The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-05

uhlNIiOWl OuNS4dS tlIO llSNA'S" NS'--'AN0
Cape Colony Gen Gordon who had been
in South Africa, had met him there six
teen years ago, and formed so high an
estimate of his character that when ne
started on his heroic mission 10 the SOU
dan in 1881, his first act was to telegraph
to Mr. Rhodes, asking him to accompany
him to Khartoum. Mr.. Rhodes was then
treasurer of Cape Colony and so he was
unable TO accept Gen. Gordon's invitation.
Had 1t been otherwise, the recent history
- of Africa both North and South, would
have 10 be rewritten. for there the lie
of one of these men and the death OF the
other are the two great factors which
dominate the destinies Of Africa. 1t is
well 10 approach the study of the coming
man of the British empire from the
standpoint of Gen. GoFdons invitation 70
Khartoum The ordinary standpoint from
which Mr.. Rhodes is judged is that OF
the hnancier OIL. the politician. Those VINO
look at him from either the stock eX-
change or Downing street never discover
the key to the strongly complex character
u-hlch Is the fascination of his friends and
tho desDair Of his enemies. If you want
70 understand. Cecil Rhodes 1t is neces-
sary to begin by remembering that cen
Gordon knew him well and trusted him
absolutely. Gen. Gordon was the Bayard
of our generation No more absolutely
selfess man ever served his country and
his queen The pure and, lofty spirit was
never stained by even the ealumny OF
those sordid souls who delight TO impate
10 others the folly and baseness' of their
own nature Gen. Gordon was a man
passionate for humanity, a very knight
errant of philanthropy, full of religious
mysticism and an abiding sense Of the
reality and the power and the love OF
God Alike in life and IN death, he
stands before the world man of the
stuff Of which saints and martyrs are
made-the most conspicuous and splendid |
type OF the hero which Britain in these
latter days has given to the world
Yet this man was the friend of Cecil
Rhodes. Gordon, who knew him, believed
IN him. and trusted him so much that /
when. In the supreme moment of his ca
reer. he took his life In his hand and
Jared forth to the post Of duty-and as !
the result proved, of death-at Khartoum
his first thought was to send for Rhodes
Rhodes who was not even a soldier or |
a diplomat and who had no experience
whatever or the pTOpIeluS VI liiS OoNA"A4 |
Gordon however, who was a keen, shrewo |
Judge of men, knew Cecil Rhodes to be
man after his own heart And !, who
knew both men, can well understand the
secret OF his confidence in Rhodes.
Both men were singularly, self1ess.
- Neither of them was married. Each OF /
them had dedicated his life to the ,pur- !
suit of lofty ideal, over which both had
brooded long years In the solitude of the |
African desert. To each of them, although |
in widely different ways, had. come the !
abiding sense of the insignifcance and
brevity of life compared with the eternal
realities which underlle the fleeing phe-
nomena of this transitory life. 1t is diff
cult 10 say which despised more profound
ly-the gew-gaws of pomp OF the trappings |
of mower although Rhodes undoubtedly
had d keeneP sense of the possibilities
within the grasp OF those who possess the
sinews of war. Both were devoted to
the service of their country, ard each In
his own way had a deep sense Of the JUS
tlce that was due to the dark-skinned
races among whom their lot was cast.
Rhodes, like Gordon, was a man of action
rather than man of speech. Both pos
sessed that rare gift of personal charm
which is due to a certain frank simplicity
of manner and directness of speech. Both,
in short, were real men and not shams,
earnest men with keen outlook into the
world Of men, strenuous to do with their
might whatever their hands found to do
in their brief working day of life. Rhodes,
like Gordon, was man accustomed all
his life to ponder the problems of empire
/ said of him years ago that some men
think in parishes, others in nations, but
that Rhodes thinks in continents. So
did Gordon. The voluminous papers which
the latter wrote on questions of imperial
policy are a mine of political wisdom,
In which statesmen might delve and quar-
ry with good profit.
There were differences between the two
friends, as is natural between men, one
of whom believes In God Almighty, the
Father OF all men, as his father and per-
sonal lover of his soul, and the other to
whom 1t seems but an even chance
whether there be any God at all. One
was u soldier; the other a diamond dig
ger. One had commanded armies and
conducted negotiations in three CONT
nents; the other had merely made a
million in South African finance Never
theless they knew and trusted each other,
and In Gordons confidence in Rhodes
there is the best possible answer to the
vulgar calumny which represents the
great African as a mere millionaire of
the bourse or an INSCRIPTIONS intriguer
In imperial politics.
Cecil Rhodes is at this moment, not
outstanding his temporary eclipse after
The unfortunate affair of the Jameson
raid, the greatest parsonage in the Brit
ish empire, bar two: The greatest man.
bar one. Tie queen and the queens prime
minister, Lord Salisbury. alone tower
above the African empire builder in the
estimation Of the world, beth within and
without Great Britain. After Mr. Rhodes
Mr.. Chamberlain Is a bad fourth But
Mr.. Rhodes is so much greater than Mr.
Chamberlain that he could afford to ac-
ccpt the Cdium Of & parliamentary cen
6nTe IN order to save Mr. Chamberlain
from an exposure which would have ex~
un9uishcd his political career and to
emerge practically unaffected by his sac
r,hce II was not, indeed, until Mr.
Rhodes fell on evil days, and was expos
ed to the bitter disappointments Of un
accustomed failure and disasters, that
the general public began to realize how
great man the empire had reared in
South Africa. Not until there Is a run
en- bank do men appreciate the irnmen-
Fity Of The resources. 1t is the storm. not
the calm, which tests the seaworthiness
IF the vessel And so 1t was not until
Mr. Rhodes had been passed through the
fiery ordeal Of defeat and humiliation
that his contemporaries realized the man.
her of man with whom they had to do
Hly career is only now beginning" he
Is said TO have remarked as he took shin
after the raid to face the music" of
the parliamentary inquiry; and events
have Justifled-more than tustihed-hie
confidence. Subjected to the strongest
possible temptation to win an easv VIC
tory by bctraying a by no means Iovol
colleaRue, he endured rather all tha .odi