It would, after this, be supererogatory
to say he was popular with such a people as his neighbors and
constituents. Whenever he chose he was sent to the Senate by three
parishes, or to the House by one; and in the Legislature he was always
conspicuous. He knew the people he represented, and could say or do
what he pleased; and for any offence he might give, was ready to settle
with words, or a _fist-fight_. Physically powerful, he knew there were
but few who, in a rough-and-tumble, could compete with him; and when
his adversary yielded, he would give him his hand to aid him from the
ground, or to settle it amicably in words. "Any way to have peace," was
his motto.
There was, however, a different way of doing things in New Orleans,
where the Legislature met. Gentlemen were not willing to wear a black
eye, or bruised face, from the hands or cudgels of ruffians. They had a
short way of terminating difficulties with them. A stiletto or
Derringer returned the blow, and the Charity Hospital or potter's field
had a new patient or victim. These were places for which Larry had no
special _penchant_, and in the city he was careful to avoid rows or
personal conflicts.
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