" He did so, and the acquaintance then
commenced, ripened into a friendship which endured so long as they both
lived.
Blue eyes, of a peculiar languid expression; yellow hair, lank and
without gloss; with a soft sunny sort of complexion, seems ever to
indicate physical weakness. Indeed, pale colors in all nature point to
brief existence, want of stamina and capacity to endure. All of these
combined in the physical organization of Mr. Lowndes, and served to
make more conspicuous the brilliancy of his intellect. It has been
said, consumption sublimates the mind, stealing from the body,
etherealizing and intensifying the intellect. This was peculiarly the
case in the instance of Mr. Lowndes. As the disease progressed,
attenuating and debilitating the physical man, his intellectual
faculties grew brighter, and brighter, assuming a lucidity almost
supernatural. At length he passed from time while yet young, leaving a
vacuum which in South Carolina has never been filled. His death was at
a time his services were most needed, and as with Clay, Jackson, and
Webster; his death was a national calamity.
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