New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-07-05

clergymen declare that the man was the genius
of the commonplace; that he paved over and
handled the awful mysteries of religious truth
until they were fattened into dull, dead plati-
tudes; that there was no intellectual treas
ure of knowledge or emotion which he
would not take into his little brain, and
mold over into small coin, very new
and bright nickels, convenient for every day use,
hut only nickels after all But when Henkels
saw each edition of his sermons going out OF
his publishers doors by the wagon-load, and
knew that his critics never had been asked to
publish at all, even in pamphlet, he was ex-
cusable in smiling at their envy. We know
men. too, who could not read one of Henkels's
novels to the end any more than they could
take to pap rs q steady diet; yet the large
majority of the reading public ask no better
expression for their passions and moods than
this writer has given them.
Every dignity, every expression OF public ap-
proval was shOwered upon the neat, grave
little man while he lived, but he was not Hat
tered by them. He was too much In earnest
in his great task to be Hattered by anything.
His great task was self-imprOvement. Make
"tbe hest of YOURSELF There waS the real
text of all his sermons. "Measure accurately
.tbe CAPACITY of your intellect, your moral
| "forccs. Bring them into full exercise. BE
"truthful BE vrtuous. BE fascinating Ill So
"ciety. Converse well. Mold your family,
"yOur associates, your age"
There il not one of his disciples (and what
hosts of disciples follow him y who has not
made it the business of his life to study MS
own miserable commonplace self and to m0ld
the age according to whatever inch measure
of idea fell to his lot through inheritance or
education Now IIenkels, who had brought
mich shrewdncss to bear in the Improvement
of himself, was to few people an intOlerable
bore from his Sublime self-consciousness
hut what shall We do with these weak
limitations of Hcnkels These limitations
are countless; it is the most minor
of prophets who is popular. The crowds of
well dressed, well bred men and women who
thronged Henkelss church or read his books,
would have yawncd at one Of Emerson's lee
lures or voted Thackeray dull. This man was
lust far enough in advance of themselves to
serve as their leader. His logical ladders were
easy to climb the moonlit scenes OF courtshlp
and bathos of his books which few critics
called the very small beer of emotion and
romance suited the palates of the great majority.
1t was Henkelss daily habit TO keep sort OF
account with his conscience; to credit himself
each time he practiced one of the major or
minor virtues When he gave you that agree
able little dinner last January, or when he I'M
earthed the outrages in the county Jail, he
calmly scored down one to Hospitality and one
TO Humanity. But why should you quarrel
with man for keeping Il day-bOOkf The In
tolerable point in this Model Man to his enc
mics was that they could not find any fault
with him. Even to his wife, thriltess, careless
little woman from Delaware, hc was unfail-
ipgly patient, Just, and moderate. Cfhcir mar
rage ALWAYS reminded one of a struggling
pretty vine trailing over a straight log OF
fence post.) The sharpest of his critics never
limited that IIenkels was a sham or fraud,
in any sense "Thc little manikn" they said
"was genuine as far as it went; but why
"should we choose manikin to rule over u.s."
The worst accusation they could bring was that
no human being ever had slapped him on the
back and called him old fellow, and that
nobody had ever seen tears in his eyes
or heard him laugh. Henkels was known to
the world best perhaps as a judge in all
matters of literature, morals, or manners; his
disciples never appealed from his decision. In
his pulpit or at his table, you would hear your
own leader-hero,-it might be Goethe or gentle
Charles Lamb, or great Will himself,-brought
ND before the tribunal of this SNUG, little man
as an overgrown, undisciplined schOolboy. You
had not word to say for them. Your brain
was deuged by the swash of admirable COM
monplace you began to perceive that the real
world was Henkelss we'll built, everyday little
world, and that all these people outside were
idle shadows in tho region of Chaos and old
Night.
Yet when this very wcll-fnishcd man died,
strangely enough, there was not real wet
tear ready in anybody's eyes to fall on his
coffin. His boys felt sudden relief from
cramping, bclittling influence; the widow al
most enjoyed the harun -scarum disorder OF
the house during the funeral. 1t is impossi-
BILE, too, to imagine the Model Man going out
into any realm of shadows or great truths.
When he stepped composedly up into the
other world, with his few small talents well
polished and reduced to useful currency, we
must hope that some very actual, very orderly
little precinct was ready for him, inhabited by
the small people who had followed him here.
Will they grow any larger out there? or will
he4
With the refusal Of our local legislature to re-