The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-30
HISTORIAN Won RANKE.
George Bancroft Tells of the Germans Per-
sonality and Careful Methods.

George Bancroft Tells of the Germans Per-
sonaIity and Careful Methods.
ashngton Special
Mr. George Bancroft who will be ninety in
October, dsmounted from his horse this even
ing at the door of his home on III street. He had
been out for his usual afternoon ride, which he
enjoys highly any young man of the CAPT
tai An hour later he had dined and was taking
his cup of tea in the drawing-room. The spac-
ious apartments were brightly aglow. Warm
hued rugs covered the floor and deadened the
sound of approaching footsteps. Everywhere
was a sense of repose, feeling of comfort.
From the wall smiled the benign face of Kaiser
Wilhelm, in life size, three-Quarter length pOr-
trait Presented to his friend" as the inscription
evidenced On table sat famous cup, pre-
sented by Prince Bismarck, and about the room
were other trophies that high honors and endur-
ing fame have brought.
asked Mr.. Bancroft to tell me about his friend
Leopold von Ranke, whose death is announced
day. Prior to doing so had looked upon
engraving of the aged scholar that hangs in the
room sacred to the memory of the late Mrs Ban
croft The face is that of gentle. earnest and
thoughtful man. The cheeks and chin are clean
ly shaven, and the masses of white hair that en-
velope the head suggest momentary resem-
blance to Commodore Vanderbilt. Now that
have seen the picture, listen to an almost af
fectionate description of the man.
"Von Ranke was shorter in stature than
am" begins Mr.. Bancroft, speaking slowly.
Perhaps he was a trf1e broader across the
chest. Even to the last his health was excellent.
He was fond of a sunny day He loved the open
air and walked much in it. Life meant every
thing to him of ambition and purpose. He en-
joyed it just as he did glass OF champagne.
Never was he worried or restless, but always
cheerful might almost say joyful. For psar-
ly seventy years he was a student and writer
of history. Not that / mean he was ever
overcome by mere learning. With him work
triumphed. He always mastered his subject to
the most exact detail. and arranged his work in
clear sequence before he began. Then he
worked direct to the end without hesitation for
a word, an incident date His per-
feet method of literary work. His published
writings fill 6fty-four octave volumes. Of these
forty-eight are on various special epochs of his
tory. His Universal History was to have been
completed in nine volumes Six have been pub
lished, and he was at work on the seventh when
he died"
At this point Mr.. Bancroft sent for the "Uni-
versal History It's volumes we're octavos,
swollen almost to the bursting of their gay, red
cloth covers. Always that popularity of Ger
man book -making-the double title-page. But
the paper was heavy and strong, and the typo
graphical appearance perfect The beloved Ger
man script was always employed An innova-
ton such as the Latin characters, would have
broken his heart.
what were his hours for work?"
II do not know" answers the American his
torian. His was familiar figure at the archives
of every capital in Europe. l often saw him
gathering material and making notes at the i'm
perial library. He enjoyed good dinner and
was often invited to the palace. His wife was
an English woman, who died long before him.
AS write Won Ranke's style is excellent. He
succeeds in making history intensely interesting
because of the rich colorng of incident and topo-
graphical descriptions which he was able to sup
ply. His judgment, too. was wonderfully nice
and accurate. It is loss to the world that his
Universal History remains unfinished"