The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-11-02
Interesting Of Prominent Members Of the
t,ench and Bar, Who Added Lustre to Their
States RenoWn.
Her Contribution to Cory All D.yo9n:nt Of Ta Country
Greater Than That Any Safe Declared Webster Madison.
Monroe Jefferson, Rives Barbour and Writ Seen in
One Group Mauy, I.eake and Others Som5
Who Are Still Living
Who Are Still Living.

Van Wick. amid the shouts OF the audi
ence. who were nearly swept from their
feet by the keen. incisive and eloquent
/ thrusts of the speaker. At the conclu-8
son, Colonel r. T. ". Duke one OF the
modest Romans of them ALL. observed
I that Van Wick was a feeble light whose
/ candle had been completely extinguisil-
! ed. with nothing left but the wick.
Il SPEAKING of Colonel Duke recalls his
prophetic speech here in the spring of
/ 81 to thu .Albernarle troops assembled in
I! the old armory on the court-sreen. warn
4 ing them that you are entering uron no.
j holiday affair, but are to face q long and
i bloody war.
GREAT SPEECH BY gYANCEY
! II we may be pardoned for depression
| from great Virginia orators OF that STIR
! ring period. we can never forget the
I powerful speech Of William L. 1ancey,
\ of Alabama delivered here in October.
1860. in behalf Of Breckenridge and Lane
L He was as virile on the stump as he was
/ eloquent In the Senate and he seemed to
! surpass the Greek In Ioftines of thought
| and to equal the Roman in wealth of ex-
I preston Yancey was perhaps. the finest
! orator the South has ever produced since
L the Gays of Patricl. Henry, and in many
I of his characteristics recalled the great
] revolutionary orator He was the equal
(, Of Lamar, who was the master of the
] most exquisite style and dicton which
/, We're always enriched by the most .eau-
| tiful metaphors. In the Senate. Lamar
threw charm around the driest sub
tEjects ed embellisheG the most abstruse
| argut is with the Sraces of a fasc-
mating oratory. His frequency at times
recalled the stirring Phill!pics of Demos
themes before an Athenian audience. 1t
will aforementioned that immedfateiy# pre-
cedipg the Civil War. It was Yancey who
was selected by universal consent 10 go
North and present the southern view OF
tne vital questions then agtatiug the
country. But it was the eloquence OF
! Wendell Phillips. Henry Ward Beecher,
! Owen Lovejoy. and jim Lane that fired
/, the Northern heart. precipitated bloody
war and brought about tremendous So
I cial political and Industrial revolution.
Another lofty and thrilling orator of
the South in that day, was Gen. John S.
/ Preston of South Carolina who was
commissioned by his state as one of the
representatives to visit Richmond and
address the secession convention on the
Hali-absorbing questions Of the hour and
to urg Virginia to cooperate with South
Carolina and her sister Southern States
in the establishment of an independent
government His brother. William c.
Preston, was regarded by the best con-
| temporary critics, as the greatest ora tor
o. America, and II he mad lived in the |
North would have oeen Rufus Choare
most formidable rival for the palm Of
oratory.
PRYOR A FAMOUS ORATOR
A famous orator OF the ante-bellum !
period was Roger a. Pryor. who still
survives. His vocabulary, though ford, j
was superb and often kept company with !
the airy creatures Of his eNuberant mag
nation. He rare.y spoke but to evolve
beautiful figure and in his political cam
paigns for Congress, in the now Fourth
I'M a Il L
above the comprehension OF his aud ence
whom proud science had not taught to
stray or TO mingle in the brilliant literary
circles of the day. Ee combined losi-t
cal mind with his poetic fancy. and the
effect and product of his thought were
striking and impressive. illustrating the
aphorism that the poet always sees more
deeply into human nature Pryor had
the ia ce. the figure. the dramatic air, the
attitude and the voca bulary. When We
saw him last summer at the White sui
phur. he looked the grave and dignihsd
iurist in contrast with the typical poll
tician and editor OF the fire-eatns school
of fifty years ago. IN striking contrast
with the hot-headed Pryor, was the
calm, judicial Judah P Benjamin. He
was one of the gifted SONS OF the South
when the Southland held the ruling power
OF intellect in the nationalMcouncils. and
the peer of any man then on the door OF
the Senate The highest law courts OF
the country were enlis ntened by his legal
lore his brilliant oratorV, his profound
arguments. 1t was said by many [ az
at times he overmatcne- Daniel Webster
at the bar Of the United States Supreme
Court. In all that trying period of fierce
struggle and deadly trials and heroic ef-%
forts-me1norab bic months and years OF
glory and renown and final disaster. he
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