The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss Part 54

Society in the Southwest at that day was full of perils to young men, especially to young men of talent and generous, impressionable natures.

Drinking, duelling, and gambling widely prevailed. It was a period of "flush times," and wild, reckless habits. Mr. Prentiss did not wholly escape the contagion; but his faults and errors were very much exaggerated in many of the stories that found currency concerning him.

One of his friends wrote after his death: "I have heard many anecdotes of him, which I considered of doubtful authority; for he is a traditional character all over Mississippi--their Cid, their Wallace, their Coeur de Lion, and all the old stories are wrought over again, and annexed to his name." Another of his friends, who knew him long and intimately, the late Balie Peyton, of Tennessee, testified: "No man ever left a purer fame than Seargent S. Prentiss, in all that const.i.tutes high honor and spotless integrity of character. His principles remained as pure, and his heart continued as warm and fresh, as at the instant he bade farewell to his mother."

From his settlement at Vicksburg his career as a lawyer was one of remarkable success; and it were hard to say in what department of his profession he most excelled, whether in the varied contests of the _Nisi Prius_ courts, in an argument on a difficult question of legal construction, or in discussing a fundamental principle of jurisprudence.

In 1833, at the age of 24, he appeared before the Supreme Court at Washington, where, in spite of his youth, he at once attracted the notice of Chief Justice Marshall. "I made a speech three or four hours long (he wrote to his mother); and I suppose you will say I have acquired a great deal of bra.s.s since I left home, when I tell you that I was not at all abashed or alarmed in addressing so grave a set of men as their Honors the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States." In attending the circuit courts of Mississippi he had experiences of the roughest sort and many a hairbreadth escape. He wrote:

I travel entirely on horseback; and have had to swim, on my horse, over creeks and bayous that would astonish you Northerners. Beyond Pearl river I had to ride, and repeatedly to swim, through a swamp four miles in extent, in which the water was all the time up to the horse's belly.

What do you think of that for a lawyer's life?

In the winter of 1836-7 he won the great "Commons" suit, which involved a considerable portion of the town of Vicksburg. This made him, as was supposed, one of the richest men in the State.

About this time he was induced to run for the legislature of Mississippi. He was elected, and at once took a foremost position as leader of his party.

The next summer he visited his home, and by a speech at a Whig political meeting in Portland, on the Fourth of July, he so electrified his hearers by his eloquence that he was p.r.o.nounced, in the East, the most finished orator of his time; as he really was. He became a candidate for a seat in Congress, and made the most remarkable electioneering canva.s.s ever recorded. Traveling on horseback, he visited forty-five counties in a spa.r.s.ely-settled country. For ten weeks he traveled thirty miles each week-day, and spoke each day two hours. He had announced his engagements beforehand, and never missed one. Mississippi was a strong "Jackson State," but Mr. Prentiss carried it for the Whigs. His seat was contested by his Democratic opponent, and his speech in the House of Representatives at Washington in favor of his claim gained for him a national reputation as the greatest orator of the age. It occupied three days in its delivery. He had not spoken long before intelligence of his wonderful oratory reached the Senate chamber and drew its members to the other House. Rumors of his speech ran through the city, and before it was concluded the anxiety to hear him became intense. The galleries of the House became densely packed, chiefly with ladies, and the lobbies were crowded with foreign ministers, heads of departments, judges, officers of the army and navy, and distinguished citizens. Among the charmed auditors were the best American statesmen of the time who then occupied seats in both branches of Congress--John Quincy Adams leading those of the Representatives, and Daniel Webster and Henry Clay of the Senate. The entire self-possession of Mr. Prentiss, then only twenty-nine years of age, never forsook him in such an august presence.

There was no straining for effect, no trick of oratory; but, from the first to the last sentence, everything in manner, as in matter, seemed perfectly natural, as if he were addressing a jury on an ordinary question of law. This feature of his speech--this evidence of sincerity in every word--with the almost boyish beauty of his face, bound his distinguished audience as with a magic spell. When, at the conclusion of the speech, Mr. Webster left the hall, he remarked to a friend, with his comprehensive brevity, "n.o.body can equal that!" [2]

Mr. Prentiss was rejected by the casting vote of the Speaker, Mr.

Polk, and the election sent back to the people; when, after another extraordinary canva.s.s, he was triumphantly returned. After the adjournment of Congress he visited his mother in Portland. About this time a great reception was given to Mr. Webster, as defender of the Const.i.tution, in Faneuil Hall, and Mr. Prentiss was invited to be present and address the a.s.semblage. His speech on the occasion is still fresh in the memory of all who heard it. He was called upon late in the evening, and after a succession of very able speakers; but hardly had the vast audience heard the tap of his cane, as he stepped forward, and caught the first sound of his marvellous voice, when he held them, as it were, spell-bound. Before he had uttered a word, indeed, he had taken possession of his audience by his very look--for, when aroused by a great occasion, his countenance flashed like a diamond. Gov. Everett, who presided at the banquet, himself an orator of cla.s.sic power, thus referred to Mr. Prentiss' address, in a letter written more than a dozen years later:

It seemed to me the most wonderful specimen of sententious fluency I had ever witnessed. The words poured from his lips in a torrent, but the sentences were correctly formed, the matter grave and important, the train of thought distinctly pursued, the ill.u.s.trations wonderfully happy, drawn from a wide range of reading, and aided by a brilliant imagination. That it was a carefully prepared speech, no one could believe for a moment. It was the overflow of a full mind, swelling in the joyous excitement of the friendly reception, kindling with the glowing themes suggested by the occasion, and not unmoved by the genius of the place. Sitting by Mr. Webster, I asked him if he had ever heard anything like it? He answered, "Never, except from Mr. Prentiss himself."

Political life was exceedingly distasteful to Mr. Prentiss and he soon abandoned it and returned with fresh zeal to the practice of his profession. The applauses of the world seemed never for an instant to deceive him. He wrote after a great speech at Nashville, addressed, it was estimated, to 40,000 people: "They heap compliments upon me till I am almost crushed beneath them." And yet in the midst of such popular ovations he wrote to his sister:

I laugh at those who look upon the uncertain, slight, and changeable regards of the mult.i.tude, as worthy even of comparison with the true affection of one warm heart. I have ever yearned for affection; I believe it is the only thing of which I am avaricious. I never had any personal ambition, and do not recollect the time when I would not have exchanged the applause of thousands for the love of one of my fellow-beings.

In 1842 his yearning for affection was satisfied by his marriage to Miss Mary Jane Williams, of Natchez; and henceforth his life was full of the sweetest domestic peace and joy. From the moment of first leaving home he had carried on a constant correspondence with his mother, sisters, and brothers, in the North; and he kept it up while he lived. He took a special interest in the education of his youngest brother, and at one time had planned to join him in Germany for purposes of study and travel. All the later years of his life were years of unwearied toil and struggle.

In 1845 a case involving the validity of his t.i.tle to the "Commons"

property, was decided against him in the Supreme Court of the United States; thus wresting from him at a blow that property and the costly buildings which he had erected upon it. In consequence of this misfortune and of his abhorrence of repudiation, which, in spite of his determined opposition, had, unhappily, been foisted upon his adopted State, he removed to New Orleans in 1846. Here, notwithstanding that he had to master a new system of law, he at once took his natural position as a leader of the bar; and but for failing health, would no doubt have in the end repaired his shattered fortunes and made himself a still more brilliant name among the remarkable men of the country. He died at Natchez, July 1, 1850, in the forty-second year of his age, universally beloved and lamented. He left a wife and four young children, three of whom still survive.

Mr. Prentiss was a natural orator. Even as a boy he attracted everybody's attention by the readiness and charm of his speech. But all this would have contributed little toward giving him his marvellous power over the popular mind and heart, had he not added to the rare gifts of nature the most diligent culture, a deep study of life and character, and a wonderful knowledge of books. The whole treasury of general literature--more especially of English poetry and fiction--was at his command; Shakespeare, Milton, and Byron he almost knew by heart; with the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, and Sir Walter Scott, he seemed to be equally familiar; and from all these sources he drew endless ill.u.s.trations in aid of his argument, whether it was addressed to a jury, to a judge, to the people, or to the legislative a.s.sembly. When, for example, he undertook to show the wrongfulness of Mississippi repudiation, he would refer to Wordsworth as "a poet and philosopher, whose good opinion was capable of adding weight even to the character of a nation," and then expatiate, with the enthusiasm of a scholar, upon the n.o.ble office of such men in human society. He had corresponded with Mr. Wordsworth and knew that members of his family had suffered heavily from the dishonesty of the State; and perhaps no pa.s.sages in his great speeches against repudiation were more effective than those in which he thus brought his fine literary taste and feeling to the support of the claims of public honesty. This feature of his oratory, together with the large ethical element which entered into it, was, no doubt, a princ.i.p.al source of its extraordinary power. It would be hard to say in what department of oratory he most excelled. On this point the following is the testimony of Henry Clay, himself a great orator as well as a great statesman, and one of Mr. P.'s most devoted and admiring friends:

Mr. Prentiss was distinguished, as a public speaker, by a rich, chaste, and boundless imagination, the exhaustless resources of which, in beautiful language and happy ill.u.s.trations, he brought to the aid of a logical power, which he wielded to a very great extent. Always ready and prompt, his conceptions seemed to me almost intuitive. His voice was fine, softened, and, I think, improved, by a slight lisp, which an attentive observer could discern. The great theatres of eloquence and public speaking in the United States are the legislative hall, the forum, and the stump, without adverting to the pulpit. I have known some of my contemporaries eminently successful on one of these theatres, without being able to exhibit any remarkable ability on the others. Mr.

Prentiss was brilliant and successful on them all.

Of the attractions of his personal and social character the testimonies are very striking. Judge Bullard, in a eulogy p.r.o.nounced before the bar of New Orleans, thus refers to his own experience:

What can I say of the n.o.ble qualities of his heart? Who can describe the charms of his conversation? Old as I am, his society was one of my greatest pleasures--I became a boy again. His conversation resembled the ever-varying clouds that cl.u.s.ter round the setting sun of a summer evening--their edges fringed with gold, and the noiseless and harmless flashes of lightning spreading, from time to time, over their dark bosom.

In a similar strain Gov. J. J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, wrote of him shortly after his death:

It was impossible to know him without feeling for him admiration and love. His genius, so rich and rare; his heart, so warm, generous, and magnanimous; and his manners, so graceful and genial, could not fail to impress these sentiments upon all who approached him. Eloquence was a part of his nature, and over his private conversations as well as his public speeches it scattered its sparkling jewels with more than royal profusion.

C.

Here are the first stanzas of some of her favorite German hymns, referred to in this letter:

Jesus, Jesus, nichts als Jesus Soll mein Wunsch sein und mein Ziel; Jetzund mach ich ein Verbundniss, Da.s.s ich will, was Jesus will; Denn mein Herz, mit ihm erfullt, Rufet nur; Herr, wie du willt.

_Written by Elizabeth, Countess of Schwartzburg_, 1640-1672.

Gott ist gegenwartig! La.s.set uns anbeten, Und in Erfurcht vor ihn treten; Gott ist in der mitten! Alles in uns schweige Und sich innig vor ihm beuge; Wer ihn kennt, wer ihn nennt, Schlagt die Augen nieder, Kommt, ergebt euch wieder.

_By Gerhard Tersteegen_, 1697-1769.

Zum Ernst, zum Ernst ruft Jesu Geist inwendig; Zum Ernst ruft auch die Stimme seiner Braut; Getreu und ganz, und bis zum Tod bestandig.

Ein reines Herz allein den reinen schaut.

_By the Same_.

Wir singen dir, Immanuel, Du Lebensfurst und Gnadenquell, Du Himmelsblum und Morgenstern, Du Jungfrausohn, Herr aller Herrn.

_Paul Gerhard_, 1606-1676.

Such, wer da will, ein ander Ziel Die Seligkeit zu finden, Mein Herz allein bedacht soll sein Auf Christum sich zu grunden: Sein Wort ist wahr, sein Werk ist klar, Sein heilger Mund hat Kraft und Grund, All Feind zu uberwinden.

_George Weissel_, 1590-1635.

Gott, mein einziges Vertrauen, Gott, du meine Zuversicht, Deine Augen zu mir schauen, Deine Hulf versage mir nicht; La.s.s mich nicht vergeblich schreien, Sondern hor und la.s.s gedeihen; So will ich, Gott, halten still, Gott, dein Will ist auch mein Will.

_Elizabeth Eleonore, d.u.c.h.ess of Sax-Meiningen_, 1658-1729.

O Durchbrecher aller Bande, Der du immer bei uns bist, Bei dem Shaden, Spott und Schande Lauter l.u.s.t und Himmel ist, Uebe femer dein Gerichte Wider unsern Adamssinn, Bis dein treues Angesichte Uns fuhrt aus dem Kerken hin.

_Gotter. Arnold_, 1666-1714.

_Lavater's Hymn._ HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE.

--John iii. 30.

O Jesus Christus, ivachs in mir, Und alles andre schwinde!

Mein Herz sei taglich naher dir, Und ferner von der Sunde.

La.s.s taglich deine Huld und Macht Um meine Schwachheit schweben!

Dein Licht verschlinge meine Nacht, Und meinen Tod dein Leben!

Beim Sonnenstrahle deines Lichts La.s.s jeden Wahn verschwinden!

Dein Alles, Christus, und mein nichts, La.s.s taglich mich empfinden.

Sei nahe mir, werf ich mich hin, Wein ich vor dir in stillen; Dein reiner gottgela.s.sner Sinn Beherrsche meinen Willen.

Blick immer herrlicher aus mir Voll Weisheit Huld und Freude, Ich sei ein lebend Bild von dir Im Gluck, und wenn ich leide.

Mach alles in mir froh und gut, Da.s.s stets ich minder fehle; Herr, deiner Menschen-Liebe Glut Durchgluhe meine Seele.

Es weiche Stolz, und Tragheit weich; Und jeder Leichtsinn fliehe, Wenn, Herr, nach dir und deinem Reich Ich redlich mich bemuhe.

Mein eignes, eitles, leeres Ich Sei jeden Tag geringer.

O rd ich jeden Tag durch dich Dein wurdigerer Junger.

Von dir erfullter jeden Tag Und jeden von mir leerer!

O du, der uber Flehn vermag, Sei meines Flehns erh.o.r.er!