Graham guardian., 1895-07-05
y Who Are Maki.,a LIE
Eace with the Centu
Great Men OF Europe Who Ny re to
See the Ciose OF the Year I933--
Gladstone, Pope Leo
1r'Hcc Eismarci.

~ 1iie t4ilea notable octogel 5'i9Hs of
lsesope Leo NtGL., the srpge III
cf the Ca.holis world; CT. 3ne t1e
c.S-prcmisr of lingland, and l rex,
e.-sAanaclscr cf the GeIMan re~
2 c1.a Gladstone, Ulla yrs scrn
l ~. ftf r3unrest = i'is,lar *,
,9.h. li i--a. visle the POI vas
l2ni4 III q but two nlontl.s ( esanger-
than Claa oae
4hc three oetogenarians sars tho
New Yorl, Sia dii'er as gleatis rom
each other in their genius IS faeir-
lie work. E.sA of them pos os ex-
ceptional trails Of character. Aesosc,
is spoken OF as the "Paci.is2sr Dis-
nlarell as the Sian of Blood a7l iron.',
Gladstone as The Grand Old Man.
The only one Of these yet u active
service is the rope, who was cieeted as
supreme ponlif in 1878. Prior d shat
time he had been archbishop OF
Dariata, apostolic nuneio to belgium,
bishop of Pcrugia, and member Of the
college of cardinals.
Gladstone was q member OF -nariia-
ment as early as 1892. lie subsequently
held great variety of Offices under the
government, including the oiacc Of
chancellor of the exchequer. He was
premier for the first time Gs su ueeessor
to Disraeli in 1858, and for the second
time in 1880, aud for the third time in
1886, and for the last time from 1892 to-
1924, when he resigned. He has been
the author of many books, theological,
classical and political.
Bismarclzs career has been less vac.
ried. In 1S4s he was chosen a mor1ber
of the second chamber OF the PIussian
diet. He was subsequently Prussian
ambassador 10 st. PETERSBURG and to-
PARIS, Prussian minister of foreivn af-
fairs, and fnally, in 1871, chancellor of
the German empire, which he held un-
til he was relieved by the present
kaiser.
Of the three octogenarians, the I,
is the one who possesses the most aInia-
BILE and kindly disposition; Gladstone
is man of warm temper, which is apt
to become hot when aroused; D.stnarclx
is a person of exceeding irascibility,
which characteristic, however, accord
ing to ali accounts, has become ,rreatly
modified since his fall from power.
The pope is the most eminent Catho-
lie scholar and theologian of his time;
Gladstone is a man of vast and varied
learning; Bismarck has made no mark
upon the age outside of statccraft.
The pope's activity IN the business of
the church is ceaseless. He keeps
watch of his charge in every conntrys
he receives and holds intercourse with
prelates, priests, and other visitors
from all parts of the world; he COM
poses encyclicals upon many subjects;
he labors necessarily for the unifica-
ton of Christendom: he performs all
his duties in a manner AT osce precise
and vigilant. Gladstone, though re-
tired from Office, is busy with one
thing or another every day of his life.
He is engaged at literary labor; he
travels at home and abroad: he keeps
an eye upon the affairs of chuRh and
state; he gives utterance TO his views
upon public questions and retains his
interest in them; his powers seem to
be in excellent order: nc takes the
greatest enjoyment in life and action.
He may yet again be heard'in in parlia-
ment. Bismarck, the youngest of the
three octogenarians, has passed into
retirement for the remainder of his ex-
istence. He himself has told, within
the past few weeks, Of the effort he
had to make to take part in the cele-
bration of his eightieth birthday, and
to receive the many delegations which
have waited upon him; his participation,
in the ceremonies has been hard trial
for him; his speeches to the delegations
have been very laborious and short;
and it has frequently been necessary
that he should receive the help Of his
friends while moving about.
Gladstone's thoughtful, careful and
venerable wife lives to cheer his years;
it was but recently that Bismarck be-
came widower; the supreme pontiR
never marries.
There are often reports about each Of
the three octogenarians that his death
is at hand; but at least two of them are
ceaselessly busy, and only one of them
talks gloomily. 1t would seem that
the pope is never kept from his duties.
by the condition of his health. 1t is
certain that Gladstone's occasional all
ments are of short duration Bis
marcl's frame has been more seriously
shaken than that of either of his two
contemporaries. Yet it were idle to
speculate upon the prospects of life foTF
any one of the three 1t may be that
the oldest of them will outlive the
youngest.
1t is not in every age of the world
that three such octogenarians as those
here spoken of are seen. 1t is not
often that three veterans of their dis
tinctiveness of character hold such
places in the world as they have held
contemporaneously. There have been
but few instances in which pope OF
the years of Leo XIII. has been as
active as he is. Gladstone is without a.
parallel in British annals. Bismarck is
without rival in the past, as he was
the first chancellor of the existing Ger
man empire.
The three octogenarians must occupy
a large place in the political and eccle-
siastical history of the nineteenth cen-
tury.
Infant Colonels.
The infant son of the prince of Bull