CHAPTER XVIII.

T

L. Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi.

HOUGH L. Q. C. Lamar was indentified with the State of Mississippi during almost the whole of his public life, he was a Georgian by birth and education, lived in Georgia until well beyond his legal majority and served one term in the Legislature. He was also twice married in this State, his first wife being the daughter of Judge A. B. Longstreet, the noted author of "Georgia Scenes," and his second wife the widow of General William S. Holt, who was for many years president of the Southwestern Railroad. Finally at the close of his long and arduous career of public service he wended his way back to Georgia, led, no doubt, by the instinctive longing which the worn-out exile often feels for the haunts of early youth; and while stopping at Vineville, near Macon, the end came. He was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, on the banks of the Ocmulgee river, where he remained until his body was exhumed and taken back to Mississippi.

These facts explain and justify the deep feeling of affection in which this great man is to-day held in Georgia. The old mother State never forgets her offspring. Once hers they are hers always. But few of her sons have

ever held such claims upon her remembrance as L. Q. C. Lamar.

Mr. Lamar fully expected to remain in Georgia. But circumstances often upset calculations. Judge Longstreet, who had been at the head of Emory College while Mr. Lamar was attending this institution, was called, in 1849, to the presidency of the University of Mississippi; and soon after entering upon his new field of work he wrote back to Mr. Lamar, who was now his son-in-law, urging him to come to Oxford, Mississippi, where fine prospects awaited him, and offering to supplement his law practice by giving him plenty of work as tutor.

This settled the matter. Going out to Mississippi Mr. Lamar grew up with the State. He advanced from one post of honor to another, until he soon became the foremost man in Mississippi politics; first Congressman, then Senator, then Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Cleveland, and finally Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. At frequent intervals throughout this long period he was also actively identified with the State University, going from the academic to the law departments, and serving it eventually on the board of trustees.

Entering the halls of national legislation in the early fifties, Mr. Lamar became at once conspicuous in the political and social life of Washington. Striking in his outward personality no less than in his rare genius, he was an object of universal interest, and attracted attention wherever seen.

Usually he wore his hair long; and falling in rich.

clusters, it covered both sides of his face. Though his head was large, it rested solidly upon his broad shoulders, and was not seemingly out of proportion with the rest of his body. He was always neat in his appearance, but never ostentatiously dressed.

Ordinarily his manner was reserved and self-contained, and he impressed one as being wrapped in deep meditation. Nothing of the strenuous life which he led was even faintly suggested when his features were in repose, but when his interest was once aroused the dreamer was straightway lost in the man of action.

Chivalrous from instinct as well as from culture, he embodied the typical graces of the old cavalier stock, and was characterized even in the heat of acrimonious debate by an exhibition of refined courtesy, which made his polished lances all the more effective. In calmer moments there was little to suggest the fiery Huguenot temper which lay concealed underneath the velvet sheen of his habitual quietude; but it flashed forth whenever the lion was aroused. Nothing ever revealed the ruffian; because he was not there.

During the war period Mr. Lamar was missed in Washington. He served the Confederate government both at Montgomery and at Richmond, and also represented the Southern republic at the European courts. When the war was over he returned to Washington with fresh prestige where he attracted greater attention than

ever.

Some interesting anecdotes of Mr. Lamar's life at the national Capitol have been gathered by the newspaper contingent, with whom he was always on friendly terms.