Daily national Democrat., 1860-02-04
Rufus ChOate.


of Mr.. Choate-studied law in his Office, and
was thus enabled to gather together many
facts hitherto unknown, in regard to that re-
markable man. We all know that Mr.. Choate
was hard and constant worker. Like all
men who have risen to eminence in their pro
fessiOns, he burned the midnight oil In Mr.
Choate's ease we find the truth again eX-
enplifed, that untiring industry is essential
to success. Fame is splendid edfice, the
groundwork of which may be laid and the
plan formed by native genius; but to rear
the structure and to decorate it, another pow
er than genius must be brought to bear.
William Writ uttered great truth when he
said there could be no excellence without
great labor. Mr.. Parker describes the zeal
with which Mr. Choate worked, and his re-
markable economy Of time in the midst of his
multitudinous legal duties, enabled him 10
draw from the Latin and Greek classics ma
terial to beautify and embelsh his discourses
Eloquence with him was study-a critical
study lie practised it every day for forty
years. Mr.. Parker says:
"He would take some approved author and
utter page aloud but not noisily in his
room struggling to accomplish two things
10 get the whole feeling of every sentence,
and to express it by his tones even more pas
sionately than the author 10y his words and
also he labored to get his throat open. MS he
expressed it-by which presume he meant
TO get out pure round tone without vocifer-
alton or clamor Every energy that
daily practice could strengthen was invigOr
ated.
This reminds us of the old Grecian school
of oratory, where eloquence was taught US an
art. 1t may be inferred that Mr.. Choa;e was
not a natural orator Mr. Parker says he has
often heard him make a tremendous shout,
accompanied by SCATTERING spasm of physi-
cal emphasis upon an insignificant sentence or
word, by the thought of which his mind
This tended to show that the ardor was viii,
not impulse" In his fits of forensic fury as
he spoke, his fprehead not high, but wide,
and which looked worn by hard thinking,
seemed to lift, his temples to dilate his hair
to stand higher, and he looked of loftier brow
than before Mr. Parker speaking of his re-
markable vocabulary of language-more re-
markable, perhaps. than has been possessed
by any other man-says:
at was the language of learning, of litera.
ture, of romance, of art, of newspapers, of
slang even, all mixed Up together. But
chiefly. think, he delighted in long words
long tailed words in osity and alton"
asked him once, how he supposed that plain
jury before him of farmers and workmen,
were going to understand that deluge of die
tic naries with which, for three hours, he had
overwhelmed them. "Well. " said he. laugh
ing. "they know which side I'm on, and they
know | spoke a great tchtfe, and that's enough
for them TO know about it," lie did not ac-
cord at all in Mr.. Webster's veneration for
the Saxon element of our langunge-the
words short, simple. and strong. He rather
agreed with Thomas de Quincy that the
Latin element of the tongue is needed, to bear
in upon the mind an impression of general
power of beauty. aud Of sensiblity When
he chose or the eXigency demanded he could
salt down thought into the smallest and
snuggest sentences but he did not generally
choose"
The material of this great advocates areu
ment was mysterious consolidation of the
most dogmatic and positive assertion, the
closest logic the dryest law, the most gilt
tering poetry, the most convulsive humor,
fired up by an enthusiasm uninterrupted and
contagious In the first place, he constantly
put himself into the jury box as it were /;
that is. he constantly made sort of conf
dant of each juryman. He abounded in ex-
pressions like these: "Now Mr.. Foreman.
what should you think of such propostion?"
you see. gentlemen, here's the exact pinch, f."
or 81 thought wouldn't read all this letter
to you, but perhaps it would be fair, and
you'd like to hear it." In his whole
jury appeal, there was nothing more wonder
full to the professional eye than his speech
directly upon the evidence, and his comment
on the witnesses. Neither his oriental costa
cy of eloquence, his remorseless grasp of the
whole mass of detail. his consummate learning
in the law, all of which were displayed here,
in any degree surpassed his transcendent tai
ent for marshaling the evidence and discuss
ing the witnesses He never had, like some
weak minded advocates. several theories
each to be used in case of need in any new
pinch of the case he had one theory one cen
trial. commanding theory-and all the evil
dence squared and doyetailed into and upon
this one ruling center, which commanded like
sentinel every particular, and every por-
ton OF the whole variegated field \
Mingle in now with this mastery vancouver
ing OF details, constant appeals to sympathetic
feelings; constant warmth and the holy
traditions OF youth; constant addresses to the
/ a n $50 has
on all but the most shallow souls; and Vol
can form some conception of that porten,ou.
power which ne welded, and which made
him. as the learned Professor Greenlenf said
before jury, more terrible than Webster -
The author speaking of some of Mr. Choate's
peculiar characteristics, tells US:
With all his energy, he was never a pro-
fame man. He would sometimes swear when
no other ferocious word presented itself to
express the instant passion of bis feeling, but
usually he had explosives in vast variety, for
both energy and adjuration. These were
very queer. "l'm perfectly flabbergasted "
was one Of his odd expressions; and again,
I'll eat all the snakes in Virginny if don't
do it,"
lie would talk to himself, in conversation.
into great heat in five minutes, without any
intention TO do it. have known him to be
Longing on his sofa in bis library, and get
TIM interested in what he was talking about
to me. he would get up and come at me with
the vehemence of full charge upon the
jury.
We have seen nothing but extracts from
Mr. Parker's book sufficient however to show
that the work is a model of its kind
FUN AT HoME.-Don't be afraid of a little