Page:The rising son, or, The antecedents and advancement of the colored race (IA risingsonthe00browrich).pdf/516

 *marked negro features, close curly hair, bright and penetrating eyes, genteel in his personal appearance, somewhat English in his accent, a good speaker, and dignified in his manners. His speeches in Congress, and his public addresses before his constituents, show him to be a man of high cultivation. With his own race, Mr. Elliott stands deservedly well, and commands the respect of the whites everywhere. In Congress, he is looked upon as an able debater, and is listened to with marked attention.

J. MADISON BELL.

The negro's ability to master language, his vivid imagination, his great delight in rhetorical exercise, his inward enthusiasm, his seeming power to transport himself into the scene which he describes, or the emotion he has summoned, has long puzzled the brain of our deepest and most acute thinkers. The best test of true eloquence is the effect it produces upon the listener. The finest illustration of the self-made orator may be found in J. Madison Bell, whose poetic genius, classic mind, and highly-cultivated understanding has never been appreciated by our people.

In the winter of 1867, it was our good fortune to make the acquaintance of this gentleman, then giving a series of poetical readings at Washington. His evening's entertainment was made up entirely of his own writings, and they were all of a superior character. Mr. Bell is a rare instance of the combination of the highest excellence of the poet with the best style of