The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-07-27
ALEX IB||DBR 4. STEPHENS i: | /. Is
Personal Reooltections Of One Of
the Great Leaders Of the
Southern confederacy.
His Vigorous But Futile Attempt
to Unite the Democratic Party
on Stephen A. Douglas.
Like Calhoun Before Him, '.He
Would Not Change His Free
Thoughts for a Throne

g.% WOulQ mol S1AdH&S AAAo 49,
. Thoughts for Throne
+ when I vas 81 a small boy at Georgetown
College, Mr.. Stephens had already Oesh 7ss
For some time a distinguished member oI
congress Of great national repqte, says
James R. Randall in the Cathoiic ofioA ''l
and Times. may have seen nsfn "Ae11 ''
ner;nd;cally permitted by our professors
n 1nnk ,,pon what Bonn Piatt supse~
ouenty called the Cave ct WINDS ana fos
Rank-the houses Of congTess--eu1 ! 40
nor remember to have had tnat p,esasulle' 'l1
Nothing was farther from my thoHshts
- Il, at time than the possibility OF know
ing the celebrated Georgian persoa1alls'
or Of marrying the niece OF ono OF ene
most prominent senators Qf tna1 perAoo'
These curious happenings would seem
to warrant the subtle statement OF I've
noat which Mr.. Lincoln and MI. steoh-
ems were fond of quoting:
sIife is all o mist :,
And in the dark our fortunes meet uo'
The Stephens even Of that eaxlier cay
c.us the weird-looking beardless phe eno1n-
a,,on who somehow continued pfovlaen-
tally to survive infancy, tuvesaesoencs
and early manhood without health or
strength Of body, but the astenua4ea
shrine of q, lofty, practical, preseaeat ano
nbflosonhie intellect. He useo 70 ca
1;ress wonder himself how such an anat-
o1,1v as his could have existed for any
considerable period after birth. = Ellis
nightv spirit dominated the nesn en-
velone and God preserved him Tor mar
yelIous achievem ents. Ihe aa1nlfao's
biography OF this extraordinary heliis'
t,,a mint prodnctino Of Cot. r. M. john
son and Prof. VIM. Hand Browne, pa
thetieally depicts his melancholy begin
ninrs as well as the triumphss OF has ma
turity and old age. He was poor, proua,
feeble. aspiring, despondent, alternsLeiy
morbid and uplifted at the outset. Ins
one thing that made him desire HE anu
Kept the vital flame unextlngu1sneo WAS
conscious power of mind and resolIte ae
Termination to rise above MS fedlpW cses',
lures for noble purposes re proposeu
to rid himself zneasnrably OF All hupail
dependence in order to. as ne eSpFessv.
it. reverse revenge and DenenI d "ofiu
that perpetually aroused ais sorrow anu
conte,nut. How we'll he strove to con-
s,,n,rnate his project will endeavo1r, M
eketcby fashion, to portray, more from
individ1,a1 observation than reference to
historical data.
NV first recollections Of him from
sight was at Richmond during the, war
saw him presiding over the Confeuetass
senate. He had won eminence at the oar
and as a prophetic constitutional states
man and unsurpassed orator. NO man
in the South. perhaps, had conquered 50
many difficulties and attained so mncf
world wide fame. Ke had encoutered
most formidable opponents and van--
onished them. He shared With Henry a.
Wise. of Virginia, the honor Of demo ollsa- "a
ing the know nothing monster. Ills
academic education stood In good stead
hI,t II was the mere foundation OF stu-
din,,s habit that made him, with his DOW
ters Of memory, thought-sorcery and logl-@
cal faculty, q prodigy Of general as well
as specific information. Though ne han
profound analytic, intellect, he loved, IN
his own way, poetry, romance ana IN
yention. I recall, however, that a cer-
tain inyolute, and metaphysical lyric, ny
a noted Southern author, who mas unique
honor and c,lltus, even at the North, was
mere gibberish to him. He could never
read. beyond afew pages, one Or the Nost
nnp1llar of modern novels; he dotted. on
the classics Of Language which were lu-
cid simple in sublimity or tenderness,
and devoid Of tortuosity Of expression
He never failed to maks himself under-
stood. no matter how serious the sub
iect, and he. 1nanifestly believed tfat
there was. no clear thought in such aor04
batic FORMS Of speech as he condemned e
Before he became second officer OF the
Confederacy, he had enlarged his re-.
douDtable reputation by vigorous but
futile attempts to unite the Democratic
party on Mr.. Douglas, and to dissu ado
his people from righting their wrongs
outside Of the Union, His wisdom IN
both Of these contentious was suprenie,
but when people get mad, or are lasheed
into madness by Incorporate or befogged
orators and newspapers, the prophet
leses honor at home, and often, like MT.
Stephens, shares the fate of densa1oglc5
cranks in fatal aseendency. II sts g, SIN.
( s.11lar fact, In this connection, that the
advice of Mr.. Stephens against secession e on
vas co,interacted by one 81 the pt1lrssat
ald most gifted of Georg gianas 5sEsslt,s lle,2.
though trained To- a civic On tsrs' q ~
came al valiant and skillfnl genefal.
ing like hero on tl1eSh lights ef bfedsS
ericksburg. tg z s. @.5ss ssssssMs ssss sss
While Mr.. Stevens was in several iFl-ss
portant ways, at variance with Mr. I}a1s
Wis. the Confed President, they had
no personal quarrel Mr.ssteph ems. hav-Ss
], -, VY1ntf poi,if trsG1ffinTS or srnf3p-