The Southern Literary Messenger, Volume I., 1834-35Various
General
The Southern Literary Messenger, Volume I., 1834-35
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
soul"--no living sympathy with mankind, teaching him to be glad when
they rejoiced, to sorrow when they mourned.
There were none to whom he imparted his feelings, none to whom he
communicated his sentiments. On none of the usual topics of
conversation among men, whether of politics or literature, were his
opinions ever expressed--not even on legal points, unless when sought
for professionally. He lived strictly alone, concealing thought and
passion within the impenetrable recesses of his unfathomable mind.
Here for the present I will leave him, to give a short account of
Drayton's career, connected as it is with the main interest of my
narrative.
With the assiduity, industry and application for which he had been
distinguished at college, he pursued his professional studies; and
although denied the gift of eloquence, or rather I should say,
embarrassed by a slow and hesitating manner of speaking, it was
obvious enough that his knowledge of the law was sound, and that he
perfectly understood its application to the point he might be
advocating. If too, he lacked the graces of oratory, and could distil
no honied words into the ears of his auditory, he possessed that happy
manner, which imposes on society the opinion that there is a fund of
wisdom and learning to be drawn on, whenever the exigency of the case
might require its use. He had a serious, business like look, and if he
walked abroad for exercise, he seemed to have a deeper motive for the
action. His progress was nevertheless very slow in the commencement;
still he advanced by degrees, and his patience was inexhaustible.
Drayton had another advantage too, that to him amply compensated for
the want of purely professional business, and even the glitter of
fame. A relation had bequeathed him a few thousand dollars, and this
enabled him to make occasional advances to a needy client, where the
claim was eventually secure, and also to carry on a traffic in bonds,
exchanging one for another at a large discount, and thus in a short
time doubling his original capital. One or two lucky hits in land
speculation returned him large profits; and people beginning to find
out his merits, as they perceived these accessions to his worldly
wealth, in course of time his practice became respectable and
lucrative. Between Heywood and Drayton there continued the same
kindness of feeling they had mutually entertained at college, up to
some short time before the philippic delivered by the former against
Willis. But about that period a coolness grew between them. This arose
from no misunderstanding or quarrel, but simply from a dislike Heywood
entertained to the very obsequious manner Drayton exhibited towards
all men who were superior to him in private wealth or public station;
and the former could not refrain from telling him one day, after some
display of the sort, that he reminded him of Sir Pertinax McSycophant,
in the "Man of the World," who never in all his life could stand
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