New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-10-31

| pcrlcnceu was his 1uOI from lne WHY HiS''
EuripideS.' he would say, is the most precious
| thing left us-the most like Shakespeare y; ana hr
| knew him us Shakespeare was known to ChHrleS
| Lamb and TO COleridge "Read hln.. he enlohcu
| on young Lord Holland, "tl you love his very
| faults" He went through the HAD ana tle
| "Odys>ey" more than once wear; ana, "niIc no
| counted every omitted diganlnia ana was AWAY =
ready to cover four sides of ettcr-paprr WIN 'lIs
QUESTION on IomcrIc prosody or chIohoi3eI' .hvr'
is ample proof that as iar as IeeGR nI t Vn,t
ton were concerned. he had anilcipatcd thaI eA
quisite vein o. criticism which Is tle Specili cnI VI
| the most charming porto oil hI, hushIl Wll.lEs
| Nevt 70 Homer among the ancients-and even above
| Hammer nj the period 10 which TINS chapter refers
! Fox placed Nirall. whose pathoS lS0 he declared
surpassed that of all poets OF every and nation
| with the single exception which. aS an Engllshman
with the EiIabcthan rama at his fingers cndS, lie
somewhat unwillinclY considered himself bound To
| make " II Is on that account, he continued,
" that rank him so very high; for surely to eNGel
| IN that Sly lc winch speaks 10 the heart Is the
great, st of al eNccllcnce' HIS taNorte example
of the quality that he admired ln the -rnrid wa
| the farewell with which the aged EVanaer sent
paas forth to his last battle. The beauty OF TINS
passage, in his years of Vcor, j o. was Always
| ready to oEpound and assert and when his time
! came to die. ne soemnzcd has parting Win tiic
| ncrhew whom he loved as son by bidding the
yourg man rcpea, aloud, and then repeat once mor'
lines which even at less trying moment rev VINO
have ever cried book can read without TEARS
Fox from tha beginning wa fond ol the dIama,
aud was fond of amateur acting. being considered
superior in tragedy. but less so il rcntccl comedy.
The valuable results Of this in his public work are
thus stated:
II wa. no SLIGHT advantage T. a great eXtempore
speaker TO have at hand an extensive ana dNeiHi-
fled stock OF quotations from thar bT"nch {" HloII
turt which is nearest AKIN to "rilo!A ana I"' slo
"A speaker It Is essential thai lie Oll -" i'sS man
thH memory and the reasoning faculty. should re
under absolute control. That labonous "ScpIihe
in the theory and practice "I cioruii'" '.I"i-H
winch FoN WAS carried Nv lis diSlnirrtsltd passion
for the drama. but Nhch no on WHO ever Hlr'
was less likely 10 have deli cratrly uno"lakrn WIN
an eyc 20 parliamentary adVanccmynt haG game"
i'm CtTnf IL
always the case with the highest art, gave DIS
marvellous rll, toric the strength and the simplicity
OF nature The pains which he Ldu bestowed urou
learning 10 speak the words o. others Cn9hird MN
To concentrate his uuHivii led attention nron the
arGuOus taSG OF irproyi-;rg his own. l. ON! ue
could find the thing which required To We '''i' hr
was sure to say It IN the way th1' WouIu pr0'H
the greatest 20 si3lc ciicot. l> variety on MANNER
We are tuld was quite rendI cable 81, tie richness
of l6, matt. +. The Holulati0u~ Of hIt voice To-
spondcd exactly TO tine nature oi DDS SUBJECT ana we
emotions of has mind. When H. was pilhG up MS
arguments 80 correct in their sequence, and rs We
read them now with cool and impartial Judgments,
Tor the most part 80 ICsstIbic III thrir weight
every one OF ms massive sentences came lpn ~
like wave OF the Atlantic. three thOlaaud in'4'9
long Il his cadence, at times WaNcd shrll ana
even nham0nious. and his enumeration became
almost picjern3WalN RAPID, II was ohN Nleh Ii'S
hearers were $50 fascinated by IN, burning logic, AMI
SO cntIauc.d uy Che cont"glon oi ms N. hcnthte,
that he could hardly speah iaS' ch'o-h or I"uu
enough To satisfy them. HIS deep tones, Mch "c-
CURED rarely and tHcn bat Tor moment; were re-
served for occasions that necr>~'ttcd solemn
bly, which hc "as addressing an" never lMIrl 10 90
straight 10 th" u.a an o every one pres AT. f'rhI
profoundly. thlnk!ng accurately ana sli'Htl'
trained thoroughly in ol the external grarrS Oh ora
tory, Fox during the American Wai OK III MS DTS
days" was declared by GTItijn TO have been ihf
b.st sneaker hat ne ever heard and Grattau over
and above his experiences in the l1sh Parliament,
had formed lis taste on Chatham ana Hau ilNeu
Though the gIoai days OF LUKE, lltJ ana Nh.li,
dam to hclt lirOUg CHAM on the Oricrs IN council.
and Canning on the " Emancipation OF the Cath
OIcs'
In 1872 Fox quarrced with Lord North and re-
signed the Admiralty. In the great debates winch
followed the marriages of the Dukcs OF Cumberland
and Gloucester ana the introduction CT the Royal
Marriage bill. he earnestly opposed the measure, and
intensified the prejudice with which George ILL., re-
gar,ied him. He had the personal reason Of his own
birth to Impcl HIM IN this direction, but his kindly
feeling for woman which was one of the best
traits of his singular character lad something TO
do with lis opposition to this measure which was
designed to make tie hearts of princes and Of
women whom they might love and who might love
them mere things of Royal policy. The following
gives pleasing idea OF his domestic character:l
The feeling which inspired the most prominent
opponent of the Royal Marriage bill was no nasty
or isolated impulse. 1t was intimately allied to
a sentiment winch, springing naturally In sHcl
disposition as that of Fox. prOl Oundly affected MS
literary Judgment altered the whole current of his
later life. aud at tins particular period directed,
and almost monOpolized, his political energies Inc
talking on the most delicate of topics was such rs
II is more scemly TO condemn in general terms than
TO illustrate by selected quOtationS-and credited,
rs young man. with living after thc iashioh III
which an unmarried associate OF March ana
Seiwyn might not unchantabiN be assumed to 1--we
he never caught the tone OF cynclsn which was
the fashion among the men OF his circle; ana sun
less his secret and unspOken creed AKIN TO
theirs He lad been brought up home where
intense and tender cOniugal affection was rendered
doublv attractive by the presence OF good sensc.
and that perfect good breeding which is unconscious
inN Ifp hDn trtIn
childhood upward, were those IN which the image
Of such Il home painted IN the brightest cooTS
and Cilded by the nObcst associations. lie loved
Homer, because Homer ALWAYS spoke well OF
women In the teeth OF Atlcnlan prejudice. which
so good scholar respected more than the prelu-
dices OF his day, he could hardly venture to
give the same reason for loving Eunpidcs; but
probably no one ever praised read, reclted ana
lived and translated any piece of poetry so fire.
qucntly, for the benefit Of so many different lnd-
Viduals. did FOX the passage where Alcestis be
fore her act OF self-sacriicc, takes leave Of Der
hridal-chambeT. And his romance was OF the heart,
and not of the fancy. There have been few better
husbands than Fox and probably none so delight
full for no known man ever devoted such powers
OF pleasing to the single end OF making wife
happy. When once he had home OF lis own, the
world outside. with It's pleasures and ambitions. be-
OF repugnance. Nothing but the stlngs of DatT- |
otto conscience. sharpened by the passionate I'M
pOrtumty of partisans whose fidelity had entitled
them 70 absolute claim upon his services. could
prevail upon him to spend opposite. or even on, the
Treasury bench an occasional fragment Of the
hours which never long enough when passed
at Mrs. Foxs workable with Congreve or
M0ere as a third i'll company.
HIS notion of truc gailantry was to treat women as
beings who stood on the intellectual table
land as himself to give them the very best of his
thought and his knowledge rs well as of his humor
and his rlomlence; 10 III site and weigh their adj
vice in seasons of difficulty and If ever they
urged him to steps winch his judgment or his con
science disapproyed, not 10 ende them with half
cOntcmptuous banter. but 10 convince them by
pain-spoken and So rious renOnstrance.
Every body has heard of Fox as a gamester
Some account of his betting at Brooks's is given
der ved from the betting book of the club:
For ten !years. from l771 onward. Charles Fox