The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-21
A GENTLEMAN AND A VIII.
THE NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL Is
BOTH ELEGANT AND PECULIAR.
Character sketch of n Man Who
Thinks and says Unusual Things.


Washington. July 2l.-Judson Harmon.
gentleman and wit In some such style
would the present Attorney General of
this republic have 70 be set down. II
set down correctly, IN any directory Of in
dividualities. The people Of this country
DO not know him. He is Greek 70 the
market. No attempt at an exposition Of
his utterly unique and extraordinary per-
sonality has Ger been made. because the
man is so battling.
Elegant is the word deemed by Bull
wer most applicable 70 his Pelham. Ele-
CANT is the word most applicable 10 Jud-
son Harmon. He IS elegant with an ele-
gance surprising all elegance. He is as
clean and sweet and well groomed as
load Of hay. But there is not about him
that evidence of attention 10 detail which
heralds the dandy. JudsOn Harmon is
too elegant a gentleman TO be a dandy.
Before mentioning the unusual char
acteristics which now make him the OBJ
served Of all observers. It would be well
to describe the mans objective get UP.
He bends his graceful head forward when
he speaks. He keeps his graceful hands
always in view. He moves his graceful
physique in every imaginable graceful
way. The goddess Minerva has been
termed by a man who knew (his name was
Homer "oxeyed." The grace Of Judson
Harmon Is the grace Of the OK. 1t is
weighty grace. not numbering. He is de-
hberate. not thick, solf-possessed, not
stolid. To all he is sweetly deferential
Were Mr. Harmon's clothes worn by any
other man, they would not look fashiona-
bic. Worn by Mr.. Harmon, they are SUI
premely elegant. His linen is ever fault
lessly Immaculate. His scarfs and waist
coats are original in their purity. Not
heck Of dust, never trace of crease, mars
the perfect lines of his coat, Black is his
customary hue In dress.
II does not seem possible that he can
ever lose his temper. II seems equally out
Of the question that he can make anyone
else do so. He is as restful TO look upon
as a lawn studded with browsing deer.
Nor does he seem as II surprise We're pos
sble to him. Surprise is not elegant and
Judson Harmon is. They say no beauty
in the world can equal the charm of
perfect manner IN q man unless 1t be the
fascination of his conversation. Jud5on
Harmon's manners are more than Ches-
terfeldian. They are genuine. His con-
versation is more than fascinating. 1t is
like his looks.
In trying to convey an idea of this.
difficulty presents itself Mere words fail
to do justice to Judson Harmon. English
is noble but not elegant, now that Macau-
ley is dead. Were Nlacauley living, he
would write an essay on Judson Harmon.
But mountains are doomed never to meet.
Rochefoucauld tested the value of
mans remark by the number Of times
they were repeated. The remarks Of JUDI
son Harmon are repeated very often. once
he said the only advice worth following
is that which we don't give to others. On
another occasion he declared that mar
rage need never terrify men who are
deaf He once defned a cynic as a man
who knows everything except the truth.
I'VE always learn when to say nothing
after the knowledge is of no use to US,
is a much quoted cynicism of his. Fig
ures don't lie," he wrote once to a client,
but the people who use them sometimes
do" His social position has made him
something of an arbiter in matters Of fash
ion. There arose a question concerning a
well known Cincinnatians eligibility as a
guest in the house of a man of note.
you see him in the best society" said
Mr. Harmon, "he is always alone"
The remark made that Cincinnatian So
cially.
The Attorney General is thus master Of
all the elegances of existence. He has a
valet He reads French novels. His nails
are manicured TO perfection and he puts
on two shirts every day of his life. He is
most fond of flowers and they adorn his
table always at meals. He is rather an
adep in miniatures and has had nls daugh-
ters portraits done in that dainty style of
art.
Very rare in a man is the tact with
which Judson Harmon discharges his So
cial duties. He can succeed beyond meas
ure in interesting all with whom he comes
In contact Never is a table at which he
sits dull. 1t is not that he says things
that are funny He is what may be term
cd lightly serious capable in a rare degree
of drawing his interlocutor out. and he is
always interested, or always seems to be
interested, in those In whose company he
chances to be. 1t was at a rather elabo-
rate dinner that he made one Of his half
earnest half testing hits by saying that
an honest man is too useful to other people
TO succeed well in the world.
Then honesty" remarked President
Bacon of the Baltimore and Ohio South
western, lis not the best policy
IF II were" replied hudson Harmon,
what credit would there be in being hon
est?"
President Bacon and the new Attorney
General have long been warm friends. 1t
is indeed said that She former secured
| the appointment of the latter. At any
ra te, the men are together great deal.
and a similarity of tastes and disposi-
| ton has cemented the friendship. One
| conspicuous trait in Harmon is his pride
| in Ohio. He has been described as Pn
! Ohioan of the Ohioans, and indeed the
title fits him. He IS not yet 50, and he look
much younger than he is. Even when
quite a fledgling of a lawyer he attracted
| attention by his exactness in all things.
He is more punctual than most clocks.
Most clocks get behind time now and
| them Judson Harmon never is 1t is a
| Joke at his expense that when his valet
brings his hot water in the morning, Mr..
Harmon plunges a thermometer into 1t.
and if the temperature be not precisely
what it should be. back it must go 20
! the kitchen. He likes very much 10 be
read to- His daughters read to him regu-
larry, and when they are not about his
! private secretary takes his turn. Mr..
| Harmon makes notes in little ivory tab
let case as the reader proceeds, and every
citation Of quotation is promptly verified.
Alexander Hamilton is great favocite
of Judson Harmon's. The latter is said
to know all that can be known about the