Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-07-16
Extenporansous Efforts.
[rr,m the s.Isecoiiec,ions Of an OLD ss.r.r i.
In Hap r's Ma s.tne - 49,

esUVsSS
Trrom the '.Reco,ise,ions o. en- Old staeer,
In Hap r's Ma sstne. 80 4
Marshall OF Kentucky, one OF t,u
most brilliant orators Of his time, ans
a man OF large scholarly attxini,ents i
who had as much Of that mystical
quality called genius rs any Of hi.
contemporaries In Congross, vas full Of
afIeciation In this regard. llc spoke
readily, without preparation, his idea,
following each other consecutivei.
and with uncommon force; but h'
never trusted to the inspiration Of th,
moment when thcro was III opportu.
nifty for studying up tho subject ant
arranging his thoughts in advance
lie hal habit OF abscnting himsrI
from the Capitol FOR days ut "A time.
every hour of which he d, voted {,
reading and study, his acquaintance
generally suPposing him to be cnga.
god in debauch. Afer getting
thoroughly crainmad aud armed a
every point, ha would cOtne into The
House looking exhausted and h 'ggaid
giving coiorio the notion that ke In.
been on n frolic. aud watching his on
por;uniiy, would pour fnrth lilo { nj
of his study in strain Of ff.li nd
striking .eloGurrca that hardly ever
failed 10 asionish his hear rs. And
the rcMari was often heard, "Whdi
brilliant man! What cou Il he no,
accomplish IL he was industri JUS aud
regular In his habits!'
Mr.. Preston, for same time Mr.
CalhomM's colleague In the Senate.
was an accomplished gentleman and
n very popular orator. lie never
spoke without commanding the Mt.
teution of his hearers, and f0w men in
Congress had higher reputation 1, r
cloquence. But he
never spoke without the most ample
and careful preparation. Soon after
he retired from Congress he was
chosen president ofa college IN Sou,l
Caro- ina. In an address to the stu.
dents, he said he knew of no sucl.
thing as 60 is or II ltural iGsp''
ton. Whatever Of reputation lie
had acquired was by diut Of con.
stant, untiring lab II. lie had trusted
to study and hard work solely. lie
never spoke i'll Congres 9 or at pop
ular assemb!agc without arranging
what he had TO say, aud even premrd.
itating his sentences and the precise
coliocation of his words. Aud he
assured his hearers that the only road
public distinction lay through the
ield Of study and research.
| Mr.. Webster was SO thoroughly
instructed upon all subjects whicl
came up for discussion in Congress
that he was equal to almost an,
occasion, and rarely needed any spe.
cIal preparation. And yet he was
not shove the weakness of conceaIine
his studies, and the sources whence
he drew his inspiration. No man
better understood the weight ant
value of language than Mr.. Webster.
and what he said was always marked
by precision and pcrspicuity; bu
when coping with Il formidable an
tagonist he omitted no means thai
promised to aid him in the contest.
lie was accustomed to speak of tn,
master production of his life, his eel
ebra:ed reply to Ilayne, as q sort O:
casual effort. made on the spur of t!n
moment, without much previous con.
sideration.
Probably the two men in publi.
life who could most safely trust 10
their ownrcsourccs and requirements
under all circumstances, were Mr.
Adams and Mr.. Calhoun. The en-.
! dowments of Mr. Calhoun were Of ,
| higher order, and his creative power
was superior to that of Mr.. Adams
but the cold man eloquent" us h,
was called. had a memory SO tenacious
and his knowledge was SO cXtcusiv,
and exact, that he never seemed [,
need any special preparation. He wa,
the most laborious and mc,hodical
man in Congress, and probably il,
the country. lie kept a voluninou.
diary, in which every event, inciden'
Or circumstance of The day was care
fully noted down; and this, with lii.
habits of industry, made him very
doctor i'll all matters of controversy
aud argument. IL was knowledge
ofhis equipment oil his power as al
antagonist that prompted tho reply
OF Mr.. Clay, when asked when ht
purposed to renew the discussion
with Mr.. Adams on the veXed qurs.
ton of the fisheries If tho Mis-.
sissippi, Us connected with The
treaty of Client. Finding him.
self getting tho worst of the argu.
mcnt, Mr.. Clay closed the consid
Grafton of the matter, so far as h,
was concerned, with the remark that
he should drop the subject, hopins
TO renew il ut some future pcrior
more favorable for calm discussion
when he expected to show that Mr.
Adams was altogether IN the wrong.
\ Some time attcrwNrd Il friend aske,t
him when he proposed TO reopen tn,
controversy. "Ncvcrw was his en-
phatic reply. "a man must be 1
born fool WHO voluntarily engages IL.
Il controversy with Mr.. Adams on
question of fact. 1 doubt whethc,
he was every mistaken In his life.
And then, ii he happens to DO In
doubt about anything. he has his IN.
evitable diary, in wi ich he has record.
cd everything that has occurred
since the adoption of the Fedora!
Constitution"