The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-03-25
MEN OF THE OlDEN TINE.
some Of Ex.6ov. sey ymour's RecoIIec-
tfOns Of Them.
From the Utica Herald, March 10.

FROM Tie Ollcd I1tIdlu, cIditIi
The last lecture of the course before
the Utica Mechanics Association was
delivered at Mechanics Hall, by Gov.
Seymour, last evening. The subject
selected, =" RecOllectiOns of Public
Men, together with the reputation of
the speaker, brought together a large
audience.
T.. Gov. Seymour introduced his subject
by referring to the remarkable body of
men, who forty years ago assembled in
the halls of Congress, apd occupied
prominent places before The American
public. These were men who lived
during eras marked by remarkable
events, who had been schOoled in ora
tory and had profited by the study of
eminent masters of elocutiOn. The
habits of the people of that time were
such that the utterances of public men
made a deep impression, and their
course was closely watched and keenly
criticised. OF his personal recollections
of some of the eminent men of that
age, Mr.. Seymour proposed to speak :
John Randolph be characterised as the
sensational man of the day; q man of
strange appearance, strong mind and
keen wit in face and dress somewhat
reminding one of an old woman. Al
exander Stephens, of Georgia, bears
resemblance to Randolph. In DISPOSE
ton, Randolph was sharp, shrewd, i'm
patient, and disposed to be malig-
nant.
Mr.. Seymour met John Quincy Ad-
ans in Washington, and at his resi-
dence met Henry Clay. Adams he
described as a small man with igid,
uninviting, formal manner. This re-
serve he attributed to the early assOcia- |
tions thrown around Adams in his
youth, when his native New England
was governed by system of mutual
inspection. Clay was, on the contrary,
genial and winning in his manner and
address. In private life Mr.. Adams
possessed ability to interest, from his
vast fund of personal observation, and
in. a great measure cast aside his re-
serve He was a man of great strength
Of will; thoroughly in lovewith public
life, and determined to die, as he did
die, with his harness on.
Gen. Jackson was a tall, erect, COM
manding man, with much of the mill
tary chieftain in his appearance, strong
willed, and perhaps, possess d quick
ttLpcI, UuI nOiuuS LID tSHpSir we'll
under control. No man of his time
could get mad so judiciously. He was
a good judge of human nature, and al |
ways knew his man before losing his
temper. Uneducated himself, and sur
rounded by able and disciplined minds,
he always did his own thinking, and
to the last moment of his life exercised
great control over the public mind. To
this day public men are advised to ado |
as Jackson did" l.....-s-
In person, John C.. Calhoun was not
unlike jackson, except that Calhoun
possessed wonderful eyes. He had a
keen sight into the future, and was a
prophet rather than conspirator. In
speaking he depended entirely upon his
reasoning powers. The first word of
his speech was the first word of his ar
gument, and the last word of his argu- !
ment was the last word of his speech. |
He possessed no faculty Ofjudging char |
acter, but fascinated by his straightfor-
ward, frank way with his follow men.
Between Clay, Jackson and Calhoun,
the resemblance was wonderful. Ii |
was because clay and Jackson wereso
much alike that they hated each other |
as they did. Clay possessed rich !
voice, musical even to his enemies.-
He was chivalrOus, patriotic; by ma
ture a politician as well as a states
man.
Webster Was characterized as the /
greatest, and yet the wickedest of them !
all. BY nature intended for writer !
and a student, and yei great man, !
great wherever he was placed. The |
triumphs for which he is remembered I
are literary triumphs.
Among men from Oneida county,
Henry X. Stoors was characterized by /
eminent public men as /" he from One
ida county who excelsus all in debate"
Although now nearly forgotten even
here, he was The greatest American Or
atOr after Patrick Henry. He was Il
man of pcrtly, commanding presence,
with a wonderfully musical voice, only
equaled by the voice of Clay. His er-
ratio and uncertain temperament was
assigned as the reason why he had been
so soon forgotten. - -.--....s
Attorney General Talcott, also Of this
county, was at times grand i'm his elo-
qIcnce. Chief Justice Marshall said
that Talcott made the greatest legal ar
gument he ever listened to. OF our
men noted at that time only one rep
resentative is left, the Hon. W. J. Ba-
con, late Justice of the Supreme Court.
In conclusion, the speaker believed
that the average American Intellect
was improving, bu: diverted from the
channels where these men sought re-
nOwn. Then, too, men to be heard
must be in earnest. These men were
swayed by strong passions; they be
lieved in the wicke,lness Of their enc