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��often undermine the constitutions of more favored youths, and the temperate habits he then formed have greatly augmented and preserved his capacity for work. At fifty-five he has the vigor, the endurance, and the strength of forty. He is a ready writer, and his success at the bar, upon the stump, and in the halls of legislation, attest his great power as a speaker. He does not delight in rhetorical out- bursts, but he has the faculty of hold- ing the attention of an audience for hours, and his speeches bear reading and reproduction. He owns a large and well selected library, with whose pages he is familiar, and every occa- sion finds him well-equipped for the defense of his opinions.
His wife was Roxana Smith, daughter of Obadiah and Eliza M. Smith, of New Hampton, who still presides over his attractive home. To her unweary- ing devotion, quiet courage and never- failing good sense, he doubtless owes much of his success in life. They have three children, a son who was educated at West Point, and was for several years a lieutenant in the regu- lar army, but is now engaged in mer- cantile business in New Jersey ; and two daughters, one of whom is Mrs. George Tewksbury, of Topeka, Kansas, and the other a student at Vassar col- lege. In concluding this brief sketch it may not be out of place for the author, who has known Mr. Briggs long and intimately, to make some direct reference to the qualities of head and heart which characterize him in every relation in life. Promi- nent among these are his perfect fidel- ity, industry, courage, and thorough- ness. It is natural for him to be true,
��impossible for him to be false. He is ambitious, and few prize more highly the honors they win ; but he is incapa- ble of the duplicity and trickery by which some men succeed. His faith- fulness to his convictions does not count cost or query about consequences to himself. He is a stanch and true friend as ever lived, and he never cheats those whom he dislikes or de- spises. His devotion to his family is far-reaching and untiring. He is a public-spirited citizen, a kind neighbor and a pleasant companion. He is always approachable, patient and con- siderate. In every cause in which he enlists he is a hard worker and a free giver. He knows how to wait and how to look beyond temporary reverses to the complete triumph which he believes will crown and establish the right. He never frets and never rests until the result is secure. His private life is without a stain, and the fierce light of the hottest campaigns has dis- closed no shadow of a blot upon his public record. His sympathies are with the people, and his head and hands are controlled by his heart. These qualities, directing and support- ing his great natural strength of mind and body, have made James F. Briggs what he is.
They have supplied the place of early advantages, influential friends and for- tune. They have carried him from the woolen mill, working for a few cents a day, to the national house of represent- atives, commissioned to speak and act for the largest and richest district in New Hampshire. They have made him successful at the bar, popular at the polls, and influential in congress.
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