The Raymer enterprise., 1911-12-28
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Great Lawyer Who Was Faithful
TO Burke.
Rufus choate Owed His Manner Of
Thought and His STYLE to Close
Study Of That Master
Of English.
BY E. J. EDWARDS.

When Rufus Choate. universally
conceded to be one OF the greatest
of American lawyers and orators. and
4 most brilliant student Of the class.
les and English literature and history,
entered Dartmouth college In 1915.
Rev. DR.. Alyan Bond. who was for
nearly forty years pastor Of a Con.
gregational church at Norwich. Conn.
and In his day one of the foremost
clergymen Of his denuminatic1. was a
tutor at Dartmouth.
Rufus Choatc became student
under me In Latin" Doctor Dcrd told
my father yeats aiterward. IL thought
that when he entered the classroom
for the first time he was the hand
soonest lad had ever seen. His hair
was brown ard very curly. his eyes
were dark, lie had beautiful COM
plexion. But It was. after all. a
singular intellectual revelation which
was in his face. his manner. and his
srcech which especially attracted me.
and am sure. al Of his fellow stu.
dents.
His translatlons OF the Latin
classics were beyond any comparison
tie finest that ever heard In the
classroom. They were faithful in ex.
pressing the meaning OF the Latin
lext. but. meaning OF the Latin
translations. Rufus Choate's were eS.
pressed in slngularly beautiful Eng.
lish., never tired Of hearing him
translate.
"A little later | discovered that be,
sides having a great gift for the Latin
classes. young Choate was a pre-
cocious reader Of the English classics.
| remember that In 4 casual after.
class conversation with him one day
he remarked that. greatly as lie ad-
mired Milton and bacon. and fascl-
mated as he wRs by Shakespeare. new.
erthe!ess he thought that In some
things. especially In his command OF
The English language. burke was the
superior II any of them.
"Choatc WAS graduated from Dart
mouth shortly after ! finished my
tutorship there and entered the min
istry. and heard little or nothing Of
him after that until he had gained a
reputation both as lawyer and ms mn
orator. though had looked for him to
take up literature and become a teach.
er. probably In Dartmouth. Then.
one day, In reading speech that he
had delivered. was struck with the
thought that he had been Influenced
In his manner Of thought and his styls
by close study OF Burke. Instantly
there came blck 10 me most vividly
the remark that Rufus Choate. when
college led. had Tade TO me about
Burke. Since then have read speech
after speech Of Choate's and they all
make Il plain to me that. as a man.
he has been faithful 10 his boyhood
admiration for Edmund Burke. And
perhaps because lie has been go faith.
fnl is enc grca, reason why he Is so
.stca' an crater. so wonderful a mas.
ter ot t!.e Ensli,h language"
Many years after my father had
told RE Of this talk with Dr. Bond II
became known TO me that Rufus
Choate. at the time his cousin. Joseph
II. Choaic. formerly ambassador 10
Great Britain. WAS beginning the
study Uf law. wrote 10 the latter these
words: Remember that these four
are the great minds OF England:
Shakespeare. bacon, Milton and
Burke. And remember. also. that Of
these Burke Is not the least"
Copyright, 1911 by T.. ! Edwarda All
Rights Itsscrvci)