The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-13

ments were supposed to be stored there,
| and that some Boer officials were un-
commonly anxious for their destruc-
ton, and that therefore Well
these suspicious We're conveyed to Mr.
Rhodes on his return; whereuoon he
smiled grimly, and patted the black
leather sides of bag he had had with
him all the time in the Matoppo Hills
And he has now taken that bag to
England; perhaps presently to be
opened.
1t was at the end of December that he
returned from the Matabele country.
His progress from Durham to Kimber-
ley and from Kimberley to Cape Town
was "a triumphal march. At Cape Town
itself he was received like a conquer
ing hero, and was greeted ny a great
audience at the Drill Hall, where, to
an accompaniment of thunder and
lightning and hail, he made a great
farewell speech. Desperate efforts were
made to get up 'anti-Rhodes" demon
strations throughout the colony, but
with little success. The English resi-
dents were with him to a man, and so
were the great majority of the Dutch,
ulation. 1t was made unmfEtakably
clear that, whatever might be his re-
ception and his fate in England, he
was trusted, honored and admired in
South Africa above all other men of
the time.
The figure of the man~is, indeed, an
inspiring one, seen in contemporary
history or in actual presence. If you
see him on horseback, one of his
faNCrites of all places, you see him
riding like centaur, erect and firm,
save for an intent forward inclination
of the massive head. In his home or in
society you see a stalwart, unaffected
man, plainly but fastidiously garbed,
quite. courteous but masterful in man
nerThe face is that of lion, or bull
dog, or of man whose will is a law
unto himself and unto all about him.
Rhodes" said Charles Gordon to him
one day, you are one of those men
who never approve anything unless it
is of their own doing" Yes" replied
Rhodes, Il fancy that's true" 1t is
true. But then this man has practo-
ally done everything he has had any
thing to do with. His brow is that of
a scholar, his figure that of an athlete.
his voice that of an orator His blue
eyes reads you through and through,
while his thin lips seem meant to shut
in rather than to give forth what
thoughts are in his mind. Power is
the supreme characteristic, both phys
ical and mental. Perhaps the spiritual
is in allegiance, or is LACKING. Spiritu-
ality was not a striking trait of Drake
or Hastings or Give. If this man errs
in that respect, he errs in illustrious
company, and not for a selfish mo-
tive The British Empire in South
Africa is the cause to which he gives
himself Perhaps unconscously but
none the less surely it was the inspira
tiOn of his early oxford studies and
his health seeking in Natal The con-
sciousness of it grew upon him when
he began to grow rich a Kimberley and
when he finished his course at Oriel. 1t
reached full confirmation when he be-
came the Diamond King and Prime
minister of Cape Colony. 1t is revealed
to all the world, now that he has car
ried the British flag and advanced the
British borderine a thousand miles
through one of the richest countries on
the globe. His dream is realized. And
in the very hour of its realization he is
arraigned to give an accounting of the
means by which, in part, that end was
gained. 1t is curious but not uncom-
mon turn of fate and it forms by no
means the least interesting episode in
the career of this empire builder who,
above most others of the age, may fit
tingly be deemed man of destiny