There were two studies in which the two rivals dug deep to see which could bring forth the richest treasures; and these gave coloring to the whole of their afterlives.

One, was the History of the United States, and the other, Rhetoric.
In history, that portion that charmed them most was the story of the rebellion against the yoke of England.

Far and wide they went in search of everything that would throw light on this epoch.

They became immersed in the spirit of that heroic age.
As a part of their rhetorical training they were taught to declaim.
Thanks to their absorption in the history of the Revolution, their minds ran to the sublime in literature; and they strove to secure pieces to declaim that recited the most heroic deeds of man, of whatever nationality.
Leonidas, Marco Bozarris, Arnold Winklereid, Louis Kossuth, Robert Emmett, Martin Luther, Patrick Henry and such characters furnished the pieces almost invariably declaimed.

They threw their whole souls into these, and the only natural thing resulted.