Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-03-11
DUST TO DUST.
A Noble Soul Enshrined in Mis-
cradle Flesh.

1ACsucmsS IN tine Lie Of
III. stephens -"Cnt, I'll NeSer
Take Back MY words"-A Ceie.
bratcd Appeal for the Rights oil
the MOGher-HIs Distressing Per-
sonal Appearance.
OF the personal appearance OF the late
Alexander H. Stephens, who died at mid
night on the 4th OF March, was described
by a Washington correspondent as follows:
"The most remarkable man, in some re-
spects, in the House Of Representatives is
Alexander II. Stephens. Almost every
visitor at ths capital wants to see the Geor-
gia member, and his seat is the target for
more eyes from the galleries than hat OF
any other member. He il a mere human
wreck-a living skeleton, and OF the most
diminutive dimensions at that. The
weight of this poor wreck is said tobe s.
pounds, including all his ~wrappings. He
is in his seat every day, sometimes for a
short time only, and on other days during
the entire session. He sits in his seat for
hours with his cloak over his shoulders,
his little velvet smoking cap on his head,
and his gloves on his hands. But if his
body is weak, Frustrated and emaciated,
his mind is apparently as bright as ever.
His deeply sunken eyes glisten with an al
most unearthly brilliancy under the pro-
truding brows as he watches the move
ments of others about him. His voice is
shrill and piping, like that of a ha~lf-grown
schoolboy, but his mental faculties are I'M
impaired. When Mr.. Stephens speaks
he stands supported by his crutches, or
rather he hangs upon these supports and
leans against the desk at his back"
RELATIONS WITH DAVIS.
Mr.. Stephens was not in his element in
the C~onfederacy, although he made an
earnest effort after Georgia had gone out
Of the Union to induce Virginia TO follow.
His relations with Jefferson Davis were
not OF a pleasant character, and he visited
Richmond as seldom as possible during
the existence of the Confederate Govern
ment. Mr.. Davis always appeared to look
upon his associate with suspicion, although
when Mr.. Stephens had once given his adj
herence to a cause no person had any right
to question his honor and sincerity. But
Mr.. Stephens would not yield his sanction
to what he considered unconstitutional
measures. even during the dangerous and
losing contest in which the Confederacy
was engaged, and he differed with the
Richmond Government on them martial law
and other policy. Probably the most
marked speech Mr.. Stephens ever made
was that delivered at Savannah in March,
1861, in which he pronounced the status
of the negro as an inferior being ''by
nature or by the curse Of Cain" in the
new form of civilization" established by
the Montgomery Constitution, and defined
slavery as the corner stone Of the Con-
federacy. This speech was widely cir
culated in England, with the object Of
turning popular feeling there against the
secessionists. Mr.. Stephens possessed many
fine qualities. He was amiable and genial
in private life, fond of quiet and retire
ment, an eloquent and forcible speaker.
gifted with a clear, bright intellect and a
man of entire sincerity and integrity. He
was probably one Of the very best types of
all there was of good in the old slave
holding system, which drew SO marked a
line between the character Of the people of
the two sections Of the Republic before
the secession.
CAUSE CELEBRE.
The case on which young Stephens made
his reputation while yet a young lawyer in
Georgia was this: A wealthy man was
guardian of his grandchild, its mother
having married a second husband. In
course of time the mother desired posses
sion of the child, which was resisted by
the grandfather, who claimed it as legal
guardian. The stepfather, anxious to
please his wife, came to young Stephens
and engaged him as counsel to set aside
the guardianship, older lawyers declined
on the score of the hopelessness of the
case, and perhaps a fear to encounter the
counsel engaged on the opposite side. The
trial came on before five judges. In plead
ing for the mother Mr.. Stephens eyes
glittered and his voice qnivered with pas
sion. In the words Of one of his biogra.
piers, he planted himself upon the great
law of nature that overrides all human
statutes, or upon which all human statutes
must rest. In vain had abundant testi-
mony been a advanced from the old burghers
of Powelton that the child would be better
cared for by the grandfather than by the
mother in her new relation. All this was
consumed in the fire Of that eloquence
pleading for the sacred right of maternity.
| Men, women and children wept; many
sobbed aloud. The five judges tried to
preserve the balance Of their official dig
nifty, but they could not resist the conta-
gious emotion, and tears were seen rolling
down their cheeks, and when the argu-
ment was finished their spokesman, with
faltering voice, pronounced judgment in
favor Of the mother.
A MEMORABLE ENCOUNTER.
Mr.. Stephens was bitterly hated at times
in the South because Of his conservatism
in political controversy between his Sec
ton and the North, and he was several
times called a traitor. A particular charge
Of this sort was made in public by Judge
Core, a distinguished member of the
Georgia Bar, in ls4S. and led to the ia
nous encounter with knives in which Mr.,
Stephens was engaged, and from the effects
Of which he suffered till the day Of his