Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-07-30

YOU'D scarce expect one OF my age
To speak in public on the stage;
i'll should chance to fall below
DemOsthenes Or"
At this point he hesitated, put the corn
er Of his apron to his eye, burst into tears
and sat down, totally overcome by the
allusion to himself and the novelty OF
the situation. Cicero who was lad at
the same school, made fun of Demos
themes, asking him derisively if he had
not better go and hire out for an orator
The last time met Socrates he was
on his way to take tea-hemlock tea. /
think-with the sheriff of his county
He recognized me, gave me little hem
lock Dough, and passed on. We boys |
felt bad when we heard they had soc'd |
il to old Socrates, for we liked him.
was with Julius Caesar when he pass |
ed the Rubicon. He held good hand,
and told him he had better order it up,
but he passed. The result is we'll known
he lost the game.
Alexander the Great and myself were
schoolmates. We were brought up lit
tie girls together. He used to amuse
himself, 1 remember. by smashing all
the globes there were in school, and
then sit down and cry because there
were no more worlds to conquer. | hap
pened to be with him when he cut the
Gordian knot Many others had tried
in vain to do it. 1t was "knot for Jo."
first time trying, with patent corn
cutter.
Il Nero had one of the most sensitive Or
CARNATIONS I ever knew, and keenly
J sympathized with human woes. l have
seen him sit in the amphitheatre in
Rome and weep bitterly when captives
were torn in pieces by wild beasts. Its
base SANDER to say he fiddled while
Rome was burning. He belonged to
fire engine company, and l saw him
working at the brakes myself. Some
, one saw him as he helped to brake Ter
down, and in the exc:tement of the mo.
ment thought he was fiddling, and so
reported.
I 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 "Mea-
sure for Measure He always wanted
to he an actor, and was perpetually quot
. ing Shakespeare to customers. People
!; used to leer at him for it; have even
2 seen the "King Lear" Shakespeare on
j ly laughed, and said they were making
'iMuch Ado About Nothing" adding
''you can have it AS you Like It. -
e He was fond of the ladies, and popular
'' scandal associated his name with certain
"Mesry Wives Of Wiindiss,or;" snratl bis us
: employer raised sush q "'femEests a.
bout his ears that lie ran away and join
y ed a variety company. He made his
. debut as first gravedigger in "Othello."
He was the first gravediggerI ever saw,
r failure as al actaf / assisted lin ali {
y could, but he couldn't speak the speech
1 as pronounced 1t to him, trippingly on
e the tongue. although he trimmed "f.e.,
. enough on his feet. He sawed the air
top nHph with his hand SAW thps;
!, while in the torrent, tempest. and, I
n n beg leave to add, whirIwind of his pas
sion, he neglected to form and beget q
e temperance that would give it smooth
9 ness. No, William wasn't temperance
man. He never signed the pledge and
got medal with other peoples bust
, ness.) Failing as an actor, Shakespeare
!, took to adapting Boucicault's plays
q translating them from the original
y Chocaw, and soon found himself on the
= = road to fame and fortune. His plays
= ). have had great run. have seen them
when they run everybody out of the
! theatre. The least meritorious of Shaks
: peare's plays was his play upon words.
+ He often used to tell me that he envied
my talent In that particulsr
! Diogenes was cue Oftne inost eccentric
> men I ever knew. His mother was a
: washerwonlan and he lived in her tub
J except on wash days. when she had to
: use it to make a living for him AL
J, though he gets good deal of credit
u nowadays for having lived in tub, he
e didn't 1t the tiHsa ,af,E Thes neig1Lars
: : used to Gall him lazy, sniftless Fellow,
: loliing around In tub. talking philoso
u ply to lot Of other good for Dothings
= instead of working for "A living. A good
= deal has been said about Lis going
# sraund the streets of Athens with q Lam
> tern "to ind manH Isaw him at the
time He wanted to find man that
y would stand treat The greatest remark
. of his that has been preserved was when
: he said, eff could live Alexander the
!. Great, would rather ri cgenes!"
u Columbus was mild, sweet DISPOSE
: : toned, but exceedingly thoughtful boy,
u as remember him at school. When
: we boys were out playing he would sit
y and weep for hours over the incomplete
,. ness of the map Of the period. He felt
6 as though saMething was wanting. He
= wasn't satisfied with three quarters Of a
: globe, such as was employed in the
u schools at the time. He pinned for the
Z other quarter. I recollect his borrowing
aQuarter OF ME on two or three occasions
: He used to tell us we were continent
a out, somewhere, and that when he got
big enough he meant to run away from
home, go on the canal and discover it;
but ve only laughed at him, little think
ing he would yet give his name to the
4 State Capital of Ohio. lost all trace Of
Christopher until years afterwards,
when the telegraph brought the an
pouncement Of his having discovered
o America, shiah, WI to that time, had
: successfully ouded the most persistent
= efforts of our best disooverers.-C snctn
: natl saturday Night,