The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-02-14
eLAosroNe's HOME LIFE.
How the People of Howarden Revere :
Grand Old Man.

How the People of Howarden Revere
Grand Old Man.
The attractions of the place lie nett
er in the church nor palace nor park, b
in the character of the people; and ov
them one personality predominant
They can talk of nothing but Mr.. Glac
stone or subjects connected with
family. They are loyal to him despii
of prejudices of which he runs counte
They are hOme-rulers if they don't lik
the Irish. Intimate to the park-keepo
that he looks like Lord Salisbury, an
in spite of the unexpected shilling h
will lock the gate on you. He told M
with a sad shake of his head, that a
foreigners spoke we'll of ''Mawster
Gladstone; only among Englishme :
could one be found to speak i'll of him.
Soon the band arrived. and the peOpl'
began to gather about the exhibit
pitched in front of the new castle
About three o'clock Mr.. and Mrs. Glad
stone paid visit to the show. knot
of people followed them about and it was.
amusing tosee how attentively they gath
cred up every expression let fall from
Mr.. Gladstone's lips and passed it on to
the less fortunate ones in the rear. One
old lady who brushed against him re-
ported with ecstacy the beautiful
smile" he beamed upon her. 1 must
say that at first | preferred the kindly
face of Mrs. Gladstone. One can we'll
credit the report of her youthful graces.
She is a lady of the manor, who can put
in fhn Of
cry cottager. At five o'clock she dis
tributed the prizes from the castle ter
race, speaking kindly word to each.
She commended one laborer for the re-
suits of his work at spare hours; anoth-
er she commiSerated for the bad honey
season; she met one bent old woman
half way up the steps; she moved her
lips slowly that deaf mute might COM
prehend her praises; in short, she adapt
ed herself to the disposition of each cot
tager.
But Mrs. Gladstone, loved as she is,
was a minor attraction, and before the
lists were finished Mr.. Gladstone APP
peared, dressed like gardener, in worn
Scotch tweed. The crowd had become
impatient for him to begin his custom
airy talk. He took his seat at his wife's
feet and fsndled a pet dog. The lists
then continued. But the Welsh alpha
bet, as far as proper names are concern
ed, seemingly does not extend beyond
j, and soon he arose to talk Slow at
first, and dependent upon his notes, he
became fluent at the last; so much SO
that one reporter told me he found it
quite hard to keep up with him. His
face is rather ''lion-ike' they
call tin repoSe; the bright eyes prom
inent by contrast. AS he wakes up you
forget individual features, and fall I'M
der the spell of his general expression
"a spell that confessedly can not be
shaken off. He was talking on such
everyday affairs as butter and jam. To
read his speech you would think that
there would be little chance for much
play of facial expression, yet where he
touched on political beliefs, for exam
pie, his belief in free trade, his
features told more than his words,
perhaps, and a commonplace took on the
nature of a creed. / perceived in the
course of the talk that seemingly chance
expressions uttered in show tent had
their purpose; that he had, with his
marvellous memory for facts, been re-
calling for use in the speech the extent
and character of former display made
by this or that exhibitor: that his OBJ
servations and questions about the per-
centage of water in carrots, ETC., wer
not mere snowy attempts to reveal IA
miliarity with unusual subjects. but
were preparatory to the main thought
of his discourse. The speech in itself
was simple one, great in only one re-
spect-its forbearance. Opportunities
for political and economic satire were
constantly sighted, and the utmost
credit that was allowable was given to
opposing theories.
At the close drunken old fellow, who
had been almost irrepressible dur.
ing the speech, crowded through tc
shake hands with Mr.. Gladstone-an
example which many of us would have
liked to follow, but happily did not.
There was depth of pathos in his ex-
PLANTATION to the crowd: 81 saw Mr..
Gladstone once before, forty-seven years
ago; but now I'm seventy-seven, and he
seventy-nine, and I'll never see him
again. Liverpool Cor. N. Y Times.
John (hinaman in the Bank,