The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-11-29
The Dead Journalists.

y thin the past month Mr.. Weed -
the course OF an interview wa toll .
You seem TO remember - easl a.
ever
Better than l did once. | hop. .hc
answered. ii | had not cultivated my
memory | should have been dismal
failure. | had to adopt a REGULAR
method, and | hit on one That was very
effective. some Of my friends had
thought | was cut out for a politician
-thlt Is. | probably impressed my
views strongly on those aboutn nae. But
| saw at once a fatal weakness. Nv
memory was a sieve. / could remember
nothing. Dates. names, appointments.
taces-everything escaped me. | said
10 Ety wife: Catherine. / shall never
make a successful politician. for / cannot
remember, and that i a prime necessity
OF poltIci ms. A politician who sees a
sees a man o:Ce should remember him
forever Ny wife told ..!e that | must
tram my memory. - when | came
home that night 1 sat down alone and
spent fifteen minutes irwin. silently to
recall the events Of the dtg. could
remember lttlc IL first: now lrcue.u5e.
tina could not. then rcmemEe- what 7
had for br tkta-t. Finally ! found !
coul recall more. Events came back
to me more min tely and more accur-
atcIy. After a fortnight or so OF tii-.
Catherine said. My don't YOU tell Il
TO me II would be interesting. aud
my interest IN it would stimulate vou.'
Then | began . habit Of ora confession.
as IL were, which | followed tor almost
fifty years. Every night, tie last thlng
before retiring, | told my wife every
thing that | could recall that had hap
pened To Inc or about me during he day.
| generally recalled the very dishes ! had
for breakfast, dinner, and tea the peo-
ple | had seen, and what they said: the
editorials | had written, aud an ABSTRACT
of them; the letters ] had sent aud re-
celyed, and the very language used as
near as possible when | had walked or
rldden-everythinX. In short. that had
come within my knowledge. | found |
could say my lesson better AID better
every year, and instead OF growing irk-
some, it got to be a pleasure to run the
events of the day in review. | am in
debtei 10 this discipline for 4 memory Of
somewhat unusual tenacity, and | rec
oinmcnd the practice to all who expect
to have much TO do with influencing
men.
HIS LAST PUBLIC WORDS.
Mr. Weed during the past ten years
has been almost daily before the public,
eIlher through interviews OF the writ,
iLgs Of correspondents, Of by his letters
on popular and inStXit subjects. He
was "a hearty opponent of ciyli-servicr
r~eioraI. So .ate as November Il he dc
JaleI a communication against II a. he
jaJa upon his sick-ted. In the course o
this, ms last written communication, he
SaIa:
Il have had the paper, read 10 me
T this morning. | see az interview with
AIr Bayatl- - verg interesting aud Iu
partaut onel World OF that date in
which he shows III reference to the Re
+ rHblI an defeat the good sense and WIS.,
I aum of a statesman. | find everything
- commend till the Senator strIkeS the
civil-seryice question. | agree with him
that 1t is the great political problem of
the country, but no man has yet arisen
showing any capacity to deal with it. |
have not strength left to say what
would ike to. Ii health should be spared
to me and | could get a paper - repre-
sem my views | do believe they could not
fail to open the eyes and ears of hun
dreds of the most patriotic of our citi-
zens. The question has run away from
Mr.. George William Curtis and his asso-
ciates. They hoped only to demoralize
and weaken the Republican party in the
recent election, but they have helped to
drive ii to the verge Of ruin. | am
most emphatically in favor of comforting
the offices Of the country, always mod
flied by circumstances, uron those who
in eminent or in more humble ranks,
have rendered good and patriotic service
10 their count.y-a service often rem
Gered through the form OF a party.
Practically | am a better civil-Service re-
+ former than Mr.. Curtis or any of his FOL
. lowers, as my record proves. 1t Is with
no personal object that | make this state
menl / am forced to do it to vindicate
my position And with touching pa
/ thos, remembering his own great age,
he aided: If time bad ut taken away
my colleagues ! should not need wit
uesses to prove what | did