The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-14

fNlSpN 10y tnpm Tor MIN. Though tho iu,,r,.N
tion was at first denied, tt was. MI mat"Iiyy nS-
mittcd In It's main features. and, as the an, Iu..
Of this biography points cut, Mr.. Webster, at a
lars from a citizen immrd atelv after tatirc
definite GROUND on a subject Of grrqt miiS
The committee which investigated til" charger ih,NySm
Of dishoneStyy qeGuitteSd Webster OF. wrong.
believed that Il had whitowashcd WcRssftatI'ee q
his expense. Here we should recall the fact
as Minister TO France. hut the Senate rSfnsoo1
t. confirm the appointment q the request %
would he construed rs an Endorsement 81 In
charges which MIR. Ingersoll had made.
III.
In a final chapter the biographer tells II,
good deal about the personal characteristics a,
his subject. Mr.. lngersoll. it seems. was ratbsY
sliR hit in figure. and rather below than abovs
the average height. His hair was always ont
closely TO his head, and was described by Mrs
Maury. the author OF Statesmen OF America in
1886" as OF n lively brown color; to the end
OF his life 1t had hardly turned In the least
degree gray. He was very erect and
agile in his movements and had the air
of a man accustomed to receive attention and
respect. We have seen that. at thirty. he looked
much younger than he was: Judge sharswood
recounts that in his eiehtleth year he might
well have passed for a man Of fifty" Accord.
ing to the same authority he possessed a most
excellent constitution which he had preserved
by the %strictest temperance in meat and drink
and by regular exercise" Judge ARnew. ona
OF the few survivors Of the Pennsylvania State
Convention of 1887. says that Mr.. ~Ingersoll al
that time was ordinarily clad in a dark frock coat.
light waistcoat and gray trousers: ten years
later Mrs. Maury spoke Of him as dressed in
the old evolutionary costume OF buff and blue"
and one OF our authors informants described
him at the John Sergeant bar meeting an
dressed in a blue coat with brass buttons. A
writer In Some Sketches OF the Bar" pub
lished In 1871. said that his eccentricity, espe-
cially In dress. is proverbial. Sometimes he
is dressed ! la mode. sometimes his coat seems
an heirloom from his ancestors. and some-
times, while his vest is Of exquisite fashion.
his hat is too shabby to be worn. No matter
whether he is to appear in court. at the bar.
the Senate. or before a popular assembly. 1t Is
all the Same. His political adversaries charge
to sycophancy that which is unquestionably
the result OF eccentricity." The biographer
does not deny that his subjects eccentrlcities
in dress continued when he was nearly 80 and
had retired from public life.
In Washington during the sessions OF Con-
gress MIR. lngersoll lived in hired rooms. As
his wife was not strong and had a largo
family to look after at home. he always went
alone to the Federal capital. He wrote in 1915
that he had been paying 500 q month. but had
recently taken at $50 a month "a pretty fair
parlor and small bedchamber adjoining at the
Hotel. a sort of new eating house
lately built by a German named Eberbach.'
1t was this establishment to which Mrs. Maury
referred when she wrote on one occasion to
inquire whether he was again at that reposi-
tory for bad mutton chops" In Philadelphia
he lived for many years in the house now
500 Walnut street. while his summers we're
largely spent at d country seat which he called
Foresthill. situated near what is now Ninth
street and Erie avenue. He seems. OCCASION
aaiiy, to have u taken ken driving trips to York or
tario. He was always fond Of horseback rid
town with Joseph Bonaparte, he rode daily to
and from a trial at Trenton. According to Mrs.
at 4 O'Clock and working Until 'tbs rea kkfssitnt an ND
then taking up the regular duties Of the day.
been kind and courteous. though his habits Of
command and incisiveness were apparent. AZ
always welcome. for his nature wa4 bright
and md cheerful tee and he had. in q high de-
Mrs, Maury wrote that he, was the de-:
light Of every dinner party; Judge, sharswood
c n5 Svs sriat He W Had one a f fr"s a rHlei Httir aSSd
company of which he had been a part withou6
SAT- saiEfybfg 2 Eh T1ti f Mq sfH @9srsn1FF S wsIl tnoH y P.S or
been IN the habit OF ot,en going 70 church. but
that he was a Presbyterian at the time Of her
aEequaintance with him. but he later Joined the
good, many Roman Catholic ~prelates. and, when
IN Washington dined occasionally with the
'J Il is in a. ne4figeep nt t bbGileg Geiurot,ro .
caii the TACT that Mr.. ingersoll was an ardent
believer 10 the future of his country and in hep
opinion Of his biographer. that influence. az
direct results dowlng from the SPREAD Of q
our principles OF government. but was to be.
people, the Hnedycated and very poor. az
WINGED. He held, like Gladstone. that the
much more iik eiy to be right than the Uds eeision
OF a few. and he apparently, believed that uni.
yersal suffrage Is useful by giving a broad
VII and by tending to cancel and annui any
~ effects from, the seliishness OF classes.
Than a short distance. and that the difference
IN TINS respect the learned and the UNI
out how Is nu exttT re iS small n Il, He often pointed
TIE lowly born take the lead and push aside
s tn e. T;e e OF luxury, Yes, sir" he once
q q Europe invaded unarmed France, the mi.
thImadI me common people. who. at the drum:
],ostlers to command them. went forth to
Tattle against the princes and mobiles, who led
Snd drove t fh@s1S to bsc Hfntii Stn ed,t conquest:
capital OF Europe, Which they capptured.H
had none Of the haunting dread OF the
be DESCRIBED the United States as "a nation
born OF q Boston mob" and, on another Occa-
sibo hon In IN the course e o. a legal argument. he said
HrcoinPllsht the purpose intended by the act
a., a. sembly under ,c3nsiIeration,, In an eT-
Richard Rush the question was put to him
h. r 'Sgaa Ii Tn a6a ii SsI i Would put myself at
That slavery was an evil was clear to Mr.. In.