The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-04-23

himself. WNlCD llluctIdttS MS VIC o
position. When an urchin OF ten /
MS father put him to work 'nlgger-
ing the logs IN a 'deadening. While |
thus employed young Tom found /
out that the wild turkeys had a reg
ular trail through the deadening to
a stream of water. They went to
drink at a certain time headed by a
big gobbler who always went ahead
TO see that the way was clear. lie
did this by mounting a log, looking
about, and giving an al right gon-
bic. the retiEue would continue.
Young Corwin resolved TO eaten the
Old fellow. He lay down behind the
log and caught the king turkey by
the feet. as he jumped up TO survey
the situation. He was almost too
much for the boy of 10, and dragged
him through the briers and brush
until both were exhausted. Then
torn and bleeding the boy dragged
his prize to the house. He feared
bis fathers wrath on account Of his
torn clothes, but the Old man laugh
/ led. He admired the boys pluck
hardly believed that the boz had
caught the gob5ler, almost as big as
/ himself. When d little older C0rwln
was quite pugnacious. His father
kept a still house and sold his whis-
! XIV in Cincinnati. Tom was gener-
/ ally sent with the wagon, and many
a tine he heightened the journey by
stopping to fight with some boy
along the road or a rival driver.
Even when he became governor and
senator he referred to these events of
his youth with delight.
There arc dozens of stories about
him which | suppose are wrongly
credited. He often told one that
perhaps you have heard. When he
first ran for congress, in 1880, he had
big. wild district. He was yeung,
a Whig, and was running against a
big majority. lie canvassed his
district on horseback, and one night
lstopped with man he knew was
against him. Corwin had no hope
of converting his host, but talked
pleasantly all the evening. He re-
tired IT, the same room with the man
and his wife, common enough in
those primitive days Of log cabins
and big freplaces.
The next NOR hing he was surpris-
ed when the old man said, 'Carwin
| I'm going to vote for YOU Glad to
know It, Corwin also wanted to
the cause Of the sudden conversion
he found out. The old man re-
marked, Wal. now, iii tell you
I'm % plain man and nay wife Is a
plain woman. Now when the other
candidate was here a week ago the
old woman watched him go to bed
= aud sir. III be d if he didn't
pull woman's night gown from hi:
sack and put 1t on. Yes, sir, we
mans night gown Now, | dou
believe in such fixin's for a mali
and / said to my wife that any mar
who wore woman's gown was not
fit to 20 TO Congress. Now, we
watched you last night and saw
that you jumped into bed with you
p common shirt on, ana, sir, I've made
I up my mind to vote for YOU Cor
. win caught up the humor III the ole
: fellows honest spaech. He burnish
ed up the story and told it all owe
] the district in syery speech he made
r He so ridiculed his opponent, de
scribing how he go into and out 0
, his shirts, that, although in a stronI
: Democratic district. Corwin wa.
T. elected.
He was a great orator even then
vas he not?'
} He always was, You know hi
!, Mexican war speech was one ef Tia
:. finest efforts ever heard. And nov
e prophetic 1t was, too, rs We read i
/, by the light of later events. But Tia
grandest speech that Corwin eve
made vas never published, and 5u
y 800 people heard 1t. II was deliver
9 ed in the court house at Lebanon
A about the time Corwin was so con
b domned for his attitude on the Mex
t lean war. He had been burned i
2 etfigv all over the country, and h
{ came home gore and sad.
= Il can remember what speech h
$ made TO his own neighbors that da
e in explanation of his course. /
e was the NEST eloquent speech of hi
e whole lie. can remember on
u figure he used He related the oil
e Persian superstition that goo,
= angel sat ever on the shoulder {
z every man. That this good ange
: recorded the good acts of his charg
e with jay, the evil acts with pain an
" blackness. But II the man repente
2 ere the sun went down, the ange
dropped a tear, which blotted ou
o forever the i'll deeds of the day.
4 And so Corwin said that b
n hoped the recording angel of thi
Di country would drop tear upon IN
d ouirages of the Mexican war an
D blot them forever. The last worC
}; oi this metaphor Cerwin did not "a
N ter aloud. His voice grew faint wit
he emotion. and he gushed out IN
/; peculiar whisper the last word
j. HIS hearers needed not to hear then
Of There was not drip eye in the who
OF assembly. Each man wept, col
q, guered by his eloquence and patho
ri Yes, he was the greatest orato
s Ohio. L know of no such man nov
L adays,
: Ills oratory was wonderful
every linement OF his face SCENE
=" TO convey thought. | rememb,