Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/74

 50 SKETCHES OF THE

that of Mr. Pendleton. It was the canorous .voice* of Cicero. He had lost the use of one of his hands^ which he kept constantly covered with a black silk bandage neatly fitted to the palm of his hand^ but leaving his thumb free; yet^ notwithstanding this disadvantage, his gesture was so graceful and so highly finished, that it was said he had acquired it by practising before a niirror.f Such was his promptitude, that he required no preparation for debate. He was ready for any sub- ject, as soon as it was announced; and his speech was so copious, so rich, so mellifluous, set off with such be- witching cadence of voice, and such captivating grace of action, that, while you listened to him, you desired to hear nothing superior, and indeed thought him per- fect. He had a quick sensibihty and a fervid imagina- tion, which Mr. Pendleton wanted. Hence his orations were warmer and more delightfully interesting; yet still, to him those keys were not consigned, which could unlock the sources either of the strong or tender pas- sions. His defect was, that he was too smooth and too sweet. His style bore a striking resemblance to that of Herodotus, as described by the Roman orator: "he flowed on, like a quiet and placid river, without a rip- ple.^^J He flowed, too, through banks covered with all the fresh verdure and variegated bloom of the spring; but his course was too subdued, and too beautifully regular. A cataract, like that of Niagara, crowned with overhanging rocks and mountains, in all the rude and awful grandeur of nature, would have brought him nearer to the standard of Homer and of Henry.

'" Vox cmiora, see the Brutus, passim.

f Edmund Randolph.

i Sine -iillin salebris, quasi sedaUis wmiis, Jluit. Drat. XU. o9.

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