The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-06-18

with the sweat Of toll was good enough
lcr most men to wear at night, but
there were certain among them who
thought that they must wear night
gowns He asked, with apparent seri-
business, if they thought that man who
would wear nightgown would make 8
good lawmaker. CorWin was confident
that this was the principal issue in his
first canvass for q seat in congress
Corwin had but one son, and he was
very fond of him When that son was
q student at Dennison university, in
this state, one of his teachers wrote to
Mr.. Corwin that his SON was studying
too hard, and that he was in danger of
injuring his health On receipt of that
letter Mr.. Corwin wrote his son as fol-
lows. I saw the original of the letter,
which DIR. Corwin still retained in
1878:
MY DEAR SoN-I am informed that you are
seriously injuring your health by study. Very
few young men nowadays are likely to be in
jured in this way. and all 1 have to say to you
is that should you kill yourself by overstudy
1t will give me great pleasure to attend your
funeral
Under the second heading in General
Garfield's letter he subsequently related
an incident in his own life that has not
appeared in any of his biographies, so
far as have ever seen. He said:
You would hardly suppose that
was once on the verge of gaining rep
utatiOn as a wit, would you?''
I replied that I had never suspected
such thing.
Reputation Lost.
'sIt is nevertheless true" said he.
''It happened in this way: had at one
time quite an itching in that direction
and carried it SO far in the campaign of
1860 that I delivered one speech that
was pronounced funny by those who
heard it. 1t was delivered in Columbus,
O., and published quite widely. The
comments of the press called good deal
of attention to it. Up to that time had
not made wide reputation in the state
as stump speaker, but the hattering
notices of that speech brought me into
considerable prominence. 1 received a
large number of invitations to speak in
various localities. thought the matter
over considerably and saw that the
time had arrived when I must take my
place before the public either as a
funny man. or as a speaker who dealt
with facts. I said to myself that could
probably gain a quicker and a wider
reputation as a man of humor than as
a speaker who dealt with subjects after
the usual matter of fact way. But /
knew myself well enough to know that
I could not long hold out as wit and
that when | failed in that line could
not then take up the other style of dis
cussion. As I now recall it, it was good
deal of a struggle, but decided firmly
to suppress the wit or the attempts at
wit and SO accepted an invitation to
speak in Cincinnati. 1 proceeded to pre-
pare a speech in the most matter of fact
way imaginable on the leading issues
of the day. There was a large crowd
out to hear me- They evidently expected
something after the Corwin stamp In
fact, it had been more than whispered
about that / was the second 'Waggoner
boy / went ahead and didn't crack
joke during the whole speech. A more
audience it has never been
my fortune to address. l never had any
reputation a wit to contend against,
though, after that speech. -
In His Old Age.
sfPoor Corwini'' remarked the gen.
eral, after pause. HE died, like many
another man who has made a reputation
as wit, i'll great distress of mind. He
was really profound man and one of
duced, but the common people regarded
him as a buffoon whose bounden duty
it was to amuse them. -
When Corwin returned to the United
States in 1864 from Mexico, where he
had been serving as minister, he found
himself hopeless bankrupt. About
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