The Republican journal., 1876-01-20
Letter from Washington.
CorrespondenCe of the journal.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18th. Is

general dlnHeSIy lSn / 10 DE SupPoSeu'
Why we have had amnesty at breakfast,
amnesty at dinner amnesty at tea
''Haye drank of it, laved in it"
and then, confused by SO much reiteration.
have fallen quietly to wondering whether
this being the day OF grace, and centennl-
al year, a host of general pardons were
not being showered down gratuitously
And, since thoughts will fly oil on all i'm
possible tangents, and in view of the null
tiplicity of SINS, both of omission and com
mission, and the throngs of culprit5 that
swarm, inlest and tower Alpinelike, height
above height in this devoted city, have con-
tinued rejecting whether in their first de-
scent they have not struck in about the
right and most needed locality. But one
glimpse inside the sitting crowded legis-
lative hall OF the nation, and at the fierce
excited eager faces, without stopping to
listen to the hot angry words. cutting the
air like rafting hail, has been sufficient to
dlspel all such pleasant illusions, and bring
one back to a realizing sense of the utter
impossbility Of mans forgiveness. For it
these three hundred wise men of the ma
ton could Kick up such fuss over one
poor rebel, what would they do when the
ninety and nine arrived? am sure | shall
never feel particularly wicked again with
n tidal of, III,
forgiveness is divine and not human. And
after all the hustle of words the wise three
hundred didn't conclude to 90 to sea to-
gether in the bowl of traternal love and
amnesty, but placed the frail vessel, deep
treighted as it was with aspiring political
ambitions, back in the tender hands and
reverential care OF a committee. where
venturing forth on another voyage it sunk
forever beneath the whclming waves of
partzan spirit.
y field day in the House is always in it.
self a curiosity, and on these four past
days, renewing as they have the bitter
rancorous feelings of the early days of Sc
cession and the war have been of intense
and absorbing interest attracting to the
galleries and surrounding corridors such
crowds of anxious and eager people as
haven't been witnessed in many years be-
tore. "a dense mass Of humanity" We're
never more fitting words to describe the
Of tb,nnOrc al nJ |, 10,
in every avenue and approach to the hall,
hours before the appointed time of con-
vening.
Mr.. Blaine has of course been the cen
tral figure standing in the thick of the hot
fierce contest, giving and taking hard bit
ter blows. And whether one be among
the gentlemans friends, believing him a
great chieitain leading his country through
thickening perils to safer ground, Or an
lago standing at the elbow of public opin-
ion, melting to maddening revenge where
there would fain be i'orgettulness, there
, can be but one opinion OF concerning the
power and capacity Of the man, Never
perhaps has there been better exhibition
of this than IN the stormy sessions of last
winter, during the pending of the Force
Bill, when this always unwicldy body had
been converted, by prolonged and contin-
uous hours of exciting debate, into an III
most uncomfortable mass of human saya-
gcs As Speaker Of the House, and after
the tatigues OF many fierce hours Of con-
| test, he renamed in the chair for twenty
four consecutive hours, never leaving il eX-
cept for 4 few minutes during roll-call
his voice sounding almost necessarily
above the indescribablc din and confusion
in constant rulings and calls to order, and
yet came out from that fearful task, which
would have obliged almost any other man
to succumb, without any perceptblc strain
| upon his energies or endurance Anl
this wonderful physical power is an al
most incalculablc support to the peculiar
faculties OF his mind, tor Blaine could Nc
! more be calm and dispassionate than tho
| north wind that howls in unrcstrainel
| freedom across the wild and boisterous At
lantic. Not that he rants and raves and
clears q passion in tatters," but speaks
| rapidly, energctically, torcbly incisiyely
| bearing down all opposition like Il gusty
tornado in its uncomfortable flight and as
he hurrles on N his fiery impetuous course
| invariably carries all his listeners with him
whether in unresisting admiration or in
struggling resentment OF his sharp and
pitiless accusations. Still, to whatever ex-
cess he goes, his voice never sIiyers OF
breaks but rings out clear and bold, max
ing every word and sentence easily dis
tinguishable, and causing the Scathing,
sometimes eXtravagant pictures that he
paints to stand ont startlingly VIVID and
defiant
No more striking contrast to Mr. Blaine
is afforded in the House than by the gen
tleman who followed him. Mr.. Cox OF
New York. No less intense and effective
but arriving at results by quite different
method The one sends his victim to
death by repeated eXasperating, singing
stabs, the other no less et1ectualy kills by
mercless fire of whitening ridicule To
person receiving the hard, cutting blows
| suppose it makes but little difference
whether they are laid on with smile CT
a frown, but it is certanly a much less strain
upon the nerves of the listener to follow
the provoking fun of the one than the
biting sarcasms of the other. There is
also quite as much difference physically as
mentally between the two opposing cham
pions, Mr. Cox being 4 small, slight, why
man, under rather than over the average
height. His head is nearly bald, covered
only at the base with straight black hair
and by a few stray locks that have been
coaXed to 90 across the front, and even
these, as well as the thick imperia adorn-