Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-27

tor Sumner had an immense work table
piled high with letters and papers till It had
the appearance Of being a "giory-hole," or q
place for slowing away publish. It looked
hopelessly disordered and bewilderfng. But
he seemed to know exactly In which layer
every letter was that he wanted, and he
would stick his arm under the heap and
draw it out. Sumner was poor, but he al
ways wrote on thick, cream-laid paper, with
envelopes to match. Though personally
stately and distant to strangers, he was
complimentary in his correspondence, writ
ing the mans name at the top and leaving
three or four lines after II for imaginary
titles He had little administrative ability.
He could never tell clerk how to do any
thing, but left him to guess at it. He could
write with one hand and talk with the
other" better than most men, and when his
colleagues of the Senate-Wilson, Seward.
Chase, etc.-would come In, he would greet
them with ''Eello! or Good morningi
What's the news?" and continue his letter
writing TIL they went away, throughout the
conversation.
T Sumner was always well-dressed and pre-
else, If not sumptuous in his surroundings.
but he lived on his salary while he was in
Washington, having no other property.
When he went to Europe, after the assault
of Preston Brooks, l have heard that he
borrowed the money and was never able to
repay it. Perhaps the shortest letter ever
written was that which Sumner wrote to
Stanton, when 1t was believed the Secretary
was about to resign during his quarrel
with President Johnson. The following Is
an accurate copy:
Dear Stanton:
yours, c. s."
. And that recalls the fact that Mrs. Sum-
ner was a good deal younger than the Sem
ator. and strikingly handsome brunette.
The familiar profile of Longfellows Evan
gelne might have been taken from her
daguerreotype; and perhaps 1t was, for she
had a large engraving of 1t framed and
hung in her parlors, and got good deal OF
yallSp mn frnr q
who dropped in: What an edmfrable por-
trait of you Mrs. SUMNER
The man whom Sumner succeeded in the
Senate, Edward Everett was very differ
emit, though quite as striking in his way.
He brought to the Senate all the school,
mastery precisions of an ex-presldent or
Harvard. In 1861 1 was secretary OF the
Washington Lecture Association, and In
that capacity was directed to invite him to
lecture in Washington. He replied rather
CURLY as follows:
Il cannot come. I have nothing to say.
There has been too much talk already.
Yours, EDWARD EVERETT.
When he came here as Senator he occu-
pied one of the large houses on q street
above 18th. Quite unlike Summers, his
desk was arranged as If for show. 1t was
model of neatness and order. He had let
ter paper of all sizes arranged In drawers
of sizes to match, and everything IN tne
room was effectively disposed. His orderly
habits must have been very painful ana
trying to his private secretary. Even ms
law books and the constitution OF the state
and the United States were handsomely
bound. When he received letter 1t was
answered and then put away in It's own
portfolio-that is, letter from j. b. Per
kins was carefully filed and deposited In
portfolio +, section j, subdivision Is.
. In the use of language Everett was far
more particular than Sumner, and was i'm
mensely worried and even grieved by mis-
pronunciations, or what he oeened ms
RECOMMENDATIONS. His secretary, from
fresh water college, pronounced such
words as inquiry" "sepulchre" and dis
cipline' in a way to exasperate the precise
Mr. Everett whereat the latter would ire
quently deliver him lecture on the penulti-
mate, the anti-penult and the rules or or
thoepy. He would never soold or show his
irritation, but he would beam over his spec
tacles and say in a soft voice: Now, please
be so good as to remember that 1t Is pain
full to my ear to hear deviations from proper
His secretary said to me
once:
.Mr. Everett was never-failing in kind
ness and considerateness. / remember 1
got a pair of new shoes once, and they
squeaked. / tried to walk softly but the
softer L walked the more they squeaked.
Next morning, coming in, I found a nice
rair of slippers sitting beside my chair.
took the hint and the ppers and neither
of us ever said a woru.
His feelings were preternaturally dell
cate. / received no salary or wages, but
an 'honorarium,' and he was careful never
TO pay it to me in person. But on the last
day of each month there was little heap
of gold and silver piled by the side of my
and neat little receipt made out
ready for me to sign. 1 signed IL, laid 1t on
his desk when he was not looking and IL
was Eever mentioned. He would sometimes
dictate his letters over and over again until
they suited him, and he would say: Take |
notice, now, this is no criticism of your |
work. L am correcting my own compost |
tion. / never could get inquiry right. |
would think the accent on the second syl- |
liable as he wanted it, and then, when 1 |
came to speak it, out would pop the accent |
on the first syllable. He restrained his rage |
under these provocations beautifully, but |
one day he came perilously near scolding |
when he turned to me with bland face |
after one of these blunders and said: Mr. |
j, will you kindly go to your room and |
close the door and say inquiry over and |
over till you are completely satiated?'"
". A CROEEIIT