The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-04-09
lFrom Grahnms Magazine.l
John Randolph of Roanoke
BY CHARLES j. PETERSON.

| Bi CHARLES j. PETERSON.
From the period he left college
until his twenty.sixth year, he led an
idle, discursiye life, now reading and
now travelling, this year in phiIadel-
plla, that in Georgia. His restless
ness and irritability had already be-.
come provcrbial. In 1895 he lost
his sole surviving brother. The
shock seems to have been terrible.
His temper became more morose, his
conduct more eccentric than ever
He brooded over his dcsolate situa.
,ion, tho last Of his line, without
brother or sister, parents or friends,
until lie had wrought himself up al.
most to the pitch of insanity. At
night he walked his chamber, ex.
claiming Macbeth hath murdered
Sleep or calling for his horse, gallop.
ed around the plantation with loaded
firearms. Not o drop Of Logan's
blood he muttered to himself; 'the
most bercayed and pitiabIe of the
stepsons of nature. His estate, at
this time, was encumbcreda legacy
of debt left by his father; and the
annoyance created by the liquidation
Of the claim still further irritated his
morbid mind. TO crown all, an at.
tachment which he formed proved
disastrous. The lady was daugh-
ter of Mr.. Ward, of Wintapeke, and
had been, in childhood q playmate OF
Randolph. He never recovered from
this blow. No second image seems
to have gained a foothold in his
heart. For more than thisty years
he secretly worsiiiped the IDOL Of his
youth, and when, in his ola age he
lay down to die friend Ia ssss alone. !
her vision haunted ey,.et,reil
dreams and her r,amo & lurIniiis
od By llis fai|ing ton s. s.
4ssi us
The Congress that, ON the 18th Of
June, 1912. declared that a state Of
war existed between II two nations.
was one of the most brilliant that
had, up to that period, assembl, at
Washington. Even Randolph was
cclipscd by two upon that floor. The
first Of these was Clay, then in the
flush of early ambition, gallant, chiv-
alrous, patriotic among patriots, the
boast of Kentucky, the idolizcd
Speaker Of the house. The magic
of that lofty presence, the persuasive
powers of that magnetic voice, no
one who has seen or heard him can
ever forget; and the Clay of 1912
was to the Clay of this generation,
what the eagle mounting freshly in
the dcwy morning, is to the same
bird wearlly returning homeward at
night. When he rose to speak every
whisper was hushcd, every ear was
attention. If he pictured Britain
tampcring with the northwest Indi
ans. Indignation swcllcd every heart;
The described the suitcrings of our
impressed scamen, tears sprang to
every eye; if he asked, after all this,
what course was left to men Of honor,
the listeners were ready to start from
their seats and shout, like the Hun.
garians Of old, 'wc will die for our
brothers and our country Other
men, in that House, have coualed
Clay as dc5a,er, many have sur
passed him rs dialcctician, but
none have rivalcd him in the power
to stir The soul and excite enthusiasm.
His more impassioncd oratory was
like the rush Of whirlwind, that takes
its victim in its arm before he can
suspect his peril, and bears him away
in tho elemental war. Men differ,
and ever will, as to his political ca
rccr; but all who have souls to feel
confess his cloqucncc. In his old
age he still fingers among ua, n relic
of the past and yet a witness of has
present.
There, too, was Calhoun. young
also, ana also ambitious. Never the
America bchcld q statesman more
pure. In many respects inferior to
Clay, he was in others his master.
10 the compact style, the clear meth.
od, the massive logic of Calhoun, the
tcrvid Kcntucl;ian could not pretend.
Nor could he, on all occasions, rise
to the same lofty atmosphere of
craftsmanship i'll which the Carolin.
ian sat, as on another Olympus, sur.
vcying the deeds of mortals. TO the
lavorltc doctrine Of his later life Cal.
houn had not then offered up his
days and nights; but joining Clay
against Randolph, stcrnly pronoun,
ced for war. Young as he was, he
was already conspicuous for the bold
ness, weight, and ,apidity of his elo.
quence. IEc saw the weak points of