Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-11-17
"GArH" ON BLAINE.

vivid Fketch of the Man of Maine
from Pleasant Point OF View.
q. Alfred rowasend, ia Boston Pest.
His habits of life appear to be more
strict than the Puritans. Neither to-
bacco nor alcohol, nor even beer, have
any charm for him; he can find, unlike
most persons, plenty of pleasure in life
without stimulation and without
smoke. Hard work has not made a
slave OF him as 1t has of most persons
who are both literary and ambitious.
He is like DR.. Priestley, the Unitarian
philosopher, who was able to compose
with his pen and suffer all kinds OF in
terruptions, and who made the remark
upon his method that when he began
teaching and writing he resolved not
10 be victim TO petulance, and by a
little perseverance was able to have
his wife enter the rooEi or his children
interrupt him and lay his task aside,
and resume 1t without evaporation.
Mr.. Blaine has never had the least
temptation to drink liquor, although
he comes of generation of high liv ers.
his father was the best led and best
wined man in all western Pennsylva-
MIA. How can we account for the ex-
traordinary health of a person who
with these highly-appetized predeces
sors does not even comprehend why
men should drink?
i We can look back at long line of
men as ardent as Blaine, and more
ambitious, who have kept themselves
long time before public society, but
they nearly all had something to hold
them up. There was Stephen A.
Douglass; he was familiar, almost af.
fectionate, with his interiors, and he
drank liquor. He was stimulated for
IyeGrs until finally his form, counte-
nance and everything wa. affected by
lalcohol. Henry Clay had splendid
system, which he derived from his
Virginia and Kentucky origin, and
this kept him buoyed up, and he had
no hesitation in expressing himself in
his. own favor. He domineered as
much as old Gouveneur Morris through
life, but with such heartiness that the
most OF the world, being without moral
. courage, rather liked 1t. Blaine, on
the other hand, is neither selfassert-
ing nor a drinking man, nor fond OF
lcommon company.
| His life in Maine for the past two
years has unquestionably been the
most agreeable part of all his existence.
In that society, which is particularly
steady, his standing is no myth nor
trick. He went there with nothing
! but pen In his hand, and now he has
toward thrs rerldian of his days two
agreealen .n0mes In that State, His
hsbit1eywe been 30 regular that there
are p'Doon companions to keep him
upof nights.
| He rises about half-past 2 O'Clock,
takes his breakfast near eight, and
works two or three hours and then
J takes q turn at something physical
He told me that he had no belief in
the utility of violent exercise, that
taking the exercise Of ones natural
life was enough, provided air was a
large compc.SSnt of it. He thinks air
is a parstof the exercise; horseback
riding be does not undertake particu-
larly, considering 1t harsh. He has
not neglected the facilities of happi-
ness, such as playing a game of back
CANNON. His social intercourse, es-
lpecially with his family, has been the
enlivening aud resuscitating of his
life.
He is now Sc years old, and if he
could have black hair and beard he
would look to be As. There was
something of the Irish squire about
him to me as he stood upon his fine
legs, with his fine trunk, and looked
as II he was ready to mount and fol-
low the hounds. But he is little
stockier now and more substantial,
and the philosopher has descended
upon the port and countenance of the
sporting man. He told me that Gen
eral Joe Holt, of Washington, had
once been minded, when he was in
the government service, to have letters
directed to number of men who
lived to very great ages, inquirug of
them as to their habits, exercise, ten
dency to disease, origin, etc.
These circular letters were answered,
and there was one remarkable thing
about them all, and that was that every
one of those old fellows had been a
!good sleeper. The same is the case
with Mr.. Blaine. He has, perhaps,
never known in his life what it was
TO be kept awake after he had retired
to bis bed. For the last two years he
has gone to bed at $50 o'clock every
night.
/ was struck with one feature of hi s
living, which in the light of reminis-
cencc took a certain pathos to me,
when l considered that man who
had gone through all this work was
now regarded by some persons as if he
had never done anything in his life
but run for the Presidency. Said he:
For six years had to be at my place
In the Speakers chair instantly on the
stroke of 10. That duty, which
never laid down, but performed nearly
Ievery day when 1t devolved upon me
for six years, was the first thing to
come TO my mind every morning as 1
lawoke, and it followed me down to the
hour Of IL, when, as the hand turned,
had to drop the gavel and call Con-
gress to order"
4 Mr.. Blaine said that these six years
had a wearing monotony upon him
which made his present life joy itself.
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