New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-02

hers somewhat more than the church pastors
who were to blame. The former at least knew
better | am not sure that the pastors always
did, reached honestly tnis conciussU 1dN IlUo
while talking with the Rev. Dr. -, OF Boston.
He was an excellent specimen OF his class. ne
came into my Office and was so friendly ana
brOtherly and withal exhibited such natuial
incapacity for grasplng the SITUATION that al 1y
wrath vanished and was really sorry for some
perfectly true things which had said OF one OF
his most conservative Thanksgiving sermons
The great blunder was in assuming that the pull
pit had nothing to do with slavery; Ii was
mortal mistake, If only considered logically:
But let Us forgive If we cannot forget! III IS NOT
am agreeable subject and we will travel back
from New Hampshire to Washington as fast as
possible.
had thought and read and talked and, writ
ten SO much about slavery, that rs We rode INTO
the region of human bondage, was quite upon
the All tire to discover indications OF lis eXlSI
tcncr and influence. The first exhibition which
had of it was at station III DelaMaTe, upon tlIe
steps of which seven or eight vcrtible chattels
were sitting upon the steps, all rags anu Iazl-
ness, intensifying the delight OF dong nOthlng
else ly masticating tobacco. Soon afterwards
l saw another of my sable friends. III whose
behalf | had worn out many pens and spoiled
much paper, coming out of wood seated upon
the back of the single OK which drew his cart.
But | did not fully comprehend the lazlneSS
and the utter shiftleSSness OF the patrlarchal
system until got into my hotel in Washington,
and wanted a fire. / am afraid TO say how
many children of Canaan struggled ana Ia
bored and fetched and carried before we ar
rived at O comfortable combustion. FIRST, one
bOndman came up and cleared out the CRATE;
then another brought the necessary kIndllng,
wood, but forgot the shavings; then arrived
the coal in charge of third assistant; and then
a bondwOman appeared and made the fire 1t
did not seem to me that one OF these co-labor-
ers had the least idea OF what he or she was
doing. A sharp New York porter would have
had the fire blazing beautifully i'll five minutes,
and the room too hot for endurance III ten.
made a memorandum in my diary that the only
cruelty which | had observed IN Washington
was that which had myself experienced; and
| took good care not to let the fire 20 out
during my stay having decided apprehension
that once extingulShed it would be found ut
tery impossible to rekindle it.
We ha d the exercises before the Delta
Kappa Epsi-lonians the next evening. and
have q vague recollection of beng seized by
the right arm as if | had been blind, like IlO-
mer, and SD led helplessly forward by the Hon.
Augustus Cesar Dodge, who was only Sena-
tol Notwithstanding his imperial name. He IN,
trOduced me to the audience which was told
included good many Members of Congress |
learned this afterward. was kindly spared
the depressing information 6ef0rchand;
Otherwise Heaven only knows how l should
have got on. The boys kicked up a great dus.
in applauding my verses; bnt what l liked
most was that the Massachusetts members who
were present made it pOint of local honor ard
State esprit to be perfectly delighted ana 10
roar with laughter at all the principal funny
passages. Those were days III which we we've
lust beginning to feel that we were somebody
and could produce men az well as ice ana gran
te. One of our members particularly d'stn-
cuIshcd himself by his ObStTcperOuS hlarlty
and afterward when there was q "rcccptiOn"
Mt the hotel, he continued TO break out at inter
walls and in an unexpected way, besides gong
about and telling everyone who was not present
how much they had missed. The banquet
came afterwards.
It was at this festive board that first saw
man pIctty Well-knOwn and much talked of Ill
his day. This was the Hon. Stephen A. Doug
las, son Of New England, a veritable product
pluck rersistency and muscular self-assur4nce
and self-asSertiOn. did not like him and re-
garded his whole political system, so far as 1t
related to slavery with, absolute detcstatlon.
This, however, shall not prevent me from say
ing that of all the men in Washington, he most
IMPRESSED me with a sense of power and of n
rare and reserved force. Nobody who did not
see him, can comprehend the aptncss of that
title of Little Giant which WAS bestowed
upon hun but they1nay be assured that It de-
scribes him exactly. 1t would be hard and un-
Just to say that his manner was arrogant anu
dOmineering; it was rather that OF man who
had carefully thought out his opinion, knew
precisely what it was, and stood prepared to dc,
fend il against all corners. lie chamDlOncd bad
measures with such indOmitablc ability that III
listening to him the feeling was predominant
of poignant regret tnat nc was NOT upon inc
right side It is useless to speculate now about
it but cannot help thinking of what infinite
value this remarkable man might have been to
the cause Of liberty, if the future OF politics had
made him q leader of it. What magnificent
battle he fought in the Senate for a most mis-
chievous1. measure, is well known how he sue
ceeded for q time In turning the policy OF the
Government from the normal to the noXlOus,
it would be. superfluOus. to narrate; and how,
after all, the spirit of the century and the
power Of eternal truth and Justice were too
much for this doughty but disappointed soldier
of slavery. He was like a game cock. Upon
any, alusion which he did not IKE, ne was
at our banquet. Mr.. Eliot, a Member of the
House from Massachusetts, was one OF our
speakers, and being an anti-slayery man
through and through, with views OF the Kan
as-Nebraska bill which were quite .unmistak-c
able, made some reference to It which was, OF
course perfectly gOOd-natuTed but quite
enough to provoke a strong retort tp m MIR.
Douglas. This also. was tempered, L admit,
by the .proprieties Of the occasion, but it was
c0uched in very decided language and laid down
with the air of one unacCuslOmed TO positive
contradiction. The "Little Giant" seemed to
say to the representative: "Ah my friend, II
only had you in my own stronghold, the Senate
| Chamber, wouldn't crunch you ~ Not that
| Mr. Eliot was in the least dlsmayed the man
who used to bring III bills at all decent intervals
| for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave lay was
| not likely to be frightened even by the Giants
{" Fee -faW-fum' y; this small passage alarms
| came to pacific conclusion and the feast went
| on until the larger of the small hours, with
much singing of college songs, and many ebul-
| itions of college wit, until it was quite fit and
proper that everybody should 90 to bed.
| do not know that the character of Congress,
! in its superficial aspects has much changed
| since the time of which am writing. Accus-
| toned to the perfect decOrum and methodlcal
ways of smaller legislative bodies, did not
| relish either the airs or manners of the House
which was too large then for dignity, whatever
it may now be. After little while l was glad
| to 20 into the serenqr atmosphere of the Smith
sOnian Institute and to present letter Of intro
been favored. In conversation with that
learned and amiabe man, during which he was
| oh