New-York tribune., 1876-04-20

Whatever else may be said of Mr.. Henry C..
Bowen. it cannot he denied that what he does
is done always in an impressive, and some
times in an awe-inspring manner. There -
lonely grandeur about the man, especially III
connection with the events OF the past Few
wears. which reminds one of IN isolated rcck
lifting up its head amid the waves OF sto. M
beaten coast; stern and terrible; beaten upon
on all sides but unshaken; rooted in the bot
tom facts Of the continent and yielding no
answer TO the eager questioning OF the sea
that seeks 10 probe the secret OF the storm
birds whose nests are on its summit. Round
such an isle the adventurous spirit sails, ana
toward it looks with longing, speculative
eyes, IA one remembering Alta Nela and
the Chinchas, and the far-off balrcnneSS
they fertiizcd. The quick eye Of trade
alighting upon such a SPOT would at once
discern the place for dead-wall advertise
ments. But the lover Of the mysterious, the
seeker after bottom facts, before such a weird
and gloomy and bird-frequentrd loneliness
would only lift his hands in solemn awe, aud
say, "Ugly but majestic" And Of such an
island it il tha. Mr.. Bowen puts us-nay,
keeps us-coustantly in mind. If it were true
told all he knew, how much truer is it of Mr.
Henry G. Bowen. who 80 far as we know has
never told half he knows, that lac is in the
highest degree grand, gloomy and peculiar"
History may furnish grander figures, mythol-
ogy gOomcr, and romance more peculiar, but
neither history, mythology nor romance can
offer any such combination of GRANDEUR gloom.
and peculiarity in single individual. And, as
we were just saying, whatever Mr.. Bowen does
is done in large, full, and impressive manner
which carries to the world looking on, the con-
victi0n that he has greater things in him than
he has ever allowed TO come ont an impression
of AN immense reservoir of force kept back in
deed he il mt this moment the best representative
of reserved power the world has. For mt least
two ycay, the worlds large index finger has
pointed toward HIM, and all the world has been
saying, "Thcre, now, is a man who has ever
$50 much in him that everybody wants to
"know, and behold how he keeps 1t to HIM
"selfh And it is but just to say that Mr..
| Bowen has never denied 1t or seemed uncOn-
scious of il. He could not help knowing that
| he and the Sphinx were the two Great Myste-
iies. and he has never pretended to deny that
in many respects he :" held over" the Sphinx.
Let Ills be iu.t, too, to Mr.. Bowen's modesty.
| He is n man who shrinks from the public gaze.
| Shrinks from it, to he sure, III a way that in
variably attracts attention and excites remark (;
but how can no help that 80 long as he
shrinksf 1t is his peculiarty-we had almost
said his misfortune, but publicity is not reck-
oned o misfortune by men accustomed to
adyertise-that his silence has been more
weighty than his speech the things he kept
back Of more consequence than those he ut
tered the things he did not do more import
! ant than the things lie did and by the same
token he has never been so conspicuous as
when shrinking from the public gaze. Much
| of this is due to his manner of doing things.
In n procession of great events, such as Brook
| lyn has been witnessing for the past year or
| two, Mr. Bowen is not so much n part of
the show, as separate and distinct specta-
Gle. On occasions when the spectators had re-
tired from the windows supposng the whole
procession had passed, they have been re-
called by the beating of unexpected drums to
see belated division, in the shape of Mr..
Bowen with n band of music and a transpa-
rency inscribed Bottom Facts" bringing up
the rear; kind of codicil to the vanished
pageant He may shrink from the public gaze,
but not by being lost in procession. His way