Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1842-01-17
insulting letters. in the hope to tissredt him among
the neishhnrs

. sned and upright statesman. Had he no, assure
as IN hi. letter 10 the Secretary Of the CopgresSonr
n Temperance Society, that he had not tasted OF in
d ioSicatng liquors for several years. should as
n sign inebriety rs the most charitable apology "a
i his slnsuartes His public career indicates dis
5 eaSed and unbalanced mind, IN which passion an
impulse entirely over ride the reason and iudsmeu
the most prominent traits Of his character helm
n haste and reconsideration in forming his opinions
and incorporate zeal in supporting them. Wit
these is mingled dash of affected cccenlrcity, i
order To provoke tor hmselfa aattering comparison
with John Randolph OF Roanoke, whom he tesem
oles about as much as the Gothic Arch does 1T
or'snN'-thc gtotcsque traccry cf intertwinn.
branches IN some wild and luxurant forest Fo
any more elevated traits than weakness OF iudgmen,
inconsistency. indiScrcet zeal violence and niTecta
ton, we search in vain through the public charac;c
OF Henry A. Wise. And il is these traits of min,
wh'c" emlnently fit him for the ch,racicr in which
no mos frequently appears on the National Stage
and upon which he must rest his homes of immor
tohly-that OF a bully and a BLACKBOARD.
lie first appeared before the country as y member
OF the Twcnty.Third Congress. in the winter OF
1888. and soon sgnalized himself Ivy detection from
the Jackson party, 10 which he originally at
'ached and bv invcsh,rg against his late associates
with the provetbsl zeal and bitterness OF aposincy
1t was MOI, however. until the Twenty Fourth Con-
sress, that he exhibited himself IN that peculiar
| branch ct effort IN which he has since become 50
| renowned. During this session the eve rests upon
two exploits OF the young statesman, one of which
mus be regarded as the foundation of his fame as
a bully, and the other rs the brilliant outburst OF
the matured genius of blackguard; the first was
duel, IN which he planted bullet in the side o.
ME-. Coke, his predecessor and antagonist; the sc
cond nm haransue on the Lost Fertilization Bill ~
III which. rs II stands reported. the interruptions
rom' the Speaker, for gross personalities and unpar-
| hamenIaiv language, and from members for misre-
presentations, about equal 10 the staple OF tho
speech. So brilliant Il de5ui. followed as il was
by series OF oratGrica efforts OF the same general
| charac'er, attracted toward MIR. Wise large share
OF ruOlic attention and exalted the expectations of
/ the nation. lie was regarded rs man whose oc-
clSonal flashes indicated immense capacity rs a
| hjc'crcr'-who>c mind WAS thoroughly mbued
win biIincssate literature-ani that, II the pro-
chvily OF hts genius was encouraged, he might soon
rank among the most distinguished masters Of that
brinch Of rhetorical display. To enliilc him 10
thai distinction. however, much yet remained to be
done; bis achievements thus far being regarded
rather as promise than performance. IL was said
w those disposed 10 carp at hrs reputation that
his slang had too much OF the redundancy of youth
1t needed condemnation md point that his per.
sonatcS rather irtta,vd than wounded: that his
epiihes were strong but MS exHlc,ivcs puerle; and
that, IN appealing TO his Maker for the purpose of
rounding Il period, he pcrfXed the ironical "sood"
rather than the imprecAtory "byii Such were n
few Of the hlemishcs upon performances in other
respects crcd,abe. 1t was the Consciousness Of
h'shly-raised public expectation that stimulated
Mr.. Wise 20 that mastery cxcrtion OF hi, t,lcnis
upon which his fame as an orator must ultimately
rest
There WAS, nj this time in our national councils
an individual whose supremacy in TIM, branch of
parliamentary debate in VIII ch the yo Ih from Acco-
mack had won his earliest auTcs. could neither be
sn'nslyed nor denied: whose skill and n,,ninmen,s
N the language Of osilcrs, link bows and drabs de-
lied both disbursement and ribslIry; who by n
long series Of efforts that would have electrified
ASata, had won for his the rare distinction OF
pre-em'noncc m viiuperoticn and abuse. Homer
was not more decidedly the first of heroic poets
no 81.
Observation-Disclosures was not more decidedly
the first OF orators, than Bynum was the first of
blacksuads. He Ind no sccond-he had ds,anced
all his competitors so decidedly, that il was not
worth while to place them: Eclipse was first. and
the rest no whcrs. Mr. Wise vas no, the man 10
halt while there was arothcr before him: he viewed
with admiration and envy The undispuied and wide
spread renown OF the peerless champion from North
Carolina. and determined TO immoraze his name
bv vanqusnIns the victor. The strife between tho
old aui-crat of Bngssaie and the Young preten
der, was watched with intense interest and socituds
Il was represented by witnesses 10 have been
decidedly the most even and exciting conflict that
has occurred since the Hall Of the Nation first rnns
with the cheers, the misses. and the oaths Of bear
garden sympathy -ciined towards the tyro. but
the odds" were in favor OF the adcDi. ana the re.
su'tw's for long time doubtful 10 those who were
familiar with such teais of chvalry. We rccre,
that no full report OF the speeches is extan, and
thst the fame Of the rivals mustres uDon the feetng
memory OF the spectators. The short fragments
which have come down us, like the dfsjeeta msD.
bra OF nnteIiluvian animals, overwhelm us with
establishment and awe. OF Mr. Wise's rtininde- INIT
ore solitary sentence remains. That, however, in
its brief and contentious energy, j. worthy of the
pamicst days at Grecian eoqucnce. lie winds IN
an iuvrc'ive which rises sentence over sentence and
member over member, ike the swell Of IN anthem
with This magnificent cmsr-"You a ID I,,tic
rascal}' Out Of regard to MIR WISe's ne We have
ATTEMPTED, in note. to rescue from oblivion the
tradtonary account OF this celebrated onslaught
1t occurred on a question of contested election.
In the second session OF this Congress, we find
TINT Mr. Wise is not disposed To res, upon the Ian.
res which he lad won ir the first. His mind seems
10 be waverinS between the two paths 10 glory
which he had opened for himself-whethcr, 10 Weld
10 the impulse OF his eloquence or his "chivalry"-
whether to throw himself upon the guidance of
Ap7O, or invoke Castor and PolluI as his guardian
divin'es-At all events. we have in this session
two exhibitions which would have established the
f'me OF any other man either OF these departments
HIS frs, appearance was in speech upon the las,
message Of President Jackson. which strikes Ms as
being ore Of the mos, remarkable productions of
the kini ever delivered. |; is mode ed after
Puiarch. \ parallel is run between the Hero OF
New Orleans and the most inmii ar homes of the
Roman Empire. 1t IS such rich compound Of
eulogy and ceusure, Of respect and aversion, a. to
afford decisive evidence, OF It's being an old cleo.
to0eerng haransue, 'adApted" to the present posi-
ton of the author IN which he seeks to disguise ts
original taste. nv delectahe infusion of condiment
nc livery OF MS oIu Iof0 however shines n rough
thetnppnss Of the rebe; eni fealty is dscernabe
in rs most oblureatory paragraphs, it being, in
short, Of those curosities Of literature" which
could only Toe produced by the co nbined inspiration
Of sycOphnncy and nposiGcy. IL is to be regretted
that as the other exploit To- which we have ailuded
occurred in the committeeman. the "Gsnius OF
! lIisoiY" which presdes over the sessions Of the
"Hhli," did not witness an exhibition 50 worthy
of record on the annals OF American satesmanship.
/ MIR Wise was one OF the committee appointed 10
investigate the onoma GUS "posiiion" OF the cenbri-
/ ted Reuben VI. Whitney. IL seems that in the
course Of the inquiry Mr. Peyton, ono ofthe board.
/ took fame al the impeuurbablllty Of Reuben and
nddfessed him IN language which the scfupulous
might call insulting AMI profsne. MIR Wise, OF
course, took part in the fray, and remarked that the
Did Impud"nce OF the witness was insuifernble ~
] Whitney and commenced a reply, but upon
being assured by Poyon that if he uttered another
word he would lay him dead upon the spot, very
naturally restrained his eae0tihes ioquendij and to
relieve the embarrassment Of his position thrust his
hand into his hfeeches pocket. To the oxetnblo
fancy Of Mr. Wise, that hand was seeking deadly
weapon; he Immediately placed himself in fivora-
/ bic position, wItchcd the elbow Of the nccketed
/ hanl wi b an intense goze, "and had it moved an
| lnch," he was prepared, according 20 his own &C
count, to add 10 his fame as duelisi, the laurel OF
an assassin. We have comment TO make upon
this ARRAY, md have only to refer the 70 der 10 a
/ note, for MIR WIS own version Of IL, and to con
graduate Iteutcn that he not iorsaken by for.
tune during that rnOmeutous second. Had he but
fingered lis "goid boys" or tiken out his tobacco
| box; his mysterious connection with the deposit
banks would have met With tragic dissolution.
We cannot avoid remarking, however, that man
who could sneak before the assrmb ed wisdom NJ