EARLY MANHOOD 1851-1857 63 



to rescue Mm, for the souls of the kidnappers, and for 

 the country which was to his people a land of bondage, 

 were most pathetic. Then arose Gerrit Smith. Of all 

 Tribunes of the People I have ever known he dwells in 

 my memory as possessing the greatest variety of gifts. 

 He had the prestige given by great wealth, by lavish gen 

 erosity, by transparent honesty, by earnestness of pur 

 pose, by advocacy of every good cause, by a superb pres 

 ence, and by natural eloquence of a very high order. He 

 was very tall and large, with a noble head, an earnest, yet 

 kindly face, and of all human voices I have ever heard 

 his was the most remarkable for its richness, depth, and 

 strength. I remember seeing and hearing him once at 

 a Eepublican State Convention in the City Hall at Syra 

 cuse, when, having come in for a few moments as a spec 

 tator, he was recognized by the crowd and greeted 

 with overwhelming calls for a speech. He was standing 

 at the entrance door, towering above all about him, and 

 there was a general cry for him to come forward to 

 the platform. He declined to come forward; but finally 

 observed to those near him, in his quiet, natural way, 

 with the utmost simplicity, &quot;Oh, I shall be heard/ At 

 this a shout went up from the entire audience ; for every 

 human being in that great hall had heard these words 

 perfectly, though uttered in his usual conversational 

 voice. 



I also remember once entering the old Delavan House 

 at Albany, with a college friend of mine, afterward 

 Bishop of Maine, and seeing, at the other end of a long 

 hall, Gerrit Smith in quiet conversation. In a moment 

 we heard his voice, and my friend was greatly im 

 pressed by it, declaring he had never imagined such 

 an utterance possible. It was indeed amazing; it was 

 like the deep, clear, rich tone from the pedal bass 

 of a cathedral organ. During his career in Congress, 

 it was noted that he was the only speaker within remem 

 brance who without effort made himself heard in every 

 part of the old chamber of the House of Eepresentatives, 



