The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-01
ms GIANTS OF THE LAST GENERATION.

personaI "Reminiscences of Thomas Ewing.
The following personal sketches of Webster,
cav and Taylor, the Whig leaders and lumina-
# Hes of twenty and thirty years ago, are rendered
"a peculiar interest by the fact that their author
+ Il the venerable Thomas Ewing the Nestor of Ohio
| statesmen, who occupied seat in the Senate
H With Webster and Clay, became member of
rresdent Taylor's Cabinet and was for many
tears the political associate and intimate per-
tonal friend of all these distinguished leaders.
The manuscripts were forwarded by Mr.. Ewing
AZ contributions to the Sanitary Fair held in
cleveland in the spring OF 1854 but were mlslaid
t al that time, and have never, until now, been
phblished:-
Daniel Webster.
Mr. Webster's speech in reply to Hayne ex-
hbits the mental photograph OF the man most
perfectly. 1t was delivered lust before knew
him, but after became familiar with his man
her | could see him in any and every part OF 1t,
IS perfectly as if l had been actually present.
I,t6ought and still think it the mightlest effort
of parliamentary or forensic eloquence found IN
literature-superior to Demosthenes' plea for the
crown, Cicero against Verres, or Fox on the
Westminster election.
He was perfectly familiar with the British
classcs from Spencer to Sheridan inclusive, and
with the Latin of the Augustan age But he
knew little of Latin prosody. sat Immediately
~ behind him IN the Senate. One day Mr.. Forsyth
Was declaiming on that never-endlng theme, the
~ Tariff when Mr.. Webster wrote upon piece of
paper and handed back to me Latin line,
+. eayng:-
III have half mind to quote this on Forsyth"
- II struck me as wrong but knowing less per-
baps of prosody than himself could not tell
4 Why. replied
/ at is nearly Virgil but think not quite"
He said, eve will soon see" and beckoning to
him MIR. Everett, who was leaning against g9n a
handed to him the paper, and said:-"ls that
Virgil"
syllable lnterlined the same word in another
n}blece, and handed it back, saying, "Now it
sn The line was from the Fourth Book of
&neid:
~ "Exoriare aliquis nostrs ex ossibus utor"
He had misplaced the "eX."
|M One OF his quotations thought unsurpassed
III for force and brevty. He was discussing Gene
raj Jacksons proposition to reject all bank de-
IN positorIes aud take charge of the public funds
# himself. at was the age of banks, though
banks sometimes broke; 1t was the age of steam
boats, though steamboats, sometimes blew up.
kBut what community or people would go back
TO private depository? Who that 60 upon seas
or rivers would reject the steamboat and adopt
'the old scow" |" This was the general course of
bought cannotrecall his language. He then
Pferred, as the representative boat and boatmen
}e we're about to initiate, to the ancient ferry
,han Charon and his outfit: lpse rdtenl conto
Sstbiga 1t did not, however, make an impress
- sion according to its merit.
/ was in New York city with him. do not
remember the year; but while he was widower.
- On one of our rides he told me pleasant story
of gentleman little past the middle line of
lIfe who asked in marriage blooming girl Just
touching womanhood. The point of the story
was answered by the father refusing his request.
had heard it told of Webster himself, and l
replied in part of line OF Horace which
\ ratr." He made the line complete by adding
the first words in tone OF lnterrogation:-
"AuHGto nO",5ne ~ No No & ! said, =, with you your
sanity, and thought the personal application
~ the true one.
We dined with Chancellor Kent and his fine
al Yankee wife, ut representative OF the Roman
matron, If that we're indeed praise beyond what
she in fact was think it was in the tittieth year
of their marriage. Chancellor Jones and Judge
Kent the younger made up the party. The winter
y previous, in discussing post office frauds, re-
~ ferred to what had occurred in former session
M Il not a member, but "a looker-on, here in
III Vienna" The quotation was backneyed "past
all use, but always quoted wrong"-Venice.
Young Kent said it had been great deal dis
Cussed in the social circles; he was confident
had it right, but could not find it. Mr.. Webster
X Immediately replied: Measure for Measure.
M Nlncentio, in the Fifth Act" and gave a few
lines of the context The old Chancellor sprung
TO his feet and ran across the room like a
pleased boy, delighted with Webster's reading.
The play is seldom or never represented on the
stage and therefore little known in fashionable
circles.
= The last time l met him, before some difference
- as to national policy cast shade OF unkindness
"A between u.s. was in the Supreme Court l was
II Ilthen attending to my causes he in the Senate,
~ Ibut waiting the coming on of some very i'm
4 lportant case l met him every morning about
II ill for near a month. The Senate sat at IL, and
Il lI1We walked b3hind the Judges seats and were
a llfocia One day was detained at home. The
#lIAext morning we met at the usual hour, and as
we shook hands he said:-"One morn missed
r. him. This was kindly and handso me, anC
when read that on his death-bed he asked fo
& "Gray's Elegy" the scene rushed upon m,
memory with force that almost unnamed mo
= How often, morning, noon, and evening, have
since missed him
Henry Clay.
- Mr. Clay, with all his terrible power o. denun
II ciation was in ordinary debate pleasant ant
49, playful. When dealing with an ordinary adver
sary he often reminded me of the lines in NJ
tons description OF Eden before the tall:--
"sportive the lion ramped, and in his paw
banded the kid"
On ore occasion, the year do not remember, bu
it was The first time the Whigs carried an election
w In the city of New York, / found him early il
his seat with a newspaper in his hand As sool
as the journal was read, he rose quite out o
r order-announ0ed to the President MR. Val
Buren) the Wing victory spoke of their nob
efforts in the cause of their country, ana Of thei
i brilliant success. "Your own fellow-ctizens
-. Mr.. President-the proud capital of your nobl
State-has made its voice heard in our halls, il
defense ofthe Constitution OF our country. All
W Mr.. President does not this warm your patriot
M heart I"
N The impudence and absurdity of this appea
was too much for the dignity OF a presiding
officer. Mr. Van Buren's face drew itself into
know not how many indescribable lines, il
nv which the comical predominated and he sli
but the smooth top of his head. He soon calle
" n some one to the chair, came down took a pinc