New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-05-25

hitch his d0g-cart to the star OF glory. SucR
man could afford to wait wrapped in the
mantle of his own great opinion of himself, he
could afford to let his great genius prey
upon itself, until the fullness Of time / know
what / am, says Mr.. Conkling many
time to himself, and the day will
come when the country win know. Whose
fault was it if the war did not afford Oppor-
tunity for the display Of his powersl That
great dignity was perhaps unsuited to the
turmoil of war and the rough chances of revo-
luton. Such men bloom most sweetly and
spread abroad most satisfactorily in times OF
peace, like burdOcks in an un-hoed garden.
Mr.. Conkling's powers never appeared 10 such
advantage rs they do to-day. He has found
something that brings out his resources. We
now see him, perhaps, little as he
ALWAYS appears to himself. He Is
great mani We Say it fatty, and with
less than our usual delicacy of compliment,
because we fee, it. And, besides, it is not
breach of confidence; it is no news to Conk-
ling. What plantation overseer he would
have made And there is Carpenter. If we
had TO be one or the other we should MT know
which to be- Carpenter is perhaps more eio-
ouent, but then when you come to appearance,
Conkling can appear twice to Carpenters once.
They work well together, however, in matter
that is of their size. You take an investigation,
for instance, into anything touching the dignity
of the Senate We never knew two men VINO
could make themselves more conspicuous
When we say that Mr. Conkhng made no
reputation durpg the war, OF course we only
sneak comparatively. We often heard OF him
during those eventful days. The women
CORRESPONDENTS in Washington sowed MS
merits broadcast over the land, "a If the supply
was ineKbaustible. He was the Apollo OF
4" the Houso;' he was the darling OF the
ladies' gallery; how " statuesque' and colby
"chiseled" he sat there with his hyacinthlne
"locks.r When this hyacinth was transplanted
TO the Senate, he came up beautifully. Inc
stately dignity he carried into those marble
halls made the marbles look warm and COM
Portable. BY practice he soon adapted himself
70 his situation 80 well that he could look
hyacinrhine in just thirty seconds after the ap-
pearance of woman in the ladies' gallery
We never tired of looking at him, and think
ing what he thought of himself. Involuntarily
the opening of that excellent cOlOred brothers
prayer came into mind: so, thou all-suih-
"cient, self-su1icient, insufficient Being"
We have now to congratulate Dir. Conkllng
that his reputation is commensurate with MS
ability The part that he and Carpenter have
taken in failing TIE TRIBUNE correspondents
has made their names more widely known
than all the actions of their lives before. The
country at large does MT care so much for
"hyacinthine locks" after all, and but for this
splendid opportunity for distinction Conkllng
might have had no other place in his coun-
try's history than that of the Pet Of the
"Petticoats." But he has known when to
seize his opportunity. He has achieved dis
tinction by a simple and petty act. This is
the province of genius, to know how to turn
small thing to great account we
think we can truly say, IL for one
prcsUmptuOus moment we may drop into Ia
miarity, and allow our feeling to run away
with our sense of prOprety so TAR rs to say
"RoscOe,n Roscoe, we never thought so much
of you, the country never thought so much of
you, before. You may not have distinguished
yourself in craftsmanship neither you nor
Carpenter may have died on the field Of glory; |
you may not have given your large mind to |
the consideration of the important Treaty with
England; but you did throw your whole
soul and intellect into the gigantic task of
finding how it got printed in THE TRIBUNE.
That you did not find out was not your fault
nor Carpenters. But you have been able to
imprson two innocent men, who have COM
mitted no 0fiense against the Senate, nor
against anything except your own sense OF
your Importance Would MT they answer you,
RoscOel Well, our opinion is that
man who won't answer Roscoe ought
to rot in jail. 1t is not your
fault, Mr.. Conkling, nor yours, Mr.. Car
penter, that the correspondents are not rottng
in Jail. Your disposition was good, and your
reputation is that OF common jaiers. Men
achieve nOtorety for different things in Con-
gress. There was that clever fellow from
Ohio who had a little uDplcasantness with a
TRIBUNE correspondent, and went down TO his
hoaOred grave as Sausage Sawyer Your rep
utaton Mr. COnkling, is as sure as his, though
not so innocent. What the war and the Op-
pOrtunities of craftsmanship may not have
done for you in all these busy years, this
ridiculous iiascO has secured to you. Let us
beg YOU not to be jealous of Carpenter for his
share in it. Let us hope for you both future
crowded with such noble achievements, and a
hereafter i'm which neither of you will be OPP
pressed with the society of the other.
-
The old story, again. The Indian delegation,
visiting the Great Father at Washington, de-
cline, az did those who came before them the
invitation to view the wonders of New-YOrk
before returning to their wigwams. They ali