The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-20

CORWIN AT 70.
opportunities to wed before the death of
her father bat refused them all, aud
when he was gone she had passed the
marriagcable age.
Some years ago, on the suggestion Of
the late President Garfield, spent some
time in the collection of material with
the end in view of writing al adequate
biography Of the man who IN his day
was the most popular and the most talk
eel of of any Ohio statesman. At that
time | visited Lebanon and secured
much data DR.. William a. Corwin, the
statcs:nan's only son, was then alive
and he furnished me many reminis-
ocnces that except in my notes, are now
lost.
Why Miss CorwIn Never Married.
The following anocdoto written out
for mo by DR.. Corwin explains why
Miss Corwin never married: THE love
I which father cherished for his throo
daughters was so intense that it partook
OF the nature of jealousy whom they be-
gan to be courttd by the admiring young
men of the vicinity. At the marriage
of his Oldest daughter, Eva, to Mr.
George r.. Sage, II young lawyer Of Gin
} cinnati, who is now United States dis
tTict judge he manifested so much feel
ing that the occasion partook more of
Che aspect Of IL funeral than of q we'd
ding. During the ceremony he shed
tears, and at the wedding supper, after
prolonged silence, he finally broke ont
as follows: Now, l want it distinctly
4 understood that this thing is never 20
Ing to happen in this house again. There
will never Ike another wedding hero l
will get a Niger 6 feet tall and give
4 him pole 10 feet long and post him at
the front door and instruct him to
: knock any young man i'll tho head who
( comes to see my daughters -
An interesting letter which received
from General Garfield mt that time also
i bears upon the same subject will
a give it in full, rs it contains several
i other points that are very interesting,
4 and that have never been made public:
WAsHINGroN, March .. ls1a
4 MY DEAR ISoBERTsoS- Yours of the s8th nit
Il came duly to hand. am not able 10 give YOU
81 much i'll regard to COrwin beyond the point
Il you already refor To. will. however, mention
a few things in order MS they occur To me:
First-He was singularly affcctionatc toward
a his family and friends. l remember no told
me that at the marriage of each OF his daugh-
N ters he had suffered the pangs Of Jealousy to
81 think that his daughter could love another
a man better than she loved him; TINT when his
= first daughter WINS married. though the man
q She married was Il noble fellow, yet Corwin
* shut himself up in his room for n day or two
= before the marriage. and the family had much
- dihcuty to get him to 20 down stairs and at
q tend the ceremony. The occasion of his tell
s. Ing me this was shortly before his death, when
= he han just returned from the marriage of his
2younsest daughter. He said the old feeling of
- Jealousy revived, and he had Il horrible time
= till the wedding was over.
"A Second-llc remarked very sadly one even
- ing That ii was the greatest mistake of his life
What he had ever cracked joke or made n
funny speech, for people would never believe
~ thAt II funny man could have any solid abili-
ties, and If he did not mako Il funny speech his
87audicnce was disappointed.
81 Third-Tho story of his first election to con-
Xgress, or what he called "the nightshirt issue"
FL think you will remember sufficiently without
#my repeating it.
ri Fourth-A large party of Ohio people had as
HseMbed at the house of Mr.. Wetmore, the mil
Military agent of Ohio. and Corwin was in his
; hsppiest vein of anecdotc. He occupied n sofa
23with friend seated ON each hand and ms
tmany seated In front Of him could get with
reach. They We're listening to ono OF his in
Rfmitable stories, in the course of which he
8arosc to illustrate some point of the anecdote
3qand while making gesture with both hands
E53was stricken with paralysis and fell forward
~ caught him In my arms as he fell. and White
iaw Reid. who stood beside me. aided in carry.
l4Slng him to bed in adjoining room. He
&4spoke once or twice on the way and as we laid
Thin down, but never spoke again. He died
81 ncxt day. Very truly yours,
s. J. A. GARFIELD.
~ Peculiar Issue.
The 'nightshirt ISSUE" to which
General Garfield refers in his letter,
$was one of Corwin's favorite stories.
and General Garfield told me that he
chad heard Corwin repeat it OH two sep
hrate occasions 1t was to tho fsIlow-
ling effect:
= When Corwin first ran for congress
|a9he was at first somewhat put to 1t for a
Unsatisfactory Issue. He accidentally
Mearned that his opponent wore a night
3shirt, which was rather unusual In
those days and in that locality. He 1e-
Eerred to this fact in one of his speeches
Is and noticed that it created quito a sell.
z$$ation. Hc then proceeded in subsc-
luent speeches to expatiate III every
for receivable way upon this subject, pic
Sfuking to his hearers man clad in a
hikhtgown such as honest grandmothers
#3yAar He remarked that the shirt wet