" His calm dignity and
colossal strength, his luminous masculine and searching logic, the vast
extent and variety of his research, the large stores of his affluent
knowledge, marshalled and arranged with consummate skill and judgment,
together with the fascination of his purely unaffected, earnest manner,
the magic power of his unstudied action, and the thrilling intonations
of his deep rich voice, rendered him, in his best days, "before public
assemblies, almost irresistible." He managed his strength to such
advantage, that few men dared to grapple with him "in a pitched field of
long and serious debate." His general tone and style in debate were
marked by an intense earnestness, whilst his narrative, possessing, from
its striking naturalness and simplicity, a high degree of dramatic
interest, was occasionally relieved with splendid passages of
impassioned and stirring eloquence. Intrepid self-reliance, unwearied
activity, far-reaching sagacity, clearness, and fulness, were the
prominent characteristics of Mr. Tazewell's mind. Comprehending with
intuitive glance the whole field of argument, he "launched into his
subject like an eagle dallying with the wind.
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