The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-05-14

ali over the land. Never has the gen
eral spirit Of this republic been so
high and admirable as then and little
later. 1t was to speak. presently. In
the immortal voices of Whittier, Emer-
son. Whitman. Greeley and Lincoln.
The dim glow of the candles had en-
tered their souls and out of them came
light that filed the land and was
seen of all men.
The railroads on which we travelled
from Utica, the, great cities through
which we passed, were wonder and
an inspiration to me. I was awed by
the grandeur Of Washington itself. I
took lodgings with the senator and his
wife.
"Now. Bart" said he, when we had
arrived, "Im going to turn you loose
here for little while before put har-
ness on you. Go about for a week or
go and get the lay of the land and the
feel Of 1t. Mrs. Wright will be your
guide until the general situation has
worked Its way into your conscious
ness"
1t seemed to me that there was not
room enough In my consciousness for
the great public buildings and the pic
lures and the statues and the vast ma
chinery of the government. Beauty
and magnitude have a wonderful eff
feet when they spring fresh upon the
vision of youth out of the back coun-
try. sang of the look of them In my
letters and soon began to think about
them and imperfectly to understand
them. They had their epic, lyric and
dramatic stages in my consciousness.
One afternoon we went to hear Sen
ator Wright speak. He was to an
swer Calhoun on detail of the bank
ing laws. The floor and galleries were
filed. With what emotion / saw him
rise and begin his argument as all ears
bent to hear him! He aimed not at
popular sentiments in highly finished
rhetoric, as did Webster, to be quoted
in the school books and repeated on
every platform. But no words of mine
and I have used many I'm the effort
are able to convey notion of the
masterful ease and charm of his man.
ner on the floor of the senate or of the
singular modesty, courtesy, aptness
and simplicity of his words as they
fell from his lips. There were the
thunderous Webster. the grandeur of
v hose sentences no American has
equaled; the agile-minded Clay, whose
voice was like silver clarion; the far
seeing, fiery Calhoun. of "the swift
sword"-most formidable In debate
but / was soon to learn that neither
nor all of these men-gifted of heaven
so highly-could cope with the suave,
incisive, conversational sentences of
Wright, going straight to the heart of
the subject and laying it bare to his
hearers. That was what people were
saying as we left the senate chamber
late in the evening; that, indeed, was
what they were always saying after
they had heard him answer an ad-
versary.
He had q priceless and unusual tai
ent for avoiding school-reader English
and the arts of defamation and for
preparing a difficult subject to enter
swell, I'm inclined to think you are
the kind of man who ought to co." he
answered almost sadly. "You are
needed. 1 have been waiting until we
should meet to congratulate you on
your behavior at Cobleskill. ! think
you have the right spirit-that Is the
all-important matter. You will en-
counter strange company In the game
of politics. Let me tell you story"
He told me many stories of his life
in Washington. interrupted by sound
like that of approaching footsteps. We
ceased talking and presently a flock
of cartridges came near us, pacing
along over the mat of leaves in lei
surely fashion. We sat perfectly still.
A young cock bird with his beautiful
ruff standing out, like the hair on the
back of q frightened dog, strobe
toward us with comic threat In his
manner. II seemed as II he were of
half mind to knock us into the river.
But we sat as still as stumps and he
spared us and went ON with the others.
The baying Of the hound was nearer
now. Suddenly we saw big buck
come down to the shore Of the cove
near us and on our side of the stream.
He looked to right and left. Then he
made long leap into the water and
waded slowly until Ii covered him. He
raised his nose and laid his antlers
back over his shoulders and swan
quietly downstream. his nose just
showing above the water. His antlers
were like a bit of driftwood. II we
had not seen him take the water his
antlers might easily have passed for
a bunch of dead sticks. Soon the buck
slowly lifted his head and turned his
neck and looked at both shores. Then
very deliberately he resumed his place
under water and went on. We watched