Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-04-01
An Interview with Sumner the Night
Before His Fatal Illness.

AT o'clock on Monday evening, l
made my last call on Senator Sumner.
He greeted me, saying: 81 am so
weary thinking over my speech on
finance, l wanted a change-a ray of
sunlight-and | am glad you came.
He at once began to talk on European
politics, which, to him, was an out
spread map, and whose Kaleidoscope
changes he always viewed with absorb
ing interest. He spoke of Gladstone
his noble struggle in the cause of lib
eralism, his success, his failure, and
his fall; he gave sketch of a break
fast with him, and summed up by ex-
pressions of his firm faith in the ulti-
mate triumph of those principles
which Gladstone so nobly championed.
"a great man under the shadow Of a
defeat" said he, sis taught how pre-
cious are the uses of adversely, and as
an oaktree's roots are strengthened
by its shadow, so all defeats in a good
cause are but resting places on the
road to victory at last" He spoke of
the patchwork Empire of Germany, of
Bismarck and De la Marmora-of
truth stranger than fiction, viz: of the
Italian statesman's assertion of Bis
marck's offer to cede to France q por-
ton of German territory-of the i'm
policy of the annexation of Alsace
and Lorraine, of the differences with
the Catholic Church, the imprison-
ment Of her prelates-and then taking
volume Of Milton he read in deep,
rich tones of tender melancholy, his
famous sonnet upon the persecution OF
the Waldenses during Cromwelps pro-
tectorate, as follows:
Avenge, O Lord! thy slaughtered saints,
whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold
Even them who kept thy truth SO pure OIL
old,
When all our fathers worshpped stocks and
stones,
Forget not; in thy book record their groans,
Vino were thy sheep, and in their ancient
Slain by the bloody Piedmontcse that
Mother with infant down the rocks. Their
means
The wales redoubed to the hills, and they
To Heaven. Their martyred blood and
Der ali the Italian fields where still doth
sway
The triple tyrant; that from these may
grow
A hundred-fold, who, having learned thy way
Early, may fl the Babylonian Woe.
In closing he added, "Thus history
revenges herself" About this time
his evening mail was brought; when
ever he came to one interesting note
or letter he would look it over and
then hand it to me to read. The first
was from an art association in Boston,
saying that the Duke de Montpensier,
of Spain, had agreed to loan his valu-
able collection of pictures, valued at
100000, to the assertion, provided
they paid packing, transportation, and
insurance; and as the laws of the
United States limit the time Of inter
national loan free of duty to six
months, it needed special act Of Con-
gress to keep the paintings two years,
so as to pay expense by their exhibit
ton, and he desired speedy legislation.
He asked me if had seen them when
in Spain. / answered him had, and
described several of those remember
ed best. He said; "In the Senate l
do not think there will be much diff
Guilty; but in the House," he added,
smiling, "Ben Butler can put it
through, as he does, with his white
horse, everything else Why, he is a
pOllUlcdl Gay llOStfO.
The next letter was from Philadel-
phia, an anonymous attack of the bit
terest description, impugning his mo-
tives concerning his speech on the
International Centenary Exposition,
winding up with threat of violence,
which | forbear to transcribe. AS he
handed it to me he said, good-humor-
eddy, ~ am used to such letters.n [
read it, and, as l did so, consigned it
to the blazing CRATE. The next letter
was from Indiana, one of those good,
whOle-sOuled letters, full of sympathy
and admiration, with an urgent, earn
est invitation for him to visit the
writer next Summer, with an offer of
generous and unstinted hospitality.
s'There,u said he, "you have burned
the bane end here is the antidote,n
His next letter was from Boston, full
of hearty thankfulness for his restora-
ton to health, and cheer for the future.
1t was closely written, and, as he hand
ed it to me, he said, "This is no Sum-
mer friend"
The last of many letters was ono of
cOngratulation about the Massachu-
sets legislative resolutions resembling
the vote of censure. l never saw him
look more happy than when he was
reading it. He then arose and showed
me with satisfaction the legislative
resolutions, beautifully engrossed on
parchment, and observed the copies
for the representatives were simply on
paper. l asked, "Will you address
the Senate when they are presentedW
He replied, "The dear old common
wealth has spoken for me, and that is
en0ugh,n