Instead of hammering at commonplaces, he became pointed, and spirited,
and eloquent.'
'Is he an educated man?' I asked.
'For a Spaniard,' answered Z., 'yes. He has the quickness, the finesse,
and the elegance of mind and of manner which belong to the South. The
want of book-learning contributes to his originality.'
'The most wonderful speaker in a foreign language,' said Sumner, 'was
Kossuth. He must have been between forty and fifty before he heard an
English word. Yet he spoke it fluently, eloquently, and even
idiomatically. He would have made his fortune among us as a stump-orator.'
_Tuesday, April_ 28.--Tocqueville drank tea with us.
We talked rather of people than of things.
'Circourt,' said Tocqueville, 'is my dictionary. When I wish to know what
has been done or what has been said on any occasion, I go to Circourt. He
draws out one of the drawers in his capacious head, and finds there all
that I want arranged and ticketed.
'One of the merits of his talk, as it is of his character, is its
conscientiousness. He has the truthfulness of a thorough gentleman, and
his affections are as strong as his hatreds. I do not believe he would
sacrifice a friend even to a good story, and where is there another man
of whom that can be said?'
'What think you of Mrs.
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