FORSYTH COUNTY. 257 



and warmly and ably sustained thft ground he had taken in the 

 councils of the nation relative to the Indian question. At the 

 expiration of his term as Governor he was again elected to 

 the Senate of the United States, where he remained until 

 1834, when he succeeded Mr. McLane as Secretary of State. 

 During no period since the war of 1812, had our foreign rela- 

 tions involved questions more important ; and the honour and 

 success with which they were conducted were owing, in a 

 gi-eat degree, to the talents and firmness of Mr. Forsyth. He 

 died in Washington City on the 21st day of October, 1841, in 

 the 60th year of his age. The intelligence of his death was 

 received by the citizens of Washington and throughout the 

 country with emotions of great sorrow. In person he was 

 upright, and finely proportioned ; height about five feet eight 

 inches. As a speaker Mr. Forsyth never failed to attract at- 

 tention. In the Boston Morning Post of , a corres- 

 pondent thus speaks of Mr. Forsyth : 



" Mr. Forsyth's manner is peculiarly Virginian, respectful 

 in his language, courteous and complimentary to his antago- 

 nist. Without ever exhibiting passion, he evinces deep feeling. 

 His voice is peculiarly melodious, and without talking fast, the 

 words seem to melt into each other, like one continued sound, 

 not unlike the enunciation of Judge Story, though with less 

 compass of notes. He uses but little gesture, and his most 

 emphatic passages are always in an under tone, which produce 

 a solemn effect and leave a deep impression. It is the still 

 small voice in which he pours out heart and soul and feeling, 

 charming the audience into a silence, as if they were listening 

 to the last fading notes of an ^Eolian harp, when they felt that 

 the spirit of the wind was fading away. His countenance 

 is fair and pleasing, with a smile always playing around his 

 lips." Mr. Forsyth was not a hard student in the " midnight 

 lamp" sense. He was, however, a deep thinker. He mastered 

 the contents of a book whilst others would be turning over 

 its leaves. His knowledge was extensive, and whatever he 

 knew was always at his command. As an off-hand debater 

 he had no superior. To his lofty spirit as a man, was added 

 a breast overflowing with the most tender affection for his 

 family. 



