Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-12-13
AN EVENING WITH SPEAKER
COLEAX.


with one Of the most select and intelligent
audiences that ever assembled in this city to
hear the lecture of Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAx
Speaker Of the House Of Representatives, en-
titled "AcToSS the CoHtiRSu.' 1t occupied
about one hour and forty-nve minutes in de-
livery, and was listened to with the most
profound attention, which was only inter
rupted by outbursts of applause that some
times became very enthusiastic and continu-
Gus. So completely absorbed was the audi
ence in the eloquent narrative Of what the
Speaker saw, and heard, and felt, and ex
perieneed in his wonderful expedition, that
they frequently refrained from applaudinG
for fear they would lose some choice sentence
by the act.
Mr. CoLFAX spoke with great rapidity.
Every word was well chosen and every sen.
tence well measured. There was nothing
superauous in the lecture. Elegance of die
tion, compactness and beauty of narrative
wonderful powers of description, earnestness
of manner, carrying conviction, and most
thrilling eloqueuce throughout, character
ized the entige lecture: and as a whole, it
was grand pyrotechnical display of poetic
fires discharged in continuous compositions
of grave and gay, moral and religious anec-
dote, running, shooting, racing, Indian fight
ing, sunny skies, rolling prairics, beds Of
flowers, upland .'7pes, singing rivulets
rugged roads, winding pathways, ragged
cliffs, awful precipices, dashing cataracts,
tall hills, huge mountains, everlasting SHOWS,
lofty peaks, clear atmospheres, starry nights,
glorious mornings, picturesque scenes, noun
tain lakes, yawnng chasms, until excelsior.
like he reaches the highest peak of the
Rocky mountains, when. with the daring of
a Blondin or Leslie, he jumps on board a
swinging raipbow and crosses the great basin,
touching at Mormondom, shaking hands
with "Brother BRIGHAN'' and his wives too
numerous to be mentioned, and saying pass
ing good morning" to Gov NrE, ,nt Nevada
alighting from his gorgeous chariot upon
the highest summit of the Sierra Neyadas.
From thence he explores downward the sill
ver-ribbed sides of this snow w-capped range,
aud then proceeds by mules, horses, oxen,
aud locomotive, to San Francisco, where he
sees everybody worth seeing, (which does moi
include HALLEcK,) and proceeds inland, and
by accident discovers the early handy y-worh
Of gallant JOE HOOKER; thence through the
golden gate, seward, up the coast to Ore
gon, up its rivers, through its cities, over it,
fields and mountains, and through its great
forests, to the spot where Phil SHERIDAN, @
young lieutenant, pursued and whipped band
Of savages, years ago, as he whipped and pur
sued EARLY in the valley of the Shenandoah
only last year. After taking a run over Wash
ington Territory, the lecturer returns to Cal,
ifornia, visits the mines, where every.
thing is golden-the people are all hOspi-
table, nothing can be seen but valleys
of surprising beauty, deep mountain gorges
unparalleled tall spires, carved by ma
ture, and in symmetry and colossal grandeur
eclipsing all the works Of art; lake far up
the tallest mountains, covering space
larger than the original area Of the District
Of Columbia, upon which plies n steamer
and in which the lecturer rode fifteen l,,il,,
clear atmosphere is felt, and the bC,idost hor
iEon lines are witnessed everywnurs in Cali
fornia; the richest sweets Cbcuud here; tn,
finest fgs and the most delicious grapes, from
which aow tho choicest wines the larges
trees, lugsst vegetables, broadest valleys
Iallest waterfalls, prettiest riyLGtS Gnes
fields, rarest and most highly cultivated gar
dens, the best shrubbsry, the highest noun
tains, the bardsOmest women, and the mos
hospitaLle people in the world are to be founC
in California. All of the people, including
the women, of course, want the Pacific Rail
road built aHd JhdH hare IL.
After bidding an afectionate farewell t.
his friends in San Francisco, Mr. CoLFAN
starts for home, via the lsthmus, speaking
in passing, kind word for the Republic o.
Mexico and giving the Austrian Max Il sly
hint to git up and git, " be reaches New
York in safety.
We sincerely hope that Mr. CoLFAx will
be invited to repeat his great lecture in thu
Hall of the House Of Representatives., as moi
ons-tsnth Of the people who wished to heal
It last night could gain admission. l. is mo-
only finished production Of great interes
and full Of instruction TO the public generally
but Il contains important information upol
public matters that every Senator and Repre-
sentative should become enlightened upOn.