, 1876-12-02

SCIlldDIt lIt, NUlNU NttIllN llN' u I'''"'
tons concurrence OF original atoms lie
possessed wonderful capacity for labor
and study, Int was mnrtyrto sick heat
ache, all ms lite,
No less extraordinary in style than in
appearance and manner was this phc-
nomcnal being. His wild soarngs were
strange to an audience accustomed to
the mairSt and regular flights of Web.
>ter and the slvrry uttcrnrcS ot Ever.
rtt But the STYLE bctittcd the man and
the manner. lie delighted in strong con.
tmrts. As in ShakSprarcs plays kings
and clowns ioSte each other, so in
Choatr', rhetoric the homely and the
magnificent are frequently in iuXtNposi.
tion. Doubtless his style lacks simple.
ity Ii is tcrvia, imprisoned, Oriental in
il riChn"ss and luXurianCc, often cXag-
gCrated, but always poetic and suggestive
His vocabulary ahoundcd in rccOndite
and high-soundng words. His imNgina-
tion converted the commoncst objects
into things Of beauty, and described the
planest acts in phrases that haunt the
memory. Speaking OLA person hcsitat'
ing to commit n small Otlcnsc, when con.
tcmplating Il great crime, he said as it
possible to think, nationally, that if
person was going to plunge into cata
roct below the precipice he would be
over careful not to moisten his feet with
dcw3" OF an improbable narration he
said "1he story is as unlike the truth
as a pebble is unlike star, n witch's
broomstick unlike banner staff Ola
cunning witness: "IIe is quick, Keen
knows when to hold his tongue, with the
cunning bushy tailed fox. Ais right
OF Il lonely place ut was as lonely as
the desert behind Algiers." OF @ captain
deceived in his reckoning: 81 suppose if
the philanthropy of two hcmisphcres shall
find only the grave in which Sir John
Franklin's body has warmed a place,
every coXcomb clerk will pass an opinion,
judging by after fact, and say precisely
where the error in judgment was" Ofan
unseaworthy vessel: THE vessel, after
leaving the smooth water of Boston hNr.
bOr, encountered the eternal motion of the
ocean, which hN been there from crea-
tion, and will be there until land and sea
are no more She went down the harhor
painted and perfdious thing, soul.
freighted but coffin for the living, a
coffin Tor the dead Of IA captain sail
ing past St. Helena "Such were his
meditstions as the invisible currents Of
the ocean bore him past the grave Of Ma
pOlcon." Of dry goods merchants
bankruptcy he said: $50 have heard
that the vast possessions of Alexander
the Conqueror crumbled away in dying
dynasties, in the unequal hands of his
weak heirs In regard to the people Of
Danvcrs, several miles from the railroad,
he said "IIer people are just near
enough to hear the whistle of the loco.
motive and gaze at the sparks of that
flying giant yet, for all practical pur.
poses, they might as well stand under
the sky at midnight, gazing at tirma
ment Of falling metcors.' When Choate
cssNycd the pathetic he WAS always sim
pie. There is no more beautiful instance
of this thnn his remarks on Webster's
love for New England: ale loved New
IIampshire-that old granite world-thC
crystal hills, gray and Cloud.topped; the
river whesc murmur lulled his cradle
the old hearth stone the grave of iath.
er and mother. He loved Massachusetts,
which adopted and honored him-that
sounding seashore, that charmed elm.tree
seat, that reclaimed farm, that choice
herd, that smell of earth, that dear Ii.
brary, those dearer friends. But the
sphere OF his duties was his true coun.
try.
OF Choate's wit a volume might be com
piled. A few examples must answer
OF party in suit he said "Why don't
he pay back the moneys he has
ill-got! He it so much OF villain
that he wouldn't if he could and Sc
> much of bankrupt that he couldn't if he
would" Of very crooked flight o
stairs he said "IIow drunk mar