Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-08-05
WHOLE NO. 2,434.
SENATOR BEN Am.
NsIt to the Great orator-A! hrs Home
From the Macon (Ga,,) Telegraph

| VSr TO the Great Orator-A! hrs Home
From the Macon (Ga.,) Telegraph.
A few days since In company
with friend, we called upon Sem
ator Hill. We had not seen him
since the early days of the Hancock
campaign, at a time when his griev-
Gus affiiction had not begun to ex-
cite apprehension. Met at the door
by his faithful son who bears his
name, we were informed that we
could but pass into his room and
shake his hand, as ms strength was
going with the deepening shadows
of the close Of summer day. In
comfortable sitting-room, near a
window, sat the great orator in an
invalid's chair, while the tender
hands of a daughter famed his fe-
vered brow. There was nothing
left of Ben Hill but the great gaunt
form and the luminous eyes. These,
made large by pain and suffering,
seemed to be surcharged with his
soul, and almost capable of speech.
With his collar thrown open at the
neck, his hands hanging listleSsly
upon the arms of the chair, and his
head slightly inclined down and
forward, he reminded us of the dy-
ing Napoleon, as illustrated in the
celebrated statue in the Corcoran
art gallery, while his eyes followed
one with sad and questioning
power like unto those of Charlotte
Corday peering through the bars of
her prison window.
Motioning us to a chair near his
own, he grasped our hand and sat
for many moments fixedly gazing
into our face as if to read our
thoughts. Suddenly he raised him.
self, and fronting us fully with "A
mighty effort, he said:
"I had desired to live for two
reasons, chief among which was
that | might have made speech,
which l had partly prepared, to the
people of this whole country upon
the relations between the white
man and the black man. / have
always been in favor of giving the |
negro equal and exact Justice
nothing more and nothing less. |
My friend, we cannot have good |
government or stable society in
this land when one party seeks to |
dominate the other by the use of the
negro vote"
His voice had grown stronger and |
more distinct as he spoke, and then
came the old flash to his eye, the |
familiar poise of the head, and his
marked gesticulation. His attend
ants gave evident signs of alarm at
this unusual effort, and in obedi-
ence to their suggestions we arose /
to go, telling him that we could not
permit him to injure himself by an
attempt to talk, and that we fully
took the idea that he was endeavor-
ing to impress upon us. Still cling
ing to our hand, he continued in a
stronger voice and with more ener-
gy: "You have always had it, you
have always understood it. You
stated it strongly and illustrated 1t
it admirably in the Rountree case.
This idea was the basis of my notes
on the situation" AT this point it
was simply impossible that the
scene should be allowed to continue,
but he did not release his hold until
he had eXacted promise that we
would call again and listen when
he was better able to speak. We
left him with the solemn impress
sion that we should not look upon
him again in life, but cheered and
by the sublime cour-
age of dying man.