and
almost eminent position as jurist.

George T. Curtis was fastidious, and sometimes he was supercilious, in
his speeches to the House. His influence was exceedingly limited, and
he carried on a constant but useless struggle in the hope of extending
it.

Samuel H. Walley, Jr., of Roxbury, was for a time, chairman of the
Committee on Finance, and one whose integrity and competence were never
doubted by anyone. The revenues and expenditure of the State were
then insignificant, relatively, in amount, but the people were poor as
compared with their condition in 1880 and subsequently. Every
appropriation was canvassed in every shop and on every farm. Mr.
Walley maintained a strict economy and the expenses of the State were
kept at the lowest point consistent with the wise administration of
affairs.

Nevertheless the Democratic Party, acting in error, attacked the
expenses, discussed the items in the canvass of 1842, and when they
came to power in 1843 they made serious reductions, especially in the
matter of salaries of public officers, and all, as I now think,
unwisely.

In the sessions of 1842 and 1843 there came from the town of Woburn,
Nathaniel A. Richardson. When elected he was only twenty-one years of
age. His election was due to the local fame he had acquired as a
speaker in the Lyceum of the town. His career was brief. Whether he
had in him the elements of success cannot now be known, but it was
manifest that he did not get beyond words in his speeches.

His speeches were lacking in information and his powers of argument
were weak and limited. His most noted speech was in support of a
resolution in favor of refunding to General Jackson the fine of one
thousand dollars that had been imposed upon him by a New Orleans judge.
Richardson's opening sentence was this: "I rise, Mr. Speaker, and throw
myself into the crackling embers of this debate,"--from which, in the
judgment of the House, he never emerged.

The Lyceum, as it existed from 1840 to 1850, has disappeared, and to
the loss of young men who may be called to take part in public affairs.
In many cases, however, it led to the development of a style of
speaking that was not adapted to political discussion or to the
profession of the law. Speaking and writing should be pursued at the
same time, and study is an essential condition of success. In public
assemblies, even in those that are composed of selected persons, there
is always an opportunit