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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
dence, if the testimony of one of the best, and, in my belief, taking him "for all in all," the greatest man South Carolina ever produced, is of any worth. In the session in which l\Ir. Calhoun died, I was at Washington, and for six weeks preceding his decease I waf- the con:a;tant companion of his sick bed. Instead of seeking the ho;;:pitality of the !lletropolis, every evening of my life I sought the instructive consolations of the conversation of my great friend. Although sinking hour by hour, his cheerfulness as little deserted him as his tenderness and affection to his friends. His great intc•llect, like the great luminary of the world, seemed to shine with a mild yet more perfect radiance, as it was about to dip beyond the horizon forever. We were generally alone, and at an hour just before sunset, which prevented the intrusion of other visitors, to whom he generally denied himself. His conversation had an indescribable interest, and was imbued with the charm of a tender- ness and charity to others of unspeakable beauty. These conversations, when he spoke of the South, were mournful and melancholy in the extreme. He foretold the point we have reached. The portentous augmentation of the slavery excitement, the increase of extravagance and corruption, the centralization of the wealth and commerce of the country in one capital - an accumulation which would lead to the most frightful revulsion - all of which would drive the South out of the Confederacy, if the evil was not speedily arrested. In one of these conversations, laying his hand upon my arm, he said: "My friend, you must return to the public service of our State, to carry out my principles and unfinished labor. A great crisis will come when her interests and your reputation will demand it." I must stop. A sense of delicacy and propriety prevents my going any further with these disclosures. The reasons of his preference of myself are locked in my own bosom. To recollect them seems "to re- cover a part of the forgotten value of existence." In the hour of adverse fortune, sweet will be their odor, sweet the balm of their con- solation! August Spirit, at the foot of the throne of the Almighty! Look down from that footstool, where you look undazzled at the glories of your God, and bless the State which in life you sen·ed with so much honor. Look down, too, with tenderness on your weak, humble and suffering friend, who believes the crisis has come when he might obey :your high commands. He comes ready to peril all of life and honor on the issue, if others will it so. Mighty Spirit! all hail, and farewe11: Gentlemen: I feel how deep an apology I owe you for this seeming exhibition of vanity and self-love. Pardon me if I cling to this tes- timony with the tenacity of life. Precious of the past, are these mem- ories - mdancholy and grateful to the soul. Gentleme11, I have done. unknown, except to a few of your mem- bers, I feel all the embarrassments and diffidence of a stranger in ap- proad1i11g you. \Yhen I, w~tl1 my confederates, wer_e on the stage of public life in · South Carolma, you were comparatively boys. Now, frei-h from the classic distiuction of the University, you know more of the hcroPs of the Trojan war than of the men of 1832. Oblivion is the destiny of all hun;an things. Be it so. · In conclusion, I desire to speak with all the emphasis of which our language is susceptible. If you mean, in this crisis, action, re-
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