, 1881-01-03
How a Wrestling-Match Caused g
Change In His Life.Career.
Ills Readiness OF 1lcpnrtce on the Stump
.-Knowlcdgo Of the Scriptures.
Intensity Of His Love for Hia Daughters
Sympathy with Struggling Young
Men.
Endeators 10 CIsar OFT nn Indebtedness Of 500, 900
Death In the lliasl Of lilo Strugg[e.

CLEVELAND, O., Dec. .N.-l'r0bnbly no
sthtcstlIutl Ut tlie past generation nf great
n,en created n. deeper Impression upUn those
among wlluin he lived md noycl thnn did
Thomas Curwtn. Yet, although barely dead
dozen years, the present Erl,cratlo1, knows
little of him, save III "reminiscences of 1870.
His biography l,as never been written. ~
though the material f0r such work Ii Of II
rich uId varied cllnrueter. Tho scope of tho
present article will permit pnly IL glance 1T
some Of tho least known characteristics Of
his life.
Alx,ut thirty miles northeast from Ctncln-
nail. tn thu mt,tst nf thut beautiful nlul al-
must inuxl,t.,,sliby-fertil1 regt0t lying l0-
twee,, the two Nltu,ni Rivers, Is siluatetl tho
a,,ctent Villngc of Lebanon, thu cOn,ty-scat
OF Warren County, Ol,to, nnd
THE ur.D ltUsF: or THE co1.W1Ns.
Matthias C0rwt1l, ST., wiis ono Ut the first
settlers of this region, having removed fr1nl
Bourbon County, Kentucky. and settled on n
fnrln NEAR Lebanon, In tho year 11tS. Thomas
wns then years old. Tho Corwln family, nf
which this Is the principal brunch, uro Ut
Hungarian descent, alNl iunstgr'ttal To tic
American Coionics carly In the Eighteenth
Century. They truce their lincNRU back tn
Nautilus Coryillus, and Matthias las always
been Il fnv0r1t nA,l,o In the family.
Tholnns' father was Il firm believer In the
theory of primUgcnltnre, md carried Ills
opinions SO far M 10 hold that tito elder chill
llren are superior III intellect to the younger,
uild should ltnvc, provided there be nO inner
itnnce, at lcslst the choice uf professions. lIu
concluded that Ills frst-born sun, whom lie
ellristunu.l Nautilus, was intended fnr tho
ministry, and to thIs cnlllng dcttlcaie.l lin.
Next cN,uH Jesse, WHO showed what the faith
or considered traits which would lit hin, for
n practitioner Mt tho bar. uil.i lle WAS accord
'ingly placed Ill training for this profession.
Thomas. the third SOIL, WIS robust and l,lls-
cnfar, JuviAl, fond OF Iusc, untl wltl'al Ind
enrly developed IL liking for II team. The
elder Corwli thnught 1t required TO great
power OF llsceri,ntcnt to discover that
THOMAS WAS 1SrESDEn Fo1t THE FARM.
So fur IN IL now known, this decision Wis
fora tine satisfactory. Thomas cnntcnt-
lncnt, however. did l,nt long continue. III
referring 10 thu experiences Of this time, hc
snl,i to Ills son:
"'rhis decision OF fathers used to trouble
1ua much IN secret. remember especially
thinking over TIC subject gOod ,lenl one
season, us plowetl corn In the fields. 'Wlll
this bo my work for Ilfe?' would think.
rs it possible tl'at*I mn to know nothing Of
bnoks Or literature. while NY brothers leave
TI1E 'rEAlE5 wuULl, Hr4Ai,r
involuntmrily 70 my cycS. hut this was nj
why's IN tho higls eOr,,, nIllt l wnuld brush
the,! awny, 80 that, wien | REACHED tho eItl
of tho row, my 1uce was bright al,l happy,
llowll u thy father"
Nautilus tic Younger had been supplied
.Rlil, b1ol;s FER ~ preparatory Studies: and
:iight nild tittrlilE MI lelsuro Ioars, 'riom,is
used tn such gnul advantage tllut llu Was
. greatly prUtlted when tho harder struggle fur
sysachatlcnl self-educat'on cantc III liuturer
yeArs.
AT length 2 fartuitons Gircumstnnce
rencliel the ngr Of II. ninl wis nearly full
grown. on y ccrtat1! nccnslon, when there
wrestler, a,nl wus n!atchctl aRai1,st inn,l
nc !s s;,erlGr IN Rlss1isgai !igl, StrsnS'
"rllllbert ea&llH which WIS to decide tho cU,s-
test. At length Tom was, by forcu Ut sheer
muscular power, crowded hbWii with Srcnt
y!ns,neo !lnn o',e knce. i, such nal!l,er ~
End OF hts lEft WIS II cripple.
Z THE CAMPAIGN or 1870
WAS tho ono In which Corwfn's powors ns n
siuMp orator manifested themselves t0 their
fullEse lI;:,t,,~ cxtsa't; It WIZ great pnpuar
OF tho hour. On ono occasion, wlIe,, i,e
wis otlgnRcl III speaking tU Il lnrgu crowd, llo
WIS lntsrrllpsed seyerAi tttlts by nn ln-
pa,smt a,as f'!t!s ',ai' w9 tI', IL % tsor yiee t.
wlnw Finally the sEMakur. s!0ppell, md,
!nuking with tic peclllinr guIzzie.t expires.
sion which WIS CHARACTERISTIC OF tho i1lAsl.
nisht, aud brud l,ia llen.l Iii every titrection,
Is Though entltny0rtllg to sec n very tlimEnn-
Tive Individual. At length Ills Dyes rcl,lni,,ed
liked, aud llo sa!A, n tho lo9dGst. most
tesn1iant toi!e VI which Ills remarkable voice
Fsllow-cltizel,s: H. that. great .lay
wien the l!eave1ls snll be. rolled h,gether
like n scroll, l,-wlten Gabrlel. standing with
.nllu land, .sait say III trMmpet-tonea' tl,nt
tinue shall ba Iii, 1,!ore,-rOlne yuttenky.
vntced Democrat. away over III tito outskirts
ef tho crowd. Will call Mut, with Whit little
Sr tars9 a;nInIa e sSsesscs spcak little louder
This l!'cldsnt recalls the fact that Mr.. Cor
a STUDENT OF THE sCntrruREs,
IN early life, aild delighted over III his
lle was q strong supporter Of Liucoin f,,r
the Presidency. anli Wus Il tlelc9ato 10 tic
cl,lcAgo Convention, On the return trip two
yoEm yssty Il IT, frt Wc5S ~ 1Itng I ~ nY sar~ssnt d.!
aLout tbs nomination wlic, Ind jusI ''S.s Se.,i
announced. They considered tho cht,Icu of
Tue Cout ehtioll mistake.
th!s country llus,t 20 ollt lnn tic backwools
Of illinois u,d take W MI unknown, third.
r.tn lawyer, for such H position ~ tl,is!'
.,.,. 10 With ss i,e VII p protsgls 10 deteatel any
a ulan t,e would not DO 81 poor. a lnar who
! for ths Presidency" ~o ~
AT: cotw,n seould not longer hear such
!ne,"' liu begun, ~ o,tce rsAtl III u very Old
l}nOk 0t q very remarkable parsonage, tho