Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-03-25
AN ELOQUENT EFFusION.


qence, the sou6riquet of Johanne
Chrysostomus, or John of the gold
: en- mouth, which had been conferred
/ in ancient times, upon the famous
: bishop of Constantinople, knowr
by that epithet in ecclesiastical his
! tory.
Our Chrysostom is now an emf
; nent lawyer in Lexington, KY, and
does not seem to have lost his fac
ulty of eloquent discourse as will be
manifest on reading the following
extract which we cut from the Lex.
ington Sunday Observer. 1t is
taken from an address delivered al
bar meeting in Lexington, held
in memory of Gen. John B. Huston
deceased, and will be read with in
terest by Mr.. Aliens numerous
friends in Clarksville.
d.. F. w.
If any other man than Gen. Hus-
ton had died, l should not have
attempted to say anything; but
the great qualities of this dead man
have so long commanded my admi-
ration, and his friendship for me
and my family have so touched my
heart, that / cannot but add my
tribute of sorrow and respect for his
memory.
1 feel, too, that from us, the
younger members of the bar, should
come some testimony of our feeling,
for we are particularly bereft in his
death. To him more freely than to
any of the older lawyers could we
go for aid, encouragement and ad-
vice; and his wise judgment, ripe
knowledge and kindly sympathy
were never more cheerfully given
than in assisting and stimulating to
| greater efforts the younger members
of his profession. And perhaps to me
| ne was kinder and more familiarthan
to any of the younger lawyers; for
his acquaintance beginning forty
years ago with my grandfather, rip
ening into a warm affection in the
next generation for my uncle, caus-
| ed him on that account to give me
a warmer place in his heart than /
might otherwise have had, the
memory of whom / shall always be
proud to cherish.
So, as his friend and as his stu
dent, for L was member of his law
| class, and as one who loved him in
common with all the members of
| this bar, | testify to the kindness,
the tender feeling, the greatness of
John B. Huston.
His character was to me always
study, for nature had tangled the
threads with which she wove his
life. Mingling with the coarser,
sterner stuff of the man was the
finer fibre of a woman's nature.
With rough vigOr, he had femi-
nine delicacy of intellect to cold,
analytical power, was added a SEN
sitiVe mental organization, and un-
derneath the massive exterior was
heart attuned to the softest touch
of the emotions.
Those antithises of character fur
nish, in my opinion, the reasons
why Gen. Huston did not attain
the greater distinction to which
some of his shining qualities so
justly entitled him. Possessing
abilities which made him .fdciLe
princeps among his associates, an in
tellect which could cope successfully
with any in the land, his mind was
so delicately made, his nature so
sensitive, as to shrink from the bit
ter antagonisms, the acrimonious
contests of life; and, so, he allowed
men vastly inferior to himself in
ability to grasp the prizes so easily
within his reach.
But the great underlying princi-
piles of his character were his ten
derness, his deep and generous in
stincts, his big and sympathetic
heart, which never failed to beat
responsive to misfortune's call or
misery's wall. No man or woman
ever asked his sympathy or begged
his pity that the gates of his heart
did not open, and his kindliness
pour out like an unsealed fountain |
to refresh and strengthen the sup
plants. And these tender qualities,
like little flowers nesting in the |
crevices of some rugged cliff, adorn-
ed and sweetened his whole life. !
1t has been said that we young |
men have never heard Gen. Hus- |
ton when in the meridian of his |
strength, and that we can form no |
idea of the brilliancy of his elO-
quence. If this be true, his powers
must have been almost divine, for |
when aroused and his feelings ex-
cited, | have never heard IN ore
burning, thrilling oratory than his.
There are men whose rhetoric was
more chaste and elegant, whose
periods were more evenly rounded,
but for the last ten years there has
been no orator In Kentucky, and
perhaps in the South, with more
magnetic pOWer-no speaker posses
sing to s1ch great degree the facul-
ty of playing at will upon the feel
ings and emotions of his hearers.
To graphic power that at times
was startling in its terrific effect,
was added sweet persuasive elo-
quence that came to the ear, after
one of his grand bursts of oratory,
like the sweet Ginning of far away
bells over the water after the storm
has spent its force. AT times his
grand old face, under the inspira-
tiOn of his burning thoughts, SEEM
ed lit up by some heavenly fire
within; and again, when he por-
trayed the softer emotions, would
melt into an exquisite tenderness of
His plea for mercy in
the Fogle case / look upon as the
most touching piece Of pathetic or
story / have ever heard. But, alas
"that melody of life, with its cum
ming tones which took captive ev-
cry heart, has gone silent" These
old walls, within whose crypts and
corners his eloquence has so often
will no longer echo back
his impas5ioned tones.
"The quick dreams. the passion
winged minister OF thought, who
were his flock, wander no more
from kindling brain to brain, but
mourn their lot round his cold
heart"
Death has sealed his eyes. Gods
finger has touched him and he
sleeps. The sound of the grinding
is low, and the windows of the
houses are darkened, and the
go about the street.
The world will go on as before,
men will strive and fight for wealth,
will sing and dance, sorrow and
the grief of death will give
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