New-York tribune., 1880-01-11

refer-tbe billows which roll and swell with
wel-maDaged crescendo, until the ninth OF them
melts along the shore. The first speech which 1
heard Mr.. Everett make was in behalf of Bunker
Hill Monument a shaft which went up slowly
| through lack of money! and made necessary
great expenditure of eloquence. This was perhaps
as nearly an extempOraneous address as Mr..
Everett ever made in his life. for he was called
| upon rather unexpectedly; yet there no flaws
in it, and traces of the hesitation of extempore.
His description of the battle extremely terse
| and animated; and long years after, when L was
| called upon to write an account of 1t, was not
easv until had sent long distance for printed
| report of this well-remembered speech. Mr..
| Everett was q man who never did anything badly
| or carelessly; and this address. given Ill small
| town to a small audience was just as fine IN It's
| way his great Grafton upon Washington. Indeed,
do not remember any historical American who did
| SO many and such various things well.
| Professor of Greek a clergyman, a minister
of the Gospel, both Representative and Senator IN
| Congress, Governor, an Ambassador, Secretary
of State, admirable lecturer, miscellaneous ana
clever writer for The North american Reriew rs we'll
for BOnner's LEDGER i'll early life maker OF ee-
| CANT verses--what was there which he did
| not do and what was there which he did not do
| we'll With consciousness Of his own miscella-
neous capacities, it is not strange that he mani
| tested passion for the Presdency-that infirmity
which has so surely and sOrey afflicted 80 many
| of our public men whether able or mediocre. Mr..
Everett In the House of Representatives.. when "
full of frstrate men, of tho most efiec-
tive and persistent opponents OF the Jackson ADMIN
istratOn. recall passage In one of his speeches,
which declamed in school, soon after 1t was de-
lvered which is worth quoting as q specimen OF
Mr. Eyeretts manner. General Jackson had charged
his Secretary of the Treasury, who had refused to
remove the deposits with being bribed by the bank;
and Mr.. Everett. upon this, exclaimed with
elegant indignation: al believe If any
King of England, of the House of Bruins
WICK had uttered such an accusation against
a First Lord of the Treasury the day on
which he uttered il wOnld have been the last
of his reign He would have been hurried from the
palace to the Tower, and from the Tower to the
scafiod or if measures had been adopted more
consonant with the spirit of the age. Parliament
would have resolved that the royal intellect was
impaired, ana the unhappy monarch would have
fingered out the remainder of his days III the gloom
est haunts and darkest recesses of Windsor Castle"
| give the passage from memory; the reader will
notice the climax. the peculiarity OF Mr. Everetts
rhetoric. of which l have already spoken. OF this
remarkable man shall have something more to say
in another chapter.
Few people, save professed political students, now
remember perhaps Mr.. Alexander II. Everett. a
younger brother of Edward Everett. gentleman of
great learning and talent who went from advanced
Whggery to advanced Democracy during General
Jackson's second term. Though Inc held at various
times important offices. mainly diplomatic Alexan-
der can hardly be considered fortunate man. What
drove him into the Democratic party | do not
know. but remember that there was a feeling in
Boston that he had somewhat lost caste. He had
not the uniform of his brother, and suspect
that he lacked his brothers cautions prudence. He
had great chances; his work suggests robust and
sinewy nature but somehow he did not get on.
His knowledge of European literature of the eight
ecnth century consummate; and heard HIM
deliver an admirable Grafton upon that topic before
the Phienmenian Society of Brown University, IN
1897 full of lively poriraure and sound and grace
full criticism. In The North american Reriar he de-
Tended the United States against the sneering mis-
representations of class of British tourists which
fortunately has become extinct. mention particu-
larry his review Of HamiltOn's Men and Manners
in America" wonderful piece of recrmination.
because have been told that Hamilton himself read
it with anything but satisfaction, and found its
sharp dissection not at all soothing TO his Scotch
temper. The cockney ytravellers-Trollope, Fiddler
Hamilton and the rest Of them-trlcd us sorey, for
our skins were then thinner. and our selfconsituted
Judges shallower. We may take a little honest
pride in the fact that nobody writes such books
about us
Mr.. Rufus Choatc prominent political Mas
sachusetts figure i'll the campaign of 1910. lie was
then forty-tw years old in the full flush of intel
lectual If not of physical he was sent to the
Senate to take the place Of Mr.. Webster there but
believe it was admitted that he did not develOpe
political ability at all commensurate with his repu-
H. hoI axrIt hi f.1
much prudence as a Representative in Congress in
1882 and in the Senate he was upon one occasion
at least rather harshy treated by Mr.. Clay At the
end of his term, In 1916 he was glad to back to
his law books and the Boston bar. Opinions may
differ respecting his attainmens IN the science OF
law hard-headed old Judges like Chief-Justice
Shaw perhaps did not think highly of them as did
Mr. Choatc's clients, rescued by him from the
extreme penalties of the law; but in spite Of grave
| faults of tasle the brilancy of Mr. Choate. his
| fervor passion and verbal opucnce put him in the
| front rank of rhetoricians. Unfortunately be has
left little or nothing to justify the great reputation
| which he attained while living. POsterity cannot
| see his flashing eve, mark his dramatic action,
nor hear the wonderful intonstiOns which cOlored
and intensified his elocution. His fame will expert
| ence something of the actors i'll fortune. But no
man was more talked of in his time, which already
| seems so far away-his habits his curious learning,
! his great power Of application, his winning way
with iures his classical tastes and MS astonishing
handwriting the most illegible which ever saw.
| recall one occasion when anybody who could have
read one of his letters would have been entitled to
| handsome gratuty. l was studying law in the
| office of the Hon. Thomas ID. Eliot. the well-known
| Member of Congress- There case in which
| both Mr. Choate aud Mr.. Eliot engaged: and
| the former sent down to his junior in-
structons for making immediate motion
| of some Importance. Not a man in the
Office cou Id read the letter-not Mr.. Eliot nor Mr.
| John A. Kasson. his partner. nor any OF the