Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-04-10

He struggled hard and failed many times.
He Was homely and he stsmmered in his
speech. but before his death they came to
HIM for hundreds Of miles to get him to
optn their county fairs and jerk the bird OF
freedom bald-headed on the Fourth OF July.
When Demosthenes' father died he left
fifteen talents to be divided between De-
L sthenes and his sister. A talent is equal
10 about 81, 600. l often wish that l had
been born a little more talented.
Demosthenes had a short breath, a hest
ta,ion speech, and his manners were very
~ungraeeful, To remedy his ~stammering he
6lled his mouth full Of pebbles and howled
his sentiments to the angry sea. However,
Plutarch says that Demosthenes made q
gloomy fzzle Of his first speech. This did
not discourage him. he finally became the
smoothest orator in that country, and 1t
was no thing for him to ill the
First Baptist Church Of Athens full. There
are low sixty Of his o~rstions extsnt, part OF
them written by Demosthenes and part OF
them by his private secretary.
When he started in be was gentle, mild
ard quiet in his manner. but later on, car
rying his audience With him, he at last be-
came enthusiastic. He Numbered, he
roared, he Whooped, he howled, he Jared
the windows, he sawed the air, he split the
horizon with his clarion notes, he tipped
over the tables, kicked the lamps out Of the
chandeliers, and smashed the big bass VOL
over the chief 6ddlers head.
oh, Demosthenes was business when he
got started. 1t will be a long time before
we see another of hand speaker like De-
mosthenes, and / for one have never been
the same man since | learned of his death.
Such was the first o forators," says Lord
B~rougham. AT the head ofsll the mighty
masters of speech, the alteration ofages has
eonsecrsted his place. and the loss of the
noble instrument with viii, h he forged and
launched bis thupders is sure 10 maintain L
unapproachsble forever"
ii have always been q great adnirer OF
the oratory Of Qemosthenes, and those who
have heard both of US think there Is a GER
tain degree of similarity in our style.
And not only did | admire Demosthenes
as an orator, but as a man, and though |
am no Vanderbilt l feel as though | would
be willing to head a subscription list for the
purpose Of doing the square thing by his
sorrowipg wife if she is left in want, as |
understand that she is.
Unjust now leave Demosthenes and pass
on rapidly to speak of Patrick Henry. Mt.
Henry was the man who wanted liberty or
death. He preferred liberty though. If he
couldn't have liberty he wanted to die, but
he vas in no great rush about it. He would
ike liberty if there vas plenty Of 1t, but ii
TIE British had no liberty to spare he
yearned for death. When the tyrant asked
him what STYLE of death he wanted he said
that he would rather die Of extreme old age.
| He was willing to wait, he said. He didu't
want to 90 unprepared, and he thought 1t
would take him eighty or ninety years more
to prepare, so that when he was ushered
into another world he wouldn't be ashamed
Of himself.
One hundred and ten years ago Patrick
Henry said: Sir, our chains are forged.
Their clanking may be heard or the plains
of Boston. The war is inevitable, and let II
come. Irepest it, sir, let it GOMEZ
In the spring Of 1860 | used almost the
same language. So did Horace Greeley,
There were four or FIVE of US who got our
heads together and decided that the wal
was inevitable, and consented to let II
come.
Then it came. Whenever there is a large,
inevitable conflict loa6ng around waiting
for permission to come, it deyolves on the
great statesmen and bald-headed literati Of
the nation to avoid all delay. 1t was SC
with Patrick Henry. He permitted the land
to be deluged in gore and then he retired
1t is the duty of the great orator to howlfor
war and then hold some other mans coat
while hsfVhts