The herald., 1893-02-27
FICTION AND POETRY.
THEY HAVE FURNISHED INSPIRATION
FOR MANY STATESMEN.

Gladstone In Literary Requirements.
Tho scholar in Po1itics--Depew and
Cleveland Have No Taste for Stories.
lspecis. Curespondepce.l
NEW YORK, Jan. 16.-Chauncey NJ. De
pow, chatting not long ago with o friend
about general literature, said that he had
not read q novel for twenty years, and 1t
has been reported BY one Of Grover Cleve-
lands friends that The president elect told
him that he bad not read q story since he
was boy. The reading habits of men who
have achieved much in public affairs fur
nish no suggestion OF their intellectual
quality. Mr.. Depew rnay not read fiction,
but he has been able to keep up with his
torical literature.
No American who Is prominent in public
Lie keeps 80 constantly In tonch with higher
literature, both current and classic, as does
Mr.. Gladstone. But few years ago an
American statesman lived who con1d have
matched Gladstone ip the extent of his read
ing II NOT In the depth of his learning. That
man was Jeremiah B1aqk, attorney general
and secretary Of state In Buchanan's Qabi-
net, Perhaps Judge Black and Caleb Cush-
ing wazo Tho wost persistent In the excur.
siorsinto ali fields of literary endeayor Of
HIly III tllo ALltfICz1n 6tatESIlleIl.
Judge Black read everything, anything
If he coudd NOT pot his hand upon Shake
spesre ora Bible, both OF which he knew al
most by hea1f he was not ashamed to read
some Of Nod Huntlinets excaang stories Of
take up Thfuksray qr Dickens, while BrBt
Haatss stceass gave htn great delight. As
leaRnsd a man pWAep4 a. even sat at q csbi-
49, %5,ks r.. Srv,xad S3<d.se reada d,r,,e ,1r,xa1
than to read notAirg.
Jnsedce Lamar, cfthe supreme court, has
been for forty yesrs lover Of novels. He
II was VINO safd Of hctlon, as the Kentucky
cdfouef Is reporoed to have unmarked OF
whisky, "Thare are no bad novels, sir.
Some are better than others; some are treas.
ure houses Of delight but none Is actu-
ally bad" Once Judge Lamar, at tiEas
when be wns fnsuber cf the senate, had
permitted several tnouths to pass without
making any other utseraslce In the senate
chamber thnn 60 vote, A friend met him
on the WY from the Cspttol to his hotel
and asked him why he had for 50 long a
tims kept silence.
T am refreshing my mind. am allow
ing h to lie In faliow; II fact, I am living
with the heroes and tfimoptals lam read
ing Dickens through once more One Of
tl these &c daysJ ! shall havs sofnething tosayin
A few wesks later be did have something
to say, rnkfrg one Of his ndost brilliant
speeches.
General Arthur wss the only president
who was fond Of fiction. The works Of the
best writer's Of romance and other fiction
were sent 20 the White House By his direc-
ton as soon a. putffsaed, and 1ete at night
The p1aats6t wh3ld spsad al hour on two
ever q nowsl quite ofsun trading until he
had neutraff3ad Ehe nuSeeeetfAin caused
bpthe:iAbots Of the dsN and chem Aesought
his pillow.
Ex-sens*or Ingalls,, when he WAS a mem
ber Of the senat& vz6ssaid to have been the
best read rsAa III that body, although Mr.
BlafnA's reaiaug was In ceStaan directions
more exhsusktvs, aud Seuatof Cunk1ing's
IN e1bar he1de quite Gsfhcrough. Senator
InGA3is was tafd a. good fiction, o1hdstory
&n4 kteesRutl6c wurks not teehnicn.
M. H3aiHs was eaRalu3 reader of news
papes 4nd many Of them. He possessed
the fahafty uf the trStned editor Of observ-
ing the d4tsnts Of a ccl1mn at what
seesued 10 be singh e1znce IN this re-
gpsst he was sxceIlsd BY an Associate Of bis
70 Gwdeta's cSbfust, General Thonuas L.
Jamss, whuse cspacity for swiH and yet
thorough newspaper reading IL 50 psmark-
able frat - Always caused wkmdesine COM
nent AmoEk hts friends. MI Blaine did
not crmffns hmsef9 to nswspapers From
thatAne hs yissded the spsakers CHART
mn. RandatA Bixfne has boEn q critical
ana exhaustive tea6Ar Of Afnerfcsn poIftj-
oal history, and also has bestowed much
reseafGh upon theEpatsfidi condition Of the
two American oonanGate which, he is con-
vinced, are dssttned uftznaately to come IN
to very cose pofiticsa raiptaons.
con4ng.s ssnsEat tssadang wns Of poetry,
especially that q sscu arsf Mtlton, and he
was also fond of actioh. althoogh this ssas
hiafAmdly. ZIP Nhsa stories Of adpentura
Qnida, a liking in which he had saire dis
and Charles A. Dana, for anstance
Ex.Speaker Reeds devotion to fiction,
end ESPECIALLY to 5he hess French af,thors,
whom he reads In the original, b wei1
known, but he was the only speaker sff,Ge
the time Of R6beft g. Wtnthr6p who cared
for general McrAtufe. Schuyler CpffAx
was newspaper nfasl and after bis retire
ment from public lite became lecturer,
but he had no irtreAt Ii literature. Nlf
BLAINE, wh4ehe #ss fond Of general ktera-
ture and had remarkable faculty for
criticism Of the higher art, had 20 time to
gratffy this tastH until after he had given
up the speakers chair.
Samuel J. Randall never read anything
but the f1Fwspapers and public documents,
and Mn Carfisless inclinattnn was entirely
in the direction Of works oh finance or kin
dred topics, which be read not as the Tower
OF literature woptd, but fHther as alawger
preparing brief would DO
Senator Hoar hes ape literary taste, but
for many years II has beeh directed toward
the litet4ture bearing upon the colonial
era. His reading and researches In this
direction have made him, it is said, one Of
the first OF authorities respecting chat era
One of the best read men In the house Of
representatives fs Amos ]. Cummings, who
possesses small but Choice library, and
whose books bear evidence Of frequent use
Henry Cabot Lodge, vino h To be the next
senator fron Massachusetts,, has probably
read more extnpsttyeiy in SHs eas3y politi-
cal history Of the United states fhan any
Of his associutee, and che fruits OF this read
ing have been made msnifsst by what are
probably the tsstsAut lives Of Alexander
Hamilton ard Daniel Webster.
z. J. EDWARDS.
The Bi1stlepess gf Diamonds.
The opinion h eutertgined BY laymem that
the diamond iH 50 hard that u laid oh Id
anvil ard struck With steel faced siedRe
Il wpnid enter the fate Of the hammer or
o.xx,eJ t,se<,~A u -n,<<<4A A.-X f1.o f.-.{,3ta.