Litchfield enquirer., 1860-02-02
Our Wass.ingtom Correspondence.
NUMBER THREE.

l WASHINGTON, Jan. 23d, 1850.
 Ny dear Enquirer: ToM CoRwIN IS UP.' The listless reporters gallery suddenly awakes Pens are taken up with the quickness and preci- sion of a military drill. SAURwE1N shuts up that corpulent little red edged book printed at Leipsc IT know it, without looking at the title-pag which he has been reading with grim smile for the last hour, and which, thought don't know a single letter of it's Teutonic characters, am ready to depose on oath is some grotesque and trenchant High Dutch satire on the humbugs and shams of the Grand Court of some German Principality nearly or quite as large as the Dis trict of Columbia. am sure nothing but. some such cutting instrument could carve that peculiar smile on SAURwEINs face. But he closes now the square marble covers, and settles down to steady work. It is wonderful how the aspect of our gallery depends on the performer below, The photographic, verbatim reporters of eaprsssare condemned for their sins-perhaps tney were members of Congress in some pree1istent state to toll on without rest, through weary deserts of words, setting down the weariest platitudes of the most leaden headed orator, with a religious fidelity as if the fate of the Republic hung on their reserystion-somstimes presuming, defer entialy to correct misquotation picked up at second hand, and sometimes trying to save old Lindley Murray from crucif1ion; but still strug- gng on, amid
 | -" a universal hubbub wild Of stunning sounds
 Ger bog or steep, through strait rough, dense CT rare like another parsonage whose name deicacy for bids me to mention in this connexion. But those of us who are sent here to glean the Congression- al wheat, look out only fer the few full l-headed sheaves and pay but little attention to the thresh- ing of old straw which is ususlly going on below.
 But the resurrection on the floor of the House is still more striking. Barksdale of Mississippi has been talking for the last two hours with great external violence. beginning with full audience and rather rapidly running the members down to about twenty, and the most of those had taken refuge behind their newspapers; and yet Tom Corwin, rising unexpectedly to himself even called up indeed by direct personal allusions to the house filled up as suddenly little bay left dry at low water fills at the running in of the tide. And yet, Darksdae, though not an attract i've speaker is not devoid of talent He is in tensely sectional, has little love for any hing ani mate or inanimate that comes from the cool side of Mason's and Dixon's line and has counte nance well adapted to give vivid expression tc such lack of affection. He is about fifty years o age, of medium stature, squarely and solidly built has penetrating but not agreeable voice, a fair ly developed head small and bright eyes wide mouth with very thin and compressed lips, a square face, with hair accurately parted, lying smooth across the top of his forehead, and which having the privilege of his own selection of col ors-he prefers to have red A severe type of a nlan conclude. My Teutonic friend, who has just been talking of him, uses less am;able cpl thet, but have observed that EoAuRwEIas judg. ment of most men must be taken cum grtno sa- iis. or rather with grain of sugar. From the
 
 fered that the main point was in bis perorstion in which he mentioned the fact that he should tear the Constitution into extremely small pieces ia case the Republicans should have the pre- sumption to elect President
 But "ToN CoRwEN IS UP" I don't think ii would be very difficult to describe Corwin in his seat, or sauntering slowly about the House, with his silver tobacco box in his hand dropping one joke after another into the ears of the members as he passes along, until his path around the floor is as distinctly marked by trail Of laughing fa- ces, as the wake of steamboat. So it was easy to describe Garrick presiding at the Beefsteak Club, but to paint Garrick on the stage or Tom Corwin " on his legs" in full career of great speech. would require the hsnd of a master who could copy the infinite variety of Nature herself As for the outside of the man Gov. Corwin is perhaps sixty years of age, though at this dis tance his black hair shews little signs of frost. He Is five feet nine or ten inches in height, of a full but not in the least, unwieIdy form. His complexion is of the darkest hue that the pure Car tcasan race ever takes on in our latitude. But it is this sallow, marvellous face that distinguish es this man from all others I have ever seen. If Nature ever gave to GaTick, or Liston, or the elder Mathews, countenance so mobile, so ex- pressive of every shade of thought, so instantly responsive to every changeful mood, and 30 nicely marking every delicate gradation, especially through the whole range of wit and humor, they we'll deserve their traditional fame
 Doubtless the distinguishing characteristics of Gov. Corwin are his wit and humor and of these most eminently, the last. In this no speaker has ever excelled him. No quality is more strictly a gift of Nature than this and it is among the rarest. No labor, teaching. study can acquire it. It seems almost like magnetic influence. an in- visible aura enveloping the circle around it's pos sessor. But it would be great error to think that this spontaneous aboundng hunor constitu- ted all his merit. Without ray of it, he would be great orator, though he would not be Tom Corwin. If one should seek for a single word most comprehensive and descriptive of him, he would instinctiyely select his unapprcachabIe CO., riety. Listen to him for an hour, when he is in his best vein, and you shall have, in that time, every mood of mind and feeling which lies be- | fra 4ba if of