The National tribune., 1900-02-01
CECIL RHODES.
Character Sketch Of the Head Of the Char.
tered Company In South Africa.
"a character sketch of Cecil Rho

Character Sketch Of the Head Of the Char
tered Company IN South Africa.
A character sketch of Cecil Rhodes ap
pears in Ainsies's. written by Allen San
gree. correspondent, recently returned
from South Africa. He says in part:
Rhodes receives tho homage Of O monarch
He stands for the country's rise or fall
He is the source of good and evil; praised
for completing q railroad and blamed for G
continued drouth. Among white men he
is subject of hero worship. To black
men he represents the whole Anglo-Saxor
race. They call him Separator of Bulls,
Son of the Great White Queen and the
| man who eats country for his breakfast
To them he is Destiny itself.
THE first thing you notice about Mr.
Rhodes is an absence Of affectation. Here
Minister. In voice, manner and conduc,
he Is ever the same. Nothing is studied
Unlike most human beings, he is not an
actor. There Is nothing mysterious about
him. He makes use of no subterfuge, but
comes straight to the point. In conyers a.
ton he meets your. eye. squarely and i'm,
presses YOU with his sincerity. i could
not stand out against him. walled Barney
Barnato, when berated by friend for
merging his diamond interests with the De
Beers Syndicate. He just roped me in
roped me in because | knew he spoke the
truth
This ingenuousness disarms you one
moment, but engages your admiration the
next. 1t is instantly forced upon you that
here is man vino holds life too serious
and brief for masquerade, whose thoughts
are detached from petty things and en-
crossed in vast ideas. Mr.. Rhodes gives
evidence OF this by breaking off conversa-
ton when 1t becomes small, and concen-
trating his mind on some entirely foreign
subject.
You need not talk with Mr.. Rhodes five
minutes to learn that he is thinker. DR..
Jameson and other leutenants who have
achieved more or less distinction, seem but
think in pennyweigbts: Rhodes in tons
He never bothers with details; they take
care of themselves. Half the time he does
not even have pocket money. Travelling
on street car in Cape Town one day, he
found himself without the necessary 'ticky'
Ghreepence), and accepted loan.
RhodesE exclaimed the American con-
ductor in writhing sarcasm, Dusty Roads,
l guess Indeed the colossus looked rath-
CT dusty, having been on q tramp along
the docks. The detail of dress, however,
is one to which he is especially indifferent.
His favorite garb is a white flannel shirt
with q polkadot tie, soft felt hat, and mod
est gray or black clothes. He wears no
diamonds. In this costume l saw him call
upon Sir Alfred Miner at the Executive
Mansion. The funky at the door, never
theiess, cracked his spine in making an
obelSancc.
Put Mr. Rhodes's clothes attract your
attention last, so domiEeering, almost OPP
presSIve IS his presence. Not that he is
unlike other men-an immune to human
passions, frailties and luxuries. Far from
1t. noticed that he greatly enjoys good
cigar. drinks Scotch whisky, and cham
pagne.
philosopher, shrewd of wit, not given to
long speeches, brave, and lavish with money
when he thinks it profitable to be SO. His
countenancs is not an encouraging study
for the sentimental. In the knowledge OF
South Africans he has never shown atten-
ton to any woman. Disappointed-in-love
stories about him go the rounds at inter
walls, but are never verified. There seems
to be little room in his makeup for that
sort Of thing. He treats the gentler sex
with Indifference and even rudeness. For
his two sisters alone does he exhibit fond
ness, and they, in turn, have the reputa-
ton OF being 'man-haters.
thanfor one Of the Chartered Company's en-
ployes to get married. l came down from
Beira on German steamer with q newly
welded couple who were returning to Eng
land most detected. The bridegroom had
been a trusted lieutenant in Rhodesia, and
went nOInS on q leaVe OF absence at his
generals suggestion. When he returned
with rosy-cheeked bride, however. Rhodes
received him coldly, and remarked shortly
that the climate in South Africa was ruin
GUS to a woman's beauty.
While this might be construed as a
: littleness,' it is a popularity Of the man
that falls In line with his life's aim and
work. He holds that the unmarried man
will take greater risks and accomplish
more for him on the fringe of civilization.
He looks at it in purely business way,
and is willing to pay the highest prices for
the most efficient work.
Rhodes s face and form command your
respect His forehead is massive. The
graysh light hair lays rather close to his
head and is inclined TO curl. The ears and
nose are big. the chin firm, prominent and
double. The brows are heavy and over
shadow bright, keen and thoughtful gray
eyes. His mouth indicates severity, sar-
casm. and determination. His neck is thick,
his shoulders strong, his hands muscu-
lar, with fingers broad at the ends. He is
of medium hight. his body heavy. In his
forehead You see where gigantic ideas are
generated, in his chin how they are car
RED out The lines Of his mouth tell you
plainly that slight infringements OF the
ethical code are not to interfere in his
project; that the end justifies the means"