The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-13

| lea he afterwards translated. On re.
turning to, England the young man OF
p had the good fortune of making tbs
acquaintance of Lord Lansdowne, Their
| president of the council. who frequently
invited him to dinner when in London
| and afterwards to Bowood
| Reeves intellectual and bodily activ-
lty kept equal pace in these youthful
| days. Now he is in Paris, from which
| ne can never stay long, now in Ger
many, now in Poland, now studying
| bohemian history o" visiting Bohemian
friends, now writing in French news
papers, now gaining a course of mill
| tafy instruction from Polish general
and now laying out the trenches of a
long poem about Giordano Bruno Sir
| Walter SCOTS motto, Never to be do
| ing nothing must have been Reeves
also and yet, like Scott, he some
times laments his dleness.
| Reeve was now in the full tide of
London life, and dinners and breakfasts
are duly recorded. Macaulay, whom he
| frequently met in society, was evident
ly not favorite of Reeve. He felt lis
history weary him by the sustained eff
fort of the style, and was astonished at
its inaccuracies.
At the age of q Reeve, who at that
period was in friendly or political COM
munication with most of the leaders of
public opinion at home and abroad, be-
gan his connection with the Times
which lasted for Is years He had mar
rled a short time before, but in the fol-
lowing year his wife died after giving
birth to child. Nine years later he
married again.
Reeve was in the best sense of the
term man of the world and seems to
nave spent the best part of his time in
society," Again, what does the modern
journalist think of this? How honor
able he was, how conscientious, how
anxious to say the right word and do
the right thing is evident throughout.
His high sense of duty in his vocation
of journalist may be seen from the fol-
lowing passage.
Lord Granville. who was then GS52)
foreign secretary. informed Mr. Reeve
that Louis Napoleon was irritated be-
yond measure by the language of the
Times, and that however he might de-
serve his castigation. it would be
serious responsibility to anger him too
much.
After vindicating the Times from any
foolish desire to goad on Louis Napol-
con to acts of violence. Reeve adds:
THE responsibility of journalists is in
proportion to the liberty they enjoy. No
moral obligation can be graver, but
their duties are not the same l think
as those of statesmen. To find out the
true state of facts to repeat them with
fidelity. to apply to them strict and
fixed principles Of justice. humanity
and law, to inform as far as possible
the very conscience of nations, and to
call down the judgment of the world on
what is false, or base or tyrannical, ap-
pear to me to be the first duties of
those who write. Those upon whom
the greater part of political action de-
wolves are necessarily governed by 9TH
err rules"
He thoroughly enjoyed the power he
welded, and observes, with not unnat-
ural complacency, that the circulation
of the Times had risen greatly during
his connection with it. Other contribu-
tors might write as we'll as he did, but
no other writer did as much.
My articles were almost always
printed first al the head of the paper
They were the expressions of a great
system OF foreign policy, such as I
should have acted upon if had been
born to the position of, a minister
If they did, as was often the case,
express the opinions of Sir r. Peel, or
Lord Aberdeen. or Lord Clarendon, it is
because 1 commonly found that took
the same view they had formed on pub
lie AFFAIRS
AT the age of 43 Reeve left the Times
and undertook the editorship&of the
Edinburgh Review, which he said was
"a sort of peerage- as compared with
the tumult of the lower house." and
this post he retained till his death. If
he understood the duties of a journal
list, he knew also what was required of
an editor. When Froude published
The Divorce of Catherine of ARA gon'
Reeve thought it best to tell him that
the review of it in the Edinburgh
would be unfavorable, which the au-
thor seemed to regard as a token of
personal animosity.
1t is painful necessity" he wrote
'Froude and his book are too important
to be passed over in silence. But the
judicial character and consistency, and
l may say honor of the Review, abso-
lutely require that the truth should be
told about the book. l should consider
it derogation to my duty to the Re
view, if, from personal motives or af-
lection, l suppressed an adverse crit
lclsm of work which imperativeIy de-
mands an answer it is impossible
to avoid condemning a mistaken book
because the author is a personal
friend
The Review suffered he said, when
he was too busy to write for it. His
not misplaced confidence in his own
ability sustained Reeve through life,
and must have greatly lessened the
difficulty of living.
II was white day in his life when
he was made a member of THE Club"
of which he afterwards became the
treasurer. This club was founded by
DR.. johnson, Burke and Sir Joshua
Reynolds. Boswell relates that Rey-
nolds had the merit of being the first
proposer of it, to which johnson acced-
ed. and indeed became the most promi-
nent member. 1t consisted originally
of 10 members. who met at the Turks
Head, in Gerard street, Soho, one eve
ming in every week at 7 for supper and
Its members were after
wards increased, and the weekly supper
for fortnghtly dinner dur
ing the meeting of parliament. 1t was
then, as it still is, very inclusive. and
confined almost wholly to the aristo-
Gratis of intellect Upon Garricks say
ing, Il like it much, l think l shall be
Of you,' DR.. Johnson was much dis
pleased with the actors conceit. He'll
be of us" said johnson. How does he
knew we will permit him? The first |
duke in England has no right to use
such language Il believe Mr.. Fox will
In mo tn