Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-26
HIS STRONG PERSONALITY
Cecil Rhodes is Certainly Most Remarkable
Man.
Receives the Homage of q Monarch
stops at Nothing to
Achieve His Ends.


He stands for the country'S rise or fall
He is the source of good and evil; praised
for completing railroad and blamed for
continued drought. Among white men he
is subject of hero worship. To black men
he represents the whole Anglo-Saxon race
They call him Separator of Bulls" son
of the Great White Queen and 1.-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. He re-
ceives alike the day laborer and the foreign
minister. In voice, manner and conduct he
is ever the same Nothing is studied. I'm
Ike most human beings. he is not an actor
There is nothing mysterious about him. He
makes use of subterfuge, but comes
straight to the point In conversation he
meets your eye squarely and impresses you
with his sincerity. q could not stand out
against him." walled Barney Barnato, when
berated by a friend for merging his dia-
mond interests with the De Beers syndicate.
He just roped me in-roped me in because
1 knew he spoke the truth
This righteousness diSarmS you one mo-
nient, but engages your admiration the
next. 1t is instantly forced upon you that
here is man who 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 CONVERSE
ton when it becomes small, and concea->
subject.
Rhodes Thinks in Tons.
You need not talk with Mr.. Rhodes five
minutes to learn that he is a thinker. DR..
Jameson and other lieutenants who have
achieved more or less distinction seem but
as moths flying about an light. They
think in pennyweights; 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
Ukreepence), and accepted a loan.
"Rhodesr' exclaimed the American con-
ductor, in writing sarcasm, Dusty Roads,
1 guess" Indeed. the Colossus looked rather
dusty, having been on a 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
polka dot tie, soft felt hat and modest gray
or black clothes. He wears no diamonds.
In this costume l saw him call upon Sir
Alfred Miner at the executive mansion
The turnkey at the door, nevertheless,
cracked his spine in making an obeisance
But Mr. Rhodes clothes attract your at
tention last, so domneering, almost oppres-
sive, is his presence. Not that he is unlike
other men-an immune to human passions,
frsirties and luXuries Far from it, L
Noticed that he greatly enjoys good cigar,
drinks Scotch whisky and champagne.
His Indifference to Women.
Cecil Rhodes is a keen observer, phil
osopher shrewd of wit not given to long
speeches. brave and lavish with money
when he thinks it profitable to be So His
countenance is not an encouraging study
for the sentimental. In the knowledge of
South Africans he has never shown atten-
ton to any woman. observation-disclosures
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 reputation
of being man haters.
Nothing aggravates Mr.. Rhodes more
than for one of the Chartered Company's
employees to get married. 1 came down
from Beira on e. German steamer with a
newly welded couple who were returning
to England most detected. The BRIDE
groom had been a trusted lieutenant in
RhGdesia, and went home on a leave of
absence at his generals suggestion. When
Re returned with rosy-cheeked bride.
however, Rhodes received him colby. and
remarked shortly that the climate in South
Africa was ruinons to woman's beauty.
One of His Peculiarities.
While this might be construed as lit
tleness," it is u REGULARITY q the man that
falls in line with his lifes aim and work.
He holds that the unmarried man will take
greater risks and accomplish more for hin,
on the fringe of civilization. He looks at
it in purely business way, and. is willing
to pay the highest prices for the most eff
Gent work.
Rhodes face and form command your re-
spect. His forehead is massive. The gray
ish light hair lies rather close to his head
and is inclined to curl The ears and nose
are big: the chin firm, prominent and dou-
bic. The brows heavy and overshadow
bright. Keen and thoughtful gray eyes. His
mouth Indicates severity, sarcasm and de-
termination. His neck is thick, his Shout
ders strong, his hands muscular. with
fingers broad at the ends. He is of me-
dunn height. his body heavy In his fore
head you see where gigantic ideas are gen
Grated; in"his chin how they are carried
out The lines of his mouth tell YOU plain
ly that slight infringements of the ethical
code are not to Interfere in his project:
that the end justifies the means