The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-10
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF 3HR LEADING JOURNALS
UPON CURRENT ToPIce-CoMPLED EVERY
DAT PoR rHH EVENING gRLEGRAPu.
Forever and Ever.

slippered ttPantsloon" in the comedy OF puDh'
affairs, may come back to us Drlsk anu Jolly
Juvenile gentleman in the farce for sous
time we have been benevolently cohsiueIi9t
what Mr.. Andrew johnson could possibly ~ ~
with himself after the 4th OF March, A. ~ -
1850; and an unpleasant suspicion, we aonnis,
has occasionally intruded itself upon US, thA'
he meant nobly but rashly to follow tne OK
ample of the stern Cato, and after ', msPiU S P.ho
nouncing valediotory speech, luiL ,i, VI Smo
fnest sentiments and the worst possible gram
mar. that he ''might his quietus make wild ! =
bare bodkin, " in the little back room OF MS
old law office. 1t treasures to learn, upon
The excellent authority OF the Nas9vii!e
Banner, that Mr.. Johnson, hke Mr: MANI
tiIini, will probably consent not
"a make ga demnition body" OF him
self. Why should he According to the Ban.
,er be 'sis still possessed of great bodily and
msntal yieor;" "as much or more, says the
Nashville newspaper, ethan when he was
tailor by trade in the town OF Greenville, East
Tennessee." The gentle journalists grammar
ia rather uncertain, but never mind He
knows an extraordinary human being when he
sees him, and loyalty to lofty intellect may
well compensate for ignorance OF Lindley
Murray. How can we sufficiently thank him
for the information that the President 'looks
as well as at any period OF his life " This is
q statement from which it might be argued
that Mr.. Johnson was not, even in the deWy
morning of his existence, exactly an
Adonis; but when we consider how
much the early efforts of his genius contri-
7,ntad to the good looks of his fellow men,
we feel that it would be ungenerous to
criticize the proportions OF one who, II not
lovely himself, had the art to make others ap-
near so. To the "iron constitution" which
Mr.. johnson Is fortunate enough to possess,
must be added, in making up an estimate OF
his future career, the fact that he had also "a
great mind, :" and, moreover, "a jealous and
aggressive mind, +" and, likewise, "great native
powers of thought" He is Ito continue the
Nashville catalogue of the A. Johnsonian per-
feotions) can unrivalled and peerless orator."
sss man of destiny" and "a man who believes
in himself" To crown all, he has "absolute
self-reliance and an undying faith inn Andrew
Johnson. We agree with this generous eulo-
Est. His Excellenoy is vital in every part; il
he were not one of the deathless sort he would
dong ago have been annihilated and If he had
suffered under the slightest propensity to COM
INIT suicide he would unquestonably have in
llulged 1t after his inaugural speech in the
Senate. Those who watched with curiosity
that singular episode will easily believe that If
Mr.. Johnson then consented to live, and to
live in the public eye, he must have an irwin
Cible repugnance to dying under any circum-
stances. We assure all the actuaries that Mr..
Johnson's life is an excellent life to insure
against feIo de so!
1t is the opinion Of the writer from whom
we have been quoting, that the President has
before him an incompatible number of
years of public usefulness, not as frightful
example, fallen angel, beacon, a warning,
an American Wolsey or Bonaparte, but as a
Democratic candidate for the gubernatorial
stool of Tennessee, or for "the Senatorial sue
cession after Mr.. Fowler" or for ga seat in
the lower house." or possibly for alderman
of his native village" AS he is one of the
immortal mortals and bears a charmed life
ne has, Of COURSE plenty of time before him;
and if we were in his place, we think that we
should begin by reopening the shop with a
large assortment of seasonable goods for gen.
tlemen's wear. After proper period devoted
to the habiliments OF his friends and patrons,
he might resstsblish the attorneys office, and
sue as lawyer those to whom he had given
credit as q tailor. Without marking all
the stages of his new career, it is enough to
suppose that in the course Of a century or
BE the places which have known him in
Washington might know him once more;
and thus leading a kind of circular life,
his career an epical palindrome, he might
30 round and round, not 80 much Q
Moses as Methuselah until he should be
translated or find repose either in the museum
OF some Barnum as yet very much unborn OF
IN one Of the glass cases Of the Smithsonian
institute. A life prolonged in this way might
be productive of all the benefits without many
OF the inconvenience of the Buddhist system
aransmigration-in fine, the President, favored
above ordinary mortals, might be his OWL
donkey, his own mule or his own crying Gro
codile. In office, he would be the safeguart
OF the republic, and out of Office, its ornament
and II, by special interposition OF Proyl
dence, the Nashville gentleman who has writ
Zen Mr.. Johnson's natural history, and, as
were, recorded the exploits of our Hercules II
nis cradle, could be permitted to share tnes
tongeval privileges, we venture TO say ina
Two more wonderful objects than these Woul'
be never crawled through the mud during tn
pre- e-Blblical nights of our most interestin
planet. Such a pair would render megathe
RUINS and mastodons as cheap and common q
our contemporary cats and dogs.
For ourselves, we will not deny that W
have read these predictions of the Nashvill
newspaper with uncommon gratitude. 1t con
soles us to think that future ages will see MI
johnson, and be able to judge for themselVe
whether the compliments which he has s
often received from the Tribune were empty O
deserved. We have lively faith that wha
he is now he will be, If living, ten thousan
years hence. The far-of future will mark tn
sweetness Of his manners, the perfection OF hi
rhetoric, the alacrity of his sensitive con
science, the purity of his purposes, and tn
god like serenity Of his whole nature. From
the windows of many tavern yet unbuilt h
will charm crowd whose remote ancestors ar
yet unbegotten. During his fftieth PresIdsn
tial term he will pardon those who are /
bonds for offenses unknown to the jurispru
denoe of the nineteenth century. As he ar
prosches his thousaDdth year he will veto bill
with incredible dexterity, and scold Congresse
with more than mortal vehemence. We do NJ
say that, at the day of judgment, he will
invited to take seat upon the bench, but "