New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-01
VIM, HENRY HUNTINGTON.
BORN IN NORWICH. CONN, 1S20-DiED in
PARIS. OCTORER |. 1885.


known to the great American public; to the Eu-
ropean public not known at all. The papers oil
France and England will hardly mention his Nance
of elaborate biography euogy there VIII be none
There is no room for the story or his life IN the
columns which are Gro wded with narratives of the
good deeds and high qualities OF Lord ShatteSbury
Yet Huntington was man not inferior TO LORD
Shaftcsbury III at least one of the characteristics
which gave the English Peer his immense fame. In
perfect benevoenco of nature they were a!lKe ;
both died with the benedctOns OF the poor; both
had chiyalrous purity of character less rare,
believe han II is commonly suppose1t 10 be III an age
when the teachers of nations erect seltshness INTO
an economical virtue, less rare, but none the less
admirable III itself. The tributes to Lord Shaitcs-
bury are innumcrablc. I hat which beg you viii
allow to me to offer to my friend Huntington VIII
interest, hope. his other friends. aud will show his
countrymen that it is possible for an American TO
live IN Paris without ccasng to be an American
Huntington was type OF American not often
seen in Europe. II would be more accurate to say
never and to call him not type but AN indiydu-
atty We all know the sort of American who
thinks life a holiday and chooses Paris as n play
ground and spends his days there the belief thar
he is amusing himself in the society, not of
Partisan but OF American emiqrf'. Huntington
lived in Paris thirty years or more, but ho had
nothing in common with these people save his
origin; and not much in that. lie born in
Norwich, Conn, sxty-dve years ago.
| can write no biography of him.
don't know what took HIM 10
Paris unless it the irresistible attraction of
the place and people. He came to love both fer
vently. There is little IN the mere facts of his
career to Justify long account of him in PRINT.
The fact winch bring, him closer to You aud your
hat box DuV liant
of TIE TRIBUNE. Hundreds of his letters have
appeared in your columns. Many of them
admirable all of them were saturated with a
knowledge of French life and French politics such
as a foreigner seldom acquires Yetit muSt he sand
that they who knew Huntington only By his printed
correspondence hardly knew him at all He was
never at his best with pen in bis hand, and hi'
best letters not meant for print. Those which
he wrote to his friends best. I have many.
which am glad t. say have kept, equal in wit
aud quaint originality of humor to some of those
that are most famous in letter-writing annals. The
secret of the difference is an easy one. He liked
writing to his friends and he hated writing for
the public lie had great abilities Of which lie
made little use hIsIfc was empty of ambition.
and it i. because he wanted a dcllito aim that he
dies almost unknown beyond the range Of his
friendships.
What is called the American quarter in Paris
knew him not, or knew hiIa slightly He liked best
the company of artists and men of his own profess
siOn if he can be said to have had profession. for
/ don't think he would have called himself
journalist. His many friends in America were over
faithful TO him and he TO them. OF Frcnchmcn
who his friends the best known were Loui,
Blanc and NJ Clemenceau. With the latter lie WAS
intimate and they had close sympathies But he
never cared to enlarge his list, had no taste for
4
any conventional standard whatever whether in
social matters in the higher regions of life and
thought He would not put dress coat.
He would hardly call by hi,
tite-certaInly he would not In speaking of
him. Many years age | brought HIM and Sir
Charles Dixie together. He ever after referred TO
him as that Dixie who must not be- called Mr."
A friend with whom he staying tells inc that
coming in afternoon late he asked Huntington
if anybody had called. YES answered the
kindly cynic, picking MP card somebody with
Lord to his name" Nothing that was extcrna
or accidental Imposed on hun. What he cared for
was the man underneath. 1t was refreshing and
inspir:ting TO know who stood out by himself and
refused to accept the gray conformites which
society tries TO impose on everybody. To the last
his talk was raCy of the American soil aud his
affections clung to his State and TO his own coun-
try. His faith in humanity and in Utopia yet to
come was ndcstructible. 10 survived his wide
reading and keen observation. Few men had a
more acute perception Of the weak points of
character with which he came in contact. But his
belief in the future of the race came from his
heart. His tenderness was like a wOman's and Inc
steadily refused to look at ono side Of question
when his sympathies were on the other.
All these details are important to give you any
real idea of u1tiDgtOn's character. IL il not to be
inferred because he had no amDItiDn that he cared
for nothing He cared for some things very much
indeed. Art was one. lie is rare instance of n
man born in Northern ATTITUDES who had q sympa-
thctic appreciation of certain forms OF art. The
great cOlorists the painters who most in
tcresled him. and he knew them all. 1t did not
matter whether q brilliant piece of cOlorlng was
signed by great master or by an unknown painter
have known him put his finger on new men in
the Salon, or the private exhibitions OF Paris. and
predict their fame with unerring instinct lie ad-
mired the figure pieces of Diaz when they were adj
mired by few. He discovered Jacquet lie was
of the first to the real greatness of Baslien
Lepage
Art in its illustration of early American history
was in fact. his hobby II he had an aim in life il
the collection of prints, medals pictures, busts
statuettes, miniatures and books relating to
Franklin and TO Washington. You will have the
result OF his abors in these directions III the Metro
politan Museum of New York. to which he gave all
that he had retained of late years. One earlier col
lection he had either sold given away many years
before. His rooms in the Rue La Bruyere were
filled with these objects, and lac had many things OF
extraordinary rarity. OF their actual money value
l know nothing. He began TO collect when things
were choap. and he limited his spendngs for q
reason viii presently tell you. But among tho
hundreds and thousands Of prints and other works
there are certainly many which no money could
now buy. When the passion had once mastered
him. he no longer cared whether print or other bit
OF Franklin ware was good or bad. If Il
was scarce and he had 1t not, he bought
and The hat