The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-03-11

In my paper of last Sunday I quoted
The reply of Claiborne w. Goocll to Mrs.
Royal. who had asked mt the Enquirer
office for Mr.. Richie. "He does not come
here Mt all. madam; he goes to the con-
vention at 10 o'clock "A. NJ. and stays
there till 3 p. NJ. He then goes home and
writes all night, and takes a mp from
daylight till 10 o'clock IN the morning,
when he rises. breakfasts, and goes to
the convention
Mrs. Royal had merely called at the
Office to pay her respects.
Colonel Gooch knew his partner rs one
Is said to know book by heart. He was
not a man to say a. thing was true IL no
knew or believed It to be untrue. When
he tells us Mr. Ritchic writes all night,
we are to believe him as readily as we
believe another who tells us the illus
trlous Humboldt slept but two hours OF
the twenty-four. intellectual vgor usual
~ declines with advancing age. The case
of Humboldt and Richie is exceptional
to the rule. The former wrote his Cos
mos in the evening of life; the latter his
best papers long after he had passed his
prime.
1t snot remarkable that an editor
Should write his articles during the night
most of newspaper men do that-but 1t is
Remarkable and noteworthy that this
ceasing all night long. and do his other
work freshly the ensuing day.
Though there were many eminent men
in that convention OF 1S2S'29, none were
more honored by the admiration Of the
delegates friendly to Jackson and Calhoun
than Thomas Richie Such honor as
that accorded Monroe wos not 10 be ex-
pected by the chevalier of the QUILL nj.
though it might have been deserved.
fSyNy unf ff,e II liz Y
in the House." says an eye witness,
"and / was charmed with the respect
shown to him. They all rose from their
seats and remained standing until he
finished his speech. He was very feeble
and spoke low while the audience scarce
ly breathed.'
Though Madison had preceded Monroe
In the presidency of tho United States,
and should have been entitled to prece-
dence here, 1t Is known that he declined
80 enter into competition with the lat
ter for the honor of serving the conven-
zion as its chairman. Monroe was not
only broken In health, but broken in for
1une. He had descended from the seat OF
Washington poorer man than he had
been upon his first elevtion TO it. A close
friend of Mr. Richie observed one day
In my hearing that john Quincy Adams
was the only President who had ever
stepped GOWN ana out O' tne presidency
q richer man than when he enterad it.
Ritchie's Assistant.
From the eyewitness cited it would
scem that Mr.. Richie was not without
assistant in the convention, old Live
Lady of Washington, incline to think
from other testimony. was reporter for
Niles. or some other proprietor of a Jour
nal in the Federal capital. II Is Il re-
markable fact that party heats began
with the oandidature for the presidency
OF the elder Adams, and continued in
force throughout the period of his brief
administration of the Federal govern
meut. These heats had been allayed TO a
great extent during the twenty-four years
OF the milder and wiser sway of our
Chief Magistrates, until another Adams
came before the people as an aspirant
for the chair which had been so worthily
occupied by his immediate predecessor.
They broke forth again so violently as to
awaken the fears of the patriot for the
safety of the country and steady progress
of republican institutions.
The columns of the Enquirer about the
time of the sessions of the convention
are replcte with communications from