St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-03-20
Senator EdnundS.


mont, on whom il is evident the "inde
pendents' of the republican party, a
well as the anti-Arthur elements, de
sire to unite as a nominee for th'
/ presidency, is a man still III the very
prime of life, while looking all hi
years and more too. He is about fifty
seven, tall, rather slender and quite an
gular, with a long head and face, hav
ing grave, almost solemn expression
The head is high, finely developed
and almost entirely bald, while the
face with its long features flows into
Il long gray beard, which adds to Iii,
dignity and inpresSiveuess. Edmund>
would make an excellent study for a
picture, of st. jerome, but more often
from the sharp CLEAN of his eyes and
strong, cOmbative tone of his voice, he
would be better subject for a barO-
NAL knight or statesman. But Sen
atOr Edmunds Is not especially bellig-
erent in disposition he is only set III
his convictions, and is always ready
with the courage that should be-
long to them The Vermont Senator
is IA keen partisan, but he is also fair
minded. He possesses power both OF
analysis and syntheses he can criticise
and build too, and from his point OF
view always knows all there is to be
! said on on that side, and he remembers
also all that his opponents have said.
As a lawyer he knows the books and
the we'll stored desk which is fitted up
so as to be a small library in itself is
quite an arsenal of facts and principles
| for debate Mr.. Edmunds is IA man of
/ l,.,- l.
| pleasant way ;, in social intercourse
and personal cOmpauiOnship. As a
| lawyer he is great, as a senator always
ready, as II partisan bitter, and as a
| debater inclined to be bitter and sar-
castle. Nothing annOys him so much
as for IA man on either side of the sell
ate chamber to talk without knOwl-
edge. Grave and reverend Seignior''
as is Mr.: Edmunds, this Graphic writer
has personal experience wherewith
to measure how delightfully."- he can
unbend. One of the red-letter days in
IA busy life was spent during the sum
mer of 1873 in ''stOried Venice" and in
company with George f. Edmunds,
when the latter proposed to see by
land the city which rises like an arch
ltectural deity from the bosom of the
sea. We wandered up and down the
little narrow calles that intersect the
city and wherein the life of the people
is seen. 1t was Venice in undress, or
at least i'll picturesque disorder and IA
little out of elbows. From the crown
of many little bridges we watched the
long, narrow, somber looking gOndolas
shoot through dull, green waters be
,uall, of A1l
and other buildings or listening to the
peculiar cry of the boatmen as they
approached or shot around the corners
of other watery lanes. But the little
streets were delightful. By stretching
out ones arm-at least if one was so
lOng-armed as the Vermont Senator
the walls could be touched on either
side. All the multiform yet simple life
of an Italian city was seen on that day.
The open cook shops were one novelty,
especially those in which Oil-fried fish
We're for sale. The little dingy interior
made Rembrandtish with the somber
blaze of the charcoal fire, the dishes
and utensils unchanged in form from
Pompeian days-all these and other
things make delightful memory of our
holiday. And the Senator unbent
fairly, and was as happy us IA school
| boy. We drank our vim Ordinarie and
eat our macarOni and tomatoes at an
| Italian wineshOp out beyond the Grand
| Canal, having crossed the RialtO bridge
| to reach the market and pass beyond
to where our eyes could take in that
wonderful picture of the Lagoon, with
! its low-lying islands, whose white
structures shone i'll the golden sunshine
of the late afternoon. Above us was
the blue, intensely blue sky of the
AdrIatic; before us the long low swell
ing stretch of water, greenish near the
shore, but passing beyond into the
melancholy, musing city, whose build
iDgs as dreamy eXhalations of mist
seemed foam-like to rise from the lips
of the lazily kissing waters, trans
| formed rs they were with the first
| faint crimson of the sunset. How
beautiful and how still! Nothing dis
| turbed lis as we looked but the muir
murous hum of droning life and the
soft swish of the quiet waters. The
| Senator was delightful companion,
| full of quaint intimatiOns and touches
of scholarly lore, with a quiet byplay
of humOr and even broad touches of
fun that made the passing hours full
of charm. How much Italian he knew
this writer cannot say as he knows
none; but the Senator was the cicerone
and managed to make the ragged boys
scramble for lira, the beggar women
bless us for small gifts, the landlords
get our dinner, and generally all we
met strOve to do as we wished. We
did not talk politics and said but little
about home. The day was wound up
in the cleaning by seats and coffee al
fresco at the Cafe FlOrian in the plaza
st. Mark, while the garrison band dis
coursed sweet music and the Italian
ladies tlirted gracefully.-[New York
Graphic