The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-31

those who nearu MI. SonAiAAS sPo"N
thought that his addresses we're delivered
without preparation, that he spoke thus
aasilv and imprsssively because he pos
sassed Z certain wonderful genius for ora
tory which distinguished him above his
fellows.
Yet In this opinion such persons erred.
CcsrklinR's power ~ IN orator was due to
years Of patient toll in his youth and. in
fact. throughout his life, and he bestowed
upon every one of the great o~rations which
he delivered a. much labor n a. great
care a. tho greatest Of musicians gives In
learning to perform q musical composition
written by . master.
In his early days Mr.. ConklinR made ii q
habit TO read at least IN hour or two every
morning from one Of the best writer's OF
Enplish prose. He read Milton that he
nnich1 gain Z rythmical and melodious flow
Of language. He studied Macauley, com
uniting many passages from Macauley's
attributed whatever gift he afterward re-
vealed of fascinating narration. An incident
will illustrate this. When Mr.. ConklinR
Wa serving his second term in con-
oress he was one OF the youngest members
Of the house. The war had just begun. An
Bluff upon the Potomac. in which the
Union soldiers had fallen into a trap. and
the slaughter which followed had been
such a. almost to annihilats several regi-
ments. Congress resolved to take official
notice of the battle 80 that 1t might ox
ling. then only SO years Of age de-
described the battles Of Balrs
Bluff with some brilliancy of narration,
with such power of vivid description. and
Withal such clesrness of statement that it
oa.oo 5 k1 <hcso vhn hAarA tho arosOh so
though they could see the battle progress
ing on that bloody field, n could almost
witness the h~eartrending struggles of the
soldiers who tell down the bluffs only to
meet death in the waters of the Potomac.
This speech gave Mr.. Conkling national
fame, and from that day he was spoken Of
Is one of the great orators of congress.
A friend speaking to him of this speech
asked him how it was possible for him, q
man who had not seen the battle, to de-
scribe it with such accuracy Of detail and
with such q perfect word picture as he
made OF it. Mr.. Conkling replied that he
owed such success "a he had won to a dill
gent study of Macauley's variations, espe-
cially of Lord Gives contest in India. The
power which he had was purely acquired,
Macauley in his youth had enabled him
when the opportunity came to gain such
fame as Aaoauley himself won with his
essay.
Senator Thurman, Vice President Ham
lin, President Harrison and other dlstin-
spoke Of his wonderful fiuenoy, his oopious
and rich diction and his astonishing COM
mand of the English language. MIR. Conk-
ling, in speaking once to the writer, said
that he had bsen accustomed to read
Byron's poems. the book of Job. some of
had made it a habit while dressing in the
morning to commit from six to ten lines
taken from some of these poems to
memory, and he attributed such
facility as he had in the use of English, a
facility which made him in some respects
since Webster's day, to this habit Of COM
hitting extracts to memory, and Of storing
his mind with treasures from the best OF
English poets. So that this astonishing
capacity which distinguished Conklina
above most of the orators of his time was
not a native gift, but was only acquired af-
ter years of discipline.
Then; too, MIR. Conkling practioed as fire.
quently as possible elocution. He did not
disdain to stand before a glass that he
might observe the effect of gestures which
he made. His idea of oratory was that in
some respects it was akin to the DRAMATIC
art, and that the most successful orator
he thought must have attained such art of
delivery as concealed the art, that ia, hs
must appear to be perfectly natural, al
yl0uBu ia IdCb IA b CeEthlu senS6 ActlQR. lie
acquire this appearance necessltated az
much drill az the actor on the stage mus,
submit to. But when it was attained it en-
abled MIR. Conkling to address an audience
with such perfect reposs and naturalness OF
manner as caused the general belief that
his actions were '~ppromptu. lnstead OF
being impromptu, however. nearly all OF
them were carefully written out. pa
tlently polished and committed to
memoty He delivered one political ad.
dress In New York CITY whioh required
more than three hours. To the splendid
audience which he had before him it seemed
as though his speech was the spontaneous
u~tterance OF the moment, inspired by the
occasion and by the throng before him. liz
even seemed to hesitate at times, as though
doubtful Of the right word to use. Yet this
speech had been committed to memory and
u gentleman who held the proof slips of il
and followed Mr.. ConklinR as he spoke said
that in that entire speech he only changed
three words.
Mr.. Conkling believed that many orators.
especially young men, failed because thew
hau not cultivated their voices, and had
not learned the art of enunciatIng with dis,
tinotness, and yet without apparent effort,
Before he made his first speech he realized
that nothing was so fatal as indistinctness
of utterance, and that a painful effort &c
make the words distinct always wearisd nj
audience. How he overcamo this tendency
which he noticed in himself, is best illus
trated by enc or two anecdotes.
Conkling had occasion to go to one o.
the great departments of the government
on business a few years before his death
While there he met a young man who asket
him how it was that he was able to speak il
q great hall so distinctly that q person sit
ting in the remotest end Of it could bea,
him without effort.
''That," said MIR. Conkling, sis one of tn
most important, perhaps l should say, th
element of chief importance, to successfu
o~ratory. Yet there is no reason why j
should not DO moro easily mastered tina,
nome Of the other requirements. It ia yer
q. 1.s.nrln IL dananda AniiraIu u.... l.A;--