The Weekly Washington telegraph., 1871-06-21
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
OF DISTINGUISHED MEN.

county. lie recognized me, gave me
little hemlock bough, and passed on.
We boys felt very bad when we heard
they had sock'd it to old Socrates, for
we liked him.
| was with Julius Caesar when he
passed the Rubicon. lie held good
hand, and | told him he had better
order it up, but he passed. The result
is well known; he lost the game.
Alexander the Great and myself
we're schoolmates. We were brought
up little girls together. lie used to
amuse himself, | remember, by smash
ing up all the globes there were in
school, and then sit down and cry be-
cause there were no more worlds to
conquer. | happened to be with him
when he cut the Gordian Knot. Many
others had tried in vain to do il. 1t
was "knot for Joe" Smart Aleck
came along and cut it the first time
trying, with a patent corn cutter.
Nero had one of the most sensitive
organizations | ever knew, and keenly
sympathized with human woes. |
have seen him sit in the amphitheater
of Rome, and weep bitterly when cap
tives were torn in pieces b, wild beasts.
1t is base SANDER to say he fddled
while Rome was burning. He be-
longed to the fire engine company, and
| saw him working at the breaks my
self. Some one saw him as he
attempted to break 'er down, and in
the excitement of the moment, thought
he was fddling, and so reported.
! knew Shakespeare as long ago as
when he tended store for the Merchant
of Venice, and sold the prints Of Den
mark by the yard, He was an honest
lad with the yard stick, giving Measure
for Measure. lie always wanted to be
an actor, and was perpetually quoting
Shakespeare to customers. People used
to leer at him for it. l have never
ooop the ing Lear. Shakespeare only
laughed, and said they were making
Much Ado About Nothing, adding,
you can have it As You Like It.
lie was fond of the ladies'; and
popular scandal associating his name
with certain Merry Wives of Windsor,
his employer raised such Tempest
about his ears that he ran away, and
joined variety company. He made
his debut as the first grave digger in
Othello. lie was the first grave dig,
ger ever saw, and Richard the Third,
Mex Kean Buchanan came forth, | think,
shortly after.
Diogenes was one of the most eccen-
trio men | ever knew His mother
was a washerwo wonan, and he lived in
her tub, except on wash days, when
she had to use it to make living for
him. Although he gets a good deal
of credit nowadays for having lived in
tub, he didn't at the time of it.
The neighbors used to call him lazy,
shiftless fellow, lolling around in a tub,
talking philosophy to lot of good for
nothings, in; tead Of working for a
living.
A good deal has been said about his
going around the streets of Athens
with n lantern "to find man." |
saw him at the time. He wanted to
find a man that would stand treat.
The greatest remark of his that has
been preserved was, "If could live
Alexander the Great, / had rather
Di-ogenes.'
Columbus was a mild, sweet disposi-
toned, but exceedingly thoughtful boy,
as | remember him at school. When
we were boys out playing, he would
sit and weep for hours over the incom-
pleteness of the maps of the period.
lie felt as though something was
wanting. lie wasn't satisfied with
three-quarters of a giohe, such as was
employed in the schools at the time
He pined for the other quarter.
He used TO tell us we were conti-
nent out somewhere, and that when