The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1885-12-24
Table Talk.

The following. from the second parS
of the Greville Memoirs, illustrates the
wonderful ~fullness and variety OF
Macaulay's knowledge:
Before dinner some mention was
made of the portraits of the speakers
in the speakers house, and l asked
how far they went back. Macaulay
said he was not sure, but certainly as
far as Sir Thomas Moore. "Sir
Thomas Moore" said Lady Holland,
81 did not know he had been speak
er." 'Oh. yes" said Macauiay,
don't you remember when Cardinal
Wolsey came down to the house OF
commons, and Moore was In the
chair?" And then he told the whole
of that well known transaction, and
all Moore hadsaid. At dinner, among
a variety of persons and sub
jects, principally ecclesiastical. which
were discussed-for Melbourne loves
all sorts of theological talk-we got
upon India and Indian men of emf
hence, proceeding from Gleig's Life OF
Warren Hastings" which Macaulay
Sdiu NdS UlC WOlSC DOOA tiioOOfSi N'Ho
written; and then the name OF Sir
Thomas Munro came uppermost.
Lady Holland did not know why Sir
Thomas was so distinguished; when
Macaulay explained all that he had
ever said, done, written, orthought, and
indicated his claim to the title OF q
great man, till Lady Holland got
bored with Sir Thomas, told Macauiay
she had had enough of him, and
would have no more. This would
have dashed and silenced an ordinary
talker; but to Macaulay 1t was no
more than replacing q book on its
open on any other topic. 1t would DE
impossible to follow and describe the
various mazes of conversation, all Of
which he threaded with an ease thai
was always astonishing and instruct.
i've, and generally interesting and
amusing. When we went up stairs
we got upon the Fathers ofthe Church.
Allen asked Macaulay if he had
read much OF the Fathers. He said,
nos a great deal. He had read
~Chrysostom when he was in India;
that is, he had turned over theleaves,
and for few months had read him
for two or three hours every morning
before breakfast, and he had read
some of Athanasius. 81 remember q
sermon" he said of Chrysostom's in
praise of the bishop OF Antioch" and
then he proceeded to give us the sub
stance of the sermon till Lady Hol-
land got tired of the Fathers, again
put her extinguisher on ~Chrysostom,
us she had done on Munro, and with
a sort OF derision, and as if to have
the pleasure of puzzling Macauly. sho
turned to him and said, Pray, Ma
caulay, what was the origin OF a doll?
When were dolls first mentioned in
history" Macaulay was, however,
just as much up to the dolls as he vas
to the fathers, and instantly replied
that the Roman children had their
dolls, which they offered up to Venus
as they grew older; and quoted Per-
sius for
"Veneri donata a Virgine puppe."
and l have not the least doubt, if he
had been allowed to proceed, he would
have told us who was the ChenevlX of
ancient Rome, and the name of the
first baby that ever handled a doll.
The conversation then ran upon
Milman's "History of Christianity"
which Melbourne praised, thereligious
opinions of Locke, of Milman himself,
the opinion of the world thereupon,
and so on to Strauss's book and his
mythical system and what be meant
by mythical. Macaulay began illus
t~rating and explaining the meaning of
a myth by examples from remote an
tiquity, when ] observed thati in order
to explain the meaning of mythical"
it was not necessary to 60 sc
far back; that, for instance,
we might take the cas- OF Will
lam Huntington, S. S.; that the ac-
count Of his life was historical, but
the story of his praying to God for q
new pair of breeches and finding them
under a hedge was mythical. Now, [
had just a general superficial recollec-
ton of this story in Huntington's
Life" but my farthingrush-ligh was
instantly extinguished by the blaze
of Macaulay's a~ll-grasping and all
retaining memory, for he at once came
in with the whole minute account OF
this transaction; how Huntington had
prayed, what he had found, and where,
and all he had said to the tailor by
whom this miraculous neither garment
was made.