Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-12-18
From the Washington Intelligencer.J
The Late Thaddeus Stevens = A
Tribute from a Democratic
Org an.

Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens, in his private
relations with men, illustrated, to a
very large extent, the nobility of hu-
man character, Had he acted upon
ideas which constitute the practice of
most men nowadays, he would at the
date Of his decease have been almost a
modern Croesus. When Baron Roths-
child heard that the fortune of a de-
ceased rival amounted to but fifty mil
lions, he expressed surprise, saving he
thought he was in easy circumstances.
Regarded in this light, Mr.. Thaddeus
Stevens was very poor man, for his
fortune was less than a quarter of a
million dollars. He owed nobody at
the date of his decease, and he had in
the bank of Lancaster, as we are in
formed by Mr.. Boughter, his personal
friend, about twenty thousand dollars.
curities. His plain and simple man
sion at Lancaster can not be valued at
above half a dozen thousand dollars.
The sum and substance of his means
were in his furnace at Gettysburg.
Through it in former days, as he was
accustomed to say, was an absorbent
of his income professionally, yet in lat
ter ones it has been profitable, the ore
bed being superior, and the method, of
blasting being by charcoal. Hence, the
Confederate force did him much dam
age in its raid, not so much in the val
ue of what was actually destroyed as
in the destruction of work at the fur
mace at period of great demand for
superior sorts of iron for machine pur-
poses. A few thousand dollars proba-
bly, covered the actual losses in proper
ty inflicted by the rebel raid in ques-
| tiOn.#
In the last part of Mr.. Stevens life,
he remarked that he would take $780,
600 for his Gettysburg property, but
DR.. Noble Young, of this city, (his
physician who Is familiar with 1t and
| the locality estimates its prospective
value, in good hands, at double that
| figure. The works were carried on in
/ Mr.. Stevens name, and, of course, they
did not make the returns that they
would had he been practical ironmast-
| er.
Mr.. Stevens library is verv large and
varied in its character. It is worth sew
eral thousand dollars. He was, we
learnt thoroughly read in the old stamp
of works in history and literature, and
| also in the modern ones of superior
character. He received, while in Con-
gress, great numbers of newspapers of
both sides in politics, most Of which he
| read as ii respects their editorials.
In the lRtter-day career of Mr.. Stew
ems his 1abors were immense, and as
his physical powers were declining. b g
| wEs obliged to be exceedingly circum-
spect in respect to his habits and eff
forts. he was through life a temper
ance man in the strict sense of the
term, indulging only in glass of wine
or other drink as a form of hospitality
or courtesy upon the occasion of old
and valued friends, or possibly of some
superior political functionary. He
therefore received with uudisguise d
dislike the prescription three years be-
fore his death of the use Of stimu-
lants. He was abstemious as TO diet,
eating but two meals q day, and retir-
ing very early and rising late. He held
that much sleeping or lying in bed,
even if not sleeping, was q great nat
ural restOrer Of exhausted nature.
Breakfasting OF O'Clock, Mr.. Stevens
would at once proceed to dispose of his
mail, which was, of course, very large.
! Most letters he would throw into the