New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-12
a TALK WITH MIR. BLAINE.
DENYING N DETAIL THE SENSATIONAL AC-
COUNTS OF HIS CONDITION.
WORK, BUT FEELS HIMSELF STEADILY IN
PRovING-MIs BLAINE's INDIGNATION
AT THE FALSE NEWSPAPER
STORIES ABOUT HER HUS-
BANDS HEALTH.
BANDS health.


reports hDOut lIc LII ilt udlly pdPrio' AZ w.
halfsitting half-reclining, on divan in the
morning reception-room at Stanwood. He looked
rather pale and exhausted, but not seriously ILL.,
Tie spoke in firm voice. but slowly.
81 have o good deal of trouble with my back,
my eyes and my head" he continued. TO
me it seems merely little nervous
attack and nothing to call for the
great volume Of sensational accounts Of the inner
doings Of myself and family. l am much better
now l relaxing and taking rest from the
heavy duties Of official life. / don't think l
shall return TO Washington until the fall. 1t is
very hot there in the midsummer and early fall,
and it would not be good move for me in my
present condition"
viii you remain in Bar IIarbor all SUMMER"
"Yes: my physicians say l must Heretofore
have disobeyed their commands, but
since find that they understand my
physical being best, l shall acQuiesce with
out q murmur Bar Harbor air seems TO
revive me. 1t seems to drive away that stupIdness
and don't care air which generally follow ner-
vous troubles. especially the prostration"
Does your hearing bother you? There was
column article in one of the New-lork dailies
about deafness overtaking you
"No, indeed answered Mr.. Blaine, can hear
as well as when l was a boy. That is absurd.
The next thing know they will have me dumb"
=" Do you sleep well at night?' inquired the re.
porter.
Not very well the first part of the evening,
but quite soundy the latter part. II seems TO
me that never can sleep when the tide is going
out But when it comes rushing In with that
soft gentle splash it just wOos me to sleep like
baby, and l forget all causes of worrment.
Even all the humdrum duties of life drop OIL
into oblivion until l awaken naturally. Then
| am much refreshed. When | was visiting my
daughter Margaret, Mrs Damrosch, in New-York,
I couldn't Sleep at all | hardly closed my
eyes in three days time, but now
| get a goodly amount of sleep every night. My
headaches don't seem to grow much better, but
time will Tmedy t1aT trouble. 1t took a long time
to tear nature down, and necessarily it will take
long time TO build her up"
"Does the day pass heavily on your hands
without your papers and your books?'
"Oh, have all my favorte papers and books
sent right here TO StanwOod, and my wife and
sors read them to me. Emmons is my rght-hand
man, and anticipates my every wish concerning
business affairs, while Mrs Blaine is
capital reader, her taste in literature being the
same as mine. ] am very fond Of music, too, and
nv daughters Mrs. Damrosch and Mrs Emmons
Bainc. are both accomplished musicians, and play
lust the airs like. Then the children, the Cop
pinser children, who are with me, are quite
amusement enough for one person. They quite
puzzle me with their questions, their puzzles, and
their conundrums.
Do YOU drive muchp"
"Oh. yes l am passionatety fond of driv-
ing. There is such ease, such comfort
in that exercise One has only to
be put into carriage, then the horse
does the rest. 1 drive every day, and often twice
a day if my health will permit To-day | enjoyed
my drive very much more than usual"
"Thcn you do not walk?"
"No. not yet, only across the piazza or down to
Emmons's house. He lives at Cleftstone, just be-
low us
"When did you suffer the latest attack?' asked
the reporter.
Il think it was last Tuesday, somewhere about
tho first of the week l was tempted by some
fruit which was sent me by my friends.
think it brought on nervous dyspepsia or some
thing Just as bad But since then
seem to have picked up wonderfully. / am
quite encouraged now. l don't think it was any
thing unusual that green fruit should make me
sick. as it makes most everybody i'll; and why
papers should have gone into the details of the
affair. and made such fuss over il, is mystery
to me-
"Is there any trouble with your spine p
"No. indeed. The doctors say my spine is per-
iectly healthy. | lie down so much on account
Of my bowels and thighs; | suffer sometimes with
quick flashes of cramps through my thighs. Per
haps that is ncurosis, or something OF thaJ char-
acter. Sometimes l think it is, for when the
weather changes from hot to cold or from drynesS
to dampness | suffer the most"
There is absolutely truth in the assertion
49, Mo or
attend the fashionable hops ?"
mo; not a word of truth in any such asser-
tions." answered Mr. Blaine. 81 stay at home.
| am able TO meet only my own friends, and some
times am not equal TO the task of spending an
afternoon with them. l have not been inside
of n Bar Harbor drawng-room since my
arrival this summer"
Mr. Blaine is greatly troubled over the reports
which have crept into the sensational sheets of
the country He does not like to be wrongly
quoted or represented lie is, perhaps, little
thinner than when he in Washington, and
NAV be a trife paler and less buoyant In spirits
When he was there he was nervously eNclted ana
worked up to certain pitch at wnlch IL was
absolutely necessary for him 20 continue in order
that he might carry on his social ana
official business promptly and properly, ont
now he is suffering from that great
strain, and he must pay the penalty of oYerwork
lie dresses in stout woollen trousers, timex nan
mel underwear and wears woollen stockings nc
wears q light cheviot vest and walstcoat ana
when driving always takes two overcoats, ana
sometimes. if the wind is heavy, puts shawl
round himself His hat is white felt slouch,
and his gloves buckskin.
Mrs. Blaine. who had been walking on the
veranda, came in just as her husband hnlSheu Ills
,au, with tho renorter Yes" said she, the
false renorts which have reached our friends In
the city have worried both Mr.. Blaine and
myself more than any one could imagine. In
fact. might say they have quite aggravated Mr.
Blaine's illness We tried 10 keep them from MIN
as much as we could but somehow or other ne
GOT hold nf them While out on his morning
drive he often stopped at the village n6 9OGSsrS5f on tSa
wav without our knowledge, and very mucn
against his Pscans wsheS Dt%tbs he "a" gaten 1ae ap
Inv unreonitcd reDortprs WHO came all the way 10
Ait. Desert from town, and who, being unable 70