|
MEMBERS OF THE CALHOUN AND KALAMAZOO
COUNTY BARS BY A. D. P. VAN BUREN
He was one of Michigan's pioneer politicians and jurists, and a man who, at various periods, has occupied a conspicuous place -in public estimation, and who, had he been less erratic in politics, might have been a notable power in the state and nation. He died at his home in Allegan on the 21st of May, 1880.
In person Littlejohn was tall and commanding, and had a dignity of bearing that made one think of Chatham, while a dark, piercing eye revealed the man of intellectual power. And, as was said of Pinckney, lie had enough intellectual jewelry to have equipped two or three orators.
The first utterance claimed your attention; the orator held you through his entire speech subject to his control, for there was a glowing warmth of feeling which communicated itself to its auditors and carried them with him whether they agreed with his argument or not. As his eloquence sprang from the inspiration of great thoughts he carried his listeners, in the discussion of his theme, through the higher intellectual realms. His imagination was vivid and clothed his subject with beauty and grandeur. By some he was called a florid speaker. But his rhetoric, be it ever so florid, always gave point to his logic. The picture was not overdrawn, for he was always clear and well understood. The orator is a painter, merely using words instead of colors, to depict the scene. Littlejohn was in his best days a Rubens who painted grand pictures that were always faithful and true to life. He spurned affected phrase, his words" flowed with an inherent force, and the simplicity of a bird song, each one carrying a message to the mind of the hearers not to be forgotten.
Michigan Bar
Page 7
|
|
Please consider making a donation to help offset expenses to keep this site online.
Thank you
|
