Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-02-12
"i 'A' " "t'HthAhs
A WESTERN ORATOR.

New ALBANY, lKy.) Jan. %, 1855
Perhaps a half hour cannot be put to a
better purpose than to give YOU some impress
ions of that remarkable and eccentric genius.
Hon. T. f. Marshall, of Ky. or late he has
been delivering a course of three Lectures. in
our City, on the "Erench Revolution" and il
series Of discoursos ON general History in
Louisville.
AS living specimen of western oratory-
embracing nearly all those characteristics
which are now understood as constituting
Western oratory--Nr. Marshall is certainly
the airest type known to the people Of the
West. His first Lectures in Louisville were
severely criticised in tho journal, and it had
the desired effect to spur up his genius He
afterwards acquitted himself SO well that the
same paper daubcd and despatched him with
praises
Before an audience, Mr. Marshall has some
very graceful manners and some very clown
ish ones lie is now fifty seven years old,
with hair sparse and gray In figure. tall and
erect with hands and arms that become him.
His voice is smooth and musical, without
ever being harsh or indicate on the ear lie
articulates as well as good artificial teeth will
probably admit. He is not always nice in
pronunciation for he says "shader" for shad
ow, and other words equally bad
To invest history with charm sufficiently
to attract large audiences and maintain them.
does not lie in the power OF many speakers
in this country. Yet Mr. Marshall can get
pretty drunk and throw around the dry de-
tails of History the magic of his towering
genius and "jostlo many to the stars If he
icgns contempt for Kings, he docs it with
snort which makes all turn up their nose,
with everlasting disdain. If he wishes 10
pay handsome and beautiful tribute to such
a man as Washington he can do i. as grandly
as an eagle to his mountain oyre.-His IA
miliarity with History seems thorough and
aecurato-made SO perhaps by the hint which
John q. Adams gave him.
common man might narrate the events
of the French Revolution, but to invest them
with potent spell, to bring before the mind
the dazzling splendor of that greatest of cap
talns the world has ever seen, needs the pc
MUS of Ihos. Marshall to do the theme lust
ice. The occasional flashes of his wit ia as
lightning to a rain storm. lis not often that
lie awake by the interest of lecture, vet /
did so last night. The vivid picture of that
Revolution was constantly before me.
could not Danish from minds eve the great
ness of Napoleon, when, as Marshall said,
God had given him the thunder bolt 70 WELD
over nations.-When he became divorced
from that beautiful wife and God then took
from him the thunderbolt--his sending the
Old Guard aud not leading it himself in the
BEETLE of Waterloo-(tho little episode of
Marshall, which was--''what beautiful place
this was for Bonaparte to have died--Oh
what would have given to have been in his
place, just to have died thon-nstead Of be-
ing miserable stump-speaker. )-"And the
English people placed him upon that Island
in the Southern Atlantic which Biologists
say was formed by a yocano-think of it.
ono roioano upon aHotherF'
With some slight defects in attitudes, Mr..
Marshall closed the best extemporc lecture
ever heard.
Yours truly,
w T. NJ.