New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-12-09
srrLrTErD 100 1890 cor

Tgpuihei NoNlip went out 70 Sniln4Ncll ana
to'a The COMING MN Chat Naw-Eaclud must
have place iu tLe Cabinet, rad ;'at, rs il was
the custom for the Nicc-FlciGcrt TO designate
one q what tue worthy Senator called the
" Constitutional advisers hc would CONSOLE
date thee two claims and make but one OF
tho Ecw-Enc'anl man and the Nica-PIesi-
dents man. Air. lincoln, as his modest way
was IN those early days. consented, and Gideon
W,llrs % Connecticut WIS put ON 'Ec slate Tor
Pcsmgst-r-Cn;ul. Whom The fcUm''c OF
interests took place Ct Washington about the
time o. the Inauguration, by some ~ slr-oHa
law o. pcrnutution Montgomery BAN crowded
Winter Davis ont Of the Cabinet and tn"
Sage Of Connecticut WIS shot into th" Place
that the Maryland orator had tCcn collected for
Nobody knew anything OF Dir. Nc.ics except
those relentless readers of newspapers VINO r.
mcmbarcd him as the bittcrcst ard mclucft of
,ho cllummatoS Of Henry Clay; rs man "he'
in the onscur'ty OF country town. welded
pCn Gipped in the QuiutcsserCc OF Gali against
better and brighton men. But when ho appeared
on the stage mt Washington, with That io2.hcry
fleece Of snowy beard, that lCn". bnr'i.nT
cataract Of vig-thaf would have deceived even
| tie elect. tnat amialie stare Of iIt,c'lIiy t"ot
! LEANED such infinite iur.p.ai!y OF good Vii
un1n the world through the honest round
sDcctcclcs, IL WIS di1icult to a. ooia,c bin With
/ the malignant partisan Of ether times, Who
Was saved FROM absolute oblivion ty the emory
of his malice and his hate. Lut either
/ the mask had changed tho wcacr or that
| l.nb-l1,c exterior WIS but the outs;or.h or
! he inward peace that bad como with tho Tc3-
/ soDe1!e wears. Old ace does cool de Douglas
! blood, we Thought, end during eight tdil1 '.i
years Of olicc-holiiug there vas nothing 10
/ show that tie fires OF he original Gideon TClo
alive beneath the dtocy SHOWS OF the &r"i,rF
! crater. He was the tUcst t.unest, most loyal
! place-hO,Icr tLat one could imagine. Nc a'I.-
! ishcd his bread and butter with touching dcNo-
/ ton. BE was tie delight Of two Presidents,
Of different kinds. lie formed d bcar,iGi
/ fguIe-hoad for the Navy, IL our great fighting
! days, aud slept the sleep Of the Just III
! his private room, while Fox and Wise did the
organizing, and Falragut and the bluo-jackets
compelled victory ON the seas. When tie WAY
ended, be was so quiet and amiiile t.at
everybody forgot him, and le weathcrad al!
the gales Cbat blew from the Executive Man
sion, when Andrew thought he was Moses and
essqyed miracles. When at times he seemed
|
was only too oJliging. lie accused Gen.
Grant Of falsehood, but it was only at the
rcoucsb of the President, who had caprice to
! hear an his Ministers say so-md they al
thought it would be pity 70 disappoint him,
except Seward.
He was a model chamberlain Of the good old
school. If the imperious Tennessee an had called
him some day to tie south windows ct The
Executive Mansion and told him the Washing
ton Monument looked like the Parthenon, he
would have wiped his spectaclc5 aud said,
Marry, it doesn If then the Whimsical
Mosandrew had rcjoined 81 think it Is more
1" like an ass, knee-deep in thistles," my Lord
Poonius Welles would have shaken his hoary
curls and answered, "By the mass, it is" If
there ever was q man about whom the world
, had made up it's mind and gone comfortably
to sleep in the full conviction Of his feeble
goodness. that man was Gideon Wellcs Of
Hartford.
But now we shall have to give all that
pleasing, indOlent delueiOn up again. That
debonair innocence, that immaculate harmless
ness, was nothing but court dress. He pat
it on and kept it on, just "a he did his white
cravat when he went to dine with the Presi-
dent. The moment the Oflice-hOlder left the
scene the snarler and the libeler took up his
residence anew in Hartford. The scene shifts
and presto, Polonius is Thersites.
He first comes out in a savage attack on his
colleague for eight years in the Cabinet, the
man whose association gave to the Admins
tratiOn of Andrew Johnson what little decency
it was able to maintain. There is positively
no motive but malignity to be assigned for the
publication of Mr., Wcllcs's article in The
GaIdTN though the recluse Of Connecticut
might say something about his duty TO his
tory-a phrase which covers multitude of
calumnies But what excuse can even he pos
sibly offer for giving publicity to that private
letter from Admiral Porter written with all
the impulsiveness and recklessness of private
correspondence If there were any trifiing
GOODNESS resulting from personal passages be-
tween them at Washington, there has GER
tainly been time for reflection and oblivion
since then. There is no conceivable purpose
to snbservc in publishing this most indiscreet
letter, except to break up the friendly relations
existing between Gen. Grant and Admiral
Porter 1t is the spite of foolish virgin
who sends her old lovc-lettcrs to her success
ful rival. The motive is so bald and patent
that it should naturally have defeated itself.
The Admiral has prevented this result by his
unmanly and grovelling penitence, and has so
far monopolized the contempt of the public
that there is little left for the rest of the per-
sonages. But Gideon Weles should have his
share. 1t was perhaps necessary that the
Admiral should be forced to show his true
colors. But we cannot be grateful to the man
whose act has provoked the expOsurc--it was
not loyal blow, and it was dealt by one old
enough to know better.