The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1878-06-21
DOUGLAS AND YANCEY.

'' n-ffua rft --} Huf ..f.
. Apropos of the inauguration of the |
great Douglas monument ut Chicago, ]
the Nashville American allutles rs fol- |
lows to the occasion upon which |
Douglas and Yancy spoke at Nashville
in 1861: q. ~ i.,is ?, int e. t-iflt
It is in sc0nncction with tho great |
sectional question, however, that Mr.. |
Douglas is most remembered, and
there arc few in Nashville who will !
not recall tho great field day when
Mr.. Douglas spoke four hours on the |
Square to an immense audience, fol- |
lowed at night by tho silver-tonguetl,
fiery orator of the South, the great
William l.. Yancey. The city was
crowded with people from all parts OF
the country. Tho hotels were over |
full. We distinctly remember spend |
ing the small end Of a well-spent night |
in an arm chair. Tho enthusiasm was
intense. Mr. Douglas beautiful wife
had preceded him, and held n reccp-
ton at the old st. Cloud. If Mr..
Douglas had the smaller following at
his enthusiastic. reception than that
which greeted Ynncey at the depot,
when the crowd insisted on Drawing
his carriage, Mrs. Douglas charmed all
comers. We, can, recall the graceful
and impressive Yancey at his room
"a glass of champagne scarcely tasted in
hand, in an animated tone, with i, face
aglOw with fervor, and a glance of the
eye which was fascinating, conversing
ON the issues of that pregnant hour,
with that happy blending Of logic and
sentiment which was his forte in ora
tory-his sentences chaste, elegant, but
warm and glowing-his voice sweet
and persuasive in its music, his senti-
ment rousing, his logic convincing.
That day was a rare opportunity to
compare two men who were opposites
in almost every respect. Tho Douglas
method of oratory is perhaps that OF
to-day. The Yancey oratory belongs
to the past. We have no Dougiases
left, and there were but few Yanceys.
Mr.. Douglas, with the voice Of Sena-
tor, unmusical, but heard from the
centre of the square to the pavement,
held his vast audience by the cohesive
power of his sstremendous logic" 1t
was one of those fascinating trains,
caught in which the mind never flags
nor leaves off till the close. Who has
not thus been caught in some beautiful
mathematical chain, and felt like it
would be criminalIy ilIogicaI-leave
life incomplete-to stop short of con-
clusion. 1t was so with tho Douglas
oratory. No sweetness of voice, grace
of manner, blending of fancy, lofty
imagery, or glowing sentiment charm
cd. 1t had none of these graces but
it possessed a charm, of its own. 1t
was more rigidly fact and cold logic
than the argument in the speech on
the crown. 1t was force, without elc-
gance, beauty or sentiment.
That night all one side Of Capitol
Hill was alive with men and women,
all the windows, balconies and esplan-
adcs of the Capitol crowded, to drink
the sweet music of a voice clear and
far-reaching, and "thinner, clearer fur
ther going" The presence of Douglas
during the day had added zest to the
evenings entertainment. Those who
had been coldly enchained by the fact
and logic Of t'the Little Giant" were
in the main, even where judgment
condemned, in sympathy with the i'm
passioned Southern orator, for they
were i'll men who felt themselves Oh
the eve Of great events, and already
caught in a vortex which was drifting
them, willing or unwilling, with the
great orator Tho momentary outcry
and buzz and hum OF q great crowd,
tho fierce interruption Of angry parti-
sans, the evidence of deep feelings,
friendly and dunfricntlly-thc muttcring
and praying of the great mass, even
then inspired with the spirit of revofu-
tiOn-tlrcc minutes OF scatfing rcbukc
to those con the outsk irts of this vast
assembly who are trifling with these
great questions involving life and
DEATH" and stiffness rcigncd. The or
ator had caught his audience and from
that time held them spell bound with
the lofticst and Purcst clnqucncc, with
fact, logic and fancy, all blended and
fused in glowing sentiment. To Mr..
douglas rude, pondcrous, sicdgeham-
mer blows, his were as those of the
steam hammer, powerful enough to
forge a shaft for a Great Eastern, deli
cate enough to make cambria needle,
and his audience were fused in the
heat of his eloquence and plastic be-
meath his blows. Nashville has seen
but few such days, but few such con-
trasts. Both pieces were enjoyed in
tenscly, and then there was an after
piece not down on the bills-but of
that no matter.
The British Medical Journal says
that there has been q case of recovery
from n genuine attack of hydrnphobia
! at the Chelmsford infirmary. This is