The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1884-04-26


genial colonel" as the correspondents
describe him. The genial colonel,
hopping red and shining face, has
the new arrival presented to him. The
new arrival murmurs something about
the colonel's far-reaching fame, at
which the colonel's eyes glisten and
his mouth comes open as if it were on
hinges; for this great agnostic,. as he
loves to be called, is vainer than forty
peacocks. The world in general ap-
pears to have missed the ridiculous
side of Bob Ingersoll. He is amusing
when he means to be, and twice as
much so when he doesn't mean to be.
Thackeray died too sooD; he ought to
have got hold of Bob. There is a fla
vor of Capt. Costigan about him which
Thackeray would have described with
an unmistakable raciness. Everybody
who comes to Washington wants to see
Col. Ingersoll, and they are easily
gratifed, as he Is everywhere ''to
wunst," as Senator Logan would say.
He has vast deal of certain kind of
popularity, His house is open to all
corners, and everybody goes to his re-
ceptions-once. He even has a circle
of devotees, chiefly beardless young men
and women with youthful bonnets and
lined and haggard faces. The successor
of Anarcharsis Cloots is not personally
imposing; in fact, he looks like we'll
TODD butcher dressed up in his Sunday
clothes. His clean shaven face set on
a big bull neck, beams with coarse
good humor. The colonel is very good |
natured; he makes great piles of money |
perhaps with less bodily and mental
effort than any man in this country. |
That is conducive to amiability. He |
keeps fine house, and has following
imposing in number if not in quality.
The colonel's strong point is philan-
thropy. He boasts of three extraordi-
nary children He says they have
never disobeyed him, have never told
falsehood and have never had re-
quest refused them. 1t is scarcely nee
essary to say that this example is SIM
ply unparalleled. Col. Ingersoll' IS work
is his play. He loves to hear himself
talk, and he talks with a kind of femi-
nine volubility. The words roll off his
tongue, and are generally alliterative;
if ALTERATION were out of the question,
the great weapon of Col. Ingersoll's
eloquence would be destroyed. He is
always ready to talk, either in public
or private, and the lecture platform is
to him what an arm chair at tavern
was TO DR.. Samuel Johnson-he is a {
king upon his throne. (
The colonel processes to be a great
admirer of Shakespeare, and in his {
drawing room, on bookstand, is
splendid edition of Shakespeare, in s
scribed "The only inspired book" /
There are many portions of Shakes !
oeare which must read to Ingersoll as
though they were written by bowling i
dot. He, however, kindly excuses '
he bard. AS a lawyer, it is said, and
s probably true, that he makes hand '
iome income. 1t is put down at $780, !
100. 1t is no doubt $4,000. The col S
mel, although pretty nearly as wide as
! church door, is nevertheless not so
leep as well in any particular. 1t
las been suspected that he is not so il
lawyer as Matthew Hale or S
ord Thurlow, to say nothing of Chief l
Justice fancy, although in point of a
research he has far out d
tripped them all. 1t is an egregious
mistake to imagine that the colonel's il
makes a big sound because
} is empty. Just go to him and ask "
i'm if he is as empty as wind-bag. r
n the intervals of practicing law, il
enterprises, political cam
aigns, lecturing and book writing, b
ocial and family duties, he has been a
BILE to bring all the powers of a phil a
sophical mind to bear upon problems C
rhich he has settled definitively. The
olonel leans to the sublime. In his "
ights of oratory one is tempted to say Il
Shoot" to the soaring bird. All, O
ebert! never will we believe that
Judge Merrick kicked all the bottom
ut of your law in thel star route A
ases! Cause whyP Well, don't you
,k. N
Judge Merrick is the one lawyer who W
assed unscathed through the fiery fur h
ace in the star route cases. He is N
III, handsome, white-haired man, very B
'ect, very stern-looking-and rather W
'oss, it must be admitted, in regard to u
le celebrated case. He is a strict al
atholic, and goes regularly to St. p'
atthews church, the church frequent h
by the diplomatic corps. Some of tn
e witnesses before Mr.. Springer's la
'mmittee said that Judge Merrick had {"
zen selected by the government be- OF
use they wanted to have the moral til
pport of his character. AT this Judge tn
errick's countenance grew very, very tn
ack. He does not like to have his ce
aracter to be traded upon, not even tn
the United States government. m
For two years nearly Edgewood, the Sc
me of Mrs. Kate Chase, as she now TN
lis herself, has been deserted. "Mrs. 90
tty," her friends call her. She was IT,.
ok for few days in the early part of tn
9 winter, but she seems finally to Sue
We broken off all associations with MI
ashington. Three years ago she fire. oil
ented the galleries of the house and pr
iate. Her beauty is beauty that yo
ars. 1t was the beauty of grace and sw
the mere prettiness that o.
les out in a season or two. She al OF
US dressed with the utmost elegance or
indeed, her charming clothes rather lac
itradicted the stories of her poverty gh
vt her friends industriously cir COZ
ated, but it is quite possible In
It., being woman of good roy
w