Class _ES3£rt Book n ^^> '^ ^ CoipglitF. laiZ CDFVRIGHT DEPOSm Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/conglomerateOOdaug A CONGLOMERATE HARVEY H. DAUGHERTY With a Sketch of the Author's Life PRINTED PRIVATELY FOR THE AUTHOR Copyright 1912 By HARVEY H. DAUGHERTY / ©C(.A328524 TO ELOISE AUTHOR'S NOTE Four years ago I published, at my own expense, a small edition of "The Young Lawyer and Another Es- say," with the view of distributing the volumes among my professional and other friends as souvenirs. After the distribution had been made I discovered, very much to my chagrin, that the edition was too small for the purpose contemplated. The small edition of this book, now published, in like manner, will enable me to begin where I left off and I think the number will be sufficient. Since the publication of "The Young Law3^er and Another Essay" I have been frequently urged, both oral- ly and in writing, to place the book upon the market and thus give it a wider circulation. I have not done so. We live in a capitalistic age. Wealth is taken as the almost universal standard, and, in some degree, is re- garded as the measure of public capacity. I am a man of my time; I love money; but have long since been convinced that when commerciality is the sole or prin- cipal incentive to authorship, the production is marred, especially when viewed from an esthetic or purely literary standpoint. H. H. D. October, 1912. CONTENTS some observations in respect to happiness and its opposite Chapter. Page. I. Introductory 1 II. Love 15 III. Marriage 30 IV. Conversation 39 V. Town and Country 50 VI. Constant Employment 62 VII. Pleasures of the Table 68 VIII. Literary Pursuits 77 IX. Accumulation 95 X. Reflection 109 XI. Home 115 XII. Travel 118 XIII. Solitude 121 XIV. Borrowing Trouble 132 Devotion the Highest Height of Love 143 Plagiarism — Originality 151 Society and Conventionalism 155 Review of "The Reminiscences" of Goldwin Smith 161 The Obsolescence of Sectionalism 206 Mexico — Taft and Diaz at El Paso — Unique Court- ship and Marriage — Cortes, Like Dewey, a Vic- tim of Ingratitude — Mexican Maiden with Her Guitar Sitting with Her Lover in the Orange Grove — Maximilian and the Beautiful Carlotta 213 Reconstruction — The 14th of September at New Orleans 229 CONTENTS Page. Reminiscences of the Seventies — Alaska — Hen- dricks, Voorhees and Rise-Up-William Allen at Democratic Rally 240 Wise and Beneficent Laws — Class Legislation — Protection — Election of United States Senators by the People — Capital and Labor 245 Peace and War — Grotius — Peace Conference at the Hague — Laying a Wreath of Silver and Gold Upon the Tomb of Grotius by the Amer- ican Delegation 263 Religion and Politics 268 William M. Evarts 272 Blaise Pascal 276 Autobiographies — Reminiscences of Eminent Pub- lic Men — Estimates of Their Character and Ability by Their Contemporaries 283 JOURNAL Page. Defence of Drunkenness 317 President Taft 317 Fondness for Amusements 318 Senator Vest on the Dog 318 Bigelow's Dedication 321 Alliteration 321 Moderation 322 Political Joint Debates 323 William Pitt Fessenden 324 The Latest Novel 325 The Signal for Parting 325 Dramatic Oratory ' 326 The Agility of Big Men 329 "War Is Desirable" 329 Apothegms 330 CONTENTS Page. Garibaldi's Supreme Command of the Union Army 332 Ridicule 335 Northern Revolution — Southern Rebellion — The Per- petuity of the Republic 337 Democratic Maladies 340 Physicians and Medicine 341 Fidelity to Principle 345 The Standard of Respectability and Character 345 The Ideal Southern Gentleman 348 The Power and Responsibility of the Judiciary 346 The Origin of Cards 349 The Tolling of the Dinner Bell 350 Burke — His Sympathy with the American Colonies 350 John G. Carlisle 352 Henry Clay on the Abolition of Slavery 353 Prosperity and Adversity 355 Sketch of Author's Life 359 Everything has already been written. As men have lived and thought for more than seven thousand years, we have been born too late. — La Bruyere. A pleasure that I enjoy alone affects me but slightly, and is of short duration. It is for my friends as well as myself that I read, that I reflect, that I write, that I meditate, that I listen, that I look, that I feel. * * * If I am struck with a beautiful line they must know it. If I meet with a fine passage, I promise myself to im- part it to them. * * * I have consecrated to them the use of all my senses and faculties. — Diderot. 1 perceive, methinks, in the writings of the ancients, that he who speaks what he thinks strikes much more home than he that only dissembles. * * * I have de- voted this book to the use of my relations and friends; so that, when they had lost me, they could here find some traits of my qualities and humor, and thereby might foster, in a more perfect and lively way, what re- membrance they had of me. * * * j-(^ jg foj. iy^q qqj.. ner of a library, or to entertain a neighbor, a kinsman, or a friend that has a mind to renew his acquaintance and familiarity with me in this my picture. — Montaigne. I was soon disgusted with the modest practice of reading the manuscript to my friends. Of such friends, some will praise from politeness, and some will criti- cize from vanity. The author himself is the best judge of his own performance ; no one has so deeply meditated on the subject; no one is so sincerely interested in the event, — Gibbon. A CONGLOMERATE SOME OBSERVATIONS UST RESPECT TO HAP- PINESS AND ITS OPPOSITE. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. The problem of perennial happiness is one the solu- tion of which mnst be relegated to another and higher world ; for it seems to have been foreordained that while on this terrestrial sphere we must alternately chew the cud of sweet and bitter fancies. As to the bitter, it may be said, that while we cannot kill the wasp we may at least soften the venom of its sting. We recall the self-evident assertion of Hobbs that there is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here, because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense. The mark at which we all aim is happiness. The sacredness and universality of the right to do so is em- phasized in our immortal Declaration of Independence. 1 A CONGLOMEEATE It is believed that the nearest approach to true hap- piness is found midway between the extremes of unre- strained gaiety and melancholy discomfort, but this in- equality of moods is almost inevitable where there is a large preponderance of sensibility. Eeading, observation, and reflection have taught us many things : our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and amidst the objects more imme- diately within our reach. That all happiness dwells more in the hope than in the possession. That enjoy- ments to be adequately prized must be of rare occur- rence; as no one can set a proper value on pleasures which he tastes CTcry day. To recognize the propriety and necessity of friends but, if you wish to be happy, to have no superfluous ties. Mr. Lincoln, though of the most kindly and generous nature, was slow to acquire intimacies, and had few close friendships. That love is absolutely essential to happiness; this fact is fully recognized by a great English dramatist and novelist who declared, "Some persons, I know, estimate happi- ness by flne houses, gardens and parks — others by pic- tures, horses, money and various things wholly remote from their own species; but when I wish to ascertain the real felicity of any rational man, I always inquire whom he has to love. If I find he has nobody, or does not love those he has— even in the midst of all his pro- fusion of finery and grandeur— I pronounce him a being deep in adversity." That conversation, especially of the loud and de- monstrative variety, is not a prerequisite to happiness. There is happiness in a Quakers' meeting where the 2 INTRODUCTORY silence is so deep that the unsheathing of a stiletto may be heard amidst its hush. Let Charles Lamb in one of the inimitable essays of Elia portray it: "Wouldst thou know what true peace and quiet mean; wouldst thou find a refuge from the noises and clamors of the multitude; wouldst thou enjoy at once solitude and so- ciety; wouldst thou possess the depth of thine own spirit in stillness, without being shut out from the con- solatory faces of thy species ; wouldst thou be alone, and yet accompanied; solitary, yet not desolate; singular, yet not without some to keep thee in countenance; a unit in aggregate ; a simple in composite : Come with me into a Quakers' meeting. * * * There are wounds which an imperfect solitude cannot heal. By imper- fect I mean that which a man enjoyeth by himself. The perfect is that which he can sometimes attain in crowds, but nowhere so absolutely as in a Quakers' meeting." That there is no more healthy state of mind than one which is as nearly as possible independent of human opinion, where one is neither elated by its attention nor soured by its neglect. That there is nothing more unpleasant than to have your little weaknesses known. That nothing contributes more to one's happiness than a change of condition, occupation and environ- ment. So universal is this desire for change that Pas- cal was led to remark, "That if an artisan could imagine for twelve hours that he was a king, he would be almost as happy as a king who for twelve hours imagined him- self an artisan." 3 A CONGLOMEEATE We have also learned that the observation of Thack- eray is true when he says that the world is a looking glass, and gives back to every one the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it and it is a jolly kind companion. That an honest and heroic effort to eliminate from our lives, as far as possible, all worry and loss of tem- per is conducive to happiness. Ambassador White, in one of his walks with Count Von Bulow, alluded to a hot debate of the day before and to his suavity under provocation, when he answered: "Old many years ago, gave me two counsels, and I have always tried to mind them. These were *^Never worry; never lose your temper.' " That no applause which ever reaches human ears is more grateful than that which emanates from old friends and neighbors. That genuine friendship is impracticable between men and women, young or old. The woman either loves, is indifferent, or hates. That the only real platonic love is that between brother and sister. Gibbon refers to this relation as "a familiar and tender friendship with a female about our own age ; an affection perhaps softened by the secret influence of sex, but pure from any mix-ture of sensual desire." He declares that this is the sole species of platonic love that can be indulged with truth and with- out danger. An observation of Goethe is confirmed by the experi- 4 INTEODUCTOEY ence of mankind. He affirms that all comfort in life is based upon a regular recurrence of external things. "The change of day and night, of the seasons, of flowers and fruits, and whatever else meets us from epoch to epoch; so that we can and should enjoy it — those are the proper springs of earthly life. The more open we are to those enjoyments, the happier do we feel our- selves; but if the changes in those phenomena roll up and down before us without our taking interest in them, if we are insensible to such beautiful offers, then comes on the greatest evil, the heaviest disease : we regard life as a disgusting burden." He cites the case of an English- man who hanged himself that he might no longer dress and undress himself every day. It must be accepted as true that all men, with rare exceptions, have their splenetic hours. The question has been asked, what is happiness? Does it soothe, or does it excite; We use the word in its broad generic sense as applicable to every kind of en- joyment. Happiness is both elusive and delusive. An author of great ability and varied acquirements calls her the great mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life. "That she impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route. Aristippus pursued her in pleasure, Socrates in wisdom, and Epicurus in both; she received the attentions of each, but bestowed her endearments on neither, although, like some other gallants, they all boasted of more favors than they had received. Warned by their failure, the stoic adopted a most paradoxical mode of preferring his suit; 5 A CONGLOMERATE he thought, by slandering, to woo her; by shunning, to win her ; and proudly presumed that, by fleeing her, she would turn and follow him. "She is deceitful as the calm that precedes the hurri- cane, smooth as the waters on the verge of a cataract, and beautiful as the rainbow, that smiling daughter of the storm: but like the mirage in the desert, she tan- talizes us with a delusion that distance creates and con- tiguity destroys. Yet, when unsought, she is often found, and, when unexpected, often obtained; while those who seek for her the most diligently fail the most, because they seek her where she is not. Anthony sought her in love; Brutus in glory; Caesar in dominion; the first found disgrace, the second disgust, the last ingratitude, and each destruction. * * * Neither is she to be won by flattery or by bribes; she is to be gained by waging war against her enemies, much sooner than by paying any particular court to herself. Those that conquer her adversaries will find that they need not go to her, for she will come unto them. * * * What detains her? She is traveling incognito to keep a private assignation with contentment, and to partake of a tete-a-tete and a dinner of herbs in a cottage." There are brief periods of supreme happiness in the life of nearly every individual. John Bigelow, the em- inent publicist and diplomatist who, at the age of ninety- four, recently started on a prolonged European tour, accompanied by his two granddaughters, declares that he was made supremely happy by his acquisition of a knowledge of the principles of homeopathy. A verdict of not guilty when the defendant is charged () INTRODUCTORY with a capital offense is received by him with unalloyed satisfaction. When Gibbon casually attended the great trial of Warren Hastings, not having yet attained the acme of his fame, he was charmed by Sheridan's eloquence — and was stirred with the most pleasurable emotion when the great orator paid him a personal compliment in the presence of the British nation, by using the phrase: "The correct periods of Tacitus, and the luminous pages of Gibbon." What pen can adequately describe the delight of B3rron when he awoke one morning and found himself famous? Indeed, it has been said that authorial happi- ness is more exquisitely delightful than any other — and that an author intoxicated with success will hug his porter if there is nobody else on hand. The accepted lover, especially after a long and arduous wooing, is in a condition of unmixed bliss — a happiness so radiant that it shines from his eyes, and is written at large upon his forehead. One of the principal causes of discomfort is our habit of drawing drafts on the misery of futurity — melan- choly usually flies to the future for its ailment. It was indeed a valuable suggestion made by an eminent mao that one should interest himself chiefly in the progress of his journey, and not look forward to its end with eagerness. He asks "How am I to enjoy this year as I ought, if I am continually wishing it over?" Another, who had a great mastery of the laws of hu- man happiness, had an excellent rule for the happiness and wisdom of life as to the future, not to look too far A CONGLOMEEATE into it for inevitable though probably distant disaster. "Take short views of life, hope for the best, and trust in God." He once gave a lady two and twenty receipts against melancholy: one was a bright fire; another, to remember all the pleasant things said to and of her; another, to keep a box of sugar plums on the chimney piece, and a kettle simmering on the hob. We are here reminded of these lines from Newman's hymn: "I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me." We think it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to get the best of everything out of each stage of our life, "to gather all of its leaves in spring, all of its flowers in summer, all its fruits in autumn.'' Cheerfulness is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within as on the state of things about and around us; and inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner but all who come in contact with it. Goldsmith's traveler seated on a crag in the Alps, in solemn meditation, reviews his long pilgrimage, recalls the varieties of scenery, of climate, of govern- ment, of religion, of national character, and arrives to the just conclusion "That human happiness depends lit- tle on political institutions, and much on the temper and regulation of our own minds." We have read of one who, by reason of the application of this truth, was very happy with some garden flowers, half a dozen pictures, and a few books. He declared that he lived without envy without fear and without desire. Izaak Walton, INTEODUCTORY author of the "Complete Angler," lived to the advanced age of ninety years and, adopting this principle, the last forty years of his life was a period of the utmost tran- quillity and peace. Another example is that of John Wesley, who, in 1790, said that he did not remember to have felt lowness of spirits for a quarter of an hour since he was born. It was said of the Duke of Wellington that the general char- acter of his last years was rather that of the old age of a great man idealized. "To the unbroken splendors of his military career, to his honorable and conscientious labors as a parliamentary statesman, life unusually pro- longed added an evening of impressive beauty and calm." His delight lay within his own soul. It was the opinion of Marcus Aurelius that "the nearer character attains to immunity from passion, the greater is its power. That anger is as weak as grief. Both mean that we have been wounded and have succumbed." Many do not consider that our well-being depends so largely upon the temper and regulation of our minds. But we must accept as true the declaration of a man of large observation and deep reflection, that no bodily comforts which could be devised by the skill and labor of a hundred generations would give happiness to a man whose mind was under the tyranny of licentious appetite, of envy, of hatred or of fear. As to what constitutes happiness depends to some ex- tent upon the age, temperament, disposition and en- vironment, of each particular individual — though there are many sources of happiness common to us all. Some seek happiness, or at least tranquillity, in the peaceful 9 A CONGLOMERATE shades of the cloister, the deprivations endured being in a measure compensated for by the consolation of re- ligion ; some in recondite studies, some in general literary pursuits. In ancient times the knight derived exquisite delight in sighing away his soul in moonlight serenades under the balcony of the empress of his affections. Some have an excessive fondness for the sports of the field — oftentimes resulting in a strenuous idleness which dis- dains all useful occupations. There are others, unfor- tunately not the majority, the chief part of whose happi- ness consists in self-sacrifice, in the exercise of the benev- olent affections, and in giving and receiving sincere tes- timonies of regard. Others, like Alexander the Great and Voltaire, deemed no occupation so noble and delightful as that of making ingrates. To the young nothing is more delicious than those illusions to which lovers are pro- verbially subject during the season of courtship. Many have derived great pleasure in following the suggestion of Goethe, that a man ought, every day, to read a fine book, see a noble picture and look at a beautiful person. There are men whose eyes always light up at the sight of a pretty woman, even of such as merely pass by, never more to be seen of them again. Ambassador White recalls with much satisfaction the period of his early life when he became educated into the great truth that stores, shops, hotels, facilities for travel and traSic are not the highest things in civilization. A man who has done a good stroke of business is happy, and this feeling of satisfaction is sometimes in- dicated by a smug expression about the mouth. It has been said that in wicked Paris the highest 10 INTEODUCTOEY degree of self-satisfaction eTer registered by a human countenance, is that of the bachelor emerging from a boudoir in the best of humors with himself. Balzac asserts that a man only lives by some personal gratification. "That the passionless, perfectly righteous man is not human; he is a monster, an angel wanting wings." And he asks "Who dares to bid farewell to an old habit? Many a man on the brink of suicide has been plucked back on the threshold of death by the thought of the cafe where he plays the mighty game of dominoes." Camille Desmouline's eternal and only receipt for universal happiness was "entire freedom of action and speech." We all know the ineffable pleasure experienced by a writer or a speaker when he first sees himself in print. There will be general acquiescence in the truth of the observation of Goethe made in his preface to "Wilhelm Meister," when he declares that, "There are loftier emo- tions, which afford us a contentment which is in vain to seek in the amusements of the world; and, in these higher jo3^s, there is also kept a secret treasure for strengthening in misfortune." In woman, the love of becoming ornament is not only pardonable but commendable, and cannot justly be re- garded in the light of vanity. We all know that the choice and arrangement of dress bestows an added charm to her fascinations. To be perfectly charming, however, she must be happy. It has been said that hap- piness is the poetry of woman, as the toilet is her tinsel. Women intensely enjoy the company and conversa- 11 A CONGLOMERATE tion of each other. No man can know, with absolute certainty, the subjects which they consider and discuss, but dame rumor is responsible for the intimation that the questions of feminine attire, their own complaints, and the merits and excellencies of their favorite physi- cians and ministers, are not, as a rule, completely ig- nored. A brilliant but malevolent writer, with a gravity al- most amounting to solemnity, declares that "at the age of forty a woman, especially if she has tasted the poisoned apple of passion, is aware of a solemn dread: she perceives that two deaths await her — that of the body and that of the heart; and that all alike after that terrible date in life, are aware of an acute pain." This can only be regarded as a gross exaggeration. A perfect panacea for all such troubles would be a love letter and a beautiful new gown, in consonance with the principle, long since established, that these two things — pretty dresses and love letters — create woman a second time. Much satisfaction and tranquillity of mind result from the cultivation of a feeling of self-reliance and inde- pendence. We have been deeply impressed with the observation of Goethe: "For a time we may grow up under the protection of parents and relatives; we may lean for a while on our brothers and sisters and friends, be supported by acquaintances, and made happy by those we love; but in the end, man is always driven back upon himself. * * * Early enough, and by many a hard lesson, had I learned that, at the most urgent crisis, the call to us is Thysician, heal thyself,' 12 INTRODUCTORY and how frequently had I been compelled to sigh out in pain ^I tread the wine press alone V " It has been said that in youth, melancholy is the twilight of dawn, in age the dusk of night. "In youth, one is admirably adapted to give and receive happiness ; and it is the peculiar felicity of this period of life that the most unpleasing objects and events seldom make a deep or lasting impression; it forgets the past, enjoys the present, and anticipates the future/^ It is probable that no two persons will agree as to what constitutes the ideal happy man. It is the opinion of one that a life alternately devoted to action, reflec- tion and literature is idealistic. Another declares that an ideal life is one compounded of work and meditation, of solitude and society. It was remarked of the late Senator Morrill of Vermont that he was full of good cheer and sunshine, full of hope for the future, full of pleasant memories of the past. To him life was made up of cheerful yesterdays and confident to-morrows. The life of Fontenelle, the celebrated French author, is, in our opinion, very far from being ideal, but it is certainly unique and interesting. He died in 1757, having attained the age of one hundred years. He studied law but abandoned the profession on losing his first case. As a writer he was distinguished for his amazing versatility and also for the charm of his conversation. His last words when dying were "I do not suffer, my friends; but I feel a sort of difficulty in living." His character and eccentricities have been vividly portrayed by Sainte Beuve: "He had never wept; he had never been in a rage; he had never run; and as he never acted from 13 A CONGLOMERATE motives of sentiment, he never received impressions from other men. * * * He had never interrupted any one; he would listen to his interlocutor to the very end, without losing anything; he was never in a hurry to speak ; and if you had brought any accusation against him, he would have listened the whole day to your im- peachments without uttering a single word. * * * *He who wishes to be happy/ he observed, '^reduces and confines himself as much as possible.' He has these two characteristics: he seldom changes his habitation, and does not care in particular for any habitation. When he took possession of any new quarters, he let the things remain as he found them; he would never have thought of either removing or adding a single nail." The happiness of the individuals composing a nation is the happiness of the nation. In the last century a celebrated Englishman referred to the United States as a magnificent spectacle of human happiness; and, about the same time, a distinguished Frenchman who had devoted several years to the study of our institutions and people, declared that he found in the United States that restlessness of heart which is natural to man, when all ranks are nearly equal and the chances of elevation are the same to all. While it is true that our country has experienced the extreme vicissitudes of the highest happiness and the direst affliction, it will be conceded, we think, that upon the whole, no nation surpasses us in individual and na- tional prosperity and happiness. 14 CHAPTER II. LOVE. In considering and presenting the subject of human happiness and its opposite, we shall not ignore that great comedy which is the prologue of every married life. We shall not be deterred from its consideration by any ap- prehension of ridicule on the part of rude and un- cultivated persons, should this volume, perchance, fall into their hands. The love of the sexes is, in fact, the foundation of all human happiness ; and, of all ties that bind one human being to another, it is the closest and the strongest. It comes to us from God and does not depend upon ourselves to kindle it in our own bosoms. It of course varies in intensity in different individuals — the highest degree of affection being illustrated by that of the love bird which is indigenous to Africa and South America. If a pair of these little birds have been kept together in captivity, neither can long survive the loss of its partner. The great anatomists of the human heart have, from time to time, attempted to define or describe this passion of love; one declares that it is the income of beauty, and he who seeks beauty without expressing love, withholds its income in a manner that cries out for vengeance. 15 A CONGLOMERATE Another defines love to be the consciousness of happiness given and received, and the certainty of giving and get- ting it. Another asks the question, what do you call loving, and answers, "Always thinking of a person — always seeking her society." The historian Gibbon, in approaching the delicate subject of his own early love, defines this passion as the union of desire, friendship and tenderness, which is infl-uenced by a single female, which prefers her to the rest of her sex and which seeks her possession as the supreme or sole happiness of our being. Another de- clares, that when the mind, the heart, and the senses all have their share in the rapture which transports us — ah! then there is no falling to earth, rather it is to heaven we soar; still another avers that when two love each other so well that every day seems for them the first day of their love, such vital happiness has a mar- velous power of transforming the whole conditions of life. Goethe observes that the first propensities to love in an uncorrupted youth take altogether a spiritual direc- tion. Nature seems to desire that one sex may by the senses perceive goodness and beauty in the other. He adds: "Thus to me by the sight of this girl (Bettina), by my strong inclination for her — a new world of the beautiful and the excellent had arisen." He subsequently declares that "It was not until many years afterward, nay until after her death, that I learned of her secret, heavenly love, in a manner that necessarily over- whelmed me." 16 LOVE It has been said that a woman^s greatest charm con- sists in a constant appeal to man's generosity, in a grace- ful admission of helplessness, which stimulates his pride, and awakens his noblest feelings; and that love in her "is the most unlimited confidence, joined to a craving to reverence and adore the being to whom she belongs." A celebrated woman declares that of all mysteries in life, love is the least mysterious. "That it exhales from woman like a perfume, and that she who can conceal it is a very monster. Our eyes prattle even more than our tongues." So much as to the nature, definition and description of love as viewed, not only by novelists^ but by the profound thinkers of our own and former times. Hahnemann, the celebrated German physician, and the author and originator of homeopathy as a distinctive system of medicine, taught that disease is to be regarded as consisting essentially of the symptoms of it as ex- perienced and expressed by the patient, or as detected by the physicians; in other words, that the chief symp- toms, or the "totality of the symptoms" constitute the disease. May not the same principle be applicable to this strange and bewitching malady of the human heart, called love? Would it be possible for any of the great analysts who have essayed to define this malady to give a better definition than this — "the totality of the S3rnip- toms.'* To the symptoms then our attention must be given. The memorable colloquy between Eosalind and Or- 17 A CONGLOMERATE lando, in the Forest of Arden, renders comparatively easy the solution of the question "when is a man in love." "Rosalind — My uncle taught me how to know a man in love; in which cage of rushes I am sure you are not prisoner. "Orlando — What were his marks? "Rosalind^A lean cheek, which you have not ; a blue eye and sunken, which you have not; an unquestionable spirit, which you have not; a beard neglected, which you have not; but I pardon you for that, for simply you having no beard is a younger brother's revenue; then your hose should be ungartered, your bonnet un- handed, your sleeve unbuttoned, your shoe untied, and everything about you demonstrating a careless desola- tion ; but you are no such man ; you are rather point — devise in your accoutrements, as loving yourself than seeming the lover of another." It has been said that when a girl dimly divines the presence of love in the world she smiles as she smiled in her babyhood, when she saw the light for the first time ; that the dawning of love in her is as faint as the first light of the morning, and that this first illusion is "the subtlest of feelings, the heart's daintiest morsel." Nov- elists have exhausted their vocabularies in their efforts to portray the ineffable loveliness of a 3^oung girl, gath- ering the first roses of an unspoken declaration. The blind mother of the beautiful girl discovered the secret of her daughter's budding passion. "Listen, my friends," said the blind woman, "my daughter is in love. I feel it; I see it. A strange change has come 18 LOVE over her, and I cannot think how you have failed to observe it. * * * For the last two months she has dressed herself with care as if she were going to meet some one. She has become excessively particular about her shoes; she wants her feet to look nice. * * * Some days the poor child sits gloomy and watchful, as if she expected somebody. * * * Her cheerfulness betrays itself in the tones of her voice, accents which I can detect and account for. In short, she is happy. There is a tone of thanksgiving even in the ideas she utters. * * * Though I am blind my affection is clairvoyant."^ The animation which love puts into a young life is marvelous, and there certainly is no more becoming cos- metic. It is said that the eyes of a lover are not his own, but you may rest assured that he makes good use of them; and it has been observed that none but lovers and diplomatists know all that the flash of the eye can convey of information or delight. The remarks of a lover, as a rule, are not characterized by profundity, and, indeed, it has been intimated, that his words are some- times utterly void of common sense — but his eloquent looks more than compensate for these deficiencies. Il- lustrative of the power of the eye, is the proud boast of a fascinating woman that a single glance from her made the boldest youth drop his eyes. When the eyes of two lovers fall at once and meet again — this circumstance portends much happiness for both. A lover's mournful farewell glance at his lady-love's window tells the whole story. When a woman is afraid to look at her inter- ^ Balzac. 19 A CONGLOMERATE locutor but suddenly becomes interested in some article of furniture in her boudoir, she then and there makes an unconscious avowal. The most commonplace phrases when uttered with a faltering voice become truly elo-- quent. It is said that when a young girl sings her lover is not far away. We shall say nothing of the sig- nificance of the conduct of a young lady who carries a letter in her bosom for a whole day — postpones reading it till an hour when everybody is asleep — till midnight. True love is oftentimes enshrouded in the mystery of bashfulness — distrust of himself — "the shyness of a man to whom no woman has ever said 'I love you.' " To feign indifference, when she feels it not, is one of the tricks peculiar to feminine beauty — and marked avoidance of her lover does not always imply indiffer- ence. There are those who have the power to cover all in- ward ebullition with outward calm, especially the soli- tary, because it is the nature of solitude to make the passions calm on the surface — agitated in the depths. The face may sometimes wear an inscrutable mask con- cealing the most vehement emotions — there may be an ecstasy in the depths of the heart which the face never betrays. These instances, however, are excep- tional. We have read of a charming young woman whose cheerfulness and calmness were exter-nally appar- ent, but who failed to conceal two symptoms of a tender heart; she breathed deeply from time to time and a transient red passed over her face. It has been said of Rousseau that he preached the gospel of happiness in love as earnestly as the saints 20 LOVE preach the gospel of happiness in religion. We adhere, however, to the opinion expressed in the first paragraph of this book that, while on this terrestrial sphere, we must alternately chew the cud of sweet and bitter fan- cies. Lovers are no exception to the rule. Love is a more exacting master than marriage, and, like despair, it sometimes catches at straws. These dis- eases of the heart require the balm of sympathy and affection. There are instances, however, which neither require nor deserve commiseration. For example, the woman who exclaimed "What a pity it is that we can not live on love as we live on fruit, and that when we have had our fill, nothing should survive but the re- membrance of pleasure;" and another, who declared that "she had never seen a man whom she could not love, and hoped to heaven she never might." The success or failure of a lover is oftentimes de- termined by what would seem to be the most trivial cir- cumstance ; a pair of trousers turned out by a celebrated tailor is said to have made a most suitable and ad- vantageous match ; and a splash staining the polish of a boot has been known to bring a young man to discom- fiture. A woman declares : "We are fit only to love. Men have a thousand different ways of spending their energy; all we can do is to dream, and pray, and worship. But it must not be forgotten that there have been many ex- hibitions of feminine perversity. To avoid looking at her lover, apparently oblivious of his presence, and to sit with folded hands seemingly lost in deep meditation — this is absolutely maddening to him. To answer in 21 A CONGLOMEEATE brief negatives is far from being reassuring to a lover's uneasy mind. When asked what's the matter and she replies "Nothing," the lover is dismayed, and anticipates the most serious consequences. She sometimes picks a little quarrel with him, making a mountain out of a mole-hill. Women have been known to absolutely snub their admirers, by speaking to them with a slight, scorn- ful inclination of the head. We have read of a gentle- man who was exceedingly popular with the ladies of his acquaintance — his popularity being due to the fact that one of their contemporaries had died of a broken heart for him. What perversity! Young men are likewise sometimes amenable to the charge of perversity — perhaps they might prefer to call it diplomacy. They sit thinking long and patiently over the problem of the strategy of love. The lover will fire the fancy of his darling by a certain reticence, which stirs in her such chords of curiosity as she did not know existed in her. On another occasion he will display all of his powers of attraction, but at the same time affect indifference, seem to disdain her, and so goad her vanity. Jealousy, as we know, is a prolific cause of perturba- tion between lovers; and one of the insoluble mysteries of it all is that the more jealous they are, the more jealous they want to be. Its existence is never difficult to discern, but it often has for its foundation a mere figment of the imagination. When the question is asked "Can you swear to me that you are nothing, and never will be anything, to another woman," we all know what's the matter. 22 LOVE A reconciliation, following an estrangement between lovers, is of course a cause of mutual delight and satis- faction; and in lovers^ quarrels it has been noted that the party that loves the most is always most willing to acknowledge the greater fault. These great agitations of soul have been compared to storms that purify the atmosphere ; "they give tone and bring counsel of strong and generous resolve." A reconciliation is always pos- sible. The darkest hour of the night is the one im- mediately preceding the break of day; and it has been observed, truly, we believe, that two hearts are never nearer to a mutual understanding than when they have agreed to the necessity of an eternal parting. Environment has much to do with the happy culmina- tion of a courtship. How many hearts have been made supremely happy in moonlight promenades, the moon shining softly through the foliage of the forest, espe- cially at the season when summer is fading into au- tumn and the moonlight nights are long? The harvest moon, rising as it does at nearly the same hour for sev- eral days and being near its full, if it could speak, would, no doubt, add incalculable interest to the literature of the heart. After a prolonged and arduous wooing cov- ering a period of many months, or even years, with the result still somewhat in doubt, it might be well to sug- gest riding double on horseback. The situation is said to be most conducive to the revivifying of confidence and affection, and a favorable answer might thus be ob- tained. It is well known that no place is more propitious for courtship than on board a vessel for a long cruise. The 23 A CONGLOMERATE passengers have ample leisure and there is an absolute necessity for killing the time — and it might be said that there is almost an enforced association. The court- ship and marriage of Warren Hastings and the Baroness Imhoff furnish a unique and intensely interesting illus- tration. We also find here a singular blending of ro- mance and business. On account of the illustrious char- acter of the participants in this affair of the heart, we feel sure that we will be pardoned for going somewhat into detail. Warren Hastings was the first governor-general of British India. He sprang from an ancient and illus- trious race. It has been affirmed that his pedigree can be traced back to the great Danish sea-kings, whose sails were long the terror of both coasts of the British channel.^ The historian of the period declares that Hastings looked like a great man, and not like a bad man. In his case the body was wholly subjugated to the mind. His frame, naturally slight, had been further attenuated by rigorous habits of temperance and thus rendered proof against thei diseases of the tropics. Against his private character not even calumny has breathed a reproach. A classical education and the in- stincts of family pride saved him from both the greed and the vulgar display which marked the typical "na- bob,'' the self-made man of those days. He could sup- port the position of governor-general and of a country gentleman with equal credit.^ An unfriendly critic con- cedes that he always had the full command of all of the resources of one of the most fertile minds that ever ^ Macaulay. ^ Cotton. 24 LOVE existed, and denslared that he could not regard with- out admiration "the amplitude and fertility of his in- tellect — his rare talents for command, for administra- tion, and for controversy — his dauntless courage — his honorable poverty — his fervent zeal for the interest of the state — his noble equanimity, tried by both extremes of fortune, and never disturbed by either." His was a stormy and tempestuous career. He died well — an additional proof of his greatness. His death occurred August 22, 1819, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, and it is affirmed that he met it with the same tranquil and decorous fortitude which he had opposed to all the trials of his varied and eventful life. In the spring of 1769 Hastings embarked on board the "Duke of Grafton'^ for India. His voyage was dis- tinguished by incidents which might furnish matter for a novel. Among the passengers in the "Duke of Grafton," says Macaulay, was a German baron by the name of Imhoff. The baron was accompanied by his wife, a native, we have somewhere read, of Archangel. This young woman, who, born under the Arctic circle, was destined to play the part of a queen under the tropic of Cancer, had an agreeable person, a cultivated mind, and manners in the highest degree engaging. * * * She was interested by the conversation and flattered by the attentions of Hastings. The situation was indeed perilous. No place is so propitious to the formation either of close friend- ships or of deadly enmities as an Indiaman. * * * Most passengers find some resource in eating twice as many meals as on land. But the great devices for kill- 25 A CONGLOMEEATE ing the time are quarreling and flirting. * * * Under such circumstances met Warren Hastings and the Bar- oness Imhoff ; two persons whose accomplishments would have attracted notice in any court of Europe. The gen- tleman had no domestic ties. The lady was tied to a husband for whom she had no regard. An attachment sprang up, which was soon strengthened by events such as could hardly have occurred on land. Hastings fell ill. The baroness nursed him with womanly tenderness, gave him his medicines with her own hand, and even sat up in his cabin while he slept. Long before the "Duke of Grafton" reached Madras, Hastings was in love. But his love was of the most characteristic de- scription. Like his hatred, like his ambition, like all his passions, it was strong but not impetuous. It was calm, deep, earnest, patient of delay, unconquerable by time. Imhoff was called into council by his wife and his wife's lover. It was arranged that the baroness should institute a suit for divorce in the courts of Fran- conia, and during the time which might elapse before the sentence could be pronounced, they should continue to live together. It was also agreed that Hastings should bestow some very substantial mark of gratitude on the complaisant husband; and should, when the marriage was dissolved, make the lady his wife, and adopt the children whom she had already borne to Imhoff. In accordance with their plans they were subsequently married. It is said that he loved his wife with that love which is peculiar to men of strong minds — to men whose affection is not easily won or widely diffused. That liis letters to her were tender, and full of indications of 26 LOVE esteem and confidence; but at the same time, a little more ceremonious than is usual in so intimate a rela- tion.* This extraordinary attachment demonstrates very clearly that weak and silly men and weak and silly wom- en are not the only ones who become infatuated with the opposite sex. A man may be loved on account of his superior intellectual attainments, and it has been beau- tifully and truly said that the worship of talent is one of the rarest vagaries that ever beat its wings in a wom- an's soul. It has even been affirmed that a man may be loved independently of his person — handsome or ugl}^ and for his soul alone. A fascinating woman, some- what given to coquetry, declared : "I am convinced now that I could never torment or flirt with a fool or make any impression on him. It is only men of real distinc- tion who can enter into our feelings and feel our in- fluence." It is a grave error to assume that young ladies are so absolutely foolish as to be pleased with no other conver- sation than that of extravagant compliment; and many a cause has been lost when the suitor became too demon- strative, and declared his love with wild bursts of enthu- siasm. It has been said that a Pole is generally weak in the presence of women for the reason that he is so full of tenderness that he becomes her inferior. It has been affirmed that absence endangers none but weak attachments. We think this broad statement must be accepted with some qualifications. The absence must not be too prolonged. Genuine affection can withstand * Macaulay. 27 A COISTGLOMEEATE "very severe storms of rigor but not a long polar frost of downright indiiference." It has been suggested that lovers when widely separated should think of each other tenderly at the same hour each day — and thus prevent the waning of their affection. We do not wish to be placed on record as approving any kind of fraud or dissimulation — not even in the delicate affairs of the heart ; but we were greatly amused and entertained, not to say impressed, by an incident of which we have read. Two lovers were separated by more than a thousand miles. The young lady discovered, or thought she had, a growing coolness on the part of he! lover. What did she do ? When she had finished writing her letter she let fall from her finger-tips a few drops of water upon the stationery. Her lover, opening the let- ter very naturally concluded that those were the tears she shed for him. What did he do ? He hurried back to her as on the wings of the wind. He could not endure the thought of remaining away a moment longer from his dear one. The result was that the rekindled flame in his bosom burned more intensely than ever. It was no longer necessary for either to repeat the line from the charming poem of Bishop Heber, "If thou, my love, wert by my side." It has been asserted, truly, no doubt, that indiscreet utterances at partings exceed in number those made at all other times; and it is no less true that a look or a word may sunder two lovers forever. "In the eyes of a woman," says a profound student of the human heart, 28 LOVE "the man to whom she is indifferent is always more or less ugly ; but the man whom she has ceased to love is a monster." What is not of colloquial acquisition is learned by reading, observation and reflection, and from these sources we become possessed of many axiomatic truths. We know that the aloofness of the love of a suitor has oftentimes proved disastrous, but that he should never permit himself to droop beneath the frown of a capri- cious beauty. We know that persistency may accomplish marvels, and it should not be forgotten that the fairest apple hangs on the highest bough. We know that the young gentleman who is "to one thing constant never" is deservedly an egregious failure, and that promiscuity in attachments invariably leads to trouble and disaster. We know that parents sometimes prefer that their daughter should marry "an average man," with solid virtues and sound morals; and that the daughter, while not wishing to ignore those homely qualities, is im- pressed by a lover "whose eye melts in love and kindles in war — one whose voice is sweetest and noblest when honor is his theme — one whose soul is mirrored in his countenance — especially if sorrow has given him an in- teresting look — for, be it said, that she is always the friend of desolate hearts. She would never tire of in- quiring if sorrow had his young days faded." We conclude with the words of Goethe : "The first love, it is rightly said is the only one; for in the second, and by the second, the highest sense of love is already lost. * * * p^g^ attachments seem like specters of the night, which glide away before the break of day." 29 CHAPTEE III. MARRIAGE. We wish at the outset to put the seal of our reproba- tion upon the declaration of a malevolent person that marriage is the end of man. It is no part of our purpose to discuss, at length, marriage in its purely legal aspects ; but a few observations along this line may not be deemed inappropriate. We do not care to inquire whether mar- riage is merely a contract or more than a contract, whether a purely civil or a religious act. It may be stated, however, that while marriage is generally spoken of by lawyers as a contract, its complete isolation from all other contracts is invariably recognized. As to the validity of a marriage it has been well settled that the lex loci governs. If the marriage is valid by the laws of the country where it was celebrated it is recognized as valid everywhere. "This rule," says Story, "has received the most deliberate sanction of the English and Amer- ican courts and of foreign jurists." There are, however, a few exceptions to this general rule which we will not stop to consider. Under the old Eoman law, concubinage was recog- nized under certain restrictions as an inferior form of union ; but this has all but disappeared from modern so- 30 MAEEIAGE ciety. The morganatic or left-handed marriage, that is, the union between a man of superior and a woman of inferior rank is the nearest approach ever made by con- cubinage to true marriage. These marriages were in vogue among the royal families in Germany and per- haps elsewhere. The children were deemed legitimate, but neither they nor the wife acquired any right to the rank or fortune of the husband. We have, in theory at least, no stratification of society in this country, and happily such marriages are unknown. The man who declared that nine-tenths of those who have raved in rapturous stanzas about the sweets of con- jugal love are bachelors shivering in solitary garrets, de- serves commiseration on account of his morbidity. La Bruyere, the eminent Frenchman, never married. "A single man,^^ he observed, ^'^can, if he has wit, raise him- self above his station, and mix in the world on a footing of equality ; which is less easy if he be married, for mar- riage seems to settle people into their proper rank." There may have been some force in this reason, in his own country and in his own time, but in this age and generation, it would be universally regarded as puerile. The truth is, that the family is the enduring basis of all organized society. We need only to refer to Holy Writ : "Who so findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Again: "A virtuous woman is a crown to her hus- band. * * * Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. * * * Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the daj^s of thy life." 31 A CONGLOMEEATE That marriage is in some sense a lottery will not be denied. The bride and her mother fully understand the conditions and dangers of this lottery — all women do — and sometimes they shed tears as they look on at a mar- riage. The men smile, thinking they risk nothing. Thexe are so many considerations involved in marriage as, for example, consonance of tempers, physical symp^i- thies and concord of character. If the bride has 9 for- tune, great or small, her husband may dissipate it; be- cause, when a young wife has given her heart she very rarely refuses her purse. A woman may be much above the level of those about her and she is driven to the ne- cessity of deciding between the emptiness of the men whom she meets, and the emptiness of her own life ; and the emptiness of her suitor is oftentimes concealed by his agreeable manners. It was said of a young husband who turned out to be bad, that during his courtship "not a syllable over- stepped the pure regions of sentiment. The blue of the forget-me-not and the white of the lily are not more pure than were his flowers of rhetoric." We believe the observation to be true that while there are a few general rules for mitigating the worries of married life, there are none to enable one to guess or foresee them. The causes of domestic discord are countless, and it would, therefore, be idle to attempt to name them all. Every woman is not in love with her husband and of course this fact portends trouble; the friction produced by incessant intimacy is another prolific cause of domes- tic infelicity. It is said that nothing evaporates more quickly than conjugal affection; and, when love is ex- 32 MAREIAGE tinct, only indifference or contempt ever fills its place. A woman who takes as much trouble every day to make herself as beautiful for her husband as other women do for society will^ as a rule, retain his love. We will let the charming young wife who resorted to this expedient speak for herself, in her own words: "I get up in the early dawn, while he is still sleeping, and without dis- turbing him, pass into the dressing-room, where, profit- ing by my mother's experience, I remove the traces of sleep by bathing in cold water. For during sleep the skin, being less active, does not perform its functions adequately; it becomes warm and covered with a sort of mist or atmosphere of sticky matter, visible to the eye. From a sponge bath a woman issues forth ten years younger, and this, perhaps, is the interpretation of the mjth of Venus rising from the sea. So the cold water restores to me the saucy charm of dawn, and, having combed and scented my hair and made a most fastidious toilet, I am ready to give my husband a cordial welcome to breakfast. When he appears and observes my fresh- ness, buoyancy and vivacity — looking as dainty as a spring morning — his love and tenderness for me are mirrored in every lineament of his countenance."^ Sometimes a woman imagines that if she can marry a great celebrity she will be supremely happy but she will soon discover that a man, however superior, is but a man like all others. There is no doubt that the love of a husband and wife depends less on outward beauty than on graces of char- acter. The wife may exercise a marvelous influence over * Balzac. 33 A CONGLOMERATE her husband but it ought to be entirely concealed, as the charm of all a woman does lies in its unobtrusiveness. A husband who submits to a public and ostentatious ex- ercise of authority by a wife is justly held an object of ridicule; and society would not tolerate, for a moment, a public exhibition of the wife's power over her husband. All experience proves that marriage cannot rest alone upon passion as its foundation; and, indeed, the insta- bility of passion is regarded as a cogent reason for mak- ing marriages indissoluble. It has been said, truly, we believe, that a family cannot live on the tempests of love, and that when two beings have nothing but senti- ment to go through life on, they soon exhaust its re- sources, and ere long satiety and disgust ensue. The selection of a wife is so entirely a personal matter that it would seem obtrusive and presumptuous to make any suggestions on the subject. It has been said, how- ever, that "many men, when thinking of marriage, pre- fer a girl taken straight from the convent impregnated with an atmosphere of devotion to one who has been trained in the school of society. On the one hand is the girl who has nothing left to learn, who reads and dis- cusses the papers, who has spun round ball-rooms in the arms of countless young men, who has seen every play and devoured every novel, who does not trouble her head about religion and has evolved her o^vn morality. On the other hand is the guileless simple girl." It certainly is not an ideal marriage where the most the wife can say of her husband is, that there is nothing in him which offends her ; it is where her love for him is of the kind which makes the heart throb, at the sound 34 MAERIAGE of a step, when she is thrilled at the lightest tones of his voice, or the caress of a burning glance, that conjugal felicity is supreme. This oneness of husband and wife is marvelous. The devoted wife is not content with wedding a man's heart, she must also share his thoughts. It has been said^ that when a man is adored by his wife, she can read his face like a book, she knows the slightest quiver of his mus- cles, she divines the reason when he is calm, she ques- tions herself when he is the least sad, wondering if she is in fault, she watches his eyes; to her those eyes are colored by his ruling thought — they love or they love not. An eminent writer discussing the subject of marriage declares that "perfect happiness is only to be found at either extreme of the intellectual scale; there is a like equability of temperament in the good-natured idiot and in the man of genius, arising in the one case from weak- ness, and in the other from strength of character. Both are capable of a constant sweetness of temper, which softens the roughnesses of life. Both natures are simple and transparent; the one because of its shallowness, the other by reason of its depth. Clever women, therefore, are sufficiently ready to take a dunce as the best substi- tute for a man of genius." On account of his eminence as a writer and his profundity as a thinker, it is with great diffidence that we express grave doubts of the cor- rectness of his conclusion. It certainly is not in har- mony with the view of Mrs. Thomas Carlyle who im- plored a young woman not to marry a genius, saying: "I married one and am miserable." 2 Balzac. 35 A CONGLOMERATE An incalculable amount of happiness is found in mar- ried life, but of course there are many exceptional cases. Many historical characters are supposed to have their matrimonial wrongs strongly established. Such was Job with his wife, and Socrates with Xanthippe, and Rich- ard Hooker rocking the cradle, and John Wesley hav- ing his whiskers pulled. A happy wife has affirmed that, "Not to her dearest friend, not to her mother, not, perhaps even to herself, can a bride speak of her happiness. This memory ought to remain absolutely our own, an added rapture — a thing beyond words, too sacred for disclosure." As a rule the novelist of the period is singularly dere- lict in duty. His work is incomplete; he is a quitter. The story usually ends with the solemnization of the marriage and the regular expression for a bride, "pale and shrinking.'^ Why does he not pursue the subject fur- ther and depict the gradual, gentle, but delightful transi- tion from the rapture of courtship to the placid joys of wedded life? Why should he completely ignore the his- tory of a happy household which has been compared to that of a prosperous state? Why should he not dilate, with the utmost minuteness of detail, upon the quiet and faithful intercourse of home where the man always finds a woman at his side ? Why not reveal to the reader the family in all its strength and holiness, and depict the delightful calm, the intimacy, the sharing alike of good and evil, the glory of the home? He might discant, in elegant and fascinating language, upon the peaceful and gracious life of the domestic hearth. He might furnish an ample illustration of the truth that it is both the 36 MAEEIAGE destiny and glory of woman to cling to a man. If he wished concrete examples, drawn from the pages of his- tory, he might recite the poignant regret of Beethoven as he approached the end of life — that he had never married, and was in consequence deprived of that feel- ing of home and comfort which only the unceasing care of refined womanhood can bestow. He might refer to the venerable and distinguished John Bigelow, diplo- matist and statesman, who at the age of ninety-four, has just returned from a long European tour — and re- cite the dedication of his great work recently published, ^^Eetrospections of an Active Life": "^'To Jane Poult- ney Bigelow, my wife, and mother of my children, these volumes are gratefully dedicated." He might expatiate upon the exquisite beauty of this dedication, suggesting, as it does, all the loves and tendernesses of the home and domestic life — conjugal, paternal, maternal, fra- ternal, filial — a glorious combination, indeed! He might demonstrate that absolute perfection in woman is unattainable without the softening influence of mater- nity. He might give emphasis to the fact that the only consolation to woman for the loss of beauty are dear and loving children. It would be within his power to excite the tenderest emotions by depicting such scenes as a child resting on its mother's arm, or a mother sitting like a queen, in the midst of her children ; and he might contrast the situation with that of the woman president of a federation of clubs who, amid sobs and tears, is en- deavoring to decide an intricate question of parliamen- tary law in the midst of a tumultuous and hysterical as- sembly. As a grand climax he might recount how an 37 A CONGLOMERATE aged couple had for fifty years tasted the soft endear- ments of marriage, without ever experiencing its bitter- ness; and enjoyed unimpaired health, the fruit of tem- perance and tranquillity of mind. 38 CHAPTER IV. CONVERSATION. Much of what we know is of colloquial acquisition. Something may be learned from nearly every one we meet, and we should not be over fastidious as to the man- ner of the talker, or the subject-matter of his conversa- tion. Montaigne declares that ^^the study of books is a languishing and feeble notion that heats not; but if I converse with a man of mind, and no flincher, who presses hard upon me, and digs at me right and left, his imagination raises up mine, it stimulates me to some- thing above myself.'^ Of course, there is but little infor- mation to be gained or benefit derived from mere chat- ting, or idle and familiar talk ; and there are those whose conversation is both charming and instructive in a tete-a- tete, but who are absolutely dumb in a salon or general conversation. It has been said that he who speaks sows and he who listens reaps in colloquy, and it behooves us, therefore, to cultivate the difficult art of becoming good listeners. They are indeed very rare; it requires concen- tration of mind, and high moral and intellectual quali- ties. It has been observed that the hypocrisy of the hearer is not difficult to detect — that the eye refuses to dissemble — that by its "dull vacant stare, its intro- 39 A CONGLOMERATE spective look, or its restless wandering from place to place it will betray the hypocritical hearer in spite of every attempt at deception." The suggestion of Sir Mathew Hale is admirable: In conversation, learn as near as you can, where the skill or excellence of any per- son lies; put him upon talking on that subject, observe what he says, keep it in your memory or commit it to writing. The power of conversation is marvelous. It is said that Chamfort's extraordinary influence upon French society was exercised wholly in conversation, in sallies of wit, in those sparkling sayings "which make one laugh and think at the same time."^ It needs tact to know when to be silent and when to speak; but it is true of conversation as of many other things, that the half is better than the whole. The Dutch in the Spice Islands recognized this fact when they de- stroyed one-half of the timber in order to make the other half more valuable. To excel in conversation, says Hazlett, one must not be always striving to say good things; to say one good thing, one must say mxany bad, and more indifferent ones; and he declares that he would rather have water than nectar for a steady drink — ^bread and butter than ambrosia for his daily bread. It is difficult to say what makes a conversationalist. It has been remarked that there are people who possess every qualification for conversing except the power to converse — that there are two absolutely essential things : in the first place a certain charm of mind, and even ^ Mathews. 40 CONVEESATION manner, which is a purely instinctive gift; and in the second place real sympathy with, real interest in, the person with whom you converse. A mere dribbling into words of casual thoughts is not conversation ; to be profit- able, it must be regarded as a definite mental occupation and, to make social intercourse of value, of course there must be an opportunity for perfect relaxation. Intense strenuousness in other pursuits is the deadly enemy of profitable colloquy ; it would be a waste of time to attempt to carry on a conversation with one who de- clares "I am so tired^' or, "I cannot wait for my dessert to-day, I am so busy." We have known school teachers and others who have gravitated into this condition of de- moralization ; in fact, we are all more or less subject to it unless we make an extraordinary effort to restrain it. It has been asserted that the one thing which distinguishes the truly great, either by birth or mental acquirements, is repose; and an eminent author has affirmed that he could recognize the leading men of any community by their slower walk and more abstracted expression of countenance. Herbert Spencer confessed that such powers as he possessed in the direction of conversation were of the tete-a-tete order; and it was his opinion that to be a salon talker requires a certain self-possession, a kind of grasp of the different individuals that surround you which he declared to be of the nature of Napoleonic strategy. When conversation became tedious to him, he simply put stoppers in his ears to blur the sense of the talk. He declared that nothing worried him more than what he was pleased to call "this surface cackle" 41 A CONGLOMEEATE that has to be indulged in in general society, simply to fill the time. In considering this subject it would be invidious and inappropriate to completely ignore the views of the an- cients, even though we may not give them our unquali- fied approval. Epictetus enjoins that we "should be for the most part silent, or speak merely what is necessary, and in few words. * * * We may not enter into dis- course on any of the common subjects of gladiators, or horse races, or athletic champions, or feasts, the vulgar topics of conversation. * * * If you happen to be taken among strangers, be silent. * * * Let not your laughter be much nor on many occasions, nor profuse." We all know that the cultivation of the voice is of transcendent importance in singing. The voice is no less an important factor in giving charm and interest to public speaking and conversation. Madame Eoland did not exaggerate when she declared that the voice is the key which unlocks the heart. The lawyers and statesmen of Colonial Virginia were celebrated for their forensic eloquence and power; at no period and in no country, was the art of oratory cultivated with greater assiduity, and the voice was always regarded as a prime consideration. The historian of the period referring to Patrick Henry declared, that in mild persuasion his voice was as soft and gentle as the zephyr- of spring ; while in rousing his countrymen to arms, the winter storm that roars along the troubled Baltic. was not more awfully sublime. Of Edmund Pendleton it was said that he had that silver voice of which Cicero makes such frequent and honorable mention — an articulation uncom- 42 CONVEESATION monly distinct — a perennial stream of transparent, cool and sweet elocution. Eeferring to Eichard Henry Lee the historian affirms that the note of Lee^s voice was deeper and more melodious than that of Mr. Pendleton. It was the canorous voice of Cicero. * * * His speech was so copious,, so rich, so mellifluous, set off with such bewitching cadence of voice, and such captivating grace of diction, that while you listened to him, you desired to hear nothing superior, and indeed thought him per- fect. I have in mind a lady who, even in relating the most unimportant incident, is charming, largely on ac- count of the seductive softness and sweetness of her voice. Indeed, we can conceive of no more fascinating feminine accomplishment than the ability to converse entertainingly. Of course, originality of both thought and manner adds to the charm of conversation as does brilliant repartee. We have read of a fascinating con- versationalist of whom it was said: His thrilling voice, which lent an added charm to thoughts, in themselves so exquisite, reminded one of the nightingale's note. * * * Words flowed upon words with the rush of the torrent. It was the overflow of the heart. The boy, the fair-haired boy, the blue-eyed boy of fifteen, the son of highly cultivated and refined parents, whose demeanor inspired in every one a wish to know him — would have been less fascinating but for the fact that his voice was as clear as crystal and seemed to have an emotional quality. Young gentlemen should lose no time in cultivating their colloquial powers. A charming and very popular young southern girl of eighteen summers, remarked: 43 A CONGLOMERATE "Mr. Daugherty, I like the boys very well but the trouble is so many of them have not the art of conversation." The fascination of a certain lady's conversation was attributed to the fact that what she said seemed to be a continuation of what was said to her. How perfectly delightful it must have been to listen to the brilliant and scintillating conversation of John Randolph of Roanoke, or the wise and polished utter- ances of Sir James Mackintosh. Randolph was for more than thirty years the political meteor of congress. He was not only a profound and brilliant statesman, but a gentleman of incomparable literary taste. Speak- ing of Randolph, Colonel Benton says : "The last time I saw him, after his return from the Russian mission, I heard him read the chapter in the Revelations (of the opening of the seals) with such power and beauty of voice and delivery, and such depth of pathos, that I felt as if I had never heard the chapter read before. When he had got to the opening of the sixth seal, he stopped the reading, laid the book (open at the place) on his breast, as he lay on his bed, and began a discourse upon the beauty and sublimity of the scriptural writings, compared to which he considered all human composi- tions vain and empty. Going over the images presented by the opening of the seals, he averred that their divin- ity was in their sublimity — that no human -power could take the same images, and inspire the same awe and terror, and sink ourselves into such nothingness in the presence of the "wrath of the lamb" — that he wanted no proof of their divine origin but the sublime feelings which they inspired." 44 CONVERSATION Eandolph possessed a wealth of "copious wit and classical allusion." Colonel Benton heard many bril- liant talks from him. On such occasions, "a flow for hours (at one time seven hours)" of copious wit and classical allusion — a perfect scattering of the diamonds of the mind." "I heard a friend remark on one of these occasions," says Colonel Benton, "he has wasted intel- lectual jewelry enough here this evening to equip many speakers for great orations." Sir James Mackintosh, publicist, historian, states- man and philosopher, died in 1832. He was one of the most cultured and catholic-minded men of his time; and it was said of him that even at a very early age he bore the reputation of a prodigy for multifarious reading and learning. With his other accomplishments. Sir James was a charming conversationalist. Macaulay affirms that his mind was "a vast magazine, admirably arranged; everything was there and everything was in its place." Eobert Hall declares that his mind "was a spacious repository hung round with beautiful images, and when he wanted one he had nothing to do but reach his hand to a peg and take it down." The soul of conversation is sympathy, and it has been truly said^ that argument is the death of conversation, if carried on in a spirit of hostility; but discussion is a pleasant and profitable thing, where you advance and defend your opinions as far as you can, and admit the truth of what is objected against them with equal im- partiality. This tone of conversation was well described by Dr. Johnson, when he said of some party at which 2 Hazlitt. 45 A CONGLOMEEATE he had been present the night before — "We had a good talk. Sir!" Talking "shop" in a large company is equally de- structive of conversation; it causes much embarrass- ment and confusion. Its effect is not unlike that of the disturbance caused in a country dance by one who does not understand the figure ; and persistency in this course is regarded by cultivated and refined people as equiv- alent to absolute rudeness. It has been truly observed that persons of different trades and professions may all have great knowledge and ingenuity in their several vocations, the details of which will be very edifying to themselves, and just as incomprehensible to their neigh- bors ; but over and above this professional and technical knowledge, they must be supposed to have a stock of common sense and common feeling to furnish subjects for common conversation, or to give them any pleasure in each other^s company. An eminent man declared, more than a century ago, that a doctor in good society never talks of medicine, true nobles never speak of their ancestors, men of genius do not discuss their works; then why should some school teachers and professors, in a large company, incessantly prate of their schools and colleges? Occasionally, we meet with an individual whose con- versation attracts us no matter how nonsensical it may be. Coleridge is an example. Hazlitt affirms that Coleridge could talk to all sorts of people, on all sorts of subjects, without caring a farthing for their under- standing one word he says — and he talks only for ad- miration and to be listened to, and accordingly the least 46 CONVEESATION intemiption puts him out. I firmly believe, says Hazlitt, he would make just the same impression on half his audiences, if he purposely repeated absolute nonsense with the same voice and manner and inexhaustible flow of undulating speech! It was the habit of Coleridge when addressing public meetings to make long- winded prefatory apologies for his youth and inex- perience. He was cured of this habit, however, by Home Tooke, one of his literary contemporaries. On one occasion, when Coleridge was making his usual in- troductory apology. Home Tooke abruptly called out, "Speak up, young man." Coleridge, completely dis- concerted, took his seat, and it is nowhere recorded that he ever again committed the offense. CarJyle did not appreciate the volubility of Coleridge. On one occa- sion he exclaimed, after listening to one of Coleridge's harangues, "To sit still and be pumped into is never an exhilarating process." It has been truly said that one often feels an im- perative need of silence and recollection and repose. Carlyle must have been in this mood when on meeting a great talker at dinner, he laid down his knife and fork, and said in a voice of agonized entreaty: "For God's sake take me away, and put me in a room by myself and give me a pipe of tobacco."^ Gibbon, the historian, mentions the fact that four days in the week he had a place, without invitation, at the hospitable table of the celebrated Helvetius and, he declares, that in these synposia the pleasures of the table were improved by lively and liberal conversation. " Benson. 4r A CONGLOMEEATE Helvetius was the friend of Fontenelle, Voltaire and Montesquieu — was not only the handsomest man of his time, but was possessed of a manner singularly charm- ing and of incomparable conversational powers. His famous book, "Del 'Esprit/' the composition of which occupied him more than seven years, was translated into almost all the languages of Europe, and was discussed in every literary circle. We may well believe that ihe exquisite enjo}Tnent derived from these conversations was mutual, because, we have somewhere read, that the young lady of a house where Gibbon had his temporary abode, expressed a desire to marry him, in order that her parents might continue to enjoy his society and his in- teresting and fascinating conversation. It is no doubt quite a solace and comfort to a man fatigued by intense mental labor or worn by the cares and struggles of life, to meet at the fireside a dull simple minded person of kindly disposition, with whom he can converse. Lord Mansfield found such a person and during winter evenings when exhausted by the work of the day, his lordship used him as a kind of cushion for his understanding. Some years ago there lived in Southern Indiana a profound lawyer and jurist who performed an immense amount of mental labor. It was observed by his friends that on Sunday he never failed to attend a church, presided over by an illiterate min- ister of the old type, whose only claim to distinction was based upon his nonsensical and insipid platitudes with their usual accompaniments — violent jesticulation and marvelous power of vociferation. The jurist was asked why he attended this church when there were 48 CONVERSATION other churches convenient in which educated ministers of ability and learning officiated. He replied, that when Sunday arrived he felt exhausted by the labors of the week, and that by attending the church in question he was enabled to enjoy an hour of absolute mental repose. Mr. Hazlitt gives an account of those delightful con- versations at Lamb's. "We used to have many lively skirmishes at Lamb's at their Thursday evening parties. * * * There was Lamb himself, the most delightful, the most provoking, the most witty and sensible of men. He always made the best pun, and the best remark in the course of the evening. His serious conversation, like his serious writing, is his best. No one ever stam- mered out such fine, piquant, deep, eloquent things in a half a dozen sentences as he does. His jests scald like tears; and he probes a question with his play upon words. * * * What choice venom! How often did we cut into the haunch of letters, while we discussed the haunch of mutton on the table !" 4:9 CHAPTER V. TOWN AND COUNTRY. In ancient times it was considered that the first requisite to happiness was that a man be born in a fa- mous city; but Plutarch very justly observes that it makes no difference where one may have been born be- cause real happiness consists principally in the dis- position and habit of the mind. The preference for town or country is largely deter- mined by the temperament and disposition of the indi- vidual. There are certain finely strung and sensitive natures whose spirits are affected not only by the climate, but by the scenery amid which they live. It is said that the Englishman, "saturated with the fogs of his island, is notoriously less cheerful than the inhabitants of sunny France." There are some places we admire and others we love, and Le Bruyere declared that it seemed to him that wit, humor, passion, taste and sen- timent, depend on the place we live in. The influence of places upon us is, indeed, marvelous; an eminent writer was led to declare that if melancholy comes over us by the margin of a great water another indelible law of our nature so orders it that the mountains exer- 50 TOWN AND COUNTRY cise a purifying influence upon our feelings, and among the hills passion gains in depth by all that it apparently loses in vivacity. It is with ineffable delight that the poet escapes from the smoke, glare and noise of city life to drink in the sweet air of country lanes and fields. The devotee of the country will assure you that God made the country and man made the town, and that it is not a matter of surprise that so many cultured and refined people are charmed with life in the country. He will declare that living in the country is conducive to health and longevity ; that the pleasures of town life are, of course, within the reach of every man who is regard- less of his health, his money, and his company. He will descant upon the salutary influence of the moun- tains upon the mind, that they make one calm — not- withstanding it is the experience of many that the effects of mountain scenery are exciting. Herbert Spencer, of whom it was said that he was not devoid of esthetic perception, affirmed that the sight of a mountain and music heard in a cathedral, were two of the things that moved him most. Another will declare that he finds no monotony, no tedium in this quiet life in the country — that there is a certain morality, a certain religion in the spirit of a secluded and country existence — that here he does not know the evil passions which ambition and strife are said to arouse, and is thus enabled to lead a life un- embittered by contumely and devote himself to the agreeable duties of home and family. He will tell you that all his life long he has loved rivers and poets who sang of rivers — and will recite the fact that even very 51 A CONGLOMEEATE young children are never more supremely happy than when playing on the banks of a stream of water — a sen- timent and desire which seem to be indigenous to our nature. He will remind you that on account of his fond- ness for the song of the birds at Cambridge, it was diffi- cult to prevail upon the cultured and refined Lowell to visit the city. He will relate, with much earnestness and enthusiasm, that Eousseau and many other of the world's celebrities sincerely preferred wild nature to a cultivated garden. He will urge that life in the coun- try is conducive to study and meditation, as one may there find the solitude which is so indispensable to the student and writer; and he will insist that "no con- siderable work was ever composed till its author, like an ancient magician, first retired to the grove, or to the closet, to invocate." He will quote the exact language of Daniel Webster, when he declared : "I like to contem- plate nature, and to hold communion unbroken by the presence of human beings. When thinking is to be done one must, of course, be alone. No man knows himself who does not sometimes keep his own company." He will remind you that many persons whose vocation is that of literature have remained in seclusion, almost conventual, for long periods of time; that Voltaire, notwithstanding he had talents well adapted for society, at one period of his life passed five years in the most secret seclusion, and indeed usually lived in retirement; and that Hawthorne withdrew himself from the face of man, and meditated for twelve lonely years on hu- manity. He will admit that there are men who think 52 TOWN AND COUNTEY things out in town, but will aflBmi that they are the strong men of abounding energy, who do their thinking only with their brains. The degree of comfort and delight derived from coun- try life must, of course, depend upon climate, scenery and environments, as well as upon the temperament and disposition of the individual. The vale of Cashmere, an elevated and enclosed valley in the Himalaya moun- tains, though not accessible to all who may wish to live or sojourn in the country, w^ould seem to be an ideal spot for such retirement. Much has been said and written about the beauty of the vale of Cashmere. "Spring encircles a fresh, green, smiling valley with a noble belt of glistening snow-capped ridges ; autumn fills the eye with the wonderful richness of the many col- ored foliage. At all times flows on the quiet glassy river, showing back the groves and avenues from its banks."! Some of us know that it is especially delightful in midwinter to leave the* inhospitable climate of the north for tropical and semi-tropical regions. Ambas- sador White, during an official visit to Santo Domingo, was charmed by the wonderful beauty of the scenery, ^ It appears that the periodical rains, which almost deluge the rest of India, are shut out of Cashmere by the height of the mountains, so that only light showers fall there; these, however, are in abundance enough to fill some hundreds of cascades, which are precipitated into the valley, from every part of this stupendous and romantic bulwark that encircles it. The soil is the richest that can be conceived, and its productions those of the temperate zone. — Geographical Dictionary, 1823, p. 169. 53 A CONGLOMEEATE the luxuriance of the vegetation, and the bracing warmth of the climate, while the United States were going through a winter of unusual severity. The splenetic and fastidious Hazlitt contrasts the town and country. What he says is very interesting, but, of course, it can have only a limited application to our own age and country. "If familiarity in cities breeds contempt, ignorance in the country breeds aversion and dislike. "People come too much in contact in town, in other places they live too much apart, to unite cordially and easily. Our feelings in the former case are dissipated and exhausted by being called into constant and vain activity; in the latter they rust and grow dead for want of use. * * * If these, then, are the faults and vices of the inhabitants of town or of the country, where should a man go to live, so as to escape from them? I answer, that in the country we have the society of the groves, the fields, the brooks, and in London a man may keep to himself, or choose his company as he pleases. * * * In the country, men have no idea but of individuals, none of rights or principles — and a king as the greatest individual, is the highest idea they can form. He is a ^species alone,' and as superior to any single peasant as the latter is to the peasant's dog, or to a crow flying over his head. In London, the king is but as one to a million, is seldom seen, and then distin- guished only from others by the superior graces of his person. A country squire or a lord of the manor is a greater man in his village or hundred !" That Hazlitt had a partiality for rural scenes and 54 TOWN AND COUNTEY rural sports is manifest, from the following excerpts from his essay on ^^Novelty and Familiarity": "Who would not rather see a dance in the forest of Mont- morenci on a summer's evening by a hundred laughing peasant girls and their partners, who come to this scene for several miles round, rushing through the forest glades, as the heart panteth for the water-brooks, than all the pirouettes and entrechats performed at the French opera by the whole corps de ballet f Of course the advantages are not all on the side of the country. Sidney Smith, in considering the subject, declared that the charm of London is that you are never glad or sorry for ten minutes together; in the coun- try you are one and the other for weeks. Diderot, of whom a celebrated woman said that four lines from his pen made her ponder more, and inter- ested her more, than a complete work by any other au- thor — had a keen appreciation of the beauties of the country. He said to the young husband : "Arise from your couch in the early morn, in spite of the fascina- tions of the young and charming woman at whose side you repose, in order that you may see the rising of the sun in all his glory, and view the beautiful landscape moist with dew and glistening with light." Eminent men in all ages, and representing almost every vocation in life, have been stirred by bucolic dreams of a farm and the charms of nature. John Hampden, the renowned leader of the Long Parliament, retired to the duties and pleasures of a rural life. His country seat was located in one of the most beautiful parts of the county of Buckingham. We 55 A CONGLOMERATE read that the house was an old English mansion, built in the days of the Plantagenets and the Tudors ; that it stood on the brow of a hill which overlooked a narrow valley. "That the extensive woods which surround it were pierced by long avenues; that in this delightful retreat Hampden passed several years, performing with great activity all the duties of a landed gentleman and a magistrate, and amusing himself with books and with field sports/' Lord Bacon, in his intervals of rest from his political and judicial duties, was in the habit of retiring to Gor- hamburg. At that place his favorite amusement was gardening — which he declared to be "the purest of hu- man pleasures/' He has lived to no purpose who has not observed the instability and fickleness of public opinion. Public men, even those whose services to the State have been in- valuable, oftentimes become the victims of the whims and coquetries of public opinion, and have retired to the country for solace and comfort, and to be relieved from contumely and the objurgations of their country- men. The English statesman, Sir William Temple, whom Macaulay characterized as a man of lively parts and quick observation, a man of the world among men of letters, and a man of letters among men of the world — having fallen into disfavor and having seen clearly that the tempest was gathering fast, retired with his family to Moor Park. In that spot, then very se- cluded. Temple passed the remainder of his life. "The air agreed with him. The soil was fruitful, and well suited to the experimental farmer and gardner. The 56 TOWN AND COUNTRY gardens were laid out with the angular regularity which Sir William had admired in the flower beds of Haarlem and the Hague. A beautiful rivulet flowing from the hills of Surre}^, bounded the domain." Thomas Carlyle, in the selection of his countr3^-seat, seems not to have been influenced by the beauty cf landscape or luxuriance of foliage. "Hawkscliff/' to which he removed, was a wild moorland farm. He said : "Here I can have my horse, pure milk diet, and go on with literature and my life task generally, in the abso- lute solitude and pure silence of nature, with loving and helpful faces around me." George Meridith lived in a charming home near Box Hill in the midst of the most exquisite woodland scenery. Victor Hugo declared that he used to sleep like a child in his lonely dwelling in the country, which was so situated that he could hear beneath the casements the "soothing lullaby of the sea." Eousseau also retired to a cottage near the seashore. He said that as soon as he found himself among the trees, and in the midst of verdure, he felt that he was in an earthly paradise, and experienced an inward pleasure, just as if he were the happiest of human kind. He de- clared: "I took a curious pleasure in watching the waves break at my feet. They seemed to me to symbolize the tumult of the world, contrasted with the peace of my habitation; and the thought sometimes moved me so much that the tears ran down my cheeks." Henry Clay loved Ashland, his beautiful country home near Lexington. In his adjuration to the Senate 57 A CONGLOMERATE to pass his pacificatory measure and thus prevent Civil War, he said (we quote from memory) : "Pass this bill and tranquilize the country and I am willing to go home to Ashland and renounce public service forever. I will there find, amidst my flocks and herds and in the bosom of my family, sincerity and truth, attachment and fidelity, that I have not always found in the walks of public life.'^ The country is the refuge sought by many men of high aspirations who have become cynics and haters of mankind. Samuel Crisp, a literary contemporary of Dr. Johnson, in an unfortunate hour, decided to write a tragedy. He did so and it was called Crisp's "Ver- ginia." It was said that his talents and knowledge fitted him to appreciate almost every species of intel- lectual superiority; but his drama proved to be a fail- ure and was so feeble and unnatural that it was barely saved from instant damnation by the acting of Garrick and the partiality of the audience. He became thor- oughly disgusted with the world and all mankind, and retired to a solitary and long deserted mansion built on a commons in one of the wildest tracts of Surrey. It is said that "no road, not even a sheep walk, connected his lonely dwelling with the abodes of men." He lived many years but continued to the end to mourn for his tragedy. "We may conclude that while a residence or sojourn in the country may cure many of the ills of life, it cannot even mitigate the wounds of vanity. Voltaire had most ardent admirers and bitter de- tractors during his life, and this condition has continued 58 TOWN AND COUNTRY through all the ages since his death. We are indebted to Gibbon for the assertion that Voltaire, after forfeit- ing by his own misconduct, the friendship of the first of Kings, he retired at the age of sixty, with a plentiful fortune, to a free and beautiful country, and resided in the neighborhood of Lausanne. Goldsmith, however, de- clares that Voltaire was banished from his native coun- try for a satire upon the royal concubine. That he was tired at length of courts and all the follies of the great, and retired to Switzerland, a country of liberty, where he enjoyed tranquillity and the muse. Victor Hugo delivered an oration on Voltaire on May 30, 1878, the one hundredth anniversary of his death. At the risk of becoming amenable to the charge of ir- relevancy^ which Hallam long ago declared to be only a venial offense, we will reproduce a few excerpts from that memorable oration: "One hundred years ago to-day a man died. He died immortal. "He was more than a man; he was an age. He had exercised a function and fulfilled a mission. "To sum up epochs, by giving them the names of men, has only been done by three peoples: Greece, Italy, France. We say the Age of Augustus, the Age of Louis Fourteenth, the Age of Voltaire. "These appellations have a great significance. * * * Until Voltaire, they were the names of the chiefs of states; Voltaire is more than the chief of a state; he is a chief of ideas. "Voltaire declared war against the coalitions of all 59 A CONGLOMEEATE the social iniquities. * * * And what was his weap- on? That which has the lightness of the wind and the power of the thunderbolt. A pen.^^ Many eminent men, on account of declining health or advancing years, have retired to the country for repose and recuperation. John Locke who at the end of twenty years' labor gave to the world that marvelous work, '^The Essay on the Human Understanding/' occupied the manor of Gates in Essex. He was then fifty-eight years of age. This was said to be the brightest of all his homes. Notwithstanding he was troubled with asthma and other ailments he survived fourteen years, deriving unspeakable delight amid the beautiful foliage of rural England. "He there enjoyed," says his bi- ographer, "as much domestic peace and literary leisure as was consistent with broken health." Lord Chesterfield whose letters to his son so abound in felicitous thought and happy observation lived to a great old age. We read that by reason of his numerous infirmities he lived at this period in complete seclusion, the most painful ailment being that of total deafness. He found his last solace in his charming country house at Blackheath. He occupied himself with gardening, and the cultivation of melons and pineapples. It pleased him, he said, to vegetate in company with them. Vol- taire, then an old man, wrote Chesterfield a character- istic letter in which he says: "I am content in believ- ing that if you have the sunlight in the beautiful house you have built, you will secure a few tolerably happy moments ; that is all one can hope for at our age. Cicero wrote a beautiful treatise on old age, but he did not 60 TOWN AND COUNTRY prove by the facts of his life the truth of his work; his latter years were extremely unhappy. You have lived longer and more happily than he. * * * The great- est of prizes — perennial happiness — has never been gained by a single human being. * * * You never have, in any way, been a charlatan, nor the dupe of charlatans, and this I consider a very uncommon qual- ity, a quality contributing to the glimpse of happiness we are allowed to enjoy in this short life." Charles Lamb seems to have divided his affections be- tween the town and the country : "I am in love with this great earth, the face of town and country, the unspeak- able rural solitudes and the sweet security of streets. I would set up my tabernacle here. I am content to stand still at the age to which I am arrived, I and my friends, to be no younger, no richer, no handsomer. I do not want to be weaned by age, or drop like mellow fruit, as they say, into the grave. * * * Sun and sky, and breeze and solitary walks, and summer holidays, and the greenness of fields, and the delicious juices of meats and fishes, and society, and the cheerful glass, and the candle- light, and fireside conversations, and innocent vanities and jests, and irony itself — do these things go out with lifeP 61 CHAPTER VI. CONSTANT EMPLOYMENT. It is as true as it is trite that in order to be happy one must be occupied. Count Rumford recognized its truth in his House of Industry at Munich. In order to inspire the rising generation with an early bias toward labor he invited parents to send their children to his es- tablishment before they were old enough to do any kind of work, and actually paid them for doing nothing but merely being present when others were busy around them. It was the opinion of Thomas Carlyle that the most unhappy of all men is the man that cannot tell what he is going to do, that has got no work cut out for him in the world and does not go into it. His last written words were : "A life without work in it, as mine now is, has less and less worth to me; nay, sometimes a feeling of disgrace and blame is in me." He experienced the absolute necessity for incessant occupation "even in his very old age. Marcus Aurelius deplored the fact that there are so many who fritter away their energies, weary- ing themselves with life, without a settled aim to which they may direct every desire and every thought. We all know from experience and observation that without oc- 62 CONSTANT EMPLOYMENT cupation the whole nature lags; it makes no progress, it attains no true value or dignity; and that nothing is more conducive than idleness to morbidity of both mind and body. It has been said^ that Franklin's confi- dence in the happiness with which industry, honesty and economy will crowd the life of this work-day world is such that he runs over with felicity. Tacitus bitterly inveighs against those who loiter in voluptuousness and inglorious ease. We know of a man who became absolutely sick of himself by the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do, and by the transition from an active to an indolent life; and we know of a woman who was bored by the continual vacancy of her days. Eousseau declared that some women in such cases take to love, some to drink, some to religion. It was the observation of Pryde that young people should never be allowed to idle away their time. Idleness is the soil from which almost every wickedness grows. When we are idle our bodies and our minds soon become morbid. Being morbid, we look at everything and everybody with a jaundiced eye; and the people of every-day life seem insipid, tiresome and even hateful. It was the opinion of Perreyve, the eminent French- man, that nothing paralyzes the mind like the accepted habit of doing nothing; and he observed that life, at watering places, is wonderful in this respect: one has nothing to do, and yet never an instant to call his own. It is idleness organized. His biographer avers that the misfortune of the aristocracy seemed to Perreyve to be want of occupation, especially in young men; but he ^ Arnold. 63 A CONGLOMERATE found and approved a tendency to combat this by giv- ing them a professional training.^ Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy" is regarded as one of the most marvelous productions of the human mind. In this voluminous work the author discusses the sub- ject of melancholy from every conceivable standpoint — what it is, with all the kinds, causes and symptoms — and, as he himself declares, he treats the subject philo- sophically, medicinally and historically. It is a store- house of quotations from Greek and Latin authors. The book went through five editions in the author's lifetime, and Dr. Johnson declared that it was the only book that ever took him out of bed two hours before the usual time. After this learned and exhaustive dissertation he gives as the best remedy for infelicity: "Be not solitary; be not idle." One does not find repose in finding idleness. It is true that we may sometimes envy the man who enjo3'^s and rests, but it has been beautifully and truly said that the smile of heaven settles on the front of him who la- bors and aspires. The conclusion to which some arrive that man was born to live "in the convulsions of disquiet, or in the lethargy of idleness" is erroneous. The owner of a small farm declared: I have no more than twenty acres of ground, the whole of which I cultivate myself with the help of my children; and our labor keeps off from us three great evils — idleness, vice and want. Work then without disputing it; it is the only way to render life supportable. 2 Hamerton. 64 CONSTANT EMPLOYMENT As a rule the life of all truly great men has been a life of intense and incessant labor. It has been observed^ that when a very clever man, or a very great man, takes to cultivating turnips and retiring, it is generally an im- posture. The moment men cease to talk of their turnips, they are wretched and full of self-reproach. Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employ- ment of which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has done his best. It has been suggested that a young man should pro- pose to himself a brilliant and conspicuous goal, and go toward it secretly; let no one see his methods or his progress — and by all means to keep that law of laws — secrecy. It will be remembered that Lord Byron adopted this method. In the midst of his rollicking set at Cambridge he was secretly girding up his loins, and collecting his powers to make a great struggle for fame. Having followed this regime he compared himself to a slumbering volcano and longed to burst on the world; only a brief period elapsed until he was able to say with trutli : "I woke one morning and found myself famous." Of course it is not meant that the employment which is essential to happiness must be incessant throughout the day. Mr. Benson deprecates the fact that in literary work there are many people who work too long, and try to prolong the energies of the morning into the after- noon, and the tail of the afternoon into the peace of the evening. The suffering from unemployed energy is no less poignant than that from exhaustion. Indeed, a man's ^S. Smith. 65 A CONGLOMEEATE health seldom suffers from the work that he loves and does for his own sake. It was the opinion of Hazlitt that no one is idle who can do anything. That it is conscious inability, or the sense of repeated failure, that prevents us from under- taking, or deters us from the prosecution of any work. This is no doubt true in many cases, but it will not be denied that oftentimes idleness is the result of disin- clination — a dogged determination not to work. But we can all heartily concur in his further observation that he who does nothing renders himself incapable of doing anything; that while we are executing any work, we are preparing and qualifying ourselves to undertake another. The human countenance speaks volumes. The features of an industrious man, with an informed and active mind, acquire a certain spirit and mobility which is not observable in those of an idle person who spends the greater part of his time in a state of stupor and thought- less repose. We have all read of the fair and happy milk-maid who made her hand hard with labor, and her heart soft with pity. It is the plain unvarnished truth that if we wish to brush away the cobwebs of melancholy from our brains we must get busy. Gustave Flaubert, the French novelist, writes to Madame X : "The only way not to be unhappy is to shut yourself up in art, and count everything else as nothing. * * * I observe that I no longer laugh much, and am no longer depressed. I am ripe. You talk of my se- renity and envy me. * * * j i^g^t away at my an- 66 CONSTANT EMPLOYMENT vil, never troubling myself whether it rains or blows, for hail or thunder. I was not like that formerly. The change has taken place naturally, though my will has counted for something in the matter.^' 67 CHAPTER VII. THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE. A celebrated lady declared that she liked to entertain a circle of gentlemen — that it was so amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast. It is as true as it is trite, that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Cleopatra is said to have owed her empire over Csesar as much to her suppers as to her beauty — and even so great a man as Cardinal Wolsey was conciliated by the good dishes on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Most men will agree with the grave French jurist who wrote a learned work on the physi- ology of taste, when he affirmed "that the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the dis- covery of a new star.^' It has been said that it is France that leads the rest of the world in civilization, and it is in France that the art of gastronomy has been carried to the limit of perfection. We certainly all imperatively need a nutritious diet and dire results have been known to follow its absence. A regard for one's physical health is of primary importance. Among the many sage ob- servations of Dr. Johnson two have a bearing upon this subject: "Every man is a rascal when he is sick;" and "A man who has no regard for his stomach will have no 68 THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE regard for anything else." "That a man's energy, hap- piness and even goodness, are dependent, more or less, upon his bodily condition, and consequently upon the condition of his stomach, few persons at this day will hesitate to admit. * * * A man of the kindest im- pulses has only to feed upon indigestible food for a few days, and forthwith his liver is affected, and then his brain. * * * Sydney Smith did not exaggerate when he affirmed that old friendships are often destroyed by toasted cheese, and hard salted meat has often led to suicide. * * * ^ man of unquestionable piety once said that he could not worship God until he had eaten his breakfast. * * * Voltaire affirms that the mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew was primarily due to the utter incapacity of the king to digest his food. Had Josephine been a good cook, perhaps history might have been spared one of its saddest scandals."^ A person suffering from the effects of over-eating, or eating indigestible food, is certainly in a pitiable condi- tion. The tyranny of the palate seems never to have been adequately described and criticized, but an eminent French writer declared that in Paris the luxury of the table is the courtesan's one competitor. The deplorable condition of Jonathan Swift was said to have been caused by a surfeit of food. That he suffered from noth- ing that could be called mental derangement until the "labyrinthine vertigo," to which he was subject, pro- duced paralysis, a symptom of which was the automatic utterance of words ungoverned by intention. "To think of him," says Thackeray, "is like thinking of the ruin ^ Mathews. 69 A CONGLOMEEATE of a great empire." We are here reminded of the lines of Dr. Johnson : "From Marlborough's eyes the streams of dotage flowed, And Swift expired a driveller and a show." We have read of an ambassador who, during his splen- did dinners at the embassy, simply toyed with a bit of bread, not desiring to eat anything^ snlfering as he was from induration of the liver caused by gastronomic in- discretions. Ambassador White is our authority for the state- ment that the ill nature of Bismarck was caused by eating too many Plover's eggs, a diet which was never considered favorable to digestion. Mr. White observes that this had reference to the fact that certain admirers of the Chancellor in the neighborhood of the North Sea were accustomed to send him, each year, a large basket of plover's eggs, of which he was very fond. That Bis- marck's constant struggle against the disorders which beset him became pathetic. He once asked the ambas- sador how he managed to sleep in Berlin, and on being answered he said: "Well, I can never sleep in Berlin at night when it is quiet; but as soon as the noise be- gins, about four o'clock in the morning, I can sleep a little and get my rest for the day." Bismarck, as we all know, was a man of iron will and is regarded as the greatest German since Luther. His famous saying, "We Germans fear God and naught beside," has become his- toric. We certainly have here a most illustrious example of the tyranny of the palate. We have read of a lady who ate little in order to at- THE PLEASUEES OF THE TABLE tract the eye by her slender shape; but there are con- siderations even more important than that. We are thoroughly convinced that digestion is the great secret of life, and that character, talents and virtues are pow- erfully affected by the quantity and quality of the food we eat. It has been asserted by those versed in dietetics that as a rule one-fourth of what we eat tends to sus- tain life and the remaining three-fourths to destroy it. We think the man did not exaggerate when he affirmed that a vast majority of people eat double, if not treble, the food that is essential to robust health, and that the excess engenders disease which induce a premature old age, and fill many of its days with torment. We read that in Greece the common people live on one meal a day, and the richer on two, and that an Eng- lish or American laborer will consume at one meal what would serve a Greek family of six for a day. "They are very courteous and very sunny in disposition, and entirely strangers to melancholy, so that both suicide and insanity are unknown among them." They are re- puted to be the most temperate of Christian nations and the chastest. Jacquemont, the French traveler and naturalist, held to the doctrine that man in a state of society eats en- tirely too much. He said: "I dine daily with a piece of bread and cheese and a glass of wine, on the corner of my writing-table." Most of us would consider this excessive abstemiousness. He asserted, what is doubt- less true, that to be able to maintain health and strength on short rations is a most valuable accomplishment for a traveler. 71 A CONGLOMEEATE Herbert Spencer aflBrmed that one of the blessings that advancing years had brought him was a certain freedom from depression. He was indebted to an eminent doc- tor for a cure for this malady. His advice was : "Don't eat pastry; and for a fortnight don't do anything you don't like. * * * It is often a kind of cramp and needs an easier position. Try and get a little change; read novels; don't get tired; sit in the open air." He also acknowledged his indebtedness to a witty lady who suggested that a recumbent position is a great aid to cheerfulness. Spencer was a profound student and thinker and no doubt fully recognized the fact that ex- cessive concentration tends to impair digestibility. ' Gibbon, the historian, was of tender constitution, and he declared that while he never knew "the madness of superfluous health" his constitution was greatly fortified by abstemiousness. The venerable Senator Cockerill of Missouri, who, in his public capacity, rendered valuable service to his country, being asked to account for his admirable con- dition of physical and mental preservation, at his ad- vanced age, replied: "Many people eat very heartily at luncheon ; I eat a big apple and nothing more." Mr. Bigelow, in dining with President Van Buren, observed that the latter only drank one small wine- glass of madeira at his dinner, and took no dessert but an apple. He said that he never took any other dessert but a little fruit, neither pudding nor pastry. General James Grant Wilson in his sketch of the poet W. C. Bryant's life, says Mr. Mathews, tells us that when he asked him the secret of his health and vigor at 72 THE PLEASUEES OF THE TABLE eighty and upward, the poet replied : "It is all summed up in one word — ^moderation. You know I am a mod- erate eater and drinker, moderate in my work, as well as in my pleasures." It is a good and safe rule to punish our appetites rather than to be punished by them. We occasionally meet with instances of gastronomic perversity. Dryden ate raw meat, in large quantities, for the sake of ob- taining splendid dreams. Many persist in eating hard boiled eggs which those skilled in dietetics will inform us become a tasteless leathery substance, which can be of no more use in the stomach than so much skin and hair. We now and then meet with a man whose voracity knows no bounds. He will tell you that his stomach, like all nature, abhors a vacuum; his di- gestion is so rapid and his appetite so speedily renewed, that he ceases to be a man and becomes a mere digestive apparatus. But these cases are rare. Then we some- times meet with one who cherishes the happy, but per- verse, delusion that indigestion after dinner is a com- plaint to be cured by a hearty supper. It was said of an eminent jurist in explanation of his phenomenal success that he lived eighty years and preserved his digestion unimpaired; and Lord Oxford declared that on account of care and moderation in eat- ing, his stomach seemed likely to survive the rest of his person. Eadical temperance people insist on total abstinence from the use of alcoholic liquor and other intoxicants at all times and under all circumstances. It is our delib- erate opinion that the intemperate utterances and ac- 73 A CONGLOMERATE tions of temperance advocates have done more to retard the cause of real temperance than anything else. Great good in the world has, without doubt, been accomplished by agitation — but the trouble is the agitator rarely knows when to quit. The radicalism of the slavery agitators in the North which finally precipitated a ter- rible civil war upon the country is an illustration. They rejected with scorn the patriotic plan proposed by Mr. Clay and other lovers of the Union to eliminate slavery, preserve the Union and avert war. The extremists in- sisted on "a little blood letting." It is no part of our purpose to enter into any gen- eral consideration of the subject of intemperance in drinking. That is, indeed, already a well trodden field. We can not refrain, however, from enumerating some of the good things arising from the discontinuance of the use of intoxicating drinks, as noted by an eminent man of world-wide fame, who had himself been addicted to the use of intoxicants at a former period of his life: "First, sweet sleep; having never known what sleep was, I sleep like a baby or a plow boy. If I wake no needless terrors, no black visions of life, but pleasing hopes and pleasing recollections. If I dream it is not of lions and tigers, but of things delightful to contemplate. Secondly, I can take longer walks, and make greater exertions, without fatigue. My understanding is im- proved and I comprehend political economy. * * * The stomach quite at rest; no heart burn, no pain, no di&tension." We are indebted to Ambassador White, who has been much abroad, for the assertion that the European takes 74 THE PLEASUEES OF THE TABLE with his dinners, as a rule, a glass or two of wine or beer, and is little, if at all, the worse for it. If he ever takes any distilled liquor, he sips a very small glass of it after his dinner, to aid digestion. Dr. Chambers, a high authority on dietetics, declares that the effect on a healthy man of taking with a meal such a quantity of fermented liquor as puts him at ease with himself and the world around, without untoward exhilaration, is to arrest the wear of the nervous system, especially that part employed in emotion and sensa- tion. Just as often, then, as the zest for food is raised to its normal standard by a little wine or beer with a meal, the moderate consumer is as much really better as he feels the better for it. Where the food is as keenly enjoyed without it, the consumption of a stimulant is useless. But alcohol is not a source of force, and its direct action is an arrest of vitality. In a further con- sideration of the subject the eminent doctor observes that "AVhen a man has tired himself by intellectual exertion, a moderate quantity of alcoholic stimulant taken with food acts as an anesthetic, stays the wear of the system which is going on, and allows the nerve force to be turned to the due digestion of the meal. But it must be followed by rest from toil, and is in essence a part of the same treatment which includes rest — it is an artificial rest. To continue to labor and at the same time to take an anesthetic is a physiological inconsist- ency." Dr. Chambers makes the further observation that there is no habit more fatal to a literary man than that of taking stimulants between meals ; the vital powers go on w^earing out more and more without their cry for 75 A CONGLOMEEATE help being perceived, and in the end break down irrev- oeablj. But what shall we say of tea, that essentially feminine drink which "cheers but does not inebriate?" We will let Lo Yu, the earliest Chinese writer on the subject, extol its virtues. He says : "It tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, light- ens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive facuL ties.'' 76 CHAPTEE VIII. LITERARY PURSUITS. In the present day the old proverb "He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrov/" has been given only a very limited application; and it is no longer asserted that to be happy one must be a fool, upon the theory that it is the empty vessel that has a merry ring. Even the solemn warning of writers on dietetics that excessive concentration impairs digestibility, has been disre- garded; and the confident declaration that the biogra- phies of eminent men show that great powers of mind are not friendly to cheerfulness, has been no less com- pletely ignored. These time-worn theories have been un- ceremoniously relegated to the rear. It is true that there have been celebrated men who, on account of some singular perversity of disposition or temperament, have feigned to regard every degree of literary attainments with indifference, and had no ap- preciation whatever of the graces and refinements of literature in others. In our own country, we have had a delectable exhibition of a want of appreciation of literature, in the case of a hurly-burly politician, who referred contemptuously to a man eminent in literature 77 A CONGLOMERATE as "one of those literary fellows/^ When Voltaire vis- ited Congreve, the latter disclaimed the character of a poet — declared that his plays were trifles produced in an idle hour, and begged that Voltaire would consider him merely as a gentleman. "If you had been merely a gentleman," said Voltaire, "I should not have come to see you." It was said of Mr. Saurin, an eminent barrister, "That his leisure has never been dedicated to the ac- quisition of scientific knowledge, nor has he sought a relaxation from his severer occupations in the softness of the polite arts. His earliest tastes and prelilections were always in coincidence with his profession. Free from all literary addiction, he not only did not listen to, but never heard the solicitations of the muse." Horace Walpole had an extreme aversion to being considered a man of letters. "He wished to be looked upon," says Macaulay, "as one of those epicurean gods of the earth who do nothing at all, and who pass their existence in the contemplation of their own perfections. * * * Walpole could not bear the imputation of having attended to anything so unfashionable as the im- provement of his mind." The same author declares that his works "are destitute of every charm which is derived from elevation or from tenderness of sentiment." It was said of Trippier, the great French lawyer, that he was wholly innocent of the sin of polite reading. Lord Manners had no taste for general reading or soli- tary meditation — and, it is affirmed of him that he "dedicated his extrajudicial hours to social ease, and 78 LITERAEY PURSUITS naturally fell into a companionship with those who were least disposed to shake his faith in his prejudices/' Lord Abinger, for many years the most eminent mem- ber of the bar of England, ignored literary pursuits; and, in the opinion of his biographer, "his life teaches the evanescent character of the celebrity of a mere ad- vocate. He addicted himself exclusively to advocacy in the courts. * * * Doubtless he despised the lofty as- pirations of Erskine, and the versatile usefulness of Brougham."^ Patrick Henry was richly endowed by nature, but we are assured by his biographer that "in the zenith of his glory, Mr. Henry had frequent occa- sion to deplore the consequences of his early neglect of literature, and to bewail the ghosts of his departed hours." His biographer adds: "Of Mr. Henry it was certainly true, as Doctor Johnson observed of Swift, that he was not one of those who, having lost one part of his life in idleness, are tempted to throw away the remainder in despair." In the second quarter of the last century, De Tocque- ville declared in his "American Institutions" that "The inhabitants of the United States look upon what is prop- erly styled literary pursuits with a kind of disapproba- tion. * * * jf -j-jjg observer singles out the learned, he will be astonished to find how rare they are; but if he counts the ignorant, the American people will appear to be the most enlightened community in the world." If the eminent Frenchman were alive to-day, he might be disposed to make some modifications of his opinion ex- pressed three-quarters of a century ago. ^ Browne. 79 A CONGLOMERATE We are persuaded that the instances of absolute in- difference or hostility to literary pursuits, are distin- guished by their singularity, and operate as exceptions. Francis Bacon was a busy man, with his laborious duties ' in the study and practice of law, and with the "assi- duities of a courtier's life;" but he found time during his periods of relaxation from those duties, to retire to his beautiful retreat, Gorhamburg, where he devoted himself wholly to study. The utilization of his hours of leisure was the means of his becoming the father of modern science, and giving to the world the "Baconian Philosophy." Alexander the Great was fond of polite learning and found time for extensive reading. Eras- mus found time for literary pursuits. It was said that he was so much versed in common life that he has trans- mitted to us the most perfect delineation of the manners of his age ; and that he "joined to the knowledge of the whole such application to books, that he will stand for- ever in the first rank of literary heroes." Hugo Gro- tius, pre-eminently successful in his profession, and the great founder of modern international law, found time to enjoy the pleasurers of literature. "History, theology, ju- risprudence, politics, classics, poetry — all these fields he cultivated, and has left numerous works in each kind." Sir Mathew Hale, the head of his profession, and Lord Chief Justice of England, devoted much time to the study of pure mathematics, to investigations in physics and chemistry, and even to anatomy and architecture; and there can be no doubt, says his biographer, that this varied learning enhanced considerably the value of many of his judicial decisions. 80 LITERAEY PUESUITS William Wirt, attorney-general of the United States, under the administration of Mr. Monroe, and counsel in the celebrated case of Aaron Burr, devoted much time to literature and gave to the reading public several ad- mired productions — the beautiful life of Patrick Henry being one of them. The same is true of Chancellor Kent. His intense judicial and professional labors did not prevent him from reading largely of history, poetry, geography, voyages and travels. Judge Story, notwith- standing his prodigious judicial and authorial labors, found time to engage in literary pursuits — was an in- defatigable reader — and his letters abound in literary allusions. John Quincy Adams devoted much time to literature and general reading. His biographer affirms that "Although Mr. Adams gave most of his days to the service of his country, yet he was fond of literary pursuits, and acquired during his hours of relaxation from sterner duties, a vast fund of classic lore and useful learning.^' His biographe,*r adds : "That the reputation of Mr. Adams for literary and scholastic at- tainments quite equaled his fame as a politician and statesman." It will not be denied that intellectual work, labor in the upper regions of mental eflport, is one of the greatest achievements of man; and, day by day, as time passes on, one becomes more and more convinced that the pleas- ures of the mind are vastly superior to those of the senses. An eminent writer^ urges the importance of cultivating a literary taste as a foundation for the purest enjoyment the world affords. He declares that a ^ Mathews. 81 A CONGLOMEEATE book is a voiceless teacher, and a great library is a vir- tual university; that a literary taste brings its possessor into ever-renewing communion with all that is noblest and best in the thought of the past. He says: ^^The winnowed and garnered wisdom of the ages is his daily food. Wliatever is lofty, profound or acute in specula- tion, delicate or refined in feeling, wise, witty or quaint in suggestion, is accessible to the lover of books. They enlarge space for him and prolong time. * * * The reader becomes an inhabitant of every country, a con- temporary of all ages, and converses with the wisest, the noblest, the tenderest, and the purest spirits that have adorned humanity.'' Some one has observed that there is nothing more con- ducive to happiness than the free exercise of the mind in pursuits congenial to it; and it was the opinion of Doctor Johnson that a desire of knowledge is the natural feeling of mankind, and he declared "that every human being whose mind is not debauched will give all that he has to get knowledge." It is unquestionably true that the love of study is a passion which derives fresh vigor from enjoyment and, as the historian Gibbon suggests, it supplies each day, each hour, with a perpetual source of independent and rational pleasure. It is said that one of the most beau- tiful passages in the writings of Rousseau is that in the sixth book of the "Confessions" where he describes the awakening in him of the literary sense. "An indefin- able taint of death had always clung about him, and now in early manhood he believed himself smitten by mortal disease. He asked himself how he might make as much 82 LITEEAEY PUESUITS as possible of the interval that remained; and he was not biased by anything in his previous life when he de- cided that it must be by intellectual excitement, which he found just then in the clear, fresh writings of Vol- taire." It has been asserted with truth that reading, study, and literary pursuits are the true food of a healthy mind. They are something more. They fortify the soul against the calamities of life ; they are a relief from loneliness, and a solace and refuge in sickness and sor- row; they are conducive to serenity amid uncongenial environments, and a source of consolation for physical pain and domestic afflictions; they prevent the de- spondency of age and declining health from resting like a pall upon the countenance; and, in short, if not a panacea for the ills of life, they are all powerful in the mitigation of those ills. Macaulay says that "Literature consoles sorrow and assuages pain, and brings gladness to eyes which fail with wakefulness and tears, and ache for the dark house and the long sleep." The same au- thor declares that a great writer is the friend and benefactor of his readers. That the debt which one owes to the great minds of former ages is incalculable. ''They have guided him to truth. They have filled his mind with noble and graceful images. They have stood by him in all vicissitudes — comforters in sorrow, nurses in sickness, companions in solitude." When a passion for knowledge and reading has been acquired the battle is almost won; then a life destitute of literary pleasures, would be absolutely insipid. The reasons in favor of general reading and polite literature 83 A CONGLOMERATE are so multifarious that it would be difficult to enu- merate them. That such pursuits develop the kindlier feelings, and are conducive to an agreeable life will not be denied. They soften and polish our nature by reason and discipline; they give us true freedom of soul and real self-sufficiency ; they impart to us that noble faculty "whereby man is able to live in the past and in the fu- ture, in the distant and in the unreal;'^ they enable us to hold converse with the spirits of the mighty dead; they mitigate sorrow and assuage pain; they give us after many years "a tranquil self-respect, and, what is still rarer and better, a very deep and earnest reverence for the greatness which is above us;" they ennoble the mind and as a result invigorate the body, and are thus conducive to longevity; they give us the spirit of tolera- tion, and that nameless grace that comes from a mind fortified by literary culture; they make us "clearer in head, larger in heart, and nobler in action;" they give us the power to think and enjoy the thoughts of others ; they widen the present by adding to it the past and the future ; and they enlarge us in thought, feeling and pur- pose, and "lay the foundation of intellectual pleasures at the other extreme of life." Plutarch filled his mind with the sublime images of the best and greatest men, by attention to history and biography; and he says, "If I contract any blemish or ill custom from other company which I am unavoidably engaged in, I correct and expel them by calmly and dis- passionately turning my thoughts to those excellent examples." We have the words of Cicero that there is nothing so 8-1 LITEEAEY PUKSUITS charming as the knowledge of literature, that branch of literature which enables us to discover the infinity of things, the immensity of nature, the heavens, the earth and the seas. That it is this which furnishes us where- with to live well and happily, and guides us to pass our lives without displeasure and without offense. Sydney Smith, always charming and instructive, has painted in glowing colors the exquisite delight and con- solation derived from literary pursuits. He says : "Well and happy has that man conducted his understanding, who has learned to derive from the exercise of it, regular occupation and rational delight; who, after having over- come the first pain of application, and acquired a habit of looking inwardly upon his own mind, perceives that every day is multiplying the relations, confirming the accuracy, and augmenting the number of his ideas ; who feels that he is rising in the scale of intellectual be- ings, gathering new strength with ever}^ new difficulty which he subdues, and enjoying to-day as his pleasure that which yesterday he labored at as his toil. There are many consolations in the mind of such a man which no common life can ever afford; and many enjoyments which it has not to give. * * * It is worth while in the days of our youth to strive hard for this great dis- cipline; to pass sleepless nights for it, to give up to it laborious days; to spurn for it present pleasures; to endure for it afflicting poverty; to wade for it through darkness, and sorrow, and contempt, as the great spirits of the world have done in all ages and all times." Smith was convinced that the greatest natural genius cannot subsist on its own stock; and that he who re- 85 A CONGLOMERATE solves never to ransack any mind but his own, will be soon reduced from mere barrenness to the poorest of imitations. He declared that the first thing to be done in conducting the understanding is precisely the same as in conducting the body — to give it regular and copious supplies of food, in order, as he said, "to prevent the atrophy and marasmus of mind, which comes on from giving it no new ideas." It was said that he read many books, and was con- tent, on principle, to secure the best use of his faculties, to remain ignorant of many others, though he was capa- ble of plucking out the heart of a series of volumes in a morning. Gibbon recommended to the student a prac- tice which he adopted; after glancing his eyes over the design and order of a new book, he suspended the pe- rusal till he had finished the task of self-examination, till he had resolved in a solitary walk all that he knew, or believed, or had thought on the subject of the whole work, or some particular chapter; he said he was then qualified to discern how much the author added to his original stock. "If I was sometimes satisfied by the agreement," he declares, "I was sometimes alarmed by the opposition of our ideas." It is rarely indeed that we meet with a passage more beautiful in thought and expression — and more truth- ful — than the following quotation from DeBury: "The desirable treasure of wisdom and knowledge, which all men covet from the impulse of nature, infinite- ly surpasses all the riches of the world; in comparison with which precious stones are vile, silver is cla}^ and purified gold grains of sand; in the splendor of which 86 LITEKAEY PUESUITS the sun and moon grow dim to the sight, in the admir- able sweetness of which honey and manna are bitter to the taste. * * * The touch of the voice perishes with the sound. Truth, latent in the mind, is hidden wisdom and invisible treasure; but the truth which illuminates books desires to manifest itself to every sense, to the sight when read, to the hearing when heard ; it moreover in a manner commends itself to the touch, when sub- mitting to be transcribed, collated, corrected and pre- served. Truth confined to the mind, though it may be the possession of a noble soul, while it wants a com- panion and is not judged of either by the sight or the hearing, appears to be inconsistent with pleasure. * * * But the truth written in a book, being not fluctuating, but permanent, shows itself openly to the sight passing through the spiritual ways of the eyes, as the porches and halls of common sense and imagination : it enters the chambers of intellect, reposes itself upon the couch of memory and there congenerates the eternal truth of the mind." If a young friend, with a decided literary predilection, should ask a suggestion from us we would advise that he keep a diary or journal. It is all important. Mr. Ben- son declares that he derived many advantages from keep- ing a full diary. He says that it was of infinite service to him in learning to write prose — that the habit is easily acquired, and as soon as it becomes habitual, the day is no more complete without it than it is complete without a cold bath and regular meals. He observes that a diary need not be a dreary chronicle of one's movements; it should aim rather at giving a salient ac- 87 A CONGLOMERATE count of some particular episode ; a walk, a book, a con- versation. He affirms, what every one that has kept a diary knows to be true, "That it is a singularly delight- ful thing to look at old diaries to see how one was occu- pied, say, ten years ago ; what one was reading, the peo- ple one was meeting, one^s earlier point of view. * * * It has the immense advantage of developing style; the subjects are ready to hand ; and one may learn by diariz- ing the art of sincere and frank expression." The journal kept by the historian Gibbon contained, along with some learned and argumentative dissextations, an account of his domestic and private life, his amuse- ments, his engagements, even his rambles, with all his reflections that turn upon subjects which are personal to himself. He noted all that he learned from observation or conversation. He also related everything pertinent to the most important part of his studies — and recorded his digested judgment upon the author and his produc- tion. Petrarch is regarded as one of the greatest names of modern Europe. It has been said of him that "his emi- nent services to mankind as one of the restorers of learning, exhibit the union, which pertains to the high- est intellects alone, of the imaginative with the prac- tical." "A prey to useful or distressing cares," says Petrarch, "We are tormented by the present, the past and the future; and, as if we feared we should not be miserable enough, we join to the evil we suffer the remembrance of a former distress; and the apprehension of some future calamity. * * * q^^, jjfg might be gay and happy LITERARY PURSUITS if we would, but we eagerly seek subjects of affliction to rend it irksome and melancholy. * * * The dis- course of the wise and the study of good books are the best remedies I know of. * * * What gratitude do we not owe to those great men who, though dead many ages before us, live with us by their works; discourse with us, are our masters and guides, and serve us as pilots in the navigation of life when our vessel is agi- tated without ceasing by the storms of our passions." More than thirty years ago the brilliant literary career of a celebrated Englishman was terminated by his death. His versatility was marvelous. He was novelist, drama- tist, poet, politician, essayist. He had been commended for his extraordinary "plasticity of mind and practical insight; his freshness of thought, brilliancy of invention and breadth and variety of portraiture." The produc- tions of his fecund brain have been a source of exquisite delight on both sides of the Atlantic. We refer to Lord Lytton. This eminent man ventured into what was then, so far as we know, an untrodden field — that of Literary Therapeutics : "People repeat vaguely that books are the medicine of the mind. Yes; but to apply the medicine is the thing. "I have known some people in great sorrow fly to a novel, or the last light book in fashion. One might as well take a rose-draught for the plague! Light read- ing does not do when the heart is really heavy. I am told that Goethe, when he lost his son, took to study, a science that was new to him. Ah ! Goethe was a physi- cian who knew what he was about. In a great grief like that you cannot tickle and divert the mind; you 89 A CONGLOMERATE must wrench it away, abstract, absorb, bury it in an abyss, hurry it into a labyrinth. Therefore, for the irremediable sorrows of middle life and old age, I recom- mend a strict chronic course of science and hard reason- ing — counter-irritation. Bring the brain to act upon the heart. "For the loss of fortune, the dose should be applied less directly to the understanding. I would administer something elegant and cordial. For as the heart is crushed and lacerated by a loss in the affections, so it is rather the head that aches and suffers by the loss of money. Here we find the higher class of poets a very valuable remedy. "For hypochondria and satiety, what is better than a brisk alterative course of travels — especially early, out- of-the-way, marvelous, legendary travels! How they freshen up the spirits ! How they take you out of the humdrum yawning state you are in. "When some one sorrow, that is yet reparable, gets hold of your mind like a monomania — when you think, because heaven has denied you this or that, on which you had set your heart, that all your life must be a blank — Oh! then diet yourself well on biography — the biography of good and great man." When Carlyle, in the process of writing the "'French Revolution," found that the first volume had been burned by mistake, and that it must needs be rewritten, he read Marryat's novels for three weeks to restore his equanim- ity.^ ^ Pryde. 90 LITEEARY PURSUITS The humanizing effect of literature is unquestioned. As a grand exemplification of this fact the case of Sir Walter Scott has been cited. It is affirmed of Sir Walter that "his fame and knowledge ripened the innate virtues of his character, and made him more sympathetic, more sociable, more genial, more grandly simple. * * * The simplicity of his character was almost as wonderful as his matchless genius." It will not be denied that mental labor and literary pursuits defer mental decay and are conducive to lon- gevity. The truth of this oft-repeated assertion is exem- plified by those great patriarchs John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The letters that passed between them when they were aged respectively ninety and eighty- two, prove the marvelous vigor and lucidity of their minds in extreme old day. I know of one instance, and there doubtless have been many, where a man owed his superiority to his misfor- tunes. In his day of abject poverty and isolation he had read and educated himself, and compared and thought much; indeed, it is not unusual for the intellectual energies to grow stronger in calamity, if we give cre- dence to history and biography. It was so with the blind Milton. "The remembrance of early reading came over his dark and lonely path like the moon emerging from the clouds.'' Cultivation consists in an acquaintance with all the best productions of the human mind; but we must not disregard the observation of Channing, that intellectual culture does not consist alone in accumulating informa- 91 A CONGLOMEEATE tion but also "in building up a force of thought which may be turned at will on any subject on which we are called to pass judgment." It has been said that culture makes a greater differ- ence between man and man than nature has made be- tween man and brutes. This fact may have inspired Lord Lytton to exclaim: "How little the nobleness of aspect depends on symmetry of feature, or the mere proportion of form! What dignity robes the man who is filled with a lofty thought !" Walter Pater thus defines and illustrates the aim of all culture: "To withdraw the thoughts for a little while from the mere machinery of life, to fix them on the great and universal passions of men, the most gen- eral and interesting of their occupations, and the entire world of nature, on the operations of the elements and the appearances of the visible universe, on storm and sunshine, on the revolution of the seasons, on cold and heat, on loss of friends and kindred, on injuries and re- sentments, on gratitude and hope, on fear and sorrow. To witness this spectacle with appropriate emotions is the aim of all culture." Montaigne affirms that the inquisition into great and occult things is very pleasant, even to him who acquires nothing by it but the reverence and awe of judging it. A more modern writer,* however, insists that the fullest enjoyment is never derived from books till we have ventilated the ideas obtained from them — that a man never knows anything until he has taught it in some way, it may be orally, or it may be by writing a * Mathews. 92 LITEEARY PURSUITS book. He asserts that "Solitary reading will enable a man to stuff himself with information; butj without writing or conversation, his mind will become like a pond without an outlet, a mass of unhealthy stagnation." It was said that the life of Ampere, the celebrated French historian and traveler, was one of the best adapted for culture that could be led by a human being. From his childhood he lived in the kind of society which is at the same time the best informed and the most per- fectly communicative. "His time was so beautifully divided between acquisition and communication that the blue mold of ignorance could never grow upon him, and his intellectual armor could never be rusted by re- serve. He was neither, on the one hand, the silent scholar, incapable of imparting what he knows, nor, on the other, the copious chatterer, whose words were empty and vain." The miseries endured by the uncultured portion of humanity are vividly depicted by George Eliot : "When uncultured minds, confined to a narrow range of per- sonal experience, are under the pressure of continued misfortune, their inward life is apt to become a per- petually repeated round of sad and bitter thoughts; the same words, the same scenes are revolved over and over again, the same mood accompanies them — the end of the year finds them as much what they were at the be- ginning as if they were machines set to a recurrent 'series of movements." Another author contrasts the conforts and discom- forts of cultured and uncultured man in the most strik- ing manner. "The soul of the man of no culture is tied 93 A CONGLOMEEATE to the present, and to that small part of the earth's sur- face on which he moves in his daily rounds. The accom- plished man of letters sits in his quiet study with a clear head, sympathetic heart and lively fancy. * * * His soul grows and extends itself until it lives in every region of the earth and in every by-gone age. * * * Though originally a frail mortal creature, he arises toward the God-like attributes of omnipotence and omniscience.'' When one has attained the age of fifty years, having given assiduous attention to his profession or occupa- tion, we conceive that nothing would be more delightful than to pass the concluding period of his life in lettered and social ease and in retirement. 94 CHAPTER IX. ACCUMULATION-. We do not need the assurance of Seneca that it is a great calamity to have a mind anxious about future things ; and it is the imperative duty, as it should be the pleasure of every man, by honest effort, to accumulate a sufficiency of means for the decent support of himself and family, at the present time and in the future, having regard for the possible vicissitudes of life. The vener- able and distinguished John Bigelow had evidently arrived at this point when he wrote to his friend: "I do not wish to devote any more of my life to mere money- getting. I mean to live on what I have, be it more or less.'^ We know that poverty, especially when accom- panied with extravagant tastes and habits, is a great evil. It was said of the poor of France that they were compelled to live upon hope and the mists of the Seine ; and a celebrated Frenchman was led to remark: "I fear God, yet more I fear the hell of poverty. To be destitute is the last depth of misfortune in society as now constituted. I am a man of my time; I respect money. * * * j gpend my life in watching people die not of their disease, but of another bad and incur- able complaint — the want of money." We must all ad- Do A CONGLOMERATE mit, however, that sometimes it is not poverty, so much as covetous desires, that causes sorrow. The next best thing to being able to buy an automobile is to have the ability to do without one with composure — without fret- ting and without repining. And poverty oftentimes has its compensations, as illustrated by the case of a bride, who referring to her young husband, declared that an honorable poverty had been his safeguard and had handed him over to her, unsoiled by the loose life which ruins so many young men. We should be satisfied at first with the comfort and necessities of life, and let the luxuries come later; and avoid following the example of Shenstone, a country gentleman of elegant taste, 'Vho expended his means and ruined himself in making his patrimony the most beautiful of landscape gardens." We believe that he is the happy man who sees his condition in life constantly and gradually, though it may be slowly, improving. It was the opinion of Lord Lytton that, placed between the two extremes of life, the tradesman "who ventures not beyond his means, and sees clear books and sure gains, with enough of occupation to give healthful excitement, enough of fortune to greet each new-born child without a sigh, might be envied alike by those above and those below his state." La Bruyere complains that obscure citizens, simply because they are rich, have the audacity to swallow in one morsel the living of a hundred fam- ilies, and declares that he would not choose to be either so poor or so rich, but would find refuge in moderation. The pushing of thrift to the loathsome excess of an inhuman avarice is always to be deplored. When avarice 96 ACCUMULATION has once gained a strong hold upon a man, as time passes on it becomes more and more intense; indeed it may be said that all lasting passions grow with man's growth. The miser's life is a constant exercise of every human faculty in the service of personality. He thirsts for gold as devils thirst for the dew of heaven; in wealth he makes himself miserable by the fear of poverty. He is an extremely covetous person, a sordid wretch — "As some lone miser, visiting his store, Bends at his treasure, counts, recounts it o'er." A miser can usually be detected by his countenance — his facial expression. If we may be permitted to do so we wish here to make a brief digression : We have many illustrious examples of digressive composition. "Digres- sions/' saj'S Sterne, in Tristram Shandy, "incontestably, are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading; take them out of this book, for instance, you might as well take the book along with them : one cold eternal win- ter would reign in every page of it; restore them to the writer; he steps forth like a bridegroom, bids all hail; brings in variety, and forbids the appetite to fail." De Quincey was the great apostle of digression. "Whatever he announces to be under discussion, the title to one of his papers affords no key to its contents. * * * Like the writer on Ireland, who begins his chapter ^Of the Snakes of Ireland/ by saying There are no snakes in Ireland,' De Quincey contents himself often with the barest allusion to his theme, and strays into a thousand tempting by-paths, leading off whole leagues therefrom, * * * winding like a river at 97 A CONGLOMEEATE its own sweet will, * * * j^^^ profoundly indiffer- ent whether at the end of his disquisition he will have made any progress toward the goal for which he started. Like a fisherman he throws out his capacious net into the ocean of learning and sweeps in everything, how- ever miscellaneous or motley its character."^ And now to proceed. Physiognomy, or the art or science of discerning the character of the mind or the predominent temper and disposition, by the external signs of the countenance has, in our day, almost become a lost art. Saint-Simon, the great memoir writer of France, was the prince of physiognomists. His country has been regarded as the richest in memoirs of any in the world, and he was superior to all others in this de- partment of literature. He was passionately fond of observing and dissecting character by studying the countenance, and he was thus enabled to penetrate the mysteries of any intrigue. It was said that when once Saint-Simon falls furiously upon any individual, he does not release his hold; he tramples his victim under foot. He is an almost unique example of a man who has acquired great literary fame entirely by posthumous publications. His extraordinary genius for character drawing is unsurpassed, and it is said that the interest of the memoirs is one of constant surprise at the novel and adroit use of word and phrase. His skill as a physi- ognomist was applied in discerning the character and fathoming the hearts of courtiers and others of his time. He did not deign to study the countenance of the miser, but used his art upon those high in authority. But ^ Mathews. 98 ACCUMULATION other physiognomists have detected the miser by the signs of his countenance. They have observed that rigid nostrils betray a certain shallowness; that the nose of a miser never quivers, it is tightly set like his lips; everything in his face is as close shut as himself. There is something vulpine about the eyes which seem to have the yellow metallic glitter of the coin over which he broods. Hallam declares that Plautus first exposed upon the stage the wretchedness of avarice, the punishment of a selfish love of gold, not only in the life of pain it has cost to acquire it, but in the terrors that it brings, in the disordered state of mind which is haunted as by some mysterious guilt, by the consciousness of secret wealth. We must not fail to distinguish, however, between avarice and that severe and rigid economy rendered necessary by one's circumstances in life; there is some- thing absolutely sublime in the conduct of a man who, in an exigency, practices self-denial, especially if it con- tinues for any considerable period. Strong instances of self-denial operate powerfully on our minds; and the observation is true that a man who has no wants has obtained great freedom, and firmness, and even dignity. There are instances where the most rigid economy is the instrument of virtue — especially where it has been induced by greatness of purpose. An ancient writer defined luxury to be a tumor and inflammation caused by riches, and declared that it makes a man so soft that it is hard to please him and easy to trouble him — ^so that his pleasure at last becomes a burden. Another affirms that luxury was the last of 99 A CONGLOMERATE all vices that prevailed over mankind; for after riches had been hoarded up, they rotted, as it were, into luxury. In our own era, except in certain localities, money is the one all powerful force; ours is pre-eminently the epoch when money is the law-giver politically, if not so- cially; and unfortunately, it is oftentimes regarded as the measure of public capacity. These facts and condi- tions warrant the conclusion that the imperfectibility of government and governmental institutions is no less obvious than the imperfectibility of man himself. The philosophy of Rude, the great French sculptor, about wealth, is not in harmony with that which gen- erally prevails at the present day, but it is logical and intensely interesting. He says: ^'I have not yet met with rich people who consider themselves rich enough; and it has always been so, if we may believe the writings of the ancients. And why do men desire riches, if not to arrive at a state of contentment, at a feeling of satisfy- ing possession? But if every man, whatever may be his wealth, has never enough, according to his own opinion, it is proved that this feeling of contentment does not depend upon riches in themselves. Can I hesi- tate between the two lines of conduct before me? One of the two would be to acquire a great fortune, a very difficult thing to do, and I am not certain of success; if I succeeded, I should be no better off ; for the example of all the ages proves that the more a man has, the more he desires to have. The other line of conduct would be to try to consider myself rich enough as I am, which costs infinitely less anxiety, and disturbs nothing in my way of life." As a result of this process of reasoning, 100 ACCUMULATION Eude made his choice of contended mediocrity, and ad- hered to it. He was certainly an extraordinary char- acter. He cared nothing about notoriety and his bi- ographer observes that "In an age when men struggle frantically for the means of luxury, and use their utmost ingenuity to advance in the world's estimation by plot- ting for the praise of coteries and newspapers, Eude concerned himself neither about wealth, nor about no- toriety. * * * You may often find artists and men of letters who are content to suffer poverty that they may pursue a beloved occupation, but the indifference to notoriety is rarer." We can hardly expect the present generation to accept and adopt, with enthusiasm, the principle enunciated by Socrates that to want nothing is divine — to want as little as possible is the nearest possible approach to the divine life. However, Jacquemont declared that he would rather not be rich, that in his present condition he had more sympathy with men and things and ex- claimed, "What an admirable receipt for happiness, to know how to do without things !" The story of the sol- itary life of Alexander Selkirk on the island of Juan Fernandez exemplifies in the highest degree the manner in which our internal resources increase with our ex- ternal wants. Eichard Steele deduces from this story a great universal truth "That he is happiest who confines his wants to natural necessities; and that he who goes further in his desires, increases his wants in proportion to his acquisitions." Selkirk lived four years and four months on the island. We have been both instructed and charmed by the narrative of Mr. Steele. He says: "I 101 A COI^GLOMEEATE had the pleasure frequently to converse with the man soon after his arrival in England, in the year 1711. It was a matter of great curiosity to hear him, as he is a man of good sense, give an account of the different revo- lutions in his own mind in that long solitude. * * * He grew dejected, languid and melancholy, scarce able to refrain from doing himself violence, till by degrees, by the force of reason, and frequent reading the Scrip- tures, and turning his thoughts upon the study of navi- gation, after the space of eighteen months he grew thor- oughly reconciled to his condition. Wlien he had made the conquest, the vigor of his health, disengagement from the world, a constant, cheerful, serene sky, and a temperate air, made his life one continued feast, and his being much more joyful than it had before been irksome. * * * This manner of life grew so exquisitely pleas- ant that he never had a moment heavy upon his hands; his nights were untroubled and his days joyous from the practice of temperance and exercise. It was his manner to use stated hours and places for exercises of devotion, which he performed aloud in order to keep up the faculties of speech, and to utter himself with greater energy. * * * Selkirk frequently bewailed his return to the world, which could not, he said, with all its enjoyments, restore him to the tranquillity of his solitude. * * * rp^ ^gg j^^g Q^j^ expression: ^I am now worth eight hundred pounds, but shall never be so happy as when I was not worth a farthing.' " In this connection we should listen to the words of wisdom from the pen of our old friend, the quaint and lovable Izaak Walton — for every one that reads him 102 ACCUMULATION ioves him. "The sleepy smile that lies so benignly on his sweet and serious diction" is ever present. "Nay, let me tell you, there be many that have forty times our estate that would give the greatest part of it to be healthful and cheerful like us. I have a rich neighbor who is always so busy that he has no leisure to laugh; the whole business of his life is to get money, and more money, that he may still get more and more money; he is still drudging on, and says that Solomon says, The diligent hand maketh rich,' and it is true in- deed but he considers not that it is not in the power of riches to make a man happy for it was wisely said by a man of great observation, That there be as many miseries beyond riches as on this side them^ * * * Diogenes went to a county fair and saw many things. He said to his friend, ^Lord, how many things are there in this world of which Diogenes hath no need.' * * * Content will never dwell but in a meek and quiet soul. * * * Eiches without meekness and thankfulness do not make any man happy. * * * j ^m IqH jq^^ scholar, I have heard a grave divine say that God has two dwellings : one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart." The golden rule in respect to one's expenditures is to live within one's income. Cato's enmity to Carthage was so intense that he never gave his opinion in the senate upon any other point whatever without adding these words: "And my opinion is that Carthage should be destroyed." The rule above enunciated is so funda- mental and is of such transcendent importance that it. would be well, after the manner of Cato, to repeat on 103 A CONGLOMEEATE every important occasion, mentally if not audibly: "That every man should live within his income/' This rule is the basic principle which_, if possible, should never be disregarded. A wise Hollander observes that a man should divide his estate in three parts: upon one- third he should live, another third he should lay up for his children, and the last he should lay by for accident. In Holland when any one lives up to his income he is looked on as a madman. It was with much pride and satisfaction, amounting almost to enthusiasm, that Jacquemont, even when he was poorest, could write to his father, "I have had the admirable talent of remain- ing within my budget." Gibbon, the historian, spent many delightful years at Lausanne. He declared that if every day passed there had not been equally soft and serene, that not a day, not a moment, had occurred in which he had repented of his choice. Immoderate wealth did not fall to his share, yet he possessed a decent affluence. He very truly observes that our importance in society is less a positive than a relative weight: "In London," he says, "I was lost in the crowd; I ranked with the first families of Lausanne, and my style of prudent expense enabled me to maintain a fair balance of reciprocal civilities." He congratulated himself upon the fact that the golden mediocrity of his fortune had contributed to fortify his application. He declared that according to the scale of Switzerland, "I am a rich man; and I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my ex- pense is equal to my wishes." We should not endeavor "to keep up with the pro- 104 ACCUMULATION cession/' and rival our more opulent neighbors in osten- tatious expenditures. One should live within one's in- come cost what it may. The contrary course will, sooner or later, lead to disastrous results — to distress and hu- miliation. The facile pen of a brilliant Irishman^ has drawn a vivid picture of the terrible consequences that may result from living beyond one's means. "In the spirit of imprudence, which is often mistaken for romance, our young counselor enters with some dowexless beauty into an indissoluble copartnership of the heart. A pretty pauper is almost sure to be a prodigal. ^Live like yourself is soon my lady's word. Shall Mrs. O'Brallaghan, the wife of a mere attorney, provokingly display her amorphous ankle as she ascends the crimson steps of her carriage, with all the airs of fashionable impertinence; and is the wife of a coun- selor in full practice, though she may have ridden double at her Aunt Deborah's, to be unprovided with that ordinary convenience of persons of condition? After a faint show of resistance the conjugal injunc- tion is obeyed. But is it in an obscure street that the coachman is to bring his clattering horses to an in- stantaneous stand? Is he to draw up in an alley, and to wheel round in a cul-de-sac? And then there is such a bargain to be had of a house in Merrion Square. A house in Merrion Square is accordingly purchased, and a bond, with warrant of attorney for confessing judg- ment thereon, is passed for the fine. The lady discovers ^ Shiel. It was said of Shiel that he was one of the great- est orators that Ireland, "affluent in eloquence," ever pro- duced. 105 A CONGLOMEEATE a taste in furniture, and the profits of four circuits are made oblations to vertu. The counselor is raised to the dignity of king's counsel, and his lady is initiated into the splendors of a vice-regal court. She is now thrown into the eddies of fashionable life ; and in order to afford evidence of her domestic propensities she issues cards to half the town with an intimation that she is ^at home/ "She has all the while been prolific to the full extent of Hibernian fecundity. "The counselor's sons swagger it with the choicest spirits of Kildare street; and the young ladies are ac- complished in all the multifarious departments of mu- sical and literary affectation. Quadrilles and waltzes shake the illuminated chambers with a perpetual con- cussion. The passer-by is arrested in his nocturnal progress by the crowd of brilliant vehicles before the door, while the blaze of light streaming from the win- dows and the sound of the harp and the tabor, and the din of extravagance, intimate the joyance that is go- ing on within. "But where is the counselor all this while? He sits in a sequestered chamber, like a hermit in the forest of Comus, and pursues his midnight labors by the light of a solitary taper, scarcely hearing the din of pleasure that rolls above his head. "The wasteful splendors of the drawing room, and the patient drudgery of the library, go on for years. The counselor is at the top of the forensic, and his lady stands upon the summit of the fashionable world. At length death knocks at the door. He is seized by a 106 ACCUMULATION sudden illness. The loud knock of the judges peals upon his ear, but the double tap of the attorney is heard no more. He makes an unavailing effort to attend the courts, but is hurried back to his house and laid in his bed. His eyes now begin to open to the realities of his condition. In the loneliness and silence of the sick man^s chamber a train of reflection presents itself to his mind, which his former state of professional occupancy had tended to exclude. He takes a deathbed survey of his circumstances; looks upon the future, and by the light of that melancholy lamp that burns beside him, and throws its shadowy gleams upon his fortunes, he sees himself at the close of a most prosperous life, without a groat. "The sense of his own folly, and the anticipated desti- tution of his family, settle at his heart. He has not adopted even the simple and cheap expedient of insur- ing his life, or by some miserable negligence has let the insurance drop. What is to become of his wife and children ? From the sources of his best affections, and of his purest pleasures, he drinks that portion, that aqua Tofana of the mind, which renders all the expedients of art without avail. Despair sits ministering beside him with her poisoned chalice and bids defiance to Colles and to Cheyne. His family gather about him. The last consolations of religion are given, amid heartbroken sobs; and as he raises himself, and stretches forth his hand to receive the final rite, he casts his eyes upon the wretches who surround him and shrinks back at the sight. It is in the midst of a scene like this and when 107 A CONGLOMERATE the hour of agony is at hand that the loud and heartless voice of official insolence echoes from chamber to cham- ber, and after a brief interval the dreadful certainty of which the unhappy man had but too prescient a surmise is announced. "The sheriff's officers have got in; his majesty's writ of fieri facias is in the process of execution; the sanctu- aries of death are violated by the peremptory ministers of the law, and the blanket and the silk gown are seized together; and this is the conclusion of a life of opulence and of distinction, and, let me add, of folly as well as fame. "After having charmed his country by his eloquence and enlightened it by his erudition, he breathes his last sigh amid the tears of his children, the reproaches of his creditors and a bailiff's jests." 108 CHAPTER X. REFLECTIOxN^. It has been truly said that education and knowledge, the power to think and enjoy the thought of others^ has long since transformed a cottage into a palace. It is not every one, however* who possesses the gift of medi- tation. The ancient philosophers were agreed that the highest happiness is to be found in contemplation and specula- tive thought. One of them declares that reflection calms the ardor of the blood and swallows up all the silly illu- sions of man; another avers that the true and allowable luxury of the soul consists in contemplation or think- ing. In our own day, however, we find many more peo- ple, who, in order to be happy, must live upon the breath of popular applause. It is said that the rude man is contented if he sees something going on, the man of more refinement must be made to feel, the man entirely re- fined desires to reflect. Thomas A. Kempis, the great German devotional writer, whose "De Imitatione Christi" has been translated into every civilized lan- guage, including Hebrew, and a more popular work even than Bunyan's Pilgrim^s Progress, gives for the world this adjuration : "Seek a convenient time to re- 109 A CONGLOMERATE tire into thyself; and meditate often upon God's loving kindnesses/' Reflection is conducive to tranquillity of mind. "Sweet are the thoughts that savor of content. The quiet mind is richer than a crown." It fortifies one against the calamities of life ; it aids in the solution of intricate questions affecting one's well- being which seem at first insoluble. It is marvelous what one hour of cool, calm reflec- tion will accomplish. We do not refer to that violent and intense meditation so well illustrated by the cat. It has been said, and we know it to be true, that a cat on the watch is as motionless as death stationed at its place of observation, and that neither hunger nor thirst can draw it away from its meditations. Of course a Turk could derive but little benefit from reflection be- cause in him meditation almost invariably induces sleep. Most of us spend a great part of our lives in clearing our minds of the notions that sprang up unchecked dur- ing our early years. By reflection we are enabled to get rid of many preconceived notions that are erroneous ; for example, we become more tolerant, abandon all thought of making other men in our own image — and ultimately conceive that drunkenness is a disease to be cured rather than a crime to be punished. It is said that when Perreyve, the eminent French- man, ceased to be able to read and write, he was de- lighted almost to the point of enthusiasm to find that he could still derive happiness from mere thinking; and 110 EEFLECTION he had never before so completely realized the value of the gift of thought. A celebrated English moralist de- clared that what some would call idleness he would call the sweetest part of his life, and that was his thinking. Sir William Grant averred that his mind was so secure in its reflection that thunder, which breaks other men^s slumbers, rocked him to sleep. When Pascal's books were taken from him to save his health, injured by ex- cessive study, he supplied their place by the depth and force of his personal reflection. We know of an eminent man now far advanced in years who declares that he lives happily with himself and his memories. It was the theory of Victor Jacquemont, the famous French traveler and naturalist, that a man ought to exer- cise himself continually in conquering his own desires, and that when he had to suffer he ought to find within himself an amount of endurance sufficient to meet the suffering.^ Charles Sumner appreciated the benefits and delights of refiection. When his name was first mentioned for the United States senate and he was importuned to be- come a candidate, he hesitated, because, as he said, the office would take from him all opportunity of study and meditation. A renowned writer^ declared a long time ago that reflecting men in all ages have a philosophy. With the educated Greeks and Eomans philosophy was religion. That the vulgar belief, under whatever name it may be, is never the belief of those who have leisure for reflec- tion. That the vulgar rich and vulgar poor are im- ^Hamerton. ^ Richard Steel. Ill A CONGLOMERATE mersed in sense: the man of reflection tries to emerge from it. It is our deliberate opinion that the prevailing ten- dency is to read too much and to think too little. We cannot recur too frequently to the words of Confucius: "Learning, undigested by thought, is labor lost ; thought, unassisted by learning, is perilous. It was said of a certain individual, "he was communicative enough, but nothing was distinct in his mind. How could it be otherwise ? He had never spared time to think ; all was employed in reading.^^ We have said on a former occasion, and now repeat, that reading and thinking should, in a certain sense, go hand in hand — one duly proportioned to the other, and so that each may be the complement of the other. There may be dissipation in reading — reading too much. Dire results have been recorded which were at- tributable to this cause; and, on this subject, we should profit by the experience and observation of others. It has been declared possible for one to lay so many books at the top of his head that his brains could not move; or, in the language of another, "there are readers whose wit is so smothered under the v/eight of their accumula- tions as to be absolutely powerless.^^ On account of this literary dissipation the digestive organs have been known to become "worn and macerated by the relentless flagel- lations of the brain." That it will be found more nutritious to digest a page than to devour a volume will hardly be denied; and no one will question the truth of the observation of Ma- caulay that it is not by overturning libraries, but by re- 113 EEFLECTION peatedly perusing and intently contemplating a few great models, that the mind is best disciplined. It was the complaint of Burke that calamity is un- happily the usual season of reflection, and that the pride of man will not often suffer reason to have any scope until it can be no longer of service. We must all feel how difficult it is abruptly to pass from the buzz of men to the meditations of the closet. 'No man should make reflection his whole life's business. De Quincey affirmed that it was his disease to meditate too much and to observe too little, and the remedies he sought were to force himself into society and to keep his understanding in continual activity upon matters of science. It has been truly observed that contemplation generates; action propagates. Without the first, the latter is defective : without the last, the first is abortive and embryous. We have read of one who buried him- self in the depths of his own reflections, while he ex- hibited externally a semblance of simplicity and mod- esty, affecting the pursuit of letters and a passion for poetry to veil his real purposes. But as a rule the human countenance does not dissemble. It is easy to discern when the face is stamped with the sadness of constant meditation — "all sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought." We believe that an ideal life is one com- pounded of work and meditation, of solitude and so- ciety. The incalculable benefits derived from reflection, not only to individuals but to the nation, is illustrated by reference to the "Augustan age," the era so illustrious in Eoman history. This epoch, with which the great 113 A CONGLOMEEATE names of Vergil, Horace, Ovid and Livy are indissolnbly associated, covered a period of less than fifty years. It was distinguished for its splendid attainments, more especially in literature. It is not a matter of surprise that the Romans in later times looked back to the age of Augustus with great complacency, as the most pros- perous and the most distinguished of their annals. The name of the "Augustan age^* has been specially applied to it in modern times. And the title itself, apart from its special application to Rome, when applied to the literature of any nation denotes the supposed period of its highest state of purity and refinement. Thus the age of Louis XIV has been called the "Augustan age," of French literature, and that of Queen Anne the Augustan age of English literature. The giving of this title to certain epochs in modern history is regarded as the highest compliment to their glory. The philosophic historian accounts for the intellectual and literary su- periority of the Augustan age of Rome, when com- pared with other epochs of the world's history, by the fact that it was singularly and emphatically an era of rest for reflection and self-control. 114 CHAPTER XI. HOME. We have referred in another place to home — its per- fect trust and truth — its simple holiness, and its ex- quisite happiness. It has been truthfully and beautifully said that home is to the world what conscience is to the human mind. We know of an eminent man who declared that he re- garded his home as a snug nest for content and contem- plation, but one within which the wings of action and ambition could not long lie folded. It has been said by an American writer that no one more thoroughly appreciates a home than an English- man — that if he has one he can easily forego society, that even the solitude of the wilderness has no terrors for him, and he is happy on the very borders of civiliza- tion. The same writer declares that the French language has no such words as comfort and home; this may be true, but if the French have not the words, they may have what those words represent in other languages, which is far more important. Indeed, the French in- sist that their homes are incomparable. Jacquemont says: "I do not conceal my opinion that the system of English life is nothing but a succession of errors, all 115 A CONGLOMEEATE fatal to happiness. They talk of home without ceasing; and this home which they like so much is the material side of their existence — their sofas and easy chairs. Our home, which we do not talk about, is in the heart. I tell them that the poor in our country have more pleas- ures, and pleasures sweeter and nobler, than the rich in theirs." Another eminent Frenchman^ writes in terms of high commendation of the American home. He says : "There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is so much respected as in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated. In Europe almost all the disturbances of society arise from the irregularities of domestic life. To despise the natural bonds and legitimate pleasures of home is to contract a taste for excesses, a restlessness of heart, and the evil of fluctuating desires. Agitated by the tumultuous passions which frequently disturb his dwelling, the European is galled by the obedience which the legislative powers of the state exact. But when the American retires from the turmoil of public life to the bosom of his family, he finds in it the image of order and of peace. There his pleasures are simple and natural; his joys are innocent and calm; and as he finds that an orderly life is the surest path .to happiness, he accustoms himself without difficulty to moderate his opinions as w^ell as his tastes. While the European en- deavors to forget his domestic troubles by agitating so- ciety, the American derives from his own home that love of order which he afterward carries with him into public affairs." ^ De Tocqueville. 116 HOME We believe that there is much truth in the observa- tion of Pascal, that all of the unhappiness of men comes from a single thing, which is, that they have not the wisdom to remain in tranquillity at home. 117 CHAPTER XII. TRAVEL. It is a very important sanitary truth that a timely change of air and residence is beneficial. We can accept as true the observation of Mr. Carnegie as to the ad- vantages to be derived from a journey around the world. He says that the sense of the brotherhood of man — the unity of race — is very greatly strengthened thereby. For one sees that the virtues are the same in all lands and produce their good fruit. That the vices too are akin; and also that the motives which govern men and their actions and aims are very much the same all the world over. We recognize the fact that with some there is an in- stinct for permanence in the mind so strong that to leave the place of their abode for a long journey causes a feeling of depression and melancholy. But^, as a gen- eral rule, no people on earth have such vagabond habits as ourselves. It is said that the continental races never travel at all if they can help it ; nor does an Englishman ever think of stirring abroad, unless he has abundance of money to spare, or proposes to himself some definite advantage from the journey. English gentlemen some- 118 TEAVEL times regard a journey abroad as essential to the com- pletion of their education. It is a remarkable fact that very few men could ever have seen less of the world than Shakespeare saw. He never passed the boundaries of England. From Stratford to London is barely a hundred miles; and there is no evidence that he was ever fifty miles from the highway between these two points. The purposes of travel at the present day are mani- fold; some go upon business or with a specific end in view; others journey abroad because their neighbors have done so — as nothing affords greater pleasure and satisfaction than a consciousness of the fact that we are keeping up with the procession; a vast majority go to gratify curiosity and get rid of superfluous wealth. It was somewhat different in former times. Bacon declared that "travel in the younger sort is part of education; in the elder a part of experience." Another declares the purpose to be "to unite and distil into one's self the scattered perfections of several nations;" still another affirms that "traveling maketh a man sit still in his old age with satisfaction." It was the opinion of Lowell that "the wise man travels to discover himself; it is to find himself out that he goes out of himself and his habitual associations." It is said that the French people as a rule read no language but their own and refrain from foreign travel. There are some notable exceptions, however, as in the case of Ampere, the celebrated historian and archaeolo- gist, who developed a passion for travel during his first tour beyond the boundaries of France. Notwithstand- ing the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent 119 A CONGLOMERATE right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the Erench people as a whole shrink from its exercise. Traveling is without a doubt at least a temporary cure for taciturnity. One who at home practices an habitual silence and reserve in speaking, will, when conversing with a stranger in a distant land, unburden his mind with the utmost facility and volubility. He is relieved from the constraints of home and he is apt to feel that he is stepping not only into an unknov/n, but into a perfectly free world. We think the most of us would do much better to stay at home. 120 CHAPTEK XIII. SOLITUDE. Man is by nature a gregarious creature; and it has been truly said that he cannot isolate himself contin- uously without becoming either less or more than a man. "Prolonged solitude darkens and disenchants the love- liest objects^, and eventually brings terror even to the strongest heart." No man can afford to stagnate like a frog under a stone in a marsh. It has been well said that of all kinds of isolation, inward isolation is the most appalling. When a man persists in being unsociable it is his own loss — ^his continuous solitude makes him grumpy and morbid and, in short, makes him very unhappy; and it has been suggested that a shy man ought to take occasional dips into society from a "medical point of view as a man should take a cold bath." There are many illustrations of extreme unsociability; it is re- lated of a man, not unknown to fame, that even when he walked he drew his shoulders forward so as to be nearer himself. Goethe observes that even the most eminent man lives only by the day, and enjoys but a sorry entertainment when he throws himself too much back upon himself, and "neglects to grasp into the full- ness of the external world, where alone he can find nour- 121 A CONGLOMEEATE ishment for his growth, and at the same time a stand- ard for its measurement." The observation is true that in solitude we shrink up, and that no plant so much as man needs the sun and the air. It was the lament of one that if he had lived more with men, and less with dreams and books, he would have made his nature large enough to bear the loss of a single passion. "VYe can all readily concur with Arnold when he asserts that it is not in retirement and separation from the world but in the energies and activities of life, that the true means of man's highest culture is to be found. Burns confessed, in one of his letters, that his design in seeking society, was to fly from constitutional melancholy, and he de- clared that even in the house of social mirth "my gaiety is the madness of an intoxicated criminal under the hands of an executioner."^ Living in absolute retire- ment and isolation is sometimes attended with great in- convenience; Sydney Smith declared that his living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon. Solitude feeds great passions and it has been observed that it is the nature of solitude to make the passions calm on the surface — agitated in the deeps. We have been impressed by the truth and beauty of the observations of Hamerton : "We need society, and we need solitude also, as we need summer and winter, day and night, exercise and rest. * * * Let your rest be perfect in its season, like the rest of waters that are still. * * * Let your life be like that of the summer air, which has times of ^ Mathews. 122 SOLITUDE noble energy and times of perfect peace. * * * 1 value solitude for sincerity and peace, and for the better understanding of the thoughts that are truly ours. * * * In the world a man lives in his own age; in solitude, in all the ages. There is a strength that comes to us in solitude from that shadowy, awful presence that frivolous crowds repel. * * * There are natures that go to tlie streams of life in great cities as the hart goes to the water brooks; there are other natures that need the solitude of primeval forests and the silence of the Alps." A man eminent in literature^ divided his time be- tween society anl solitude; he believed this course to be essential to one's happiness and success in life. He said that he was extremely gregarious at the right time and place, but that he loved to spend a large part of the day alone. It was his belief that a perfect day con- sists in a solitary breakfast and a solitary morning, a single companion for luncheon and exercise — again some solitary hours; then he loved to dine in company, and, if possible, to spend the rest of the evening with two or three congenial persons. He declared, however, that "more and more, as life goes on, do I find the mixed company tiresome and the tete-a-tete delightful." Occasional solitude is of course indispensable to the student or writer. We do not mean that long continued isolation which, Plato says, has for its companion an overbearing austerity, nor the solitude which Epictetus defines to be the state of a helpless person. I have re- ferred in another place to the observation of Daniel ^ Benson. 123 A CONGLOMERATE Webster: "I love this occasional solitude. I like to contemplate nature, and to hold communion unbroken by the presence of human beings. When thinking is to be done, one must, of course, be alone. Mo man knows himself who does not thus sometimes keep his own company." But even the intellectual life does not re- quire the complete abandonment of the world, but, as Hamerton suggests, it does require free and frequent spaces of labor in tranquil solitude, "retreats like those commanded by the church of Rome, but with more of study and less of contemplation." Rousseau was a man of genius but his morbidity is unquestioned. He had an innate contempt for men and his intense love of solitude justified the charge of sin- gularity and affectation. He says: "What period do you think I recall most frequently and most willingly in my dreams? Not the pleasures of my youth; they were too rare, too much mingled with bitterness, and are now too distant. I recall the period of my seclu- sion, of my solitary walks; of the fleeting but delicious days that I have passed entirely by myself, with my good and simple housekeeper, with my beloved dog, my old cat, with the birds of the field, the hinds of the forest, with all Nature, and her inconceivable Author. In getting up before the sun to contemplate its rising from my garden when a beautiful day was commencing, my first wish was that no letters or visits might come to disturb the charm." In our day and generation the duties of a lawyer are pre-eminently practical. There is but little in his pur- suit that is conducive to the development of either a 124 SOLITUDE taste or a talent for the poetic muse. The transition from the dull, unpoetical, unimaginative, characteristics of a legal document, to the poem expressing thought and feeling suitable to an excited and elevated imagination, would seem to be so great as to be practically impos- sible. An eminent wi'iter distinguishes between the poets muse and the muse of prose, showing the impas- sable gulf between them. He says : "The poet^s muse is like a mistress, whom we keep only while she is young and beautiful; the muse of prose is like a wife, whom we take during life, for better, for worse." This world would be much less interesting if it were entirely with- out anomalies and we are supplied with one by Tacitus. A lawyer, worn out with the intense labors of his pro- fession, and being, as it was alleged, of a poetical turn of mind, decided to entirely withdraw himself from the fatigues of the bar. He declares: "That woods and groves, and solitude itself, to me afford such delight, that I reckon it among the chief blessings of poetry that it is cultivated far from the noise and bustle of the world, without a client to besiege my doors, or a crim- inal to distress me with his tears and squalor. Free from those distractions, the poet retires to scenes of solitude, where peace and innocence reside, and there he treads on consecrated ground." According to the modern view, when Tacitus enu- meTates the essential deprivations of the poet, he cer- tainly deals in language of hyperbole. He says that it must not be forgotten, that the poet who would produce anything excellent, must bid farewell to the conversation of his friends ; that he must renounce not only the pleas- 125 A CONGLOMEEATE ures of Eome, but also the duties of social life; that he must retire, as the poets say, ^^to groves and grottoes/' in other words to solitude. It was the opinion of Goethe that a creation of im- portance could be produced only when an author isolated himself, and, referring to his own productions, said that those which had met with so much applause were children of solitude. There are men upon whom society grates. We have in our mind one who is affable and frank toward every one, but shuns fashionable society. ^N'othing is more interesting than to observe and note the habits, whims and idiosyncrasies of men — especially eminent men. A distinguished Frenchman, being in sore distress, assured his friend that under the circum- stances nothing could be more agreeable to him than to retire to his solitude, beneath his noble trees on the banks of the Loire. He added : "If heaven be the over- ruling physician of the evils of the mind, nature is a sovereign remedy." We are told that Jacquemont bore solitude easily, and said that when alone his thoughts were full of tender- ness and sweetness. "A long, studious retreat, entirely separated from the men and things of Europe, would not, he thought, be painful to him. When he came to the test, he found the intellectual isolation easy to bear; but he suffered from the too long absence of those dear to him, and his imagination realized the distance from them too well." There is a singular fascination and charm about the life of De Tocqueville. It was the life of a philosopher. 126 SOLITUDE His style of writing is said to be an imitation of that of Mostesquieu ; however this may be, we know that it has a magic charm. It was said that "though his name was celebrated he knew the value of tranquillity, and loved the penumbra of personal obscurity, estimating public opinion at its just value, and taking fame for DO more than it is really worth." It was said of a great French statesman that he had no love of personal magnificence, no ambition even, but exerted great influence in public affairs, "^o important political step was ever taken without his being consulted, but he never went to court, and was seldom seen in his own drawing room.'^ Walter Scott frequently wandered far from home at- tended only by his dog, and would return late in the evening, having let hour after hour slip away among the "soft and melancholy wildernesses in the neighbor- hood.'^^ George Eliot and her husband lived for several years a life of what might be called almost absolute seclusion from the stirring movements of existence outside.* Lady Stanhope, a niece of William Pitt, the most prominent minister of his age, and his private secretary, was one of the most remarkable women of the genera- tion in which she lived. She sat at the head of his table and assisted in welcoming his guests, gracing the board with her "stately beauty and enlivening the company by her quickness and keenness of conversation," and she possessed at the same time a marvelous aptitude for business. After her uncle's death, life in London ^ Lockhart's Life of Scott. * McCarthy. 137 A CONGLOMERATE ceased to have any charm for her, and she finally sought relief from lassitude in the fastnesses of Wales. Lowell's biographer-^ declares that Lowell, summer and winter, sat in his library among his books, seldom stir- ring abroad by day except for a walk, and by night yet more rarely. It was said of DeQuincey*^ that in thanking Provi- dence for the separate blessings of his childhood he singled out as worthy of special commemoration, that "he lived in a rustic solitude," and he declares that "the solitude which in this world appals or fascinates a child's heart, is but the echo of a far deeper solitude, through which already he has passed, and of another solitude, deeper still, through which he has to pass: reflex of one solitude — prefiguration of another." The most extraordinary fondness for solitude, amount- ing almost to self-annihilation, was exhibited by the great Duke of Leinster, "Ireland's only duke." He was the scion of a noble and historic family, the head of the house of Fitzgerald, the founder of which came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. After having attained his majority, he returned to Ireland to take possession of his vast estates. It is stated that "his frank and open air, the unaffected urbanity of his manners, the kindness and cordiality which distinguished his address, and an expression of dignified good na- ture in his physiognomy" endeared him to the Irish people. Much was expected from the duke. Great tur- moil and unrest existed in Ireland on. account of the " Howells. * Mathev/s. 128 SOLITUDE excessive abuses of the local government. It was to him the people looked for the correction of these abuses and the pacification of Ireland. The historian of the period affirms that the great duke "voluntarily consigned him- self to oblivion." It required, indeed, that he should make a sort of effort to be forgotten. He at last suc- ceeded in sinking out of the recollection of the public. We are indebted to Mr. Shiel for his fascinating portrait- ure of this unique character. Shiel, himself, was no inconsiderable personage. His writings bespeak a cul- tivated taste; and one is charmed with the smoothness and grace of his diction. He declares in the first sen- tence of one of the chapters of his book: "I am an Irish barrister and go to the Leinster Circuit." As a speaker he commanded admiration and applause, and it was said of him that he was one of the greatest orators that Ireland, "affluent in eloquence," ever produced. Shiel says, referring to the great duke : "The first injudicious step which he adopted was the gale of his magnificent mansion in Merrion Square. It surpassed any private residence in London, and rather resembled the palace of a Venetian senator than the house of a British subject. That vast structure, upon which enormous sums had been expended by his father, was a perpetual intimation of the importance of the duke as long as it was called Leinster house; but after he had sold it to the Dublin society, and its original distinction was laid aside, a memorial of the family was wanting, which the duke's political conduct was not calculated to supply. * * * After having sold 129 A CONGLOMERATE his house,, the duke retired to the woods and solitudes of Carton. There he buried himself from the inspection, and gradually dropped out of the notice of the country. Having a turn for mechanics, he provided himself with a large assortment of carpenter's tools, and beguiled the tedium of existence with occupations by which his arms were put into requisition. There is not a better sawyer in the county of Kildare. As you wander through the forests on his demesne, you occasionally meet a vigorous young woodman, with his shirt sleeves tucked up to his shoulders, while he lays the ax to the trunk of some lofty tree that totters beneath his stroke. On approaching, you perceive a handsome face, flushed with exercise and health, and covered with perspira- tion. Should you enter into conversation with him, he will throw off a few jovial words between every descent of the ax; and, if he should pause in his task for his breath, will hail you in the tone of good-humored fel- lowship. He sets to his work again, while you pursue your path through the woodlands, and hear from the ranger of the forest that you have just seen no less a person than his grace himself. "In the midst of these innocent employments, the Duke of Leinster passes away a life which ought to be devoted to higher purposes. * * * He not only holds no place in the public estimation beyond that which virtues confer upon him, but he is without any influence at the Castle. * * * How different an im- pression would he have produced, had he taken the more active and intrepid part to which his fortunes appeared to invite him! The mock regality of a lord-lieutenant 130 SOLITUDE would fade at once before him. The representative of a nation would stand superior to the delegate of the king. * * * Nature had not mixed that mounting quality in his blood which teaches men to aspire to greatness, and makes them impatient of subordination.'^ 131 CHAPTEE XIV. BORROWING TROUBLE. We are too prone to borrow trouble and anticipate evils that may never appear. "The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear." Mr. Lincoln once said that he never crossed Fox river, no matter how high the stream was, until he came to it. "It is madness," says Jeremy Tay- lor, "to make the present miserable by fearing it may be ill to-morrow. This day only is ours; we are dead to yesterday and we are not born to the morrow." We should give ourselves the full benefit of the present time, but many of us, if we examine our own thoughts, will find them occupied with the past and the future, ig- noring the present. The truth of the observation of Pascal is evident when he declares "That the present is never our end; the past and present are our means; the future alone is our end. Thus we never- live but we hope to live ; and always disposing ourselves to be happy, it is inevitable that we never become so. * * * Many believe that they are sincerely seeking repose, and are seeking in reality only agitation." This view of Pascal suggests Pope's line, "Man never is, but always to be blessed." Mr. Howells relates of a friend who was eminent in 132 BORKOWING TROUBLE literature, that he had a philosophy which he liked to impress with a vivid touch on his listener's shoulder: "Put your finger on the present moment and enjoy it. It's the only one you've got, or ever will have." The absurdity of drawing drafts on the misery of fu- turity ought to be obvious to every one. Sydney Smith had an excellent rule for the happiness and wisdom of life as to the future, not to look too far into it. His rule was '^^Take short views of life, hope for the best, and trust in God." He declared that this habit of tak- ing very short views may be acquired by degrees and that a great sum of happiness will be gained by it. Herbert Spencer is in accord with this conception when he insists that one should live for the day and in the day — not lose oneself in anxieties and schemes and aims; and not be overshadowed by distant terrors and far-off hopes, but should say, "To-day is given me for my own ; let me use it, let me live in it." Walter Pater, though not a follower of Aristippus, who believed in a life of ease and self-indulgence, declared that we may believe most firmly in a future life and still be assured of our duty to get all we can out of this one ; that we may believe most firmly in the duty of living for others and yet we never can escape the duty of living for ourselves. His aim was, as he says, "To well adorn and beautify these fleeting lives into an exquisite graciousness and urbanity." The universality of the belief that prevailed through- out Christendom that the end of the world would occur at the close of the tenth century, is impressively related by Sismondi. This belief was based upon a misconcep- 133 A CONGLOMEEATE tion of the twentieth chapter of the Apocal_ypse. The his- torian declares that it is almost a matter of surprise, . that a belief so general did not bring about its own dreadful fulfillment. So, an individual, who is con- stantly anticipating and dreading the happening to him- self of some dire calamity, may contribute to its actual occurrence. Swift died as he had feared and constantly predicted, "In a rage like a poisoned rat in a hole.'^ We recall these lines from Johnson's "Senility and Im- becility" : "From Marlborough's eyes the streams of dotage flowed. And Swift expired a driveller and a show." It will be conducive to one's happiness to avoid the inexplicable. Do not attempt the solution of insoluble problems. There are many of them. The great author of the "Provincial Letters" cites some of them when he says : "Man is himself the most marvelous object of nature; for he can not conceive what body is, and still less what mind is, and least of all how a body can be united with a mind. This is the climax of his difficulties, and yet it is his own being." Young men have their troubles. They are oftentimes shy and embarrassed and ill at ease. A man of large observation and with a profound knowledge of nature, observes that a young man in making his first entrance into society is so ignorant as to imagine he is the ob- ject of universal attention; and that everything he does is the subject of the most rigid criticism. Of course, under such a supposition, he is shy and embarrassed ; he regains his ease as he becomes aware of his insignificance. 134 BOEEOWING TEOUBLE Again, in youth we look forward to the advances of age and feel them more strongly than when they ar- rive. Mr. Hazlitt suggests that this is no more ex- traordinary than that from the height of a precipice the descent below should make us dizzy, and that we should be less sensible of it when we come to the ground. No one borrows more trouble than the miser. It is said that many of them are not afraid of death but are possessed of a horrible dread of coming to want ; having begun with poverty they are constantly haunted with the idea that they shall end in it and it is related that some have actually died to save charges. We believe that we ought to be satisfied if we have succeeded in any one thing, or with having done our best, and we concur in the opinion of Hazlitt that any- thing more is "for health and amusement, and should be resorted to as a source of pleasure, not of fretful im- patience and self-imposed mortification." There are many instances where the despondency of age rests like a pall upon the countenance. Mr. Benson has much to say of a consolatory nature to those past the meridian of life. He declares that there are many compensations for the lack of youthful prowess. One is the loss of the quality of self-consciousness which is peculiar to the youth and which causes shyness, and the unpleasant consciousness of having nothing to say or of having said the wrong thing in the wrong way. Another great gain is that with age there comes a sort of patience. He says, "In youth mistakes seemed irreparable, calam- ities intolerable, disappointments unbearable. An anxiety hung like a dark impenetrable cloud, a dis- 135 A CONGLOMEEATE appointment poisoned the springs of life. But now I have learned that mistakes can often be set right, that anxieties fade, that calamities have sometimes a com- pensating joy, that an ambition realized is not always pleasurable, that a disappointment is often of itself a rich incentive to try again. * * * That one learns to look over troubles, instead of looking into them; one learns that hope is more unconquerable than grief." Mr. Benson also cites, with approval, the assertion of Lord Beaconsfield that the worst evil one has to endure is the anticipation of the calamities that do not happen, and that the thing to aim at is to live as far as possible in the day and for the day. Wordsworth declared that he thought we had pleasanter days in the outset of life, but that our years slid on pretty even one with another, as we gained in variety and richness what we lost in in- tensity. Hazlitt averred that, upon the whole, there are many things to prop up and reinforce our fondness for existence, after the intoxication of our first acquaint- ance with it is over: "health, a walk and the appetite it creates, a book, the doing a good-natured or friendly action, are satisfactions that hold out to the last; and with these and many others to aid us that fall harmlessly in our way, we may make a shift for a few seasons, after having enjoyed the short-lived transports of an eager and enthusiastic imagination, and without being under the necessity of hanging or drowning ourselves as soon as we come to years of discretion." We are told that to be pensive, not sentimental, is the joy of later life: "to grow old, patiently and bravely — even joyfully — that is the secret; that life, if it does not become sweeter, becomes more interesting. There 136 BOEROWING TEOUBLE should come a simple serenity of living, a certainty that, whatever befall, we are in wise and tender hands." ^ The most prolific source of our borrowed troubles is the certainty of death; but much consolation is derived from the conviction that, in the wise economy of Provi- dence, no one ever dies too soon or lives too long. We all understand that to die is the common lot of hu- manity; and that in the grave, the only distinction is between oblivion and renown — and that a vast majority of us must be content with the former. We learn much from the ancients, one of whom declared that it was better to die once than to live alwaj^s in fear of death; but we do not need the wisdom of the ancients to con- vince us that it is not necessary to make a hell of this world in order to enjoy paradise in the next. We have reason to thank our stars that the old theological idea that mortals are sent here as to a place of sore chastise- ment and mortification, if not obsolete, is at least ob- solescent. Goethe was perfectly enchanted with the beauty of the thought that the ancients had recognized death as the brother of sleep; and George Meredith de- clared that nothing is more beautiful than a peaceful death — that there is nothing shocking to the mind — that it suggests heaven and seems a fulfillment of our prayers. In many instances, the friends around the patient are scarcely aware that he has gone, until the "moonlight of death" has passed over his countenance — so silently and tranquilly has he departed. Ampere, the celebrated French historian and traveler, was told by his physician in Egj^pt that his malady, dysentery, was almost invariably fatal in the Egyptian ^ Benson. 137 A CONGLOMERATE climate, but added "that human life is not worth much at the best, and dying is much less difficult than people generally believe." Ambassador White, upon request, accompanied Count Tolstoi to the funeral of one of the latter's friends. In the course of their conversation, Tolstoi remarked that to look upon the dead should rather give pleasure than pain; that memento mori is a wise maxim, and looking upon the faces of the dead is a good way of putting it in practise. It has been suggested that the fancied shortness of life is aided by the apprehension of a future state — that in ancient times the fear of death was a less prominent feature than it is at present, because the thought of it and of a future state, were less frequently impressed on the mind by religion and morality.^ Lord Bacon declared that men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in chil- dren is increased with tales, so is the other ; and that the surroundings of death terrify more than death itself. He says that it is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other, and adds, "He that dies in an earnest pursuit is like one that is wounded in hot blood, who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good doth avert the dolors of death." Socrates advises that we be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty that no evil will happen to a good man either in this life or after death. Marcus Aurelius declares that if one considers death ^ Hazlitt. 138 BOEEOWING TEOUBLE by itself, separating it in thought from its imaginary terrors, it will be understood to be a work of nature, and nothing else; and that to dread what is natural is childish. "That death like birth is a mystery of nature ; the one a combining of elements, the other a dissolution ; and that we should await tlie summons with a serene mind, as the natural dissolution of the elements of which every animal is composed." He adjures the people not to worry about the future. That they will meet it, if need be, with the same reason that they now employ in their present affairs. We have been impressed by the observations of Mon- taigne on this subject. We must admit, however, that his first statement barely missed being a platitude, when he declares that "The care of funerals, the place of sepulture, and the pomp of the obsequies, are rather consolations to the living than any benefit to the dead." Eeferring to himself he says, "Never was any man pre- pared to bid adieu to the world absolutely and purely, nor did anyone ever quit his hold of it more universally than I hope to do. The deadest deaths are the best. "By the same passage that you came from death to life, without passion or fear, go back from life to death. Your death is part of the constitution of the universe; it is a part of the life of the world. "Why do you not go away from life like a satisfied guest from a feast? "Make room for others, as others have done for you. Equality is the soul of equity. "Let your life end where or when it will, it is all in- cluded in eternity. 139 A CONGLOMERATE "If company will make it more pleasant, does not all the world go the selfsame way as you do? * * * A thousand men, a thousand animals, and a thousand other creatures die at the same instant that you expire. "Do but seriously consider how intolerable and pain- ful a life would be which was to last forever." The great French novelist^ expatiates upon the two manners of death: "The agony of death has its own wisdom. Not seldom a simple girl, scarcely more than a child, will grow wise with the experience of a hundred years, will gain prophetic vision, judge her family, and see clearly through all pretenses, at the near approach of death. Herein lies death's poetry. But, strange and worthy of remark it is, there are two manners of death. "The poetry of prophecy, the gift of seeing clearly into the future or the past, only belongs to those whose bodies are stricken, to those who die by the destruction of the organs of physical life. Consumptive patients, for instance, or those who die of gangrene — like Louis 14 — may possess this supreme lucidity to the full; their deaths fill us with surprise and wonder. But many, on the other hand, die of intelligential diseases, as they may be called; of maladies seated in the brain or in that nervous system which acts as a kind of purveyor of thought fuel — and these die wholly, body and spirit are darkened together. The former are spirits deserted by the bod}', realizing for us our ideas of the spirits of scripture; the latter are bodies untenanted by a spirit." It has been observed that the approach of death usual- ly brings the exhibition of kindly and gentle emotions. Senator Hoar relates thai he and Senator Walthall of ' Balzac. 140 BOREOWING TEOUBLE Mississippi were intense political opponents and almost invariably disagreed, and that the latter was not wont to wear his heart uipon his sleeve. On one occasion, however, the senator from Mississippi gave expression of deep and kindly feeling toward Senator Hoar. The latter was convinced that it was "due to a premonition, of which he was perhaps nnconscions, that the end of his life was near, and to the kindly and gentle emotions which in a brave and affectionate heart like his the ap- proach of death is apt to bring." The subject of death has received the calm and delib- erate consideration of the wise men of all ages, and it is a source of comfort and satisfaction to recall their words of wisdom. Lord Chesterfield, in his old age, declared that he got as much as possible of the quiet pleasures of garden- ing, walking and reading, and, in the meantime awaited death without desiring or fearing it. Herbert Spencer considered that it would be great joy to die quickly and suddenly, in all the activity of life, in comparative tranquillity, with none of the hideous apparatus of the sick room about one, and with no dreary waiting for death. He suggested that the only course we can follow is this : "N'ot by endeavoring to anticipate in thought the moment of our end — that, perhaps, only adds to its terrors when it comes — but by resolutely and tenderly, day after day, learning to com- mend ourselves to the hand of God; to make what ef- forts we can; to do our best; to decide as simply and sincerely as possible what our path should be, and then to leave the issue humbly and quietly with God.'^ The observations of Mr. Benson on this subject are 141 A CONGLOMERATE admirable and one can not fail to be profoundly im- pressed by reading them. He declares that we begin to see, some later, some earlier, that we must find some- thing to hold onto, something eternal and everlasting in which we can rest. There must be some anchor of the soul. He declares that "The anchor can not be a material one, for thexe is no security there ; it can not be purely intellectual, for that is a shifting thing, too. The well of the spirit is emptied gradually and ten- derly; we must find out what the spring is that can fill it up. * * * But the faith must be deeper faith even than the faith of a dogmatic creed; for that is shifting, too, every day, and the simplest creed holds some admixture of human temperament and human error. * * * To me there are but two things that seem to point to hope. The first is the strongest and deepest of human things, the power of love — not I think the m^ore vehement and selfish forms of love, the desire of youth for beauty, the consummate love of the mother for the infant — for these have some physical ad- mixture in them. But the tranquil and purer manifesta- tions of the spirit, the love of a father for the son, of a friend for a friend; that love that can light up a face upon the edge of a dark river, and can smile in the very throes of pain. That seems to me the only thing that holds out a tender defiance against change and suffer- ing and death. * * * And then there is the faith in the vast creative mind that bade us be. * * * A faith in God and a faith in love ; and here seems to me to lie the strength and power of the Christian Revelation. It is to these two things that Christ pointed men." 142 DEVOTION THE HIGHEST HEIGHT OF LOVE. All fiction abounds with expressions of admiration for the beauty and grace of women. We contend that their greatest charm is devotion. In the course of time beauty will inevitably fade^ devotion may continue dur- ing life and after death — forever. It has been said that the best loved women in history have been by no means perfectly beautiful for ordinary eyes; that Cleo- patra, Madame de Pompadour and nearly all women famous throughout the world for the love which they inspired, have had their defects and shortcomings. There is a limit to the charm of mere physical beauty, while the beauty of the soul is infinite. It has been said, most truly, I believe, ^Hhat devotion is the highest height of love." Exemplifications of this devotion are to be found in every-day life. Only a few days ago the newspapers re- late that a young lady residing in South Bend, Indiana, arrived in Atlanta on her way to the bedside of her lover who was critically ill at Macon. Eather than wait two hours for the regular train, she demanded a spe- cial which carried her, as on the wings of the wind, to her destination, a distance of ninety-three miles. 143 A CONGLOMERATE In the great battle of Gettysburg, in which the Con- federate General Pickett made his celebrated charge which amazed and electrified the world — and while the terrible conflict was going on — the general discovered Mrs. Pickett near him. Being gently reproved for her daring, she insisted that "in time of imminent danger a woman's place is by the side of her husband". Another impressive example of the devotion of woman is that of Bettina for Goethe. The great poet resided at Weimar, had attained the age of fifty-eight years, and his name was already trembling on every tongue. Bettina's home was at Frankfort ; she was nineteen, but, on account of her small stature, seemed to be twelve or thirteen. Quite suddenly Bettina fell in love with Goethe, though she had never seen him. She only knew him through his renown and his great works. Her adora- tion of Goethe began while Bettina was musing alone in the garden upon a delicious summer morning, an hour most favorable for noble conceptions — when all nature and the world were silent, save the feathered songsters, and the sun, being just risen, causing the flimsy gossamers to glisten in the morning dew. "Gifted with a varied imagination, exquisite poetical feeling, and a passionate love of nature, she personifies all her tastes and youthful aspirations in Goethe's image, loving him with rapture as the incarnation of all her dreams." The adoration of Bettina for Goethe is difficult of de- scription and analysis. It certainly was not an ordinary love but rather a kind of worship. It has been de- scribed as "an ideal sentiment better than a love purely from the imagination and yet dissimilar to one entirely 144 DEVOTION THE HIGHEST HEIGHT OF LOVE from the heart. * * * That Bettina felt in him the dignity arising from the grandeur of his mind." Again it has been said that their mutual love "was a flame that carressed without burning." On Goethe-'s part, he realized that he was charming to one that he kept at a distance, and that he was in- debted to Bettina for "a rejuvenescence of mind and a return to spiritual life; but that he was only in love with the heroine of his fancy, the ideal of his dreams." The highest literary authority has declared that Goethe was not only the greatest poet of Germany, but one of the greatest poets of all ages. "That his nature responded to every influence of passing emotion. Like a delicate harp, it was silent if not touched, and yet gave its music to every wooing of the wilful wind." Bettina writes an account of her first meeting with Goethe. She called with a letter of introduction. On arriving at the house of the great poet, she waited a few minutes before seeing him. Suddenly the door burst open and Goethe appeared. She says : "He surveyed me solemnly and fixedly. I believe I stretched out my hands toward him. I felt my strength failing me ! Goethe folded me to his heart, murmuring the while : Toor child ! I have frightened you.^ Those were the first words he uttered, and they entered my soul. He led me into his room, and made me sit on the sofa before him. We were then both speechless. He at last broke the silence." * * * He referred to the re- cent death of the Duchess Amelia, and inquired if she had read it — and that he imagined everything in rela- tion to Weimar interested her. She replied, "No, nothing 145 A CONGLOMERATE interests me except yourself." He remarked, '^'You are a charming ghV Then came a long pause. "I was still exiled on that fatal sofa, shy and trembling. My conduct was utterly disgraceful. I at last exclaimed, ^I can not remain on this couch!' and I rose suddenly. 'Well, do as you please,' he replied. I threw my arm around his neck, and he drew me on his knee, pressing me to his heart." * * * She remained long enough on his shoulder to fall asleep. On awakening she began conversing a little. Goethe plucked a leaf off the vine that clustered round his window, and said : ^'This leaf and your cheek have the same freshness and the same bloom." '^'Tlieir second meeting took place after an interval of several months. Bettina could hardly speak, so deep was her emotion. Goethe placed his hands on her lips and said : "Speak with your eyes. I understand every- thing;" and when he saw that the eyes of the charming child were full of tears, he closed them, adding wisely, '^Let us be calm — it becomes us both to be so."* This is what I call devotion. I have nowhere been able to find any description of the personal charms of Bettina — of her graceful form, of her beautiful face, of her bewitching manners. She may or may not have possessed physical beauty. But how exceedingly unimportant this question becomes, if she had that love, that devotion, which catches its in- spiration from the immortal God and leaves, at an im- measurable distance below, sensualism and the sensualist, and all the baser passions of the human heart! * Sainte Beuve. 146 DEVOTION THE HIGHEST HEIGHT OF LOVE Those who have read the history of France for the period embracing the first half of the last century are no doubt familiar with the life of that extraordinary woman, Madame Recamier. Nearly all of her friend- ships were with men, but there is no evidence against her morality. It is said that the leading motive of her life was simply the desire to exercise a supreme in- fluence in a certain limited circle. "That she liked to be the queen of a little court, to live surrounded by sympathy, affection and admiration." Those who gath- ered around her were men of intellectual eminence usual- ly much younger than herself. She has been described as a woman of stately beauty, royal grace of demeanor, and of exquisite tact and taste. The most effectual of her arts was to manifest the heartiest possible in- terest in a man's career, so that he felt at liberty to consult with her at any time about his ambition and purposes in life; and he always found an attentive lis- tener and kindly adviser. It is conceded that she knew the value of her extraordinary physical attractions and availed herself of them in her efforts to preserve her in- fluence amongst her admirers. It seems that she never even in old age, ill health, and reduced circumstances lost her attraction. Jean Jacques Ampere, a brilliant young Frenchman, historian, archaeologist, and traveler, early developed an ardent predilection for literary pursuits, which was "strengthened by his intimate intercourse with the bril- liant circle to which his introduction to Madame Re- camier's celebrated reunions admitted him." The lady manifested extraordinary interest in young 147 A CONGLOMERATE Ampere's intellectual pursuits, and he frequently con- ferred with her personally, and sought her advice by letters. In one of his letters to her he says: "You like me to speak about my labor, to tell you all my studies, as a schoolboy tells his mamma. Well, here is what just at present time seems to me the finest thing in the world, and an infallible means of arriving almost at universal knowledge. It is very simple and consists only in remarking in each book that I read what are the most important points, to concentrate all my attention upon them, to engrave them in my memory, and endeavor to forget all the rest entirely. To this I add another condition, which is to read, on each subject and in each language, nothing but the best books. It seems to me that by this method it may be possible, without uselessly overburdening the mind, to acquire very accurate and very various knowledge. I have be- gun to apply this system to various work, and am de- lighted with it." Madame Recamier, a blind old woman, died at the age of seventy-two. Young Ampere overwhelmed by -grief for her death, threw up his emplojinent, "crossed seas,'' and traversed both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, hoping, if possible, to assuage his grief, which seemed to be inconsolable. He was bound to her by no tie of consanguinity, and she only liked him, the question of love, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, so far as she was concerned, at least, having no place in their association. This extraordinary devotion on the part of Ampere certainly has no parallel in the history of the human heart. 148 DEVOTION THE HIGHEST HEIGHT OF LOVE To illustrate the truth that "devotion is the highest height of love/^ I have already cited three instances of feminine and one of masculine devotion. I now give an historical incident illustrative of the mutual devo- tion of the sexes. John Jacques Rousseau is one of the great historical characters of the world. He was neither a great dramatist nor a great poet, nor even a great novelist. He is usually characterized as "philosopher;" and as a delineator of the passions of the human heart, and a describer of the beauties of nature, he is considered to be without a rival. From the impartial student, his character and writings will command neither unqualified approbation nor un- qualified reprobation ; but many of his defects and short- comings have been excused and palliated by reason of his wonderful feeling and passionate sincerity. His writings and teachings did more to precipitate the French Eevolution, than those of Mrs. Stowe to bring about the civil war in America; unlike Mrs. Stowe, however, he died before the fire which he had kindled broke forth in all its virulence and fury. Rob- espierre and Madame Roland, and their followers, quoted Rousseau in justification of their excesses and intolerance. The most famous and most poetical episode in Rous- seau's life was his amour with Madame de Warren. Writers have reviewed it with emotion, eloquence and enthusiasm, and it has passed into history as one of the most famous love stories. "The scene of it long since 149 A CONGLOMERATE became a place of sentimental pilgrimage, preserved as an historical monument at public cost." It is only to the incipiency of this amour that we wish to refer. Madame de Warren was a widow of twenty- nine, a handsome woman, but of no dazzling beauty. John Jacques was a lad of sixteen. It is said that the tones of his voice were suggestive of emotion, and that he had strangely beautiful eyes; and that his face was beautified by the serenity of a blameless soul. He was at the age when a boy is still floating in the paradise of fancy — when his love is spiritual — sentiment rather than passion. The very strength of his spiritual passion im- poses severe self-restraint, and inspires one with a reverence for woman. To her what can be more de- lightful than to feel that tenderness is inspired by sentiment rather than by passion! On account of dis- parity of age, he must have felt that his love could never become consummate by marriage — but it has been said that there is nothing so near divine love as hopeless love. It is as true as it is trite, that a boy has a very positive predilection for falling in love with a woman many years his senior. The earliest manifestation of affection between Rousseau and Madame de "Warren was when, he kneel- ing at her feet, with his head in her lap, they both sobbed — sobbed themselves to sleep. The hardened old "buffer" whose sensibilities have be- come callous in his pursuit of gain, or whose mind has been infected with a moral scrofula, will have no ap- preciation of this marvelous exhibition of tenderness and sentiment. But Rousseau declared, in after years, 150 PLAGIARISM— OEIGINALITY that lie tasted on this occasion the purest pleasure — and enjoyed idyllic and Arcadian happiness. The principle applied to the age of chivalry, that sin loses half its evil by losing all its grossness, has no ap- plication heTC, for the very obvions reason that no sin had been committed. We end as we began, by reiterating the thought, that the greatest and only enduring beauty is devotion — the beauty of the soul. PLAGIARISM — ORIGINALITY. The charge of irrelevancy, upon the strength of so great an authority as Hallam, must always be regarded as hypercriticism. The accusation of plagiarism is the charge which authors of both ancient and modern times have been most generally called upon to answer. Most of our thoughts are derived by perception rather than conception. This fact does not constitute plagiarism. A plagiarist is one who purloins the writings of another and puts them off as his own. This is certainly a very grave offense and the one who commits it becomes an object of both commiseration and contempt. It is our opinion that such cases are exceedingly rare if, for no other reason, because the perpetrator is sure to be found out and exposed. To assume that the theft would not be discovered, would be a gross reflection upon the alert- ness and acuteness of the literary world. This charge was placed at the door of Coleridge. His son, after the death of his father, made the fine observation, that the door which separates the chambers of memory and imag- 151 A CONGLOMERATE ination is so loosely hung, that it will now and then swing open, and allow the treasures of one to roll into the other. If it were possible for any author to elim- inate from his work all thoughts, not indigenous to his own brain, his book would be a veritable skeleton. The author may legitimately derive his thoughts and material either by perception or conception; the former may be by observation, conversation with others, or by reading the writings of other authors ; the latter only re- quires susceptibility "which brings its subject-matter with it, and is itself the instrument of culture." It has been truly observed that perception and con- ception mutually require each other. Goethe declared, however, that he felt that the surest basis on which to build was his own creative talents. He said that for many years he had never known it to fail him for a moment. "What, waking, I had seen by day, often shaped itself into regular dreams at night; and when I opened my eyes, there appeared to me either a wonderful new whole, or a part of one already commenced." He added, in the same connection, that a creation of importance could be produced only when its author isolated him- self; and that his own productions which had met with so much applause were children of solitude. The same great author declares that all that is wise has been thought already but we must try nevertheless to think it again. He suggested that the finest sign of originality is to know how to develop an old thought so fruitfully that no one could have guessed before how much truth there was in it. The author of a novel may derive his characters from 152 PLAGIARISM— OEIGINALITY different sources. He niay observe them directly in the actual world ; he hears or reads about them and thus ap- propriates the experience of other persons, or he may imagine his characters.^ Montaigne admonishes his readers not to let the sub- jects he writes on be so much attended to as his manner of treating them, and says, "Let it be observed whether, in what I borrow from others, I have chosen what tends to set off or support the invention, which is always my own." The merit of an author lies in his form; "his true originality lies in the plan of his work and in his style — that manner of expression which distinguished the mold of his genius from the mintage of any other brain. Of the novelty of his ideas he can give no guarantee, but the form in which they are conveyed is his own peculiar property." The style of an author should be of the image of his mind — the necessary expression, not of himself, but of his manner of thought. Thus, says Pater, Macaulay was a man who perceived likenesses and unlikenesses ; he thought largely by contrast and generalizations. Professor Flint in his "Philosophy of History," writ- ing of Montesquieu, declares that he was endowed with "that most valuable sort of originality which enables a man to draw with independence from the most various sources, and to use what he obtains according to a plan and principle and for a purpose of his own — the orig- inality of Aristotle and Adam Smith." This subject has been discussed by an eminent writer^ ^ Bliss Perry. * Mathews. 153 A CONGLOMERATE with clearness and force and with much felicity of ex- pression. He says, among other things : "Is there such a thing as originality — ^pnre and abso- lute originality — in letters? "Is it_, or is it not, still true that, as the wise man pro- claimed twenty-eight hundred years ago, there is noth- ing new under the sun ? * * * The originality which some critics demand is simply an impossibility. * * * To attain it, he must place himself in the condition of the first man, and ignore all the ideas which he owes to his contemporaries and the gen^erations before him. * * * He should be shut up from childhood, like Miranda, an a desert island, with no companion but Caliban. * * * .The most conscientious writer, how- ever hard he may strive to be original, is compelled to be, in a greater or less degree, a literary resurrection- ist. * * * If we wish to know whether there is any originality in the literature of our day, we shall not ask whether its materials are absolutely new^, but whether they have been so adapted and moulded as to be a new 'Creation. * * * The essence of originality — the only originality possible in our day — is not the invention of something bizarre and extraordinary, but the vitalizing of materials that already exist, and which ate common to all. It is not easy to define what is called genius; but one thing is certain, namely, that it does not feed on itself and spin cobwebs out of its own bowels, which would only keep it forever impoverished and thin, but it is essentially passive and receptive in its nature, and impregnates itself continually with the thoughts and feelings of others. 154 SOCIETY AND CONVENTIONALISM "Voltaire laughed to scorn the idea of a perfect orig- inality. He declared that the most original writers bor- row from one another; and says that the instruction we gather from books is like fire, — we fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, and communicate it to others till it becomes the property of all." "Behold" says Castera the French translator "what makes great writers ! Those who pretend to give us nothing but fruit of their own growth soon fail like rivulets which dry up in summer. Far different are those which receive in their course the tribute of a hun- dred rivers, and which, even in the dog-days, carry mighty waves triumphantly to the ocean." SOCIETY AND CONVENTIONALISM We are well convinced that intellectual pursuits do not qualify anyone for success in fashionable society. Byron, in a letter to Moore, declared that society as then constituted was fatal to all original undertakings; but the well-known morbidity of Byron would tend to impair the force of his opinion. We believe that the mingling in general society to a moderate extent, would, as a rule, be beneficial to the student rather than detri- mental. To permanently withdraw from society — to become a mere recluse — could only result in serious de- moralization. Moderation in these, as in the other affairs of life, should be our shibboleth. Now and then we find a frivolous man who is per- fectly content with a mere drawing-room celebrity. He wishes naught beside. He talks himself out and is at 155 A CONGLOMEEATE the end of his rope. Balzac, so celebrated for. his keen analysis of character, described an individual who "learned to dance and waltz so well as to be noted;" it was a source of exquisite satisfaction and delight to this person to be known as "handsome Thuillier." It is re- lated, however, that he was as deficient in intellectual and literary acquirements as if he had been born with a natural delicacy of mental constitution. In brief, he became weak in "the intellectuals." Hamerton defines fashion to be nothing more than the temporary custom of rich and idle people who make it their principal business to study the external elegance of life. He says "that an intellectual man may go into general society, quite safely, if only he can resist its in- fluence upon his serious work; but such resistance is difiicult in maturity and impossible in youth. * * * That the impression which fashionable society produces upon a student who has strength enough to resist it is a painful sense of isolation in his earnest work." An eminent man, of large observation, declares that great men are the slaves of their work, and that their indifference to outer things, their devotion to their work, make simpletons regard them as egotists, and they "are expected to wear the same garb as the dandy who ful- fills the trivial evolutions called social duties. These men want the lions of the Atlas to be combed and scented like a lady's poodle." The views of great men on this subject, as exemplified by their own lives, are interesting and instructive. We read of Lowell that while he was not an unsocial man, he was most distinctly not a society man; that he loved 156 SOCIETY AND CONVENTIONALISM chiefly the companionship of books, and of men who loved books. Mr. Howells, a literary contemporary, de- clares, that of women generally Lowell had an amusing diffidence: that he revered them and honored them, but he would rather not have them about. Mr. Howells adds that "there was never a more devoted husband, and he was content to let his devotion to the sex end with that. He especially could not abide difference of opinion in women; he valued their taste, their wit, their humor, but he would have none of their reason. * * * Summer and winter he sat there among his books, sel- dom stirring abroad by day except for a walk, and by night yet more rarely." The isolation of Hawthorne was almost conventual. There were months together when he scarcely held human intercourse outside of his own family, seldom going out except at twilight, or to take the nearest way to the most convenient solitude. He said that he doubted whether so much as twenty people in the town were aware of his existence for nine or ten years. He lived habitually within himself, and seemed, as his son Julian said, to find no better society. It was said that he roamed the woods by day, and, in the moonlight nights of winter skated upon the lake alone until midnight. It has been affirmed of him that he withdrew himself from the face of man and meditated for twelve lonely years on humanity. It was said that Voltaire had talents well adapted for society ; but at one period of his life he passed five years in the most secret seclusion, and indeed usually lived in retirement. 157 A CONGLOMEEATE De Tocqueville had a strong aversion to general so- ciety. His manner was quiet and dignified but some- what cold. A gentleman who for a time acted as his secretary declared that De Tocqueville was the most re- ticent man he ever met. There are many persons who are instinctively averse to formality and conventionalism. In our own com- munity it devolved upon Mr. A. to introduce Mr. B. to Captain C. A. addressing B., said: "My friend here was a captain during the entire period of the war be- tween the states, and exhibited his prowess on many bat- tlefields. He has since resided amongst us and is uni- versally beloved by the people of this section ; indeed, we cannot do him too much honor." A. then addressing Captain C, said: "My friend hexe has recently gradu- ated with high honors at university. He is the prince of athletes, as you may readily observe. It is his purpose to become a lawyer and his many friends confidently expect that he will attain high rank in his chosen profession. Mr. B., allow me to introduce you to Captain C. Shake hands with each other, gentlemen." The captain retreating one step, and bowing, replied: "Pardon me; I am not making any new acquaintances now. I already know more people than I can treat well." Among the striking characteristics of Bismarck was his evident antipathy to ceremonial. An Englishman when presented to the Duke of Well- ington, remarked to the duke that he would always re- gard it as the greatest honor of his life — the privilege of shaking hands with the great hero of Waterloo. The duke replied : "Oh ! don't act the d fool." 158 SOCIETY AND CONVENTIONALISM Eude, the celebrated sculptor, declared: "I do my very best, and praises could neither make me do more nor better, whereas censure would trouble me. If my works are good they will endure; if not, all the lauda- tion in the world would not save them from oblivion." His biographer at the end of a fascinating delineation of the character and philosophy of this extraordinary man, observes, that the reader may imagine how diffi- cult it was to persuade a man of this kind to pay visits of ceremony, in correct costume, with gloves and a neat- ly brushed hat. Another of the world's celebrities asks the question, *^What place indeed is there in the shallow frivolous thing called society for noble thoughts and feelings ?'' It was said in commendation of Sydney Smith that he had the courage in a luxurious, artificial society, where weak men are crushed by conventionalism, of appearing what he was and spending no more than he could afford. Mr. Bigelow, American ambassador to France, dur- ing the period of our civil war, relates that he was called upon one morning by Governor Morton, of Indiana, who was fond of being spoken of by the press as the war governor. Morton presented a letter from Mr. Seward then secretary of state, commending him to the usual courtesies due from the embassy. He wished Mr. Bige- low to present him to the emperor, that he might have an opportunity to talk with him in private about our re- lations with France and Mexico, and to say to him some things which it might not be suitable for the official rep- resentative of the government in Paris to say. That 159 A CONGLOMEEATB coming from him, what he said to the emperor might have its weight without in any way officially compromis- ing the government or Mr. Bigelow. The latter replied that he did not well see how he could comply with the governor's wishes without special instructions : that if he presented him officially to the emperor, the ambas- sador, by so doing, made his government just as much responsible for what Morton might say as if he had said it himself, and that he was not warranted in authoriz- ing any person to say to the emperor anything which would not be suitable for the ambassador of the United States to say to him. Morton could not disguise his great disappointment. In order to comfort him, Mr. Bigelow said to him that there would be a grand ball at the palace the following week and that he would pro- cure invitations for himself and Mrs. Morton, which he did. Mr. Bigelow adds : "In a few days Morton came in and said he had been informed that a unifoim of some kind would be necessary for the occasion — and then asked me what they would say at home if he were reported to have been at a ball in Paris wearing a sword and a cocked hat — in a tone as if what they would say ^lambs would not forgive nor worms forget.' His ques- tion was one that I did not feel competent to -answer. I gave him the address of a tailor who could fit him for the occasion at an expenditure of from 50 to 75 francs. He went off not cheerfully, but apparently satisfied. In a day or two he sent me a note declining the honor of being presented at court." Mr. Bigelow, with delicate irony, concludes his account of the incident as follows: "Afterward Morton introduced in the senate a bill for 160 "THE EEMINISCENCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH regulating the tailoring of the diplomatic corps to suit the standards of his senatorial constituency. This was the only official result of the governor's first and only visit to the old world." Mr. Arthur Christopher Benson, whose ^^From a Col- lege Window" and "Upton Letters" have delighted so many readers, declares that one of the important priv- ileges of advancing years is the decreasing tyranny of convention. He says that with every year he gets more and more impatient with conventionality. That when the ordinary usages of life have been complied with, all sensible people ought to have a line of their own about occupation, amusements, friends, and not to run to and fro like sheep just where the social current sets. He says that he has learned gradually that after a decent compliance with superficial conventionalities, there are not only no penalties attached to independence, but that there, and there alone, is happiness to be found. This eminent writer evidently has the courage of his convic- tion, because he does not hesitate to give a practical ap- plication of his theories. He says: "Now, if I am asked to stay at a tiresome house I refuse. I decline in- vitations to garden parties and public dinners and dances, because I know that they will bore me ; and as to games, I never play them if I can help, because I find they do not entertain me." OF GOLDV^IN SMITH. We have read with intense interest the "Eeminiscences of Goldwin Smith," recently published. It is a large 161 A CONGLOMERATE volume containing nearly five hundred pages. The author was an English essayist and historical writer. He was born at Heading in 1823 and died in Canada in 1910; was educated at Eton and Oxford; took his degree of B. A. at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1845; became fellow and tutor in the university, and was called to the bar in 1850. He did not enter upon legal practice, but became a member of several educational commissions. In 1856 he was made regius professor of modern history at Oxford. In 1868 he came to the United States, having been elected professor of constitu- tional history in Cornell University, Ithaca, N". Y. This position he resigned in 1871. He then removed to Canada, where he was appointed a member of the sen- ate of the University of Toronto. In addition to his numerous historical writings, he was a frequent con- tributor to periodical literature and delivered numerous lectures upon social and political topics. There are many reasons why the book is invaluable. Its author was a man of the highest scholastic attain- ments and the broadest culture : he had the deep sagacity that may be acquired by long habits of thinking and study ; he had a vast comprehension, a maturity of judg- ment and was unsurpassed in critical acumen and pro- fundity of knowledge; he bore an unsullied character through the turbid waters of political contention; his knowledge of human nature was consummate, and, while his wisdom was that both of observation and reading, one must be especially impressed by his depth of observa- tion. His keen analysis of character and conduct is universally recognized. 162 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH We have seen that he was called to the bar in 1850. His powers, though admirably adapted for grasping the fundamental principles of law, were probably not of a nature to render him successful in legal practise — and, besides, it certainly was not the design of his existence that his talents should be wasted in the contention of the courts. Mr. Smith's pretensions to eminence did not rest upon his oratorical powers ; indeed, he frankly admits that he was not an orator. He should have thanked his stars for this deficiency — if the term be understood in its accepted modern signification. We cannot conceive of the author of "Eeminiscences'^ acting in the role of the modern orator. We know what extraordinary temporary effects have been produced by the mere manner of an orator, without any uncommon weight or worth of mat- ter. He has been compared to a magnificent meteor which shot majestically across the heavens, from pole to pole, and straight expired in glorious blaze. Often- tim_es he is a mere rhetorician and his discourse con- sists more of pomp of words than greatness of thought. The possession of this accomplishment has been known to be conducive to inordinate presumption and vanity, as exemplified by the rhetorician who went all the way to Carthage to instruct Hannibal in the art of war."^ ' We have in mind a public man, now in middle life, who began his career with many "latent possibilities of great- ness." Well endowed by nature, highly educated, not de- ficient in perseverance, with an insinuating address, and with many graces of person and manner, his friends were confident of a great future for him. Unfortunately, how- ever, he conceived the idea that in order to attain great- ness, he must become a voluble rhetorician, must harangue 163 A CONGLOMEEATE The "Eeminiscences'^ is not only an invaluable reper- tory of facts; it also gives expression to the profound and comprehensive views of the author upon questions of national and international importance, that arose on both sides of the Atlantic during his long and chequered career. He knew the prominent public men both of England and America^ with many of whom he was on terms of personal intimacy. His singular propensity to observe and comment upon the human character is everywhere apparent. His recollections of contemporary English statesmen are of intense interest; included in the number are Bright, Cobden, Brougham, Peel, Disraeli, Salisbury and Gladstone. He knew the great scientists Huxley, Tyndall, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill and Agassiz. In the domain of literature, he was acquainted with Dickens, Bulwer, Hallam, Carlyle, Guizot, Macaulay, Louis Blanc, Froud and Tennyson. He also describes the personalities of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and Louis Napoleon, and gives his estimates of their char- popular audiences with every species of rhodomontade, and, if possible, stir their passions to the inmost depths. He has sailed along upon the surface of the great ocean of learning, apparently oblivious of the riches to be found in the depths below. Even his most intimate frifends, so far as we know, have never accused him of profundity, either in law, statecraft, or diplomacy. His merit is almost wholly rhetorical. He does not succeed well either in ex- position or refutation. He has ignored the obvious fact "that the vigorous and audacious bursts which overwhelm an audience at the moment, and are the birth of the mo- ment, die almost as soon as born." The most that can just- ly be said of him, even by his most ardent admirers, is that "he is like an exquisite side dish not sufficiently sub- stantial for a full meal." He has been relegated to private life. 164 ^THE EEMimSCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH acters and abilities. His reminiscences of the great sol- diers Wellington, Lee, Grant, Sherman and Mead will be read with especial interest. He knew Lincoln, Seward, Emerson, Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell and Ban- croft, and writes entertainingly of them all. In this connection he discusses the war between the states, hav- ing sojourned in America while the great conflict was going on. All his sympathies and predilections were with the North, but he had not been influenced in his opinions by fifty years of agitation, crimination and re- crimination, so that his views on this subject are pre- sumably impartial. In 1848 his father, who was a physician, having in- dependent means, gave up his profession, in which he had been very successful, and retired to a country house at Mortimer, eight miles from Eeading. They had many visitors at Mortimer — men eminent in literature, state-craft, diplomacy and war. He says that the coun- try houses in that part of rural England were beautiful, but complains that in the country society there was no enchantment; and he does not omit to relate the im- portant fact that there was a parson in his parish who only put on a white tie when he was going to deal for a horse. The country-seat of the Duke of Wellington was in an adjoining parish. Mr. Smith relates that there was a farm which ran into the duke's estate and which he wished to buy; but it was held at too high a price. One day he was greeted by his bailiff with the glad tidings that the owner of the farm was in difficulties and was forced to sell at a low price. "I don't want to take ad- 165 A CONGLOMERATE vantage of any man's difficulties/' the duke replied; "go and give him the fair price for his land." Mr. Smith declares that the names and faces of his schoolmates are as fresh in his memory as if he had just left the school; while he forgets the names and faces of people to whom he was introduced yesterday. This fact will be confirmed by the experience of al- most every man of advanced years. Smith inquires what is memory? "Wliat is it that stores up these myriads of impressions and retains them for seventy years? It is, of course, something physical, since the receptive or retentive power of the retina is diminished, as I know too well, by old age." Foreigners of distinction often visited Eton. "I saw in the schoolyard," says Smith, "Daniel Webster, with his brow and port of Jove." This visit of Webster to Eton was when he was negotiating the Ashburton treaty between Great Britain and the United States. On one occasion at the end of the summer term at Eton, Queen Victoria was present. At her side stood the Prince Consort, "with features regular and hand- some, but wanting in expression." Smith observes that while it is true that the prince was canonized for his virtues when he died, that while he lived he was un- popular on account of his manner, especially with women, and adds : "Englishmen will bear a high man- ner in high people, though a frank manner pleases them more ; but Prince Albert had in fatal perfection the con- descending manner of German royalty. Happily he did not transmit it to his son."^ * Afterwards His Majesty Edward VII. 1G6 "THE KEMINISCEXCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH Mr. Smith describes Queen Victoria as being dumpy but comely, with a fresh complexion, low forehead, re- ceding chin and prominent eyes. That she had in short the features of the family — that notwithstanding hex dumpiness, she acquired a queenly bearing. "She was a good and domestically exemplary, but in no way ex- traordinary woman.'' Our author avers that he was unambitious — and that the university honors thrust upon him at the outset as a sort of distinction had been the source of more pain than pleasure. That his great pleasures have always been domestic, and that he should have been happier in a perfectly private and tranquil walk of life. He has something to say of football. He asserts that in his time the game was never played by any adults but the roughs of the North, and when they played it at Eton only the ball was kicked, whereas everything now is kicked but the ball. He declares that the statement now made that character is less masculine than it was is not a paradox, athletic force being mascular, not moral. Mr. Smith became regius professor of modern history at Oxford and was a member of the National Education Commission. He declares that at Oxford they were almost entirely free from the hazing, which he characterizes as the "strange opprobrium of American colleges." Cobden said to Mr. Smith when he was going to America, "There are two sublimities in nature, the sub- limity of rest and the sublimity of motion. The sun- set Alps are the sublimity of rest, the sublimity of mo- 167 A CONGLOMERATE tion is Niagara." He observes that Cobden would now find Niagara turned into a power and railroads running up the sunset Alps. He writes of his travels and he says that at Dresden he often stood before the Sistine Madonna. He ex- presses the opinion that this is the only infant Jesus with a supernatural look ; and it occurred to him that the effect might have been produced by putting the eyes of a man into a child's face. As to the pictures of the virgin and child in general, he expresses the opinion, in which we must all concur, that art toils in vain to de- pict deity as a child in a mother's arms. He much prefers the former manner of spending one's vacation. Then a man who had a holiday reposed. He asserts that the present age is so restless that it can find repose only in action. "If a man has a holiday, he sets out to travel as far as he can by rail, encountering al- most as many cares in catching trains, looking after bag- gage and getting rooms at hotels as there are in the business for relief from which he flies." He knew Guizot, the celebrated French statesman and historian, having made his acquaintance when the latter was an exile in London. He received a kind invitation to visit the home of the eminent Frenchman. Their talk, as they paced the garden after breakfast, was mainly about the religious state of Europe. Guizot seemed to look with complacency on the Papacy as a conservative power. Coming to the subject of Ireland, he stopped in his walk, and with an emphatic wave of his hand, said "The conduct of England to Ireland for the last thirty years has been admirable." Smith re- 168 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH plied that in intention it had; but that they had still to do away with the Irish church establishment. To this Guizot assented^ and then repeated what he said be- fore. He was well acquainted with Louis Blanc, the French politician, historian, political writer and socialist. Mr. Smith relates that they sat on Eichmond Hill through a long summer afternoon talking of his doings and those of his party in France. He found that in exile he was moderate as well as very lovely and attractive, but that he seemed to have no definite policy, though he had strong feelings, and it was the belief of Mr. Smith that if the guillotine had been put into his hands he would have used it. He relates interesting stories of Lord Wastbury. Meeting him one morning in consultation about an im- portant bill, seeing him very lively, and knowing how great his burden of work was, Mr. Smith complimented him on the ease with which he bore it. "Yes,'^ he re- plied, "I thank God it is so, and I owe it under Provi- dence to my habit of always working early in the morn- ing, not late at night. "I set out in life,^' he added in a pensive tone, "with many dear friends who worked late at night. I have buried them all." Mr. Smith was offered a permanent place in the pub- lic service, which he declined, he said, because it was not his line. He declared that when he got the professor- ship of history at Oxford, which came to him unasked, he had all that he desired in life. It was the opinion of our author that the public school cannot do much to mould character or manner. He 169 A CONGLOMERATE says: "The influence of the teachex as a rule seems not to be great. It is apt to have against it the fond parent, who, the teacher not having been chosen by him, is apt to side with the refractory child. The private school seems to be generally preferred to the public school by those who can aflord it, though they have as taxpayers to pay for both.^' He relates an anecdote illustrative of the perfection of jury trial. His instructor in pleading told him that a country gentleman popular in the neighborhood had a trial coming on at court. The day before the trial a farmer called on him and said, "Mr. Temple, sir, you've a cause coming on to-morrow. Don't you be afeared, sir; I am on the jury. I have just bought a new pair of leather breeches, and I'll sit a hole in 'em afore I find agin yer." What he says in respect to the trial of a cause in an English court is interesting, especially to members of the American bar. Two things impressed him. One was the superior effect of a quiet and seemingly fair manner on a jury. He says that "bullying witnesses is certainly a mis- take as well as an offense. The natural sympathy of a juryman when a witness is being bullied by counsel is with the witness. The juryman may some day be a witness himself." The other thing was the command which an English judge has of his court, which, in sav- ing of time as well as in security for justice, amply re- pays to the country the large salaries required to tempt the leaders from the bar. He sa3^s, "I have since seen something of American courts of justice and have been 170 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH struck with the contrast. A judge of the American supreme court told me that in attending an English court he had been surprised at the expedition with which cases were settled, while, so far as he could see, justice was done. The explanation is the command which the English judge has over his court ; and, it must be added, the freedom with which he is allowed to charge the rural jury, whose power of reviewing and balancing the evi- dence would often, in a case at all complicated, totally fail.^' Our author first met Macaulay at the dinner table of Sir E. H. Inglis, a member for the University of Ox- ford. He says that Macaulay did talk essays and en- gross the talking — conversation it could not be called. He would seize upon a theme and dilate, with copious illustrations, from a marvellous memory. He declares that he has seen a whole evening party kept listening in a ring to an essay on final causes and the limits of their recognition, with numerous illustrations. Mr. Smith regarded it as an exuberance rather than assump- tion or ostentation. On one occasion, however, he thought Macaulay a bore. "It was at a breakfast at Lord Stan- hope's. Lord Eussell was beginning to give us an ac- count of the trial of Queen Caroline, which he had wit- nessed. Macaulay broke in with an essay and Lord Eussell was swept away by its tide. Of all English talkers that I ever heard, Macaulay seemed to me the first in brilliancy. He is the first in brilliancy of Eng- lish writers, though not always the most sober or just. Of all his writings the least just, while it is perhaps the most brilliant, is the essay on Warren Hastings." 171 A CONGLOMERATE Lord Houghton, from his good natured siniplicity of speech, had earned him the nickname of the "cool of the evening/^ He was a great and a most successful collector of autographs. He showed Mr. Smith on the same page some love- verses written by Robespierre when a youth, and a death-warrant signed by him under the reign of terror. "General Grant, when he went to break- fast with the lord, was presented with a round robin which he had signed as a cadet at West Point. Hough- ton could not tell how he obtained it." Mr. Smith's friendship with Hallam's son Henry opened to him the house of his illustrious father, the author of the "Constitutional History of England" and the "State of Europe During the Middle Ages". "The historian was then old and bowed down by the loss of the son, whose epitaph is "In Memoriam," as well as by that of his wife and his favorite daughter. In earlier days he had been rather a social terror. People in his presence had spoken in fear of contradiction. It was said that he got out of bed in the night to contradict the watchman about the hour and the weather. Sydney Smith said that the chief use of the electric telegraph would be to enable Hallam to contradict a man at Birmingham. But in his old age and to a' boy like me Hallam was all mildness and kindness. I see the old man now, sitting in his library with gout in his hands, in mournful dignity waiting for the end. But he would know that his work was done." Our author was intimate with Huxley, the great com- parative anatomist and supporter of the Darwinian hy- pothesis, and also with Tyndall, the natural philosopher ; 172 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH with Tyndall he became very intimate, and greatly loved him, though on some points they widely differed. "He called himself a materialist, and never allowed you to call him anything else, ever faithful to his formula that matter contained the potentiality of all life. But never was a man less materialist in the gross sense of the term. In 1876 he became well acquainted with Herbert Spencer, author of the Synthetic Philosophy. They were staying at Buxton together. Mr. Smith is positive in the assertion that if a new moral world is built upon materialism, Herbert Spencer will have been one of the chief builders. "In any case,'' says Mr. Smith, "he was a shining light and power: Of his personal eccen- tricities plenty of stories have been told. His nervous sensibility was extreme. A game of billiards was enough to deprive him of his night's rest. A literary flippancy of mine once caused an estrangement between us, but I am happy to say we became the best of friends again." Some of Mr. Smith's most interesting social experi- ences were his visits to The Grange. He met there Lord Ashburton, whom he describes as a man of intellect and culture, and by no means a social cipher, though a less important figure than his wife. He refers to Lady Ash- burton as a great lad}^, perhaps the nearest counterpart that England could produce to the queen of a French salon before the revolution. "In person, though not beautiful, she was majestic. Her wit was of the very brightest, and dearly she loved to give it play. She had at the same time depth of character and tenderness of feeling." It was here that our author met Mrs. Bigelow 173 A CONGLOMERATE Lawrence, so renowned for her marvellous beauty. Mrs. Lawrence was Sally Ward, the daughter of Robert J. AYard, of Kentucky. She has been described as "a radiant woman, instinct with sparkling life from the crown of her beautiful head to the tips of her slender feet, spoiled, wilful, lovely and loving.^^ Carlyle was always at the Grange. He was a great favorite with Lady Ashburton. Mr. Smith says his talk was like his books, but wilder — that his pessimism was monotonous and sometimes wearisome, though he could not fail to say striking things, still less to use striking words. Tennyson was also there. Mr. Smith is not alone in his adoration of the poet, but confessed his in- ability to worship the man. He declares that Tennyson's self-consciousness and sensitiveness to criticism were ex- treme. He was fond of reading his own poetry aloud, but on one occasion he caused general disappointment by his refusal to do so. "At his side," says our author, "was sitting Carlyle, who had been publishing his contempt of poetry. Im- molating myself to the public cause, I went over to Car- lyle and asked him to come for a walk in the grounds. While we were gone the reading came off. I was re- minded of this incident, which I had long forgotten, by a reference to it the other day in the Illustrated Lon- don News." Mrs. Carlyle was also at the Grange. She was a modest personage, rather in the background. Mr. Smith expresses great respect for her character as well as admiration for her wit and declares that he had always cherished the memory of the message which she sent him from her death-bed. Bishop Wilberforce w^as 174 "THE KEMIOTSCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH also in the circle of the Grange. Our author says he had a good right to be there, for he was a very brilliant talker, especially happy in repartee, and of his eminent ability there could be no doubt, and his meritorious ac- tivity in his diocese was unquestioned. He observes, however, that the bishop "was at first a fine preacher, but at last his incessant activity, leaving no time for reading or thought, impaired the matter of his sermons and compelled him to make up for lack of substance by delivery, of which, having an admirable voice and man- ner, he remained a perfect master." Mr. Smith only once saw Dickens, but he had a friend who was very intimate with him. This friend told him much of the unhappy relations of Dickens and his wife. "It was a common case; Dickens had married at a low level, and his wife had not risen with him; otherwise there was no fault on her side." Our author here ob- serves that the matrimonial history of writers of works of imagination has often been unhappy: their imagina- tion turns a woman into an angel, and then they find that she is a woman." It seems that about this time the scandalous world was being regaled with the war be- tween Bulwer and his wife. "^Tien Bulwer was being elected at Hertford," says Mr. Smith, "his consort drove up in a post-chaise, mounted the hustings and delivered a philippic against him. Their son was credited with some lines on the occasion: "Who came to Hertford in a chaise, And uttered anytlilng but praise, About the author of my days? My mother." 175 A CONGLOMEEATE Our author very truly observes that if Dickens' own home was not happy, few writers have done more to make other homes happy and diffuse kindly feelings. His "Christmas Carol" is an evangel. We knew something of Brougham before reading the fascinating "Eeminiscences" of Goldwin Smith. We have read of his marvelous versatility — that to portray him one must not only portray a lawyer, but an author, a philosopher, a scientist, a statesman, a humanitarian and a reformer. That he was as great in peace as N'a- poleon in war. That to him repose was an impossibility. We have read Wordsworth's definition of Brougham's most salient characteristic thus : "Independence is the explosive energy of conceit making blind havoc with expediency." We have seen his own epitaph which, it has been truly said, not only recognizes his volubility, but illustrates his wit: "Here reader, turn your weeping eyes, My fate a useful moral teaches: The hole in which my body lies Would not contain one-half my speeches." Sumner writes of his visit to Brougham: "My won- der at him rises anew. To-night he has displayed the knowledge of the artist and the gastronomer. * * * He was horribly profane. When I took leave of him, he exclaimed, ^Oh, God ! must you go ?' " Mr. Smith, in his observations in respect to his eminent contemporaries, does not omit this extraordinary man. He says that Brougham aspired to leadership not only in law, politics and literature, but in science. His 176 ^^THE EEMIOTSCENCES'^ OF GOLDWIN SMITH private secretary is the authority for the statement that when he was leading at once in the bar and in Parlia- ment, making one speech several hours long, he could do with two hours' sleep each night. On Saturday after- noon he would turn in till Monday morning. His marvellous endurance is attested by the fact that "when he was in full practise on the northern circuit and at the same time candidate for the representation of York- shire in Parliament, he would, after a long day in court, get into a post-chaise and go very long distances to election meetings.'' He was ardently devoted to his friends, weeping bitterly when he heard of the death of an old political associate. Our author declares that "nothing can adequately paint the galvanic motions of Brougham's face and figure, and that his activity and productiveness were miraculous." Smith had the greatest respect for Peel, but loathed Disraeli and what he was pleased to call the "blackguard combination," by which the Peel government was over- thrown. He was thrown much into Lord Salisbury's company, but declares that he always felt and expressed more con- fidence in his judgment and rectitude than in his strength, and refers to the observation of Bismarck that Salisbury was a reed painted to look like iron as an exaggeration. He considered Froude, the historian, a man of genius and a most brilliant and fascinating writer, but asserts that neither accuracy nor justice ever was his strong point. Mr. Smith was offered the nomination for Chelsea 177 A CONGLOMEEATE and Kensington^ a constituency in which the Liberals had a safe majority, but he declined. He says: "I knew the difference between the pen and the tongue. I never was a speaker, nor had I strength for parliamen- tary life." He probably means that he made no pre- tensions to oratory. Our author was on terms of intimacy with many of the public men of England — with the Peelite circle at first, and afterward with Bright and Cobden, who are so well known and so highly appreciated in this coun- try. Sir Eobert Peel was always the object of his po- litical allegiance. He says : "I saw in him a statesman above party who sought and studied with singleness of heart the good of the whole nation, and though I had less respect for some venerable institutions than he had, I recognized his wisdom in preferring administrative re- form, which he steadfastly pursued, to organic change. Beyond doubt he had the confidence not only of the ma- jority, but of the most intelligent and respectable part of the nation." We- are told by Mr. Smith that one part of the parlia- mentary strategy of Disraeli was the concoction of lit- tle pointed sayings about the personal peculiarities of his opponents. He said of Horsman, a Whig politician, that he was a "superior person," and alluded to Hope's "Batavian Grace." Lord Salisbury was "a master of gibes, flouts and jeers." He tried to kill Gladstone by saying that he was a "sophistical rhetorician intoxicated with the exuberance of his own verbosity." "Disraeli was a Jew by descent, but a baptized Christian. He 178 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH was married to a rich wife. He started in public life as an adventurer, angling for a seat in Parliament by baits thrown out to both parties, and going through a series of transformations in the course of which he had a slanging match with O'Connell, who called him the "lineal representative of the impenitent thief." Our author says of Gladstone that his sympathy was with eyerybody who was struggling to be free, and this it was mainly which led him in the American war of secession to lean to the side of the South, and to pro- claim that Jefferson Davis had made the South a na- tion. Gladstone's private character was admirable in every way and Mr. Smith's delineation of his public character is both interesting and instructive. He says: "That Gladstone was a statesman of the very highest class I should find it difficult to believe. His moves al- ways seemed to be impulses rather than parts of a set- tled plan. * * * Wlien his love of power and his pugnacity were excited, it is questionable whether he thought much of anything but victory. * * * There was nothing fine or indicative of high intellect in the face except the fire of the eye. The whole frame bespoke nervous energy. * * * As a speaker he was in the highest degree effective, but the effect was pro- duced by his command of the subject, by the ascendency of his character, by the impressiveness of his manner and an admirable voice rather than by any grace or force of language. He was at his best, I think, in expounding a great measure and steering it through the House. He had, as was said before, marred the freshness of his style 179 A CONGLOMEEATE by overmuch speaking in debating clnbs early in life. His prolixity, which Disraeli called his verbosity, was not felt by the hearers of his speeches, who were rather struck by his command of perfectly correct language, but it is greatly felt by his readers. * * * jf Glad- stone had not, like Brougham, the vanity of versatility, he had the propensity in large measure. It is true that his amazing powers of acquisition enabled him in a way to deal with many subjects. But his writings, enormously voluminous and various, are of little value." Smith was an ardent Free Trader. He observes that the Protectionist tariff of the United States itself was a war tariff; that while protectionism reigned in Amer- ican legislation, almost all the professors of political economy in the Ameiican universities and the writers on economy generally were on the side of free trade. Our author was on terms of personal intimacy with both Bright and Cobden and the three were in accord on the great paramount questions before the country. He says that Bright was not devoid of sentiment; that he adored Milton, and read poetry, as well as the Bible, better than any other man he ever heard. Cobden was a reader of Burke, Spenser and Cervantes, as his speeches and pamphlets show. He asserts that Bright's speeches are classic, and Cobden was a first-rate writer in a plain style; "that his heart was thoroughly open to beauty and to poetical impressions of every kind." We can readily concur in the belief of Cobden, Bright and Smith thai if the people were prosperous they would be happy, and that ir they were hcppy they v>^ould as a rule be good. 180 ^^THE REMmiSCENCES" OF GOLDWUST SMITH The motto of Bright and Cobden was "All constraint, Except what Wisdom lays on evil men. Is evil." They regarded the general function of government -as that of protecting, not regulating, the conduct of I lie. They (says Mr. Smith) would have gone heartily with anyone who sought to regulate taxation so that as little of the burden as possible should fall upon the poor; though they would not have gone with any one who wished to use the taxing power for the purpose of dema- gogic confiscation. Our author writes that "Liberalism — colonial, econom- ical and general — had early connected me with Bright and Cobden; but the tie was rendered much closer by sympathy and joint action at the time of the war in America between N"orth and South." He does not hesitate to give John Bright the foremost place among the British orators of his da}'. He says that Bright had no doubt formed his style on the Bible, which he had never heard read so well as when he heard him read it to his household. He de- scribes Bright's delivery as calm and impressive, with- out gesticulation or sppearance of oratorical passion; his enunciation was perfectly distinct, and he thus without straining his voice made himself heard in the largest hall. His weight and dignity of character added much to the impressiveness of his oratory. Our author asserts that Bright probably did not read much beyond the ma- terials of his speeches. "He was, however, fond of sonorous poetry, and once read aloud to me with great 181 A CONGLOMEEATE gusto a sonorous passage from the ^Epic of Hades/ by Lewis Morris. Of Milton he was very fond, both on poetical and political grounds. He asked me whom I thought the greatest of Englishmen and answered his own question by naming Milton, because Milton was so great at once as a man of letters and as a citizen. * * * As he sat on m}^ lawn at Oxford one summer afternoon when the music of the bells was floating from the ancient city, I overheard him say, "It would be very pleasant to be eighteen and to be coming here." Mr. Smith knew Cobden well. He declares that a man more transparently honest, more single-minded, more truthful, more entirely devoid of selfish ambition and of selfishness of every kind, more absolutely devoted to the service of his country and humanity, never appeared in public life. He says that Cobden looked forward, with much satisfaction, to the ultimate junction of Canada with the United States, and the union of the whole English-speaking race on the American continent; but he expected this to take place with the consent of the mother-country, and believed that it would be greatly to her advantage. Cobden was an absolute free trader; and differed essentially from those who, calling themselves free trad- ers, are in fact nothing of the kind, but merely advocates of a particular tariff, framed with reference to British industries and interests, but not necessarily suited to those of all the countries in the world. "His heart was with those who proposed absolutely to abolish all import duties, and supply their place, so far as was necessary, by direct taxation. His desire and hope were to make 182 "THE EEMimSCENCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH one commercial community of the whole human race." Our author notes the fact that Peel and Cobden, after their long strife and final reconcilement, were in a way united in their burials. "Peel lies, not in Westminster Abbey, but in his home ; Cobden lies in a country church- yard. Peel, by his will, specially forbade his son to accept a peerage on account of his father's services. Cobden was essentially a republican." Those ambitious gentlemen who, in our own country, are seduously cultivating the art of public speaking, may profit by what Cobden says of himself and of his own experience : "You must not judge me by what I say at these tumultuous public meetings. I constantly regret the necessity of violating good taste and kind feeling in my public harangues. I say advisedly necessity, for I defy anybody to keep the ear of the public for seven years upon any one question without striving to amuse as well as instruct. People do not attend public meetings to be taught, but to be excited, flattered and pleased. If they are simply lectured, they may sit out the lesson for once, but they will not come again; and as I have re- quired them again and again, I have been obliged to amuse them, not by standing on my head or eating fire, but by kindred feats of juggler}^, such as appeals to their self-esteem, their combativeness, or their humor. You know how easily in touching their feelings one degener- ates into flattery, vindictiveness or grossness." Mr. Smith again asserts that in spite of their con- flicts, Peel and Cobden were really united in their polit- ical lives, and it may be said that in death they were not 183 A CONGLOMEEATE divided. iNTeitlier of them was buried in Westminster Abbey. "Peel lies among his family and neighbors. Cobden lies in a country churchyard. A man who had worked for fame will like to rest in a pantheon; a man who has worked for duty and for the approbation of the power of duty will perhaps prefer to rest by the side of honest labor, and among those whom he has loved." Cobden's intense belief in free trade was based upon the assumption that the world was a single community; and our author suggests that while Cobden could not bring the human race to that "far-off goal of philan- thropy/' he did something to help it on its way. Mr. Smith was appointed regius professor of modern history at Oxford in 1858. He had previously been con- nected with the Saturday Eeview. Wliile the new posi- tion was wholly unsolicited, he declares that it was the height of his desire and he thought with pleasure that he was settled in it for life. "On the north of the Parks/' says he, "I built me a little house which I called Park's End, and which afterward had the honor of being occupied by Max Miiller and after him by Pro- fessor Osier. I planted my little garden. I laid out my little croquet ground, which in summer evenings was the scene of pleasant little croquet parties followed by pleasant little suppers." He says that for one of his class and pursuits society could not be more delightful than it was at Oxford in those days. The professors, with the resident tutors and fellows of colleges, formed a circle with various lines and interests, moderate incomes, socially and hos- pitably disposed. "Hospitality, easy and frugal, college 184 "THE EEMIXISCENCES"' OF GOLDWIN SMITH kitchens and common rooms supplied. At the little dinner parties talk was rational, yet bright and merry." Mr. Smith, as professor of history at Oxford, had for a pnpil the then Prince of Wales, afterward King Ed- ward YIT. He sa3^s that the prince was a comely youth, like his mother in face, and with a slight German accent, showing, as he had not been in German}^, that German was spoken in his domestic circle; and that his manner was very engaging and he was thoroughly good-natured. Mr. Smith was invited to go with the prince's party to Canada, but could not leave his chair. He says "The king has always shown a kindly remembrance of his old preceptor." Our author sa3^s of Louis Napoleon that he, like his putative uncle, "wanted the consecration of glory for his usurped throne, and a recognized place for himself, an upstart of birth not unquestioned, among the crowned heads of Europe, which he gained by being allowed pub- licly to embrace the Queen of England. * * * jjg was a political cracksman who, with his legs under your table, would be meditating a raid upon your strong box. His friend and confederate, Palmerston, at last awak- ened to his real character and bade the nation stand upon its guard." Mr. Smith, in commenting upon bribery in English elections, declares that "Demagogic bribery by the sacri- fice of public interest corrupts the community at large and costs the state a good deal. Witness the American pension list." The veterans of our civil war will doubt- less look with much disfavor upon this last statement. Our author discusses the American civil war. He 185 A CONGLOMEEATE says that the aristocratic and wealthy classes in England generally, exulting in the downfall of democracy, at once embraced the side of the South. But he declares that slavery was accursed: it was under the ban of hu- manity and that England had made great efforts and sacrifices for its extinction. He notes the fact, however, that in the United States, Congress, Lincoln and Seward had disclaimed any intention of making war on slavery, and Congress had offered to perpetuate its constitutional existence if the slave states would return to the Union. He adds: "We who took the side of the North had to contend that the formal was not the practical issue, and to make the masses see this was not easy, especially when the masses, by the cutting off of cotton, were being stinted of their bread." He declares that Lincoln, with all his wisdom and goodness of heart, never took — or at least never showed that he took — a right view of the case Tvdth which he had to deal; and that if he had, perhaps there would have been no war. Our author says that "Lincoln viewed and treated as a rebellion that which was in fact a nat- ural disruption, postponed for some time by uneasy shifts and compromises, but inevitable in the end. This same error pervaded reconstruction. It led to the fatal exclusion of the southern leaders from the work of re- construction, to carpet-bagging government, to the Ku- Klux, and to the almost desperate situation which has •ensued. * * * By us in England Lincoln's char- acter and history were unknown, and his official utter- ances were naturally taken as decisive." Our author avers that at this critical period of our 186 "THE REMINISCENCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH civil war England was unfortunate in her foreign min- ister. That Lord Russell's diplomatic manner was as bad as possible; it was haughty^ unconciliatory and brusque. On the other hand he declares that his country was fortuijate in having as the American ambassador Mr. Charles Francis Adams, "whose bearing throughout was excellent, and who, to the pride of aristocracy, could oppose the dignity of an illustrious line." Mr. Smith adds, "that Mr. Adams certainly was not exposed dur- ing those years to the social allurements, under the sweet but emasculating influence of which American ambas- sadors to England are apt to fall." In 1864, when the war was drawing to a close, Mr. Smith paid a visit to the United States charged with the sympathy of Bright, Cobden and other British friends of the North. He was desired at the same time to re- port on the real state of affairs. He says: "The first thing that struck me was that there was no civil war to be seen. The war was between two nations, formed by an inevitable disruption, and in the northern, which was the invading nation, though war was visibly on foot, and all minds and papers were full of it, life was un- disturbed. In the border states alone, which were the borderland between freedom and slavery, was there any- thing like civil war. Social intercourse, therefore, went on pleasantly as usual, and my enjoyment of it was com- plete. During this visit to America our author met Emerson and heard him lecture. What he has to say of Emerson and his writings is interesting, though we may not con- cur in all that he says on the subject. He writes : "I 187 A CONGLOMEEATE of course looked with interest on a man whose name and influence were so great. Emerson's character was un- doubtedly fine and his influence was very good. But I can not honestly say that I ever got much from his writings. I can find no sys- tem; I find only aphorisms; an avalanche, as it were, of unconnected pebbles of thought, some of them trans- parent, some translucent, some to me opaque. Carlyle introduced Emerson to the British public as one who brought new fire from the empjrrean. But the two men in genius were leagues apart, and Carlyle at last found the new fire a bore. George Venables, calling one even- ing on Carlyle at Chelsea, found himself received with extraordinary warmth, the reason of which Mrs. Carlyle explained by exclaiming, "Oh, we were afraid it was Emerson." I heard Emerson lecture. Now and then he shot a telling bolt. The rest of his discourse to me was almost darkness. I heard him read his own poetry aloud, but it remained as obscure to me as before. Cer- tain, however, it is that, by whatever means, he was an inspiring and elevating influence in his day.'' Mr. Smith also met Longfellow with interest, con- sidered him most attractive as a man, but could not give him credit for anything more than sweetness as a poet. He says that Bryant lives by his "Waterfowl'^ and al- most by that alone. He concedes that Poe had poetic genius if he had only taken more care of it and of him- self and asks if, excepting Poe, it can be said that America has produced a poet. He adds however, "Perhaps America might ask whether at this time there is such a thing as a true poet in the world." 188 "THE EEMimSCENCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH Our author spent man)^ days with Bancroft, the American historian, statesman and diplomatist, in his Newport villa. He says those days were most pleasant and instructive. When Bancroft told him that he knew Andrew Jackson well and that Jackson was mild by na- ture and put himself into a rage only when it would serve a purpose, Mr. Smith was greatly surprised. He says in respect to Bancroft's "History of the United States" that it is "in Fourth of July style, as was to be expected in that day; but it is a considerable work; easy reading, and not unfair or in bad taste for its time." He here digresses for a moment to toss a bouquet to the Eepublican party. He says: "The Eepublican party, as a body, remains the same, with the name un- changed. But how changed is the spirit! How unlike is this league of log-rolling monopolists to the patriot democracy headed by Lincoln in the days of the war!" Mr. Smith was impressed by the fact that it was for the Union rather than against slavery that the North appeared to be fighting. He says that when the people were asked the cause, the usual answer was "to uphold the law." "That slavery was the object of hostility chiefly because it was the cause of disruption. This was the case especially with the officers of the army, among whom the feeling against slavery was not strong. It was partly a sense of this, I believe, which caused Lin- coln to hesitate in proclaiming emancipation." Our author observes that the humanities and chivalries of war were well observed on both sides, except perhaps by the Southerners toward negro soldiers. He says this 189 A CONGLOMEEATE proved to him that there was a sun behind the cloud, and that the strife^, bitter as it was at the time, would end in reconciliation. It is very rarely, indeed, that Mr. Smith indulges in jocularity, but in this connection he could not omit to relate that a "secesh'^ lady at Balti- more had eloped with a Yankee trumpeter. In a more serious vein, however, he gives an incident confirming his view that the strife would end in reconciliation. He vouches for the truth of the story, having been furnished with the names of persons, time and place. "A Fed- eral commander with the local forces found himself in a very tight place. It was a question whether he should waste blood by fighting or surrender. He surprised the Confederate by pajdng him a visit under a flag of truce, and asking him for his candid opinion upon the case, saying that he could make a good fight, but did not wish to sacrifice the lives of his people in vain. The Con- federate showed him around the position and then gave him his candid opinion, which was that if his command formed part of a general plan of operations, he was bound to fight; otherwise he might with propriety sur- render.'^ He gives this story as illustrative of American char- acter and of the feelings of the military men on the two sides toward each other; and he asserts what we all know to be true, that the manifestations of intense bitterness were on the part of civilians. Mr. Smith entertained views on the subject of re- construction. He says if the military leaders of the South, after their defeat, instead of being treated as rebels could have been taken into counsel in the work 190 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH of reconstruction, the result, though it could hardly have solved the desperate negro problem, might have been far better than it was. He adds: "Neither Lincoln nor any one else seemed at that time to undeTstand that this was not a rebellion, but the inevitable parting of two groups of states, radically antagonistic in their social and political structure, which had been long held to- gether in uneasy union by hollow compromise, but had obeyed their natural impulses at last." Our author's estimates of the great leaders, both civil and military, in our civil war, are both instructive aud interesting. Being a foreigner, he is presumably impar- tial and uninfluenced by the tempestuous passions en- gendered by the war, amongst the people of the two sections of our own country. Speaking of Grant he says : "He was a silent, somewhat saturnine man, very simple in his demeanor and habits. His quarters were a common tent, in which was a chest with his kit marked 'Jj. S. G., U. S. A.' He was said to dislike military parade and even military music. He seems to have been less of a strategist than of a sledge-hammer of war, pounding his enemy by his blows, with little regard for the expenditure of life. He may be almost said to have professed the strategy of attrition. Of this the bloody battle of Cold Harbor, fought in a blind country, was a signal instance. * * * But there can be no doubt as to the inestimable service which Grant by his iron reso- lution and inflexible tenacity did the cause. His great victory at Fort Donelson was the first light of hope in a darkness which seemed almost that of despair. He also rendered a great service by firmly taking the whole war 191 A CONGLOMEEATE into his own hands and out of those of the politicians, whose meddling had done much mischief. * * * His generosity Grant showed by handing back to Sherman, when the attack on Vicksburg had succeeded, the protest which at the council-of-war Sherman had put in against the attack. His chivalry was shown by his demeanor to Lee after the surrender at Appomattox, when he treated Lee at once as a friend and refused to receive his sword. His good feeling and his good sense together he showed by at once paroling the beaten army, provid- ing for their wants, and giving them back their horses ^for their fall plowing.' " He nobly declined to enter Richmond as a conqueror. Our author affirms that Grant being totally without political experience was a failure in civil life, and that he was pitchforked into the Presidency by the passion of the Americans for military glory. He refers to Grant's hostility to Charles Sumner and says that "Between this rough soldier and such a man as Sumner, with his high- stepping culture and lofty self-esteem, antipathy was sure to be strong. That some one, to please Grant, was decrying Sumner to him, saying that Sumner was a freethinker and did not believe in th^ Bible. *Well,' said Grant, ^I suppose he didn't write it.' Wellington, between whom and Grant there was some resemblance, also once in his life said a good thing. AYhen he ap- peared at the Court of the Restoration the marshals of the empire turned their backs on him. The king apol- ogized to him for their rudeness. 'N'importe, Sire. C'est leur habitude,' was Wellington's reply." Mr. Smith met Grant and Mrs. Grant some 192 "THE REMINISCENCES'' OF GOLDWIN SMITH years afterward at a garden party at Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Can- terbury. He says that they looked a curiously rustic couple in that assemblage of fashion, and adds : "Grant was then touring under the auspices of politicians who wanted a third term for him and thought it might be secured by presenting him to the world's homage. No showman could have had a worse lion. Stanley, who showed Grant over Westminster Abbey, said that of all men of rank whom he had met Grant Svas the most boorish'. Grant was no doubt un- appreciative of antiquities, and Stanley had no oppor- tunity of diving into the character of the man." Our author met Sherman at a dinner of the Chamber of Commerce at New York. He says that Sherman was generally accounted the greatest strategist on the side of the North, though some put Thomas first. He ob- served that Sherman was then showing the effect of years. Some years afterward at Philadelphia he made the acquaintance of Meade, who appeared to him to be a high-minded soldier and a thorough gentleman. He says that Meade had done good service in restoring the tone of the Army of the Potomac when it had been run down under Hooker. Meade in his conversation said not a word against Grant but intimated that he did not admire the strategy of attrition. He says that Lee has been pronounced a great strat- egist by those whose judgment cannot be disputed, though only by an American writer has he been put above Marlborough. That Lee seems to have fought, 193 A CONGLOMERATE not against the Union nor for slavery; but simply as a liegeman of his state; that his character was fine^ and that it would have been well both for South and North if in reconstruction his voice could have been heard. Our author declares that Benjamin Butler was a curious personage. He says that Butler "was exceed- ingly ugly, and squinted horribly; but his face and figure were an incarnation of rude force, and reminded you of a steam ram. Unscrupulous he was in the high- est degree. But I believe his ruling passion was no- toriety rather than gain. Those who were put on his track at New Orleans found, as I was told at the time, no trace of his stealing for himself, though he had winked at the doings of subordinates. He was evidently a loving husband to his admirable wife and a loving father to his beautiful daughter. He was evidently popular with his aides and his men. He wanted to be President. This was his motive in his attack on Andrew Johnson and in his advocacy of repudiation. In his advocacy of repudiation he was misled, as the un- scrupulous are apt to be, by underrating the general honesty of the world." Our author continues, "As a general, Ben was not a success. Grant said that he was ^bottled up' in the bend of the James river where he was carrying on some engineering operations suggested by his restlessly in- ventive genius. He did me the honor to impart to me his plan for blowing up Fort Fisher, which had ob- stinately resisted federal attack, by running ashore un- der it a gunboat loaded with powder. I could not help venturing to suggest to the general the ineffectiveness of 194 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH powder fired in the open air. But Butler thought he had scientific proof that the displacement of air would be so great that Fort Fisher would cease to exist. The experiment was afterward made, and the breaking of two or three windows in the fort was the only result. Our author saj^s that he had the honor of being the guest of Mr. Seward in Washington and saw the di- plomatist unbend in his social hour, and that there was no limit to the freedom of his talk. He declares that Seward was the least cautious of diplomatists, and some- times startled the British ambassador, Lord Lyons, who was accustomed to the reticence and impassiveness of diplomatists in the old world. *^^Crossing the mud-hole between Seward's house and an official building/' Mr. Smith presented his card and found himself in the presence of Abraham Lincoln. He says: "The notion formed of Lincoln in England had been that of a Yankee rail-splitter with an ungainly and grotesque figure, displaying an unfeeling levity by the utterance of rather coarse jokes, from which he did not abstain even among the relics of the battle-field. Un- gainly and grotesque the figure, with its gaunt height, its shock of unkempt hair, and its large hands and feet, undeniably was; but on the face, instead of levity, sat melancholy and care. * * * Lincoln since his death has been deified. He has been styled the greatest states- man of the age. The American mind is never sparing of superlatives in either extreme. He had the wisdom which happily belongs to a perfectly honest and simple character. He never was misled by cupidity, vanity, or selfishness of any kind. He had also, as the result of 195 A CONGLOMEKATE a naturally sympathetic nature, improved by -campaign practise, a remarkable power of reading public senti- ment and keeping himself in touch with what he called the plain people. His addresses and state papers are admirable; the simplicity and clearness of their style bespoke the integrity and sincerity of their author." Mr. Smith here reiterates with emphasis what he has said more than once before, that Lincoln if he saw, never showed that he saw the fundamental character of the situation with which he had to deal. That he al- ways spoke and wrote as if he took secession to be a re- bellion, whereas it was a natural severance of the slave- owning South from the free ISTorth, social structure having as usual asserted its ascendancy over political organization. Mr. Smith was on terms of intimacy with John Stuart Mill. They were together on the Jamaica Com- mittee. He regarded Mr. Mill as the most strictly con- scientious man that he ever knew. He says that in an unhappy moment Mill allowed himself to be elected to the House of Commons — that he sat there night after night like an image of patience, listening to debates on which the time of the great philosopher and economist was miserably wasted. * * * Our author adds: "I have always looked upon him as a notable instance of the division which is taking place between the dogmas and the ethics of Christianity; the dogmas remaining with the orthodox, the ethics often going to the infidel. Upon the ethics it is to be hoped Christendom will re- unite." 196 ^'THE EEMINISCENCES*' OF GOLDWIN SMITH Mr. Smith returned to America in 1868 with the view of further studying American history and institutions. He afterward became Professor of Constitutional His- tory in Cornell University, upon the urgent solicitation of Andrew D. White and others. He pays a well de- served tribute to Mr. White, referring to him as a ^Vealthy citizen of Syracuse, a man of the highest at- tainments and culture, who devoted to the foundation of the university not only much of his wealth, but labor, which was of higher value and bestowed at a greater sac- rifice. * * * He has shone as a diplomatist at St. Petersburg and Berlin. He has also shone as a writer.'' Mr. Smith deplores the fact that what he terms the extravagant and costly passion for athletics, which had ils source in the universities of the English gentry, has invaded in full force the American universities, and Cornell among the number. He says : "University au- thorities ought to have the courage and integrity to con- trol it. University education is already challenged by commercial men as interfering with a youth's start in business life. To this challenge, if the student is to spend his time and his father's money in training his muscles, there will be no reply. After all, no excellence that he can gain in that way will put him on a level with many a negro porter. I have, in fact, seen a negro porter who was physically a finer man than any college athlete. The model of perfect human form in the Lon- don museum of the College of Surgeons is or was a negro, who we may be sure was as nature had made him. A lower level still is reached when the student becomes a professional performer and gate-money is the object 197 A CONGLOMERATE of the game. A university which permits this suffers absokite degradation." Before he became a professor at Cornell, Mr. Smith was one of a set of non-resident lecturers which included Agassiz, Lowell, GeDrge Curtis and Baj^ard Taylor. Agassiz was lecturing when he arrived ; they boarded to- gether in the Clinton House for some weeks and our author greatly enjoyed his society. He says of Agassiz : "Eminent as a man of science, in character and habits he was simple as a child. He never used a bank, but, as he told me, carried his money in his pocket, and when it was spent went lecturing to get more.'' Our author knew Lowell, who was one of the ten lec- turers. He says that LowelFs anti-British prejudice was at that time still rather strong; he found him more sociable when he afterward met him as American ambas- sador in England. He adds: "Lowell was not only cured of his anti-British prejudice, but largely Angli- cized, as American ambassadors to England are apt to be. It is hardly wise to make them afterward American secretaries of state. Mr. Charles Francis Adams, who was minister to Great Britain during the civil war, of course escaped the influence, his great natural strength of char- acter being aided by the circumstances of a mission which he discharged with incomparable skill." Mr. Smith says that his life at Ithaca was social and merry, that the people in the city were kind, and that he looks back upon those days with pleasure. He declares that no years of his life have been better spent ; was im- pressed by the beauty of the country round the head of 198 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH the two lakes, Cayuga and Seneca, and frequently in- dulged in excursions on foot. He adds : "This British habit the people could not understand. A farmer, if he overtook me on the road in his buggy, would kindly offer me a ride, thinking that it was only for the want of a horse that anybody could be going on foot." He attended a great camp meeting, the first one he had ever witnessed. It impressed him as being quite as much a social gathering as a religious communion. "Preaching of a vehement kind was going on all the time," he says, "and people were coming up to the preacher's stand and declaring themselves converted. But there were ice cream establishments, and there was a good deal, evidently, of social enjoyment at the same time." He was thrilled when "Eock of Ages" was sung by the multitude "among the pines and under the stars." Our author declares that the occasional lynchings in the United States, "paradoxical as it may seem," are proofs rather of respect for law than of lawlessness. Mr. Smith, when settled in Canada, made frequent visits to Washington, which city, he observed, was always growing in brilliancy, architectural and social. He de- clares that it is the only great city on the American con- tinent that is permanently and securely well governed. "Instead of being under an elective council of ward politicians, it is under three commissioners appointed by the President of the United States. Here the problem of municipal government, supposed to be insolvable, is solved if other cities would accept the solution. They will never get out of the slough of mal-administration 199 A CONGLOMEEATE and corruption in which they are all wallowing while they hug the elective system and government by ward politicians." He frequently met Bancroft, the historian, at the Cosmos Club, of which they were both members, and had many pleasant and instructive talks with him. He says that "Bancroft had preserved his health and his powers of work into old age by a careful regimen. Like Bethell, he worked early in the morning. He took regular horse e-xercise till very late in life. When he could no longer ride he took to driving, which as he was apt to let the reins drop, was rather perilous to himself and his com- panion." Our author adds : "When he took my wife out for a drive, I was glad to get her back safe." One of his great friends at Washington was Mr. Bay- ard, secretary of state, whom he pronounced a thoroughly high-bred and honorable politician. Mr. Bayard was afterward ambassador to England, and there distin- guished himself, says our author, as an envoy of peace and friendship. He adds: "It might be ungracious to say that with the highest of motives he somewhat over- did the part. An American ambassador to England should be cautious how he allows himself to be brought under the spell of London society. He should remem- ber that he is an ambassador, the representative of a separate and occasionally conflicting interest. I have touched on this point already in the case of Lowell." Mr. Smith excoriates the Grand Army of the Eepublic and places the seal of his reprobation upon what he is pleased to term the plundering of the nation for the pay- 200 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH ment of exorbitant pensions. Certainly, no one reading what lie says, would mistake it for the utterance of the average American politician. The Grand Army of the Republic is, without doubt, a formidable and compact political organization, and we recall the name of no public man in this country who has had the temerity or moral courage to inveigh against it. He declares that "admiration filled the world when, after the war, the arm}', instead of overturning the Constitution and mak- ing its general a dictator, as it had turned its plough- shares into swords, turned back the swords into plough- shares and returned generally to the employments of peaceful life. Nobody could foresee that out of the grave of the military organization would arise a political organization styling itself the Grand Army of the Re- public and plundering the nation on a gigantic scale. Thirty-five years after the end of the war, the country was paying one hundred and forty millions in pensions, of the claims for w^hich a large proportion were notorious frauds. Compared with this, what are the worst cases of monarchical wastefulness ? What was the cost of that paragon of monarchical wastefulness, Versailles? Nor was the expense the worst of the evil. The worst of the evil was the demoralization. Yet not a politician dared say a word, while the platforms of both parties paid a cowardly homage to the Grand Army vote and promised a liberal construction of the pension law, that is to say, increased license of public pillage. There are few^ things more shameful in the annals of any nation. The total cost of the war of secession, when to the enormous outlay 201 A CONGLOMEEATE on the war itself, including bonuses and payment to sub- stitutes, is added the pension, beggars experience and al- most defies calculation/^ Mr. Smith frequently visited the Senate and the House. He declares that in the latter it may almost be said that a voice of thunder is a condition of political eminence. That the acoustics are bad, and "so incessant is the noise of talking, moving about, slamming of desks, and calling of pages, that hardly any speaker can be heard. It is a babel with a gavel accompaniment. Or- der there is none. I have seen a number of members leave their places and group themselves, standing, round a speaker whom they particularly wished to hear. Speaker Eeed's stentorian voice prevailed over the din. So did that of Mr. Bryan." He admits that the average of speaking in America, both in Congress and elsewhere, is far higher than it is in England. That rhetoric and elocution are parts of American education, but he declares that the training has one bad result — the orator seldom gets rid of the air of speaking for effect. Eeferring to Edward Everett he says : "I once heard Everett, whose platform oratory was the acme of American art. His language was un- impeachable. But his every word and not only his every word, but his every gesture, was unmistakably prepared. He seemed to gesticulate not only with his hands, but with his legs. He even planned scenic effects before- hand. Having to deliver a Fourth of July oration, he introduced a veteran of 1812, put him in a conspicuous place, and told the old man to rise to him at his entrance into the hall. The old man did as he had been bidden. 202 "THE REMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH Everett apostrophized him with, 'Venerable old man, sit down ! It is not for 3^ou to rise to us, but for us to rise to you.' The veteran said afterward, 'Mr. Everett is a strange man; he told me to rise when he came into the hall, and when I did rise he told me to sit down/ " Mr. Smith had a poor opinion of American statesman- ship. He declares that in the United States the grocers are statesmen ; the statesmen are grocers. But he mag- nanimously concedes that the level of political intelli- gence among the people is higher than it is in any other country. He considers the term of the member of the House of Representatives too short for political train- ing, and asserts that "the House is a chaos led, if at all, most incongruously by the Speaker, who acts as the head of a party when he ought to be perfectly impartial." Our author, of course, knows full well that there are inherent defects in all governments and in all constitu- tions — that perfection in them is unattainable as it is in the individuals who devise and construct them. He de- clares that the weak points of the American Constitu- tion are beginning to appear and he attributes them to the "deference to the false diagnosis of Montesquieu which entered into its construction, and is now interfer- ing with its working as a Republican counterpart of the Constitution of Great Britain." On the subject of society at Washington he says: "The tendency of society at Washington, of official and congressional society particularly, to dress itself after European courts and to mimic their etiquette is manifest and amusing. Still, when I was there, democracy con- tinued to assert itself, especially in the familiarity of 203 A CONGLOMEEATE the people with the head of the republic. I attended one of the Presidential receptions at the White House. It was in the evening. There was an immense attend- ance of people all in their common dress. From the time when I fell into the line it took three-quarters of an hour to reach the Wliite House. It took the same time to get from the entrance to the White House to the recep- tion room, where the name of each visitor was called by the marshal, and the President took each in turn by the hand. Sad the plight of his hand at last must have been. Nothing, however, could be better than the be- havior of the people. They moved on quietly in line, showing not the slightest sign of impatience. It is doubtful whether a crowd of the aristocratic society at London would have behaved quite so well. We used to hear of scuffles and of torn dresses in the ^Crush Eoom' at St. James." He comments on the party system of the United States. After reciting the fact that there were two great organizations always on foot, he declares that the prin- ciples of each oranization are ambulatory, and a fresh platform is constructed before each Presidential elec- tion, the planks being selected with a view to the attrac- tion of votes. He says: "It is possible to trace a con- nection, though of very tortuous kind, in the principles of the Democratic party, which have in the time of Jef- ferson been, though under a different name, ultra- Democratic, became that of the slave-owning oligarchy of the South, the medium of transformation being the ultra-Democratic theory of state-right, which sheltered slavery. The changes, nevertheless, are vital. Nobody 204 "THE EEMINISCENCES" OF GOLDWIN SMITH would recognize the identity of the plutocratic Repub- lican of the present day with the patriotic Republican of the struggle for the Union." Mr. Smith, in 1871, after severing his connection with Cornell, went over to reside with a branch of his family settled in Canada. In Canada he was destined finally to make his home. Four years after his arrival there he married Mrs. Harriet Boulton and, with her in The Grange at Toronto, he declares that the rest of his life was most happily passed. His description of The Grange and of their domestic life there is fascinating in the ex- treme : "The Grange at Toronto, with its lawns and its old elms, is the counterpart in style and surroundings of a little English mansion. It is the only specimen of the kind that I happen to have seen on this side of the At- lantic. There were one or two more in Toronto, but they have succumbed to progress. The Grange is an antiquity among mushrooms, having been built in 1817. It originally stood outside of the city, though now it is in the exact center. In summer, when the trees are in leaf, nothing is seen from its door but a church spire. In such a mansion lived Miss Austen's Emma, and her father. We had, moreover, a household of faithful and attached domestics, our relations with whom were like those of an English family in former days. The mar- ried ones lived w4th their children, on the grounds in four cottages, which they took pride in making pretty with flowers and creepers, giving an air of happy life to the place. In summer, only chimes were wanting to make me fancy that I was in England. The great elms 205 A CONGLOMERATE were a special feature of the place, and to their whis- pering under the starlight I owe some lessons in philosophy." THE OBSOLESCENCE OF SECTIONALISM. People of the present generation can have no adequate conception of the intense animosity, verging in many cases upon absolute ferocity, that prevailed as a result of fifty years of slavery agitation, culminating in oui great civil war. Any such vitriolic fulmination as the following, emanating from a Northern pulpit, would now be received with loathing and reprobation: ^^Greek fire for the families and cities of the rebels and hell fire for their chiefs." Certain pulpit cham- pions boldly asserted this as a sentiment. It was not merely the raving of a single religious mountebank. An eminent public man declared while the conflict was going on that, "I entertain no doubt whatever that hundreds of thousands of people at the North would be frantic with fiendish delight if informed of the uni- versal massacre of the Southern people, including women and children, in one night." It was not to be expected that the speeches of Thad- deus Stevens, the leader of the war party in the House of Representatives, Avould be interlarded with enco- miums upon the South and the Southern people ; and, in- deed, it might reasonably be supposed that he w^ould, in a measure, inspect the truth of the situation through the magnifying glass of passion. But that he would exhibit a merciless and fiendish ferocity would hardly 206 THE OBSOLESCENCE OF SECTIONALISM be expected from one of his acknowledged ability. It certainly could not be said of Stevens, as was said of Sir James Mackintosh, "that he could not hate; that the gall-bladder was omitted in his composition." The ablest, the purest, the most cultivated and refined, were not exempt from defamation and calumny. Even the gentle, erudite, and profound Roger B. Taney, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the immediate and worthy successor of John Marshall, re- nowned on both sides of the Atlantic for his legal pro- fundity and acumen, did not escape the objurgations of the political guerrilla of the period, engaged in the per- nicious occupation of inflaming the minds of the people with sectional hate. The following delectable excerpt from a speech of Stevens is significant : "Sir, this doctrine of a white man's government is as atrocious as the infamous sentiment that damned the late Chief Justice Taney to everlasting fame, and I fear to everlasting fire." Those of us who at the present day believe that true patriotism consists in loving one^s whole country in its entirety, and each state in its unity, congratulate our- selves and the country that the old animosities caused by the prolonged agitation of the question of slavery and tlie civil war, are rapidly passing away. If sectionalism is not obselete it is at least obsolescent. Indeed, we are living in an entirely new atmosphere. No stronger evi- dence of this can be given than tlie opinions now ex- pressed by Northern statesmen and others, of abolition antecedents, in regard to the South and her representa- tive public men. 207 A CONGLOMERATE James Russell Lowell, of whom, as poet, essayist, and diplomatist, the American people are so justly proud, did his part in the prolonged agitation of the slavery question. When he graduated at Harvard in 1838 he was the poet of his class, and his production excited at- tention by reason of its witty ridicule of the abolition movement of that day. But it was not long until he himself embarked on the sea of abolition. He became editor of the "Antislavery Standard," and later in life was the author of the celebrated "Bigelow Papers" which was a caustic and telling satire on slavery and the Mexi- can war. His productions were always effective but free from bitterness. Before his death he gave out strong intimations that his course would have been somewhat different, if he had had his life to live over again. Mr. Howells, his literary contemporary, says: "Lowell had a great tenderness for the broken and ruined South, whose sins he felt that he had had his share in visiting upon her, and he was willing to do what he could to ease her sorrows in the case of any particular Southerner." Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, whose long term of service in the senate reflected honor not only upon his own state but upon the whole country, expresses his opinions of the Southern people and their representative men. The high estimate placed upon Mr. Hoar by his contemporary Mr. Blaine, will receive the hearty con- currence of the people of all sections of the country. "Eminent in his profession, successful in his political career, Mr. Hoar superadds accomplishments which neither the practise of law nor participation in public 208 THE OBSOLESCEXCE OF SECTIONALISM affairs can give. * * * He is independent without self-assertion, courageous without bravado, conscientious without Pharisaism." The expressions of the great senator from Massachu- setts are alike creditable to him and to those of whom he speaks. Referring to the Southern people and Grant the senator says : "The Southern people, even the white Democrats al- ways had a kindly feeling for Grant. They did not resent what he had done as a soldier, as they resented what Greeley had said as a politician. They knew too, in spite of their strong differences with Grant, the innate modesty, justice and courage of the man." Speaking of the Southern people and the carpet- baggers Mr. Hoar says : "In general it was impossible not to feel a certain sympathy with a people, who whatever else had been their faults never had been guilty of corruption or meanness, or the desire to make money out of public office, in the intolerable loathing which they felt for these strangers who had taken possession of the high places in their states. * * * When the support of the na- tional administration was withdrawn, the negroes and carpet-bag majority was powerless as a flock of sheep before a pack of wolves to resist their brave and un- scrupulous Democratic enemy, however inferior the latter in numbers." Again: "With the departure of Senator Butler from the Senate, and that of his colleague. General Wade Hampton, ended the power in South Carolina of the old 209 A CONGLOMEEATE gentry who, in spite of some grave faults, had given to that state an honorable and glorious career." Hoar on the Southern people : "My long conflict with their leaders has impressed me with an ever in- creasing admiration of the great and high qualities of the Southern people, yet as I grew older I have learned, not only to respect and esteem, but to love the great qualities which belong to my fellow-citizens of the South- ern states. They are a noble race. We may well take pattern from them in some of the great virtues that make up the strength, as they make the glory of Free States. Their love of home ; their chivalrous respect for woman ; their courage; their delicate sense of honor; their con- stancy, which can abide by an opinion or a purpose, or an interest, of their states through adversity and through prosperity, through the years and through the genera- tions, are things by which the people of the more mer- curial North may take a lesson. And there is another thing — covetousness, corruption, the low temptation of money has not yet found any place in our Southern politics." Mr. Hoar's estimate of Senator Beck of Kentucky is interesting : "We had an intense dislike of each other for the first few years of our service. He hated everything I be- lieved. He thought the New England Abolitionists had neither love of liberty nor care for the personal or political rights of the negro. He maintained that the forefathers of the New England Abolitionists were guilty of bringing slavery into this continent. He hated the modern New England theological heresies with all the 210 THE OBSOLESCENCE OF SECTIONALISM zeal of his Scotch Presbyterian forbears. He hated the reconstruction policy, which he thought was inspired by a desire to put the white man in the place where the negro had been. * * * He hated New England culture and refinement, which he deemed a very poor crop coming from a barren intellectual soil. * * * He had a powerful and vigorous frame, and a powerful and vigorous understanding. * * * Anybody who undertook to debate with him found him a tough cus- tomer. He knew the Bible— especially the Psalms of David — and the poems of Burns, by heart.'' Senators Hoar's delineation of the character and charming attributes of Justice Lucius Q. C. Lamar of Mississippi is fascinating in the extreme. The style and subject-matter are equally captivating: "Mr. Justice Lamar always underrated himself. This tendency plainly sprang from a vivid imagination. With him the splendid passions attendant upon youth never faded into the light of common day, but they kept before him as an ideal, the impossibility of whose realization, as borne in upon him from time to time, oppressed him with a sense of failure. Yet the conscientiousness of his work was not lessened, nor was the acuteness of his intellect obscured by these natural causes of his discon- tent; nor did a certain oriental dreaminess of tempera- ment ever allure him to abandon the effort to accomplish something that would last after his lips were dumb." Mr. Hoar, referring to the assertion of Mathew Arnold in one of his essays that, in general, Americans lack dis- tinction, but allowing this quality to Grant and denying it for all the world to Lincoln, continues: 211 A CONGLOMEEATE "With some rare and delightful exceptions, we are eminently commonplace. The men who are sent to con- gress do not escape the wearing quality. * * * Some of the best, most attractive men I have known were from the South. * * * One of them, perhaps, on the whole, the most conspicuous, is Lucius Q. C. Lamar. * * * Lamar was one of the most delightful of men. His English style, both in conversation and in public speaking, was fresh and original. * * * jjg had taken the part of the South with great zeal. He told me shortly before he left the Senate that he thought it was a great misfortune for the world that the Southern cause had been lost. * * * Lamar was a delightful man in ordinary conversation. He used to tell delight- ful stories of queer characters and events that had come within his own observation. * * * When I made a motion excepting Jefferson Davis from the benefit of the bill to pension the soldiers of the Mexican war, Mr. Lamar compared him to Prometheus, and me to the vulture pre3dng upon his liver. * * * He had a delightful and original literary quality which, if the lines of his life had been cast amid other scenes than the tempest of a great revolution and civil war, might have made him a dreamer like Montaigne; and a chivalrous quality that might have made him a companion of Athos and D'Artagnan." 212 MEXICO — TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO — UNIQUE COURT- SHIP AND MARRIAGE — CORTES^ LIKE DEWEY^ A VICTIM OF INGRATITUDE MEXICAN MAIDEN WITH HER GUITAR SITTING WITH HER LOVER IN THE ORANGE GROVE — MAXIMILIAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL CARLOTTA. The meeting of President Taft and President Diaz at El Paso on the 18th day of October, 1909, is a notable event in the history of the two republics. It was not so gorgeous and spectacular an occasion as the historic interview between Henry YIII, and Francis I, on "The Field of the Cloth of Gold." The great Cardinal AVol- sey with his elegant manners, gay conversation, insinu- ating address and love of magnificence, was not present to give eclat to the meeting. The illustrious Cardinal in whom was concentrated at this time (1520) all secular and religious power in his own country, was notably absent. He was not there to have his appetite appeased, and his mind and temper conciliated, by the choice viands from which, on the former occasion, he derived such exquisite delight and satisfaction. Nor was the Duke of Buckingham present, he having been executed on Tower Hill for the venial offense of expressing his opin- ion freely about the expense and absurdity of the whole business of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The meet- ing at El Paso was not a dress occasion as was that of the 213 A CONGLOMERATE two sovereigns; at the meeting of the latter, as the im- partial historian informs us, many of the knights and gentlemen were so superbly dressed that it was said they carried their whole estates upon their shoulders. It was, indeed, a gala day at El Paso. Foregathered there were many thousands of people. Excursion trains came from hundreds of miles away. The American and Mexi- can military display was strikingly impressive. The cannons roared, the people cheered, and the flags of the two nations were everywhere entwined. For the purpose of the meeting, the entire international bridge spanning the historic Eio Grande was guarded as neutral terri- tory. This permitted the Mexican troops to accompany their president to the American end of the bridge, while similarly the escort of the regular army attending Presi- dent Taft was permitted to proceed directly to the bor- der line of Mexico. The cities of El Paso and Juarez were gorgeously decorated. President Taft arrived in El Paso shortly after nine o'clock in the morning. His train was met at the city limits by an escort of cavalry and the soldiers galloped along behind it as it was drawn slowly into the very center of the city. Soon after his arrival the president was escorted into the St. Regis hotel to be the guest of the El Paso Chambers at break- fast. Breakfast ended, President Taft proceeded to the Chamber of Commerce to await the coming of Presi- dent Diaz, the latter having arrived the day before at Juarez. The coming of the Mexican executive, whose tem- porary quitting of his own territory required the sanc- tion of the congress of the republic, was signalled by the 214 MEXICO— TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO booming of twenty-one guns as President Diaz arrived at tlie American border line. He was attended by a military escort in full dress uniform. The salute was fired by the American forces. General J. Franklin Bell, chief of staff of the army, met President Diaz as the personal representative of the president of the United States. President Diaz, gray and grizzled, looking every inch a soldier and a fighter, alighted from his gold-trimmed carriage of state and en- tered an American equipage, plainly simple. The wel- coming party consisted of General Bell, Brigadier Gen- eral Meyer, Governor Campbell of Texas and the Mayor of El Paso. They shook hands with the distinguished visitor, while the American band played the Mexican national air, "La Paloma." The escorts of the United States troops then pro- ceeded to conduct President Diaz to President Taft at the Chamber of Commerce. The streets through which the Mexican executive and escorts passed were lined with thousands of cheering people. After the meeting and a light luncheon had been served. President Diaz withdrew in the same manner he had come being escorted back to the portals of the city, where the same courtesies as marked his arrival attended his departure. The American troops returned to the Chamber of Commerce building and escorted President Taft over the same route President Diaz had traveled. President Taft and the invited guests accompanying him entered carriages allotted to them by the Mexican authorities and proceeded to the Juarez custom house where they met 215 A CONGLOMERATE the Mexican president and here the simple ceremonies ended. When President Taft alighted from his carriage on Mexican soil it was the second time in the history of the United States that a president of the United States had left its borders. Mr. Roosevelt set the precedent when he attended a dinner given by the President of Panama on Panamanian territory.^ There was nothing perfunctory or insincere in the meeting of the presidents of the two great republics, but its purpose was to make it an informal celebration of the most cordial relations existing between the two countries. The meeting of the two monarchs on the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" was characterized by the utmost perfidy and bad faith. Henry coveted France and Wolsey covet- ed no less a prize than the papacy itself; and, notwith- standing the solemn treaty then and there entered into, its provisions were rendered nugatory and inoperative, by reason of the fact that Henry as he returned from the meeting with Francis, sought an interview with Charles V, which ended in a secret confederacy of these sovereigns and the promise of the Emperor Charles to marry Henry's only daughter. If it has not been done already, a tablet should be erected upon the site of the Field of the Cloth of Gold as a memorial to the perfidy of Kings. On the 24th of October following the meeting. Presi- dent Diaz expressed his impressions of his reception at ^Associated Press. 216 MEXICO— TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO El Paso, and his estimate of President Taft, in an inter- view at Chapultepec Ca.stle. lie said: "As for my personal opinion of President Taft, I can say that he is a man of charming personalit}^, frank and sincere, whose features carry the unmistakable stamp of a man with high consciousness of duty, unmarred by a touch of remorse. The interview which I had with President Taft was of the most cordial character, and it is clear that it will redound to the benefit of both coun- tries, owing to the perfect understanding existing be- tween the two governments and which was realized pre- cisely, through an interview in still further tightening the bonds of their friendly and commercial relationship. From the commercial standpoint, and politicall}^, both countries will be greatly benefitted because of a better business understanding between the two peoples, and the investment of capital for the development of our industries will be accomplished under very favorable circumstances. ^^e Mexicans have plenty of raw material in our country — rich natural resources. The Americans have capital, talent, energy and they will come to the aid of our own enterprising men in the establishment and de- velopment of useful and important industries. There- fore, with the good understanding between the govern- ments of the two countries, men of business can carry to successful issue their great enterprises." Many of us may not realize the marvelous resources and the vast territorial extent of our sister republic. Mexico stretches 1,950 miles north-northwest and 217 A CONGLOMEEATE south-southeast with a mean breadth of 400 miles, vary- ing from 1,000 in 26 degrees north to 130 at the narrow- est parts of the Tehnantepec isthmus. It has a coast line of nearly 6,000 miles, about 4,200 on the Pacific and 1,600 on the Atlantic. Mexico has every variety of climate. The central plateaus having an altitude above the sea of between 3,000 and 8,000 feet, with a mean tempera- ture from 62 degrees to 70 degrees Eahr., and oscillating between such moderate extremes as 50 degrees and 86 degrees, this region enjoys one of the finest climates on the globe. Those table lands are described by enthu- siastic travelers as "terrestrial Edens'^, with a perennial spring, s3^mbolized by the evergreen oak, cedars, and many analogous plants, which here attain their greatest perfection. ^*^ When the subject of Mexico is under consideration one's mind naturally reverts back to the condition of Mexico prior to the Spanish invasion made under the leadership of Hernando Cortes in 1519. This period is known as the era of the Montezumas. While it is char- acterized by barbaric ostentation yet in many respects it was beyond the European level of the time. One of their principal amusements was dancing, and a sport called the bird dance excited the admiration of foreigners for the skill and daring with which groups of performers dress- ed as birds let themselves down by ropes wound round the top of a high mast, so as to fly whirled in circles far above the ground. The magnificence of the palaces of the Montezumas with their columns of porphyry and " 16 E B 225-6. 218 MEXICO— TAFT iVND DIAZ AT EL PASO jasper, supporting marble balconies, and their beautiful surrounding gardens would be considered marvelous in any age or in an}^ country. One of the companions of Cor- tes describes a palace visited by him. It consisted of hun- dreds of rooms and halls ranged round three open squares, with women's apartments, granaries, store houses, menageries, aviaries, of such extent that he wandered about four times on as many separate visits, without seeing the whole. Their cultivation of natural history was indeed remarkable. It is said that in the palace garden flowers were transplanted, and water fowl bred near fresh and salt pools fit for each kind, that all kinds of birds and beasts were kept in well appointed zoologi- cal gardens where there were homes even for alligators and snakes. It goes without saying that the subject of courtship and marriage is regarded everywhere as one of vital interest. In Mexico, under the reigns of the Montezu- mas, the important question whether a marriage should be consummated was determined by the ipse dixit of an astrologer who, for his guidance, compared the horo- scopes of the pair to ascertain whether their birth signs were compatible. The horoscope was an observation made of the aspect of the heavens at the moment of a person's birth, by which the astrologer claimed to fore- tell the temperament and disposition of the individual as well as the events of his life. The most important part of the sky in the astrologer's consideration was that part of the zodiac which rose at the moment of the child's birth. An accurate record of these observations was 219 A CONGLOMEEATE made at tlie time and was preserved for future use and reference. It is a matter of history that the belief in astrology was almost universal as late as the middle of the 17th century; and that, for five centuries previous to that time, astrology and divination exercised an influence not only over the uneducated, but over the greatest minds, over kings and queens and wealthy people; and was received and admitted by Lord Bacon himself. Even so late as the early part of the 19th century astrolog}^ retained an influence over the general mind sufiicient to constitute the main spring of romance, as witness Scott's charming novel "Guy Mannering, or the Astrologer." Returning to Mexico and the Montezumas. If the astrologer's report w^as favorable to the com- patibility of the pair, the next important step was to engage the services of an old woman to act as an in- termediary or go-between. It is plain to be seen that this courtship by proxy, and marriage by horoscopy, would practically eliminate from life the ante-nuptial association of the sexes. We live in an age of progress and innovation, and old customs, old fashions, old conventionalities, are constant- ly being revamped and brought to the front again; but I have grave doubts whether this old custom, which was in vogue in Mexico during the reigns of the Montezumas, will find a foot-hold in North America; certainly not during the next year or two. Of this I am quite sure, that if the Astrologer and his old woman intermediary should appear at this time with the avowed purpose of 220 MEXICO— TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO planting on our soil this nefarious system, that they would be received with but scant courtesy. A profound anatomist of the human heart has de- clared that the most delightful period of courtship is that which precedes a formal declaration and proposal, but during which each is conscious of the other's regard. It is during this period when a sunshine seems to prevail which fills the heart full of radiance; when one feels that to love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence; a time, when the wild intoxicating dreams which fill a young man's mind cause the most delicious excitement, and when the mere sound of the rustling of a dress excites indescribable emotions. It is an era of profound, and sometimes prolonged, silences, even when the buzzing of a fly or the fall of a pocket handkerchief may be distinctly heard — when, if the silence be broken for a moment, the words are as gentle as the moan of a wounded dove; a time when conversation, animated or otherwise, is not essential to happiness. It is a period when a gesture asks a question and an expressive look gives the answer. "When one can infuse into the eye the power of the soul, to give it the full value of speech and throw a poem or a drama into a single flash"; a time when tears may dim the eyes but do not fall, being absorbed by the heart. Shall all these things cease and be no more at the behest of the cold and merciless as- trologer ? An incident which I am going to relate could never have occurred in Mexico in the times of the Montezumas. A young gentleman had been paying assiduous atten- tion to a young lady for more than two years and, not- 221 A CONGLOMEEATE withstanding his arduous wooing, she had not consented to become his wife. The case seemed almost hopeless; but he made a prolonged call on her one Sunday even- ing, and before he left she accepted his proposal. Though a decade has elapsed since the charming young lady be- came his bride, he still relates, with much enthusiasm and satisfaction, an account of the return to his home by moonlight, at twelve o^clock on that memorable night. This was the supreme occasion of his life. He was so thrilled and overwhelmed with delight that he found himself in a profound revery, and, with uplifted hand, declaiming aloud, "I have nothing against any man, woman or child in this world." Native history and the reigns of the Montezumas came to an end with the Spanish conquest. In the early years of the sixteenth century the Spaniards dis- covered Mexico but had made no attempt to effect a settlement. Hernando Cortes, a lad of fifteen, was sent to the University of Salamanca; but study was dis- tasteful to him, and he returned home in 1501, resolved to enter upon a life of adventure. During a brief serv- ice in St. Domingo and Cuba he displayed great ability on several trying occasions, and the conquest of the newly discovered country was intrusted to him. Cortes, young, brilliant and courageous, and remarkable for a graceful physiognomy and amiable manners, as well as for skill and address in all military exercises, accepted the hercu- lean task. On the 18th of November, 1518, he set out from Spain, with ten vessels, six hundred Spaniards and some pieces of cannon, and on the 4th of March, 1519, he landed on the coast of Mexico, taking possession of 222 MEXICO— TAFT AXD DIAZ AT EL PASO the town of Tabasco. He proceeded to burn his vessels to cut off the possibility of retreat, and to show his soldiers that they must either conquer or perish. He here learn- ed that the native sovereign was called Montezuma ; that he reigned over an extensive empire, which had lasted for three centuries and that his riches were immense and his power absolute. No more was necessary to in- flame the ambition of the invader who did not hesitate to undertake the conquest of this great empire, which could only be effected by combining stratagem and ad- dress with force and courage. ^^ Nothing in romance is more fascinating than a detailed account of his career and service, his battles and brilliant exploits, in effecting the conquest of this vast empire; but it is no part of our purpose in this paper to enter into those matters of detail. Suffice it to say that on the 7th of July 1520, Cortes gained a victory which de- cided the fate of Mexico. The historian declares^ ^ that his uniform success was entirely owing to his genius and valor, and his profound but unscrupulous policy, and the account of his success, which he transmitted to Spain excited the admiration of his countrymen, and Charles V, then emperor of Spain, appointed him gover- nor and captain-general of Mexico. The Mexicans were everywhere forced to yield to the ascendency of European discipline and valor. Meanwhile the court of Madrid, dreading the ambition and popularity of the victorious chief, sent commissioners to watch his conduct and thwart his proceedings ; and whilst he was completing the conquest of New Spain " E. Britannica. " E. B. 223 A CONGLOMERATE his goods were seized and his retainers imprisoned and put into irons. Indignant at the ingratitude of his sov- ereign, Cortes returned in person to Spain to appeal to the justice of the emperor and appeared there with great splendor. The emperor received him with every mark of dis- tinction. Cortes returned to Mexico with new titles but diminished authority, a viceroy having been en- trusted with the administration of civil affairs, whilst the military department, with permission to push his conquests, was all that remained to Cortes. Contro- versies arose and Cortes, tired of struggling with ad- versaries unworthy of him, he returned to Europe hoping to confound his enemies. We read that upon his return to Spain "he was re- ceived coldly; he fell into neglect, and could scarcely obtain an audience. One day, however, having forced his way through the crowd which surrounded the em- peror's carriage, and mounted on the doorstep, Charles, astonished at an act of such audacity, demanded to know who he was. *I am a man,' replied the conqueror of Mexico proudly, Vho has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities.' This haughty declaration of important services ill requited could scarcely fail to offend a monarch on whom fortune had lavished its choicest favors; and Cortes, overwhelmed with disgust, withdrew from court, passed the remainder of his days in solitude, and died near Seville on the 2nd of December, 1554. But it would seem that ingratitude for patriotic serv- ice is not the exclusive prerogative of emperors and 224 MEXICO— TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO kings. That of Charles Y has almost a parallel in our own country in the case of Admiral Dewey. His splen- did and heroic performance with his fleet in Manila Bay in the early morning of that memorable 1st day of May, entitles him to the profoundest gratitude of his own countrymen, as it has justly excited the admiration of the whole world. We all remember with shame the attempt made by unscrupulous politicians and some of the newspapers of the country, upon a miserable pretext, and for selfish and unworthy purposes, to mar the fame and detract from the glory of the great admiral. The offense they committed was no less despicable than that of arson or grand larceny, and in its enormity, is in- dissolubly associated in one's mind with the atrocious and revolting crime of Burking, which was first com- mitted by the Irishman Burke in 1829. The historian of the future will say of Dewey as wa3 said of another great commander centuries ago, that he was "in war a whirlwind, in peace a zephyr." His name is already inscribed high in the temple of fame and there it will remain forever. In reading an account of the cordial meeting of Presi- dents Taft and Diaz at El Paso, on the border line be- tween the two republics, one's mind naturally reverts back to the time when the relations of the two countries were not so cordial and harmonious. We are reminded of the fact that Mr. Polk, the Democratic President, de- clared that "war exists by the act of Mexico"; and that there was a very formidable opposition to the war made by the Whig party and many of its great leaders. Mr. Corwin, the celebrated Ohio orator and statesman, de- 225 A CONGLOMERATE clared in substance that, "If I were a Mexican as I am an American I would welcome the American invader with bloody hands to a hospitable grave." Eufus Choate, the eminent advocate, expressed profound sympathy with the Mexican people on account of the alleged aggressive and unwarranted action of the United States, and his sympathy was even extended to them in the most tender and delicate relations of life. In a voice like a sweet, yet powerful flute, he declared that "The Mexican maiden, as she sits with her lover among the orange groves, will sing to her guitar the story of these times. ^Ah, woe is me, Alhama !' for a thousand years to come." The war with Mexico, which followed closely the annexation of Texas, was of short duration, and resulted in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2nd, 1848, by which New Mexico, California, Utah and Ari- zona were ceded to the United States. The two countries are to be congratulated upon the cordial and fraternal relations that now exist between them — and also the Mexican maiden so delightfully situated amongst the orange groves. She no longer sings to her guitar "doleful ditties," but rather a song expressive of undying affection for the dear lover who sits beside her. We turn for a moment to the brief and unfortunate reign of the emperor Maximilian. Nothing in history nor romance has ever painted an3^thing more tragic than the fate that awaited the emperor and his wife, the beautiful and accomplished Carlotta. One of the fondest dreams of Napoleon III was a universal fusion of the Latin races and, in furtherance 226 MEXICO— TAFT AND DIAZ AT EL PASO of this end, he offered the Mexican imperial crown to the Austrian archduke, Ferdinand Maximilian. The latter had already been tendered the crown by a deputa- tion of notables from Mexico who spoke of the "fecun- dity of the soil, the excellence of the fruits, the mildness of the seasons, the beauty of the landscape, in a land where nature is one perpetual smile." Maximilian finally acepted the crown in 1863. No more propitious time could have been selected by Napoleon for consummating his cherished scheme in respect to Mexico, as interference by the government at Washington was absolutely impracticable, on account of the Civil War which was then in progress, and the result of which was at that time decidely problematical. Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, was a second son of Archduke Francis Charles, and was born in Vienna on July 6th, 1832. He was trained for the navy, and ulti- mately attained a high command in that branch of his country's service. In 1857, he married the Princess Carlotta, daughter of Leo I, King of the Belgians. It was on the 28th of May 1864, that Maximilian and Carlotta landed at Vera Cruz, a city at that season ravaged by yellow fever, and they found the inhabitants unfavorably disposed toward the empire. We read^^ that from the commencement of his reign he found him- self involved in difficulties of the most serious kind, which in 1866 made it apparent to every one outside of Mexico the necessity for his abdicating. The Civil War in the United States being now a thing of the past, and the French government, in obedience to importunate " 15 E. B. 227 A CONGLOMEKATE demands from Washington for the repatriation of the French troops in Mexico, having yielded, Maximilian was left to his fate. He declined to abdicate, however, but on May 15th, 1867, he resolved to attempt an escape through the enemy's lines. He was arrested before he could carry out his resolution, and after trial by court- martial, was condemned to death. The sentence was carried out on June 19th, 1887. His remains were con- veyed to Vienna, where they were buried in the imperial vault early in the following year. It has been said of Maximilian^* that he had never been trained to anything but what gave him pleasure. That he knew nothing of the luxury and divine exalta- tion of being useful to anybody but himself; but the same writer adds that he was refined, accomplished, handsome and in a way educated, but had never known what it was to bear any responsibility. It may, with propriety, be suggested that inasmuch as Maximilian had been trained for the navy, and had ultimately at- tained a high command in that branch of his country's service, that his life had not been entirely devoid of responsibility. The widowed Carlotta laments that Maximilian was induced to accept the proffered crown. Her letters, written after her husband's execution, are strangely and beautifully pathetic. She writes : "Ambition kindles in the eyes of a man a diabolic luster, and converts an angel into a devil. The man who wishes to become a king turns into a demon. * * * The deputation spoke of the fecundity of the soil, the " Bigelow. 328 EECONSTRUCTION excellence of the fruits, the mildness of the seasons, the beauties of the landscape in a land where nature is one perpetual smile." Again she writes: ^'There are two kinds of fever, Maria Victoria — that of the body and that of the spirit. That of the body kills. That of the spirit maddens/' Mexico has had a chequered history, but during the period of more than forty years that has elapsed since the execution of Maximilian, she has enjoyed a peace and prosperit}^ such as she had never enjoyed before. With her boundless natural resources, and a continuance of the present wise administration of her governmental affairs, Mexico has, indeed, a most brilliant future. ^^ RECONSTRUCTIOX — SEPTEMBER 14tH AT NEW ORLEANS. During one of our numerous sojourns in Asheville, North Carolina, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lea McLean Eenshaw of N'ew Orleans. I found him to be a gentleman of much intelligence and refinement. He gave me a very full account of the stirring and excitng events that occurred in his city on the 14th of Sep- tember, 1874. His father, then a very young man, was an active participant in those scenes and ranked as lieutenant in Company G, Captain Kilpatrick's com- ^ How true it is that one can not tell what a day will bring forth. When the foregoing essay was written, judg- ing from surface indications, Mexico bid fair to enjoy a long period of peace and prosperity. Now Diaz is an exile, Madero is president, and chaos and confusion reign su- preme throughout the republic. 229 A COjSTGLOMEEATE mand. I was intensely interested in his narrative large- ly on account of my vivid boyhood experience as a mid- shipman on the Confederate steamers Jackson and Corondolet in 1861-2; the former operating on the Mississippi river and the latter on Lake Pontchartrain and adjacent waters. On the 14th of September, 1909, Mr. Eenshaw wrote me as follows: "My dear Mr. Daugherty: The date of this letter itself may recall to you my promise to let yon know something more about the Fourteenth of September, and I enclose an article giving an account of it, clipped from the Times-Democrat which I hope will prove interesting to you. My father ranked Lieutenant in Company G, Captain Kilpatrick's Com- mand. My sister and I have spoken often of 3^ou and your wife and trust it may some day be the good fortune that we meet again. Yours very truly, LEA McLEAN EENSHAW." In reply I wrote to Mr. Eenshaw as follows : "My dear Mr. Eenshaw: Your favor enclosing clippings from the Times- Democrat in respect to the observance of September fourteenth received. I had not forgotten your promise and I wish to thank you for the clippings. 230 RECOXSTEUCTION I have always been intensely interested in Xew Orleans largel}', no doubt, on account of my boyhood experiences on the Jackson and Corondolet in 1861-2. Your father must have a most vivid recollection of the exciting exents of that memorable day in 1874. The most radical Northerner, being advised of the facts and conditions then existing, could not fail to com- mend the patriotic action of the White League ; and it is, indeed, most fitting that a monument should mark the spot where the great victory was achieved over negro and carpet-bag domination, and which will perpetuate the names and deeds of the valiant citizens who died for the cause of home government. M}^ wife joins me in kind regards to your sister and yourself, and in the wish that somewhere — sometime — W'C may meet again. Very sincerely, H. H. DAUGHEETY." Many fine things have been said of the Republican party, but it seems now to be generally agreed that the reconstruction policy during the "dark decade," is an indelible stain upon that party — one that all ocean's waters can never wash out. I had a personal friend who visited New Orleans during the Reconstruction era and at a time when the negro and carpet-bag legislature was in session. He had been a brigade surgeon in the Union army during the entire w^ar. This gentleman assured me that his observations on this visit were the severest test his Re- publicanism ever had. That tins delectable legislature 231 A CONGLOMEEATE made all manner of silly, grotesque, and extravagantly wild appropriations; that property in New Orleans at that time would not sell for enough to pay the taxes ; that the members of this unique body jumped over chairs and tables, like monkeys in the forests of Sumatra, in their wild scramble to get their hands in the public treasury. It was about this time that Horace Greeley advised and declared that when these people used the word "pray^' they should spell it "prey". Even Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, all of whose principles and predilections had been ultra anti-southern, declared, in articulo mortis, "That it was impossible not to feel a certain sympathy with a people, who whatever else had been their faults never had been guilty of cor- ruption or meanness, or the desire to make money out of public office, in the intolerable loathing which they felt for these strangers who had taken possession of the high places in their states." The senator further declared that "When the support of the national administration was withdrawn, the negro and carpet-bag majority was powerless as a flock of sheep before a pack of wolves to resist their brave and unscrupulous Democratic enemy, however inferior the latter in numbers." Mr. Blaine, the brilliant, aggressive Mephistopheles of the Eepublican party, and an ardent advocate of his party's reconstruction policy, at last discovered, using his own words, "that the American people have an in- stinctive hostility against the use of troops at elections; and he finally deduced and enunciated the great philo- sophical truth that "The task of enforcing obedience to 232 RECONSTRUCTION laws, when obedience is not in the hearts of the people, is the most difficult undertaking ever imposed upon the governing power." Eminent foreigners who were sincere friends of the Union, and in full sympathy with the government at Washington in its efforts to preserve it, were not oblivious of the horrors of reconstruction. The Conte De Monta- lambert in a letter addressed to Mr. Bigelow, the dis- tinguished American Ambassador to France, declared: "I cannot conceal from you that there still remains one shadow, not so sa}^ one stain, on the flag of your glorious country — the consequences of that confiscation which has been denounced against the conquered. I know not what great statesman it was who said that one incurred less danger in killing people than in despoiling them. Nothing is more true. You can find confirma- tion of it in the modern history of France. It is by confiscation far more than by its scaffold that the French rcTolution has deposited in the soul of our country those deadly germs of discord which time has not even yet extirpated." Goldwin Smith attributes the failure and shame of the policy of reconstruction to two causes: the exclusion of the Southern leaders from the work and the death of Lincoln. Mr. Smith says : "How Lincoln would have dealt with reconstruction is a secret buried in his grave ; more wisely, it may be safely assumed, than did Charles Sumner and the other fiery and reyengeful politicians into whose hands, after his death, the question passed. His character, whatever his theory, would have guided him and the state aright." 233 A COISTGLOMEEATE The people of the South were goaded to desperation and it became absolutely a question of self-preservation. To the devastation and desolation resulting from the prolonged vrar was added the horrible crime of spoliation — comparable in wickedness to the worst of the Italian banditti, who, whenever they robbed, were sure to murder. It was at New Orleans on the memorable 14th of September, 1874, that the backbone of negro and carpet-bag domination in the South was broken. On this day occurred the overthrow by the Crescent City White League of the power of the Metropolitan Police, the armed strength of the carpet-bagger rule of Louis- iana under the Republican party. In the battle between the police composed of 1,200 well armed men, and the Citizens' League, numbering two hundred and fifty, twelve citizens were killed and over fifty of the police. The accounts of the battle and the events leading up to it published in the local newspapers are thrilling in the extreme. The battle took place in Canal street, between the Custom House and the river, a monument now standing on the spot which was in the thickest of the fray. On this monument are the names of the citizens who lost their lives in the revolt against negro and carpet-bagger rule. Those who were in the city's streets that day recall its unparalleled incidents vividly. The South was in the throes of reconstruction. The Eepublicans and carpet-baggers ruled the state, placing negroes in office, on the bench, and in the police force. For years this 234 RECONSTRUCTION condition had existed, and conditions were well nigh intolerable. White men were jostled on the sidewalks by negroes, and white women were openly insulted by the uniformed negro policemen. The city had the ap- pearance of a stronghold in the hands of the enemy. There were three regiments of negro militia, two regi- ments of the United States army, and worst of all there was the heavily armed Metropolitan Police force of twelve hundred men, one hundred mounted, the best equipped body of men in the world. Police were everywhere armed with Winchester rifles. Tn Canal street each night about one hundred were stationed in the distance from Rampart street to the river. Then there were the mounted patrolmen, carry- ing eight-shot carbines, revolvers and sabers. General A. S. Badger, who had been a Federal officer in the Civil War, was in command of the police. So far as drill, equipment and appearance were concerned they gave the impression of regular soldiers. Leading white citizens resolved to rid themselves of the yoke, if need be at the cost of their lives. So, se- cretly, the Crescent City White League was formed. Gen.^'w. J. Behan, Fred M. Ogden, C. H. Allen, Col. John Anzell and Archibald Mitchell wexe the moving spirits. They chose their men carefully, and the organization was drilled thoroughly, but in absolute secrecy. The police suspected a movement of the kind, but were unable to track it down. When all was ready arms were ordered from New York, to come on the steamship Mississippi of the Crom- 235 A CONGLOMERATE well Line. The steamship arrived at her wharf Septem- ber 11th, the arms on deck. The police and the big detective force became aware of the shipment of the arms and declared the citizens never should have them, Feeling was high, and it was plain there soon must be a clash. Brands in power, therefore were the speeches of Thomas J. Semmes and others to a great mass meeting of probably fifteen thousand people, called together in front of the Crescent Hall, at St. Charles and Canal streets, on the morning of September 14th 1874. Judge R. H. Marr made the last speech of the day. His part- ing advice was that it was the duty of every white man to go to his home, procure arms, and hasten to Poydras street to obtain the arms on the Mississippi by force, if necessary. A regatta of the Carrolton Rowing Club was set for that afternoon, and thousands, believing there would be no trouble prepared to attend, and after securing their noonday meal at their homes, proceeded to Canal street to take the excursion boats to Carrolton. When they came to Canal street they found the entire twelve hundred of the Metropolitan Police lined up in battle array from Magazine street to the Louisville and Nashville station. They were in four ranks, with two twelve-inch Na- poleon guns near the river, two one-inch Gatling guns sweeping the levee, two twelve-pound howitzers in the center, and two twelve-pound Napoleon guns at the right. The police stood silent, awaiting the inevitable battle. 236 RECOXSTRUCTION General Fred jN". Ogden was in command of the White League, and displayed much strategical ability. In fact, it was his strategy which won the day. His force gath- ered at Poydras and Tchoiipitoulas streets. Company C, under the command of Capt. Samuel Buck, and Com- pany G, under the command of Capt. Douglas M. Kil- patrick, moved out Poydras street to the levee. Company B under the command of Capt. Horace Shropshire, and a Company under the command of Capt. Columbus Allen went down Tchoupitoulas street, and Capt. John AnzelFs battalion came down Peters street. Capt. Archinard Peck commanded two pieces of artillery, and Capt. Guibet, with a large company, stood ready to protect the arms on the Mississippi, taking his stand at St. Louis and Decatur streets. STRATEGY USED. The command was given to march. Gen. Ogden led the way. Company C proceeded down the levee. A Louisville and Nashville train pulled along slowly into Canal street and the company marched under its pro- tection, by prearrangement. Suddenly, at Canal street, a signal was given and the freight"' train moved out rapidly, disclosing to the astonished gaze of the police the whole company drawn up in battle order in Canal street. "Commence firing !" was the command of Gen. Badger, and the citizens took this as their command also, and poured four volleys into the ranks of the police. It M-as a flank fire and deadly. A score or more toppled over 237 A COISTGLOMEEATE and the day was won^ for the negroes and declassed whites who made up the organization were demoralized completely and began to flee. At this moment the ether companies poured out from Magazine, Tchoupitoulas and Peters streets, and also began firing. Gen. Behan was by this time in command, as Gen. Ogden's horse had been shot from under him, and as the horse fell he was pitched headlong onto a Tchoupitoulas street banquette, the fall knocking him insensible. The police, as they fled, discarded guns, hats, coats, ammunition, everything which would hamper their speed. They fled into the Custom House and down the streets, many taking refuge in the Third Precinct Police Station, then the state arsenal. Their arms were picked up where they dropped them and were used by their pursuers. Gen. Badger, it is remembered, was really brave, and stood his ground until he toppled over, shot many times and severely wounded. The crowd which had watched the battle, unmindful of its danger, was for killing him, but Capt. Kilpatrick, revolver in one hand, sword in the other, stood with one foot on each side of the General's prostrate body and promised to kill the first who at- tempted to touch the wounded man. The General es- caped, but narowly, for it was remembered that in 1871 he had ordered his police to fire upon an unarmed mass meeting in Jackson Square. AAHien the police had been driven from the field the White League was drawn up in battle line on the neu- tral ground in Canal street for roll call. Here it was that Toledano was killed, shot from behind, and ap- 238 RECONSTRUCTION parently by some one who had taken refuge in the Custom House. The League then marched to the police stations and turned out the police, took charge of the City Hall and of the government. One of the most astonishing things about the whole battle was the behavior of the crowd. Cheering thou- sands watched the conflict from every vantage point. They crowded every window, doorway and balcony which offered a view of the scene, and they filled the street at the very edge of the lines of fighters. No one apparent- ly ever thought of danger, but gazed on the battle as if it were a panorama arranged for some great holiday. The newsboys were recklessness personified. They darted in and out between the lines of men and in front of the very guns. When the police fled the newsboys were close behind them, themselves picking up the Winchesters w^iich the frightened constabulary were throwing aside. ^^ Thus was broken the backbone of negro and carpet- bag rule in the South ; and it was not long till Nicholls was installed as Democratic Governor, succeeding Kel- logg the carpet-bag Governor. Of the story of Septem- ber 14th 1874, but little is known to the present genera- tion; indeed, we are advised that the textbooks in the public schools are strangely silent on the subject. The fall of carpet-bag government in the South is an event of as much historical importance as the demolition of ^^'For the detailed account of the stirring events of Sep- tember 14, 1874, we are indebted to the New Orleans Times- Democrat. 239 A CONGLOMERATE the French Bastile in 1789, and its lesson should be im- pressed upon the minds of the young, thus inculcating not only a love of liberty but a hatred of oppression. On the spot where the battle took place a monument was erected, some years ago, commemorating the event that gave to Louisiana and the South their political liberty. On the monument is inscribed the names and deeds of the valiant citizens that died for the cause of home government. Annuall}^, on the 14th of September, the people congregate at the monument and, with floral decorations and appropriate ceremonies, indicate to the world that they have forgotten neither the event, so important in its consequences, nor those who perished there. A EEMINISCEISTCE OF THE SEVENTIES. ALASKA DEMOCRATIC RALLY HENDRICKS — VOORHEES — RISE-UP- WILLIAM ALLEN. Mr. Webster speaking of England declared, "that her morning drum-beat circles the earth with an unbroken strain of her martial airs,^^ and it has been said of our own country that before the sun sets upon Alaska he has risen upon Maine. This indicates the vast extent of the United States, but gives no adequate conception of the immensity of Alaska alone. It exceeds in its entire area a half million square miles. Its extreme length is about eleven hun- dred miles; its extreme width about eight hundred. It stretches three hundred and fifty miles beyond Behring 240 A EEMINISCENCE OF THE SEVENTIES straits ; and borders upon the Arctic ocean for more than a thousand miles. In 1876 it was ceded to the United States for a money payment of seven million two hun- dred thousand dollars, and, in the month of October of that year, the possession of the country was formally made over to a military force of the United States at New Archangel. Many years ago, sometime in the seventies, I believe, in the midst of a very exciting political campaign, it was announced in the newspapers that on a certain day Daniel W. Voorhees, Thomas A. Hendricks and former governor William Allen, would address a great Demo- cratic rally at Loveland, Ohio. A party of us from Shelbyville decided to attend. We were full to the brim with Democratic enthusiasm and, it was our unanimous conclusion, that no other trio of Democratic statesmen could at any time be found, more capable than this one, of working the complete theoretical demolition of the Eepublican party. Indeed, we all felt that the majestic oratory of Voorhees, the persuasive eloquence of Hen- dricks, and the sledge-hammer blows of Eise-up-William Allen — in combination — would leave nothing remaining of the Grand Old Party — save the cellar and the well. It was a beautiful autumn morning when we boarded the train for Loveland via Cincinnati. Our journey thither was devoid of incident or excitement, except that the enthusiasm increased as we were joined on the train by others whose destination and patriotic purpose were the same as our own. However, there was one exhibition of beautiful irony that I must not omit to mention. There were several ladies in our party, among them a 241 A CONGLOMERATE charming girl of eighteen summers. She was so exquisite- ly fascinating in appearance and bearing, that the sight of her could not fail to quicken the pulse of any young gentleman, regardless of his political predilections. When the train stopped at the village of Adams, in Decatur county, she put her head out of the window to see the crowd at the station. Three young men about her own age were standing not far away from the train. One of them, addressing the other two, declared in an audible voice, "Look at the girl with her head out of the window. She is the ugliest girl I ever saw in all my life.^' We arrived at Loveland in due time — the great crowd had assembled and were waiting to hear the Democratic gospel expounded by three of the party's greatest advo- cates. The speakers finally arrived and the speaking began. The meeting from a Democratic standpoint was a glorious success, our fondest hopes having been more than realized. The power of Hendricks over a popular audience was marvelous. I have said in another place, referring to Hendricks in the practice of his profession, that he, like Bush, the great Irish lawyer, could "hand up a point of law to the court with as much grace and pliancy of gesture as if he were presenting a court lady with a fan" ; it may be said, with truth, that he presented to a popular audience, with equal grace and propriety of gesture, the great truths of Democracy. Hendricks owed much of his power to the charm of his personality. His appeals to the passions and the understanding were equally effective. So magnetic was 242 A REMINISCENCE OF THE SEVENTIES he, that he could not open his lips or lift his hand, with- out instantly engaging the rapt attention of his audi- ence. He possessed in a higher degree than any one I ever heard what might be termed the power of interrog- ative orator}^, bringing forth numerous responses from his audience, after the manner of the old fashioned Methodist camp meeting. For example, Hendricks would say after making an impassioned statement, "I appeal to you, my countrymen, is not that true ?" with a response like this: "True as Gospel, Tommy— hit 'em again." The ornate and majestic eloquence of Voorhees deeply stirred the audience. After his merciless excoriations of the Republican party and its leaders, he, like the eagle, "with crimsoned beak and bloody talons, soared aloft and bathed his plumage in the clouds." Voorhees was aggressive. In a legislative body, in joint debate, or in the face of any opposition, he would exhibit what John Randolph called "a talent for turbu- lence." Rise-up- William Allen portrayed in thunderous tones the inherent and acquired wickedness of the Republican party. His indictment charged that party and its leaders, especially Mr. Seward, with nearly all the of- fenses known to the catalogue of crime. Among other things, he asserted that the country was indebted to the Democratic party for our vast and valuable territorial acquisitions, made since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. That the Republican party, through one of its leaders, William H. Seward, had expended a vast sum of the people's money, more than seven millions 243 A CONGLOMEEATE of dollars, in the purchase of Alaska, an immense unin- habitable iceberg lying in the shadow of the North Pole, and, at the same time were, and had been for years, engaged in the flagitious occupation of giving as sub- sidies to corporations, an enormous area of the valuable territory acquired by and through the wisdom, states- manship, and diplomacy, of the Democratic party. We all know, at this time, that Governor Allen's speech so far as it related to Alaska was based upon a vast amount of misinformation. He certainly had no conception of its enormous wealth in its mines, its vast forests, in the furs of its wild animals, saying nothing of the fish with which its rivers and seas abound. He was equally misinformed as to its climate. That of the Southwest portion is mild, considering its high altitude. The great warm current of the Pacific, sweeping in a northeasterly circuit from the East India Islands and corresponding very much in character and effects to the Gulf stream of the Atlantic, washes its shores and great- ly modifies its temperature. Neither in private nor public life did Mr. Seward ever make so good an investment as he made when he purchased Alaska. Considering its enormous wealth, the price he paid for it was, indeed, a mere bagatelle. But one untoward incident marred the pleasure of our day. After the meeting, a very enthusiastic member of our party imbibed too freely and became thoroughly intoxicated. I never heard of his being in this condition before or since. Pie was an estimable gentleman of intelligence and respectability, and I am quite sure it was an accident. It was well that we were able to con- 244 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS ceal from the general public the fact of his intoxication. In the then temper of the public mind, a malevolent Eepublican toxicologist would have taken exquisite de- light in declaring that our companion did the best thing possible when he imbibed so freely. He would have said, that as atropine, extracted from the deadly night- shade, is a counter-poison to an overdose of morphia, so whisky is equally efficacious as a counter-poison to an overdose of democracy. But our Eepublican friends never found it out. It was indeed a glorious day for democracy, but I must frankly confess that it was a cold day for Alaska. WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS. CLASS LEGISLATION PROTECTION ELECTION OF UNITED STATES SENATORS BY THE PEOPLE CAPITAL AND LABOR. Government and laws have much to do with the hap- piness of the individual citizen. But it has been ob- served that the bulk of mankind on their part are not excessively curious concerning any theories, so long as they are really happy ; and that one sure symptom of an ill-conducted state is the propensity of people to resort to them. We conceive it to be a question of primary importance tliat there should be a clear and complete recognition of the fact, that societies and laws exist only for the purpose of increasing the sum of private happi- ness; and, using the wise and sententious utterance of Edmund Burke, that "Governments are practical things, not toys for speculists and demagogues to play with." 245 A CONGLOMERATE We all fully appreciate the absurdity of praising or condemning a constitution in the abstract. We must have an exact and complete knowledge of the people who are to be governed by it — of their intelligence, disposi- tion, temperament and environment, before we can pro- nounce a constitution to be good; and we may accept, without question, Macaulay's definition of a good gov- ernment as being one that, like a good coat, fits the body for which it was designed. He affirms what is obvious, that one who says a constitution is good without an exact knowledge of the people to be governed by it, judges as absurdly as a "tailor who should measure the Belvidere Apollo for the clothes of all his customers." In the same connection, he pronounces as equally ridicu- lous to all men of sense and candor, the demagogues who wished to see Portugal a republic, and the wise critics who revile the Virginians for not having insti- tuted a peerage. He declares that "From the despotism of St. Petersburg to the democracy of Washington, there is scarcely a form of government which might not, at least, in some hypothetical case, be the best possible." The Englishman boldly asserts that the English con- stitution is the perfection of political wisdom, because it contains the virtues of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, without the faults which would attend any of these varieties of government unmodified by the other. Goldsmith in his day pronounced the English government the finest model of civil society — one "in which subordination and liberty were blended in just proportions." 246 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS The historian of the period declares that the form of government instituted at Philadelphia is in its ground- work and principal features a restriction and perfecting of the ancient constitutional liberties of England. We learn from "The Federalist/' that inexhaustible reservoir of political wisdom, that the ideal system is one which combines the energy of government with the security of private rights. And where should the stu- dent of the science of government turn, if not to the Federalist? It was said of Alexander Hamilton, its principal author, that his industry was marvelous, and his learning equal to the creative faculty of his mind; that he possessed in the highest degree the rare faculty of being able to see consequents 3^et dormant in their principals. It has been asserted by a high English authority^ ^ that his writings exhibit an extent and precision of in- formation, a profundity of research, and an accurate- ness of understanding which would have done honor to the most illustrious statesmen of ancient or modern times — that for comprehension of design, strength, clearness and simplicity they have no parallel. Talley- rand called the attention of European statesmen to the merits of the Federalist as a "copious source of correct maxims and profound thought;" and Guizot says, that in the application of elementary principles of govern- ment to practical administration, it was the greatest work known to him. Guizot adds, "There is not in the Constitution of the United States an element of order, "11 E. Britannica. 247 A CONGLOMEEATE of force, of duration, which Hamilton did not power- fully contribute to introduce into it and to cause to pre- dominate." In government, durability is one of the chief elements of strength, for it has been observed that it is the ex- perience of mankind that nothing is either feared or loved but what is likely to endure. When Montesquieu declared that a republic was prac- ticable only in a small country with a very limited population, he doubtless used the word as being syn- onymous with democracy. As now understood, there is indeed a vast difference between a democracy and a re- public. A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person. Of such democracies it has been said "that they have ever been spectacles of turbu- lence and contention ; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. Theoretic politicians who have patronized this species of government, have er- roneously supposed that by reducing mankind to a perfect equality in their political rights, they would, at the same time, be perfectly equalized and assimilated in their possessions, their opinions, and their passions." A republic is a government in which the scheme of representation takes place; and the two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic, as pointed out by the Federalist, are, first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest ; secondly, the greater number 248 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS of citizens, and greater sphere of country, over wliicli the latter may be extended. There are many words and phrases the meaning of which are by some imperfectly understood. Among the number are "civil liberty" and "liberty" as contra- distinguished from license or licentiousness. Liberty and authority are inherent enemies and con- stantly confront one another. A free and good govern- ment has been defined to be that in which the two are brought the most nearly into harmonious action ; ^^Vlien there is as much liberty and as little restraint imposed on it by authority as is compatible with the peace and safety of the whole, and of each individual. When this practical balance is obtained, it is designated by the phrase civil liberty." Bishop Butler, in a sermon preached before the House of Lords, clearly defines licentiousness. He declares it to be such an excess of liberty as is of the same nature with tyranny. He inquires, "^Vhat is the differ- ence between them but that one is lawless power exer- cised under pretense of authority, or by being invested with it; the other, lawless power exercised under the pretense of libert}^, or without any pretense at all? A people, then, must always be less free, in proportion as they are more licentious; licentiousness being not only different from libert}^, but distinctly contrary to it, a direct breach upon it." Among the governments instituted among men, that of Lycurgus is unique. He seems to have ignored the fact that governments were made for men and not men for governments; and the observation is obviously true 249 A CONGLOMEEATE that instead of adapting the constitution to the people, he distorted the minds of the people to suit the con- stitution. His avowed purpose was the conquest of luxury and the extermination of the love of riches, and, to this end, he introduced the use of public tables where all were to eat in common of the same meat, and such kinds of it as were appointed by law. He divided the lands equally among the people and said, "How like is Laconia to an estate newly divided among many brothers?" He stopped the coinage of gold and silver and required that they should make use of iron money only; and then to a great quantity and weight of this he assigned but a small value. It was evidently not known, in that age and genera- tion, that the most pernicious of all legislation is that which tampers with the standard of value, whether it be in the interest of the debtor class, or for any other purpose. A great Englishman, in commenting upon the govern- ment of Athens, refers inferentially to the laws estab- lished by the Spartan law giver. He says : "At Athens the laws did not constantly interfere with the tastes of the people. The children were not taken from their parents by that universal step-mother, the state. They were not starved into thieves, or tortured into bullies; there was no established table at which every one must dine, no established style in which every one must converse. An Athenian might eat whatever he could afford to buy, and talk as long as he could find people to listen. The government did not tell the people what opinions they were to hold, or what songs they 250 WISE AXD BENEFICENT LAAVS were to sing. Freedom produced excellence. Thus phi- losophy took its origin. Thus were produced those models of poetry, of oratory, and of the arts, which scarcely fall short of the standard of ideal excellence. Nothing is more conducive to happiness than the free exercise of the mind, in pursuits congenial to it." We can all agree that the eminent French political philosopher^^ spoke the truth when he declared that the Americans had the chances of birth in their favor, and that their forefathers imported that equality of con- ditions into the country, whence the democratic republic very naturally took its rise. He says : ^'When I reflect upon the consequences of this primary circumstance, me- thinks I see the destiny of America embodied in the first Puritan who landed on those shores just as the human race was represented by the first man. "The celebrated communities of antiquity were all founded in the midst of hostile nations, which they were obliged to subjugate before they could fiourish in their place. * * * But North America was only inhabited by wandering tribes, who took no thought of the natural riches of the soil, and that vast country was still, prop- erly speaking, an empty continent, a desert land await- ing its inhabitants." To us, the grave and majestic style of this eminent philosophical writer, is singularly enchanting. He con- tinues : "At that time North America was discovered, as if it had been kept in reserve by the Deity, and had just risen from beneath the waters of the deluge." " De Tocqueville. 251 A CONGLOMEEATE After tracing the character of the American Indians and expressing his positive conviction that another peo- ple, more civilized and more advanced in all respects, had preceded them in the same regions, he continues : "How strange does it appear that nations have existed, and afterward so completely disappeared from the earth, that the remembrance of their very name h effaced; their languages are lost; their glory is vanished like a sound without an echo; but perhaps there is not one which has not left behind it a tomb in memory of its passage. The most durable monument of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man." One need not be deeply versed in statecraft to see clearly that the constitution of a state, and the due dis- tribution of its powers, is a matter of the most delicate and complicated skill; that it requires a deep knowl- edge of human nature and of human necessities. We have already noted the observation that the gov- ernment at Washington in its groundwork and princi- pal features is a restriction and perfecting of the ancient constitutional liberties in England. It is very doubtful, however, whether in all of its features our government is an improvement upon the English system. In Eng- land, there is no doubt where the real sovereignty lies. The actual ministers of the day must possess the confi- dence of the House of Commons. The real strength of popular government lies in the ultimate supremacy of that body. It is conceded that one of the most difficult 252 WISE AXD BENEFICENT LAWS problems of government is how to provide for the devo- lution of political power, and it is said that no other question is so generally and justly applied as the test of a working constitution. If the transmission worki smoothly, the constitution, whatever may be its other defects, may be at least pronounced stable. The real change of power occurs on a change of ministry. A British ministry must resign or dissolve when it is de- feated in the House of Commons, and if after a dissolu- tion it is beaten again, it must resign without alterna- tive. The out-going premier names his successor, who must be a recognized leader of his successful rivals. We read that recent practice goes far to establish the rule that a minister beaten at the hustings should resign at once, without waiting for a formal defeat in the House of Commons. The change of power in the United States is ac- complished by a very different and much more tardy process. The president is at once king and prime min- ister. His crown is rigidly fixed for four years; after four years he ceases to reign. No hostile vote can affect his power as the head of the administration. But the day of his political demise is known from the first day of his government, and almost before he begins to reign the political forces of the country are shaping out a new struggle for the succession. Further, a change of gov- ernment in America means a change of almost the entire administration; in England, the change of power affects comparatively few personal interests, and absorbs the attention of the country for a comparatively short 253 A CONGLOMERATE space of time. The commotion caused by a presidential election in the United States is infinitely greater than that caused by a general election in England. In this country, the president is not obliged to aban- don his supreme power by so trivial a circumstance as an adverse vote in the House of Representatives, or even by an overwhelming defeat at the hustings. It is evident that the English constitution is more democratic than the American, in the sense that the popular will can more speedily be brought to bear upon the government. The general excellence of our system of government and our political institutions is asserted by all patriotic Americans ; but it must be conceded that, at least in the matter of the devolution of power, the English system is vastly superior to ours. An eminent Englishman declared not long ago that the weak points of the American constitution are begin- ning to appear, and he attributes them to the "deference to the false diagnosis of Montesquieu which entered into its construction, and is now interfexing with its working as a republican counterpart of the constitution of Great Britain." We know full well that there are inherent defects in all governments and in all constitutions — that perfection in them is unattainable, as it is in the individuals who devise and construct them. We conceive that one of the greatest curses to our country is class legislation — laws which either directly or indirectly are meant to favor particular classes of the community. The doctrine of protection which was 254 WISE AXD BENEFICENT LAWS not recognized or contemplated by the franiers of the constitution, but had its insidious birth long after the adoption of that sacred instrument, is a striking exam- ple. There is something in a name. The word "pro- tection," at once gentle and emollient, was selected to cover this nefarious scheme. Artifices of this kind have long been practiced. The Athenians frequently quali- fied the harshness of things by giving them softer and politer names — for example, they called harlots mis- tresses ; and it was Solon, we believe, who first distin- guished the canceling of debts by the name of a dis- charge. This policy of protection has resulted in the accumu- lation of large fortunes in the hands of a few individ- uals and, at the same time, in the partial impoverish- ment of the masses of the people. The doctrine has at last become so odious to a vast majority of the American people that, in some quarters, it has become a subject of serious consideration whether the word itself, "protect- ion," should not be ruthlessly stricken from all Ameri- can lexicons. It would almost seem as if the authors and promoters of this infamous doctrine had adopted the dreadful maxim of Michiavelli, that in great affairs men are not to be wicked by halves. Protection has not only enabled a few individuals to suddenly acquire large fortunes, at the expense of their neighbors, but it has been the means of introducing baleful luxury — a style of living even beyond the means of those who adopt it, and spreading through all classes. It is a fact, confirmed by the observation of every one, that men who have accumulated wealth slowly, by 255 A CONGLOMERATE labor of mind or body, do not spend it extravagantly. We are prone to disregard the lessons of history. The luxury which corrupted and destroyed the republic of Eome was the result of large fortunes suddenly acquired by the plunder of provinces, the conquest of unjust wars. A question now under consideration by the American people is an amendment to the constitution, providing for the election of United States senators by the people, instead of by the legislatures of the respective states. We have grave doubts as to the propriety and wisdom of the proposed amendment, notwithstanding the popular clamor for it is largely from the political party to which we belong. To the private citizen, who neither holds nor seeks to hold any public office and who has no "ax to grind," it w^ould seem that two dangers confront this country; one is a vast consolidated power at Washington, con- trolling the internal affairs of states, assuming doubtful powers under the constitution, and even others on the ground of inherent rights of sovereignty; the other, is a growing tendency to convert our Federal Eepublic into a pure Democracy. Of such Democracies we have al- ready noted the historical fact "that they have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives, as they have been violent in their deaths.'' The opinion of Montesquieu that such a government is practicable only in a small country, with a limited 256 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS population, is confirmed by the reason and observation of every reflecting man of ordinary intelligence. European statesmen declare that in the United States constitutional progress is hampered by the necessity of having every amendment ratified by the separate vote of three-fourths of the states. The whole world lias been electrified by the marvelous constructive capacity and prescience, exhibited by the fathers of the republic. It was said of some of them that they possessed in the highest degree the rare faculty of being able to see conse- quents yet dormant in their principals. Is it not a reasonable presumption that the framers of the constitu- tion made amendments difficult, in anticipation of efforts that might possibly be made, by visionary sophists or interested agitators, to tear down the very pillars upon which the edifice rests? If the proposed amendment be adopted it will amount to a fundamental change in the form and character of our government — in fact, to revo- lution; and will be a gigantic stride in the direction of the obliteration of state lines ending, perhaps, in a centralized despotism at Washington. The autonomy and indestructibility of the states were insisted upon as conditions precedent to the adoption and ratification of the constitution — and, without the assurance that these would be preserved, the constitution would have failed. They were informed that "the pro- posed constitution, so far from implying an abolition of the state governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty, by allowing them — direct repre- sentation in the senate, and leaves in their possession 257 A CONGLOMEEATE certain exclusive and very important portions of sover- eign power." The present method of electing senators has answered admirably the purposes of government and society. Why pull down the edifice, why destroy this ancient land- mark, with the view of experimenting with a system which is wholly untried and upon which great construc- tive statesmen have placed the seal of their reprobation? We know how easy it is to pull down and destroy. A mob can do this. It has been well and truly said that the shallowest understanding, the rudest hand, is more than equal to that task. "Eage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour, than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years." We are reminded of the solemn admonition of Burke upon a like occasion: "No man should approach to look into the defects or corruptions of the state but with due caution; that he should never dream of beginning its reformation by its subversion; that he should ap- proach the faults of the state as to the wounds of a father, with pious awe and trembling solicitude. * * * We are taught to look with horror on those children of their country, who are prompt rashly to hack that aged parent in pieces, and put him into the kettle of magicians, in hopes that by their poisoned weeds, and wild incantations, they may regenerate the paternal constitution, and renovate their father's life." We know that professional politicians, seeking political preferment and fond of distinguishing themselves, can- not always be relied upon to resist violent innovation. 258 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS If they accomplish their purpose what do they care whether it be by the "thunderbolt of despotism, or by the earthquake of popular commotion?" In this the year of our Lord 1912, occurs the quad- rennial honey-moon of the politician's fondness for the dear people. During this delightful period, his love and tenderness are not excelled by those of the bride-groom who takes to his bosom his young and blushing bride. With many, his blandishments and cajoleries are effect- ive. With what unction and dramatic effect will he declare upon the hustings : "It should be your province to determine who shall be United States Senator; he should be elected hy you, the people of this country. We have in mind one of the most illustrious statesmen of ancient or modern times — a man of large observation and profound erudition. Note his words of wisdom : "A dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people, than under the forbidding appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. * « * Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the great- est number have begun their career, by paying an obsequious court to the people ; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." We all know how difficult it is to overcome what is known abroad as a peculiar American superstition — that the correctness of a belief is decided by the number of people who can be induced to adopt it — in short, that the truth is a matter of majorities, derived by a simple arithmetical calculation. AYill any one seriously contend that several hundred 259 A CONGLOMEEATE thousand voters in the State of Indiana are more capable than the one hundred and fifty members of the General Assembly to select a proper person to discharge the high and important duties of a United States Senator? To give a concrete illustration: Suppose a senatorial election should be held tomorrow — a free for all contest if you please, who and where is the individual that would receive more votes for that great office than the redoubtable Lew Shank, now mayor of Indianapolis? Can you conceive of a General Assembly, either Demo- cratic or Eepublican, that would elect him? We are merely asking questions — a mode much used in former times, and still permissible, of stating the most decided opinions. A vast majority of the American people believe that no honest employment is disgraceful; but, it is no less true, that each individual has his own peculiar adapta- tion — in other words, it is every man to his trade. The lawyer, who would presume to instruct a farmer of long experience, in the work and management of his farm, would only make himself ridiculous ; and no less so, was the silly rhetorician who went all the way to Carthage to instruct Hannibal in the art of war. We all respect the farmer and his occupation, and well we may, for he is indispensable to our existence ; but it would be asking too much to demand that he should also be an adept in state-craft and diplomacy. This principle is corroborat- ed, if indeed it needs corroboration, by the book of Ecclesiasticus, presumably written by Solomon. We quote from chapter 28, verses 24 and 25 : "The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure : and 260 WISE AND BENEFICENT LAWS he that hath little business shall become wise. How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plow, and that glorieth in the goad; that driveth oxen; and is occupied in their labor; and w^hose talk is of bullocks?" Again, verse 33 : "They shall not be sought for in public counsel, nor sit in the congregation : they shall not sit on the judge's seat, nor understand the sentence of judgment; they cannot declare justice and judgment and they shall not be found where parables are spoken." In some particulars other governments are in advance of our owm. Andrew D. White, the eminent publicist, who for many years represented this country as ambas- sador at the courts of Europe, had ample opportunities for observation and comparison. He declares that as a result of such observance and reflection during a long life which touched public men and measures in wide variety, he would desire for our country three things above all others, to supplement our existing American civilization: from Great Britian her administration of criminal justice; from Germany her theatre; and from any European country save Russia, Spain and Turkey, its government of cities : He says that in Germany, the theater and its surroundings are, in the main, free from the abuses and miseries of the stage in English-speaking lands. No fact is more conclusively established by history than that the most common and durable source of con- troversy and contention has been the unequal distribu- tion of property. "Those who hold and those who are 261 A CONGLOMEEATE without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors and those who are debtors fall under a like discrimination." One of the most difficult problems that confronts our country is the ever recurring controversy between capital and labor. The same conditions exist in other countries. Em- peror William expresses his feelings on the subject with much emphasis. He declared to an eminent American not so very long ago: "You in America may do what you please, but I will not suffer capitalists in Germany to suck the life out of the workingmen and then fling them like squeezed lemon-skins into the gutter." No question can possibly arise, the solution of which, re- quires greater wisdom and forbearance. It is the plain, unvarnished truth that the fault is not all on either side. Capital justly complains of the destruction of property; labor pleads in mitigation, if not in justification, the relentless demands and exactions of capital. We believe that an absolutely perfect solution of this troublesome problem awaits, either the recognition and practical application by both parties of the Golden Eule, or the perfectibility of man. There was a time in our early colonial history wdien the inhabitants of America were contemptously regarded by Europeans. It is an historical fact, that even men admired as profound philosophers did, in direct terms, attribute to the inhabitants of Europe a physical and mental superiority; and did gravely assert that all animals, and with them the human species, degenerated 262 PEACE AND WAR— GROTIUS in America — that even dogs ceased to bark after liaving breathed awhile in our atmosphere. ^^ It is hardly necessary to say that this theory has long since been abandoned. The prowess and physical endurance of Americans have been illustrated on many battle fields. On the score of mental inferiority it is sufficient to recite a single fact — that after the treaty of Ghent the British House of Lords solemnly declared that the negotiations for peace bore the stamp of American superiority. PEACE AND WAR — GROTIUS — PEACE CONFERENCE AT THE HAGUE — LAYING A WREATH OF SILVER AND GOLD UPON THE TOMB OF GROTIUS BY THE AMERICAN DELEGATION. More than a century ago a great statesman declared that "To judge from the history of mankind, we shall be compelled to conclude, that the fiery and destructive passions of war reign in the human breast with much more powerful sway, than the mild and beneficent senti- ments of peace; and that to model our political systems upon speculations of lasting tranquillity, would be to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character." Peace conferences at The Hague, in which the great countries of the world have participated, the pending Peace treaties, and other circumstances, would, perhaps, warrant a modification of this positive view. The consideration of the subject of Peace and War naturally suggests the name of one of the most famous men of the seventeenth century — Hugo Grotius. He was born at Delft April 10, 1583, and died at Rostock August 28, 1645. Shortly after he attained ^«The Federalist. 263 A CONGLOMERATE his majority he became an active participant in the disputes between the Remonstrants and their opponents and, in 1613, when these controversies were at their height in Holland, he was sentenced to imprisonment for life. His escape from imprisonment was marvelous. His wife managed to have him carried out of the castle in a chest used for the conveyance of books and linen, while she remained in prison in his stead. Her devotion was applauded and she was finally set at liberty. Grotius was a man of varied interests and accomplish- ments. To the talents of a most able statesman, he united deep and extensive learning. He was a profound and enlightened theologian, a distinguished scholar, an acute philosopher, a judicious historian and a splendid jurist. So great and varied was his learning that he was characterized as a "monster of erudition." His greatest work was his treatise on Peace and War which was published at Paris in 1625. It was soon generally received as authority by professors of the Continental Universities, having been translated into all the languages of Europe. He was everywhere treated with profound respect as the founder of the modern law of nations which is distinguished from what formerly bore that name by its more continual reference to that of nature. Hallam declares that no one had before gone to the foundations of international law so as to raise a complete and consistent superstructure. The motive assigned for this great undertaking is the noblest. "I saw," he says, "in the whole Christian world a license of fighting, at which even barbarians might blush; wars begun on trifling pretexts, or none at all, and carried 264 PEACE AND WAE— GEOTIUS on without reverence for any divine or human law, as if that one declaration of war let loose every crime. Our ahle and distinguished publicist Andrew D. White, who was the President of the American delegation to the Peace Conference at The Hague in 1899, declared that "More than ever it is apparent to me that of all books ever written — not claiming divine inspiration — the great work of Grotius on 'War and Peace' has been of most benefit to mankind. Our work here (at The Hague Peace Conference) at the end of the nineteenth century, is the direct result of his, at the beginning of the seventeenth." Mr. White declared that Grotius had long been to him almost an object of idolatry, and his main works a subject of earnest study — that there were few men in history whom he so deeply venerated. It was indeed a most felicitous thought of Mr. White which impelled him on the 6th day of June, 1899, to write a private letter to the Secretary of State suggest- ing that the American delegation to The Hague confer- ence be authorized to lay a wreath of silver and gold upon the tomb of Grotius at Delft, "not only as a tribute to the man who set in motion the ideas which, nearly three hundred years later, have led to the assem- bling of this conference, but as an indication of our grati- tude to the Netherlands Government for its hospitality and the admirable provision it has made for our work here, and also as a sign of good will towards the older governments of the world on the occasion of their first meeting with delegates from the new world, in a con- ference treating of matters most important to all na- tions." 265 A CONGLOMEEATE On the 19th of June Mr. White received a hearty- telegram from the Secretary of State authorizing him to order the wreath of silver and gold to be placed on the tomb of Grotius. He at once telegraphed and wrote to Berlin giving full instructions on the subject, having determined, as he said, that the tribute should be worthy of our country, of its object, and of the occasion. After a conference it was decided that the Grotius celebration should be had on July 4th at Delft — that the ceremony should occur in the great church at eleven o'clock, with sundry speeches, and that at half past twelve the Ameri- can delegation should give a luncheon to all the invited guests in the town hall opposite. On June 22 the American delegation met and chose Mr. White for their orator at the approaching Grotius festival. On July 2 Major Allen, military attache of the American embassy at Berlin arrived bringing the Grotius wreath. It was most satisfactory. It is thus described by Mr. White: "The wreath is very large, being made up, on one side, of a laurel branch with leaves of frosted silver and berries of gold, and, on the other, of an oak branch with silver leaves and gold acorn, both boughs being tied together at the bottom by a large knot of ribbon in silver gilded, bearing the arms of the Netherlands and the United States on enameled shields, and an inscription as follows: "To the Memory of Hugo Grotius; In Reverence and Gratitude, From the United States of America; On the Occasion of the International Peace Conference of The Hague, July 4, 1899." 266 PEACE AND WAE— GROTIUS "It is a superb piece of work and its ebony cast, with silver clasps, and bearing a silver shield with suitable inscription, is also perfect; the whole thing attracts most favorable attention." At the appointed time, July 4th the American dele- gation invited their colleagues to celebrate our national anniversary at the tomb of Grotius, first in the great church, and afterw^ard in the town hall at Delft. The duty of laying the wreath upon the tomb and making the address with reference to it, was intrusted to Mr. White, the president of the American delegation. Speeches were also made by President Low of Columbia Universi- ty, De Beaufort the minister of foreign affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Asser one of their leading jurists, by the burgomaster of Delft, and by Baron de Bildt chair- man of the Swedish delegation and minister at Rome. The latter read a telegram from the King of Sweden referring to Grotius's relations to the Swedish diplomatic service. A very large audience was present, embracing the ambassadors and principal members of the confer- ence, the Netherlands ministers of state, professors of the various universities of the Netherlands, and a large body of the other invited guests. The music of the chimes, of the organ, and of the royal choir of one hundred voices, is said to have been most impressive. This beautiful and well deserved tribute to Grotius, paid nearly three hundred years after he had passed awa}^, indicates very clearly that truly great men are not soon forgotten. 267 A CONGLOMEEATE RELIGION AND POLITICS. The subjects of the "Preacher in Politics" and "Church and State" seem just now to be uppermost in the public mind. We have a profound respect for the minister of the Gospel and the great and holy cause which he is pre- sumed to represent; but have never been especially infatuated either with political theologians or theological politicians. Politics and the pulpit are absolutely incompatible. Everyone has, or thinks he has, an understanding with God as to his own particular case; but it will not be denied that, in the interest of the cause of religion, the harmony and growth of the church are of paramount importance. If the leader of his flock engages actively in partisan politics, it works an injury to his church and the cause of religion in two ways ; it embitters those of his membership who do not agree with him, and repels many outsiders from entering the church who would otherwise do so. We are convinced that there are myriads of people in the last named class. The life and occupation of the minister are not such as would naturally fit him for solving abstruse problems in Legislation and Government, and being unacquainted with the world and inexperienced in all its affairs, he has nothing of politics but the passions they excite, which are usually characterized by intensity, and oftentimes by acrimony. From the very nature of the calling of the minister, he is subjected to some disadvantages which are not 2G8 EELIGION AND POLITICS encountered in other professions. He has not the bene- fit of the wholesome and liberalizing effect which invariably results from the attrition of mind with mind. "What he says goes." Occasionallyj we find one who becomes narrow, intolerant, and presumptuous, who can exercise no patience with those who differ with him in opinion, being thoroughly saturated with the doctrine that orthodoxy is my doxy, and heterodoxy is your doxy. It was said that Dr. 0. an eminent clerg}'man, had an extraordinary way of asserting himself. After his death a legend arose that on his arrival in the New Jerusalem, being presented to St. Paul he said : "Sir, I have derived both pleasure and profit from your writings, and have commended them to my congregation." The minister in discharging the duties of his office — giving consolation to the sick and dying, and those in bereavement and distress, is indeed performing an holy office; but these duties do not invest him with the ability to solve the varied and intricate problems of government, and are alike remote from politics, law, statecraft and diplomacy. Some years ago, an incident occurred which illustrates the agility with which a minister may pass from the domain of the church and religion to that of partizan politics. In opening with prayer the National Conven- tion of one of the great political parties in this country, he said: "Grant, Lord, that the ticket here to be nominated may command a majority of the suffrages of the Ameri- can people." The dear brother did not yet know who would be 269 A CONGLOMERATE nominated, nor what principles would be enunciated in the platform. Waiving the question of irreverence and impropriety, he certainly exhibited great liberality, and a most accommodating spirit. It is the men who are most estranged by the political activities of the minister. Women take politics less seriously, and the influence of religion over their minds is generally supreme. The spiritual necessities of the two sexes seem to be somewhat at variance. "Fraulein Von Klattenberg looked upon her Savior as a lover to whom one yields one's self without reserve, concentrating all joy and hope on him alone, and without doubt or hesitation confiding to him the destiny of life. Lavater, on the other hand, treated his Savior as a friend, to be imitated lovingly and without envy, whose merits he recognized and valued highly and whom from that very reason, he strove to copy and even to equal." The clergyman may in some sense be regarded as the terrestrial agent or representative of the Savior, and it will require very little perspicacity, indeed, to see the inevitable effect of his "getting out in the district," or from his own pulpit, denouncing with intense earnest- ness and sometimes with bitterness, the political senti- ments and beliefs of members of his own congregation, and of those on the outside who under other circum- stances would become members. The subject under consideration involves the same old question of the separation of church and state. "When a religion founds its empire upon the desire of im- mortality, which lives in every human heart," says De Tocqueville, "it may aspire to universal dominion; 270 RELIGION AXD POLITICS but when it connects itself with a government, it must necessarily adopt maixims which are only applicable to certain nations. * * * As long as a religion rests upon those sentiments which are the consolation of all affliction it may attract the affections of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of the world, it may be constrained to defend allies whom its interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it. * * * The church cannot share the temporal power of the state, without being the object of a portion of that animosity which the latter excites. * * * When religion clings to the interest of the world it becomes almost as fragile as the powers of the earth. It is the only one of them all which can hope for immortality; but if it be con- nected with their ephemeral authority, it shares their fortunes, and may fall with those transient passions which support them for a day. * * * The unbelievers of Europe attack the Christians as their political op- ponents rather than as their religious adversaries; they hate the Christian religion as the opinion of a party, much more than as an error of belief; and they reject the clergy less because they are the representatives of the Divinity than because they are the allies of au- thority." Edmund Burke, renowned for the amplitude of his understanding, and for his profound knowledge of the science of government and of governmental institutions, expressed decided opinions upon this subject. One can- not fail to be greatly impressed by what he says : ''No sound ought to be heard in the church but the healing voice of Christian charity. The cause of civil 271 A CONGLOMERATE liberty and civil government gains as little as that of religion by this confusion of duties. Those who quit their proper characters to assume what does not belong to them, are, for the greater part, ignorant both of the character they leave, and the character they assume. * * * Surely the church is a place where one day's truce ought to be allowed to the dissensions and the animosities of mankind." WILLIAM M. EVARTS. William Maxwell Evarts was a great lawyer, orator, statesman and diplomatist, developed during the Civil War period. As war forms the soldier, so the art of oratory flourishes to most advantage in times of war, turbulence and civil commotion. One essential requisite for the exhibition of great oratorical power is that the subject of the oration must be of adequate importance. Many subjects of this kind arose during and for a number of years immediately succeeding our Civil War. ■^^If there was a government in the world free from commotions and disturbances," says Tacitus, "the pro- fession of oratory would there be as useless as that of medicine to the sound, and as the physician would have little practice or profit among the healthy and strong, so neither would the orator have much business where obedience and good manners universally prevail." The great triumvirate, Calhoun, Clay and Webster (I name them alphabetically) attained eminence during the thirty years intervening between 1820 and 1850. It is true that our country was engaged in actual war only 272 WILLIAM M. EVAETS during a small portion of this period, but the aggressive agitation of the abolitionists on account of their real or pretended love and sympathy for the Southern negro continued incessantly during those three decades, thus keeping the country in a condition of constant turmoil, excitement and commotion. To what extent their hatred of the Southern white man contributed to this prolonged controversy, has ceased to be an important inquiry. ^^ If it so contribut- ed, it was not the first time in the history of the world that the reformer mixed his love of man with the hate of men. This question arose from time to time in protean shapes; and it was largely the discussion of this subject, and the important legal and constitutional questions growing out of it, that developed those three great statesmen and orators. Evarts was born in Boston, February 6th, 1818, edu- cated at Yale where he graduated in 1837. Three years later he was admitted to the New York bar, where for nearly half a century he held a distinguished place. His knowledge of the principles of law and of constitu- tional government, led to his selection as counsel for President Johnson at the impeachment trial in 1868. Differing in temperament and in manner from Judge -° It is one of the marvels of the age in which we live, that the bitter and vindictive agitators of New England should have been so entirely oblivious of the fact, that their ancestors were responsible for bringing slavery to this continent, and that the pockets of some of them became plethoric with gold, derived from the unholy slave trade. Little did they anticipate that some of their descendants, inheritors of this filthy lucre, would in time become such ardent philanthropists. 273 A CONGLOMEEATE Curtis, his associate counsel in this case, it was said, "that the two seemed perfectly adapted for professional co-operation, and united they constiuted an array of counsel as strong as could be found at the English- speaking bar." After the close of the impeachment trial he served as Attorney General, from 1868 to 1869, in President Johnson's cabinet. In 1871, he and two other eminent lawyers were appointed by President Grant to defend the interests of citizens of the United States, before the tribunal of arbitrators who met at Geneva to settle the Alabama claims. In 1877 he represented the Eepublican party before the Electoral Commission. He served four years as Secretary of State in Hayes' Cabinet (1877-1878). He was United States Senator from the State of New York for six years (1885-1891). I omitted to mention that he was the senior counsel for Mr. Beecher in the cele- brated Tilton suit. In his ability to discuss great questions of constitu- tional and international law, he was the peer of any of the statesmen and diplomatists of Europe. Cobden said of him: "He is a sedate, quiet, able man, thoroughly master of his business, and not disposed to go much beyond it. He is quite a match for our lawyers on questions that arise." Evarts writes to Bigelow our ambassador at Paris: "I shall, of course, come to Paris and depend much upon you to introduce me to its wonders and protect me from its perils." 274 WILLIAM M. EVARTS He was considered by eminent men the foremost advo- cate in the world, whether in this country or Europe. Many of his speeches and orations have been preserved, but, as is well known, the highest efforts of advocacy at the bar have no adequate memorial. Tacitus says of the eloquent Haterius, "Whilst the plodding industry of scribblers goes down to posterity, the sweet voice and fluent eloquence of Haterius died with himself." As an orator he was celebrated for the length of his sentences, but they were free from involution and ob- security, and seldom contain a superfluous or misplaced word. Rufus Choate was also famous for long sentences. So long, indeed, that some of them have been described as sentences for life. Choate's eulogy on Webster, one of the finest ever pronounced on any man, contains one sentence which stretches over more than four pages; and it has been said that some of the sentences of the abstruse Kant measure two feet, eight by six inches. I think a close examination will disclose the fact that the sentences of Evarts are characterized by brevity or copiousness — according to the subject under considera- tion. Mr. Evarts was not a politician in the ordinary signification of that word, but his consummate ability and admirable fitness for that great office, caused his name to be frequently mentioned in connection with the Presidency. Contemporary statesmen observed and appreciated his greatness as a lawyer, orator, statesman and diplomatist, as well as his noble and charming personal characteris- tics. 275 A CONGLOMEEATE Mr. Blaine says, referring to Evarts: "He is an orator — affluent in diction, graceful in manner, with all the rare and rich gifts which attract or enchain an audience/^ I quote the tribute of Senator Hoar of Massachusetts : "William M. Evarts, Secretary of State under Hays, was my near kinsman and intimate friend." * * * He became the foremost advocate in the world, whether in this country or Europe. * * * He was a man of unfailing equanimity and good nature, never thrown oS his balance by any exigency in diplomacy, in political affairs, or in the trial of causes. * * * He was always a delightful orator. He rose sometimes to a very lofty eloquence, as witness especially his argument in defense of President Johnson. * * * jj^ ^j^g ]^gj^ fg^^ years of his service in the senate, he had a very serious afflic- tion of the eyes. His physician in Paris told him there was not the slightest hope. He thought that the dark- ness would certainly, though gradually, shut down upon him. He received this sentence with composure. He went to Dresden to see Raphael's famous Virgin before the night set in.'' BLAISE PASCAL. We have had occasion more than once to quote from Pascal. He is certainly one of the most striking char- acters known in history. We know how difficult it is to convey to the reader precisely the thought of the writer. The historian, 276 BLAISE PASCAL Bancroft, fully appreciated this fact when he asserted that ''There is no end to the difficulty in choosing lan- guage which will awaken in the mind of the reader the very same thought that was in the mind of the writer." The weighty and vigorous thoughts of Pascal are ex- pressed with a force and perspicuity that enable the most ordinary mind to grasp them. It was said that "the vividness and distinction of his phrase, his singular faculty of inserting without any loss of dignity in the gravest and most impassioned meditation what may almost be called quips of thought and diction, the in- tense earnestness of meaning, weighting but not con- fusing the style, all appear in his writings." Hallam declares that among those who sustained the truth of Christianity by argument, rather than by authority, the first place, both in order of time and of excellence, is due to Pascal. It seems that he had not read very largely, which gave an ampler sweep to his genius. This distinguished philosopher and scholar was born in Auvergne, France, June 19th, 1623. He died at the early age of thirty-nine, in Paris, in the year 1G62. His precocity was marvelous. In his sixteenth year he produced a treatise on conic sections, which extorted the aJmost incredulous admiration of Descartes. We have read that his "Provincial Letters" had great contemporary popularity and we know tliat they have an enduring fame. In these letters he addresses himself to the casuistry of the Jesuits ; and "in a stream of hu- morous irony which has seldom been surpassed, he holds 277 A CONGLOMERATE up to ridicule their imputed laxity of principle on the obligation of restitution, on simony, on probable opin- ions, on equivocation and mental reservation." It is "Pascal's Pensees,'' however, by which we have been most profoundly impressed. The "Thoughts" of Pascal have been ranked as a monument of his genius. "They burn with an intense light; condensed in ex- pression, sublime, energetic, rapid, they hurry away the reader till he is scarcely able or willing to distinguish the sophisms from the truth they contain." The "Thoughts" did not appear until eight years after Pascal's death. The subjects dealt with concern more or less all the great problems of thought on what has been called the theological side of metaphysics — "the sufficiency of reason, the trustworthiness of experience, the admissibility of revelation, free will, foreknowledge and the rest." They have been pronounced a triumph of literary art of which no familiarity dims the splendor, and which no lapse of time can ever impair. They have extorted the admiration even of his unbelieving, and therefore unsympathetic critics. "To sum up, the Pensees are excursions into the great unknown, made with a full acknowledgement of the greatness of that unknown. Erom the point of view that belief and knowledge based on experience or reasoning, are separate domains with an unexplored sea between and around them, Pascal is perfectly comprehensible, and he need not be taken as a deserter from one region or the other." From the notes of our reading we here reproduce a number of his thoughts : The two secret instincts of man. He seehs repose 278 BLAISE PASCAL tliroiigh agitation : Man has a secret instinct that leads him to seek diversion and employment from without; which springs from the sense of his continual misery. And he has another secret instinct, remaining from the greatness of his original nature, which teaches him that happiness can only exist in repose. And from these two contrary instincts there arises in him an obscure pro- pensity, concealed in his soul, which prompts him to seek repose through agitation, and even to fancy that the con- tentment he does not enjoy will be found, if by strug- gling yet a little longer he can open a door to rest. An infinite sphere, of which the center is everywhere, the circumference nowhere: All this visible world is but an imperceptible point in the ample bosom of nature. No idea approaches it. In vain we extend our concep- tions beyond imaginable spaces; we bring forth but atoms, in comparison with the reality of things. It is an infinite sphere, of which the center is everywhere, the circumference nowhere. In fine, it is the greatest discernible character of the omnipotence of God, that our imagination loses itself in this thought. Principles are perceived, propositions are deduced: We know the truth, not only by reasoning, but by feel- ing, and by a vivid and luminous power of direct com- prehension ; and it is by this last quality that we discern first principles. It is vain for reasoning, which has no share in discovering these principles, to attempt sub- verting them. * * * The knowledge of first prin- ciples, as the ideas of space, time, motion, number, mat- ter, is as unequivocally certain as any that reasoning im- parts. * * * Principles are perceived, propositions 279 A CONGLOMERATE are deduced; each part of the process is certain, though in different modes. The proofs of our religion are not of that kind that we can say they are geometrically convincing. As they look upon truth through the medium of cheer- ful or gloomy feelings, truth herself varies like a land- scape, as seen in a bright sunshine or on a cloudy day. Eeason, that vaunted guide of life, nowhere exists as a pure and colorless light, but is perpetually tinctured by the medium through which it passes; it flows in upon us through painted windows. We cannot but feel that the spectacle of so ignorant a being refusing to believe a proposition merely because it is above his comprehension, is of all paradoxes the most paradoxical, and of all absurdities the most ludicrous. Dotiht distinguished from scepticism: Skepticism is the adversary, not only of such or such a school, but of all schools of philosophy. We must not confound skep- ticism with doubt. Doubt has its legitimate use, its wisdom, its utility. It serves philosophy in its v/ay, for it warns her of her aberrations, and reminds reason of its imperfections and limits. * * * But as soon as it is applied to the faculty of knowing, if it contests with reason her power and her rights, from that moment it is no longer doubt but skepticism. Doubt does not flee truth; it seeks it, and it is the better to attain it that it watches over and holds in check the often rash procedures of reason. Skepticism does not seek truth, for it knows, or thinks it knows, that there is none and can be none for man. Doubt is to philosophy an incon- 280 BLAISE PASCAL venient, often importunate, always "Qscful friend ; skepti- cism is to it a mortal enemy. AYe know truth not only through the reason, but through the heart; it is from the latter source that we know its first principles, and it is useless for reasoning, which has no share in them, to attempt to oppose them. * * * The heart feels that there are three dimensions in space, and that numbers are infinite; reason after- Av^ard demonstrates that there are no two squares, one of which is double the other. Principles are felt, propo- sitions concluded; both with certainty, though by differ- ent ways. Religion and philosophy are two equally necessary powers, which, thank God, can never destroy each other, but which may be easily united for the peace of the world and the service of the human race. It is unquestionable that there is no good in this life but the hope of another life. The Christian faith goes mainly to the establishment of these two things: the corruption of nature, and the redemption of Jesus Christ. Our whole dignity consists in thought. Our elevation must be derived from this, not from space and dura- tion, which we cannot fill. Let us endeavor, then, to think well : this is the principle of ethics. Two things instruct man in regard to his whole na- ture — instinct and experience. It is doubtless an evil to be full of defects; but it is a still greater evil to be full of them and to be unwilling 281 A CONGLOMERATE to acknowledge them, since this is adding to them the further evil of voluntary illusion. To speak the truth is useful to him to whom it is spoken, but disadvantageous to those who speak it, be- cause they make themselves hated. The tone of voice imposes on the wisest and alters the effect of a discourse or a poem. One never loves the person but only the qualities. The power of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing. The example of Alexander's chastity has not made so many continent as that of his drunkenness has made in- temperate. Continued eloquence wearies. I lay it down as a fact that, if all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world. There are those who speak well, and do not write well. It is because the place, the audience, warms them, and elicits from their mind more than they find in it without this warmth. Is it through reason that you love? It is the heart that feels God and not the reason. This is faith: God is sensible to the heart, not to the reason. We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart; it is by the heart that we know first principles, and it is in vain that reasoning, which has no part in it, tries to combat them. Hence it is that those to whom God has given re- ligion by sentiment of heart are very happy and very legitimately persuaded. But to those who have it not 282 ESTIMATES OF PUBLIC MEN we can give it only by reasoning, until God gives it to them by sentiment of heart, without which faith is but human, and useless for salvation. AUTOBIOGRAPHIES — REMINISCENCES OF EMINENT PUBLIC MEN — ESTIMATES OF THEIR CHARACTER AND ABILITY BY THEIR CONTEMPORARIES. In our reading we confess to a very strong predilec- tion in favor of biography. The ancient biographer was content merely to narrate the leading incidents of a man's life; modern biography is portraiture, and fre- quently abounds in eulogy or censure, and disquisition more or less profound. Again, biography is defined to be the artistic representation in continuous narrative of the life and character of a particular individual. The importance of some minuteness of detail in biographical writing, as revealing the personality of the subject of the sketch, is admirably put by an ancient biographer: "Nor is it always by the most distinguished achievement that man's virtues or vices may be best discerned; but very often an action of small note, a short saying, or a jest, shall distinguish a person's real character more than the greatest sieges or the most important battles.'^ The life of a great man who has been conspicuously active in the affairs of his government must, of neces- sity, throw much light on contemporary history; indeed, it has been asserted that history is nothing but an aggregation of the biographies of individuals. The autobiography of a great man, eminent in any 283 A CONGLOMEEATE department of the world's activities, when unmarred by egotism or garrnlity, is, to us, especially enchanting. We have read with intense interest Senator Hoar's "Autobiography of Seventy Years." A tribute to the senator by one of his most distinguished contemporary statesmen is no doubt well deserved: "Eminent in his profession, successful in his political career, Mr. Hoar superadds accomplishments which neither the practice of law nor participation in public affairs can give. * * * He is independent without self-assertion, courageous without bravado, conscientious without Phar- isaism." The senator's beautiful compliment to his mother, who is the daughter of Eoger Sherman, first attracted our attention: "If she were in the company of a queen, it would never have occurred to her that they did not meet as equals. And if the queen were a woman of sense, and knew her, it would never occur to the queen." DANIEL WEBSTER. It seems that the course and utterances of Daniel Webster during the last few years of his life were a source of much discomfort and irritation to the aboli- tionists. On one occasion he declared that there was no North, and the South went clear up to the Canada line. He was the chief target for all antislavery arrows from March, 1850, till his death in the autumn of 1852. Dur- ing this period he took no part in political affairs in Massachusetts. He lived to suffer the mortification of seeing General Scott nominated for the presidency by 284 DANIEL WEBSTER his party, but died too soon to witness his overwhelming defeat by General Pierce. Senator Hoar, when quite young, heard Webster make a speech. He says that the latter almost lifted his audience from their feet as his great organ tones rolled out his closing sentences. He declares that Webster was physically the most splendid specimen of noble manhood his eyes ever beheld — notwithstanding he was only five feet nine inches, and weighed one hun- dred and fifty-four pounds. The senator adds: "But then, as on all other occasions that I saw him, I should have been prepared to afiirm that he was over six feet high and weighed at least two hundred. The same glamour is said to have attended Louis Fourteenth, whose majesty of bearing was such that it never was discovered that he was a man of short stature until he was measured for his coffin.^^ He heard Webster conversing with some gentlemen on one occasion, but remembers very little of what he said; one thing, however, was that when the backward- ness or forwardness of the season was spoken of, that there was a day — June 15th — when, in every year, vege- tation was at about the same condition of forwardness, whether the spring was early or late. Webster is thus described by another: "He was not a handsome man; but he was tall, with a chest like a Hercules, a magnificent head with beetling brow, and cavernous melancholy black eyes of the most searching and significant expression. His mouth was sweet and mobile. His utterance was deliberate and dignified." It is related of Webster that a vein of melancholy 285 A CONGLOMEEATE tinged all his greatest utterances. This was pathetically exhibited in what he said of the changes in his birth- place: "The villagers are gone; an iinknown generation walks under our elms. Unknown faces meet and pass me in my own paternal acres. I recognize nothing but the tombs ! I have no acquaintance remaining but the dead.^' His biographer declares, however, that there was nothing morbid in his melancholy. "It was the sadness of a great intelligence who sees earth fading away and faces eternity." GAEL SCHURZ. Bismarck was an ardent admirer of Carl Schurz. In a conversation with Ambassador White, he said, "As a German, I am proud of Carl Schurz." Mr. Blaine, how- ever, did not participate in this feeling of pride and admiration; on the contrary, he detested Schurz, and had no appreciation whatever of his manly political independence. In his "Twenty Years of Congress" he gives a scathing analysis and estimate of the character and ability of the great German. The reading of it recalls the admirable and truthful observation of Pascal : "Eeason, that vaunted guide of life, nowhere exists as a pure and colorless light, but is perpetually tinctured by the medium through which it passes ; it flows in upon us through painted windows. * * * Truth herself varies like a landscape, as seen in a bright sunshine or on a cloudy day." Mr. Blaine declares that the political career of Mr. Schurz was consistent only in the frequency and agility of its changes. He then proceeds: 286 CARL SCHURZ "So deficient is he in the talent of extempore speak- ing, that he has been known to use a manuscript in an after-dinner response, a style of speech whose chief merit consists in its spontaneity, with apt reference to inci- dents which could not possibly be foreseen. * * * Schurz has not become rooted and grounded anywhere, has never established a home, is not identified with any community, is not interwoven with the interests of any locality or of any class, has no fixed relation to church or state, to professional, political, or social life, has acquired none of that companionship and confidence which unite old neighbors in the closest ties, and give to friendship its fullest development, its most gracious attributes. "Xor is Mr. Schurz's independence of party more pronounced or more complete than his independence of true American feeling. He has taken no pride in ap- pearing under the simple but lofty title of a citizen of the United States. He stands rather a representative German- American. "To Mr. Schurz the republic is not great ! ^This coun- try,' said he, in his centennial lecture, ^is materially great, but morally small.' " On the other hand. Senator Hoar, who is usually able to divest himself of those passions which cloud the in- tellects and warp the understandings of men, has much to say in commendation of Mr. Schurz : "Carl Schurz was a very interesting character. * * * He was admirably equipped for public service. Although a native of Germany, he had a most excellent, copious and clear English style. No man in either house 287 A CONGLOMERATE of congress equalled him in that respect. He was a clear reasoner, and not lacking on a fit occasion in stir- ring eloquence. * * * Mr. Blaine says of Schurz, with some exaggeration, but with some truth, that he has not become rooted and grounded anywhere, has never established a home, and is not identified with any community. "I do not agree with Mr. Blaine's estimate of Schurz as to extempore speaking. I have heard him make very effective speches in the senate, and elsewhere, that were undoubtedly extemporary. Mr. Blaine says that Schurz is so deficient in this respect that he has been known to use manuscript for an after-dinner response." HENRY WARD BEECHER. It is a well-known historical fact that during our Civil War the people of England, not only the aristo- cratic and wealthy classes, but the masses as well, sympa- thized with the South. Henry Ward Beecher was sent there with the hope that by his ability and persuasive eloquence a change in public sentiment might be effected. He delivered addresses in all the principal cities of Eng- land and was invariably confronted with a hostile audience. Senator Hoar relates that while Beecher was addressing a great crowd at Birmingham, he was con- stantly goaded with hostile interruptions, so that he had great difficulty in getting on. At last one fellow provoked the cheers and applause of the audience by cry- ing out: "Why didn't you put down the rebellion in 288 HENRY WAED BEECHER sixty days as you said you would?" Beeclier paused a moment until they became still, in the eagerness to hear his reply, and then hurled back : "We should if they had been Englishmen." "The fierce, untamed animal," says the Senator, "hesitated a moment between anger and ad- miration, and then the English love of fair play and pluck prevailed, and the crowd cheered him and let him go on." It has been said of Mr. Beecher that he was physi- cally, intellectually, and morally of a very large pattern, and that there was something very grand and impressive about him. An estimate of Mr. Beecher by one of his most dis- tinguished contemporaries^^ is well w^orthy of reproduc- tion here: "Nothing could exceed his bold brilliancy. He was a man of genius; even more a poet than an orator; in sympathy with every noble cause; and utterly without fear of the pew-holders inside of his church or of the mob outside. Heresy hunters did not daunt him. Humor played over much of his sermonizing; wit cor- ruscated through it; but there was at times a pathos which pervaded the deep places of the human heart. By virtue of his poetic insight he sounded depths of thought and feeling which no mere theological reasoning could ever reach. He was a man — indeed, a great man — but to the end of his life he retained the freshness of youth. General Grant, who greatly admired him, once said to me, "Beecher is a boy — a glorious boy." "Andrew D. White. 289 A CONGLOMEEATE WILLIAM H. SEWARD. The most serious criticism of Seward has been on account of his undue prolixity. Cobden on one occasion declared that "Seward writes so much that he is in danger of being on every side of a subject.'^ And John Bigelow affirmed that his prolixity is sometimes "more creditable to his physical vigor of composition and his love of scholastic dialectics than to his sagacity." Mr. Blaine declared that few among the public men of the United States have rivaled Mr. Seward in the dignity, felicity and vigor which he imparted to an official paper; and that no one ever surpassed him. As an illustration, he gives the following extract from President Johnson's veto message written by Seward: "Experience, I think, has shown that it is the easiest, as it is also the most attractive, of studies to frame con- stitutions for the self-government of free states and nations; but I think experience has equally shown that it is the most difficult of all political labors to preserve and maintain such free constitutions of self-government when once happily established.'' It was the opinion of Blaine that Seward possessed a characteristic rare among men who have been accus- tomed to lead — he was a good listener. "He gave def- erential attention to remarks addressed to him, paid the graceful and insinuating compliment of seeming much impressed, and offered the delicate flattery, when he came to reply, of repeating the argument of his opponent in phrase far more affluent and eloquent than that in 290 WILLIAM II. SEWARD which it was originally stated." Mr. Blaine adds, truly, that in conflicts of opinion the superior mind, the subtle address, the fixed purpose, the gentle yet strong will, must in the end prevail. No man was more capable of giving a just estimate of Mr. Seward than the venerable and distignuished John Bigelow, who recently died in his ninety-fifth year. There was a personal intimacy between them. Bigelow was our ambassador at Paris during the war between the states and Seward was secretary of state. Many grave and delicate questions of inter- national importance arose during this trying period, the solution of which devolved upon them. In a letter to E. L. Pierce, written October 6, 1892, Mr. Bigelow gives the following estimate of Mr. Seward : "It is an easy thing to point out many of Seward's limitations. Though college bred, he was not in any proper sense of the word an educated man. He was licensed to practice law, but he embarked in politics so early in life that he was never much of a lawyer. * * * This is not apt in our country, at least, to make an entirely symmetrical man. The necessity and the habit of deferring to popular opinion weakens a man in the inverse ratio to his native force. The weak it crushes; the strong it elevates, but not symmetrically. To this influence Mr. Seward was no exception. One thing in which he excelled all the men of his time that I knew was his sagacity in discerning the trend of public opinion. When he discovered it, he re'verently bowed to it. * * * He had, like Lafayette and Sum- 291 A CONGLOMERATE ner, a "canine appetite for praise." * * * The world is not yet so good or so wise that it can afford to dispense with approbativeness as a native power. "He never lost sight of the all-important fact that the time mnst inevitably come when the people of the free and slave states would have to sleep in the same bed or to both sleep their last sleep as popular sovereignties."^^ CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Seantor Hoar is our authority for the statement that Charles Francis Adams was rather dull as a public speaker; that he was apt to announce commonplaces slowly and deliberately, as if they were something he thought his audience was listening to for the first time. Mr. Adams was our ambassador to England from 1861 to 1868, covering the critical period of our civil war. He was certainly well equipped for the high, responsible, and delicate duties of that position. Goldwin Smith complains that England was unfortunate in having Lord Eussell for her minister of foreign affairs at this time. He says that Russell's diplomatic manner was as bad as possible; that it was haughty, unconciliatory, and brusque ; that he afterwards apologized for his want ^ It is a well-known historical fact that prior to the war between the states, Mr. Seward was the recognized leader of the anti-slavery men, and that it was from Seward they had learned their political creed. His defeat for the presi- dential nomination by an anti-slavery convention, led Sen- ator Toombs, of Georgia, to make that exultant, historic declaration, that "Actseon had been devoured by his own dogs." 292 PEESIDEXT HAYES— raCHARD W. THOMPSON" of courtesy, but it was too late. Mr. Smith adds, how- ever, that "we were lucky» on the other hand, in having, as the American ambassador, Mr. Adams, whose bear- ing throughout was excellent, and who, to the pride of aristocracy, could oppose the dignity of an illustrious line. Mr. i^dams' temper must have been tried. He certainly was not exposed during those years to the social allurements, under the sweet but emasculating influence of which American ambassadors to England are apt to fall.^' It was said that Mr. Adams rarely betrayed any deep emotion on any public occasion, however momentous. PRESIDENT HAYES. Senator Hoar, in his estimate of President Hayes, de- clares that he was a simple-hearted, sincere, strong and wise man ; and that the infinite sweetness and tact of his wife contributed greatly to the success of his admin- istration. RICHAED W. THOMPSON. The senator says that Richard W. Thompson, secre- tary of the navy under Hayes, was a very interesting character, a man of great common sense, public spirit, with a wonderful memory, and a rare fund of knowledge of the political history of the Northwest. He relates that at Secretary Sherman's dinner he asked Secretary Thompson across the table to which mast of a man-of-war the American flag should be at- 293 A CO:^GLOMERATE fcaehecl. Thompson coughed and stammered a little and said : "I think I shall refer that question to the attorney- general." GENERAL SHERIDAN". Upon the occasion of Senator Hoar's visit to New Orleans during the reconstruction era, General Sheri- dan's parting request was: ^^What you want to do, Mr. Hoar, when you get back to Washington, is to suspend the what-do-you-call-it." He meant, of course, the habeas corpus. GENERAL GRANT. The opinion prevailed at one time that Grant was a man without much literary capacity. Since the publica- tion of his "memoirs" this notion has been discarded. "I can testify to his great readiness as a writer," says Senator Hoar. "I saw him write two messages to con- gress, both of a good deal of importance, without pause or correction, and as rapidly as his pen could fly over the paper." Grant made a visit to Worcester in the summer and the senator went with him in a special car to Groton in the afternoon. Grant was not very talkative, though interested in all he saw. One of his sons, a well-grown lad, was upon the train. "The general had not seen him for some time, and he sat with one arm around him, as one might with a young girl." 294 CHARLES SUMISTER— JOHN J. INGALLS CHARLES SUMNER. Grant cared little for speech-making, but Sumner thought it. was all-important. The senator affirms that it sometimes seemed as if Sumner thought the rebellion itself was put down by speeches in the senate, and that the war was an unfortunate and most annoying, though trifling disturbance, as if a fire-engine had passed by. "To those of us who remember Sumner, he seems, as Disraeli said of Richard Cobden, ^still sitting, still de- bating, still legislating,' in the senate chamber. His great quality was his profound seriousness. He makes the impression on his hearers that the matter he is dis- cussing is that upon which the foundations of heaven and earth rest." JOHN JAMES INGALLS. Senator Hoar placed a high estimate upon the ability and culture of John James Ingalls. He says that Ingalls was in many respects one of the brightest intel- lects he ever knew. That he had an excellent English style, always impressive, often on fit occasions rising to great stateliness and beauty. He was for a while president pro tem. of the senate, in which position he maintained his stately dignity of bearing and speech. "I said to him one day," says the senator, "I think you are the best presiding officer I ever knew. But I do not think 3^ou know much about parliamentary law." To which he replied : "I think the sting is bigger than the bee." 295 A CONGLOMEEATE Mr. Blaine affirmed that the training and culture of Ingalls were far beyond that ordinarily implied by the possession of a college diploma. ^'His mind has been enriched by the study of books and disciplined by con- troversy at the bar and in the senate. As a speaker he is fluent and eloquent^ but perhaps too much given to severity of expression." PRESIDENT HARRISON". The people of Indiana are justly proud of Benjamin Harrison. His superior ability as a lawyer, his versa- tility upon the hustings, his conscientiousness, and, above all, his spotless private character, far more than compensate for any alleged eccentricities of manner or bearing. We know that prominent public men, even of his own party, did not feel kindly toward him, which we believe is accounted for by his woful want of tact and austerity of manner. Senator Hoar one day called on President Harrison to present a matter of considerable importance. In the senator^s account of the interview he says : "The presi- dent was very unwilling, indeed, to take this view. He answered me at first in his rough, impulsive way, and seemed very unwilling even to take the matter into con- sideration." Andrew D. White relates that when Senator Lodge, Roosevelt, himself, and their delegation reached the executive mansion at the time fixed by President Har- rison, their reception was anything but cordial. Mr. 296 CUSHMAN K. DAVIS White says : "Mr. Harrison seemed, to say the least, not in good humor. He stood leaning on the corner of his desk, and he asked none of us to sit. All of us had voted for him, and had come to him in his own interest as well as in the interest of the country; but he seemed to like us none the better for all that. "Courtesy was not generally considered Mr. Har- rison's strong point." CUSHMAN K. DAVIS. Eeferring to Cushman K. Davis, the senator declares that his mind was a marvelous storehouse of lit- erary gems which were unknown to most scholars, but rewarded his diligent search and loving study at his books. He says that Davis had what Jeremy Taylor calls "the great endearment of prudent and temperate speech." That he had read and mastered Tacitus, and, in the senator's opinion, a man who has mastered Taci- tus has had the best gymnastic training of the intellect, both in vigor and style, which the resources of all litera- ture can supply. He declares that Davis perpetrated "one of the most exquisite felicities of the literature of the senate," in his reference to Cleveland, Blount and the Queen of the Sandwich Islands. "His likening President Cleve- land and Mr. Blount, looking upon the late royalty of the Sandwich Islands with so much seriousness, to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza taking in great earnest the spectacle of a theatrical representation at a country fair 297 A CONGLOMERATE and eager to rescue the distressed damsel, was one of the most exquisite felicities of the literature of the senate." LORD COLERIDGE. The senator's recollections of Lord Coleridge are in- teresting. The noble lord received fifty guineas every morning for his services in the Tichborn trial. He asked the senator about an American judge with whom he had some acquaintance and was told that his reputation was rather that of a jurist than of a judge. "Oh, yes," said Coleridge, "a jurist is a man who knows something about the laws of every country but his own." His lordship had a great admiration for President Lincoln and was eager to hear anything anybody had to tell about him. Senator Hoar told him the famous story of Lincoln's reply to a man who had left with him his poem to read when he gave it back : "If anybody likes that sort of thing, it's just the sort of thing they'd like." The senator overheard his lordship as he circulated about the room, a little while afterward, re- peating the story to various listeners. BENJAMIN r. BUTLER AND S. S. COX. Sun Set Cox, who, as is well known, was very diminu- tive in size, made a scathing speech assailing Benjamin F. Butler. Butler, in his speech, took no notice of Cox till just as he was about to finish. He then said: "There is no need for me to answer the gentleman from 298 PEESIDENT GARFIELD— KUFUS CHOATE New York. Every negro minstrel just now is singing the answer, and the hand organs are playing the tune, ''Shoo Fly, don't bodder me." PRESIDENT GARFIELD. Andrew D. White, in his Autobiography* pays this tribute to President Garfield : ''While he had risen under the most discouraging circumstances from complete pov- erty, his rise was due to something other than mere talent and exertion. It was the result of talent and exertion originating in noble instincts and directed to worthy ends.'' The following excerpt is from Garfield's memorable speech in the Chicago convention : "Not in Chicago, in the heat of June, but at the bal- lot-boxes of the republic in the quiet of November, after the silence of deliberate judgment, will this question be settled." RUFUS CHOATE. The voice of Rufus Choate was without any gruff or shrill tones. It was like a sweet, yet powerful, flute. He was always careful to keep warm. It was said he prepared for a great jury argument by taking off eight great coats and drinking eight cups of green tea. He gesticulated with his whole body, and Senator Hoar relates that Wendell Phillips "most irreverently as well as most unjustly compared him to a monkey in convul- 299 A CONGLOMEEATE EDWARD EVERETT. Of Edward Everett, the great New England orator, the senator says that his touch npon the nerves of the audience was like that of a gentle nurse. When he came to state the strong point in arguing his case, he would sink his voice so that he could hardly be heard, and look away like a bashful maiden giving her consent. We have read the "Autobiography" of Andrew D. White. If a more valuable and interesting contribution to the literature of the period has been made during the twentieth century, it has either escaped our observation or is beyond our comprehension. In his first chapter he declares that early in life he became educated into that great truth, "so imperfectly understood, as yet, in our country, that stores, shops, hotels, facilities for travel and traffic are not the highest things in civilization." Mr. Wliite was the first president of Cornell Univer- sity; American minister at Berlin, also at St. Peters- burg; afterwards American ambassador at Berlin; and has held many other high positions. He is a man of the highest attainments and culture. He was on terms of intimacy with many of the public men of Europe, and was familiar with public events, not omitting, while abroad, to keep himself advised of public affairs in his own country. BISMARCK. Mr. White considered Bismarck the greatest German since Luther. Though an Israelite, he showed none of the grasping propensities so often ascribed to his race. 300 BISMARCK— EMPEROR WILLIAM When he uttered the famous saying, "We Germans fear God and naught beside/' our author declares that he simply projected into the history of Germany his own character. Bismarck, when the occasion demanded, gave the most curious examples of the eloquence of silence; but Mr. White says: "I have known many clever speakers and some very powerful orators ; but I have never known one capable, in the same degree, of overwhelming his enemies and carrying his whole country with him." Louis Xapoleon was for a while the arbiter of Europe. Bismarck pronounced him "a great unrecognized in- capacity," and the world finally discovered that Bis- marck was right. It was Bismarck who said "in his slashing way" that Lord Salisbury was a reed painted to look like iron. Goldwin Smith declared that this was exaggeration, but confessed that he had more confidence in the judgment and rectitude of Salisbury than in his strength. The world is indebted to Bismarck for the apothegm : "Revenge is a delicacy that should be eaten cold." EMPEEOR WILLIAM. Mr. T\Tiite says that the union of breadth and minute- ness in his view of his empire and of the world is, per- haps, the emperor's most striking characteristic. An- other attribute which he possesses in the highest degree is independence of thought — "this quality should not be confounded, however, as it often is, with man's off- hand decision based upon prejudices or whimsies." 301 A CONGLOMERATE Our author describes what he terms "the occasional plaintive declarations" that the emperor does not love the United States or admire its institutions. It was generally understood during the peace confer- ence at The Hague that he did not favor arbitration be- cause he considered it derogatory to his sovereignty. Eefering to the emperor's guests, Mr. White affirms that one class was conspicuous by its absence at all such gatherings large or small; namely, the merely rich. "Rich men were there, but they were always men who had done something of marked value to their country or to mankind; for the mere ^fatty tumors' of the financial world he evidently cared nothing." Of course the doctrine of Use majesty can have no application in this country; it is contrary to the genius of our institutions. It is defined to be any crime com- mitted against sovereign power; in this country sov- ereignty rests with the people. Mr. White considers the subject in its application to Germany. "The simple fact is that German public opinion, em- bodied in German law, has arrived at the conclusion that it is not best to allow the head of the state to be the sport of every crank or blackguard who can wield a pen or pencil. The American view, which allowed Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley to be attacked in all the moods and tenses of vituperation, and to be artistically por- trayed as tyrants, drunkards, clowns, beasts of prey, and reptiles, has not yet been received into German modes of thought.' 302 COUNT LEO TOLSTOI COUNT LEO TOLSTOI. Mr. White affirms that for the first time in the history of Russia, a man of world-wide fame in literature and thought was abiding there — Count Leo Tolstoi. He says, however, that of all distinguished men he ever met, Tolstoi seemed to him most in need of "that enlargement of view and healthful modification of opinion which came from meeting men and comparing views with them in different lands and under different conditions." He declared Tolstoi to be one of the most sincere and de- voted men alive, a man of great genius and, at the same time, of very deep sympathy with his fellow-creatures. That as to the moral side, "The stream of his thought was usually limpid, but at times it became turbid and his better ideas seemed to float on the surface as irides- cent bubbles." Mr. White notes Tolstoi's keen thrusts at those who seek to hide the poverty of their ideas in the obscurity of their phrases. Tolstoi remarked to Mr. White that women are not so self-sacrificing as men ; that a man would sometimes sacrifice his family for an idea, but that a woman would not. Again, referring to women, he said that woman hangs upon the past ; that public opinion progresses, but that women are prone to act on the opinion of yesterday or of last year; that women and womenish men take naturally to old absurdities, among which he mentioned the doctrines of the trinity, spiritism, and homeopathy. He said that education would not change women; that they are illogical by nature. 303 A CO:^GLOMERATE Mr. White affirms that as to French literature^ Tol- stoi thought Maupassant the man of greatest talent, by far, in recent days, but that he was depraved and cen- tered all his fiction in women. For Balzac he evidently preserved admiration, but he cared little for Daudet, Zolo, and their compeers. Upon being asked by Mr. White if he had formed a theory as to the future life, he said in substance that he had not ; "but that as we came at birth from beyond the forms of space and time, so at death we returned whence we came.'^ Mr. White inquired if he used the word "forms" in the Kantian sense. "Yes," he said, "space and time have no reality." He declared religion to be the feeling which man has regarding his relation to the universe, including his fellow-man, and to the power which governs all. Tolstoi related the story of a converted pagan who, being asked how many gods he worshiped, said: "One, and I ate him this morning." Mr. WHiite drew from him his views on various sub- jects : Tolstoi declared that one main obstacle in human progress is the suppression of the real thoughts of men ; that he had no liking for verse» and acquiesced in Car- lyle^s saying that nobody had ever said anything in verse which could not have been better said in prose. Upon being asked about his manual labor, he said "his habit was to rise early and read or write till noon, then to take his luncheon and a short sleep and after that to work in his garden or fields." He thought this good for him on every account in which opinion Mr. White fully con- curred. 304 GEOVER CLEVELAND— HEEBERT SPENCER GROVER CLEVELAND. Though allied to opposite political parties, Mr. White had great respect and admiration for Grover Cleveland. Prior to Mr. Cleveland's administration, the Monroe doctrine had been merely a beautiful and most fascinat- ing theory. It was left to Mr. Cleveland to give it a practical application and to place the doctrine upon a solid and enduring foundation. When Lord Salisbury, after some months' delay, re- turned an answer declining arbitration of the Vene- zuela question, accompanied with an emphatic declara- tion that international law did not recognize the Monroe doctrine, it was believed on both sides of the Atlantic that a crisis was at hand and that war was imminent. Mr. Cleveland was equal to the emergency and his states- manship finally triumphed. Mr. White truly character- izes the settlement as a happy solution of the whole ques- tion, and a triumph of American diplomacy in the cause of right and justice. He adds : "During my work upon the Venezuela commission, I learned to respect more and more the calm, steady, imperturbable character of Mr. Cleveland. * * * Mr. Cleveland and the state department gained one of the most honorable victories in the history of American diplomacy." HERBERT SPENCER. Mr. White recalls a remark of Herbert Spencer that human physiology should be taught at the beginning of every course — that is to say, an account of the struc- 305 A CONGLOMEEATE ture, functions and proper management of the human body, on which so much depends for every human being. We are perfectly convinced of the truth of this state- ment. However it may be now, we know that fifty years ago this branch of study was not taught at one of our great institutions of learning, the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. It is to be hoped that physi- ology has long since been added to the curriculum. CERRO GORDO WILLIAMS. Our author has a word to say about our old neighbor, Cerro Gordo Williams : "The spread-eagle oratory of Cerro Gordo Williams was not appreciated by his colleagues in the senate. He became utterly disgusted and went about saying that the senate was a "d — d frigid respectable body that chilled his intellect.'' We know that Senator Williams had the love, re- spect and admiration of his senatorial constituency. They, and the descendants of those that are dead would listen with mingled feelings of surprise and indignation, at any intimation that his only merit was that of being a spread-eagle orator. PROFANE PATRIOTISM. Mr. White relates an incident which he says he has quoted more than once to show "how the average Amer- ican — though apparently a crude materialist — m, at heart, a thorough idealist : 306 EEVIYALS AXD CAMP MEETINGS At the beginning of the Civil War a millionaire said: "I am putting everything I can rake and scrape together into national bonds, to help this government maintain itself; for, by G — d, if I am not to have any country, I don't want any money." REVIVALS AND CAMP MEETINGS. Our author, early in life, acquired an intense hostility to revivals and camp meetings ; and, in later years there seems not to have been any abatement of this antipathy. He refers to the statement of the revivalists that "hell is filled with infants not a span long", and describes him as a "big, fleshy creature, storming and raging and claiming to announce a divine message." He then pro- ceeds : "The simplest and most harmless amusements were denounced, and church members guilty of taking part in them were obliged to stand in the broad aisle and be publicly reprimanded from the pulpit." Again he says : "I have long regarded camp meetings as among the worst influences to which our rural youth are subjected — Joe Miller jokes in the pulpit, hysterics in the pews, with an atmosphere often blasphemous and sometimes erotic. * * * The longer I live the more I am con- vinced that the professional revivalist and the sensation preacher are necessarily and normally foes both to re- ligion and civilization." Notwithstanding the objurgations of our author against revivals and camp meetings, we are constrained to re- mark that we know many excellent and conscientious 307 A CONGLOMEEATE people who believe that they have been the means of accomplishing much good in the world. John Bigelow's "Eetrospections of an Active Life/' in three volumes, is another invaluable contribution to the literature of the period. He was United States minister to France during our war between the states and thus became familiar with the important public events of this critical period, and acquired a knowledge of the character and abilities of public men on both sides of the Atlantic. His recollections of men and events are intensely interesting. PRESIDENT LIN^COLN. Mr. Bigelow says of President Lincoln: "Lincoln's greatness must be sought for in the con- stituents of his moral nature. * * * St. Paul hardly endured more indignities and buffetings without com- plaint. He was not a learned man. He was not even one who would deserve to be called in our day an edu- cated man. He had never been out of the United States nor seen much of the portion of them lying east of the Allegheny mountains. * * * In the ordinary sense of the word, Mr. Lincoln was not a statesman." WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. He gives the following estimate of Gladstone: "His power, like the late Daniel Webster's, consists more in his skill in using material than in his ability 308 EMPEROR NAPOLEON to provide it; that he is a manufacturer rather than a producer. * * * jjg j-^^g nothing like the same ca- pacity for discerning truths that he has for propagating them when discovered. * * * He has very moderate creative or constructive faculties, but his power, like that of a mill, consists mainly in his ability to convert and adapt the material put into it by others, to the use and convenience of society .'' THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Mr. Bigelow says that the Emperor's conversation was characterized by unusual rapidity of thought and marvelous conciseness of expression. On one occasion, with one of his incomprehensible smiles, the emperor remarked, "If the North is victorious I shall be happy; if the South is victorious I shall be enchanted." It is quite evident that Goldwin Smith neither loved nor admired the emperor; indeed he is almost vitriolic in his characterization of him. Mr. Smith is authority for the statement that had the French emperor chosen, in pursuance of his own designs, to intervene on the side of the South, England could not have been permitted to intervene on the side of the North, because the opposition would have been far too strong. It was his opinion that the North owed a good deal to the attitude of Russia, whatever the motive of that attitude may have been. Mr. Smith proceeds to excoriate the emperor: *T(Ouis Napoleon, like his putative uncle, wanted the consecration of glory for his usurped throne, and a 309 A CONGLOMERATE recognized place for himself, an upstart of birth not unquestioned, among the crowned heads of Europe, v/hich he gained by being allowed publicly to embrace the queen of England. * * * He was a political cracksman who with his legs under your table would be meditating a raid upon your strong box. His friend and confederate, Palmerston, at last awakened to his real character and bade the nation stand upon its guard." Again, Mr. Smith says : "I have alluded to the French emperor's birth. I once asked the best authority I knew on social France whether Louis Napoleon was the son of his reputed father, and whether the prince imperial, on whose birth also doubt was cast, was the child of his reputed parents. The first question was answered decidedly in the nega- tive; the second not less decidedly in the affirmative. There seems to be little doubt that Louis Napoleon was the son of the Dutch Admiral Verhuel. Court painters and sculptors struggled in vain to give him the Napo- leonic brow. Perhaps his Dutch phlegm and reticence gave him some advantage over the volatile Frenchmen with whom he had to deal." DUMAS. Dumas expressed to Mr. Bigelow a desire to visit the United States. The latter suggested that if he could witness the election of the next president in November and his inauguration in March, "it would give an epic completeness to his visit," which it might be worth his taking some trouble to secure. However, Dumas never 310 SIE HENRY BULWER made the contemplated visit. Bigelow declares that he was always impecunious, and doubtless expected our government would "lubricate his mission to America with a generous allowance." He adds: "Dumas is a quadroon. * * * He is a man whose domestic relations are extremely French. To illustrate — when I asked him if he spoke English, "No," he replied, "I read it and translate it, but I can't speak it; but my mistress is English, and I shall pick it up very soon." SIR HEXRY BULWER. It has been said that one of the essential requisites of a gentleman is to know how to pass a compliment. Measured by this standard. Sir Henry Bulwer was a gentleman in the most comprehensive sense. He de- clares: "I can say with truth that three of the most eminent statesmen I ever knew were American states- men; three of the greatest orators I ever knew were American orators; three of the most agreeable men of letters I ever knew were American men of letters; three of the most charming women I ever knew were American women." Sir Henry did not enjoy the best of health. In a letter to Mr. Bigelow he says: "My health is better. I have left off smoking, drink little tea or coffee — but do not lead a healthy life. * * * For myself, I live with myself and my memories." We here reproduce some of his apothegms : "One of the greatest arts in the conduct of affairs 311 A CONGLOMERATE is to avoid extreme conclusions; and no victory is per- fect unless it is pardoned by the vanquished. "Everything about man is progressing, but man him- self is, in my opinion, rather retrograding. "One does not find repose in finding idleness." Referring to Sir Henry, Mr. Bigelow makes the fol- lowing pertinent comments : "Unhappily, he was content to make his own pleasure, his own interests, and his own ambition, the aims and ends of his life; seemingly not aware that history measures the greatness of a statesman more by what he does for others than by what he aims to do for himself." THE ATLANTIC CABLE. The successful laying of the Atlantic cable was one of the great events of the nineteenth century. We remem- ber quite well the universal delight and satisfaction that prevailed on the occasion of its completion. Cyrus W. Field sent a cablegram to Mr. Bigelow in Paris that the cable had been successfully laid. It was received July 28th, 1866, at twenty-eight minutes past five in the morning. Mr. Bigelow sent the following cablegram in reply: "I trust the umbilical cord with which the old world is reunited to its transatlantic offspring may never transmit intelligence less welcome than this to patriotic Americans." BIGELOW'S RETIREMENT. Mr. Bigelow having ably and faithfully discharged the high and important duties of American minister to 312 J0H2^ BIGELOW France from 1861 till the autumn of ISGG, he expressed to Secretary Seward his ardent desire to return to Amer- ica and to private life. He writes Mr. Seward : "You know it was my intention, when I left my profession, to betake myself to my books and to private life. * * * J have no longer the ambition of youth which might have found in the honors of my present position a compensation for its cares, and, in a word, I am homesick. I wish to go back to the country in which I was reared, and to those surviving friends who, of course, grow more precious to me as their numbers diminish." On the 14th of October, 1866, he again writes: "I left my library and its tranquil joys very reluctantly in 1861, and I have long yearned to get back to them." We have always entertained the highest respect and admiration for Mr. Bigelow. Judged by his writings, he evidently possessed that deep sagacity that may be ac- quired by long habits of thinking and study. That he had a vastness of comprehension, a maturity of judg- ment, and a critical discrimination cannot be questioned. He had high literary and scholastic attainments, and his ardent desire to return to his library and its "tranquil joys" indicates very clearly his fondness for the elevating and refining pursuits of literature. We have been captivated by Bigelow's style of compo- sition. It was said of Burke that "in his youth he wrote on the emotions produced by mountains and cas- cades; by the masterpieces of painting and sculpture; by the faces and necks of beautiful women, in the style of a parliamentary report. In his old age, he discussed 313 A CONGLOMERATE treaties and tariffs in the most fervid and brilliant lan- guage of romance/^ Bigelow^s style is always appropri- ate to the subject under consideration — but always per- spicuous — always forcible — alwa3^s fascinating. The services which he rendered his country as min- ister to France, during the most critical period of its history, were no less valuable and important than those of any general in the field or any statesman in the cab- inet. 314 JOURNAL JOURNAL. DEFENSE OF DRUNKENNESS. Occasionall}^ we find a man who is singularly perverse in his opinions. The fact that no one agrees with him does not deter him for a moment. He has no intention of going with the multitude in the advocacy of either a good or a bad cause. It is said that Senator McDougal of California, a brilliant and able man, made the best defense of drunk- enness ever made. It is probable, however, that in his case, it was the love of liquor, and its immediate effects, rather than a love of singularity that induced him to make this marvelous effort. He was a man of convivial tastes and habits, and imagined, no doubt, that he had a keener and more exquisite appreciation of the beauties and delights of this world, when under the influence of intoxicants. He said : "Mr. President, I pity the man who has never viewed the affairs of this world, save from the poor, low, mis- erable plane of ordinary sobriety.^' PRESIDENT TAFT. March 16, 1909. Mr. Taft has been inaugurated as president. Many of us who voted against him feel assured that he is ad- 317 JOUENAL mirably equipped for the discharge of the duties of his great office; and we feel doubly assured, that he will be neither violent in innovation, nor scurrilous in contro- versy. These attributes would be entirely unbefitting the executive of a great nation. He will not, like the Justicia of ancient Aragon, assume that his opinion is of "equal authority with the law itself.'^ FONDNESS FOR AMUSEMENTS. The American people have a strong predilection in favor of amusements. An indubitable evidence of the fact is the circumstance that a great newspaper, pub- lished in a large city, delayed publication for two hours in order to be able to report the result of a game of baseball — at a time, too, when great events were im- pending throughout the world, the outcome of which was of primary importance to mankind, and information concerning which would, ordinarily, be awaited with in- tense anxiety. SENATOR VEST ON THE DOG. The late Senator Vest of Missouri, was loved, re- spected and admired, not only by his own immediate constituents, but by the people of the country at large. He was one of the leaders of his party in the senate and an orator of more than national reputation. He was formidable in debate; his speeches always logical and forcible, was quick at repartee, and had a keen apprecia- tion of humor. It was at the close of an elaborate and 318 JOUENAL eloquent address made by an eminent New England senator highly eulogistic of the Pilgrim fathers, that Senator Vest arose and said : "Yes, the Pilgrims landed and fell on their knees, and then fell on the Aborigines." This sally caused much merriment, and had a tendency to mar the fine effect of the eloquent speech that had pre- ceded it. No stronger proof of the love and fidelity of the canine race can be given than the fact that they have been known to pine away and die of grief, on account of the death of their masters — an intensity of feeling seldom displayed by human beings upon the death of their loved ones. Indeed, the fidelity of the dog has at all times been so universally recognized and admitted, that a reiteration of the fact would seem trite and super- fluous. However, Senator Vest's beautiful and impres- sive tribute to the dog is worthy of preservation. It is related that some years ago he was traveling through Missouri on business. One day he came to a town that was greatly excited over a dog case that was on trial in the local court. The senator visited the courtroom and found the lawyers for the plaintiff to be warm, friends of his. They invited him to join them in prose- cuting the slayer of their client's dog, and he consented. When the evidence was all in the senator was asked to make the speech to the jury, and this is what he said : "The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daugh- ter that he has reared with loving care may prove un- grateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to u>:, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good 319 JOUENAL name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrate- ful or treacherous, is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sick- ness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer ; he will lick the sores and wounds that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the grave side will the noble dog be found, his head between his 320 JOUENAL paws, his eyes sacl, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death." Mr. Vest sat down. He had spoken in a low voice, without a gesture. He made no reference to the evi- dence or the merits of the case. When he finished the judge and jury were wiping their eyes. The jury filed out, but soon entered with a vexdict of five hundred dol- lars for the plaintiff whose dog was shot. 2* BIGELOW'S DEDICATION-. I have read John Bigelow's dedication of his great book, "Eetrospections of an Active Life." It is as fol- lows : "To Jane Poultney Bigelow my wife, and mother of my children, these volumes are gratefully dedicated." This impresses me as exquisitely beautiful. It sug- gets all the loves and tendernesses of domestic life — conjugal, paternal, maternal, fraternal, filial — a glorious combination, indeed! ALLITERATION. "Alliteration's artful aid" is rarely called into requisi- tion in this age and generation, compared with its use in former times. Milton defined rhyme to be "the jingling sound of like endings," and alliteration has been defined to be the jingling of like beginnings. It seems, however, that this last definition is hardly sufficiently comprehensive as, in practice, the alliterative "jingle" is not confined to beginnings. ^Newspaper report of trial. 321 JOUENAL I am not at all familiar with the laws of alliterative verse, but poets have at all times availed themselves of its use. We read in Shakespeare : "Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are corals made." In Pope: "Here, files of pins extend their shining rows Puffs, powders, patches, bibles, billet-doux." Whipple, the essayist, gave special attention to al- literative composition; and it is said that one of his best sentences was that in which he truly described the mental processes of the three great contemporary states- men, Webster, Calhoun and Clay. "Webster was inductive, Calhoun deductive, and Clay seductive." MODERATION. Even the word has an especial charm for me. It suggests the aroma of the freshness of the early morning. If I were a public man I should desire above all things else to be best known as the "apostle of moderation." Think of the calamities that might have been averted in this world if the principle of moderation had been recognized and acted upon. If it had not been for the radicalism of the Chandlers and the Yanceys, the great civil war in America would not have occurred, and the lives of scores of thousands would not have been sacri- ficed, to say nothing of the vast expenditure of millions of money. The thought has an admirable illustration 322 JOUENAL in the description of a fine gentleman contained in the introduction to the "Bride of Lammermoor :" "In's jestiire, converse, speech, discourse, attire. He practis'd that which wise men still admire, Commend and recommend. 'What's that?' you say? 'Tis this: He ever choosed the middle way 'Twixt both th' extremes." Mr. Hallam, the great historian of the middle ages, emphasizes the thought when he declares (I quote from memory) that "that course which is most conducive to individual and national prosperity and happiness is a middle line between gross dissoluteness on the one hand and fanatical mortification on the other." POLITICAL JOINT DEBATES. It is very doubtful whether political joint discussions result in conversions from the one political party to the other; but the attrition of mind with mind, the quick repartee, and the tart replies of the contestants, fre- quently furnish much amusement to the audience. Mr. Bryan was addressing a vast assemblage on the side of a mountain near Asheville. While in the midst of one of his great flights of eloquence, when the people about him and all nature were profoundly silent, a mule brayed, exhibiting extraordinary powers of vociferation. Mr. Bryan paused and, looking seriously at the vast audience, said : "My countrymen, I had not been advised that this was to be a joint discussion." I read not long ago of a joint debate between a Dcmo- 323 JOUENAL cratic and a Whig politician in the state of New York. The Democrat spoke with miich eloquence and power in favor of Martin Van Buren, and, in the course of his speech, he referred to Mr. Van Buren as "the Curtius of the republic." His Wliig opponent, not being himself a classical scholar, passed out into the audience and in- quired of a gentleman, "Who in the thunder is this Curtis that this man is talking about ?" "It isn't Curtis, it's Curtius," was the reply. "Well, now," said the Whig orator, "what did Curtius do ?" "Oh," said his inform- ant, "he threw himself into an abyss to save the Eoman republic." When the Democratic speaker had finished, the Whig orator arose and said : "I deny the justice of the gentleman's reference to Curtius and Martin Van Buren. What did Curtius do? He threw himself into an abyss to save his country. What did Martin Van Buren do ? He threw his country into an abyss to save himself." WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN. The great statesmen developed during our Civil War period seem to have been almost entirely forgotten. Not so, however, with the great captains of that genera- tion; on many occasions they are eulogized and in some instances almost deified. William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine, was one of the in- tellectual giants of that era. He was chosen United States senator from Maine in 1854, and held this exalted position almost continuously until his death in 1869. For a brief period, however, he was secretary of the 324 JOUENAL treasury, having succeeded Mr. Chase in 1864. His intellectual supremacy was conceded, and his public character has been described as of the highest type of patriotism, courage, integrity, and disinterestedness. He was the acknowledged leader of the Republican party in the senate, but this leadership was imperiled by his vote to acquit Andrew Johnson in the impeachment trial; and for this vote he was subjected to a torrent of inso- lence and scurrility from members of his own party, almost without a parallel in the history of modern politics. Mr. Fessenden was described by one of his colleagues in the senate as "towering in mind above those around him, like Saul in form among his countrymen." THE LATEST NOVEL. It is the fashion, at the present day, to discuss-, at the table, in the parlor, and elsewhere, the latest novel, no matter how insipid and puerile it may be. On an occasion of this kind, it is intensely diverting to be in- terrogated by a young lady who asks you six questions, in rapid succession, as to whether you have read the six latest novels, naming them. Your answers being all in the negative, it would seem that two facts are con- clusively established: your own stupidity, and her ex- traordinary literary attainments. THE SIGNAL FOR PARTING. Many beautiful customs formerly prevailed in Scot- 325 JOUENAL land. We learn of some of them from Sir Walter Scott, and my eye fell upon one to-day. At a social function when the time to separate had arrived, the musicians played the signal for parting, which was well known throughout Scotland: "Good night, and joy be with you all." This must have added very much to the kindly feeling existing between host and guest, and I can conceive of no more appropriate and delightful manner of terminat- ing an evening's social entertainment. DRAMATIC ORATORY. We all know how important it is for the public speaker to have the sympathy of his audience; and, in years gone by, in order to obtain this sympathy, he sometimes referred to his advancing years; however, in this age and generation, it very rarely occurs that an advocate introduces himself with a tedious preface about the infirmities of his constitution. Henry Clay, addressing the senate on the compromise measures of 1850, most effectively referred to his great age and failing strength, and to his purpose to retire from public life. He assured the senators that if they would pass the pending bill and tranquilize the country (a desire ever dear to his heart), he would go home to Ashland and renounce public life forever, and there remain during the brief remnant of his life. That he would there find amidst his flocks and herds, and in the 326 JOUENAL bosom of his family, sincerity and truth, attachment and fidelity, that he had not always found in the walks of public life. On another occasion when Mr. Clay was addressing the senate on the subject of the pacification of the country, he again referred to his advancing years. The venerable Senator Smith, of Maryland, arose and said: "Though twenty years the senior of the senator from Kentucky I can still stand erect and correct his errors. When the senator spoke of his great age I heard a lady declare : ^Indeed, he is very pretty.' " When a boy I heard Major John C. Mason, who for several years represented the ninth Kentucky district in congress, relate to some gentleman an interview between ^Ir. Clay and himself, in respect to these pacificatory measures. Mason was a Democrat. He said: "Mr. Clay came and urged me to support the pending bill to the end that civil war and bloodshed might be averted.. I asked him if he felt thoroughly satisfied that his bill, if enacted into a law, would have that effect. He re- plied that it would have that effect during his day at least. I told him that if war and bloodshed must come, it had as well come during his day as mine."^^ It was the habit of Coleridge to make long-winded prefatory apologies for his youth and inexperience. He was cured of this habit, however, by Home Tooke, one of his literary contemporaries. It was said that Tooke "^ This incident made a profound impression upon my youthful mind, and I relate it at the risk of being re- minded of its irrelevancy, and of the fact, that to deal in reminiscences is sometimes regarded as both the sign and the refuge of "advancing years." 327 JOUENAL had a thorough knowledge of the manners of a man of the world, with marvelous scholastic resources, a rare union, indeed ! On one occasion, when Coleridge was making his usual introductory apology. Home Tooke abruptly called out, "Speak up, young man." Coleridge, completely disconcerted, took his seat, and it is nowhere recorded that he ever again committed the offense. Edward Everett, the great New England orator, was not averse to dramatic effect in| some of his orations. Senator Hoar relates that on one occasion Mr. Everett turned in the midst of his speech to the seat where Amos Baker and Jonathan Harrington sat, and ad- dressed them. They were veterans of the war of 1812. At once they both stood up, and Mr. Everett said, with fine dramatic effect, "Sit, venerable friends. It is for us to stand in your presence.'' After the proceedings were over, old Amos Baker was heard to say to some- body, "What do you suppose Squire Everett meant ? He came to us before his speech and told us to stand up when he spoke to us, and when we stood up, he told us to sit down." The historian of the period declares in reference to the great trial of Warren Hastings, that there never was a spectacle so well calculated to strike a highly culti- vated, a reflecting, an imaginative mind. The curiosity of the public to hear Sheridan's speech was unbounded. "When he concluded he contrived, with a knowledge of stage effect which his father might have envied, to sink back, as if exhausted, into the arms of Burke, who hugged him with the energy of generous admiration." 328 JOURNAL THE AGILITY OF BIG MEN. Judge David Davis, of Illinois, who was a national figure at the time of the electoral dispute in 1876, was a man of enormous proportions, weighing several hun- dred pounds. He was proverbial for the agility of his movements. At Chicago on one occasion, however, it was only with great difficulty that the hackman, assisted by the gathering crowd, succeeded in getting him out of the hack; once out, he marched with elastic step into the hotel. The hackman, gasping for breath after his great struggle, stared after Davis, saying, "By G — , I should think you was eight men.^' June 28, 1906. An aged and esteemed minister of the gospel re- cently died at Indianapolis. Eeading his obituary in the Indianapolis papers, one would be led to believe that his highest claim to the love and veneration of posterity was his active and incessant efforts to precipitate the late civil war upon the country. It therein appears that he frequently declared that "war is desirable." That a meek and humble follower of the "Prince of Peace" should possess so strong a predilection for war is certainly anomalous. In a country where conditions are perfectly normal and healthy, and forty years after the bloody conflict had ended, this sentiment would not be regarded worthy of toleration, much less of com- mendation. This perverse public sentiment can only be accounted for upon the theory that there yet remains 329 JOUENAL in the country a lingering modicum, if no more, of the virus of sectional hate. APOTHEGMS. I learned many years ago that the Novum Organum of Lord Bacon was wholly written in apothegms or aphorisms. I subsequently read that a copy of this philosophical treatise was presented to King James, who, after a careful reading of the book, returned the same with the comment, "Like the peace of God, it passeth all understanding." I have so far succeeded in steering clear of the Novum Organum, and must confess to a feel- ing of some trepidation in approaching apothegms in general. We have been induced to believe that the value and importance of an apothegm, in public estimation, depend in many instances more upon the celebrity and renown of its supposed author than upon the intrinsic merit of the apothegm itself. The authorship of many of them has been ascribed to the user, rather than to the orig- inator of the apothegm. To Chamfort, not Talleyrand, we are indebted for the terse remark, "Eevolutions are not made with rose-water." John Adams declared there was nothing original in man but original sin. The real author of the saying was the poet Campbell, who, when asked to write something original in a lady's album, said there was "nothing original in him except original sin." Calhoun was many times complimented for being the author of the expression "masterly inactivity;" whereas Sir James Mackintosh had long before used this "fine 330 JOURNAL original expression." Cowper took his "God made the country and man made the town" from the Latin poet Verro; and Webster's "sea of upturned faces" owes its origin to Sir Walter Scott. The following apothegm has been worn to a frazzle in our own day: "You may fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Its authorship has been generally attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Presidents, senators, ministers of the gospel and others, down to the red-nosed politician declaiming to his companions in the village inn, have iterated and reiterated this maxim as originating in the brain of the great president. How exceedingly puerile and commonplace it becomes, when it is known that its author was not a great states- man, but a great showman, one Phineas T. Barnum. It seems that Mr. Spofford, the assistant librarian of congress, investigated the matter and could find no trace of it in any of the speeches, papers, letters or recorded sayings of Lincoln. That neither Mr. Hay nor Mr. Nicolay, the joint authors of the standard biography of Lincoln, knew anything about it. Mr. Spofford's in- vestigation led him to conclude that Barnum was the author of this much-quoted sentence. This apothegm, the origin of which has been so er- roneously attributed to the great Lincoln, is in the nature and form of what lawyers call a "negative preg- nant," the negation of one thing and the affirmance of another ; and the negative clause is admirably adapted for the peroration of the bucolic politician, whose prin- 331 JOUENAL cipal stock in trade is to pay obsequious court to the people. With uplifted hand^ and his "eye in a fine frenzy rolling^^ he may proclaim, with marvelous effectiveness and power, "that you cannot fool all the people all the time/^ garibaldi's supkeme command of the union army. In the early part of 1861, the report became current in the great capitals of Europe, and was generally believed^ that Garibaldi had been invited by the government at Washington to take the supreme command of the union army. Garibaldi came from Nice and was a child of the people, and in early life had acquired an unquenchable hatred of despotism. He had gained a reputation throughout the world for his dash and brilliancy as a military leader, and, on account of his achievements, was idolized by those who fought with him. It was said "that Mazzini was the prophet. Garibaldi the knight- errant, and Cavour the statesman of Italian independ- ence." Garibaldi was called the hero of Montevideo, on account of the effective aid that he gave the Monte- videans against Buenos Ayres. It was he who sent the famous telegram, "Complete victory along the en- tire line," after he had driven back the royalists in disorder to Capua. He died June 2, 1882, having spent the latter part of his life at Caprera in his beautiful island home. Garibaldi addressed a pompous note to the king in which he said, "The Americans wish me to take com- mand of their armies : does your majesty need me here, 332 JOUENAL or shall I go?" He was given to understand that he might go.^^ Lord Lytton made a speech in which he declared, "We can form some conception of the utter demoraliza- tion of the government at Washington, when we see an American president so bewildered by his own armies, or so despairing of the skill of his o^vn generals, that he of- fers to the Italian Garibaldi the command of American patriots." Later in the same year, the Confederate com- missioners. Mason and Slidell, were seized on board the British mail steamer, Trent. Mr. Bigelow, the Amer- ican minister at Paris, declared that after this seizure one could have counted on his fingers about all the people in Europe not Americans who still retained any hope or expectation of the perpetuity of the Union. The final culmination of the negotiations with Gari- baldi was, that our government through Sanford, the American minister at Brussels, offered him a major- generalship and the payment of the expense of himself and his companions. Garibaldi rejected the proposal; said he was good for nothing to work under any one else — that he must have the supreme command. ^^ The effect of Garibaldi's assuming the supreme com- mand of the Union army at the beginning of the Civil War, opens a wide field for speculation. Would the result have been different? It is the opinion of Count Tolstoi, a man of world- wide fame in literature and thought, that there is no such thing as military genius, and he declares that he ^Bigelow's "Retrospections of An Active Life. ^ Bigelow's "Retrospections" etc. 333 JOUENAL has never been able to understand what is meant by the term. Being asked how he could account for the amaz- ing series of Napoleon's successes he answered, "By- circumstances/' He then went on to say that battles are won by force of circumstances, by chance, by luck.^^ Tolstoi has been declared to be "a man of great genius" but it is very doubtful whether this view will be con- curred in by any considerable portion of the people, either of this or any other country. It must be evident to any unprejudicel mind, that to have engaged the services of Garibaldi as supreme com- mander of the Union armies would have proven disas- trous to the Union cause. We have no evidence that he excelled as a strategist, and he had only commanded small armies. It required something more than "dash and brilliancy" to command the great armies of the Union during a prolonged war of four years' duration; and he would have been no match for the great strate- gists of the Confederacy. Grant, patient, self-reliant, imperturbable — possessed many of the qualities of a great military leader. He was asked on one occasion what he considered the most im- portant qualification of a military commander. After re- flection he replied, "Patience." His own military career was a verification of this opinion. Grant's self-reliance was one of his most pronounced traits. If necessary he was willing to assume grave responsibilities, and he was calm and patient under all circumstances, never unduly elated by victory nor depressed by defeat. His moral and physical courage were unquestioned. His rapidity of ^ Autobiography of Andrew D. White. 334 JOUENAL thought and action in the field were as much to his credit as his ability to effect extraordinary combina- tions and his skill and boldness in moving large armies into position. RIDICULE. To be a complete master of the rhetoric of honest indignation is a valuable asset of the orator; but nQ kind of power is more formidable than the power of making men ridiculous. Pitt was most effective when he treasured up in his memory "some detached expression of a hostile orator, even an unguarded word, a laugh or a cheer, and made it a text for sparkling ridicule or burning invective." On the 30th of May, 1878, on the occasion of the cele- bration of the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Voltaire, Victor Hugo declared, "A hundred years ago to-day a man died. He died immortal. * * * Voltaire declared war against the coalition of all the social iniquities. And what was his weapon? That which has the lightness of the wind and the power of a thunderbolt. A pen." When in the mood, Voltaire was past grand-master of conciliatory and laudatory speech, and, in writing, there were times when his pen seemed to have been dipped in manna. In addressing his friends he some- times exhibited the most extravagant affection. "My dearest friend" is too cold for him. It is "My dear and adorable friend;" "My guardian angel." When Frank- lin presented his grandson and asked a blessing, "God and Liberty," said Voltaire, "is the only one fitting for 335 JOUENAL Franklin's children." Those two great men met again at a public sitting of the French academy. Voltaire was all graciousness and urbanity. When they took their places side by side and shook hands together a burst of applause involuntarily rose from the great assembly.^'* But there was another side to Voltaire. He told Eousseau, with blunt severity, that the former's "Ode to Posterity" would never reach its destination. His ruthless sarcasm, when he chose to be sarcastic, was merciless and ferocious. It was said^^ that the constitu- tion of his mind resembled the constitution of those bodies in which the slightest scratch of a bramble, or the bite of a gnat, never fails to fester; and Macaulay declares "that of all the intellectual weapons which have ever been wielded by man, the most terrible was tlic mockery of Voltaire. Bigots and tyrants who had never been moved by the wailing and cursing of millions, turned pale at his name." An incident occurred in our own country which illustrates the effectiveness — I might say the destructive- ness — of ridicule as an intellectual weapon. It was not a case where the person against whom the shaft was burled was merely overwhelmed with derision and contemptu- ous laughter — but it was one resulting in his utter and complete political annihilation. Many years ago Isaac M. Crary, of Michigan, was a member of congress from that state. Before going to congress he had some con- nection with the western militia, and had obtained tho honorary title of "General." He made a long and tedi- ous speech in the house in an attempt to provp that ^^ Brougham. ^^ Macauley. 336 JOUENAL William Henry Harrison was a military ignoramus. Tom Corwin, the celebrated Ohio orator, rose and began an off-hand speech, taking for his subject "The Military Services of Isaac M. Crary/' For ridicule and humor it has been declared to be the most successful speecli ever made in congress. It was long afterwards de- claimed in the public schools. "Thurlow Weed, ia his article on scenes he had witnessed in congress, referred to this event as the most vivid of all. Corwin's delinea- tion of Crary's brilliant exploits, his portrayal of the valiant charges made by Crary's troops, on muster days, upon the watermelon patches of Michigan, not only convulsed his audience, but were echoed throughout the nation."^ ^ Afterwards, John Quincy Adams in a speech referred to the "late General Crary," and by this ap- pellation he was subsequently known. NORTHERN REVOLUTION" — SOUTHERN REBELLION — THE PERPETUITY OF THE REPUBLIC. It is altogether probable that the impartial historian of the future, when he wishes to characterize the civil war in the United States, will call it a NorthcTn revolu- tion, rather than a Southern rebellion. As a result of that conflict no intelligent person will deny that the powers of the central government have been changed and immeasurably augmented. This fact is indubitably proven, not only by the addition of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, but by the more latitudinarian construction of the consti- '^ Andrew D. White. 337 JOUENAL tution, as it existed before the addition of those amend- ments. This change may have the salntar}^ effect of prolonging the duration of the government, if it does not assure its perpetuity. While there has been an added potency given to the government by the revolution of 1861, yet the diversity of interests between the different states and sections is all the time increasing. I think that foreigners have been unduly pessimistic in discussing the question of the permanency of our in- stitutions; and it is possible that we have exhibited an undue optimism upon the subject. The opinions of eminent men of other countries, renowned for their learning and sagacity, are interesting, even though we are convinced that those opinions are based upon insuffi- cient or inaccurate information, not only in respect to our governmental machinery, but also as to the char- acters, temperament and disposition of our people. An eminent French philosopher and statesman^ ^ who re- mained in this country several years studying our gov- ernment, its institutions and its laws, as well as the manners, customs, temperament and disposition of our people, has expressed some very positive opinions on this subject. His book was written with a view to enlighten European opinion in relation to democratic government, and has been translated into many lan- guages. It is everywhere regarded as a political classic. His style of writing is said to be an imitation of that of Montesquieu; however this may be, it certainly has a magic charm. He says : ^^De Tocqueville. 338 JOUENAL "Whatever faith I may have in the perfectibility of man, until human nature is altered, and men wholly transformed, I shall refuse to believe in the duration of a government which is called upon to hold together forty different peoples, disseminated over a territory equal to one-half of Europe in extent; to avoid all rivahy, ambition, and struggles between them; and to direct their independent activity to the accomplishment of the same designs/' Again he says : "I am of opinion that where there are a hundred millions of men, and forty distinct nations unequally strong, the continuance of the federal govern- ment can only be a fortunate accident/' In opposition to this view, an eminent Englishman^ ^ declares, that though America is a confederation of re- publics, they are in many cases much more amalgamated than the various parts of Great Britain, * * * and that he regards the United States as "a magnificent spectacle of human happiness/' Another Englishman,^* especially distinguished for his high literary attainments, says : "I honor the Amer- ican as the citizen of a grand republic, trying his best to accomplish an experiment in government, in which he will find the very prosperity he tends to create will sooner or later destroy his experiment/' Though there is much in present conditions in our country to disturb the equanimity of thoughtful minds, it is the part of wisdom not to draw drafts on the misery of futurity, but "to take short views of the future, to hope for the best and trust in God/' ^ Sydney Smith. ^^ Lord Lytton. 339 JOUENAL DEMOCRATIC MALADIES. I think some of the Democratic leaders have the dis- ease of conciliation, bordering on the even more fatal malady of obsequiousness. It is the aggressive party that wins the election. This accounts, in a large measure, for the uniform victories of the Democratic party in the Southern states. "In peace there is nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger." Charge the Eepublican party with everything known to the catalogue of crime from the theft of the presidency in 1876, down to the peculations, embezzlements, and rogueries, in federal, state and county offices. If they deny it, prove it on them if you can. Say nothing against Abraham Lincoln, for he was a great and good man; but avoid all idiotic adulation and rhapsodies about him, such for example as, "In all that constitutes true greatness, John the Baptist alone is comparable with Abraham Lincoln.*' If the Democratic orator is in an eulogistic mood, let him say a good word for the great men of his own party — for Washington, Jefferson, Jackson or Grover Cleve- land. In the absence of anything better he might quote Jefferson's lofty tribute to Washington: "In some future da}^ the most distant star in the heavens will bear the name of Washington, and the city which he founded will be the capitol of a universal republic." 340 JOUENAL Lincoln was a Eepublican. Democrats should not try to steal Republican thunder ; that party is sorely in need of all its ancient glory, in order, if possible, to compen- sate, in some measure, for its modern excesses. PHYSICIANS AND MEDICINE. I have the highest respect for the followers of iEscu- lapius. A physician who passed away several years ago was one of my dearest friends. He was not only skilful and conscientious in his profession, but he was above criticism in every relation of life. The voice of the physician whom you have called to your home, in a case •of real sickness, is the most delightful of music ; and the relations between him and his patient are of the most •sacred and confidential character. It is my deliberate opinion, however, formed from reading, observation and reflection, that the physician is called too often, and that the medicine bottle is called into requisition upon too slight provocation. We are all a bundle of habits. I may forget and overlook other things, but my post-prandial cigar, never. It is my habit. It is said that the skill of ^sculapius, the god of medicine, enabled him to cure the most desperate dis- eases, but that moral or dietetic remedies were more ■often prescribed than drugs. The manner of diagnosis was unique. The sick person after ablution, prayer and sacrifice, was made to sleep on the hide of the sacri- ficed animal, and in his sleep the malady was indicated by a dream. Tlie record of the cure was inscribed on 341 JOUENAL the columns of the temple; and it has been thought that in this way was introduced the custom of "record- ing cases."^^ We read that "To Plato the science of medicine ap- peared one of very disputable advantage. He did not indeed object to quick cures for acute disorders, or for injuries produced by accidents. But the art which re- sists the slow sap of a chronic disease, which repair? frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or in- flamed by wine, which encourages sensuality, by mitigat- ing the natural punishment of the sensualist, and pro- longs existence when the intellect has ceased to retain its entire energy, had no share of his esteem."^ ^ Medicine is not an exact science. Victor Jacquemont, the eminent French traveler and naturalist, upon a long ocean voyage was greatly shocked by the condition of the ship's medical stores. He says there were twenty- four drugs, all in confusion, and no scales to weigli doses. The system of administering those medicines was not regulated by the malady to be combated, but by the quantity of drugs in store. A^liatever the ailment, the rule was to administer the drug of which the stock was greatest. He declares that the sailors had the most perfect confidence in this system which seemed to have answered admirably. ^'^ Count Munster, in a conversation with Ambassador Wliite, when the subject of bacteria and microbes was casually mentioned, declared that they were "all a m^od- ern humbug." It is hardly necessary to add that this circumstance would not be reproduced here, if the dis- ^ 15 E. Britannica. ^'^ Macaulay. ^"^ Hamerton. 342 JOUENAL tinguished count were within the jurisdiction of the Indiana State Board of Health, or could be brought within such jurisdiction by extradition or otherwise. The count merely gives an opinion, but without a reason. It is very evident, however, that one eiTect of this modern hue and cry about bacteria and microbes is to make the science of medicine more and more an esoteric science. Montaigne, in one of his essays, has much to say in respect to the use of medicine. Of him, it has been averred that, take him all in all, no other man of his time had read so much or pondered so deeply: and Mr. Hallam declares that Montaigne is the first French author whom an English gentleman is ashamed not to have read. Montaigne, in speaking of another author (Tarenco), says: ^'That the beauty and perfection of his style makes us lose the appetite for his plot. His elegancy and delicacy captivate us in every scene and he is pleasant throughout. ^Eunning smoothly, like a liquid stream, and so possesses the soul with his graces of diction, that we forget those of the fable.' " The quaintness and eccentricity of his own style must, of necessity, attract attention, apart from the subject-mat- ter of the essay. He says : "Let the physicians a little excuse the liberty I take; for it is by this same infusion and fatal insinuation that I have received a hatred and contempt of their doctrine. The antipathy I have against their art is hereditary to me. My father lived seventy-four years, my grandfather sixty-nine, my great-grandfather almost four-score years, without tasting any sort of physic: 343 JOUENAL and with them, whatever was not ordinary diet was instead of a drug. Physic is grounded upon experience and examples, so is my opinion. * * * I ^o not know that they can find me, in all their records, three that were born, bred, and died under the same roof who have lived so long by their own conduct. * * * It has been two hundred years, save eighteen, that this trial has lasted in our family; for the first of them was born in the year 1402. * * * My ancestors had an aversion to physic by some secret and natural instinct; for the very sight of a potion was loathsome to my father. * * * So in physic I very much honor that glorious name, and the end it is studied for, and what it promises to the service of mankind; but its prescriptions I neither honor nor esteem. In the first place, experience makes me dread it; for, amongst all my acquaintance, I see no race of people so soon sick, and so long before they are well, as those who are slaves to physic. Their very health is altered and corrupted by the regimen they are constrained to. Physicians are not content to deal only with the sick, but they change health into sickness (in my opinion instances of this kind are very rare H. H. D.), for fear men should at any time escape their author- ity. * * * I have been sick often enough, and have, without their aid, found my maladies as easy to be sup- ported and as short as those of any other, without swal- lowing their nauseous doses. * * * j never disturb myself that I have no physician, no apothecary, nor any other assistance, which I see most men more afflicted at than they are with their disease." 344 JOURNAL FIDELITY TO PRINCIPLE. August 4, 1909. I have been profoundl}' impressed by the cireumstanee that certain of our Democratic statesmen have been vot- ing with the Republicans in favor of the "protective principle" — a high tariff upon certain commodities. God help the statesman who will subordinate a great principle to the avarice and cupidity of an insignificant number of his own constituents, engaged in a particular industry. It was hardly necessary for them to so stultify themselves, because without their aid the Republicans, "the friends of protection," had an overwhelming ma- jority. We are here reminded of the declaration of Grattan, on a memorable occasion, that there are instances where a great majority cannot ultimately prevail ; that a major- ity cannot overcome a great principle and that "God will guard his own cause against rank majorities." "We anticipate, with confidence, that the American people will, at the first opportunity, put the seal of their reprobation upon this legislation in behalf of the "inter- ests" at the expense of the people. THE STANDARD OF RESPECTABILITY AND CHARACTER. August 5, 1909. At breakfast this morning a lady, somewhat advanced in years, related an incident of her early life. It was this : She and other young ladies were impressed by the grace and elegant manners of a young gentleman with 345 JOUENAL whom they had danced. She afterwards learned that he was the son of a candy manufacturer. They felt greatly humiliated and almost disgraced. She added that the young man had since amassed a large fortune and that his name and that of his family were now occa- sionally mentioned in the society columns of the news- papers of her home city, New Orleans. I ventured to inquire if personal worth, refinement and cultivation should not be controlling factors under circumstances of this nature, to which I received an evasive answer. Each community has its own standard for estimating the respectability and character of its members. It is said that in New England the pursuit of humble occupa- tions affects but little the character and social standing of the individual; and there are localities in the United States where the mere "fatty tumors" of the financial world have but little recognition. Mr. Howells asserts that in Cambridge, since the capitalistic era began, no one is proud of his riches and that money counts for little; and that in New York money counts for more and goes for less than in any other city in the world. It appears to me that if we must have a stratification of society the ideal standard would be personal worth. THE POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE JUDICIARY. In the affairs of our government there is nothing more important than to get the right man on the bench. Above all things he should be capable, conscientious and 346 JOUEXAL fearless; he should never "lay his ear to the ground," nor listen for the applause of the multitude. He should rather have "his ear to the sky." He should scorn the idea of settling questions of righteousness by a show of hands, or with the view of receiving popular applause. This thought was uppermost in the mind of Lord Eldon upon the trial of the queen when he said : "I take no notice of what is passing out of doors, because I am supposed constitutionally not to be ac- quainted with it. * * * It is the duty of those upon whom a judicial task is imposed to meet reproach, and not to court popularity." The position of judge is, indeed, one of immeasurable power and responsibility; and there are many recorded instances where, but for the opportune intervention of the court, the verdict of juries would result in flagitious wrong and injustice. For example : a jury in Pennsyl- vania when Judge Grier was on the bench, brought in a very unjust verdict. The judge said : "Mr. Clerk, record that verdict, and enter under it "Set aside ;" and turning to the jury said, "I will have you to know, gentlemen of the jury, that it takes thirteen men in this court to steal a man's farm." Another instance where a young man discovered a drum on the sidewalk near his own home. He carried it into the house and played upon it. He was a fine young fellow of irreprochable character. The jury very reluctantly brought in a verdict of guilty ; "he was con- victed as a thief and his life seemed to be blighted and ruined past hope." The judge (Peters, of Maine) said: 347 JOURNAL "Mr. Clerk, you may record the verdict. I may as well sentence him now. I shall fine him one cent, without costs. I once stole a drum myself. ^^^^ TPIE IDEAL SOUTHERN" GENTLEMAN". As to what constitutes a gentleman depends somewhat on the locality, the environment, and the customs of the particular community. There are many requisites which are, in some measure, determined by caprice. Some one has said that a gentleman should know how to lend a book, how to ask after a relation, and how to pass a compliment. We all know that the word gentleman is sometimes wofully misapplied. A man was convicted of murder, the circumstances attending the homicide being characterized by unusual atrocity. The judge was exquisitely and ridiculously polite when addressing the prisoner. He said: "Will the gentleman be so kind as to stand up and receive his sentence ?'' The pretentious fellow, the pseudo gentleman, is justly an object of animadversion and ridicule. The ideal Southern gentleman of our day is admirably described by Senator Williams, of Mississippi: "The ideal gentleman was always honest; spoke the truth ; faced his enemy ; fought him, if necessary ; never quarreled with him nor talked about him; rode well; shot well; used chaste and correct English; insulted no man — bore no insult from any; was studiously kind to his inferiors, especially to his slaves; cordial and hos- pitable to his equals; courteous to his superiors, if he 2^ Autobiography of Seventy Years — Senator Hoar. 348 JOUENAL acknowledged any; he scorned a demagogue, but loved his people." THE ORIGIN OF CARDS. I venture the assertion that many of even the most ardent and enthusiastic devotees of the game, are not advised of the origin of cards. It seems that they were invented for the amusement of an insane king. They were resorted to during the intervals of his mental disorder but were ignored and spurned by him during his lucid intervals. This unfortunate ruler was Charles VI. It is said that the cards served admirably the pur- pose of diverting his royal melancholy. "The alleged origin of the invention of cards," said Sir Walter Scott, "produced one of the shrewdest re- plies I have ever heard given in evidence. It was made by the late Dr. Gregory, of Edinburgh, to a counsel of great eminence at the Scottish bar. The doctor's testi- mony went to prove the insanity of the party whose mental capacity was the point at issue. On a cross- interrogation he admitted that the person in question played admirably at whist. ^And do you seriously say, Doctor,' said the learned counsel, 'that a person having a superior capacity for a game so difficult, and which requires in a pre-eminent degree, memory, judgment and combination, can be at the same time deranged in his understanding?' " 'I am no card player,' said the doctor, with great address, 'but I have read in history that cards were in- 349 JOUENAL vented for the amusement of an insane king.' The con- sequences of this reply were decisive."^ ^ THE TOLLING OP THE DINNER BELL. It was an admirable conceit of the old Scotch butler to toll the dinner bell when the cheer which he had provided was defective in quantity or poor in quality. His master was thus notified, in advance, of the meager- ness of the meal. To a hungry man, especially if he have a keen appreciation of the pleasures of the table, information of this kind is of so grave and serious a character that it should be communicated to the victim in as gentle and soothing a manner as circumstances will permit. A moment's time is often sufficient to beget a feeling of at least partial resignation. The interval between the strokes of the bell might be greater or less, according to the degree of scantiness or turpitude of the meal which had been provided. Would it not be well to inaugurate a movement in favor of the universal adop- tion of this admirable device? BURKE HIS SYMPATHY WITH THE AMERICAN COLONIES. To me, the compositions of Burke, even when the sub- ject-matter is no longer of vital interest, are enchanting, on acount of his exquisite and copious diction and the completed roundness of his periods. He was renowned not only for the amplitude of his understanding but for the exuberance of his imagination. His style has been ^^Vol. 16 of Scott's Works, note 17. 350 JOUENAL characterized as the most powerful, the most dazzling, the most daring. "It has the solidity and sparkling effect of the diamond," says one. * * * <^He rises with the lofty, descends with the mean, luxuriates in beauty, gloats over deformity." And what a stanch friend of the colonies ! Read what he says. Referring to our Revolutionary War, he declares : "War is at present carried on between the king's nat- ural and foreign troops on one side and the English in America on the other upon the usual footing of other wars. "Whilst the liberal government of this free nation (England) is supported by the hireling sword of Ger- man boors and vassals ; and three millions of the subjects of Great Britain are seeking for protection to English privileges in the arms of France ! "I cannot rejoice that they (the colonists) have fallen under the sword of strangers, whose barbarous appellations I scarcely know how to pronounce. * * * And I fairly acknowledge that I have not yet learned to delight in finding Fort Kniphausen in the heart of the British dominions. "As yet they, and their German allies of twenty hire- ling states, have contended only with the unprepared strength of our own infant colonies. But America is not subdued. Not one unattacked village has yet sub- mitted from love or terror. You have the ground you encamp on ; and you have no more. * * * You spread devastation, but you do not enlarge the sphere of au- thority." 351 JOUENAL In his address to George III on the American war, Burke boldly declares: "To excite, by a proclamation issued by your majesty's government, an universal insurrection of negro slaves in any of the colonies is a measure full of complicated horrors, absolutely illegal, suitable neither to the prac- tise of war nor to the laws of peace." In his address to the British Colonists in North Amer- ica, he recites : "We likewise saw with shame the African slaves, who had been sold to you on public faith, and under the sanc- tions of acts of Parliament, to be your servants and your guards, employed to cut the throats of their masters." *° JOHN G. CARLISLE. It has always seemed to me that the duties of the speaker of the National House of Eepresentatives were of a quasi judicial nature, and that it is a monstrous in- congruity when he acts as the head of a party instead of being perfectly impartial. Mr. Carlisle was an ideal speaker, and I think that the country has failed to show an adequate appreciation of his splendid intellectuality, and his fairness and nonpartisan administration of the duties of the great office. The powers of the speaker are prodigious; and, it is an axiomatic truth, that the best test of real greatness is for one to be invested with extra- ordinary power, without abusing it. *'^It is a cause of deep humiliation and shame when we reflect that, within less than a century after Burke's de- nunciation of these atrocities, there was a considerable portion of our own countrymen who not only tolerated but commended them. 352 JOUENAL Ambassador White visited the House while Mr. Car- lisle was speaker. Sitting by a member who was an ar- dent Eepublican, Mr. White inquired how he liked the speaker and received this reply: "Mr. Carlisle is as intense in his Democracy as I am in my Eepublicanism, but no one can conceive of circumstances which could in- duce him to render a partial or partizan decision." The late Senator Frye was then a member of the House. One day a Democratic representative impugned the fairness of a ruling made by Speaker Carlisle. It was said that Frye was out of his seat in an instant, his eyes flashing and his right arm in air. "The imputation is unworthy/' he cried. "On this side of the house" — with a sweeping gesture toward his fellow Eepublicans — "we consider the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Carlisle) the jewel of the Democratic party !" It is related that the effect was electric. The great body of Democrats joined with the Eepublicans, in drowning the generous outburst with cheers, and the speaker's accuser was driven from the floor in discom- fiture. HENRY CLAY ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. I have recently read a speech of Henry Clay on the abolition of slavery. It was of course delivered prior to the war between the states, and it was at a period when congress was being flooded with petitions praying for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. It is interesting as a bit of ancient history, and on account of 353 JOUENAL the illustrious career of the great statesman who delivered it, I quote: "I prefer the liberty of my own country to that of any other people; and the liberty of my own race to that of any other race. The liberty of the descendants of Africa in the United States is incompatible with the safety and liberty of the European descendants. Their slavery forms an exception — an exception resulting from a stern and inexorable necessity — to the general liberty in the United States. We did not originate, nor are responsible for this necessity. * * * "I beseech the Abolitionists themselves solemnly to pause in their mad and fatal course. Amid that infinite variety of the objects of humanity and benevolence which invite the employment of their energies let them select some one more harmless, that does not threaten to deluge our country in blood. I call upon that small portion of the clergy which has lent itself to those wild and ruinous schemes, not to forget the holy nature of the divine mis- sion of the Founder of our religion, and to profit by his peaceful example. I entreat that portion of my country- women who have given their countenance to abolition, to remember that they are ever most loved and honored wlien moving in their own appropriate and delightful sphere; and to reflect that the ink which they shed in subscribing with their fair hands abolition petitions, may prove but the prelude to the shedding of the blood of their brethren." It must be confessed that Mr. Clay's prophetic utter- ance as to the shedding of the "blood of their brethren" was amply verified by subsequent events. 354 JOURNAL PROSPERITY AND ADVERSITY. When quite 3'Oung I read in Plutarch that it was more difficult to endure prosperity than adversity. I then re- garded it as one of the many wise saws that genius iias given to the world that would not bear close scrutiny and investigation. It was for a long time associated in my mind with that other wise saying that it was easier to pay a large debt than a small one. However, reading, observation and reflection have convinced me that Plu- tarch's observation is true. It has been said, truly, I believe, that prosperity tries the human heart with more powerful temptation — that we struggle with adversity, but success undermines our principles. Misfortune is a severe teacher and in many people develops virtues, though Balzac insists that it only does so in virtuous people. Gladstone declared that it is only by cruel suffering that nations are sometimes born to a bettcT life, and that so it is with individual man. That adversity is the greatest of all teachers will not be denied. We recall the lines of the dramatic bard: "Sweet are the uses of adversity: Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." Petrarch is regarded as one of the greatest names of modern Europe. Mr. Knight observes that "his eminent services to mankind as one of the restorers of learning, exhibit the union, which pertains to the highest intel- 355 JOURNAL lects alone^ of the imaginative with the practical." Pe- trarch had strong convictions upon the subject under con- sideration. After reciting that the vulgar, and eyen some philosophers, have decided that adverse fortune was most difficult to sustain, he says : "For my own part, I am of a different opinion, and believe it more easy to support adversity than prosperity; and that fortune is more treacherous and dangerous when she caresses than when she dismays. Experience has taught me this, not books or arguments." It is not a matter of surprise when Pascal declares, that there is no more perilous ordeal through whicli man can pass — no greater curse which can be imposed on him, as he is at present constituted — than that of being condemned to walk his life long in the sunlight of un- shaded prosperity. :^56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGEAPHY. I have been urged to append to this volume a sketch of my own life. It was no part of my original purpose to do so, but the request emanates from a source which renders it equivalent to a command. That the book is primarily intended for the perusal of my numerous relations, especially those of the younger generation from whom an account of the vicissitudes of life I have long been separated, is an additional reason for appending this sketch. The author is a native of Owingsville, the county seat of Bath county, Kentucky. The town is located on a high hill five miles from Preston, a station on the Chesapeake & Ohio railway. The most indifferent trav- eler cannot fail to be impressed by the beauty of the drive from the town to the station — with the regular al- ternation of hill and dale. Having arrived in the town, the view from its streets, of hills and valleys, and culti- vated farms, is one of marvelous beauty. John C. Breck- enridge, who had traveled in many lands, and who, after the fall of the Confederacy, selected southern France as his temporary abode on account of its resemblance to his beloved central Kentucky, dilated with much enthu- siasm upon the exquisite beauty of this landscape. Though the population of the town is less than two thousand, it has furnished to Indiana two of her illus- 359 AUTOBIOGRAPHY trious Governors, Henry S. Lane and Claude Matthews. The birthplace and home of the famous Confederate general, John B. Hood, situated on its principal street, is still intact. The little town is not devoid of historic interest. IN'ear the beginning of the last century the original proprietor. Colonel Thomas Dye Owings, for whom the town was named, erected an immense mansion of brick and stone, much of the material for the structure having been hauled overland from Baltimore. At the back end of the great wide hall is a circular stairway running to the third floor, of easy ascent, with low broad steps, and with balustrades of mahogany, hand carved. In the front hall is a large open fireplace behind which is a secret stairway leading to a subterranean passage. The immense thickness of the walls, and its private stair- ways and subterranean passages would indicate that the superstructure was originally intended for purposes of war rather than as the peaceful abode of man. In the mansion Colonel Owings entertained for a con- siderable period, Louis-Philippe, the lineal descendant of a younger brother of the great French monarch, Louis XIV. In his own country, Louis had been pro- scribed along with Demouriez, and entered upon a period of twenty-one years of exile from France, beginning in 1793 and ending with his return to Paris in 1814:. The time was spent partly in Switzerland and other Euro- pean countries, partly in the Spanish- American colonies and partly in the United States. His sojourn with Colonel Owings was of long duration. Subsequently, in 1830, he ascended the throne of France. 360 AUTOBIOGRAPHY This historic mansion is now used as a hotel with busi- ness rooms on the lower floor. The barber shop, which I patronized during a recent visit there, was one of the suite of rooms occupied by the distinguished French exile. The county derived its name from the numerous min- eral springs within its limits. The Olympian springs, eight miles south of Owingsville, was frequented by Mr. Clay when he was not engaged in the discharge of his arduous duties in Washington. The county has a diversified surface, gently undulating, hilly and moun- tainous. It has been said that there are certain finely strung and sensitive natures whose spirits are affected not only by the climate, but by the scenery amid which they live. In this historic old county of Bath will be found the hills and the mountains in close juxtaposition ; the latter to exercise a purifying influence upon one's feelings, the former to calm and tranquilize one's mind. Many of the world's celebrities have sincerely preferred wild nature to a cultivated garden ; an individual of this temperament and with such predilections would be de- lighted with certain portions of the county. We recall that Herbert Spencer, who was by many supposed to be devoid of esthetic perception, affirmed that the sight of a mountain and music heard in a cathedral were two of the things that moved him most. Too much cannot be said in commendation of the in- habitants of this county. In general, they not only love their homes but also their fields, their forests, and all inanimate objects about them ; they have a chivalrous respect for women ; they are hospitable, kindly and cour- 361 AUTOBIOGRAPHY teous, but not deficient in courage; they have a delicate sense of honor ; covetousness, corruption, the low tempta- tion of money, have not yet found any place in their politics; they have never pushed thrift to the loathsome excess of an inhuman avarice ; and you will look in vain for the miser whose eyes have the yellow metallic glitter of the coin over which he broods. At the time of which I write the county court in Ken- tucky convened once each month; in our county on the first Mondays. The court had exclusive probate juris- diction and, in addition, exercised the powers which in Indiana are vested in the board of county commission- ers. The clerk of this court was also authorized by law to take acknowledgement of deeds, mortgages, and other instruments of writing. Notaries public were then un- known in that section. When I was eleven years old I became deputy clerk of this court and, upon a recent visit to the county, I called at the clerk's office and exam- ined deed record 58, which was written by me, and made the discovery that my handwriting at that time was fairly good, however much it may have since de- teriorated. When the acknowledgement of a deed was to be taken outside of the office it usually devolved upon me to attend to the business. I have a vivid recollec- tion of one of my first official acts of this kind. It was in the country. The law then required that the wife should be examined separate and apart from the hus- band in order to learn for a certainty whether she ex- ecuted the paper of her own free will and accord, and without any coercion or compulsion of her husband. After the husband and wife had signed the paper I 362 AUTOBIOGRAPHY asked the husband to step outside. He turned to me and with a very serious expression of countenance he said something like this : "I have been affronted several times in my life but this is the first time that I have been ordered out of my own house." Silence reigned for a moment, for it really seemed to me that the gen- tleman had some ground for his indignation, but I had received strict orders and explicit instructions as to my duties, and finally mustered up courage to say to him: "I am very sorry, but you will have to go." The serious .aspect of his countenance at once gave way to a com- placent smile and he bowed himself out. I then pro- ceeded to propound the prescribed questions to the wife who, from her manner and countenance, must have de- rived considerable amusement from the incident. At the age of thirteen I was promoted to the deputy clerkship of the circuit court. This court had the same jurisdiction as our circuit court in Indiana. When court was in session it was my duty to be constantly by the side of the clerk in the courtroom to render him any assistance possible. In the light of my subsequent ex- perience and observation I am prepared to say that the local bar was of more than ordinary ability, and many able lawyers from other counties practised in our court, some of them afterwards attaining high distinction in the profession. The late Solomon Claypool told me many 3^ears ago in a conversation had in the courtroom at Shelbyville, that he had been called to Owingsville as counsel in an important will case and that one of the opposing counsel was one of the most brilliant and able lawyers he had ever met. The lawyers traveled from 363 AUTOBIOGRAPHY county to county after the manner of the members of the Irish bar — usually on horseback. The brilliant Shiel with much pride and satisfaction declared in the first sentence of one of the chapters of his book: "I am an Irish barrister and go to the Leinster circuit." Very soon after I became deputy clerk of the circuit court and when I was in my fourteenth year, Mr. Tur- ner, the clerk, sent me on a business errand to Ashland, the home of Henry Clay, near Lexington. The distance was fifty miles — a long ride on horseback, and it was the longest and most important journey I had made alone up to that time. My steed was known throughout the community as "Travey Daniels' big mule." It was immense in its proportions, being more than eighteen hands high. Along the public road and in every town and hamlet through which I passed, the big mule was the cynosure of all eyes, and the boy rider was so com- pletely ignored that he almost became jealous of the mule. It was when I was passing through one of the main streets of the little city of Mt. Sterling that my animal decided, presumably after mature deliberation, that he would proceed no farther, for the present at least, rinally, a very considerable portion of the pop- ulation, young and old, turned out and with boards and sticks and other instruments of torture, pounded him until they became exhausted but he did not budge an inch. Finally, after the pounding had ceased, and a sufficient period had elapsed to convince the audience that he had not been intimidated, my animal proceeded on his journey. In other words, he started when he got ready and not before. 364 AUTOBIOGRAPHY I arrived at Lexington late that evening, stopped at the Phoenix Hotel over night and very early in the morning rode out to Ashland. The home was occupied by the descendants or relatives of Mr. Clay, who died only a few years before. Breakfast was about over but the family insisted, and would not take ''no'' for an answer, that I must eat my breakfast there. I did so. After the purpose of my errand had been accomplished and I was about starting on my return journey, I was impressed by the kind solicitude of the ladies of ihe household as to my comfort on my long ride, the morn- ing being quite cool. Young as I then was I appreciated the fact that I was on consecrated ground; but of course I was not then familiar with the career of the great pacificator — how he, as a senator from Kentucky, a state situated midway in the union, had sought to obliterate sectional animosities and bring the sections together in bonds of amity and peace. I did not then know of the great statesmanlike measure he proposed, that would have accomplished the double purpose of extinguishing slavery and averting civil war, and which met with the bitter opposition of the extreme Abolition agitators — an opposition based solely upon a flimsy and hypo- critical subterfuge. As a mere child, of course I was not familiar with the plan that he offered, which was this: to buy the slaves newly born until finally, by ex- tinction of the older ones by death and the freeing of the younger ones by purchase, slavery would disappear. The estimated cost of carrying out this plan was twent}^- five million dollars — while the civil war cost one million 365 AUTOBIOGEAPHY lives and ten thousand millions of dollars. Of course I was not then familiar with his earnest and patriotic adjuration to his brother senators to support his meas- ure of pacification, when he assured them that if they would adopt it, and tranquilize the country, he would go home to Ashland and renounce public service for ever — that he would there find amidst his flocks and herds and in the bosom of his family, sincerity and truth, attachment and fidelity, that he had not always found in the walks of public life. Resuming the account of my journey — I reached Mt. Sterling late that evening and remained over night at the hotel. As I had only fourteen miles to go I was not very early in starting next morning. Acci- dentally I had for my traveling companion an eminent lawyer who was going to the Owingsville court. He had already attained eminence in his profession, and afterwards became chief justice of the Court of Appeals, the highest tribunal in the state. I have always had grave doubts of the wisdom and propriety of telling a joke on oneself, but I cannot refrain from relating an incident of this fourteen-mile journey that is still fresh in my memory. The distin- guished gentleman and myself rode leisurely along, side by side, but of course my companion did most of the talking. I knew who he was, as he had frequently at- tended our court. His conversation and his charm of manner could not fail to impress a boy of fourteen. In the course of our talk he said to me that he had observed my activity in the courtroom and the efficient 366 AUTOBIOGRAPHY aid I had rendered the clerk — in short, that he had a favorable impression of me. He inquired my age and I told him I was just fourteen. He said he had a daughter just one year younger than myself of whom he was very proud, and proceeded in the most delight- ful way to enumerate her attractions — her charm of manner, her exquisite beauty, her proficiency in her studies and many other things of a commendatory nature. Before the end of our journey he indicated to me very clearly that he would be willing, when the proper time arrived, that his daughter should become my wife. I do not remember what I said, but I do remember that even at that early age of fourteen I was overwhelmed with delight that so distinguished a gentleman should express a willingness that his charming daughter might some day become my bride. I had never seen her, but felt sure she must be fascinating. I at once became saturated with a great wave of tranquillity and joy, and felt that I was at peace with all the world "and the rest of mankind." On the following day, while we were sitting at our desks during a brief cessation of the business of the court, Mr. Turner, the clerk, remarked to me: "So Mr. ," referring to my traveling companion of the day previous, "promised you his daughter yester- day." I did not deign to reply, for I was amazed that a matter of so delicate a nature should so soon reach the public ear. The clerk, who was a most genial gentle- man and excessively fond of fun, broke forth in a per- 367 AUTOBIOGEAPHY feet gale of laughter. When his hilarity had subsided he turned to me and said seriously, "My son, Mr, has no children." We find unique characters in almost every com- munity, and our county was no exception. Being my- self of a pacific disposition and temperament, it is difficult for me to conceive how any man could have a natural and inherent fondness for fighting; however, we had such an one in our county. On county court days and other public occasions he was usually in evidence on the streets of Owingsville. He was about the medium height and compactly built, and his placid and benevo- lent expression of countenance would indicate that he was either a minister of the gospel or a philanthropist bent on doing good to human kind. He was agreeable and affable, and his voice and manner suggested a serene mind and happy disposition. The earmarks of the ruffian were nowhere to be seen. But the observer was not long in finding out*when this gentle individual was on the warpath. Passing through the crowd, hat in hand, occasionally bowing, first to the right and then to the left, and continually uttering these words : "Gentlemen, it is an invariable rule of my life to give no insults and take none." Before he finished his tour the fight was on, sometimes ending in victory, sometimes in discomfiture. It would seem that the principle, usually referred to the age of chivalry, that sin loses half its evil by losing all its grossness, would have some application here. I will relate one other incident along this line. It was the case of a man well advanced in years. He had 368 AUTOBIOGEAPHY borne a great reputation as a fighter, but for several years had been a quiet and law-abiding citizen and respected by his neighbors. When he came to town and was in a reminiscent mood he never lacked for auditors. He said that at one time he had a grudge against a man who had moved from Bath to the adjoining county of Nicholas, and having business in the latter county he decided that while there he would look for his enemy and whip him. He discovered him one day in the town of Carlisle, the county seat, conversing with some men on the street corner. The old man said that he ap- proached and, having first asked the pardon of the other men for the interruption, he soundly abused and denounced his ancient enemy, who made no reply but walked away leisurely, stopping at the end of the next block. Not to be thwarted in his purpose, the old man said that he followed the object of his wrath and re- peated his abuse and denunciation. His enemy again moved on and stopped at another corner. He again followed, having in the meantime thought of some ad- ditional ugly things to say, and literally poured out the vials of his wrath, but his enemy made no reply. "I finally filliped him on the nose with my finger," said the old man. At this point he artfully paused in his narrative. We were all intensely interested but said nothing. At last he resumed, saying, "I was uncon- scious twelve hours and in bed for thirty days." I note this incident as an additional illustration and confirmation of the great truth that there are times when forbearance ceases to be a virtue. Major John C. Mason for a number of years repre- 369 AUTOBIOGRAPHY sented our district, the ninth, in congress. He had served with distinction in the Mexican war and was a man of striking personality. He was tall with square shoulders, well-proportioned, straight as an arrow, a Roman cast of features with a military aspect and bearing. He was not a highly educated man and was not endowed with great oratorical powers, but he had great force of character and an indomitable will — was thoroughly familiar with the political issues of that day and was most formidable in debate. Our congressional district was composed of a dozen or more counties and Major Mason was a resident of our county. If I am not mistaken, Mrs, Mason was a daughter of Colonel Thomas Dye Owings, to whom I have already referred. In the summer of 1858, Major Mason, without solicitation on my part, or on the part of my friends, so far as I know, tendered me the appointment to the Naval academy at Annapolis from our district. I ac- cepted the appointment, but with some trepidation, as a friend of mine, whose capabilities I conceived to be at least equal to my own, had just failed to pass his examination for admission to West Point. Accompany- ing my appointment was a printed list of defects and disabilities, any one of which would warrant the rejec- tion of the appointee. The list was of almost intermi- nable length and I was not at all surprised to learn that each year a large proportion of the appointees were rejected on their physical examinations. Fortunately, I passed both examinations, physical and academic. I entered the institution in September; Admiral Dewey had graduated the preceding June; 370 AUTOBIOGRAPHY Admirals Schley and Watson and Philip had been there two years, and Admiral Sampson one year. Admiral Terry, who recently died, entered the institution when I did. Would like to say here, lest I forget it, that I have always entertained the opinion that the President of the United States should appoint an able and experi- enced naval officer as secretary of the navy. He would best know the needs of the service and the means of attaining the highest degree of efficiency. A landsman, whatever his capabilities may be in other directions, when appointed to this position, has everything to learn. He is ignorant even of matters of smallest detail and will at times necessarily become an object of com- miseration. It will be remembered that Eichard W. Thompson, of Indiana, was appointed by President Hayes Secretary of the Navy. It was said of Thompson, truly, no doubt, tliat he was a very interesting character, a man of great common sense, public spirit, with a wonderful memory, and a rare fund of knowledge of the political history of the Northwest. But who will assert that his appointment to this high and responsible position was conducive to the best interests of the service. Senator Hoar relates that at Secretary Sherman's dinner he asked Secretary Thompson across the table to which mast of a man-of-war the American flag should be attached. That Thompson coughed and stammered a little and said, "I think I shall refer that question to the attorney-general." The appointment of a merchant or a doctor to the 371 AUTOBIOGRAPHY supreme bench would be no more incongruous and in- appropriate than the appointment of a politician to be secretary of the navy. This condition is no doubt owing in a great measure to the importunate demands of the politicians. They are not content even with the sun, moon and stars, and the whole planetary system, but they want everything that is in heaven above, in the earth beneath and in the water under the earth. When I was at the academy Captain George S. Blake was the superintendent, and Commander Thomas T. Cravens was commandant of midshipmen. The other officers were Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Wyman, Lieutenants Wood, Davidson, Simpson McGunnigle and Waddell — and others. In June of the next year, 1859, our class and the first class, one hundred and seven of us in all, made our cruise for practice in the United States sloop of war Plymouth, twenty-two guns — visiting England, France, Spain and the island of Madeira. Captain Cravens was in command of our ship, and among our other officers were Wyman, Wood, McGunnigle and Waddell. On our return we reached Hampton Roads about September 20th. We were twenty-eight days in making the cruise from the capes of Virginia to Plymouth, England, a long period indeed, when com- pared with the time now made by our steamers. On the fourth of July we boarded a French fishing vessel off the banks of ISTewfoundland and bought some fresh fish. The Frenchman was alarmed when he ob- served the formidable and belligerent appearance of our 372 AUTOBIOGRAPHY vessel, thinking that war had been decLared and that our visit was hostile in its nature rather than commercia]. The recent Titanic disaster recalls to my mind the vigilance and care exercised in taking the temperature of the water. Fortunately, we encountered no iceberg and did not even see any floating ice, but the fog was dense. When we consider the delightful climate of Newfoundland, it is difficult to realize that its coast is a perpetual menace to navigation. The climate is more temperate than that of most portions of the neighboring continent. It is rarely, and then only for a few hours, that the thermometer sinks below zero in the winter, while the summer range rarely exceeds 80° Fahrenheit, and for the most part does not rise above 70°. For eight years the maximum at St. John's was 83° and the minimum 7°. Tornadoes are unknown and thunder-storms are very rare. The existence of icebergs in this vicinity is accounted for by the fact that the banks of Newfoundland are swept by the cold Labrador current and the icebergs are frequently stranded upon them. The gulf stream, while it modifies the cold, creates fogs ; the latter, how- ever, are confined to the shores and bays of the south- eastern and southern coasts. After twenty-eight days at sea we were supremely happy when we arrived at Plymouth. Our provender on the voyage had not been of the daintiest and most luxurious character, and we were enabled to realize our fond anticipations of ham and eggs and other delicacies. Fourteen miles off Plymouth, at Eddystone Rocks, we passed the liistoric Eddystone Lighthouse, which was 373 AUTOBIOGEAPHY constructed more than two centuries ago. Being fully exposed to the southwestern seas and winds the buflet- ings of the winds and waves are terriffic, and the fre- quent damage by storms has necessitated the rebuliding of the lighthouse a number of times. For several years prior to 1878 its safety had been a matter of anxiety and watchful care, owing to the great tremor of the building with each wave stroke. In 1882 a new tower was completed. We also passed Mount Edgecumbe, the estate of the Earl of Edgecumbe. Its beautiful grounds and wooded slopes are still fresh in my memory. We learned that Plymouth, with a population of about sixty-five thousand, held a leading position in the country as a naval station; and it was from this port that the Pilgrim fathers sailed for America. We went ashore and visited the city in squads of a dozen or more at a time — dressed in our uniforms, of course — and in passing through the streets we learned that the custom of squads of men congregating on street corners for observation and social conversation is not exclusively American. I distinctly remember hearing one man say to his associates, referring to us, "They must be Austrians." After remaining in Plymouth about ten days we crossed the English Channel to Brest, France, which then had a population of about sixty thousand. This city is also a great naval station. At the time of our visit it possessed comparatively few buildings of im- portance with the exception of those connected with the great naval establishment. One of the most pleas- 374 AUTOBIOGRAPHY ing incidents of our week's sojourn in Brest was our meeting a number of French midshipmen. As a rule, they were handsome and accomplished, and their man- ners fascinating. Leaving Brest, our next destination was Cadiz, Spain. In 1809 Lord Byron wrote to his mother: "Cadiz, sweet Cadiz! — it is the first spot in the creation. The beauty of its streets and mansions is only excelled by the loveliness of its inhabitants. It is a complete Cythera, full of the finest women in Spain; the Cadiz belles being the Lancashire witches of their land. " The character and purpose of our visit, and its brev- ity, of course precluded the possibility of verifying the truth of the foregoing rhapsody. To reach Cadiz we must encounter the inhospitable and turbulent Bay of Biscay. I have read of a voyage where the writer declared: "The coast was rocky, the night was dark, and the Bay of Biscay ran high." We had a like experience. This vast gulf or bay is enclosed by the northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France. In the Spanish portion the water is about two hundred fathoms deep, while in the French portion it is only about twenty. The strong westerly winds uniformly impede navigation. AYe had a regular ship's crew and the midshipmen were divided into four watches. Our watch went on deck at four in the morning. We found Captain Cravens on deck, a very unusual thing, as he appears there only in times of emergency. The storm was still raging furiously but had abated somewhat and at that hour we were returning to Brest for repairs. The 375 AUTOBIOGEAPHY bobstays of the ship had been carried away or parted and perhaps some other damage was done. The bob- stays are chains to confine the bowsprit of a ship down- wards to the stem or cutwater. We remained in Brest two or three days and again sailed for Cadiz, which we reached without any mishap. The population of Cadiz at that time was about sev- enty thousand. Seen from a distance oif the coast it presented a magnificent display of snowwhite turrets rising magnificently from the sea; and from the uni- formity and elegance of its buildings it ranked as one of the finest cities of Spain. It is required that every house in the city shall annually receive a coating of whitewash. The most characteristic feature of Cadiz is the marine promenades, fringing the city all round between the ramparts and the sea, especially that called the Almeda. Some conception may be had of the mildness and serenity of the climate, when it is considered that the mean annual temperature is 64° Fahrenheit, while the mean summer and winter temperatures vary only about 10° above and below that point. We remained in Cadiz about ten days and then set sail for Funchal, the capital of the Madeiras. This archi- pelago is a group of islands in the North Atlantic nrtean belonging to Portugal, consisting of two inhabited islands named Madeira and Port Santo, and three unin- habited rocks, named collectively the Desertas. Madeira, the largest island, has a length of thirty miles, an extreme breadth of thirteen miles, and a coast 376 AUTOBIOGRAPHY line of eighty miles. Its longer axis lies east and west, in which direction it is traversed by a mountain chain. The inhabitants of the island at the time of our visit numbered about eighty thousand, the number of females being a little in excess of the males. Funchal, the capital, lies on the south coast of Madeira, about 360 miles from the coast of Africa, 535 miles from Lisbon and 1,215 miles from Plymouth. It has a population of 18,000 and the immediate neigh- borhood was inhabited by about as many more. The town is seen to great advantage from the bay, lying on its curving shore, and backed by an amphi- theater of lofty mountains, some of them 4,000 feet in height. Numerous country homes with terraced gar- dens, and surrounded by vineyards, adorn the slopes, and give an air of cheerfulness to the landscape. The remarkable mildness both in summer and winter of the climate of Madeira, though it lies only 10° north of the Tropic of Cancer, is said to be owing to its being surounded by a great ocean, from which the atmosphere obtains a large amount of watery vapor. The thermom- eter has never been known to fall as low as 46° at Funchal, hence frost and snow are there wholly un- known. However, there is an occasional fall of snow in the mountains above the altitude of 2,000 feet. Thunder-storms are rare and scarcely ever violent. Madeira has long had a high reputation as a sanitary resort for persons suffering from diseases of the chest. Sir James Clark, in his work on Climate, says: "When we take into consideration the mildness of the winter and the coolness of the summer, together with the re- 377 AUTOBIOGEAPHY markable equality of the temperature during the day and night, as well as throughout the year, we may safely conclude that the climate of Madeira is the finest in the Northern hemisphere." It has also been sug- gested that the island possesses one great advantage over most other places frequented by invalids in afford- ing cool and comfortable summer quarters on the hills, so that they have no need to make a long journey for the purpose of escaping from the heat. Eor one who is no longer engaged in the activities of life, and who possesses in a fair degree the gift of meditation, and who can, in large measure, live happily with himself and his memories — and to whom the breath of popular applause is not essential to happiness, I have always regarded Madeira as an ideal place of abode. As illustrative of the severity of naval discipline I wish to note this incident. When -^e came to anchor and were shortening sail in Funchal a sailor on the main royal yard, in furling, got astride the yard instead of standing on the foot-ropes. Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Wyman had charge of the deck and he sang out to the man through his trumpet: "Lay down from aloft, you infernal soldier." I was informed that he was placed in double irons. The warships of other nations were lying at anchor in the harbor, which of •course aggravated the offense. We remained in Funchal about eight days. Very soon after leaving there, in about 30° north latitude, we struck the trade winds, those most valuable assets of the navigator. These are steady winds which blow 378 AUTOBIOGRAPHY from the same quarter tlirougliout the year. Their general direction is from northeast to southwest on the north side of the equator, and from southeast to north- west on the south side of the equator.*^ Our return voj-age from Funchal was most delight- ful; the scenes and incidents have never faded from m}' memory — the steady trade winds — the soft and be- witching climate of the tropics — the beautiful moon- light nights — the sailors on deck singing in concert "We are homeward bound" — to my mind form a pic- ture of perfect serenity and peace. We arrived at Hampton Eoads about September 20, coincident with the arrival of the equinoctial storm. When we reached Annapolis we found there the new fourth class just admitted. It is with much interest and curiosity that the older classes observe and measure the new arrivals. They come from the four quarters of the country, each one bringing with him the man- ners, thoughts and provincialisms, idiosyncrasies, the tone of voice and accent, peculiar to the community in which he was born and bred. Their ages range from 16 to 20. We see Maine and Louisiana, California and Virginia, in close juxtaposition. To the older classes some of the new students are transparent, some trans- lucent, some opaque. Eude customs and manners and rough jokes are soon to be obliterated by attrition and association with the older cadets; but during the three years I was at the institution I do not remember a single "Trade winds are so called because they are of great advantage to navigators and hence to trade. They are principally limited to two belts in the tropical regions, one on each side of the equator, 379 AUTOBIOGEAPHY instance of hazing. Such words as "fool/' "liar," etc., uttered in jest, are soon eliminated from their vocabu- laries. They cease using the phrase, "come on, bo^^s/' and in lieu thereof say "come on, fellows." In short, they become, in outward aspect at least, gentlemen in deportment and manners. On the tenth of October, less than a month after our return to the academy, the first guns of the war between the states were fired by John Brown and his associates in their raid upon Harper's Ferry. We were young and did not then fully appreciate the awful significance of this event. Our three months' leave of absence began in the fol- lowing June (1860). In due time the Baltimore tailors came to Annapolis to take our measures for clothes to be worn while on leave. The uniforms which they made for us were pronounced the perfection of tailoring — and uni- forms at that time were exceedingly rare, and hence more highly appreciated. We considered the question of dress one of primary importance; we have long since learned, however, that clothes do not make the man. But it must be admitted that a stranger of either sex is, as a rule, judged by his or her attire, however un- just this may be. It has been said by the highest masculine authority that the love of becoming ornament in woman is not to be regarded in the light of vanity, but that it is an instinct which she has received from nature to give effect to those charms that are her defense, and that the choice and arangement of dress is calculated to bestow an ineffable grace over beauty. AVith man the 380 AUTOBIOGRAPHY case is wholly different; but upon our return to the academy in September, it was the consensus of opinion that we were in some degree indebted to the exquisite skill of the Baltimore tailor for the cordiality of the re- ception given us by the young ladies whom it was our good fortune to meet while on leave. Late in 1860, and during the early period of 1861, the most intense excitement prevailed among the cadets on account of the increasing hostility between the North and South. The great newspapers, such as the New York Tribune and the New York Herald, were carefully scanned each day for new developments, and the editorials were provocative of much discussion but of little or no acrimony. The almost universal expres- sion was that the Southern states had a constitutional right to secede, and the wrong of coercion was by every one reprobated. For example, my classmate and per- sonal friend, Giles F. Appleton, of Vermont, proverbial for his geniality and conservatism, would become thor- oughly aroused with indignation at the bare suggestion of the coercion of the Southern states. At the present day all true patriots must accept the doctrine that this is an indissoluble union of in- destructible states; but the actual conditions at the beginning of the war have been misrepresented or con- cealed by unscrupulous politicians, and the younger and rising generation have thus far been deceived as to the real status of affairs at that time. In what I may say my purpose is to tell the plain unvarnished truth, not being either presently or prospectively a candidate for oflQce — and being therefore wholly undeterred by the 381 AUTOBIOGEAPHY coquetries of public opinion. If I were out in the dis- trict for votes I might, like some of my good friends, tell, not what I believed, but what they, the voters, would be most delighted to hear. The younger generation in the North have been taught to believe, by fulminations from the pulpit, the press, and the hustings, that immediately preceding the be- ginning of the war between the states, the South stood alone in the assertion of the doctrine of the right of secession and the wrong of coercion — that secession was a criminal political heresy exclusively peculiar to the Southern states and indigenous to that section. Noth- ing could be farther from the truth. Down to the very time of the formation of the Confederate govern- ment many of the leaders of public opinion in the North, of both parties, admitted the right of secession and distinctly disclaimed any purpose of coercion. Horace Greeley's paper, the New York Tribune — the leading organ of the party which triumphed in the election of 1860 — said, after the election and before the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln: "We hold, with Jefferson, to the inalienable right of communities to alter or abolish forms of government that have become oppressive or injurious; and, if the cotton states shall decide that they can do better out of the Union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace. The right to secede may be a revolutionary right, hut it exists^ nevertheless. We must ever resist the asserted right of any state to remain in the union and nullify or defy the laws thereof: to witlidraiv from the union is quite another matter. And, whenever a 383 AUTOBIOGRAPHY considerable section of our union shall deliberately re- solve to go outj we shall resist all coercive measures de- signed to keep her in. We hope never to live in a republic whereof one section is pinned to the residue hy hayonets."'^^ Again Mr, Greeley says, in his paper, the Xew York Tribune: "If the cotton states wish to withdraw from the union, they should be allowed to do so; and any attempt to compel them to remain, by force, would be contrary to the principles of the Declaration of Inde- pendence and the fundamental ideas upon which human liberty is based. As the Declaration of Independence Justified the secession from the British Empire of three millions of subjects in 1776, it was not seen why it would not justify the secession of five millions of South- erners from the Union in 1861/' The Albany Argus, about the same time, said in language which Mr. Greeley characterizes as "clear and temperate :" "We sympathize with and justify the South as far as this : their rights have been invaded to the extreme limit possible within the forms of the constitution ; and, beyond this limit, their feelings have been insulted and their interests and honor assailed by almost every possible form of denunciation and invective; and, if we deemed it certain that the real animus of the Re- publican party could be carried into the administration of the federal government, and become the permanent policy of the nation, we should think that all the in- stincts of self-preservation and of manhood rightfully "New York Tribune of November 9, 1860. 383 AUTOBIOGEAPHY impelled them to a resort to revolution and a separa- tion from the Union, and we wonld applaud them and wish them Godspeed in the adoption of such a remedy." Subsequently the same paper said: "If South Carolina or any other state, through a convention of her people, shall formally separate herself from the Union, probably both the present and the next executive will simply let her alone and quietly allow all the functions of the federal government within her limits to he suspended. Any other course would he madness; as it would at once enlist all the Southern states in the controversy and plunge the whole country into a civil war. * * * As a matter of policy and wisdom, therefore, independ- ent of the question of right, we should deem resort to force most disastrous." The N^ew York Herald, a journal which claimed to be independent of all party influences, about the same period said: "Each state is organized as a complete government, holding the purse and wielding the sword, possessing the right to break the tie of the confederation as a nation might break a treaty, and to repel coercion as a nation might repel invasion. * * * Coercion, if it were possible, is out of the question." These ar- ticles were reproduced, with approval by other journals throughout the country. On the thirty-first of January, 1861, after six states had already seceded, a great meeting was held in the city of New York, to consider the perilous condition of the country. James S. Thayer, "an old-line Whig," made a speech, which was received with great applause. 384 AUTOBIOGRAPHY He said, among other things, "We can at least, in an authoritative way and a practical manner, arrive at the basis of a peaceable separation. (Cheers.) * * * If the incoming administration shall attempt to carry out the line of policy that has been foreshadowed, we an- nounce that, when the hand of black Republicanism turns to bloodshed, and seeks from the fragment of the constitution to construct a scaffolding for coercion — another name for execution — we will reverse the order of the French revolution, and save the blood of the people by making those who inaugurate a reign of terror the first victims of a national guillotine!" (En- thusiastic applause.) These views seem to have com- manded the cordial approval of the great audience. It was at the same meeting that ex-Governor Horatio Seymour asked the question whether "successful coer- cion by the Xorth is less revolutionary than successful secession by the South?" The venerable Chancellor Wolworth, respected, be- loved and admired by every one, also addressed this great metropolitan audience. He was regarded as the artizan of our equity laws, and it was said of him that he was the Bentham of America, without the bold specu- lations and fantastical theories which to a certain extent characterized the great British jurist. An eminent law- yer, in closing the argument of a case before him, among other things, said : "It must be a source of con- solation to yourself, as it is of gratification to your friends, that the white robe of justice transmitted from the illustrious men who have gone before you has not, 385 AUTOBIOGEAPHY since it fell upon you, been soiled or rent." It was said of the great chancellor that he "wore a conscience as well as a gown." Eead what he said : "It would be as brutal, in my opinion, to send men to butcher our own brothers of the Southern states as it would be to massacre them in the Northern states. We are told, however, that it is our duty to, and we must, enforce the laws. But why — and what laws are to be enforced? There were laws that were to be en- forced in the time of the American revolution. * « * Did Lord Chatham go for enforcing those laws? No, he gloried in defense of the liberties of America. He made that memorable declaration in the British parlia- ment, ^If I were an American citizen instead of being, as I am, an Englishman, I never would submit to such laws — never, never, never !^ " (Prolonged applause.) It is a well-authenticated fact that "Eawle's View of the Constitution" was used as a text-book at West Point at the time Eobert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were cadets at that institution, and for a long period there- after. Mr. Eawle, in his work, clearly laid down the doctrine that the Union was dissoluble and that if it should be dissolved, allegiance reverted to the states. This is the pabulum upon which the government fed those who were to command its armies. It is well known that the late Senator Turpie, pro- verbial for his high scholastic and linguistic attainments, was also well versed in constitutional lore. In a pub- lished interview he declared, in articulo mortis, that the construction of the constitution upon which the South- ern states based their action was unquestionably correct. 386 AUTOBIOGRAPHY Nearly everywhere the idea of coercion met with the unqualified reprobation of the people. While this senti- ment generally prevailed throughout the North there were many violent men appealing to passion and the lust of power, with the view of inciting the multitude and preparing Northern opinion to support a war against the Southern states in the event of their seces- sion. All propositions for peace were contemptuously spurned and refused. The generally accepted construc- tion of the constitution was a formidable obstacle in the path of those who thus sought to precipitate civil war — and their violent antipathy to this sacred instru- ment induced them finally, through one of their leaders, to denounce the constitution as a "covenant with hell." But they were fertile in expedients and, with much in- genuity, sought to gratify their desire for blood under the delusive and ambiguous guise of the "execution of the laws" and the "protection of public property." It will be remembered that Chancellor AYolworth refers to this fact in his address to the great meeting in New York. During the closing months of his term Mr. Buchanan was divested of all power of molding the future policy of the government. His irresolution and seeming apathy were not the result of his indifference to his country, but rather of his love and veneration for its constitution. It is true that he was free from sectional asperity, but he had studied the constitution and the history of its formation and he was convinced that the federal government had no rightful power to coerce a state. It is but natural that he should become irresolute 387 AUTOBIOGRAPHY and apathetic in exercising a power which, as executive, he did not possess — in violation of his solemn oath of office. He had rendered invaluable service to his country as statesman and diplomatist. He served many years in the lower house of congress and was for a long time in the senate as a contemporary of Calhoun, Clay and Web- ster. During his diplomatic career he had served as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to St. Petersburg. In 1845 he was appointed secretary of state under President Polk. In 1853 he accepted from President Pierce the appointment of minister to Eng- land. It was while there that Lord Palmerston, refer- ring to the fact that Mr. Buchanan had one defective eye, remarked that he could see as much with one eye as most Englishmen could with two. In 1854 he was the originator and one of the three members of the Ostend conference on the subject of the acquisition of Cuba by the United States, and with his colleagues issued the celebrated Ostend manifesto which declared that on the principle of self-preservation from dangers of the gravest kind, an armed intervention of the United- States and the capture of the island from the Spaniards would be justifiable. Even at this late day, one may occasionally hear derogatory remarks about Mr. Buch- anan, flippantly made by ignorant or thoughtless per- sons who have no knowledge or appreciation of his illustrious career. Without any change in the attitude of the seceding states, it was only a few weeks until the conservative and patriotic feeling to which I have referred was swept 388 AUTOBIOGRAPHY away. The elements of sectional hatred obtained com- plete control and insisted upon an immediate armed in- vasion of the South. The suddenness and completeness of this change in Xorthern public sentiment was regarded as marvelous. An eminent man characterized it as a "strange phenomenon," and adds: "To the student of human nature, however, it may not seem altogether without precedent, when he remembers certain other instances on record of mutations in public sentiment equally sudden and extraordinary. Ten thousand swords that would have leaped from their scabbards — as the English statesman thought — to avenge even a look of insult to a lovely queen, hung idly in their places when she was led to the scaffold in the midst of the vilest taunts and execrations. The case that we have been considering was, perhaps, only an illustration of the general truth tliat, in times of revolutionary excite- ment, the higher and better elements are crushed and silenced by the lower and baser — not so much on account of their greater extent, as of their greater violence.'' When I began this detour it did not occur to me that it would be so much prolonged; but I have read what has been written and decided that to eliminate any part of it would defeat my purpose of vindicating the truth of history. I now resume my narrative. It was during the months of March and April that many of the midshipmen appointed from the Southern states resigned and returned to their homes with the purpose of entering the Conference service. My resig- nation was forwarded in March and was promptly ac- cepted by the secretary of the navy. Remained at my 389 AUTOBIOGRAPHY home a few weeks and then proceeded to Montgomery, fortified with a letter of introduction and recommenda- tion from Beriah Magoffin, then governor of Kentucky, to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States. Presenting my application for appointment as midship- man, together with Governor Magoffin's letter, I was assured that the matter would receive prompt attention and returned to my home in Kentucky. In a week or two my appointment was received with orders from the secretary of the confederate navy to report for duty to Captain Gwathney, commanding the confederate steamer, "Jackson," at New Orleans. This was in the month of May. I lost no time, but proceeded at on.'je to Kew Orleans and reported for duty on board the "Jackson." The people of the South were now con- vinced that war was inevitable and that their liomes would be desolated and their country devastated by the invasion of hostile armies. That they would thus be furnished with an illustration and verification of the truth of the utterance of Lord Bacon when he declared, nearly three centuries ago : "It has seldom or never been seen that the far Southern people have invaded the Northern, but contrariwise." No pen can adequately portray the intense excitement and enthusiasm of the people. Along the route to New Orleans, at almost every station, crowds had assembled, ladies usually predominating. The latter were there to bid farewell to their sons, husbands, fathers and lovers, who were enlisting in what they conceived to be the noblest cause — the protection of their homes and fire- sides. The immaturity of youth and the tottering of 390 AUTOBIOGEAPHY old age were visible in many of those who were march- ing on to battle. They conceived that everything worth living for was involved in the contest. No conscription was necessary — no demands for bounty were made. They entered the service without a bounty and left it without a pension; and during nearly a half century they have contributed, without complaint and without repining, a large proportion of the thousands of millions of dollars that have been paid in pensions to those who- invaded their country with fire and sword. And "Oliver still holds up his plate for more." The contributions of the South to pensions exceeds by far the enormous in- demnity exacted by Germany of France at the close of the Franco-German war. Captain Gwathney, to whom I reported, was a Vir- ginian, having resigned from the federal navy and cast his fortunes with the confederacy. He was a man of indomitable courage, and his conversation and manners were those of an educated and refined gentleman. Our duties during the year 1861 were, in part, to watch the blockading fleet at the mouth of the Missis- sippi and we convoyed General Pillow's army up the river to Hickman, Kentucky. Our armament consisted of two forty-two pounders, one on the stern and the other on the bow of the boat. The federal gunboats, Lexington, Conestoga and A. 0. Tyler, were at Cairo, a short distance above Hickman. It was not long after our occupancy of Hickman till the three boats mentioned were observed coming down the river. As we wei'e cast- ing off our lines to meet the enemy, one of General Pillow's aids rode up on a magnificent charger and with 391 AUTOBIOGRAPHY a wave of his hand sang out: "Give them h — 1, boys/' and instantly rode away^ feeling, no doubt, that he had discharged an important duty. This was early in the war, and our engagement with the federal boats was greatly enjoyed by an immense audience on shore com- posed of Pillow's army and the citizens. The roaring of the cannon, the bands playing Dixie and other patriotic airs, the cheering of the soldiers and citizens, gave the occasion a thrilling and spectacular aspect. We received one shot just above the water line, but were not disabled. After a sharp encounter, continued for some time, the federal boats retired up the river. We received various reports that the enemy were seriously damaged, but the precise extent of the damage w^e never learned. It is probable that the fear of masked batteries on shore had something to do with the enemy's retreat. Early in 1862 I was ordered to the new gunboat, the "Corondolet," on Lake Pontchartrain. Our small fleet consisted of three boats — two besides the Corondo- let, the latter being the flagship, and all under com- mand of Captain Gwathney. We learned that it was the purpose of the federals to approach the city by way of the river, passing Ports Jackson and St. Philip, and also by way of Lake Pont- chartrain. Our orders were to sail out into the sound to meet the enemy. Between two and three in the morning the lights from their boats were plainly visible. It was a very dark night. We cleared for action, our guns were loaded, run out, and the captains held the lock strings in their hands expecting every moment for the commodore, who was on the upper deck, to give the 392 AUTOBIOGEAPHY command "Fire !" We were steadily approaching the enemy and the deep silence that prevailed was impres- sive. It became evident that our engagement was to be at close quarters with unprotected wooden boats on both sides. Captain Brand, the flag captain, called out, "Commodore, shall I give the command ^fire T " — no answer. Presently he repeated the question but received no answer. The third time the inquiry was made the com- modore replied : "Eeceive the enemy's fire first, Captain Brand." It was but an instant until we saw the flash of their guns and then we opened fire with a will. During the engagement we heard more than once the crash of our upper works but were not disabled. I have no means of determining the duration of the fight, but it continued until the enemy retired. We discovered that our upper works had been riddled but fortunately no one was killed. Quite a number were wounded by flying splinters. We were confident that we had done effective work, but have never seen an official account of the enemy's losses. We were feeling very much elated over our victory and returned to New Orleans for repairs. Soon after our arrival we called a newsboy to bring the papers aboard. He did so, and the headlines gave us the startling intelligence that the federals had succeeded in passing the forts on the river. This, of course, meant the fall of the city. The Commodore's silence when repeatedly asked if the command "fire" should be given is indissolubly asso- ciated in my mind with another incident which occurred the summer before on the Jackson. It was on a Sunday afternoon. Captain Gwathney was reading a newspaper 393 AUTOBIOGEAPHY and he read aloud to those of us who were nearby this sentence: "Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, was born insensible to fear." He commented on the absurd- ity of this statement, and declared that no man was in- sensible to fear, quoting the lines : "The brave man is not lie who has no fear, But he whose noble soul its fear subdues." I had now attained the age of twenty. Knighthood and chivalry were presumed to be obsolete in the nine- teenth century. The lover no longer sighed away his soul in moonlight serenades under the balcony of the empress of his affections, but it was still permissible for him to give a mournful farewell glance at his lady love's window ; and, as viewed by a young man of twenty, there still remained a subtle, mysterious and inexplicable re- lation between love and war. It is an age of intense susceptibility, and the time when a young man con- ceives that a young lady is most impressed by a lover whose eye melts in love and kindles in war — and whose voice is never sweeter and nobler to her than when honor is his theme. This is the romance of war. A great Franch novelist has written an exquisite novel en- titled "A Woman of Thirty:" a great American writer of fiction could select no better subject than "A young man of twenty." A naval battle between wooden ships, at close quar- ters, at three o'clock in the morning, gives to war its practical aspect and dispels the fond illusions of youth. The federals having succeeded in passing the forts on the river, thus assuring their occupancy of the city, 394 AUTOBIOGEAPHY we burned our boats and proceeded to a station on the Jackson railroad. From there we started to Eichmond by a circuitous route via Jackson and Mobile, the only one then available. I was ordered to report at Eichmond for service on the Merrimac Number 2, which was then in process of construction. Shortly after my arrival in Richmond I became seriously ill and remained there many weeks without any material improvement — my illness being attributed to our long sojourn in the malarial regions of Louisiana. An older brother made arrangements for my removal to a farmhouse near Greenville, in East Tennessee. The family occupants were the husband and wife and daughter, and to their care and assiduous attentions I feel that I am indebted for my life. I was advised to resign from the service on account of the strong probability that my health was permanently impaired, and that I would not again be physically able to resume my active duties. I accord- ingly forwarded my resignation, which was duly ac- cepted. After remaining with this excellent family for several months, my health was sufficiently improved to justify an attempt to visit my home in Kentucky. I did so and in a short time began the study of law. In the fall of 1864 I wrote to Judge Frederick Eand, of Indianapolis, that on account of the chaotic condi- tion of affairs in Kentucky, and being physically unable to re-enter the service, I would be glad to continue my legal studies, and expressed a desire to enter the office of an Indianapolis lawyer or firm of ability and stand- ing. He replied, suggesting that I come to Indianapolis at once — tliat he had such a place for me as I desired. 395 AUTOBIOGRAPHY Upon my arrival, he conducted me to the office of the Hon. Martin M. Eay, whom I afterwards learned to be one of the ablest members of the Indianapolis bar. Mr. Ray and myself soon came to terms. I remained with him as a student until he formed a partnership with the late Major Jonathan W. Gordon and Judge Walter March, of Muncie, and then continued in the office of the firm. The older citizens of Indianapolis will remember Judge Rand. Notwithstanding he was a Democrat the Republican Governor Baker appointed him judge of the superior court. Judge Rand knew me as a boy in Ken- tucky, he having formerly resided and practised in Owingsville, Kentucky, my native town. Mr. Ray very kindly permitted me to live and board with him at his home at the northwest corner of Penn- sylvania and St. Clair, now known as the Landers property. I did not fail to observe on every hand exhibitions of the tempestuous passions engendered by the Civil War. Having been in the confederate service it was both dis- creet and proper that I should remain somewhat in the background, and not seek any kind of conspicuity. I remained at the office and my home except the occa- sional walks taken about the city for exercise. Our office was in what was then known as the New and Tal- bott building on Pennsylvania street, south of and ad- joining the old postoffice. Mr. John C. New informed me shortly before his death that this was the first office building erected in Indianapolis. On one of my walks on the Circle my attention was 396 AUTOBIOGRAPHY attracted by a nois}^ crowd of forty or fifty persons; as I now remember, it was at the southeast corner of the Circle and Meridian, where the Western Union offices are now located. I approached nearer and arrived just in time to hear the peroration of the speaker who was addressing the audience. One sentence shocked me greatly. It was this: "D — n Kentuck}^ — she ought to be tied to the tail of a mule and kicked to death." Like a Swiss mountaineer, I had ever been mad with partial- ity to my native state. It is an historical fact that the Virginia country gentleman, especially during the first half of the last centur}^, was proverbial for his love and veneration for his state — and his favorite toast was that in which Vir- ginia was compared to the mother of the Gracchi. It was with like feeling that I regarded my native state of Ken- tucky. I would have considered the utterance of the speaker as the ravings of a madman, had I not made the further observation that his audience, with singular unanimity, seemed to be in accord with him, as evidenced by their rapturous applause at the end of every sentence. What could I do? I could only think what General Lee so often said when complaints of outrages were made to him, ""Wliat a people !" I was thus furnished with mucli food for reflection, and it was one of my earliest lessons in the truth that, in this world, we must alternately chew the cud of sweet and bitter fancies. At the suggestion of Mr. Ray I located in Shelby vi lie, his former home, and opened an office there. I had been there but a short time when two serious charges were 397 AUTOBIOGRAPHY preferred against me. A young lady from Cinciniiati, visiting relatives in Shelby ville, positively declared that I was no less a personage than John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Lincoln — that she had seen Booth several times on the stage in her home city and could not bo mistaken. The newspapers at that time had given cur- rency to various reports that as a matter of fact Booth had not been killed, but was then at large. I knew that I did not kill the president, but the question that troubled me was "What would other people think?" The other charge was also one of much gravity. A young lady of Shelby ville, whom I then only knew by sight, avowed that the luxuriant mustache with which I was then blessed, or cursed, was purely artificial — and was only kept in place by means of a cunningly devised apparatus made of wire. As time passed on these malevolent aspersions upon my character and standing in the community were gradually forgotten. On the twentieth of October, 1867, I married Miss Mary R. Wilson, a daughter of Elias M. Wilson, of Shelby county. It would be both trite and superfluous to enumerate her excellencies, as they are so well known to all her friends and acquaintances. However, I may with perfect propriety refer to her father and mother, as they will be remembered only by the older citizens of the community. I greatly admired them both for their many estimable qualities. Mr. Wilson was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, but moved to Central Kentucky v/hen quite a young man. He there married Miss Mary B. Cross, of Rich- 398 AUTOBIOGRAPHY moncl. They subsequently moved to Shelby county, Indiana. He was born in the first decade of the last century and died in the month of December, 1886 — having lived through the administrations of all our presidents since Jefferson down to the first term of Grover Cleveland. Mr. Wilson had at all times been a close student and observer of public men and public measures — being not only familiar with current issues and events, but also with those that had arisen or were subjects of debate during the past history of the country. He could dis- cuss with ability, and with equal facility, the tariff, the Wilmot Proviso, the Kansas and Nebraska bill, the Mis- souri Compromise, the compromise measures of 1850 and the Ostend Manifesto. Few men, even of those in public life, were more admirably equipped for the discussion and elucidation of gi'eat public questions. He was the intimate friend and associate of Thomas A. Hendricks and other public men of his time, and fre- quently entertained them at his home. Mr. Wilson was one of the most conscientious men I ever knew and this principle was extended and applied to every relation of life. He was for a number of years postmaster at Shelb}^- ville, and was elected to the responsible office of county treasurer for two consecutive terms. He was an interesting and fascinating conversation- ist, not only in the presentation of his views on public questions, but also in relating reminiscences of his early life in Virginia and Kentucky. To young men, espe- cially, his conversation was also instructive. 399 AUTOBIOGEAPHY Among the many pleasing recollections of my life none is more indelibly impressed upon my memory than that of my long winter evenings in his society at his own home — in front of the big open fireplace where the fire crackled and sparkled in apparent sympathy with his interesting and fascinating conversation. Much levity and jocularity have been indulged in at the expense of the mothers-in-law of the nation. My mother-in-law was all right. I know of no lady who was more universally popular than she. Her gentleness and hospitality endeared her to old and young alike. She was born in 1819 and died in 1900 at the age of 81. It has been said that young people are prone to ignore those much older than themselves. It was not so in the case of Mrs. Wilson. Young people never ceased to love and respect her. Her charm of manner and conversation made a lasting impression upon all who were so fortunate as to be in her society. I opened my office and, like many other young law- yers, had ample leisure for study and meditation. But it was not long until I decided to write and publish a work on the "Law of Sheriff in Indiana." The book made its appearance in June, 1870, having been printed by The State Sentinel Printing Establishment. I sold the entire edition of one thousand volumes to Merrill & Field. The purpose of the work was twofold : to furnish the members of the bar with a convenient and useful book of reference, and the executive officer of the court with a safe guide in the discharge of his official duties. The book was favorably received and its accuracy vouched for by leading members of the profession; 400 AUTOBIOGRAPHY among them were Thomas A. Hendricks, Martin M. Eay and Judge Perkins, of the Supreme Court. In- directly, I derived much benefit from its publication, it having been the means of my receiving important legal business. In the meantime, I was nominated by the democrats for city clerk. Though the county was a Gibraltar of democracy, the city was decidedly Repub- lican, and no democrat had been elected to a city office for many years. Fortunately, I was elected, but it was by only the meager majority of seven — and the remain- der of our ticket was defeated. Passing along the street about dark the next evening after the election I over- heard Robert Badger, a stanch republican, in conversa- tion with a number of friends, declare: "Joe Martz and I had decided to vote for young Daugherty for city clerk, but we were told the day before the election that he had been a d — d rebel and so we voted against him." I recite these trivial happenings as indicating the spirit and temper of the times. If the fact mentioned by Badger had been universally known in the com- munity I would have been defeated — which is corrob- orative of the view sometimes expressed that it is not always conducive to the interest of a candidate to be too well known. My term as clerk expired at the end of two years. The salary was only a few hundred dollars, but it was a great boon to me as it served to replenish an exhausted exchequer. Soon after the expiration of my term as clerk the republican city council elected me city attorney — the emoluments of this office were about double those of clerk. My Republican competitor before the council 401 AUTOBIOGRAPHY was a young law3^er of about my own age, of excellent family, and a nephew of one of Indiana's most distin- guished governors. He afterwards abandoned the law and became a manufacturer, in which business he ac- cumulated five hundred thousand dollars. While holding these two offices I was industriously at work making an abstract of the titles to the real estate in Shelby county. If not the very first, it was one of the first, compilations of this kind ever made in Indiana. I did this work under many discouragements. The older lawyers whom I consulted declared that it was impracticable, and the recorder serving his second term assured me that I would not be able to complete the work if I lived to be as old as Methuselah. The books were completed in about four years, and, in a pecuniary sense, were a bonanza to me. My business increased so rapidly that I was compelled to resign as city attorney. Taking the cue from my abstract books, like compila- tions were soon made in the counties of Rush, Decatur, Johnson, Hancock, Clinton and Wabash. Warren Big- ler, formerly auditor of state, was in my office in Shelby- ville for six months and went to Wabash, where he made a set of books for that county. The importance of this system in facilitating business and in the avoidance of litigation can be fully appre- ciated only by those who remember the tedious and very imperfect examinations of titles made by resorting to the records in the various county offices. I may add that the abstract books, though no longer owned by me, are still intact, and are recognized as 402 AUTOBIOGEAPHY authority in respect to the title to real estate in Shelby county. There were a number of eminent lawyers who then practiced in the Shelby courts, but I write only of those who have passed away. Thomas A. Hendricks was there. I have said in another place, referring to Hen- dricks, that he, like Bush, the great Irish lawyer, could "hand up a point of law to the court with as much grace and pliancy of gesture as if he were presenting a court lady with a fan." With a popular audience, he owed much of his power to the charm of his personality. So magnetic was he, that he could not open his lips or lift his hand, without instantly engaging the rapt attention of his audience. And it may be said, with truth, that the graces of his person extended to his mind. In his private intercourse, he was uniformly con- siderate, amiable and courteous. To his profound knowledge of the law were superadded unexcelled per- suasiveness of tongue, and the most consummate tact. As illustrative of the latter attribute I will refer to a case tried before a jury in the Shelby circuit court in which Hendricks represented the plaintiff and Benjamin Harrison the defendant. A man by the name of Fitz- gerald, who had been ejected from a train on the Van- dalia road, sued the railroad company for damages and the case was sent to Shelby county on change of venue. The general impression was that Fitzgerald had no case, but his best witness was a lady who was on the train at the time — returning to her home in Kentucky. She was high-spirited, and her manner and conver- 403 AUTOBIOGEAPHY sation gave evidence of unusual intelligence and refine- ment. She related with evident pride and satisfaction that her home was in Central Kentucky. General Har- rison, with all his skill in cross-examination, failed to weaken her testimony, but rather made it stronger. This was several years after the close of the war, but the war spirit still prevailed in some sections of the country. Har- rison, having failed to accomplish his purpose by cross- examination, sought in his argument to ridicule the lady because she said, with a triumphant air, that she was a native of Central Kentucky, which state had always been her home. When Hendricks replied, he emphasized the fact that no one could determine where he should be born, and appealed to the jury to know if the lady's nativity should be permitted to affect the force of her testimony. "It is a well-known fact," con- tinued Hendricks, "that this good county of Shelby was largely settled by Kentuckians, and that a large pro- portion of its inhabitants to-day are Kentuckians and sons of Kentucky mothers. Indeed, I recognize several of them on this jur}^," and turning to Harrison, declared "that Kentuckians stood shoulder to shoulder with In- dianians at the battle of Tippecanoe, under the leader- ship of the distinguished ancestor of the gentleman, William Henry Harrison — and it ill becomes him to speak in disparagement of the lady on account of her being a native of Kentucky." The jury was out only a very little while and returned a verdict of twenty-five hundred dollars for the plaintiff. Hendricks and Martin M. Eay were about the same age and began the practice in Shelbyville about the 404 AUTOBIOGRAPHY same time — in the early forties. In important cases they were usually on opposite sides. Eay, unlike Hen- dricks, had no fondness for public life, but was content with his high standing in the profession. His mental grasp of legal questions was great, and he was fully equal to Hendricks in legal acumen and wealth of vo- cabulary. He was without a rival in his inimitable humor and his ability to laugh a case out of court. When the occasion demanded, he was bold, defiant, and fearless. I heard him defend a man charged with kill- ing his wife with an ax, the defense being insanity. When Eay made his speech to the jury the courtroom was crowded almost to suffocation. He faced an audi- ence whose manner and conduct indicated that they were ready to seize both Ray and his client and massacre them on the spot. He turned upon that hostile audience and, in defiant tones, declared that there was no power on earth that could deter him from discharging his duty to his client. It was an intellectual treat to the younger members of the bar to hear Ray and Hendricks argue important legal questions. If those arguments had been preserved, in book form, no more important or valuable addition could be made to a law library. It is to be greatly de- plored that the ability and learning and eloquence of great lawyers are oftentimes lost to history and memory for want of needful recordation. Tacitus appreciated this great loss when he said of the eloquent Haterius: ''^Whilst the plodding industry of scribblers goes down to posterity, the sweet voice and fluent eloquence of Haterius died with himself." ^ 405 AUTOBIOGEAPHY I early learned to have great respect and admiration for Judge Stephen Major, of the Shelby ville bar. He was my personal friend. Judge Major had an imposing- personality — was very tall and well proportioned and quick and graceful in his movements. He was dignified and courteous and of a kindly disposition but, when the occasion demanded, he could be austere. He was my ideal of a cultivated Irish gentleman. His presence always suggested to me the "Hall of the Four Courts/' Dublin, so renowned for the galaxy of able and brilliant lawyers assembled there, and of whom I had read so much. Judge Major was a man with a conscience, and would frown upon any action or conduct that savored of in- sincerity or duplicity. He loved his family. In conversation he would speak of "My Charlie," referring to his son, the well-known author, who was then a mere lad. Long before the Civil War he was on the bench, be- ing judge of the circuit courts of Marion and Shelby counties. I have been informed that many cases of national interest and importance were tried before him, some of them arising under the fugitive slave law. Judge Major was not a criminal lawyer, but in civil causes his profound legal knowledge and his long experi- ence on the bench and at the bar rendered his services of inestimable value to his clients. He remarked to me on one occasion that legal erudi- tion was not essential to the success of a criminal lawyer — that, so far as legal knowledge was concerned, all that was necessary was the learning of a few general 406 AUTOBIOGEAPHY principles and the memorizing of a few statutory defini- tions. He was fond of a joke with his intimate personal friends. I was then quite 3^oung myself. Knowing my loyalty to Kentuck}', my native state, he would frequently ask me, laughing at the same time, some such question as this: "WTiat kind of society have you in Kentucky? They seem to kill each other over there on the slightest provocation." I finally said to him one day, ^^Do you not admire some of her public men, Mr. Clay, for example ?" His countenance at once assumed a serious aspect and he proceeded to pass a glowing eulogy upon Clay. I then reminded him of the great statesman's idolatrous love of Kentucky, and that, in one of his great speeches, having presumably exhausted the vocabulary of enco- mium upon that commonwealth, reached the grand cli- max when he solemnly declared, "Yes, my countrymen, Kentucky is, indeed, the Ireland of America." This seemed to greatly please the judge and he did not again refer to the homicidal predilections of my native state. Eden H. Davis was another prominent member of the Shelbyville bar. He was not an educated man and took no delight in letters, but his arguments were forci- ble, logical, convincing — but entirely unadorned. If the opposing counsel had said in a grandiloquent man- ner, "It is written in the large volume of nature," it would have been like Mr. Davis to gravely inquire, with pen in hand, "At what page?" He gave his entire at- tention to the law, refusing to accept the doctrine that it is better a man should know somehing of all things than all of one thing. It was Davis who succeeded in 407 AUTOBIOGRAPHY convicting, by a jury, a respectable citizen, charged with burning his own building to obtain the insurance, by giving nineteen separate and independent reasons, with appropriate amplification, why he was guilty. The de- fendant was promptly granted a new trial. Upon the second trial Davis did not appear as counsel for the prosecution and the defendant was triumphantly ac- quitted. Benjamin F. Love was at that time an able but unique member of the Shelbyville bar. Mr. Love was not over- fastidious in his attire and was criticized for being some- what slow and tedious in the examination of witnesses; but before a jury he was a most formidable antagonist. He would seize his subject with the comprehension and vigor of a giant. His sallies of wit and sarcasm fre- quently convulsed with laughter court, jury and spec- tators. My own specialty was that branch of the law relating to real estate, and cognate branches. My time was fully occupied with these and I declined other business. No miser ever counted his gold with greater delight than I experienced in my efforts to unravel a complicated title. During my thirt3^-two and one-half 3^ears in Shelbyville I became well acquainted with the people of the city and county — learned to appreciate them — and my social and business relations with them were most agreeable. While I am no longer a citizen of the count}^, we occupy our cottage in Shelbyville in the summer, and the first intimation of spring suggests to us that it will not be long until we will again have the pleasure of greeting our old acquaintances and friends. I have grave doubts 408 AUTOBIOGRAPHY whether there is any community wliere the sanctity of contracts is more highly respected and appreciated, and where the habit of punctuality, so important in every vocation, more generally prevails. During my business career in Shelbyville, many in- stances of unselfishness and generosity came under my observation. At this moment I have two cases in mind : one was a wealthy farmer who loaned a very considerable amount of money on real estate mortgage at the current rate of interest. He came to my office one day and said : "Mr. Daugherty, the times are changing, and I think the rate of interest should come down. When they pay their interest I wish you to return to them one-fifth of the amount." The other instance was where a man purchased a sher- iff's certificate of sale made under a decree of foreclosure of mortgage on a farm. The year expired without the land being redeemed and the sheriff executed to the holder of the certificate a deed for the land. After be- coming the owner it was quite natural that he should go to see his farm. The premises were still occupied by the debtor. He found the debtor, his wife, and several little children in the house, and there were evidences of ex- treme poverty. It was but a little while until a pur- chaser was found for the land and it was sold. After the sale he sent word to the husband and wife to meet him at a certain time in Shelbyville. They came. A calcu- lation disclosed the fact that the land had been sold for seven hundred and fifty dollars in excess of its cost, in- cluding interest. He made a check for that amount and handed it to the wife. 409 AUTOBIOGEAPHY In 1907 I publislied, at my own expense, a small edi- tion of the "Young Lawyer and Another Essay" and distributed them among my professional and other friends as souvenirs. It was written during an inter- val of relaxation from business and I derived much pleasure from the preparation of the work. I have re- ceived many evidences of appreciation of the book^ not only from those to whom it was presented, but from others in whose hands it had accidentally fallen. I received, on the same day, two commendatory letters, one from a Methodist minister in Texas and another from a Catholic clergyman in Montreal, inquiring where copies of the book could be obtained. I regretted my inability to accommodate them, the small edition having been exhausted. I have been frequently urged, both orally and in writing, to place the book upon the market and thus give it a wider circulation. I have not done so. We live in a capitalistic age. Wealth is taken as the almost universal standard, and, in some degree, is re- garded as the measure of public capacity. I am a man of my time; I love money; but have long since been convinced that when commerciality is the sole or prin- cipal incentive to authorship, the production is marred, especially when viewed from an aesthetic or purely literary standpoint. While on a visit to Kentucky in May, 1878, my mother placed in my custody an antiquated instrument of writing, purporting to be the last will and testament of James Keemer, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It bears date March 28, 1784. It is a unique document — writ- 410 AUTOBIOGEAPHY ten on one piece of paper four feet long, discolored by age, and a little tattered and torn. I still have it in my possession and, considering its antiquity, it is in an excellent state of preservation. It was evidently copied from the record very soon after the death of the testator. My great-grandmother, Mrs. Lydia Davis, was one of the beneficiaries under the will. When my mother handed me the document I made the following indorsement thereon in writing: ^'This old will was given to me by my mother in May, 1878. The testator, James Keemer, was my grand- mother's grandfather. My mother's name is Louisa Daugherty. My grandmother's name was Mary McGowen. My great-grandmother's name was Lydia Davis, one of the devisees named in the will. My great-great-grandfather's name was James Keemer — James Keemer being the person who made this will. May 18, 1878. (Signed) H. H. Daugherty." Under the provisions of this ancient document, the testator disposed of a vast estate consisting of lands, personal property and money. That my remote ancestor was in such affluent circum- stances is a source of much satisfaction, somewhat modi- fied, however, by the reflection that at least one of his lineal descendants has been less fortunate. The document is interesting on account of its quaint phraseology, but it also has an historic value. I shall not encumber this chapter with the will in its entirety, but will recite only such portions as relate to the testa- 411 AUTOBIOGEAPHY or's disposition of his slaves. "Jt will no doubt be quite a revelation to some to learn that Pennsylvania was formerly a slave state in good standing. The introductory paragraph reads as follows: "In the name of God, amen, I, James Keemer of Earl Town- ship, County of Lancaster, and Commonwealth of Penn- sylvania, being weak in body but sound in memory, blessed be God, I do this twenty-eighth day of March in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, make and publish this my Last Will and Testament in manner as following, that is to say, first I recommend my soul to God that gave it, and my body to be decently buried at the discretion of my execu- tors/^ * * * "I also give to my said wife my negroe girl N"ell during her natural life, but if my sister-in-law Ann King shall live longer than my wife, said negroe Neil is to be her property during her life and then after her life to be free from all persons whatsoever, and I do also give unto my said wife, her heirs and assigns, my negroe boy Bill until he arrives at the age of twenty- six years, and then I give him free from all persons whatsoever." * * * "I also bequeath to my son James Keemer my negroe boy named Joe until he is twenty-seven years of age, but to stay and work on the home place till April 1785 — and also my negroe boy named Jack until he is twenty-six years old, and then I give them both free from all persons whatsoever." * * * "I also give and bequeath to my son-in-law John White and my daughter Elizabeth White, my negroe 412 AUTOBIOGEAPHY woman named Venus until she arrives to the age of twenty-six years, and then I give her free from all per- sons whatsoever. Venus is not to go till April 1785." * * * "I also give and bequeath to my grandson James White, the son of John White, his heirs and assigns, forever, all my island in the river Susquehanna, about two hundred acres, be the same more or less, and one other tract of land containing about sixty acres, and one other tract of land containing about forty-one acres, joining on Fidlers' Run — and also my negroe boy named George until he arrives to the age of twenty-six years, and then I give the said negroe George free from all persons whatsoever." * * * "I also give and bequeath to my son-in-law John Davis and my daughter Lydia his wife (1) my negroe woman Eve."*^ * * * "I also give and bequeath to my negro man Taff his freedom next May cum a year the fifteenth day — and the sum of ten pounds to be paid to him at the same time by my executors — he the said negroe behaving himself as he ought to do in the mean time." I have learned during a residence of forty years in the North that the opinion generally prevails in that section, even among men of intelligence, that African slavery was exclusively a Southern institution, and that the odium of it belongs entirely to the South. That human slavery was a crime and the Southern people were alone the criminals. This erroneous belief is largely attributable, no doubt, to the monstrous perver- « ]y[y great-grandparents. H. H. D. 413 AUTOBIOGEAPHY sion of the truth by unscrupulous and frenzied poli- ticians. A half century having elapsed since the Civil War, it is high time that we relegate to the rear those pas- sions which it engendered, and which have for so long clouded the reason and warped the understanding of men. We should now give attention to the cold facts of history and determine, if we can, where the odium of human slavery in this country belongs. It is an historical fact that African servitude among us existed in all the original states and that it was recog- nized and protected by the federal constitution. It is true that subsequently, for "climatic, industrial, and economical — not moral or sentimental — ^reasons," it was abolished in the Northern, while it continued to exist in the Southern states; however, it continued in some of the Northern states for fifty years after the adoption of the constitution. The foregoing quotation from the will of my remote ancestor illustrates the truth of the statement. In the North the labor of the negro race was found to be unsuited to the climate and productions of that sec- tion, and therefore unprofitable to the master. Mo- rality and sentimentality certainly could not have in- duced abolition in these states because some of them at this very time were actively engaged in the slave trade; procuring cargoes on the coast of Africa, and transport- ing them for sale to those parts of the Union where their labor was found to be profitable and suited to the climate and productions. This infamous traffic made slavery possible on this 414 AUTOBIOGRAPHY continent; without it, slavery would never have gained a foothold in the United States. It was carried on al- most exclusively by New England merchants and Northern ships. The people of New England seem to have regarded it not only as a highly remunerative, but also as a laudable and legitimate industry. In illustra- tion of this it may be noted that James D. Wolf, one of her most prominent citizens, was long and largely concerned in the slave trade. He was sent from the state of Khode Island to the senate of the United States as late as the year 1831. In 1825 he resigned his seat in the senate and removed to Havana, where he lived for many years, actively engaged in the same pursuit, as president of a slave-trading company. The story is told of him that on being informed that the "trade" was to be declared piracy, he smiled and said, "So much the better for us — the Yankees will be the only people not scared off by such a declaration." The constitution expressly forbade any interference by congress with the slave trade — or to use its own language, with the "migration or importation of such persons" as any of the states should think proper to admit — "prior to the year 1808." During the interven- ing period of more than twenty years, the matter was exclusively under the control of the respective states; and it is an historical fact that every Southern state, without exception, either had already enacted, or pro- ceeded to enact, laws forbidding the importation of slaves. Virginia was the first of all the states, North or South, to prohibit it, and Georgia was the first to in- corporate such a prohibition in her organic constitution. 415 AUTOBIOGRAPHY So eager and avaricious were those engaged in this nefarious business that in some instances they suc- ceeded in evading the state law. "The geographical situation of our country," said Mr. Lowndes, of South Carolina, in the house of representatives on February 14, 1804, "is not unknown. With navigable rivers running into the heart of it, it is impossible, with our means, to prevent our Eastern brethren engaged in this trade from introducing the negroes into the country. The law has been completely evaded." We read that in 1807 congress, "availing itself of the very earliest moment at which the constitutional re- striction ceased to be operative, passed an act prohibit- ing the importation of slaves into any part of the United States from and after the first day of January, 1808. This act was passed with great unanimity. In the House of Representatives there were one hundred and thirteen (113) yeas to five (5) nays; and it is a significant fact, as showing the absence of any sectional division of senti- ment at that period, that the five dissentients were divided as equally as possible between the two sections: two of them were from Northern and three from South- ern states."** Abler pens than mine have depicted the horrors of that awful trafiic. The cruelties of the Duke of Alva in the Low Countries are mild, when compared with the atrocities of the slave trade, carried on, as it was, almost exclusively by the forefathers of the N"ew England Abo- litionists. We read that thousands, year after year, were stowed ** Benton's Abridgment, Vol. Ill, p. 519. 416 AUTOBIOGRAPHY together in the hold of a slave ship, without air, with- out light, without food, without hope. That the prac- tise prevailed of suspending contumacious negroes in cages to have their eyes picked out and to be devoured alive by birds of prey; and one instance is recorded where the cargo of sick slaves were thrown overboard as so much live lumber by direction of the captain of the ship. We have read in the newspapers of the country, and heard from the pulpit and the hustings, much in de- nunciation of the crime of slavery in the South. Have you ever read or heard, from either of these sources, even the mildest censure of the infamous slave trade, without which the institution of slavery in the South would never have existed? Why is this so? In this age and generation any form of human servi- tude is absolutely indefensible ; but it will not be denied that African slavery as it existed in the Southern statas was the mildest and most humane of all institutions to which the name "slavery" has ever been applied. That the sensibilities of the descendants of those who were engaged in this unholy and brutal traffic should be un- duly shocked by Southern slavery, is, indeed, marvelous, and unmistakably indicates a suspension or reversal of all the laws of heredity. Is it possible that hatred of the Southern white man, and a desire for sectional aggrandizement, commingled, in some degree, with his love and sj^mpathy for the Southern negro? I can conceive of no reading more interesting than the impartial views of an intelligent and highly culti- 417 AUTOBIOGEAPHY vated foreigner, upon our institutions, our people and our laws. In 1831, DeTocqueville was sent by his gov- ernment to the United States upon a comparatively un- important mission. He remained several years, which he occupied in gathering material for his great work ^'Democracy in America." The book appeared in several languages and created a profound impression. The great political philosopher did not omit to express his views upon the subject of slavery based upon his observa- tions while here. They are presumably impartial. His style of writing has a magic charm : "The most formidable of all the ills which threaten the future existence of the United States, arises from the presence of a black population upon its terri- tory. * * * "Wlioever has inhabited the United States must have perceived that in those parts of the union in which the negroes are no longer slaves, they have in no wise drawn nearer to the whites. On the contrary, the prejudice of the race appears to be stronger in the states which have abolished slavery than in those where it still exists ; and nowhere is it so intolerant as in those states where servitude has never been known. "The habits of the people of the South are more tol- erant and compassionate to the negro than in the North. * * * "I do not imagine that the white and the black races will ever live in any country upon an equal foot- "In every picture of the future there is a dim spot 418 AUTOBIOGEAPHY which the eye of the understanding cannot pene- trate. * * * "When I contemplate the condition of the South, I can only discover two alternatives which may be adopted by the white inhabitants of those states, viz: either to emancipate the negroes, and to intermingle with them; or, remaining isolated from them, to keep them in a state of slavery as long as possible." My father, John C. Daugherty, lived in Owingsville all his life. It has been said that a man's character will take care of his reputation. In his case no care or guardianship of the one for the other was necessary. They were both good. His word was equivalent to his bond and he was universally respected and esteemed by the people amongst whom his lot was cast. He pre- ceded my mother to the grave several years and died at the age of 69. To the mothers of sons in the border states, the ordeal of the civil war was exceptionally severe. Kentucky was in the United States one day and in the Confed- erate States the next — the state being alternately oc- cupied by the opposing armies. They were of course deeply concerned for their sons who were in the service and, in addition, were subjected not only to many in- conveniences, but oftentimes to indignities and insults. The utmost chaos and confusion prevailed. People in affluent circumstances were reduced to poverty, and, in many instances, the poor suffered for the necessaries of life. Xo adequate description can be given of the conditions which then prevailed. Throughout all these 419 AUTOBIOGEAPHY trials and tribulations my mother, who was a delicate woman with a large family, exhibited the utmost pa- tience and fortitude. I know something of human char- acter and have a profound admiration for hers. My last conversation with her was on the eve of going away. When I talked with her at the bedside she looked so frail and emaciated that one would not have been surprised if the moonlight of death should pass over her counte- nance at any moment — but she was brave to the last, and a smile of resignation illumined her face. My love and veneration for her are so great that I am oftentimes seized with an almost irresistible impulse to lift my hat to any aged lady that I chance to meet, stranger though she be. An eminent Englishman who contemplated a visit to America asked Cobden, the British statesman, if it would be worth while to visit Niagara. Cobden replied : "Do so by all means ; there are two sublimities in nature ; one of rest and the other of motion; the sublimity in rest are the distant sunset Alps, the sublimity in motion is IN'iagara." But how completely do all other sublim- ities pale into insignificance when compared with the sublimity of death! In the last week of September, 1911, the people of Owingsville and Bath county celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of the town and county. Mrs. Daugherty and myself received a hearty invitation to be present. We went, and met with a most cordial reception and were delightfully entertained. On account of the vicis- situdes of life and business, I had been separated from my numerous relatives there for many years. A new 420 AUTOBIOGRAPHY generation had grown up — nephews and nieces without number — the nephews intelligent and handsome young fellows to whom life seemed full of promise — the nieces, charming on account of their youth and beauty and strik- ing femininity. I was never more thoroughly impressed with the truth that nothing tends more to the rejuve- nescence of one who has passed the meridian of life than the fascinations of youth and beauty. Many natives and former residents of the town and county were there from a distance. The venerable widow of Henry S. Lane, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, had hoped to be there, and it was fondly expected that she would grace and honor the occasion with her pres- ence, but at the last moment she found it impossible to come. Though eighty-seven years old, it is said that she is active and alert, both physically and men- tally. It will be remembered that her distinguished husband had, in early life, removed to Indiana, and that he became one of the founders of the Republican party, having presided over the first national convention of that party, fifty-six years ago, when John C. Fremont was nominated for the presidency. Our visit, however, was not without its melancholy aspect. The friends and associates of my youth and young manhood were nearly all gone. Our favorite haunts remained, but the actors were no more. I visited the beautiful cemetery situated in the environs of the town, where many of them were buried. I could only read the inscriptions on their tombs! I was forcibly reminded of Webster^s account of the visit to his birth- place which he made near the close of his life : 421 AUTOBIOGEAPHY "The villagers are gone ; an unknown generation walk under our elms. Unknown faces meet and pass me in my own paternal acres. I recognize nothing but the tombs ! I have no acquaintance remaining but the dead/^ 422 OV 16 191S Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724) 779-2111