Middletown transcript., 1869-03-06
"REMINISCENCES
NJ THE
eRNAv MAN OF oTHER DAYS
Written for tie Aiddtetown TransviPf
AY John COLLINS n'cABE, D. D.

~ seftN svhAhNo - tAnn3 W -
In this period Of pigmies, it Is some=
what pleasant to the few, whose memo
ries 60 back to former periods, to refresh
their recollections of . those days when
there were giants in the earth" AS we SUR
vey the present, and revert to the past, as
we look at the men who, in the turn of the
great wheel Of time. are nov. in the reyos
luton, on the top. and remember those
who, in the long ago. held prominent po-
sition in the eye, and in the councils of
our country, the contrast u almost too
painful to contemplate.
1t was the privilege Of the writer as boy,
and young man, to see and hear those
great men Of both political parties. whose
names, in their day, had only to be men
TONED in the hearing of their fellows and
their almost peers, to awaken admiration,
and elicit the widest enthusiasm. Their
fame has become national, their apotheQs
sis has been chanted even before death
had sealed their eyes in the last slumber,
and the grave had choked their eloquent
voices with dust, dpst, dust 1t is espe-
cially of the great men of Virginia whom
l now write. Men diverse in their politi-
cal views, antagonistic in the forum, stren=
uous in opposition, but great, luminous
souls, whose fame reaching beyond neigh=
borhood or State, made itself natieaal, and
immortal.
The forms Of those men, their features,
their voices, their profound logic, their
wondrous eloquence, all come back upon
the memory and the mind with strange,
and fascinating spell. Marshall, Henry
Clay, Randolph of Roanoke, William
Writ, John Tyler, all now dead, dead,
dead! And, that great cid man, Henry
A. Wise. still living, and still carrying
within, the indomitable spirit of his youth;
these are the men whom have seep,
whom l have heard in the days of my boy
hood, and with some Of whom / have been
privileged to sit, and listen to the magic
tones of their voices at the freside.
What contrast these to the so=called
great men of the present timei . Eheai
fugaces, taJtntcr ami"
l have included in this brief list tho
names of Henry Clay, and William Writ,
for although William Writ was a Mary
lander, he first won his eyer-blooming
laurels at the Richmond and Norfolk bars,
in Virginia and, although Kentucky,
ever jealous of the fame and memary of
her noble adopted son, claims, Justly and
proudly, that Henry Clay was her oscB,
let it be remembered that that wondrous
star first shone in the horizon Of Virginia,
and that old Hanover, in Virginia, claims
most properly, ''the Mill-Boy of tho
Slashes," as her own legitimate offspring.
1t is not my intention to trench an the
domains of politics archives Of the
country contain a full history of the fierce
strifes. and the antagonisms Of parties
with which these men were connectel-=s
the student who aspires to knowledge of
these things, can consult them at his leis-
ure and he, who, would seek his model
man, need not turn to the pages of Plu-
tarch for the contrasts and parallels in the
lives Of the great men Of antiquity, to
fashion, for his admiration and homage, a
fit idol in his political temple, whatever
may be his political proclivities. Such
great ones ace have had. 1t is only of
them as men whom have seen, heard,
admired. and whose greatness almost over
awed my boyish Imagination when brought
under the spell of their presence and
opCCCue ttat l. pfopOoC " WY Huul-
bers will be chiefly anecdotical. l do not
know that they will possess sufficient in.
terest to repay perusal. If not, howev-
er. as Byron says, they may serve
ITO fill ceptaiR portion of uncertain paper
and, yet, these old memories, refreshed by
the mention of these names, are to me in-
teresting in the extreme, and :. like the
music Of Caryl, mournful and pleasant 70
the soul"
If the articles, which I propose to write,
should prove acceptable to your readers, /
may add to these names those of some Of the
leading editors Of Virginia In NY day ~
the giants of the American press; OF ops
posite politics, as we all know, and, in
some instances, fierce, and full of FIRE. 1t
was my privilege to enjoy the personal ae-
quaintance of, and to receive kind encour-
agement in the initial of my literary life,
from those two great members of the edi=
torial corps of the country. Thomas Ritch=
lie, the veteran of the Richmond Enqui-
rer." aud John Hampden Pleasants, the
Ajax lebanon, the Jupiter Tonans Of tho
/" Richmond Whig." Leaders Of the two
great political parties in Virginia. theip
papers were widely read. and they mum.
bered among their correspondents the greats
est minds of the day. But l must close this
initial number of my "reminiscences, by
promising, Dec Tolente. to furnish in my
next some recollections Of Chief Justice
Marshall, which have never appeared IN
print-which win be continued at inter-
walls, in reference to the others, as TING
viii permit.