As a speaker, he is interesting, and knows what he talks about.
His speeches consist of strong arguments and spirited appeals. Personally, Mr. Freeman is sociable and affable in his manners, and hearty and pleasant in his address. In complexion, he is of a brown skin, with well-defined features, intellectual forehead, slim and straight, with a walk something akin to the Indian. He is gentlemanly, upright, and correct in his intercourse with mankind, and highly respected as a man of advanced ideas.
ELIJAH W. SMITH.
The subject of this sketch is a grandson of the late Rev. Thomas Paul, whose eloquence as a preacher is vividly remembered by Bostonians of forty years ago, as one of the most entertaining of divines. Born in Boston, Elijah W. Smith is well known as one of her most respected citizens. He is by trade a printer, which he learned in the office of “The Liberator,” with Wm. Lloyd Garrison, who always speaks of “Elijah” with the utmost respect. No one can read Mr. Smith’s poems without a regret that he has written so little, and yet he has given us more poetry than any other colored American. Few living poets understand, better than he, the elements of true poetry.
The evenness of his numbers, the polish of his diction, the rich melody of his musically-embodied thoughts, and the variety of his information, show that Nature has not been sparing in showering her gifts upon him.
In his poetry Mr. Smith seeks to make mankind, and things around him, in harmony with a better state of moral existence.
His contributions to literature will ever tend to delight and instruct the lovers of liberty and pure and refined society. Most of his articles have appeared in “The Boston Daily Traveller,” and “The Saturday Evening Express.” The longest poem contains thirty verses.
“Keep off the Grass,” and “Welcome to Spring,” shows the author’s leaning towards Nature. “Crushed At Sedan,” “Vive La France,” and “A Plea for the Recognition of Cuba,” are the promptings of a sympathetic heart. “Peter and Joseph’s Trip to Vermont” is full of humor, and shows that our author is at home in comic poetry. Mr. Smith’s finer feelings find vent in those beautiful poems the “Winter Song of the Poor,” and “Merry Christmas,” either of which is enough to give a writer everlasting fame.
The Republican Party owes our author a debt of gratitude for the lyrics he has contributed to its aid in this section. The following lines are from the beautiful and soul-stirring poem entitled “Freedom’s Jubilee,” read at a Ratification Meeting of the Fifteenth Amendment:
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,