St. Mary's beacon., 1858-04-29

"PPe"ieu dt tiIe diooTs niquirlng what ne wish
ed. hen did so and SO take place at Wash
mgton :" After little hesitation, she replied.
and then returned to her duties. We had not
got along very far after this, when he became
puzzled again, and again be called ont. Susan I"
and again Mrs. Lewis appeared. heard. what
ne bad TO say replied, and then rc,ilris&t r.
her business As beto.e. Size was his factotum.
| tie appealed 10 her ON all occasions when lie
was doubtful on any point, and in truth they
seemed TO be as much one person as it is posi-
bic Tor mar aud wife TO be- Mrs. Lewis was
Miss Susan Ehnnre, the sister Of Franklin FL
more, who succeeded Mr. Calhoun in the SEN
ate 2t the nlted States; Of Captain Benianiu
| E!m"re who communicative Richmond Rifles
III the frSt Florida campaign. and was after
wards competitor Of Gov Noble fnr the chief
! nagIstracy Of South Carolina of John A. FL
more, the law partner Of VIM L. Yanccy. in
Mnntg"I"ery; # Rush Eimorr, one OF the
judges Of Kansas, and Of Mrs Benjamin Fitz-
patrick, wife Of one Of our Sssato:s in Con-
Grca>. She is one of tie kiudCst and nohlest
! oi her sex, and what pleased me more than
anything else WAS the interest which she took
In All things that concerned Mr.. Lewis. If
| am not mistaken. she always accompanied him
m hIS tour through his district in the recess Of
CongreSs--a tour that he seldom neglected.
Notwithstanding lis physical infirmity. for he
! Was tire largest man that the world, PERHAPS.
has ever seen. lie was rs large as ten men
! put t"gCt'!er-tcn fat mcn--and his head WAS
large III proportion to lis body. But there was
n"t!IiaG sUpCriluous about t.at head Il was
| compact, ami his br"w gave as indelih!e and
! unHistabe signs Of intellect as did thai
Of Charles Fox, the grca; English statesman.
iherc Is a likeness Of Lewis which saw two
years ago, in tic daguerrean gallery of Mr. Nc
iA'yFe at Montgomery, and which he told me
WAS tac property Of Mr.. A. j. Pickett. The
likeness Is very good one, and deserves to be
copied.
| 1t Is impossible to mention Mr.. Lewis with
out SAVING something Of his immense size. He
could scarcely walk. He could not visit his
c"ttHn fields. ol! foot horse, and therefore he
caused r''ats to be made, which l.e passAd over
IN las Wagon or carriage, OF whatever the We
! licic may be called which he travelled IN
! his carriage vas lar5e round box. x;hicI,
| opened IL tie rear, aui i Yas at this nnr+io,,
~ II that he assembled - his seat 1t wa,
crlwE by two st'jCt horses, harneased tandem
fashion, and Oh the lead horse lis gropln was
I'ri'ountes skhis was bis tra~eii.sg style; ii.
wife usually preceded him in her carriage, and
he, whip In hand, brought up the rear. the lit
tie out-rlder forming a striking contrast to the
S:alwzft statesman
/ There are many anecdotes current about NJ,
Lewis. most Of them touching lis great size. If
! which he was exceeding sensitive. 1t is we'll
known 10 everybody that when the collision
occurred between the tWo steamers OF the
%.'rth Carolina coast Mr. Lr!.is refused To-
leave the sinking steamer, uatil every human
neing haG been safely provided for. Mrs. Viii
! nam !. Preston was present, and testified IL
( hts Gallantry on the occasion Hc WAS lrnuoL.
back to Charleston, where he rem aimed several
! lays. Il like tie propie Of Charleston said
ny t. friend, for they can pass a man in the
streets. without staring at him" IL ore of his
earliest clectioneering tours he visited Camden.
| IN Wilcox county. His cnu-mous size being
! subject of general discussion, the boys cot i'm
early on tlie morning OF the day of lis visit. and
(! :",k the road To- meet the Monster. At mid
dtv, the villagers We're startled hv universal
shout from the boys. Us they rushed into town
cxclaining, Here he cnaleS here he comes r
All evidently impressed with the belief that
they had seen tie eirphant'
lie was. like most fat men lit Of humor
ist. / Will tell you Of an auecCotc which oc-
curr3d IL Congress in 1880. Mr.. Edward Ey-
crrtt, III his speech against the Indian bill in
troduccl official statements that the indians
who cmigrated west OF the kis>iS,ii,pi wer,.
much 81. indeed, tR9t the living cLid had beep
turlcd with the dead mother, for want Of sus-
tenance. Mr.. Lewis said. in reply. that Afr
E.vcrett's appeal to the sympathy If the Hons.
reminded him of an old maid of his acouaint
ance. who pltlCd Il goose because it had 10 90
barcfooted in winter ..
lie was very effective speaker. and from
his known ability, he waS.s-we presume. a
prompt parliamentary dehater. Great crowds
used to assemble at the public dinners rendered
hun by his constituents. In defance of the i'm
mensc mass of fat which afflicted and oppres-
sed him, we have seen him at EayneYile and
at Richmond, lii n1idSummef, speak for two
mortal hours, when every particle of his cloth I
ing was dripping with water. lie used large
fan on these occasions. and some kind friends. .
who occupied the stand, would assist him
whenever the cxcrtion of tanning exhausted
him.
His manner Of haranging the people, cam
not exactly call ii stump speaking, was very.
effective, impressive and emphatic. lie would
frequently rousc himself up, when feeling the
effect of exhaustion. for 4 tremendous effort
like a giant shaking lis invircibie locks
and then speak in a m0narch's voice from the
fullncsS of his heart. His style was compact.
concise, emphatic, which was occasionally va
ricd by Jester a sarcasm, without which
ingredients stump speech would Ike a very
sorry affair. The last time ! ever heard him
speak was in the summer Of 1913 or 4. at
Richmond. lie made great speech 10 ;
great crowd. When he had concluded one of !
the Wing candidates for the Legislature said :
- my old friend, Mr. Thomas RiveS. Il can
ovcrturn everything that Mr. Lewis has said"
: toW ," replied Sir. Rives. with iEef.ab!e dis t
lain, ''why you haven't got sense enough" c
This returt was followed ~ shout Of laugh /
er, but mention ii merely 10 exhibit the CON- {
i'icnce of his constituents in the ability Of Mr.. c
.ewis n
In his "reminiscences OF Congress. Afr. March +
Mentions that during the great debate on Foot's
in 1880, between General Havne h
nd Mr.. Webster, the Senate chamber being Il
rowdCd 10 cvOriOwinSs the members of tlse 81