Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1859-10-07

i
preston j. vivid at this day SO soon ater Il WAS made
As when l hrst knew Mr. Choste. il uneflaeed and
clear and when le the eour,house at the close OF the
case which he conducted NV first remark to a friend
Was, II have heard tho who 10 replace William
Pnkncy." -
cnoArk's woRprAiSriso
How shall speak of his wealth OF words; Of thi, ro,d
en- setting OF bis gems of thought! II would REQUIRE
words Ae MS own to present this adequately Here SO
lar a. any knowlcdgc Of extends he absolutely
without an equal Mere huency i common enough and
oil no great worth You often with Who is new.
er at loss Tor word Choatc at loss for he
word. All the resources of our language were at his
command lie cultivated this faculty carefully and dili
gently through the whole of his life. Years ago he es
abshed the habit of selecting from some classic author
passage OF peculiar force and beauty aud transating il
into English in the most perfect manner lie would re-
turn day after day to the passage and never leave
uhu nc hao exhausted the Of the language In
giving to the cxactncss strength and e.gsn.
have been told that there were certain writer's whom
ne often read or rather studied his speech
Jeremy Taylor was OF these; and l have often
thought that he reseubed and perhaps equaed Taylor
IN the splendor the Inc xhausblc variety
beauty OF his dction. Aud he rcsenhlcd him also in
sometimes yielding to his love for word painting until
one OF his long sentences with its accumulation of en
theis Its involved phrases and its crowd of beautiful
"oruS ana images rcsembled much finished pic.
turc the palette of the artist rich and glowing with
hues OF every tone, laid each in its place. as the artist
ced them.
POWER or WORDS.
n WORD Is the body of thought, and the very COM
mon mistake OF not looking beyond the external
Il made rs often here elsewhere. II leads men and
sensible men too, who happen bc wise upon this
point 10 reier TO mere power Of words effects aud i
nuenee which belong TO the thought within II is such
mistake as that which should attribute mans mus.
Giles the triumph which he had by his mind or TO
INC excellent material and form of his clothing work
which only the strong frame within cOnld DO There ara
triumph which muscles alone can win: there i charm,
which dress alone may possess. But the trumphs are
not those which men, men with souls well a. bodies
should estimate very highly and the charm dress is
one which is usually valued greatly nv those who's,
hsh estimation is very desirable Aud vel, It s,rpri-
snS ho" constantly the mistake of referring words
ohe 10 me mere power OF uttcrdncc, work aud a sue
cess which are due To faculties of which these words are
On, the instruments, is made by sensible men
In the life Of George Stevenson, the engineer A man
OF very remarkable ability recently me, with this ane
dote; At dinner party at Sir Robert Pees whom he
was visiting With large company, he engaged in con.
'rover'y with Dr. Bucksnd upon question of geo
ogy and the Doctor slenced him and ta,iIv f,r
the dinner he tell in with Sir William rollett then the
leading lawyer of England and complained him of his
defeat 1T ~ too bad" said he, "for | know | was
right, and If had only Buckland's power of words I
should nave INSIDE It appear Follett amused himself
with mastering the points and principles OF the ou.on
and the next day At dinner the subject again brought
up and Fole joined in the conversation and very sn
any and ehee'uaiiy bafiied aud sicnCed Buckiand-
What do you say TO that Mr. Stevenson" said Sir Ro
bert Feel. why said he, Il will say only this that
of all the powers above and under the earth there seems
to me n? power so great as the gift of the Cab"
ly this somewhat expression Stevenson simply
meant the gift of words; the power of utterance Rnt
was ii the gift Of speech which enabled the lawyer TO
look through the mIs of their loose talk and see plainly
-
Was the clear and trained intellect and the prompt and
perfect logic which gave Foett the power OF rnetra
ing to the very heart of the question and OF keeping his
opponent 10 the exact point issue and of compelling
him to abandon sOphises aud side issues and when he
had been driven to his Utmost citadel Of forcing him to
surrender that utterly unteaajle And vet NOT So
Nenson only, but very possible eyery man at the table
as they enjoyed this gadatorial amusement of the ren,
lawyer, looked upon il victory of words |
have related this anecdote because Il seems 10 me 10 H.
a'tate perfectly very common mistake in relation to
Mr. Choaie His victories too were sometimes regard
ed a. victories of words
cannot but regard word painting as among tho fine
arts, and rs standing very high among them ,rorJ
gentlemen l. IL the instrument OF mind as much m
the pencil or the chisel. Is its instrument for as
hiSn purpoSeE Will it not present the minds eve
the beauty of thought and feeling nav all that one b
nan soul can offer another majestic truth of ten
derneSS OF strength Of purity. of grace: An anecdote
when mas come down TO US from the land aud the age
OF Phdia Imports that the sculptor finds his statue I'm
the marble, and that is his work 10 berate from the
stone Not so. The canvas and the marble only pre-
sent transferred to their natural substance the lines the
hues and forms which rst exist in the mind of the
artist II i his first work bid them live definitely and
completely N his imagination II is lis second work to
oIhs them from within without, aud invest them for the
employment and the instruction OF Others in the perna
nent material he employs.
TuE WAY CHOGTE WORKED.
How often have observed that let friend or ellen,
cal on NJ ChoAts at bis busiest mUment and he would
turn TO hi visitor with all the an idcr There
vas no wrnkling Of the brow nothing in the look or
gesture which said that the interruption was IN welcome
and must be brief He could always afford TO he inter
ruped and the reason was that when the Interruption
was over he could to his study and when
he studied, he knew how to study.
HIS STUDIES.
He was master Of English literature and an excellent
classical schoar.ant it i only my inability TO Judge
oil tins which leads to hesitate in saying that he was
aihorough classical scholar Let me remark in passing
that his two fayOrte authors were Cicero and Thucv
ddes Outside Of lis profession, should say that his
strength lay in history. OF this he was always drent
and systematic student And in the knowledge of What
may be called, much the political as the const;tu
history q md a E,U \
think lave never known his equal
Remembcr no" engrOssing hi business was, reInem
ber that while in health he rejected nothing avoided
nothing aud that be threw himself heartily into what
ever he undertook. Aud ihen tell NE if he did not
guard efficiently aud efecuay against that influence
oil profession which Colridce alluded when in
reply TO some who had asserted that the study and
practice Of the law sharpens the mind as grindstone
sharpens kniie-by narroEing it,"
MS GRACEFUL BEARING.
have reserved to the close one other trait of his char
acter TO which wish draw your particular attention
II Is his geutlemInly bearing and department When
Dr. johnson asking about a person who was prouo.
set a. candidate for his famous cl1b aud the proposcr
sad, " He = a man OF gentle manners the Doctor
whose strong sense enabled him to appreciate exceence
when In nrni'es and early habits prevented him from
possessing replied Say no more sir--rhat Won have
already said includes everything The NAV seemper.
maps II wa7-eNirtvagant and yet ara almost willing to
% war Snch professional manners - h"s, VI Mr. Choate
include or imply everything. seriously doubt whether
there Nc5 the person WHO heard him utter rude
word an that heard him do 90 or heard
u
But lac was fortunately for himself and his neghbos kind
by nature And hs extraordinary sagacty earIy taught
him ;hnt m angry al.sys delivers himself up 10
TO HE opponent eneebled and di,amcd lie knew that
lawyer cannot gain, and j. lose by IN temper
aud BY angry aud d>cOur'eors speech. He wue mas
ter Of the difficult art Of cioss-cyaniuqtion n, one
kuew better how 70 compel reluctant witness 20 tel
hc Truth, or how 20 drive fac witness from his sub
tetiuges, and lay bare his iniquiiy And when il wac
needed he had alFay7 the wit The shrcasn the power Of
/ word or LOOK which the demanded and iustfed-
But there wa7 an infinite distance between an tina and
she hahitua and most Of nsiye udeucsz in which some
indulge, Who n thcir insJnC aud O'cngye conduct to-
ward, witness, appear to think that tic chief advaut
age oi their profession is the opportunity IL affords Of
/ being brutal with impuniiy
Bot " not merely in this particular that NJ Choata
vas always The gentleman. ile treated biz brethren a
u they were hi7 friends; and while he alwlys protected
his clients rights and Interest," he never inflicted upou
his opponents useless annoyance, withheld conceg-
sions AMI accommodations which he could safely Weld
Il EEN, BALDWIN g. WILLIAMS invite u,e al.
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