Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-02-05

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every field Of literature-the late Jas.
X. Paulding-and present to our
readers a portrait from his hand, and
from the life. It is that of one of the
most notable men Of any time-Of no
other than him who vas known dur
ing life as "R.andolph Of Roanoke"
Outlined with a mastery pencil;
cOlOred with a full and genial brush;
shaded with an uncommon delicacy
and a depth that is most impressive,
the whole ef65ct is memorable. The
character is delineated as that of a
great man-of any man-shOuld be,
with a discrimination that blends
! sympathy with analysis, and the
kindness of the physician with the
~acuteness of the demOnstratOr of an
atOmy. Without this fellOW.feeiing OF
human kindness toward human error,
let no man dream that he can under
stand, much less describe, another
Well.-EDITORs.
Among the descendants of P0cahOn-
tas, the most remarkable are John
RandOIphand Boiling RObertsOB each
| exhibiting in complexion and physi-
OgnOmy indubitable traces of the COM
mon stock. The eyes Of both are per-
fectly Indian-black, shining and Oc-
casiOnaliy fierce. Indeed, l have
never met with a man having a cross
of the aboriginal that did not show it,
like a blOOd-hOrse. The marks seem
~indelible, both in body and mind.
In my visit to Washington, four
winters ago, it was my fortune to
lodge in the same hotel with Mr..
Randolph, and to be favored with his
acquaintance, 1 might almost say his
friendship, which, Notwithstanding
his alleged hayward disposition, is, l
am told, generally steadfast and sim
cere. He is certainly the most ex-
traOrdiary parsonage L have known,
and on the whole, the greatest orator
l have ever heard. There is wit in
everything he says, and eloquence at
the very end of his long fingers. He
is the last man in the world into
whose hands l should wish to fall in
a debate, for he cuts with a two edged
sword, and makes war like his Indian
ancestors, sparing neither sex nor age.
Yet his kindness is irresistible, and
when he wishes to evince it, the tones
Of his voice, and the expression Of his
eye, go equally to the heart.
His style of OratOry in Congress is
emphatically his own, He is, indeed,
original and unique in everything.
His language is simple, though pol
ished; brief, though rich, and as direct
as the arrow from the Indian bow.
He often flies, apparently, from his
subject, but, however he may seem to
DRIFT without rudder or compass, never
fails to return with a bound, illustra-
ting it with flashes Of living light.
Though eccentric in the ordinary in
t~ercOurse of life, there will be found
more of what is called plain common
sense in his speeches than in those Of
any other member of Congress. His
illustrations are almost always drawn
from the most familiar sources, and
no man is so happy in illusions to
fables, proverbs, and incidents of the
day. He never declaims, or sacrifices.
strength, c~learness, and simplicity to
the more popular charms of redundant
metaphor and full-rOunded periods.
He is abrupt, sententiOus, and ~laConic.
Nothing, indeed, is more easy of COM
prehen5iOn than the expressed ideas
of the great orator of Old Virginia.
Though exceedingly irritable in de-
bate, he is never loud or ~bOiSterOus,
but utters biting Sarcasms in a manner
the most provokingly cool, and a
voice that suggests the music of the
spheres. Such is the admirable clear
ness and perfection of his enunCia-
ton, that his lowest tones circulate
like echoes through the halls of Con-
gress. In short, in all the requisites
of a great orator, he has no superior,
and, in the greatest of all, the power
of attracting, charming, riveting the
attention of an audience, no equal in
this country.
MI. Randolph has shared the for
tune of most political leaders, in hav-
ing his conduct misrepresented, his
fOibles-Which, heaven knows, are
sufficiently fOrmidable-eXaggerated, !
and his peCUliarities c~aricaUured with
out remOTse. The fault is, in q great
measure, his own. He spares no adj
versary, and has no right to expect
quarter from Others. In this respect
fate may serve as q beacon ,indicat-
ing the necessity Of liberation in poll
tics as well as religion. That he is
capriciOu5 and careless of WOUnding
those for whom he has no particular
nc one will deny. That he is
impatient in argument and intolerant
opposition, is equally certain; and
the whole world knows that he is
~sOlicitOus to disguise his con-
or dislike. But much Of this
peevishness may find its origin and
in his physical su~ffaring5. Al
most from bOyhOOd ne has not known
the blessing of health, nor enjoyed
even its anticipation. His cOnstitu-
ton is i~rretrievably broken 4; and
though he may live many years, they
will, in All probability, be years of
anxiety and suffering, embittered not
only by the absence Of hope, but blythe
ridicule, instead Of the sympathy, of
the world, which is ever too apt to
suppose that a man cannot be sick
without dying. Men lingering under
the slow consuming decay Of a COnsti-
tutiOnal intirmity, and perishing, not
by inches; but by the hundredth
parts of an inch, seem to me the most
Of the human race. The
world and even their nearest friends,
come at last to believe their malady
imaginary, their complaints without
cause. They grow tired of hearing a
man always prOclaiming himself a
to disease, yet at the 5ame time
appearing TO take his share in the bus
ness, as well as the enjoyments of
society, and living on like the rest Of
MS felloW-worms. "They Jest at
that never felt a wound" and
he very circumstance that should eX-
lite additional cOmmisSeratiOn, too
)ften gives occasion to cold neglect or
iippant ridicule.
In this painful and trying condition
vas Nj. Randolph when l saw him,
md it is but fair to urge that some
apology at least for his indifference to
he feelings Of others, might be found
the harassing nature of his own.
know of no situation so aptly calcu-
ated to make a man q misanthrOpe;
md those who are foremost and loud
st in their condemnation, would do
we'll to look into their own hearts, put
themselves in his place, and then ask
whether itdoes not naturally lead to,
it may not justify, occasional
not habitual ill-temper. /
iere speak of him as the world gener-
lily does. But so far as / saw him,
md this was at all hours, he was full
# benignity. His treatment of his
ervants, and especially Of his own
was that of the most indulgent
master, and he always called his per-
onal attendent johnny" which
liminutive, to my mind, strongly
Indicated an habitual good will to-
ward them. 1t is thus we designate
,ur familiar friends, and the children
# our love. To me, from whose adj
niration or applause he could antici-
,ate neither honor nor advantage, his
,ehavior was uniformly kind, almost
.fectionate, and it will be long before
fnraaL his malanchnlw vet cnnnila-