The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1877-04-13
HON. LINTON STEPHENS.

Stephens, u work recently issued by
! Col. J. d. Waddell:
Tn stature, Judge Stephens stood
six feet, with more bone aud muscle
than flesh. All the features of his
face were distinctly marked. His
forehead, broad at the base, broad>
ened as it assembled to the region of
what phrcnologists denominate Caus-
atty, Comparison, and Ideality. In
youth, he had thick suit of dark
brown hair, inclined to curl and
crisp, which time somewhat whiten-
ed, but scarcely thiuned. His was
a deep>set, clear, blue eye, which,
in reposc, wore an expression of
thoughtfulness and almost unworldly
sadness; in moments of hilarity, it
laughed with rich, soft light, betray-
ing an almost feminine tenderness
and gentleness whilst, on occasions
which called into exercise the heroic
virtues, or excited the sterner pass
sions of anger and indignation, it
| flashed forth fame that was terri>
BILE to the trembling transgressor.
His nose, fashioned rather after the
Roman than Grecian mould, was
large and prominent his chin, more
broad than sharp, lent Spartan res
olution to the whole expression of
his face his head, like Napoleon's
and Franklin's, grew larger after he
passed his third decade. His dress,
never sloven, was sometimes negli-
gent; he cared little for the fit of
garment, if it sat easy and was uu>
soiled.
The handwriting of Judge Steph
ems was remarkably legible, and
somewhat feminine in type; it was
formed upon no model, and resem-
bled none ever saw. With abundant
indications to show that he used the
pen with ease and rapidly, there are
seldom to be discovered any signs of
hurry none of carelessness In the
large number of letters, which | have
had occasion TO examine, there are
to be found very few interlineations,
and not more than one or two eras~
ures. In this respect, his manu-
script was as unblemished as one of
Mr.. John Quincy Adams, of whom
it has been related that he never
made an alteration on the written
page during the last fifty years of his
busy life.
In social life, he avoided the
crowd. The circle of his intimate
friends was not a large one but Of
that "charmed circle' he was the
idol and, perhaps, it is not extrav>
agant to record that, while the death
of many Georgians has created a
sorrow more extensive in it's range,
the death of none ever penetrated
the hearts of so large number with
au anguish so personal, SO near, so
keen, so bitter as that occasioned by
the death of Luton Stephens. How.
many felt as did the large-hearted
stall wart man feel when standing by
the open grave Of Daniel eb4ter,
he said: Chow LONESOME THE WORLD
SEEMS y
Judge Stephens was an earnest
student throughout his life. He had
studied men, and knew them we'll ;
his judgments Of character, some>-
times almost intuitively formed, were
rarely erroneous. 1t was in books,
however, he found the chiefest source
of intellectual enjoyment ; they were
his passion and delight-pr@sid'un
ct dwlce decuS.
He did not cultivate, with any
great degree of assiduity, the knowl-
edge of Greek, imperfectly acquired
at college but his knowledge of the
Latin language and literature was
extensive, accurate, and intimate.
Tacitus, Cicero, and Horace we're
special favorites each of his kind.
His knowledge Of the best English
authors, both of prose and verse,
was comprehensive, various, and
wonderfully exact, for one whose vo-
cation was the study and mastery of
the s'jealous science of the law"
Bacon and Burke, "s0elded together,"
he said, would have the grandest
character in history. 1t is safe to
say, he had no supeFiOr in the State
in profound and philosophical
knowledge Of English and Ameri-
can history-political, ecclesiastical,
or literary. He regarded Hume,
in style, as the Prince of British
historians--neat, perspicuous, nerv-
GUS, condensed-far surprising, for
that sort of writing, the elaborate
fpish of Gibbon --m0teriGm super
bat opus the stately elegance Of
Robertson, or the studied, breathless
antitheses of Macaulay.
Of American historians, he es~
teemed Motley before Bancroft or
Prescott. Prescott was too precise
as to little matters; Bancroft had
more words than ideas. Addison,
among all the English fine writers of
prose, he admired most, in sentiment
as we'll as style. He has been heard
to say, that "WashingtOu Irving
was the Addison of America" Dean
Swift, he said, "was dirty dog, but
/ ..a- ...otn a.. ,,t4oroh III q