Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-12-09
THE GAZETTE.
TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9.
A SCENE IN THE HOUSE.

The Washington correspondent of the Brook
lyn Argus writes:
sChief of them was Alexander H. Stephens
Gen. P. NJ B. Yeung and General Waddel
of North Carolina, supported the brilliant, In
tense, magnificent tactician Of other days to his
feet He took their arms and dispensed with
the significant crutches that had been stacked
in front of his desk. He stood right at the be-
ginning of the middle aisle Of the House. BY
ielicitously dramatic accident or happy design,
all the rest of the many ex Contederates ranged
in a semi circle on either side of their former
Vice President Then the modified oath was
taken by them with upIitted hands, and assent
ed to with an unanimous and quietly elegant
bow. There were many magnificent looking
men in the company; doubt that any one ob,
served them; the pale, suffering, distinguished
little man in the middle was the cynosure OF all
eyes. He was dressed 10 exquisite black, as II
in mourning for his country. In sitting, he had
wore bis hat to protect him from the draught
10 standing. he dispensed with it,and disclosed
an abnormally large head, pierced with intense
ly black and deep eyes and covered with short,
disordcred growth Of irons hair. w hen he
responded 10 his name the strong soul IN hun
voice, the echo Of that soul, was heard dis
tiuctly all over the house. The ETHEREAL part
of the man is as strong as ever. The physical
is wreck. 1t was historical scene. He who
for fifteen years before the war had been
the leader par excellence of the House re-
turned to subscribe to the oath administered
by a speaker who was never heard OF when
Stephens LETT Congress, or three years there
after. In all the House were but two men who
had been his congressional contemporaries
Suoset Cox, then of Ohio, and Johu B. Clarke
then and now of Missouri, who had three
months of notoriety fifteen years ago by fling
ing John Sherman's endorsement OF Hinton
Rowan Helpers Impending Crisis at John
Shcruan's head, and thereby defeating him
for Speaker, though He ury Winter DAVIS
single vote elected William K. Pennington, a
Jersey Republican, to that o thee. Well could
Stephens say he stood dying the solitary. sur
vivor OF many great dead. Gone was Ihad.
Stevens, the Incarnation of hate; gone was y.
R. Giddings, the Abolitionist, whom Stephens
himself loved; gone was the courtly ex-GoVer
nor Briggs, of New York, and the upcouth
Mike Walsh gone was the fiery Keith, aud
gone the fearful and wonderful John Covode;
gone the eloquent Lovejoy and the mellow Nal
lory gone Herschell V. johnson; gone Bocock,
aud Yulee, and Edmondson, and Clingmau,
aud the impetuops Brooks, and Potter, and
Rector, aud Phelps, and Rollins and Winter
Davis, and thousand, once statesmen OF either
party, and there was the man 90 whom twenty
years ago Death had apparently set his seal,
survivor of them ALL and representative OF the
greatest district of the Empire State of the
South. Background this contrast with the
fearful four years of intersectional throat cut
ting, and the dramatic facts OF the occasion
stand out, grim with graves and lighted by ln-
tense cerebral fire. !"