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

fte tnP elPHfaNt tHfeW HIS fFfftH ifltU IIlb
air, and echoed bntk The Hoise, while The
tigers and bears significantly sfowled Oh
went Pfentiss, ald as each tieculiaf a,iitial
vented his rage ot appreciation, be nost
inge,,itt,sly Wrought III his habits, ~ a
t,tssi,ulla " stti,e i,,aH t,f la,ssitn IN The
,neanWhileslte s.Htely kina Vt BEASTS. who
l,hd been quietly tteaaina Tie muses If his
ptsoh, bseanis alarmed at The footsteps
ever lis head, aid fiaeihg his mouth upon
The IloUf uf his tage, nia1e evefy thing
shake by his terrible foaf, This, joined
with The slfeady excited feelings IT tbs au-
tliente, ct.tsstl the lHdins to shtiek, and n
tearhl eemtnetion for moment htllewedl
Pfehtlss, eaual 70 every t,erasiUii thahgea
his toiie mid itihnnet he eonniented u
playful sttai,,, atd introduced the fjx, HE
jacAal, and hyena, and capped the climax
by likeniug soine well known political o,,s
ppnent to gtave baboon that presided
over the "tage with monkeys" The IN.
seml'la,iee WINS lhstahtly tsrogtiyet, and
bafsts ,,f laughter followed, that literally
set ,,,nny Into rbnv,,sions The baleoii,
all unconscious Of the attention liz was at-
ttactihs, suddenly assumed a grimaee, and
theh a sefions faee when Ptsptias eselsiins
ea-s2a'l sns, my fine fsllow, that yotf feel.
ings ate hutt by my Unjust comparison
and | huihbly l,eg yottspafdoh." The ef-
feet of all this may lie vaguely ima agined,
but II eaiinot be described
U Pfet,tiss's pswet bhfofp A Jury tn,
mt,th tant,ot be said 1nnu,nafsl,ls iiuatras
tions might he gathered np, showing that
he fa, SURPASSED any living advocate.
"1'he trial Of the Wlkinsons " might bs
cited, although Il was far ftotn being one
Of his. best efforts, Auetliet trial oeeuts IL,
me, worthy Of particular notice. Of which
little hss heeh said cut Of the community
of those directly Interested Oh one ots
cssiou, two young tnen, only soi,s. and
deeply attached as ftisnds, auaftelet, aud
in the mad excitement " the moment. ofe
Of them waskilled Upon the trial. the
testimony Of The mother Of the deceased
was ST. direct, that II seemed to render "the
clearing Of the prisoner liopless I'tehtlss
spehe to the witness ia the blandest t,iHiis
nsr ard most cotftly style, The mother,
attayed in weeds, ard bowed down will,
sorrow, turned towards ptentiss, and an.
swete1 his inquiries with ell The dignity
Of perfectly accomplished adya- s's
calmly uttered The truth. and svery wofd
SHE spoke rendered the defence apparently
more hopeless.
"Would yeu punish that yctne man
with death = said Pteutiss, pointing to the
prisoner,
The questioned looked, md answatsd--s
" lie has ma,le me el,ildlesa, let the law
take it's course.
And would wringing her heart. and
hutying her gray hairs with sotfow into
The grave, by rendering her ehiltless,
ass,'age your grief!'
All present were dissolved in tears-=
even cohv,,lsive sobbing was heard in the
f6iittf
"NoP' said the witness, with All the
gushing tenderness ri tnethsr---" M
| would not add SORROW to her heart, nor
that of her SON.
Admissions in the evidence followed,
and hopes were uttered for the presionsf's
sednital that changed the whole character
Of the testimony. What was d few mo.
ments before 50 dark. grew highland
without the slightest act that might, be
constructed into An unfair advantages, in
the hands Of Prentiss, the witness pleaded
for the accused.
Soon after Mr.. Prentiss settled in New
Orleans, meeting was held 10 raise funds
for the erection Of 4 suitable monument ~
franklin. On that occasion the lamented
Wilde aud the accomplished MeCaleb
delivered ornate and ohasts addresses upon
the value Of aft, and the policy Of enrich
ing New Orleans with its exhibition At
the close Of the meeting, rs the audience
rose to depart, some one discovered Prentiss,
aud called his nams. 1t was eeboed from
all sides-~be tried to escape but was liter.
ally carried on the stand.
A rich speciment Of off hand elo.
quenoe, think the address he delivered
on that occasion was tinequaled. Unlike
any other speech, he had tte arts to deal
with, and OF course the associations were
Of surprising splsndor. | knew that he
was ignorant Of the teehnicalities Of an,
and had paid but little attention to their
study, and my surprise was unbounded 10
see him, thus unexpectedly called upon,
instantly arrange in his mind ideas, sud
expressing facts and illustrations ti,at
would have done honor TO Burke, when
dwelling upon the sublime and beautiful.
Hnd he been bred to the ehsel, or confined
to the sculptor's room, he could not have
been more familiar with the details Of tho
studio--he painted with all the brilIiancy
Of Titan, and with the correctness Of
Raphael. while bis images In marble com.
bincd the softness Of Praxitiles, and the
nervous energy Of Michael Angelo
All this with Preptiss was intuition-~T
believe that the whole was tho spontaneous
thought Of the moment, the crude outlines
that aoated through his mind, being filed
up by the intuitiye teachings Of his surpas-
ing genus. His conclusion was gorgeous,
he passed Napoleon TO the summit Of the
Alps--his hearers saw him and his steel
clad warriors threading.the SHOWS Of Mount
St. Bernard, and having gained the dizzy
height, Prentiss represented the man OF
destiny" looking down upon the sunny
plains Of Italy, and then with mighty
swoop, descending from the clouds md
making the grasp Of Empire secondary to
that OF Art.
Ibad the melancholy pleasure Of hearing
his LOST, and, it seemed to me, his greatest
speech. Towards the eAyse Of the last
Presidential campaign, / found him in the
interior Of the State, entleayoring 10 recruit
hisdeclinmg health. lie had been obliged
to avoid all public speaking, and had gone
far into the country to get away from ex.