New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-05-11
STANLEY.
voters.

The death of Stanley removes from among
men a figure of unique interest He had no
rival and he will have no successor. There
have been, and still are, other great discover
ers. Not for two centuries has there been one
whose deeds are comparable with his. There
will be others But there is no room now left
upon the earth in which to rival his achieve
ments His deeds, moreover, were distin-
guished and apart not only by their magnitude,
but by their very character. They were unique
in kind as well as in degree. He was not
conduest-seeker, as Cortez and PlzarrO and
Drake and Cabot were, and as even Columbus
himself was. In his immortal march through
the heart of the Dark Continent he carried the
Stars and Stripes. But he never once planted
that or any flag in token of conquest He
seized no lands in a sOvereign's name. lie
filed his own Golfers with no spoils wrung or
cozened from the native tribes. He went In
on an errand of pure philanthropy. He full
filed his commission in that spirit He came
out again with hands unsoied by selfish spells.
In such respects he stood alone and unap-
proachable among those whose dolngs were
comparable with his in the righteousness OF their
execution and the magnitude Of their results.
This fact makes fitting estimate of him by
no means easy The man who does that which
is truly great is himself greater than his deeds.
We speak of men Of action, as distinguished
from men of thought. Yet there is no true
action that does not proceed from thought.
There is no man of worthy action who is not
also man Of thought. Now, Stanley was a
supreme type of the man Of action. 1t was as
such that he first won notice, and as such that
be achieved a fame that will always stand I'M
surpassed. But a thousand times in his wild
marches it was only his indomitable will, a
sentient power, q spiritual force, that awed into
submission savage foes, inspired to perseverance
tagging followers, an0 conquered all the OBJ
stacles of inhospitable Nature Nor was this
less evident in the gentler relations Of civilized
and private life. The force of the mans per
sonalty was perceptible to all who came
into contact with him is the current from
a Leyden jar. You might not altogether like
him, but there was that in the tone Of his voice
that made him a master Of men, that in the
CLEAN of his eye that game him followers to the
very jaws Of death.
No better epitome of SANKEY'S career has
been conceived than that given by him
self in his "story OF four fingers" On his
return from finding Livingstone, he said, he
had the honor Of public reception by the Royal
Geographical Society and the especial honor
Of being presented "to an exceedingly distin-
guished parsonage in the scientific world" who
regarded him with condescending favor, and
even went so far as to shake hands with him.
HE gave me-" said Stanley, zone finger!' After
his second and third adventures, his eIplora-
ton Of the lakes and his opening Of the Congo
to civilization, he was again publicly re-
ceived, and this distinguished parsonage re-
garded him with even more favor than before.
Again he shook hands with him. "Ie gave
me two fingers" Once more Stanley went to
Africa, to rescue the faithful Emin, and on his
return he was third time publicly received.
third time the distinguished parsonage con-
descended to smile upon him, still more approx
ingly than before and third time to offer him
his hand. HE gave me three fngers!" Yet
once more Stanley appeared in public, with a
fair companion, Miss Dorothy Tenant, who a
few moments later was Lady Stanley. There,
once more, the distinguished parsonage was
present, and so far cOndescended as to beam
upon him with unreserved approval. 1.-The
throng was too great for me to get near him."
said Stanley, "but have no doubt that had
"been able to do so, he would once more have
Offered me his hand, and on this occasion he
would have given me all four fngers"
In his tale were set forth, perhaps with half
unconscious frankness, the weaknesses as we'll
as the strength Of his character, the changing
attitude Of the great world toward him, and the
steadfastness Of his own soul. When he con-
Guided, Gentlemen the story of those four
fingers is the story Of my life" the listener felt
that he knew him then as never before. He is
gone at last. Perhaps there will be those who
will say he should, for his names sake, have
gone before, while in 'the fulness Of his fame"
The comment is maaGroit. The fame of Stan
ley has not passed its fulness 1t will not wane,
not while the floods Of the Congo bear the trib-
ute Of the forests to the fulness of the sea, nor
while the pinnacles of Ruwenzori pierce the
fountains Of the armament and send their
streams of life and plenty down the thirsty
channel of the Nile