Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - February 3
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Charles Sumner, who wished me to see one of the
popular assemblies here, accompanied me. Some
runaway slaves were to be introduced to the public,
and the talking was about them. The hall and the
galleries were quite full. One of the best, and
certainly most original, speakers of the evening
was a big negro who had lately succeeded in escaping
from slavery with his wife and child, and who
related the history of his escape. There was a
freshness, a life, an individuality in this man’s
eloquence and gestures which, aside from the great
interest in the narrative itself, were
extraordinarily exhilarating. Sometimes John Brown,
which was his name, made use of such peculiar
similes and expressions that the whole assembly
burst into peals of laughter, though the speaker
did not join in it.
I visited the State House one day in company
with Mr. Sumner. I saw the Senate sitting sleepily
over a question of shoe-leather, and heard in the
House of Representatives a good deal of very
animated but somewhat plebeian eloquence in a
debate on the question of “Plurality and
Majority,” at voting. But of this I shall say no more.
The Americans speak extempore with great ease
and fluency: their speeches here were like a rushing
torrent; the gestures energetic, but monotonous,
and without elegance. The speaker and
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