Evening journal., 1898-03-31
THE GRAND OLD MAN.

THE GRAND OLD MAN.
Mr.. Gladstone Is an old man. He has |
enioyed a longer lease of life and much |
more OF the worlds honor than 1t is |
the fortune OF most men to enjoy. In
the natural course of events he cannot |
live much longer, for he is far beyond
the allotted three-score years and ten,
and his physical infrmlties are max
ing sad inroads upon his master mind
and iron frame The busy public Life
which he led for 50 many years, with
its weight OF mOmentOus responsible
ties, was sufficient 10 break down the
mind and body of any man not pos
sessed of extraordinary powers of en-
durance but he stood at the head of
his party, admired by his friends and
feared by his foes, until his eyesight
began to fail and he became impressed
with the necessity Of surrendering to
younger hands that leadership which
he had held for such long period. The
time had come when the limit of en-
durance was reached. He must heed
the warming or do grave injustice to
himself and TO those who were more
closely connected with him than his
political friends. He owed 1T to his
family to spend the last years OF
an honored life beside his hearthstone
Although retired from active
participation in political affairs, he
still acted in an advisory capacity, and
from time to time made himself heard
from one end Of the world to the other,
as, for instance, in the scathing ar
fraignment OF the pusillanimous attitude
OF Great Britain and the other powers
in dealing with Turkey at the time OF
the Armenian massacres. In behalf
OF humanity he raised his voice, and
It was heard and needed, for it repre-
sented the feeling of the civilized
world.
For the past year or two he has been
failing quite rapidly, and his condition
has aroused the gravest fears of his
family and friends. Now a cancerous
affection has attacked the nose and,
II his other ailments do not cause dis
solution, 10 is likely that the ravages
of this malignant growth will There
fore il is, apparently, only a short time
before the Grand Old Man will leave
the land which he loved and for the
welfare Of which he labored so we'll and
so increasingly.
For a long time he has been promi-
mont ,r,d r,nfnnH H.rr,,-, L., t1,o ,.-,,.f 4 .,
history He has helped to make Il
what it is. Without him it would hav,
been poorer in substance, for he ha.
done much which was good for this
people of all nations His inhuenc,
was so great that it spread far beyont
the confines Of the British empire /
was universal in it's scope, and tn
high character Of his statesmanshi
was such as to commend itself to tn
public men OF all other countries a
being well worthy OF emulation.
Mr. Gladstone was at his best in tn
time OF Lord Beaconsfeld that mag
netic premier who preceded Lord Sails
bury as leader of the Conservativ
party OF Great Britain. He wa
younger then and not subjected to 9
many embarrassments as he was
later years, when he battled with tn
present premier for supremacy in Bri
ish politics.
Many years ago Henry w. Lucs
contributed an article to Harper's
which he set out at length the ma,
netlc power of Beaconsfeld and r
ferred to Mr. Gladstone in terms whi,
were much more commendable comm
as they did, from an earnest admir-
and critic OF Mr. Disraei. He said:
When, one morning in August OF d
year 1876, the world was amazed
learn that Benjamin DisTael was
more, and that Il had, in his plaS
been lowered with an Earl of Beacon
field, It was Thought that Mr.. Disrae
weary OF the long strife, had delibl
ately chosen the decent means Of
tirement from the forefront Of b,
tie which the continued existence
the House of Lords supplies to I
state 1t was surmised that IN the
tered circumstances of the upper cha
Der the dashing and reckless be
sabre OF House Of Commons warf;
would be lost. It was said that
would languish amid the proprieties
the House of Lords, that he would
understand their lordships, that tn
lordships would misinterpret him, a
that between the two he would pr
emily come to wish that he had rema
ed amid more familiar scenes. It
was the prophecy uttered in the Ho
OF Commons. and in some measure