The banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1844-1847, 1846-04-01
M R. CALHOUN.

NJ R. CALHOUN.
The following sketch Of Mr.. Calhoun,
is from the ready pen of a correspon-
dent Of the Boston Journal-a whie pa
per-
10 those who have not seen Mr.. Cal
houn, short sketch may not be unac-
ceptable. He is man of about 62
years OF age-about six feet in height,
though the extreme slenderaess of his
person gives him an appearance of grea-
ter height. His hair is dark grey, ve-
ry thick; and very strong; and he
wears it brushed up and standing erect
from his forehead, which is rather low
and narrow. His features are, think,
the most expressive l ever saw-and his
eye is living wonder-no man that
know, possesses so penetrative glance
l remarked him short time ago, when
Allen was making his violet attack up
on him, and although he replied calmly,
and IN few sentences demolished the
arguments of the noisy Ohioan: yet the
unconscious curl of the lip, the contemp-
tuous glance of his eye, and the uneasy
shuffling in his chair, plainly demon
strated that he is a man of naturally
quick and sensitive feelings, and felt an
noyed-just as an elephant can be vex-
ed by musquito.
His head is rather small-hardly,
believe, what phrenologist would call
fine head-nor, l understand, is he We.
ry remarkable for chronological assis-
tance in his acquired greatness-bu he
is sufficiently great without it. His
dress Is always plain black, without
ornament of any kind-he makes no
display of jewelry, except a watch chain
and bunch of seals, which he wears af-
ter the old fashioned manner. He wears
a plain black military stock, with an up-
right collar, and has. as you perceive at
glance, an utter contempt for show or
aftectation-on the contrary, he is care
less almost to slovenliness in the matter
OF dress, and the veteran old blue cloak
in which he dlily walks to the Senate,
looks as if it had done sufficient service
to entitle it to be pensioned off for life
in the family wardrobe or the National
Institute.
Mr.. Calhoun's style of speaking is
plain and unassuming ;-he is as terse
as Webster, and depends for effect more
on logical argument, than on tropes and
flowers of rhetoric. He makes no dis
play OF action, or the usual accompani-
ments of oratory. He seldom moves
foot, but clasp his hands before him, and
proceeds in loud, manly tone, to Crap
pie with his argument. With him eve
ry sentence is blow. He has no dode-
ing-no winding-no appealing to the
passlons-no American eagles "patri-
olism," }" and all that kind Of thing-but
ne is clear and precise in his reasoning,
and powerful in his attack on the errors
OF his opponents-who, in the present
instance, are his 'friends." He does
not descend 10 personaIity-but his look
expresses Indignation better than words,
and his hints of scorn is sharper than
any two-edged invective. Thus, while
referring to the scofing manner in which
his recommendation of "wise and
mastery inactivity" had been spo-
ken OF, and assuming that many SEN
ators and others understood by this
mere inaction," the sneering manner
IN which ne assured those who thus con-
strued his meaning, that "they were but
IN the horn.book of political SCIENCE"
expressed more, as he turned round and
spoke 1t at Hannegan, than an elaborate
hali-hour's vindication of advice, which
all understood, however they might
have represented it.
He only deals with facts, and is es-
sentially practical man. He discards
all theories, and is reported to have su-
preme contempt tor modern meta.