The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-02-03
A BRILLIANT LETTER.
An Incompatible Scene in the
Senate Chamber.
The Dandy of Debate spIendidly
Sketched.


Sketched.
The Chicago Times has a Washington
correspondent whose matchless com,
mand of language enables him to draw
the mostmarvelously vivid portraitures
Of distinguished men, and famous
scenes. In describing to his paper the
great debate on the electoral bill in the
Senate he thus depicts Conkling
X He has to perfection, at all
times, under all circumstances, under
what proyocation soever--the gaud air,
the bel air as Thackaray calls it. 1t is
really no figure Of speech to say the
Joye of debate, the Apollo ofparliament,
the Adonis of the dancing room, for he
is all these, without being in essential
details what these phrases might imply.
To begin with, he is fully six feet in
height developed in most exquisite
ymmetry--the very model of a perfect
ed ymnastic system. Ills head is in
keeping with his massive shoulders,
always thrown backward, with haugh-
ty impotence Of the restraints Of con
yentional attitudes, which would give
the soul Of the sculptor delight. His
only imperfect feature, and this imper-
fec. only in comparison, is the eye.
These are well set under tinely-adjust-
ed oyerarching forehead, but, contrast
Ing so violently with the creamy com
pieXion-alternate shades Of roseate
pink and lustrous white-they look
small and sharp and soulless in their
impeneuable depths ofblue. In speech,
however these features are made to do
ample seryice-for they are forcel into
ncessant and sympathetic action with
the prodigiousIy rapid play of facial
lines, Consummate master Of the
minutest details of action,
AN EXPRESSION OF THE EYE
is made as startlingly effective as the
lnnumer0ble varying sepulchral mono
tones into which certain pointed inter
jections are studiously thrown. In
other words, when Conkling prepares 10
present a subject he first eXhausts all
that has been written thereon. He then
eXhausts all that can be said against it,
and upon this presents all that can be
said for it, conceding with rare art the
full force of every objection in order to
display to the most telling advantage
the marshaled might of the reasons in
lis support. The intellectual battle
ments set, he then arranges with pa
uence Of preconcert which can be Ink
ened only to some great actor preparing
new part, every change OF counten-
ancei every meditation Of voice; every
halt; every action in climax; every shit
oil place; motion Of body-curve OF back
and bend of knee every detection OF
the auroral locks-in short, the most
minute details OF u three-hours' speech,
which the audience sees as the mere
aecldence of his magnificent utterance.
His voice is schooled to fit the appro-
pirate deliyerance of each sentence and
syllable, and it is very rare for the actor
to forget or omit a single syllable OF his
rGEMEDlTATED EMOTION.
Conkling had not been speaking
twenty minutes when half the House
Of Representatives were packed in the
semtcircles and crescents behind the
senator's so that picturesque scene
ana contagious influence came to and
the action, auxiliaries as necessary to
the full play of his ostentatious mental
activities as the music ard glare and
color to the most renowned Hamlet or
scenic Sordanapalus. His very metal
arose with the brilliancy of the assem-
oIage, The gay banks Of bright color
On Jour sides of him, the rank and sta
hon in the senator's and diplomatic
gallery, all lent him just the stimulus
MS intellectual peculiarities and crav-
ihgs demanded, and as he swept the
Seats OF his neighbors far away from
Tue spot selected as his stamping
grounds, 1t WAS evident that he meant
70 throw into play his most consummatc
powers, 1t was matchless spectacle.
No stage play, however great the actor
could be spoken OF for moment III
comparison. AS you read the long
moving compact sentences, you may be
,oewlIdered to understand what mean
~ speaking thus diffusely Of what was
M'erall, u lawyers argument on purely
legal proposition. But
THE THOUSANDS WHO SAW
ana heard will bear me out that such
scenes are rare. Such ell, cts, such mas,
e' scene, possible only when men are
S,lrred to unwonted conditions. Is not
ne Tact that this one man compelled
'he eager attention of u multidue o
men for three hours an attestation of
power more than the mere words thai
ne uttered. 1t will be found on com
parIson that his argument penetrated
"lu interpenetrated, and exposed anc
olaSslled every obscurity of the subject
ana with such felicity of diction ant
,n,isor OF expressions as few men at Thu
VIM. .he could surpass--if equal--yet al
1nese would have failed to hold the All
soroed, joyful impulsive attention o
we assembly if the equal histrionic ar
III 'he speaker had not been equal t.
~. ms prodigious mental gifts. There ar
.nree or four men in the Senate chan
per who could have made an argumen
y, perhaps equal dignity, equal cogency
e4oai accuracy and exhaustiveness, bu