New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
OF A FREE PEOPLE.


Ishing Comp any, Norwich.
Place before a man his own biography, written
with care by a competent hand, and he must surely
road IL with intense interest. Mr.. Blaines lOng-ex-
pected work proves to be biography of the Amerl-
can people 1t does net deal with abstract qucs-
lions. individuals, even the most commanding Ill
personality, have but a subordinate place, ana APP
pear or vanish as the narrative unrolls. IKE the
many-colored threads that form the figures OF
beautiful tapestry. Everything else is suoordlha'eo
to produce clear aud strong picture OF the lie o
Nation in its periods of greatest trial ana Srahucs'
achievement. That the picture is the Work OIL d
master neither friend nor foe Will DENY, amer Iedu
ing the first volume which has now been published
The thoughts of the people, as they varied from
wear TO year. their times of indecsion and darkness
and of swift insight and heroic resolution; thelr
DAVIS of timidity and weak compromising WIN
wrong and their grand endurance ana uhhlhchnS
fidelity when the crisis at last brought duty clearly
before them; their ignorance III many tninss anu
,bc;r singular sagacity in decisions of vital mo-
,nept all these are portrayed in Mr.. BaiGes hara-
tive with surprising clcarness and power.
MIR Blaines style is peculiarly adapted TO such
work. Its most conspicuous qualities are ciearheSs
and directness. There is in the work no trace OF
strainng for effect; though there are passages Oh
striking beauty or force, there is no display OF
rbetoric or lavish exuberance of words. The story
is told with tho simplicity and cOmpactneSs OF
trained journalist and yet with sufficient tulness
10 make the picture distinct and clear III almost
every detail. Thus the book is as easy 10 reau aS
"a well-wrtten novel, and the depth OF thonghV anu
richness OF suggestion in its pages VIII only DC p
nreciated nv those who read with First OF all
IL is clear and interesting. and commands the alen
ton throughout the more for the absence Oh INV
thing like oratorical display or forensic como""'o
-,
If will not he held surprising that Mr. Blaine who
has shown himself so skilled as political leader
nanifests remarkable power in the analysis ana
nortra,ture of character. His work is crowded
with pen-pctures a few of which we have quoted
and their singular fidelity and distlnctness Will he
recognized Perhaps the most remarkable charac-
te7istic of these portraits is their Importantly
With great number of the men whose character
and public services he had deiineatod ME- blame
had personal relations; some were his warmest
friends, and others his NEST bitter foes But there
does not appear. in a single instance any "arpihg
of Judgment that can be attributed to TIE personal
likes or dslikes of the historian. Men from whom
ne received in public life the greatest injuries, in
the pages of this history placed before the reader
with an intelligent and generous appreciation OF
their merits and excellences, while their faults ana
weaknesses are set forth not more distinctly han
those of other men who have been warm personal
friends of the writer This diSpassiOnate and can
did measurement of character soon enllSts the
hearty enthusiasm of the reader lie reJolces 10
find for once an estimate OF public men ana MS
torical personages which he can regard with GER
tain confidence In Mr.. Blaine's picture gallery
the Republicans are not all angels OF hight nor the
Secessionists all creatures of darkness: the men ne
most loved stand forth on the canvas with all ther
defects. rs well as the men he had most cause to
hate.
10 this really rare excellence is added a com
nrebension of motives which could hardly be
expected in one not trained by long political eX-
nerience in dealing with men. The influence OF
nersonal affection, rivalry hatred, of social sur
roundings and industrial developments, OF
the movements of parties and factions, and
even of popular feeling in particular local
tiles. upon the conduct and character OF
nublic men, is traced in Mr.. Blaincs work with a
skill that only long experience could have gwen
The course of Mr.. Buchanan, for example. strange
though it seemed to the loyal people, Is perfectly
conlprehendcd in the light of Mr. Blane's analysis
Inn $40. 2ll1 Judge Black with all his rare
ability. could never map ont his own character as
clearly as Mr. Blaine has described IT Up. 23ll Nor
has the shifting course of Senator Douglas ever
heen traced more accurately to the varying lnllu
cnces which shaped it, As one reads of Mr. Stan
toms faults and errors. portrayed with stern
fidelity one almost doubts whether the picture
does not owe its darker coOrs to some personal
feeling until on page 5Gi his services ana his grand
Qualities are portrayed with tenderness and elo-
ouence that must touch every heart 1t is not con-
ccalcd that in the Judgment Of Mr.. Blaine General
McCellans campaign against Richmond was de-
feated bv Mr. StantOn's interference and unhtness
for military command and yet the shOItcom-
iugs of Mcclellan himself are shown Will
eqnal fidelity. Mr.. LncOlns faults are not hidden,
Int no historian has portrayed with more clearuess
than Mr. Blaine his heroic qualities, or traced with
equal kecnncss or breadth of appreciation the rare
sagacity and craftsmanship by which the Union
Was saved and slavery cleared away forever.
IL would be too much TO say that Mr. Bianes
nortraits are always correct or his judgments al
WAYS accurate. In his first volume he has to deal
with hundreds of characters each tho product Of
indueucrs and motives which. even by near friends.
were moi always understood. Ii would be marvel
Ions if Mr. Blaine with all his skill. had not erred
more than once. But his work leaves upon the
reader the strong impression that he has strven'
earnestly and with remarkable success, to dlvest
himself of personal or partisan bias, 9nd to under
stand the best of his foes we'll as the worst OF his
friends 1t needed extraordinary courage to face
snch q task. but it will be the final Judgment of
impartial history, we believe, that a work Of the
utmost difficulty has rarely if ever been performed
with As mach of fairness, insight and fidelity.
In tracing the influences which have moved pub
lie men, Mr.. Blaine is brought at almost every step
20 define the varying currents OF pubic opinion at
different times and their causes. 1t Is an especial
excellence of his work that he has thus produced a
history of the people, rather than Of the few lndl-
vduals who represent them. What Is personal and
trivial in the conduct of men he has abored to dis
tingnsh from those features which were
due to the impelling public opinion behind OF
beneath them So it has been the study of Mr..
Blaine to mark out the currents and eddies of
public opinion, where another might have described