The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-08-20

I'M SssstSsttt se'f .'v,..
TUESDAY -. AuGusE ~. 1877 l''s'.
[Thurlow Weed in his Retirement.
Al oaa bnt visosesas Man--aais Lite
rary n.aibara-- UnwrstfcnP oistse"a H's'
terry. -. ------
The following Interesting portrayal OF
veteran statesman Is taken from recent ie''
Ter to the san Francisco Bulletin
find Mr. Weed good deal changed since
I saw him fast--scyen years ago. Exposure
& N q hot sur, some four years since gave ms
{ system a shock from which Il has not yet re-
& covered. He shows age in more respects
thatr one His hair Is white Us snow; MS
form Is bent; bis step has lost its wontca
elasticity his voice Is ut times little iecDe;
Bns his intellect still shines. with unrloudea
l,istre. It has lost nothing of that won
derSaj yicor that made its possessor sucn
. mower I'm The world. ] have never found
Mr. WeeG more epjoyable-inore rlch
Ara the treasures Of memory, more keenly
aJive 10 Ell good and. beautiful impressions,
more suggestive in conversation, mcre fresh
In ejft of speech. His memory of past events
] is simply marvellous. q The incidents OF nifty
wears ayo are as fresh as those of yesterday.
il is d rare delight to listen TO bis discourse
of the past; his descriptions of the scenes OF
the men Of by-gone generation. Anu
while he Is not indiffei ent to the present, BIS
mind dwells largely on the past. de loves TO
get hold OF old people, to talk over Ola tunes,
and review old recollections. lie Will, con-
verse by the hour with some OLD felioW
whom he knew wien nc was young ana
poor, persistently pumping the dryest social
fountain and cleaning some scrap OF history
from the most barren soil.
HIS LITERARY. TASTES.
ar. Weed does not live wholly in the past.
His mind and his body are equally active.
He goes to market regularly every morning.
takes long walks when it Is cool, and usually
rides several miles in the afternoon and eve
ming. Occasionally he spends an hour at the
Club, OF takesia walk down TO. Cliff street to
see his old friend Harper, the great pub
Usher, or drops into the office Of the New
York Times, where fancy his influence Is
still greatly felt. He is diigent reader OF
the papers, and writes, or rather dictates,
more or less every day. / visited him during
the .rGCEDS ,uOI LcIu, hhCh VIM Sii5. htS
being almost decimated by sunstroke, yet /
found him, with the thermometer at 9S, alb
sorbed in literary labor. "Do you find much
time for general readiDgp' asked. "Less
than could WISH" he replied. 81 am now
reading Dickens for The q think be said) sixth
time, and with eyer-increasin9 delight. 1t is
usually the last pleasure Of the day. But
am now on short commons, for my daughter
Harriet, who reads TO me, gets so wearicd
with the, duties Of the day that my con-
science presses me, and break oil before my
hunger is half satisfied" have spoken of
MIR. Weeds taste in literature. Few men
have read so many good books, or read THEM
SO thoroughly. He is ut home in all the great
English classics, Tut his tavolites are Shake
speare, Walter Scott, and Dickens. The lat
ter he Knows ALMOST, by. heart There is not
a character but he has at his tongues end /;
there is hardly passage remarka BILE for elo.
quence Or humor he cannot recall or quote.
He insists that, Dickens is the greatest writer
OF character since Shakespeare. Mr.. Weed
knew Dickens quite intimately, num-
bered him among his correspondents,
ana was instrumental in bringing him to
America the first time. 81 have" said
MIR. W., "just written letter to Mr.. Fors-
ter, Dickens's biographer, explaining to him
the causes OF the comparative failure Of the
visit" sWhat were the causes?" l asked.
'"ToO much Boston and too much interm,'
tiohdl copyright preaching. Boston tried to
monopoIize him, al,jectIy toadied to him, and
disguised the rest of the country. Then
Dickens, whose real object in coming here
was to procure the passage Of IN international
of his mission, and, Instead of allowing HIM
onlf fr ho Rpni1ah and pnntppfSntr himself
with simply having a good time, began to
<talk business at once, and on the most in
opportune occasions. As result. our n;l-
tional vanity was little touched; Mr.. Dick
ems failed in his errand, turned sour towards
us, and mildly lampooned us in his american
Notes."
NOR. WEEDS PRIVATE CORREsrOSDENCE.
:, Among the most precious treasures III Mr.
Weeds library is his private cofrcspondence
This embraces the accumulations of long
and active lifetime, preserved in a series Of
bound voluues, systematically arranged AMI
carefully indeXed by hisuccomplished daugll
ter, who combines in herself MI wona,hs
goodness with angelic consistency ard htSO
rion. / have no idea of the number of let
tiers IL, this remarkable collection, but the in
dex alone makes quite bulky volume. This
permitted hastily to explore. I have STUN
hled upon curious secrets-secretsw which my
instincts as Journalist tempt me to tafapei
with but the confidence OF private friend
ship makes sacred. Letters trom all sort.
of people, on all sorts OF subjects
from Ml parts OF the world. Letter,
from Statesmen, from politicians asking
faVors, from great authors, from great sol
oilers, from men distinguished ia every wall
of life. Here find a note Signed VA. Lin
coln,' 2 penned at the outbreak of the war 0
the rebellion, briefly stating TINT the public
eyigency requires the immediate raising of
fund Of $4,000 for an extraordinary emer
gency, to which note Is appended the names
OF seven gentlemen, upon whom MFR. Weel
immediately called, who subscribed 80 el
each, without stopping to ask What it wa:
for. Iwonder what the emergency wa,
that should have induced such all eXtaordi
nary levy, md at the request of the Presi
dent, tool Was it in connection with the
Xtting out Of an expedition for the relief Of
Washington after the rebels tore Tip the rail
roads n Marylandf On the next page
stumble On o leng ind pleasant let
ter from General Scott. fuM OF move
words and complimentary phrases. A few
leaves further fnda letter of four closely.
printed pages in u crabbed-hand from Sill
Henry Holland, the ilastrlous physician anC
traveller, giving novel diagnosis OF Mr.
Weeds case, prescribing for Aim and desig
mating his proper diet and sAedc Of life. [Sil
Henry, who believe IL efghty-six, has Gin.
yited Dir. Weed 10 accompany him to
California, and il is not unlikely you may set
these distinguished veterans, who asp old
and East friends, in San Francisco within the
newt ts,,y 1nonths r fnunS oavax~,2 p,N,,s.,,. A.