Intestine feuds, with horror rife, Till Freedom yields to Civil strife, The code of morals that prevails Would shame the conscious Paphian vales, Unhallowed lust drew Villiers' sword And gallants still are ready To hie from duel with the lord, To duet with the lady. Though Virtue, with bold deeds and words, The poisoned robe of Nessus girds "T would need a fancy quaint in style, To paint the orgies that beguile Contention, schism, and turmoil, "T were easier task to curb misrule Than change the rigid Zeno's school Lean penury, by bloated wealth Is rudely spurned and thwarted: While Lazarus creeps on by stealth, Proud Dives' nod is courted. Corruption glimmers through the damp Of pride, and place, and station; Like false lights through the Dismal Swamp, In fetid exhalation. Midst revel, rout, and festal glee, All manhood is forgotten; As midst the train of Omphale Great Hercules spun cotton. The Car of State, through check and clog, As ships through the Sirbonian bog, Those waters in which statesmen slake How dearly valued matters not; Where faith and truth should greenly grow, From England's South Sea Bubble. Unstinted bounties still inspire As when fond Scylla slew her sire More victims to the crime of Cain, Than graced the tumbril and the wain Like Joseph's brethren, brothers strive So once the mild Cambyses strove; A wanton age is "Christian" claimed, As erst the Fates were "Sparers' named, What though a meed of fame is due The blandishments of sense subdue Thus Babylon, with festive charms, Thus Capuan arts, not Roman arms, Pale Justice sits, in ermined state, Impartial, and immaculate As Jeffreys' spotless honor. Without delay the Law moves on Her web of varied tissue. While dissolute desires encroach What once was Noah's grave reproach, Is now a sanctioned evil. From farthest East to utmost West; From dwarf to giant's stature, Crime curdles in the human breast; GEORGE L. WOODS. BY CALVIN R. McDONALD. G OVERNOR WOODS is one of the most distinctive representative men in the rising commonwealth of Oregon. Indeed, he may be regarded as the most noted and conspicuous among the many really brilliant and able men who give character to that State, possessing that wonderful sorcery of speech which Nature bestows on but few of her children, and which can so easily advance its possessor to renown. Whatever be his other qualifications, Governor Woods is unquestionably the most eloquent orator now living in the Pacific States, and as such is entitled to a conspicuous place among the representative men of the nation. George Lemuel Woods, the present Governor of Oregon, was born in Boone county, Missouri, July 30th, 1832. He is of Scottish descent, his ancestors having come over to this country in the latter part of the seventeenth century and settled in Virginia. His father was born in Kentucky; his mother in Tennessee: the former removed to Missouri, and settled there in 1808. The subject of these remarks is the second of four sons, two of whom are dead. He removed from Missouri to the Territory of Oregon in 1847, when only fifteen years old, and has resided there ever since, much of the time in what is known as Eastern Oregon, that portion of the State lying east of the Cascade mountains. In April, 1852, he was married, and began life without means, relying wholly upon his own exertions; taking a homestead upon unimproved Government lands, which he cultivated by his own labor, building houses and barns, fencing and plowing, after the manner of settlers on the border. In 1856, having determined to enter a different sphere in life, with a family to be supported, and only a limited common-school education, young Woods sold his property and entered school, intending to prepare himself for the study of the law, and continued his earnest and successful studies until his means were exhausted. Having thus prosecuted his preparatory studies under difficulties, he purchased a small law library; paid for it by working at a carpenter's bench during the day; and studied its contents by night, until ready to be admitted to practice. His success at the bar corresponded with his indomitable resolution, and he soon rose to distinction in his district. In July, 1863, Gov. Woods' public life commenced by his appointment to the Judgeship of Wasco county, in which capacity he served a year with satisfaction to the community and honor to himself. In March, 1864, he was nominated on the Union Presidential Electoral ticket, and took an active part in that campaign, making known the remarkable powers as a popular orator and stump speaker which have since given him a national distinction. His boldness and eloquence of speech made him the particular mark for his political adversaries in that State, where election campaigns are conducted with great vigor and in the true Western style. In Oregon, opponents, whether candidates or campaigners, travel together, meet face to face, and discuss the issues from hand to hand, sometimes before vast throngs; and for that sort of discussion Woods was admirably prepared through his rapid flow of language, ready wit, and graceful conduct as a speaker. In that memorable campaign, the Democracy selected the Hon. Aaron E. Wait, late Chief Justice of the State, and a gentleman of commanding abilities, while the Union party chose the young and then unknown George L. Woods as their champion. The conflict was fierce and exciting, and Wait was vanquished at every encounter. Two years after, Woods was appointed, by the President, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Idaho; but before the arrival of his commission, he was nominated for Governor by the Union State convention of Oregon. The opposing candidate on the Democratic side was the Hon. James L. Kelly, an old and experienced politician, and an eminent lawyer. Again young Woods had a foeman worthy of his steel; the struggle was the most exciting in the history of Oregon politics, and occurred just at the time of President Johnson's rupture with his party, and when the whole country was in a state of unusual excitement. The conflict between the rival champions was resolute and deadly beyond all precedent; but, as in the previous campaign, and notwithstanding the formidable character of his adversary, Woods was equal to the great occasion, discomfited his opponent at every turn, and was elected. His During the gubernatorial campaign in California, in 1867, the Republican State Central Committee invited Gov. Woods to come to their assistance; and although in feeble health, he responded at once, traveled and labored incessantly, making thirty speeches in thirty-five consccutive nights, of which twenty-six were in the open air and before immense audiences. His popularity was everywhere established; no public speaker in that State ever created greater enthusiasm, or won brighter laurels. speech in the great Union Hall in San Francisco was considered one of the most excellent and powerful ever heard in that city. It is true that on account of an unfortunate division, his party was defeated; but it is believed that the enthusiasm created by the eloquent Oregonian, as much as any other cause, saved the Republican party of California from utter demoralization through division and disaster. In the winter of 1868, at the solicitation of the Republican State Central Committees of New Hampshire and Connecticut, Gov. Woods went to the East and assisted in canvassing those States. His success and popularity were as great in classic New England as they had been in the distant west of Oregon and California. While |