Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-02-25
FROM TIE RICHMOND PESsY Posi-.
John Thompson Brown

Mr. Brown was Il native of Bedford county,
but had, curly in life, removed 10 the county ei
Harrison. 1t was not long before his uncommon
talents began 10 be appreciated by the discerning
people among whom he had east his lot, aud they
eyinced their just appreciation Of them by send
ing him to the Legislature, while yet mere
youth. He did not disappont their expectations
From the day ON which lac took his seat, he be
came known a. man. who, ifhsl life was spared
would certainly mike h- mark upon the history
of his nntiye State. lie encountered the oldest
aud most renowned dcbatcrs without the slight
est fear Of the consequences, and there WIS "a
occasion upon which he could be ~nd 10 have
come "second hest ont of tho conflict In CON
sequence of having married a lady of Petersburg,
hercmnycd 10 that town. and a. soon IT, his ro~i-
dcace had been sufficiently leug 10 render INN 81
igible hs services i'm the House were secured
We believe IL was in tie hrst session of his STR
vice as representative ot hi- new constituency,
that he made his celebrated speech upon the
slavery question: speech which added prodi.
giously 10 his tune. und which lett nothing un-
said TINT could, with proprciy be spoken. lie
was now i'm the very zenith of his reputation, al.
mired by the public outside of the House, and re
gardcd within it. limits as a man whose assis.
lance was always important; whose opinions wore
always at weight; from whom wisdom and clo-
quence might be expected whenever he spoke;
who formed his own judgments upon public mat
ltf@ ol every description, anu VINO lthu HtufFclA
a superior in the power with which he defended
his own positions, or assaulted those of an adyer-
sary. He was apparently very little turned of
thirty, for the laurel had encrcled his brow be
fore he had found IL necessary to wear il, like
Casnr, for the purpose of conecalhg his badness.
Fame had come to him in the heyday Of youth
at season whom il Is always most acceptable,
and had not delayed her visit until the blood had
begun To run cold and the dcadened sen~bties
had LOST half thpir nnwpr of euioNtucnt
lie WIS small, delicate looking man, appa-
rently in feeble health, with none of the ndca-
tons of greatness about him save II black eye of
uncommon brillianoe. Like all truly great men,
or at least like much the larger portion of them
he was perfectly free from ntlcclnton. To all
appearances, his demeanor reserved, hut sim
pie in the extreme. Accustomed as he had BEEN
from curly youth, To measure swords, at the bar
aud IN the Legislature, with intellectual gladia-
tors of every possible oalibre, il is impossible that
he should not have learned the superiority of his
understanding; for il Is onl by comparison that
such knowledge can be obtained. ct, If he
knew it, no man had the art oi conceang it more
successfully; no man could have borne II more
meekly; no man could have shown less DISPOSE
ton to eNult in the many triumphs of which 1t
was the instrument. Profoundly Versed III the
science of man, and well knowing that even gold
! itself if it should become common, would soon
/ become cheap, Mr.. Brown took care never to adj
dress the House unless upon subjects of moment,
/ or upon such were of direet interest To his own
! immediate constituents. Into private life, We
! have heard lior We had no personal acquaintance
| with him) he carried the same wise reserve. lie
was no spinner of street-yarn--no talker mt the
corners-lcnder of his presence to the public
lie Ind studied Shakespeare, and in all prohabili-
~ he remembered the words addressed by Hem
ry ". 10 his son, the wild and apparently ire
claimobe Prince of Wales the HAL of the
great Bard. upon this very subject
by be1g seldom s.on | could not stir
Bst like a comet was wondering AT &c.
1t is q great pity that more of our aspiring
young men do not read that celebrated passage,
and profit by the profound worldly wisdom with
which IL is iraught
The eloquonco of Mr.. Brown was of II charae-
Ter altogether novel to MS, at that time, and we
have heard nothing like it since. If it was arti-
feial-and ii was too highly finished not to have
been 10 some exteht-ho had attained in an
extraordinary degree that ars ceiare artem, which
are told is the eonsummation of rhetorical
skill Ills language was powerfully expressive.
His mind, in which the Imaginative faculty must
have been very active, had been SO trained that
that faculty developed itself in the body of his
disc purse, communicating throughout II steady
feryid glow, rather than in sparkling sentences,
aud brilliant conceits If the intellect may be
compared TO the stomach, as we have seen it very
lately, Mr.. Browns had the digestive capacity Of
an ostrich. Everything which it swallowed, ten
ded to nourish its strength and enliyen its vitality
There was scarcely single faculty of the mind
which he did not possess. if not in the highest,
yet in very high degree. His reasoning pow
ors were of the first order, yet they maintained
so equal struggle with the imaginative, that it
was hard TO tell which would obtain the mastery.
The operation Of the two in different directions,
produced visible effect upon every speech he
delivered His power of expression was unlimited
indeed he possessed a mastery over the Ian