The sun., 1888-06-17

distasteful rs they were to q man who was by
nature and habit u scholar rather than poll
tician-he managed to devote good deal
OF ume TO literature. particularly that OF Ger
many. after the weary and often dreary work
Of tho day Mr.. Marsh generally selected the
lightar German writer's, or Mt least such US
may be read in u more frnRmentary way.
Tiecks nns humor charmed him; Jean Paups
brilliant flashes still moro. He had keen
relish for German poetry from the earliest to
tho latest from tho loiticst to the simplest,
from the Nbeungen Lied to tho last roman
tic ballad from Gosthe's Faust to Mathisons
'Waschcrinn.' There was no school that did not
give him something OF Its own; and he had
small patiencs with the criticism which cannot
praise tho object of its worship without casting
contempt elsewhere No one could more ad-
mire the ovcrmastering genius OF Goethe, but
his morality, or rather his utter want OF NOR
ulty, his profound, allporvadin2 egoisni, de-
tractcd greuty from Mr. Marsh's enjoyment Of
his prose- works especially, and all the eSpla-
nations. apologies. and justillcations offered
by the eloquent reviewers and hioGraphers Of
this almost superhummnly gifted German
could never mako the New England Puritan
admit moro by way OF extenun,ion than tho
subiiDity Of his solfshncss."
Mr.. Marsh was three times elected to Con-
gress. but on tho third occasion lSi3) his scat
was imperiled by the extreme urpopuiarity In
the free States of Gen. Taylor. who was thon
running for the Presidency. Even that close
contest seems to have imposed no expenditure
upon him. That was how things were ordered
forty years ago In Vermont "When an Eng
lsh friend inquired OF Mr.. Marsh in 1880 how
much his Con nyresaionn, elections had cost him.
his answer was: Not so much as n glass OF
vino. never asked II man to my house for the
| +. f,r
member, did ever do any man any servico
with that end in view. IN my !ssne such things
are no: necessary"
dency Mr.. Marsh. although Just returned for
n third time to the House of Representatives.
made no secret Of his wish for diplomatic ap-
pointmcnt abroad, Us. owing to the failure Of
some investments, he was now convinced that
this offered him tho only chance OF visiting
Europe for many years to como. He was Wig
orously seconded by the leading men Of his
own State and in May. 1S49, he was nominated
Minister to Turkey. Four months later he left
New York in a sailing packet, which he
had been adriseG to take rather than a
steamer. and, after q months VOYAGE
he reached Havre late in October
1t is interesting to note that although he was
able to spend only two or three weeks in Paris
coup dftat OF Dec. 2. 1851. was more than two
years distant, Mr.. Marsh conceived q profound
distrust and dislike of Louis Napoleon. Even
at this time, too. dark as wore the prospects Of
Italy betrayed by France and strangled by
Austria. his journey through tho Peninsula
planted in him tho conviction that Its people
were destined to become free and united
nation.
| Soon after his arrival at his post 1lr. Marsh
| settled himself in house at Therapia, on the
| banks OF the Dosporus, about twelve miles
| from Constantinople. OF this house, by the
way. there is u captivating description on
| pages 162-63. During the next four years the
| United States was represented at tho court OF
| the Sultan by a Minister who II he brought
| with him no acquaintance with the Turkish
language, at least needed no interpreter in
order to transact business in Greek French.
| German. or Italian.
| Mr. Marsh obtained leave to pass the winter
Of lS5O-51 in Egypt and in letter to an Eng
| lish friend gives an account OF his journey from
Stamboul to Cairo In another letter. describ-
ing visit to Luxor he distributes the respon-
! sibility for the injury done by successive in
| vasions to Egyptian monuments with an ac-
| curacy that surprises ono who romembers the
opinions current on the subject at the time.
THE Persians SEEM" he says. ito have
| committed the greatest devastations. and the
| Romans, II they did not destroy temples, at
| least made q very unscrupulous use Of those
| which former conquerors had overthrown. The
Arabs do not seem to have boen actuated b7
the same destructive spirit as their Turkish
brethren lit was. however, the Arabs that built
| Cairo out OF tho ruins OF Memphsl, and the
Ottomans, at the time OF their conquest OF
Egypt in tho sixteenth century. must have
| Nd hoe re paar ri a tha Per.
SLAMS had left them twenty centuries before. "
He adds that even the Osmanlies have here
| shown much less OF their characteristic de-
structiveness than they did In thoir warfares
| with the Christians"
| At Thebes, he tells correspondent. ho
lodged in house built OF unburnt brick
| from ruins l know not how many thousand
| years Old, its doors and window shutters for
| glass it has none) made OF painted mummy
cases twhose late occupants stripped OF their
| cerements are ranged in a row against tho
court yard wall facing us) perched among the
tombs in the great cemetery eXcavated on the
eastern slope OF tho Lbyan chain and over
looking the Memnon!um. the Colossi the Grea:
plain of Thohes. Luxor Earnac. and long
long reach OF the yellow Nile" 1t is plain from
another letter that while at Thobes Mr.. Marsh
did not accept without verincation the dicta ol
others. but made for himself careful study oI
tho Egyptian sculptures and wall paintings.
A curious experience is chronclcd at Cairo
After returning from their journey to Upper
Egypt Mr.. Marsh and another member of his
party. n Miss Paine found themselves com
plctely disabled by severe sprains which The
surgical skill Of the Frank doctors proved pow
| erless to remedy. They We're assured by thcil
drugoman that an Arab miracle worker OF his
acquaintance could cure the sprains at once
and they finally determined to call on the in
heritor OF the secrets Of the Pharaohs. So tho
dragoman presented himself, bringing will
him the most extraordinary looking crea
turo that can well be imagined. He was
scarce five feet in height. and was clad in
single garment OF blue cotton fastened about
the waist with n leather belt. His old witheret
faca was lighted up by ono oye only and tha
seemed but half open, while nothing about hi
person would have led one to believe that the
xynt.rs of tbo broad Mia ware within ranch