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LIFE

OF

Samuel Sullivan Cox,

BY HIS NEPHEW,
WILLIAM VAN ZANDT COX,
AND HIS FRIEND,
MILTON HARLOW NORTHRUP.

With lUustrations.

M. H. NORTHRUP, PUBLISHER,
SYRACUSE, N. Y.
1899.

COPYRIGHT 1898.

Gl i^.(>1^

To the
Employes of the Postal Service
and of the
Life Saving Service
this biography of their champion
is respectfully inscribed.

PREFACE.

Samuel Sullivan Cox occupies an unique place
in American history. Precisely his parallel has
not been known. As was well said by Dr. Tal-
mage, at his obsequies: "It will be useless to try
to describe to another generation who or what he
was like. He was the first and the last of that
kind of man." His distinguishing characteristic
was his versatility — his many-sidedness. He had
a marvelous faculty of adaptation. It is difficult
to conceive of an emergency to which he would not
have proved equal, or a situation in which he
would not have made himself quite "at home." He
was unquestionably a genius; but, unlike most
men thus gifted, he was an indefatigable worker.
He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and
would hesitate at no exploration in search of it.
Men marveled not only at the extent and diversity
of his knowledge, but even more at its thoroughness
and profundity. He confounded the savants them
selves, who could not understand when he had had
the time or where he had found the opportunity
to delve so deep into the mysteries of the sciences
or philosophy. His public life covered half his
years; and yet if we eliminate from the calculation
that entire public career, we shall still have, in his

6 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
charming books of travel and other literary ven
tures, enough left to establish his title to an envi
able niche in the history of his country.
His service in Congress, aggregating close upon
three decades, covers a memorable period, or rath
er three memorable periods, in the nation's his
tory; the first, the period immediately before the
war of the rebellion; the second, the period of the
war itself; and the third, the period of reconstruc
tion. In all three he was a conspicuous figure.
The stranger entering for the first time the gal
lery of the House of Representatives, and asking
to be pointed out the men of note on the floor be
low, was sure, any time in those thirty years, to
inquire, among the first, "Which is Sunset Cox?"
His speeches, always breezy and brilliant, were
sure to fill the vacant seats in the Hall, from the
adjoining cloak-rooms and lobbies. It was, how
ever, in the heat of debate that he shone the most
vividly. In repartee he had no superior, if equal,
in his day.
Mr. Cox's energies as a legislator were rather
on humanitarian than strictly political lines. One
of his eulogists, of a race which had been the vic
tim of prejudice and oppression in many lands and
for many centuries, characterized him as a "strong
and wise defender of the oppressed of all climes
and of all faiths." His humanity was broad and
deep. Wherever was persecution, the first to
spring to the front in the American Congress to
do away with it, was Samuel Sullivan Cox.
Of none of the achievements of his public career
was he prouder than of those which justified his
title of "Father of the Llfe-Saving Service," or the
"Friend of the Letter Carriers." And yet, in his

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 7
elaborate volume, "Three Decades of Federal
Legislation," he modestly refrains from making
even passing allusion to those crowning triumphs
of his legislative life. Those, however, whom he
so ably served will ever keep his deeds in grateful
remembrance. In the limits set to this volume it was not pos
sible to go beyond a mere outline of Mr. Cox's
memorable legislative experience. His many no
table speeches in Congress and public addresses
outside of that body would make a valuable vol
ume, sparkling in thought and expression, and
evincing ripe scholarship and profound study. He
touched no subject that he did not illuminate and
adorn. Generations hence, traditions of Samuel
Sullivan Cox will be on the lips of the men who
shall serve in the halls of the American Congress.

CHAPTER I.

ANCESTRY.

For Virginia the claim has proudly been made
that she was the mother of States and Statesmen.
The Old Dominion has a rival in the State which
lies between the Ohio River and Lake Erie — the
only State of the Union which, in the days of sla
very, touched the borders of a slave State on the
one side and the Canadian line on the other. With
the record she has made before her, Ohio may
justly contest with Virginia the honor of being
the mother of statesmen. Especially since the
outbreak of the civil war, in 1861, the State of Ohio
has, through her gallant sons, cut a conspicuous
figure in American history, in both field and cabi
net. Every Republican chosen President of the
Republic since Lincoln — Grant, Hayes, Garfield,
Harrison, and McKinley — first saw the light in
Ohio. Here also was the birthplace of those great
military chieftains. Grant and Sherman; of great
administrators such as Chase and Stanton; and
statesmen foremost in the halls of legislation, like
Ewing, Hendricks, and John Sherman. In this
last named group belongs also another name,
equally illustrious, suffering naught by compari
son, a man for over thirty years conspicuous in the
country's service — Samuel Sullivan Cox. With
the zeal of his service he blended a keen political

10 SAMUEL SjULLIVAN COX
foresight which history has vindicated, in the tri
umph in recent years of the conservative princi
ples for which he so ably contended.
The secret of the prominence in national affairs
attained by these sons of Ohio, the product of her
virgin soil, is easily found by those who would
seek it. Largely it is a matter of heredity. The
early settlers of Ohio were sturdy representatives
from the best families of New England, the Mid
dle States, and Virginia, and if we examine the
family history of any one of the distinguished
representatives from Ohio we shall find that he
was a descendant from some one of these brave
pioneers. The truth of all this is demonstrated
with more than ordinary force in the case of Sam
uel S. Cox.
Of his ancestors on the paternal side the first
to come to the New World was Thomas Cox, who,
with his wife Elizabeth Blashford, of Marshpath-
kills. Long Island, settled in Upper Freehold
township in the Province of East New Jersey in
1670. The family came from Herefordshire, Eng
land, and were people of means, as is shown by
the fact that the name of Thomas Cox is included
among those of the twenty-four original proprie
tors of the Province. Their son James (born Au
gust 18, 1672; died October 18, 1750), was
born in Monmouth County two years after their
settlement in New Jersey, and he became a large
land owner. His estate included some of the
most valuable lands in the colony and from its
richness was called "Cream Ridge," a name hand
ed down to posterity by a postoflSce in the imme
diate vicinity, at which some of his descendants

GENERAL JAMES COX.
(Grandfather of S. S. Cox.)

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 11
still receive their mail. He lived to the age of
seventy-eight. The next in descent was Joseph
Cox (bom August 18, 1713; died April 17, 1801).
He was a farmer in easy circumstances, of whom
it was said that "he always contended for the
equal rights of man; that he was opposed to all
oppression and injustice; that he honored no man
because he was rich; that he was never ashamed
of honest labor, and readily put his hand to any
work to be done on his farm." In early life
he married Mary, (born May 31, 1715; died No
vember 24, 1800) daughter of Thomas Mount of
Shrewsbury, N. J., and the last years of these two
good people were spent in comfort and ease on the
fine old farm in Upper Freehold. One of their
grandchildren often referred to the happy hours
spent in their rooms listening to the Bible which
this venerable ancestor delighted to read aloud to
his wife. He lived to be eighty-eight years of age
and survived his wife by one year; she having
died in 1800, at eighty-five.
James Cox (born October 16, 1753, died Septem
ber 12, 1810), was the ninth child of the foregoing.
As a young man he was noted for his mental and
physical vigor and activity, and these qualities
stood him in stead in the stormy times so soon
to occur. When the war of the Revolution began
he promptly enlisted as a private in the First New
Jersey Regiment. He was soon elected first lieu
tenant of his company, of which he was frequent
ly given command, and participated in the battles
of Germantown and Monmouth, the latter of
which was fought within a few miles of his home.
To illustrate his courage when under fire the fol
lowing story was related to his son, David Jones

12 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Cox, by an Irish soldier from Delaware, who
served under him: "In the battle of Monmouth,
be dad, the bullets flew thicker than hail-stones,
and 'Jammy' right in the midst of them — indade I
never ixpected to see him alive if he did not flee —
but the divil a bit of flight was there in Jammy
and he did not even get hit by 'em. Och! your
father was a blue hen's chicken, indade was he.''
His patriotism was so intense that even after the
war was over he persistently held aloof from those
who had remained loyal to the crown, as the fol
lowing anecdote will show: One day while at
work in a field he discovered the residence of a
neighbor to be on fire. He at once hastened to
the spot, accompanied by the farm-hand who was
at work with him, and by great exertion, even at
the risk of his life, succeeded in extinguishing the
flames. This service excited lively expressions of
gratitude and elicited a confession that this same
family had often attempted to have his house
burned during the war. But no permanent recon
ciliation took place. General Cox still looked ui»-
on these neighbors as enemies of his country and
they for their part never ceased to regard him as
a rebel against the King.
Soon after the Revolution Mr. Cox was made a
major in the militia and later he was chosen by the
legislature brigadier-general of the Monmouth
Brigade. He was also called to various civic of
fices of trust, such as assessor and town clerk. In
1800 he was induced to become a candidate for the
State legislature but was defeated. A year later
he was elected a member of the General Assembly
and held his seat in that body for seven terms. In

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 13
his third year he was elected speaker of the Assem
bly and he continued to hold that position so long
as he was a member of the Assembly. In 1808 he
was elected a Representative in Congress. He had
served two years in that body when his career was
suddenly cut short by apoplexy which terminated
fatally in September, 1810. General Cox was
known as an earnest Christian gentleman. His
generosity and hospitality were famous, so much
so indeed as to prevent any great accumulation
of property. His son, the Rev. Samuel J. Cox,
wrote on this point: "The large size of his family;
the great number of visitors; and the natural de
sire to make an appearance in accordance with his
station and the company he kept, prevented much
accumulation of property." Besides this, he was
induced by his pastor to purchase Kentucky land,
the title of which proved worthless. He was also
prevailed upon to become security for a man en
gaged in the same land transaction, which he had
to pay. During the time he was making payments
he promised to deliver a load of leather on a cer
tain day. On his way, he heard that the purcnas-
er's affairs were in a critical condition; but he
went on. Before he arrived he passed the resi
dence of Rev. Dr. Staughton, who hastened out to
stop him, and informed him of the state of the
case. General Cox replied, "I have promised, and
what can I do?" After some further conversa
tion. Dr. Staughton lifted up his hands and ex
claimed in the language of Dr. Watts, "And
though to his own hurt he swears, still he per
forms his word"  "Go on, and may the Lord
bless you!" This circumstance shows how rigid
ly he regarded the obligation of a pledge.

U SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
He was a rare conversationalist and his anec
dotes were spiced with wit and humor. He was
very popular among his neighbors by whom it was
related that he never asked any person to vote for
him, and that from the time of his nomination till
after election he scarcely ever left his own farm.
In appearance and manners he was dignified and
commanding, and he was a general favorite with
both political parties. It was from this ancestor,
apparently, that his distinguished grandson inher
ited some of his choicest traits. In a speech
made in Monmouth county in 1868, Mr. S. S. Cox
said: "The Tories never loved my grandfather Cox as
a whig in the Revolution. They hated him as a
Democrat after. For years he was a member, in
fact, the Speaker of one of the houses of legisla
tion at Trenton. He died as the Democratic mem
ber of Congress just before the War of 1812. He
was an honest, just, courteous, courageous, and
fearless Democrat champion. He was the warm
friend of Jefferson and the devoted advocate of
Madison. He believed in the Democratic rules of
interpreting the Constitution. His hatred of re
straints upon personal and soul liberty; his di
atribes against the alien and sedition laws; his
steadfast dislike of Englishmen and English pol
icy have been handed down as heir-looms."
To disregard the maternal line in considering a
genealogical record would be to ignore a most im
portant influence in moulding life and character.
Anne Potts (born February 13, 1757; died March
21, 1815), the grandmother of Samuel S. Cox on
the paternal side, was the daughter of William

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 15
Potts of Burlington, N. J., who was the grandson
of William Potts who arrived in the New World
in 1678, having with his wife and children come
over in the "Shield," the first ship that ever drop
ped anchor before Burlington. Her mother was
Amy, the youngest daughter of Joseph Borden.
the founder of Bordentown, N. J. The Borden
connection is one of special interest for the reason
that Richard Borden, the grandfather of Joseph
Borden, who founded Bordentown, was the only
New England ancestor that Mr. Cox had. Richard
Borden was a resident of Portsmouth, R. I., and
served as an Assistant in 1653-4; as Treasurer in
1654-5, and as Deputy in 1667-70. Although only
collaterally related it is interesting to note that
Col. Joseph Borden, who was the son of the found
er, was an ardent patriot, being a member of the
Stamp Act Congress in 1765, a Delegate to the
Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775, and
subsequently to the breaking out of the war of the
Revolution, a Colonel of a Batallion, and Quarter-
Master of the State troops. His daughter Mary
married Thomas McKean, member of Congress
from Delaware in 1776, and a signer of the Decla
ration of Independence. Subsequently he became
Governor of Pennsylvania. Another daughter,
Anne, married Francis Hopkins, also a signer of
the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey.
Joseph Hopkinson, the author of "Hail Colum
bia," was his son. The marriage of Anne Potts
with James Cox, the grandfather of the subject of
this biography, took place on February 29, 1776,
a few months prior to the Declaration of Ameri
can Independence. We may be sure that she

16 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
shared with her newly wedded husband his strong
love of country; indeed, it may have been her po
tent influence that induced him, leaving his bride,
to join the Colonial army. Mrs. Cox was long re
membered as a devoted Christian and an excellent
mother to her thirteen children. She was de
scribed by one who knew her well as "an almost
peerless woman." While on her way to pay a
visit to one of her children, in 1815, she was
drowned in the Delaware River by the capsizing
of the packet boat on which she was a passenger.
The simple inscription "Mild, benevolent, and
pious, few lived more beloved, or died more la
mented" engraved on her tombstone in Trenton,
is a truthful epitome of her character.
Speaking, in the campaign of 1868, at Mount
Holly, New Jersey, Mr. Cox indulged in some rem
iniscences of his family connection with that
neighborhood. "Fifty years ago," he said, "my
father emigrated from this neighborhood, where
his father lived before him. He carried, on a pack
horse over the Alleganies, the old Ramage print
ing press. He was a pioneer printer. His father, a
descendant of the proprietor of East Jersey, was
Gen. James Cox, one of the heroes of Germantown,
Brandywine, and Monmouth. My grandfather was
married at Mansfield, in this county. My great
grandfather was Mr. Borden: Bordentown per
petuates his good name. Some of these good peo
ple were Baptists, whose motto was, 'Let us have
•wax,' while war was flagrant; and some Quakers,
whose motto was, 'Let us have peace,' when peace
was needed."
An old water color still in the possession of the

"BOX GROVE," CREAM RIDGE, N. J.
Home of S. S. Cox's Grandfather, Gen. James Cox.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 17
family shows the old homestead — "Box Grove" as
it was called — near Imlaystown. General Cox
stands in the doorway of the picturesque home
clothed in his military uniform of buff and blue
with cocked hat and knee breeches. His devoted
wife, Ann Potts, is by his side dressed in the plain
garb of a Quakeress. In the foreground is his
handsome son, Thomas, also in knee breeches and
with a very long tailed coat. Thomas is greeting
a young lady wearing a quaint short waisted
white gown, who is said to be his fiance. To the
left by a grape arbor are Amy and Mary, twin sis
ters, dressed in the style of that time. The pride of
a parent, in those days, was in his family; and in
this respect General Cox was abundantly blessed,
being the father of fourteen children. Of these
the twelfth, and father of Samuel Sullivan
Cox, was Ezekiel Taylor Cox (born in Upper Free
hold May 25, 1795; died in Zanesville May 18,
1873.) Ezekiel as a boy was given such limited ad
vantages of education as the country then afford
ed. A cousin by marriage was James J. Wilson of
Trenton, a man of extraordinary talents, edi
tor of the "True American" newspaper. Wilson,
whose wife was a daughter of Samuel Cox, an eld
er brother of General Cox, held in his time many
offices of public trust, including that of United
States Senator. Concededly he wielded the largest
political influence of any man in New Jersey. It
was Ezekiel Cox's good fortune to become asso
ciated with Senator Wilson, in the publication of
his newspaper. "Wilson," wrote the Rev. Samuel J.
Cox, brother of Ezekiel, "was very intimate with
my father and his family, and a strong attachment

18 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
both political and social subsisted between them.
This, probably led to my being placed in his fam
ily and in his office, where at a subsequent period,
my brother Ezekiel was also placed, for the same
purpose." Young Ezekiel found himself in a congenial en
vironment and he improved every opportunity to
educate himself. His studious habits, probity, and
great aptness were appreciated by Senator Wilson
who soon grew to depend on him and placed much
of his private business in his care. This was per
formed with such satisfaction that the young man
was given an interest in the "True American." He
rose to be State Printer of New Jersey, by ap
pointment of the Legislature, of which his father.
Gen. Cox, was speaker. The west in those days was
still new, and opportunities for fortune-making
presented themselves to such as were willing to
brave the hardships of a frontier life.
"Westward the course of empire takes its way."
Wildernesses soon became fertile farms, settle
ments grew to towns, and towns gave way witJi
equal rapidity to large cities. Ohio was an Eldor
ado fifty years before California claimed that ap
pellation. Strong with an ambition to succeed in
life, Ezekiel T. Cox disposed of all his belongings,
save alone his Ramage press and type with which,
packed on the back of his horse, he turned his face
to the west. Behind him were strong family and
local ties. In front of him was an unknown land.
But- firm in his faith of ultimate success he per
sisted and overcame the trials of a long journey
through the wilderness and over fastnesses of the
Alleghenies until at last he reached the promised

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 19
land of Ohio. He stopped at Zanesville and the
natural advantages of the place appealed so
strongly to him that he determined to build for
himself a home on the banks of the Muskingum.
About this time the "Muskingum Messenger," one
of the earliest of Ohio newspapers, having been es
tablished in 1810, was for sale. Mr. Cox made an
offer for it, which was promptly accepted, and in
February, 1819, he became its publisher and edi
tor. Party feeling even at that remote period gave
rise to bitter animosities, but with an experience
gained in the best school, and with rare tact, Mr.
Cox was soon master of the situation. His ready
pen, combined with an excellent stock of informa
tion, made the "Messenger" the most influential
Jacksonian organ in the state. A writer referring
to the trials experienced by Mr. Cox in conducting
his paper said: "It was no ordinary effort — at that
day — when everything, from rags to cord wood —
everything but cash — had to be taken for subscrip
tions and jobs, to make a paper successful." The
success of the "Messenger" shows that it was ed
ited and managed with ability.
In 1821 Mr. Cox, having demonstrated himself a
successful editor, was chosen a clerk of the Court
of Common Pleas, and so satisfactorily did he per
form the duties of that exacting office that he was
also made clerk of the Supreme Court and Record
er of Muskingum county. These offices he held for
many years, so discharging his duties as to receive
the commendation alike of judges, attorneys, and
clients. In 1831 he was elected to the State Sen
ate, and while a member of that body secured an

20 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
appropriation for the slack water navigation be
tween Zanesville and Dresden. In general affairs
he was also active, among his achievements the
most important, perhaps, being the establishment,
in 1833, of a steam paper mill — said to be the first
paper mill west of the Alleghenies — in Zanesville.
The mill was destroyed by fire in 1837, and soon
after he disposed of his interest to his brother.
After years filled with activities of many kinds,
came the natural desire for rest; and one by one
Ezekiel relinquished his different offices in order
to retire to a farm of some forty acres which in
1840 he purchased in Springfield township. Here
for a decade or more hemadeMshome,whilehesaw
around him his large family growing from child
hood to maturity. In 1850 he returned to active
journalism, and with his son Alexander purchased
the ' 'Gazette," which was published in Zanesville.
It has been pointedly said concerning this new
venture that: "It showed more than his early ef
forts in the same vocation, that the graduate of
the poor boy's college, the printing office, was wor
thy of his education."
Public office again claimed him, and he was
made United States Marshal for that section of
Ohio in which he lived. An incident occurred
while he held this office which will illustrate the
character of the man. He had received instruc
tions to apprehend a runaway slave. Bearing in
mind the sacred obligation of his oath of office, and
not to be deterred by angry threats, he determined
that he would arrest the negro at all hazards, even
at the risk of his life. This he did, not however
without sacrifice of standing in his church. As

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 31
I>enalty for performing a most disagreeable duty
he was expelled from the Market Street Baptist
Church, in which he was a deacon, losing also, of
course, that honored office. Although opposed to
slavery he was not a man to flinch in the execution
of any duty connected with a public office that he
held, or to resign his commission in times of emer
gency. In 1866 his children having for the most part
settled in life, Ezekiel Cox determined to give up
his farm and settle in a city. Accordingly his son,
Samuel, secured for him from President Johnson
the nomination to be Pension Agent in Columbus,
Ohio. The Senate refused to confirm him, on the
ground that the candidate was a Democrat. How
ever, he went to Washington and was associated
for a time in a large claim and brokerage business
established by his son Alexander. Longing for his
old friends and his old home, he returned in a few
years to Zanesville. He celebrated the golden an
niversary of his wedding at the old home (then the
property of the widow of his eldest son. Colonel
Thomas J. Cox) on April 8, 1872, and a yeaj* later
on May 18, 1873, he died.
Senator Cox was an uncompromising Democrat.
of the Jackson school. In the family archives is
extant an old letter signed by twenty or more
leading Democrats of Ohio, and addressed to Pres
ident Andrew Jackson, introducing Senator Cox.
The letter is dated Columbus, O., 20th February,
1833, and reads thus: —
"General Andrew Jackson — Dear Sir: — Our es
teemed fellow-citizen, E.T.Cox, Esq., of Zanesville,
at present a member of the Senate of this State, ex
pects to visit Washington, and for the first time

22 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
to make a call on the President while in the city.
Mr. Cox stands deservedly high among his friends
and acquaintances in Ohio, and for many years has
stood identified with the democracy of the Union.
From his character and standing among us, he is
worthy of all confidence. It is with much pleasure
we introduce him to your acquaintance, and beg
leave, through him, to tender you, as the chief
magistrate of this nation, our kindest regard and
salutations." A newspaper obituary said of him: "Whether
we regard the deceased as a pioneer citizen of
this place, as an early and constant friend of its
improvement, as an officer and legislator, as a po
litical and social friend, as a kind, indulgent
father and affectionate husband, whether as an
adventurous printer and editor in the wilderness
of Ohio, combatting with untried difficulties, and
not only accomplished at the case and the press,
but in clear, technical, and accurate style of writ
ing, or as a faithful, well-informed and attentive
offlcer of the court, courteous to judges, jurors,
witnesses, suitors, and lawyers; or as a Christian
man of just views and honest conduct, refined by
extensive reading and reflection, and a constant
communion with his Bible and his God, his name
will be remembered with honor. It reflects credit
upon his children, as well as the city and state in
which he lived."
Such was the father of Samuel S. Cox as he ap
peared to his neighbors.
The mother of Samuel S. Cox was Maria Matil
da (born March 16, 1801; died April 3, 1885), the
second daughter of Judge Samuel Sullivan and
his wife Mary Freeman.

JUDGE SAMUEL SULLIVAN. MARY FREEMAN SULLIVAN.
(Grandparents of S. S. Cox).

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 23
The Sullivan family is of Irish origin, tracing its
line to one Fingin, a son of Aod Dubh, King of
Munster. Its flrst ancestor in this country came to
America with one of the Irish colonies sentbyLord
Baltimore for the settlement of Maryland under
the charter granted by Charles June 20, 1632. The
intolerance of the Old World is in great contrast
to the broad tolerant spirit of the State Constitu
tion of Maryland, framed by these refugees of the
Roman faith.
The Sullivan family was scattered through vari
ous parts of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware,
and from that branch that settled in Delaware the
present line of descent is derived.
Samuel Sullivan, son of David and Jane Sulli
van, was born near Wilmington, Delaware, April
10, 1772; and died, October 15, 1853. The early
death of his parents, the misappropriation of the
family estate and bad investments by the business
partner left the three young boys dependent upon
strangers and the labor of their own hands.
As was customary in those days, they were ap
prenticed, and Samuel's lot was to serve as a pot
ter in one of the factories on the banks of the Del
aware river, below Philadelphia. This factory
was among the first of its kind in the New
World. The knowledge here acquired was "stock
in trade" for the young man when his fortunes
drifted him into the Middle West. He discovered
and utilized the fine clay banks in Ohio, and was
the pioneer manufacturer of fine wares of which
the Muskingum Valley and other parts of Ohio
boast to-day.
There are specimens of this early, yellow orna-

24 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
mented ware made by Samuel Sullivan still in the
family. Samuel Sullivan was scarcely of age when he
married in Philadelphia, Mary Freeman, daugh
ter of Samuel and Elizabeth Freeman. Mary Free
man was a native of Delaware, born August 25,
1773. She lived to the great age of ninety, dying
in Zanesville, Ohio, December 27, 1863. In 1804
Samuel followed his two elder brothers, David and
Aaron Sullivan, to Ohio and after spending some
years in the Scioto Valley, and in St. Clairsville,
he finally settled permanently in Zanesville, then
the Capital of Ohio. Identifying himself with the
general interests of Muskingum county in 1816 he
was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
Later he was sent to the Ohio Senate and then was
chosen by the Legislature State Treasurer, a post
which he held for a year. Finally from 1827 to
1831 he was postmaster of Zanesville.
The last years of his life were spent on his farm,
where he devoted special attention to horticul
ture. He planted two orchards, the last after he
was seventy-five years of age. When asked how
he could interest himself in labor, the fruits of
which he could not expect to live to enjoy, he gave
the philosophical reply that: "We were not work
ing for ourselves only — that we are serving as
stewards for others; and that if our predecesors
had been governed by the restricted views indi
cated in the inquiry, the world would not now be
covered with good and pleasant things."
Judge Sullivan was a self educated man, well-
informed, and of affable and genial manners. He
was never charged with a wrong to anybody.
Recognizing the full measure of his responsibility

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 25
in moral duty, he was rated by those who knew
him best as eminently a just man. He died in
Zanesville in October, 1853, in the 82d year of his
age. Reference has already been made to the decision
of Mr. Ezekiel Cox to settle in Zanesville. Among
those who urged this action was Judge Sullivan.
The young editor became a visitor at the home of
the Judge and showed every evidence of enjoy
ment in the society of his senior and the visits
grew in frequency. An account of these
visits taken from a family record tells the story so
exactly that it is quoted : "The Judge's idea of Mr.
Cox's platonic feelings, however, received a rude
shock, one day when he asked for the hand of his
daughter, Maria Matilda." Consent followed and
on April 9, 1822, Ezekiel T. Cox and Maria Matil
da Sullivan were made one — the Rev. James Cul-
bertson performing the ceremony.
Through his mother, as has been stated, Mr. Cox
traced his lineage to one of Lord Baltimore's asso
ciates in the settlement of Maryland — ^the grand
father of Judge Sullivan. In a reminiscent mood
Mr. Cox, in 1885, wrote to an old friend: "I have
heard my grandfather say that he remembered his
grandmother counting her beads. These Quaker-
Methodists of Northern Delaware and early Ohio
were three generations before devout Catholics.
But the change of faith never swerved the ances
tral integrity."
Judge Sullivan gave to his grandson and name
sake his fullest confidence, choosing him among
several sons and sons-in-law, as his sole executor.
In his last will and testament Judge Sullivan

26 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
charged his own and his children's children to re
member that "their inheritance was the result of
Democratic institutions," and that he expected
his namesake and executor, Samuel Sullivan Cox,
"to sustain those institutions in their democratic
form and tenor with ballot and with bullet."
The mother of Samuel Sullivan Cox was born in
Philadelphia. As a child three years of age she
accompanied her parents on the tedious journey
over difficult roads, across rapid running streams
and mountains that were high and hard to climb,
until the great fertile Scioto Valley was reached.
Of the wanderings that followed until Zanesville
became the permanent home of her parents, Mrs.
Cox retained a vivid recollection, and many inci
dents of that portion of her early life she was
fond of relating to her grandchildren.
She frequently recalled the cutting down of the
"nice grape vine swings" that were removed when
the bridge was built across the Muskingum river
at Zanesville. It was on the banks of this river
that she spent the happiest hours of her young
girlhood. Here it was that she and the children
of the early settlers romped and played — often
with Indian children from "Wapatomika towns."
There were no schools in Zanesville In those days
and she received her education almost entirely
from her parents, but being very bright and a
quick observer, she shared with htT sister Sarah
the reputation of being "the best informed young
woman in the neighborhood."
While in her teens she accompanied her father,
when elected Senator, to Columbus, no longer
"the spot opposite Franklinton," but now the

MARIA MATILDA SULLIVAN COX.
(Mother of S. S. Cox.)

^"^ SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Capital of Ohio. By her ready wit and by her
clearness of repartee, she became a great favorite,
and many of the state officers were willing to be
come more than "my lady's most devoted admir
er." Among these suitors were two, one of whom
became a governor of Ohio and another a presi
dent of the United States.
As a wife, she was devoted to every detail of her
husband's career, watchful of his interests, and
happiest in his presence.
In one of her letters while her husband — the
father of S. S. Cox — was in attendance at the Leg
islature she writes
"I hope you will soon be with us," » • ? •
"we put off all pleasure until your return."
As a mother, she was careful, tender, and watch
ful of her children, most of whom she saw grow to
maturity. For more than fifty years the unbrok
en thread of her married life continued. It was a
happy gathering, that at the old homestead on
April 8, 1872, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary
of their marriage. Their children and their child
ren's children were there to render filial homage
and respect. Here and there from the group was
a missing face, and perhaps most of all in this hour
of gladness the aged couple thought of that first
born* who in the time of his country's need had
left home, like that ancestor of old, to fight for his
country. Few parents have lived to see such a company of
descendants as were gathered on that occasion

•Thomas Jefferson Cox, bom March T, 1803; died, September 17, 1866. He
tendered his services to the Ooyernment, and on June 11, 1863, was appointed
by President Lincoln, Captain and Assistant Quartermaster. He was pro
moted three times, and died at his post of duty at Nashville, Tennessee.

28 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
and they had a pardonable pride in their reflection
that not one of them had brought reproach upon
their care and teaching.
In a few months came the death of the husband,
and more and more as the years advanced the ven
erable widow came to depend upon her second son,
Samuel Sullivan, named for her own father, and,
as events proved, the stay of her widowhood and
her old age. Twelve years she survived her hus
band. In April, 1885, her distinguished son, then
about to embark for Turkey, as United States Min
ister, was summoned to his venerable mother's
bedside, reaching it just in time to receive her con
scious blessing. She died April 3, 1885, aged 84.

CHAPTER II.

BOYHOOD.

Of such honorable lineage came Samuel Sulli
van Cox, in whom were happily blended the best
traits and characteristics of his ancestors. The
second of a family of thirteen children — of whom
eight grew to maturity — he was born, in Zanes
ville, Ohio, September 30, 1824. His father was
at that time clerk of the Supreme Court of Ohio
and the family residence was on Third street. Sur
rounding the home which welcomed the little
stranger were well kept grounds, abounding with
flowers and shrubs, which were the pride and
special care of the boy's mother. Not far distant
resided Judge Sullivan, and his honored name, the
P"i <-nts decided, should be bestowed on the grand
son. So they called him Samuel Sullivan.
The future statesman's advent into the world
was in the midst of an exciting presidential con
test. The administration of President Monroe
was drawing to a close and with it the "era of good
feeling." General Jackson was waging his first
campaign for capture of the White House. It was
a quadrangular contest, his rivals being Henry
Clay, Wm. H. Crawford, and John Quincy Adams.
In both the popular and the electoral vote the hero
of New Orleans was first in the race, but, notwith
standing, he failed to secure the glittering prize.

30 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
A plurality was not in this case a majority — ^there
was no choice in the electoral college, and, in con
sequence, the election went to the House of Rep
resentatives. That body chose the son of the
second president, who then was nearing the close
of his eventful life in Massachusetts. While this
crisis in American history, culminating in the el
ection of John Quincy Adams to the presidency,
was going on, Samuel Sullivan Cox was an infant
blissfully indifferent to the storm of passion
which was raging without. Indeed Ohio, three
quarters of a century ago, was practically as dis
tant from the Atlantic seaboard as is Alaska to
day. The steam engine, on the iron rail, had not yet
come to annihilate space; nor the telegraph to
girdle the earth and annihilate time and space.
Weeks must elapse before the mails, carried by
lumbering stages over rough roads and across the
mountains, could convey to the frontiersmen of
Zanesville the news that, not Jackson but Adams,
had been elevated to the chair of James Monroe.
Little Samuel grew and flourished. He early
became the pet of the neighborhood. He is de
scribed by one of his neighbors as having been
"bright, sunny, genial, fond of fun, sparkling with
wit, always truthful, fearless, and generous, never
hesitating to confess a fault of his own, and ever
ready to defend the weak and oppressed." The
child was father of the man. In the village school
he was known as an exceptionally bright scholar,
always ready, however, to help any who lagged
behind him in the race for learning. A cousin of
his was fond of relating how he was taught his

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SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 31
letters by this boy, who, having reached the ma
ture age of six, was ambitious to elevate his play
mate, his junior by six months, to a level with his
own advancement.
He had hardly learned to read before he devel
oped a special love for books of travel, devouring
eagerly every such book he could lay his hands on.
Visions of travel fllled his boyish imagination,
and he used to tell his mother that some day he,
too, was going to visit the Holy Land; that he
would go to Russia; see the Sultan and the min
arets of Constantinople; that he was going to the
North Pole, or at least near enough to it to see the
sun go 'round without setting. These childish
fancies were no idle dream; he lived to realize
them all, and, moreover, to make word-pictures of
the wonderful scenes he witnessed, which were to
be the delight of thousands. A brilliant career
for the preternaturally bright boy was freely pre
dicted by his teachers.
A sample of his precocity as a child is shown in
a letter written by him when he was eight years
of age. The letter is to his father while the lat
ter was absent at Columbus. Mrs. Cox, who was
sending a letter to her husband, from "Lonely
Mansion," January 30, added: "I shall fill the
vacancy with Samuel's letter, as he is at school
but has it written on the slate. He says:
"Dear Father: I take the liberty in writing in
Mother's letter to say that we attend to our school,
that we study our tables in the evening and I be
lieve I know mine pretty well and what do you
think of that? Don't you think I deserve a News
gift. We had a fine time on Christmas. We

32 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
barred the master out and he had to treat us to
some cider, apples, cakes and nuts. We were all
sorry at the loss of Turk. Thomas attends to his
little cow. She is fat and gives us plenty of milk.
Mother has made Thomas (then ten years old) a
fine green hunting shirt. He looks quite like a
backwoodsman. Samuel S. Cox.' "
Two other literary ventures of young Samuel
are extant, being compositions in the form of let
ters addressed, one to his mother, the other to his
father, when the boy was ten years old. They
are written in a neat hand and read as follows:
"Zanesville, Ohio, April 25, 1835.
"Dear Mother:
"It is now spring, and the blossoms and the cher
ry-trees are out, and I expect we will have some
cherries, and other fruit; we had no fruit last
year. When summer comes the boys go in a swim
ming; they go a fishing, and catch fish, and sell
them. And then comes autumn, when the leaves
fall off the trees. And then comes winter, then
you will have to wear mittens or gloves to keep
your hands warm; in very cold weather the river
freezes over, and the boys bind skates to their feet
and amuse themselves with skating. I skated
last winter, and was much pleased with the exer
cise. Your affectionate son,
"Samuel S. Cox."
"Zanesville, Ohio, April 25, 1835.
"Dear Father:
"On Beasts — The lion is called the king of the
beasts, the tiger is a fierce animal of the cat kind,
the elephant is the largest animal in the world.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 33
he is very sensible, he will carry boys or men on
his trunk. In India they carry large burdens; in
some parts of the world there are white elephants.
The rhinoceros is a large animal. I saw one in a
menagerie in this town; they had a log chain
around his neck, sunk ten feet in the ground to
keep him from getting loose; the zebra is striped;
it is of the horse kind and is very handspme; there
are many other beasts, but I have not time to de
scribe them. Your affectionate son,
"Samuel Cox."
The boy was sent to the academy at Zanesville
to prepare for admission to the Ohio University.
The academy principal was Professor Howe, a
well known and somewhat distinguished educat
or of those days, a man of learning and cultiva
tion. "Samuel," says one of his townsmen of that
period, "was always full of his boyish pranks,
even venturing sometimes to play tricks on hi,s
dignified father, for which it is said that his eld
est brother, Thomas, used not infrequently to re
ceive the reproof and punishment rather than be
tray the real culprit, to whom his self-sacrifice
would be all unknown. But he was a diligent and
enthusiastic student, who won and kept a high
place among his classmates. Before he had
passed out of boyhood he was appointed deputv
to his father, who was then serving as clerk of
the Supreme Court and of the Court of Common
Pleas. Even at this early age he was so thorough
ly conversant with all the business of the office
that a great part of it was safely intrusted to
him." The official documents leading to the appoint-

34 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ment of this boy of fourteen to a court clerkship
follow :
"The State of Ohio, Muskingum County, ss. :
"To the Honorable Judges of the Court of Com
mon Pleas of said county, at their May term, A.
D. 1838:
"From the experience and capacity of my son,
Samuel S. Cox, I hereby nominate him as my Dep
uty Clerk of said Court, and request your Honors
to ratify and confirm said nomination, pursuant to
statute. By this appointment I am well satisfied
that the public interest and convenience wUl be
subserved. "Given under my hand this 31st day of May,
18.38.
"E. T. Cox,
"Clerk of said Court."
(Appointment made.)
"The State of Ohio, Muskingum County, ss. :
"I, E. T. Cox, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Mus
kingum County, hereby certify that I have this day
appointed my son, Samuel S. Cox, as my Deputy
Clerk of said Court, and request that said appoint
ment be approved and confirmed.
"In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand
and affix the seal of said Supreme Court, this 30th
day of October, 1838. E. T. Cox, Clerk."
The following incident has been preserved as
showing his interest in current affairs even when
a mere child :
During the Black Hawk war supplies and blank
ets were being collected for the use of the volun
teers and those having the matters in charge came

SAMtJEL SULLIVAN COX 35
to Mr. Cox's house late one night. Samuel over
heard the conversation from the head of the stairs
and running to his room pulled the blanket off
from his bed and threw it over the balustrade with
the exclamation, "Here, mother, give them this
one. Hurrah!"
His patriotism did not cease with this incident,
and a few years later his elder brother, Thomas
J. Cox then at college in Granville, writes him as
follows, under date of July 20, 1839, at which time
the younger brother was fourteen, the elder being
sixteen: "So you read the Declaration of Independence
to the Sabbath School. I suppose you read it
well, for a boy who can read the minutes of the
Court before judges and lawyers ought to read
the Declaration of Independence a great deal bet
ter where there are only a parcel of children — and
besides a boy who professes to be such a great
friend to his country as you do ought to have it
committed to memory."
If he had not at that time committed this prec
ious document to memory he certainly soon fol
lowed his brother's advice, for it is well known
that as a boy he learned by heart both the Declar
ation of Independence and the Constitution of the
United States.
"This," writes one of his relatives, "is the first
authentic statement that I have been able to find
locating definitely when he began making patri
otic addresses, although it is claimed that he
made, when much younger, speeches that were lit
erally stump speeches, for his only audience was
the trees of the neighboring woods."

36 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
The reference in this letter to the fact that ho
"read the minutes of the Court before judges and
lawyers" corroborates statements made by the
successor to his seat in Congress, the Honorable
Amos J. Cummings, that "at the age of eleven he
was a valuable assistant to his father in the Coun
ty Clerk's office at Zanesville. There are men liv
ing," he adds, "who saw the boy swear jurors and
witnesses, issue writs, and make up journals. He
performed all the duties of an expert clerk before
he was thirteen years old."
Years afterward when addressing an audience
in Black's Music Hall in Zanesville, Mr. Cox said:
"When a boy I was sworn in yonder Court
House — as an assistant to my father, then Coun
ty Clerk — to support the Constitution of the State
of Ohio and of the United States. Since that
time I have wandered all over this country and in
many climes, yet I have never wandered from my
oath to support and maintain the Constitution of
these United States."
Meanwhile he continued his preparation for col
lege. Among his teachers were Messrs. Mears,
Hobby and Fulton. He also studied under the
Rev. George C. Sedgwick, a Baptist minister, who
had his school in the basement of the First Bap
tist Church on Sixth street, and under Professor
Howe of the Market Street Academy.
He was a diligent and enthusiastic student, and
yet he was by no manner of means a mere student,
for it is well known that he was full of boyish
pranks. Old residents of Zanesville still recall the pic
ture on the streets of "Sam Cox and his pony,"

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 37
as the one on the back of the other dashed into
town at full gallop, from the boy's country home.
In connection with that same quadruped and his
boy rider, the mother of Mr. Cox used to tell with
evident relish, this story: One day as she sat in
her parlor window sewing, chancing to glance out
of the window she saw little Sammy galloping up
the country lane towards the house. The next
moment both rider and pony were attempting to
make their bows of obeisance to her ladyship
from the hearth rug, in the parlor, where, the back
door being opened, the youthful scion, having rid
den into the house, thought to give his maternal
a surprise party! "You, Samuel!" was the star
tled greeting — but the jolly laugh that followed
ended the reproof.
One of his early schoolmates, Rev. S. D. Clayton
of Dayton, Ohio, has written:
"He and I went to school to Mr. James Fulton
opposite the west end of the Market House. We
all and always called him 'Captain' and such he
was from the time he was six or seven years old.
He was very small of stature at that time, but a
born leader, small as he was. He was not quar
relsome, rather the reverse, but he would fight
like a tiger if he was imposed upon, or if he saw
any one wronged, he would pitch into a boy twice
his age and five times as large. His fighting qual
ities were magnificent. It stirs my blood to re
call his combats and his victories. There was
nothing low or base in his nature. There could
not be, for he had good blood in his veins, and a
more chivalrous soul was never champion for the
weak, or struck stronger blows for his friends.''

38 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
It is more than likely that the title of "Cap
tain" was a surviving memory of a short military
experience when he and others of his comrades
organized the Zanesville Lancers, "in which," to
quote a surviving member, "Sam was Orderly
Sergeant." Of his boyhood schoolmates more than one has
become famous, among them Justice William B.
Woods of the United States Supreme Court, the
Rev. Dr. William Aschmore, an eminent Baptist
Missionary who spent his life in China, and Dr.
James M. Safford, the State Geologist of Tennes
see. "His memory," says one, "was marvelous. As a
Sabbath school scholar he easily committed to
memory the entire book of Romans, and it is said
he knew the old twenty-ninth volume of the
Ohio Laws by heart, and that, later on, he could
draw up any pleading without consulting Chitty."
An Ohio Congressman, in his tribute to his mem
ory, tells us: "Mr. Cox was popular from his
earliest boyhood; he was a natural orator, pos
sessed of an eloquent, pathetic manner that never
failed to captivate the audience he addressed. He
was singled out in his school-boy days to be the
orator on each occasion that required a speech."
In 1842, at the age of eighteen, he entered the
Ohio University, at Athens. He ranked with the
most brilliant of his class. It is related that dur
ing his stay in the State University a law suit be
tween the college and the town was decided in
favor of the latter, much to the displeasure of the
students. Party spirit ran high, and the divisional
lines were as marked as in fights between "towns
men and gownsmen" in an English university

EZEKIEL T. COX, WIFE AND TEN CHILDREN. -FRO]\r PHOTO ABOUT iSsg.
S. S. Cox Third Man in Group on the Left.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 39
town. A celebration most distasteful to the col
lege was decided on; a bonfire was to be built,
speeches made, and a cannon fired. The bonfire
blazed, the speeches were made, but the boom of
the cannon was not heard, the "great-gun" of the
town, a 6-pounder, having been prudently spiked
the night before by a daring college boy. It was
not known till long after that the youth who so
effectually silenced the voice of the cannon for
that and for many succeeding nights was S. S. Cox.

CHAPTER III.

COLLEGE LIFE.

The distance from Zanesville to Athens in the
Hocking Hills is not great according to our mod
ern idea of locomotion, but in 1842 there were no
railroads in that part of the country, and for con
venience as well as for economy's sake the future
statesman made his way from home to college on
the back of his horse.
He was now duly entered as a Freshman in the
Ohio University.
Several letters addressed to his father are ex
tant, throwing light on his life in that institution.
In one of these dated January 30, 1844, he writes:
"I endeavor to improve every particle of time.
A person cannot know how valuable time, an
hour, or a half, or a quarter, is until they are sit
uated properly to improve it, and then every mo
ment of it is in demand. From daylight to sun
set there is one continual going if you are regu
lar in your studies, and it seems the very regular
ity acts as a preservation on the health by keep
ing the mind active and awake."
No longer a child, but now a full fledged college
man he was, as usual with Collegians, oppressed
by the weight of his own knowledge. He unloads
a little on his father, after this style:
"I read a good little work on the 'Philosophy of

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 41
Living,' which I want you to read. It is written
by Caleb Ticknor, A. M., M. D., etc. It is no piece
of quackery. It condemns in toto your whole
system of doctoring, dieting, studying your own
dise.nses, and shows the remarkable affinity be-
tweea the mind and body — it scouts at the ultra-
ism of the day both in politics and morals as well
as in diet. What wea vbe good th\ngs of the
world placed around us ?(/¦?? Would God tantalize
us? Thus he reasons, bit riicderatioT neverthe
less he enjoins, and he agrees with your views in
everything as to exercise, etc. But I will not re
view it further. I wish you would read it, it is in
the Athenaeum."
The value of money had evidently begun to
dawn upon the student, for he writes:
"As to 'Domestic Economy' I think that from
my former habits and associations I was not in
clined to value money as much as the filthy lucre
should be. Yet, I know, that I have done the
best down here. You are not aware and couldn't
be till you were here, how easily money goes
without, too, a single useless thing, or without
that which is necessary. Now, I left my umbrel
la at home, and would not buy any for three
weeks, but there is such continual wet weather
that I must have it. There's coal, too, and the
bill for the horses at General Brown's, and soci
ety expenses, paying for my bureau in advance,
and all those little things summed up I find my
$10.00 gone almost imperceptibly, and yet I know
I have not paid out money except when needed."
Hardly an exceptional experience.
But he was growing restless and casting about
for a change. To his father he writes:

42 SAMUEL SiULLIVAN COX
"Although I wrote you yesterday, circum
stances have occurred which require I should
write again. Do not think I am troubling you
too much about my future course. It is not a
very trifling matter where I am to pass the re
mainder of my collegiate course, and it should re
ceive a degree of consideration, you will admit,
correspondent to its importance.
"I wrote you I had determined on leaving Ath
ens. I can spend my time profltably by reading,
studying for debates, etc., and can easily enter
junior at Cannonsburgh. If I trouble you too
much, I have a tolerably good reason, you will
admit, and I hope you will give me credit for
wishing, at least, to do the best with the least in
convenience and expense. But I am perfectly at
your will in regard to my future course."
During a temporary absence from class duties
at Ohio University one of the faculty of that in
stitution wrote to the young student's father:
"Allow us to express the hope that your son will
not be detained from his studies longer than nec
essary. There is not a youth of his age in the in
stitution at this time doing better than he, and
it is very important that he should not lose his
standing in his class. He is as zealous and suc
cessful in his studies as any parent could wish,
and if he continues in the same course in which
he has commenced, your expectations will be most
fully realized."
The student, for the remainder of his course,
was casting his eyes eastward. To his father he
thus reveals his hopes and aspirations:
"I trust and hope you will be enabled to send

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 43
me the remaining time at an Eastern Institution.
I prefer Dartmouth, though Brown would prob
ably be as well. I am resolved to get an educa
tion, and I don't want to do it half, if you only
encourage me and assist me by your means. The
education is for life, that I know; it is, too, the
means of life, and these means will be great in
proportion to the education, that I know. Will
you not give me the right encouragement? I
know you will. Some fathers, I know, would
glory in having their lazy, hanging-about, doing-
nothing sons go to college, even should they go
through as a drag and come out asses."
His purpose to go to Brown was approved by
Professor Mather, a member of the faculty at
Ohio University, as this letter shows:
"I mentioned Brown University to Professor
Mather and he told me that he was there himself,
at about my age, twenty years ago. He intended
to graduate there and was in the course when he
received his West Point appointment. He speaks
highly of it, as it was then, and some few years
ago, on a visit, he said, it had increased greatly
and materially. In fact these institutions which
are endowed are always the best, and those insti
tutions in the East are constantly on the increase
in order to keep up with the go-ahead age. He
concluded by saying there was not a more
desirable Instituiton for thorough scholarship in
the country, and he is a man who understands the
colleges of the country. Perhaps on account of
his being a Baptist he speaks so highly, which is
natural, you know."
In regard to his progress he says:

44 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"I am getting along very well here, kept very
busy; all my leisure moments I take to exercise,
and sometimes I woo the Muses. I have finished
my poem for Spring Exhibition. But there is not
much encouragement here to literary attain
ment. It is a pleasant little recreation some
times to scribble a little poetry, it not only re
fines the imagination, but a good set of wares can
be garnered up in the store-house of the mind. I
do it more to give my writing in general an easy
flow, a smoothness. I know I have no talent for
it, but I can do something as well as others. I
contribute weekly to the paper here. Sometimes
poetry and sometimes prose. I send mother
rhymes on 'A Moment' — The Value of 'A Mo
ment,' doubtless I have learned from her mater
nal advice — how I practice in regard to what I
write, mother is dubious, I reckon. The first
piece I wrote I signed 'M. P.' (Maternal Poetry)
the last 'D' — the gossips here have been compar
ing the merits of their respective authors. I look
on and grin. The least thing of that kind excites
talk here in this scaly vale of mud."
Politics had not been forgotten, and he adds:
"I would have no particular objections if my
Democratic grandfather (Samuel Sullivan) or
some other Democrat would so far contribute to
the youthful aspirations of a young Democrat like
me, as to send me Duff Green's new paper started
lately at New York and called the 'Free Trader.'
I saw a number of it. Oh! but he is a scorcher, he
lashes with no uncommon virulence."
In a letter to his cousin. Miss Julia Cox, of

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 45
Zanesville (Mrs. A. W. Perley), written contempo
raneously with the letters just quoted, he says:
"I am reviewing all my former studies in order
to enter Brown University, Rhode Island, where
an indulgent father intends me to go, in order to
put a finish, or rather rub off the rough corners
of his son's education — It makes me feel four
cubits and a span higher than I ever was (and you
know, I am not remarkably tall)."
He has but little faith, if any, in the University
in Athens, for he writes:
"Going East! Think of that Julia, that's some
recompense for sticking to Athens as long as its
soul and body could hold together — For under
stand me, the College is the soul, — Athens,
minus the college is the body — when the College
goes the way of all the Earth, as it probably will,
after this season, it leaves Athens, the body, de
funct." The town itself is uncongenial to him. He de
scribes it as : "A murky, cloud-covered, uncomfort
able outpost upon the confines of Barbarism."
Mr. Cox's wonderful power of description, often
illustrated in later years, crops out in the follow
ing, one of his letters home from Athens:
"The wind whistles without — ^the blackness of
darkness shrouds the College, — O! how it roars
amidst the old sycamores over Hocking; now it
comes in gusts, fierce, scowling, piercing — ^^slam!
bang! bang! goes the doors of the empty rooms —
rattle — rattle — goes the windows — whiz-z- goes
the shrill winds — merrily dances my fire in the
stove — merrily dances my pen on the paper.''
Another quotation must be given from an Ath-

46 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ens letter for it is significant of his appreciation of
the value of mental training. With reference to
one of his friends at home he says: —
"Does he still retain his reputation as one of the
leaders of the Fashionable world? » * • I
would not care three straws how I dressed, what I
eat or drink, provided I could revel sufficiently in
my own thoughts. One can by a little training
make a little world of their own thoughts, and
place himself as regent over them. He can then
shut himself in his room and say with Crusoe, 'I
am lord of all I survey' — and not be toi-mented
with a wish besides."
A few months come and go and he is in Provi
dence, a student in Brown University. Under
date of June 25, 1844, he writes to his father: —
"I have now been here two months, and have
fairly tested the college and the land of the Yan
kees, and I cannot but say, that I am still satisfied.
Indeed, I came with the intention to be satisfied,
and that is the great secret. * * * Although
I have had not a little to discourage me, which I
thought proper not to write, although there axe
numerous disadvantages and mortifications, al
ways attendent upon entering into a strange land,
more than most persons would imagine, yet I still
get along swimmingly."
His reference to "Domestic Economy" in an
earlier letter already quoted from, finds its count
erpart in the present communication. The ques
tion of finance is always an important one, and
especially so to a college student. The details
mentioned are not without interest as showing the
expenditures of students in college half a century
ago. He says: —

(FIRST PAPER MILL WEST OF ALLEGANIES.)
STEAM PAPER MILX..

E. T. COX, & CO
PAPER MANUFACTURERS,
ZANESVIULE, OHIO*

SAMUEL' SULLIVAN COX 47
"I had paid all my money, which was $10, before
you wrote, to the tailor, shoemaker, and booksell
er, I had not money to pay my postage, or for my
boot mending. But after paying the f 10, which I
borrowed, $1.00 to the shoemaker for my boots,
$1.00 for a covering for my caput, and some other
little fixtures, I have left about $7.50, my sum total
in hand. The expenses will cost me more than I
anticipated. My clothing, etc., which I always ob
tained at home, increases it considerably. Stu
dents here say that with the utmost parsimony,
you cannot get along (on) less than $250 per year,
after buying all necessary preliminaries. It is ex
pensive here, I know, but to go to a college, re
quires money. The money ($7.50) I now have, will
barely suffice to pay my washerwoman and other
expenses at the close of the term."
In the choice of a Greek-letter fraternity, the
new student from Ohio gave the preference to the
Delta Phi, whose invitation to become a member
he accepted.
In a letter to a sister, dated Brown University,
Providence, November 25th, 1845, Mr. Cox gives
his unique experience as a temperance lecturer.
He was then in his Senior year. He writes: —
"There was to be a grand temperance oratorio
(about 40 singers), after the speaking (at Me
chanic's Hall), and the house was densely crowd
ed, mostly with females. The aisles were full —
some 1,500 or 2,000 people present. I did not in
tend to speak — was standing up in the aisle with
some students looking at the girls; when someone
came pushing through with a little trunk in his
hand, declaring he had to speak and must get

48 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
through. 'Oho! Buckeye,' says I. 'Hallo! strang
er!' says he. 'Bear, or I am no Buckeye,' says I.
'Right, young man — give us your hand — see this
cane? John N. Bear on it.'
" 'Cox is my name,' says I. The Buckeyes em
brace — push through the crowd, Cox in the lead.
Everybody staring. I told the president of the
meeting who was present. He had heard of me,
and said I must speak too, and introduced the
Buckeye Blacksmith. Well, I was stirred up —
made a speech of 20 minutes — introduced Bear
with a gusto. He made a perfect roarer of a
speech, astonishing the people considerably. He
got up a little respectability for me, after I had
soft-soaped him — told about my taking him with
a habeas corpus or something in his intemperate
days — said I was Clerk of the Court at Zanesville,
etc., etc. Last Monday I had a special invitation
to lecture. I signed the pledge, and as the doctor
was away with Dr. Judson, I prepared myself
well; spoke 40 minutes to a very refined audience
— was nicely complimented by the president — but
that is my last one for some time. Our exhibition
comes off Saturday. We have been practicing all
the afternoon, and the way we are drilled !" In the
same letter he more than once expressed a longing
for pumpkin pies, such as he had at home. "I
must say," he writes to his sister, "if I have a fail
ing, it is pumpkin-pieward."
Of another college experience he writes: —
"I made my debut here on the stage — spoke a
part of my Fourier speech, which the Professor did
not like as to the sentiment, but which brought
down two rounds of applause from the students. I

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 49
never felt so elated in my life, my manner of
speaking was so different and I pat all my soul
in it, (as I had written it myself and consequently
felt what I said) and there was so much of the free
and easy. Western stump-speech-manner about it
that it took. The Professor told me not to speak
any more such things as Fourierism, but said he
saw some fine promises in my way of speaking. He
did not know I wrote it, and as we are required to
make selections from others till next term, he sup
posed it somebody else's. The students wanted to
know where I got it, as there was considerable
fun and novelty in it. I stopped once in the mid
dle, having forgotten the next sentence, and they
commenced stamping, and it put me considerably
out — and some, most fellows, would have been
abashed and took their seats, but I stood it and at
last got through. So much for my Entre! They
think here I am an odd genius, I don't visit any
body — stick to my room — mind my own business
— walk as straight as a lightning rod, and as in
dependent as a woodchuck. I can put on all
kinds of airs, and they will lay it all to Western
manners and characteristics. They generally sup
pose we are mostly heathens out West, without
refinement and taste for literature — and the speci
mens of Western students here, are by no means
flattering." His classmate Mr. Frank W. Anthony of Mat-
tawan, Mich., describes this incident as follows: —
"The class had been trained for nearly two years
by our prim and precise Professor of Rhetoric,
Professor Gammell, into his peculiar and polished
style of speaking and writing. S.S. had doubtless

50 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
had triumphs at the cross roads schoolhouse of the
West. You can imagine the effect of his first
speech in the college class upon Professor and stu
dents. It was the first stump speech any of us
had heard. We all tried hard to control our risi-
bles. It was impossible after a few sentences. I
see now the determined look that came into the
new student's face as the laugh grew louder and
longer. It said, while he completed his speech,
'laugh if you will, the power is in me and you shall
yet respect it.' When completed he leaped from
the platform, regardless of the steps, and made for
his seat. As soon as Professor Gammell could
control himself and the uproar, he said, 'It is cus
tomary. Cox, for the student to pause at the foot
of the platform for criticism. We will excuse you
this time. Next.' "
Another class mate, the Rev. James C. Fletcher,
writes : —
"Cox liked to take a hand even in his student
days in addressing a crowd; and on one occasion
he made a stump speech to the assembled Demo
crats in Providence, R. I., in connection with
Thomas W. Dorr, who in 1842 endeavored to
change the old government of Rhode Island by
forcible means — for which Dorr, being overwhelm
ingly defeated at the polls and elsewhere, had to
suffer for it in prison. The Democrats as well as
the old Whigs were overwhelmingly against Dorr.
Nevertheless when agitation began in regard to
liberating Dorr from the penitentiary, 'Sam' (as
we called him), with the pluck that always char
acterized him, took the part of the small party, de
manding the pardoning of Dorr, and, actually, to

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 51
the chagrin of the faculty (all Anti-Dorrites)
'S|am' addressed the 'unterrified' in the streets.
'Sam' always took the part of the 'under dog' in
the fight."
Dr. Charles R. CuUen of Gaines Mills, Va.,
writes: —
"We sat beside each other three years. While
we were at Brown the Liberty party was forming
and the Garrisons were in full blast. In the Meth
odist Church (the only denomination at that time
very radical) Abbey Kelley, Abbey Folsom, S. S.
Foster and Wendell Phillips were to speak. They
abused Dr. Wayland, who was carrying on the
controversy with Dr. Fuller, on the subject of
Slavery, but could not tolerate the Garrison set.
The doctor advised the students not to attend the
meeting, as he knew they would commence by
abusing himself, calling him anti-slavery hypo
crite, etc. This made the whole body of students
decide to go and take possession of the meeting —
to allow the Abolitionists to speak fifteen minutes
and the students thirty minutes — ^to hiss them and
applaud the students. Sam made a rousing speech
— so did Dr. J. Wheaton Smith, now of Philadel
phia. Philips was severe on the students and told
them they might be as silly as geese or venomous
as serpents, he would speak if they staid till mid
night. We generally did for several nights."
Cox freely gives his opinion of his associates.
He says:
"They judge of a fellow's respectability greatly
by his dress here. « * ? There are some mon
strous mean fellows among the Yankees. Again
there are some fine fellows — good — open-hearted

52 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
— warm-hearted students — in my class. Some of
the best families of N. E. and the Union are my
classmates. A grandson of General Greene; a son
of Com. Morris, of Washington, D. C Dr. Way-
land's son; Professor Goddard's two sons."
It will not be out of place at this point to con
trast some of the foregoing with opinions of his
classmates on the young man from the west. It is
true that they are of recent date and perhaps have
been somewhat influenced by the lapse of time, —
still they are of interest.
Judge Franklin J. Dickman of Cleveland, Ohio,
writes: —
"I have a most distinct recollection of his per
sonality, as we entered Brown University almost
at the same time, just before the Sophomore year
closed in 1844. Entering as we did at that late
day in the college course — he coming from Ohio
and myself from Virginia — we were naturally
drawn together as two interlopers, and in a short
time became exceedingly well acquainted with
each other. From his first entrance in college, he
showed a marked proclivity to politics and politi
cal studies, and it was anticipated that he would
have a distinguished political career. In the Lit
erary Society to which he belonged, he at once
took rank as a leading debater, and always enliv
ened the debate by his overflowing wit and hu
mor. His mind worked with uncommon rapidity,
and he was thereby enabled to find much time for
general reading after preparing for the exercises
of the class room. While his scholarship was
creditable in the Greek and Latin classics, he
stood especially prominent as an English belles-

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 53
lettres scholar; and in the Junior and Senior years,
he was awarded the first premium for excellence
in English composition. But while he was en
dowed with great quickness and versatility in the
acquisition of varied knowledge, he did not for
get that there is no excellence without much labor.
No one ever saw him idle during study hours. He
was a constant attendant at the University Lib
rary, and his chief pleasure seemed to be in gath
ering stores of information for future use."
Judge Thomas Durfee, who, for many years was
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Is
land, says:
"I knew Cox very well when he was in College,
I think he did not enter until in the Sophomore
year. He quickly made a strong impression. He
was a superior student in the regular course of
studies, but did not limit himself to those studies,
but pursued a wide course of reading outside of
them. He wrote several prize essays, and was
always successful in taking the first prize, I think,
whenever he competed. He excelled especially in
writing and oratory, and was even then an excel
lent ex-tempore speaker and debater. His mind
had already turned to politics and his aspirations
were for a public career, such as he subsequently
pursued. He was much sought after whenever an
address was to be made. He was also very com
panionable and popular in a social way; very
witty and ready in anecdote and repartee. It
was generally felt, both by his classmates and
others, that he would attain distinction."
Of his career at Brown University, Prof. Franci'^

54 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Wayland, who now fills the chair of jurisprudence
in Yale University, says:
"Active in mind and body, capable of earnest
and continuous study, yet delighting in fun and
frolic, wholly unconventional in dress and deport
ment; a pronounced political partisan but not of
fensive in his frequent utterances — for he was al
ways 'on the stump' — 'Sam Cox' became, even be
fore the close of his first college year, the most
prominent member of his class. His favorite
field was the college debating society, from the
meetings of which he was rarely absent. Prob
ably none of his comrades so often joined in the
discussions. Undoubtedly in the Saturday after
noon debates at the 'United Brothers' he laid the
foundation of that familiarity with parliamentary
procedure and that readiness in impromptu ad
dress which characterized his long and distin
guished congressional career. All who knew him
well during his college course — and his warm
friendships were by no means confined to his own
class — predicted for him a brilliant future."
Dr. August Shurtleff of Brookline, Mass.,
writes: "Cox joined our class in the Sophomore year,
and won our hearts at once. He was one of the
most genial kind-hearted and witty men I ever
knew. The Professors all liked him, and when he
asked funny questions sometimes, never reproved
him. I think he was about medium as a scholar^
certainly not less. He was always talking poli
tics. I have a class-book in which my nearest
friends wrote a sentiment over their autographs
— It is before me now. He says, he has always

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 55
been celebrated as an unterrified Democrat. That
there was a tradition in his family, that when he
was born a scroll of fire was seen extendins
around the top of the bed-posts on which ap
peared the legend 'Vox populi Suprema Lex.'
He looked like and always reminded me of Dr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes and like him showed his
under teeth when he laughed, which was about
all the time. He was a dear good fellow."
It is clear that he was a favorite with his class
mates, and at the same time that his sterling qual
ities were appreciated by the faculty.
Writes one of his classmates: "A persistent
questioner of President Wayland in recitation in
intellectual and moral philosophy, sometimes con
suming half the recitation hour in this almost mu
tual debate."
Another has this testimony : "He was not only
liked by his fellow students, but by the faculty,
and I know that Dr. Francis Wayland thought
very highly of him."
President Wayland's regard for his pupil was
thoroughly reciprocated. Indeed in after years,
Mr. Cox gave full credit to his preceptor for the
methodical way in which he prepared his speeches
and books.
Col. William Goddard, a well known merchant
of Providence, R. I., and subsequent to 1888 the
Chancellor of his alma mater, says:
"When he came under the personal instruction
of that great teacher, President Wayland, he dis
played such intellectual gifts and such originality
of thought that Doctor Wayland was much drawn

56 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
towards him and loved to lead him into discus
sions upon the questions before the class."
Writes Reuben A. Guild, Librarian of Brown:
"Mr. Cox's subject on graduating was 'Hero-Wor
ship.' I remember it to this day, and how elo
quent he was on the stage."
As to his literary methods, Mr. Cox said to a
friend :
"Some of my work I have to write with my own
hand. I find that when I have an elaborate de
scription to make or some very careful matter to
prepare I can do it better by writing it myself.
I do not begin my work until I am ready for it:
and as you ask me the secret of my doing so much
work I will tell you that it all lies in method and
system. I went to school at Brown University
and there came in contact with Dr. Wayland.
The Doctor was a great advocate of thought anal
ysis, and he trained his students to make an out
line of everything they took up. In this way we
were trained to think analytically, and I flnd that
the moment I take up a subject the thoughts be
gin to fall into their appropriate places. In mak
ing a speech on the floor of the house I can see the
end before I begin. Here in this book I made the
skeleton before I wrote a chapter. I then out
lined the contents of the various chapters, and I
am now filling in the flesh and polishing up the
skin by dictation."
A few statements concerning his class rank
must be added. Dr. J. Wheaton ^mith of Phila
delphia writes:
"We were members of the same societies and
near neighbors as to rooms at the University. He

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 57
was a witty, genial fellow, but also a close and in
dustrious student, almost the only man I remem
ber of my college friends who objected on prin
ciple to light reading as a waste of time. Several
of his vacations were spent in writing essays for
college prizes, quite a number of which he cap
tured." On the other hand Mr. Frank W. Anthony
writes: "He had apparently no ambition for high class
standing, no taste for mathematics, and sought ev
ery opportunity to make speeches on any and all
subjects. ? * » • Speaking and writing
were his especial pursuits. General scholarship
in these lines rather than the college ruts. When
he wrote his prize essay on the 'Fairy Queen' in
his Junior year all conceded first prize to him from
the start. So had he impressed his merits upon
his classmates in a year from his entrance."
Another classmate. Col. William Goddard,
writes :
"He came to Brown University to get an educa
tion and he got it. He made upon his classmates
the impression of a very brilliant man and he was
considered one of the ablest members of the class.
In debate he was facile princeps. His essays and
orations were truly original and brilliant. * *
He graduated with honor and his name is always
mentioned with respect by the few classmates
who have survived the half century which has
elapsed since we parted."
The Rev. James C. Fletcher sums up his college
career under the following four heads:
"He was an earnest student, and stood well up in

58 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
the first half of his class. Excelled in rhetorical
studies. "He was exceedingly popular with both faculty
and students.
"He was cheerful, bubbling over with fun, but he
impressed me most by his seriousness.
"He was a man loyal to his college friendships,
and was always full of sympathy."
Honorable James B. Angell, president of the
University of Michigan and lately Minister to
Turkey, who entered Brown as a freshman, just as
Mr. Cox was entering his Senior year, gives the
following full and interesting account of his col
lege career:
"As my college room was near Mr. Cox's, I soon
had the pleasure not only of making his acquaint
ance, but also of being admitted to his friendship.
This was a privilege which I greatly prized. He
was then regarded as one of the most eminent
writers, and by all odds as the most brilliant de
bater, in college. His style was already mature.
It was terse, sparkling, and epigrammatic. His
wit illumined his most weighty and serious
speeches. It was always so free from malice that
his opponents in debate could share in the enjoy
ment of it. As I was a member of the same de
bating society with him, the 'United Brothers,'
and indeed largely through his influence was in
duced to join it, I frequently had the pleasure of
hearing him take part in discussions. He was a
regular attendant on the meetings, and rarely
failed to participate in the debates. He improved
every opportunity to train himself by practice in
the art of public speaking. He readily accepted

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 59
invitations which came to him from outside the
college to address audiences on matters of public
interest. On the fourth of July, 1846, he gave an
oration before the college, which was considered
one of his most successful and brilliant discours
es. He did not study for class rank, though his
general scholarship was good. But no student
worked more industriously. He gave most of his
time, however, to the study of English and Ameri
can history and political economy. He was, I
think, much impressed, as most students were, by
the instruction he received from President Way-
land, especially by the free trade doctrines set
forth in the President's work on Political
Economy. He seemed to be preparing him
self for entering on political life. He gave
full promise of all he subsequently ac
complished in his public career. When he left
college, we all confldently expected that he would
attain to great eminence in public life. His at
tractive social qualities made him a great favorite
in college. He was brimful of innocent fun. He
had considerable skill with his pencil in carica
ture. He was an agile participant in the sports
of the ball ground. Wherever one met him,
whether in athletic contests, in social life, or in in
tellectual tournaments, there was an abounding
vitality and effervescent good nature in him,
which made him a most stimulating and enjoy
able companion. I am sure that all of his con
temporaries in college have cherished, as I cher
ished, the most pleasing recollections of their
companionship with him in the days of his stu
dent life."

60 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
The month he completed his twenty-second year
found Mr. Cox a graduate of Brown University
with high honors. Both faculty and students pre
dicted for the young alumnus a brilliant future.
He returned to Ohio to commence the real battle of
life.

CHAPTER IV.

CHOOSING A CAREER.

Samuel S. Cox's early experience in his father's
office seems to have influenced him in his choice of
the law for a profession. In a letter written home
while he was a student in Athens, he says : —
"Yesterday I wrote my Inaugural as President
of the Athenian Society. My subject Law. There
is nothing like fixing beforehand one's course of
life. Everything great and little which will sub
serve the interests of the particular profession,
will almost unknown be treasured up. I know a
little more about the general principles, tendency,
etc., etc., of Law (taken in its general sense) than
I ever supposed. I am perfectjy at home in it. It's
my delight, I love it, and my every energy shall be
bent toward it."
It was during his college course that he actually
began his law studies. With that systematic habit
of making every moment tell, using time when
others would waste it, he saw the possibility of
employing a portion of one of his vacations in the
active study of legal text books. In that connec
tion Judge Dickman writes: —
"Between the close of the Senior year and the
Commencement day in September, 1846, there was
an interval of over two months in which the gradu
ating class was relieved from academic duty.

62 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
During that time Mr. Cox would not seek relaxa
tion, but entered enthusiastically upon the study
of law; and before Commencement day he told me
he had read Blackstone's Commentaries, and a
large part of Cruise's Digest. How thoroughly he
could have accomplished so much readiEg in so
short a time, it is not necessary to inquire. But it
is evidence of the zeal he manifested in preparing
to enter his chosen profession, through whose por
tals he desired to pass in achieving that political
distinction of which he was ambitious."
In this connection it is interesting to mention
that even in his law studies he gives credit to Pres
ident Wayland, for he says: —
"When I studied Blackstone, by the aid of my
training in analysis I found that I could repeat al
most the whole of it in my own language, and
since then, throughout the whole of my life, I have
found analysis of the greatest advantage."
On returning to Ohio after graduation he con
tinued his study of law, at first with Judge C. W.
Searle in Zanesville, and then with Judge Con-
vers of the firm of Godard & Convers, in whose
office Mr. George Hoadley, afterwards governor of
Ohio, was also a student. Later he removed to
Cincinnati where he finished his legal studies un
der the Hon. Vachel Worthington.
Having been admitted to the bar he formed a
partnership with Mr. George E. Pugh, who after
wards represented Ohio in the United States Sen
ate. For two years he practiced law and made
good headway in his profession. One testifies
that "the thoroughness of his knowledge and his
readiness as a speaker gave him great strength be
fore juries."

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 63
The story of his first case in court is told as fol
lows by Captain John Duble, an officer in the fleet
of river gunboats that assisted in repulsing the
Confederate forces when they laid siege to Cincin
nati during the War of the Rebellion: —
"A neighbor and I had a difference, which in
volved perhaps $25, and we mutually agreed to em
ploy counsel and settle it in Court. I didn't care
much for the amount involved, and as little Sam
Cox, as we called him, was a sturdy youngster,
studying law, in a spirit of fun, and to see what
was in him, I retained him. Little Sam sat up
late at nights and worked like a Trojan to master
the points of the case. He had some assistance
from Stanley Matthews, later Justice of the Uni
ted States Supreme Court.
"Young Cox had his legal guns well shotted at
the convening of court. He was ambitious to win his
first case, and this nerved him on in the struggle.
Witnesses were examined, but when it came to
making the plea he was a trifle timid and nervous.
But as he warmed up he forgot the crowd, and
when he reached his spread-eagle peroration he
held them spell-bound. When he concluded, cheer
after cheer rang through the old Justice Hall, such
as had never been heard there before, and Little
Sam was the hero of the hour."
The peroration of this maiden speech was about
as follows: —
"Your Honor, I demand for my client only sim
ple justice. If you refuse him this you will violate
every rule of jurisprudence — rules as old as juris
prudence itself — which have been left undisturbed
by the storms of fate since the day when Julius

64 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Caesar planted his foot upon English soil, after the
conquest of Gaul; since the first Indian explored
the Western wilds of Ohio. Why, sir, refuse jus
tice to my client, and you will shake the taber
nacle of his soul and cause him to tremble for the
destinies of his country. Your Honor, the case to
me is as clear as the sun at noonday, when its
beams penetrate, like shafts of living light, down
to the bottom of the slumbering sea. The efful
gence of that heavenly orb can fathom the pro-
foundest depths of the human heart and open wide
its portals that we may read its secret workings.
"Clear as that crystal sun the mind of man pene
trates the deep recesses of the brain, where are
opened wide to his prophetic vision thoughts
which enable him to look into the book of fate, and
as he turns over the leaves of that musty volume —
mildewed by the breath of Time — leaves which
have been sealed to the gaze of man since crea
tion's earliest dawn, he half expects to hear tJie
voices of oracles of the departed ages. Casting his
mind's eye still backward he beholds the trillions
passed away, and prophetic vision sees the untold
billions of billions yet to come — all of whom had,
and all will have, brightest hopes and aspirations
fully equal to our own, and all uttering the uni
versal cry of 'Justice!'
"Justice, Your Honor, blended with mercy,
should be set in diadem high as the midnight heav
ens, and surrounded by a halo of the brightest
planets, there, in letters of living light, to shine
perpetually, that the moon and stars, in their
regular rounds, may pay obeisance and bow in de
votion to those talismanic words, 'Justice and
Mercy.'

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX

65

"Sir, the heathen Hottentot and the American
savage have those heavenly attributes engrafted
upon every principle of life and action. They be
hold it in the sun, moon and stars; they hear it in
every wind that blows. It will be the Magna
Charta of all generations of men. Why, sir, in
spiration and poetry spring from thoughts of jus
tice and mercy. For, blended with these is the
poetry of heaven, when, in the gorgeousness of
light, the sun proclaims, voiced as with a golden
lyre, the powers of the eternal; or at night, when
the moon and stars give forth, in silvery accents,
the same adoring hymn. In these we find the
poetry of the sea, when it speaks in rippled meas
ure or thunders in the voice of its own rebounding
billows; or in the storm, or in the green fields, in
waving woods and delightful gardens.
"Your Honor, justice is what I demand from
you, that justice with which Armand de Richelieu
ruled France for 15 years, when he held her to his
bosom in the dreadful strifes which desolated her
— held her there, pillowed upon justice. Why,
sir, thoughts fly through my brain in numbers like
as blades of grass upon our boundless Western
prairies, thickly as the hosts of Lucifer when he
marshaled his forces upon the seashore to attack
the angels — in numbers as many as the autumnal
leaves that strew the rippled brooks on my own
classic Muskingum."
It is needless to add that Cox won the case, and
as Captain Duble puts it "with hands down." He
adds: "The opposing counsel simply stated to the
Court that Cox had fairly covered the ground, and
that he had nothing to say, except that he knew

66 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
His Honor would decide the case by the strict rule
of justice. Immediately the Magistrate decided in
our favor, throwing costs upon the defendant."
In regard to the fee Captain Duble says: —
"I asked Cox what his fee was. With blushing
modesty and timidity he asked: 'Is $5 too much?'
I felt like pounding the young rascal, and con
cluded that he would never make a lawyer if his
charges were like that. 'Young man,' said I, 'you
do not know the first principles of your profession.
You don't know how to charge. Here, take the
whole amount awarded by the Court.' That first
case had a great deal to do with the subsequent
career of the great Sunset Cox."

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CHAPTER V.
HIS MARRIAGE AND TRIP TO EUROPE,
On one of his trips from Zanesville to Brown he
was fortunate in securing the only vacant seat in
a stage coach that had been chartered for New
York by a party, among whom was Miss Julia A.
Buckingham, who with her brother was about to
spend the summer in New Hampshire. There is
no record of what happened on that journey, but
it is stated that whenever the young lady alighted
from the stage to walk up the hills, the custom of
the day, the student remained inside the stage;
and when she remained he alighted.
When questioned about it the young lady, with
an amused smile, remarked, "Oh! I only noticed
that when I alighted from the stage for a short
and restful promenade, the youth always re
mained inside the stage, and vice versa."
On his return to Zanesville, however, the ac
quaintance was renewed, and when he had com
pleted his legal studies he sought her hand in mar
riage. The consent of the young lady was soon
obtained, and the marriage ceremony took place
in Zanesville, on October 11, 1849.
The Honorable Proctor Knott in his eulogy of
Mr. Cox beautifully and truthfully describes the
relations of this most devoted husband and wife.
Said Mr. Knott:—

68 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Fortunate as he was in many respects, infinite
ly beyond the average of his race, Mr. Cox found
the crowning blessing of his beautiful life in the
affectionate devotion and genial companionship
of his gifted and loving wife. Pure in spirit as
thrice sifted snow, sweet in disposition as the
breath of new blown roses, gentle in manner as
the evening zephyr dallying with the violet's eye,
faithful to every obligation, and cheerful in the
discharge of every duty that affection, humanity,
or religion impose, she was, as she is to-night, the
perfection of the highest, holiest type of noble
womanhood. To her devoted husband she was in
deed the pearl beyond all price. His constant
companion, his truest friend, his trusted adviser
in all things, she was to him a crown of glory
and a song of rejoicing throughout all the days of
their married life. She shared all his high am
bitions and gloried in his successes. Her gentle
hand supported him in the dark hours of sorrow,
and her loving smile gave a lovelier glow to the
bright rays of returning joy. Hand in hand they
trod life's journey together, strewing its path"n'ay
with the rich jewels of gentleness and charity, un
til in the full flush of his fame, with his blushing
honors thick upon him he was beckoned to a
brighter clime, to the real 'Wonderland,' whither
he is wooing her in the soft, sweet music of an an
gel's whisper."
A few months after their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Cox sailed for Europe — a rare trip in those days.
It was the year of the World's Exposition in Lon
don — the first of its kind in the world's history.
They reached Liverpool on the night of May 17,

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 69
1851. They returned in the September following.
Meanwhile they had made a tour through France,
Italy, Germany, Belgium, Scotland, England and
Ireland, with "delightful sojournings at Rome,
Naples, Malta, Venice, Athens, Smyrna, Constanti
nople, Geneva and amid the Alps, and observa
tions along the Mediterranean, amidst the Isles of
Greece." Under the title "A Buckeye Abroad,"
Mr. Cox, on his return, published a delightful vol
ume of reminiscence of his journey — a volume that
met with such favor that it went into the eighth
edition. In an introduction to the seventh edition he
wrote: —
"Since it was issued, in 1852, there have been
six editions published; and although frequent ap
plications have been made for it, especially in the
West, it has been impossible for me to supply the
demand." Some one wrote: "His Buckeye Abroad is an ex
cellent book for dyspeptics."

CHAPTER VI.

AS AN EDITOR.

In his preface to the first edition of "A Buckeye
Abroad," Mr. Cox says: "The pleasure of traveling
was enhanced by companionship. We numbered
four in our company, two ladies and a gentleman,
Mr. Philo Buckingham, and myself — ^just the num
ber for convenience and unity of movement, as
well as for pleasure. The time, too, was propitious.
The year 1851 may be truly called annus mirabilis,
at least so far as travelers were concerned. The
Great Exhibition — that novel phase of our civil
ization — was enough to entitle the year to the
honor, as a special wonder." The favor with
which this fascinating story of travel was received
by the public, led the friends of its gifted author
to urge him to abandon the law for the more con
genial field of journalism. Acting on their ad
vice Mr. Cox purchased, in 1853, a controlling in
terest in the Columbus "Statesman," the organ, at
the State capital, of the Democracy, assuming in
person its editorial conduct. As an editorial
writer he proved, as was to have been expected,
vigorous, original and brilliant. He was no novice
with his pen. During his course at Brown Uni
versity he had contributed both prose and verse to
newspapers and periodicals. His first effort at
magazine writing was for the old "Knickerbocker"

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 71
while he was yet at college. It was an article de
scriptive of the river on whose banks he was born
— the Muskingum — with an account of the Mo
ravian massacre at Gnadenhutten which took
place at the time of the War of the Revolution.
While at Brown, too, he had carried off prizes in
classics, in history, in poetic criticism, and in po
litical economy; his theme on this last subject be
ing "The Repeal of the Corn Laws." In this essay
he took ground, which he ever afterward main
tained, in support of the liberalities of commerce
against the "American system" of bounties for a
few from the many.
As editor of the "Statesman," Mr. Cox, then un
der thirty years of age, became at once an ac
knowledged power in the politics of his State. In
the treatment of the issues of the day he was
strong and vigorous and, withal, refreshingly
original. It was while he was in the editorial chair at Co
lumbus that the sobriquet "Sunset" was conferred
upon him, a sobriquet fitting his initials and cling
ing to him thereafter all his days. It came as a
sequel to an exceedingly picturesque description
from the editor's pen, of a glorious sunset. This
description, under the caption "A Great Old Sun
set," appeared in the Statesman May 19, 1853, and
read as follows: "What a stormful sunset was that
of last night! How glorious the
storm and how splendid the setting
of the sun! We do not remember
ever to have seen the like on our
round globe. The scene opened in

72 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
the west, with a whcle horizon full of
golden impenetrating lustre, which
colored the foliage and brightened
every object in its own rich dyes.
The colors grew deeper and richer,
until the golden luster was trans
formed into a storm-cloud, full of
finest lightning, which leaped in
dazzling zigzags all around and over
the city. The wind arose with fury,
the slender shrubs and quaint trees
made obeisance to its majesty. Some
even snapped before its force. The
strawberry beds and grass plots
'turned up their whites' to seeZephy-
nis march by. As the rain came,
and the pools formed, and the gut
ters hurried away, thunder roared
grandly, and the fire-bells caught the
excitement and rung with hearty
chorus. The south and east received
the copious showers, and the west all
at once brightened up in a long, pol
ished belt of azure, worthy of a Sici
lian sky. Presently a cloud appeared
in the azure belt, in the form of a
castellated city. It became more
vivid, revealing strange forms of
peerless fanes and alabaster tem
ples, and glories rare and grand in
this mundane sphere. It reminds
us of Wordsworth's splendid verse in
his Excursion: —

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 73
The appearance instantaneouiBly dlsclosied
Waa of a oilgtety city, boldly say
A wlldernees of 'buildings, sinking far
And self -'Withdrawn Jnito a wondrous depth.
Pair sdoMngr into splendor without end.
"But the city vanished only to
give place to another isle, where the
most beautiful forms of foliage
appeared, imaging a paradise in
the distant and purified air. The
sun, wearied of the elemental com
motion, sank behind the green plains
of the west The 'great eye in heav
en,' however, went not down with
out a dark brow hanging over its de
parting light. The rich flush of the
unearthly light had passed and the
rain had ceased; when the solemn
church bells pealed; the laughter of
children, out in the air and joyous
after the storm, is heard with the
carol of birds; while the forked and
purple weapon of the skies still
darted illuminations around the
Starling College, trying to rival its
angles and leap into its dark win
dows. Candles are lighted. The
piano strikes up. We feel that it is
good to have a home — good to be on
the earth where such revelations
of beauty and power may be made.
And as we cannot refrain from re
minding our readers of everything
wonderful in our city, we have begun
and ended our feeble etching of a

74 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
sunset which comes so rarely, that
its glory should be committed to im
mortal type."
This vivid description has been criticised as be
ing too florid, but critics are not always just. Sir
John McDonald, the eminent Canadian statesman,
when describing a sunset of phenomenal beauty,
in a letter to the Toronto Globe, quotes the entire
article by Mr. Cox, and refers to it as follows: —
"This has been thought to be highly imagina
tive.' Doubtless it is. None but a man of fertile
and poetic imagination could write it. It has been
thought to be greatly exaggerated, if not unreal.
I did not see it, and of it I cannot speak, but, hav
ing read the description over most carefully sev
eral times, it contains nothing which I cannot con
ceive as being perfectly possible; for had the cas
tellated city, of which he speaks, appeared in the
azure belt, and had this in vanishing given place
to 'another isle, where the most beautiful forms of
foliage appeared, imaging a paradise in the distant
and purified air,' even these forms wondrous as
they must have appeared to one of his poetic im
agination, would not have equalled the glory and
the grandeur of the sight which we were privi
leged to behold. For to us it appeared that the
very portals of heaven were opened, which led not
to the castellated city which presented itself to the
imagination of Congressman Cox, but to that
'great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God, and her light was like unto a
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear
as crystal.' I was better able to understand what

5 S

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SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 75
others had written on the same subject by reason
of what I had seen. When Humbolt was pursuing
hia investigations in Camana he thus wrote: 'There
the sun does not only shed light upon a landscape,'
as with us, 'but it gives a coloring to the different
objects; it enfolds them, without destroying their
transparency, with a light which makes their col
oring more harmonious, and spreads a repose over
nature.' "But chiefly am I glad that it is in my power, by
my own humble testimony, to rescue the descrip
tion of Congressman Cox from the charge of exag
geration and unnaturalness put forth by some, and
to express my own thanks that the description of
'A Great Old Sunset' was ever penned by one so
gifted — a description which will be perfectly in
telligible to all who may be permitted to look upon
the glory of the setting sun under conditions simi
lar to those witnessed by us at Labouchere Bay."

CHAPTER VII.
ENTERS THE ARENA OF POLITICS.
With the mantle of editor of the leading Demo
cratic organ of the State, came the mantle also of
party leadership. The chairman of the Ohio Dem
ocratic State Committee, in 1853, was Washington
McLean, the proprietor of the Cincinnati Enquirer,
one of Mr. Cox's earliest and staunchest friends.
Chairman McLean, anxious to be relieved of the
responsibilities incident to the conduct of the cam
paign, resigned the chairmanship upon the con
dition that Mr. Cox accept the place and direct the
canvass. WiUiam Medill was the Democratic
candidate for Governor. The opposing candidates
were Barrere, Whig, and Lewis, Free Seller. Mr.
Cox threw himself into the campaign with all his
characteristic vigor and energy. Never, it is said,
were his tireless industry and his marvelous ver
satility better displayed. Besides doing the execu
tive work of the committee of which he was the
head, he took the stump, electrifying the masses
by Ms eloquent reasoning, or convulsing them
with his keen wit, and, withal, not neglecting to
enforce the Democratic doctrine through the edi
torial page of his newspaper. His resources
seemed to be inexhaustible. Overwhelming vic
tory crowned his efforts — Medill being elected

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 77
Governor by a majority over all of 11,497, and a
plurality over the Whig candidate of 61,843.
By the prestige thus gained the young editor
and stump orator was, in spite of himself, fairly
launched upon the tempestuous sea of politics. In
the words of another, young, quick-witted, ready,
energetic, ardent, earnest, talented, graceful, and
accomplished, no man was more fitted to win the
plaudits of the people. He was the rising young
statesman of the Buckeye State. His fame spread
to Washington, and thither he was summoned by
President Pierce. It was Mr. Cox's first visit to
the National capital. President Pierce took a
great liking to the brilliant Buckeye, and, in 1855,
tendered him the post of Secretary of Legation at
the Court of St. James. This honor was declined,
Mr. Cox preferring, for reasons of his own, the less
exalted post of Secretary to the Peruvian legation.
The President freely acquiesced, and Mr. Cox
sailed for Peru. Overtaken, however, by alarm
ing illness at Aspinwall, enroute to his post, it was
not deemed prudent for him to proceed further.
Accordingly, as soon as able, he returned to the
United States and resigned his commission.
Thirty years — ^three decades big with the fate of
the nation — were destined to pass before his re
entry into his country's diplomatic service, as
Minister to Turkey.

CHAPTER VIII.
ELECTED TO CONGRESS.
The turning point in Mr. Cox's life had come.
A new career was opening before him, one in
which he was to achieve a memorable and a
unique success — one which was to link his name
with the most eventful chapters of American his
tory, and emblazon his fame on its brightest pages.
Samuel Sullivan Cox was about to enter the na
tional House of Representatives. It was the year
1856. The Republican party, as if having sprung,
like Minerva, full-armed from the brain of Jove,
although less than a year old, had 'already de
veloped a strength which struck consternation
into the heart of the ancient democracy. John C.
Fremont, the "Pathfinder," was the Republican
standard bearer, and to his standard the young
men of the country in particular were flocking in
serried hosts. The venerable James Buchanan,
an old public functionary whose services to his
country dated back for decades, was the democra
cy's candidate for President. The spirit of sec
tionalism was deeply stirred. The Democratic
leaders plainly saw that if they were to retain the
citadel of power, which they had captured four
years before, no stone was to be left unturned.
Everywhere they were putting the best foot for
ward. In the capital district of Ohio they in-

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 79
stinctively turned to the young and briliant lead
er, the eloquent orator and able editor, Samuel
Sullivan Cox. Him they asked to be their candi
date for Congress; and he accepted. Samuel Gal
loway was his Republican opponent, while Mr.
Stanberry was the candidate of what was left of
the old "American" party, now mainly merged
into the new Republican body. The campaign
was both exciting and bitter. Mr. Cox was
elected by a plurality over Galloway of 355 votes.
He was now thirty-two years old, but he had an
equipment for the duties before him in education,
in experience of public affairs, and in general
adaptation, possessed by few young men of his
era. Among Mr. Cox's papers is an autograph letter
from Franklin Pierce, written to the youthful Con
gressman from his New Hampshire home a few
months after his retirement from the Presidency.
Incidentallly the letter reveals the "high hope"
entertained of the national career upon which he
was about to enter, by the veterans of the Demo
cratic party. Writes ex-President Pierce: —
"Rockingham House, Portland, N. H.,
"September 15, 1857.
"My Dear Sir: — Accept my thanks for your kind
note of the 3d inst., and also for your admirable
address at Providence. I was deeply touched by
your noble tribute to Governor Marcy. It was
well earned by a long, useful, eventful life.
"I shall probably go to Cuba for the winter with
the anticipation of improvement to Mrs. Pierce's
health — but you must let me hear from you fre
quently after you enter upon your Congressional
career, to which I shall look with interest and
high hoi>e. Very truly your friend,
"Franklin Pierce."
"Hon. Samuel S. Cox. Columbus, Ohio."

CHAPTER IX.
EIGHT TEARS AN OHIO REPRESENTATIVE.
March 4, 1857, the day that witnessed the inau
guration of James Buchanan as President of the
United States, the last of the ante-bellum line of
chief magistrates, also ushered into national public
life Samuel Sullivan Cox. It was midway of his
career. Then thirty-two years old he had before
him other thirty-two years which were to be spent
mainly before the footlights of that great national
theatre, the House of Representatives. It was
the Thirty-fifth Congress. The new wings of the
Capitol were nearing their completion, and to the
Thirty-fifth Congress was to fall the honor of first
occupying the new quarters.
With a Democratic President the country had
returned a Democratic House of Representatives.
The choice of Speaker fell upon James L. Orr, of
South Carolina. In the distribution of committee
chairmanships Mr. Cox, although a new member
was not forgotten. He was placed at the head of
Revolutionary Claims. Events contributed to
bring the representative of the Capital district of
Ohio into early and unexpected prominence, and,
moreover, to signal to the world his independence
of character and his moral courage. Environment
added to the dramatic interest of the occasion.
The first session of the new Congress opened De
cember 7, 1857, in the old hall of Representatives.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 81
On the 16th of that month the House bade adieu
to the old hall, with all its historic associations.
and took possession of its new chamber in the
south wing of the Capitol, the same it occupies to
day. To "Sunset" Cox, as it chanced, fell the
honor of making the maiden speech in the new
chamber. And to the consternation of the vet
eran leaders of his party who listened, that speech
was a gauntlet thrown to the new administration,
which he himself had zealously helped to place in
power! The issue on which this young member
had the temerity to lock horns with the party's
President, at the very threshold of his term, was
the Lecompton constitution. To the admission of
Kansas into the union under that pro-slavery con
stitution President Buchanan was committed.
The opposition thereto was led by the "little
giant" of the senate, Stephen A. Douglas, with
"popular sovereignty" for his shibboleth. In the
memorable conflict then just beginning, a conflict
that resulted in the rupture of the party and its
defeat at the polls three years later, Samuel S
Cox was an able lieutenant of Judge Douglas.
His was the first speech made in the House of Rep
resentatives against the Lecompton Constitution.
It was the keynote. By it the line was closely
drawn, on the one or the other side of which the
Democrats the country over ere long arrayed
themselves in frowning attitude.
Of that speech and the scene attending its de
livery, the author in his "Three Decades of Fed
eral Legislation," says:
"The 16th of December, 1857, is memorable in
the annals of the United States. Looking back to

82 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
that day, the writer can see the members of the
House of Representatives take up the line of
march out of the old shadowy and murmurous
Chamber into the new Hall, with its ornate and
gilded interior. The scene is intense in a rare
dramatic quality. Around sit the members upon
richly carved oaken chairs. Already arrayed upon
either side are the sections in mutual animosity.
The Republicans take the left of the Speaker, the
Democrats the right. James L. Orr, of South Caro
lina, a full, roseate-faced gentleman, of large
build and ringing metallic voice, is in the chair.
James C. Allen, of Illinois, sits below him in the
Clerk's chair. The Rev. Mr. Carothers offers an
appropriate and inspiring prayer. A solemn hush
succeeds the invocation. After some legislative
routine the members retire to the open space in the
rear to await the drawing of seats. A page with
bandaged eyes makes the award, and one by one
the members are seated. Then by the courtesy of
the chairman of the Printing Committee (Mr.
Smith, of Tennessee), a young member from Ohio
is allowed to take the floor. He addresses the
Speaker with timidity and modesty amid many in
terruptions by Humphrey Marshall, Thomas S.
Bocock, Judge Hughes, George W. Jones, and
General Quitman, each of whom bristles with
points of order against the points of the speaker.
But that young member is soon observed by a
quiet House. Many listen to him, perhaps to
judge of the acoustic qualities of the Hall, some
because of the nature of the debate. And then
after a few minutes all become excited. Again
and again the shrill tones of Mr. Speaker Orr are

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 83
heard above the uproar. He exclaims: 'This is a
motion to print extra copies of the President's
message. Debate on the subject is therefore in
order, upon which the gentleman from Ohio has
the floor.' That gentleman is now the writer. His
theme was the Lecompton constitution. As the
questions discussed involved the great issues lead
ing to war or peace his interest in the mis-en-
scene became less. But his maiden speech — the
maiden speech in the new chamber — began under
circumstances anything but composing."
Judge Holman, of Indiana, said of this speech,
on the floor of Congress: "It was one of the ablest
and, under all the circumstances, the most cour
ageous speech ever delivered in Congress . In
words of burning eloquence he denounced the
proposed Constitution as not expressing the will of
the people of Kansas, and therefore as violative of
their right to form and control their local govern
ment. That speech, placing him at the very outset
of his Congressional career in antagonism to the
administration as well as many of his political
friends, opened up one of the greatest debates in
the records of Congress." It resulted in the Le
compton constitution being referred to the people
of Kansas, who promptly rejected it. At a later
day Mr. Cox had the satisfaction of voting for the
admission of Kansas into the family of States un
der a Free^state Constitution adopted by the peo
ple. This was one of the most signal triumphs of
Mr. Cox's long public life. The President took his
small revenge on Mr. Cox, by removing from the
Postmastership of Columbus the friend whose ap
pointment Mr. Cox had secured. He had, however.

84 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
in co-operation with Judge Douglas, saved the
Democratic party from the ineffable disgrace of
foisting upon the people of Kansas, in spite of
their protests, a constitution upholding the insti
tution of slavery in that territory. In his Three
Decades Mr. Cox, referring to the far reaching
consequences of this conflict, says: "Had the Demo
cratic party which came into power with Mr.
Buchanan and the Thirty-fifth Congress united in
wisdom to thrust aside the Lecompton constitu
tion, there would have been no distraction in its
ranks as early as 1860. But it is not so sure that
the slavery question would not have come in some
form to have kept up the irrepressible conflict.
Had they thus united, perhaps the Charleston con
vention of 1860 would have agreed."
He was re-elected, to the Thirty-sixth Congress,
by a majority of 647 over Mr. Case, Republican. It
was an emphatic endorsement of his position on
theKansas question, an endorsement given after
"a campaign," to use Mr. Cox's words,
"unexampled for its unprovoked fierceness,
its base and baseless charges of personal corrup
tion, its conceit, its ignorance, its impudence, its
poltroonery, its billingsgate, its brutality, its
monied corruption, its fanatical folly, its unflag
ging slang, its drunken saturnalia, and its unblush
ing libels and pious hypocrisy. In spite of all
this," he added, "the people doubled my majority
of 1856." The prestige gained by Mr. Cox in his
first Congress, his reputation for fearlessness and
independence, as well as ability and eloquence,
easily made him a leader in his second term. He
was still, however, at war with the administra
tion, co-operating with Stephen A. Douglas, the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 8 5
great leader of the Northern Democracy in the
Senate. The Democrats saw the first fruits of
their dissensions in the loss of the House of Repre
sentatives. After a protracted struggle for the
Speakership, in which John Sherman of Ohio was
side-tracked because he had unwittingly endorsed
Hilton Rowan Helper's book, "The Impending
Crisis," the mantle fell upon William Pennington,
a Conservative Republican from New Jersey.
During this Congress, which came into being
March 4, 1859, and expired March 4, 1861,
the lines of sectionalism grew more and
more distinct. The rumblings of the awakened
volcano came louder and louder, and it was evi
dent, at the last of this Congress, that the eruption
was at hand. In the fierce passions of the hour
personal confiict was often narrowly avoided, and
once at least there was actual personal collision
on the floor of the House. The parties thereto were
Keith of South Carolina and Grow of Penn
sylvania. Mr. Cox, who was a witness of the en
counter, thus describes it: —
"It is after the hour of midnight. The passions
of the time are incarnate in that Congress and at
that hour. See the fierce clutch and glaring eye,
and the struggle between these heady champions!
Now, after nearly three decades I see, trooping
down the aisles of memory, as then there came
trooping down the aisles of the House, the belliger
ents, with Washburn, of Illinois, and Potter, of
Wisconsin, leading one extreme, and Barksdale
and Lamar, of Mississippi, the other. Then came
the melee, the struggle; the pale face 'of the
Speaker calling for order; the Sergeant-at-Arms

86 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
rushing into the area before the Speaker's desk
with the mace as his symbol of authority. Its sil
ver eagle moves up and down on the wave of pas
sion and conflict. Then there is a dead hush of the
hot heart and the glare of defiance across the Hall.
As this scene is revivified, looking at it through the
red storm of the war, there is epitomized all that
has made that war bloody and desperate."
Of this Congress, which met for its first ses
sion December 5, 1859, Mr. Cox says : "Considered
by results it was, perhaps, the most important
congregation of men that ever assembled upon
our continent. It held the destinies of our institu
tions and races in the hollow of its hand." It was
during the life of this Congress, in 1860, that the
Charleston convention, in the spring of that year,
witnessed the formal disruption of the Democratic
party, followed by the presentation of two candi
dates for the Presidency, and the consequent tri
umph of Republicanism in the election of Abra
ham Lincoln. "On a gloomy day in March, 1861,"
testifies Mr. Cox, "the Thirty-sixth Congress ad
journs sine die. There are many sad and last fare
wells — for the pall of impending wrath hangs
over all the land. Black clouds of war loom up all
around, surcharged with the elements of death and
devastation." Mr. Cox had again been re-elected to Congress.
His opponent in 1860 was his opponent of 1856,
Samuel Galloway. Despite the flood-tide of
Northern sentiment for Lincoln's election to the
Presidency, and despite Democratic divisions,
Mr. Cox defeated Galloway by a majority of 883.
It was more than a political triumph: it was a per
sonal tribute of a pronounced type.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 87
The Thirty-seventh was the flrst war Congress.
It was ushered in with the inauguration of Lin
coln. Within fifty days the war clouds which had
been so long gathering, burst; Sumpter fell; and
the President had called the new Congress in ex
traordinary session to provide ways and means for
saving the Union from threatened destruction.
The extra session opened on July 4, 1861, a date
whose associations were doubtless intended to add
any needed stimulus to the patriotic uprising
which followed the attack on Fort Sumpter. The
great Southern leaders of previous Congresses
were conspicuous by their absence. They had, as
a rule, followed their States into the vortex of
secession. Mr. Cox, in the previous congress, had
clearly seen the drift of events, and warned his
countrymen of the South in impassioned elo
quence, to desist. "In Washington's sacred
name," he had pleaded in the winter before, while
State after State was joining the procession out of
the Union, "and on behalf of a people who have
ever heeded his warning and never wavered in the
just defense of the South or of the North, I ap
peal to Southern men who contemplate a step so
fraught with hazard and strife, to pause. Clouds
are about us! There is lightning in their frown!
Cannot we direct it harmlessly to the earth? The
morning and evening prayer of the people I speak
for in such weakness, rises in strength to that Su
preme Ruler who, in noticing the fall of a sparrow,
cannot disregard the fall of a nation, that our
States may continue to be — as they have been —
one; one in the essence of a national being ;one as
the thought of God is One!
"These emblems above us, in their canopy of

88 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
beauty, each displaying the symbol of State inter
est. State pride, and State (sovereignty, let not one
of them be dimmed by the rude breath of passion,
or effaced by the ruder stroke of enmity. They all
shine, like stars, differing in glory, in their many-
hued splendors, by the light of the same orb, even
as our States receive their lustre from the Union,
which irradiates and glorifies each and all." Hav
ing fruitlessly labored to avert secession in the
Thirty-sixth Congress, Mr. Cox came to the extra
session of the Thirty-seventh Congress prepared to
sustain the administration of Lincoln in every con
stitutional endeavor to put down the rebellion.
Judge Holman of Indiana, the intimate friend
and associate for so many years of Mr. Cox, bears
this testimony: —
"When the Thirty-sixth Congress adjourned, on
the 4th day of March, 1861, Mr. Cox and I started
homeward. We were detained a day at Wheel
ing, Va. We spent the day together, talking over
the impending confiict. We both knew, as all men
did, that war was inevitable. What position we
should take as Democrats in Congress in relation
to the coming war, when it came, was considered
from every standpoint. There was no hesitation
on the part of either of us. The Union must be
maintained at every hazard. No vicissitude of for
tune in the conflict of arms should justify ever the
consideration of the question of the dissolution of
the Union. The administration of President Lin
coln in every measure deemed necessary or proper
to uphold the Federal authority in all the States
of the Union should be cordially sustained. The
records of Congress during the war attest how

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 89
faithfully Mr. Cox adhered to that determination."
Between the dates of Lincoln's inauguration
and the opening of the extra session the country
had been shocked by the sudden death of Stephen
A. Douglas. On no one fell the loss more heavily
than on Samuel S. Cox. The eulogy of the depart
ed statesman by his long-time faithful friend in
the House, was affectingly eloquent, drawing tears
from those who listened to it.
Mr. Douglas' death at so critical a juncture of
affairs, when his counsel and influence were es
pecially needed, was deemed a great public loss.
"Who," asked his eulogist, "is left to take his
place? Alas! he has no successor. His eclipse is
painfully palpable, since it makes more obscure
the path by which our alienated brethren may re
turn." Mr. Cox was now serving his third term, as Rep
resentative of a district normally Republican. In
each contest, desi>erate efforts had been made to
effect his defeat, but all to no purpose. The happy
thought occurred to the legislature to apply the
gerrymander to the capital district of Ohio, and
see how that would work as a political agency. In
the new district Samuel Shellabarger, credited
with exceptional strength as a candidate, entered
the lists against the young but, in point of service,
already veteran member. Again, however, Mr.
Cox was elected, although his majority was,
through the process referred to, cut down to 272.
A glimpse of "war times" on the border between
the contending armies is afforded by the follow
ing private note from the venerable Kentucky
statesman, Hon. J. J. Crittenden, acknowledging

90 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
an invitation from Mr. Cox to make his home at
Columbus his refuge during the rebel raids of Ken
tucky. Under date Louisville, September 26, 1862,
he wrote: —
"Soon after I was compelled to leave my home
and come to this place to avoid falling into the
hands of the Rebels, I received from the Hon. S.
S. Cox a very kind letter of invitation for myself
and wife to come to his house and remain with him
during the present hostile and formidable invasion
of Kentucky. Please to present him my best ac
knowledgments for that hospitable invitation and
say to him I could not leave Kentucky at such a
time. I must remain with her, if it be only to
share in her troubles and her dangers. • ? ?
Be pleased also to give to Mr. Cox my heartiest and
best wishes for his re-election to Congress. I have
had my prejudices against him, but he overcame
them entirely by his conduct and course in the
present Congress, — his course in my opinion ju
dicious, intelligent and patriotic, opposing stead
ily that abolition policy which sought to convert
this holy war for the defence of the government
and the union into a mere anti-slavery party war —
a policy calculated to prolong and embitter the
bloody war, without doing any good to the white
or to the black man. It is for the country to decide
whether such a policy should prevail. It is for his
opposition to it that I feel a solicitude for the
election of Mr. Cox."
Besides his magnetic hold on the affections of
the people, Mr. Cox, by his support of every Consti
tutional measure for a vigorous prosecution of the
war, drew to himself a large Republican vote.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 91
The Thirty-eighth Congress, the fourth to which
Mr. Cox had been elected, met December 5, 1863.
The battle of Gettysburg had been fought in the
previous July, and although the advancing legions
of the Confederacy had been turned back, some of
the most desperate fighting of the war remained.
Mr. Cox had, from his second term, served on the
Committee of Foreign Affairs, and had enjoyed in
an eminent degree the confidence of the Secretary
of State, William H. Seward. This Congress it was
that submitted to the States the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slav
ery. That institution had already been abolished
in fact — abolished by the Proclamation of Emanci
pation issued by President Lincoln in 1862. It was
desired, however, to place the work of the Procla
mation beyond any possible question by incorpor
ating it in the Supreme law of the land. Mr. Cox
did not vote for this amendment, although he was
disjwsed to favor it. In his Three Decades he ex
plains this seeming contradiction. He had, he
says, left himself free to vote for it, in case its pas
sage would not interfere with attempts at peace
negotiations. He fully intended, when he went to
the House at noon of the last day of January, 1865
— the day fixed for taking the vote — ^to cast his
vote for the amendment. But on arriving at the
House he learned that commissioners to conclude
peace were actually waiting to be conducted
across the lines. Fearing tha,t action on the
amendment at that critical juncture might prove a
serious obstacle to peace negotiations, Mr. Cox
cast his vote against the amendment — a vote to be
construed rather against the expediency of its

93 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
adoption at that particular time than against the
abstract principle the amendment involved.
In connection with this vote, Mr. Cox relates the
following interesting incident: —
"In striving to stay hostilities and prevent
butchery, the author (of the Three Decades) uncon
sciously saved his personal probity from unde
served reproach. This is the incident. He was
boarding at the house of an active radical Repub
lican who had been on General Fremont's staff.
The writer had spoken, in confidence, about the
table and under the roof of this landlord of his in
tention to vote for the amendment. One vote was
then most momentous to make the requisite two-
thirds. This ex-soldier of fortune counted, in a
mercenary way, on improving his purse by his con
fidential information. When the writer returned
to his Tuesday dinner, having given under the cir
cumstances an adverse vote, the irascible radical
broke forth into such a torrent of abuse against
the writer, that the latter left the table in disgust
and bewilderment. The abuser in his wrath
averred — what he afterwards, when stricken with
blindness and repentant, directed his good wife to
asseverate in writing — that he was to get ten thou
sand dollars from New York parties for influenc
ing the writer's vote favorably to the amendment.
The wiiter discovered the party who raised the
fund which was said to be ready and freely used
for corrupting members. Can anything be con
ceived more monstrous than this attempt to amend
the Constitution upon such a humane and glori
ous theme, by the aid of the lucre of officeholders?
This statement was made in Congress after the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 93
war, and with much detail. It was never chal
lenged. It is true." This would have been by no
means the first instance of a legislator's vote being
sold with no knowledge of the transaction on the
part of the man who cast the vote.
Mr. Cox was about to suffer his first defeat at
the hands of the people. It was the fall of 1864,
Lincoln was a candidate for re-election, and Gen.
McClellan was his Democratic opponent. Mr. Cox
was, for the fifth time, his party's nominee to rep
resent the Columbus district, in Congress. Again
his opponent was Samuel S. Shellabarger. The
tide set in strongly in favor of Republicanism, and
Shellabarger was swept into Congress by the enor
mous majority of 3,169. The soldier vote, which
was forwarded from field and camp, contributed
largely to this result. With the completion of Mr.
Cox's term, en March 4, 1865, the curtain was rung
down on the last scene of a drama which had been
eight years on the boards. After long wandering
in the wilderness, the Canaan of peace was just
ahead. Mr. Cox, as Congressman, was permitted
to see its dawn, but not its noonday. Within six
weeks after his retirement from Congress, Rich
mond had fallen. Lee liad turned over his sword to
Grant in the shade of the Appomattox apple tree,
and, in the midst of the country's hallelujahs, had
come the shock of Lincoln's assassination. Events
of mighty import to the nation trod on one anoth
er's heels thick and fast in those six weeks. Mr.Cox,
from his retirement looked back upon eight years
of honorable service in the most momentous era of
the nation's history — ^the era which led up to, and
paralleled, the civil war.

94 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Throughout the long struggle Mr. Cox consist
ently supported every constitutional measure for
the suppression of the rebellion, but was unspar
ing in his criticism of measures which seemed to
him to be unnecessarily arbitrary and to infringe
upon personal liberty. Between himself and
President Lincoln the friendliest relations existed.
Among Mr. Cox's private papers appears
the following autograph letter, written by Presi
dent Lincoln, a few weeks before his assassina
tion: Executive Mansion Washington,
January 31, 1865.
Hon. S. S. Cox,
My Dear Sir — Thank you for the speech. I
sought it for the humor said to be in it; but while
it meets expectation in that respect, it has a far
higher merit, so far as I can judge by the hasty
glance I have only found time to give it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Prefacing his volume "Eight Years in Con
gress," Mr. Cox recalled with pardonable pride the
part he had taken in those stirring scenes. Ad
dressing his old constituents he says: "I repre
sented you truly, when I warned and worked from
1856 to 1860 against the passionate zealotry of
North and South; when I denounced, in and out
of Congress, the bad fallacy and worse conduct of
the secessionists; when I voted to avert the im
pending war by every measure of adjustment; and
when, after the war came, by my votes for money
and men, I aided the administration in maintain
ing the Federal authority over the insurgent

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 96
states. Sustained by you, I supported every meas
ure which was constitutional and expedient, to
crush the rebellion. In the perusal of these
pages," he added, "no one will find any aid, by
speech or vote, given to those who raised the stan
dard of revolt."
Valued testimony to Mr. Cox's services in sup
port of war measures and notably of the amend
ment to abolish slavery, was borne by no less a
personage than William H. Seward, the illustrious
premier of the Lincoln administration. In a pub
lic speech, delivered at Auburn, his home, in Octo
ber, 1868, Secretary Seward said :
"I entertain no ill will towards the democratic
party or its leaders, and certainly have no unchar
itable feelings toward that great constituency.
On the other hand, I cherish a grateful apprecia
tion of the patriotism, the magnanimity, the hero
ism of many of my fellow citizens, with whom I
have cheerfully labored and co-operated while
they still retained their adhesion to the Democrat
ic party. How could I distrust the loyalty or the
virtue of Andrew Johnson, of General Hancock,
of General McClellan, of Senator Hendricks, of
Indiana, Mr. Niblack, or of Mr. Cox, formerly of
Ohio, to whom personally, more than any other
member, is due the passage of the constitutional
amendment in Congress abolishing African slav
ery."

CHAPTER X.

REMOVAL TO NEW YORK.

At the close of his eight years' service in Con
gress, Mr. Cox, tired of public life, and in the be
lief that he was through with it, decided to re
move to the city of New York, and take up again
the practice of the law. In this he had a partner,
Mr. Charlton T. Lewis. In dedicating his volume,
"Eight Years in Congress," to his constituents, re
ferring to the conflicts illustrated therein, he had
said: "I have had my share of such conflicts. No
ambition now actuates me save that I may be in
strumental, through these pages, in mirroring the
past eight years, with the clearness and fidelity of
truth." Few men at forty could boast a public
service so long and distinguished, coupled with
accumulation of so rich a store and such marvel
ous versatilities of general culture.
Although settled down to the routine of a New
York lawyer, Mr. Cox was not to be permitted a
long respite from public service. He relates an in
teresting incident respecting the attempted im
peachment of President Andrew Johnson, in the
winter of 1868. During the trial Mr. Cox received
a dispatch summoning him to Washington. The
success of the impeachers, it was understood,
hinged on one vote — that of Senator Henderson,
of Missouri. With this Senator, Mr. Cox was

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 97
known to be on terms of close intimacy. It was
thought that Mr. Cox's Lnfluenoe might resolve the
doubts in the Senator's mind, and persuade him
to cast his vote against impeachment.
Mr. Cox obeyed the summons, and was soon in
Washington, closeted with the Missouri Senator.
The sequel is thus told by Mr. Cox: "A public
meeting had just been held at S|t. Louis, to in
struct the Senator to vote 'guUty.' His sense of
justice had been affronted by this. In this mood
the writer found him. He seemed to want advice
and counsel. It was not long before the writer
was requested by the Senator to pen and send a
telegram to the president and officers of that im
pudent St. Louis meeting. It substantially read:
'I am a judge in the impeachment case. You have
no right to instruct me in such affairs. As I am
an honest man I will obey my conscience, and not
your will. I shall vote 'not guilty.' " And he did
so vote. A copy of that telegram the writer took
to the White House at midnight. He found the
President gloomy. His fate depended on one vote
— nay, on this one Missouri vote. Grimes and
Ross were sure, but Henderson was not. The tele
gram was read to the President. A festivity was
improvised on the good news; and the morning
dawned with roseate hues for all interested in the
righteousness of the President's acquittal, and the
certainty of the vindication of a President, than
whom no man was ever more vilipended without
justifiable cause."
The object of Mr. Cox's mission to Washington
was accomplished; the impeachers were foiled;
and the President was saved.

CHAPTER XL

RETURNS TO CONGRESS.

In leaving Congress four years before Mr. Cox
had said "adieu;" but fate turned it into an "au
revoir." In the fall of 1868 he was nominated for
Congress by his party representatives in the Sixth
district, and was elected over George Starr, a
popular Republican, by 2,680. Then began a Con
gressional service of twenty years, scarcely inter
rupted till his death. In fact he was a member, at
one stage or another, of every Congress that sat
thereafter, so long as he lived — from the Forty-
first to the Fifty-first inclusive.
Heretofore he had represented the Capital dis
trict of Ohio. Henceforth he was to represent in
part the great city of New York.
Shortly after his election Mr. Cox, accompanied
by his wife, as ever on his travels, prompted by
impaired health, set sail for Europe, returning the
following autumn in time for the opening of Con
gress. "Mr. Cox," writes the companion of his travels,
"was worn out with the campaign of '67 or '68 and
the doctor ordered him abroad. He had then
symptoms of lung trouble — ^slight hemorrhages,
&c., so we started for Jerusalem. Bought a trunk
full of maps and books, to study up Palestine and
the Orient. Arrived at Mentone, Dr. Bennett

DR. HENRY BENNETT,
Cox's Physician in Europe (i860), in his Garden at Mentone.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 99
nearly took my breath away in his consultation.
"Mrs. Cox I will not answer for the life of your
husband, if he travels in this condition!" "What
shall I do. Doctor?" "Stay the winter here or in Al
giers. Stay here or at Nice and I will invite you (a
thing I rarely do), to go as my patients in the
spring to Algiers. If Mr. Cox wearies, take him a
short trip to Corsica. It is unbeaten track."
"So ended our 'second grand campaign!' For
we had given it almost as much thought as the po
litical campaign! Mr. Cox convinced by physician
and wife, remained and we had a very delightful
winter on the Riviera — extending to Vallembrosa
in Cannes and during the mild winter accom
plished our trip to Corsica— perhaps the most
unique of any of our foreign sojournings.
"In the spring Dr. Bennett and an uncle, an old
India campaigner, with Mr. Cox and myself took
the steamer for Algiers and finished the African
and Spanish trip which he pictures in his 'Search
for Winter Sunbeams.' "
In this charming volume, which he dedicated to
his constituents of the Sixth Congressional dis
trict of New York, he has told- the story of his
travels during thait year. "My circle," in a resume
of his journeys he writes, "began at the Riviera
under the Alps; it includes Corsica; thence enters
into Africa, and passes through Spain and South
ern France, until, again in the Alps of Italy, it
ends, with a view so eminent, that it seems to com
prehend the whole sweep of nearly a year's tour of
travel." The day that witnessed the return of Samuel
Sullivan Cox to Congress signaled the election of

100 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, over Horatio Seymour, to
the Presidency. The country was still struggling
with the problem of reconstruction. The passions
of the war were still far from being burned out.
Mr. Cox believed that the greatest bar to a com
plete restoration of the union was the political
ostracism of the men who had borne arms against
the United States. Accordingly one of his first
acts, on returning to the familiar scenes of Con
gress, was the introduction of a general amnesty
bill. That was in 1869. He explains that his ob
ject in Congressional service was, since war
could not be alleviated of its cruelties, to mitigate,
in so far as it could be done, the proscriptive tend
ency which kept our people separated by a great
chasm. Mr. Cox's bill came within two votes of
passing the House, James G. Blaine being the
Speaker, although under the fourteenth amend
ment a two-thirds vote was required. Mr. Cox
urged the measure with all the force and elo
quence he could command. The emphatic endorse
ment of his proposition by so large a majority — al
though falling just short of the requisite two-
thirds — in a House politically hostile, was a de
cided personal triumph. But he did not give up
the fight. In Congress after Congress he sought
the passage of a bill bestowing general amnesty
upon the South, as the shortest and quickest road
to complete reconciliation. Speaker Blaine had,
according to Mr. Cox, authorized the Committee
on Rules, of which both were members, to report
such a measure, only to retreat precipitately from
the high ground he occupied in Committe, so soon
as the bill reached the House. However that was,

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 101
it is certain that such progress towards amnesty
as was made in Mr. Cox's day, was due in large
degree to his untiring efforts and indomitable per
severance. Mr. Cox's antagonist in the Congressional elec
tion of 1870 was the famous editor of the New
York Tribune, Horace Greeley. Mr. Cox's ma
jority was 1,025. Two years later the two were
running on the same ticket, the one for President,
the other for Congressman-at-large. The Forty-
second Congress, which came into being March 4,
1871, and died March 4, 1873, was the first to have
on its roll the names of representatives of the
lately enslaved race. In this Congress Mr. Cox
made a persistent but ineffectual fight against the
test oath system — seeking to abolish the entire
system in its application alike to jurors, and all
officers, including Congressmen. In its place, how
ever, a modified measure was passed applying to
the oath to be administered to members of Con
gress, but not to jurors. But complete triumph
came to Mr. Cox two decades after the war, when
President Arthur, on May 13, 1884, signed the bill
repealing both the iron-clad oath and the jury-
test oath.

CHAPTER XII.
RACE FOR CONGRESSMAN- AT-LARGE.
•
Mr. Cox's next race for congress, made in the
fall of 1872, was under new conditions and in
strange company. The revolt in the Republican
party against Grant, had resulted in the nomina
tion at Cincinnati of Horace Greeley for President,
and his adoption as Presidential candidate by the
Democratic National Convention at Baltimore.
This action was followed by a practical fusion, a
modus Vivendi, of the Democrats and Liberal (an
ti-Grant) Republicans in several of the States, in
cluding New York. The Democratic State Con
vention at Syracuse, meeting concurrently with
the Liberal Republican State Convention held in
another hall in the same city, made a fusion ticket
headed by Francis Keman for Governor, with
Chauncey M. Depew for Lieutenant Governor, and
Samuel S. Cox for representative in Congress at
large. A new apportionment had given New
York an additional representative, who, for this
time — the Legislature not yet having redistricted
the State — was to be elected from the State at
large. Mr. Cox's acknowledged strength with the
masses of voters over the entire State led natur
ally to his selection, when strength for the mon
grel ticket was the one thing needed and sought.
It was a curious combination, Horace Greeley, the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 103
high priest of protection, and life-long foe of De
mocracy, at its head; Francis Keman, a Democrat
of Democrats, yoked with Chauncey M. Depew,
who never had been aught but a Republican
throughout; and Samuel S. Cox, an avowed advo
cate of free trade, and the antipode in general of
the editor of the Tribune. Mr. Cox was carried
down with the rest of the strange company in
which he had been placed. It was his second and
last defeat before the people — his defeat in his
Ohio district having been his first. Although he
ran ahead of his ticket, Mr. Cox was defeated by
Lyman Tremain, ex-attorney general of New York,
by a majority of 37,699.
Mr. Cox was on the stump for Greeley and the
rest of the Democratic ticket throughout the cam
paign. Greeley's nomination had been accepted
by the Democrats for the promise it gave that his
election meant amnesty and reconciliation, and a
return of peace and good-will between the lately
warring sctions. "The Democracy," said Mr. Cox
from the stump, in justification of the seemingly
inconsistent policy of the party in adopting a life
long antagonist as its candidate for President,
"should remember that, while in the heat and dust
of dther strifes Horace Greeley has not spared
them, yet, in generous rivalry, he has endeavored
with them to pursue the paths of peace. If elected,
he will, under God, impress his administration
with sentiments mellowed by new associations,
with charities silvered over by advancing years,
and with a reverence for the hallowed traditions
of our early national career, made glorious by that
Democracy which has, in the vicissitudes of par-

104 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ties, become his ally in that progress, and a sharer
in the common blessings and glories which his ad
ministration would bestow. The fulness of those
blessings will come to our country, because they
will be inspired by the spirit of reconciliation."
But the country was not yet ready, nor was the
time ripe, for the proposed change. As Mr. Cox
himself, years after, expressed it: "Civil govern
ments South were still disorganized; lawlessness
South begat timidity North; the military spirit
was still rife and rampant; and the issues of the
wax were still uppermost in men's minds." Re
conciliation came, but years later.
During that memorable campaign an epidemic
of the epizootic seized upon the equines of the
country, almost completely paralyzing industries
dependent upon the use of horses. Writing from
the stump to a friend Mr. Cox made playful refer
ence to this epidemic and the general tendency of
campaign orators to charge all existing ills to the
party in power. "I lay the horse distemper," wrote
Mr. Cox, "to Grant. Run me as the anti-epizootic
candidate-at-large!" On the heels of the disaster,
with his habit of looking for the silver lining to
every cloud, he again wrote: "One of my chief
joys, not a 'crumb' but a whole festivity of de
lights was the friendships I had formed in my cam
paign over the State. My heart goes out 'at large'
to them. I am thoroughly dazed," he added,^
"with the result in the country."
On the result of the election being known, Mr.
Cox at once wrote to his successful competitor con
gratulating him on his victory. This letter
brought from Mr. Tremain the following reply:

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 105
"Albany, Nov. 11th, 1872.
Hon. S. S. Cox.
My Dear Sir — Accept my thanks for the friendly
sentiments expressed in your valued favor of the
9th inst., which, I assure you, are heartily recipro
cated on my part. When I went to Hart's studio
in Florence with our mutual friend
and your warm admirer. Captain Boyd,
to view your excellent bust, little did I
dream that we should be opposing candidates for
the office of member of congress. But, as Mr. Lin
coln truly observed, we are controlled by events
and circumstances. The recent canvass, earnest
and exciting as it has been, has left no rankling
wounds in my breast, nor any other than the kind
liest personal feelings towards a gentleman so uni
versally esteemed for his genial qualities as my
distinguished opponent. Rejoicing in the convic
tion that our political antagonism has in no man
ner disturbed our personal relations, I have the
honor to be Yours very truly,
Lyman Tremain."
Again Mr. Cox supposed his Congressional car
eer to be forever closed. Again he awoke to find
his mistake — his services were too important to be
dispensed with.

CHAPTER XIII.

SPURNS THE

The second session of the Forty-second Con
gress, expiring March 4, 1873, to attend which Mr.
Cox returned to the National Capital the month
folowing the "Greeley fiasco," and his own defeat,
short as it was, proved long enough to earn for
that Congress unenviable notoriety. At this ses
sion the "back pay grab," as the law increasing
the salary of a Congressman was popularly
known, was placed upon the Federal statute book.
Its most obnoxious feature, in the popular estima
tion, was its retro-active provision, dating the in
crease of salary two years back, to the beginning
of the life of that Congress. The bill found in Mr.
Cox a vigorous opponent. When, despite his ef
forts to compass its defeat, the bill becjune a law,
Mr. Cox, refusing to profit therefrom, turned his
share of the "steal" back into the public treasury.
Mr. Cox felt keenly the infamy the "back pay" law
had brought upon Congress. In a private letter
written a few days after the adjournment he said:
"I did all I knew in the last Congress, but it seems
as if even the decent people in Congress are em
balmed in a common infamy with the worst. This
is discouraging. I spoke and voted against every
phase of the 'Back Pay.' " Stating that he had
returned his own portion to the United States

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 107
treasury, "where it belonged," he added: "I didn't
expect it when I served; I did not contract for it;
I am happy in being rid of it. I am foolish enough
to take a pride in having my old constituents, and
my last fall's supporters, 400,000 good fellows,
think I am not a mean person, nor a selfish legisla
tor." The Treasury receipt of the "grab" which he had
spurned reads as follows:
"Treasury of the United States,
Washington, April 30, 1873.
Sir: — For $4,812, received as per yours of the
20th instant, T enclose duplicates of my certificate
of deposit No. 7,960, on account of miscellaneous
receipts received from John A. Hardenbergh, New
York, as a deposit from Hon. S. S. Cox, being
amount retroactive salary due him as member
Forty-second Congress by act approved March 3,
1873. Forty-eight hundred and twelve dollars original
certificate of deposit sent to the Secretary of the
Treasury. Very respectfully, F. E. SPINNER,
Treasurer United States.
John A. Hardenbergh,
No. 112 Broadway, New York."
Many a member of that Congress returned home
with the "back pay" in his pocket only to meet a
frowning and unforgiving constituency. Many a
member of that Congress, having pocketed the
"back pay," dated his retirement to private life
from that untoward event.

CHAPTER XIV.
AGAIN RETURNS TO CONGRESS.
Relieved, as he supposed, from public cares,
possibly permanently, Mr. Cox had planned an
other trip abroad, when intelligence was brought
him of the critical illness of his venerable father.
Between father and son the bond of affection was
exceedingly strong. He hurried to his father's
bedside in Ohio and awaited the end.
Writing of his father's death (which
occurred May 18, 1873, at Zanesville), Mr.
Cox says: "We buried my father on Tuesday. I
can hardly realize the loss. It seems as if my life,
private and public, had been mostly to please
him." Owing to this affiiction the projected tour
abroad was abandoned. "I must," he wrote, "give
up my foreign trip for the present. My mother
cannot bear the idea of my being cat of the coun
try. So I am to be here for a time at least, if not
for the year."
Events other than domestic affliction, as it
proved, contributed to the postponement of the
trip he had planned, for the summer, in the old
world. The death of James Brooks, a distin
guished Representative in Congress from the new
Sixth District in New York, had created a vacancy
in the new Congress, which Mr. Cox was asked to
fill. Consenting to the use of his name, he was, in

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 109
the fall of 1873, elected by the large majority of
6,932. He took his seat at the oi)ening of Con
gress, in December. Thus it happened that there
was no actual gap in his Congressional service
caused by his defeat in 1872. Mr. Blaine was
again, for the third consecutive Congress, in the
Speaker's chair, and General Butler, of Massachu
setts, was the acknowledged leader on the floor of
the House. Two prominent political measures
before that Congress pushed by General Butler
with all his characteristic energy and determina
tion were the Force Bill and the Civil Rights Bill.
The opposition to these measures was marshaled
by Samuel J. Randall and Samuel S. Cox. The Civil
Rights Bill was finally passed, but the dilatory
tactics of the minority, under the leadership of
Messrs. Cox and Randall, were fatal to the Force
Bill. Referring in after years to the struggle over
the Force Bill, Congressman Bland, of Missouri,
said: "Justice requires me to say that the strict
impartiality shown by Mr. Blaine, the Speaker,
during this memorable contest extorted the high
est warmth of admiration from his political op
ponents. In that fight there were two great men
and great characters brought more prominently
than before into public notice. These were Samuel
J. Randall and Sullivan Cox. Mr. Cox," in Mr.
Bland's opinion, "was truly our Pamell , while
Mr. Randall in many characteristics was to us a
Gladstone." To the next Congress, the Forty-fourth, Mr. Cox
was elected by a majority of 10,334. The opposi
tion had long before abandoned all attempts to
secure his defeat. For the first time since his en
try into Congress eighteen years before, when

110 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
James L. Orr was chosen speaker, he found him
self in a House controlled by his party friends.
The "tidal wave" of 1874 which had swept over the
land, had overwhelmed the Republicans in the
House and given the majority to the Democrats.
Mr. Cox was prominently mentioned for Speaker.
He had beeen named for that position by his party
associates when a nomination was but an empty
honor. Now that it meant an election, why should
the nomination not be conferred upon him? He
had enthusiastic supporters, particularly among
Southern and Western members. It was a trian
gular contest. His rivals were Samuel J. Randall
of Pennsylvania, and Michael C. Kerr of Indiana.
The choice ultimately fell upon Mr. Kerr. By him
Mr. Cox was appointed chairman of the Commit
tee on Banking and Currency. The rooms of this
committee were historic. They were the old
"Speaker's rooms" attached to the former hall of
Representatives, and so used during the first nine
days of Mr. Cox's service in Congress before the
removal to the present Representative Chamber.
Here it was John Quincy Adams, stricken while
in his seat as a representative from Massachusetts,
was carried, and saw the "last of earth." A bust
of the famous ex-President and champion of the
right of petition, placed in the main room, com
memorates the melancholy event. Before the
Forty-fourth Congress had ended its existence,
Mr. Cox's committee rooms became additionally
historic; for here, by his courtesy, met the House
special committee, charged with the duty of devis
ing some peaceable way out of the controversy
which then threatened to embroil the country in
another civil war, far worse than the one from

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 111
which it had but recently emerged^ — a controversy
arising from an election for the Presidency. The
first steps towards the formation of the electoral
commission were here taken. Mr. Cox, although
not a member of this special committee, gave the
bill it presented his passive support. When it be
came evident that the outcome would be the seat
ing of Mr. Hayes, whom he had opposed, instead of
Mr. Tilden, whom he had supported, Mr. Cox, in a
speech in the House on the Louisiana case, washed
his hands of all responsibility for the conse
quences. Mr. Cox refused, however, to join in factious
opposition to a result he felt bound in good faith
to accept. His voice and vote were given consis
tently for loyal acquiescence in what he believed
to be a reversal of the popular verdict, but still a
result reached through the forms of law.
Early in the first session of this Congress, Speak
er Kerr was seized with a critical, and as it proved,
fatal illness. Speaker Kerr designated Mr. Cox
from time to time to fill the chair during his brief
absences, until the Speaker being compelled to
leave the Capital in search of health, the House on
the 19th of June formally elected Mr. Cox Speaker
pro tem. It was a Congress embracing on the one
side such men as Randall, Holman, Hewitt, Mills
Lamar, Tucker, Morrison, Watterson, Hurd,
Springer, Knott and Blackburn, and on the other
such men as Blaine, Garfield, Gen. Banks, Kelley,
Kasson and Hoar — an unusual aggregation of lum
inous intellects. "Samuel S. Cox," said one of his
eulogists, "shone in this galaxy like a star of the
first magnitude."
While acting as the temporary Speaker of the

112 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
House, Mr. Cox was chosen delegate to the Demo
cratic National Convention at St. Louis, and left
the chair to attend the convention. Milton Sayler,
of Ohio, was chosen to fill the chair during Mr.
Cox's absence. The implied understanding was
that on Mr. Cox's return from St. Louis, his substi
tute would relinquish the chair to its former occu
pant. That this was not done was one of the in
scrutabilities of public life — one, too, which Mr.
Sayler never ventured to explain. Meanwhile Mr.
Kerr lay dying at Alum Springs, West Virginia.
Thither hastened Mr. Cox, on the adjournment of
Congress, to the bedside of his friend. In a letter
to a friend, dated August 23, 1876, Mr. Cox wrote:
"I have been weary enough from service in Con
gress and from waiting at the sad ending of Mr.
Kerr's life." Mr. Cox's eulogy on Speaker Kerr,
on the re-assembling of Congress, matched his eul
ogy, sixteen years before, of Senator Stephen A.
Douglas. It made a marked impression upon the
House. Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, who
was lying ill at his room in the National Hotel —
the room in which Henry Clay died — and who sup
posed his own end near, sent for Mr. Cox. As,
accompanied by his nephew, Wm. V. Cox, he en
tered the sick room, the distinguished Georgian
said : "I have heard read your eloquent eulogy up
on Speaker Kerr, and have sent for you to make a
request — a last request. Will you promise to de
liver my eulogy when I am gone?" Mr. Cox's
prompt reply was : "I would like you to promise to
make my eulogy. You will be the survivor." The
Georgian did indeed rally, and lived years of use
fulness. He crossed, however, to the other shore,
long before his genial friend.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 113
Mr. Cox's election to the 45th Congress was
practically unanimous. Only 41 votes were cast
against him. The House was again Democratic,
and Samuel J. Randall, who had at the second ses
sion of the Forty-fourth congress been chosen to
succeed the lamented Kerr, was again the Speaker.
Mr. Cox was placed at the head of the committee
on the Tenth Census. It involved a work in which
he took a peculiar pride. He was the author of the
bill, which became a law March 3, 1879, providing
for the census. In its perfectness no census the
country had witnessed could compare with it. Ex
cept his legislative achievements in the Life Sav
ing Service and for the Letter Carriers, nothing
accomplished by Mr. Cox during his long service in
Congress gave him greater pleasure, or was a
source to him of greater pride than the Tenth Cen
sus. It stands to-day a monument to his pains
taking, and his wonderful grasp of details.
He was re-elected in 1878 to the Forty-sixth Con
gress, and in 1880 to the Forty-seventh Congress
by pluralities of 4,581 and 9,863 respectively. In
the latter year, James A. Garfield, who had been
his colleague for nearly two decades, was elected
President, and with him was returned, for the first
time in eight years, a Republican majority in the
House of Representatives.

CHAPTER XV.
FROM NORTH CAPE TO THE PYRAMIDS.
In the spring of 1881, soon after Garfield's inau
guration, Mr. Cox, accommpanied by his wife,
sailed for an extended trip abroad. The story of
their travels he has told in two volumes entitled
"Arctic Sunbeams, or from Broadway to the Bos
phorus, by way of the North Cape," and "Orient
Sunbeams, or from the Porte to the Pyramids, by
way of Palestine." Together these titles summar
ize their eight months' journey. They "compre
hend a travel in which some twelve different na
tionalities are involved; and each and all of them
in process of mutation, politically, socially, mor
ally and religiously." Some of the scenes in the
land of the Turk and in the far east were revisited
after a lapse of thirty years
He halted for a brief rest in London, and while
there attended a session of Parliament, and the
funeral of Lord Beaconsfield. To a friend at home
he writes of these events and the impressions they
made as follows: 'London, Eng., April, 26, 1881.
"My Dear Friend: I am enjoined from doing
any sort of work — my vdfe being the judex — so I
do not, cannot give you a description, as I hoped,
of the Parliament, whose sessions began last night
after the Easter recess. Having been lucky in get-

NORTH CAPE GROUP.
S. S. Cox, Wife and Guide— 1881.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 115
ting a front seat, I had an opportunity of looking
down on the scene, and heard and saw the opening
of the performance in behalf of the Irish people.
The morning papers are full of the debate, and you
will doubtless have abstracts of it by telegraph.
When the House met, at half-past 3 o'clock, there
was but one of the Cabinet on the government
benches. Soon the hall filled, and some tive hun
dred members were on hand. Mr. Bright was
there, looking none the worse for the twelve years
since I last saw him. Mr. Gladstone did not come
in till the member from the University of Dublin
(Mr. Gibson) was nearly done his trenchant and
dashing speech for the landlords. The debate came
near falling through, owing to some weary and pe
culiar tactics. In fact, a motion to adjourn it was
made. This aroused Gladstone, and he and North-
cote, the Tory leader, had a tussle ,and some others
of less note grappled. The debate went on until
Mr. Speaker Bland went out for tea, and I ad
journed myself to look after the pictures in the cor
ridors. There was not much interest manifested
until a young inchoate Duke of Portsmouth (Lord
Lymington) took the floor. He spoke well, and
with sympathy for Ireland and her grievances. The
debate was kept up till after midnight, and was
resumed last night, when I was present again, Mrs.
Cox being in the box of Mrs. Speaker Bland, and
shut in from observation, though able to hear and
see all below.
"It is difficult for gentlemen to obtain access to
the Commons, and still more so for the ladies.
Thanks to the courtesy of the Speaker, we had
double advantages. My seat was in the Speaker's

116 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
gallery, front row, and facing the Speaker and
looking down upon the seats.
"Thirty years ago I attended Parliament, but it
was in the old St. Stephen's, full of Parliamentary
traditions. The present chamber is in the New
House. It will not hold one-fifth of the people
who can assemble in our lower House, It is well
lighted somewhat as our House is, from the ceiling
with gaslights above colored glass squares. There
are stained windows on either side, with diamond
panes, colored red and green, and galleries all
around and above the chamber. These galleries on
either side are two seats deep, for embassadors and
other privileged people, and at either end seats for
the reporter over the Speakers' chair, and for those
admitted by the Speaker's card. The seats are
ample. They are of green leather, but, strange to
say, only one seat for a half-dozen Peers. The
reporters come and go every hour as the big bell
in the tower near by dings out the time. The
Speaker's seat is under an oaken canopy. In front
of his chair are the seats and desks of the clerks
(or clarks), and still in front of that desk is the
"table," on which are some volumes, and on either
side two reddish boxes, one holding the printed
oath, and the other the affirmation, and still fur
ther, at the end of this table, is the mace, golden
or gilt, as old as the Stuarts, and more potential
now then the "bauble" of Cromwell's day. It is
the emblem of the authority of the House, and, like
our own mace, is in its place when the House is in
session. It has a golden crown at one end — unlike
our mace, which has a silver eagle at the end of
a diminutive barber pole.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 117
"On either side of the table sit the prominent
members. To the right of the Speaker and in front
is the Treasury Bench, on which sit, or repose oh
the small of their backs, and with hats on, gener
ally, the members of the Cabinet when the House
is in session. Behind this bench of notables are
the immediate supporters of the government. Op
posite are their opponents, led by Sir Stafford
Northcote. There is an aisle crossing the house,
and below, or remote from the table (below the
"gangway" as it is called), sit the Independent,
Radical, and Irish members. I have not time for a
photograph of the scene presented when the house
is in session, but I have had the privilege of hear
ing two grand debates — one on the Irish bill, and
the other on the Bradlaugh case.
"In the latter affair there was a scene. The like
has not happened in our Congress, certainly not
since the war. A member-elect, well authenti
cated, appears and tenders himself to take the
oath. It is objected that he is an atheist. He still
insists that the oath will bind. His objectors con
tend that his swearing is profanation. He re
sponds: 'I comply with the law. The conscience
involved is not yours, but my own.' He is rejected
on a division. Gladstone, Bright, et al., are dis
comfited. Cheers resound; so that you might hear
them across the Thames. Still Bradlaugh insists
on his seat. He is removed by a pretense of force.
He escapes to the table; is again removed by an
old sergeant-at-arms dressed in tights, shoe-
buckles, sword and wig, but again returns from
the bar to the table. In the melee the House ad
journs. He appears next day and goes through

118 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
the same performance. The Ministry are to pon
der the problem. The result will be, as I prophesy,
that a general law, exempting all who cannot take
the oath required by the existing law, will be
passed. "It is not for an American to laugh at this pro
ceeding. England was slow to remove Catholic
and Jewish disabilities, so that these religionists
should sit in Parliament without tests. England
has removed from her statutes dozens of oaths re
quired in custom house and courts. She has sub
stituted declarations or affirmations instead; but
in the United States Congress the anomaly
remains that Garfield, Bragg, Ewing, and all who
sustained the Government during the rebellion
must take the "ironclad" oath, while the rebel i.3
exempt, and only swears to the Constitution! Time
and again I have, with others, tried to remove this
absurdity, but in vain. The time will come, how
ever, when oath-taking will become such a prof
anation, by its levity, familiarity and frequency,
that it will be discarded altogether. Then we shall
all be Quakers, on that point at least.
"The debate on the Irish Land bill went on last
night. Many ordinary speakers spoke. The Attor
ney General of Ireland closed the debate. Mr.
Parnell will speak next week, and I hope to hear
him. "The debate, thus far, leaves upon my mind this
impression, that while the government means to
redress Irish tenant grievances, and has, by cun
ning and just devices, endeavored to ameliorate
the hardships of rents and the trouble of insecure
tenure, that no absolute and lasting cure can be
realized for the unhappy isle until self-government

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 119
is accorded to the Irish people. Call it separation,
or Home Rule, or what you please, the remedies
proposed, even by the best friends of Ireland, seem
to me like attempting to cure the pimples upon the
cuticle when the disorder is so chronic and deep-
seated as to require heroic remedy.
"But one more allusion to Ireland. Scarcely
five days ago, in a smooth sea and on a sunny day,
we passed around Cape Clear and inside of Fastnet
rock and lighthouse. The mountains arose upon
our vision, and the rocky shore left its impression
— a sad one. Since then we have seen the old town
of Chester, and the residence of the Duke of West
minster near by — Eton Hall — his paddocks and
horses, mares and colts, including Doncaster, the
chestnut winner of the Derby and the splendor of
horses! Since then we have re- visited St. Paul's,
Westminster Hall and the Abbey, the great mu
seum, the Courts of Queen's Bench, Exchequer and
Common Pleas, and traveled over and under
ground throughout this vast metropolis. How
much we have seen in five days !
"But had any one said to me, before I left the
dock at the foot of West Houston street, and even
after the faint impression came of the rolling and
rocking "cradle of the deep," that within a fort
night I should attend the funeral of Benjamin
Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, I should have
thought him or her crazy! But it is accomplished.
"A passenger came aboard our vessel at Queens-
town, and informed us upon Thursday of Disraeli's
itecease the preceding Thursday. On the succeed
ing Tuesday we were at Hughenden, a sweet,
beautiful manor of hill and dale in Buckingham
shire, to observe the obsequies to the political wiz-

120 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ard of the century. This marvel cf statesman and
author, this strange genius of a proscribed race,
was generously and nobly entombed in a rural spot
by the loving hands of a tenantry who seemed to
admire and respect him. He was entombed within
the same vault, under a Christian church, where
his Christian wife had been buried, and amid a
throng of authors, statesmen, and nobles, who
filled the manorial grounds on that pleasant April
day, to do the dead statesman homage.
"One incident happened to us — a lucky one. Our
tickets being first-class — as sovereigns should ever
be — led us to the carriage in the train to High Wy
combe (the depot for Hughenden), next to that of
the princes of the realm ! The Prince, and heir ap
parent, and his two brothers, were the recipients
of great attention. At every stop of the train
scores of good people, being advised by the wire,
were awaiting the royal advent, so that we saw
the loyal demonstrations en route, made in honor
of the three nice young men — .handsome and well
behaved — whom it is the pleasure of England to
keep as the figures at the head of affairs, which
they do not in any wise control.
"But more of this hereafter. The jaunt was
truly a relief after a long voyage. The blossoms
and hedges, fields and trees, the greenery and the
sunshine, were all enchanting, so that our first
week's experience on this island has been one of
recreation tempered with novelty and instruction.
"Sincerely jours,
"S. S. Cox."
In a letter to an American friend dated Beirut,

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 121
Sj^ria, October 4, 1881, en route to Jerusalem, Mr.
Cox wrote, of Broussa:
"We began by an inroad upon Broussa. It is
South of Constantinople and across the Sea of Mar
mora. Our experience there, with its silks and
caravans, its fruits and fountains, its baths for
health and its sepulchres of the founders of the
Ottoman Empire — of which it was the first capi
tal — would form a chapter of romance. One thing
our trip to Broussa did; it inducted us into the
mysteries of Asian land travel. In Constantinople
we had met many peculiar types of men and many
muffled forms of women, as well as of society.
They were hard to understand. In our vexation
we exclaimed: " 'There are spirts, clad in veils.
Woman by man is never seen!
All our deep conniving fails
To remove this shadowy screen!'
"But when we broke into the unreserve of the
interior and its mixed travel — by steamer and en
route — ^the muffler dropped. In this trip we were
associated with an Irish solicitor from Dublin, and
his amiable daughter. You may well believe that
there was a richer indigo in the azure of the sea,
a new sparkle to the lively waters of Broussa, and
fresh glows to Mount Olympus, at morning and
evening, as we talked, and smoked beneath its
roseate hues and cool shadows, rare fun when we
stopped in our Druidical groves of oaks, half way,
amidst camels and donkeys, turkeys and chickens ;
other wonders in the capacities and oddities of
the animals which carried the cocoons and other
burdens to the city from the sea; rare attraction

122 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
in the strange, brown faces of the turbaned beg
gars we met, and alluring beauties in the broad
vales made fruitful by streams from Olympus, and
which spread beneath us, from our hotel balcony,
like the vega of Grenada, as seen from the walls
of the Alhambra! Good company does so much
in travel. This was our first really hot day, and its
discomforts need the mitigation of society. Since
we began, at the North Cape in the Arctics, we
have had no such calorific experience. I began to
long for a little one-story thermometer with noth
ing but zeroes all ranged in a row. But the ranges
of Olympus soon became refreshing — for had we
not, along with them, the pleasant society of our
witty Irish lawyer and his fair daughter?"
This will interest the ladies:
"After my wife had made the promenade of the
silk bazaars — with much cost and instruction — we
called on a merchant at his house to see some 'por
tieres' ordered by a friend in Constantinople. He,
with his wife and mother, received us. The latter
sat at her embroidery frame; and when my wife
exp ressed a desire to see how the work was accom
plished so beautifully, she smilingly resumed her
labor. A fine steel crochet needle is held in the
right hand close to the face of the velvet, while
the bobbin of silk or gold thread is held in the left
hand under the frame on which the velvet is
stretched. The needle is pushed through the ma
terial and catches up the thread underneath, with
great regularity and rapidity, in the hands of a
skillful worker. This is the way the Damasucs
fabrics are adorned."
In the same letter he describes the view from

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 123
Mount Olympus: "Looking off from the highest oi
its heights — 5,500 feet to the snowy crest— how
small the donkeys seem, even when loaded! The
Lombardy poplars and cypresses not as big as
thistle needles. The flat dark roofs of the city are
leveled with the green in which they are embow
ered; and the domes of the mosques — and thej
count here by hundreds — ^look like little bulbous
toys. The old plain trees, some of which measure
24 feet round, ever honored in the East, as well
for their shade as for some genius of the past, look
like little shrubs, even under a magnifying glass.
From the height of the classic mount, the sea of
Marmora and the Euxine, the minarets of Constan
tinople, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and the
tall grandeur of Mt. Ida and its range, and the
rivers, lakes, green belts and broad savannas of
the valleys, appear in splendid array. It is a grand
observatory for a superb panorama!"
Continuing his picture of Oriental life, Mr. Cox
writes : "Our trip to Broussa was a relief, after our
long stay on the Bosphorus. One drawback to our
return was the early rising. At three A. M. we are
in our carriage, and passing market people coming
to the city, with their beasts laden with grapes
and other product of the happy valley. Long
lines of camels, dressed in red ornaments, pass us
in ithe gloaming. They seems monsters of the pre-
histotic epoch. We flnd them at daylight, under
the oak trees of the half-way grove, resting after
their nightly journey from the seaside. Did you
ever notice how strangely the camel is built, and
how oddly he moves? Like a pomx)ous ante-di-
luvian he treads over the roughest stones, and in
the softest sands. The legs on one side move at

124 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
and with the same time; and then with a gawkv
swing of the shoulder and haunch of the other side
so as to keep up the odd locomotion. He seems to
be put together on springs or loose hinges; but as
with the elephant, you may get accustomed to his
ungainly gait." Mr. Cox was becoming acquainted
with the beasts concerning which he wrote so
learnedly in a school-boy composition!
"As we start afresh," the letter continues, "the
clouds T\ hich hung half-way over Olympus and its
range floated down into the valley. From the
sea hills we look back upon a roseate lake. It is
no mirage but an illumination of the clouds below,
out of which the brown mountain tops rise, like
enchanted isles. At noon, we reach out seaport,
whence we sail, in five hours over the blue Mar
mora, and have a richly colored picture never to be
seen too frequently, of the beauteous mosques and
mirarets, the walls and towers of Stamboul. What
we saw and heard on our route and on the boat —
full of all the oddest costumes and people — it
would take a volume to tell. We are now but one
day's sail of Jaffa. Thence we go to the main ob
jective point since we left the setless sun in the
Arctic ocean, Jerusalem!"
A private not penned hurriedly at Ephe-
sus, September 9, 1891, says: "I send you
a note for Samuel — as it were, an epistle
from Ephesus. It is an odd place, and
we are safe from brigands, having returned from
our wonderful ride and walk amidst those stupen
dous ruins. Ruins! magnificent in their beauty,
and giving at every turn the glimpses of the ta
kala you and I used to read of. Mrs. Oox is

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 125
finishing her lunch on mountain grapes; and she
got an appetite, for her mule never failed to use
his heels at every fly — until Mrs. C, seated astride,
ran canals of sweat. But she is safe. This," he
adds, "is a picture of the mule" — accompanying
the words with a graphic pen and ink sketch of the
oriental beast of burden.
They were near Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul,
Mr. Cox says, when a few days later they were
shocked by the news, in a telegram from the con
sul at Smyrna, of the assassination of President
Garfield.

CHAPTER XVI.

AGAIN AT HIS POST.

By the middle of November they were back in
London, preparing for their return homeward. "I
am halted in London for a time — say a day — " he
wrote, "and so I look about a little before we leave.
What a look-about it is, since we left here in May!
What a circle of felicity! What a round of pleasant
observation and experience! How much have we
done, written, and seen!" The first of December
found him back in New York, ready for his duties
in the new congress, about to assemble. That body
came together under the shadow of the crime of
the assassin which had plunged the nation in
mourning. President Garfield had been succeeded
by President Arthur. The House, again Repub
lican, chose J. W. Keifer of Ohio as its speaker. Mr.
Cox returned to his native land to find that still
other changes in the political kaleidescope had oc
curred during his absence. Senators Conkling and
Piatt, of his adopted state, had thrown up their
commissions, and, after a contest that threatened
the disruption of their party, had been succeeded
by others. Those were troublous times in Ameri
can politics. They gave a stimulus, however, to
the civil service reform movement throughout the
country, and that movement, designed to soften

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 127
the asperities of politics, found in Mr. Cox a cor
dial supporter. "The assassination of General Gar
field," according to Mr. Cox, "gave impulse to the
civil service reform bill. The evils which its pro
visions were intended to remedy are acknowledged
by most men of judgment and experience in pub
lic affairs."
In the election of 1882 Mr. Cox's majority for
Representative in the forty-eighth congress was
11,317. The same election swept Grover Cleve
land and David B. Hill into the chairs of Governor
and Lieutenant-Governor of New York by plurali
ties close upon 200,000. It was the answer of the
people to "Federal interference" in the politics of
the state. The return swing of the pendulum re
stored the Democracy to control of the House of
Representatives. A Kentuckian, John G. Car
lisle, was chosen speaker and for three successive
congresses held the gavel. Mr. Cox, who had al
ready succeeded in placing upon the statute books
important and beneficent laws relating to the life
saving service and the letter carriers. In this con
gress rendered a hardly less valuable service in
urging the passage of a bill restricting the impor
tation of foreign contract labor.
Mr. Cox's next election to congress, in 1884, was
synchronous with the election of a Democrat to the
Presidency. It was the first coincidence of the
kind since his first election to congress, twenty-
eight years before. "Thank God,' 'he wrote to an
old friend, soon after Cleveland's inauguration,
"we have lived to see, in measureless content, the
old party of our love in the ascendant."

CHAPTER XVII.

AS MINISTER TO TURKEY.

President Cleveland tendered to Mr. Cox the
mission to Turkey. It was accepted. The Sen
ate, on the nomination reaching that body, at once
confirmed it, without the usual reference to a com
mittee — a compliment rarely extended any nomi
nee who is not or has not been a Senator.
Soon afterward, to an old personal friend, Mr.
Cox wrote:
"You and others wonder why I leave a prom
inent place in Congress for a mission to Turkey,
Well, first, many things tended to make me feel
that I lagged somewhat sujyerfluous on that stage.
My faculties and qualities, such as they are, never
were in better condition; and the equipment of a
quarter of a century for the work of debate, of
committee, and legislation was as nearly rounded
on every theme as a sturdy and stern sense of duty
could make it.
"But the advent of new men, as is natural, has
pushed me to the rear, so that while abreast if not
ahead of my party on most themes, I was not even
able to command my old and favorite foreign com-
miteeship, or my former Smithsonian regentship,
always accorded to me even by Republicans. Be
side so much work in Congress and no result — ^the
rolling, rolling, rolling utj of the stones which

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 129
rolled down 'with a resulting bound,' the foolish
modes and rules, which few in control cared to cor
rect — all this and more made me think it was high
time to seek the land of sleep and rest on the
banks of the Bosphorus. Besides, without the in
tervention of any one, save a kind word from a
Missouri and Tennessee member, this oriental
compliment came to me directly, gracefully, and
spontaneously from the President alone. The Sen
ate gave me confirmation quite complimentary
without referring it; and these facts, together with
my pleasant reminiscences of the happy days spent
in the olden capital of the Greek Empire (upon two
visits to the Orient), were predominating reasons
why I propose to have a respite in the land of the
Ottoman." It was not, however, without some hesitation
that Mr. Cox reached his decision. "I am half
inclined at times to give it up," he wrote from
Washington shortly after his appointment, "but
for this 'demnition grind' in Congress." And
again: "It seems pretty hard to go away from this
country, but you do not know what a relief it is to
be removed from this everlasting grind of Con
gress, that produces so little." Nearly thirty
years of this "grind" had not been without its
effect — the brain was weary and called for rest.
In the midst of his preparations for embarking
for his new field of duty, he was summoned to the
bedside of his dying mother. From his old home,
Zanesville, Ohio, on April 4, the day following her
death, he writes: "I was not unaware of my moth
er's illness and its probable termination. I was
summoned just in time to receive her conscious

130 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
blessing, and it was a great comfort to her and to
her son. We bury her body to-morrow. If I go
abroad I do not have the 'lengthening chain' of
filial fear ever dragging me homeward — that is
one of the sad compensations." In a later letter,
again referring to his mother's death: "It is a hard
blow for me, as I was attached to my mother be
yond all thought or words to tell."
Meanwhile he was engrossed in the preparation
for the printers of his volume, "Three Decades of
Federal Legislation," an elaborate review of the
times of which he had been a conspicuous part.
Anxiety to complete this work before sailing post
poned for a time his departure for Turkey. Mean
while, too, reluctance to part with a Representa
tive who had served them so faithfully and so long
had led to a powerful pressure on the part of Mr.
Cox's constituents to induce him to decline the
mission and remain in Congress. His longing for
the rest, so much needed, decided him. Under
date of May 15, in a letter to an old friend, he
wrote: "My opinion is that I have got to go. Not as a
galley slave to his work, but I ought to go, for
there is nothing worth being in Congress for now
except a scramble, and worry, and wrangle, and
jangle, and tangle. Tell your friend that if he
had only served twenty-five years in Congress, as
I have, he would know what it is to be among the
heathen, and seek even a fresh, beautiful, anno
tated edition of heathen. * * * It is a curious,
strange experience for me that after I had reached
my acme, and the ladder was all golden and beau
tiful like that of Jacob's, somebody jerks it from

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 131
under me, and I have got to float away serenely
into an Oriental haven for Democratic virtue."
On the evening of the 8th of June the new Min
ister to Turkey was tendered at the Hoffman
House in New York, a farewell banquet. Gath
ered around the table were the representative
men of the metropolis, including ex- Mayors Cooper
and Ely, Roswell P. Flower, Congressmen Dors-
heimer and Hewitt, Everett P. Wheeler, Edward
Kearney, Herman Oelrichs, Judges Lawrence, In-
graham, Van Brunt, Barrett, Gildersleeve and
Truax, Joseph J. O'Donohue and others. Abram
S. Hewitt, afterwards Mayor of New York, pre
sided and made the opening speech. Also present
was the Turkish Minister, Tewflk Pasha. In the
course of his brilliant speech, in reply to the toast,
"Our Guest," Mr. Cox said:
"Adequately to acknowledge this climax of per
sonal honor, one should have thoughts impearled
upon vestments of Oriental light and imagery
sweeter than the roses of Cashmere. The charm,
the mis-en-scene, and the company give to this
night's entertainment something of that bewilder
ing enchantment which one might enjoy for a
thousand and one nights and never surfeit. Could
I have the melody of the Persian nightingale who
sang his love to the rose, in the tender idyls of
Haflz; could I draw from the depths of the Brah-
minical philosophy, whose generalizations are the
fountain of our 'Emersonian transcendentalism;
could I evoke from nature her hidden poetry and
primal meaning, I could perhaps answer for this
banquet of affectionate regard given to one whose
life has been a life of labor, not untinged with
some romance.

132 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Coleridge has said that, in pursuing his muse,
he had his own exceeding great reward. It is not
always so in pursuing politics. But to me, politics
as I have endeavored to follow them in their fickle
ness, have been for a quarter of a century a great
source of enjoyment and a great incentive to prac
tical exertion.
"Upon an occasion like this, surely I may be al
lowed to improve it by referring to some points —
even points of the compass — which are somewhat
personal. I am of the west — of Ohio — not the
greater, but still the great west. For some rea
sons, mostly domestic, a reflux wave brought me
to the east. After two generations from some tall
tower or Trinity steeple, I can overlook the ances
tral congressional district along the shores of east
Jersey. Perhaps this will account for my tender
relations to the life-saving service, and my inher
ited tendencies toward congressional pursuits.
"Although from the west, and having a pseudo
nym which indicates only a descending orb, I am
here to-night as the recipient of an oriental ova
tion, whose oriental magnificence is equaled only
by its oriental significance.
• • • • •
"There is something still more attractive than
diplomacy or commerce in the Orient. It is the
land of a deep blue sky whose concave is set thick
with stars. The eastern sky, with its marvelous
purity and beauty, early developed the spirtuali-
ties of human nature. If it also called out sensu
alism there was a compensation beyond all ex
pression, in the purity of its thought and in the
elevation and unity of its worship. When the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 133
Koran prohibited men from drinking wine, but
gave full privileges of water and coffee, the Pay-
nim voluptuary was not altogether enshrined
among the beatitudes of the demi-gods. Epicurus
may now and then sit with his Chibouk cross-leg
ged on the banks of the Bosphorus as dreamful as
any German metaphysician. But beyond and
above all, from the land of India, Arabia, Egypt,
and even from the desert places, came the religions
which have made mankind gaze hopefully and
earnestly into the unseen world. Whether He
brew, Christian, Brahmin, Mohammedan, the wor
shipper bowed only to the one Invisible Supreme
being. Faith in each lifted man by a higher code
of ethics into a higher plane of thought. The relig
ions which drew from the Holy of Holies and from
the infinite deeps which environ the eastern sky
had and have an inspiration that gives solace to
the suffering and dying of every land, and enlight
ens our last moments with the hope that takes
from the grave its sting and from death its vic
tory. "It is a difficult thing to give up old associations
and to form new habitudes. Since I have re
signed my place at the capitol I have wandered
about through its corridors and halls like the
ghost of my departed self. Almost every image
seemed to wave "adieu." Even the old hall in
which I flrst served to the new chamber wherein
I made the first speech, echoed with personal
thoughts and pleasant associations. But there
must be an end of all occupations, and, for a
wholesome, thorough living, there must be more
or less of change. We must sometimes fold our

134 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
tents like the Arabs. No longer for me the
speaker's gavel, with its "rap," "rap," "rap," no
longer the fierce debate and the loud applause
"which made ambition virtue." No longer the
five minutes debate upon a sixpenny appropria
tion. No longer the previous question, that dyna
mite which destroys so much of parliamentary
power. "Othello's occupation's gone" — gone to
the Hellespont."
Accompanied by his wife, he sailed, in June, on
the Gallia, but they were several days
delayed in their voyage by a misad
venture — their ship having broken her
shaft in mid-ocean. The first of August
found him at his post, in the Turkish capital. Un
der date Constantinople, August 9, 1885, he wrote
to a friend he had left behind : "For fear that you
are anxious about us — ^know that we are, and that
we are here! at our post. In vain the Gallia broke
her shaft — it fell hurtless and we moved on to our
goal. Ten days ago we saluted the Bosphorus, and
were met by our flag and our friends. It was a re
newal of old times; and yet it is a sort of exile.
But still what a rest is here! The laps of the wat
ers almost at the foundation of our house and
home at Therapia — an hour above the city — makes
music for us, and its breezes blow health from Cau
casus. I am already improving. My health was
below par; now it is, say, 65 per cent, above, and
going up. Is this caused by freedom in Turkey —
from all political worry?"
"Twice before my appointment as Envoy to Tur
key," he wrote, in introducing the story of his offi
cial life at the Turkish capital, "I had been to Con
stantinople. On the flrst occasion in 1851, in life's

'"' <^

4>

'•V -¦ '*3*"#W-
." <
o/ifr^'- * ''*s.^^ ^
SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 135
morning, we sailed thither in a French steamer up
the Mediterranean. On the second occasion,
thirty years afterward, we traveled to Turkey
from the Land of the Midnight Sun. Unlike our
first voyage, the difficulty in reaching Constanti
nople in 1885 was at the start. There were strong
bonds which attached us to our home and city, and
myself to long-accustomed Congressional life. It
was as difficult to leave the harbor as it was to ob
tain the consent of constituents. Then, in mid-
ocean, among the icebergs of Newfoundland, the
steamer of the Cunard Line — the Gallia — broke
her shaft as if reluctant to bear us away. Our
ocean voyage was nearly a score of days when it
should have been but half of that time. Between
Washington and Constantinople forty days are
allowed the Minister. Every one of these days
was occupied, partly by the misadventure to the
Gallia, and partly by reason of the earthly rest at
London, Paris, Munich, Vienna and Buda-Pesth."
At last they found themselves on the wharf of the
Turkish capital.
As they landed they were met by the Sultan's
Foreign Minister, Assim Pasha, and bidden a cor
dial welcome. The residence assigned to the United
States minister was beautifully situated at Ther
apia, on the banks of the Bosphorus, a
few miles above Constantinople. "The home
in which we are esconced (at Ther
apia) for the summer," he wrote, "has
one window looking out upon terraces up
ward three hundred feet. This garden is leafy and
green in the moist warmth from the waves below.
Its roses, magnolias, heliotropes, jessamine, Vir-

136 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ginia and other creepers make an exquisite pic
ture. Out of another window there is a prospect
of the hills of Buyukdere — ^one of the beautiful vil
lages of the upper Bosphorus, where my col
leagues of many Legations reside. The clappo-
tage of the waves against the stone quay almost
under our window lulls one into a poetic swoon."
The contrast between this and the life in Congress,
with all its whirl of excitement and worry, was
doubtless most refreshing to a man who had had
almost three decades of the latter.
The sad news of the death of Gen. Grant was
nearly a month traveling to Constantinople. It
was made the occasion of a meeting of the Ameri
can colony to do honor to the hero's memory. "As
General Grant," wrote Mr. Cox, in his account
thereof, "was from my native state of Ohio — ^the
home of the Shermans, Sheridans, McPhersons
and McCooks of our conflict — it was my special
pride to be known in Congress as his devoted
friend, perhaps next in that body to Mr. Washburn
of Illinois. It was my privilege, just before the
close of the war, when Grant's army was before
Petersburg and Richmond, to be the General's
guest; and just before leaving Congress I had the
honor to introduce the first bill to reinstate him in
the army. This relation gave me the privilege to
speak with emphasis of the eventful life which had
just closed, and in which cloud and sunshine so
strangely alternated." No sublimer eulogy of the
immortal Grant came from any lips than that
which Mr. Cox gave to the American colony on the
far off shores of the Bosphorus.
In a letter to an American friend under date
Constantinople, September 10, 1885, Mr. Cox thus

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 137
pleasantly refers to his new book and his life at
Therapia: "The book ('Three Decades') is out (1 Sept.). It
pleases me. It was close, hard, overtasking work.
I wonder how I survived it; and yet I look now
calmly in the mid-September at the white pinions
of the bluest blue sea, ever God-closed, the Eux
ine, as it rolls its murmurs to our very door or
quai, under tunical breezes that have made rose
ate our Caucasian ancestral cheek! For the winds
blow over the blue from the Caucasian peaks. Yet
there is quarantine here — four days — why? Be
cause poor Spain suffers — and therefore the
mouth of the Black Sea is shut by a previous
question raised in Hidalgo-land."
Musing, in the same letter, on a situation in
home politics, it occurs to him that "after a man
passes twenty-five years in Congress unscathed;
and goes over the ocean on a broken shaft in sev
enteen days; and meets the Sultan with a Sublime
Porte; and can sail in the United States yacht
launch to the Cyaraean rocks, and go through like
one Jason of the Argo; and never lose a 'fo' top
sail,' or bilge a marlingspike — he is fit to give
advice discreetly to a new Administration. But,"
he asks," will they take it?" The diplomat's divorce
from American politics was not yet absolute. The
dolce far niente influence of Eastern life had not
yet its perfect work. "Here I am," he writes a
few days later, "from the arena of politics ever so
aloof! It is a sensation." In the following he
describes to an American friend a street spectacle
on the occasion of the Sultan's appearance in pub
lic:

138 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Constantinople, Sept. 21, '85.
I went down to see the Sultan yesterday by spe
cial invitation to all the Ministers. He "received"
or would, at the opening of "Bairum," a festal
occasion of five days. Business suspended and
things Sabbath-like among the pious people. The
truth is, the Turks are a religious people, more so
than the Armenians or Greeks or — us! Well,
half way down (got up at 5 A. M.) met a despatch
boat with letter from Munio Pasha. (You know
Munio? No? Why, he's head chamberlain!) to
say that the business of State so pressing that
reception postponed. There is a threatened war
between Bulgaria and Turkey, and the palace was
in a pother. Nevertheless, Mrs. Oox being in full
dress, and myself also, concluded to land and see
the Sultan come out of the mosque and palace en
route to his kiosk at Yildiz. Directly, say an
hour, while we waited at a guard house, about
one hundred and fifty Beys, Agas, Effendis and
Pachas came along, all gilt, in their private car
riages; then came soldiers and soldiers; at last a
four-horse gilded coach, with two pachas in front
— Osman and another I couldn't recognize — and
the Sultan behind in the back seat. Then along
pell-mell, higglety-pigglety, on horseback, the
gayest circus riders you ever saw, full jump,
mostly grey barbs and splendid riders. Some of
the head Pachas colored as ebony. Well, we saw
it all, and came home happy to listen to the music
of the murmurous Bos!"
His partiality for the solar orb manifested itself
on every occasion. His sobriquet "Sunset" was
conferred upon him, as has been shown, because

MEHEMET-COX'S FAITHFUL KAVASS:(GUARD),
While U S. Minister in Turkey.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 139
of his enthusiastic description of a sunset, while
an Ohio editor, and because the initials of his
name corresponded to it. The titles chosen for his
books of travel, "Winter Sunbeams," "Arctic
"Sunbeams," "Orient Sunbeams," as well as the
genial glow of his own nature, further illustrated
this characteristic. On the shores of the Bos
phorus he found sweet content. For, in a letter
dated October 7, he exclaims: "I have had sun
beams, and beams and beams, until heaven is dark
with glory here. This is the land of light and
romance." The new Minister's first formal reception by his
Sultanic Majesty was set down for a certain day
by the First Chamberlain, and then postponed.
The reasons for the postponement are curious and
interesting. The United States Minister was re
quired to furnish the Turkish Minister of Foreign
Affairs with a copy, in both French and English,
of the speech he was to make to the Sultan on the
occasion of his presentation to that august per
sonage. "I had more difficulty," confessed Mr.
Cox, "about the French than the English portion."
It was the French translation that created the
mare's nest. One sentence in our tongue read in
part: "The United States would not, if they could,
depart from the invariable policy which forbids
all entanglements in foreign affairs." Although
the speech caused our Minister, as he confesses,
"barrels of perspiration," yet one word in the
translation became almost a casus belli. It was
the word "entanglements." Mr. Cox's amusing
account follows:
"I had in my mind Washington's Farewell Ad
dress as to all foreign entangling alliances. There

140 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
is no synonym in French except the word which,
after much research, I had selected. When my
French speech was scanned by the leading linguist
in the Foreign Office in Stamboul, assisted by a
cohort of polyglots, they lit upon the word 'en-
chevetrement.' Whait could it mean? Was it an
American torpedo, or polysyllabic dynamite for
the overthrow of the dynasty? Whatever might
have been their opinion of the explosive and peril
ous composition, I was satisfied, from intimations,
that the delay of my reception for some days was
occasioned by the confusion incident to this terri
ble six-footed word. The speech was finally ac
cepted in the sense in which it was intended, and
thenceforth the respective countries never ceased
to dwell together in diplomatic unity."
The eagerly awaited reception by this Oriental
monarch, Abdul Hamid II., came at last, and was
on a scale of splendor and ceremony to which oc
cidental nations are entire strangers. "As we
are ushered into the presence," says Mr. Cox in
describing the scene, "we make three bows — one
at the door on entering, the second half way, and
the last when we stop a few feet from his person.
We do not bow as low as the Turkish Ministers,
but we do our best!"He had seen the Sultan twice
before — first in 1851, when His Majesty was a boy
of eleven, in company with his father; next in
1881, when Mr. Cox was presented to His Majesty
by General Wallace, then our Minister to Turkey.
"I confess," he writes, "before I had an idea of
being here in any but a tourist's capacity, to an
enthusiasm for this monarch. He is a king every
inch, and without any dramatic ostentation. He

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 141
deserves great regard for his rare ability. He is
his own adviser. Amid his troubles and cares,
and with the populations of the divers religions
and races, which he must reconcile to rule, he is
not unworthy of the fame of Abdul Medjid, whose
memory is to me a part of my earliest association
with the city of Constantinople."
The coming to Constantinople of a new Ameri
can Minister to a neighboring kingdom, en route
to his post, during the November following is thus
duly chronicled: "Our Minister to Greece has just
arrived, and I owe him a devoir. He is ahead of
me, at first sight, in the diplomatic game. He is
Minister to Roumania, Servia, and Greece. He
holds three kings and three queens. That is his
pot — or flush, or what is it? But I hold one king
(Abdul Hamid II.) and all the rest of the pack
queens!" In a New Year's greeting "from the Salt Seas
of Marmora and Euxine to the salt — ^the 'old salts'
— of Onondaga," he confesses that he "felt a little
funny when Congress met and I not there. But,"
he added, "it is a good time here to observe impar
tially the doings and sayings." Evidently the
"sunbeams" were not oppressive on New Year's,
for he writes: "The winter here is damp bad —
worse than Washington. Summers superb. I
have been indoors for a week with rheumatix; but
about well. Am writing despatches and reading
up. Such a reader you never saw."
With improved weather the barometer of the
American Minister's humor went up also, as is
evident from the following sunburst:
"Constantinople, Jan'y 18, '86.
"Mrs. Cox is enchanted with the magic of this

142 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
realm. I guess and persuade myself I am the
magic ! ! When the magic goes to N. Y., expect the
'Excellenzia' — as they call her — also. It nearly
kills me to be 'called' at all; but little Samuel was!
But now here all call me — 'Excellency,' 'Son'
'Excellency!' etc., and it is too much!! Overdose!
It hurts me in'nerds. However, it is polite; and I
reciprocate, and believe all to be excellent, prima
facie, which is a violent presumption. The
weather is getting better, and so am I. It was
horrible and wet; but Egypt is not quite such a
cynosure, or Greece, as it was for delight and
refuge. * ? • The papers say I play the flute.
Laws! How the journals lie!"
That Minister Cox had fully recovered from his
"rheumatix" before January had gone by, is evi
dent from the following private note in which,
among other things, he describes his experience in
teaching a Turk what he knew about farming:
"U. S. Legation,
"Constantinople, Jan. 26, '86.
"I am here at work and again on my pedal ex
tremities, using them more than the other extrem
ity. The weather has come like ethereal mildness,
gentle spring. Now the festive peasant, etc., etc.
which reminds me of my magnificent agricultural
experiment the other day. Mrs. Cox drove me out
— I mean a coachman did — upon the grand hills
and unto the superb valleys that suburb this city.
There are, be it known, fine farms, and gardens
plenty upon these hills. From them one may over
look Asia, and almost Africa. Well, we saw a
man, a full breasted, well turbaned Turk, with a

THE NILK PARTY.— A COSMOPOLITAN GROL

II

I Russian Cavass. 2. Russian Consul Gencial. 3. A. French Gentleman.
5. S. S. Cox, U. S. Minister. 6. Count De Fleury. 7 Mme. D'Ehrenthall.
9. Swedi.sh Consul General. 10. Dutch Bridegroom. 11. Arab Cavass.
Dutch Bride. 14. Countess De Fleury. 15. Emma D'Ehrenthal. 16. iMrs. ,S. S. Cox.

5i^««

4. German Consul General.
8. A Russian Judge.
12. A Swedish Child.
17. Sec'y to Russian Consul.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 1 43
goad, and a sash of endless length, driving two no
ble oxen, descendants of the ox which forded here
with Europa many dim centuries ago, worthy to be
sacrificed to Jove, who had retired behind Olym
pus, 70 miles away — when I took the plough han
dle! There was only one handle. Ceres smiled
sere-ously! I "hawed" and 'gee'd" the oxen, but
they did not understand the lingo of Ohio cat
tle. Box and Cox is an old farce; but Ox and Cox
— well, I brought out of that field more mud than
Cincinnatus did when he left the only "share" he
took stock in, and made Rome howl for him as a
patriot and a "Cult." My shoe black charged me
five piasters extra for the soil I did not turn up
except on my boots! And this from the farmer's
friend, just from the Sciatic Court; and in view of
an Asciatic who regarded my effort with earthly
gravity." Whether the American minister made due re
port to the State Department at Washington of
his progress in inculcating the principles of agri
culture, a la Americaine, in the Turkish brain, he
has not informed us!
Among the diversions of the diplomat during
the winter of 1886 was a revisit of Greece and
Egypt. At Athens he heard of the deaths of two
eminent Americans whom he had supported for
the Presidency, Horatio Seymour and General
Hancock. "Yes," he wrote, "our great and good
leaders are going to their long home. I am about
the only one of the ante-bellum men of public life
left." By April first the tourists were back in
Constantinople. A letter of that date thus refers
to the interesting journey:
"We have been in Egypt. Need I say our trip

144 SAMUEL SULLIVAN OOX.
up the Nile had all the charm of novelty, as well
as of unusual social and festive displays, occa
sioned by the four nationalities officially repre
sented on our boat — three of Europe, Russia, Ger
many, and Sweden, and the one from America.
The four flags floated from our little steamer, and
naturally the Arabic race were curious as to the
occasion of so much display. But the old temples
and ruins are all that has ever been claimed for
them; massive and unique beyond idea."
The American Minister and his wife shortly
after their return to Constantinople were
entertained at a State dinner by the Sultan. In
a private letter penned the next day, he thus re
ferred to the event: "I have just gone through a
royal scene! The long-promised dinner from the
Sultan came off last night, 29th May. Mrs. Cox
was toiletted until she beat me to death in my
little 'swallow' — but when it came to the swallow
of the menu I was there! I had been reading up
in Ottoman history, and knew the 29th May was a
'Big Day' for Constantinople and the Ottoman;
for Mahomet II. came in and took things from
Constantino Palaeogus on that day, 433 years
before! Observe the sequel. Well, we went up to
the palace of Yildiz and through the labyrinth of
rare gardens and pleasure houses until we were
received by His Majesty. But I must send you a
paper for the particulars." An interesting inci
dent at the conclusion of the royal dinner was the
decoration of Mrs. C/OX with the Grand Cordon of
the Benevolences, the Chefekat. The ceremony is
thus described by Mr. Cox : "After being seated the
dragoman surprises my wife and the company.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 145
He approaches her with a box. 'I have something
to show you. Madam,' he says. 'Yes,' she responds.
'It is lovely outside. What is it?' He opens it,
remarking, 'Shall I put it on you?' 'What do you
mean?' she inquires. 'I have the pleasure of dec
orating you, at the Sultan's wish, with the Grand
Order of the Chefekat.' Thereupon he throws the
cordon over her head, and, with the aid of the Ger
man Ambassadress, who is familiar with the
decoration, it is decorously arranged. It is a sur
prise as well as an honor, coming as it does almost
within one year of our service with the American
Legation. It is a star in brown, gold and green
enamel, with diamond brilliants. It has five
points and twenty-six diamonds on each point.
Surely no woman of good training would refuse
such a gift! It is fastened upon the front of the
corsage, and, with the cordon, it serves as an orna
ment to the dress. The Pashas, the aides and the
officers make their felicitations upon the happy
event. My wife told me confidentially afterward
that she thought for a brief, ineffable moment that
she was a bride again. This decoration origin
ated with the present Sultan, or his father, in
order to honor Lady Layard for her services in the
hospitals during the Crimean War. It is called
the Order of Good Works." Mr. Cox afterward
confidentially informed the writer that the sight
of this Chefekat caused an almost irresistible
feline impulse to meouwing!
The Sultan's clever way of dismissing his
guests is worth telling here: "The Sultan now
arises. He will detain us no longer. It is eti
quette at the palace to remain until the Sultan

146 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
gives the signal to leave. This he generally does
by a glance at his Avatch, saying: 'I fear you will
be late;' or, 'Perhaps I am detaining you.' He
shakes hands with the ladies first, and then the
gentlemen, with their best grace, back out. The
bouquets are distributed to the ladies." Appar
ently there was one part of the palace our Ameri
can Minister was not allowed to inspect. "As we
retire, after many kindly greetings," he writes,
"we look in vain for lattice and curtain to indicate
the harem. Every window opens into a beautiful
garden, and every garden is filled with flowers
and sparkling fountains. It is a fairy scene; but
no houri."
The summer of 1886 was spent among the Isles
of the Princes, mainly on the Isle of Prinkipo, in
the Propontis. "There were nine muses. The
Princes Isles are the same in number as those sis
ters. Their beauty and allurements are as varied
as the hues of the waters around them." From
Prinkipo, soon after taking up his summer resi
dence there, he writes: "Such is life here that I
am getting better, on a lovely isle, with only 5,000
Greeks and lots of good breeze and piney woods."
Here, at last, he seems to have realized that dream
of complete rest for which he had left his country.
One of his letters breezily describes a visit to a
neighboring island: "Tempus — early in the morn
ing, by the sunrise. Strange noises in the isle.
Roosters and jackasses. Both make music in har-
iM( iiy with vaa-ious venders of verdant vegetables!
Crowd of hamals, gamins, fishermen, etc., on the
scala (quai), looking at the mystery of the screw-
going vessel. These were the circumadjacent cir
cumstances of our condition as we moved out of

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 147
our harbor of Prinkipo this morning to visit our
neighbor isle of Halki (Grec. Chalki, or copper).
This is the isle the copper came from that made
the Colossus of Rhodes. Here, too, are the theo
logical seminaries of the Orthodox Greek Church,
as old as Justinian, too; and some of their old
churches and monasteries look it. To this isle,
whose profile is that of a Spanish saddle, and
whose tops are crowned with colleges, and whose
valley and coast line is a pretty Greek town, — we
direct our prow, Ulysses like, toward the Isles of
Syrens — for the isle is full of beauteous females,
who almost rival those of Prinkipo! These Isles
of the Blest, nine of them, lie (all but two) close
to each other. We have the finest in all in the
neat lay of the land — rock and mountain and inter
vale." At Prinkipo the Minister was not distant from
the sphere of active diplomacy, which, he tells us,
"had no surcease during the summer and fall."
In the story of his enchanted life among the clas
sic scenes of the Princess Isles, he writes in clos
ing: "The story of our summer is told. The wreaths
begin to wither on the tomb. A thousand
thoughts and studies hang over them. But these
are not dead garlands. The angels of memory
will resume their places at the gate of this para
dise. The fiaming sword drives us into the old
and busy world, under the glaring sun and the
uncloistered heat and dust of our earnest and
active American life; but amidst all the turmoil
and worry of that life, we shall turn to the 'Pleas
ures of Prinkipo.' "
"In the shadow of thy pines, by the shores of thy
sea.
On the hills of thy beauty, our heart is with thee."

CHAPTER XVIIL
RETURNS TO THE UNITED STATES AND CONGRESS.
As the summer wore away, with the accumula
tion of a new store of health, came the desire to
be once more amid the activities of American
politics. "Circumstances," to adopt his own
words, "partly domestic and partly political," led
him to resign his office as Minister and to return
home to resume his former position as a Member
of Congress from the city of New York.
As to his reason for the change, we have his own
statement: "It was not because of any dissatisfac
tion with the service, nor from any derogative
treatment by the officers of the Porte or the Sul
tan, nor because of any disenchantment of the
Orient. The heart has no reason; or, rather, it
has reasons of its own. Call it homesickness, or
patriotism, or an inclination after old and fixed
parliamentary habits, or the ineradicable desire to
be near one's own — and you have the best explan
ation that can be made for my premeditated and
unprecipitated return. I had done all that a Min
ister of my ability could do to place the Legation
and the American interests in excellent condition."
From Constantinople, September 11, he wrote to
a friend: "Your letter found me packing for home.
We sail from Havre 2d Oct. for N. Y. Hurrah ! I

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 149
already feel the sweet lager-bier breezes from the
Isle of Coney!"
Shortly after his resignation and return home
he received the decoration of the "Order of the
Mejidieh" from his Imperial Majesty, the Sultan
Abdul Hamid, the decoration of the "Order of the
Chefakat" having, as we have seen, already been
bestowed on the Minister's wife in Turkey. Both
these decorations are at present in the care of the
National museum in Washington.
An enthusiastic welcome awaited Mr. Cox on his
arrival home.
He returned to find himself twice a candidate
at the same election — a candidate for the seat in
the Forty-ninth Congress vacated by the resigna
tion of Joseph Pulitzer, as A\'ell as a candidate for
the full term of the Fiftieth Congress. To both
seats he was elected by his old-time majorities.
"So far as I have been able to ascertain," said Rep
resentative Cummings, "Mr. Cox is the only man
who has ever been twice elected to the same Con
gress" — alluding to his second election to the
Forty-ninth Congress. His reappearance in the
House of Representatives, which had sadly missed
his familiar figure and the genial warmth of his
presence, was gladly welcomed by colleagues of
all parties. On that camp-ground Richard was
indeed himself again — once more on his native
heath. In the autumn of 1888 a strong pressure was
brought to bear upon Mr. Cox to resign from con
gress and accept the Democratic nomination for
Major of New York. He firmly refused such use
of his name, although his nomination would have
been equivalent to an election. He felt that his

150 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
proper sphere was the Hall of Representatives. He
accepted a renomination to congress and his re
election followed as of course. It was his last. He
died before the fifty-first congress, of which he
was a member-elect, met.
In the fiftieth congress, which began its exist
ence March 4, 1887, and expired March 4, 1889, Mr.
Cox chose the chairmanship of the Census commit
tee, and was assigned to that position by Speaker
Carlisle. Preparations were making for the elev
enth census, a work in which he took a leading in
terest. The bill under which the enumeration of
inhabitants and statistics of the industries of the
country were taken, in 1890, was reported by him.
In its fulness and elaboration he took a pardona
ble pride. He was proud of the increase in both
wealth and numbers, of the component parts of
the union, and rejoiced in all signs of public pros
perity. To measures before that congress having
for their object the irrigation of the arid plains of
the far west, and their restoration through a sup
ply of water, to fertility, Mr. Cox gave earnest sup
port. As object lessons he pointed to Syria and
Asia Minor, where, by the destruction of moun
tain forests and neglect of irrigation works that
once existed, water supplies had been lost, and
sterility had ensued where once wei'e fertile lands
sustaining great populations and prosperous
states. Another proposition that enlisted his act
ive sympathy and earnest support related to the
admission of four new states. Considerations of
party expediency, which arrayed many of his par
ty associates against giving the far west additional
votes in the electoral college, had not weight with
Mr. Cox, who disavowed such considerations as of

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 151
too narrow a guage for broad statesmanship. He
looked upon the rise of the free commonwealths
in the northwest with only a patriot's eye. That
his efforts were fully appreciated was made mani
fest by the popular ovation which greeted him on
his flying trip through those new states in the sum
mer of 1889, a few weeks before his untimely
death. "On the 4th of July," says one account,
"Mr. Cox stood in the midst of assembled thous
ands of his fellow citizens at Huron, in the then
territory of Dakota. No more imposing or grander
ovation was ever given to an American citizen
than was given him on that occasion. The prair
ies, the towns, and the villages for miles around
were deserted, for their inhabitants would look
upon their great deliverer. These people would
hear the voice of the eminent statesman who, in
the House of Representatives, had raised his voice
for fair x^iay. They were not drawn to the place so
much to hear the great orator a» to It^yk upon the
man whose great heart had borne him beyond the
line which his party had set for him. He was their
hero. They pressed upon him, for they deemed him
something nobler than a mere orator or statesman.
They felt him to be a fellow citizen, kind, generous
and full of good will."
It was the middle of August when Mr. Cox, with
his wife, arrived home from the trip above de
scribed. He hurried to Manhattan Beach, as many
times before when wearied by overwork or over-
travel, to regain needed rest. In a hasty note to
a friend he said: "Hither I have hied to the salt
sea beach where I correct my abnormal condition
of health and my printer's proofs. To-night the
waves dash high over the walks where yesterday

152 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
we gallanted each other. It's fine! Here come
those thoughts which make one sedate; for here
we walk "Thoughtful, silent, on the solemn shore
Of that vast ocean we must sail so soon."
Little he thought how soon! A note dated Au
gust 25 from the Manhattan Beach hotel, "this gor
geous marine hospital," as he styled it, the note
written while the ears were "dimmed with the
music of the band," said: "We leave in the morn
ing for home."
Prophetic words! It was "home" indeed to
which he was going, and so soon!
The last occasion on which he went out of the
house was Friday evening, August 30, to attend
the "grand annual summer night's festival of the
New York Letter Carriers' Association," at the
Empire City Coloseum and Washington Park. He
had been ill two weeks. That one evening, feeling
better, he was urged and consented to ride up in
a close oarriarge for the purpose of receiving from
the letter carriers a large and beautiful album,
which they had been waiting six months to pre
sent him. He professed not to be much wearied;
he made a brave effort to keep up. It was, how
ever, his last effort to leave his room. Eleven
davs later the end came.

CHAPTER XIX.

A RETROSPECT.

Samuel Sullivan Cox was just thirty-two years
of age when he was first elected to a seat in Con
gress. His last election to membership in that
body was when he had doubled those years, and
was just sixty-four. His congressional service
was cotemporaneous with the incumbency of every
president, save one, from Buchanan to McKinley.
That exception was President Andrew Johnson.
While Mr. Cox was in the public service at one
end of Pennsylvania avenue there sat in the White
House, at the other end of that historic avenue, in
their order, eight presidents: James Buchanan,
Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford
B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur,
Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. Of
these he was in political sympathy with only two
— Buchanan and Cleveland— and with the former
the bonds were broken almost at the very thresh-
hold of their association in public life, and never
altogether re-cemented.
His Democracy was of the Jeflersonian order.
He was a firm believer not only in the right, but
as well in the capacity of the people to rule.
Throughout his long public career he strenuously
opposed any and every proposition to abridge or
abbreviate this right. His democracy was inher
ited from his ancestors on both sides. His break

154 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
with the Buchanan administration was because he
saw that administration attempting to throttle
the will of the people of Kansas by foisting upon
the new State the Lecompton constitution. His
first speech in the House — the first ever made in
the present Hall of Representatives — was a gaunt
let thrown to that administration which, he be
lieved, was attempting to strangle popular sov
ereignty. Whenever his party refused to follow
the teachings of Thomas Jefferson and to remain
true to the people, Mr. Cox broke loose from party
ties, and obeyed the dictates of his own conscience.
In obedience to these dictates, in his last
session in Congress he separated from most of his
party associates in advocating the admission of
four new States, believing that such questions
should be decided on broad grounds of public pol
icy, without consideration of their probable effect
on this party or that. The scope of his horizon
was too broad for a party-at-any-price follower.
In the album of a classmate at Brown Univer
sity, just as he was leaving that institution, he
made this entry, in which he refers to his inherited
love of the party he served so Avell :
"Samuel Sullivan Cox, Zanesville, O. Born
about midnight, 30 Sept., 1824. Expect to study
law if I don't get better. Shall live in Ohio till I
die, provided I live till I get there. The friend
who reads this will, I hope, forget the many faults
and recollect the few (very few) good characteris
tics of the writer. That he has anything to rec
ommend him to recollection he modestly doubts,
yet he would be remembered by a classmate as he
himself expects to remember. One failing he re
joices in — his 'unterrified Democracy.' He drank

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 155
in with his mother's milk the spirit of liberty, and
tradition says that at his birth a scroll of fire
danced around the bedposts with the words writ
ten thereon: 'Salus populi suprema lex.'"
He was ever true to the spirit of the tradition.
His was too genial a nature to brood long over
wrong done him, or permanently to treasure the
spirit of revenge. Years after the Lecompton
controversy had passed into history, Mr. Cox, still
in Congress, received one day from the venerable
Buchanan, then in retirement and nearing the end
of his eventful life, a letter almost pathetic, asking
of him a personal favor. "Only to you," said the
letter, "can I lok now for such kindly favors." He
looked not in vain. The recollection of decapi
tated postmasters in his district did not deter Mr.
Cox from gladly seeking to oblige Buchanan, the
ex-president, with a zeal not a whit behind that
with which he opposed him as President when he
believed him in the wrong. So kindly a nature
could not long carry a spirit of resentment.
At one time or another, during his long Con
gressional service, he was a member of almost
every important committee of the House. He
served on Revolutionary Claims, the Ways and
Means, always standing for the free trade princi
ple. Appropriations, Foreign Affairs,Naval Affairs,
Banking and Currency, the Census, and others.
Of several of these he was, when his party was in
the ascendancy, chairman. Although the drudg
ery of committee work was hardly to his taste, he
was a faithful and conscientious worker in com
mittee, and no member's services were prized more
highly than his. Capacity for details was espec
ially shown by him in the preparation for the

156 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
tenth and eleventh census, by the committee over
which he presided. It was a revelation to the
census-makers. He was regent of the Smithson
ian institution for many years, and took a warm
and active interest in its welfare. As a member
of, the Library Committee he was largely instru
mental in bringing about the erection of the pres
ent magnificent structure for housing the Con
gressional library. But it was on the floor of the
House that he shone resplendent. Here he wield
ed a free lance. By the splendor of his equipment,
by his breadth and depth of knowledge of what
ever subject came before the House, he was a con
stant wonder to, his associates. When had he
gathered such resources, and where had he stored
them with such method as never to be at a loss
whence to draw them? No orator in Congress,
when he rose, more quickly hushed his audience.
The confusion at once ceased, members gathered
around him the better to hear his words, and the
galleries listened intently to catch each syllable.
They watched, generally not in vain, for the sal
lies and flashes of wit, with which his speech was
illumined. But 'these were merely accessories,
side lights, as it were. He spoke ably on every
question of national interest that came before
Congress in his day. Many of his speeches, aside
from their other merits, Avere gems of literature.
He was an untiring worker. He was not con
tent to deal with the surface of things, but must
needs go to the very bottom. He knew no idle
moments. In the arrangement of his papers and
in the outline of his work he was method itself.
He learned it, he said, from the same source from

C i*^'

FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF S. S. COX AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 157
which he imbibed his political economy, from
Francis Wayland, his president at Brown.
His oratory was as polished as the Damascus
blade. History, mythology, science, philosophy,
literature, sacred and secular, were resources ever
at hand from which to illustrate or adorn. He
was a great student of the Bible, and few men in
public life showed an equal familiarity with its
pages. For religion he had naught but respect,
and never was heard to indulge a sneer at things
sacred. He was true to his religious training.
Of his vast number of "set" speeches, on about
every important subject before Congress in his
long career, none excelled in beauty of diction his
obituary addresses.
"These efforts," well said a contemporary publi
cation, "full of delicacy, seriousness, appreciation,
grandeur of thought, and the poetry of pathos,
shovv' how close the fountain of tears lies to the
fountain of laughter in the mysterious cham
bers of the heart. The man who laughs most eas
ily is almost always the one who weeps most eas
ily and feelingly. The power to perceive what is
incongruous and comical in thought and act, and
touch the chords of humor, is akin to that other
power which sees and feels the grandeur of duty,
the heroism of action, and the solemnities of fate.
If Mr. Cox is capable of the former, he is a recog
nized master of the latter."
Sir Edwin Arnold, in an interview in London
with an American newspaper correspondent, after
his return from a visit to the United States, re
ferred to Mr. Cox as "a statesman whose name
should be sacred to the heart of every true Ameri-

158 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
can — one who has done so much for his country
men." Gen. W. T. Sherman, in a conversation with a
friend a few days before his death, regarding the
statue, which it was then proposed to erect to the
memory of Mr. Cox, in which he manifested a
warm interest, on being told where it was likely to
be placed, made this comment: "But I should
think you boys would try and secure a site in the
Central Park for the statue, and as near to that of
Daniel Webster as possible — in that circle oppo
site; then you would have here two great common
ers together, the one representing the Senate, and
the other representing the House of Representa
tives." There was ever a warm place in his heart for
his Alma Mater, Brown University. Whatever
success in life he attained he attributed in no small
degree to the training he there received. On its
part the University was proud of the honors
heaped upon its brilliant som Beside the degrees
of Bachelors of Arts, in course, in 1846, and Mas
ter of Arts in 1849, Brown University in 1885 con
ferred upon Mr. Cox the degree of Doctor of Laws.

CHAPTER XX.

MR. COX AND THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION.

In the exciting scenes that led up to the framing
of the Electoral Commission bill, in the winter of
1876-7, and its adoption by Congress, Mr. Cox
maintained rather a passive than an active role.
With a majority of his party he accepted the pro
posed scheme for the solution of the ugly prob
lem with which the country was confronted, but
at no time was sanguine as to its outcome. He
voted for the bill, but did not share in the enthu
siasm over it indulged in by the majority of his
party. His relations to the measure were forcibly
stated in a speech made on the Commission's deci
sion of the Louisiana contest, February 19, 1877,
when no longer a doubt was felt anywhere as to
the final outcome. "Mr. Speaker," said Mr. Cox
on this occasion, "after many years of active ser
vice as a member of this House, recalling all the
vicissitudes of our politics for twenty years, I can
not feel responsible to-day that after the verdict of
the American people it should prove a fruitless
verdict. In 1864, on the 16th of May, I presented
a resolution to this House, which passed. It re
lated to the regularity and authenticity of the
returns of electoral votes and for a law to provide
for a jurisdiction as well as the course of pro-

160 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ceeding in case of a 'real controversy.' The Judi
ciary Comimttee took no action at that time.
Allow me to quote the resolution. It is a com-
pend of the situation :
'Resolved, That the Judiciary Committee be
directed to take into consideration the propriety
of reporting a bill providing for the decision of
any question which may arise as to the regularity
and authenticity of the returns of the electoral
vote for President and Vice President of the
United States, or the right of the persons who
gave the votes or the manner in which they ought
to be counted; and that such law provide for the
jurisdiction, as well as the course of proceeding,
in a case of real controversy.' "
Had the action contemplated been talven, and
the legislation proposed been engrafted upon the
Federal Statutes, the crisis of 1876-7, in which for
months the country stood upon the brink of civil
war as the fruit of a disputed election for the
Presidency, might have been averted. "Peril,"
added Mr. Cox, after quoting his resolution of
1864, "gives the lessons of j^ears in a day." The
speech which was thus prefaced was, he subse
quently explained, made for history — the judg
ment being foregone. In the course thereof he
said: "Peril gives the lessons of years in a day.
* * * Whether the steps were wisely or un
wisely taken in framing the Electoral bill is not to
be now considered. That bill is the law. We
know what it is, what its provisions are. We
kneAV and felt that some virtue had gone out of
this House when we passed it, but we did not
exactly see where the virtue had alighted. We

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX lei
knew the old privileges of the Commons had de
parted, but in the interest of peace we gave a
reluctant vote for the bill. It was voted for in a
spirit of confidence and in a moment of peril, and
under terror of force and revolution, which speaks
more for the caution than for the pluck of our peo
ple. Still it was enacted. We are bound by its
decisions, but not by its reasons. The faith of
those who voted for it was strong in the integrity
and purity of their case; and next in the fidelity
and independence of the tribunal. We placed our
faith in the ermine. * * * We are graciously
permitted under this bill to argue after the matter
is accomplished, and although we vote, and
although we carry our vote in the House, we are
'gone.' We gain nothing. We are permitted to
talk ten minutes after the counting and the conclu
sion. It is the old Virgilian line over again about
Rhadamanthus, judge of hell, — Castigatque audit-
que dolos — the old rule of hanging a man and try
ing him afterward. That is our condition to-day."
Then caustically reviewing the Commission's
decision, by a vote of 8 to 7, to refuse to go behind
the returns — ^treating all such testimony as ali
unde — Mr. Cox (we copy from the Congressional
Record of that day) thus closed as the hammer
fell: "Mr. Cox — With permission of the House I will
read from Psalms 94, verse 20 : Shall the throne of
iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth
mischief by a law —
"Mr. Kelley — I object. (Laughter.)
"3[r. Southard — I hope the gentlemen on that
side will listen to those words, that they may have
time to repent.

163 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Several members objected.
"Mr, Cox — The Bible is aliunde vv^ith these gen
tlemen. (Great laughter.)"
Mr. Cox's record was in harmony with this
speech: he refused to be a party to obstruction
of the enforcement of the law, believing that, how
ever subversive of justice as viewed from his
standpoint, the result was to be accepted in good
faith.

CHAPTER XXI.

FREE CUBA.

So long ago as 1859 Mr. Cox flung bodly to the
breeze the flag of Cuban annexation. President
Buchanan, in his annual message, had recommend
ed an appropriation — 130,000,000 were the figures
fixed upon — for the purchase of Cuba. In a
speech in the House on January 18, 1859, Mr. Cox
took the ground that Cuban annexation was man
ifest destiny.
"There is" he said, "a logic in history which is as
inexorable as fate. The disquieting aspect of cis-
Atlantic politics signifies the consummation of
territorial changes on this continent, long pre
dicted, long delayed, but as certain as the logic of
history! « ? * xhe largest expression of this
law of annexation is: That no nation has the right
to hold soil, virgin and rich, yet unproducing; no
nation has the right to hold great isthmian high
ways, or great defences, on this continent without
the desire, will, or power to use them. They ought,
and must, inure to the advancement of our com
merce. They must become confiscate to the de
crees of Providence.
"Had the Thirty-fourth Congress aided President
Pierce in the Black Warrior matter, we should
now have representatives from Cuba on this floor.

164 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
As to Cuba the reasons for its acquisition are well
understood by the country. Its geographical po
sition gives to the nation which holds it, unless
that nation be very weak, a coign of vantage as to
which self-preservation forbids us to be indiffer
ent. V/hile the island is of little use to Spain, save
as a source of revenue, it is to us of incalculable
advantage. "Our unsettled claims, and many other difficul
ties, growing out of our relations to Spain, demand
settlement, but receive none. How long shall we
continue in this condition? During the pleasure of
Spain? Is there no redress? Is our every attempt
to be construed into usurpation? What impedi
ments have we to meet? There is one which has,
since Mr. Adam's time, proved insurmountable —
Spanish pride.
"It is well said by an old poet that
"Spain gives in pride, which Spain, of all the
earth.
May freely give, nor fear herself a dearth.''
"Since then there has been no curtailment of
that pride. True, Spain has now little to be proud
of but her recollections. Poor, sensitive, corrupt,
she holds to the punctilio of dignity without its
substantial energy. If Spain ^vill not sell Cuba to
us, we must insist upon her changing its policy.
We have tried in vain by diplomacy to unloosen
these shackles (on commerce). » » » Nothing
but the sword caji cut them off. Such a system in
this era of commercial freedom is a shame to civil
ization, and if international law were rightly writ
ten, it would itself be a cause of honorable war!
* * * Call it by what name you will, I am
ready to answer the call of the President, if for

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 165
nothing else, for the benefit of the $250,000,000 of
yearly trade which must pass under the range of
Cuban cannon.
"I am ready to vote for the bill looking to the
purchase of Cuba. In case of our failure to pur
chase by honorable negotiation I would favor its
seizure in case of foreign war or of a European in
tervention. ? » • We have become a Colos
sus on this continent with a strength and stride
that will and must be heeded.
"With our domestic policy as to local govern
ments established, we can go on and Americanize
this continent and make it what Providence in
tended it should become, by a perpetual growth
and an unsevered Union — the paragon in history
for order, harmony, happiness and power!"
When, taking advantage of our civil war. Napo
leon, Emperor of France, was seeking to erect a
throne in Mexico and seat Maximilian thereon, Mr.
Oox, with William Cullen Bryant and others, ad
dressed a vast mass meeting at Cooper Institute
demanding that the Monroe doctrine be enforced
and the French driven out of Mexico. Some of his
words read to-day prophetic. "There is," he said,
"one fact in connection with the Monroe doctrine.
At present it has only been regarded as a brutum
fulmen; it has been simply an enunciation, not
backed up by the power or force of the United
States. But, sooner or later, the time will come
when the force of the United States will be invoked
in support of a doctrine which is, as it were, the
first letter of the alphabet of the American people.
That doctrine will ultimately become the only doc
trine which can be followed out in the interest of
the honor of this great country. • * • There is

166 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
no room on our continent for the establishment of
monarchies. United in the determination to pre
serve this continent to republicanism, we shall be
able, should the duty of the hour require it, to put
a million of men in the field; and with such a force,
the American people, if the issue be put upon them
will revindicate their policy."
Resolutions in favor of recognizing the Cubans
as belligerents in their struggle to throw off the
Spanish yoke, introduced by Mr. Cox into the For
ty-second Congress, elicited, on January 10, 1872,
from the New York Evening Mail (Rep.) this em-
pahtic approval:
"We thank one of the ablest representatives in
the House, the Hon. S. S. Cox, for the introduction
of a series of resolutions in favor of granting bel
ligerent rights to the struggling patriots of Cuba.
It is as plain as noonday that the struggle in which
one hundred thousand Spanish soldiers have, dur
ing the past three years, been engaged, is as much
of a war as was waged by any one of half a dozen
South American colonies for independence from
Spanish tyranny." The same paper warned the
(Grant) Administration and its Representatives in
Congress that "they must not allow Mr. Cox and
his party to appear before the country as the espec
ial champions of recognition," as "on such an issue
as this there should be no party lines." Had these
resolutions been adopted, how different might have
been the course of American history! But the
country was not yet ripe for the course proposed.
It was on the eighth day of January, 1872, that
Mr. Cox introduced a "joint resolution for the rec
ognition of belligerent rights between the kingdom
of Spain and the so-called Republic of Cuba," as
follows:

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 167
"Whereas, the inhabitants of a portion of the
kingdom of Spain, to wit, the island of Cuba, have
been waging war against Spain for their indepen
dence for a period of now more than three years,
the existence of which war has been and is
acknowledged by Spain in sundry public acts and
documents; and
"Whereas, During this war Spain has been al
lowed to supply her armies and navy from the fac
tories, dockyards and arsenals of this country with
every material requisite for warfare, while the Cu
bans, in direct opposition to a fair spirit of neutral
ity, have been denied similar advantages, and ves
sels freighted v.ith arms and ammunition, destined
for the Cubans, in accordance with the legal right
of American citizens to trade in arms with peoples
and poviers who are at war, and in the exercise of
what has been declared, both by the Executive and
a Federal court, to be a legitimate voyage, have,
in violation of law and equity, been detained and
subjected to delays by an unfair perversion of jus
tice, to the detriment of the interests of American
citizens; and
"Whereas, Measures should be adopted to pro
tect the rights and interests of American citizens
engaged in legitimate commerce, and to prevent
the recurrence of losses which may arise from the
fact that this Government has not yet acknowl
edged the existence of the Republic of Cuba; and
"Whereas, The majority of the independent re
publics of this hemisphere have recognized the bel
ligerency of Cuba, which acts have tacitly been
admitted by Spain to be not incompatible with the
spirit of amity toward herself; and
"Whereas, Spain has herself, by acknowledging

168 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
the independence of sundry republics on this con
tinent, once her colonies, acknowledged the rights
they had to wage war for their independence as
Cuba is fighting to-day for hers; and
"Whereas, by the principles of international law
an inherent right is vested in the sovereignty of
every independent nation to declare, when conven
ient, the existence of belligerency between any
other nations, or between the inhabitants of any
integral portion of any such nation; and
"Whereas, The rendering assistance to all peo-
TileG struggling in this hemisphere for the rights of
self-government, by all just means not in contra
vention to international law, is a thorougn Amer
ican policy, consonant with the principles on which
our own independence is based; therefore,
"Resolved, By the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives of the United States of America, in Con
gress assembled, that it recognizes the existence of
a state of war between the kingdom of Spain and
the so-called republic of Cuba, and hereby declares
both parties to the conflict entitled to all the rights
conceded to belligerents by international law."
This resolution was referred to the Foreign Af
fairs Committee, in which it slept the sleep that
knows no awakening. Mr. Cox, on the 17th of Feb
ruary, by leave of the House, submitted his views
on the subject, which, he said, were not only "in
the interest of commerce," but in the line he had
"carefully marked out as a student of international
law.' He added: "Loving the Island of Cuba as a
rare and wonderful portion of our star, knowing
the vicissitudes of its history, feeling the indigna
tion as a man, almost, I might say, as a boy, 'who
is father to the man,' against the horrible massacre

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 169
of American citizens and Cuban students by the
nation whose flag is a river of blood between banks
of gold; believing that the welfare of the present
and rising generation in Cuba depends on the ac
tion of this nation, I propose to vindicate by a con
cise statement the resolution I offered. It is now
before the Foreign Affairs Committee, and it sleeps
there as serenely as if there were no crimes against
the law of nations committed in Cuba, as if there
were no outrages against childhood, humanity and
God, illustrated by the fiends, who, under the
name of volunteers, rule the rule of Spain to make
a hell of that paradise of islands." This was pre
lude to a forcible argument from the standxvoint
of international law in favor of the proposed recog
nition. More than a quarter of a century later the
country found itself on his platform. "Do you ask
me," asked he at a mass meeting at Steinway Hall
on the heels of the Virginius outrage, "do you ask
me for the remedy? I answer, the intervention of
civilized nations to stop such atrocities."
Again, in a speech in the House, December 12,
1879, in favor of strengthening our coast defenses,
he referred to Spain as a perpetual menace to our
peace. "It will not do," he said, "to rely on a divine
Providence altogether for our future defenses.
Ericssons, with their monitors, are not to be im
provised every day against surprises of the Merri-
macs. The engineers may continue, mechanical
processes take time, but the nation that has both
is the victor. ? * » if complications, at any
time possible, should arise between the United
States and any foreign naval power, great or
small, what would we do except to submit if we
were unable to resist an attack on the sea coast or
the sea?

170 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Am I told that there is no danger of a breaking
out of hostilities, and therefore no need of making
appropriations for the armament of our forts? The
time has not yet come for the lion and the lamb to
lie down together. The ploughshare and pruning
hook are liable at any time to be converted into
the bayonet and sword. Our increasing trade and
growing relations with other countries admonish
us to be ready at least for defence, if not for ag
gression. Think of our critical relations with Spain. How
often in late years have we been on the verge of a
conflict with Spain! Her present commercial re
lations with us are a perpetual menace. Her tar
iff so discriminates against this country that it is
almost robbery. When we consider our exports
and imports to Cuba alone, the discrimination
against us is so marked an evidence of selfishness
and enmity that it is almost a casus belli. * *
We have been Sjpain's best customer. Yet how
shabbily and meanly we are treated by her. The
Spanish tariff favors her own vessels to such an
extent as to deny to us advantages given other
countries. Do you say that this kind of tariff will
be ameliorated? Never while we are at the mercy
of Spain's 800 rifled guns, her six first-class iron
clads, and her armored ships; never while the city
of New York can be placed under these guns and
exactions made by the hundred millions. Is it not
therefore, wise and prudent to prepare for the
armament of our fortifications that we may back
our negotiations by proper force and make our
country respected for its position as a power on the
earth?" But the warning passed unheeded.

CHAPTER XXII.

OUR DEBT TO IRELAND.

Mr. Cox ever refused to recognize any distinc
tion between American citizenship that was native
and the species that was adopted. Consequently
he insisted, always, that, at whatever cost, the
government should protect all alike who should
rightfully claim its protection. He was- a thor
ough believer in the doctrine that when a natural
ized citizen of the United States returns to his na
tive land he is still an American citizen, and as
such is ever entitled to the aegis of American pro
tection. No American statesman did as much to
advocate, defend and protect, the rights of Ameri
can citizens abroad. It was the pressure brought
on the government by him that opened the doors
of British prisons and let in the light to the victims
there confined.
When in the winter of 1880 Charles Stewart
Parnell visited the United States, it was a resolu
tion offered by S. S. Cox that opened the Hall of
Representatives to Ireland's eloquent champion,
and brought that body to lisften to his plea for Ire
land, delivered from the speaker's place. His reso
lution did more — it requested the participation of
the House in the ceremonies, "because of the great
interest which the people of the United States take

172 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
in the condition of Ireland, with which this coun
try is so closely allied by many historic and kin
dred ties."
The incarceration of Capt. Edward O'Meagher
Condon in a British dungeon received a prompt at
tention from Mr. Cox, at the time chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs. For Condon, it
was claimed, and truthfully, that he was an Amer
ican citizen. On the 13th of June, 1878, he report
ed from the committee a joint resolution request
ing the President to take such action as would se
cure Condon a speedy and impartial trial. In a
forcible speech in support of his resolution, Mr.
Cox cited the Revised Statutes to prove that the
law was ample in its provisions for an executive
demand on the British government, and for inter
vention in such a case. The House was so im
pressed with his argument that the resolution was
promptly adopted. The next day it passed the
Senate and was signed by the President on the
next. In a speech made July 15, 1876, he said :"When
our nationi began its first century it had but a pop
ulation of 2,750,000. Its area has been extended
from 800,000 miles to 3,603,844 square miles. An
nexation has quadrupled our area since the Rev
olution. But with all our purchases of Florida,
Louisiana, New Mexico, California and Alaska we
gained fewer than 150,000 inhabitants, while the
acquisition of Texas and Oregon merely restored
to citizenship those who had emigrated from the
United States. In more senses than one, there
fore, should we rely upon immigration to develop
the vast resources, mineral, agricultural, and man
ufacturing, which tend to make a country great

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 173
and prosperous. What a commentary, therefore,
in this view is the false platform and narrow policy
of the anti-naturalization and anti-immigration
party." "It is not a new thing for the American Gov
ernment to take an interest in Irish prisoners.
Every generous heart will recognize the fact that
Ireland and her destiny cannot be dissociated from
her warm-hearted sons in this country. From the
time of Cromwell and his attempt to root out the
Celtic-Irish with his penalties, down to the present
time, millions of Irishmen have had their property
confiscated, their families scattered, and their
bodies killed to gratify some unreasoning and big
oted vengeance on the part of her Anglo-Saxon
enemies and rulers. But her spirit has never been
conquered. It is impossible for a true Irishman,
unless you rend his heart and paralyze his brain,
not to love Ireland.
"The people of my district, Mr. Speaker, a large
portion of whom are descended of those who emi
grated thence, would find me derelict in my duty
did I not sympathize vpith their sympathy. By
cable and steamship and by the thousands of let
ters and messages of affection, by whole clans and
counties, they are interweaving the island of Man
hattan with the island of Ireland. This sympathy
is quicker than the sub-ocean lightning. It is the
instinct of son and daughter for mother and father.
It has been enlarged, warmed, and fused into a
heavenly radiance. Again and again, are the
wrongs of Ireland spoken of most significantly in
public meetings and at the domestic hearth.
"The history of Ireland is not alone the history
of her religious faith, but the history of political

174 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
independence and civil freedom. Before the time
of the Tudors, before the time when the King's
writ ran beyond the pale about Dublin, down
through harsh penal laws and ecclesiastical estab
lishments, foreign to her best emotions about the
seen and unseen world, through evictions, land
laws, and trade exactions, she has been galled
without cowardly wincing, but galled at times
into courageous revolt.
"Our sympathies belong to Ireland, for our revo
lution was hers.
"Ireland, too, had her revolution; but unsuccess
ful revolutions are called rebellions; but did she
not contend, and does she not, through Isaac
Butts, O'Connor Power, and others, to-day con
tend for the principle of her early day when Grat
tan thundered and Emmett died? Did she not
contend, not alone in her own land, but here, and
wherever the sword of Erin flashed, for the banner
above all battle-flags : representation, and no taxa
tion without it. Concord, Monmouth, Saratoga,
Valley Forge, Yorktown, all testify of deeds done
in liberty's name, but deeds done for man's capac
ity for home-rule. Jefferson taught the truth,
which Irishmen loved to champion, that feudality
in form or substance was tyranny; that absentee
ism was robbery; that vassalage was cowardice,
and independence courage; and that the fire and
smoke of war are simple butchery unless beneath
there is the pure molten white heat of patriotic
devotion. Jealous of power, confiding in the peo
ple, and instinct with a love of country, he gave
his theory and conduct to the illustration of that
heaven-imaged scroll of stars, moving in harmony

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 175
about the central sun, the type of our stately
cluster about the Union and its splendid ensign.
"To Ireland, America is indebted as well for her
prosperity in a great degree as for her early settle
ment. After the English revolution of 1688, when
the barbarous Orange jwlicy inaugurated by Eng
land drove men from their island home, a tide of
emigration set in toward the American colonies.
Irish trade and manufactures were destroyed and
wars and penal laws drove Irishmen across the
ocean. They filled our colonies with their emi
grants. At least a million of the three million
who inhabited the thirteen colonies at the begin
ning of the Revolution were Irish by birth or de
scent. They spread and multiplied in our land
from the Potomac to the Ohio, from the Saco to the
Juniata. They enlivened the land with their hu
morous spirit, their cheerful industry, and their
alacrious belligerency. When independence
came to be our only prospect, the first undaunted
rebel was John Sullivan, who with his Celtic band
marched upon the fortress of William and Mary,
in New Hampshire, and captured it. This was
the first blow of the Revolution. In May, 1775,
the O'Briens, six in number, fought the first naval
battle of the war, and won it. The names of gal
lant Irishmen shine like stars all through the murk
of the Revolution. To recount them is to recount
the stories of Monmouth, Saratoga, Bennington,
Valley Forge, Stony Point, and Yorktown. Why,
one of the charges against the Irish in England
was that 16,000 of them fought on the side of
America. This was one of the pretexts for refus
ing redress to the Catholics of Ireland. A steady
influx of immigration since has filled our confines

176 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
with 14,000,000 of Celtic blood. The names of
Barry, Montgomery, Jasper, Warren, Clinton, Rut-
ledge, Wayne, and Jackson but feebly portray the
gorgeous galaxy of Irish patriots who gave to
America their fervor and their fighting, their
bravery and their blood.
"Mr. Speaker, it is in this mosaic, made up of all
races and nations, in which we find our growth,
happiness, and unity. The streams of thought
and feeling from the Old World have made ua
something more than a congeries of British colo
nies or a unity of selfish States. Our very motto,
"From many, one," indicates the cause of our
greatness as well as of our growth; it speaks of
our varied vitality fused with united patriotism.
"It is not possible, Mr. Speaker, to roll back the
shadow on the dial-plate of time. The sun will
not stand still at human voice. This immigra
tion from the Old World, with its thousand elevat
ing and assimilating qualities, will go on. No
sectarian bitterness or bigoted hate can turn away
the people of this country from the belief in the
principles of religious freedom fixed and eternized
down in their organic laws."

CHAPTER XXIIL

THE PERSECUTED JEWS.

Closing a speech on the persecution of the Jews
in Russia, made in the House May 21, 1880, he paid
that ancient race this tribute:
"Whether it shall ever come to pass that this re
markable race shall repossess the land of their an
cestors; whether the temple shall again arise
within the walls of Zion; whether the teachings
of their religion and all the elevated thoughts of
their poets, prophets and priests shall be sung
even 'within thy gates, O Jerusalem,' one thing is
to be conceded, that in America, under our free
institutions, they are permitted, unmolested, to
worship the Jehovah of their fathers! Here at
least they have a highway out of Egypt into the
promised land! Wherever may be their local hab
itation, from the summit of Mount Sinai still ra
diates the eternal lesson cut in stone; from the
calcined soil and the sacred mountains of Judea
goes forth an effiuence to civilize, cheer and bless.
"No one can be so darkened in his understanding
as not to see the wonderful power of that little
land through which the Jordan flows, with a pop
ulation not larger than one of our own countries;
which for two thousand years and more has held
the world in thrall by its teachings and by its wor-

178 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ship of the invisible Jehovah. Its people have car
ried the ark of their covenant into many lands and
climes ; and though bigotry may still be pleased to
think that their dispersion as a people is a curse,
still from their migrations humanity has been
beautified, justice purified, and liberty glorified!
Out of their rigid and austere code there springs
and flows forever an influence as gentle as the
dews that fell upon Hermon and as potential as
the quaking of Sinai, out of whose throes came
the moral law of mankind !"
A resolution having been introduced into the
House which looked like an apology to Chancellor
Bismarck for resolutions previously passed by the
House, expressing sympathy for the death of Ed
ward Lasker, a member of the German Reichstag,
Mr. Cox opposed the implied apology with fiery elo
quence. Incidentally his speech was a splendid
tribute to the Jewish race. Among other things
he said:
"This manly man, Herr Lasker, was a type of a
great class. He was a friend of labor. He was
its interpreter and prophet, its friend and adviser
in a realm where the word of the Kaiser was law,
and liberty was suppressed by penalty and force.
He was the representative of democracy in the
larger sense of that term. He was an orator and a
splendid type of the great race that has come down
to us from the 'chosen people,' in earlier times.
The tribute paid to his memory was also a tribute
to the race from which he sprung — a race whose
history runs back into the dawn of time. To that
race we owe our entire system of ethics and the
preservation of the foundations of religion. Amid
centuries of glorious nationality and through long

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 179
ages of intolerance and most cruel persecution,
Hebrew virtue, pride, and courage remain untar
nished by the hand of time. In everything that
broadens civilization, Hebrew genius, intellect, re
search, and learning stand forth pre-eminent.
"What a race has been stricken by the death of
this distinguished German and Hebrew! I say it
is only a part of the history of persecutions which
in this day of the nineteenth century are a humil
iation and not to be tolerated in this country. In
the Middle Ages one nation alone sacrificed six
hundred thousand Jews. They were the flower
of science, the devotees of literature, skilled
in art, and enthusiastic in poetry. They
were men of industry, enterprise, and commerce —
honest, social and hospitable. I would not suffer
for a moment that we should give even a possible
shadow of excuse for bovnng before the terrible
specter of persecution.
"Twice have I called the attention of the House
to the persecutions of the Jews in Russia. We have
become used to the persecutions in that country.
It is a part of its barbarism. But it is only within
the past few years that the same ruthless system
of persecution has obtained in Germany. The
time of Hebraic liberty will come, and I trust
soon, as it has come in this and some countries in
Europe, notably in Spain, which has invited the
Hebrew exiles of Germany to her shores. To the
Hebrew race it is proclaimed by God himself in
Holy Writ: 'I will shake all the nations, and the
desire of all the nations shall come, and I will fill
this house with glory, saith Jehovah the Lord of
Hosts.'

180 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"It becomes us especially who have offered an
asylum to these stricken people, and in view of
their remarkable attainments in all that civilizes
and blesses, that the indirect insult to their race,
through one of their distinguished sons, shall re
ceive no mitigation by tenders of semi-sympathy
to the organ of autocratic power, even where that
power is concealed in the silken glove of an ac
complished statesman."

CHAPTER XXIV.

CHAMPION OF AMERICAN COMMERCE.

The upbuilding of American commerce was ever
a pet object with Mr. Cox. To this end he con
stantly advocated every measure before Congress
which promised to remove the burdens imposed
on American merchant marine, and to encourage
the American foreign-carrying trade. One of his
many speeches on this subject was delivered in the
House April 26, 1884. "Free Ships and Tree Ma
terials" was its watchword. In the course of that
speech^ he said:
"When the causes of our commercial ruin have
been brought home to the understanding of our
toilers in the ship-yards and the merchants in their
counting rooms, the system of prohibition is
doomed. Is American industry to be forever like
an imaginary cripple, afraid to lay aside its
crutches though he be able to walk better without
them? Repeal our restrictive laws and five years
will not roll away before we will, by free labor,
hold our own market and contend with the for
eigner successfully in the markets of the world.
"In my despair at the dilatory, not to say un
wise legislation here for the revival of our naviga
tion, I turn as a believer in our material advance
ment to the Baconic inductions of physics and the

182 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
probable results of our utilitarian methods of re
search. Invention is not a newborn muse which
descants upon a new order to usher in a new era;
for the ancients reckoned the inventor as among
the heroes and demi-gods along with the founders
of empire. What may not come in the form of ma
terial development to relieve us and bring back our
olden and golden glory upon the sea! Our age is
one of natural forces with wondrous practical ap
plications. These forces, including the vapor of
water and the spark of electricity along with other
elements not yet known, are the subtle agents har
nessed by man, powers we know not what or
whence, but powers in league with the reason and
genius of man, to do his work on land and ocean
for the amelioration and civilization of our kind.
By these forces we are day by day bringing nations
closer and closer to each other. Oceans no longer
divide. That mysterious realm is no longer an
abyss. It is bridged. The elements harmonize
and unite. Where once there was a flaming
sword, now there are well known paths over the
bosom of the deep, traced by the genius of Maury
and traveled by the steamer which mates the ocean
in its wildest saturnalia. This House, elected on
principles of reciprocity and liberality, may in har
mony with material advancement, at least do what
was done by the last Republican House, which,
professing no special creed on these topics, and al
though it repented of its generous vote the next
day and reversed its action, did adopt the two
propositions I have here urged — one for free ma
terials, to help the ship-builder, and the other for
free ships, to help the ship owner. I trust that
these may clasp hands and go as one and together.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 183
for the enhancement of our mercantile marine and
for the glory of our starry flag." (Applause.)
One of his last efforts, and for which the City
of New York thanked him, was the passing of a
law effectually preserving New York harbor and
its tributaries from destruction. Although he
abhorred war and regarded it as the resort of bar
barism, Mr. Cox was not unmindful of the neces
sity of defense and the needs of national honor, as
'his speech in the Forty-Eighth Congress as chair
man on naval affairs will show. In his speech,
which was delivered on June 30, 1884, he illus
trates in a remarkable degree the conscientious
legislative labor and foresight of the man.
"For my part," said he, "I would prefer to ex
pend four millions of dollars for one first-class
war vessel that would be able to overhaul the
Oregon or Alaska, and merchant steamers of that
type when armed as cruisers, than have a dozen
such cruisers as the Chicago, Boston, Atlanta or
Dolphin for the same money. I have no confidence
in the slow speed policy of the Advisory Board in
this age of high speed and scientific advancements.
The steel cruisers which we are now building are
already behind the requirements of the day. I risk
nothing in saying this when I can point to such
British merchant steamers as the Oregon and
Alaska. These are types of all large British mer
chant steamers that are hereafter to be built. None
are to be inferior to these. Most of those yet to be
built wiU surpass them. We who have no techni
cal naval knowledge can easily see that our steel
cruisers, the Chicago and the others, are a mistake.
They are not capable of effective cruising service
in war time."

184 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Has not the war with Spain, in showing the
superiority of fast-atiling cruisers abundantly
demonstrated the wisdom of the policy Mr. Cox
advocated many years ago?

CHAPTER XXV.

THE "letter carriers' FRIEND."

Mr. Cox was the earliest and most steadfast of
champions of the interests of the employes in the
postal service, especially the Letter Carriers, and
every important measure standing on the statute
books for their benefit was placed there through
his efforts. Chief among these measures were
those affecting the Letter Carriers. The first,
gives the Letter Carriers an annual vaca
tion of fifteen days without loss of pay — au
thorizing the employment meanwhile of substi
tutes. The second gives them a fixed salary, which
the Postmaster General himself is unable to disturb.
The third limits a day's work to eight hours, and
provides that for any additional hour or hours the
carrier may be employed, he shall "be paid extra
for the same in proportion to the salary now fixed
by law." The gratitude of this class of public
servants to Mr. Cox was manifest on many notable
occasions during his life, and is no less manifest
now that he wots not of it.
When Mr. Cox took up in Congress the cause of
the Letter Carriers, his first efforts were directed
to the securing of legislation which should give
them stated salaries. He saw that the compensa
tion of a Letter Carrier was governed largely, if

186 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
not altogether, by the caprice of the Postmaster
under, whom he was serving. A lump sum was
given a Postmaster to be distributed among his
employes, according to his own sweet will and
pleasure. Naturally, he had his favorites, and nat
urally, too, these were taken better care of than
those on whom he smiled not.
It was to preclude all favoritism, to put every
Letter Carrier beyond the power of suffering from
this caprice of his employer, and to equalize as
well as fix salaries, that Mr. Cox entered upon an
undertaking beset by many obstacles, and which
took years to fully accomplish.
More or less the carrier was a foot ball of poli
tics. Sometimes he was sent for by the party boss
and threatened with a reduction of pay if he hesi
tated to grind the ax of that boss. He knew not,
at the beginning of a campaign what would be his
fate at its close. It was emancipation from this
state of servitude that Mr. Cox sought and ob
tained for the letter carriers.
In an address before the Letter Carriers of Bos
ton and the workmen at the navy yard, in historic
Faneuil Hall, Mr. Cox briefly referred to his labors
in Congress in behalf of the Letter Carriers. "I
tender my acknowledgments," said he, "to the Let
ter Carriers of Boston for recognizing my humble
efforts, through many years, to raise their wages
to an adequate sum. At last, on February 21,
1879, my bill passed both houses. It was signed.
It was left unexecuted under various pretenses.
'Oh!' it was said, 'the carriers are not yet classified
and would not be until July 1.' A mere show and
not at all creditable to any concerned. The com
mittees in both houses endeavored on that their

•^

LITTLE ETHEL VAN ZANT SULLIVAN.
(Grandniece of S. S. Cox, who unveiled Letter Carriers' Statue.)

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 187
pretext to cut down the salaries of that bill below
the sums allowed, and to begin the lower pay on
the first of July. When the bill went to the Sen
ate it was not only thus curtailed but was loaded
down with riders as to swamp lands, Osage inter
est money, railroad mail transportation pay, and
what not. I had to fight these in detail. Some
were throttled, some not, to save the bill. Hap
pily the Carriers have their tasks requited with a
larger salary."
Another measure in the interests of the Letter
Carriers, obtained through Mr. Cox's efforts, is
known as the "Carriers' Vacation Law." Under
its provisions every letter carrier in the United
States is entitled to an annual vacation of fifteen
days, with full pay during that time, his duties,
meanwhile, performed by a substitute, who is also
paid by the government. Before the passage of
this act a vacation to a letter carrier came only
through the grace of his Postmaster. It comes to
him now through the law of the land, and no
thanks to either Postmaster or Postmaster Gen
eral. In recognition of this important service
at a special meeting of the letter carriers
of the branches of the New York postoffice held on
July 20, 1884, the following preamble and resolu
tions were unanimously adopted:
"The letter carriers of the branches of the New
York Postoffice feel deeply indebted to Honorable
Samuel S. Cox for the valuable service he has ren
dered them and the letter carriers generally in the
United States by his advocacy before the United
States Congress of just and proper legislation in
their behalf.

188 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"And whereas they desire to place on record
some suitable expression of their warm esteem for
him personally and their very high appreciation of
the valuable services rendered them, therefore be
it "Resolved, That the most earnest thanks of the
letter carriers of the branches of the New York
Postoffice be and are hereby unanimously tendered
to the Hon. Samuel S. Cox for his efficient and inde
fatigable efforts to secure by act of Congress to
the letter carriers a much needed annual vacation
of two weeks.
"Resolved, That we recognize in the Hon. S. S.
Cox, not only a true friend, but an eminent states
man and legislator whose official power has been
wisely exercised for the best interests of the public
service. "Resolved, That this preamble and resolutions
be suitably engrossed, framed and presented to the
Honorable Samuel S. Cox as an expression of our
warm personal esteem and of our united wishes
that he may long continue to do honor as an able
and upright public servant."
The presentation of an elaborately engrossed
copy of these resolutions to Mr. Cox at his resi
dence by the committee was accompanied with the
further presentation of a magnificent gold watch,
which was prized by him to the day of his death as
one of his choicest possessions.
This was followed, after Mr. Cox's return to
Congress succeeding his mission in Turkey, by the
eight hour law being applied to Letter Carriers.
Mr. Cox's part in passing these three measures of
inestimable value to the Letter Carriers, was thus
summed up by one of their numbers, George H.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 189
Newson, in a speech presenting a statue of the
'Letter Carriers' Friend" to the City of New York,
July 4, 1891. "When," said Mr. Newson, "Mr.
Cox understood that the Letter Carriers were re
ceiving less compensation than the driver of a
horse car and the laborers on the street, he did not
believe that the qualifications on the one side and
the compensation on the other were evenly bal
anced. He saw a duty, and when Congress met,
he introduced a bill to increase the carriers' sal
aries. We well remember how patiently, hope
fully, and yet fearfully, we waited and watched for
the result. We felt that our cause was in the
hands of a good friend, and would not suffer for
the want of devotion on his part. An illustration
of his earnestness might be told here. The bill
had passed the house and was pending in the Sen
ate. The House was in continued session, it being
the last few days of Congress. Mr. Cox thought
his work was done, and returned home to New
York for a much needed rest. He left word with
the carriers' representative that if the bill was
amended in the Senate, he would be on the confer
ence committee, and that if he was needed he
should be sent for, and he would return. One
night at about eleven o'clock we received a dis
patch from Washington stating that Mr. Cox
would be needed next morning. A messenger
hurried to Mr. Cox's residence, found that he had
retired; but when he was made acquainted with
the nature of the message, he immediately arose,
and although the train to Washington left Jersey
City at 12:15 midnight, Mr. Cox was on that train,
and arrived at the Capitol at 8 o'clock next morn
ing, and before the sun went down that day, the

190 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
salary bill had become a law as far as the Senate
and House were concerned.
"It had been a custom of the Postmaster of New
York to grant a ten days' leave of absence to all
carriers in the New York postoffice. He was not
required to do so by law, nor was the same privi
lege granted to the carriers of any other city. For
some reason or other, a few years after the pass-
sage of the salary bill, the department at Wash
ington instructed the Postmaster at New York to
discontinue these vacations. When Mr. Cox be
came aware of that fact, he presented and had
passed in both houses, before the next vacation
season came around, a bill giving all of the car^
riers of the United States a fifteen days' leave of
absence, with pay, and provided some one to do
each carrier's work — so that, instead of the carrier
T-ppplving the vacation as a compliment, he re
ceived it as a matter of right."
Respecting the history of the act constituting
eight hours a days' work for a carrier, and allow
ing him pro rata pay for all overtime, Mr. Newson
said: "When the fight began, if we may call it a
fight, Mr. Cox was in Turkey, representing the
government. We felt that our leader was gone,
and that we must go into the fight without him.
We had already waited through one session of
Congress without any action, and were willing to
wait two, three, or four, whatever the case might
be, or until we succeeded, when we received word
that Mr. Cox was to return home again. We felt
that with his presence we should surely win. We
gave him a royal reception when he returned home
and a few weeks after that he returned to Con
gress, and immediately espoused our cause. That
we won you know full well."

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 191
Not at once, however, were the fruits of the vic
tory gathered. The Postoffice Department, which
had been unable to defeat the passage of the law,
now sought means to nullify it. The Department
set up the claim that eight hours a day meant fifty-
six hours a week — that if a carrier was not em
ployed beyond this number of hours per week there
was no overtime. If not employed at all Sunday,
the fifty-six hours might be divided through the
other six days — an average of over nine hours a
day — according to the postmaster's sweet will. In
this contention, strange to say, the Postoffice De
partment was sustained by its legal adviser, the
Assistant Attorney General for that department.
The eight-hour law, drafted by Mr. Cox, was placed
on the statute book May 24, 1888. For nearly three
months the new law was ignored altogether. In
August, in pursuance of a policy of general exten
sion of the free delivery service, the Department,
in place of putting on new carriers, undertook to
increase the working hours of the carriers already
employed beyond the legal eight. Overtime began
then and there. The letter carriers, as usual when
in perplexity, appealed to Mr. Cox. Their com-
mitteee called his attention to what had been rep
resented to them as a flaw in the law and to the
construction put upon it by the Department. Mr,
Cox promptly replied that in his judgment the act
was complete — ^that its language fully bore out his
intent in framing it, which was that each day was
to be considered by itself, and was not to be
bunched with half a dozen others. And he advised
them to fight it out on that line.
For every hour of overtime on any day, regard-

192 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
less of any other, Mr. Cox maintained that the Gov
ernment must pay pro rata.
Still, year after year the overtime went on under
the department's construction of the law. Finally,
three years after Mr. Cox's death, came the vindi
cation of the law and its author. A test case, in
volving all the points at issue was made up, under
Postmaster General Wanamaker, and submitted
to the Court of Claims. That court decided in
favor of the letter carriers. Postmaster General
Wanamaker appealed the case to the Supreme
Court of the United States, and the highest tri
bunal in the land affirmed the decision of the Court
of Claims. That settled it for all time. What Mr.
Cox intended the law should be, such it was. Mr.
Cox had not been drafting laws thirty years for
nothing. What was the upshot? The letter carriers were
bidden file their claims for overtime during the
more than four years the department had, under
bad advice, misconstrued a perfectly plain enact
ment. The claims were filed, established by legal
proof, and for their payment the Government had,
up to September, 1898, appropriated nearly $3,-
250,000. The legal end of the carriers' claims for overtime
was handled by the Washington attorneys, the
brothers George A. and William B. King. In the
face of many discouragements these attorneys
bravely fought the case from its inception in the
Court of Claims to its triumphant conclusion in the
Supreme Court of the United States. And they
have since successfully prosecuted the claims for
overtime of many hundreds of carriers throughout
the United States. It is no small tribute to Mr.

STATUE OF S. S. COX, ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK.
(Erected bj- the Letter Carriers).

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 193
Cox's legal astuteness that the line on which they
fought and won in the highest court of the land
was precisely that laid down by the author of the
law himself, without amendment or qualification.
The S^upreme Court, in a decision delivered by
Mr. Justice Samuel Blatchford, March 13, 1893,
held in substance as follows :
1. That a carrier is entitled to count all work
performed by him under proper authority, whether
on the street in delivering or collecting mails, in
making up mail in the postoffice for delivery, or in
doing other postal service under direction of the
postmaster. 2. That a carrier is entitled to extra pay for any
time which he works in excess of eight hours upon
any one day, even though he may work less than
eight hours on some other day .
Said Justice Blatchford :
"The Court of Claims, in its opinion, arrived at
the following conclusions: (1) That the letter car
riers were entitled to recover, not only for all work
done by them on the street in delivering and col
lecting mail matter, but also for all work done in
the postoffice, in receiving and arranging the let
ters of their routes. (2) That, as to the distribution
of mail matter for the boxes and general delivery,
during the times intervening between one trip and
another in the same day, the regulations of the De
partment could properly be construed as permit
ting such services; and (3) that, as to the services
of the same character rendered after the termina
tion of the last trip for the day of the carrier in
delivering and collecting mail matter, they were
services fairly within the power of the postmaster
to prescribe.

194 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"We are of opinion that, in respect of all such
services,the letter carrier, if employed therein a
greater number of hours than eight per day, was
entitled to be paid extra. To hold otherwise
would be to say that the carrier was employed con
trary to the regulations of the Department, when
it clearly appears that he was employed in accord
ance with such regulations. The statute mani
festly was one for the benefit of the letter carriers
and it does not lie in the mouth of the Government
to contend that the employment in question was
not extra service, and to be paid for as such, when
it appears that the United States, in accordance
with the regulations of the Postoffice Department,
actually employed the letter carriers the extra
number of hours per day, and it is not found that
they were so employed as clerks. The postmaster
was the agent of the United States to direct the
employment, and if the letter carriers had not
obeyed the orders of the postmaster they could
have been dismissed. They did not lose their legal
rights under the statute by obeying such orders.
"Judgment affirmed."
Mr. Cox did not live to witness the crowning tri
umph of his labors in behalf of the letter carriers,
but the gratitude of the men he so zealously and
effectually served is undying.
It is worthy of note that the last public ap
pearance of Mr. Cox was at a festival held by the
Letter Carriers, when he received a testimonal
from their hands and made his last public speech.
The passage of the eight-hour bill was celebrated
with great enthusiasm by the Letter Carriers of
the United States in the Academy of Music, New
York, on the Fourth of July following. At this

OFFICERS OF NATIONAL LETTER CARRIERS' ASSOCIATION, 1898-9-

E. J. Cantwell, Sec'y,
Washington, D. C
Jas. Arkison, Ch'n Leg. Com.,
Fall River, Mass.
J. F. McElroy, Ch'n Ex. Bd.,
Bridgeport, Conn.
A. K. Young, Ex. Bd.,
Cincinnati, O.

Conrad Trieber, Vice-Pres.,
San Francisco, Cal.
John N. Parsons, Pres.,
New York City.
W. J. Knott, Ex. Bd.,
Newark N. J.

M. J. Conners, Treasurer,
Chicago, 111.
Chas. R. Raedel, Ch'n Civ. Ser.,
Canton, O.
Francis J. Bourke, Ex. Board,
Syracuse, N. Y.
Chris Lougheed, Sec. Ex, Bd.,
Detroit, Mich.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 195
meeting the following preamble and resolutions
were unanimously adopted :
"Whereas, the Letter Carriers of the United
States do feel deeply indebted to Hon. Samuel S.
Cox for the service so generously rendered by him
to secure the passage of the measure limiting the
hours of duty of Letter Carriers to eight per diem,
and "Whereas, our efforts would have been futile
were it not for the encouragement given and labor
expended in his own sphere and field; and
"Whereas, we recognize in Hon. Samuel S. Cox
a true friend to the cause of labor and a gentleman
who, although employed in the more important
questions of State and Nation, saw the justice of
our cause and enlisted in it for justice's sake;
therefore be it
"Resolved, That the thanks of the Letter Car
riers of the United States are due, and the same
are hereby extended to Hon. Samuel S. Cox for his
unselfish devotion to our cause and the many sac
rifices made by him in our behalf, the result of
which has been to make our labor less a task and
more a pleasure.
"Resolved, That a copy be engrossed and pre
sented to the Hon. Samuel S. Cox of New York."
When Mr. Cox died, by none was he mourned
more sincerely than by the Letter Carriers of the
United States. Resolutions expressive of their
sorrow were adopted by the carriers of all the prin
cipal cities of the United States. The letter car
riers of Philadelphia resolved that with loving
hearts in grateful i^emembrance, we heartily pay
tribute to his sterling worth as our champion,
friend and protector. He was universally be-

196 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
loved, respected and admired, ever ready to give
his time and efforts in our behalf. "Where," they
asked, "will we look for another such true friend?
Everywhere, only to be disappointed. W^ith one
accord we place upon record this slight token of
our loving regard and devotion for our dear friend
— the incorruptible statesman who has passed
away, leaving an unstained career as a fitting
memorial of a life well spent."
The branch at Jacksonville, Fla., resolved "that
in the death of Samuel S. Cox the nation has lost
a loved and honored statesman, humanity a friend,
Christianity a devout follower, and the Letter Car
riers of the United States a zealous champion, sup
porter, benefactor and advocate. That, excelling
in all the walks of life, we have known him best as
the honest statesman and the friend of the em
ployes of the nation."
The San Francisco carriers unanimously passed
this resolution: "That as employes of the free-
delivery system of the United States postal service
we shall ever hold in grateful remembrance the
painstaking research, laborious compilations, elo
quent pleadings for which on so many occasions
during his long and honorable career in the halls
of Congress Mr. Cox so ably assisted in securing
for ourselves and our fellow employes of the ser
vice mentioned the just provisions which from
time to time have been accorded to us by Congres
sional enactments." Besides these, the Golden
Gate Carriers addressed a personal letter to the
widow showing their appreciation of his "tireless
advocacy" of their rights in Congress, and their
sorrow at the loss of their "most zealous friend
and advocate."

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX. 197
Memphis, Tennesee, joined in the procession of
mourners, declaring in the resolutions of its Let
ter Carriers that "the council of the nation loses
one of its brightest lights, America one of her nob
lest sons and grandest statesmen, and the laborers,
and especially the Letter Carriers, a friend of in
estimable worth," and that the letter carriers of
Memphis "in mourning the loss of a friend so great
and true do share in the bereavement of the nation
i'nd his family."
The Boston carriers put on record their deep sor
row at "the loss of one who had endeared himself
to us by his kind, able, and willing assistance at
all times," and one who "was ever the champion
of our cause." Hardly a branch of the National
Letter Carriers Association was too small or too
remote to join in the acclaim of testimony to the
services of the "Letter Carriers Friend." The an
nual decoration of his grave in Greenwood by
these grateful servants of the public, attests that
their gratitude is not evanescent or merely spas
modic, but is as enduring as the memory of his
services in their behalf.
The crowning proof of the grateful apprecia
tion of the Letter Carriers of the United States,
towards their benefactor, stands in Astor Place,
in the midst of the busy life of the metropolis. It
is a bronze statue. The figure is of heroic propor
tions, and represents Mr. Cox in the attitude of
addressing the House. His right hand is extend
ed, while his left is at his side. The statue, eight
feet high, rests on a pedestal of polished granite,
twelve feet high. It cost |10,000, every dollar of
which was the voluntary contribution of the Let
ter Carriers of the United States. The pedestal
bears this inscription:

198 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Samuel Sullivan Cox,
The Letter Carriers' Friend.
Erected in grateful and loving memory of his ser
vices in Congress by the Letter Carriers of
New York, his home, and of the United
States, his country, July 4th, 1891."
The movement for the erection of a suitable
monument to testify to the gratitude of the Letter
Carriers of the United States for Mr. Cox was
started the day following his death. A special
meeting of the New York Letter Carriers' associa
tion held September 11, 1889, after a preamble de
claring that "the Letter Carriers of the United
States feel that they have lost a friend who de
voted his greatest efforts in their interest and wel
fare and one who we feel will never be replaced,"
adopted this resolution:
"Resolved, That a committee of the New York
Letter Carriers' Association be authorized to con
fer with the Letter Carriers of the United States,
for the purpose of raising a subscription for a suit
able monument to be placed over the remains of
the devoted friend of the Letter Carriers of the
United States."
In the end the erection of a statue in Astor
Place was decided upon. The dedication of this
statue, on the anniversary of the nation's inde
pendence, was an imposing ceremony. Delega
tions of Letter Carriers came for the purpose, from
far and near, even the Pacific Coast and the Gulf
States being represented. Two thousand carriers
turned out from New York and Brooklyn alone.
Charles P. Kelly, President of the Carriers' Asso
ciation, New York, was grand marshal of the pro
cession. George H. Newson, chairman of the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 199
statue committee, made the speech of presentation
to the city, and President Arnold of the Board of
Aldermen, received it in the city's behalf. The
orator of the occasion was Gen. Thomas Ewing,
formerly of Ohio, an associate of Mr. Cox in Con
gress and the friend of his earlier years. In the
course of his eloquent tribute, Mr. Ewing said :
"Letter Carriers of the United States: Well may
you commemorate his public services. The work
he did for you would not have been done by an
other. When he espoused your cause in Congress
you had no national organization through which
to command public respect, and there were not
enough of you in any one constituency to give you
any other champion in Congress than him whose
support went out to you without a thought as to
your numbers or his own interest. But for his
unselfish sympathy and zeal you would have no
redress of hardships and grievances, but would
have gone on to this day tramping your weary
rounds from daylight to dark, through winter's
cold and summer's heat, underpaid and over
worked." Recognition of Mr. Cox's effective aid to the Let
ter Carriers' has been freely and on every suitable
occasion made by them. And in the House of
Representatives in June, 1898, graceful acknowl
edgment thereof was made by Mr. Cox's successor
in these words :
"Mr. Bradley — Mr. Chairman — Representing as
I do a district which was formerly represented by
one of the ablest men that ever graced the halls of
Congress, a man to whom the Letter Carrier was
the darling of his heart, and who did more to build
up the postal service than any other one man in

200 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
the United States, the late Samuel S. Cox, I feel
that I would be an unworthy successor of his if I
failed in my humble way to do what I could to fur
ther the work which he did so much to forward."
Mr, Cox's last speech made in Congress, in Feb
ruary, 1889, was in behalf of the postoffice clerks,
to extend to them the benefits already enjoyed by
the carriers, as to classification and fixed salaries,
"Mr. Chairman," he said, "in opening his
speech, "I have the honor and the pleasure to take,
perhaps, an unusual interest in the postoffice de
partment. That interest has been special, and on
certain lines it is somewhat limited. The delivery
system has long been associated with my duties
here, and, I may say, even my anxieties abroad.
But the Letter Carriers have had not an unreason
able, on the contrary, quite a kindly, provision
made for them as to the increase of their pay, their
vacation, their recreation, and their hours of ser
vice. But how superbly have they recompensed
the government for its benf actions! As the facts
justify our pride over my previous efforts in their
behalf, may I be permitted to present now and
here the last results of this free delivery or letter
carrier service? Facts furnish the vindication of
this system. They simply astound the mind as
well as please the heart." The work which would
have placed the Postoffice Clerks on the same
plane of protection as the carriers, he did not live
to finish. Nor does the flight of years in anywise
lessen the Letter Carriers' grateful appreciation of
the valued services of their deceased benfactor.

CHAPTER XXVL

FATHER OP THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.
Of no achievement to which he could look back
at the close of his legislative service was Mr. Cox
more proud than of the creation by I'ederal statute
of the Life Saving Service. This measure was not
only introduced into Congress by him, but it was
pressed with tireless zeal, until he had the trium
phant satisfaction of witnessing its passage and
the service duly established.
A Chicago paper, after his death, characterized
the Life Saving Service "a grand monument to his
wisdom and humanity." In that very year, the
same authority stated "over 3,950 persons were
rescued and ships and cargoes valued at $7,966,660
saved" through this service. "Ages hence," it added
"S. S. Co.\-. will be remembered by those who go
down to sea in shiips and are rescued from the
treacherous waves by the crews of life boats." Mr.
Cox, in a speech in 1878, in the House, attributed
the inspiration of his efforts in this direction to a
storm in the Scilly Isles, in the winter of 1868,
when a great steamer barely escaped shipwreck.
"It was," he said "the worst tempest in thirty
years upon that coast. When we arrived in port,
the day after the peril, the English journals were
full of the glorious exploits, by rocket and signal

202 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
and coast guard and mortar and life boat. I won
dered, if so much could be done in England, with
her forty-five hundred miles of coast line, why
should not our country, with double that number
of miles, have a similarly efficient service. It was
this that led me to propose what the superinten
dent of the service called the efficient beginning
of the patrol of the Jersey coast. Since that time
how much has been done for the well being and
rescue of imperiled lives! How much of comfort
and joy has been vouchsafed to families and
friends of the beneficiaries of that mercy which
droppeth as the gentle rains from heaven in this
warm-hearted legisi \tion, blessing and blessed."
The close of his speech was as follows:
"Mr. Speaker: I have spent the best part of my
life in this public service. Most of it has been like
writing in water. The reminiscences of party
wrangling and political strife seem to me like neb
ulae of the past, without form and almost void.
But what little I have accomplished in connection
with this Life Saving Service is compensation
sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. It is its own
exceeding great reward. It speaks to me in the
voices of the rescued; aye, in tears of speechless
feeling; speaks of resurrection from death —
In spite of wreck and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore;
speaks of a faith triumphant over all fears in the
better elements of our human nature. It sounds
like the undulations of the Sabbath bell, ringing in
peace and felicity. It comes to me in the words of
Him who, regardless of His own life, gave it freely
that others might be saved.
"Humanity and civilization should walk white-

LIFE-SAVING STATION, PORT HURON, MICH.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 203
handed along with government. They strengthen
and save society. In the perils which environ our
country, from passion and prejudice, from old ani
mosities and new irritations, let us do good deeds
— pray hopefully that our vessel of state be free
from leakage, collision, wreck and loss. Send out
the life-boat; fire the line over the imperiled ves
sel ; free the hawser for the life-car, and then with
stout hearts and thankful souls lift up our prayer
to Him who holds the sea in the hollow of His
hand." The effect of this eloquent appeal was electric.
Almost immediately the bill passed the House, and
without one dissenting vote.
The speech attracted wide attention and elicited
everywhere the highest encomiums. At a meeting
of the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York
held June 11, 1878, the following preamble and res
olution offered by Alderman Morris were adopted:
"Whereas, Hon. Samuel S. Oox, one of the repre
sentatives in Congress from this city, has delivered
an effective and patriotic speech in the House of
Representatives in behalf of humanity and the suf
fering; and as he has given almost his whole life
to assist in perfecting the Life Saving System and
to establish its workings on our coast, from Maine
to California, by which thousands of lives and mill
ions of dollars have been saved to all nationalities.
Therefore be it
"Resolved, That the Board of Aldermen of the
City of New York tender to the Hon. Samuel S.
Cox and to all members of Congress and other per
sons conected in any way with this life saving and
humane institution, their sincere and heartfelt

204 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
thanks, not unmindful of the assistance given to
it by the press of the country. And be it further
"Resolved, That the Clerk of this Board be au
thorized and directed to have this engrossed and
forwarded to the Hon. Samuel S. Cox.
Adopted by the Board of Aldermen, June 11th,
1878.
Approved by the Mayor, June 17th, 1878.
Francis J. Twoomey,
Clerk Common Council."
In Congress after Congress the onslaught upon
the Life Saving Service, assuming one guise or an
other, was renewed, and as often successfully met
by its sturdy champion. Some of the most eloquent
appeals ever heard on the floor of Congress were
made by Mr. Cox on these occasions. The following
extracts must suffice as examples:
[From a speech in the House, 1878 ]
"This service is, in a high sense, divinely beauti
ful. Although it is limited to this country of ours,
yet its benefaction knows no boundary, and its
example is an incentive to the benevolent of all
lands. It rescues the people of all nationalities.
No wonder that the nations are following our ex
ample. "Denmark is seeking to introduce our system
amidst her belts, coasts, and isles. No wonder
that Holland — the child of the sea — is asking for
our instructions, signals, and paraphernalia for
life-saving. If I may be allowed to say it, the
Turkish and Russian maritime people are endeav
oring to adapt our system to the increasing com
merce of the Black Sea, at the mouth of the his
toric Bosphorus. Two thousand years ago — after
Jason had navigated to Colchis for the golden
fleece — temples were built to the gods of Greece

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 205
at the perilous mouth of these classic waters. At
their altars the votive offerings of sailors were
laid, because of the tempestuous character of that
inland sea. I have recently seen the ruins of
these temples that were dedicated to Jupiter,
Neptune and other heathen gods, to whom invoca
tions were made to save the adventurous naviga
tor from disaster and death.
"Whereas, Mr. Speaker — these ancient mariners
appealed to Jupiter and Neptune — we appeal to
practical mechanics. We invoke the genius of
chemistry, with its colored signals, its line, car,
buoy, powder and howitzer. We add to electric
ity and steam the dauntless heroism of the surf-
man. Odessa and Constantinople, by voluntary
effort are copying our example in thus rescuing
the imperiled.
"Yet, sir, in conclusion, there is a higher sanc
tion than the Constitution or humanity. It is that
of Him who stilled the waves of Galilee to save
imperiled human life. It is said that in the beauty
of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, and
in the glory of his bosom he transfigured you and
me. He died to make men holy, and for the salva
tion of human souls in desperate shipwrecks
through sins. We may not imitate his example,
here, sir, except afar off, but, by our voice and
vote, we may do something by this measure to
throw around our legislation a divine aureole
and save human life, so precious to Him who gave
His life to save the lives of others. (Applause.)
"Ah! sir; there is a pathetic poetry belonging to
the sea, which is all too sad for the ordinary prose
of human composition. The sea has been the
theme of praise by many writers; their vivid de-

206 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
scriptions remain in the memory. They have ap
plauded its services as the great purveyor of the
world's commodities, for the diversity of food
which it yields, and, most of all, for the 'wonders
of the Lord in the deep.' But no pen has ever done
justice to the grandeur of its aspect, even in calm,
or to the might of its tempests in storm. It is
said that it entertains the sun with vapors, the
moon with obsequiousness, the stars with a mirror
the sky with clouds, the air with temperateness,
the soil with subtileness, the rivers with tides, the
hUls with moisture, and the valleys with fertility.
It gives meditation to the mind, and the world to
the world, all parts thereof to each part, by the art
of arts — navigation. Still, above all is that rest
less, overwhelming power, in the wild tumult of
its wrath, when its crested waves make a compact
with the clouds and the winds, the thunder and the
thunderbolt, and sweep on in their dread alliance.
And yet, to sustain the art of navigation, there is
another art, called into being by the genius of man,
which dares contend against the wild, insatiable,
and reckless S,aturnalia of the sea. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes compares the sea with the mountains,
to the great disadvantage of the sea. He loves —
as who does not — the mountains, where the least
of things seem infinite; but the sea is to him a huge
feline, licking your feet, purring at times pleas
antly, but ready to crack your bones and eat you
for all that, and then wipe the crimsoned foam
from its jaws as if nothing had happened. The
sea had for him a fascinating, treacherous intelli
gence, stretching out its shining length, and by
and by lashing itself into rage, showing its white
teeth, and ready to spring at the bars while howl-

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 207
ing the cry of its mad fury ! That furious wild ani
mal, the arts of man has caged and bound! Before
the genius of man the wildest waves become calm.
Parent and child, wife and husband, brother and
sister and lover, who are tempest-tossed and
stranded, are rescued from the washing and wast
ing element, which is subdued and enchanted by
human bravery. As Byron has sung, "Man has
wantoned with its breakers, and that which was
a terror becomes a pleasing fear." Our noble
crews defying its billows, have laid their hands
upon its mane and tamed it to their will. In the
old days it was said that it was beautiful to die
for one's country. Under the inspiration of mar
tial music and other martial exercises patriotic
men rush to the conflict and die. Nations vote
pensions and decorations to the hero who first
plants a flag on a parapet or rescues it from an
enemy. How much nobler to decorate and pen
sion the man who, seeing one of his own kind,
though a stranger, in the struggle and despair of
death, plunges into the very jaws of the unseen
future amidst darkness and danger to reclaim his
fellow-being from a watery grave. Who can
measure the wonderful grace of that government
which not only provides for the rescue of the vic
tims and the stranded ships from the storm, but
gives consolation to those who, as Jeremy Taylor
well says, have not yet suffered shipwreck, but
Who amidst the dark night, an ill guide, and a
boisterous sea, and broken cable, and hard rock,
and a rough wind, may be dashed in pieces with
the fortunes of a whole family, and they that shall
weep loudest for the accident have not yet entered
into the storm? We may construct upon our

r

208 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
shore the image of Liberty holding up its torch to
enlighten the world; we may allure the immigrant
to our country by this lustrous imagery at the har
bor of our great metropolis; but no such light,
even though dazzling with its electric brilliancy,
will attract the attention of the good men of our
kind like the serene and blessed illumination that
radiates from our life-saving statute and pro
claims to all the world — ^to men of every condition
race and nationality — that when overcome by the
terrific disasters of the sea, they have at every per
ilous point upon our coast the heroic courage of
men who are equipped and ready to leap into the
surf, to launch their boats through its 'league-long
rollers,' to breast the tempest in its angry howling,
and to rescue those who are hanging upon the vast
abyss and about to be swallowed by the angry
waters. It is said in the New Testament that a
man will give his life for his friend. But these
men, almost without pay, with a lion-hearted cour
age far excelling that of the soldier under the im
pulse of patriotic devotion — are ready in the pur
suit of their high duty to glorify our human nature
by laying down their lives, if need be, for those —
even those who are aliens and strangers."
[From a speech, 1888. J
"May I not, then, take pardonable pride in the
establishment and progress of this system, which
has no peer in the world for its effective work and
no paragon in the history of nations for its inspi
ration? I sometimes think, Mr. Speaker, that I
have, through the mercy of God, more than my
compensation for the little I have done in the pro
motion of this service. When struggling for life
one year ago, in this city, when the little will

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 209
power which was remaining was ready to succumb
before the ravages of disease and the agony of
pain, and when friends had almost given up my
surviving, I cast my eyes upon two pictures at
either side of my sick bed.
"One was that of the life-boat going out through
the storm to the rescue of a ship wrecked upon a
rock-bound coast, while there on the shore the rel
atives of the surfmen stand speechless with anx
iety as to the fate of the brave men who hazard all
for the rescue. The other picture is that of the
same life-boat coming in. It is laden with its
precious freight. The howling storm, the chime
of the breakers, and the dark clouds around the
beetling cliffs; the cry goes up from thankful
hearts, 'All safe; all well.'
"In my poor sick fancy I grasped the tiller of
the life-boat. I clung to it with the tenacity that
overcame the sinking heart of an emaciated body.
The good doctor, when I related to him the inci
dent and the source, and how it had inspired me
with a fresh hope and a new life, gave me smiling
asurance that I might still survive as a rescued
man to plead for the Life-Saving Service in many
Congresses. "I have said, Mr. Speaker, that we have one
beautiful statute which as a sacred halo around
it. It makes a sunshine in the shadow of our
selfish, sectional, and patriotic codes and laws. It
is that which preserves human life. It is not
merely a sentimental humanity, but a real bene
faction. Like the orange tree, it bears fruit and
flowers at the same time. * *
"It is no exaggeration to say, in view of its ob
ject, that it gives us a glimpse, though dim, of the

210 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
golden age. The world's heart clings to it as if
it were a memory of a past paradise or the home
of a paradise regained. The sea itself plays its
mighty minstrelsy in its honor. * * «
Life is precious because its loss can not be repair
ed. Jeremy Taylor has told us that while our
senses are double there is but one death, but
once only to be acted, and that in an instant, and
upon that instant all eternity depends. Other
losses may be recompensed by gains, but loss by
death never. No one is so lordly or powerful as to
stay this irreparable loss. Every day puts us in
peril; while we think we die. What care and es
teem can equal the eternal weight of human life?
Can any legislation be too ample or adequate for
its production?"
In grateful recognition of his devotion to the up
building of the Life Saving Service, the members
of that service presented to his widow, a few
months after his death, a memorial vase. The pre-
sentationwas made with appropriate ceremony at
Mrs. Cox's home in Washington, in the presence of
a notable gathering of relatives and friends, the
General Superintendent, Sumner I. Kimball, rep
resenting the Service. "The vase," as described in
one of the publications of the day, "is two feet in
height, two feet one inch in circumference, and
weighs one hundred twenty-five ounces. On the
front of the vase is a scene representing the life-
savers engaged in rescuing people from a stranded
vessel by means of the breeches buoy. Some dis
tance out, where the sea rises in mountains, is the
wrecked vessel, with torn sails and shattered spars.
At various points along the beach life-savers are

VASE PRESENTED TO MRS. COX BY LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 211
seen lifting bodies from the heavy surf and car
rying them ashore. In direct contrast with this
wild scene is the ornamentation that circles the
body of the vase. This consists of a cable net in
which are caught starfish, seaweed and odd-ap
pearing plants and shells that are known to in
habit the depths of the ocean. A ledge formed by
a ship's chain supports this net, while above is a
profile of Mr. Cox circled with laurel against a
background of sea coral. A life buoy crossed vsdth
a boathook and oar rests at the top. The handles
at the sides are composed of two beautifully
formed mermaids, who, with bowed heads and
curved bodies, hold in their upraised hands sea
plants that grow from the side of the top. The in
scription is as follows:
THIS MEMORIAL VASE
IS PRESENTED TO
MRS. SAMUEL S. COX.
BY THE MEMBERS OF
THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE TIRELESS AND SUCCESSFUL
EFFORTS OF HER DISTINGUISHED HUSBAND,
THE HONORABLE SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX,
TO PROMOTE THE INTEBESTS AND ADVANCE THE EFFICIENCY AND GLORY
OF THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.

He was its early and constant friend;
Its earnest and eloquent advocate;
Its fearless and faithful champion.

212 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
General Superintendent Kimball, in his presen
tation address recalled the history of the Life-Sav
ing Service. "The system," he said, "was initiated
in 1871, but the way was prepared in 1870 when an
amendment to an appropriation bill to provide for
the employment of crews of surfmen at the sta
tions on the New Jersey coast for the winter
months having been defeated, Mr. Cox, after a
sharp and persistent contest, secured the passage
of a substitute authorizing their employment at
every alternate station. This was probably the first
time his attention had been attracted to the idea
of rescuing the shipwrecked by organized effort
from the shore, and from that hour he became its
devoted adherent and champion.
"It opened the door to the subsequent employ
ment of crews at all the stations, and only through
this door lay directly the way to the establishment
of the present organization. As Mr. Cox antici
pated, the very defects of the provision hastened
and aided the advance. The next appropriation
bill providing for sundry civil exi>enses of the
government, approved April 20 ,1871, appropriated
a sufficient amount to i)ermit the construction of
several additional stations and to replenish the
equipments of the old ones', and authorized the
Secretary of the Treasury to employ crews at such
stations as he might deem necessary. He caused
their employment at all. This permitted, upon
the limited stretch of coast to which the stations
were confined, the initiation of a plan of organiza
tion which was the prototype of the system that
to-day extends over the entire coast of the country.
The result that followed was so immediate and
striking as to arrest general attention. At the close

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX. 213
of the season it was found that not a life had been
lost within the field of this guardianship."
But the struggle was not over. The opposition
to apropriations for the Life Saving SiCrvice was re
newed Congress after Congress, originating gener
ally with members representing districts far re
mote from the seacoast. It was seemingly a "bat
tle once begun, never done." Mr. Cox was at the
front of every battle and invariably saved the day
for the life savers. In the Forty-fifth Congress he
secured his most signal victory. It was prox>osed to
transfer the service from the treasury to the naval
control. A long and desperate contest ensued,
Mr. Cox marshaling the forces of the opposition
to the proposed change, which he believed to be
fraught with infinite peril to the system. "The
closing days of the session," said Superintendent
Kimball," brought a signal victory for the service,
and witnessed one of the most notable triumphs
for Mr. Cox that has ever marked the annals of
Congress. It was in the final encounter of this
protracted struggle that he made that memorable
speech that must always be accounted the ablest of
all the great speeches that distinguished his long
and brilliant career. Its effect upon the auditors
was magical and a scene ensued that has rarely if
ever been paralleled in Congress. " A member who
was present thus describes the scene:
"A number of speeches had been made; his was
the last. No especial interest was manifested in
the subject; nothing to distinguish it from the or
dinary discussions that daily take place in the
House. It was in the morning after the routine
business had been disposed of that Mr. Cox arose.
The attention of members was gradually arrested.

214 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
The calling of pages by the clapping of hands grew
less frequent as he proceeded. In a short time the
members sat enchained by the eloquence of his ad
dress. Now and then there was applause, but when
he stopped a profound silence pervaded the
House. "In a moment or two it was broken by a member
near by extending his congratulations to him. He
was quickly followed by another; then two or three
pressed forward to take him by the hand; when
almost simultaneously a score or more approached
him, and in less time than I can describe it every
member was on his way up the aisle towards him
to extend his congratulations. No attempt was
made to continue business. The speaker of the
House acquiesced in the temporary interruption
and only called the members to order when they
had resumed their seats. I sat immediately oppo
site to him during the delivery of the speech and
was the last member to grasp him by the hand. As
I did so I saw that he had been moved to tears
and not a word passed between us. I doubt very
much whether, in the whole history of this body,
any speech had such an instantaneous effect. It
was a high tribute to the orator. Aye, it was
more. It was a homage paid to his subject. He
struck the key-note of humanity, and all within its
sound responded to its spell."
"Probably," said Superintendent Kimball, "no
speech ever made in the House produced so con
spicuous a change of sentiment upon a pending
question. The bill passed without a dissenting
voice. The chosen leader of the opposition, a mem
ber distinguished for his eloquence and ability,
had entered the hall before the discussion began

SUMNER I. KIMBALL,
Superintendent o£ Life Saving Service.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 215
with books and documents which he intended to
use in closing the debate for his side. When he saw
the whole House file up the aisle to congratulate
his antagonist he joined the throng, and upon
reaching him said: 'Mr. Cox, you have anticipated
and answered every point I expected to make; you
have left me nothing to say.'
"Is it any wonder," asked Superintendent Kim
ball, "that when the announcement of his death
flashed over the land, and was repeated by tele
phone from station to station, a gloom fell upon
the coast from Maine to Texas on the Atlantic,
and from Washington to the southern boundary
of California on the Pacific, and all around the
shores of the great inland lakes, such as had never
overshadowed it before?"
Senator William P. Frye, of Maine, chairman of
the Senate committee on Commerce, followed Su
perintendent Kimball, in an eloquent tribute, of
which the following is a part :
"I knew Mr. Cox well; served with him in the
House ten years; was honored with his friendship,
and admired him intensely. He was a remarkable
man. Michael Angelo, for more than four hundred
years, has stood out in bold relief — painter, sculp
tor, architect, poet, and engineer. Mr. Cox was as
many sided as he, not standing, it may be, so far
above his fellows, but neither ordinary nor com
monplace in any of the elements of his greatness.
He was an orator, capable of moving to laughter
or to tears. He could subdue the stormy House to
quietness and make itis members listeners. His
imagination occasionally inspired him to wonder
ful flights of eloquence skyward, but he could, too,
when it served his purpose, keep close to the

216 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ground. He was a logician, strong in solid argu
ment to convict and convert. Thoroughly equipped
by hard study, ceaseless toil, extended travels,
long experience, he was a ready disputant whom
no man could afford to despise.
"But the crowning quality of his greatness —
that which will keep his memory fresh when oth
ers, his peers intellectually, are forgotten — was his
great loving heart, his humanity to man. The
dying soldier and the cup of cold water alone im
mortalized Sir Philip Sidney. It was this trait of
character that made all his colleagues in the
House his warm personal friends, even through
contests sharp and sometimes bitter. It was this
that preserved a sweetness neither time nor age
nor contest, nor disappointed ambition could sour.
It was this that inspired his championship of the
sailor and the surfman, of the carrier and the
laborer, of the Indian, the Irishman and the He
brew — of the downtrodden, friendless and perse
cuted whenever and wherever he found them."
Such was the testimony borne by a political an
tagonist, with whom during their many years'
service together on the floor of Congress, Mr. Cox
had often crossed swords.
Among Mr. Cox's papers was found, after his
death, a little pocket manual of "instructions to
mariners in case of shipwreck, with information
concerning the life-saving stations upon the coasts
of the United States." After the quoted words, on
the title page, he had written, "for which thank
God!"

CHAPTER XXVII.

POUR NEW STARS.

Mr. Cox was a thorough believer in the "mani
fest destiny" of the Republic, and stood ever ready
to give consistent support to measures for the en
largement of the circle of the union of states. In
his last session in congress, closing with the first
term of President Cleveland on March 4, 1889, he
spoke and labored with all the energy of which he
was capable in favor of the admission of four new
states — the two Dakotas, Montana, and Washing
ton. It was a Democratic House, and there was
a determined opposition to their admission on
party grounds. That this opposition was over
come was conceded to be primarily due to the ef
forts of Mr. Cox.
"There is," he confessed in a speech made in the
House January 15, 1889, during the last session of
his service in that body, "a sort of glamor and fas
cination about the admission of states into our im
perial federation. I am subject to influences of a
romantic character. But they have not disturbed,
and I think will not disturb, that discretion which
belongs to congress when it votes to make com
plete the circle of our federal felicities.

218 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Mr. Speaker, as we approach the centenary of
the life of our nation the mind becomes reminis
cent. It would also be prophetic. In dim outline
the ancient seers saw, through the mists of west
ern seas, our hemisphere as the home of a race
which rejoiced in a 'golden age.' These dreams
take hold upon the imagination. They give an illu
sion to our 'discretion' on bills like these looking
to future empire.
"The imaginary commonwealth of Plato was not
altogether unsubstantial. Some of the visions
upon the horizon of our early epochs have found
realization. But a republic never imagined by
Plato, nor dreamed of by Harrington or Sir
Thomas More, has found its home in our hemis
phere. Like all hope that has its fruition, this has
come to us through toil, danger and heroism. These
sacriflces have no parallel in the adventures of our
race or upon our planet."
"This question of admission," he added, "is not
a party question. In the nature of things it cannot
be. The people of the territories are not wedded to
any party. They are remote and isolated; preoc
cupied with absorbing local matters. They are
easily molded, like the clay in the hands of the
potter. As the wheel whirls, a little pressure here
and a little pressure there, and out comes the
graceful vase, irrespective of the rude and selflsh
manipulations of our Federal politics. If these
territories be not admitted this session they will
surely be admitted under Republican auspices in
the next Congress, and their jwlitics will take the
reflection of the friends who give them their early
nurture." Again he said: "Refuse to admit this

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 219
state and its territorial sisters? Why, sir, you may
enact that frost shall cease in the north and blooms
in the south, or try to fix the figure of Proteus by
statute, but you can not prevent the people of this
territory from their demand, and you must accede
to it; and if this Congress does not, we know that
the next Congress will. The spirit of this people
of the Northwest is that of unbounded push and
energy. These are the men who have tunneled our
mountains, who have delved our mines, who have
bridged our rivers, who have brought every part
of our empire within the reach of foreign and home
markets, who have made possible our grand
growth and splendid development. They are the
men who have made our national life. There is no
parallel in history to their achievements. You can
not hold them as captive to the Federal system.
You must give them self-reliant statehood.
"The historian of Rome draws a picture of the
proud Queen of Palmyra arrayed in purple and
loaded with golden cTiains to aggrandize the pro
cession in honor of the conqueror of Asia. It
needs no such imagination to picture the condition
of our inchoate states in the West. They will
wear no golden Chains. No, sir! They will march
in no procession of dishonor. Such exhibitions do
not belong to our country. Our people are not to
be led in fetters at the car of an imperial Con
gress. Why, such exhibitions were unfit even for
pagan Rome. So that in every possible equip
ment, whether divided or united, this remarkable
territory is ready to join that circle of felicity
which makes up the federal fraternity."
Anxious to testify their gratitude to him in per
son, the citizens of the newly invested States,

220 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
urged Mr. Cox, after the adjournment of Congress,
to make a tour to their far off country. Accord
ingly, in June, accompanied by his wife, in re
sponse to itheir pressing invitation, he set out on
his journey across the continent. Everywhere he
was hailed as the father of the infant states. A
continuous ovation it was. On the Fourth of July
the announcement ithat he was to deliver the ad
dress at Huron, Dakota, sufficed to attract crowds
from all available points of the new state. The
address closed with these words :
"Standing upon the thresholds of these young
states, and in the morning of another century, may
we not have glimpses of the far future of their
destiny? It may not be that of a Paradise re
gained; it may not be that of a New Atlantis rising
from the wave, and where no frost congeals and
no storm vexes; it may not be a Plato nian ideal,
where the abstract and the object are One, and
that One is all beautiful with Truth and Virtue;
it may not be some indefinite Utopia wearing its
coronal of unreal happiness beneath Equatorial
realms, but as men reason, is it not probable that
in these new states, in the very heart of the conti
nent, may be found the shining nucleus and the
concentraited genius of the most miraculous pro
gress known to human society? Already we may
hear the cheerful music of requited toil, inspiring
the builders of new homes and the founders of new
commonwealths, with the incentive to and the
fruition of the best human energy under the most
favored institutions.
"Your celebration here and now is manifold in
meaning. It combines Jefferson and the Declara
tion, Washington and the Constitution, Jefferson

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 221
and Louisiana, and therefore Jefferson and Da
kota. It embraces France with her revolution
and our own, and France with Louisiana, Wash
ington, Jefferson and Dakota, and all imbound in
the golden rigol of republican institutions and
human felicity. Said I not rightly, as men count
the periods of time — ^it is a wonderful year?
"If other celebrations of this day be only the
laudation of the historic past, then they will be a
mere ostentation, which will die with the year.
But your jubilee unites hope with history and ad
vancement with memory.
"Yours, citizens of the Northwest, is a celebra
tion that bids tha glowing scenes of the future at
distance, hail! No more the appreihension of the
stealthy tread of the moccasin. No more the
plash of the French trader's oar in your lakes and
streams. Touch the pulse of our active age and
you will feel the throb of the mighty mechanic
movement which interweaves your interchanges
with the world. Place your ear to the earth and
you will hear the tramp, tramp, tramp of the com
ing generations. Stretch your vision from your
dawning centenary eminence, and lo! Chaos and
old Night roll away before an auroral splendor,
'far-sinking into splendor without end.'
"All hail! Sisters of the Northwest! As one not
altogether unfamiliar with your territory and its
inspirations, as one who has in the generation gone
by endeavored to champion the rights and wel
come the coming of the states, upon your southern
and eastern border, even as the humblest of those
accredited from the great entrepot of commerce to
the National Congress — may I not be permitted to
welcome you to the enjoyment of the privileges.

222 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
advantages, immunities and guarantees which
protect property, reputation, person, liberty, relig
ion and life. Welcome to the Olympian race in
which ye are about to start upon the course of con
tinental empire! All hail! the promise of your
superb morning, and may it be glorious to the
end! Under favoring auspices may you so direct
your destiny thiat the genius of your race and pol
ity shall flourish beyond the imagination of man
to conceive, or ' — Modern Homers
Sing, or smiling Freedom write
In their Iliads of Peace."
A pathetic intere^ attaches to this journey and
this address, as both were his last.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

OLD CAMPAIGNING DAYS IN OHIO.
Of his old campaigning days in Licking, Ohio,
Mr. Cox indulged to the full in reminiscence, in a
letter addressed to the chairman of the Democratic
County Committee of that county expressive of his
regret that illness forced an abandonment of his
engagement to speak in his old home, in the cam
paign of 1878. He was en route to keep his en
gagement when he was taken ill, and halted at
Pittsburg. "But," he writes, "as I 'lay sick of a fe
ver,' all the old memories of campaigning in Lick
ing thronged my mind, robed in many visionary
hues, and founded on many a serious and jolly
experience. I forgot for a time my trouble, and
the hum of the big city I had left; threw off the
coil of self interest, and lived again in the early
manhood. These memories were quickened by the
pleasing hope of renewing scenes of a score of
years and more ago. Since then, your fields, for
ests and houses have changed; but not so much, I
fear, as the good, jocund and wise friends of that
day. But the well known voices and faces came
trooping to my bedside, and I resolved, if I could,
to reproduce them on paper, if they did not escape
me on my memory. There are times when the
drums are unmuffled and they sound for the rally

224 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
and onset as of yore." And then recalling many
a person and many an incident of the days gone by
in "old Licking" he adds:
"Many lands have I seen since, redolent of asso
ciations, classic and romantic; but not in Van-
cluse, where Petrarch sung of Laura, nor in Scot
land, Where Burns sung of his Highland Mary, have
there been sweeter thoughts than I have had of
thy vale, sweet Cherry Valley! Other lands may
produce finer sheep, but give me Harrison and
Union, with their stock of Democratic shepherds,
like Colonel Alward, and another now dead and
nameless, who never allowed me to pass his house
without dedicating an eagle, with a flask to it, full
of "copper distilled" of his own brewing, which
(the eagle) received our special chrism in a wagon
shed near by. One hazelnut from the groves of
Fallsbury dissipates all memory of the oranges
and palms of Andalusia; a taste of the indigenous
peach from Hopewell, makes the apricots and nec
tarines of the Mediterranean pall on the taste;
and the buckwheats, crinkled over with the dulcet
syrups of sorghum and Democracy, were made
sweeter by the relish I saw the bees take of the
purple flower as it bloomed in the flelds of Bur
lington and Bennington. You may not, but others
may recall the procession as it came under the lead
of the most militant of militia captains from Hope
well and the southeast part of the county. It in
variably had that same string band. Is the band
dissolved? I have heard many strange noises since
I have lived in this isle of Manhattan, and much
rare music, too. I have heard the weird songs and
tomtoms of Africa, listened to the tinkle of the
guitar and the clink of the Castanet in Spain; have

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 225
listened to Tamberlik and Patti and all the stars
of operatic song; have held my breath before that
wonderful power which is evoked out of sound, by
the German skill of Gluck, Bach, Handel, Hayden,
Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Spohr, Mendelssohn
and Schuman; have been entranced, if not mys-
tifled, by the transcendental genius of Wagner,
translating out of the inner soul the myths of the
past for the music of the future ; and yet — yet, give
me the string band of the Flint Ridge boys and
their gallant captain. There was heart, soul and
patriotism in it. It was enough to satisy the sen
timent as it pleases the memory.
"Men may come and go. Time with its chemis
try changes even iron; the water drop in twenty
years will wear away the granite. These bodies of
ours, more easily affected than iron and granite,
change and go first. They suffer many vicissi
tudes; but the indestructible memory of twenty
years ago in old Licking will never die. I live in a
town of twelve hundred thousand people, whose
factories make the big shafts and engines which
mate Neptune in his wildest tempest; but after all,
there is no stream, however small, like that which
dances through the memory of early days; no en
terprise so interesting as that which identifies one
with early associations. Is there any thing dearer
to my heart than those farmer homes, where the
wooden latch lifted so easily to the touch? or
whose large open fireplace glowed so cheerily in
the autumn nights, and whose big feather beds
gave such delicious rest from the weariness of the
political arena? It is not what is big, but what is
dear that is remembered."

CHAPTER XXIX.

MEMBER OF THE COBDEN CLUB.

A Western member had savagely assailed Mr.
Cox for being a member of the Oobden club. In a
speech in the House shortly after (May 17, 1888>
on "The Surplus and the Tariff," Mr. Cox took oc
casion incidentally to pay his respects to his assail
ant, and to vindicate his own record. The follow
ing is an excerpt:
"Names are not much in a debate, but as the
gentleman has spread my middle name — Sullivan
— on the record, I must analyze that also a little
in return, by saying that Sullivan is from the Latin
"Sol" and "Levant." Sun Rise! (Laughter.) My
ancestor came from the East. I went back as his
reflux wave. (Laughter). I may mention confi
dentially that one of my ancestors carried a hod
at the building of Solomon's Temple. (Laughter.)
All I know of the family is that a recent ancestor
came over from Ireland with Lord Baltimore. He
was in 'noble' company. I need not enlarge fur
ther. There is another test of Celtic blood to
w'hich I may refer, as it is so pertinent to the Mills
bill. The gentleman from Nevada will be pleased
to know that his championship of the Tory protec
tionists of England indicates that he leans
towards, if he does not belong to, the bluest blood

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 227
of the landed aristocracy of England. Evidently
the speech of the gentleman was for the purpose
of prejudicing the Irish against the Democracy, by
reason of their dislike to their English oppressors.
But his arrow falls far short of the mark. The
gentleman was pleased to say something compli
mentary of myself as a member of the Democratic
party, and referred to me as a representative of a
cosmopolitan constituency in a cosmopolitan city.
He spelled my name at full, and more than inti
mated that I became a member of the Cobden Club
because it was a 'nobleman's foreign association.'
"I am at loss how to discriminate. I have no
special vanity, but I suppose the applause was in
tended for myself as a Democrat, author, wit.
humorist and representative (laughter), and that
the laughter was at the gentleman's expense for
associating me with noblemen — as such people run
nowadays in and out of divorce courts in England.
"Mr. Chairman, I am not altogether certain that
the gentleman should be laughed at for calling me
a nobleman. I have had some sort of a decoration
given me by the successor of the Caliphs and the
Sul'tans. But the nobility which I most admire is
not that of mere title. I had almost forgotten my
honors abroad. I did dearly yearn for the society
of you gentlemen. (Laughter.) All the pride I
have is tO' be a Commoner along with other com
mon folks here. (Applause and Laughter.)
"I do not care even for the courteous 'Honora
ble' in this House. I have an ambition to be con
sidered a good man and a faithful member. I
have no special desire to be considered either
witty, humorous, or a litterateur. Whatever the
House or the gentleman may have meant by their-

228 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
laughter and applause, I would recommend to him
the verse of Tennyson, where he says:
How e'er it be, it seems to me
'Tis only noble to be good;
Kind hearts are more than coronets.
And simple faith than Norman blood.
(Cheers).
"And certainly no one ever merited this tribute
of the laureate of England more than Richard Cob
den, the yeoman's son, the friend of America, and
the defender of just economic laws. (Cheers).
"When the gentleman prints my name Samuel
Sullivan Cox in the Record, he indicates something
of my Celtic blood, but he indicates something bet
ter than my thought and service.
"I beg to say that I accept my middle name with
considerable pride; for among the best men of the
Revolution from New Hampshire were the two Sul-
livans, one of whom was governor of Massachu
setts and the other a general in our army. Both
were the friends of Washington. The general was
not only the first to wrest Fort William and Henry
from the tory government of England, but, after
the Revolution was over, he signalized his bravery
and skill by suppressing the Indians
in Central New York when they were
allied with the Tories with which the
gentleman is pleased to be allied. By
ancestry, by inclination, by virtue of long service
here, running through nearly thirty years, I never
had one thought for or sympathy with the Tory
leaders who sought to drive England to despera
tion by their protective policies. The Tories of
New Jersey, from which state came my folk,
were in alliance with the Hessian and the red-coat

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 229
to drive the patriots of the revolution into ignoble
humiliation. They failed, but had they succeeded
and had the Liberals of England, whom the gen
tleman stigmatizes, failed, we might still have
been an English dependency, and the gentleman,
if he had lived at all, might have been engaged in
the constabulary force in Ireland to-day endeavor
ing to suppress, under the orders of Tory Balfour,
the enfranchisem.ent of the people of his native
isle who are seeking for home rule. * * * »
This little esprit of the gentleman, according to
the brackets in the Record, produced 'laughter and
applause.' "It is well that the gentleman got in his laugh
ter first. The incident reminds me of another
Irishman. He was in a meadow with a little
bovine. The bovine began to paw the earth and
tear up the ground with his horns and the Irish
man laughed and laughed silt the unique perform
ance. (Laughter). But soon the little bull pitched
him over a fence. The Irishman got up and said,
'Isn't it lucky I got in my laugh first?' (Laughter.)
Before I finish with the history of this club and its
opponents and members the gentleman will be,
perhaps, not a little astonished to know where the
laugh comes in."
Later in the speech he paid a glowing eulogy to
Richard Cobden, in which he said:
"That night of English wrong was set thick with
i^tlars — a whole constellation. Cobden among
them was shining resplendently as a star of the
first magnitude. Cobden was not a nobleman.
He was born of the people. He was the son of a
yeoman. He was brought up to trade. It was his

230 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
business training, together with observation
abroad, while a partner in a Manchester cotton
mill, that made him so cogent in debate and so
simple and earnest in his devotion to the cause of
the people and to the 'cheap loaf.'
"Mr. Chairman, I should be derelict as a member
of Congress, or as a citizen of the United States, if
I did not, even in this feeble way, vindicate the
splendid fame of Richard Oobden. He was not
merely a friend of the poor when they needed
friends, but he was a distinguished economisi
when economy was thundered from the hustings
for the relief of the starving. More than all these,
by his speeches, writings, diplomacy, and parlia
mentary efforts, he has done more than any other
Englishman to hold up the institutions of our own
country, not merely for the indulgence of man
kind, but for their imitation and admiration. Nor
were the enconiums which he had bestowed upon
our country born of a mercenary or trading spirit.
He had a genuine love for America. He twice
visited us. He denounced those who had depre
ciated our character and slandered our people.
"In a volume of his writings, which I have in my
hand, there is a comparison between Great Britain
and America. With what fervor he turns to the
industrial, economical, and foreign peaceful poli
cies of America, while with the live coal of a seer
on his lip he bids at distance our future. Hail!
He does this with a pride that knows no selfish
ness and with a humanity that regards no isola
tion. England and America were, in his view,
bound together in peaceful fetters with the strong
est of all ligatures that can bind two nations —

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 231
commercial interests and the destiny of represen
tative governments. Every reform that England
has made in the interests of her people, and for her
colonial advancement, found Richard Cobden its
friend, and his gifted speech its ally. And it
comes with ill grace from an American, whether
native or adopted, to blur the escutheon of this
champion of America and this honest friend of the
people."

CHAPTER XXX.
A DISCIPLE OP IZAAK WALTON.
Protection of our fisheries was one of the multi
farious objects he sought through legislation. In
a speech in the House May 12, 1884, on a bill to
protect fish in the Potomac river, he displayed a
wide knowledge of the entire subject. Incident
ally he referred to his own experience as a disciple
of Izaak Walton. We quote:
"I have made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Izaak
Walton in Winchester Cathedral, and have made
my homage to that 'grand old man' and rare old
fisher. I found that his remains were under a large
black slab, in a chapel in the south aisle called
Prior Silkstead's chapel. It was evening when I
endeavored to decipher the poetic tribute to the
ancient angler — 'crowned with eternal bliss.' The
cheerfulness of his disposition and the serenity of
his mind gave to him ninety years of felicity in the
midst of great and good and yet sportive scholars
and churchmen. I honor him as well for his pen
as his hook and line; for his grace of diction as for
his genial muse and his many colored flies; and,
above all, for that lesson of equipoise which he
teaches in his rambles after his favorite recreation.
He teaches the contemplative as well as sportive
quality of the art. But if any one think that the
literature of fishing began with Izaak Walton let

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 333
him read classic lore. It is as full of the details
as it is of the fun and poetry of fishing. Arion
rides upon a fish as easily as the bold Viking darts
out of the Norse fiord after his prey. But neither
the classic nor romantic past has any history or
fancy equal to the reality of our deep sea fishing
or of our artificial reproduction.
"I have had some experience in fishing. May I
be pardoned if I refer to the fact that I have fished
under the shadows of our Sierras in Tahoe, lake
and stream; that I have followed the mountain
rivulet Restonica in Corsica, where the waters
blanch the boulders into dazzling whiteness, and
the associations of the vendetta and the Bona-
partes give a ruddy tinge to the adventure; that I
have caught the cod in the Arctic around Cap
Nord, under the majestic light of the midnight
sun; that I have angled in the clear running Ma-
laren Saltsjon, which circulates healthfully amid
the splendid islets of stately Stockholm, and in the
BosphoCTis, in sight of the historic Euxine and the
marble palaces and mosques of two continents;
that I have been tossed in shallops along with the
jolly fishers of the Bay of Biscay; that I have had
the honor of beholding the pillars near Iskender-
oon in the northwest comer of the Mediterranean,
erected by a grateful people on the spot where
Jonah was thrown ashore by the whale; and that
I have bounded through the league-long rollers on
the shores of New Jersey, along with my favorite
life-savers — ^to see and feel the 'blueflsh wriggling
on the hooks.' But notwithstanding these wide
spread endeavors, I am not prepared to say that
there has been any perceptible diminution in the
quantity of fishes in the waters of our star!"

CHAPTER XXXI.
"man op wit and wisdom."
One of his Congressional eulogists said of Sam
uel Sullivan Cox: "He was undoubtedly a man of
wit, and I think regretted that he was such a man;
but he was wise also." There is much force in this
statement. The man of both wit and wisdom is in
constant peril of seeing the former overshadow, in
the popular estimation, the latter. As a rule, in a
public orator, the wit is more eagerly waited than
the wisdom. It was beyond question discomforting
to Mr. Cox to discover that the wit of his discourse
was oft remembered more vividly than its wisdom.
That is one of the penalties all wits must suffer.
A close study of his speeches or his writings
will serve to show that Mr. Cox's wit was only the
hand-maiden of his wisdom. It sprang naturally
from the subject in hand. Never seemed it forced
or far-fetched. It was bubble and sparkle. In
his speeches it came usually in repartee, and under
conditions which forbade a possibility that it
could have been premeditated. It was as invol
untary as breathing. It used to be remarked by
his Congressional colleagues that a witticism
dropped from his mouth during a speech would
convulse the House with laughter before he him
self seemed to be aware of its perpetration. Mr.
Cox did not court, and did not relish, a reputation

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 235
as a wit. Fain would he, if it had been possible,
have repressed this ever-present inclination to ex
tract the humor from every situation. But in the
words of one of his eulogists. Dr. Talmage, "he
never laughed at anything except that which
ought to be laughed at. There were in it no innu
endoes that tipped both ways; nothing viperine."
We have the authority of Douglas Gerold that "it
is better to be witty and wise than witty and oth
erwise," Mr. Cox had a happy combination of wit
and wisdom.
A significant illustration of the confidence re
posed in Mr. Cox by his associates in Congress, po
litical opponents as well as political friends, is
afforded in the fact that Speaker Blaine, when
charges of corruption of members by the Credit
Mobilier filled the air, and a congressional inves
ligation was demanded, called upon Mr. Cox to
name the committee of investigation. Here at
least was a member against whose personal integ
rity the whisper of suspicion had never been
raised. Here was one who would be just and
fearless in the selection of investigators of the
damaging charges. To Mr. Cox, therefore.
Speaker Blaine temporarily surrendered his chair,
that he might name the committee to which repu
tations would be committed.
While Hayes was President, Secretary of State
Evarts gave a dinner in honor of President An
gell, of Michigan University, who had just been
appointed Minister to China. Mr. Cox, Chairman
of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, was
one of the invited guests. On Secretary Evarts
presenting to him the guest of the evening, Mr.

236 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Cox exclaimed, "Why! Jim Angell!" "Why! Sam
Cox!" exclaimed President Angell in response. It
transpired that the two had been college mates
at Brown University a third of a century before,
but had never meanwhile met, until this meeting
under the roof of Secretary Evarts.
General Rosecrans, formerly member of Con
gress from California, to an interviewer once re
lated this: "I remember one day some one on the
other side, I forget his name, was making a strong
pro-Chinese speech, winding up something in this
way: "The Chinaman is clean, he is temperate, he
is frugal, what fault have you to find with him?'
Cox piped out: 'He wears his shirt outside of his
breeches!' The House was crowded and that was
the last of that orator and his Chinese speech!"
His impressions of those then great Liberal
leaders of the British parliament, Gladstone and
Bright, are given in a letter from London in May,
1881, giving an account of a visit to the House of
Commons. "Gladstone," he wrote, "is a fluent
easy speaker — not eloquent exactly — somewhat
verbose and involved, with a happy audacity that,
on party occasions, has a biting sarcasm. He looks
somewhat like Daniel Webster about the head,
and has much nobility of expression in his face.
He is pale, thoughtful, and commanding, and
never noisy. Mr. Bright is of another order, and
reminds me somewhat of Thomas Ewing in his dig
nified, easy mode of stating questions."
Brimfull as he was of humor, Mr. Cox never lost
sight of the proprieties of the occasion. He could
be stern as the sternest, and severe as the severest,
when sternness and severity were demanded.
Often called to preside over the deliberations of

WASHINGTON RESIDENCE OF S. S. COX, 1889, NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 237
the House, he filled the chair with exemplary dig
nity, and ruled sternly and impartially. A stranger
would never Lave suspected in him the propensi
ties for which the people really loved him best.
The following incident is related: While Mr.
Cox was acting speaker, during Speaker Kerr's
illness in the Forty-Fourth Congress, charges were
preferred against the Doorkeeper of the House.
They were based largely on a foolish and frivolous
letter the doorkeeper had written home to Texas,
in which, among other things, he had said, describ
ing his own importance, that he was "a biger
man than Old Grant." The charges were referred
to the Committee on Rules, of which pro tem
Speaker Cox was acting chairman. Mr. Cox
wrote the report recommending the doorkeeper's
removal. His secretary, to whom Mr. Cox showed
his proposed report, laughingly remarked that it
seemed curious that one who himself so loved fun,
should condemn levity in others, the secretary add
ing that since Mr. Cox had been occupying the
speaker's chair he had grown very serious and
stern. "I know it," spoke up Mr. Cox, with a
merry twinkle, "and if I don't get down on the
floor pre1i;y soon and let off steam, I'll explode."
In addressing public audiences Mr. Cox quickly
sized the character of those before him, and
adapted his language, particularly his illustra
tions, to their grasp. No one could fail to be im
pressed with this fact who accompanied him on
his rounds of meetings in his Congressional Dis
trict on the eve of an election. If they were Long
shoremen he was talking to, there was no end of
nautical phrases and marine illustrations which
were at his command to point his argument. And

238 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
so all the way up the scale — his wondrous versa
tility enabled him to discourse to his hearers in a
vernacular best suited to their intelligence.
In his lecture on "African Humor" Mr. Cox gave
many a convulsing illustration of his subject.
Among others, one for which he was himself re
sponsible: "The African's religious views are peculiar. An
old negro expressed his faith in prayer, but he
said 'it depended on what yo' prayed for. I allays
notice,' said this Ethiopian philosopher, 'dat when
I pray for de Lord to send one of Massa Peyton's
turkeys fo' de old man it don't come; but when I
prays dat he'll send de old man fo' de turkey, my
prayer's answered.' " "Sunset" tells the following
in the same connection : "I remember one occasion
when my wife and I attended a colored meeting,
and they were trying to raise $16.50 to repair a
place in the ceiling of the church. After the box
had gone round once there remained a deficiency
of $6.87. They began to sing again and were
about to pass the box, when my wife and 1 decided
to make up what was lacking, and handed the
amount to a colored girl in front of us, who sang
like an angel and looked like the devil, who
proudly marched up the aisle and deposited the
money with the deacons. Then there was a shout
went up from the minister: 'Lock de door and shut
the winders. Glory hallelujah! Here's angels
right here among us; let's raise $16.50 more while
we're about it.' They meant to make the most of
their opportunity."
In the freedom of social intercourse, as well as
in his privalte correspondence with friends, Mr.
Cox's humor was ever bubbling, like the perennial

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 239
spring. He was a born caricaturist, and many of
his letters show pencilings worthy of a Nast.
Hardly a page of his correspondence with close
friends that was not illuminated by flashes of his
humor. A few random shots follow: To
a friend who was a candidate for office
in a "Salt" district: "If you are of the elect I shall
— I know I shall — order a gurgling cocktail, and
put salt in all my food for a year."
From New York in the fall of '83: "I have been
speaking effectively — if my thorax is any index — ¦
in New Jersey and New York. I spoke with Ab-
bett, McClellan, et al — et al will be elected. Look
out for his returns!"
Referring to an impracticable proposition:
"That would have been like the Irish mob, who
hated a banker, and to spite him burned his
notes!" In response to a challenge to go to the Adiron-
dacks: "If you mean by going into the woods for
a fish, I'm your Izaak Walton. I'm no Nimrod,
and don't know him from a ramrod."
Accompanying a pen-and-ink sketch of his party
in a boat blue fishing: "You can see for yourself
how we pursue the apostle's calling."
Near the end of the Congressional session of '76:
"We are trying to close up. I get lots of instruc
tion on silver — enough for a temple in Cizco, or a
full moon!"
Speaking of his summer outing in 1877 along the
Jersey coast : "From Ocean Grove, where a Meth
odist whangdoodle was howling like the Dervishes
of the East — ^to Long Branch where Boss Kelly re
posed under the red moon, as serene and gentle as
a true man — which he is!"

240 SAMUEL SULLIVAN OOX.
Speaking of a political meeting addressed by
him under the depressing influences of an Ohio
defeat: "It was dull and dead; but we had a
Sankey-monious (old) time, and the Moody fit
passed by."
Acknowledging in London the receipt of a for
warded letter: "Yours has been to Egypt — had
Cheops fbr breakfast."
From Manhattan Beach on an August day in '87:
"I go to Sullivan county to-morrow, where I can
catch fish and worship God like the Puritans^ — and
correct proof, which was more than they did when
they made rum out of Santa Cruz molasses."
Writing from Fire Island in June, '77, after hav
ing been selected for the Long Talk at the Tam
many celebration : "I did not expect to be selected
for the 'Long Talk,' 4th July. But I am ; and here,
after catching blue fish till I have got over the
blues, and black fish till Fred Douglas seems
white, I am anchored at my 'Talk'; and as I write
Mrs. Cox copies. It looks so much better in MSS.
after she copies, that I feel eloquent."
From Boston, November 21, '79, while on a fly
ing lecturing tour: "I write you in Boston, under
aesthetics! The air is redolent of the aroma of a
refined and elegant cultchaw! But I lectured at
Cambridge and Dartmouth, and had a full meas
ure of success; and brought home ten days worth
of gab. I levy on N. E. to pay my taxes! I have
been through N. H. from the Canada line down to
Concord; and ran only when the starry snowflake
fllled the circumambiency, as it were."
From Americus, Ga., in March, '77, while on a
lecture tour, and referring to a reception at which

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 241
Congressman Blount addressed the honored guest:
"We (Mrs. Cox and myself) have had since we left
Columbia a floral procession, and such times! If
you could have been along you would recognize
VF'hat I never understood, the 'Sunny South' in its
kindest sense of what they think is gratitude to a
friend. Read Col. Blount's speech. It is rather
steep, but I sweat it through."
At the close of the sesison of Congress, in
March, '83 : "It was a busy session for me. But am
through it well. I send you a Washington paper.
It has an article in it you will recognize; for it is
mostly from one of yours; and a picture in it you
won't recognize, for it is one of — me. Still gaze
on it fondly for the good intentions."
From New York September 23, '84, on learning
of the death of a political admirer: "I am very
sorry to hear my old friend  is deceased. I re
member him very pleasantly. One of his odd ideas
was — and I cannot put him down therefore as a
crank — that I was considerable of a person and
made a larger flgure politically than I do physi
cally. Perhaps in a better world, where things are
measured by other standards, he has reversed his
opinion, and may think I am a large man physi
cally and otherwise not, for there must be differ
ent standards after the incorporealities have van
ished." On hearing of an addition to the family of a
friend: "Mark Twain holds we were all babies
once. I can't recall it, but I suppose it's so."
From a lecturing tour in the South in March, '77:
"I have lectured at Rome, Atlanta, Macon, and
last night here, to big crowds; and really am mak-

242 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
ing money. Think of that! The noble pursuit of
avarice!" On hearing of the election of Hayes to the Gov
ernorship of Ohio in October in 1875: "Well, Ohio
is gone! It makes me blue — for it makes 20 years
work and waiting a doubt; 1876 is in peril. Am
writing a book, 'Why We Laugh?' But I don't
feel like answering that conundrum — in politics —
as we don't laugh."
From New York, November 15, '76, amid the
suspense following the disputed Presidential elec
tion: "We are in the mist, but the dawn is ours.
But we won't count it till we see the peaks."
At the opening of a Congress: "I will order the
Congressional Globe for you daily. You can so
live as to 'die daily.' Grace Greenwood told my
wife that she had read the 'Globe' of one day and
felt like a 'She Atlas' — ^there was such heaviness
in its rotundity to bear up."
From Washington, August 19, '88, in response
to an inquiry from the agitated farmers of Pom-
pey whether it was true that the Mills bill put po
tatoes on the free list: "Potatoes are not affected
at all by the Mills bill. Put that down sure and
salt it. They would have been affected if it were
not for some stiff people who wanted starch, and
starch, as you know, is made out of potatoes. The
toothsome potato has the aegis of the government
all over it. Every eye of the potato glistens with
delight because it is protected."
From Washington a few days later: "I am glad
that the potato question has been settled. It was
a terrible strain on the Committee on Census,
which organized all its forces and made a raid

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 243
upon the Ways and Means committee room in
order to make it an absolute verity so that Pompey
could not sit down amid the ruins of Carthage and
view vast potato fields grow to rot! What a ben
eficent government we are."
A new member, of large girth and pretentious
wit, from Michigan, sought on one occasion, in the
winter of 1880, to make Mr. Cox the butt of his ridi
cule. He not only spoke contemptuously of the
New York member's stature, but more than inti
mated that his Committee of Foreign Affairs was
engaged mainly in manufacturing witticisms. In
his reply Mr. Cox pointed out the important meas
ures which had originated in his Committee, and
then turned his attention to the personal criticisms
which had been hurled at him. "Why," said he,
"should I be accused of mere play here? Have I
not shown some fruits as the result of studious
work? Did I not carry through here the Thurman
bill as to railroads, the life-saving bill, the census,
and many others which might be named? Is it
not time to stop this constant depreciation of one
who really cares little for being here, except to do
something worthy? Where is the fun in such mis
representation? Will my friend from Michigan
bear with me if I give him a lesson in the matter
of congressional debate? Humor is a large part
of it. It should be ratiocinative, however. It
should have a practical object. The point is to
make your fun dialectic and rational. * * The
gentleman from Michigan was also pleased to re
fer, in a pleasant way, to some volumes of travel I
had written. Thankful for suCh notice, I fear he
has omitted the one most apposite. There is a

244 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
volume in my desk and I will send it to him. It is
entitled "Why We Laugh." I send it to the gen
tleman with my regards, and with a view to ask
him to regard it philosophically, "why," — not
"how," nor "at what" we laugh. It will show him
that nearly all great natures manufactured witti
cisms now and then, from Sir Thomas More to
Thomas Corwin, from Julius Caesar to the gentle
man. But their wit had a rational purpose. They
were logical in their laughs. They used what
Aristotle knew to be the reductio ad absurdum,
and whaJt Whately commends as the best means of
exposing fallacy and fraud. I wish I could read
an extract or so before I send my friend the vol
ume. "Now, in the view of these lessons for mirth, was
it logical for my friend the other day to call the at
tention of the House to my body? Suppose I am
little, was it logical, or parliamentary, or kind to
say it? It was done without malice, but it perme
ated every one of my two million pores. Suppose
I had the gentleman's immensity of pores, where
could not the laughter extend? Then there would
have been need of some improvements, "because of
a loss of moisture." Why, sir, every sweat-gland
in my small body gave out its mortifying perspira
tion because they were so few compared with the
pores and glands of larger bodies. Now, sir, I
submit, was my size a subject for any gentleman's
logical laughter? I never claimed, because of its
smallness, exemption from the demands of cour
age or in the arena of debate. Laughter is health.
It oils the joints and the countenance, causing it
to shine. An animal that tries to laugh, like a

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 245
hyena, is specially despised; but a babe, when it
first beholds the sunshine, laughs! But where is
the point of making my small person — though I
carry the weight of the average man, one hundred
and forty pounds — the butt of his ridicule? Why
should smallness, in such an immensity of crea
tion, and when everything may be reduced to
atomies, be accounted contemptible? When one
comes to consider all universal physical relations
— ^the size, say, of this dome and the goddess on it,
much bigger, even, than the gentleman, then of the
mountains of our earth, then of the sun, of Jupiter,
or the star Sirius, and then the constellations and
systems far beyond, pinnacled dim in the intense
inane, of creation, how contemptible a member of
congress seems! Therefore, where or what is the
humor of making a member of congress out to be
little, and laughing at his size? What is there to
boast of in this enormity of flesh and size? At the
best, Goliah did not reach more than twice as high
and was only one-sixth more than the size of some
gentlemen here. Lambert, with all his opulence
of oil, was only a poor, weak man, unable to grasp
what Isaac Newton knew — whose mother put him
in a quart cup when he was born. Sir Isaac New
ton! Does the gentleman think he could get into
such a cup? Why then, why should the spirit of
mortal be proud? Proud flesh is not a sign of
health. I endeavor to debate here impersonally;
never refuse to yield; never invade another's right ;
always consider my person almost an abstraction.
I am not proud of my appearance as some men are
who swell. Why, sir, I argued against making con
gress too big ten years ago. Two hundred and
flfty was enough. Had I known the advent of this

246 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
leviathan into our troubled waters, I should have
favored itwo hundred as our number. But that is
to be settled next year. Corpulency is not
strength. Let us remember that!"
It is needless to add that Mr. Cox was not
troubled again from that quarter.
As to Mr. Cox's methodical habits, his long-time
friend and associate in congress, Mr. Holman, of
Indiana, said : "No man in our period equaled him
in readiness for any question that might arise. He
was a man of the most precise method and order.
His desk in the House was so methodically ar
ranged, that even in the heat of an unexpected
debate he could lay his hand at once on any paper
which had been carefully laid aside for an emer
gency. Swift as a flash of lightning, the clipping
from a newspaper, or a public document, or a care
fully preserved letter would come forth to con
found the incautious adversary. In those sudden
emergencies, which have so often arisen in Con
gress, especially in times of public disorder in
former years, when his party was fiercely assailed
by the powerful majority, the eyes of his political
associates always turned to Mr. Cox as one of their
number best prepared to repel the assault."
Of the power he ^wielded by his oratory, one of
his Congressional associates, Mr. Oaruth, of Ken
tucky, said: "What a master of oratory he was!
I have seen the House almo^ as tempestuous as
the sea in a storm stilled to silence by the rising of
his form from the midst of the tumult, the lifting
of his hand with his familiar gesture, and the ut
terance of his 'Mr. Speaker.' I have seen the busy
men of the House drop their pens and leave their
desks to gather about Mm that they might hear

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 247
what he had to say. I have seen the lobbies de
serted, the cloak rooms emptied, even the seduc
tive restaurant ignored, the seats of the chamber
filled, because 'Sunset Cox' held the floor. I have
seen the faces which were almost distorted with
partisan passion, in the fierce hours of political
conflict, smoothed to pleasant humor by the poten
cy of his speech."
In a like vein. General Wheeler, ("Fighting Jo")
of Alabama, said: "His humor always did good
and never harm. He seldom used this faculty
merely for the purpose of amusing his audience,
but put it into play when it was evident that, by
so doing, a desired, and frequently a very impor
tant object could be attained. We all remember
how often he quelled a storm in ithe House of Rep
resentatives by some pleasant vntticism, almost
instantly changing the scene from one of angry
dispute to one of most pleasant hilarity. It is a
mistake to say that this detracted in any way from
Mr. Cox's dignity or the great esteem which was
universally felt for him. That he would have hon
ored the presidency, no one who knew him would
for a moment doubt. No one of his time was better
equipped than he, with regard to all matters of
government, and in general information and
knowledge of politics and history the superiority
of his attainments was remarkable. I doubt if
any member of either House of Congress ever
equalled Mr. Cox as a worker."
Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, in his eulogy,
related an incident illustrative of the affection
with which Mr. Cox was remembered by his old
friends in Ohio. He had been recalled to Zanes
ville on a sad errand— the death of his father.

248 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"During his melancholy sojourn of a few days at
Zanesville," said Senator Voorhees, "he concluded
to run down to Columbus, and it so happened that
Mr. Pendleton, Mr. Vallandigham and myself were
on the train with him. It was not generally
known that Mr. Cox was then in the State, and
least of all was he expected at Columbus that day.
When the train arrived, a concourse of people,
with music and banners, was ait the depot to wel
come those of the party who were expected. All
at once, as we emerged from the oars, an intent
look came into every eye in that multitude, and
then a jubilant, prolonged shout rent ithe air. The
brilliant Buckeye was discovered by his old neigh
bors and constituents, and in an instant everybody
was forgotten but him. It was his first return,
after going out from their midst, and taking up a
new home. He managed to get from the cars to a
carriage, but loving hands lifted him out of it. T
have witnessed many an ovation to popular party
leaders, but never anything like the intense per
sonal devoition, affection and love, displayed on
this occasion. The last I saw of him, many hours
afterward, was as he stood bareheaded in the
street, surrounded by a surging multitude of men,
women and children, w'ho were shouting, laughing,
crying, and clinging to him. His own eyes were
suffused, his face was pale, and his lips trembled,
though wreathed with smiles of rapture at his un
expected and wonderful welcome."
Many another like instance might be given,
showing the strength of the popular affection for
this tribune of the people.

CHAPTER XXXII.
AS AN AUTHOR AND TRAVELER.
With a rare gift of language were coupled in Mr.
Oox, the ambition and the requisite energy to excel
in the use of that gift. He wrote poetry, while in
college, to improve his style. He allowed no op
portunity for improvement or advancement to go
by. We find him, even in his college days, an ac
cepted contributor to the Knickerbocker Maga
zine, then the best of American periodicals. His
interesting "Chapter on Fallacies," in which it was
sought to show the influence of fallacies on morals,
first appeared in the Knickerbocker, in 1847. In
the same magazine, in 1851, appeared "Crossing
the Border," a description of the borderland be
tween England and Scotland, with a Sunday
morning in the old York Minster.
In 1854, Mr. Cox, in response to the solicitation
of thepublishers, contributed to the Knickerbocker
Gallery, a volumeof choice miscellany, the proceeds
from whose publication were to go for the erection
of a cottage, on the banks of the Hudson, for the
Knickerbocker's former editor, Lewis Gaylord
Clark. "The Satanic in Literature" was the sub
ject, and in it Mr. Cox recalled in his humorous
way some of the notable shapes in which his Sa
tanic majesty appears in literature.
If a man's rank is to be judged by the company

250 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
he keeps, Mr. Cox's place in American literature
was already, at that early day, well assured. The
galaxy of bright and particular stars in which his
star shone undimmed, included Irving (wliose con
tribution was given flrst place), Longfellow, Hal-
leck, Boker, Bryant, Willis, Stoddard, Lowell,
Holmes, Curtis, Bayard Taylor, Donald G. Mitchell.
William H. Seward, Samuel Osgood, Epes Sargent
and John W. Francis^ — now nearly all gone.
But even before the publication of the Knick
erbocker Gallery, Mr. Cox had produced the flrst
of his fascinating books of travel, with the title of
"A Buckeye Abroad." It consisted of impressions
of his trip, made after his marriage, through Eu
rope. In the preface, dated January 1, 1852, he writes,
hoping "that it may be read as it is written, more
for enjoyment than proflt." It was not without
some profit, however, for in 1860 a seventh edition
was issued — the best evidence of the popular favor
with which it was received.
Busy years of Congressional activity followed.
It was a time for action ralther than for writing,
and Mr. Cox's literary work took the form of writ
ing speeches. With the close of the Civil War,
however, supposing his public life to be over, he
published, in 1865, his "Eight Years in Congress."
It was prepared at the request of his "constituents
in Ohio," to whom the book is inscribed "as a token
of esteem and gratitude." It consists of extracts
from his speeches and especially those on finance
and tariff; those that display the sedition and sec
tionalism of the North; those connected with ques
tions of fugitives from foreign lands and the right
of asylum; those on foreign affairs; a eulogy on

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 251
Stephen A. Douglas; speeches on matters growing
out of secession and the war; a speech on the
amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery,
and on the question of admitting the Cabinet into
Congress. To the student of those times the book contains
much that is of intere^ as showing the views of a
representative citizen of the period who was not
an extremist of either party. They are the
thoughtful opinions of a conservative man, and
after a lapse of thirty years, it is, to say the least,
curious to see how nearly right, in the light of his
tory, Mr. Cox was.
In 1868, close confinement to professional
duties, with failing health as a consequence, led
Mr. Cox to seek recuperation in a trip to the south
of Europe and North of Africa. His experiences
and observations under the title of "Search for
Winter Sunbeams on the Riviera, Corsica, Algiers,
and Spain," were given to the public in 1870. The
volume is dedicated to his "Constituents of the
Sixth Congressional District of the City of New
York." "These Sunbeams of Travel," he writes
"were made bright by your confidence and cheer
ful by your indulgence; without which I could not
have pursued them, into far and almost untrodden
path® — ^in search of the health so needed and I
trust, secured, for the duty w'hich you have de
volved upon me."
He spent pleasant, sunshiny days in Nice, in
Cannes, in Hyeres, in Mentone, and in Monaco —
that paradise of climate and beauty, and hell of
gambling. Then crossing the blue Mediterranean
he spent some time in Corsica, visiting the home of

252 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Napoleon and studying the quaint habits of the
people of this outof-the-way island. From Ajac-
cio he returned to Nice and thence by steamer
from Marseilles to Algiers.
A new continent with its ancient civilization
was before him, and views of Arabic, Turkish, or
Moorish life were opened to him. Notwithstand
ing the dolce far niente of the Orient he was active
in studying the instituitions and the customs of the
people. He tells of the quaint architecture, the
religious ceremonies, the theatres and entertain
ments, and the domestic habits of the people.
He even extends his journey to the edge of the
great desert, passing through the valleys of Kaly-
bes, and learning on the way the mysteries of rid
ing on camel-back.
Leaving the Arabs and their decadence, he turns
northward and makes his way toward the Iberian
peninsula, where the remains of the Moor in his
greatness are found in such rich abundance.
He speaks of "a ring of cities, full gemmed,"
in his memory, and he saw them all — Carthagena,
Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Grenada, Malaga,
Seville, Toledo, Cordova, Madrid and Saragossa.
The Alhambra of Grenada, the Alcazar of Seville,
and the aqueduct of Cordova are among the mas
terpieces of architetcure that he studied and ad
mired. He lisrtiened to the music of the castanets
and the guitar in Murcia, and when not occupied
with the Cortes in Madrid, he walked the galleries
of the Escuriel — ^the mausoleum of Spain's great
est heroes — looking at the rich paintings of Mur-
illo and other famous artists of Spain, or else wit
nessing the bloody bull fights of the metropolis.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 253
Malaga withits wine and its grapes, and Saragossa
with its history appealed to him as only can a well
digested meal to a bon viveur. He knew the
counitry from his extensive reading and enjoyed it
accordingly. Spain, at the time of Mr. Cox's visit had but
recently sent her infamous Isabella across the
frontier and under the leadership of the distin
guished Prim, was making her experiment with a
Republican form of a government. Our author,
who was in Madrid when the new Consititution
was adopted, takes advantage of the occasion to
express his views on the situation.
At the end of two months, warned by the sum
mer's heat, he reluctantly left St. Sebastian, the
last of the important railway stations in Spain,
and crossed the Pyrenees into Prance. After a
brief rest at Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay, with its
health-restoring climate, he hastened to England
and then home.
The remarkable memory, coupled with the gen
ius for compilation posessed by Mr. Cox is fully
shown in that most amusing book entitled, "Why
We Laugh." The purpose of the work is indicated
in the preface, which says: "The idea which
prompted this volume was to string such humors
as were illustrative upon some philosophic threads
wQiich had been floating in my mind." It consists
essentially of amusing incidents and anecdotes,
chiefly American, grouped under various head
ings, and for the most part from political or legis
lative sources. In the chapter devoted to early
American humor he introduces several stories that
go back to the time of the first Congress,, and in-

254 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
deed from then on, no bit of humor that was ever
uttered in either branch of Congress seems to have
escaped his notice. The book was so successful
that in 1880 an entire new edition was issued to
w^hich Mr. Cox added a chapter descriptive of Irish
humor. Of Mr. Cox's published works, the next in chro
nological order was a small square octavo, entit
led: "Free Land and Free Tra;de. The Lessons of
the English Corn Laws applied to the United
Staltes." It was published in 1880.
The shock of the financial crisis that came in
1873, and continued during the decade that ended
in 1880, gave rise to many discussions as to its
causes by the thinking men of the nation. Mr.
Cox's long experience in public matters and his
knowledge of political conditions led him to be
lieve that a revision of ithe tariff laws was the pan
acea that would cure the ills resulting from finan
cial depression.
His contention was that "our amazing nat
ural wealth is compelling us to alternatives of
yielding the policy of selfishness (i. e. manufacture
for home production only) or being choked with
our own abundance," and "we cannot sell without
buying," hence, the free entry into the country of
raw materials was essential so that we might sell
our manufactured products at the lowest price.
To prove this thesis he discussed the origin and
development of the Com Laws in England, which,
by the way, was the subject of his prize essay in
the department of political economy, while he was
a student in Brown University — and further, tak
ing the condition of Ireland as his text, he argued

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 255
that free land, accompanied by free trade was nec
essary to produce the best results.
His conclusions were that "the triumph of free
land and free trade carries with it everywhere the
blessings, and marks the boundaries of civiliza
tion," and finally "when that supremacy is accom
plished the plough will be as free as the soil, and
the land and all the inhabitants thereof will re
joice in that liberty which is the exaltation of in
dividual and national life."
After several years of exacting attention to his
duties in Congress, rest and change again became
necessary. Early in 1881, therefore, he sailed for
another trip to the Old World. The story of his
travels is stold in two volumes, the first of which
he called "Arctic Sunbeams, or from Broadway to
the Bosphorus by Way of the North Cape." It
was published in 1882.
The story begins with his arrival. in Holland,
whence, after studying the peculiar characteris
tics of the Dutch people, he goes to Denmark. At
Copenhagen he takes the boat across the Sound to
Malmo in Norway and is soon in Christiana. Still
farther northward he goes and as the hot days of
July come he is cool and comfortable within the
Arctic circle. The most northerly point that he
visits is North Cape, from which he looks out on
the great North Ocean and watches the rising of
the midnight sun.
Thence his journey is continued south
ward through Lapland and Norway again to Swe
den. Reluctantly he leaves the Scandinavian pe
ninsula and crosses the Baltic to Finland. From
Helsingfors he goes to St. Petersburg by boat, and
he devotes much time to the attractions of the

256 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
great capital of the north. The city of the White
Czar has for him a fascination, and he lingers con
tentedly there until the time arrives to continue
the journey southward. Moscow, with its cathe
drals and its memories of Napoleon, is a stopping
point on the way to Odessa on the Black Sea;
thence the swift steamer of the packet line takes
him to Constantinople.
The second volume, "Orient Sunbeams, or from
the Porte to the Pyramids, by way of Palestine,"
appeared in the same year as its companion.
After the long wandering in the harsh northern
climes, Mr. Cox was glad of the opportunity to
spend several weeks in resting. Part of his time
was occupied in visiting his old friend. Gen. Lew
Wallace, then American minister to Turkey. Dur
ing this period he improved his opportunities by
making excursions in the vicinity of Constanti
nople and in noting the changes that had occurred
in the metropolis on the Golden Horn since his
first visit to it, thirty years previous. Having to
ward the close of his stay been presented to the
Sultan, he soon after passed through the Dardan
elles into the Mediterranean on his way to Smyrna.
Short side trips were made to the classic city of
Ephesus, to Chios, and the Isles of Greece. Then
he journeyed southward to Damascus, with its
vanished wonders and glories, its walls and tombs.
Of course Jaffa, with its Biblical memories, was
not passed by. Three chapters are devoted to
Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Bethany, in which the
incidents of the birth, death and ascension of our
Lord, as related in Holy Writ, are recalled. The
pleasant days of the late autumn are devoted to
a brief visit to Egypt. In a week, all too short, he

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 257
travels from Alexandria to Cairo— the pyramids,
the Sphynx, and the tombs of the oldest civiliza
tion that the world now knows, are visited. And
so the journey ends.
These two volumes, vrard pictures, together con
stitute a series of entertaining, thoughtful and
agreeable sketches of the interesting and historic
places visited.
In 1883 there was issued from Washington a
series of seven "Memorial Eulogies delivered in
the Houseof Representaltives of the United States by
Samuel S. Cox, member from Ohio and New York,
1861-1883." These addresses formed an octavo vol
ume of 86 pages, which was illustrated with en
graved portraits on steel of the distinguished
statesmen eulogized. The group included the rec
ords of men famous in the history of our country.
The first, delivered in 1861, was on Stephen A.
Douglas, the great leader of his party in the Pres
idential canvass that preceded the Civil War, and
who died just as the new administration which his
followers had hoped would be his own, was inau
gurated. This was followed by an address on Sam
uel Finley Breeze Morse, who, persistent in his
faith in the new science of electricity, overcame
all obstacles until the electric message made com
munication between continents instantaneous.
Then came eulogies on two friends who were
near and dear to him. The first was on Michael
C. Kerr, a member of the House of Representatives
from Indiana, and wlu> for a short time served as
speaker of the House. The other was on Julian
Hartridge, a member from Georgia and a friend
of his college days in Brown.
Mr. Cox was for many years a regent of the

258 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
Smithsonian Institution, and in its development
he took the greatest interest. It was therefore
eminently fitting that the memorial address in
Congress on Joseph Henry, its first Secretary,
should be delivered by one whose friendship for
science led to his close association with the Smith
sonian. He told of Henry how "with unblemished
eye, like the eagle, his scientific ken gazed into the
sun itself for its revelation; and yet he nestled,
dove-like, amidst his human domestic affections,"
and that "his processes of thought were chastened
by his Christ-like life and heavenly faith; and he
has his reward in eternal bliss."
The next eulogy is on George S. Houston, a Rep
resentative from Alabama and long chairman of
the Committee on Ways and Means. Last of all in
this brief collection is a splendid eulogy of that
eloquent Georgian and Senator, Benjamin H. Hill,
whose magnificent courage in continuing at his
post when overcome by a fatal disease gained for
him the homage of his countrymen.
The next book from the pen of Mr. Cox was an
important contribution to the history of his time,
entitled "Three Decades of Federal Legislation,
1855 to 1885." In this elaborate volume he re
calls and reviews the memorable events preced
ing, during and since, the American Civil War, in
volving slavery and secession, emancipation and
reconstruction, with sketches of prominent actors
during these periods. The book is a large octavo
volume of 725 pages.
The Republican party came into existence in
Pittsburg in 1855, and Mr. Cox was first elected to
Congress the year after. The first of his three
"decades" is therefore that from 1855 to 1865, and

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 259
includes the history of the events that led to the
organization of the Republican party, together
with a succinct account of the Civil War.
The second decade deals chiefly with the period
of reconstruction and carries the reader from the
death of the martyred Lincoln in 1865 to the begin
ning of the Centennial year, 1876. The outrages of
the Ku-Klux-Klan and the abuse of power by the
government formed in the Southern states by
Northern adventurers, receive full consideration
in his discussion of the events of this period.
The final decade deals especially with the re
sults of reconstruction, closing with the beginning
of a Democratic administration under Cleveland.
The resumption of specie payments, the great cen
sus of 1880, and the initiation of civil service re
form, are the leading issues that come under his
review. During nearly all of the time covered by the
events described in this book Mr. Cox was active
in public life. It was his fortune to mingle with
public men of every shade of opinion, " men " as
he himself says, "in every variety of public and
private employment and every quality and grade
of character." From these and from "decrees of
state, and even the 'columns of the sepulchers,' as
well as from the controversies of contending par
ties," he gathered the material from which he pre
pared this most valuable history.
Throughout his public career, Mr. Cox, as his
ancestors for two generations before him, never
changed his first unwavering trust in the princi
ples of that party of which he was so able a rep
resentative, and throughout the book he endeavors
to show and emphasize that which he says "he

260 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
never ceased to believe," and which in 1885, as the
book came from the press, seemed almost to be
realized, namely, "that the party of constitutional
limits, strict construction, state sovereignty, and
federal unity would be found indispensable in the
end to honest and united government." And fin
ally he adds: "As this strange eventful period of
history is concluding, that party is reascending to
political prominence, by the inauguration of its
recently elected chief magistrate, purified by the
ordeal fires which only added to its invincible
strength." It will be remembered that with the advent of
Mr. Cleveland's administration, Mr. Cox was ten
dered the diplomatic mission to Turkey. This honor
he accepted and for two years Constantinople was
his official home.
On his return to the United Sjtates, his ever
facile pen found congenial employment in writing
the "Diversions of a Diplomat." This work, which
he dedicated by permission "To His Majesty Ab
dul Hamid II.," was published in New York in
1887 and covered 685 pages.
It is simply the written record of his impres
sions accompanied by pertinent comments and ex
planations. He tells of his journey to Constan
tinople, his reception by the Sultan, the social life
of the Turks and their diplomatic conditions. The
history of the Ottoman Empire — its origin and
development — the various race influences that
have brought it to its present condition, the many
religions, including, of course, the Moslem, the
Greek, the Armenian, and the work of the Ameri
can Protestant Missions, the Turkish language
and literature, its wit and humor, as well as the

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 261
stories of the East, or fables which are transmitted
from father to son, the life of the people, their di
versions and pleasures, and their home life, in
cluding the education of children and the secrets
of the harem ; all these and still others are among
the fruitful themes which he presents for the ben-
eflt of his reader.
He enters also into a philosophic discussion of
the political conditions of the Balkan peninsula,
the growth of Bulgaria, Servia, Roumania, and
other vassal states, the influence of Russia, and
the ultimate fate of Turkey. These problems are
discussed with the ripe knowledge of an experi
enced diplomat.
As a supplement to the "Diversions'' last named
Mr. Cox wrote "The Isles of the Princes; or the
Pleasures of Prinkipo," recording a summer's ex
perience among the Princes Isles, in the old Pro
pontis. "These Isles of the Princes," writes Mr. Cox, "lie
in sight of Stamboul and its splendors, and of the
Mountains of Asia, dominated by the Mysean
Olympus. They are glorious in physical loveli
ness. They are still the 'Isles of Greece', although
under Ottoman rule. Out of their blue waters, at
morn and eve, the beauty of the Grecian myth
arises, to grace the isles with her smiles. Upon
them burn 'the larger constellations.' They are
fitly named 'Isles of Princes.' Upon them the pal
aces of the princes of old Byzantium were erected.
Here, too, were their monasteries and prisons.
The relics of these lines of civil and eclesiastical
empire are nearly all faded; but the monasteries
of the orthodox Greek church still hold here their

262 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
eminences, as well by virtue of their antique titles
as by their superb situations."
Here, amid such surroundings, he spent the sum
mer of 1886, and his book is a simple story of his
excursion® in and around these islands, as well as
to adjacent places in Asia and Europe.
Like some of his earlier works, this volume beart.
a dedication. Mentioning that "it recalls our
pleasant sojourn in those classic isles and the
many courtesies bestown upon us — 'strangers in a
strange land,' " — he adds: "It is fit that to you,
my dear wife, I should dedicate this volume, for if
we have achieved any measure of success, socially
or otherwise, in our island home, may I not say
that it is due to those qualities of kindness and
complaisance which you possess, and which
have made our lives one in an ever increasing cir
cle of felicity?"
In Ms itribute to the memory of Mr. Cox, Repre
sentative James O'Donnell, of Michigan, aptly an
alyzed his literary work as follows:
"All his books are interesting and instructive;
his writings are entertaining, giving strength and
knowledge. His industry, information and dis
crimination are apparent upon every page, and
the clear, compact, and intelligent treatment of all
questions, is observed in each chapter. He had
the happy faculty of saying things in a striking
way, and most of his publications are the product
of conscientious study and research. The reader
can not but note the admirable treaJtment of his
themes, distinguished by a classic simplicity and
lucidity, clear and graceful, denoting the intellect
of the author, strong and full of creating force.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 263
His hi'Storical works illustrate the experience and
learning that embellish every page; the events
narrated are excellently concentrated and con
densed, and the author established himself as a
clear and vigorous writer and thinker, delighting
all with his extensive culture, discernment, and
superior taste. His latest volumes exhibit the
same polish, breadth, and thioroughness of prepar
ation; the advancing years of the author show no
deterioration in happy expression, terseness, and
reliable statement. He exemplifies the saying of
Milton, 'a good book is the precious life-blood of ta
master spirit embalmed and treasured up to a life
beyond.' In several of his works there is a glow
ing style and general admixture of humor coupled
with profound truths semi-humorously expressed.
His name will have an honorable place in Ameri
can literature."

CHAPTER XXXIIL

HIS DEATH AND PUNBRAL.

Mr. Cox returned to New York from Manhattan
Beach a sick man. He failed rapidly to the end.
His death occurred at half past eight o'clock on
the evening of September 10, 1889 — twenty days
before he would have completed his sixty-fifth
year. At that very hour he had engaged to deliver
an address before the Sleekier association on the
"Wonderland" — meaning the Great West from
which he had recently returned. It was another
and a greater Wonderland to which he had gone.
He passed away as one falling into a gentle sleep.
Few knew of his illness until informed of its fatal
termination. The sad intelligence as it sped with
lightning rapidity throughout the great city and
the country caused everywhere sincere mourning.
From every quarter came expressions of tender
sympathy for the stricken partner of the life that
had gone out. Among the many came messages
of condolence from ex-President Cleveland, Vice-
President Morton, Gen. Sherman and Gov. Hill.
Ex-President Cleveland wrote:
"On my arrival at home yesterday after an ex
tended absence, I was shocked to learn of the
death of your husband. I cannot refrain from the
expression of my deep and sincere sympathy with
you in your great bereavement, and my feeling of

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 265
personal sadness upon the loss of a talented friend.
Your husband's honorable career and the tribute
which his fellow countrymen will pay to his useful
life will not lessen the poignancy of your afflic
tion." The funeral was under the direction of the ser
geant-at-arms of the House of Representatives,
and the following members were named to take
charge of the arrangements, to-wit: Messrs. Car
lisle, Randall, Holman, Felix Campbell, Seney,
Heard, Muehler, Kelly, McKinley, Cannon, Reed,
Burrows and O'Neil. The honorary bearers were
Vice-President Levi P. Morton, ex-President Cleve
land, Gen, W. T. Sherman, ex-Gov. Hoadley of
Ohio, Sumner I. Kimball, Superintendent of the
Life Saving Service, Col. John A. Cockerill, ex-
Chief Justice Charles P. Daly, John T. Agnew, Ed
ward Cahill and Douglas Taylor of New York, S.
H. Kauffmann of Washington, and Milton H. Nor-
thrup of Syracuse.
The last rites were on September 13, in the First
Presbyterian church, Fifth avenue and Twelfth
street. The profusion of floral tributes from Let
ter Carriers and life saving stations attested the
affection in which the deceased statesman was
held. From the New York city Letter Carriers
came a mammoth "Gates Ajar," and a large floral
envelope, with "Our Champion" acrosss the face,
and, in the form of a post mark in the upper right
hand corner, "New York, 9-10-89, 8:30 p. m."— the
day and hour of his death. Brooklyn sent a scroll
of roses and violets, inscribed "S. S. Cox, cham
pion." Philadelphia's floral expression was "1824,
Farewell, 1889. He was our best friend." The
Boston Carriers, by their offering, also testified.

266 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
"Our Friend." The Life Saving Service was rep
resented by a life belt and muffled oar — on the
belt the words "Our Champion."
The services were conducted by the blind chap
lain of the House of Representatives, Rev. Dr. W.
H. Milburn, Rev. Dr. Deems, of the Church of the
Strangers, and Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt Talmage, of
the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
No story of Mr. Cox's life would be complete
without a reproduction, at least in part, of the dis
criminating eulogies pronounced over his bier by
Reverends Dr. Milburn and Talmage. Extracts
therefrom follow:
(From Rev. Dr. Milburn's Eulogy.)
Samuel Sullivan Cox, the humorist, the writer,
the speaker, a servant of the people, an officer of
the state, a most human-hearted man, has left us,
and we, the city, the nation, are the poorer for his
going. There was in him a vein of admirable wit
united to an excellent understanding and a rare
power of sympathetic speech, and these, with an
indefatigablel industry and dauntless (energy and
courage, early in life brought him to the front, and
throughout his days kept him there, in a position
of influence and power to which he was fully en
titled. The country can ill-afford to spare, in
what should have been the maturity of his man
hood, one so richly endowed by nature, labor, large
and varied experience, whose soul was wedded to
its honor, and to the happiness, interest, and wel
fare of his fellow men. As his friends, we mourn
our irreparable loss, while the whole land sorrows
for the departure of one of its most faithful, val
iant and devoted sons.
Sprung from a brave old Revolutionary stock.

COX'S RESIDENCE ON TWELFTH STREET, NEW YORK, IN WHICH HE DIED.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 267
bom in Ohio, one of a family of fourteen children,
taught from his eai'liest days to work with persist
ence and energy, he gained a university education
a® the fruit of his own toil, and then enlarged his
mind and quickened his sympathies by wide travel
making acquaintance with many climates, cities,
of men, and governments, and thus prepared him
self for the work he was to do. He first tried his
hand as a writer for the newspaper press and also
as the author of a book of travels, but soon entered
the Capitol of the nation as a member of the House
of Representatives, where his brilliant parts at
once gained him distinction.
Throughout his congressional career of nearly
thirty ears, he secured and maintained to the last
the kindly regard, the warm admiration, and per
sonal friendship not only of his political associates
but of the members on the other side of the floor,
and in the bead-roll of his friends and admirers
there will be found as many opponents as members
of his own party. Trenchant and powerful in de
bate, he used the weapons of research, clear state
ment, argument, keen wit, and an ever-present
humor, and wherever he inflicted wounds they
were always salved by kindness and mirth, and all
canker was removed.
Earnest in his political convictions and ardent
in their advocacy, he was yeit more earnest and ar
dent in matters outside of politics that concerned
the happiness of his fellow men. Notable illus
trations of this are found in our Life Saving Ser
vice, of which he may be said to be the father, and
in his championship of the cause of the hard-
worked and underpaid clerks and carriers of the

268 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
postal service. His best and highest public utter
ances, which had the whole force of his character
in them, were in behalf of a larger toleration, a
sweeter and more practical humanity.
When one reviews his work in Congress, and
knows the immense labors he performed there, in
the profound study of all questions vital to the
nation's welfare, in committees, on the floor, and
at the Departments, it would seem enough to tax
any man's utmost strength and fill his whole time;
yet such was his unwearied industry and elastic
energy, that he managed to write book after book
which have instructed and delighted great bodies
of readers by their intelligence, vivacity, their wis
dom, humor and wit.
I must leave it to others, to his colleagues in
Congress, to speak of his political services and the
debt of gratitude the country owes his memory.
This place is sacred to the consideration of charac
ter. How did he use those extraordinary talents
which he possessed? Were they for himself su
premely? A less selfish man than Samuel Sulli
van Cox has never appeared in the political life
of his country. Ho had a large heart, tender sym
pathies, a kind appreciation, and a power to inter
pret Ithe character of all with whom he came in
contact. Noble as was his head, his heart was
still nobler; and throughout his career he strove to
help, to cheer, to befriend those who were in need
of his friendship. There was a light in his eye, a
music in his voice, a grasp in the hand, a cheerful
ness of speech, a heartiness of manner, which lift
ed burdens from the shoulders of those who came
near him. His honor was unstained. Although

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 269
he was connected with the politics of this city and
of the country in their darkest hours, when corrup
tion ran riot and the infamous scramble for place
and pelf was common, the pitch never defiled him,
his good name was never assailed even by the
tongue of scandal. He bore himself with a lofty
rectitude; his integrity was incorruptible.
Amid the dance of society, the roar of business,
the greed for office and money, we pause beside
this coffin in the stillness of this sacred place to
recall the form and features of one whose nature
was large enough to offer the generous hospitality
of recognition and sympathy to all sorts and con
ditions of men, whether they were Roman Catholic
or Protestant, Jew or Mohammedan; and who in
'the battle of life ever struck with all his might for
the cause of the true, the right, the good. One
who knew him best has assured me that his piety
towards God was as genuine, deep, and reverent
as his charity towards his fellow men was large,
unaffected and fervent. He drew the inspiration
of his conduct and character from the truths and
faith of our holy religion.
This man bore himself to the age of three-score
years and five, not only untainted by the world,
but unworried with it. No frown of discontent,
no scowl of misanthropy, was ever seen upon his
brow; no complaint of the emptiness of the world
or of its vanity was prompted by that cheery
heart. He wrought for the welfare of others, and
in so doing found his own, for love is its own ex
ceeding great reward.
(From Rev. Dr. Talmage's Address.)
"The nation weeps. What a wide, deep, awful

270 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
vacuum the departure of such a man as Samuel S.
Cox leaves in the world! We shall not see his like
again. It will be useless to try to describe to an
other generation who or what he was like. He was
the first and the last of that kind of man. He was
without predecessor and will be without suc
cessor. What a genial, gracious, magnificent soul
he was! And every year he lived made to the
world a new revelation of his admirable qualities.
Within the past few weeks I traveled in his wake
across the American continent, and I heard every
where of the ovations he had received and the
superb impressions he had made, cities and terri
tories and states casting their crowns at his feet.
"And while these tempests are raging on land
and sea and the life-saving stations have rescued,
within a few hours, the crews of thirty ships, we
are called upon to perform the last office over the
body of him who was the chief champion of that
national benevolence for which every sailor on the
seas feels thankful.
"And was there ever a truer friend? Tell me, ye
who live in the high places of the earth, and the
poor who last night, while his body lay in state,
wept over this casket! There is hardly any one
here to whom he has not done a kindness.
"Did he not speak for you a good word or vmte
a generous commendation or give you the smile of
encouragement in some exigency? How many
people he helped; how many perplexities he dis
entangled ; how many bright utterances he strewed
in the pathway of dthers, no one can remember
save God who remembers all.
"Firm as a rock, brilliant as a star, artless as a
child, pure as a woman. God endowed him for a

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 271
good purpose with a resiliency of wit, a faculty of
impersonation, and an irresistible mimicry and a
dramatic power that were inexhaustible. How
much the world owes to such a nature we can not
tell. It is often a greater good to cause a laugh
than to start a tear. We all cry enough, God
knows, and have enough to cry about, and we need
no impulse in that direction. But he who can
scatter our gloom by innocent merriment has been
to us an emancipator. Solomon was right when he
said, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
Wit is of two kinds, that which stings and galls
and angers and makes the eye flash and the heart
burn; the other is that which illumines, sets free,
strengthens for another contest, puts us in good
humor with the world and makes us renounce our
follies. The one kind of wit is the lightning that
rives, but the other is the dew that refreshes. Of
that last kind was the wit of our departed friend.
"He never laughed at anything except that
which ought to be laughed at. There were in it no
innuendos that tipped both ways; nothing viper
ine; nothing that would have been discordant to
recall if he had died the next hour. Prince of in
nocent pleasantry, sanctifled reparteeist, our
friend shall live in our memories like a sweet song
too soon closed, like a banquet too soon ended, like
a picture over which too soon the veil has
dropped." On October 10, just a month from the date of
his death, the great hall of Cooper Union, New
York, was fllled with citizens of the metropolis,
gathered to do honor to the memory of Samuel
Sullivan Cox. The meeting was under the auspices

272 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
of the Stockier Association, before which body, it
will be remembered, Mr. Cox had engaged to de
liver an address on "Wonderland" at the very
hour of his death. Julius Harburger, president
of the Steckler Association, called the great me-
taorial meeting to order, and on his motion Hon.
Grover Cleveland, ex-President of the United
States, was chosen to preside. The ex-President,
on taking the chair, paid an appreciative tribute
to the character and services of the deceased, who
had, he said, "exhibited to the entire country the
strength and the brightness of true American
statesmanship." The chief address was given by
Hon. J. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, long associ
ated with Mr. Cox in Congress. "The name of no
man," said Mr. Knott, "was ever more widely
known or more lovingly revered among his coun
trymen than his. It has been heard wherever the
language of civilized men is spoken. There is
scarcely a home in all this wide and wondrous
land, whether amid the busy haunts of •the crowd
ed city or in the solitudes of the far-off mountains,
in which it is not a familiar household word."
Mr. Knott's review of the memorable career of his
late associate in Congress, was singularly elo
quent, analytical and to the last degree just.
Congress paid notable tribute to Mr. Cox's mem
ory. Formal announcement of his death was
made to the House by Representative Amos J.
Cummings, on the 18th of December, and a resolu
tion was adopted expressive of the "deep regret
and profound sorrow" with w'hich the intelligence
was received. As a further mark of respect the
House at once adjourned. Saturday, April 19.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 273
1890, was set apart for paying tribute to the mem
ory of the deceased statesman. On like occasions
the galleries and floors of Congress ordinarily pre
sent a beggarly array of empty benches. But on
•this day there were no vacant seats. The public
anticipation that this was to be no idle formality
but a heartfelt "recognition of eminent abilities
as a distinguished public servant" — in the words
of the resolution adopted — was realized. The eul
ogies that came from the lips of the most distin
guished members of both political par
ties, were earnest and eloquent to a
degree never surpassed in that historic
chamber. Representative Cummings, who gave a
most interesting and appreciative review of Mr.
Cox's eminent career, was followed by Gen. Banks,
of Massachusetts; Roger Q. Mills, of Texas; Ben
Butterworth, of Ohio; Col Breckenridge, of Ken
tucky; Richard P. Bland, of Missouri; Buckalew,
of Pennsylvania; Benton H. McMillan, of Tennes
see; Col. Grosvenor, of Ohio; Outhwaithe, of Ohio;
Lawler, of Illinois; Dunnell, of Minnesota; Mc-
Adoo, of New Jersey; Chipman, of Michigan; Cov
ert, of New York; Stone, of Missouri; O'Donnell,
of Michigan; Carruth, of Kentucky; Washington,
of Tennessee; Maish, of Pennsylvania; "Fighting
Jo" Wheeler, of Alabama; Yoder, of Ohio; Quinn,
of New York; McClammy, of North Carolina; Tur
ner, of New York; Hansbrough, of North Dakota;
McCarthy, of New York; Sherman, of New York;
Morrow, of Californa; and Greisshamer, of New
Jersey. Together these tributes constitute a not
able volume.
Memorial day in the Senate was July 8, 1890.

274 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
The resolutions of the House having been report
ed. Senator Hiscock, of New York, offered resolu
tions w'hich were adopted, expressive of the Sen
ate's "profound sorrow," and suspending business
to give opportunity for "fitting tributes to the
memory of the deceased, and to his eminent public
and private virtues." Eulogies no less earnest
and eloquent than those which fell from the lips of
the deceased statesman's own colleagues, of the
House, were made, to a full Senate and overflow
ing galleries, by Senators Hiscock and Evarts, of
New York; Voorhees, of Indiana; Sherman, of
Ohio; Vest, of Missouri; and Dixon, of Rhode
Island. All concurred in recognizing the super-eminence
of his ability as an orator and statesman, his mas
terly grasp of all public questions, and his invalu
able services to his country. With the Reverend
Doctor Talmage, they said: "We shall not see his
like again. Without a predecessor, he vrill be
without a successor." This, we believe, is likely
to stand as the judgment of history.

GRAVE OF S. S. COX, GREENWOOD CEMETERY,
As Decorated by the Letter Carriers.

APPENDIX.

Laws Affecting Letter Carriers Enacted througli
Efforts of S. S. Cox.

THE ANNUAL VACATION LAW.
Chap. 126. An Act to grant letter carriers at
free delivery offices fifteen days leave of absence
in each year.
Be it enacted, etc. That all letter carriers at free
delivery offices shall be entitled to leave of absence
not to exceed fifteen days in each year, without
loss of pay; and the Postmaster Greneral is hereby
authorized to employ, when necessary, during the
time such leave of absence is granted, such num
ber of substitute-cariers as may be deemed advis
able, who shall be paid for services rendered at the
rate of six hundred dollars per annum.
[June 27, 18S4.]
THE "fixed salary" LAW.
Cha;p. 14. An Act to extend the free delivery
system of the Postoffice Department, and for other
purposes. Be it enacted, etc. That letter carriers shall be
employed for the free delivery of mail matter, as

276 SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX
frequently as the public business may require, at
every incorporated cityj village, or borough con
taining a population of fifty thousand within its
corporate limits, and may be so employed at every
place containing a population of not less than ten
thousand, within its corporate limits, according to
the last general census, taken by authority of
State or United States law, or at any postoffice
which produced a gross revenue, for the preceding
fiscal year, of not less than ten thousand dollars:
Provided, this act shall not affect the exisitence
of the free delivery in places where it is now estab
lished. And provided further,
That in offices where the free delivery shall be
established under the provisions of this act, such
free delivery shall not be abolished by reason of
decrease below ten thousand in population or ten
thousand dollars in gross postal revenue, except in
the discretion of the Postmaster General.
Sec. 2. That there may be in all cities which
contain a population of seventy-five thousand or
more three classes of letter carriers, as follows:
Carriers of the first class, whose salaries shall be
one thousand dollars per annum; of the second
class, whose salaries shall be eight hundred dol
lars per annum, and.of the third class, whose sal
aries Shall be six hundred dollars per annum.
Sec. 3. That in places containing a population
of less than seventy-five thousand there may be
two classes of letter carriers, as follows: Carriers
of the second class, whose salaries shall be eight
hundred and fifty dollars per annum, and of the
third class, whose salaries shall be six hundred
dollars per annum.

u»

GEO. T. ESTES, LYNN, MASS.
Oldest Letter Carrier (from 1864) in the Service.

SAMUEL SULLIVAN COX 277
Sec. 4. That all laws inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed, [January 3, 1887.] LAW.
Chap. 308. An Act to limit the hours that letter
carriers in cities shall be employed per day.
Be it enacted, etc. That hereafter eight hours
shall constitute a day's work for the letter carriers
in cities or postal districts connected therewith,
for which they shall receive the same pay as is now
paid as for a day's work of a greater number of
hours. If any letter carrier is employed a greater
number of hours per day than eight he shall be
paid extra for the same in proportion to the salary
now fixed by law. [May 28, 1888.]

CONTENTS.

PAGE
Ancestry  9
Boyhood  29
College Life  40
Choosing a Career  61
His Marriage and Trip to Europe  67
As An Editor  70
Enters the Arena of Politics  76
Elected to Congress  78
Eight Years an Ohio Representative  80
Removal to New York  96
Returns to Congress  98
Race for Congressman-iat-large  102
Spurns the "Back Pay"  106
Again Returns to Congress  108
From North Cape to the Pyramids  114
Again at His Post  120
As Minister to Turkey  128
A Retrospect  153
Mr. Cox and the Electoral Commission  159
"Free Cuba"  163
Our Debt to Ireland  172
The Persecuted Jews  177
Champion of American Commerce  181
"The Letter Carriers' Friend"  185

280 CONTENTS.
Father of the Life-Saving Service  201
^'Four New Stars"  217
Old Campaigning Days in Ohio  223
Member of the Cobden Club  226
A Disciple of Izaak; Walton  232
"Man of Wit and Wisdom"  234
As an Author and Traveler  249
His Death and Burial  264
Appendix: "Letter Carrier" Laws  275

ILLUSTRATIONS.

FACING
Samuel Sullivan Oox, frontispiece. page
General James Cox  10
"Box Grove"  16
Judge and Mrs. Samuel Sullivan  22
Maria Matilda Sullivan Cox  26
Cox's Boyhood Home  30
Muskingum Court House  34
E. T. Cox, wife and ten children  38
First paper mill West of Alleganies  46
Buckingham Mansion, Zanesville  66
Cox's first Columbus residence  74
Dr. Henry Bennett in his garden, Mentone .... 98
North Cape group  114
U. S. Legation on the Bosphorus  134
Mehemet, Cox's Turkish guard  138
Nile party, a cosmopolitan group  142
Decorations conferred by theSultan  146
Five photographs at different periods  156
Little Ethel Sullivan  186
Cox statue, Astor Place  192
Group of Officers, N. A. L. C  194
A Life Saving Station  202
Vase presented to Mrs. Cox  210
Supt Kimball of Life-Saving service  214
Cox's Washington residence  236
His New York residence  266
His tomb  274
Oldest Letter Carrier  Appendix

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