Atwood
describes himself, of nearly fifty years' standing--incline him to mercy
where it would have been fatal to his sense of right. He took decided
ground against Mr. Atwood. The convention met again, and satisfactory to
all parties; and one of his political opponents (Professor Sanborn, of
Dartmouth College) has ably sketched him, both in that aspect and as a
debater.
"In drawing the portraits of the distinguished members of the
constitutional convention," writes the professor, "to pass Frank Pierce
unnoticed would be as absurd as to enact one of Shakespeare's dramas
without its principal hero. I give my impressions of the man as I saw
him in the convention; for I would not undertake to vouch for the truth
or falsehood of those veracious organs of public sentiment, at the
capital, which have loaded him in turn with indiscriminate praise and
abuse. As a presiding officer, it would be difficult to find his equal.
In proposing questions to the house, he never hesitates or blunders. In
deciding points of order, he is both prompt and impartial. His treatment
of every member of the convention was characterized by uniform courtesy
and kindness. The deportment of the presiding officer of a deliberative
body usually gives tone to the debates.
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