The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1880-06-05
Letter from Washington.
OUR FORECAST IDEAS OF MEN,.
CONkLING, BLAINE, VOORHEES,.
A "Reminiscences of the SEM =
tor from Indiana.
THE POWER OF ELOQUENCE
THE PRESIDENTIAL RACERS.

: AS SAT III the Senate reserved gal
lery few days ago, looking down OF
the "most potent, grave and reverend
seigneurs;" who compose that body
L could not help thinking of the vas1
difference in the ideal pictures I had
drawn of the prominent members o1
the Senate, before having seen them
and the Senators as they are. For in
stance | had fancied-and my impress
sions were drawn from newspaper
reading-that in Conkling, of New
York, | would behold as handsome a
specimen humankind as could be
found anywhere. L had pictured him
with black hair and piercing eyes,
looking as wise asa pictureo of Minerva,
and as bold as Numean lion. found
him to be white headed, quite COM
monplace in appearance, very unlike
the pictures we had seen of him, and
somewhat bowlegged in the bargain.
L read in newspaper once that he
looked as if just out of a handbook,
and frequently Wore "A button-hole
bouquet in the lapel of his lustrous
broadcloth coat. He may have done
this in the olden time, but he neither
wears the flowers nor the broadcloth
coat now, but in the plain suit of gray
in which he is usually dressed, he APP
wears about as ordinary as the aver
age member of the Senate.
Blaine is decidedly the finest look
ing specimen of manhood on the Re-
publican side, and in debate he has
not peer Oh that side of the chamber.
The most perfect specimen of physi-
cal manhood in the Senate is d. w.
VOORHEES, and if there be more elo-
quent speaker on the continent, have
never heard him. TWAS my pleasure
once to hear Mr.. Voorhees, deliver a
three hours speech to a jury, in suit
brought by merchant of Aberdeen,
Miss, named Francis, against an in
surance company for ten thousand
dollars-the amount of a policy held
by Francis on his stock of goods which |
was destroyed by fire. The plaintiff
was a northern man who had come to |
after the war, and the insur-
ance company refused to pay the poll
cy on the ground that plaintiff had
set fire to his store in order to obtain
the insurance money. The defense
was represented by Jos. Il. Harrison,
Of Columbus, probably the best law
yer Mississippi has ever produced. 1t
appeared in the testimony that mil
liner occupied portion of the upper
story of the plaintiffs store-house,
and with the view of depreciating Mr..
Francis in the minds Of the jury, Mr..
Harrison insinuated very strongly in
MS speech that an improper intimacy
existed between Mr.. Francis and the
milliner, and in speaking of her he
seemed to throw a mingled sarcasm
md contempt into his pronunciation
Is he drawled out every now and then,
II a peculiar nasal twang, something
bout "the milliner."
1t chanced that the husband of
nilliner was on the jury, and Mr..
Voorhees, hearing of this, and also the {
urther fact that the milliner was the
wife of Confederate soldier who died
,ravely on the battle field of Chicka- ,
nauga, and too, that she was IA lady {
lighly esteemed in Aberdeen, he felt
pretty comfortable while waiting for ;
,Ir. Harrison to conclude his long {
lrgument.
When he was at last done, Mr.. Voor- !
ices arose, and after going carefully !
ver all the testimony in the case, he
eferred to the remarks of Mr.. Harri- c
on in attempting to cloud the repu- ]
alton of an honorable Southern
roman, in order, as he expressed it, \
to strengthen the case of soules C
!
Warming up as he progressed, his y
ne toned voice seemed to become +
lore musical, as he went on to state t
D the jury that he had made inquiries .
bout the lady of whom Mr.. Ha. rison >
ad spoken so lightly, and that he had 5
that she was not only a Ii
adv above reproach in the commu- I
ity wherein she lived, but that she y
,as a helpmeet of gallant soldier fl
Tho gave up his life for the South, p
nd the loved wife whose parting kiss v
-as probably the dearest consolation 1
nat he had as he felt his life-blOOd
bbing slowly away. He said that he 7
-as what was called Northern man
/ the South, inasmuch as he was a
-nion soldier, but he hoped thata just
cd might palsy his tongue, if he ever h
tempted to blacken the character i
a dead soldiers lonely spouse, even u
rough she was the wife of brave ii
IAN who fought against him for what Fl
e conceived to be right. e.
At this time he had been speaking -
early three hours, and as he glanced n
round there was not lawyer at the il
lr with dry eyes, and tears were even !
,ursing down the checks Of the Judge Il
\ the bench. el
The speech concluded, the jury re- 81
red, but returned in less than five y,
Iinutes with a verdict for the full w
mount sued for, with interest. l 81