nds, thrown upon, and rolling along, a Wilton carpet. It
seemed to be his pleasure to taunt the opposition to enforce an angry
or irritable reply, and then to launch the arrows of his biting wit and
sarcasm at whoever dared the response, in such rapid profusion, as to
astonish the House, and overwhelm his antagonist.

His person was as unique as his manner. He was tall and extremely
slender. His habit was to wear an overcoat extending to the floor, with
an upright standing collar which concealed his entire person except his
head, which seemed to be set, by the ears, upon the collar of his coat.
In early morning it was his habit to ride on horseback. This ride was
frequently extended to the hour of the meeting of Congress. When this
was the case, he always rode to the Capitol, surrendered his horse to
his groom--the ever-faithful Juba, who always accompanied him in these
rides--and, with his ornamental riding-whip in his hand, a small cloth
or leathern cap perched upon the top of his head, (which peeped out,
wan and meagre, from between the openings of his coat-collar,) booted
and gloved, he would walk to his seat in the House--then in
session--lay down upon his desk his cap and whip, and then slowly
remove his gloves. If the matter before the House interested him, and
he desired to be heard, he would fix his large, round, lustrous black
eyes upon the Speaker, and, in a voice shrill and piercing as the cry
of a peacock, exclaim: "Mr. Speaker!" then, for a moment or two, remain
looking down upon his desk, as if to collect his thoughts; then lifting
his eyes to the Speaker would commence, in a conversational tone, an
address that not unfrequently extended through five hours, when he
would yield to a motion for adjournment, with the understanding that he
was to finish his speech the following day.

He had but few associates. These were all from the South, and very
select. With Mr. Macon, Mr. Crawford, Louis Williams, and Mr. Cobb, he
was intimate. He was a frequent visitor to the family of Mr. Crawford,
then Secretary of the Treasury, where occasionally he met Macon and
Cobb, with other friends of Crawford. Macon and Crawford were his
models of upright men. He believed Mr. Crawford to be the first
intellect of the age, and Mr. Macon the most honest man. The strict
honesty of Macon captivated him, as it did most men. His home-spun
ideas, his unaffected plainness of dress, and primitive simplicity of
manner, combined with a