pported, and by people of all
classes. For the masses, who saw him and who knew him, only as he
appeared on the platform, there was an inspiration in his presence and
in his speeches, and for his associates and friends there was a
generous companionship which none could resist--which none wished to
resist. In his private life there was no malice in his intercourse
with men; in the strife of war there was no vindictiveness in spirit
nor in the means of prosecuting war.

A patriotic man, who trusted the people, and a man whom the people
trusted; a brave soldier, who retained the confidence of his troops,
and of his superiors in all the vicissitudes of war; a friend whose
friendship was not changed nor tempered by the changing events of life.
Such was General Banks to many and to myself, his companion, and often
co-worker, and always friend through a lengthened half century.

Mr. Dawes was not a leader in the Massachusetts House of
Representatives and no one could then have predicted his success in
public life. Something of what the world calls fortune has attended
him. He possessed the quality or faculty of industry, but his studies
did not extend beyond the current demands of the situation. As a
lawyer he was not distinguished. He had none of the qualities of an
orator, indeed it was not always a pleasure to listen to his speeches.
His manners were not attractive, and of genial wit he was wholly
innocent. He had a power of sarcasm, and in his speeches he presented
himself in the phase of umpire often, although at times he appeared in
the aspect of a contestant. Indeed, this was in his nature. He was a
thorough partisan who seemed unwilling to own the fact. His friends
could not claim for him any of the qualities for which successful men
are commonly distinguished, and yet he has been one of the most
successful men that the State has produced. Such success must rest on
a substantial basis of merit.

For a single term, between 1846 and 1850 Benjamin R. Curtis was a
member of the House. He had already acquired fame as a jurist. His
speeches in the house were the speeches that he made to courts and
juries. He was destitute of genius, and his speeches exhibited no
variety of talent. They were adapted to the argument of questions of
law before a court; hence he was not successful as a jury lawyer, and
his speeches in the house were usually convincing, although they were
never attractive. Judge Curtis' intell