Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-13
THE HON. WILLIAM VI. CABELL.
The Last Days of IA Distinguished
Inyycr-Uis Pathetic Death.

| To tho Editor OF the Dispatch:
Within the last few days there has
passed away one of the most brilliant
men that Virginia ever produced-the
| Hon. William NJ. Cabell. His last mp
pearance IN public life was as a member
| OF the Legislature from buckingham
! county-the first Legislature after me
war. under the restored government OF
| Vfrginia-whcre he took rank with such
men as John b. Baldwin. A. III. ii. Stuart
and Judge Joynes. Since that time ne
| had held no public position, but had
practiced his profession successfully III
/ buckingham and the surrounding coun-
| ties. For the last ten or fifteen years
| his health had been bad, but with Spartan
| nrmness he stuck to his profession, ana
| no man ever knew William Cabell 10 IAN
| 10 be ready when his case was calleu loi
| trial. and when the case was over ~
| antagonist ever had cause for boastlnS
| The writer of this VINO began the pracucs
| OF law in Buckingham in lSco' knew
| him personally from that time 10 cue
GATE of his death and long before that ne
| knew of his brilliant reputation as Id"
| yer and public speaker
| Like many other really able men, ne
| was a man of the strongest hKes dht
| dlslikes. If he loved. he loved with al
| his heart: whilst If he disliked any one
| TIL. person could not fail to Know anu
| feel II. Yet, be 1t said to his credlt 'ha'
| he was the kindest man to young pracu-
| TONERS. and the fairest practitioner MN
solf both with friend and foe, that l
over knew at the bar. He scorned 10
take any advantage OF the inexperience'
the Ignorance, or the inadvertence or an
antagonist. but when once that ANTAGONIST
| was fairly on his feet, he was VerltaOie
| Roderick Dhu OF the bar, and the cnal-
lenge went forth: NOW. gallant Saxon
| hold thine own -.
lie had the most perfect command Oh
| the English tongue Of any man nave
ever known. He had, in addition, the
| rarest faculty of condensation, ana tne
wonderful gift Of selecting a few we'll
chosen words infusing into them 'he
double distilled essence or sarcasm ""u
inyective and then hurting them at az
onnonent with all the potency or an IN
tellectual giant. John Randolph OF Koa-
noke was not his superior in TINS Wohue1-
full art.
rsmertar now speeches of his delivered
years ago. and can repeat them Ferpa-
tim. on one occasion a friend SAID 10
him. "Afr. Cabell, have not heard you
saw anything lately against Mr.. A "a
man towards whom no entertained
strong dislike). and he quickly replleu'
"Well. sir have exhausted on him the
| English vocabulary, and l speak no other
| language" The truth was he had 1or-
| given Mr.. A., and forgotten tne olo
| feud. No kinder heart ever beat III hu-
imam breast than his. He gave freely 10
| every good cause, and the poor and IN
fortunate never turned empty handed
from ais door. His piercing dark eye
which in the heat Of debate burned WIN
the fire Of genius, always beamed softly
| upon the pinched features of poverty ana
| the uitiful aspect of sorrow and woe, ana
| to his great honor be it said, he VIII be
| longest and most lovingly remembered
by the widow and the orphan, the poor
and the unfortunate He was my NE
long friend. and / loved him as such, pul
because he was my friend l DO not rneah
TO describe him az perfect. He mad his
weaknesses and his faults. In other words,
he was human. Who OF us has them not?
! His virtues INave family depicted. They
, were such as must win for any man
warm spot in the hearts of his fellows.
| Amongst Mr.. CabelPs contemporaries at
| the bar were Sterling Claiborne, Willis +.
! Bocock, Thomas S. Bocock. Joseph *.
Irving, Robert COghill, and Robert Wmte-
I head-the last Of whom is still living in
! an honored old age, and all Of whom were
| distinguished lawyers and worthy OF VIZ
ginia in her palmiest days; and he was
! match for any of them on any arena. me
/ old lawyer died with the harness on
! though largely over 20 years or age. ne
| was in attendance upon the Circuit Court
| of buckingham, and died suddenly in his
| room on the day the court ADJOURNED, az
ter having ably represented his clients IN
! every case that he had. By his kindly IN
| vitation the writer spent the night before
court at his hospitable home, and the next
| morning was taken by him in his carriage
! over to the courthouse to hold his .rst
| term in that county, where he had begun
| the practice Of the law as youth; and
| on the way Mr.. Cabell was full of re-
] mlniscence, and entertained him with an
account of his early struggles In 'ife lie
was a very poor young man, and won his
| way to eminence and a competency by an
| exhibition of the most indomitable energy
| and constant industry.
I At the beginning OF the civil war he
| was already a distinguished lawyer in
| full practice and yet at the call OF his
State he entered the Confederate army
! as a private in the ranks, and of all his
! ~ast he was proudest of this service, and
| spoke oftenest of it. On the day that
! court adjourned he did not come over TO
the courthouse, having been hurt by
fall whilst going TO his room in the
darkness the night before and the writer
him farewell. The old man was lying in
| his bed, the classic face but little marred
| by the ruthless hand of time, but bruised
/. by the fall distinctly outlined against
the whiteness of his pillow. His eye
! was not dim," but as he conversed with
me scintillated with its old-time fire. |
| rose, and, shaking his hand for the last
| time, left him with his kindly words Of
commentator still falling on my ear as
l closed the door, and in two hours there
| after he was dead He always said he
! wished 10 die as his father had died, and
! so he did-silently, quietly, suddenly, and
/ apparently without a struggle. friend
informs the writer that when found one
| hand supported most naturally the side
/ of his face and single tear glistened
( upon the pallid cheek. Oh, that silent.
/ inscrutable tear upon the face Of the old
] man, who had died with no friendly hand
near to wipe IL away! What story would
| 1t tell If ii could speak. There, as 1t glis-
| tened alone on the sace of the dead,
would it tell of some romance hidden in
| the depths Of those long gone years?
/ There. as il rested on the cheek of three
| score-and-ten, would it tell of some child
| ish sorrow-of the memory OF mother
! long gone to her rest? Would 1t tell OF
repentance and blessed forgiveness in
that last, lonely moment on earth?
| Who can say? And what would we not
give to be able to read the story hidden
J in the crystal depths OF that solitary
tear as II lay on the cheek Of the old
| lawyer? He married about twenty years
ago q most winning and accomplished