Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-05-15

Colonel Forney, in the Philadelphia
| Press, thus alludes to some of the South
ern men in Congress in the years just
prior to the rebellion:
The South always predominated in
fascinating and plausible rhetoric. Win
! ter Davis, of Maryland, was at once a
logician and declaimer His sharp
tenor voice, his incisive sentences and
\ ready wit his fine figure, we're admirably
reinforced by acute reasoning powers
and admirable legal training.
A rare specimen of the same qualities
was Judah p Benjamin, of Louisiana,
now a practitioner before the Queen S
Bench in London. His handsome Jewish
face, his liquid tones and easy enuncia-
ton, contrasted well with his skill as a
debater and his accuracy as student
Pierre Soule, Senator from the same
State, was a different, yet as peculiar a
type. His swarthy complexion, black,
flashing eyes, and Frenchifed dress and
speech, made him one of the attractions
of the Senate He is now in his grave,
after strangely eventful and novel
career. He was an artificial man-bril-
liant in repartee, yet subject to fits of
neutrality-suspicious. yet reserved
proud but polite--in word, such con-
tradiction as Victor Hugo, with vast
fund of knowledge and deposit of vanity
which was never exhausted He was a
ready-made secessionist when the rebel
lion came, and yet his light shone feebly
in that dark conspiracy.
Virginia always had a supply of good
speakers Thomas o. Bayley with his
gold spectacles and ambrosial locks, and
his Southern dion, compound of the
negro and the scholar; Charles James
Faulkner, with his pleasant smiles, dandy
dress and flowing phrases; James NJ
Mason, with his Dombey diction and
pompous pretenee; r. NJ. T. Hunter,
with his quiet and careful conversation;
Roger A. Pryor. with his impetuous and
dazzling temperament-these were all
frst-class speakers, though as distinct
as their own faces.
The noisest man in the Immediate
anti-war Congress was George s. Hous-
ton, of Alabama; the most quarrelsome
was keitt, of South Carolina; the best |
Orr, Of the same State; the |
most acrid, George w. Jones, of Ten
nessee; the jolliest, Senator Jere Glenn
smns, of Alabama; the most supercili-
Gus, Senator Slidell, Of Louisiana; the
most genial, Senator Anothy Kennedy, of
and the boldest and coarsesi,
Nigfall, of Texas.
Breckenridge was in many respects a
rue orator, and seemed to copy much
rom Clay and Crittenden.
Jefferson Davis was always a capital
not strong in argument, but
llways stern in convictions.
Hammond, of South Carolina, had a
,ood presence and persuasive tone,
lut was not a great man.
Toombs, of Georgia, was stormy
'etrel, often grand as a doclaimer, and
.lways intolerant, dogmatie aud ex-
rene. He was as violent in 1850, when
ie was a Umonist, as he was in 1860,
7hen he became a secessionist.
I--u-t--,-
The Columbus Index states that
entleman of Lowndes county, Missis-
ippi, was passing through his field not /
lng ago, when he saw a large chicken J
awk dart like lightning from the top Of Z
tall tree upon some object on the T,
round. Riding up he saw a sharp ,
ombat commence between the hawk I
nd a black snake about four feet long. {
n a short time the snake had wrapped i
is coils about the neck Of his would-be (
evourer and Notwithstanding its strng
les and frequent dartings several feet >