Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1865-12-28


lawyer, without place or power, was the in. G
spring soul. Old political antagonists and
rival met him with warm cordiality; young q
politicians hung upon his words; and when I
they seated him in an easy chair by the wall, I
half the company clustered about to listen T
to the rare talk or watch the wonderful play !
OF his features. With some of those present !
he had risen to plane above the jealousies |
and costests of their earlier years; to the I
younger ho had come down as great Ira
dition. To most, perhaps, Of those pres
ent the displays which had ranked him, in
the estimation of the generation now pass
ing away, but little lower than Webster or
Clay in intellectual grasp, and in surprising
eloquence above them both, were familiar
only as stories their fathers told about the
tom Corwin" of their affectionate remem.
brance.
A passage from one OF Sir Walter Scott's
poems, describing the last words of a patriot
Highlander, fighting against Lowland ag.
gression. was a favorte with him, and had
been repeated but day or two ago to a
| friend:-
And now my rncc OF terror run,
Mine be the Of tropi, sun,
No pale gradations quench his ray,
| No twilight dews his wrath aay;
| With disc, like battle target red,
| He rushes 10 his CORY bed
| Dyes the wide wave with bloody light
|
I" am old and infrm," he said few
days ago to Roscoe CpnkIing, "ana in the |
common way of life | must soon die. Mon
will remember meas joker !"
Ohioans, at least. hung about him last
Friday evening" as if sjokes were very at
traetive. He was in the best of spirits, and
looked better than his friends remembered
seeing him for months. But few days
before he had returned from his Obi, home,
where he had gone to attend the wedding
of his youngest daughter. His faculties
seemed all attuned and stimulated by the
pleasant incident; as well as by the warm
and affectionate greeting with which he was
received. Making his way through the
crowd of men who had grown into prom
nence under his eye he was seated at the
animated talk. His old and favorite law stu
dent. Ganeral Soaanek. aama to talk of tho
home wedding; Chief Justice Chase hasten
ed to greet him; Senator Ben. Wade Install
ed himself by his side and begged him to
tell favorto story. - have not seen him
for ten years past, so much like the Old Tom
Corwin of my boyhood, said Gen. Durbin
, Ward, his law student and subsequently his
partner. "There's but one Tom Corwin in
the world" enthusiastically exclaimed an
other, as he moved back little, out of the
> syllable.
= Thus surrounded by the brilliant and dis
i tinguished in the State, old rivals and an
tagonists meeting him with admiring
:, ;, warmth, seeing all about him the men who
u had grown up under him, every one atten-
g tive TO his lowest tone and slightest gesture,
- Governor Corwin must have regarded it as
y one Of the sunni ,st episodes in his downward
t. way of life.
,e BY and by supper was announced. Ber
!, Wade took his arm, helped him at the stair
III case, and found seat for him on a sofa
He would eat nothing only taking couple
Of oysters and glass Of water. But hi
-, flow Of genial anecd0te and sparkling wit
= of pathos, or one of those suggestive an,
"a far reaching political reflections he knew s,
well how to apply, continued with unabate,
Is brilliancy. Some of the Ohio bellies VIII,
D. grace the capital were on tho other side OF
- the room; but ev'n from them ho drey
20 away listeners, till he and Wade who sat be
Is side him on the sofa. were fairly hemme,
in bya circle that embraced half the peopl
in the room. His tone, however, grew un
u usually low, and men were bending down
TX trying to catch every syllable.
{ Hehad been talking of Brazil and, reply
ing to a remark OF our Consul at Rio Jan
eric, who had just been speaking to him o
a. Don Pedro, the Emperor, he said: "Yes
Don Pedro, I'm sure, is n fine mnn,-what
D. in fact, we would call, sir. lin the ndescr
ct bable epitome of all possible jokes in III
n. sudden play of his features,) in our countr
=" a popular man. Why, sir, so highly do
cd rate his popular qualities that if We had hir
he in Warren County, we'd elect him Sheriff
no mean test Of popularity, sir. :" Then
70 began 10 speak OF Mexico, first in the sam
ed jocose vein, telling how, when they besa
shooting and cutting throats all around an
within sight OF the capital he came to tn
conclusion that the country didn't suit
he gentlemen Of steady habits, and so he cam
ed home. A Frenchman came to me--sma
fellow whom Maximillian sent. He woul
be so distressed il, because the French fla
re- found his politenessi But, il had to go
Ich ern Mexico under the Empire, I'd NAL
int that Frenchman Emperor. From this b
divergcd into more serious talk of Moxica
affairs speaking with his old fsrvor, a
on gesticulating freely. For a ie ' sentenc.
his tones gradually grew lower, so that eve
IN Wade, sitting at his side, could not hear
ed then his head dropped on his breast
bo common motion with him when he had Fl
"' ished train Of thought
re- The strained attention Of the circle WI
broken, and mon began to notice that Il
room was oppressivoly warm. Wade ro
ava to get q breath OF fresh air. Sudden
~ Governor Corwin was observed to extend h
Ier' hands as IL cropping in the dark. and TO sa
The Rsom, little room, ID is warm. Z" Son
flts one took him by the arm aud helped him
rise; and hurried whisper ran aroun
'ps' Make room for Governor Corwin, no
fainting with the heat " One and anoth
I'M aiding him, ho tottered to tho door. ID,
,old bin Ward vas now trying 10 hold him U
N but bis wouaded arm was too weak, and
eks, called to Garfield another took him on /
was other side. and still another sprapg down /
rom ' ~srhs Ths % tss. ~ ~ ,bs b%spsa 20 sapPon
rom man draqead halIiasaly hahind him