Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-09-07

| his antagonists, ot lie principles he pps
pissed and yst witt, sttth charm, with
aarh aait,u,,nef. li,at these very daughters
Of The s,nny South, whe hid liste,,ed Il,
his syten stjiia ST atllnifihay, would How
stare, aud wonder, Ind l,allot, and yet La.
tell even ~ tne gases over The pfecirlee,
and s Iatihated Al the very ieafhess te
destruction.
Pfentiss had originally constitution II
| ifeh l,is If,me was AZ perfect IN It's ors
ganization, that. in spite Of the ,,ies, tin
tsual nesilse,,te ef henlth, his museles
Ind all The euinpaethess glossneas and
distihttiventss uf ohe who had buen ape.
sially tfalned iy diet aid exercise /, was
this constitution, tl,at enabled him ~ ac-
tphipish 80 intel, III At, short A time lie
could hlmost wholly discard sleep fur
weeks, with appate,it IMMUNITY he could
eat OF stafte, TO any thing iha, would hill
ur,lilaty niet, yet tievef feel n tWinae of
pain. ] saw him once amidst Il tfemen.
dous political excitement he l,ad been
.aking, arguing dining, visiting, ahd
travelling, Witltent rest, it,f three whole
days Ills companions would steal away
at times for sleep, hat Pte,itss was like ah
everbusy spirit, here, and there, and every
where, The morning Of the fourth day
eame, ahd he wac to appear befo,e III a,,s
dienee familier with his fame, but t,ne that
had nevsr heard him speak All audience
critical N The last degree, Lie desired to
s,teeeeded. for more was depending that
he had ever l,efofe had cai,ze 10 stake up4
TN s,ieh all eerasion Many felt fear
that he #oula he tinptepared fmihgled
hi the expecting crowd / saw lsdies who
had never hohuted The stump with their
pfesebce struggling for seats cou,,sellots,
statesmen, and professional neh. the elite
Of a great city, were gathered together
An l,out before, had seen Prentlss, still
apparently ignorant Of his engagement,
The title Of trial tame, and The felnprks
able man presented himself. the very pic.
tute eF buoyant health, of unbtoken fest
All ths had beet done Nv TIE Haytsidtns
resoire qf hts teVt-.-=his triumph was eonn
plete, high wrought expectations were
,nore than realized, prejudice was denols
ished. professional jealousy sileneed and
he descended ftotn the tostfum, freely aes
corded his proper plaee among the orators
and statesmen Of the "F4buthefn Metro.
p5lis."
Mr.. Clay visited the South in The spring
of 1H4a, and as he was then candidate
fot the Presidency, he attracted in New
Orleans il possible. more than install notice.
His hotel was the st. Charles, toward
noon he reached that magnificent palace.
The streets presented vast ocean TT
heads, and every building commanding 4
view. was literally covered with human
beings. The great "atatestnan of the
West" presented himself to The multitude
between the tall columns Of the finest
portice In the world. The scene was he.
yond description and Of vast interest AZ
the crowd swayed to and fro, a universal
shout was raised for Mr.. Clay To speak he
uttered n sentence t,r to, waved his hand
In adieu, aud escaped amidst the prevailing
confusion. Prentiss meanwhile was at \
side window evidently unconscious Of he.
ing himself noticed gazing upon what
was passing with all the delight of The
humblest spectator Suddenly he heard
his tame announced. He attempted to
withdraw from public gaze, but his friends
pushed him forward. Again his maine
was shouted, hats and caps were thrown
In the air, and he was finally compelled to
show himself OH the poftieo. With re.
narkabe delioaey, he chose less promi.
nent place than that previously occupied
by Mr.. Clay, although perfectly visible.
Tie thanked his tfies4H for their kindness
by repeated bows, and by such smiles as
he alone could give. "A speech! n
speech" !" thuhdefed thousand voices.
pfentiss lifted his hand In nh instant
every thing was still-@then pointing to the
groen that surrounded Mr.. Clay, he said.
"Fellow.eitisens. when the Eagle IL soar.
ing In the sky, the owls and the bats re.
tire to their holes.' And long before the.
shout that followed this remark had ceas-
cd, Prentiss had disappeared amid the mul.
titude.
But the most extraordinary exhibition
Of Prentiss powers of mind and endurance
Of body, was shown willis he was running
for Congress lie had the whole State to
canvass, and the magnitude Of the work
was just what he desired. From what |
have learned from anecdotes, tbat canvass
must have presented some scenes eombns
ing the highest mental and physical exer.
ton that wns ever witnessed In the world.
Prentiss was In perfect health. and in tho
first blush Of success, and 1t cannot be
doubted that his best efforts Of oratory
were then made, and now live recorded
only In the fading memories Of his hearers.
An Incident illustrative OF the time is re.
membered, that may bear repeating.
The whole State Of Mississippi was
alive with excitement: for the moment,
she felt that her sovereign dignity had
been triaed with, and that her reputation
demanded the return Of. Prentiss to Con-
gress. Crowds followed him from place
to place, making agala time Of weeks to.
gether. Among the shrewd worldlings
who take advantage Of such times ITO coin
|nioney," was the proprietor Of a travelling
menagerie, and he soon found out that the
multitude followed prentiss. Getting the
list Of that remarkable mans "appojnt-
ments," he filled up his own; and il
was soon noticed, as singular ceinci.
dence, that the orator always "arrived a.
long with the other lions The reason
Of this meeting was discovered, and the
''boys" decided that Prentiss should "next
timet speak from the top Of the lion s cage.
Never was the managerie more crowded.
At the proper time, the candidate gratifed
his constituents, and mounted his. sing.
ular rostrum. Iwas told by a person, who
professed to be an eye witness, that the
whole affair nresenfed a siI,rIfInr mixture