But on retiring from the
Senate he appears to have started immediately into full practice. Though
the people of New Hampshire already knew him well, yet his brilliant
achievements as an advocate brought him more into their view, and into
closer relations with them, than he had ever before been. He now met his
countrymen, as represented in the jury box, face to face, and made them
feel what manner of man he was. Their sentiment towards him soon grew to
be nothing short of enthusiasm; love, pride, the sense of brotherhood,
affectionate sympathy, and perfect trust, all mingled in it. It was the
influence of a great heart pervading the general heart, and throbbing
with it in the same pulsation.
It has never been the writer's good fortune to listen to one of Franklin
Pierce's public speeches, whether at the bar or elsewhere; nor, by
diligent inquiry, has he been able to gain a very definite idea of the
mode in which he produces his effects. To me, therefore, his forensic
displays are in the same category with those of Patrick Henry, or any
other orator whose tongue, beyond the memory of man, has moulded into
dust. His power results, no doubt, in great measure, from the
earnestness with which he imbues himself with the conception of his
client's cause; insomuch that he makes it entirely his own, and, never
undertaking a case which he believes to be unjust, contends with his
whole heart and conscience, as well as intellectual force, for victory.
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