much, particularly the Bible, Shakspeare, Milton, Byron, and Scott. He had many traits of character in common with Byron, and many points of physical resemblance. There was much that was sensual in his face, but in moments of excitement it was thoroughly illuminated and purely intellectual. He had the fancy and imagination of a poet, an extraordinary memory, a faculty of sarcasm and invective never surpassed, wit and humor in inexhaustible stores, and a rare power of analysis and investigation; add to this his indomitable courage and firmness of purpose, and we have a combination of mental and moral attributes such as the world rarely sees. He selected the law for his profession, but in any other demanding great ability and resolution he would have become eminent. He had the genius that would have made a great poet, a great scholar, a great general, or a great mathematician. At the bar he never had a superior. He had not much turn for public life, not much ambition for office, and made no great figure in a mere party discussion; in fact, his political information was not extensive, and in the controversies of the hustings George Poindexter et al. were his superiors. He seldom read newspapers, and had no exaggerated respect for the wisdom of the sovereign people. In the days of Hamilton he would have been his devoted friend. He respected Madison, but abhorred Jefferson. He was compelled against his will to admire the heroic character of Jackson, but he strongly expressed his contempt for John Tyler. He admired and loved Clay,-his great soul, his big brain, and his lofty patriotism; but Mr. Webster, with his antique head, his Homeric imagination, and grand ideas of nationality, was the real interpreter of his political opinions. On all constitutional questions Mr. Prentiss concurred with that great jurist. In their taste as well as in their humor and convivial propensities, there was some resemblance between them. On the exciting question which divided the Legislature of 1836-37 Mr. Prentiss made a grand display of his capacity as a debater."

We need only close this chapter by referring to the fact that the great Union Bank was chartered as far as the legislative action could do so.

CHAPTER IX.

"WHAT will He do with It?" is the title of one of Bulwer's most thrilling novels, and takes its name from the question asked of the hero at every crisis of his fortune, whether of success or disappointment. At this time (1837) fortune seemed to crown Prentiss. The great suit of the Vicksburg Commons case had been decided in his favor by our court of last resort,— that is, they decided the title was pro tanto in him, and the injunction was dissolved. He could, therefore, go on at law and recover against whomsoever had possession of any of the lots. This made him, for that day, immensely wealthy. The value of the property was variously estimated at from one hundred thousand to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Besides this, he had been gathering in a rich harvest from his profession. The reader's questions will doubtless be, "What will he do with it?" "Did he puff and strut?" "Was he unduly elated?" "Did he look down upon the poor and the unsuccessful?" Not at all. He was the same genial, pleasant companion, the same true, fast friend.

The ardently desired time had come when he could send in his winged messengers home something more substantial than mere words of affection. He enclosed within them a portion of his earnings, wherewith to assist in rearing and educating his younger brothers and sisters, and besides this, knowing the mutability of human fortune, he took advantage of his flood-tide of prosperity to purchase in Portland, Maine, a handsome and substantial house, as also a fine library, both of which he settled. upon his mother, thus fulfilling one of the noblest aspirations of his life.

This was a great stride for the boy who, but a few years before, had left "Rokeby," square, indeed, with the world, but

having only fifteen dollars in money. He now stood at the head of his profession, with a mine of wealth at his feet.

Finding that his services could no longer be of any avail in the Legislature, he resigned his seat and turned his attention to his private affairs. He had now to utilize his real estate, which, for the most part, was composed of vacant lots. He, therefore, began to build. This was a new rôle for him. Carpenters, brick masons, contractors, had to be employed and money to be paid out. It is probable that this style of work bothered him far more than he had ever been with filing briefs and addressing courts and juries. He built the large hotel which was called by his name, and although its use is changed, and it is now a huge granary, it still stands, for it is founded on a rock.

A glimpse into the inner workings of his soul can be had from a letter to his mother, dated Vicksburg, February 10, 1837. After stating that he had finished up his legal and legislative business at Jackson, he continues:

"In the courts I was successful to the utmost of my expectations and wishes, particularly in gaining the suit to which I have once or twice alluded in my former letters, but never told the particulars, as I did not wish to excite hopes that might not be realized. The matter has gone through all the courts, and was finally decided last week in the Supreme Court. This is final, and we are in possession of the property. My interest is no doubt worth and will realize at least one hundred thousand dollars. I rejoice more on your account and that of the girls than on my own, for had I lost I could have still supported myself by my profession. As it is, I trust that neither you nor the girls will ever again have wishes even for your own comfort or that of others which you will not be able to gratify."

...

In a letter of the 29th to his sister he approves of his mother's move to Portland, and writes:

Many a time since I've wandered forth into the world I have been tired and sick and disgusted with the cold selfishness of those around me, and ready in perfect contempt to quit all business with them; but the thought of home and the loved ones there has warmed my benumbed feelings and encouraged me to new efforts by the reflection that there were, though afar off, those whose happiness was in some measure connected with mine. And I hold that no person can be utterly miserable when there is in the world one single individual who rejoices at his hours of prosperity or feels sorrow at his hours of adversity."

These extracts show that, though surfeited with prosperity, there was an under-current of melancholy flowing through his soul, all unseen to mortal eye; the shadow of his physical infirmity dimmed, even at its brightest, the sunshine of his prosperity.

He had now reached the position, so long coveted, that he might retire from the labors of a profession which to him had been herculean, and he sought the repose of a quiet life. An instance is given by his devoted friend, W. C. Smedes, of his kindness at this time. Smedes was young and inexperienced; his partner was out of the way. The case was one of slander; plea, justification. Smedes was "in a peck of trouble," and sent for Prentiss on the day of trial. The case was very simple: the client had uttered the slander, and there was no excuse. Prentiss appeared and heard the testimony. The plaintiff was dressed in white linsey. The day was cold, but by the time Prentiss got through with him he was sweating like a fat draught-horse on an August day. Prentiss fairly "lathered" him. The Smedes, Prentiss's client, got mulcted for five hundred dollars, but he cheerfully paid it, vowing that the "raking down" which Prentiss had given his prosecutor was worth that.

He contemplated visiting his native home this summer, and wrote to his brother that he had consequently declined taking any new business and was successfully winding up his old. The summer came, and in June "the MacGregor was once more upon his native heath." This was his second visit to his old home. As yet his fame had not culminated, but enough had been heard of him to make people wish to hear more.

While here he attended a Fourth of July celebration, in a vast tent. The following toast brought him to his feet: "Our distinguished guest, a son of Portland, in whose talents and acquirements the vigor of the North is united with the fertility and luxury of the South."

"Scarcely had he begun his address," says the "Memoirs," "when the thunders of applause arrested the attention of troops of men and boys who, as usual on such occasions, were sauntering about in the vicinity. Immediately they pressed up to the tent, and no sooner had they caught the accents of the speaker's voice, or, by peeping through some rent or

loop-hole, got sight of his face blazing with excitement, than they stood still, transfixed with delight."

John Neal, editor of the Portland Advertiser, pays the following glowing tribute:

"Mr. Prentiss answered the call in a modest, eloquent, and classical speech, unsurpassed by anything of the kind we ever heard. It was full of power, and altogether superior to the speeches we are accustomed to hear on such occasions. We have done our utmost to procure it for publication, but we are obliged to say the thing is impossible. We could not procure from the gentleman himself even an outline. But neither Mr. Prentiss himself nor the most attentive of his auditors, though accustomed to reporting, almost literally, the language of public men, uttered on public occasions, would be able to do that speech justice on paper were they to club together for the purpose. We hope, therefore, our readers will be satisfied with the concurrent testimony of all who heard it that it was worthy of the man himself, one of the most gifted of the great body of New Englanders who have gone to the mighty West and Southwest, those storehouses of empires, there to multiply and scatter the seeds of genuine unadulterated New-Englandism."

It will be perceived that Prentiss had reached that point of fame where the standard of comparison was himself with himself, his present with his former efforts. When a man reaches that point it is pretty good evidence that he has achieved

success.

His visit to his home was cut short by political events, in which he was summoned to be a conspicuous actor. In order that we may have a clear understanding of the events now to be related, it will be necessary to remind the reader that the financial storm then sweeping over the country had left pecuniary desolation in its track. To mitigate as much as possible. the disaster, President Van Buren, by proclamation of the 15th of May, 1837, called an extra session of Congress, to be held on the first Monday of September ensuing. It will be remembered further, historically, that the sessions of Congress beginning in 1789 had been limited to expire on the 4th of March of the two years succeeding, and, in pursuance of that law, which, like the bed of Procrustes, was inexorable, the Twenty-fourth Congress had expired on the 4th of March, 1837. The proclamation, therefore, summoned the Twenty-fifth Congress.