Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-02-08
&c JO."

=
him were the elements OF most attract
i've man, but not properly balasted by
patience, and under little control Cha.
oloro earth crystalized into form seemed
q type Of his mind. Love, law, oratory
/ poetry, music, metaphysics, politics
every art and science-were drifted and
scud-blown hither and thither through
JOS brain. Even so his moods; all in
one day, Savage, gay, fierce, depressed
taciturn, talkative, cheerful, sarcastic
gentle and disagreeable.
JOS tastes, powers and capacities
were varied he crayed universal &C
quirement, but the grand power Of pa.
tience seemed in him almost lacking
His were fitful and spasmodic attacks on
the various fortresses of knowledge
characterized by Gallo impetuosity and
enthusiasm, but wanting in the all-con
quering Teutonic method and persever-
ance. hHEAM81M 3Nt tAlhE
1 He attacked successfully all the
strongholds of learning. Six weeks was
his maximum of siege. At the expira'
tion, of that period he came of, in his
own estimation, a conqueror--a proii
cient in the art. 1t was as if party Of
Bedouin horsemen charged against Glib
ralter's walls and then scampered off
crying themselves masters of the fortress.
While Jo was master of our district
school he for time taught principally
English grammar. Grammar to every
scholar, great and small, capable of me-
morizing the definition of a noun, was
dealt out largely in excess of other
studies. 1t was because 10 himself at
that period was passing through an in
tense grammatical era. In education he
maintained it the one thing needful.
Grammar was his mistress. Suddenly
he tired of her and cast her Of. He de-
serted her for mathematics, and 10, with
the entire school, became severely math-
ematical. This was his system. One
branch at a time. A {" time endured
from three to six weeks. Those were
tho early days, when the camp school
teacher was entire master OF the situa-
ton, without hindrance from superin-
tendents or boards Of education. 10 at
last threw up the pedagogical sponge in
disgust. He declared that any man de-
voting himself to the profession over two
years would dwarf intellectually into a
pigmy, aspiring TO nothing higher than
the compiling of new primers.
10 then applied himself to law. Moth
ing for him like law. Before the great
legal authorities he prostrated himself
in humiliation and reverence. could
sit at their feet like child" said he,
and drink in their wisdom" Because
smiled, he sneered out: What can
you comprehend of the grandeur Of con-
ciseness, the clearness of the bold Ian.
guage of the law. You are no lawyer"
! Suddenly 10 shot into classics. Latin
grammar, dictionaries and readers filled
his table. He threatened himself with
Virgil ere he had mastered the declen-
sions of the nouns and adjectives. He
skinned lightly for few days over the
coniugations. He declared himself in
dependent of the numerous grammati-
cal rules, and their still more numerous
progeny of exceptions. Genius, he said,
was above rules for ordinary men. He
longed Immediately to grapple with the
translation, With it he did grapple.
The Latin reader he conquered in week.
To Virgil he then applied himself with
all the zeal of an enthusiast. JOS trans
lation was of the freest possible order.
1t was riotous in its freedom. The gram
matical description of the language was
irksome to him. He was not amenable
to any such drill. In two months he
deemed himself a fair classical scholar.
The man was miraculously quick, and
did catch enough Of the poetry and ideas
to render such labor fora time pleasant.
He announced his intention Of reading
every known author. The list was made
out, but joe with learning, was CO.
quette. He suddenly left his classic
mistress. His next tangent was a Juror
for French. The requirement of that
tongue was for him mere bagatelle Of a
fortnight. BE mastered Teleinaque,
reading it aloud to perfect himself in
the pronunciation (according to his ideas
of the French pronunciation.
There lived in the camp one
Monsieur Broche, our French baker.
He was the embodiment of the stage
Frenchman. His shoulders were gal
vanic; his forehead high, narrow and
bald; his eyes black and glittering; his
hair, in a tumbling, black hirsute tor
rent, fell over his coat collar He was
Communist transplanted. During his
fifteen years residence in California he
had not, acquired fifteen words Of Eng
| lhsh. On Sundays, attired in his best,
he toddled up to puddles of water, on MS
toes, and carefully lifted up his coat tails
as he stepped over them, while Billy
Burns, from Pine Log-who went into
camp once a month to scowl at civiliza-
tion-regarded Monsieur Broche saw
agely, being thoroughly disgusted at
such French airs. He declared that
"Broche was within hailing distance of
the insane asylum, and that he'd run
muck yet, with long knife, through
the streets Of the camp y -lt-
| 10 tried his French on Monsieur
Broche. he read him sundry extracts
from the Courier Broehe elevated his
eyebrows They essayed to converse.
Both produced their own styles of Gallic
tongue. They were to each other unin-
telligible. They parted in disgust The
baker speaks the patois of the proyin-
cial," quoth 10, and knows nothing Of
the pure Parisian accent
A spell Of melody broke over him.
He purchased two yiolins, Joined the
singing school, and piled his table with
music books. BE labOred by himself
with lungs and bow during the silent
nights. The neighbors were disturbed.
Some camplained. II was not melody,
for 10, with strained and husky voice,
turned all his airs at acute angles, and
his playing and singing, when combined,
seemed 70 pull in opposite directions.
10 heard Of the faultfnding. Then
I'll play and sing by night on my prem
ises,h said he, until they buy me out.
propose in some Vay to make music
profitable. How much do they want
me to stop2 -Four hundred dollars
worth? This week IN sell my house
and lot for that amount. Nextweek ask
Eve hundred and buy another violin"
Io suddenlv left music, declaring that