ng a portion of his time to whittling a pine board. The most
fascinating member of the Senate was Soule, of Louisiana. There
was a tropical charm about his oratory, which was heightened by
his foreign accent and his singularly striking presence and
physiognomy. Winthrop was the most accomplished gentleman in the
House. Edward D. Baker, since so famous, was a member from Illinois,
but made no mark. Stephens, of Georgia, looked like a corpse, but
his clear and ringing voice always commanded attention, and his
words went directly to the mark. Toombs was recognized as a leader
of Southern opinion, but disfigured his speeches by his swagger
and defiance. Among the notable men from the Northern States,
Hannibal Hamlin, lately retired from public life, was in the Senate.
He was then a young man, erect, fine looking, a thorough Democrat,
but not the tool of slavery. Thaddeus Stevens was in the House,
and just at the beginning of his remarkable congressional life;
but the slave power, then in full sweep of its despotism, took good
care to keep him in the background in the organization of the
committees. He made several speeches, in which he displayed his
rare powers of invective, irony, and sarcasm, in dealing with the
Southern leaders; and no one who listened to his speech of Feb.
20, 1850, could ever forget his withering reply to Mr. Mead, of
Virginia, who had argued against the prohibition of slavery in the
Territories because it would conflict with the interests of Virginia
as a breeder of slaves. I quote the following:

"Let us pause for a moment over this humiliating confession. In
plain English, what does it mean? That Virginia is now only fit
to be the breeder, not the employer, of slaves! That she is reduced
to the condition that her proud chivalry are compelled to turn
slave-traders for a livelihood! Instead of attempting to renovate
the soil, and by their own honest labor compelling the earth to
yield her abundance; instead of seeking for the best breed of cattle
and horses to feed on her hills and valleys, and fertilize the
land, the sons of that great State must devote their time to
selecting and grooming the most lusty sires and the most fruitful
wenches, to supply the slave barracoons of the South! And the
learned gentleman pathetically laments that the profits of this
genteel traffic will be greatly lessened by the circumscription of
slavery! This is his picture, not mine."

Mr. Stevens was equ