The record-union., 1891-03-16
CALHOUN, WEBSTER, CLAY.
The Blind Chaplains Reminis-
cences of the Old Senate.
Peculiarities of the Distinguished
Statesmen of Other rDays-webster's
Organ Toned Voice Randolph's
Tribute to Henry Clay.

At the right side of the Presidents
chair, on the Democratic side, sat one OF
the three men first'sought by the eye OF
the visitor. He looked and dressed Ikea
Southern planter, and at the first glance
there was little to distinguish him except
the marked respect paid him on all hands.
He was somewhat above the medium
hight, neither broad-shouldered nor
stout, erect, grave and somewhat con-
strained in air and manner. The head,
not large, was covered with short, IRON
gray hair, standing like the quilts of a
porcupine; the brow, not unusually high
nor broad, was deeply furrowed; the
complexion had the sallow tinge of the
South. 1t was the steady burning light
OF the eye, whether he were talking or
listening, that first awakened your inter-
est. When he rose to speak, which was
not often, silence that could be felt
rested on the chamber; all reading, writ
ing, chatting was suspended as the some
what sharp and grating tones OF his voice
greeted the ear. He rarely spoke over an
hour, but at the close you were exhausted
as well as he. Standing in the narrow
alley between his own and his nelghbor'S
desk, hand clutchine, each, a stream of
words rushed from his lips at the rate OF
$50 to the minute. His only action was to
use one or other hand to mop his brow
with bandana.
There was little variation in the pitch
of his voice, no beauty of dict1on, no
grace of utterance. There were no figures
of speech, no efforts at oratory. 1t was
clear compact, vivid statement of the case;
the argument was close, logical, cllnchlng,
there was scarcely redundant word; it
was like the demonstration of problem
in Euclid, until he claimed the functions
of a seer, and from the hight of vaticina-
ton foretold what he declared must come
to pass. Up to this point the speech must
have been dry but for his intensity, not
demonstrative, and therefore.all the more
powerful; it was centered, almost calm,
but when he reached his height of vision
and clothed himself in prophetic robes,
he was rapt, and so was his hearers; men
almost forgot to breathe, all sat rigid,
motionleSS: their eyes caught the light of
his and whether they agreed or disagreed
with him, for the moment he transfused
his consciousness through theirs, and
they were his captives. a logical under
standing, depth of conviction, absolute
sincerity, intensity of nature, which
would have held him composed, nay,
made him exultant, amid the agonies Of
the stake and the lighted fagot, We're the
secret of the power in the public speech
and private influence of John Caldwell
Calhoun. He had in him part of the stuff
that made John Knox and Calvin what
they were.
The second man your eye would seek
sat in front of the chair to the left of the
main aisle. In nearly all respects he was
the opposite of Mr.. Calhoun. His frame
was massive, shoulders broad, chest deep,
head, brow-indeed, everything about his
build and manner was majestic. The
eyes were large, deep set. overhung by
penthouse brows. His voice had tones as
deep and rich as ever came out of human
ichest. His manner at the beginning of a
speech was deliberate, almost hesitating
at times, as if for the right word The
mighty intellect moved slowly at first,
and the opening might have seemed dull
but for the organ-like tones, the majesty
of the presence which awed yet fascinated
you. Your critical sense was satisfied by
the choice of the words and the guarded
statement OF the case. AS he went on, the
stately argument and manner had now
and then strenuous quality, a flash as of
sheet lightning. AS his headway in
creased the somewhat heavy features
lighted up, the deep eyes Shone, the pose
and movement were more impressive,
the sustained swell as the Organ-like mu-
sic in his tones, fit accompaniment to his
large and lucid paragraphs, Subdued and
yet upllfted you; when he marShaled his
arguments for the close to make the Sem
ate, the country, a sharer in his views and
its bearing on the questions in hand, his
port seemed more than human: he was
the impersonation of grandeur. A lofty
yet simple manner in delivery, crystal
line style, mighty arguments driven
home with the force of thunderbolts, and
all without appearance Of effort, combined
with his other attributes, to make him
one of the orators of all time. However
insignificant you felt in the presence of
such power, you rejoiced to be allied to it
by the ties of kith and kin, and felt your
self more a man for having heard one of
the speeches of Daniel Webster.
Henry Clay, the other member of the
Senatorial striumvirate, as thev We're
named, sat at the extreme left of the
Chair, and needed all the space afforded
ny the transverse aisle TO give him room
a. I'd verge when he spoke He was thin
an, I rather loosely jointed, yet carried
him self with such ease, grace and dignity
that 'ou forgot the short-coming of his
build. His hair had been sandy, COM
plexion light; his eyes were blue, the
features ,pf his face uncommonly plain,
the mouth> enormously large, but the ex-
preston /. .ad such courage, kindliness,
open-hearte,a sympathy with all sorts
and conditions of mon, that the moment
he grasped your hand, and opened his
lips, the beam ing eye, the unaffected
cordiality, the lpatchleSs harmony and
power of his voice>wrought upon you as
a spell, and yon were ready to declare
him the handsomeSt and princelieSt man
you had looked upon or might hope to
see. He fascinated alike men, women
and children, high and low, white and
black. The Wing masses worshiped
him. and Democrats loved while they
opposed him. John Randolph, of Ro-
anoke who in the frenzy of partisan
debate, had scoffed and fiouted Mr.. Clay,
and in his blind fury heaped the foulest
charges upon him, when he was dying
had himself carried into the Senate
chamber that he might once more eeand
bear the magnanimouS man toward
whom he had been so unjust; and when
Mr.. Clay rose to speak Randolph said in
his piping voice: ''Raise me up; let me
see as well as hear the man among men,"
Words fail in the attempt to convey the
impression made by Mr.. Clay; whether
he spoke in the Senate or on the stump
whether you heard and saw him i'll the
tournament of great debate or only
shook hands with him, he affected you as
no one else ever did or Will.
An old ministerial friend of mine, who
was much in Washington in those days,
and was one of the great Kentuckian's
most fervent admirers, but whose mod
esty had kept him from seeking his
acquaintance, saw on Pennsylvania
avenue one day Mr.. Clay approaching
and no one else near; plucking up heart
as they met he extended his hand, saying:
MIR. Clay, am the Rev. Mr.-,pastor
of Wesley Chapel, and from my boyhood
i have honored and loved you" Instantly
1t was as if the sun had burst from behind
a cloud my friend was bathed in a
stream of warmth and light as the kind
ling eye and beaming face shone upon
KAslin0C