Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1899-02-23
THE ARGUS.
DAILY N WEEKLY.
The Passing of Felix Faure.
by Lucien julien Walker.l

azure, the president OF the So
called republic of France (Repub-
lique Francaise) must create
throughout the diplomatic world a
profound sensation; a sensation
even more profound than that
caused by the assassination OF
poor Carnot, six years ago. Car
not was the direct descendant of
that Carnot who was the only
honest man of the revolution,
save only Mirabeau and the 'sea-
green'' Robespierre. The pock-
marked Mirabeau, most master
full man in all that turbulent PEI
riod, the giant looming above all
other men except that young lieu
tenant of artillery known in all
the after-time as Napoleon the
Great, was the co-Worker of that
Carnot whose grandson was ruler
of France and was stabbed by an
Italian anarchist in Lyons some
half a dozen years ago. The mes
sage conveying Carnot's death
reached me in my bed room when
I was the American official repre-
sentative In the largest consular
district of Europe. Immediately
the stars and stripes were lowered
to half-mast, and the French con-
sui called to officially thank the
United States.
This much has not got to do
with the death of Felix Faure,
except incidentally. Carnot was a
lifo-senator of France, and so was
Faure. Carnot was not known out
side of France, except to close
students of foreign politics. That
fact also applied to Faure. Per-
sonally I had met Carnot and
liked him. He was one of the most
engaging of men-one of the most
fascinating men L ever met, to
speak plain truth. | did not re-
gard him as measuring up to the
full standard of greatness; did not
consider him worthy of his ex-
allied station, any more than l hon.
ored Hayes, Garfield or Harrison.
The four of them were respectable
enough; but they were not great.
Felix Faure was a man of the
Garfield type, yet UNNECESSARILY
superior TO Garfield. Like Garfield,
he was self made. Garfield was a
canal boy. Faure was a tanner.
You remember that Jesus abode
with one Simon, a tanner. In the
system of Jewish civilization the
tanner occupied the lowest social
place, The tanner was in a social
sense an outcast and so the Naza-
rene, lowliest and meekest of the
lowly and meek, and at the same
time, the Son of God, TO all
Christians, abided with one Simon,
a tanner, the lowliest of the arti-
sans or the tradesmen.
Felix Faure has gone to join
the mighty throng that sleep
with st. Louis in the shadow
land. With him rest Henri, Louis
XI, Louis XIV. Louis XVI vino.
under the blessed benediction of
the faithful abbe-''son of St.
Louis, ascend to heaven" per-
ished in a stones throw of that
great pile on the Seine, in which
to-day there VIII be spoken only
words of praise for the dead.
In the Pantheon of France
Felix Faure will be laid to sleep
the last long sleep; and in sight
of his resting place there shall
loom up through the years the
golden dome of the Iuvalides,
under which awaits the last call
of God the most illustrious man
whose genius has illuminated
this planet since mankind came
to inhabit it.
It is not for me to seek to pay
any worthy tribute to Felix
Faure. But the career of no
other man foremost in history,
save that of Garfield, has so.
much interested me. Amongst
the former presidents OF France,
Lamartine, Louis Napoleon,
Theirs, Mcmahon, Casimir>
Perier, Carnot-none has SO fully
called for respect as this last of
them, this dead tanner, Felix
Faure.
1t is not possible at this late
hour to guess the probable sue
cessor of M. Faure, He may be
Jules Cambon, M. Hanotaux; he
may be Brisson, the handsomest