Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-06-27

al hands, it shall be given to our readers.-ib.
e From tie Southern Literary Messenger.
d s, s. PRENTlSS.
;, , This gentleman made his first appearance a
!, the bar of the House, during the extra session
: orthe 25th Congress. in support ofhis right 10
r seat in that body as a representative from Mis-
y sissippi. On that occasion he spoke for three
days, with force Of reasoning, a rapidly anC
! beauty of cIocuton, and splendour Of decla
= nation, that astonished all who had the pleas
ure Of hearing him. Mr.. Prentiss is small. il
Stature, and has lameness in one Of his legs
(which compels him to resort to the use of q
staff, on which he rests his delormed limb when
he moves he is, however, said to possess un.
common strength of body, and TO have @eat
Iylgor OF muscle. His head is large and out OF
proportion to the rest Of his frame-his features
are good0nd his countenance, though not what
would be called handsome, is not ugly. lie is
said TO be a native Of Maine, and commenced
life, like most Of our distinguished men, in pow
Ierty lie taught school, while quite young, in
Mississippi, to which he had removed to seek
his fortunes afterwards studied law, aud soon
became eminent at the bar, where he acquired
both reputation and wealth. He appears to be
Iabout thirty years of age. Mr.. Prentss has
Jail the elements the orator in him his mind
possesses great fertility and expansiyeness;
1t is logical, imaginative, sarcastic and humor-
Gus. The faculties oc judgement, Imagination,
memory and taste, are equally prominent and
are always exercised, when he speaks. After a
laborlous train reasoning, in which he shows
his strength as a logician, his hearer is aston.
lshed at some apt and fcictous illustration,
drawn tron history, poetry, philosophy, or no.
nance, which he calls up by the power of men,
DRY, and apparently without an effort of the
WIlI. His early reading seems to have been
confined to the sacred volume Of inspiration,
with which he is perfectly familiar, and from
which most o! his illustrations are taken, which
are always happy and striking. lie has the
faculty, moreover, Of gliding rapidly from
grave to gay, from the impassionate to the hu
morous, and IRON the declamatory to the cool
est and mos; philosophical reasoning. His i'm
agnatlon furnishes him with the finest images
his invention with the strongest arguments, his
Judgement with the most logical application and
most lucid arrangement of them, and his mem.
'ry with great variety ofincidents and facts.
Which he has treasured up in the course of his |
'eading and observation, which he can CALL
up with singular felicity, and apply with great
effect.
Mr. Prentiss possesses genius as well as tai
5ht; MS thoughts are poetlcal and often beauti-
u, but always under the control of good taste
Ills reading seems to have been more among
he imaginative than the philosophical lights
d the world, and he has read more for amuse. |
nent than for the acquisition Of knowleGge.-
dis mind is more exclusive than Profound
t delights more in the romance than the reali.
les OF life, and takes greater pleasure in reno.
ing IN the Italian bowers with Homer, than in
in the groves oil Academus with
'lato. His diction is sometimes very splendid.
md his eocution singuIary fluent, rolling
tIong without hesitation and almost without
pause. His touches OF humor and wit are
EXCELLENT, and his sarcasm exceedingly pun
'ent, sometimes putting the House in roar of,
aughter, anda others exciting it to an almost
rreProssbe burst of indignation. His voice
5, however defective, and his cadences are not
ways harmonious or pleasing to the ear, and
us action is too uniform for grace. Had he :
he inclination, he would be an admirable deha- l.
or, but ne prefers his own ease to the exertion {
winch emInence as DICTATOR requires. He is. !
oWeVer, more OF an orator than debator.-I l.
lis mind is too rich, afiluent and imaginative 9
Or the latter; and he likes to exert his inteIIec
lal energies, only when it can be done with J.
fleet, and when a sense Of duty or love of fame
npeIs him to the effort. 1t is to be regretted
'at ne should find the great political arena Of =
congress so little suited to his TASTE or so hos. 7
lie to his interests, as to induce him to with. :.
raw from the councils ofthe nation, and TO re- .
I'm again to profession from which he de- E
YES more wealth if not so much fame. as from \
he career of legislation, which he has lust
and in which he is so well fitted n >,
Keel.