The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-01

alert mind. Mr.. Hendricks was s~ixtysix. but
Mrs. Hendricks looks to be twenty years young
er: The loss of her husband is a terrible blow:
All her wifely sympathy was aroused
in the struggle Of 1876, when she believed,
like nine tenths of the other people of the
United States, that Mr.. Hendricks was defrauded
most outrageously out of the Office to which he
had been elected, and she, more than he. per-
haps, was ambitious that he should be vindicated
by an election to the Presidency. That never
came, and never would have come, but he was
elected Vice-president and inaugurated; yet the
hand of fate fell upon him before he was allowed
to exercise the functions OF his office. In a few
weeks he would have been presiding over the
Senate. The honor and the peculiar satisfaction
of doing so were snatched away just as he stood
on the threshold waiting for the door to be
opened. Another door has opened, and he who
stood and waited for his reward on earth has
passed in forever to a reward in a higher sphere.
The survival of Mrs. Hendricks suggests the
fact that nearly all the prominent actors in the
late war, whether soldiers or statesmen, have
died before their wives. Mr.. Hendricks was one
of the members of the Senate from 1868 to 1869.
His two great Democratic compeers during the
latter part of his term. Messrs. Thurman and
Bayard, are both living, and so are their wives.
Mr.. Lincoln's wife lived twelve or fifteen years
after his dramatic death in April, 1865, and died
at her old home in Springfield, ILL.,, the more I'M
fortunate, perhaps. for being so long a widow.
The wife of Mr.. Lincoln's great Democratic oppo-
nent In Illinois, and competitor for the presidency
al lOOU, olepHeu ~. DOuSldS, is living Will 10
second husband. Mr.. Douglas died at the open
ing of the war. The wife of John G. Breckin-
ridge, another candidate for the presidency in
1860, and still later a leading general in the con-
federate army, is still living at the old family
home In Lexington. XIV. General Breckenridge
himself died twelve years ago. Generals Nc
Clel,an and Grant. the first and last commanders
of the Army of the Potomac, have but recently
died, both leaving widows. General Lees wife,
though a confirmed invalid during the entire
war survived har husband a short time Mrs.
Stonewall jackson is still living. So is Mrs.
General Thomas and Mrs. General Custer. Mrs.
Andrew Johnson was confined to her bed during
most of the time her husband was President, and
was for several years after; but she was the lastt
die. The tragic story of Garfield, who was a
leader in the House Of Representatives during
the war, is still fresh in the minds of everybody.
Ills widow is a comparatively young woman and
lives in Ohio. Generals Sherman and Hancock
married before the war and their wives are still
with them. General Sheridan was the last of
the war heroes to marry. lie looks to be sixty
and is not far from that. but his wife is both a
young and beautiful woman. Jefferson Davis IS
still living, but. his wife, who is a daughter OF
Gen. Zachary Taylor, is far more robust than
he. OF all the great men of the war that | now
call to mind, General Beauregard Is the only one
who has survived his wife. He has been a wild
over for several years, but yet wears mourning
out OF respect to her memory.
Mr.. Hendricks's Love for Little Children.
Washington Special.
One distinguishing characteristic of Mr.. Hen
bricks was his passionate love for children. He
lost his own little one at the age of three years,
and ever since he has always been attracted to
children wherever he met them. When passing
along the street a party of children always ar
rested his attention, and no matter how great
was his hurry, he would stop and watch their
gambols, talking kindly with them, and making
them feel that he was their friend. He always
got along remarkably we'll with children.
as the little things intuitively recognized
his sympathy with them. Whenever he
stumped the State, and was obliged in the course
of the campaign to stop at private houses. he al
WAYS selected those families where there were
two or three children. These he would soon
have upon his knee, and keep them interested by
storytelling until it was time for them to retire.
They always begged to be left a little longer,
and Mr.. Hendricks always seemed loathito let
them 60. No friend of his ever lost a child that
he did not receive a SYMPATHETIC letter of condo
lence from Mr.. Hendricks, which showed his
warm interest in the welfare of the little ones.
Last summer. when General Black, the Commits
sioner of Pensions, lost his daughter in Elmira,
N. Y, by diphtheria, Mr.. Hendricks. though
pressed with business engagements, found time
to write the General q beautiful letter of condo
lence, which was highly priced at the time of its
receipt, and is of course doubly valued now
that the one whose kindly sympathy mitigated
to some extent the poignancy of his grief is no
more.
1t was this sympathetic quality in his nature
that enabled Mr.. Hendricks to attract and gather
about him the young men of his party. They
felt that he appreciated their inexperience and
their ambitions. They knew that if they confd-
ed their troubles and fears and
hopes to him he would listen attentively to
their stories and then in the most
gentle manner point out what was to be done.
He always made the young men feel that they
were necessary to the success of the party,
that their energy and hopefulness would inspire
courage and vigor in those who had passed the
sanguine period Of life. They were always
encouraged by his treatment and made heroic
efforts to win. 1t was the earnest work of the
young men throughout the country in the last
campaign that contributed largely to the victory
that was secured, and this class was attracted as
much by the magnetism OF Mr.. Hendricks, by
his known kindness of heart and purity of
character, as by his wide reputation and his
great abilities as a public man.