Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-27
have won rs noble a. fame as that won by
Marcy and Fish.

have won rs noble g. fame as that won by
| Marcy and Fish.
LAST INTERVIEW WITH CoNKLNG.
There is the weird Scottish word "fey"-
taken from the Highland lore-that wheI
one does something out of the range of hi:
| thonghts and habits he is "fey," marked fol
DEATH is under the spell of his predestina
! tion, the thought of Lochiel in CampbeIl's
| verses, that coming events cast their
shadows before. A wierd, pregnant word,
often in my fancy. "The last time saw my
of August. He was very kind, seemed
prouder of me than ever. His eyes were
sparkling mildly, with kind of deliberate
Joy. Strangely, too, he offered me on one of
those mornings, knowing that was poor,
two sovereigns," "scemed really anxious
and desirous that should take them, should
take his little hoard-his all that he had to
give. said jokingly aGterward that surely
time 1 saw Conkling, as l find on re-
ferring to poor memorandum of diary
that pretend to keep: was on the morning
OF Friday, March 16 1885, the fourth
day after that historical blizzard, in which
he had so wild an experience. He was in a
radiant, gentle humor, described to three or
four friends his blizzard journey up Broad
way, stood some quaint rallying on the
whlteness of his hair from an out OF town
friend with unaccustomed patience-not apt
to be in repose under banter of any kind,
remember the conversation with sad dis
ttnctness, and his reproaches addressed to
myself personally for not having signed an
article I had written in the current North
american ReUie11. And although my excuse
for not having signed it was that the leading
thought had been given me by General
Sherman and l hesitated to assume as my
own what really belonged to that illuStrious
man, Mr. Conkling, among whose aversions
was anonynimity in journalism, was eX-
plicit in his censures. No message was
man behind it-and that there was no
abomination so ounendurable as the editorial
"We," with such absurd variations on
ave" as a theme-editors, tape worms, en-
perors all blended in irresistible mockery.
A TRIBUTE TO CURTIS.
The out-of-town friend who had been COM
menting on the whitened hair, changed the
theme to reception that had been given to
Henry Irving the day before, and a speech
, to Irving by George William Curtis, with
certain criticisms and disparagements Of
Curtis. These came, as 1 fancied at the
time as bid for graciousness from Conk-
ling, the speaker knowing that for years
Curtis had been a picador bull-fghting
theme in the Senator's eyes. "Well, let US
to Curtis, let US admit" and so on in words
of eulogy, which 1 will not because can
not, repeat but content myself with the i'm
preston. The genius and character Of
gentle recognition. 1t was pleasure to me,
with my own estimate of that eminent man,
which differences and disappoin ntments in
politics had never dismissed and which 1
had maintained at times in the way of dep
recation of the invectives of Con king in
the days when the battle was on and the
skies bent under the storm. As 1 heard
Conkling's estimate of Curtis the weird High
land fancy came into my mind, and re-
called the Carlyle story. Surely" l
thought, "Conkltng is fey" And so 1t
proved This talk, as here written in my
diary, was March l6, 1888. turn the pages.
and there likewise, under the date Of April
Is, 1888, is the sad, irreparable line: Roscoe
Conkling dead"
FAREWELL TO CoNKLING.
Roscoe Conkling dead, and with him so
much of the daring forces OF American
craftsmanship. There is much more to
write of him, but that duty belongs TO the
historian, who will narrats with cooler judg-
ment the men and events of his tremendous
time. What 1 said OF Conkling, when he
was lying cold and dead, his biographer has
accepted, and may repeat now:
"Conkling was to die, if true leaders of
opinion ever die. The palpable man whom
mien, stern, deep set eyes, the brows
Olympian, the over whitened hair, the rud-
dy face eternal in youth and expression,
yigor, genius, grace, personal beauty typi-
fed; the orator, scholar, the implacable
opponent and tumultuou5 man of affairs
has gone but the impalpable spirit remains.
We have lost the most aggressive leader in
American politics since Clay and Webster
36 years ago. But he is not dead. His life
remains an incentive, an example, let us say
an admonition. For it may be well to re-
member as an admonition that in any public
career, pride, intolerance and the Swift-lille-
gift of whitening invective may retard or
prevent opportunities oflustrous service to
the Commonwealth. But even SO, gener-
ations will come and go before the example
of this extraordinary man, his eloquence
and learning, his undaunted devotion to
truth, his purity and courage, his uncom-
patriotism, his scorn of cant and
deception will be forgotten. A masterful,
imperial soul has passed away, leaving
name which Americans will not soon let
dier' JOHN Russell YOUNG.