The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1868-06-04

bOadS on the organization or the Thirty
seventh Congress, and did much to ex-
tend mail facilities throughout the West
He was one of the first advocates, and is
still one of the warmest friends of the
! Pacific Railroad. Indeed, he takes a
| warm interest in any movement looking
to the development of the boundless re-
sources of the great West. 1t was, doubt
less, the interest he feels in this section
OF the country which induced him to
take his celebrated trip ''across the Con-
tinent." His trip, was a perilous one,
but his welcome at 'ethe other end of the
line" was SO spontaneous truly genuine
and heartfelt, that it more than repaid
him for all the dangers and hardships he
passed through.
This trip prepared him for one of the
most entertaining lectures ever delivered
in this country. 1t has been listened to
with wrapt attention by the people cf al
most every city in the North. PecunI-
arily, however, it has profted him but
little, for that liberality which has ever
been marked trait in his character, the
entire proceeds of 4 lecture have as often
been donated to some charitable object
as they have found their way into his
own pocket. He has now served in sue
cession fourteen years in the House. He
was urged, but he declined, to accept a
seat in the United States Senate, prefer
ring his presiding chair in the House
AS presiding officer, he is the most po-
pular the House has had since Henry
Z Clay. A writer in Putnam's Magazine
truly observes that Mr.. Calfax "has no
ecentricities, but great tact His talent
are administrative and executive, rather
than deliberative. He would make good
appointments and adopt sure policies
! He would make a better President, or
Speaker of the House, than Senator
He knows men well, estimates them cor
rectly, treats them all fairly and candid
ly. No man will get through his bust
ness with you in fewer minutes, and yet
none is more free from the horrid bras
9ueneSS of busy men. There are heart
and kindness in Mr.. Colfax's politeness.
Men leave his presence with the impress
sion that he is at once an able, honest
and kind man. Political opponents like
him personally, as well as his political
friends. We have never heard that he
has any enemies. The breath has been
silent towards his fair, spotless fame
The wife ofhis youth, after being for a long
time an invalid, sank to final rest several
years ago, leaving him childless. His
mother and sister preside at his recep-
tions, which, for many years, have been
not the most brilliant, but the most popu-
lar of any given at the capital. Socially,
Mr.. Colfax is frank, lively, jolly. 1t may
be that he feels his oats in some degree,
but dignity hasn't spoiled him. The
everlasting I-hood and Usness of great
men is forgotten in his presence.
His manners are not quite so familiar
as those of Mr.. Lincoln, but nearly so.-
They are gentle, natural, graceful, with
bird ike or business-l like quickness of
/ thought and motion But they are very
far from the high and mighty style OF
Sumner, or the judicial coldness cf Fes-
sender, Sherman and Trumbull. Though
manly, they are genial and winning
/ American mothers believes in Schuyler
Colfax. There are more babies named
for him than for any public man since
Mr.. Clay. The intimacy and confidential
relations Of Mr.. Colfax with Mr.. Lincoln
are we'll known. They laborcd hand in
hand as brothers in the cause o. the Uni
on, holding frequent and protracted in
terviews on all subjects looking to the
overthrow of the Rebellion, for there
were no divisions between the executive
and legislative branches of the govern
ment then as there are now.
} During the darkest hours of that
bloody drama which shall ever remain q
reproach upon the people of one section
of the nation, they were ever cheerful
| and hopeful. Confident in the justness
of the war waged for the preservation OF
the Union, and placing Christian reli
, ance in that providence which guides and
shapes the destiny of nations, great re
verses, which caused others to fear anG
trembe, at times almost to despair, seem
ed only to inspire them with greater yea
and a firmer belief in the ultimate tr
umph of our cause
, Mr.. Colfax is rather under the medi
: um height, with form firmly and com
!, Ipactly nodded. His hair is brown, nov
slightly sprinkled with grey; eyes blue
: forehead high and arching, indicating
great perceptivc faculties and deep ven
eratious. His face is open and frank
|, and as yet unmarked by age. He pos
: sesses great vitality, and can endure al
extraordinary amount of labor with bu
; little fatigne, This, coupled with hi
. temperate habits, has caused him to wea
! his age so well that but few persons woul
: place him even at 40. He is yet in tn
:. prime and vigor of manhood, with all hi
! cares and responsibilities, as most pcopl
: at 80.
9 Fast Freight cars have recently bee
\ froo, Nox- nrlaops m No,