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, "Nobody 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 canvass, 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
Constitution, in Faneuil Hall, and Mr. Prentiss was invited to be
present and address the assemblage. 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 classic 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 illustrations wonderfully
happy, drawn from a wide range of reading, and aided by a brilliant
imagination. That it was a c