The Democratic Whig. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1842-1843, 1843-02-09
From she Tropie CorTpopondoooe.
SKETCHES OF TIE MIssIs-
sIPPI BAR-CHANcERY
N5OQlt II
No
sARoEANr s. PRENTIss.

etatNANf NAAal NFdu - iuOuGl OF cIa1-
sic beauty, and whose eye, mingling
the sohness OF the gazelle's with lbe
Ore Of the basilisk's,
wins where il wandes, daz-les here i
dweus."
He Is talking with a group oflawyers-
bis face Is radiant with good humor,
under which you may nevertheless
discern a spirit Of sarcasm, lurking
"like an asp beneath fowsrs." You
are al no loss for his nsme. He en-
joys TO the foil, wherever be goes, The
honor Of which Henry ~. was so am
bilious, Of bearing men ask each other
-"Where-Which is BOlingbrokei"
Although be has not acquired il by fol-
lowing The example Of that monarch,
who says Of himself
"By being seldom seem could not stir
But like a comet pss ronler'd a;
Thus did keepmy person fresh and new
But rather like Prince Hal,
"He doth permit the base contagious clouds
To smother up his beauty from the world,
That when be please again to be HIMSELF
Being wanted be may more Be wondered a.
Wherever he moves he is surrounded
by q group, listening to those ''iests
and iibes and flashes Of merriment,
which are wont 10 set the table in
roar" But those who judge his char
acler by this criterion are egregiously
IN error. He is a contradiction Of
that too common opinion, that wit and
huency are inconsistent with logical
and profound thought When en-
gagged in the argument Of cause, cal
culaied TO arouse bis genius Into action,
they will discover that bis Imagination
is but the rainbow Of bis intellect, ador-
ming that to which it is indebted FOR
its hues. 10 the course Of such an az
gument, these scintillations Of fancy
emanate from mind (elyid with its
own action, like the sparks that fly
from the heated iron--denoting the in
tensity Of its glow, without impairing
its solidity. His mind exhibits all the
lights and shades Of a panOrama-not
only the submit Of a.mountain crag,
norIhe terror ofthe foaming cataract
not only the luxuriaBce Of the vslley,
nor the geLtleness Of the rivulet that
winds across its bosom--it is not any
one, but all Of these, whose images
blend themselves into the likeness Of
his mind, and constitute him one Of
the most powerful and captivating or
ators of the age. He possesses both
the attributes by which the sun and
wind once coutended for mastery
which he cannotaccomplish by strength
he carries by persuasion-and where
both these fail his "wit can cut its
bright way through"
One Of the most extraordinary in
stances Of the power Of bis eloqueuce
was his speech at Harrodsburg, in de-
fence Of Murdough and others. On
that occasion, Redding the lonenlor
OF the afffay, appeared as prosecutor.
Against Kim as the real murderer, the
orator directed his most envenOmed
shafts. The first effect produced on
his victim was an expression Of inso-
lent deliance-the next, Of resentment
but as the storm Of SARCASM aud de-
nunciation thickened in violence and
Increased 10 fury, hurting like hail
around his devoted head--as his I'M
relenting execuiioner led him to the
brink Of eternity and pointed out the
torrents prepared for bis false, per-
juFed sOul-the victim tembled with
emotion, and finally, unable to control
his agony Of shame and humiliation,
buried lis face in his hands and burst
into convulsivs sobs. That was a tri-
umph Of genius not surpassed by the
most splendid efforts Of Cicero, His
speech on this occasion infinitely sur
passed in eloqusnee the published copy
of 1.-THE latter having been written
out by him from memory, at the request
Of the publisher, Tong a1er it was de-
liVered. His success before juries is
very great, and cannot be more slri-
kingly exempifed than by the follow
ing anecdote. He was engaged in a
cause pending 10 a circuit east Of Pearl
river. where juries are usually COM
posed Of men who shape their verlicts
in their own language. leaving to the
court the ifksome task Of moulding
them into a legal form. On this oc-
casion the jury were so captiyated
with P's eloqusnce and humor that
they confoundsd him with the delen-
dant, whom be represented and brought
in the verdict 10 these words-"We,
the jury, end for lawyer Prsntiss, and
plaintiff to pay the costs,"-which Of
course unsettled the gravity Of the
court bar, and audience, as it has done
that OF all who have heard it related
since.
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Il appears fromthereport ola Legi.-
lailve committee that the whole amount