Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-02-11
How = California Senator Prepared him.
selffor \ Great ADeonk.

GOLD HILL, NEVADA:
Monday Rvening--------Feb. II, 1867.
How \ Califernia Senator Prepared him
selffor . Grcat speech.
Writing Of speeches, and the manner
in which they are prepared and deliver
ed, reminds me Of an occurrence of last
summer, which is part Of the history Of
the "great debate" on reconstruction,
and is worthy Of the dignity of print.
We all remember what a perfect ocean
Of orstory inundated the Senate from
January to July Of last session. Speech
es Of less than two days endurance
were the exceptions, and they occurred
rarely. To adjourn in the middle of a
resm Of some honorable Senator's fools
cap was tho general rule. It got to be
contagious after q while-this thing Of
speech-making, or else an oratorical Ia
rantula seemed to have bitten the entire
Senate, and united all tongues if it
didn't undeaf all ears. Among others
who were afflicted with the eGeoethes
loquandi which in the Senate is but the
result Of o precious attack of the edeoe-
thea seriben6i was the honorable and &C.
centric Senator from California, Mr..
McDougal. He had been on what n
common ~parlance is known as q spree,
but what in Congress is ephemetrical-
" termed an indisposition-for several
months-in fact hadn't been "off' Of il
in the memory Of his brethren in states
manship. He suddenly conceived the
idea Of giving his views on the great
question pending before Congress. Like
many other b~acchanalian veterans, he
knew very well his own weakness, and
was conscious of the active form it had
taken lately. In fact he said to a friend
that he had been drunk as damnation
for q long time, and that he couldn't
make q speech unless he was sobered
of somehow or other. The friend hap
pened to be o sympathetic soul, disposed
10 gently scar his brother man, on gen.
eral principles, but especially to give q
helping hand to his erring senatorial
brother, in this particular.
"wenf1it," said he. "Ifyou'n come
with me III get you straight as a parson
in two days" The Senator acquiesced,
went with his friend, and the SOLDERING
process commenced. 1t consisted Of
close confinement in q bed room, and a
diet Of soda water, vinegar, pickles and
light Cruel, for t~hirty-siI hours, at the
end of which time the Senator was MT
to preach q funeral sermon or 10 sit
down on the Supreme Bench. The next
point now was to get him "crammed'
on the reconstruction. His ideas were
rolling about loosely in his head and
positively refused to settle on the terms
to which his stomach had succumbed.
After thinking q while, he concluded
that his best plan was to get a quiet
room in B~ladensburg, seven miles dis
tant, where he might enjoy q sort Of
"maiden meditation, fancy free" for a
few days, at the end Of which time he
promised to appear in the Senate, loaded
and primed with a three hours speech.
He must, however, have some books of
reference from the Congressional libra
~, and o scribe to make notes for him
also, it was agreed that a little wine to
steady his wavering nerves would be
good. All these were furnished-the
scribe, the books, and a whole basket
of wine, and together With the Senator
were sent to B~ladensburg in a carriage.
One day passed-two days-a week, and
no news from the Senator or his speech.
Tho kind friend to whose assistance so
much was due, finally concluded that
he had better go to ~Bladensburg to see
how the Senator was progressing in the
work Of collecting his thoughts on re-
construction.
Arriving in that quiet little village,
he made various inquiries as to the
whereabouts Of the California states
man, but could hear nothing. There
had not been . Senator there at sll-the
good country folks were certain OF that.
At last in response to some pretty sharp
cross-questiouing an old farmer said he
was very certain there was no Senator
in the village; there was, however, q
couple of badly behaved strangers in q
house over yonder; they had come from
Washington q few days ago; had taken
lodgings with q widow lady over there,
but had got into q drunken quarrel the
day after they came; had had a very
ugly fight, threatened to put the woman
out of her W house, ana WOUND up oy
beating one another 80 oadiy mat IL tue
neighbors hadn't been ealiea IN .ney
would have killed eaen otnet. tney
were now pretty oao on, IN 'eS,
under the doctors treatment. NUs
further was neeuea 70 Ion !. S;s e..
that ne was on tne .raeA VI us S
torisl friend VINO, lar rom s'eauy!ns
his nerves on the wine he a sent MIN,
had got tight as a fiddler on 1t, and
made the scribe tight too.
And 50 il proved, over at the widows
house was the Senator and scribe in a
covering from a sad deeauch, IN whicn
the servant . 80 iar Ss -. 80.