The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-05-07

q
versation with another journalist which
had been interrupted by the Introduction.
was left standing in the middle of the
room with my eyes on the editors back,
suffused with shame and modification.
u. de Lesseps, who certainly had not the
slightest interest to act a. he did, saw the
sught thus inflicted on = young man, and
from Kindness of heart Immediately did
what he could to efface it. From his place
at the fire. where he had been standing
surrounded by the usual crowd of courtlers
he had noticed the incident, and at
the height Of my confusion / saw him
making his way across the drawing room
towards me, exclaiming 10 those around
him: "Oh, there is young man with
then took me by the hand. drew me aside
and remained conversing with me until
dinner was announced.
In view Of the awful change that within
so short time has been made in this gem
tleman, l cannot but think that it must be
attributed to a shock produced in a very
old man by an experience which shows
him that he has been mistaken all his life
long. 1t is terrible to wake up at IS and
to find that things are not what one has
believed during his past life. and that the
men whom one has loved and respected
are unworthy of it. / believe that
what has struck Ferdinand de Lesseps
down in his chair in full vitality is an i'm
mense disappointment, not ut the failure
of his hopes, for he has always been indif-
ferent to money and has never had the
wish to leave his children large fortunes.
but at the falseness of q creed which was
optimistic to the point Of blindness. I be-
lieve that Ferdinand de Lesseps is dying
of q broken heart, broken by the inn
mense ingratitude of men. And if the
loss Of all the money that has been sunk
in the Panama mud and the pockets Of the
intriguants of the Third Republic adds to
his sorrow it Is certainly not for himself
nor for his family but for all those who are
suffering because they shared mis- belief in
his star and who blindly followed him to
ruin. He knew that they were of the
humble and often told me so. Panama
will be carried out with the savings in
woollen stockings Of the peasants and of
the workman" he used to say. He has
never been self-seeking. He presented
France with q concession, that of the
Suez Canal. estimated at 100, 600 of
francs and with lands worth another 3d.
900. 900, and fought heroically for years to
render his gift tho fullest value. In the
words of NJ. Renan, "the courage.
the energy. the resources OF all sorts" ex-
pended by N. de Lesseps in this strug-
gle, "were nothing short Of prodigious."
In exchange he took for himself enough
~ cnoOic utHA " lcdu tAo Aiic Va u ESlltic~
man and to do good around HIM. Each of
his children he endowed with not more
than 10000 francs, the revenues which, to-
gether with his wife's private fortune, are
now all that remains to the family. I
firmly believe that all his life he acted
only from feelings of philanthropy and
from patriotism of the most chivalrous
type. He never had any desire to leave
large fortune, and l can remember his
saying to me very emphatically that his
children must do as he had done, and that
they would do so If they were worthy Of
his name, and that he never wished to
leave them large fortunes but an honorable
name. q love for their country equal to his
and an example which he hoped they
would follow. "Let them work as have
done," said this most tender Of fathers.
1t seems that not even this heritage of
An hOnored name 10, II the prosecutors of
the old man can have their way, to be left
to the family. The vilest calumnies con-
corning him are atloat and sedulously cir
culated. 1t is q matter of current report
that De esseps has a large fortune hidden
away in England. The fair name of his
wife, of the mother of all his children is
besmirched in the foulest manner.
Would you believer" said Madame de
of me that was recently brought
to bed of q captain of cavalry, which is
only one Of hundred stories of the same
kind that bave been invented about me-"
A great satisfaction to the family, however,
is to see that not ono of the persons who
have lost money in NJ. de Lesseps' last
enterprise have a word of reprOach to make
against him. His enemies are not there.
Not q single shareholder in the Panama
Canal Company has been found to testify
against him and for the purposes Of the
professional blackm alters have
had to be hunted up by the authorities.
Thus the principal witness in the prosecu-
ton for corruption, o shareholder from
who is attacking the direct
ors Of the company on civil process, is
blackmailer who has received
several sums from Madame de Lesseps'
private purse. The blind old man VINO
was produced in court at the trial at which
Ferdinand de Lesseps was convicted and
sentenced and who figured as having been
totally ruined by the Panama enterprise.
is known to possess fortune of over GOO, 900
francs. his total loss not having exceeded
100000 francs. 1t is those who
popularity that arc bounding the
old man down with dishonor to his
grave. 1t il said by one of his dearest
friends that at the time Of NJ. Grevy's
o large number of political
men asked NJ. de Lesseps to allow them to
put his name forward as q candidate for
the presidency Of the republic and that
always wished to keep out of politics, it
has never been forgiven him. twas quite
probable that his immense and prepon-
derating popularity may have aroused tho
hatred of the nonentities who to 30 large
an extent hold the power in France of the
third republic. To these may be added
tho hosts Of those who hated him because
1 III -
toward himself and his enterprises. Asdi-
rector Of the canal company he was persis.
tently blackmailed and no doubt the unsuc-
cessfui-for he defended himself vigor-
ously-have always borne him the bitter.
est Of grudges. And since he has been
down the number OF his adversaries has of
course increased tenfold. Even those who
owe him all-many officials at the Suez
Canal Company for instance, who owe
their positions and fortunes to his genius
seem glad to revenge themselves for
their obligation. De Lesseps has done too
much good to men not to be hated, and it
is to be regretted that poor De Maupassant
cannot WELD his pen in analysis Of the
motives which are actuating his former
dependents in their endeavors to renoupce
all solidarity with c the dying octo-
tied all the officers of tho
Sues Canal Company few days ago, and,
prepared as one Is for human ingratitude,
il was distressing in the extreme to see
how poor a thing to charm with was the
name, at the sound of which, as l can well
remember. all the funkeys of the place in
livery or black frock coat doubled up In
his days that are PAST. The lion is down
and every ass of Paris has heel to kick
him with. This persecution extends to
his children, and there can be no doubt
that that is why young Ismail de Lesseps
was recently plucked at his examination