1840 he received his patent from Washington. The first news carried over the wires was the announcement of the nomination of James K. Polk as the candidate selected by the Democrats for the Presidency. Now there are nearly twenty thousand miles of wire in opera- tion in this and other countries. This lightning compeller has such a passion for painting, that even now he speaks of resuming his pencil, I do not like to hunt up coincidences, but it is somewhat singular that the man who taught our fathers and grandfiithers geography, should have a son whose inventive genius has taujjht us how to annihilate the distance which divides one part of the world from the other — and that the inventor should have a brother, the editor of the " New York Observer," whose business can be so much improved and accelerated by this great discovery. Columbus discovered this continent, Washington made it free, Franklin caught the lightning, and Morse has harnessed it and made it our mes- lenger. 10 218 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND GEORGE W. KENDALL George W. Kendall, knov>'n the world over as the editor of the New Orleans Picayune, is a " Green Mountain Boy,' who passed the days of his boyhood in the beautiful town of Burlington, When he attained his majority, he visited the city of New York, where he remained until 1835, when he went to New Orleans ; there he assumed the editorial management of one of the most popular papers in America (the New Orleans Picayune). His attic wit, his exquisite taste, his elegant com- positions, were admired and appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic. Hood in his palmiest days was not a cleverer pun- ster. Douglas Jerrold has never displayed more genuine wit. He-may be styled the merry-Andrew of the press, and yet he is not a harlequin nor a clown, but a polished gentle- man, saying the pleasantest things in the most delightful manner. His humor is irresistible — his wit sharp as a two- edged sword — his pathos sure to move the heart and unsea'. the fountain of tears. Hypochondria has no chance to survive the first scratch of his magic pen. Volumes of amusing and touching articles might easily be selected from his model paper. As a paragraphist and essayist he occupies a proud position. But he wields the sword as well as the pen. In the spring of 1841, partly for the benefit of his health, and y OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 211) partly to gratify his love of adventure, be set out for Austin with the Santa Fe Expedition ; and when he returned wrote a most interesting history of it, giving a graphic account of bis captivity and sufferings in Mexico. He resumed bis editorial functions and duties, and remained in the Cresent city until the commencement of the Mexican war, when he once more abandoned bis literary labors, and attended General Taylor as a member of his staff, through the whole of his campaigns. At the close of the war be made the tour of Europe. He has obtained an enviable repu- tation as the author of a splendid " History of the War be- tween the United States and Mexico." He is a sociable, agreeable, accessible gentleman, whose extraordinary talents and manly bearing command the respect of a vast multitude of friends. The Picayune is a brilliant sheet, abounding in good things , and, unlike many of its contemporaries, it is not indebted to the coufsctioner for them. SAMUEL HOUSTON. Gen. Samdel Houston, United States senator from Texas, is an extraordinary man, whose common sense and courage have won for him the good opinion of his appreciating coun- trymen, everywhere. Although a self-taught and self-mada^ man, he has few superiors in debate on the floor of the senate- 220 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND chamber, and fewer equals on the field, in the perilous hou» of battle- Indeed, he displays equal courage and coolness, whether acting in the capacity of statesman or soldier. We admire him as the hero of San Jacinto, when he captures Santa Anna, and we applaud him as the herald of freedom, when he throttles the " little giant " of Illinois, and virtually says to the demagogue, " Get thee behind me, Satan." He is one of nature's noblemen, whom the people delight to honor, and his fame will be fresh in the memory of the mul- titude when the name of Douglas will be forgotten ; or, if remembered, be associated with Arnold and infamy. Gen. Houston is tall and straight as an Indian, of perfect propor- tions, with sharp gray eyes, and a nose like the beak of an eagle. He usually wears a profusion of hair upon his face. His commanding countenance and towering figure contrast finely with the pigmy proportions and plebeian features of the ambitious and heartless man who would enslave nations for the gratification of his wicked vanity. I am indebted to " The Men of the Time " for the following sketch of his history : " Gen. Samuel Houston, United States senator from Texas, jvas born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, March 2, 1793. He lost his father when quite young, and his mother removed with her family to the banks of the Tennessee, at that time the limit of civilization. Here the future senator received but a scanty education ; he passed several years among the Cherokee Indians, and in fact, through all his life, he seems to have held opinion with Rousseau, and retained a predilection for the savage mode of life. After serving for a time as clerk to a OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 221 country trader, and keeping a scliool, he became disgusted with mercantile and scholastic pursuits, and, in 1813, he enlisted in the array, and served under General Jackson in the war with the Creek Indians. He distinguished himself highly on several occasions, and at the conclusion of the wai he had risen to the rank of lieutenant ; but he soon resigned his commission and commenced the study of law at Nash- ville. It was about this time that he began his political life, After holding several minor offices in Tennessee, he was, in 1823, elected to Congress, and continued a member of that body until, in 1827, he became Governor of the State of Ten- nessee. In 1829, before the expiration of his gubernatorial term, he resigned his office, and went to take up his abode among the Cherokees in Arkansas. During his residence among the Indians, he became acquainted with the frauds practised upon them by government agents, and undertook a mission to "Washington for the purpose of exposing them. lu the execution of this philanthropic project he seems to have met with little success ; he became involved in several law- suits, and returned in disgust to his savage friends. During a visit to Texas, he was requested to allow his name to be used in the canvass, for a convention which was to meet to form a constitution for Texas prior to its admission into the Mexican union. He consented, and was unanimously elected. The constitution drawn up by the convention was rejected by Santa Anna, at that time in power, and the disaffection of the Texans caused thereby, was still further heightened by a de- mand upon them to give up their arms. They determineox ? I quote from memory : We have a weapon firmer set, And better than the bayonet, A weapon that comes down as still As snow-flakes fall upon the sod, Yet executes a freeman's will, As lightning does the will of God. Perhaps no temperance poem ever had so wide a circulation as the "Two Incendiaries," recently published in the Life Boat. Here is a verse as pure, sparkling, and refreshing as the rain. • Ye gracious clouds ! ye deep, cold walls, Ye gems, from mossy rocks that drip ! Springs, that from earth's mysterious cells Gush o'er your granite basin's lip ! 231 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND To you I look : — your largess give, And I will drink of you and live. Mr. P. is the author of the Airs of Palestine, a poem of nearly a thousand lines in the heroic measure — for sublimity of thought, beauty of expression, and graceful versification, it is unexcelled by any American production. Mr. P. is a native of Litchfield, Conn. He entered Yale College when fifteen years of age, and graduated in the summer of 1804. Afterwards he engaged in teaching, which he soon relinquished for the study of law. The practice of law not agreeing with his health, he entered into mercantile pursuits, which resulted disastrously in 1816, but his loss was our gain. Not long after his failure he began to prepare for the pulpit. Left Harvard University in 1818. Li 1819 he was chosen pastor of the HoUis street church, where he remained nineteen years. He is now pastor of a flourishing church in Medford. May he long live to entertain, enlighten, and bless the brotherhood of man. The extract which follows is taken from an Address deli vered to his unrelenting persecutors in the Hollis street church Boston. They assailed him witli the most persevering malig- nity because he rebuked them kindly but earnestly and repeatedly for manufacturing and selling intoxicating liquors. He triumphed over them all, for he had the Law as well as the Gospel on his side. Want of space is my excuse for not indulging the reader with a more extended specimen of Mr. Pierpont's chaste and beautiful prose. " And now, my brethren, as this may possibly be the last OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 23; counsel that, as your minister, I may ever have an opportunity to give you, ttose of you especially, who have been most active in disquieting the sheep of this Christian fold, by your persecution of its shepherd — indulge me, I pray you, in one word more of counsel. The time is coming when you will thank me for it; thank me the more hoartilj, the more promptly you follow it. Desist — I counsel you to desist, from that part of your business which has been the cause of all this unhappy controversy ; the cause of your troubles, and of my trials and triumph — for I shall be triumphant at last. Desist from the business that, through the poverty of many, has made you rich — that has put you into your palaces by driving them, through hovels and prisons, down into the gates of the grave. Abandon the business that is kindling the fires of hatred upon your own hearth-stones, and pouring poison into the veins of your children — yea, and of your children's children, and sending the shriek of delirium through their chambers — the business that is now scourging our good land as pestilence and war have never scourged it ; nay, the business, in prosecuting which you are, even now, carrying a curse to all the continents of the world, and making our country a stench in the nostrils of the nations. I counsel you to stay your hands from this work of destruction, and wash them of this great iniquity, as becomes the disciples of Him who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. As Uis disciples, I counsel you no longer to absent yourselves from your wonted place of worship, and to return to your allegiance to your church and to God. Say to your minister, 236 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Well doue, good and faithful servant ! you have faithfully done the work that you were ordained to do. You have neither spared us nor feared us. You have even wounded us ; but faithful are the wounds of a friend. We commend you for your work, and charge you to go on with it, that we may meet together, and rejoice together m the presence of GoL'" t f ( Pinj^iorecL"by . OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 231 HORACE GREELEY. The subject of this sketch is the prince of paragraphists— the Napoleon of Essayists. For years he has employed hia talents in winding and unwinding the "tangled yarn" of human affairs in Church and State — in Philosophy and Politics — in Art and Literature. He is the great recording secretary of this Continent, employed by the masses to take notes and print them. His business is to " hold the mirror up to Nature, and show the very age and body of the time its form and pressure." He has the pluck to say as an editor what he feels as a man — when he forgets that he is a politi- cian. It is then that we find truth without concealment, and genuine open-heartedness without wire-working behind the curtain. It is then he -" pours out all as plain As downright Shippen, or as old Montaigne." Notwithstanding his wayward whims — his eccentric man- ners — his love of the intangible ideal — his faith in Fourierism • — his responses to spirit-rappers — his man-worship when Henry Clay was the human god — he is still the model Editor and the leader of the " press gang ;" and the columns of Tht Tribune afford a panoramic view of the American world as il 238 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND is. Greeley is a pen pugilist (but never a bully), and woe betide the unlucky wight that begins the assault. Is he a clergyman ? — then duodecimos, octavos, and quartos of eccle- siastical history will be hurled at his head, and he cannot dodge them though he makes a coward's castle of the pulpit. Is he a political man ? — then he must be right, or he will be flao-ellated, if he ventures to measure lances with one who is a walking register, and familiar with every important politi- cal event that has transpired for the last twenty years. He has more than a usual knowledge of the past. His writings embrace every variety of style — classic beauty, exquisite poetry, graphic description, vapid commonplace, the full sun- blaze of originality, the moon in the mist, and the ignis fatuus light of whimsical nonsense. It is "but just, however, to say, that he rarely troubles his readers with verbiage or pedantry. He gives us his immediate impressions of things, and his style depends somewhat upon the state of his health and the leisure at his disposal. He does not stop to tack on syllables to make a sentence even, nor measure periods so that they will be as mathematically correct as the vibrations of a pen- dulum ; but he dashes on, heedless of consequences. His widely circulated journal contains good specimens of acute wit, critical reasoning, solid argument, brilliant invective, pro- found philosophy, beautiful poetry, and moving eloquence, mixed with the opposites of these. Mr. Greeley is entirely free from heartless bigotry or hypo- critical obstinacy. He is benevolent in his disposition, affable and sociable in his manners, often speaks in public, and, owing OFF-HAJJD TAKINGS. 239 to his fame as a writer, attracts considerable attention ; but he is pretty sure to disappoint his hearers, for he has not suflS- cient eloquence as an orator, to buoy up the reputation he has won as a writer. His manner is uncouth, his matter often dry, and his person by no means prepossessing. Here permit me to say, that his careless, slipshod, slovenly way of dressing his person, has rendered him a man of mark and remark. His white hat and white coat have been immortalized, because they are ever worn and everlasting. If this Whig prophet had more dignity and more dandyism, he would be lesa popular with the masses, but a great favorite with uppercrustr dom. Mr. Greeley is a practical printer, and has risen to his pre- sent eminence by his untiring industry, his imconquerable perseverance, and extraordinary talents. No man in this nation controls public opinion more than he. He is a Grand Marshal in the great army of reformers, not afraid or ashamed to speak — to commit himself, save when his party may suffer by the act. He is a patriot Whig, a philanthropic Whig, a temperance Whig, an anti-slavery Whig, a Whig writer, a Whig speaker, the editor of a Whig paper, and that paper one of the very best in the United States. No wonder Mr. Greeley knows so well how to meet the wants and wishes of his patrons, for he has been in the world ever since he was born, and has been in various situations in life • — charcoal burner and member of Congress. Mr. Greeley is about forty years of age, of nervous temperament, has a large head — too large for his vital organs — a pale complexion, small 240 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND eyes, sunk under a dumpling forehead, a very scanty supply of very soft, white hair (not grey), which will not grow in front, but makes up the deficiency by a patriarchal over- growth behind. When the reader beholds a man with an old white hat stuck on the back of the cranium, and leaving the forehead bare, a shirt-collar neckerchiefless and unbuttoned, a vest which looks as though it had been put on with a pitch-fork, a pair of trowsers with one leg stuck in a coarse boot and the other striving in vain to reach the ankle, a coat that seems to have been blown upon his back, and pockets filled with exchange papers — he may be sure he sees Horace Greeley. This gentleman is a dietarian ; eats coarse, plain food, drinks nothing but cold water, bathes daily, and sleeps upon a hard bed. In conclusion, permit me to say, that Mr. Greeley is a man whose virtuous life, abstemious habits, generous deeds, and magnificent talents, entitle him to the admiration of his fellow men. ' The following sketch of Horace Greeley " at home " we re- cently found in a newspaper, the name of which we do not now remember. Some of our readers may like to hear of Horace Greeley, in his sanctum, and for their benefit we quote a description of these indispensable " appendages " to the leading newspaper establishment of the country. Mr. Greeley's personal appearance and eccentricities are i OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 241 known the country through ; the former, doubtless, better, pre- vious to his European tour and visit to the World's Fair, than since, as he is said to have returned home in costume which would pass current on the Boulevards of Paris. Despite this " turning of the coats," as long as he shall be remembered, even so long will the fome of that very white integument, with hat, boots and etceteras, also survive in the memory of man. Accompanied by the reader, let us make our way to the fourth story of the 'Tribune Buildings, corner Spruce and Nassau streets, opposite the City Hall ' — as the notice on the first page of the ' Tribune ' directs us. Passing through a good- sized room — in which we see half a dozen men busily engaged with pen, ink, ahd paper — we enter a small snug apartment. Mr. Greeley is invariably " at home," except when travelling abroad, which he does pretty often, at the proper season, of late years. We take it for granted, therefore, that he is at his post, as we make him our imaginary call. There he stands at a desk, much like a plain counting-room desk, totally absorbed in writing or in his papers. This desk is very high, reaching nearly or quite to a level with his eyes, and his arm rests upon it, the elbow higher than his head. We believe he invariably writes in a standing position, and his desk is so constructed (as we have intimated) that he looks up rather than down to his paper. He is so constant at his work and so near-sighted withal, that he is obliged to follow this habit, or bend quite double. There are papers, pamphlets, and a book or two on his desk, and quantities of the former scattered over the floor 11 242 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND The distinguisliecl Editor does not notice us as we enter the room, nor would lie apprehend that he was intruded upon were we to remain all day and not make ourselves known. If we are strangers, and it is apparent that we " drop in " out of mere idle curiosity, when he has nodded his head to us, in response to our interruption, he resumes his labors, and we may as well " clear out," first as last, for we shall receive no further attention from him. Those unacquainted with his business might well consider this "hard usage," but the reasonable reader (whom we are presumed to have in our company) will recognise this course of conduct, as a rule. His daily visiters may be reckoned by the hundred, and were he to play "the agreeable" to each and every one, the sum total of his day's work would count an insignificant footing. On the other hand — if we haj^pen to be " particular ft-iends," politically, he will give us due attention, and we shall get posted up on the " state of things," and very likely receive some excellent practical advice, touching our future public events. Mr. Greeley has been through life emphatically a great worker. Otherwise, it is plain, he could never have accom- plished the imniense amount of work he has done. A near friend of his, at the time when he first independently ventured into newspaperdom, has assured us that he closely applied himself from fifteen to eighteen hours per day. Since he has become firmly established, he has in a degree, relaxed his eff"orts, but we know of no harder working editor, at this day — and that is saying a good deal for Mr. Greeley's industry and perseverance. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. • 243 Mr. Greeley is a quick composer and a rapid writer Printers pronounce his manuscript decidedly worse than thai of any other editor in the land, which is setting it at a very low notch indeed. In putting it in type, they declare they take it for what it ought to be, rather than what it seems to be. Lines on paper are of no use to him ; he persists that the pen should be a free agent, and, to be consistent, lets it take pretty much its own course. The fac simile of Byron's chirography in the large edition of this writer's works is really reasonable, compared with Greeley's ordinary manuscript. We have, perhaps, deviated somewhat from the object of our visit ; but, as we have described, we claim to belong exclusively to Greeley and his sanctum sanctorum. This last is a perfectly plain, unpretending room, and the only article in it having anything the air of luxuriousness is a good old- fashioned lounge, upon which, it is said, he sometimes takes a snooze. We are told that this remarkable man has the very convenient faculty of working as long as there is anything to be done, and then sitting down in a chair, or reclining upon his lounge, and finding refreshing rest in sleep. Truly, a rare and a comfortable habit, and admirably adapted to the neces- sities of such a man. But, having exhausted our knowledge and " said our say " of the room and its occupant, remembering that we treat of one, with whom the corner-stone of all rhetorical virtues is to stop when you are done, let us take ourselves oflF — casting back a lingering glance at the form of our friend, at his work, with brain, and quill, and nose converged and concentrate — and 244 ♦ CRAYON SKETCHES, ANQ. sending up our earnest aspirations that he may live to stand at las old desk, and drive his powerful and faithful pen for tlie Truth and Right, — and so "leave him alone in his glory." In the year 1830 and 1831, he worked as an apprentice in a printing office in Erie, Pa., for fifty dollars a year ; out of that sum he saved enough to buy his father a yoke of steers — $25 or |30 — clothed himself, and laid by what paid his expenses to New York. His father at that time was very poor, living on a small piece of rugged hemlock land, near the line of Crawford co.. Pa., and Chatauque county, N. Y. The whole of the worldly gear of Horace, when he started for the city to make his fortune, might be summed up in a short schedule — a suit of blue cotton jeans, two brown shirts, chip hat, and brogans, and less than five dollars in money. And now, at this moment, he is wielding an influence greater perhaps than any other man in Ameiica. He is the editor-in-chief of the New York Tribune. Mr. Greeley is a model worker, temperate, economical, industrious, and a ready writer. He will make a mark upon the world, and be numbered among the leading spirits of the Nineteenth Cen- TURT. OfF-HAND TAKINGS. MOSES GRANT. Moses Grant has obtained a world-Avide celebrity, by hi* untiring efforts to ameliorate the condition of the unfortunate children of poverty and sorrow. The widow and the orphan havo reason to rise up and call him blessed. The drunkard and the prisoner have abundant cause to remember him gratefully, for his labor of love. Although advanced in years, he has the vigor, forecast, and decision of the prime of life. Between the hours of eight and one, in the morning, ho may be found every working-day in his office, serving the poor. Groups of men, women, and children, of every com- plexion, from every country, may be seen at his office every forenoon, soliciting aid and advice. The dusky African, the mercurial Celt, the solid Englishman, the chattering French- man, the lymphatic German, and the exiled Hungarian. One sits on a bench at the window, eating a bowl of soup — another stoops down to fit a pair of shoes to his feet — another strips the rags from his back and puts on a warm jacket. Look at the procession passing through the gate. Here is a boy with a bag of rice, there is a girl with a loaf of bread, yonder is a woman with a basket of provisions. See that red-faced young man, — his home is in the country, but he last night fell among 246 CRAYON SKETCHES. AND thieves, between Broad and Beacon streets, and he has just borrowed a sum sufficient to take him to his parents. That modest woman, so plainly yet so neatly dressed, suffered uncomplainingly, until pinching hunger compelled her to soli- cit charity — her immediate wants are supplied, and employ- ment will be procured for her. The man with a slouched hat and seedy coat has signed the pledge, and left his brandy bottle among the curiosities in the Deacon's temperance museum. There comes the porter with a stack of letters and papers from the post-office — the former will be answered and the latter examined, before the rising of to-morrow's sun. It is now noon. The sad faced, broken-hearted, and down- trodden procession, has passed away from the beautiful resi- dence, and the owner and occupant of the mansion hurries down to his place of business, from that to the bank, and then home again, in time to dine. After dinner he calls for his carriage, and takes a poor boy to the Farm School — dropping in at South Boston to see the juvenile offenders, and" calling, on his return, to see a sick woman, and administer such con- solation and assistance as he can render. Her lips are white as the wild white rose, but she calls for blessings to descend upon kind friends, whose visits are better than medicine to her aching frame and breaking heart. The subject of this sketch is never idle. Now presiding at a Mass Meeting on the Common, or in Faneuil Hall, or in Tremont Temple — then making a speech to the convicts in Charlestown Prison, or visiting the paupers at Deer Island — or attending to his official business at the Board of Aldermen k OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 24*7 — or his duties as an office bearer in the Brattle street Churcli, where his father served before him, in the same capacity of Deacon. His father was one of the brave men who threw the tea overboard in Boston harbor. Mr. Grant is the senior partner in a large paper establishment, Overseer of the Poor, Almoner for the benevolent who choose to contribute of their abundance for the relief of the distressed ; President of the Boston Tem- perance Society, and a director in many other institutions. He is a man of fortune, has a good education, and has visited Europe. He writes a sensible letter, and makes a practical speech ; is peculiarly happy in his remarks to children, and always a welcome visitor at all juvenile demonstrations. For many years he has been identified with the temperance cause. His house, and purse, and heart, are ever open for the advance- ment of his favorite enterprise. He is the unfaltering friend and patron of that eminent orator, J. B. Gough, and stood by liis side in the hour of trial, when summer friends forsook him. It is rather difficult to describe his person. The portrait in the American Temperance Magazine is a pretty foir resem- blance, although not a perfect likeness. He has brown hair — sprinkled with lines of silver — blue eyes, thin face, cheeks somewhat sunken, is rather under the medium size. . He is of the nervous-sanguine temperament; has a singular habit of twitching the muscles of his face and shrufrcrinGf his shoul- ders when excited ; often speaks abruptly, when pressed with business, and does not always appear to the best advanta-^e 248 GRArON SKETCHES, AND at first sight, but wears well and "improves on acquaintance." In a word, he is a man of sound judgment, superior business talents, a practical philanthropist, and a sincere Christian. For many years he has been a hero in the battle-field of life, and many would be willing to give a dukedom to possess the green laurels and golden honors he has won. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 249 GEORGE N. BRIGGS. Lives of great men all remind ns We may make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Foot-prints on tlie sands of time. Longfellow. His Excellency, George N. Briggs, is an American nobleman in the full-orbed manhood of life. He is robust, of broad build, and medium height. His eyes are blue, and his brown hair is tinged with the frost of more than fifty winters. His forehead is wide and high, and indicates more than a mediocrity of intellect, and his countenance is of a serious and thoughtful cast. He dresses plainly, and never wears a collar above his cravat. We attribute this freak of taste to his innate love of liberty. He certainly is unlike the drunkard who was such an ultra republican he would not wear a crown in his hat. He belongs to the Baptist church, and is one of its most eflScient and influential members. Ho takes a deep and lively interest in the religious and reforma- tory movements of the age. In the temperance ranks he has fought many battles and gained many victories. When for- gotten as Governor of the glorious old Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he will be gratefully remembered as having been a successful champion of the temperance enterprise. Gov. Briggs recently manifested a disposition to secure 11* 250 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND furtlier legislation on the snbject of temperance, and lie dia not handle that question as good old Izaak Walton did the frog he used for a bait, touching it tenderly, as though he would put the hook into its mouth without hurting it. In this way he displeased the publicans and sinners more than he did the friends of the total abstinence cause. He is always right on this question, and deserves great credit for his devo- tion to the principles of the pledge, and his courageous advocacy of its doctrines. It is difficult for a politician to be a philanthropist, but he is more of the latter than the former. He is not a bogus republican, friendly on election days and forgetful at other times. He is not a hypocrite, who sjjreads palm leaves in the path of Jesus when he is popular in Jerusalem, and denies him after he is nailed to the cross. Ho believes men live in the deeds they do, and not in the noise they make ; in the thoughts they have, and not in the breaths they draw ; in the beatings of a good heart, and not in the throbbings of a gold repeater. When the Hon. Edward Everett delivered the eulogy on the death of the lamented Adams, every little great man in the city, who had an opportunity to make a display, was bedi- zened with the tinselry, jewelry, and regalia of office ; but the Governor, who is a wise man and a good man, wore a plain citizen's dress, marked with a simple badge of mourning. He knows that birth, genius, talent, learning, wealth, and per- sonal attractions do not alone make one man better than another. A man may carry a silver-headed cane and wear a wooden head. He may learn the time he squanders from a OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 251 gold watch, while his heart is as corrupt as a nest of unclean birds. He may have a soft hand at one end of his arm and a softer head at the other. A fool with a fortune is pretty sure to clothe his back more than he cultivates his brains. Governor Briggs was apprenticed to the hatting business at an early period of his life, and although he afterwards became a lawyer, he never treated working men with disre- spect. He loves to grasp the hand hardened by toil, and whether a man's face be bronzed at the plough or bleached in the mill, whether he be clad in ruffles or in rags, he is sure to meet with a warm and welcome and unostentatious reception when introduced to George N. Briggs. He is not so eminent a lawyer as he is a Governor, although he is considered an Aristides in his profession. He is an attractive speaker, and is always ready on all suitable occasions to give free utterance to his manly sentiments. He is more fluent than eloquent, more solid than brilliant, more inclined to elaborate arguments and relate facts than to round periods and polish sentences. When his voice is not hoarse, and his mind is roused, he will occasionally thrill the heart like a blast from a trumpet. During his stay in Congress he oi-ganized a Congressional Temperance Society, which did a vast amount of good, but, unfortunately, it died out soon after he returned to Massa- chusetts. In the Sabbath School this distinguished man is " at home." Let the nobles of the land copy his example in this respect, and make themselves useful in their day and generation. Governor Briggs has, among his political opponents, many 252 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND personal friends. He doubtless has imperfections, but few public men have less. It is said that he has exercised too much clemency towards convicts whom he has pardoned ; if this be a fault, it leans towards the side of virtue. Some think his course respecting the Mexican war reprehensible, but this is not the time nor the place to investigate that matter. Some complain that he has not sufficiently imbibed the spirit of anti-slavery, but as we are not all organized, nor educated, nor situated alike, we must make some allowance for differ- ences of opinion. Whatever may be the opinion of some, he will long be remembered as a consistent Christian, and the model Governor of the Old Bay State. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 25S I THEODORE PARKER. This, like a public inn, proyides a treat, Where each promiscuous guest sits ilown to eat; And such this mental food as we may call Something to all men, and to some men all." Cbabbb. Let the reader imagine it is Sunday morning. The bells are tolling, and the good church-going people of Boston are wending their way to the various places of worship which are open for religious services. Suppose jire spend an hour this forenoon at the Melodeon, and hear the celebrated philanthropist who usually preaches there. Mr. Parker is seated in an arm-chair on the platform. A Bible and a bunch of flowers are on the desk in front of him, and it is difficult to say beforehand from which of the two he will select bis text. He will doubtless glorify the fragrant and beautiful blossoms, and condemn some parts of the inspired volume, before he concludes his address. See him rise slowly and walk gently toward the desk. He now leans upon it, closes his eyes, clasps his hands, and commen- ces prayer, in an inaudible voice. Now the hoarse whisper becomes a low, murmuring sound. Now you hear words, and a whole sentence occasionally, and wish you had coma earlier so as to have obtained a seat nearer the preacher 254 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Nov, by opening your ears and watching his lips attentively, you can hear his prayer ; but if God is not present, there is no one there who understands it. It abounds with smart maxims, deep philosophical reflections, pious acknowledg- ments, earnest invocations, and reverential promises. He has taken his text and commenced reading his manu- script. His voice is rather husky, and his thick lips seem unwilling to part. He now speaks louder and more dis- tinctly ; his lead-like eyes begin to glow with genius, and his bald head seems to shine transparently with thought, while he utters, in choice and classical English, sentiments so new, so strange, so mighty, and so mad with radicalism, incorrigi- ble conservatives are ofiended. He is a moral Columbus, who discovers whole continents of thought, and is sure to cause mutiny in the ship he sails in, because he ventures so far from the dry land on which most men build their hopes. Indeed, he is regarded as a theological corsair, and most of our great guns have been levelled at him, but he sails on uninjured, amid the roar of their opposition, although he frequently endangers his own immortal life by mistaking a whale's back for a green island. His philosophy and his divinity do not agree, for his philosophy is more divine than his divinity. He has but little faith in any part of Scripture that is not apparently susceptible of interpretations favora- ble to his peculiar views of religious duty, and does not hesitate to ridicule those passages which come in collision with his "Utopian" doctrines. In this way he unintention- ally destroys, in the minds of many, all reverence foJ OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 205 religion, and obliterates the sense of moral obligation. If his hearers were all learned philosophers, his lectures would be invaluable to them ; but they consist of all classes. The wise, who sift the wheat from the chaff, may live under hia teaching, but the mass, who swallow everything be offers, are in danger of suffering all the pangs of spiritual starva- tion. He is a true and thorough reformer, and advocates with great zeal and greater ability the peace reform, the temper- ance reform, the anti-slavery and anti-hanging reforms. In the course of his sermon he is sure to apply the rod to " Uncle Sam's prize-fighters," the Army and the Navy. The old autocrat Alcohol will be flagellated — the South will receive a blow here — the church will get a whack there — and the gallows will be kicked over yonder. He reminds ane of the schoolmasters of ancient times, but he serves ^rcat men as they did little boys. Statesmen, clergymen, aristocrats, are called up and publicly chastised, if they do not say their lessons correctly. A few days ago, Daniel Webster had to hold out his hand and feel the ferrule — Gen. Jass is frequently compelled to stand on the dunce-block at 1*16 Melodeon — Foote has to wear the cap and bells every time he threatens to hang or shoot his fellow Senators — he pats Benton on the shoulders by way of encouragement, when he speaks for freedom — John P. Hale he thinks is a precocious child of great promise — Ralph Waldo Emerson is so far advanced in knowledge, he would employ him as usher in his school. 256 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Mr. Parker's matter is more fascinating tlian his manner Indeed, he is often awkward in his gestures and indistinct in his utterance, but he has the happy facultj'- of compressing a volume of meaning in a few simple words. He never appeare before an audience without giving his hearers at least one drop of fragrance which contains the concentrated essence of a v/hole garden of roses. He is the poor man's friend, although he regards poverty as an unmidgated curse — and would never be like the hypo- crites who pass by on the other side when humanity ia prostrate, bleeding, and beseeching help. He has an extra- ordinary share of moral courage, and wages war like a hero, against the kingdom of scoundreldom. He is fond of the company of the gods, and talks about Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, as though they had been his school-mates ; is a modern among the ancients, an ancient amongst the moderns ; will tell you with perfect coolness, that Paul was not so good a writer as Socrates ; that Jesus was a perfect man, that by-and- by there will be other men as perfect as Jesus ; and that the statutes of Moses are not equal to those of Massachusetts. He seems to spurn what he cannot fathom, and condemn what he cannot comprehend. He doubts whether Christ could perform miracles, because he cannot perform miracles himself; thinks inspiration is reason magnetized; the Bible an interesting, but not always reliable history of the Jews, the popular religion of the times a delusive sham ; loves to trace human progress from the barbarous ages to the present time, and then look forward to a golden future. Were he to OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 257 manifest more reverence for the truths of revelation, and show that he placed as much faith in God as he does in man, ha would, with his varied learning and great talents, accomplish an immeasurable amount of good ; and many young men who have more faith in a newspaper than they have in the New Testament, would endorse its sentiments and follow the pre- cepts of that heavenly guide. Mr. Parker is a chaste and elegant writer, his works are widely circulated and read by scholars on both continents. Although he is denounced as an infidel by his opponents, he certainly behaves like a Christian in his private intercourse with his fellow men. He thinks there is nothing in the world so sacred as man, which accounts for the fact that ho hates flogging in the Navy, and is opposed to hanging, and oppression, and intemperance, and the butchery of the battle- field. He is upwards of forty years of age, rather under the medium stature, head large and bald, and his face dull, until he becomes animated before an audience ; is quite popular as a lyceura lecturer, and is in great demand during the lecturing season. The subject of this sketch, though wrong in theory, is right in practice, and has courage enough to seize the social and public evils by the throat. We, as a community, are deeply indebted to him for his efforts to improve the condi- tion of the unfortunate. He " goes " for baths, ventilators; hard beds, coarse food, cold water, and cheerfulness, and '^ goes " against tobacco, hot slops, quack medicines, thin 258 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND shoes, and tight lacing ; hates bigotry, gluttony, drunkenness, poverty, war, and slavery, and loves purity, fidelity, liberty, equality, fraternity. He is one of the most learned and gifted men in America, and is a better Christian than some of his bigoted detractors, who say he is like Noah's carpenters, who built a ship for other folks to sail in, and yet were drowned themselves. The following passage in eulogy of Amos Lawrence, who died in this city on the 31st ult., is from a sermon by Rev. Theodore Parker, preached on the next Sabbath. We copy from the " Commonwealth :" — " Only two days ago, there died in this city, a man rich in money, but far more rich in manhood. I suppose he had his faults, his deformities of character. Of course he had. It takes many to make up a complete man. Humanity is so wide and deep that all the world cannot drink it dry. He came here poor ; from a country town. He came with nothing — nothing but himself, I mean , and a man is not appraised, only taxed. He came obscure ; nobody knew Amos Lawrence forty-five years ago, nor cared whether the handkerchief in which he carried his wardrobe, trudging to town, was large or little. He acquired a large estate : got it by honest industry, forecast, prudence, thrift. He earned what he got, and a great deal more. He was proud of his life ; honorably proud that he made his own fortune, and started with nothing but his hands.' Sometimes he took gentle- raep- o Groton, and showed them half-a-mile of stone-wal] OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 25G which the boy Amrs had laid on the paternal homestead This was something for a rich merchant to be prcud of. " He knew what few men understand — when to stop accumulating. At the age when the summer of passion has grown cool, and the winter of ambition begins seriously to set in ; when avarice and love of power, of distinction and of office, begin to take hold of men ; when the leaves of distinc- tive generosity fall oflf, and the selfish bark begins to tighten about the man — some twenty years ago, when he had acquired a large estate, he said to himself — ' Enough ! No more accumulation of that sort to make me a miser, and my children worse than misers.' So he sought to use nobly what he had manfully won. He didn't keep ' A brave old house, at a bountiful rate, With half-a-score of servants to wait at the gate.' He lived comfortably, but discreetly. " His charity was greater than his estate. In the last twenty or thirty years, he has given away to the poor a larger fortune than he has left to his family. But he gave with as much wisdom as generosity. His money lengthened his arm, because he had a good heart in his bosom. He looked up his old customers whom he had known in his poorer days — which were their rich ones — and helped them in their need. He sought the poor of this city, and its neigh- borhood, and gave them his gold, his attention, and the sympathy of his heart. He prayed for the poor, but prayed gold. He built Churches — not for his own sect alone, for h« 260 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND had piety without narrowness, and took religion in a natural way ; churches for Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians, for poor, oppressed black men, fugitive slaves in Canada, nay, more, he helped them in their flight. He helped colleges — gave them libraries, and philosophical apparatus. He sought out young men of talents and character, but poor, and struggling for education, and made a long arm to reach down to their need, sending parcels of books, pieces of cloth to make a scholar's jacket or cloak, or money to pay his term bills. He lent money, when the loan was better than the gift. That bountiful hand was felt on the shore of the Pacific. He was his own executor, and the trustee of his own charity funds. He didn't leave it for his heirs to distribute his benevolence at their cost. At his own cost, he administered the benefactions of his testament. At the end of a fortunate year, he once found thirty thousand dollars more than he looked for, as his share of the annual profits. In a month he had invested it all — in various charities. He couldn't eat his morsel alone — the good man ! " His benevolence came out also in smaller things, in his daily life. He let the boys cling on behind his carriage — grown men did so, but invisibly ; he gave sleigh-rides to boys and girls, and had a gentle word and kindly smile for all he met. " He coveted no distinction. He had no title, and wasn't a ' General,' a ' Colonel,' a ' Captain,' or ' Honorable ' — onl j plain ' Mister,' ' Esquire,' and ' Deacon,' at the end. " His charity was as unostentatious as the dew in summer. Blessing the giver by the motive, the receiver by the quicker OFF-HAND TAKINOP. 261 life and greener growth, it made no noise in falling to the ground. In Boston, which suspiciously scrutinizes righteous- ness with the same eye that blinks at the most hideous profligacy, though as public as the street — even the daily press never accused his charity of loving to be looked at. " Of good judgment, good common-sense, careful, exact methodical, diligent, he was not a man of great intellect. He had no uncommon culture of the understanding or the imagi- nation, and of the higher reason still less. But in respect of the greater faculties — in respect of conscience, afi"ection, the religious element, he was well-born, well-bred, and eminently well disciplined by himself. " He was truly a religious man. I do not mean to say he thought as Calvin or Luther thought, or believed by Peter, James, or John. Perhaps he believed some things which the apostles never thought of, and rejected others which they all held in reverence. When I say that he was a religious man, I mean he loved God, and loved men. He had no more doubt that God would receive him to Heaven, than that he himself would make all men happy if he could. Reverencing God, he reverenced the laws of God — I mean the natural laws of morality — the laws of justice and of love. His religion was not ascetic, but good-natured and of a cheerful counte- nance. His piety became morality. The first rule that he took to his counting-house was the Golden Rule ; he never laid it by, buying and selling and giving by that standard measure. So he travelled along, on that path which widena and briirhtens as it leads to heaven. 262 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND " Here was a man who knew the odds between the Me.-ins of Livino- and the Ends of Life. He knew the true use of riches. They served as a material basis for great manly excellence. His ton of gold was a power to feed, to clothe, to house, and warm, and comfort needy men ; a power to educate the mind, to cheer the affections, to bless the soul. To many a poor boy, to many a sad mother, he gave a ' merry Christ- mas ' on the earth, and now in due time, God has taken him lo celebrate Epiphany and New Year's day in Heaven !" Sugrxved "by J C Buttre OFF-HANn TAKINGS. 2M NEAl DOW. The man who had the talent to frame and the courage to execute the Maine Law, deserves to be honored and remem- bered by every patriot and philanthropist in our broad free land. Neal Dow is the Kossuth of the temperance revolu- tion, and his name is already registered in the book of fame, " among the few, toe immortal names not born to die." Poets sing his praise, painters put his shadow on their can- vass — historians record his deeds, and multitudes of appreci- ating mothers will call their children by his name. We wrote pledges, made speeches, obtained signatures, formed societies, and framed laws, to suppress intemperan.ce ; we tried moral, magnetic, Bible, and ballot-box suasion ; we plead, and prayed, and promised, and did incalculable good, but failed to accomplish the entire extinction of the rum traf- fic, the consummation so devoutly desired. "We were brought to a moral Panama, with a gulf of billows rolling between us and a golden California beyond, without bridge or boat to carry us safely over to the land of promise, when Neal Dow, who understood every rope in the ship, took the helm, and piloted our storm-beaten vessel into the harbor of safety. Yes, a private citizen of Maine, possessing the stern will and Puritan zeal " of the earlier and better day," arose in the 264 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND dignity of conscious strength, and with the sweep of hia strong arm wiped away the stain of black intemperance from the State. Without the aid of the Army or the Navy, he routed the most formidable and dangerous enemy that ct)uld assail the Commonwealth. Lean and pallid avarice, haggard appetite, stupid igno- rance, bloated bigotry, devilish demagogueism, stood in his way, clad to the teeth in armor, but he feared them no more than Bunyan's Christian feared the beasts he met on his way to the Celestial city. He extinguished the fires of the only distillery in the State, and wrote tekel on the walls of every wine palace in Maine. Who is this modern Moses who smote the Red Sea with the rod of the law, so that the people can travel dry-shod ? He is a man who has a head to think, a heart to feel, a tongue to explain, and a hand to execute ; is respectably educated, not learned, comfortably independent, not a millionaire ; speaks conversationally, not eloquently ; is a plain, practical man, with a strong mind and an iron will. Had he lived in the days of Cromwell, he would have been a leader in the battered band that fought side by side with the " Usurper." . He speaks as one having authority, and looks like one born to command. He is in the meridian of life — about five feet seven inches in height, and well proportioned ; has dark hair, a square forehead, which does not at first glance indicate more than a medi- ocrity of mind ; eye-brows rather ponderous, cheek-bones somewhat prominent, complexion dark. The peculiar form of his mouth and chin pronounces him a man of obstinate I OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 265 fii-mness. There is a sort of come on, I am ready for you., look about his face, which affords unmistakable evidence that he will not countenance the liquor trade. He looks as though he could chase a thousand rum-sellers, and with the aid of the Maine Law, put ten thousand to flight. Neal Dow is the son of a Quaker, and surely he fights valiantly for one who has been trained to observe the prin- ciples of peace. He does not claim religious relationship with any sect, but is a firm believer in the truths of Divine Revelation, and observes devotional duties in his family. For many years he has been identified with the temperance movement in Maine (his native State), where he has labored and lectured gratuitously, for the welfare of his fellow citizens. Frequently has he appeared before the Legislature with petitions praying for laws so stringent as to prohibit the liquor trade, and finally ho succeeded in cutting out some work for his country. He is a tanner by trade, and although he has (I may be misinformed) retired from business, he has left the hides of many rum-sellers on the fence. Wonder if they would not make good shoes, since they are water-proof? There is not a lawyer in the land who could have drafted a better bill than that which has so effectually excommunicated intemperance from the glorious State which is the nearest to the golden gates of sunrise. The law declares that intoxicating drinks shall not be made and sold, to be used as a beverage, in Maine — that an agent shall be appointed in each city or town to sell spirits for mechanical and medicinal purposes only — that 12 266 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND common sellers shall be heavily fined and imprisosed for per- sistinor in violatinof the law — that no lawless ru.TTt-«'.eller shall be allowed to sit as a juror on a rum suit — that liquors may be searched for, seized, and destroyed — that in o«#o of appeal, bonds must be given that the case will be pro*»(jCUt6d, and if the judgment goes against the defendant, lie must pay double the fine and suffer double the impriso'tmeftt, &c., &c. Read the law, it is a good one. It has not b*>en pared down by abridgment, nor patched up with amendments. It is the people's law, and not the law of politicians. It is a terror tc those who do ill, and a praise to those who do well. Jt is a fire annihilator, and works well out doors or in, and the effect is the same whether the building be a small one or a large one. Success to the Main Law, which is the Law of Maine, With the following impromptu we conclude this sketch •— • Thy holy laws are stereotyped to deeds, Thy honored name is now our nation's pride ! Upon our cottage walls thy portrait shines ! We call our children by thy magic name ! Our poets laud thee in immortal verse ! Thy monuments in Maine are empty jails, Thy laurels, laws observed and unrepealed. Thy medals, grateful hearts of men redeemed. Thy friends, the noblest of the human race. E'en Legislatures stop to learu thy laws, And nations shout thy name across the deep ! OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 26"? PHILIP S. WHITE. Everybody said, " Let us go to the great meeting at Tre- mont Temple, this evening, and hear Philip S. White, the distinguished champion of the temperance reform." At the appointed hour, that magnificent forum was filled with tho wealth, beauty, talent, and moral worth of Boston. The immense building was brilliantly illuminated, as though the sun had risen behind the orchestra, and concentrated its rays within tho walls of the Temple. On the platform were some of the elite and literati of society, — aiithors, orators, and phi- lanthropists. After the usual preliminaries, at the commence' ment of the exercises, skilful fingers touched the magic keys of the mammoth organ, and we were pleasantly entertained with sweet strains of delightful melody. Sometimes it seemed as if a choir of soft-voiced maidens was enclosed behind those golden columns, singing such rich, lute-like airs, that angels, on their mission of mercy, might have mistaken that place for the gate of heaven. Then the heavy bass would roll like a wave of thunder through the large hall, startling the charmed hearers to a sense of the foct that they were still under the clouds. As the music subsided, a tall, portly man, on the mellow side of fifty, arose to address the audience. "Is that the man 268 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND who stood at the head of the Order of the Sons of Tempe ranoe ?" was the general inquiry. '' It is," was th< response. The " observed of all observers," on this occasion, is a person of good mould, somewhat bald, but makes up that deficiency by a luxurious growth of whiskers, which become his face as feathers do an eagle. He has a large, aquiline, Bardolphian nose, dark eyes, and a wide mouth, indicative of eloquence and good nature. He commences in a conversational pitch of voice ; face dull and passionless as marble ; has spoken ten minutes without saying anything, and the sanguine expecta- tions of the people are sadly disappointed. The hearers bow their heads like bulrushes, and some would leave the meeting but that they hope for better things. He is not quite so prosy now as he was fifteen minutes ago. His voice is deeper and clearer, his utterance more rapid and distinct, and his face shines as though it had been freshly oiled. There is a resurrection now among the bowed heads; he has just made a thrilling appeal, which moved the audience like a shock from an electric battery. Now he relates a tale of pity, which is drawing tears from eyes " unused to weep." Now he surprises his attentive hearers with an unanticipated stroke of humor, which makes them laugh until they shake the tear-drops from their cheeks. All are glad they came now, for the orator is in his happiest mood, his blood is up, and his tongue as free as the pen of a ready writer. He throws light on the question by the corrusca- tions of his attic wit ; drives home a truth by solid argument, and clinches it by a quotation from Scripture ; convulses the au- ditory by using a ludicrous comparison ; convinces them by OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 26? presenting sober-faced statistics ; entertains them by relating an appropriate anecdote, and fires their indignation against the traffic, while the rum-dealers present shake in their shoes. Hrt warns the drinkers with a voice which arouses them like a clap of thunder through a speaking-trumpet. In a Avord, his spark- ling satire, keen wit, eloquent declamation, happy comparisons, classical allusions, rib-cracking fun, and-heart-melting pathos, render him one of the most efiicient public speakers in Ame- rica. Mr. White can labor a syllogism, or tell a story, with the same ease that Talleyrand could turn a cofi*ee-mill or a king- dom. He goes for moral, legal, Bible, pocket, and ballot-box suasion. His inimitable histrionic powers enable him to tell a story admirably. He has almost omnipotent power in swaying the minds and hearts of his hearers, when he is fairly engaged, and has a sea of crystal faces before him. He speaks without notes, and is so careless, withal, that he preserves no minutes of his speeches ; consequently, when he responds to a second invitation to visit a place, he is apt to repeat the same stories, although he has an inexhaustible supply of unused material always on hand. He has studied human nature so thoroughly he knows how to reach the hearts of the masses. If the people will but listen to his lectures, they will open their mouths so earnestly he could almost reach their hearts by the way of the oesophagus. Mr. White is personally known on the green mountains of Vermont, on the granite hills of New Hampshire, in the pleasant valley of the Connecticut, on the banks of the Mississippi ; has hosts of friends at the sunny South, at the 270 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND stormy North, and the far-off West. Years ago he made th« tour of Europe. At that time he was fond of luxurious living and unweaned from the wine-cup ; he was a good judge ot Otard and Madeira, and can speak from personal experience on matters pertaining to fashionable drinking. Mr. White is a good specimen of a Kentucky gentleman — gallant, generous, and urbane. Indeed, he can accommodate himself to any company, and would be a welcome guest at the table of a duke, or feel perfectly at home in the cottage of a peasant. He must have been a studious man in his day, but he has bravely overcome that habit now ; for he would rather hold a man by the button all day, entertaining him by telling stories, than to read a page or write a " stick-full " of matter for a newspaper. When he has a report to make, he will throw the burden, if he can possibly do so, on shoulders not so able to bear it as his own, and he will put off the unwelcome task to the last hour, then dash off an impromptu report, and beauty will break out of statistics and facts, like flowers on the rod of Aaron. Sometimes he visits Subordinate Divisions of his favorite Order, as well as Sections of the juvenile Cadets, to fire the zeal, strengthen the faith, and encourage the hopes of the " Sons " and their sons. I once heard him address one of the latter societies on the evils arising from the use of to- bacco, but, unfortunately, he had that evening quite a gathering in his own mouth, which somewhat choked his utterance. The not altogether unusual swelling somewhat disappeared before the meeting adjourned, and it is hoped that by this time he has got entirely rid of it. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 271 Mr. Wliite is good company, a good stor /-teller, and a ter ror to all bypochondriacism and dyspepsia. Blessed are they who hear his voice and see his face, for they shall laugh and grow fat, I am no stickler for empty dignity, but remain under the impression that Mr. W. is not so dignified at the fireside as he is in the forum. There are vulgar persons who call him the Hon. Philip S. White when they speak of his public efforts, and yet abbreviate the title to Fhil. in their personal interourse with him. He is no favorite with those who will not '"give up a 'pint' of doctrine nor a pint of rum," for as the bottle-imp of Asmodeus unroofed the houses of Madrid, for the gratification of Le Sage's servant, so he uncovers the hearts of those whose bigotry or appetite or interest oppose the temperance reformation. Mr. White is by profession a lawyer, and, if I am correctly informed, was at one period of his life Attorney-General of one of tlie Western Territories. He is proud of his lineage, and is not backward in speaking about his former position in society, which is in bad taste, since he is now in a loftier position than any Baronet of England. The fraternity, I think, manifested forecast worthy of their trust when they selected him to be their leader, for his abun- dant self-sacrificing and faithful labors in this country and in the neighboring Provinces, have accomplished incalculable good to the cause in general, and won unfading laurels for him in particular. He is the author of a work entitled the " War of Four Thousand Years," and a tract entitled " Vindication of the Order." It is a pity that he did not give a more Chris- tian name to the first, and a matter of regret that he went 2*72 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND into partnership with others in writing either. His aamirers would like to see a book from his own pen, and know that he wrote it. His idea of a national newspaper organ, to he managed by some master-mind of the National Division, does not meet with general approval, because it would be unwise to put such power into the hands of one man , because it would narrow the circulation of the local papers to the starving point ; because one sheet would not suit every meridian ; because the temperance press now in operation is not properly sustained ; because there is as much editorial tact and talent connected with the local press as can be found in the National Division ; because monopolies are monsters not favorable to the growth of Love, Purity, or Fidelity, the characteristics of our Order. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. CHARLES SUMNER. New York is the head-quarters of commerce, a great wil« derness of marble and mortar, the abode of merchant princes and millionaires. Its harbor is crowded with ships from every nation, its mammoth mercantile establishments contain every variety of fabric and produce, its streets are busy as a broken ant-heap, its spires point, like fingers of pilgrims, to the land of the beautiful above, and its grog-shops are plentiful as car- buncles on the face of the toper. It has the best editors, and the poorest speakers, of any city in the Union. Philadelphia is noted for handsome buildings erected on straight lines. It is the metropolis of magazinedom, where Graham and Godey make gold and win golden honors. It is famed for the bro- therly love of its inhabitants, which trait is beautifully displayed in the manner in which they get up rows and send their fel- low-citizens to Heaven. Boston is the bank of New-England, the beacon-light of reform, the seat of science and learning, the forum of chaste, classical, thrilling, heart-quaking, soul-stirring eloquence. There is no city in the United States that contains so much speaking talent as Boston. Baltimore is choleric, noisy, and patriotic ; Philadelphia is fastidious, lymphatic, and metaphysical ; Washington is like Babel, where there is a con- fusion of languages, or like a vineyard of lazy laborers, where 12* 274 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND there is a •' wlney " atmosphere ; New York is energetic, bom- bastic, and original ; Cincinnati is slow of speech, but sound at the heart ; Boston is radical, forcible, eloquent. Among the most eminent speakers in the modern Athens, Charles Sumner stands preeminently conspicuous, for tho classic elegance of his style, the Protean power of his thought, and the finished beauty of his illustrations. He is one of the most remarkable men of this remarkable age, and a combi- nation of circumstances have rendered him the darlins' favorite of good fortune. He was cradled in Faneuil Hall, Judge Story was his teacher, and Harvard University the school in which he was taught. When he had availed him- self of the advantages afforded by this institution of learn- ing, he made the tour of the continent. England, France and Germany contributed liberally to his store of knowledge. If he has not an ample competence, he has what is better — an axx^y of friends and a thorough education. Charles Sumner is a stockholder in the bank of original thought. We may know he has considerable bullion there, for his drafts are honored at sight, and our first men are his endorsers. He has great power of condensation, without the wearisome monotony which often accompanies the writings and sayings of close thinkers and rigid reasoners. There is a vigorous and graceful stateliness, an easy felicity, a fastidious accuracy, and an imperial dignity in his style, which is both commanding and fascinating. There is a vast breadth of com prehension and a vast depth of meaning in his matter. There is also a luminous beauty, a Gothic grandeur, a sublime gor- geousness, in his labored and polished essays, which entitl'? OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 2*75 them to the appellation of prose poems. He sometimes invests his ideas in such lively, such attractive, such speaking, such magic language, and displays so much philosophical sagacity, so much poetical sensibility, so much profound knowledge of ecclesiastical and political history, the reader and the listenei are carried away on the current, while they are admiring, almost adoring, the man whose kindling words have set their imaginations on fire. Mr. Sumner's orations are written with great care. They abound with allusions to the sayings and doings of the ancients, and manifest deep research and profound thought. His bril- liant arguments at the bar have elicited unbounded admira- tion, and his model manner of delivery enhances the value of his eloquent appeals. The dreary desert of a common case is sure to bloom with garden beauty under his management. The forum, however, is his forte. He has the dignity of Pitt, without his pompous declamation ; the sublimity of Burke, without his tedious uniformity ; the vigor of Fox, without his roughness. He is not so fluent as the first, not so classical as the second, not so ready and original as the third. He has more solidity but less eloquence than Phillips ; more energy but less originality than Mann; more poetry and as much polish as Everett. His heart is not an island, separated from his head, but a peninsula, uniting one with the other. There is a relationship between the throb of the former and the thought of the latter. There is a joining of impulse and intel- lect. The afiections and the reflections are brothers and sisters. The heart thinks and feels, the head feels and thinks. 276 CRAYON SKETCHES, AN1> Tn this respect Mr. Sumner differs from not a few distiiv guislied men. Sumner believes in Christian law, and throws the weight of his influence, the force of his example, and the skill of his profession, in the scale of the right and true. lie is a preacher of peace, a lover of freedom, a worker for prison amelioration — in short, a noble soldier in the ranks of reform. With a generous, impulsive nature, he feels the woes and suf ferings of every portion of the human family. Charles Sumner is a popular man. The masses admire him because there is no " douixh " in his face, no dema^oo-ueism in his politics. The turncoats, flunkeys, time-servers, oflice-seek- ers, and political hypocrites of every party, fear him as the enemies of Greece did the Athenian orator, but they cannot despise him, they cannot ostracise him, they cannot make him false to his convictions. Hence he is the man the j^eoplo delight to honor, though he seeks no popular applause. He is now in the prime of manhood, and the star of his fame is in the ascendant. In person, he is tall, well-proportioned, with a low but broad forehead, light magnetic eyes, and a luxuriant growth of dark brown hair. He has a long, uneven face, which is marked with the manly traits for which he is distinguished. His smile is very sunny and infectious, and his greeting very cordial ; he walks with firmness, and swings his arms (especially when upon the platform) as though he designed to knock down the obstacles in his way ; has a full, rich bass voice, which becomes very seductive as he proceeds in his speech, enlisting irresistibly the attention, and appealing warmly to the feelings. When he is intensely excited, th« OFF-HAND TAKINGS. ±1": tones of hia voice move one like the blast of a bugle. As av orator, he has but few superiors, Mr. Sumner would excel as a diplomatist, for he has that peculiar ingenuity and intuitive skill which would enable him to disentangle the complicated questions that would come before him for arbitrament. When his party desire to move the political world, they are apt to shift it upon his Atlantean shoulders. Is there a great gulf between Dives the demagogue, and Lazarus of Iiis own league? — He will bridge over the chasm, if it can be done, and unite them in mutual friendship, without sacrificing truth and right on the altar of compromise. But some say Mr, Sumner is not sufficiently ^raciica^. He hopes to see the dawn of a golden future, and mistakes the scintilhitinor Hnrhts of the Northern skies for the sunrise of the millennial day. Although he is ambitious in worthy causes, he is wise, and patiently bides his time, without egotistically thrusting himself before the people ; is fond of fame, but when he is crowned with honors, his modesty is equal to his grati- tude. Has a Faneuil-Hall-full of affectionate admirers in his own city, and multitudes of them elsewhere. As might be expected from his heart-sympathies, Mr. Sum- ner early connected himself with the Free Soil party ; indeed, was one of its originators, — and without question is one of the ablest men in it — and politicians of all shades of opinion will agree that that party embodies a large share of intellectual, moral, and personal strength. Recent events in the political aflfairs of Massachusetts have placed Mr. Sumner conspicuously before the communiW as a candidate for the United States 278 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Senate. If he should receive the honor of that post, he would be more of a statesman tliaa a partisan, more of a sound, humane political economist than the mouth-piece of a faction — and 1 need not say, would do honor to the State he represents. His benevolence of character never will allow him to be a party demagogue, but for all that gives dignity to manhood or exalts true political science, he has every requisite.* The following extracts are fi-om a speech delivered in Faneuil Hall, previous to his election to a seat in the Senate of the United States. This speech is not so highly polished nor so argumentative as some of his addresses, but it is the most graphic and eloquent he has uttered. "The soul sickens in the contemplation of this legalized outrage. In the dreary annals of the past, there are many acts of shame — there are ordinances of monarchs, and laws, which have become a by-word and a hissing to the nations. But, when we consider the country and the age, I ask fear- lessly, What act of shame, what ordinance of monarch, what law can compare in atrocity with this enactment of an Ameri- can Congress ? [' None.'] I do not forget Appius Claudius, the tyrant Decemvir of ancient Rome, condemning Virginia as a slave ; nor Louis XIV., of France, letting slip the dogs of religious persecution by the revocation of the edict of Nantes ; nor Charles I., of England, arousing the patriot-rage of Ilampden by the extortion of Ship-money ; nor the British * Since the above was written, Mr. Summer has been elected to the United States Senate OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 279 Parliament, provoking, in our own country, spirits kindred tc Hampden, by the tyranny of the Stamp Act and the Tea Tax. I would not exaggerate ; I wish to keep within bounds ; but j think no person can doubt that the condemnation now affixed to all these transactions, and to their authors, must be the lot hereafter of the Fugitive Slave Bill, and of every one, according to the measure of his influence, who gave it his support. [Three cheers were here given.] Into the immortal catalogue of national crimes this has now passed, drawing after it, by an inexorable necessity, its authors also, and chiefly him, who, as President of the United States, set his name to the Bill, and breathed into it that final breath without which it would have no life. [Sensation.] Other Presidents may be forgotten ; but the name signed to the Fugitive Slave Bill can never be forgotten. [' Never !'] There are depths of infamy, as there are heights of fame. [Applause.] I regret to say what I must ; but truth compels me. Better for him had he never been born I [Renewed applause.] Better far for his memory, and for the good name of his children, had he never been President ! [Repeated cheers.] "Surely the love of Freedom cannot have so far cooled among us, the descendants of those who opposed the Stamp Act, that we are insensible to the Fugitive Slave Bill. Tho unconquerable rage of the people, in those other days, com- pelled the Stamp-distributors and inspectors to renounce their offices, and held up to detestation all who dared to speak in favor of the Stamps. And shall we be more tolerant of those who volunteer in favor of this Bill? ['No! no!'] --mora 280 CRAYON SKETCHES, ANrt tolerant of the Slave-hunter, who, under its safeguard, pursues his prey upon our soil ? [' No ! no !'] The Stamp Act could not be executed here ? Can the Fugitive Slave Bill i ['Never!'] " And here, sir, let me say, that it becomes me to speak with peculiar caution. It happens to me to sustain an impor- tant relation to this Bill. Early in professional life I was designated by the late Mr. Justice Story one of the Com- missioners of the Courts of the United States, and though I have not very often exercised the functions of this post, yel my name is still upon the list. As such I am one of those before whom, under the recent Act of Congress, the panting fugitive may be brought for the decision of the question whether he is a freeman or slave. But, while it becomes me to speak with caution, I shall not hesitate to speak with plain- ness. I cannot forget that I am a man, although I am a Commissioner. [Enthusiastic cheers.] " Did the same spirit which inspired our fathers, inspire the community now, the marshals, and every magistrate who regarded this law as having any constitutional obligation, would resign rather than presume to execute it. This, how- ever, is too much to expect from all at present. But I will not judge them. To their own consciences I leave them. Surely, no person of humane feelings, and with any true sense of justice — living in a land ' where bells have tolled to church ' — whatever may be the apology of public station, could fail to recoil from such service. For myself, let me say that I can imagine no office, no salary, no consideration, OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 281 which T would not gladly forego, rather than become in any way an agent in enslaving my brother man. [Sensation.] Where for me would be comfort and solace, after such a work ? In dreams and in waking hours, in solitude and in the street, in the meditations of the closet, and in the aflairs of men, wherever I turned, there my victim would stare me in the face ; from the distant rice-fields and cotton-plantations of the South, his cries beneath the vindictive lash, his moans, at the thought of liberty once his, now, alas ! ravished from him, would 2^ursue me, telling the tale of his fearful doom, and sounding in my ears, ' Thou art the man 1' [Rapturous applause.] " Sir, I will not dishonor this home of the Pilgrims, and of the Revolution, by admitting — nay, / cannot believe — that this Bill will he executed here. [' Never !'] Individuals among us, as elsewhere, may forget humanity in a fancied loyality to law ; but the public conscience will not allow a man, who has trodden our streets as a freeman, to be dragged away as a slave. [Applause.] By his escape from bondage, he has shown that true manhood, which must grapple to him every honest heart. He may be ignorant, and rude, as he is poor, but he is of a true nobility. The Fugitive Slaves of the United States are among the heroes of our age. In sacri- ficing them to this foul enactment of Congress, we should violate every sentiment of hospitality, every whispering of the heart, every dictate of religion. " There are many who will never shrink at any cost, and notwithstanding all the atrocious penalties of this Bill, from 282 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND efforts to save a wandering fellow-man from bondage ; the} will offer him the shelter of their houses, and, if need be, will protect his liberty by force. But, let me be understood, 1 counsel no violence. There is another power — stronger than any individual arm — which I invoke ; I mean that invincible Public Opinion, inspired by love of God and man, which, without violence or noise, gently as the operations of nature, makes and unmakes laws. Let this opinion be felt in its Christian might, and the Fugitive Slave Bill will become everywhere upon our soil, a dead letter. No lawyer will aid it by counsel ; no citizen will become its agent ; it will die of inanition — like a spider beneath an exhausted receiver. ! it were well the tidings should spread throughout the land, that here, in Massachusetts, this accursed Bill has found no servants. [Cheers.] ' Sire, I have found in Bayonne honest citizens and brave soldiers only; but not one executioner,^ was the reply of the governor of that place to the royal mandate of Charles IX., of France, ordering the Massacre of St. Bar- tholomew. [Sensation.] "But it rests with you, my fellow-citizens, by your words and your example, by your calm determinations and your devoted lives, to do this work. From a humane, just, and religious people, shall spring a Public Opinion, to keep per- petual guard over the liberties of all within our borders. Nay, more, like the flaming sword of the cherubim at the gates of Paradise, turning on every side, it shall prevent any Slave- Hunter from ever setting foot in this Commonwealth! [Cheers redoubled.] Elsewhere, he may pursue his humac > OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 283 prey ; he may empioy xiis congenial bloodliounds, and exult in his successful game. But into Massachusetts he must not come ! [Immense enthusiasm.] And yet again I say, I counsel no violence. I would not toucli his person. Not with wliips and thongs would I scourge him from the land. Tlie contempt, the indignation, the abhorrence of the community, shall be our weapons of ofience. Wherever he moves, he shall find no house to receive' him — no table spread to nourish him — no welcome to cheer him. The dismal lot of the Roman exile shall be his. He shall be a wanderer, without roof^ fire, or water. [Sensation.] Men shall point at him in the streets, and on the highways : " ' Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his pent-house lid ; He shall live a man forbid. Weary seven nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.* The villages, towns and cities shall refuse to receive the mon- ster ; they shall vomit him forth, never again to disturb the repose of our community." [Repeated rounds of applause.] 284 CRAVON SivKTCHES, AND OGDEN HOFFMAN. In this country newspaper notoriety is so easily obtained, pi'inted compliments by the column-full being sold for a dol- lar or a dinner, it is not considered a difficult task to become immortal, nor very desirable to enter the prize list with such ambitious competitors for the laurel of fame. A quack who knows not the difference between the veins and the vertebrae, and a pettifogger who never read a page of law, can buy repu- tation for a shilling a line, go to bed an obscure ignoramus, and find himseW famous in the morning. Now this state of society is so sickening to men of sterling talent and trua genius, that few who have the ring of true metal in them care to tumble in such a promiscuous scramble for a great name. But there are men, who, like the oak king of the forest, stand firmly anchored in the soil, while saplings strew the vale or lean upon its branches, and look through its buds into the future, when the forests folded in its acorn cups shall be the pride and glory of the hills and plains. Ogden Hoffman is such a man, and his name is as familiar in the Great Metropolis and the Empire State as household words. He comes of good stock too, learned in the law. His father, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, being the contemporary of in^ivedljy J.C Bultre- 'y^ ,^p OFP-HANly TAKINGS. 285 Thomas Addis Emmet, Judge Story, "Williams, and others of that calibre, when to maintain one's position in the forensic- arena was no child's play. And he occupied the bench too at a time when it was the reward of deep study and great ability, not as now, often obtained as the result of successful political chicanery. His brother, Charles Fenno Hoffman, has occupied in the literary world, both as a brilliant poet (he has written some of the sweetest things in our language), and as a novelist, a position of enviable notoriety. But to return to Ogden, the subject of our present sketch. Who, among the inhabitants of New York, does not recollect the sensation that occurred in the minds of the people in the good old days of Andrew Jackson and old-fashioned democracy, when the news was spread abroad that Ogden Holfman and Dudley Selden, mem- bers of Congress from this city, had refused " to go the whole hog," but had come out flat-footed, uncompromising whigs I Deep was the chagrin of the b'hoys, and as great the transport of their opponents. And to this day, wherever there is a whig gathering, and the masses are to be stirred up with soul- breathing eloquence, there will be heard the trumpet voice of Hoffman, urging them to do their duty as men, and to vote as becomes freemen. The great power of Hoffman is before a jury. There is a sweetness, a pleasantness about his eloquence that is very difficult to withstand, and when excited his powerful voice will ring like a clarion, and at one moment he will draw tears fjom your eyes for the sorrows of his client, and at another 286 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND convulse you with indignation for the wrongs he has suffered. The famous Richard P. Robinson, in the Helen Jewett case, no doubt owed his acquittal to his matchless eloquence. Mr. Hoffman we should judge to be about fifty years of age, of medium height, rather inclining to be stout. He has a noble forehead and finely-formed head, from which (from too much mental application probably), the hair is worn off on the back part. He has fine, expressive eyes, and a countenance generally denoting kindness and benevolence of heart. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word, urbane in his manners, and polite in his address, and has drank deep at the fountains of both law and general literature. No man in this part of the country is more deservedly popular. He now holds the responsible office of Attorney-General of the State of New York. It is truly refreshing to find a man whose solid learning, sound sense, and professional ability have been appreciated, while so many shams and pettifoggers are angling in every petty quarrel or political puddle for the fish which has the tribute money. E. L SNOW. The Hon. E. L. Snow, who has won an enduring reputa- tion as a consistent and conscientious temperance man, was born in Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, where he was educated and honored with various positions of public trust. He represented one of the wealthiest wards in the Puritan OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 287 city in the Common Council, and held high office in the Fira Department. In 1830, he left Boston and commenced business in the city of New York. Ten years afterwards, when the Washingtoniana began that reform which revolutionized the drinking usages of society, he attended their meetings, became convinced of the illegitimacy and wickedness of tlie rum-traffic, in which he was engaged— affixed his signature to the pledge, and forth- with discontinued the disreputable business. From that time he has been a constant and efficient advo cate and promoter of Temperance. In 1842, he assumed the editorial management and proprietorship of the New York Organ, one cepted for their appearance at the Court of Queen's Bench. The passage of the Treason Felony Act, their speaking and organizing being peremptorily forbidden, the opposition of the priesthood, with a combination of other causes, precluded the possibility of "their rising by harvest time." Mitchel was arrested a second time, and a reward of £500 offered for the "Young Rebel" (Meagher). After a series of adventures he was finally captured near Rathgannon, on the road between Clonoulty and Holy Cross ; this was in the month of August. He was tried in October, and the sentence of death pro- nounced against him. The sentence was subsequently com- muted to banishment for life, and on the 9th of July, 1849, he was transported to Van Diemen's Land, from which place he escaped in 1852. In December, 1852, "The Speeches of Thomas Francis Meagher " on the Legislative Independence of Ireland, were collected, and published by Redfield, New York, with elabo- rate notes on the state of Ireland, and the cotemporary his- tory of the European revolutions, by his friend, Mr. John Savao-e. It at once rose in public favor, and is, we believe, at present in the fifth edition. A critic in a southern journal speaking of the subject of our sketch, says : " As an orator, Meagher stands original and alone. He is no copy of a copy, no second-hand Cicero or diminutive Demosthenes ; he can neither imitate nor be imi- tated ; he is a master who has had no model, and no follower. His fio-ure ^id features are not more his own than his elo- OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 291 quence ; and his words are unaffectedly natural offs/rinjjs oi his soul, as his frowns or smiles. Out of the great mine of his heart does he dig his huge thoughts, reined all by threads of gold, which sparkle in the sun." This is great praise ; but the power capable of raising the indignation and chas tisement of the politic British Government must certainly be of no medium or mediocre character. The modesty of Mr. Meagher is only surpassed by his bril- liant talents. When before an audience, he has not only the " poet's vision and the faculty divine," but a river-like flow of . graceful and beautiful language. His lectures and speeches, to which reference has already been made, abound in appro- priate imagery, striking illustration, classic allusion, and poeti- cal expression. His voice is rich and full, and gives unmis- takable evidence that a man stands behind it. In manner he is polite, pleasant and frank, but dignified. In person he is rather robust, with a florid complexion, blue eyes, and dark brown hair. Although a Catholic, it is evident he is no favo- rite with the Jesuit priesthood — indeed, until quite recently they have treated him Avith indignity, having pelted him with paragraphs in the newspapers, and bespattered him with hints from the pulpit. At the present writing he is in California, where he is making a great sensation among the people in the golden land. He is one of the editors of the Citizen, and it is to be hoped he does not sympathise with his co-laborer on the subject of slavery. He is a great favorite with the masses everywhere, and almost idolized by his own countrymen. Crowded houses greet him in city and country, and handsome compensation rewards his labors. 292 CRAYON SKETCHES. ANO WENDELL PHILLIPS. Wendell Phillips is the Patrick Henry of New-England If he has less natural eloquence, less thrilling pathos, than th« orator of the Revolution, he has more polish and as much power of origination. He is a ripe scholar, a lawyer of no ordinary calibre, a magazine writer of considerable note, and a reformer of the most radical school. He is the pet speaker of the East. He has great power of perception, sincere sympathy for the oppressed, and wonderfid command over the stores of varied knowledge treasured up in his retentivo memory. He has the " gifts that universities cannot bestow," the current coin that cannot be counterfeited "the prophet's vision," the poet's fancy, the light of genius. He is at home on the mountain-top, and when he soars skyward he is not lost among the clouds ; has all the sagacity of the man of business united with the enthusiasm of the Utopian, and seems to be equally related to Maia the Eloquent, and Jupiter the Thunderer. He admires the eternal, the infinite, the heaven- like, the God-approximating in the nature of man, whatever may be the color of the envelope that contains these attri- butes. Mr. Phillips's speeches have in them the breath of life — hence they live long to swell the bosom and make the heart / OFF-HAXD TAKINGS. 21).') throb. " He does not go to the lamp of the old schools to light his torch, but dips it into the sun, which accounts for its gorgeous effulgence." He is something of a metaphysician, but is too much absorbed in the work of revolutionizing public sentiment, to devote his attention to subtle research and profound analysis. He makes but little preparation, and always speaks extemporaneously ; consequently some of his addresses are like a beautiful damsel in deshabille ; then his quotations are ringlets rolled up in papers, and the main part of the lecture like a loose gown, which now and then reveals a neck of pearl and a voluptuous bust of snowy whiteness and beautiful proportions. He is often brilliant, never tedious. Sometimes his scholarship is seen conspicuously, but it is never pompously displayed. It is a rich treat to hear Wendell Phillips speak to a large and appreciative audience. Let the reader fancy he is at a mass meeting in some forest temple. The sun shines as though delighted with the gathering ; the shy birds perch in silence on the neighboring trees, as though they were aston- ished at the proceedings; a song makes the welkin ring. The chairman announces the name of a favorite speaker. A genteel man steps gracefully upon the platform. He is neatly, not foppishly, dressed. A pleasant smile illuminates his noble face. He leaps, at a single bound, into the middle of the subject. He reasons, and his logic is on fire ; he des- cribes, and the subject is daguerreotyped on the retina of memory ; he quotes from some classic author, and the ex- cerpt is like an apple of gold in a picture of silver ; he tells 294 a story, and the impressioQ it gives is indelible ; he mates an appeal, and tears flow freely; he declaims, and the people are intensely excited ; he soars, and his lips are touched with a live coal from the altar of inspiration. Mr. Phillips believes in a " higher law," so he appeals to the sense of the everlasting in man. " He plays the Titanic game of rocks, and not a game of tennis-balls," and yet he " floods the heart with singular and thrilling pleasure." " He is the primed mouth- piece of an eloquent discharge, who presents, applies the linstock, and fires off" ;" and the conservatives, who stand with their fingers in their ears, are startled by the report. Is there a mob ? his words are like oil on the troubled billows of the chafed sea ; he rebukes the winds of strife and the waves of faction, and there is a great calm. The serene face of his bosom-friend, the leader of the league, is radiant with smiles ; the severe front of a turncoat or a tyrant present, begins to relax ; the doughface is ashamed of himself, and determines that hereafter he will be " a doer and not dough ;" the stiff"- limbed finds a hinge in his joints, and his supple knees bow in homage to the speaker. But I must find some fault, or I shall be deemed a flatterer. Let me see — what shall I say ? " Oh, he is an impracticable radical ; he goes for the dissolution of the Union, the dismemberment of the church, the destruction of the political parties." In this he is partly right and partly wrong. The Christian should do for Christ's sake what the worldling does for the sake of humanity, then there will be no necessity for such a reproof. The body politic should sever OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 295 the leprous limb of slavery, and then America would not limp so as to become the laughing-stock and a by-word of tha nations of the earth. The political parties at the North aro leavened with anti-slavery doctrines, and it is hoped they will soon rise to the level of that benevolence which will render such rebukes unnecessary. I declare it is difficult for me to find any fault in him. Reader, you may be Herod, but I cannot be Pilate, and consent to his crucifixion. T must con- fess that I love the man, although I cannot endorse all his creed. It is a pity that he limits his usefulness by his fierce warfare against men and measures that are too long or too short for his iron bedstead. Mr. Phillips is a man of fortune, and one of the distinguished few who contribute to support the enterprise in which he feels an interest as much as he expends in sustaining himself and family. Physically he is a noble specimen of a man. His head is sparingly covered with reddish hair — " The golden treasure nature showers down I^On those foredoomed to wear Fame's golden crown." A phrenologist would pronounce his head worth more than the South would be willing or able to give for it. He haa large ideality and sublimity, hence he soars ; large comparison and' causality, so he reasons by analogy ; large hope and benevolence, and the genial sunshine of good-nature irradi- ates his countenance ; large firmness and adhesiveness, and he abides by his friends through evil and through good report. His face is pleasant, and indicates exquisite taste, pure gene- 296 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND rosity, and Roman firmness. He is now in the full vigor of manhood, and ever ready at a moment's warning to battle for what he deems the riofht. Woe be unto the man who enters the arena with him, for he wields a two-edged sword of Damascus steel. Many strong men have been slain by him ; yea, many mighty men have fallen before him. Had he united with either of the great political pai'ties, he would have been chosen as a champion, for he is brilliant as Choate, without his bedlamitish idiosyncrasies ; clear as Clay, without his accommodating, compromising disposition ; learned as Winthrop, without his booMshness and drawing-room man- nerism ; genial as Cass, without his dulness ; fiery as Benton, without his unapproachable self-suflSciency, He would enter- tain a promiscuous audience better than either of the above- named men. He is not so logical as Webster ; not so luminous as the ever-consistent Calhoun ; not so learned as the second Adams : not so thrillinof as Kentuckv's favorite ; and yet he is a more instructive and a more interesting speakei than either of those distinguished men ever were, even in their jjalmiest days. Wendell Phillips is universally esteemed and beloved Even those who hate his creed, and dread his power, admire his disinterested kindness and irresistible eloquence. I regret that I have room for only the following extracts, from the last annual report of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. " Neither would I be understood as denying that we us« denunciation, and ridicule, and every other weapon that the OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 297 human mind knows. We must plead guilty, if there be guilt in not knowing how to separate the sin from the sinner. With all the fondness for abstractions attributed to us, we are not yet capable of that. We are fighting a momentous battle at desperate odds — one against a thousand. Every weapoi that ability or ignorance, wit, wealth, prejudice or fashion can command, is pointed against us. The guns are shotted to their lips. The arrows are poisoned. Fighting against such an array, we cannot afford to confine ourselves to any one weapon. The cause is not ours, so that we might, rightfully, postpone or put in peril the victory by moderating our demands, stifling our convictions, or filing down our rebukes to gratify the sickly taste of our own, or to spare the delicat& nerves of our neighbor. Our clients are three millions of slaves, standing dumb suppliants at the threshold of the Chris- tian Avorld. They have no voice but ours to utter their complaints, or to demand justice. The press, the pulpit, the wealth, the literature, the prejudices, the political arrange- ments, the present self-interest of the country, are all against us. God has given us no weapon but the truth, faithfully uttered, and addressed with the old prophet's directness, to the conscience of the individual sinner. The elements which control public opinion and mould the masses are against us. We can but pick off here and there a man from the triumphant majority. We have facts for those who think-— arguments for those who reason ; but he who cannot be reasoned out of his prejudices, must be laughed out of them ; he who cannot be argued out of his selfishness, must b« 13* 298 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND shamed out of it by the mirror of liis hateful self held up relentlessly before his eyes. We live in a land where every man makes broad his phylactery, inscribing thereon, 'All men are created equal' — 'God hath made of one blood all nations of men.' It seems to us that in such a land there must be, on this question of slavery, sluggards to be awakened as well as doubters to be convinced. Many more, we verily believe, of the first, than of the last. There are far more dead hearts to be quickened, than confused intellects to be cleared up — more dumb dogs to be made to speak, than doubting consciences to be enlightened." (Loud cheers.) * * * .* * * " All this I am not only ready to allow, but I should be ashamed to think of the slave, or look into the face of my fellow-man, if it were otherwise. It is the only thing that justifies us to our own consciences, and makes us able to say we have done, or at least tried to do, our duty. " So far, however you distrust my philosophy, you will not doubt my statements. That we have denounced and rebuked with unsparing fidelity will not be denied. Have we not also addi-essed ourselves to that other duty, of arguing our ques- tion thoroughly — of using due discretion and fiiir sagacity in endeavoring to promote our cause ? Yes, we have. Every statement we have made has been doubted. Every principle we have laid down has been denied by overwhelming majori- ties against us. No one step has ever been gained but by the most laborious research and the most exhausting argument. And no question has ever, since Revolutionary days, been so OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 293 thoroughly investigated or argued here, as that of slavery Of that research and that argument, of the whole of it, the old- fashioned, fanatical, crazy, Garrisonian Anti-Slavery move- ment has been the author. From this band of men has pro- ceeded every important argument or idea that has been broached on the Anti-Slavery question from 1830 to the pre- sent time. (Cheers.) I am well aware of the extent of the claim I make. I recognise, as fully as any one can, the abi- lity of the new laborers — the eloquence and genius with which they have recommended this cause to the nation, and flashed conviction home on the conscience of the community. * * * * * * "At present, our leading men, strong in the supjwrt of largo majorities, and counting safely on the prejudices of the com- munity, can aftbrd to despise us. They know they can over- awe or cajole the present ; their only fear is the judgment of the future. Strange fear, perhaps, considering how short and local their fame ! But however little, it is their all. Our only hold upon them is the thought of that bar of posterity, before which we are all to stand. Thank God, there is the elder brother of the Saxon race across the water — there is the army of honest men to come ! Before that jury we summon you. We are weak here — out-talked, out-voted. You load our names with infamy, and shout us down. But our words bide their time. We warn the living that we have terrible memo- ries, and that their sins are never to be forgotten. We will gibbet the name of every apostate so black and high that hia children's children shall blush to bear it. Yet we bear no 300 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND malice — clierisli no resentment. We thank God that the leva of fame, ' that last infirmity of noble minds,' is shared by the ignoble. In our necessity, we seize this weapon in the slave's behalf, and teach caution to the living by meting out relent; less justice to the dead. How strange the change death pro- duces in the way a man is talked about here ! While leading men live, they avoid as much as possible all mention of slavery, from fear of being thought abolitionists. The moment they are dead, their friends rake up every word they ever contrived to whisper in a corner for liberty, and parade it before the world ; growing angiy, all the while, with us, because wq insist on explaining these chance expressions by the tenor of a long and base life. While drunk with the temptations of the present hour, men are willing to bow to any Moloch. When their friends bury them, they feel what bitter mockery, fifty years hence, any epitaph will be, if it cannot record of one living in this era, some service rendered to the slave ! These, Mr. Chairman, are the reasons why we take care thai 'the memory of the wicked shall rot."* OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 301 ELIHU BURRITT. " Our country is the world ; our countrymen are all mankind." — Asom. A SHORT time ago the friends of Peace called a meeting at the Park street Church, for the purpose of appointing delegates to attend the World's Peace Convention, on the banks of the Maine. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather, and the unbusiness-like manner in which he meeting was advertised, there were hut few persons present ; but the distinguished gentlemen who were called upon to address that audience might have consoled themselves with the reflection that what their assembly lacked in number it made up in talent, learning, influence, and moral worth. The chief object of attraction, at this meeting, was Elihu Burritt, the " learned blacksmith." He sat on the first seat opposite the pulpit, with his back toward the audience, his head resting on his hand, and his eyes closed most of the time, during the delivery of the speeches. Thomas Drew, Jr., immortalized as Burritt's " blower and striker " at the forcre and anvil of reform, was busy with pencil and paper in one of the side pews. The hearers waited peaceably but impatiently for Mr. Burritt to take the rostrum, and when it was announced that he would speak, every countenance becama 302 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND radiaut with joyful anticipation. Mr. Burritt arose in a quiet, unpretending manner, and modestly responded to the .nvitation to speak. He stood on the top stair of the pulpit, and at first seemed to shrink back bashfully from the gaze of the upturned faces before hiin. Although he is no coward, I have no doubt his heart beat as though it would batter a breach through its tenement when he first unsealed his lips in the presence of that assembly. In fact, the contour of his face, and the tones of his voice, are the tell-tales which pub- lished his lack of self-conceit. Mr. Burritt is now in the meridian of his manhood, but his premature baldness is his apology for wearing a wig. He has a towering forehead, but, owing to the large development of the perceptive faculties, it appears to retreat. I think his eyes are blue, when they do not blaze. His face indicates perseverance that will not falter, and integrity that will not disappoint. He speaks slowly, distinctly, and forcibly, with- out ever uttering a foolish thing. He has a peculiarity of tone which is unreportable, but which tells with thrilling effect on the hearts of his hearers, when he enters earnestly into the subject he discusses. All who have heard him must acknowledge that his matter is as full of thought as an egg is of meat. He employs facts and statistics in his speeches and editorials, but they have the varied beauty of the rainbow, and the golden glow of sunlight, when viewed through the prism of his rich imagination. The following extract from the, London edition of the little volume entitled " Sparks from the Anvil,^'' will give tho OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 303 reader an idea of Mr, Burritt's style of writing. In ar article on temperance, he alludes to the history of a distin- guished statesman who had been snatched as a brand from the liquid burning: — "And he was found, with all the resuscitated vigor of his talents, exhuming^ as it were, his fellow beings, who, like him, had been buried before thej were dead. Massachusetts welcomed him back to her embrace with emotions of maternal joy, and invited the returning pleiad to resume his rank among the stars of her crown. The doors of her halls and churches were thrown open to the newly-returning prodigal, and many were touched to life and salvation, at the burning eloquence which fell from his lips. Sister states heard of this new Luther in temper- ance, and he obeyed thoir call. He stood up in their cities like Paul in the midst of Mars Hill, and, with an eloquence approaching inspiration, set forth the strange doctrine of total abstinence. That man, unfortunately, was led astray by fiends in human form, but a band of Washingtonians persuaded him to sign the pledge once more, and this time it was an unviolated policy of insurance against the fires of destruction." He concluded that graphic sketch in the follow- ing words : — " That man is again a giant, and he is abroad ; look out for him ! Like Samson, he is feeling for the pillars, of the temple of Bacchus, and he will ere long revenge the loss of his locks by a mighty overthrow of that doomed edifice." It aftbrds the writer no small degree of pleasure to lift up the curtain which hangs between the past and the present, 304 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND and look back to the time when the now eminent champion of peace first put on his paper cap and leather apron, and made the forgfe blaze and the hammer rino-. He did not dream, then, that he one day would "beat swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning-hooks." His friends did not at that time give him credit for any striking mani- festations of genius. To use his own words, he was a " plodding, patient, persevering " lad, gathering by " the process of accretion, which builds the ant-heap, particle by particle, thought by thought, fact by fact." In this way he worked and studied, night by night, for years, with " blistered hands and brightening hope," at lessons which have made him shine a star of the first magnitude in the firmament of fame. In the summer of 1838, Governor Everett, of Massachu- setts, in an address to an association of mechanics in Boston, took occasion to mention that a blacksmith of that State had, by his unaided industry, made himself acquainted with fifty languages! Prior to this announcement, Mr. Burritt had lived in obscurity, and the fame of his acquirements did not extend beyond the smoke of his work-shop. When Mr. Nelson called on Mr. B. at Worcester, he found him at his anvil. When told what the Governor had reported respecting him, he modestly replied that the Governor had done him more than justice. It was true, he said, that he could read about fifty languages, but he had not studied them all critically. Yankee curiosity had induced him to look at the Latin Grammar ; he became int»erested in it, and persevered^ OFF-HAND TAKINGS. .TQa and, finally, acquired a thorougli knowledge of that language, He then studied the Greek with equal care. An acquaintance with these languages had enabled him to read, with equal facility, the Italian, the French, the Spanish, and the Portu- guese. The Russian, to which he was then devoting his odd moments, he said, w^as the most difficult of any he had undertaken. He went to Worcester to secure the advantao^es of an antiquarian library, to which the trustees allowed him free access. He spent eight hours at the forge, eight hours in the library, and the remaining eight hours of each day in recreation and rest. After he had studied Hebrew, and made himself acquainted with its cognate languages — the Syriac, Chaldaic, Arabic, Samaritan, Ethiopic, &c., he turned his attention to the languages of Europe, and studied French, Spanish, Italian, and German, under native teachers. He then pursued the Portuguese, Flemish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Welsh, Gaelic, Celtic, &c. It is somewhat remarkable that a man who has devoted so much of his time to the acquisition of languages, that he is a living polyglot, should have such mighty mathe- matical powers. Figures tumble from his pen like seeds from a sack when the string is untwined from its throat. There are but few men of past or present times, that can excel him in description. Take the following graphic sketch of the iron horse, as a specimen of his skill in that department of literature : — " I love to see one of these creatures, with sinews of brasa and muscles of iron, strut forth from his smoky stable, and, 306 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND saluting the long train of cars with a dozen sonorous puffs from his iron nostrils, fall back gently into his harness. There he stands, champing and foaming upon the iron track, his great heart a furnace of glowing coals, his lymphatic blood is boiling in his veins, the strength of a thousand horses is nerving his sinews — he pants to be gone. He would ' snake ' St. Peter's across the desert of Sahara, if he could be fairly hitched to it ; but there is a little, sober-eyed, tobacco-chewing man in the saddle, who holds him in with one finger, and can take away his breath in a moment, should he grow restive or vicious. I am always deeply interested in this man, for, begrimed as he may be with coal, diluted in oil and steam, I regard him as the genius of the whole machinery, as the physical mind of that huge steam-horse." Mr. Burritt believes that God has made of one blood all the nations of the earth, and he aims to unite them by the fraternal chain of brotherhood. He looks upon war as an inexcusable evil, and labors manfully for its extirpation. He would dismantle the arsenal, disband the army, spike the cannon, and reforge the cutlass ; he would take our ships of war and " lade them down to the w^ater's edge with food and covering for human beings." "The ballast should be round clams, or the real quahaugs, heavy as cast iron, and capital for roasting. Then he would build along up, filling every square inch with well-cured provisions. He would have a hogshead of bacon mounted into every port-hole, each of which should discharge fifty hams a minute, when the ship was brought into action ; and the state-rooms should be filled OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 30l With -well-made garments, and the taut cordage and tha long tapering spars should be festooned with boys' jackets and trousers. Then, when there should be no more room for another cod-fish or herring, or sprig of catnip, he would run up the white flag of peace. He would throw as many hams into the city in twenty-four hours as there were bomb-shells and cannon balls thrown into Keil by the besieging armies ; he would barricade the low, narrow streets with loaves of bread ; would throw up a breast-work, clear around the market-place, of barrels of flour, pork and beef, and in the middle raise a stack of salmon and cod-fish as large as a small Methodist meeting-house, with a steeple to it, and a bell in the steeple, and the bell should ring to all the city bells, and the city bells should ring to all the people to come to market and buy provisions, without money and without price. And white flags should everywhere wave in the breeze — on the vanes of steeples, on mast-heads, on flag-stafis along the embattled walls, on the ends of willow sticks, borne by the romping, laughing, trooping children. All the blood-colored drapery of war should bow and blush before the stainless standard of peace, and generations of Anglo-Saxons should remember, with mutual felicitations, the conquest of the white flag, or the storming of Quebec." Mr. Burritt has made his mark upon this age — a mark which time will not erase. His society is courted by the great men of Europe and America. He quietly suggests a world's convention, and Senators, members of Parliament, Baronets, and crowned heads, hearken to his counsels. He is 308 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND the same great and good man, whether in the smithy, talking with the hard-handed nailers, or in the magnificent forum, pleading for peace, in presence of the dignitaries of the hand. He strives to smite off the clanking manacles from the uplifted hands of the bleeding slave, and to strike down the monster that wades in blood, and to build up the temple of universal peace, and to weld the world in an unbroken band of eternal brotherhood. He sees a spirit of selfishness abroad that would rob earth of its flowers and heaven of its lights, disinherit the angels, uncrown the Almighty, and sit upon the throne of the universe. So he has unfurled the white banner, and is now leading the crusaders of a good cause, to a battle where no blood will be shed, but where that evil, selfish spirit will le Bubdued, and peace shall triumph ! 5a&avei"bj- J C .Buttre '^i^ayi/iyt^ OFF-HAND TAKINGS 309 WILLIAM CULLEiX BRYANT. Nature has not a more appreciating admirei and devou. worshipper than William CuUen Bryant. The beautiful trees, when covered with green foliage, or crowned with the golden pomp of Autumn, or glassed in the ice of winter, as they stand with root clasped in root, and branch embracing branch, like a band of brothers, have been his instructors. The sweet sisterhood of flowers, gleaming like drops of sky and sunbeam, and rainbow, are the pets of his passionate love. The warbling birds, pouring forth their roundelays, or building their soft, round nests, or sitting on their spot- ted eggs, or cutting the air with swift-moving pinions, are his favorites. So are the lakes, shining like broaches set in emerald on the bosom of the earth — so are the streams sweeping like silver sickles through the green fields and forests. The rock is an altar on which he would fffer the sacrifice of a Jong — each stanza burning with holy fire, when, on the mountain sod he stands, with his feet on the earth and his heart in Heaven — the mountain is a footstool which touches the throne of God, and he kneels there. He looks upon the sea with sublime emotions, and the spirit which moves upon the waters stirs the great deep of his soul. 310 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND " He can impart substance to shadows, and spirit to storms — put an Oread on every hill, and plunge a Naiad into every gushing spring " — "Ah! Bard, tremendous in sublimity, Could I behold thee in thy loftier mood. Wandering alone with finely frenzied eye, Beneath some vast, old, tempest-swinging wood, Awhile with mute awe gazing I would brood, Then weep aloud in a wild ecstasy." Mr. Bryant is one of the most polished poets of the age No one in America approximates moi'e closely to perfection of finish than he. He is generally meditative, always in earnest, often sad. He has never been guilty of literary larceny ; has never violated the exact rules of exquisite taste ; has never published a mediocre poem from his own pen, and although for many years connected with the daily press, he has never wantonly assailed a brother bard or any one else, but has invariably exhibited that Christian courtesy for which ho is preeminently distinguished. As for his style, it is so accurate, so elegant, so in accordance with the "decora of composition" he has been regarded by some, as cold and conservative, and without genius — but such is not the case. It is true he has not the versatility of Willis, nor the fire of Whittier, nor the humor of Lowell, nor the eloquent radi- calism of Pierpont ; but he is not a whit behind them in his appreciation of nature, and far ahead of them in artistic skill, and unsurpassed by any American writer in descriptive power. He is not only a scholarly man of superb talents, OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 311 but a man of remarkable genius, whose writings will be a* fresh as nature, centuries hence, when the writings of many of his cotemporaries, overestimated now, will be confined to the closet of the antiquarian. He was a precocious child ; when but thirteen years of age he wrote a poem, from which T o^py the following lines : — " Oh, might some patriot rise, the gloom dispel, Chase Error's mist, and break the magic spell ! But vain the wish, for hark the murmuring meed Of hoarse applause from yonder shed proceed. Enter and view the thronging concourse there, Intent with gaping mouth and stupid stare, While in their midst their supple leader stands. Harangues aloud and flourishes his hands." The " Waterfowl " is one of the most beautiful and perfect poems in the language. " Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way ? " Vainly the fowler's eye, Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. " Seekest thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide ; Or, where the rocking billows rise and sink, On the chafed ocean side ? 312 CRAYON SKETCHES, i-ND " There is a power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast, The desert and illimitable air, — Lone, wandering, but not lost. " All day thy wings have fann'd. At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. " And soon that toil shall end ; Soon shalt thou find a surmner home and rest, And scream among thy fellows ; reeds shall bend, Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. " Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form, yet, on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. " He, who, from zone to zone. Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight. In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright." Edgar A. Poe, says that the poem entitled " Oh, Fairest of the Rural Maids," will strike every poet as the truest poein written by Bryant. It is richly ideal. Here are a few passages which prove their author a man of lofty genius, and not a mere man of talent and erudition. " Breezes of the south, That toss the gXilden and the iiame-like flowers." OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 313 * And pass the prairie hawk, that, poised on high, Flaps his broad wings, yet moves not." " Tlie great heavens Seem to stoop down upon the scene in love, 'Till twilight blushed, and lovers walked and wooed In a forgotten language, and old tunes Frona instruments of unremembered form, Gave the soft winds a voice." " The mountains that infold, In their wild sweep, the colored landscape round, Seem g^roups of giant kings in purple and gold. That guard the enchanted ground." •' So live, that, when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the .silent halls of death. Thou go not, like the quarry .slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave — Like one, that draws the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down in pleasant dreams." Rumor says, that the magnificent lines, last quoted, were never read by Thomas Campbell, the author of the " Pleasures of Hope," without causing him to shed tears. Mr. Bryant is a native of Curamington, Ma.ssachusetts. His father was an eminent physician, distinguished for his learning, and taste, and scientific attainments. When our author was sixteen years of age, he entered Williams' college, where he was eminent for his attainments. He commenced the study of law in 1812 ; and was admitted to the bar three 14 314 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND fears afterwards, and forthwitli commenced practice ic cLj town of Great Barrington. He was but little more than « igti- teen years of age when he wrote " Thanatopsis," which was first published in the North American Review. In 1821, he delivered " The Ages " before a literary society in Harvard. After ten years practice at the law, he removed to New York, and devoted himself to literary pursuits in the society of such men as Verplanck, Sands, Legget, &c. In 1826, he assumed the chief management of the " Evening Post ;" a position he still occupies with honor to himself, and credit to his craft. The Post is one of the most readable and influential jour- nals on this continent. Of course, no true poet can counte- nance oppression ; and "when the question of slavery was first agitated by leading men, in and out of his party, he wielded his pen in defence of the weak and down-trodden. He has been a vigorous opposer of the Fugitive Slave Bill ; and like a brave, honest man, fearlessly trips up the infamous intriguers, who make the auction block their platform. Mr. Bryant is a reformer, and is classed among the " Softs " of the democratic party — the term, however, applies more to the hearts than it does to the heads of the humane leaders in the ranks to which he belonofs. Mr. Bryant is upwards of fifty years of age, about five feet nine inches in height, with rather athletic frame ; he has a large, thin, sallow face, lit up with a pair of sharp, grey eyes, which twinkle like stars, under heavy eye-brows — his countenance indicates the reserved dignity for which he is noted ; his forehead is broad, head quite bald, hair fine, OFF-HAXD TAKINGS. 315 soft, and grey, with whiskers to match ; he dresses with neat- ness and simplicity. Notwithstanding the sternness of his smile, and the sedateness of his physiognomy, he is genial as the sunshine, and his heart overflows with generosity. If General Pierce was king, and not President, he could not do a wiser thing than to make the greatest poet of his party Poet Laureate. As Wordsworth linked his name with the waters of Windermere, and the vale of Keswick, and the towering Ilelvellyn ; so Bryant's name is indissolubly associ- ated with the lakes, and prairies, and mountains of America. 316 CRAYON SKETCHEa. AND DANIEL S. DICKINSON The political nomenclature of New York is a science not tauofht in tlie schools. A tliorouffh knowledofe of the various names assumed by some and assigned to others, requires an out-dobr education — a sidewalk and street-corner tuition, a convention and mass-meeting training. Wliy, the names given to the "Federalists," and "Republicans," the " Clintonians," and the "Bucktails," have become obsolete, and the terms "Whig" and "Democrat" are regarded as altogether too •antiquated for modern use; so we have the "Silver Greys" and the "Hunkers," the "Conscience Whigs" and the "Cot- ton Whigs" — the "Free Democrats," which of course implies there are Democrats that are not free, such for instance as are known by the euphonious title of "Hunkers" — then we have the Barnburners, known also by the names of "Softs," "Putty- heads," "the Unterrified," and their bitterest opponents, the "Hards," "the Terrified," &c. Daniel S. Dickinson is an " Old Hunker," dyed in the wool, although not a "woolly head." He is one of the hardest of the hards, one of the most terrible of the terrified — a Northern man with Southern principles — a Vii-ginian born by mistake in Connecticut, and the burden of his song, is " Oh, carry ma back to old Virginia, to old Virginia shore." If he ever prayed OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 31^ he praj-ed (to whom ?) for the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. If he ever labored harder at one time than another, it was when his voice and vote could help to place the compro- mise measures — so called — upon our statute books. No man crawled longer and crouched lower than he did, to serve the south at the expense of the north. He forgot he had constitu- ents to serve, and devoted himself exclusively and unsparino-ly to the slave power — toiling incessantly for those who despised his principles while they praised his "patriotism." The chival- rous southerner, whose instincts and education and interests wedded him to the "peculiar institution" is guilty enough in the face of humanity and heaven, but his guilt whitens into innocence when contrasted with the contemptible meanness which impels a native of New England to crouch and cringe in the most "terrified" manner in the presence of his masters. Pray what will be the reward of his trimming and treachery? Will he step from the neck of the slave to a seat in the cabinet ? Can he climb into the presidential chair on the bleed- ing back of a negro ? Will the nation clap its hands to see him chase a fugitive ? Will his nomination terminate in auythinw but defeat? He is, undoubtedly, a man of extraordinary talent, without however a single spark of genius. He is a debater of uncommon ability — a well read statesman, an industrious wor- ker, a skilful tactitian, a shrewd sharp politician, up to all the arts and tricks of wool and wire pulling and log-rolling — and had he kept pace with the progress of the progressives in his party, he would have been a man the Democrats would have delighted to honor. In private life, I have the impression he is a most esti* 318 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND mable man, a faithful husband, an affectionate parent, a dutiful son, a law-abiding citizen, an obliging neighbor, and I cannot force myself to believe that he would not shelter a slave ovei night, under his hospitable roof — that he would not shield him from the sharp teeth of devouring hounds — that he would not give him a crust of bread and a cup of water, and speed him on his way, even though he travelled on the underground railroad. Yes, his heart is better than his avowed sentiments, for surely he is too dignified to steal babies, and whip women, and sepa- rate families. Senator Dickinson is a native of Goshen, Con- necticut, and was born September 11th, 1800. When he was 16 years of age, he accompanied his father to the State of New York, where he was apprenticed to a mechanic, and acquired a knowledge of some useful branch of industry. What trade he learned, I have not the power to say. Preferring to work with his head, he relinquished the work of his hands, and studied law, and in 1823 he was admitted to the bar of the New York Supreme Court. He became distinguished in his profession, and pursued it with triumphant success, until he was elected to the State Senate in 1836. While Lieutenant-Governor and President of the Senate, he was the oracle of his party. In 1844, he was appointed to the Senate of the United States, and continued a member of that body until March 4th, 1851. So much for Senator Dickinson. His political career is nearly ended — his party winding-sheet already woven. His political grave is dug and his political damnation sure, and he must bear the blame on his shoulders. His conscience, his reason., his friends, and even his party warned him of the danger that OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 319 lurked like a lion in his patli, but he heeded not the counsel of the wise, and laughed at the experience of sages, now he ia " terrified," and has become one of the hardest of the hards. His speeches are rather dry, but well put together. They are not adorned with many gems of poetry and eloquence, but are practical, sensible, logical, and philosophical speeches. If he reforms, I shall be glad to tear this sketch from my book and substitute the good things it would afford me so much pleasure to say respecting him. " Scripture Dick," as he is sometimes called, is so exhilara- ted because the Adamantine Democrats have just now an opportunity to show undisguisedly their heart-hatred of Van Burcn and Dix and Marcy, and men of that kidney, he has become quite facetious. Ilis most intimate friends will be aston- ished at the mother wt and cleverness he has recently exhibited on the platform at New York and Buffalo. "When the staging fell at the former place at the mass meeting in the Park, ho was hard enough to pass through the ordeal uninjured. He deserves some credit for his courage and consistency, for he is not afraid to avow his sentiments, and he keeps his party pledges inviolate. He does not attempt to bridge over the great gulf between the Buffalo and the Baltimore platforms with resolutions in favor of compromise measures. I am indebted to the "New York Tribune" for the following extracts from recent speeches. The editor remarks: — " ' Scripture Dick,' whom we used to consider the sorriest of flow jokers, has really brightened up, and is 'redolent' of good 320 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND things — witness the following sparkles from his speech last Friday evening at Buffalo : — * * * "The Democratic party now stands where it has ever stood. Let those who planted themselves upon the oppo- site [Buffalo] platform, remain there until they can come back truly repentant. When the time arrives, the Democratic party will stand Avith open arms to receive the prodigals. But they must be content to serve in the ranks, and to prove the sin- cerity of their repentance. It is not usually considered fair or consistent to put one in command as a captain, as soon as he returns from a party of desertion ; and the masses may require that these men should at least get the smell of treachery off their garments, before they adopt them as leaders. The boat- men on the Susquehanna River have a rule that no person shall be allowed to steer until he has rowed for five years ; and this is a healthy rule, if applied to those politicians who have so recently been in open hostility to the party they pretend now to rejoin. Their conversion is sudden enough to excite at least a suspicion of its honesty, and should be tested before it is trusted. A veteran fisherman was once famous for catchinof eels, but he would sometimes catch something else. His experience taught him that all were not eels that came to the net. He would therefore turn them out upon the shore, and alt that ran for the water he took for eels, while all that ran for a stone-heaj} he killed for snakes. I am not sure but this is a good rule to apply at the present time to ascertain who are true and who are bogfus Democrats." OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 321 Here is another good thing from Daniel, better than wa often find so compactly and caustically presented in a stump speech : * But these men [the Short-Boys], 1 regret to say it, were Hot the only ones present at that [Syracuse] Convention, who should not have been there. The Governor of the State — I allude to it with sorrow — the Governor of the State of New York was there. Perhaps he was there merely to amuse him- self by making auger-holes with a gimlet — but there he was. It was the first time that ever a Governor of the State of New York was found in a Convention, lobbying and bargaining with its membei-s, and I believe it will be the last. I know, indeed, that it will be the last time that Governor will be guilty of such an impropriety/, and I do not think we could readily find another who would emulate his example. Other State officers were there also. The Controller and some others went up from the Civ^\to\, probably to prevent their own nomination. I am very happy to say they were entirely successful. But, in spite of all these appliances, Union and Harmony were, after all, defeated. It is a singular fact, but so it is. The members of the Convention had the Governor of the State tempting them on toith the spoils in front, and the Short-Boys of New York p)ricking them up with bowie-knives in the rear, and yet they failed to harmonize. They had everything under heaven to induce united action ; and yet, behold the result !" Just one more extract from this clever speech. It is a> candid as it is characteristic : " We have got rid of the mischievous traitors, let us keep 322 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND clear of tliem. It is true, they say, we are all on one platform, but when did we get there ? No longer ago than last winter when just such resolutions as the platform embodies were intro- duced into the Assembly ; if a cholera patient or a hand gre- nade had been placed in their midst, there could not have been a more effectual scattering of these very men. The very speaker had to fly the house like a dog with a tin kettle fas- tened behind him. It was only last winter that one of their body got up and denounced this very jjlatform, as embraced in the President's Inaugural, as damnable. Then, gentlemen, is it to be wondered at, considering the formidable head they presented then, and the tapering tail they present now, if you and I, and all of us refuse to go near them? No; I prefer imitating the action of the man, who, while attending a race, was kicked by a woolly horse which had been hitched to a post too near the path. He was much hurt, and paced the walk in fury, crying out, ' show me the man that hitched the woolly horse to the post.' "When the bystanders sympathized with him, ' Show me the man that hitched the woolly horse thar,^ was all his reply. Presently the owner of the horse, a stout-built man, approached. ' My friend,' he began, ' I am sorry.' ' I want none of your sorrow, sir,' replied the man ; 'show me the man that hitched the woolly horse tharP ' Well,' said the owner, ' if you want to know so badly, / did ; and what are you going to do about it ?' ' Well,' said thu injured individual, ' I swear I'll never go near that woolly horse again !' And, my friends, I'll never go near that woolly horse again. I have no faith in it. It will kick at anj moment." OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 323 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. General Winfield Scott is a giant in stature, six feet six in his stockings, and of perfect proportions. In regimentals, and on horseback, he is the most magnificent soldier in Ame- rica. Nicholas of Russia, is the only man in Europe known to fame who at all approximates to such an unusual develop- ment of form. In any age, in any country, he would have been a chosen chieftain. The Red men of the forest would have been proud of such a chief The Romans would have followed him during a lifetime and deified hira after death. No wonder Uncle Sam chose his tall, broad-shouldered nephew to be his prize-fighter. His very presence scared the Mexicans as Goliath of Gath frightened the Hebrews. Should there be a World's Fair for the display of physically great men of per- fect mould, the United States would win the first premium, and Scott would wear the medal. He is a soldier — a scientific soldier, a brave soldier, a magnanimous soldiei", a hero whose name belongs to history, whose fame is perpetual. The American people have expected and exacted too much of this scarred and battered veteran. No man excels in every- thing. One great thing is as much as we should look for from any one man. Divest General Scott of his regimentals, and place him on Ihe rostrum, and we have a hundred white-livered one-horse- 324 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND power attorneys who can excel him in debate, and they would shine, while he would stammer and become a laughing-stock. Take away his sword, ask him to write, and he will wield the pen so awkwardly, that little mousing editors will denounce him, and cry " blockhead," and a great many other delectable names which may be found in the black-letter literature of the day. That General Scott is intellectually a great man, nobody pretends to say, who is at all qualified to judge. He is groat in the camp, he would be good for nothing in Congress. He is a brave soldier, but a bungling statesman. He is a capital swordsman, but a wretched speaker. He can fight well, but he cannot write so well as some of the private soldiers under his command. When he attempts to address an audience, his tongue hangs fire at first, and when it does go off, it goes ofi" "half cocked," and never hits the mark. It is well for him he was not elected President of the United States, for a free people do not desire to be commanded, and it is more than probable, in the event of his election he would have been either the tool of his cabinet, or a tyrant over the country. In either case he would have disappointed his friends and lost the green laurels and the golden honors he has won. He would have been always eating a hasty and indigestible " plate of soup," with a most tormenting " fire in his rear." In private life he is a most exemplary man, abjuring the use of wine, consequently, he will never fall under the influence of grape-shot. His history is so familiar to every schoolboy, I will not repeat the facts in this sketch. His character may be summed up in a few words. He is OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 325 vam and loves military display, " fuss and feathers " delight him exceedingly. He is proud, and cannot brook opposition without an explosion of bad temper. He is sensitive, and exacts much attention from his friends. He is brave, and woe betide his enemies. When he speaks from the black lips of cannon, and cannon-balls are the iron words he utters, he makes an impression, and the nations of the earth hear his eloquence. When bayonets are arguments, he is pretty sure to make his opponents yield to the force of his pointed reasoning. He is fond of fame, and the following lines are not inappropriate, although when I wrote them I had another person in view. Clarissa. We all must die, for Death will serve his writ, And we must pay down life, when Nature's debt Is due. When sickness, like a notary, comes To warn us that the days of gi-ace are few — We need not fear, if our accounts are right, And we're stockholders in the bank of heaven. William. I'm the ten millionth fraction of the race A grain of sand upon the sea-washed shore, An insect fluttering in the light of day. An item lost in the vast aggregate, And when I drop into the grave, the world Will miss me, as the forest does a leaf, Plucked by the wind and blown away from sight ; Then why this inextinguishable thirst for fame ? Fame is a sea that will not seek the grain Of sand the sea bird swallowed with its meal. Fame is a sun, that will not leave its sphere, To find the gnat that sported in its beams. Fame will not seek me in my sodded home. When the red sea of life has ceased to dash Against this narrow shore of flesh and bones ; Ajid when the sun of life, unclouded now. Sinks out of sight behind the churchyard mouad. 826 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Clarissa. Ambitious man ! if fickle fame should press A golden trumpet to her lips of air, And sound thy name throughout the wondering world, Until it filled the earth as yonder moon Fills all the space twixt earth and heaven with light, And mothers called their cliildren by thy name. And sculptors in Carara carved thy bust, While poets praised thee in immortal verse — And nations named their capitols for thee, Until thy broad-mouthed appetite was gorged — And thou wert covered o'er with stars of fame, As over-arching skies are paved with light. Would fell disease respect thy laurelled brow ? Could scowling death be bribed to spare thy life ? And after death, would the vxnsparing hand Of time be slow to turn thy form to dust ? Couldst thou step from thy monument to heaven ? Would bannered angels with their golden harps, Echo the brazen throated fame of earth. And shake with shouts the battlements of bliss, And march in triumph through the golden streets ? William. The ocean swallows streams, then puts its lips Of sand against the river's mouth for more — Clasping the green banks in its ardent arms, Until at last, the jealous moon comes forth From her white chambers in the lofty sky, And with her wand drives back the wanton waves. Fame is the restless ocean in my breast. To which all other passions flow like streams. Clarissa. Good resolutions stereotyped in deeds, Pure hearts whose throbs are felt in what we say — Souls shining with the light that comes from God, And lives imselfish and unstained by vice, Should be our aim, and not the praise of men. The loud hosannas of to-day, may be Exchanged for scorn, and cross, and crown of thorns Before the next moon fills her horn with light. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 321 WILLIAM R. STACY. William R. Stacy is a plain, business man, whose hands, and heart, and soul, are earnestly engaged in the total abstinence reform. In season and out of season, he is the same untiring, uncompromising and unflinching champion of the cause. In Societies, in Sections, in Divisions, in Tents, and in Temples, he is known as an efficient worker. Fair- weather friends and summer-fly advocates of abstinence doctrines are constantly rebuked by his unyielding adhe- rence to the letter and the spirit of the pledge. Temperance thermometers, whose mercury is sure to rise and foil, according to the state of the atmosphere, wonder with open mouths and open eyes, and leathern ears and leaden brains, why Mr. Stacy denies himself the lazy ease which they mis- name enjoyment. Politicians, who can accommodate them- selves to every sect in religion, to every party in politics, to every shade of society, and, like chameleons, assume the color of the community in which they move, are astonished that a man of his tact and influence, and persevering energy, does not attempt to reap laurels and gain gold in the field of poli- tical action. Those who need not envy the donkey its redun- dancy of ear, are surprised that such a sensible man should engage in such " small business." 328 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Captain Stacy is President of the Parent Washingtonian Temperance Society, in this city — an institution which has been in successful operation for twelve years, during which time hundreds and thousands have been added to its membership. This good Samaritan society not only secures names to the pledge, but feeds the hungry, clothes the destitute, visits the sick. It has been instrumental in healing hearts that were broken, and restoring to society men who had degraded them- selves by the use of strong drinks. Through summer and winter, spring and autumn, fair weather and foul weather, Mr. Stacy has attended the meetings of this society. His friends seem to appreciate his worth by heaping honors upon him. The last two years, he was Most Worthy Asso- ciate of the National Division. He is now Most Worthy Templar of the National Temple. These distinctions have fallen upon a worthy man. There is no poetry, no tinselry about his speeches. His thoughts are clad in a thin covering of scanty words. He works noiselessly and out of sight, but very effectually. Is there a cross to carry, his shoulders are chosen to bear the burden. Is there money to raise, Ms financiering skill is called into exercise. Is there a mammoth meeting to be held, he is expected to make the necessary preparations. Mr. Stacy is in the prime of life, a man of common stature, has dark hair, large light eyes, an honest face, a good develop- ment of benevolence, and firmness enousfh to render him obstinate when opposed — providing ho has reason to believe be is on the right side of the question Few men are so wel] OrF-HAND TAKINGS. 329 acquainted with the "workings" of the National Temple aa he ; few men have more influence in the great national tem- perance movement than he. It is evident that he accepts office for the purpose of extending the sphere of his usefulness, and not for the gratification of his personal vanity. He never occupies much time in his public addresses — does not stop to dissect his dictionary for choice language, but speaks out in manly style the thoughts that are uppermost in his mind. He is not a classical scholar, and never triea to pass for more than he is worth, by awkward attempts at rounding periods and polishing sentences. His striking cha- racteristics are generosity, energy perseverance, courage and oommon sense. 330 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND GERRIT SMITH. On my return from the West, I called to see that geueroua philanthropist, eminent orator, and impracticable radical, Ger- rit Smith. I found him in his office, pen in hand at his wri- ting-desk. When he read my note of introduction, he remarked that he was familiar with my name, and supposed I was a much older man. He politely invited me to avail myself of his hospitality. I did so, and had an opportunity of seeing him at home. Mr. Smith lives in a small white house, about two miles distant from the village of Peterboro'. It is plainly and spa- ringly furnished. There are no luxurious sofas upon which to lounge, no costly carpets upon which to tread, no costly mirrors at which to gaze. Everything about his residence pArtakes of the useful rather than the ornamental. I found him an accessible, sociable, pleasant man, thoroughly familiar with the history of the reformers and the reformatory move- ments of the present day. It is well known that this distinguished man stands at the head of the most radical class of reformers. Indeed he stands out so far in front of his age, that slow-moving conservatives cannot appreciate the man nor his motives. He denounces rum -patronizing and pro-slavery churches • consequently all ,.>;r;v'fdV.-.',C a-utt-re 7 ' ,.^ -'K OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 331 the anathema maranathas of unsympathizing and unsanctified professors of religion are hurled at his head, and he is con- demned as an infidel, whereas he evidently is an humble and devoted follower of Christ. " By their fruits ye shall know them." He asks a blessing at his table. Night and morning he lays the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart on thf altar of family devotion. Every day he carefully studies the Scriptures ; and manifests his love to God whom he has not seen, by his love toward his brother-man whom he has seen. Few men have done more than Mr. Smith to assist the poor, to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, reform the drunkard and liberate the bondman. The hotels owned by him in dif- ferent towns and cities in this country, are invariably rented for half the sum liquor-landlords would pay for the same pre- mises. In this way, he has cheerfully sacrificed thousands of dollars to promote the temperance cause. I have not men tioned his munificent donations and eloquent lectures directed to the same object. This model man gave three thousand fjirms to the same number of black persons, and now he ofiera a thousand farms and ten thousand dollars to a thousand white persons in the State of New York. Mr. Smith's father was in partnership with John Jacob Astor, at one period of his life. When he died, he bequeathed to the subject of this sketch three quarters of a million acres of land. In point of intellect, Mr. Smith ranks with such men as Clay and Benton. His mind is comprehensive and well cultivated. His temperament volcanic, but usually controlled by an acute judgment. As an orator he has but few superiors. His man- 332 CRATON SKETCHES, AND ner is deliberate and dignified ; his matter dioice and cla8« sical ; his personal appearance noble and attractive. He is about six feet tall, and of perfect proportions ; forehead high and broad ; eyes large, dark, and expressive ; hair brown, and cropped close to his head. At the time I saw him he wore a suit of bottle-green, and his broad shirt-collar lay down like a large snow-flake over a black neckerchief. He never deco- rates his person with the tinselry and jewelry of fashion. He eats plain food, sleeps on a hard bed, bathes every day, drinks nothing but cold water, walks from four to ten miles a day, writes from fifty to two hundred letters per week, furnishes long and labored communications for the press, and speaks frequently at public meetings. It is not often we find a man Avith such immense wealth at his command, sympathizing as he does with his less fortunate fellow men. He believes that man is as much entitled to the earth as he is to air and water, and desires to see every man own a house and lot ; is opposed to tariffs, and advocates with great zeal and eloquence the doctrine of free trade ; believes there is " a good time coming," when the clarion of war shall cease, and the olive-trees shall grow above mouldering bones on battlefields ; when degi*ading poverty shall hide its dimin- ished head, and smiling competence shall find all men sitting under their OAvn vines and fig-trees, none daring to molest or make them afraid ; when slavery shall no longer bind on heavy burdens ; when intemperance shall be among the things that w^ere, and abstinence principles shall universally prevail. With such views, it may not be expected that he always travels on a OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 333 smooth road and sleeps on a bed of roses. He stirs up the old hornet-nests of hunkerism, and awakens the slumbering dog' kennels of conservatism ; so that he frequently hears the buzz- ing of insects and the baying of hounds. Incorrigible conservatives, who cling to grey old customs and straight roads, who hate an uneven pathway, although it may be the safest and the nearest, remind one of the rats of Norway, that travel in millions from the hills toward the ocean.* They turn neither to the right nor the left, but gnaw their way through barns and corn-fields, swimming or sail- ing over rivers, climbing walls and mountains, sweeping through crowded thoroughfares, tumbling from the roofs of houses. On, on, rolls the wave of rats, leaving behind nothing but dead carcases and a foul atmosphere. Man is a progressive animal and the more conservative heuis, the nearer he approximates to the unintellectual brute, and the further he recedes from estab- lished laws. God made man upright, and furnished him with a capital of bones and brains with which to commence life. Experience, observation, and reflection taught him that winter would freeze him, summer scorch him, fire burn him, water drown him, the wild beast devour him, and the avalanche crush him. He robed himself in garments to protect him from the cold of the North and the heat of the South. He built a house for his comfort and protection. He domesticated the dog, the cow, and the horse, for his own accommodation. Ha dried venison and fish, sowed seed and reaped harvests, and continued his progressive movements until the rude hut becama • Carlyle. 334 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND a stately palace, the bark canoe a mighty ship, vvitl. sails anc masts, the clumsy cart, a city on wheels, drawn by steam-steeda over iron roads. Steam is our horse, lio-htnino; our herald, water our servant, and the sun our portrait-painter. Reform tunnels our mountains, levels the hills, lifts up the valleys, and flings its floating bridges of steel and steam and flame and smoke over the oceans. Our railroads are iron bands binding us in the bonds of universal brotherhood. Ouj electric wires are so many nerves of sensation, reaching from Maine to Minnesota. Mr. Smith is one of the few who keep pace with the march of improvement, and he heartily employs his purse, pen and tongue in behalf of free trade, free soil, free types, free lips, and free men. He believes the Constitution is an " anti-slavery document;" so do the free-soil abolitionists, yet is not a "free- soiler." He believes the church is pro-slavery, and on that question agrees with the Garrisonians, but he does not beloB/j to that party. He is at the head of the " Liberty party," ais J his creed embraces every degree of reform, from the use c T cold water as a beverage and in the bath, to the emancipatio . of three millions of men. ^ GEERIT smith's SPEECH AT THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION, PETERBORO', N. Y., OCTOBER, 1835. " Mr. President. — Allow me to commence a few remarks by stating the history of this resolution. On returning home from Utica last night, my mind was so much excited with the OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 335 horrid scenes of the day, and the frightful encroachments made on the right of free discussion, that I could not sleep, and at 3 o'clock I left my bed, and drafted the resolution as just read, and also noted down a few heads of thought which I may refer to or not as I proceed. " It is known to all here that I am not a member of the anti-slavery society — nor am I prepared to become a member. I rise under the courtesy of the vote by which I have been kindly invited to sit with you and take part in your delibera- tions. At the same time I am admonished by passing events, that it will soon be necessary for every friend of human rights or of the slave, and every man who is not himself a slave, or willing to be one, to act in concert with those over whose heads the war is apparently to be carried on against the right of free discussion, and probably the day is not distant, when, with all my objections, I shall become a member of your society. "That I have had objections to the course of the Anti-slavery Society is well known. What those objections were I need not state here. They are spread out before the public, and it would be unreasonable to bring them forward here. " This much, however, I will say now. Your great principles are my great principles. I was born with them. I am not conscious that I ever in my life opposed, for an hour, the great and glorious doctrine of immediate emancipation. The odious doctrines that you hold, I hold also. All the sentiments that occasion you to be called amalgamators and insurrectionists, make the supporters of slavery call me an amalgamator and an insm-rectionist. I love to look at the Anti-slaverj 336 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND Society, and at myself, and to say, ' una sjpes, unaque salus, ambobus erit.^* " When I see your reputation, and property, and lives in peril, I love to bring my reputation, and property, and life into the same peril. Let me read the resolution. " ' Resolved. — That the right of free discussion given to us by our God, and asserted and guarded by the laws of oui country, is a right so vital to man's freedom, and dignity, and usefulness, that we can never be guilty of its surrender, without consenting to exchange that freedom for slavery, and that dignity and usefulness for debasement and worthlessness.' " I love our free and happy government. But not because it confers any new rights upon us. Our rights spring from a nobler source than human constitutions and governments — from the favor of Almighty God, Constitutions and laws are modes of human device for asserting and defining and carrying out the great natural and inherent rights of man, which belong to him as a rational creature of God. " We do not learn our rights in the book of Constitution. We learn them from the Book of Books, which is the great chai'ter of human rights. Rights belong to human nature. Constitutions at the most do but recognise and preserve what never was theirs to give. The reason why I love a republi- can form of government is, not that this form of government clothes us with rights withheld by other forms, but that it makes fewer encroachments on the rights which God gava * One hope and one salvation shall be to us both. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 337 US, fewer restrictions upon the di^^nely appointed scope of man's agency. ****** " I must say one word under the head I have marked in ray notes of ' Utica Mobs.' Not that I design to dwell on the transactions of yesterday themselves. But a topic which they suggest is important enough to be noticed. This right of free discussion, sir, there is one class of men who ought to be particularly tenacious of, I mean poor men. These constitute the most numerous class in every country, and therefore to the true philanthropist they are of the greatest value. The worldling graduates his interest in men according to their wealth, or rank, or external show. But the eye of the Christian philanthropist regards all with equal interest, because all souls are equal. When the rich are divested of their rights, they have still their riches and honors to rest on, for dignity and for defence. But when the poor man is divested of his right to speak, he is divested of all his rights. Take from him that in which, almost alone, he stands on equal ground with his rich neighbor, the freedom of speech, and, sir, the man of poverty will soon find himself wholly at the mercy of the man of wealth. The poor men in Utica whom we saw led on by men of wealth to a violent assault against free discussion, will yet see the suicidal character of their proceedings. " The rights which they have attacked in your persons, are their own dearest rights, without which they cannot help being trampled into the dust, for wealth and title have always 15 338 OKAYON SKETCHES, AND of old trampled into the dust those who have not this right to speak. " We are even now threatened with legislative restrictions on this riirht. Let us tell our legislators in advance that we cannot bear it. The man who attempts to interpose such restrictions does a grievous wrong to God and man, which we cannot bear. Submit to this, and we are no longer what God made us to be — men. Laws to gag men's mouths, to seal up their lips, to freeze up the warm gushings of the heart, are laws which the free spirit cannot brook. They are laws contrary alike to the nature of man and the commands of God, laws destructive of human happiness and the divine constitution, and before God and man they are null and VOID. They defeat the very purposes for which God made man, and throw him mindless, helpless, and worthless, at the feet of the oppressor. " And for what purpose are we called to throw down our pens and seal up our lips, and sacrifice our influence over our fellow-men, by the use of free discussion ? If it was for an object of benevolence, that we were called to renounce that freedom of speech with which God made us, there would be some color of fitness in the demand. But such a sacrifice, the cause of truth and mercy never calls us to make. "The cause requires the exertion, not the suppression, of our noblest powers. " But here we are called on to desrrade and unman our- selves, and to withhold from our fallen men that influence OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 539 which we ought to exercise for their good. And for what ? I will tell you for what. " That the oppressed may lie more passive at the feet of the oppressor ; that one sixth of our American people may never know their rights; that two-and-a-half milHons of our own countrymen, crushed in the cruel folds of slavery, may remain in all their misery and despair, without pity and without hope. " For such a purpose, so wicked, so inexpressibly mean, the southern slave-holder calls on us to lie down, like whipped and trembling spaniels, at his feet. " Our reply is this ; our republican spirits cannot submit to such conditions. God did not make us, Jesus did not redeem us, for such vile and sinful uses. ****** " Whom shall we muster on our side in this gi-eat battle between liberty and slavery. Not the many. The many never will muster in such a cause, until they first see unequi- vocal signs of its triumph. " We don't want the many, but the true-hearted, who are not skilled in the weapons of carnal warfare. We don't want the politicians, who, to secure the votes of the south, care not if slavery is perpetual. We don't want the merchant, who, to secure the custom of the south, is willing to applaud slavery, and leave his countrymen, and their children, and their children's children, to the tender mercies of slavery for ever. 340 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND " We want only one class of men for this warfare. Be that class ever so small, we want only those who will stand on the rock of Christian principle. We want men who can defend the right of free discussion on the ground that God gave it. " We want men who will act with unyielding honesty and firmness. " We have room for all such, but no room for the time- serving and selfish. We have room as well for the aged and decrepid warrior as for the vigorous and the young. "The hands that are now trembling with the weight of years, are the best hands in the world to grasp the shield of faith. These gray-haired servants of God best know how to move the hands that move the world. " We want them and such as them ; men who are acquainted with God, and used to God's work, and these we shall have. And his blessing we shall have if we are humble, and we cannot fail. OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 841 EDWARD BEECHER. Ob, what is man, Great Maker of maDklnd I That Thou to him so great respect dost bear — That Thou adorn'st him with so bright a mind, Makest him a king, and e'en an angel's peer I Sib John Datixs. Edward Beecher is a close thinker, a cogent reasoner, an impassioned speaker. His sermons are not elegant essays, got up for the entertainment of his hearers. They are not blank verse wire-drawn into very blank prose : not pearls and diamonds and precious stones, all stolen except the string that ties them together. They are true-blue, orthodox sermons, full of Beecher, truth, spirit, and scripture. They are living, breathing, talking sermons — famous for great thoughts and simple words, Mr. Beecher is a fluent and forcible speaker, and makes use of the simplest (not always the purest) Saxon in his discourses. In his happiest mood his voice is often raised to a high pitch, and he soars with untiring wing higher, and higher still, and still higher, until his head is among the stars, and his face — like the countenance of Moses on the mountain — reflects the radiance of inspiration. He not unfrequently produces a thrilling effect by reiterated strokes, 3-12 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND and by presenting epithet after epithet, figure after figure, fact after fact, argument after argument, appeal after appeal, which flow on like the waves of the sea, exciting the alarm of the imconverted, who have spread their sail upon the waters of life, without provisions or pilot, and eliciting the admiration of those who have, and those who hope they have, fair prospects for reaching the haven of rest. Mr. Beecher has studied mental philosophy, and is well versed in theology ; has considerable knowledge of the ways of the world, for, unlike many of his cloth, he does not deem it a duty to shut himself up in his study continually, for fear of rendering himself " too common " to excite the wonder of the people on the Sabbath. There are some clergymen who keep themselves as wild beasts are kept in a menagerie ; you cannot see them withont a ticket, and then you must keep at a respectable distance. Why, it is more diflScult to obtain an interview with some ministers, than it is to have a tete-a-tete with the Pope of Rome ! If Paul, with his hands hardened at tent-making, or Peter, fresh from his fishing tackle, were to solicit an opportunity to preach in their pulpits, they would give Peter and Paul such a response as the Pharisees of old gave them. Dr. Beecher is not one of that class of spiritual teachers. You will see him in the streets, and at the exchange, in the reading-rooms, in the police court, at the public meetings in Faneuil Hall and Tre- raont Temple. He is a sociable, accessible, generous man, and capital company where he is suflSciently acquainted to " unbend the monkish brow." It is because he mingles with OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 343 the people tliat he is in aavance of many of his clerical brethren. But Edward Beecher, like the rest of us poor mortals, has faults. He often seems to attempt to work up his feelings to a pitch of intense excitement. Under such circumstances there will be noise without eloquence, extreme gesture with- out extreme unction. In that way he exchanges the sub- lime for the sledge-hammer style. He has a good share of moral courage. Like his brother, the " Thunderer" in Brook- lyn, he assails with tongue and pen, from the pulpit and the press, the tergiversation, the coat-turning, the mouse-ing, the meanness of public men, who, for laurels or lucre, basely betray their country with a kiss. The Brooklyn Beecher is almost constantly throwing shot and shell into the camp and court of the enemy. Some poor fool in his congregation became offended with him, the other day, because he publicly rebuked the recreancy of a promi- nent politician who recently betrayed his coimtry, and put a crown of thorns on the bleeding brow of humanity. This nervous simpleton put down on pajier the unpalatable senti- ments he could not swallow, and had them published ; and Sir Oracle, the editor, in all the pomp of pigmy grandeur, undertook to lecture H. W. Beecher on the duties of preach- ers ! His labors were lost ; for it does not run in the blood of the Beechers to be frightened at pop-guns in the arms of grasshoppers. Dr. Lyman Beecher, speaking of his two dis- tinguished sons, said, Edward fires forty-pounders, and woe 344 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND betide the man that lie hits. Henry fires grape-shot, and kills the most men. Edward Beecher is in the zenith of his manhood. He has used his brains more than he has his teeth, consequently his head looks older than his face. His hair is now turning grey ; his forehead is broad and high, and indicates extraordi- nary intellectual power ; his eyes are large and expressive, and burn like meteors, when he hides himself behind the cross, and pleads earnestly for the welfare of men and the glory of God. He is one of the editors of the Congregation- alist, a religious journal of great merit. He is also pastor of the church in Salem street. At one period of his life, he waa President of one of the Western collefres. He is a man of unimpeachable purity, has a highly cultivated and strong mind, and is esteemed and honored in the walks of private and public life. Go and hear him, and he will prove, beyond doubt, that whatever is lovely in innocence, pure in virtue, good in morality, thrilling in eloquence, sublime in poetry, oj holy in truth, may be found in the Bible. Ecgravedliy J C Buttre ■{{^d^^^zy OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 845 THOMAS HART BEATON TuoMAS Hart Benton is a ripe scholar, a ready debater a brave soldier, and the ablest statesman now living in America. He was born in North Carolina, in 1783, and edu- cated at Chapel Hill College, studied law in William and Mary's College. In 1810, entered the U. S. Army, afterward? practised law in Nashville, Tennessee. Soon afterwards, moved to Missouri, where he edited a newspaper. In 1820, was elected to the U. S. Senate, and remained in that body until 1851. In the Senate he at once became distinguished for his surpassing talents. ' He was one of the chief sup- porters of the administrations of General Jackson and Martin Van Bureu. He is now a member of Congress, having defeated the entire army of demagogues that opposed him — kicking down their platforms, breaking up their caucuses, exposing their wire-pulling, and mocking at their nominations. This apostle of freedom for the south and west, has an iron will, indomitable resolution, and perseverance that " never sur- renders." He is a short stout person, with a magnificent head ; grey eyes ; Roman nose, and a face beaming with intellect. As a speaker, he is more argumentative than eloquent ; more phi- losophical than poetical. Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Benton, 15* 846 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND and Cass were to the U. S. Senate what the five senses are tc the human system. " Old Bullion " is a hero of HeEculeau strength, who has turned the river of reform through tho Augean stable of party politics in the State he represents. WILLIAM L. MARCY. William L. Marcy was born in Sturbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, December 12, 1786. After graduat- ing with honor at Brown University, he took up his residence in the city of Troy, in the State of New York, where he stu- died and practised law. He rendered efficient service during most of the war of 1812. In 1816, he was appointed recor- der of the city of Troy, but owing to his political relation- ship with Mr. Van Buren, and his opposition to Gov. Clinton, he was deposed from office two years afterwards. In 1821, he became adjutant-general of the State, and in 1823, he was elected Controller, when he removed to the capital of the Empire State, and became a member of the Albany Regency. In 1829, he was appointed one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court, but resigned that office in 1831, when he was elected to the United States Senate, where he remained two years, during which time he was elected governor of the State of New York. He was twice re-elected to that post of lienor. During Mr. Polk's administration he accepted the place of Secretary of War, the arduous duties of which he OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 34"} discharged with credit to himself and honor to his country He ift now Secretary of State, and is, far and away, the ablest man in the Cabinet. His State paper on the Koszta affair is one of the most profound arguments ever presented to the American people. It created a wonderful sensation in Europe, but no crowned head could find a man competent to meet his unanswerable logic. President Pierce could not have found another man within the radius of his party so perfectly qual' fied to be " prime minister " of the United States. ALFRED BUNN. I HAVE just retui'ned from the New Music Hall, where I beard a repetition of the reminiscences of a stage manager, from the lips of Mr. Alfred Bunn. Mr. Bunn is a portly man with a dull face, large round head, bald on the crown and thinly covered with grey hair on the sides. He looks, speaks, and acts like a gentleman John Bull. He must be nearly sixty years of age, but he is erect aad elastic, as most men are in the prime of life. He dresses in simple black, wears a huge collar that threatens to saw his ears off", while the points of it play peak-a-boo around his ample chin. A lady at my side declared that his feet were handsome. The gentleman is a hun who has been more than half baked — but those who go to hear him will be done 348 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND brown, even thougli they be dough. Mr. Alfred Buuu hai been over estimated by the American press. It is all fol-de- rol to prate about such a man lecturing on the genius of Shakspeare. He has not the genius to appreciate the writings of the immortal bard. Twice have I listened atten- tively and impartially to his best efforts in his happiest moods, and I am not unkind nor unjust, when I pronounce both efforts utter failures. Not one new sentiment did he offer. There was not a gleam of originality in his lectures. What he did present, has been presented a thousand times before, and a thousand times better. Then his voice is thick and hazy, so that you cannot understand much that he says. While you look at him you seem to be listening to a voice from one of the ante-chambei-s, and when he quotes Shakspeare, he spoils the passage by the theatrical and forced gestures which accompany his quotations. Ho abounds in puns, quips, quirks, jokes, bon mots, and anecdotes ; and if you do not laugh at them, you certainly must laugh to see him laugh at them himself — besides, he has been the manager of the very theatre where Garrick and Sheridan amused an empire, and he has been personally acquainted with Lamb, and Smith, and Matthews, and has had large experience in London Life. I have no doubt he is an agreeable companion, lighting up the social circle with the sunshine of his goodnature. As the manager of a play house, I venture the remark, that he was judicious, liberal, and honorable. Mr. Bunn said that one of the admirers of the genius of Shakspeare, wrote in a legible hand over a OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 34ft glass case containing the works of the great Poet, the follow ing notice. To Authors, " Thou shalt not steal." To Crltica and Commentators, " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." To Actors, " Thou shalt do no mur- der." Since the foregoing was written, this " hot cross bun " has published a volume, in which he has caricatured some and flattered others. A cotemporary speaking of Bunn's sketch of Moses Kimball, says : — "We apprehend that should Mr. Bunn again visit the 'Little Yankee Theatre,' he will be served worse than he was by Macready, at Drury Lane, a few years ago. ' Smith, the box-oflSce feller,' doubtless would assist the ' lusty looking fellow,' Kimball in a boot demonstration. " Mr. Bunn's book is a mere record of ' hotel-bills,' vain- glorious accounts of his lectures, flippant anecdotes, and use- less descriptions. What is new in it is not true, and what is true is not new. As we last week hinted, the story of his intercourse with Mr. Kimball, of the Museum, is a fabrication from beginning to end ; the best of it is, he puts the genuine cockney dialect into Kimball's mouth." Here is the sketch : — " 'Take a seat,' said he ; 'I'm d — d if I ain't glad to see yer ; heard a deal on yer ; read all yer works, and so I'll tell yer how I've got along.' " When I observed that I had but a few minutes to stay, he replied — " ' D — n that ; it won't take yer long. I was formerly a 350 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND merchant, and made bad affairs on it ; but seein' a way o gettin' on agin' I started fresh ; first of all at Gleason's, now the pictur' gallery ; saw a better chance, and got a feller to build the Museum — my own idea. Barnum copied after me. I could ttll yer many things, how I hit, and how I missed ; but the first great " go " was the " Temperance Reform " piece ; I made a sort of " Tom and Jerry " affair on it ; lug- ged into the piece a young fellow, a quiet, modest person at starting, but who turned out a h — 11 of a drunkard ; and then, I had a sort of Logic man to go about with 'un, just to try and keep 'un in order, and a Yankee chap to make some fun. We put the thing together among ourselves ; and I made Smith my manager — he's a capital feller, though he can't act ; but anything '11 — so I made Smith play the hero. " ' In order to create a proper feeling among the sober classes, I loaned about fifteen black coats, bought as many white chokers, and dressed up fifteen fellers in 'em, to look like parsons, and put 'em in the most conspicuous part of the house ; and thus we managed to hook in all the clergy and Christian soft-mouths. The piece drew all h — 1 ; we played it sometimes four times a day — on Christmas Day we played it six times, beginning at nine in the morning.' " No one who knows Mr. Kimball will believe this, nor Avhat follows. We omit the jirofanity which he puts into the manaofer's mouth : — " Here I rose to take my leave. ' Wait a minute — I'll tell yer what I did wi' yer ! That 'Bohemian Gal' o' yourn — ■ didn't we go ahead wi' her ? I kept in all the situations, OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 351 Bent the music to smash, threw in a couple of Dromios for my low comedians, and away we went like fun !' " Wfc literally shrieked with laughter when he added : ' Ay and I shall do the same with your Enchantress, if I can pick up a couple of funny chaps.' " I naturally asked him how much he paid per annum for his literature, when he answered : ' About twelve and a half cents every packet that arrives. I get all the last pieces from England — the cheap editions as Lacy publishes ; and as soon as they come to hand, I and Smith, and the box-oflBce feller, iet to work, and lick a bad piece into good shape in no time !' " PETER CARTWRIGHT. The great Western preacher has arrived and is now searching: the well-thumbed Bible for his text. Quite a number of distinguished divines are present. TIio preacher looks like a backwoodsman, whose face has been bronzed at the plough. His black hair, straggling seven ways for Sunday, is slightly tinged with the frost of age. A strip of black silk is twisted around his neck, and a shirt col- lar, scrupulously clean, is turned down over it. He is of ordi- nary size, dresses plainly, and looks like a man perfectly frea from aftectation. In a ftdtering voice he reads a hymn. The choir wed the words to sweet and solemn music, a ferveni prayer goes up on the wings of faith — another hymn is read 352 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND and sung — tlie 12th verse of the 11th chapter of Matthew it selected for his text. Now the old pioneer preacher, who has waded swamps, forded rivers, threaded forests, travelled with Indians, fought with bears and wolves, preached in the woods and slept in the field or on the prairie at night, is standing before us. Look at him, ye gentlemen with white neckcloths and black coats, who ride in carriages over smooth roads to supply churches with cushioned pews and soft benches to kneel on. How would you like to labor for nothing among wild beasts, and board yourselves, in a climate where the ague shakes the settlers over the grave two-thirds of the year ? Would you exchange your fat livings, and fine palaces, and unread libraries for black bread and dry venison, a log hut and the society of bears and blue-racers? God bless the brave, wise, and good men to whom we are so much indebted for the blessings we enjoy. He says he would make an apology if he thought it would enable him to preach better, for he is afflicted with a severe cold. " Some folks," said he, " say I am fifty years behind the age. God knows," he continued, " I am willing to be a thousand behind such an age. Religion is always of age, and can talk and run without stilts or silver slippers." He concluded an able and interesting discourse, which elicited undivided attention, with the following fact. " During a splendid revival of religion at the west, a young preacher, raanufectured in one of your theological shops out here, came to lend a helping hand. I knew he could not handle Methodists' tools without cutting his fingers, but he was very 1 OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 353 oflScious. Well, we had a gale, a Pentecostal gale, and sinners fell without looking for a soft place, and Christians fought the devil on their knees. Well, this little man would tell those who were groaning under conviction, to be composed. I stood this as long as I could, and finally sent him to speak with a great, stout, athletic man who was bellowing like a bull in a net, while I tried to undo the mischief he had done to others. He told this powerful man to be composed, but I told him to pray like thunder — ^just at that instant, the grace of God shone in upon his soul and he was so delirious with delight, he seized the little man in his hands and holding him up, bounded like a buck through the congi-egation." It is impossible for the pen to do justice to this fact. The speaker moved us all to tears and smiles at the same moment while he said what few men should venture to say. The subject of this sketch once put up at the Irving House, N. Y., (if I am correctly informed) and when he wished to retire at night, one of the waiters lighted him to a room near the roof of that mountain of marble and mortar. " How shall I find the way back ?" inquired the preacher. " Oh just ring the bell and we will show you," said the waiter. By the time the waiter reached the bar-room, tingle, tingle went the bell, the waiter climbed five or six flights of stairs and asked what was wanted. "Show me the way down," said Mr. Cartwright. The waiter did so. " Now show me the way up again ;" he did so. 354 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND but he had scarcely reached the reception room when the bell rang again. This time the landlord went up stairs to see what the matter was. " I want a broad-axe," said the preacher. " What do you want with a broad-axe ?" inquired thp astonished landlord. " I want to blaze my way down stairs," was the cool reply. Tlie landlord took the hint and gave the frontier preacher a room on the first floor. A foul-mouthed infidel once attacked him on board of a boat on the Western waters. Mr. Cartwright submitted quietly to his profanity, vulgarity and obscenity for a long time. Finally, he approached the gaseous sceptic with a stern face, and with a voice of a stentor said, " if you do not take back what you have said, I will baptize you in this river in the name of your father the devil." The infidel at once apologized and saved himself a duck- ing. The other day some member of the Conference suggested that some act should be done out of courtesy. This announcement brought the old gentleman to his feet — and he said, " I do not know what you gentlemen at the East think of courtesy, but we out West, who were born in a cane-brake — cradled in a gum-tree — and who graduated in a thunder Btorm, don't think much of modern etiquette." OFF-HAND TAKINGS. gSf, ANSON BURLINGAME. Hon. Anson Burlingame was born iu 1822. When a mere child he was sent to the Far West, where he remained many years. He was educated at the Branch University of Michigan, and studied law at Cambridge. It was his intention to return to the broad, free West, but being susceptible of the tender passion, he was detained by a beautiful, accomplished and wealthy lady, the daughter of Hon. Isaac Livermore, Cambridge, to whom we are indebted for such a rare acqui- sition to New England society. Mr. Burlingame is probably the truest representative we have cf the " Young America,^'' being enterprising, eloquent, pro- gressive, persevering, industrious, and independent. A speech he made in Faneuil Hall, when he was stumping the district for Congress, abounds in thrilling bursts of eloquent patriotism, the reading of which without the kindling soul of the speaker, even moves the blood like the blast of a trumpet. In alluding to the rendition of Sims, I can only quote a sen- tence or two; he remarks: "It does not pay, I submit, to put our fellow citizens under practical martial law, to beat the drum in our streets, to clothe our temples of justice m chains, and to creep along by the light of the morning star over the ground wet with the blood of Crispus Attucks, tha noble colored man who fell in King street, before the mus- 356 CRATOK SKETCHES, AND kets of tyranny, away in the dawn of our Revolution; creep by Faneuil Hall, silent and dark ; by the Green Dragon, whera that noble mechanic, Paul Revere, once mustered the sons of liberty; within sight of Prospect Hill, where was first unfurled the glorious banner of our country ; creep along with funeral pace, bearing a brother, a man made in the image of his God, — not to the grave — Oh, that were merciful, for in the grave there is no work and no device, and the voice of a master never comes — but back to the degradation of a slavery which kills out of a living body an immortal soul. [Great sensation.] Oh, where is the man now who took part in that mournful transaction, who would wish, looking back upon it, to avow it? It did not make a President, it did not give a tariff, it did not increase the business of Boston a single dime." In speaking of the importance of public improvements, he pays the following glowing and merited compliment to the West: " The necessity of these improvements we have in the great loss of property every year, and oh, if the dead could speak — if those who have gone beneath the turbulent waters of the Mississippi, and the stormy lakes, could give their testimony, what evidence should we have of their necessity ! The "West has been neglected in this respect. When its forests blazed with battle fires, when the scythe of death hung upon its bor- ders, it received but grudging aid ; but still its sons have been loyal ; they have met every trial and every danger without repining ; and when their country, which had neglected them, was assailed, seeing in her but the stern mother they should OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 357 cherish, they were the first in the field, and under the gallant Jackson and Taylor, and Harrison and Scott, they crowded the way to death as to a festival." Here is an extract which forcibly reminds one of the style which characterises the school of Young America. " My hope is that I may live — and I believe I shall, to see the day when no foreign drum-beat shall be heard on the American conti- nent [great applause] ; when the feet of no foreign soldier shall tread its sacred soil [renewed cheers] ; when no man will have to say on what particular point he dwells, to indicate his nationality ; but when the proud title of American citizen shall be an assurance all over the world that he is a member of this Western Republic, so that its gorgeous banner shall wave its protection over him, not only on the shores of the distant Pacific, in the delta of the Mississippi, on the coral reefs of Florida, but from the bastions of Quebec, in the Bay of Cha- leur, on the banks of the Chaudiere, the St. Lawrence, and the Ottawa." The following impromptu remarks have been much admired. He was speaking of Mr. Webster, when some one in the audience said, " Mr. W. is ill." " My friend exclaims, Mr. Webster is ill. I am sorry to hear it. Indeed my soul was saddened this afternoon when there came tidings from Marsh- field that soon the angel of death might flutter his dark wing over the mansion of the great New England statesman. [Sensation and deep silence.] The cares of life are over for him ; the hurly burly of this night, in the streeUs of Boston, and the political storm now raging over the country, will not disturb his lolemn reflections. I pause at the bedside of death, 358 • CRAYON SKETCHES, AND No word shall escape my lips here to-night to wound on6 friend of his." [Increased sensation.] The indignant pathos of the following is unexcelled by any equal number of words in our language. " I ask you if glorious Rantoul did more than this ? Did he more than differ from his party on that single question of the Fugitive Slave Bill ? Was he not hunted from convention to convention even unto premature death, and even now his vile assassins drive their daggers deep down into his new made grave ? But, thank God, his lofty spirit is beyond the reach of their miserable malice, and his reputation is in the hands of those who loved him while living, and who cherish his memory now he is gone." The spirit of Young America breathes again in this quotation from Mr. Burlingame's Northampton speech. " We, the sons of the Pilgrims, who are knolled to church from the cradle to the grave — who drink in learning and liberty with the air and the light — who hew through moun- tains ; chain the brawling rivers, and curb the whelming ocean itself; it is expected that we are to leave our grand employ- ments, and put ourselves under the command of negro-drivers, who cannot sit at an honorable planter's table, and that we will chase men, women, and children over the graves of our fathers." Although Mr. B. does not court the Muses, they are evidently in love with him, indeed there is a rich vein of poetry running OFF-HAND TAKINGS. 359 through all his lectures and speeches. What can be more beautiful and poetical than the following gem taken from an oration delivered in New London, Connecticut. " Mr. Webster is the only survivor of that illustrious trio of Btatesmen, Who shook the nation through their lips, and blazed Till vanquished Senates trembled as they praised. " One sleeps this beautiful day, in the sweet shade of the magnolia's blossoms — his great heart is still, and quenched is the light of his glorious eye for ever. Another and fit companion of the great South Carolinian fell but yesterday on the field of his fame, and now, cold and dead, is borne on his bier through a weeping nation, back to the generous soil of old Kentucky, there to sleep the sleep that knows no waking. The orator, the chivalric gentleman, and noble friend, is beyond the reach of malice or of praise — never again shall he rouse us with his bugle blasts, nor melt us into tenderness by the touching mel- ody of his voice. And he, of the imperial intellect, ' With tLo Athenian's glowing style, and Tully's iu-e,' wanders, companionless and alone, by the deep sea he loves so well — gazing, with his great eyes, toward ' that undis- covered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns.' Oh ! long may he live — and may the refreshing breezes fan his brow and bring back the roses of health to his fading cheeks. " I refer thus to these great Americans, not to conciliate 360 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND their friends — not as a partizan ; — no ! no ! — let tlie bugle* of party this day sound a truce — but in obedience to the ' Echoes that start, When memory plays an old tune on the heart,' I could not better illustrate the glory of our institutions than by reference to these great men, their noblest offspring." I cannot do justice to the young man's eloquence within the narrow limits of such a sketch as this, for I might quote a volume of beautiful extracts without exhaustinof the material. The Hon. Anson Burlingarae is about five feet eight inches in height, and well formed ; has dark brown hair, usually brushed smooth as the wing of a bird ; broad, white forehead, indicating strength of intellect ; light-gi-ey magnetic eyes and fair complexion ; is naturally gentle and generous, with impulse and intellect pretty evenly balanced. He possesses the true vivida-vis of eloquence. His style is what may be termed poetical, and yet he displays a good degree of terseness and conciseness ; is sparing of uniting particles and introductory Dtrases, usually employs the simplest forms of construction. No young man of his age in New England has appeared before the masses so frequently as he. No man of his years has a sunnier prospect before him. I have elsewhere said that Mr. B. is a poet. I do not charge him with perpetrating verses, but there are poetic pearls glit- tering here and there in all his public efforts. The ethereal tone and harmonious construction of his sentences, the strange imaginings that make fancy mount upward on her rainbow- tintod pinions — show that ideality sits close by the throne of OITF-MANO TAKINGS. 36^ reason, and reigns conjointly with causality over the realm of intellect. His designs are never clumsy, his pictures are nevei coarse ; his opinions, however unpopular, are never ofFensivelv thrust before his opponents, although he is known to be an unflinching advocate of freedom, an uncompromising hater of slavery. He can be mild " as honey dew or the milk of para- disc," or vehement and volcanic as though his veins were filled with lightning. His chief fault consists in an over sensitive- ness with respect to the opinions of others, though he is always true in the trial hour. What does the multitude think and say about me ? Shall I perpetrate an offence against my friend by adopting and adhering to such a set of sentiments ? — are questions that may never have been stereotyped into words upon his lips, but the writer is much mistaken if they have not weighed heavily upon his heart. As he grows older, he will become wiser, and learn to lightly estimate the hastily formed views of the multitude or the mob. For the plaudits of the people to-day, may be exchanged for the " crucify him" of to-morrow. Mr. B. is a candidate for congressional honors, and ere many years he will be rewarded with a seat in the highest council chamber of our country. He has already been elected to the Massachusetts Senate, from the great county of Middlesex, receiving about twelve thousand votes. He was the youngest member of the senate. He now enjoys th honor of having been elected according to the, borough sys em of Ei;gland, out of the place of his residence, as was Hon. Charles Sumner, R. H. Dana, junior, and a very few others, to a seat in the Convention to revise the Constitution of the State. I will 16 362 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND conclude this sketch with the following beautiful extract, taken from his celebrated speech delivered at the State Convention at the city of Worcester. It speaks for itself, and needs no comments from my pen. " And now, thanking you for the kind manner in which you have listened to me, I must take my leave. [' Go on ! go on !'] No ! I must not go on. There are worthier here who should speak ; to them I yield — happy indeed that I have witnessed this day. My heart is warmer for it. My step shall be freer and prouder. I shall take away in my memory the melody of the eloquence I have heard, and the light of the faces I have seen. [Cheers.] I shall go, determined to do in the future, all I can for the great cause we have at heart — to struggle for the true glory of our country, ever mindful that though it has the sin of slavery upon it, it is still the freest in the world ; yes, the freest in the world. My feet have trodden the soil of old England, in whose air no slave can breathe. I have tra versed the warlike fields of Germany and France — have stooo in the home of the glacier, and gazed down with full hearl upon the first altare of Liberty ; and heard the cannon of tyranny thunder from San Angelo in the land of the old Roman eagles. But nowhere did I find so free a people, and so happy a people, as in this my own, my native land. [Great enthusi- asm.] And my earnest hope is, that the time may soon come, when the sun, Avliich is now dipping its broad rim behind yon western hills, in all this land — from north to south, from sea to sea — shall not " rise upon a master, or set upon a slave.* [Tremendous applause.] ^i'^TCi'by J.C.Buttre ••/ 863 OFF-HAND TAKINGS. GEOilGE LAW. In sketching the celebrated George Law, I am tempted tc indulge in alliteration, at the expense of the rules of rhetoriC; but that is of little consequence, since I am writing off-hand takings and not elaborate essays. George Law, then, is the Titan of traders, the colossus of contractors — the mastodon of men. He is upwards of six feet in height, and of perfect pro- portions, with physical strength to match his Herculean frame. This American Anak has not only the power of a giant and the voice of a Stentor, but the eye of an eagle and the heart of a lion. He has vital energy enough for a village of ordinary men ; and had he lived in the days of the Ancient Romans or Britons he would have been crowned king. See how he sends out armies to level the hills and fill up the vales, and pave our roads with iron. See how he scatters steamboats over our waters. There is nothing small about the man, his plans are great, his conceptions vast, his contracts immense, his fortune princely — even his oaths are plump and unctuous with energy. As Samson carried away the gates of Gaza and afterwards whipped the Philistines, so he would take up the gates of Cuba and slay the Spaniards with the javr-bones of filibustering asses. Like Thor the thunderer he makes his dent whereA'er he strikes, for he has force of intellect as well as bodily strength, 364 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND and a generous heart beats in his broad chest. America owea much of her fame and wealth to such men. He is now in the prime of life, and having an iron temperament and a vast field in which to exert his incomparable enterprise, we wish him long life, and hope that his shadow may never be less DR. JOHN W. FRANCIS. Dr. J. W. Francis, one of the most distinguished physicians in the city of New York, is an excellent and amiable gentle- man of the old school, whose pleasant manners and polite address have won for him many friends in the various walks of life. He is the son of Melchior Francis, a native of Ger- many, who emigrated to this country shortly after the peace of 1783. The subject of this brief sketch graduated at Co- lumbia college, in 1809, when he commenced the study of medicine, under the supervision of the celebrated Dr. Hosack, and afterwards became his partner in business. He has been a lecturer on materia medica, professor of medicine at Rutgers college, afterwards of obstetrics and forensic medicine, and was the first president of the New York Academy of Medicine. His medical works have earned for him a world-wide reputa- tion. For forty years he has been actively engaged in the duties of his profession ; yet amid the incessant toils of his OFF-HAND TAKINGS. ?jGh laborious vocation, be bas found time to prepare admirabla lectures on various topics. His name is identified witb tbe history of tbe Empire City, and be is far and away tbe most conspicuous man tbere of bis profession. A municipal con- vocation or a public demonstration involving tbe present or prospective^ interests of tbe city would not be called witbout consulting bim, and bis absence from sucb a gatbering would be noticed and deplored by bis vast army of friends. DOCTOR s. n. cox. Doctor Cox, tbe Christian gentleman wbom tbe most devo- ted Christians delighted to honor, tbe mighty man whose praise was in all the churches — ventured to speak and write against American sins. At this time Doctor Cox was among bis cotemporaries (a few excepted) what Saul was among the Hebrews, a head and shoulder tbe tallest, and tbe pulpit was a proper pedestal for sucb a noble statue. His sermons were sparkling witb truth, beauty, and poetry. He seemed equally at home, at Parnassus, or Lebanon, or Calvary. His words bad wings of fire and eyes of flame. Eloquence laughed in his humor and sobbed in bis pathos. " The cross was always seen at the painted window of bis imagination." He was the people's preacher, tbe defender of tbe down-trodden, a brigbt ligbt on a golden candlestick. But where is be now ? His late sermon in defence of tbe lower law bas tbe gloss of silki 366 CRAYON SKETCHES, ANC while in reality it is more than half cotton. Is he so tired of his former eloquence that he eats his own words ? Has human- ity fewer claims now than it had ten years ago ? Has the truth undergone a radical change. No, no. The mob said great is Diana, and the Doctor said so she is. He saw there was some weight in the arguments that broke his church windows. He once identified himself with the friends of freedom ; he now turns his back upon them, and is numbered with those who go down to the South. At the World's Religious Convention, he was pre-eminently distinguished for his world-wide sym- pathy — his Christian magnanimity — his soul-stirring elo- quence — his heaven-inspired zeal, and he would have been welcomed >.o any Protestant pulpit in England ; now, many Evangelical churches in England are closed against him. Why did he strip off his laurels and sacrifice so much on such an altar? He became the Pastor of a wealthy church, in the city of Brooklyn ; that church embraces some who are related by commerce and consanguinity to the South. These men got on the blind side of their minister, and made him believe the Union was in danger ; so he stopped saving souls and went to saving the Union, and wretched work he made of it. His effort was a failure. His heart was not in it. He has too much light in his brain, and too much grace in his heart, to do his talents justice, when he assails the "higher law." With regard to the Doctor's style, it is more radiant than profound — it has more glitter than depth — besides he makes an egotistical display of his Greek and Latin. He lacks OFF-HAND Takings. 367 concentrativeness, and cannot reason acutely and consecu- tively. His work entitled Quakerism not Christianity, was a weakling at its birth, and never will be able to run alone. I doubt if it has reached a second edition. He sometimes preaches in blank verse, and since he is not John Milton, his sermons sound better than they read. Doctor Cox is upwards of sixty years of age — a noble, dignified looking man — with a magnificent head, and eyes of starlike brilliance. He speaks rapidly, notwithstanding an impediment, and in bis palmiest days he spoke with so much force, he seemed sometimes to split the words in which he clad his thoughts. Few men have uttered so many brilliant thoughts as he ; many of his wise sayings have passed into proverbs. He has more than a common store of originality — extraordinary power of elo- quence, compresses a great deal of meaning into a few words, but he is not a metaphysician. He is a comet of the largest magnitude, sweeping through the heavens, and not a fixed star. He is remarkable for his excellent social qualities — a great favorite with those with whom he is intimately acquain- ted. 3fi8 rnivoN SKETOTIES. AND FREEMAN iiUi^T. The other day I called to see a friend, and found him con- versing with the indefatigable Freeman Hunt, the enterprising editor of the Merchant's Magazine. The thought immediately occurred to me that he deserved a sketch. Mr. Hunt is one of the most persevering and energetic men in this country. Pi'ior to the publication of that indispensable organ of commer- cial news, he was poor and involved in debt, but the idea occur- red to him, that a first class monthly, devoted to the interests of merchants, traders, &c., was needed — that it would be appre- ciated and sustained by the mercantile men of our country. He did not flood the land with promising prospectuses — nor cover the walls of our public buildings with huge handbills, announcing his intentions to the gaping and gazing crowd, who avail themselves of the lazy leisure at their disposal, to read such gaseous productions ; but like a man of forecast and action, he went to work, not by proxy, sending mealy-mouthed agents here and there, but personally, and visited many of the merchant princes of New York, to whom he explained in a manly and straightforward manner what he designed to do. They, like wise and generous men, as many of them are, seconded his resolution and unhesitatingly endorsed his sub- ».cription list. When he had made a good beginning in the OFF-HAJronounced the words one, two and three, he pointed to the friends behind him. The men thus solemnly ihdicated were Messrs. Meagher, Reilly, and (')'Gorman. IIo then raised his eye with a proud glance, and recognising others in all parts of the court, lie added with eag«'rnes», "aye, for hundreds." Several voices in the vicinage of the dock simultaneously, and with deep solemnity, cried " thousands," " and promise for me." The words were taken up all through the court, and for some minutes tlie building resounded with "for me," " and for me, Mitchel," " and for me, too." Scarcely were tlie eclioes in the court-room silent btforo Mitchel, carried olf in chains, with a .strong force of cavalry, was put on toard an attendant steamer, and bound for his destination. He was taken to Spike Island, in the Cove of Cork, afterwards to IJermuda, where he spent a year of " sus- pense, agony, and meditation." After a five months voyage, he was next at the Cape of Good Hope, for five months, in a •close, unclean and unhealthy cavity under tlie poop of the 408 CRAYON SKETCHES, AND OFP-nAND TAKINGS. 'c--^ Neptune," when the Home Government ordered him — fearing ^ he should instigate, even by his presence, the excited men of the Cape to rebellion — to Van Diemen's Land. With the assistance of Mr. P. J. Smyth, sent from America, by the friends of Mitchel, the Irish Revolutionist effected his escape in the middle of last year, and landed in San Francisco towards the close of October, where he met with the most rapturous reception. He immediately proceeded to New York, and has taken up his residence jn the city of Brooklyn, L. I., with his family and friends around him. I am indebted to one of Mr. Mitchel's personal friends for. the above graphic and beautiful sketch. It must have been written before the gifted patriot sacrificed himself on the altar •;•. of American slavery. John Mitchel, in Ireland, was a repub- lican, ia hero, and a patriot. Had he died there, or in the land of his banishment, he would have been honored as a martyr to liberty ; but he unfortunately came to America, and, in a fit of passion, wrote an infamous paragraph, which went like a dagger into the very heart of freedom. Being too proud or too obstinate to retract, the indignation of the people of tiiis country came down upon him like an avalanche. I cannot allow the above to appear in the pages of my book, without uttering a protest against his views of American slavery. THE END. ^ ^=>^