Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1875-09-04

cided wit, with a rarely keen sense
of the ludrlcous which not seldom
inspired his pen effectively. The
last tidiDgs had of him placed
him in the relation of secretary to
Mississippi governor, not long
before the war. If he lived to
take part in ii ne probably passed
away without distinction such as
right smart yankees such as he
seldom failed to achieve sooner OF
later.
Last l catalogue still another
Robert in Judge fuckers class.
This was Robert Mallory already
alluded to as at one time my class
zeal associate. He emigrated to
Kentucky from Virginia, which
was his native State, and turned
up here as a i..ember Of Congress,
few Sc, sions since.
And now comes the reminis-
cence of rig we got on Bob NAL
lOry, as we academicians were
wont to call him because of our
familiarity with him In Bruce's
school where he prepared himself
classically before entering the law
school. The 4th of July was never
allowed to pass at that day with
out a regular celebration and a set
Grafton. In this there was sure to
be rehearsal OF the old threadbare
story Of the rise and fall Of Car
thage, and Greece and Rome
ditto of the American revolution
and the Father of his country,
''first in war, first in peace and
first in the hearts of his country
men-ditto of pledgings of their
lives, fortunes and sacred honor
by the fathers of the revolution,
&c. Bob had the rare luck Of a
fresh theme with which to supple
nlent the foregoing staples of 4th
OF July rhetoric, AS well as of be-
ing chosen orator OF the day, as we
youngsters regarded that proud
distinction The current threats
of modification had furnished this
fresh theme. Nor did he fail to
make the most of it from the stand
point of the fiery Robert Y Hayne
and his associates.
Getting up a tremendous climax
intended to show the peril of the
Union in that crisis, the orator
followed it with this question, ac-
companied with the most approved
tones and gestures to correspond:
"Think we, fellow citizens ex-
claimed he, that so fearful a storm
as this can sweep over the tair
temple of liberty without shaking
a single from its roof?'
The mental answer from those
of us old enough to envy Bob his
position and feel a little jealous as
we listened to his grand eloquence
was, what a face! We had been
taught by the class-books Rhetoric
that there was but one step from
the sublime to the ridiculous Of
this we were abundantly satisfied,
now, by the idea of the fall of a
vulgar single instead of classic
tile from the fair temple of liberty,
that we had been taught the
truth! Some OF the orators asso-
ciates insisted on being informed
whether he meant a pine, cypress
or an oak single. But Bob never
condescended to satisfy our curios-
ity Oh that point.
When Mallory came to Con-
gress, with the open ear of a news
paper man for such things, l
watched his bearing with no little
interest, never falling to think
"shingle" VIII IN he rose to speak.
But / was glad to find that he had
got over all such "highfalutin." -
Had he reproduced any part of
that speech in Congress conscious
iy or unconsciously, / was prepar-
ed to hear him save the dignity of
the aforesaid metaphOrical temple
by imagining its roof covered, not
with vulgar things, but classic
tiles, as aforesaid. Upon the whole,
he bore himself pretty creditably
in C0ngress-how much more
so than did a certain one of
my academical companions at
Charlestewn, under Rev. Alexan-
der Jones, when he got To Con-
gress, with his suicidal spread
eagle speech" l may or may not
take occasion o indicate, should
memory get TO running on that
phase Of my v, ried school-boy ex-
perience, as most likely it will.
Speaking of the Hayne school, l
must discl,im any intention of
ridiculing ii, altho' i have spoken
OF that famous notification COVER
nor as "the fiery Hayne " Such
was my admiration for his style,
when at College subsequently, that
once found, among some old pa
pers, a portion Of one OF his mess
ages, which i had cudgeled my
poor brains to commit as piece |