Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-07-16

Upris the Attorney General close bv III
Speaker, and up rises more towards you, upo,
the same bench, Mr.. G. w. Wynnc. The las
IS first; for Mr.Wynnc having caught the Speak
er's eye, next catches your ear and the alteros
tone and cadence put you in mind Of that par
of the austrian Retreat, where ssthe squeatino
OF the wry-necked fife," succeeds to the grum
bling of the serpent, and the clubbing of the kct
tie-druin. The orator advances his right foo
hall pace, and throwing back his head till The
facial line makes an angle of as deg. witt, the
ceiling, leads olfin key which never comes be-
low high q. Yod are SO pierced by the tones
and 50 puzzled Ny the cadcnces, that YOU have
no time to analyse the matter, and the orator
comes to 4 conclusion before YOU know what mo
means TO prove or d;sprove.
"To him succeeds the Attorney General
soft, SLOW, and specious. You accedc to each
individual position, and yet you wonder wbv
such premises should have led to such concln.
sion
"Mr. Hume rises not to reply to the Learned
Gentleman, but merely to regret that previous
10 The discussion of the subject, return of all
criminal trials SINCE the days of William Rufus,
hal not been laid before the lIonsc.
''ile sits down, AMI Immediately Mr.. John
Cam Hobhousc lets fly at the Attorney Gene
raj, I'LL numbers ON both sides of the house in
stinctively clap their hands to their cars.
"IEc So!!citor-G eneral rises to plaster the la
ccrated and bleeding law. He fu,nbles about
it, and about it, till you fancy that lie is never to
be done; the members counting upon good
two hours by the House clock, pair of to Bella
my.s by dozens. while not few ofthcm stretch
their honorable bones in the side galleries and
WOO the congenial divinity of sleep. During
til2 calm, Sir Isaac Coffin, and Col Davies, Sir
Etancis Omaney and Mr.. Bright, Mr. Alderman
Smith and the Hon. III. G.. Bennett, cum multi,
af''s, hang like dead weights upon the under
Jaw, and give nodding propensity to the CRAM.
uin. Plunket rises to chastse the leaden nod:
and runs and rattles SO, that the mind. half a
wakcned rs It is, cannot keep pace with him.
The whole gallery, however, pricks up its ears,
the ffiocrnlans are loud in their praises, and the
recliners upon the other benches peep over the
front of the gallery.
By the time that Plnpkctt has truDdleI his
gernrny figures fall half an hour, the House be-
gins to I'LL, and Brougham and Canning arc borne
IN upon the tail OF the tide. They sit down, and
for some time eye each other as much as to saw.
&c who shall begin!" but the Secretary give,
Piun.sctt a jog, which has the effect of making
him say few things calculated to draw reply
rom Brougham.
''Brougham rises, amidst the deep silence
OF the House, and the mutterc1 curses of the
Reporters, whose pens must now be worn TO the
stumps His air and his manner, at first put
you very much In mind of those of fell preach
ere he is tall and bent, and plain la his appear
ance; ana though his tones be full and inelo-
dlons, he hesitates, if he were either at a
loss want to say, or ashamed to say it. He
stands .cronched together, pulls up his shoul-
iars, hangs bus head, and there is tremulous
motion in his upper lip and nostril, which makes
you fancy that he is trembling through fcar.-
Ills first sentences, or rather the first members
OF his scntcncc-fOr an opening sentence with
hun is a ten minutes matter at least comes
forth cold, hesitating, and ambiguous, so that
for the soul of you, you cannot perceive the
drift of them. Each is, indeed, a clear and
satisfactory proposition in itself, but the whole
seem bent in one direction by moving force
which is yet viewlcss as the wind. When,
however, sufficient number of these have been
drawn out in line, the whole march so!menIy g.
steadily to one conclusion, and the position
meant to be carrieiis carried as completely and
as irrosistibly as by bayonet charge Of the
most powerful British troops. One point beng
thus won, the orator rises upon it both in body &
mind, aud wines second by a more bold and
brief attack Then he vaults upon the subucd
basis, rises in figure and in tone till he overtop
the staring Members and shake tic astonisbcd
House: and when he has gained what you ina
CINE to be the very summit Of powerful speaking
and has kept beating time upon the table and
looking towards every corner of the House, as if
TO see and sheer at the admiration which he has
called forth, his voice and his figure sink a.
gain to dimensions lower than ever
You would immaginc that he was terrified at
the echo OF his own voice, but no such thing
1t is like the bending Of the wrestler, in order
that he may twist his antagonist in his grasp, or
like the drawing back Of the tiger, in order that
he may spring the more terribly on his prey
Woe be to the man, upon whom his eye glares
from that terrible conccalTent. Woe be TO the
wight, to whom those hall-whispercd words
are prelude to the storm which is ON tie wing.
You are of course stranger, and know not
what is to happen you merely see a man put
ting an air fincomprehensibIc mildncss and
and hear a man speaking in subdued
whispers, which astonish you by their being audi
BILE to the very smallest syllable. The words
which were at first cold and congealng, be-
come hurried and hot and while the speaker
absolutely browns the cheering of his own par
ty, and binds the whole &C COLLECTIVELY in a fct-
ter which they dare not break, nc is peclng
some poor devil to The bone, and tossing his
maDgled limbs into all the positions Of mon
tai agony through the whole figures of rhcto-
ric nor is il Till lis oyn body has been van
qrsled and beaten down by the energy
OF his own mia;l, that he drops upon his seat,
giving the House time to cheer, and leaving
you utterly confoundcd.
"Wbile you are wondering what can conc
after this, you perceive figure somewhat o.
bese, bat exceedingly elegant and proposes
ing. Ifyou be an adnirer Of f;. heals, you
lose the first sentence of the Right Hon. Score
tary, in scanning his appearance; but you are
soon compelled to listen to him, and the more
so perans that his matter and manner arc so
very unlike those of him, the edge Of whose clo
quencc the Secretary has to turn. You can
perceive by the glance which ne sends across, a
manly admiration Of the powers of his antago-