Such was General Banks to many and to myself, his companion, and often
co-worker, and always friend through a lengthened half century.
Mr. Dawes was not a leader in the Massachusetts House of
Representatives and no one could then have predicted his success in
public life. Something of what the world calls fortune has attended
him. He possessed the quality or faculty of industry, but his studies
did not extend beyond the current demands of the situation. As a
lawyer he was not distinguished. He had none of the qualities of an
orator, indeed it was not always a pleasure to listen to his speeches.
His manners were not attractive, and of genial wit he was wholly
innocent. He had a power of sarcasm, and in his speeches he presented
himself in the phase of umpire often, although at times he appeared in
the aspect of a contestant. Indeed, this was in his nature. He was a
thorough partisan who seemed unwilling to own the fact. His friends
could not claim for him any of the qualities for which successful men
are commonly distinguished, and yet he has been one of the most
successful men that the State has produced. Such success must rest on
a substantial basis of merit.
For a single term, between 1846 and 1850 Benjamin R. Curtis was a
member of the House. He had already acquired fame as a jurist. His
speeches in the house were the speeches that he made to courts and
juries.
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