Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-09-18
RICH, TITLED. BUT LONELY.

Lord Rosebery, One OF the Saddest
Men in the Wide World.
The main thing which impressc3 me
when l look at the Earl of ROsebery is
the sadness of the man, says an En-
glish writer in discussing one of the
most prominent Of Britain.s great men.
| should say he is one of the loneliest
men in London.
Yet, by all ordinary canons, be
should be radiant with happiness
peer having married into the Roths-
child family, and therefore more than
passing rich, a man who has been
prime minister Of England, has won
the blue ribbon of the turf, is one Of
the most effective debaters i'll the land,
can make his audience roar with his
wit, a welcome guest at oil dinner
tables, deeply read, a writer Of books
himself, a man, indeed, about whose
personality there is a glamour, and
who never does nor says anything
without the attention of the country
being focused upon him.
Such a combination would induce
most men to walk through the last
years Of their lives with smiling coun-
tenance. If, however, you could probe
the heart Of Lord Rosebery you would
find that lie is disappointed man. In
fact, most great men are disappointed
with their own lives. The public only
see their successes. They themselves
secretly mourn over their failures The
face of Lord R0sebery is one of the
saddest l have ever seen. The most
sad countenance upon which 1 have
ever looked is that Of the Sultan Of
Turkey. In the case Of both men the
sadness lay In the eyes. Lord Rose
bery's eyes are large, gray and melan-
choly. They seem to be covered with
a finn Of despair. He looks like a man
who has eaten the fruit Of life and
found it very bitter.
[ know the picture does not fit with
Lord Rosebery's reputation of being
the wittiest of our politicians He can
reduce his opponents to ridicule; his
mind is clear, elastic with literary
phrases and illusions, and his irony is
none the less cutting because it is
FURNISHED with good humor At times
he rollickS in fun, and his listeners
hold their sides while shaking with
hilarity at the fertility of his fancy.
Surely, must think the public, this man
spends a happy life when he can re-
gale the world with thoughts so
whimsical
There lies the tragedy. There are
few intellectual men who have not a
dual personality, one for DAVIS to peck
at. the other secret, carefully hidden
from the eyes of men. 1t has been my.
fortune to know many distinguished
folk regarded by the public as humor-
ISIS. Yet the humor has been but a
thin veneer to hide. the tremendous
seriousness of their thoughts. 1t takes
a serious man to be witty, though any
fool can be q buffOon. Lord Rose
bery's sparkling speech is really a
cloak to cover the scared condition Of
his heart. He knows the public; he
knows how it likes to be tickled into
laughter; he understands that an argu-
ment can often best be demonstrated
with a joke; he is funny simply to es-
cape the deep gloom of his soul.
From long study of the man, 1 think
It has not been political triumph, sue
cesses on the turf, nor the possession
of great wealth which has provided |
him with whatever little CLEAN of sun
shins which has come into his life. 1t |