The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-02-01
JOHN RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE,
TOHN RANDOLPa Of Roanoke was

John RANDOLPH Of R7anoke was
u one of the most remarkable char.
acters ever produced by this country.
There are yet, after all these years,
numbers of anecdotes told and printed
of the eccentrlCity, the power of a
casm and the wonderful eloquence of
the man who was, perhaps, the most
unique figure of this century.
For more than thirty years Randolph
was constantly in public life, serving
as Congressman, Senator and Minister
to Russia, during which time he was
called the political meteor of the day
and attracted the attention of the pub
lie in a way that no other man ever
did. He was known by many, but
comprehended by none; his brilliancy
was eQuaIed only by his e%xcentricity;
and his mirth mingled with a sadness
not untouched by bitterness. His
whole life was tagged with that morbid
unhappiness and love Of solitude which
characterized his later years. He be
lieved himself to be the child of desti-
ny and would often assert in tones Of
great anguish that he felt ''the CURSE
-CleavinR to him.
In early youth he acquired great
knowledge Of politics and an extensive
acquaintance with the leading charac
ters of the country, which served him
we'll in 1899, when he found himself
elected to Congress. He became dur
ing the next fourteen years the most
prominf t figure in Congress Crowds
locked to the House whenever it was
announced that he would speak, and a
lasting impression was made upon
them by the tall, gaunt man who, with
dark eyes flashing and sallow face
lighted up by his wonderful eloquence,
emphasized with his long, bony fore
finger some Of the most cutting barba
Of irony and sarcasm which ever fell
from mortal lips. Sometimes, but not
often, he made use of the wonderful
power of pRthos, he possessed and
swayed his audience whichever way he
would.
In 1913, he retired from Congress
and returned to his estate on the Staun-
ton River, the celebrated Roanoke,
which ia never separted from the men
ton of his name. Here he dwelt alone,
a VI for his slaves, in a house built OF
logs. 1t would be difficult, indeed, to
discover a more lonely spot, where
day after day not a sound was heard
but the rustling and signing Of the
wind through the trees. He never
permitted a twig to be cut on the
place, and the dense underground and
unpruned trees seemed to form a fitting
retreat for the wild nature of this dc
scendant of Pocahontas. Humble as
hs dwelling place was in appearance
itcontained some fine paintings and en-
cravings, and a magnificent library of
more than a thousand volumes, most
Of which he imported from England.
Many of these books were rare edi
tons, beautifully bound, and IN num-
5ers of them were marginal notes, evi,
dencing profound thought and re-
search.
or a conservative nature, Randolph
chung to the traditions of his ancestors
and travelled in a coach and four long
after others had abandoned that clum
81 mode of Iocomotion. In his dress,
too, he adhered to the fashions of the
past to such a degree that his queer
figure was often the subject Of noto-
riety.
In the life Of John Randolph was a
romance, around which has always
lowered a mystery quite in accord
With the rest of his strange career. On
a plantation near his mothers home
lived Maria Ward, a young girl OF
Wonderful beauty, famed as the belle OF
her day in the State. ALI the wild de
Votlon in Randolph's nature was con-
oentrated on his beautiful neighbOr,
aud finally they became betrothed.
Oae day, however, they parted after
along and solemn interview, and from