I
remember his encountering at dinner-table several gallant captains of
the navy on the subject of the movements of a ship under certain
relations of wind and tide; and although the naval gentlemen combated
his position with much boldness and skill, he worked his ship, at least
in the opinion of the landsmen who were present, safely into her
destined harbor. It was from the fear which even able men felt in his
presence, and which made them averse to venture their remarks, that from
pure good nature Mr. Tazewell sought to entertain and instruct them in
detail on any topic of the time; though it was plain that he courted
inquiry and remark, which to a certain extent was necessary to the full
and pleasant exercise of his faculties. But it was infinitely amusing to
hear him banter an obstinate old lawyer on a point of law, catching at
his arguments before he had half uttered them, and dissecting them with
such wonderful dexterity that the listeners, shaking with laughter,
saw, probably for the first time, that the severest logic and the
deepest learning became in his hands the source of the keenest wit and
of the broadest humor.
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