The native American., 1838-02-10

chambers Of mortality. | remember on
one occasion, in particular, that Mr.. Calhoun had
The hoor-l forget the question-but il had arous-
ed and excited him very much-his slender frame
was dilated-.hs words fell rapidly from his lips
the Senate Chamber was crowded with ladies,
many OF whom had chairs in the principal aisle.
There was general hush over that assemblage,
and the fervid eloquence of the Orator, and the
attentive crowd, formed an interesting spectacle.
Suddenly Mr.. Calhoun turned from his address
to the Chair, and in moment of rapt abstraction,
his eyes became fixed upon the face of beautiful
girl who was sitting near him. His large Orbs
were hxed like those of corpse-a shudder ran
from one to another like an electric shock; and
while he gazed, which was only for moment or
SO. the lady shrieked! The trance was broken,
and the great Nulliier dashed forward in his i'm
petuous course.
There never could have been face better suited
to the character of the man, than that of Mr. CAL
houn.
Full of genius, sternness, and ambition, how
awfully must he be swayed at hmes for with
nerves strained to the most fastidious delicacy, al
mind ever on the flight, after some lofty specula-
tlon, and which gathers strength from the past,
that II may flee more gloriously into the future, he
cannot but be acted upon in remarkable degree
by those important events that convulse govern
ments. ! say "awfully," (and it is strong
worl, because believe that our institutions are
calculated to excite to the deepest enthusiasm
those who take leading part in the political
questi ms of the day. They plead to no king or
emp ror, in whose good opinion lies the goal of
ambition, as in some countries but they take a
position before an immense nation-before peo-
pie who constitute the source Of punishment as
well as of reward-whose hatred is oblivion
whose love Immortality. These powerful in
ducements to excel, operating upon enthusi-
astic and capacious mind, are like those large
qua ltities of opium eaten by the people of the
East; they either rouse to almost superhuman eff
fort, or lull to beastly indifference. There can
be no medium platform for ambitious men in this
country. The steps to ultimate success are inyi-
ting, and every vista opens upon triumphal arch;
crowds Of people beckon the aspirant on to dare
the utmost, and with feverish impulse to accom-
plish all, the votary of ambition rushes either to
his desire or his doom. With these opinions,
do not think my language exaggerated when say
that Mr.. Calhoun is a,ofuliy swayed at times.
The remarkable game played by Mr.. Calhoun
within the last few years, has filed our political
circles with speculation. refer, again, to the
agitating subject of the Tariff of 1888. look
upon him, and my mind becomes confused with a
strange retro-vsion-it conjures up scene which,
however now it may wear the garb Of fancy, was
in those days the almost certain expectation Of
wsest and most unmaginative men.
look at him, and wonder that he is so fixed
and stern. He sits in his citizens dress in his
cusl i ned chair; but who would have thought it,
four short years ago! Travel with me, reader.
The times in eighteen hundred and thirty-three,
were times of arthqnake-excitcment. The
North and South stood armed, cap-a-pee, ready
for the bloody signal to strike each other with
their iron hands. The Tariff Law and Force
Bill had created this unnatural state of things.
The Tariff Law insisted upon by the North and
West, and denounced by the South. The Pro-
clamatio |, too, issuing from the Cabinet at Wash
ington, had reused the spirit Of revolution, and
the storm-cloud girt darkly and heavily the whole
horizon of the Union. South Carolina, in parti-
cular, had warmly proclaimed her opposition and
independence. The Governor of the State had
issued his proclamation to the State Militia, and
the seer es Of La Vendee were on the eve of reac-
ton in our borders. Having briefly outlined the
grim aspect Of affairs at that eventful crisis, will
now indulge in what probably the reader will
smile at, my vision. 1t comes up to me when
ever meeting those circumstances in my mind,
gaze upon the chivalrous bearing of John G.
Calho In; for he is the mirror in which see this
gloomy picture. see him standing on sandy
plain Of the South. The sun shines hotly down.
Encompassed by vast assemblage Of men, whose
ranks blistle with arms he stands alone on rising
mound, silent. A sword is in his hand, long
and gtt ring blade, which he leans. Flags
are dropping around their stafs, unmoved in the
sutry atmosphere. The shrill note of the fife
the clustering ratMe of the drum die away, and
rouse him not;-tall, dark, and solitary, like one
of his native pines, he continues in his reverie, un-
conscious of the dusky cloud that rises in the
distance, and the heavy sounds of rafting wheels,
like thunder, that boom from afar. The assem-
blage move like the waves of a troubled sea, and
hoarse voices ever and anon are muttered forth
from the army's throat; but he hears them not
vision, too, is opening its grand changes before
his rapt imagination. No mortal tongue can ever
reveal what that dream was. Keen eyes are
watching every shadow that may pass across his
brow; for on those shades depend the fate of thou
sands. Devotion and dread reign throughout the
people. He moves not but with an eye full of
solemn and glorious phantoms; he stands amid
that parched and arid field unmoved, silent, and
fierce.
Hark! sound winds up in melodious cadences
from yonder green ravine-a sound like bugle
and suddenly horseman comes upon the margin
Of the feld;-slowly another vast array of men,
with flags of stars and stripes, display themselves
rom amid the woods. The bugle sounds again.
A f.,1