The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-04-05
THE LATE JOHN BRIGHT.
Recollections of q Man Who Knew Him
Well, Both in Public and Private Life.

THE LATE JOHN
Recollections Of a Man Who Knew Him
Well, Both in Public and Private Life.
Goodwin Smith, in New York Independent.
OF all the speakers whom l ever heard
John Bright was the greatest, and of all
the speeches of John Bright that l heard
the greatest was his speech In st. Jamess
Hall, London, OIL the civil wal In the Unit
ed States. An American U%nionist, if he
had been present on. that occasion, would
not have thought that all England was
against him.. l did not hear what was con-
sidered Bright's greatest effort in the House
of COmmOns-his speech against war with
Russia. in which he said that 1.-The angel of
death was already lowering over them.
you might hear the rustling of his wings"
His characteristic as an orator was not
passion or point. but weight. In this he re-
tremely simple. and he rarely INDUCED in
metaphor or rhetorical ornament of any
kind. Nor did he use any gesture In his de-
livery. He always made you feel that he
sincere desire to convince. The distinct
ness of his pronunciation rather than the
power of his voice made him perfectly aud
ible in the largest hall.
The idea that he did not mpos his
speeches is absurd. Literary form so per-
feet could not possibly be attained extern
pore. GladstOne's speeches are really. to a
great extent, extempOre, and the inevita-
BILE consequence is that, the most impress
i've when delivered, they are totally de-
sitions, whereas Bright, as an orator, is a
classic. have stood close to Bright when
he was speaking and seen his nOtes-wrltten
on little slips of paper-in his hand: One
of his best speeches, in its way, was that on
the unyeiling Of the Golden statue at Brad
had ever given him more trouble;
that he had long been in doubt how
he should deal with the sub
ject, and that the inspiration had at last
come to him one morning when he was
dressing. In common, l believe, with most
great orators, who feel the burden of their
reputation, he was to the last nervous
about his speeches. Even when he rose to
address a perfectly sympathetic audience
under him. While speaking. however, he
was perfectly collected, and could answer
Interruptions and tax advantage of the in
cidents of debate. l have heard him speak
very well extempOre in a quiet way. He
began, / believe, as a temperance orator
with a single lecture. He had certainly
| received no training in elocutiOn, n was
free from all the tricks which it is apt to
produce.
l never heard the Bible read so impress
lively as l heard thread by Bright to his own
household. He was fond of poetry of a full
bodied and sOnOrOus kind, and read it aloud
remarkably well. He read aloud to me
once with great gustO a part OF the EPIC or
Hades.D His mind was stored with poetry
religious and philanthrOpic cast, such as
had been popular with the religious circle
in which he had spent his youth: do not
think he had much literary culture or q
ing. l fancy, was mostly of the kind which
furnished either matter or language for his
speeches.
Bright once asked me whom 1 thought
the greatest of Englishmen, and answered
his own question, by naming Milton. He
put Milton first because Milton had COM
bined intellectual greatness with the great
ness of a citizen. On Bright's SEVENTEEN
birthday | CAV him a copy of the fine edi-
ton OF Milton, printed in the last century
own words written on the fy-leaf.
Bright had entirely dotted Quaker cos
tune and diction. But if anything was
said against Quakerism in his presence,
he showed that he had not deserted the
connection. Indeed, he retained so far as 1
could make out from conversations with
him, if not his Quaker creed, his Quaker
frame of mind with regard to religious
questions. The criticism and skepticism of
the age seemed hardly to have found access
would be well if Christianity could only
disencumber itself of forms and become
more purely spiritual. There can be no
doubt that he was deeply. religious and
WdIkeu dlWdyS DIS III tut SlxuU OI UOu.
In the early part of his public life Bright,
both as an opponent of the corn avs and
as a Radical, had been brought into fierce
a~ntagonism with the landed aristocracy,
the Established Church, and generally
with all that was ancient and traditional
in English society. But latterly. he had
softened: his sympathies had widened; he
had made his peace with history and cult
ure, and he found himself not less at home
in Oxford than in Manchester or Birming-
\ Io,p 10 ha cot nm my our, " n~fnr1
looking at the towers and spires of the old
city, which were filling the summer air
with their chimes. / heard him say to him
self: 1T would be very pleasant to be
eighteen and to be coming here"
That element of old England with which
he never did reconcile himself to the last
was the military element. He had a holy
hatred of war, and he never could be made
to see that, whether we liked it or not. we
were in the midst of a world in arms. This
was a relic of his Quakerism. He even
opposed the volunteer movement, though
the force created by it was purely defens-
i've. He was angry with us for not confid.
ing in the pacific intentions and good faith
of the French Emperor, who both in his
usurpation CT power and in his foreign
policy had shown himself to be a mere
brigand, and who. as we all now
know, actually proposed to the Ger.
us. A man who avowed himself to be
against all war could not speak with an.
thority against any particular war, and
Bright's opposition to the Crimean and
Egyptian wars was weakened accordingly
1t was desired at one time that he should
be Secretary of State for India; but thi,
was not possible. because, as Secretary o.
State for India. he might nave to order mil
itary operations.
If by a statesman is meant an admins
traitor, Bright cannot be called n states
man. The place which he held in tn,
Cabinet, the chancellorship of tn,
Duchy of Lancaster, is one Il
which no administrative duties are at
, tached; it is in fact a seat in the Cabinet
without Office. He probably lacked the in
dustry necessary for an administrators if b.
had the power: naturally, i fancy, he wa
strenuous effort the stimulus OF q grea'
cause was required. But he was n grea'
citizen, and a great master of lie mort