The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-04-21
RHODES IS A MYSTERY.
READABLE CHARACTER SKETCH OF
AFRlcA'S "UNCROWNED KING"

"The Man Who Eats . Country for Hi,
Breakfas:"-His Impressive Sincerity
He Scorns Dress-Has 40 Use for Mar
ried Men-A Subject of Hero Worship.
A very readable character sketch OF
Cecil Rhodes appears in Ainslee's,
written by Allen hangree, CORE
spondentrecently y returned from South
Africa. He says, in part:
'In the land that bears his name,
Cecil Rhodes receives tho homage of
monarch. He stands for the coun-
try's rise or fall. He is the source OF
good and evil; praised for completing
railroad ana blamed for continued
drought. Among white men he is sub
ject of hero worship. To black men
he represents the whole Anglo-Saxon
race. They call him Separator of
Bulls. son of the GraatWhite Gusen,
and the man who eats country for
his breakfast. To them he is Des-
tiny itself
''The first thing you notice about
Mr.. Rhodes is an absence Of atIec.ation.
He receives alike the day laborer and
the foreign minister. In voice, man
ner and conduct he is ever the same
Nothing is studied. Unlike most hui
man beings, he is not an acto". There
Is nothing mysterious about him. He
makes use Of no subterfuge. but
comes straight to the point. In con-
versation he meets your eye s1uarely
and lmpresses you with his sincerity.
1 could not stand out against him,
walled Barney Barnato when berated by
a friend for merging his interests with
the De Beer syndicate. He just
roped meln-roped me in because l
knew he spoke the txuth.'
"Ibls righteousness disarms you
one moment, but engages your ad-
miration the next 1t is instantly
forced upon you that here is man
who holds life too serious and brief
for a masquerade, whose thoughts
are detached from petty things and
engrossed in vast ideas. Mr.. Rhodes
gives evidence Of this by breaking off
conversation when it becomes small,
and concentrating his mind su some
entirely foreign subject.
''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
arc light. They think in penny
weights; Rhodes in tons. He never
bothers with details; they take care
of themselves. Half the time he does
not even have pocket money. Travel
ing on street car in Cape Town one
day, he found himself without the ne
cessary 'ticky' (threepence), and &C
cepted loan.
" Rhodes, exclaimed the American
conductor in writhing sarcasm,
Dusty Roads, I guess Indeed, the
Colossus looked rather dusty, having
been on 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 cos
tune 1 saw him call upon Sir Alfred
Miner at the executive mansion. The
fiunkey at the door, nevertheless,
cracked his spine in making an obeis-
ance.
''But Mr.. Rhodes clothes attract your
last, so domineering, almost
is his presence. Not that
he is unlike other men-an immune
to human passions, frailties and
luxuries. Far from it. 1 noticed
that he greatly enjoys good cigar,
drinks Scotch whiskey and cham
pagne.
Geo il Rhodes is q keen observer,
a philosopher, shrevd 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
TO any woman. Disappointed
in love stories about him go the rounds
at intervals, but are never verified.
There seems to be little room in his
for that sort Of thing. He
treats the gentler sex with indiffer!=
ence and even rudeness. For his
two sisters A. Ae does he exhibit fond
ness. aud they, in turn, have the repu-
tation of being man -haters.'
Nothing aggravates Mr.. Rhodes
more than for one of the Chartered
company's employees to get married.
I came down from Beira on Ger
man steamer with Q newly welded
couple who were returning to Eng
land most detected. The bridegroom
had been Trusted lieutenant in
Rhodesia and went home ON 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 ruinous
to a woman's beauty.
"While this might Le construed as
q 1ittleness, it is popularity Of the
man that falls in line with his life's
aim and work. He holds that the
man will take greater risks
and accomplish mote for him on the
fringe of ciyilizatlo1 He looks at it
in q purely businessA Away, and is will