New-York tribune., 1880-02-22

way / doubt If i should have tOnnu Ihe
attack so easy to bear. His early rhetorical man
ner assisted ridicne, and II required no great eIe'
crness TO call him the Phenix of Free Soil. What
liked IN Mr.. Burlingamc, what immeasuiaoiV
raised him in my estimation, after | came per-
sonally 10 know him, his thorough sweetness
ofdispositon and tine facility with which he forgave
He recouned the jokes which had been made against
him, and good-hum0redy laughed at !aem. as II
tbey had been made abou; som body else. he wei
coned you as Hospitality to his board as IT You had
not lampooned him. His speeches suggested per
soYal vanity, but those who came to understand
INN best .found that he had little or none
was sometimes embarrassed by the frank
ness with which he spoke of his
own Deficiencies. :" must study tie political
history of the country" he said 60 me one day after
he had been for some time member OF Congress;
and from what subsequently, observed OF his pub
lie career more than suspect that be adhered TO
this resolution, which other men\crs OF Con-
gress might DO well 10 consider. For he
exhibited. after he became Minister TO
China solid capacity for which had
not given him credit When Mr.. Brooks made
his shameful assault upon Senator Sumner, Mr.
Burlingame, who was then in the House of Repre-
sentatives, behaved extremely well. The public
probably has not yet forgotten the III terms In
which. in his place. he characterized tina! barbar-
Ous outrage and when found at home that We
had a member who was ready to h&ht, Ii IL
was necessary or thought TO be NECESSARY we ana
not | fear well enough remember th" absurdity OF
the duello For Massachusetts, at that moment,
was in a somewhat pugnacious mood. and If Mr..
BuTlingame had really gone out. as he was quite
ready to 70, suspect that the stenest moralist
would not have remembered II against nm.
Il fight" LIE said significantly TO me-
when an indignation was AT the hottest
and lie proved it to ne no Idle boast. |
remember how his conduct on the occasion quite
restored hIn TO the good opinion of Young Irish
LAWYER in Boston, who was in maze Of astOnIsh-
ment that nobody had challenged Mr.. Brooks, and
who, with very slight encouragement. would HIM
self have gone to Washington to vindicatc the ou,
aged dIguity of the old commonwealth. The last
time / saw Mr. BurlIngaIne. we walked mp and down
the sands of Nahans together after the election OF
Mr. Lincoln, and talked of the possible Icsuits of
" that event. lie was, usual. full Of
enthusiasm He had Just been beaten IN his own
district but he looked forward With alacrity TO bis
employment by the new Administration in diplo-
matte capacity. He was sent to Vienna; but Au'-
tIia, remembering his eloquent Vndiciton Oi Hun
caIian independence, refused 10 receive him. How
fortunate it was that he thus rcpel!ed 1t is
needless TO conjecture. He was at once accredited
"a
rnent of that country which led to the most iupof
tant results
OF those Democratic recruits Tho came mo the
Republican party 10y the devious paths OF ihc cOa
ton was Mr.. Nathaniel p Bauks since we'll
enough known in National affairs. Nj. Baukos
youth passed in a position which Is usually
spoken OF as humble-he was, believe. bobbn-
boy in "a Watham cotton factory. and subsc
quently good macbinIst. lis peculiar
success has been held up, IL certain cheap
biographies a stimuiatiye example 90 other bob
bin-boys, and to boys in general He was rhetorical
from The start. He delivered temperance and other
addresses; he tired his hand at editing newspaper
in his native Waltham; lie cssayed the stage, and
once acted Claude MclaOttc in Boston theatre ;
have bsen informed that he even exhibited ability
as a dancing master. When he made speeches
setting forth the heartless way il which the
aspirations OF poor but clever Young men were
crushed by the Wing aristocracy of Massachusetts,.
if was not thought to bc either inoppOrtune or
unfair TO remind him of what nc and of what he
had been. He was either extremely fortunate or
his theories were unsound. For tim" eyeryth
went well with him. Mr.. Polk gave hl'n pretty
place in tie Boston Custom House. Naitham sent
him rs a Democrat 10 the House Of Representatives.
Three wears after the coalition made him Speaker
of the House. and he developed particular tact Is Il
presiding officer The coalition chose him "a the
XXXIIId Congress-; he gradually driftcd en-
tirely away from the Democratic party.
His luck was The luck Of an Orcu,
fable Speaker Of the National Nous-; Governor
of Massachusetts, president Of "A railway Major
General again il Congress; office iora tne seemed
TO come 10 him without ASKING, though the game
changed at last. He went with the fest into tn
Know Nothing ranks, and II hIs design was 10 xiii
the Wing party, he at leas. had never been
a Whig so that there was 10 faint oi
parIcide III his speculation. Somebody sad
of Lord IhUIlOw that there never was any body
50 wise as he looked. Mr.. Banks had something oi
tle same sagacious manner. Tie said what he rad
to say with a profound gravity which iilled the
listener with vague ideas Of uncommon pcrsp,ca-
city. 1t was during the Winter OF 1SjJ-5G that
first heard intimatIOn OF the probable nomination
Of Colonel Fremont for the Presidency. II was 40
little dinner at The fremont House, in Boston, al
which only three or four persons present. and
among them the Hon. Charles w. Upham, an cX-
member of Congress. TO VIII IN subsequently, en-
trusted the writing Of one of the campaign biofra-
plIes of the explorer. Soon after the
soup, Mr. Banks nominated Colonel In-
mont. and said that he wOuli soon write
a letter in which tie wrongs OF bleeding
Kansas would be duly set forth. particularly re-
member that Mr.. Banks was perfectly sure that
Colonel Fremont could carry Pennsylvania; 4; he was
such man, he said. as the Qulkers would be likely
TO vote for He DID not PROBABLY anticipate that
the Democrats would spend mnoh money IN
buying up the State, and perhaps he did not
expect that Mr.. Buchanan would bc nominated !
may remark in passing that the Pennsylvania
Republicans showed no great moderation IN send
ing TO Massachusetts, for money nor any great
sagacity in spending whatever they obtained. To
a. IL
impressed by the cleVerness with which Ec DIS
cussed the political situation-hc seemed to have
a prescience Of every Characteristic Of the
coming canvass, save the disastrous defeat
with which il terminated Very soon came the
nnticinafeI letter f1Om COLONEL Fremnnt. and q