Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-12-13

dren HAD the front row and the next wa:
Gccuped by our special friends. Mr.
need would applaud vDeiferously. and
a. each picture vanished, would whisper
what do you 'spose the next ones 90
ing to be?' Finally there appeared on IN,
sneet large stOrk, whose eyes rollc<
wildiy about as 10 in search of tn:
ca. this effect being obtained by a device
which my father invented on the spul
OF the moment. Mr.. Reed clutched hi
s Sman 90 daughtsr imploringIy; Don't lei
t ana then added. in a tone intended fol
me ear of the Snowman, Charles. you
a e. sssf were ysrsatiA Why waste such
These Srt bus fsx yo OF .Ss instances 1,
me lacility OF his imagination and the
r nnnpy Sni aaa e;1hi! tat made hin :
a ame entertainment of children. And in
al ms intercourse with young people ne
| HetSr MADE the mistake of talking down
=, 70 Inem. Their self-consciousness was in
geniaiity, and he never failed to win from
| sneh spontaneous response. We who
Ieit most his Intellectual breadth because
or our daily association with him had the
| least hesitation in presenting our clairr.;
CpOn MS attention in behalf of our own
immature and unimportant interests.
gown with the same convincing .serinns-
ness with which he would have investi-
sated Inc qua litications of an aspirant
In his home he dwelt in an atmosnhsra
unusually harmonious, at once a solaee
ana inspiration. Often there is some one
element of a mans greatness which is
totahy unrecognized in his family, but in
tnls case ms every phase was met with
responding comprehension. No one, with
OUT Deing admitted to an intimate asso-
CATION with this home life, could realize
r NOW eSm np6 ms nature was supple
appreciation of mind as rare as his
own. Nor can forbear to speak of his
daughter and her helpfulness to ner
father. 1t is a comfort to us to know
that the influence of his brilliant person
atty is not to cease, for apart from the
working out Of the leaven which he m
troduced into the conduct of public
affairs. he lives again in his only child.
VINO Is endowed to a, remarkable degree
with the characteristics of his mind and
manner. They were comrades always.
in spirit and in deed.
There was much that he heartily liked
m the social life of Washington, An
ideal dinner guest himself, he was es-
pecialiy quick to appreciate brilliance OF
thought and expression of others. And
country would he have found so large a
circle in which conversation was not a
lost art. While he was speaker of the
House ne made it point on Mrs. Reeds
reception day to come home in time to
meet few fortunate individuals who
mad remained, in anticipation of the half
hour he was to spend with them; ana,
aitnougn our faces might be aching with
the continued wearing of .'galvanic
smiles, and our spirits weary with the
EFFORT to give impressiveness to meaning
less phrases of Interrogation and inter.
lection, promptly upon his appearance
our smiles ceased to be forced, our spir-
its revived, and conversation fourished-|
rapidly modulated from the minor of our
mental exhaustion to the reviving major
Key of his whimsicality. In diplomatic
circles and in circles where diplomacy is
equally subtle though not professional
and where the exercise of his purely in
teilectual powers would fail to awaken
a response, his inexhaustible fund of wit
and humor would be an unfailing open
sesame He was a master of words, and
delighted in their color and values, ana
no one ever had a surer instinct for their
effective grouping. 1t would be but a
repetition to give instances of his singu-
larry vivid expression of his ideas, for
every bon-mot Of his had no sooner
passed his lips than it was eagerly
seized upon and passed from person to
person until it became public property.
In matters of art his tastes were con-
servative and his judgment unerringiy.
correct. However, like many other orig
inal minds of rugged force and strength,
his ear was not open to the message that
music had to give. Perhaps someone will
one day explain why the presence of ele-
mentS essential to a certain type OF
creative intellect seems to leave no room
for the faculty of perceiving the signifi-
canoe of music. This was more remark
able in his case because his delight in all
other harmonious expressions of beauty
was keen. he was particularly interested
in etchingS and old prints and had got
together a valuable collection of them.
His enthusiasm when he had made a new
find was refreshing, and we were fire.
nupptly summarized rejoice with him.
over its peculiar merits.
He was, however, perfectly free from
impulsiveness, and, the absolute subordi-
nation of feeling to the judicial faculty
which he exhibited in all his public ser
vice was temperamental, being equally
apparent in his unofficial life. But when
both sympathy and reas son were at one,
he was the most powerful of advocates.
| remember how he came to the defence
of young friend of my fathers. Weigh
keenness, he became convinced of the in
justice that was being done, and volun-
tarily entering the lists shoulder to
shoulder with my father he fought in the
lads defence, day after day and week
after week, against a formidable combl-
nation. 1t is almost needless to say that
the result of their championship was d
complete vindication.
His methods and manners were So
unique that a cult sprungsup among the
younger congressman. whose obvious
though unavowed, object was the imita-
ton of everything about the Speaker
that they could copy, even to MS ponder
Gus gait and his characteristic draWl.
His So-called autocratic mode OF proce-
dure was mildly emulated even among
the womens clubs, and many feminine