Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-03-09

/ LIE LIFE AND TINES or GiES. SAM DALE, the
Mississippi partisan. BY j. T. II. Claiborne.
Illustrated hy John MrLcnnn New York
Harper L Brothers,
The historical portion Of this work has been
cordelrSed fas We learn from Mr. Claborne's
prciacc) from authentic Ms. never yet publish
ed. 1t tappears that the personal adventures oG
Gen. Dale were prepared by Mr. Claiborne
from the Ms. that the General dictated,
and that after his adventures had been written
out tho papers were lost III tie sinking Of Il
steamer 1t was not until lately that the bio
graphcr has been able to rc.wrilc the life Of
Dale. The scholarship and style Of the me
lnor show that it is not from the pen Of an
llitcrate hack.woodsmar, yet the reported con-
vcrsatons and descriptions Of character are
those Of the shrcwd observer and truthful mar
rator and seem to be given with little atorn-
lncnt.
7 The sketch given Of 5. 5. Prentiss, the
Mississippi orator, is very graphic and very
true PrcnLiss' biography by his brother, does
not convey y true idea Of him. \ clergyman,
though Il brother, could not we'll write the life
of such man. There are certain ronycn-
tionalisms which he must rcSpcct-to say no
morr--and which tic subject uI his biography
was always violating. William Penn, the man
of peace, rould not well DC good biographcr
of Napoleon, the man u! war. The dash, the
daring, the reckles>re>s. the passion for cards
and the love of cunviviality which so marked
the career Of prcntiSS, Il clerical pen, brothers
too, could not gracefully portray. Yet these
traits were as much IL part Of his character as
his devotion to his friends and his personal
independence, and glorious genius We think
that MIR. Claiborne, "ho had felt the intellectual
power and genius Of PrentisS, must have
helped the old back ckwooIslnan in this iorciblc,
accurate and well written sketch of prrntsS
Speaking Of PrcntisS we may say that the
character Of him, drawn BY Baldwin i'll his
Flush Times in Alabama" is rs faithful rs it is
striking.
The oifhand Sketches too, in this volamc Of
IalnDu! l'cHlDll, SlAl .liI'l b'i|hS'ii, "'E " He!
drawn.
lie SAYS of Grn. jackson, after speaking Of
Mr. Calhoun, Clay, Benton, and others:
";;lt for grace Of manner, for the just me-
dium Of dignity and ;Ilability, and for the ca
lacitv Of influencing men, no one OF those great
men, nor all of them together, may be COM
pared with Gen Jackson The Untntnrcd savage
regarded him rs sort Of avcnging deity the
trough back -woodSman followed him with fear
lc<s confidence the lhcnries Of politicians and
irisconS,iits fell before his nttitvc perception
systems and statesmen were cxtinguiShcd TO-
rtthcr; no measures and no men survived his
opposi,ion, and the verdict awards him pre-
, cedcrt over ALL lie had faults, but they were
los; III the lnStrc OF his character: lie was too
arbitrary and passionate, and too apt to EN-
brace the cause Of his friends without nquirins
into its Justice: but these were faults incidel.
tai, perhaps, 10 his frontier life and military
training, and To the injustice he had received
from his opponents
Border warfare, in nil the terrors of Indian
| wrath and massacre, and the revenge Of the
hordcrcrs, is well portrayed in this volume,
which, though moi Il large one, will, we think,
interest large number and variety Of readers.
! We have received this volume from West x
Johnston, booksellers, l;chmnnd.