The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-07-27
Everett no Choate.


A correspondent who had conversation
with the late Edward Everett, Of Massachu'
sets, while on a journey from Cleveland to
Buffalo, says:
lie gave me an interesting page from his his
tory, connected with his address. lie sara That
from the earliest start he had been accustomed
to commit to memory his speeches. In writing
an address he wrote page aud then commltted
| it, If he was about to Visit place where there
WAS the least probability Of his making an adj
| dress or speech he would search for some hist0-
ric event or matter of local interest, write aad
commit. If he was called to speak uDawarcs,
| he nut his thoughts down Immediately after his
| return home aud wrote out such speech as he
| yould hive delivered. when he was settled IN
| Bratte street church, Boston, be was mere
| stripping, lie resolved TO read nothing, but TO
prepare his sermons with great ehre ana eoi,i'','
| them, Some Of tho cider members OF his mock
| were made nervous by his temo'ity. Seeing
mere lad standing up in the pulpit without
scrap of paper before him, FILED them with alarm
lest he should break dcwn, and thus destroy al
their enjoyment Mr.. Everett WAS requested ia
| lake notes with him in the pulpit. wishing u
{ accommodate his friends, and rosolutc in his pur
/, | pose not to read his sermons, he compromise
. the matter. He took into the pulpit sermon be
the leaves, quieted the nerves OF his anxious
friends Under this constant and severe discipline
, | his memory became rs tenacious, rs supple ahu
, | obedent as the fingers Of swell trimmed organ
ist. The reading of lecture or sermon twice
, ena bled him to commit ii perfectly, lie regard
ed the time when he gave his celebrated Phi Bets
| Grafton in the presence OF Lafayette, IA ina
when he stood Oh the summit Of success az al
3 orator.
The strength of Mr.. Cboates memory was on
of the most remarkable things about that re
: markahle man. He nor only read everything
| but he remembered everything he rent Ii
knew where the book was IN which the desire
n information could be found, the very page, an
m | the precise location Of the hook in the librar
where it happened TO be. While trying the cele
bratcd sewing machine case before Judge WOOD
% bury, henrd him request n friend to go TO th
| Atbenmum and get him volume of q set pnb
| Iished by Chambers. The article he wanted wa
on the manufacture Of silk lie described tht
get the room in which it was kept, and the very
spot in the library where it could he found. Ht
wrote down nearly everything in the case that h.
could. The act of writing fastened the thing IL
his memory and II was ready for instant use,-
7 In the trial Of cause he kept two sets of note
p one the testimony, the other a digest and th
argument. He was ready 10 argue a case tn
; moment the testimony closed. His memory en-
r abled him TO talk on any subject introduced. II
was At home on the Black Letter Law, kuey
famNinrly the intricate English law Of entail
i and could discuss the laws of any nation us in
, telligibly as he could common act Of assault
and battery. | walked with him from the Cour
House on Saturday, previous to the delivery o
his celebrated eulogy Webster, before Dart
mouth College, lie had teen all the week be
fore the United States Court conducting an intri
cate triai the heat like that of tropical climate
I We went into the BARRIERS shop under tho Brom
field House for be said II must DO shampoor
ed daily or should die" The 'eulogy Wei
70 ster, think, was to be delivered on Tuesday
70 This was Saturday, and the intervening Monda
N was to be consumed in the journey to Hanove
| said to him: "Of course your eulogy on Wei
~ ster is completed" He drew himself up TO hi
!. full hight. and laying his hand gently on m
shoulder, ne said mir. -, as | live, not
= word of that eulogy is written" Yet it WA de
@ | livered as announced delivered without note,
, full written out and committed in the writing
know ono instance in which he completed his lee
3 ture NJ the office short time before the trail
started that was to carry him to his appointment
He left the manuscript on his desk, gave nj
lecture, no said, rer6dtim as he desired 4
| and that tIoLt scrap before him. He wa
very careful of the wordirg Of his motions be
fore the higher courts. His phrascQlogy was al
r ways peculiar. Having written hi, motion on
, scrap of paper, he usually Crumblsd ii in hi
hand and threw it on tho floor ms he arose TO ad
dress the Bench. / have frequently picked uI
| | these outings, end some Of them have TO th
day.