Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1878-08-29

ana breaking down. He was reciting the
familiar lines:
You'd scarce expect one of my age
To speak In public on the stage;
II should chance to fall below
Demosthenes Or"
At this point he hesitated, put the cor
uer OF his apron to his eye. burst into
tears and sat down, totally overcome by
the ailusion TO himself and the novelty o
his situation. Cicero. who WAS q lad al
the same school. made fun Of Demo sthenes
asking him derisively IL he hadn't better
go and hire him out for an orator.
The last time l met Socrates he was on
his way to take tea-hemlock tea. I think
with the sheriff OF his county. lie
recognized me, gave me a little hemlock
bough. and passed on. We boys felt very
bad when we heard thev had socd IL 10
old Socrates, for we liked him.
| Was with Julius C3sar when he passed
the Rubcon. lie held good hand. and
told him he had better order 1t up. but he
passed. The result Is well known; he lost
the game.
Alexander the Great and myself were
schoolmates. We were brought up lit.le
girls together. He used to amuse himself,
| remember, by smashing all the globes
there were In school, and then sit down
and crv because there were no more
worlds to conquer. happened to be with
him when he cut the Gordian knot. Many
others had tried In vain 10 do It. II was
knot for Jo." Smart Aleck came along
and cut Il 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 amphithestre In Rome
and weep bitterly when captives were torn
In pieces by wild beasts. 1t Is a base
slander to say he fiddled while Rome was
burning. He belonged TO fire-eng Inc
company. and | saw him working At the
brakes myself. Some one saw him "a he
helped TO breaker down. and in the excite
ment thought he was fiddling, and so re-
ported.
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" He always wanted to be
an actor. and was perpetually quoting
Shakespeare to customers. People used to
leer al him for II; | have even seen the
king Lear Shakespeare only laughed.
and said they were making Much Ado
About Nothing" adding you can have 1t
AS You Like It." lie was fond of the
ladies, and popular scandal associated his
name with certain Merry Wives OF Wind
sor; and his employer raised such a
Tempest" about his ears that he ran
away and joined variety company. He
made his debut as first grave-dlgger In
"othello. He was the first grayedigger
| ever saw aud Richard III" Shakespeare
was failure as an actor. | assisted HIN
all could. but he couldn't speak the
speech al pronounced il to him. tripping
IS on the tongue. although he tripped
often enough on his feet. He sawed the
air too much with his hand (saw) thus /;
while In the torrent, tempest, and | beg
leave 10 add, whirlwlnd or his passion, he
neglected 10 form and beget temperance
that would give it smoothuess. No, Will
liam wasn't a temperance man. He never
signed the pledge and got a medal with
other peoples business. Failing as an
actor. Shakespeare took to adapting Bou-
clcault's plays, translating them from the
original Choctaw, and soon found himself
on the road 10 fame and fortune. His
plays have had great run. have seen
them when they run everything out Of the
theatre. The least meritorious Of Shaks-
pears plays was his play upon words.
He often used 10 tell ME that he envIed my
talent In that particular.
Diogenes was the most eccentric man |
knew. HIS mother was a washerwoman
and he lived In her tub. except on wash
days when she had 10 use II to make a
living for him. Although he gets good
deal OF credit nowadays for having lived
iu a tub, he didn't at the time OF il. The
neighbors used 10 call him a lazy, shiftless
fellow. lolling around in Il tub, talking
philosophy 10 lot OF gooj-for-nothings
Instead OF working for 4 living. A good
deal has been said about his going around
the streets OF Athens with a lantern TO
fnd man" saw him at the time lie
wanted TO find a man tina, wouli stand
treat. The greatest remark OF his that
has been preserved was when he said. III
| could live Alexander the Great, | would
rather Di-ogenes
Columbus was a mid. sweet-dis posi-
toned. but exceedingly thoughtful boy. a.
| remember hiJi at school. When we boys
were out playing he would sit and weep
for hours over the incompleteness OF the
map OF the period. He felt as though
something was wanting. He wasn't salts.
ned with three-quarters OF globe. such
as was employed in the schools at that
time. He pined for the other quarter.
recollect his borrowing quarter OF me on
two or three occasions. Tie used to tell
US We were a contInent out, some whe re,
and that when he got big enough he meant
TO run away from home, 90 on the canal
aud discover IL; bu. We only laughed at
him. little thinking he would yet give his
name to the State Capital Of Ohio. lost
all trace OF Christopher until years after
wards. when the telegraph brought the
announcement of bis having discovered
America, which up to that time, had sue
cessfully eluded the most persistent efforts
of our best discoverers. Il Gin. Saturday
Night.