Part 2 (2/2)

Mr Lamar was one of the o, by invitation of the Faculty, he delivered an address to the graduating class of Centre College, Kentucky The day was quite warm, the exercises somewhat protracted, and, at the close of his able and eloquent address, he was very much exhausted

An excellent collation, prepared by the ladies connected with the College, was served in the chapel near by, at the close of the exercises Seated upon the platfor, the President, Justice Harlan, Governor Knott, the Rev Doctor Bullock, Chaplain of the Senate, Judge McCore tomato was in readiness and, excellent itself, was, s to co seated, Mr Las, soon made ith the one viand then in visible presence Just as its last vestige disappeared, the President of the College arose and, with a sole the occasion, called upon Doctor Bullock to offer thanks

Deeply chagrined, Mr Lamar was an attentive listener to the impressive invocation which immediately followed At its conclusion, with troubled countenance, he turned to Knott and said, ”I am humiliated at my conduct I should have rerace before ry and exhausted, and the toraced ht not to feel so, Mr Justice; the blessing of Doctor Bullock's was broad and general; in large measure retrospective as well as prospective It re Fork' An old-ti which at his table was the unfailing prelude to every meal His hired man, Bill Taylor, an unconverted and i histhereon had been fully invoked The frown and rebuke of the good deacon were alike unavailing in effecting the desired refornant thereat, the deacon, in a spirit possibly not the ave utterance to this petition, 'For e are _about to_ receive, and for what William Taylor _has already_ received, accept our thanks, O Lord!”

In cheery tones the great orator at once replied, ”Knott, you are the only ht of such a story just at the opportune moain, and was at once the brilliant conversationalist of the delighted asseress will recall a little chair that daily rolled down the aisle to the front to the Speaker's desk

It contained the eht at his best was but ninety pounds--Alexander H Stephens of Georgia, ”whose little body lodged a et hih he had just stepped out froo There was probably as little about him ”of the earth, earthy” as of any mortal this world has known Upon his weak frame time had done its work, and, true it is, ”the surest poison is ti voice--now scarcely heard an arreat hall when he was the honored associate of men whose public service reached back to the formation of the Government

In the old hall near by--now the Valhalla of the nation--he had sat with John Quincy Adams and contemporaries whose na as Vice-President of the Confederacy, whose rise and fall he had witnessed, Mr

Stephens, with the shadows falling about hiain, in his oords, ”in our father's house” His apartments in the old National Hotel, as he never failed to explain to his visitors, were those long ago occupied by his political idol, Henry Clay His couch stood in the exact spot where Mr Clay had died; and he no doubt thought--possibly wished-- that his own end reat Commoner had breathed his last This, however, was not to be His last hours were spent at the capital of his native co voice, just honored itself by electing him to its chief executive office

The Hon Samuel J Randall, of Pennsylvania, was the successor of the lamented Kerr as Speaker of the House As such he presided during the last session of the forty-fourth Congress, and during the two Congresses i in with Blaine and Garfield just before the close of the war Able, courageous, and thoroughly skilled in parliamentary tactics, he had achieved a national reputation as the leader of thethe protracted and exciting struggle near its close, over the Force Bill--the House re in continuous session for fifty-six hours--Mr Randall had displayed wonderful endurance and marvellous capacity for successful leadershi+p He was more than once presented by his State in Democratic national conventions for no officer, proressive, and was rarely vanquished in his es with the leaders of the minority One incident is recalled, however, when the tables were turned against the Speaker, no one joining h that followed Mr Conger, of Michigan, with great earnestness and persistency, was urging the consideration of a resolution which the Speaker had repeatedly declared out of order By nodown the aisle, was vehement in his demand for the immediate consideration of his resolution At which the Speaker with ht to exercise a little coer instantly responded, ”Oh, if the Chair has the slightest intention of _doing anything of that kind,_ I will immediately take my seat!”

The Hon David Dudley Field, elected to fill a vacancy, was a Representative fro session of the forty-fourth Congress He was an eminent lawyer, and, at the time, stood at the head of the American bar His name is inseparably associated withthe last half century He had been instruuished jurists, chosen fro nations, to prepare the outlines of an international code His report accoiven ht and ti publicists and jurists in Europe, as well as in his own country His untiring efforts, looking to the substitution of international courts of arbitration for war, have given his na the world's benefactors

Mr Field was the eldest of four brothers, whose nae is spoken The fahest order It would indeed be difficult to find its counterpart in our history One of the brothers, Stephen J

Field, was for a third of a century a distinguished justice of the Supreest, Dr Henry M

Field, was eian and author The na brother, Cyrus W Field, is, and will continue, a household word in two hee even of extremity, ”the trier of spirits,” the dream of his life became a reality The Atlantic cable was laid, and, in the words of John Bright, Mr Field had ”side the Old”

The Hon Henry Watterson, of Kentucky, was a representative during the closing session of Congress As the editor of a great journal, Mr Watterson was already well known to the country His talents were of a high order In his chosen field he had no superior For nized leader of his party, and one of the chief ers in all its national conventions His contributions to the literature of three decades of political cans were almost unparalleled As a forcible, trenchant writer he is to be mentioned with Greeley, Raymond, Prentice, and Dana His career, too, as a public lecturer, has been both successful and brilliant The Congressional service of Mr Watterson terminated with the session justan electoral commission to determine the Tilden-Hayes Presidential controversy was listened to with earnest attention, and at once gave hiress

While a passenger on a train to Washi+ngton, to be present at the opening of Congress, my attention was directed to a -car at a station not many miles out from Cincinnati He was dressed in ”Kentucky jeans” and had the appearance of a well-to-do fared in earnest conversation with the porter, endeavoring to secure a berth The porter repeatedly assured him that this was impossible, as every berth was taken He told the porter that he was quite ill, and et on his journey I then proposed that he share ladly did so until other acco, when the House was in the process of organization, the na-car acquaintance, still attired in blue jeans, stepped forith his colleagues to the Speaker's desk and was duly sworn in as a ress This was his first term, but he soon became quite well known to the country As chair to do with small expenditures, he closely scrutinized every claim presented, and scaled to the lowest many pet measures His determination to economize, as well as his peculiarity of dress and appearance, soon made him an especial object of amusement to newspaper correspondents He was the butt of ed co daily used by members at the Capitol, at the public expense, while at his home, on his farm, one toould last a week, with eleven in the faibes, he soon became the most popular man in his State

”Blue Jeans Williams” becan of 1876, after an exciting contest, he was elected Governor, defeating an able and popular leader, who, twelve years later, was himself elected President of the United States

No sketch of ”the A the last fifty years would be in any measure complete that failed to make mention of the man as nineteen times elected a Representative, the Hon William S Holman, of Indiana Whatever the ups and downs of party supreate hie Holman, with unruffled front, ”a mien at once kindly, persuasive, and patient,” held sturdily on his way Amid political upheavals that overwhelmed all his associates upon the ticket, his name, like that of Abou Ben Adhem, led all the rest From Pierce to McKinley--whatever the issues, and howsoever deterentle roll-call An old English stanza comes to mind:

”And this is law, that I'llshall reign, Still I'll be vicar of Bray, sir”

His integrity was unquestioned; his knowledge of public business, phenoe Holman was nevertheless one of the most valuable members ever known to the House of Representatives The Lobby regarded hinized ”watch-dog of the Treasury” Personal appeals to his courtesy, to permit the present consideration of private bills, had, in the main, as well have beento be remembered, ”I object, Mr Speaker,”

sounded the knell of many a well devised raid upon the Treasury It may be that he sometimes prevented the early consideration of meritorious measures, but with occasional exceptions his objections holesome He kept in close touch with the popular pulse, and knew, as if by instinct, which would be the safe and which the dangerous side of the pending measure It sometimes seemed that he could even ”look into the seeds of tirow and which will not”

It has been said that even great men have at times their little weaknesses An incident to be related will show that possibly Judge Holman was no exception to that rule The consideration of sundry bills for the erection of post-office buildings in a nuone over” by reason of his objection, the e joined forces and lumped the several measures into an ”omnibus bill” which was duly presented

The e, to ”make assurance doubly sure,” had quietly inserted a provision for the erection of a Govern in one of the cities of Hole Hol at his desk, ithout solicitation upon his part, the closely observed of every me, he continued to write No objection beingwhen an exceedingly bright ated by the devil,” no doubt, rushed to the front and exclaientleman from the fourth district of Indiana to the fact that the Treasury is being robbed!” Une continued to write, and, as one of his colleagues afterwards re his tobacco very fine”

After a alleries took part, the ic tones, exclai of the Treasury, like all other good watch-dogs, _never barks when his friends are around!”_

Mr Blackburn, of Kentucky, began his long and eventful legislative career as a ress As the representative of the Ashland District, he was the successor of Clay, Crittenden, Marshall, Breckenridge, Beck--illustrious names in the history of the State and of the nation He orthy of the succession, and, at the close of ten years' service in the House, was elected to the Senate He ca chosen as the candidate of his party for Speaker at the opening of the forty-sixth Congress He was a born orator It was as natural for him to speak as to breathe

Wake hiht, and he would be ready upon the instant for an eloquent speech of any length, upon any subject

Thoroughly familiar with all that pertained to our political history, with a voice easily heard above the storm, he was ever in the forefront of the hurly-burly of heated partisan debate There was little that was conciliatory about hihter, he had rather

”Follow his eneulf, Than flatter him in a bower”