The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-05-12
Fernando Wood.

"Mack," the sprightly correspondent of the
Cincinnati C6mnaerciGl thus sketches the most
prominent of the Democratic representatives in
Congress:
I cannot help thinking that if Charles Dick
ems were to write another novel, and were to
introduce American politicians into its chap
tiers, he would select Fernando Wood for one
of them. And simply because he is such pc
culiar sort of persona perfect riddle to the
ordinary newspaper correspondent, in whose
tread-mill life there is little time for the study
of such character, even if the ability for its
portrayal were there; but an "inexhaustible
bottle' for illustration and development in the
hands of the great novelist. There is some
thing about him which I certainly cannot de-
scribe, but can only write about in ajerky and
unsatisfactory sort of way. First, there is the
man himsef as he sits in his seat or stands on
the floor. Straight as as fishing pole, and 1
was about to say, nearly as tall but the reader
will at once perceive that that depends very
much upon the fishing pole; always dressed in
the neatest of black trowsers, and the neatest
black coat with the shiningest of velvet collars;
never by any possibility letting us know wheth-
er he wears waistcoat or not, but giving us a
slight assurance of shirt in the exhibition of
so much of it as can struggle into notice above
the third or fourth button Of his outer broad
cloth.
Whether he looks SO straight because he is
so thin, or looks so thin because he is so
straight, shall not attempt to say, but when
button-up-ness, and then, on top of all these,
put small head, thickly covered with white
ming hair, and an emotionless face with pair
of small twinkling eyes, and the largest and
whitest moustache on the American continent,
you have altogether very remarkable tout en-
semble; so much so that when the proprietor OF
this strangeness of contour and person rises to
address the House, and stands on the Hoor as
the representative of so much of the American
nation as is included in his district, there is al
ways sensation in the galleries. If you never
saw him before in your life, and didn't know
who he was, you would still join in the feeling
of Sensation" and listen in expectation OF
something quite out of the usual routine. And
he will not disappoint you, for the tone and
manner of his speech are quite as unique as
his personal appearance. His words are always
direct and we'll chosen, and his arguments for
chile and strong. shall never forget thes scene
of few days ago, when he and Ben. Butler
had the slight fence Of words about General
Howard. Butler rose, evidently intent upon
crushing Wood with one of his efforts at vltu--
peration; he said something which he considered
perfectly conclusive and finishing, and looking,
as his custom is, to the galleries with an air OF
"Didn't polish him off?' sat down.
There stood Fernando, on the other side OF
the chamber cross between an iceberg and
marble statue, but for the purposes of that de-
bate an iceberg, against which the brig Ben.
Butler had voluntarily steered, with the usual
sad result of such collisions-the damage OF
the brig. Woods manner in reply stood hm IN
infinitely better stead than his words. There
was not so much in what he said-whlch was
simply that when the investigation OF Howard
was completed he should favor the lnvestlga-
tion of the gentleman from Massachusetts,
the cold frosty way in which he said it, follow
ing upon the cold, frosty way In which ne mad
listened to Butler-never deviating hairs
breadth from his fsh-pole straightness all the
time-gave him q triumph over old Diabolus,
which both sides of the House were quick to
recognize and which neither sid@ could well
keep from applauding. 1t was, by all odds, the
greatest triumph over Butler yet achieved in
The cut and thrust of quick repartee, and But
ler felt it too. as was manifest from his haltlng
between two opinions, as to whether he should
reply or not and finally deciding to keep his
seat
This incident gives quite as good an idea of
Fernando Wood as l could give in whole col
umn of my own mere opinions. If the reader
can't recognize from this the sort of man he is,
he shall "bust in ignorance" on that important
to all this that Wood is quite rs polished in
his manner as in his dress If there is Peck
sniff some time in his speech, as we'll Turvey-
drop in his department., there is always Ches-
terfeld in his social intercourse Notwith-
standing all of which he is well liked by those
who know him, and is thought quite {. good
hearted, jolly fellow, when you get under the
uppercrust of his icy exterior His public ca
reer is as we'll known to the readers of the En-
ouirer as to mc-how he has been accused of
all sorts of things, but how he has, notwith-
standing all these accusations, been very sue,
cessful man, and very great and successful
politician.