The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-04-14
SOME MEN or THE PISE
Eecoiiections Of Oid-Time characters On
wnsbingtop.

CHARACTERISTICS or JOHN RANDOLPH
WASHINGTON April 10. Being at Ar
lington recently. md seeing there the tombs
Of several Of the Randolph family. re-
minds me Of some "reminiscences od the
eccentric sage Of Roanoke. related by an old
gentleman who. In his rarly manhood. 10y virtue
OF his connection with the UnUed States 1cls-
graph. Dun Green's newspaper. was frequently
thrown into the company of the distinguished
Virginian. The contemporaries OF John Ran
dolph have generally represented him as a
| cold-hoartcd man. with a naughty domcanor.
and the makeup Of an Ishmaelte. He has also
been almost universally recognized Ms n woman
hater That he possessed n kind heart and
warm feelings let the provisions made in bis
will for the freedom and care OF his NUMEROUS
slaves attest. 1t may not be generally known
| that he manumitted over five hundred human
chattels; that there was purchased for these
| people a tract OF some 5000 acres Of land in
| Mercer county. Ohio which they were not al
| lowed to take possession Of by the neghbors OF
| those who had sold it and that they were pro-
| vided with money for their maintenance until
| they could make their patrimony available for
| their support He gave his slaves the privilege
of leaving his service at any time they chose. OF
| which none took advantage. Some OF these had
| travelled with him through the Northern States
| and through Europe. and were made free men
| by the free soil on which they stood but always
| voluntarily returnod to slavery. Surely a cold
| hearted man could not have produced such de-
| votiou in others especially slaves. with the
strong instinct Of freedom 30 natural to man the
| world over.
HIS HOSPITALITY.
| He was amost hosptable aud generous man.
| To his landlady he gave most Of his per diem
| as Congressman. with the simple condition at
mchcd that he was TO be humorcd in his appe-
tito and times for eating. Being dyspcptc. he
| did not take regular meals. oat with other peo-
pie, or partakc Of what others ate His dys-
pcpsia mado him irritable at times and this
was construed into cynicism and general an
| tipathy by his enemies. or those who did not
know him well. His hospitality was unbound
| cd. His estate on the Roanoke was abundanily
supplied with dogs and guns for sportsmen.
and bis friends had the free use OF these. with
| the addition Of horses and servants. whenever
they chose TO visit him. His income was ample
| for the purposes Of hospitality. and he used II
| lavishly for the enjoyment Of such us his gen
| crosby gathered about him.
HIS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
| Mr.. Randolph had extreme solicitude for the
| welfare of his constituents. In 1929 he was On.
| gagged in the preparation OF "A speech-one of
the great Efforts 81 his iiie--tne subject OF which
| speech gave Mr. Randolph great concern. My
| informant was assisting him in reading the
proof Of II previous to its delivery and subse-
quent publication in the DAILY Telegraph. On
going ~ lsandolphs room ono day, hc found
| him very much absorbed in his subject. Not
| observing thRt any one had entered, he took his
| glasses from his eyes. rested his chin upon lis
hand. and exclaimed, after silent meditation
| OF some moments: Oh my people, my people
4 what can do Tor you p
WHY HE DID NOT MARRY.
Regarding the allegation OF woman -hater. he
may be forgiven. II such he was. or his maeyo-
taNff Mt nat A
the following incident in his early manhood:
He had paid his addresses to a young lady OF
hand in marriage. and was accepted. The day
OF their nuptlals was announced. the invited
srrSsd and the priest sto"d ready 1 to perIorm
the functions OF his holy office. The brlde,elect
sent message 10 her afiianced husband that
she wished Ia meet him privately Tor consulta-
ton before proceeding TO the hymencal altar
He .obeyed the summons and was confronted
by her parents and other relatives. and asked
To sign n contract for marriage settlement as d
| condition precedent to the performance of the
knowledge. and Of the existence Of which b,
was now first made acquainted. Not dcigninl
70 notice any one present but she who hhe
| plighted him her love and faith. he Inquired o
her II this demand had been prompted by other,
or was Il her own voluntary. action. Receiving
reply that IL was AN act Of her own free will
he babe her adieu and retired from the assem-
bly,.
lifelong influence on Randolph. to have bluntct
the finer feelings OF his nature, and TO have
| gwen tnttt cast 10 his character Wncn his
mics have construed into inisanthropy.
THE BLAIR FAMILY.
II would he almost impossible for an old resi-
dent of Washington 10 indulge in reminiscene
without bringing IN the Blair family although
the Blairs are an importation from Koniucky
they have been In and about Washington sine
the days Of Jackson. The father OF the iamil
followed the hero ~ Now Orleans. IA we thel
had. for the first time in our history. an entir
change of incumbents on tho advent Of u neN
| Administrators. The elder Blair as he is noN
called to distinguish him from his sous. soo
made enemies. us all men do who have an
| force OF character. Among others he antagou
\ lied Dun Green. in which he discovered he ha
made mistake. and was anxious for recon
| ciliaton. Green controlled n newspaper. an
was very unpleasant opponent with this ad
| vantage at his command. Mutual triepds en-
deavored 70 bring about an understanding; by
| Green would listen to no proposals. and hel
Blair IN letestation until the day Of his death.
This obstnacy on the part of Green resulte
| 70 Blairs advantage, and he ceased to rcgnr
him MS a rival or fear him for his newspaper. L
connection with William {; kiye1 he commence
guently became the official paper of Congress,
, | Tho paper not only gave him influence, by
brought him the means Of living colmlortabl
and OF making friends among politicians ii
came to Washington IA JQcksOns prOtrgc, an
survived not only the period of the Old hero
| power aud patronage, but the bitter hate an
lrotracted opposition q Dun Green and hi
Daliy Telcgoph. Nj. Riyes was the bushes
Z architect of Bl9ir's pecuniary fortune. He WA
| n generous man. and never failed 70 rewar'
such OF his employees as had served MN faith
| fully. On one occasion he purchased ME
| piece Of property in the centre OF the city for
! foreman whom he thought worthy Of the elf
nod ON another presented his book keeper wit
1 ! check for several thousand dollars In con
| sideratiOn Of his estimate of long tested fdeit,
Francis Preston Blair died an octogenaria
but few ycnrs since at silver Spring. Md
; near Washington. His son Montgomery. MI
lincoln's Postmaster General and now mem
ber of the Maryland legislature. IL writing a lii
OF his father with particular reference TO hi
connection with Andrew Jackson and his Ad
| mintstrauOn. He had two other sons-Franci
Preston. Jr. who was elected rs a Republican
congress from 81 Louis in 1856. and was tn
Democratic candidate for Vice President ON til
| ticket with Horatio Seymour in 1868. an
James. the youngest OF tho throe boys. VIII
never held any public position. James WA
y | fond of boating, hunting, and drinking. neVt
made IA man OF himself. and died early.
+ daughter married Lieut. Lee Of the navy.
l. DUFF GREEN FEAREDA DUEL.
When Thomas Richie edited the kIchmon
Enquirer Dun Green had an editorial writer o
the Unued States Telegraph who was very host
10 Richie personally. Taking advantage
Green's absence from Washington this write
' denounced Richie Us the tory son Of tor
= father" Green was considerably worried owe
this heated utterance. and feared n challeng
from Richie. No duel or other hostile maotin