The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-01-11

ii, or IN the streets Of Washington, or London.
ln both of these cities he was the observed Of.
| all observers" The metropolis Of Engiand,
/ where physical peculiarities and eccentricitjes
are met with incessantly, couldfarnish nothing.
stranger than the form of the oratcg Of Viz.
ginia. f..tr WITTY
/ In Washington, Baltimore, PhiIsdelp lpAia.anG
Richmond, he was the mark of all eyes--to be-
! pointed out with the fngsr.s Boys often, fol-,
I lowed him, bat rarely laughed, or induiged ia
those practical Jokes so congenial 20 the mis-.
chievous minds of youth. They trooped after
Randolph, as one who witnessed the sight de-.
/ elares. "in client and curious wonder" This
notoriety annoy red. him. but led to no alienation
Il his enatena II Il clathes, principles
seemed a part of him. He felt, doubtless. "A
| the grcat statesman of "Marsbheldr did. when
he said that he could more easily change lis
political conviction than the mode of wearing
his collar. Randolph doubtless clung to his.
ecceBtT;e mode of dresS--for he was always far
behiad ths fashion in every portion of his cos
tune from his intense attachment to every
thing Virginian. His old neighbors still adj
hered to the fashions of the past in a great de-
gree, and if among these he eonld wear his
swallow tailed coat, with lofty collar, when the
mode was faniailcd with no cellar at all, Why
should he not do SO in the streets of Washing
ton or London He had keen relish for all
that was characteristic of his soil, and in trav-
! IOilONcu tp6 OlU IaSutOH OI MS scJuOnlal
forefather. He always made use of his private
veh;cle-ether coach dragged onward by
tour-blooded horses, or sulky drawn by fast
trotter He was generally driven by Jupiter,
| his ody-servaut-'sJ ubav was his familiar
name-a warm-hearted and faithful retainer,
who loved his master with extreme affection,
and clung to him in sickness and health, in joy
| and sorrow. l s9 eH
On par with his singularity of dress and
ing, tone OF voice, gesticuiation in public ad-
dress, aud habits in general of the individual
| His voice was high pitched, and under strong
! excitement rose to shrill key, which penetra-
ted to the farthest limits of tho greatest crowd
and was heard above the loudest uproar-
There was q satirical and ironical delit Grafton
in the shrill invective thus uttered WHICH pros
duced curious impression upna>the listener.
Once heard in his mome"ts Of cold passion, If
L may SO speak Randolph was never forgotten.
HE use >#f1ch he made of his long, thin fore
finger is well known. He would sometimes
stand for several moments perfectly SILENT
sfrh his penetrating eye riveted upon the per-
son whom he addressed, or to whom he spoke,
and the ghostly finger and long angular arm
moved slowly up and down-when those who
were familiar with his habit knew that he was
selecting and arranging in the depths of his
mind the very words and turns of phrase of.
Many anecdotes are related of the effect
produced by the voice and fnger-a as VIXEN,
after a violent denunciation of his character
and eareei from u young member of the Housa,
he rose quietly, and stretching out his arm,
said in ealm, indifferent terms, "Mr. Speaker,
,oJo is this gentleman - 1t was impossible
not to be interested in his speeches, for thew.
are exquisitely choice in their phraseolegy !;
and no sentence passed his lips which had not
ell
speak, in his mind. Often his gestures were
dramatic and expressive, VIXEN he rendered
up his public trust, after the Old Convention.
of which | have spoken. ut is time for me
to retire and stand before another and higher
tribunal" he said solemnly, ..where verdict
of aequttal will be, Of infinitely more impor-
tance than any from an earthly tribunal. Here
is the trust which you placed in my hands
twenty eight years agp"-then STOPPING for
ward and extending his arms as though he roll.
ed great weight toward his hearers, 'ftake it
back take it back !" he said, and mounting
his horse, without further words, rode off,
Throug hout bis entire life from the day in
March, 1929 when he mounted the rostrum
from which PATRICK Henry had just descended,
to his sprrowful death in May, 1888, his pecu-
liarities Of speaking, acting dressing and iying,
attracted universal attsntion.
The sngularities of the great orator grow
ton. This attraction is sad but profound-
No person in our national annals has left upon
the minds of men a more distinct impression
of his mental and Physical characteristiss-
Hundreds of anecdotes remain of him. but
they are often so doubtful that have refrained
irom repeating them in sketch which aims
a.nrigid historical accuracy and faithfulnCss.
The omission may disappoint some of those.
who reaa these lines, expecting amusement and
food for laughter, but others will perhaps feel
a satisfaction at the absence of such matter
Those floating bon naOfs, epigrsms and sarcasm,
ill-authenticated for the most part, and often
very bitter, would prove of little interest to,
The thoughtful reader. Much more ayerse is
the writer of these lines to any employment of
his subject for the purpose OF amusement
Be disdains to lay bare the shuddering nerves
of this famous and unhappy man to the mirth
and ridieuls of tho thoug htless crowd. There
was litti9 b anluse in the jests Of John Ran.
doph. They were the utterances of man
whose mind and body were beth cruelty affect
ed and SHOULD fiji us with sadness rather than
mirth. No laughter accompanied them when
they were uttered unless it were the trium-
phant applause of those who hated the object
of his sircasm. The sharp and penetrating
barb uupn their brilliant tips struck deep and
festered, arousing rage and hatred, not amuse-
mont 1 prefer to let them rest in the obscure
newspaper, the jest book, and to leave the.
subject of the life and character Of John RAN
doIph, as approached it, in a mood of grave.
most becoming in the student OF lis,
career. hr. ..-.s..lr
Turning away from all such things, L look
upon him as SO many Of these good men WHOM
he had wounded did when he had passed away
with charity for his faults, and due recog-
milton of the lifelong services he rendered to
the constitutional rights of all the States
He had much to sour and embittsr him-sick-
ness, suffering and terrible misfortune BLACK
care rodee er behind him in the hefeverishlife-raco
which he an,and the lncnbus never vanished.
He sleeps after many sorrowful and distressing
years-after heart burnipgs, tears and diverse
woes which racked him cruelty; let him sleep