The prairie news. [volume] (Okolona, Miss.) 1851-1875, 1858-04-08
OKOLONA, MISS, APRIL 8, 1858.


name heads this article. SO well known
in this State was the late Sargent S. Prem
tiss, and so eagerly, yet, is everything
touching his brief, but brilliant career
sought after and read, that the merest
trihe of memory is interesting to the
general reader.
One is forcibly reminded of the Ian
guage of Burke, "what shadows we are
and what shadows we pursue" when the
mind reverts to the meteOric existence OF
the child of genius.
In Mississippi some seventeen years
ago, when his mental energies were strung
to the tension of an oratorical giant,
while canvassing the State in his own
behalf for Congress, he achieved a victo-
ry which no other Wing ever did before
or since, in that section. No man ever
conquered so large majority against
him, nor won in so brief time a reputa-
ton so national. 1t was compliment
simply to the most gifted of orators, evil
denced by the fact that the State soon
after wheeled back in solid platoons into
the ranks of the national Democracy.
Mr.. Prentiss was possessed of remark
able fluency; was rapid and splendid
declaimer, with varied and happy de-
livery, eloquent and pathetic, humorous
and denunciatory. He dipped the cold
oaken bucket" of thought into the well
of oratory and brought up rich, spark
ling, gushing sluices of the purest and
most unrivalled waters of eloquence.-
He thrilled and electrified; he caused
the eyes to moisten, the lip to culver;
he sent out thoughts and ideas dazzling
as the corruscations of Chinese fireworks
or, welding skilfully the weapons of sar-
casnf and ridicule, he set Laughter
holding both his sides" He was like
Sheridan, wit; like Randolph, caus-
tician; like Henry in eloquence; like
Whitfield in pathos; like Matthews in
humor. In his palmiest days the man
was prodigy. In the House of Repre-
sentatives when he began his celebrated
speech ON the Mississippi Contested Elec-
ton, the seats in the hall and in the gal
leries presented a thin audience on the
first day. On the second day, all the
members were in their chairs, and rat
tan could scarely have been introduced
into the densely packed galleries, and
long before he delivered that splendid
peroration, which adorns his great effort
as a beautifully carved cap completes the
grace and elegance of Corinthian pill
lar, he was surrounded by an admiring
bevy of Statesmen. The clarion voice
of the young orator brought Clay, and
Webster from the Senate Chamber-ft
auditors for Demosthenes. AS in the
case of the author of Childe Harold,
Prentiss evoke one morning and found
himself famous" Fanueil Hall opened
her ancient doors to him, and Boston
clapped its hands in jubilant welcome.
If we were asked what constituted the
charm of his oratory, we would reply; a
lame leg, which kept him while on the
stand in continued action, in order to en-
able him to keep his equiponderance with
out the assistance of his hands or cain,
and with which he walked with sort of
hopping motion; slight and singularly
musical impeachment in his articulation,
and copious and opposite illustrations,
gathered principally from the Bible,
Shakespeare, Milton and Byron. The
fertility of his mind was wonderful and
inexhaustible-its imagery rivalled the
East in beauty and in richness. He piled
up his magnificent figures until they gilt
tered like pyramid of iewelry.
One among among the last efforts of
Mr.. Prentiss, was at the Taylor Ratifca-
ton Meeting in Mobile. Time had been
sadly at work upon him, and the old fires
seemed slumbering. Now and then, he
reused himself and famed the embers
into vivid and beautiful fame; but it
f1ickered again and almost went out
When he properly got into the subject
matter of his speech, the Market bell
hard by rung out the hour of nine o'clock.
The speaker was compelled to desist,
while the man at the rope tugged away
with vengeance. In one of the pauses
in the unusual clamor, after having pa
tiently waited and made several amusing
attempts to proceed, Prentiss with mimi
table humor exclaimed, Fellow Citizens,
that bell has more brass than / have !"
This little sally saved the bell-man a
shower of imprecations.
The Lecompton Constitution passed
the Senate on Wednesday last, by ma
jority of eight, all the Southern Senators,
present, voting for it, except Bell, ofTenn.
and Crittenden, of Ky.
The Lecompton Bill is still being dis
cussed in the House, where it will yet re-
main for some days. a
u Hatred is active, and envy passive
disgust; there is but one step from envy
to hate. !