The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-05-10
Continued from Third page. !

1t flashed and scintillated with inte'lec-
tual brilliancy 1t was not q shallow
splendor that gliltered and COruscated
specifically, but an interior ilumlna.
ton that glowed with incessant fame.
His address was captivating and his
demeanor engaging. He was familiar
without hippancy and possessed that
facie nexibllty of adaptation which is
one of the rarest social traits. His
knowledge of men and events was
broad, though not profound, and 1t
seemed that there was no elevation
which he might not justly anticipate.
AS Speaker of the House he had eX-
hibited ideal characteristics, and no
exigency had risen to which he had not
shown instant superiority He was
fortunate in his stature, features and
bearing; in dress neither a flop nor
s!rven, and in conduct clearly without
priggishness or asCetiCism. His years
were in prime, his sun at its meridian
and his sky without a cloud. In an
instant the fatal bolt descended and he
lay unconscious on the threshold of the
sanctuary. From that moment his
pathway sloped downward to the grave;
every ambition was thwarted, every
hope was blasted Thrice defeated as
candidate for the Presidency, once
nominated and unsuccessful at the
polls, his health steadily declined and
succession of Affections followed such
as have befallen few Of the human race.
He bore them with composure and
dignity. One pathetic and indignant
protest broke the silence of his wound
ed and suffering spirit at wanton viola
ton of the decencies of private life.
But if disappointment of his public
career gave him grief he made no sign
an ] uttered no 20 p Amt. HereCeived
the bulletins of the Convention in 1880
in the Senate Chamber and read them
with as little apparent concern as though
he were a stranger He betrayed no
feeling as his vote declined, and after
the thirty fourth ballot he predicted the
nomination of Garfield When the
final announcement came, he said:
81 have accomplished the one thing
that | desired, and that is the destruc
ton of the thrd-term idea in this
country. 1t will never he heard Of
again"
After his temporary retirement, he
occupied his leisure in the composition
of his Twenty Years of Congress"
the incompatible monument of his
genius, on which his fame will largely
rest 1t is remarkable tribute to his
versatile powers that the chief victims
of his critical vivisection have had the
considerate prudence to wait for his
death before they ventured to reply.
Blaine's Amercanism was passion
His sympathies were American and for
American interests. He was believer
in continental policy, and claimed the
western hemisphere as an arena for
the development of American institu-
tons and American destiny, But he
made no original contributions to the
stock of American ideas, perhaps be-
cause none are possible and our pro-
gramme is complete. He is, in popui
lar estimation, the representative of the
theory of protection to American labor,
but Hamilton and Clay were his pro.
totypes. Reciprocity was the dream
of Douglas and many others of our
statesmen before and since. The
Congress of American Republics was
the logical inference from the Monroe
Doctrine, and Mr.. Clay, as Secretary
of State, organized the Congress of
Panama with the same purpose fifty
years before. But it was reserved for
Blaine to reasonable these fundamen-
tai principles from the past, and en-
phasize their importance to his own
epoch. John J. INGALLS,.